The Dead Part of You

So last Friday night I went to see that Simpsons movie. I know, right? Anyway, the only spoiler I got is that it pretty much sucked after the first half hour. Surprisingly, the whole opening night fiesta involved didn't irk me nearly as much as I had thought it would.

Today? The iPod is set on a Friday Lollapalooza shuffle. I've pretty much been listening to LCD Soundsystem all morning [which isn't a bad thing].

And it suddenly occurs to me, that I've never read Charles Bukowski!

I got to the liquor store and bought the cheapest bottle of wine I could and decided against the cigar. I leaned against the low brick wall outside the store and drank the wine out of a paper bag. It tasted sweet but I knew it would turn my guts in a few hours. Pig Pen wandered over to try to bum a quarter. I told him to get lost before I kicked his ass.

I mean, it's only genius. Via.

Today's indie-rock make-out song should be the simple sound of nature, but since that's not available in the .mp3 format, here's the Swerverdriver track Pile Up from the rare OOP "Raise".

Today's rabbit hole comes right on the heels of the whole Drew Carey TPIR announcement, where I scoured the internet trying to find out if he was queer [he's not, but loves him some BDSM]. Then, I watched the Full Monty scene from his show like 5 times. SHUT UP.

I have to admit I was pretty bummed when Underworld dates started showing up in almost random US cities, with no plan of attack, but now that a Boston date has been announced, well, I'm pleased as punch. [The pre-sale, which seems to be sold out or not working, was for $10 GA tickets at the back of the pavilion].

Let your feelings slip boy but never your mask boy

Normally I'm fussy about where I sit at the B of A pavilion. Normally, I wouldn't pimp a show until I have my seats, better than yours, in hand. But I'll take any seat for freaking Underworld. So. Excited.

So the indie-rock make-out song from the weekend was Interstate by Pell Mell. The indie-rock make-out songs are derived using a rather complex algorithm, involving streetlights, the SHUFFLE SONGS feature from an iPod, my car and a boy. If they were based on actual events, it could have been "A Muzzle of Bees" by Wilco. Or maybe "Beestung" by Kristin Hersh. "Chasing a Bee" by Mercury Rev? No - "Evil Bee" by Menomena.

So last Saturday Rob brought me to a party where all of his friends would be. Which you think would freak me out but it totally didn't - actually, was kind of like being in a Douglas Coupland novel, maybe "Girlfriend in a Coma"? Or maybe I just feel like I've been living a Coupland novel lately since I've been re-reading jPod. ANYWAY, it wouldn't be a birthday party without badminton, I know, right? So while running around all faggy after the shuttlecock with the baby racket, I apparently upset a nest of yellowjackets.

Oh, I've already changed the ringtone, I assure you.

After all of the flailing and shrieking was over, Rob and I each got stung 6 times [I'm STILL itchy and scratchy today]. After the adrenaline rush and the application of baking soda all was pretty much back to normal. It is totally how you want to meet all the friends of someone you are dating.

For my next dating disaster [I didn't mention THE BOWLING INCIDENT from two weeks ago, it was way too shameful] I'm thinking I need to pull out all the stops if I'm going to top bees. I'm thinking amusement park disaster [stop reading and go now - AWESOME], I'm thinking Godzilla v Mothra, I'm thinking something along the lines of bringing the country to DEFCON 1.

So last night was the big indie rock show at Great Scott in Allston. The Twilight Sad played with Relay and Tulsa.

Tulsa, was pretty meh. Easy enough to ignore. Relay turned out to be really cool. At first, I thought they were generic rock and was prepared to ignore it. Halfway through their set Rob put the idea that they were "MBV wannabes" in my ear, and I totally heard the shoegaze in it. By the time they were done I was so ready to go drool at their merchandise.

The Twilight Sad came on around 11:50 [it was a late night and I am feeling it today, I assure you]. When I saw them last November, they got on stage, played a 20 minute blast of noise [think early JAMC] and walked off. Last night they were slightly more refined, in that they played for 55 minutes, and there was even some stage banter! However, with the thick Scottish brogue, I couldn't understand a word of it. Plus, I think James was more than a little drunked up.

