#60: New LCD Soundsystem MP3 & Eden Prarie Tosses in the Towel.

It seems as though certain people never sleep. We've blogged about James Murphy once before; the multi- instrumentalist and producer is half of DFA and all of LCD Soundsystem. Having already released two compilations of DFA remixes this year as well as the amazing 45 minute workout anthem 45:33 he's already eyeing 2007.

In late March, LCD Soundsystem will release his sophomore full-length, The Sound of Silver. Even Amazon doesn't have this up for pre-order yet, but we thought we'd whet your appetite with the second track, "Time to Get Away." Enjoy the download and let us know what you think--we're definitely loving it.

Meanwhile in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, some folks and even the local newspaper are lamenting the fact that their town is effectively out of the running in the voting. Things are getting very interesting as of late, with Plano, Texas having been dethroned not once but twice--first by South Bend, Indiana and this morning by Denver, Colorado. I wonder if this has something to do with the disenfranchised Fort Collins voters who held a big lead for so long in the early stages of the vote. Looks like we're in for a nice finish!

xoxox
Danny

#58: The Fighting Irish & 3.5 Million Votes.

It's been an interesting weekend on the voting front as South Bend and Plano continue to duke it out for first place. When we went to bed last night, the Bend seemed to be enjoying a comfortable lead (about 10,000) votes. However, Plano has since reclaimed the lead. There has also been a previously unparalleled level of banter about South Bend on the forums where residents are debating the merits and drawbacks of their Indiana town.

All of this was fueled in part by a follow-up piece in the South Bend Tribune on Saturday. The first piece generated such a flurry of feedback that the newspaper decided to run the second article (which also had a front page placement).

Looks like things are heating up! We also crossed the 3.5 million vote mark today--crazy stuff!

xoxox
Danny

#56: Newspaper Double Dip.

Wow--it's never happened before, but today we have not one but two newspaper features
about our project to share with you! They're both very well written, to boot.

The first comes from today's South Bend Tribune and from what we can tell it was actually a front page item, which is a very humbling first for us. South Bend, Indiana has been tearing it up in the voting over the past few days, so it's likely this will help continue the trend. We've already received a couple encouraging e-mails from folks in South Bend, something Nina and I always appreciate.

Article number two is from The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It's a lovely piece but, sadly, is not archived free of charge on their site. No worries though: we posted the feature in its entirety on our site for your reading enjoyment.

For those out there who enjoy following the media reaction to our project, it should be interesting to see how both writers give their stories a different focus. We're very grateful to both Mike Wanbaugh and Nicole Riehl for taking the time to interview us and helping spread the word.

In case you don't know, you can always have an updated look at all of the press our project has received.

Finally, I'm still under the weather but that made all of the birthday wishes I received all the sweeter. Thanks to everyone who dropped me a line!

xoxox
Danny

UPDATE: The e-mails we've received have been very pro-South Bend, but the naysayers are taking to the forums. If you've lived there, we'd love to hear you weigh in!