Trying to figure out his angle here. Because the Ian Mackaye that I know would avoid like the plague anything with even a tinge of corporate sensibility. So, what exactly is he doing in a web series called D.I.Y. America that’s produced by Nike’s ad agency, Wieden+Kennedy?

Along with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and some of the old school of skating’s finest, Mackaye is featured in an episode (or part of one) called Skate & Create, which “explores “the skaters’ gaze”— the way a skateboarder looks at the urban environment in a completely different way from others.”

It’s not bad – not nearly as clownish as the phrase skaters’ gaze would suggest – but I thought you were militant about this sort of thing, Mackaye? After all, it’s called D.I.Y. America, yet the video is only available on W+K’s website here?

I’m sure he had his reasons, still, I’d like to think of Ian Mackaye like this: on a budget stage performing a $5 show.

Ian MacKaye Gets DIY For Nike’s Ad Agency (STEREOGUM)

Photo via Flickr

The last time I was a legit WWF fan, this song was a staple on MTV’s 120 Minutes (Pinfield For Life)

It’s actually TNA Wrestling (WWE sister organization?) who commissioned Billy Corgan for this spot to promote this weekend’s pay-per-view.

Check out the promo (Weird? Awesome? Douchey?) and the original video for old times sake…

Billy Corgan Adapts “Butterfly Wings” For Wrestling Commercial, Joins Twitter (Stereogum)

Pearl Jam was scheduled to come on at 8:45. They were on the stage, full-bore, at 8:45. And they stayed there for practically three hours. The intermission was barely long enough for me to go pee.

It was about :38 seconds into the show before Eddie Vedder’d the mic

This was the first time I dabbled in arena rock since the U2 Elevation Tour in 2002. At first, I was little apprehensive about my seating location – behind the stage. But it was actually pretty cool, and you get a real sense for the spell that Eddie Vedder has over the crowd. Mike McCready could have his guitar propped up on his shoulder blades shredding, and if Eddie crept back stage for a smoke the sections around me went ballistic for him. I also had a great view of Eddie getting booze from the crew. (it was sort of a well-oiled, assembly line of stagehands feeding him bottles of Moet).

The highlight of the show for me was hands-down when they closed the first set with ‘Do The Evolution’, which they dedicated to George Carlin. If anybody has this video, I IMPLORE you to post it to YouTube. Here’s the setlist (via Stereogum):

01 “Hard To Imagine”
02 “Save You”
03 “Why Go?”
04 “All Night”
05 “Corduroy”
06 “Faithfull”
07 “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town”
08 “Down”
09 “Unemployable”
10 “Given To Fly”
11 “Who You Are”
12 “Whipping”
13 “1/2 Full”
14 “Even Flow”
15 “Present Tense”
16 “Daughter” (with the Rangers chant!)
17 “Do The Evolution”
—-
18 “Love Reign O’er Me”
19 “W.M.A.”
20 “Leash”
21 “Spin The Black Circle”
22 “Wasted Reprise”
23 “Porch”
—-
24 “No More”
25 “Crazy Mary”
26 “Comatose”
27 “I Believe In Miracles” (with CJ Ramone on bass)
28 “Alive”
—-
29 “All Along The Watchtower”
30 “Indifference”

Here are some photos from last night. I emailed Ryan Muir – who for my money takes some of the best photos around of New York City rock shows – to see if he was going to be there. He didn’t end up going, but I did find these beauts on Flickr: