Twin Sister's Andrea Estella to Star in Veronica Mars Movie

Andrea Estella with Twin Sister at The Earl, August 17, 2010

Andrea Estella with Twin Sister at 529, June 4, 2011

Andrea Estella with Twin Sister at The Earl, January 25, 2012

The Veronica Mars Movie, which was funded through a Kickstarter campaign, is currently due for release sometime in 2014. This week, news broke that actress Leighton Meester has dropped out of the film due to scheduling conflicts and has been replaced by Andrea Estella, the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, Twin Sister.

Creator/director Rob Thomas says his reasoning for casting Estella was because the role of Carrie Bishop, the character she will be playing, requires someone who can sing. Thomas was a fan of the band, and saw Estella as a perfect fit. In an e-mail, Thomas said:

One of the reasons I wanted Leighton, beyond her talent/beauty/history in the show, was that we needed a performer who could sing in this important role. Once it became evident that we couldn’t make Leighton’s schedule work, I decided to cast someone from a band I already wanted in the movie.

This will be Estella’s film debut. As a fan of the band, I've always been amazed at the different looks Estella brings to the stage on each occasion she's played in Atlanta, so a theatrical role should suit her well. I’m hoping all the best for her. 

The film will also feature two songs from Twin Sister.

Myth of Myself (A Ruse To Exploit Our Weakness)

"What is this thing that lives inside of me? I can't look directly in my eyes without using in a mirror. I can't bite my own teeth. And I can't meet the 'I' that makes me 'me'." - Alan Watts

Fanfarlo have released the first song from their forthcoming third album, stating "Myth of Myself is a rallying cry to (wo)man the barricades against the individual and all those who would have us believe this ruse. It is also the first song from our forthcoming third album, a record that in its own playfully serious/seriously playful way looks at human evolution and the weirdness of being this thing we call a person."

You can download the track Myth of Myself here.

My Life As Music, Part II: 1960 - 1963

Granted this video is from 1968, but it perfectly encapsulates the sound of early 60s pop music from February 3, 1959, the infamous "day the music died," to February 9, 1964, when The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

In a sad and tragic post-script to this story, Roy Estrada, the singer in the video, was jailed last year on charges of child molestation. 

Ivan & Alyosha

Here's Seattle's Ivan & Alyosha performing in Santa Monica at KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic.  

Talk of faith and exalted things is rare in indie rock today.  But Ivan & Alyosha takes their names from a scene in Dostoevsky’s Brothers Karamazov where the main characters discuss the existence of God.  Ivan, in particular, questions the idea of God.  Alyosha, on the other hand, is a monk, a believer, some may say, a holy fool.

Ivan & Alyosha will be playing the Plaza Stage at Bumbershoot in Seattle on Monday, September 2, at 7:30 pm.

Boards of Canada

Let us now praise Boards of Canada and their new album Tomorrow's Harvest (Number 4 on CMJ's Top 20!).  This is magnificent stuff.