Watch the first video from the United Nations of Sound, the new band led by Richard Ashcroft, courtesy of NME.

P-Rod won the gold medal this afternoon in the X Games 15 Skateboard Street Men’s Final. The 24-year old Rodriguez beat out the dreadlocked 14-year old phenom Nyjah Huston (silver) and 34-year old SLC punk Adam Dyet (bronze). Rodriguez finished second in last year’s games to MTV reality star Ryan Sheckler (6th) who had to leave the last session of the competition early due to an ankle injury.

I’d point you to ESPN.com so that you could read more about it but it’s a strange struggle to find much coverage of the event. Watch the video above of Rodriguez starring in a new Nike SB commercial featuring appearances by Kobe Bryant and “Doughboy”.

The latest version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour for the Wii now includes the ability to play disc golf on all 27 courses featured in the game.  I’m planning to play DG a lot more this summer so this should help motivate me to make the trek to Warwick on Saturday mornings.  I don’t know if you can throw forehands or hammers, but I need to work on my backhand anyway.  (Nice look, BOB!)

The Picture is returning to Mercury Lounge this Friday (11:30pm, $10), after opening the first night of Art Brut’s 5-night residency earlier this month.  The Brooklyn-based band has already released 2 albums Connect (2006) and Drift Away (2007), but today is the first time I’ve ever heard their music.  You can listen to 3 songs on from the Bluebirds EP (2009) on MySpace,  as well as an excellent cover of Echo & The Bunnymen’s “Bring On The Dancing Horses”.  “Deer Crossing” is understandably the most frequently streamed track, but “Devious” deserves a lot more attention and The Picture is worth a closer look.

After dismissing Saturday’s APW lineup, I decided to check out the Postelles (because I liked the sound of their name).  Their youthful, positive retro-pop immediately brought to mind Vampire Weekend but they’re more musically related to the Strokes.  The four-piece band was born and raised in NYC and their debut album is being produced by Albert Hammond Jr.   The Postelle’s 6-song, self-titled EP is available on iTunes for $5.48 and some of the tracks are available free throughout the blogosphere.  For more info visit http://thepostelles.blogspot.com/.

Saturday’s All Points West lineup is the weakest of the festival so it was disappointing to have to pass on the opportunity to see Arctic Monkeys in the NYC area.  The $89 (+fees) price per ticket just isn’t worth it unless you’re already paying for a 3-day pass.  But I’ve been betting that the band would be playing at least one club show while they were in town for APW. (Let’s hope that Yeah Yeah Yeahs will do the same.)

Sign up for membership at Arcticmonkeys.com to receive links and a passcode for pre-sale tickets for the dates below.  Pre-sale tickets for New York and Boston went on sale at 10:00am EST today!  Pre-sale tickets for Chicago will be available at 10:00am CST.  Limit 2 per person.

8/3 – New York, NY – Highline

8/5 – Boston, MA – Paradise

8/7 – Chicago, IL – Metro

Arctic Monkeys release their third album, Humbug, on August 25th on CD, vinyl, and as a digital download.  It was produced by Josh Homme in the Mojave Desert, LA, and in Brooklyn by James Ford.

Tracklisting:

01. My Propeller
02. Crying Lightning
03. Dangerous Animals
04. Secret Door
05. Potion Approaching
06. Fire & The Thud
07. Cornerstone
08. Dance Little Liar
09. Pretty Visitors
10. The Jeweller’s Hands

Dr. Dre drops Dr Pepper on the wheels of steel and gives expert advice on how to best enjoy a softdrink and a party.

Sign the petition, started by Matthew Jamieson, to express your interest in having a place to play disc golf in NYC.

New York City has the lowest number of disc golf courses per capita of any of the major metropolitan areas in the US. In a 30 mile radius from the city center, there are less than half a dozen courses and not a single official course exists within the city limits. The purpose of this petition is to help persuade the City of New York Parks Department to consider disc golf as a viable recreation activity in the city, and demonstrate that there is significant interest in the sport. Please sign this petition if you are a lover of disc golf, disc sports or outdoor recreation in general, and please feel free to pass it on to others that may be interested.

I don’t think it’s viable unless the courses are located in parks in the Bronx or Staten Island, but I’d love to be able to take public transportation to play.  The map below shows the 5 “NYC area” courses in proximity to Central Park and Prospect Park.

View NY/NJ Disc Golf Courses in a larger map

The second season of Z Rock premieres on Sunday, June 7th on IFC.  The 10-episode season includes guest appearances by Daryl Hall, Dave Navarro, John Popper, Marky Ramone, and Dee Snider.

“Z ROCK is a comedy series that follows three friends leading a double life: by night they’re a hard-partying rock band and by day they’re a kids party band.  Z ROCK is (kinda) based on the true story of the band Z02 (brothers Paulie Z and David Z, and lifelong friend Joey Cassata) and gives a satirical look at the dark underbelly of the rock n’ roll dream.”

A non-album acoustic version of “Help I’m Alive” is available on the Metric website.  Enter your email address to receive a link to download the free track.