Last week the Animal Collective bros released an official mixtape for their new … sneakers. That is a thing now. Gotta keep fans on their toes (ouch, sorry). The shoes which you can see here benefit the Socorro island Conservation Fund, and they are cruelty free, except to your eyes.

I did some research, and it turns out that dozens of indie and punk bands have licensed sneakers. Most are quite ugly, and many — Biz Markie Keds, Bad Brains flip-flops — are hilarious.

A few fun facts to keep in mind while you browse our Complete Guide to rock footwear:

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If the increasingly prog bend the Decemberists material has taken makes that a surprising headline to you, forget the increasingly prog bend the Decemberists material has taken. Instead, consider the band as a lyrical folk outfit unafraid to shift and expand its instrumentation in pursuit of (occasionally mercilessly bloated, occasionally interesting) extended, ornate passages. So, that’s the band that is documenting its appreciation for the Grateful Dead, an storied institution that knows from lyrics, shifting instrumentation, bloat, and being extended, ornate, and interesting. “Row Jimmy” gives the Decemberists a chance to prove their comfort with a loose groove and a lack of pretense, something they greatly need to remind people of after this last run of LPs, and thereby a fitting and effective public service announcement for a band on the eve of releasing the new and reportedly stripped-back album The King Is Dead. The Dead cover is the b-side on the 7″ for “January Hymn,” an original King cut they released yesterday on vinyl. Hear ‘em both:

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Those 30 second samples of Animal Collective’s forthcoming Fall Be Kind EP weren’t all that satisfying. Even if you were already somewhat familiar with “What Would I Want Sky,” “Bleed,” and “On A Highway,” the mystery of opener “Graze” and seemingly epic closer “I Think I Can” still remained. We don’t want you to (ever) fall behind (see) in your AC completism, so here’s the smooth, sorta classy, piano sprinkled “Graze.” I was thinking of Morton Feldman, oddly, until the fairy dancers started their hoedown at the 3:13 mark. (Thanks for the tip, Mike.)

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Recent live staple “What Would I Want Sky” is approved to use bits of “Unbroken Chain” if Animal Collective wanna put it on record, according to a Tweet by the band’s management (via GvsB). Songwriter Phil Lesh apparently loved the track, and Avey Tare (who wrote “WWIWS”) has hinted it may show up on a Brothersport EP this winter. Wonder if Phil knows Animal Collective only exists because Geologist and Avey admired each other’s Dead shirts in 9th grade? Or so they say. Here’s a decent BBC recording of the Merriweather outtake, and the source material (sort of).

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For most liking the Dead will always be more about the search for the perfect boot than the merits of their studio work, but that won’t stop Bob, Phil, Mickey et al from going back into the studio. Or at least hinting at it.

Hollywood has finally decided it’s time to turn on its lovelight and let it shine on Jerry (requisite lyric-biting intro sentence). According to reports, producers Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, and Eric Eisner have signed on to a biopic that’ll explore the pie-eyed piper’s roots, meaning no sad concluding chapter on the (extreme) burn-out, singing-from-a-teleprompter years. Via Hollywood Reporter:

The untitled project will focus primarily on Garcia’s early life in the Bay Area before he joined the band that would become the Grateful Dead — a period that includes a stint in the military, a life-changing car accident and his first creative encounters with members of the Northern California music scene including future Dead bassist Phil Lesh.

The movie will pull from Robert Greenfield’s book Dark Star, already has a screenwriter (Topper Lilien) … now it just needs a Jerry. Which is where we come in. Remember it’s young Garcia we’re casting. This won’t be a throwaway project — producers Berger and Yexa count Election and Little Miss Sunshine among their credits — so in casting actors, aim high. Jerry would want it that way.

[Photo via coopercharged.com]

At Friday’s Dark Star Orchestra show, Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski got wasted and urinated on the crowd. That’ll harsh your mellow. “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” was righteous, though.

The first Deadheads For Obama show took place at the Warfield in San Francisco before the California Democratic Primary. Adding another set of voices to the various Barack songs, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann are reuniting for an April/May Dead tour as well as a second Obama concert, this time in October for the swing state of Pennsylvania.

Rock shoes are fun for everyone, yeah? No. OK yeah, fun for blogging. The unexpectedly fertile field of rock/shoe tie-ins adds another photo set for the world of internet comments today, with new images of the Dead’s very own line of Converse. This makes 100 years of the shoe brand, a centennial celebration that’s already under way via the Cobain edition. Which pairs well with the Ramones’ edition, see because these are artists that had publicly proclaimed their affinity for the footwear. But for the Dancing Bears? From my limited Dead show experience (I turned 17 at the first show with an “Unbroken Chain,” which my hippie friends deemed highly auspicious) a Birkenstock or Teeva or barefoot-and-stoned line of footwear would be more fitting. But the press release we received this morning has its own ideas. Click that pic up there to see a bigger version of the shoe, and here’s another Dead design:

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Super Tuesday! Hope those of you in the magic states have cast your ballots already; if not, Bobby Weir may just influence the direction of your level pull yet. It wasn’t just the hipsters organizing for Barack last night. While Paul Rudd, Michael Showalter, David Wain, and a Shudder To Think reunion tried to woo New Yorkers to Obama’s cause at Bowery (more from that later), the Warfield in San Francisco played host to the Deadheads For Obama show, with Phil, Mickey, and Bob, playing together for the first time in over four years, and Jackie Greene (of Phil Les & Friends fame) on Jerry duty. They played stuff like “Deal” and “Friend of the Devil,” but first they talked a bit about it. Awesomely, this press conference vid’s got a little of that Yacht Rock era sheen, for added Dead authenticity.

Here Barack thanks Phil, Mickey, and the rest of Dead nation:

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