Aside from a few semi-lucid moments, the rest of the show was amazing. Like push you back against the wall noise. James's on stage presence rivals that of Ian Curtis [really - check the Pitchfork pic]. I did not get any good pictures because they pretty much play in the dark - and the ones with flash just didn't look right. The picture in my mind is when he would stand on stage screaming, nowhere near a microphone, and you couldn't hear a thing over the band, just silently watching his body heave and twitch. Would I go see The Twilight Sad again? THE ANSWER IS YES!!

Quite simply, brilliant. A night of nu-gaze to be remembered. Oh, and the indie-rock make-out party is still going strong, thanks. I could have posted one of the songs they played, however one of the few things I did catch James say was that "Even we don't know the titles to our songs". So I give you a real treat for today's indie-rock make-out song, Untitled 4, one of the demos they sent off to Fat Cat that hasn't been re-recorded or released [yet].

And where are your manners

So today's indie-rock make-out song is There There. Actually technically it should be Providence by Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but that's 30 minutes long with carefully crafted passages of silence, which were actually quite nice.

Yeah yeah yeah, too much information. Lollapalooza plans are still go, almost T minus 2 weeks. - they released a map of the place, which resolved some of my "what do I see" dilemmas [I see what's closest to where I will be!], and created a new Sophie's Choice, as I don't think I'll be able to catch both Modest Mouse and TV on the Radio as previously planned as they are playing opposite ends of the venue. TV on the Radio actually wins that match up, now that I've missed seeing them 4 times.

There was a flurry of text messaging last night trying to determine the following:

More embarrassing to watch?
	Pants Off Dance Off
	The Singing Bee
Free polls from Pollhost.com

So last Friday was the big comedy show down at the South Shore Music Circus where Kathy Griffin played.

First of all, have you ever been to the South Shore Music Circus? It really is a circus tent! There was an opening act that was offensive and racist, and the people kind of liked it. See, the SSMC is kind of fucked up because a lot of people seem to have season tickets. The crowd was split evenly - loud suburbanites in loud clothing eating nachos, and gay guys pounding down frozen coctails in Capri Sun like packaging, cruising the bushes and the bathrooms. Downright surreal.



The show? It was OK. The SSMC is theater in the round, so the stage spun (I know, right?) and so half the time we were looking at her ass. Kathy Griffin is wonderful on a small screen in one hour chunks with commercial breaks. Really, I love it. However, having her scream at me for two uninterrupted hours was a bit much. Plus, everything - EVERYTHING - was just very very very VERY VERY GAY GAY GAY. I was completely gayed out by the end of it. It gave me a headache. Would I go see Kathy Griffin again? THE ANSWER IS PROBABLY NOT, BUT I STILL ENJOY HER TELEVISION PROGRAMMING!

In other news, the indie-rock make-out song for this past weekend was No Surprises by Marissa Nadler [feat. Black Hole Infinity]. Have I told you that the Stereogum OK Computer tribute record is fierce? Amazing? I won't say every track gets it [looking askance towards "Exit Music [for a film]"], but almost all of the interpretations are downright delicate and beautiful. David Bazan's "Let Down" - better that the original? Of course not, that would be heresy - damn close though.

I assure you it is one of the best records this year. I haven't even spun the new Interpol yet, I'm too busy wearing the grooves out on this one. AND IT'S FREE.

I usually don't jump onto things like this, but Stereogum has assembled? arranged? compiled? what looks to be a pretty amazing tribute to Radiohead's OK Computer featuring some of my favorite bands - The Twilight Sad [Climbing Up The Walls], David Bazan [Let Down], Doveman [Airbag]. Some bands I know about - My Brightest Diamond [Lucky], Cold War Kids [Electioneering], John Vanderslice [Karma Police]. Some bands that will be new to me - as I type this up I'm getting a little chubby - I'd pay for this, and it's free and legal.

Found, oddly enough, via. I don't even read Stereogum, are you shocked?

In other news, The Twilight Sad are playing in Somerville next week. And as it turns out, independently both Rob and I had planned on going. Rob is the 'missed connection' from the Psychic TV show a month or so ago, also inspiring the latest batch of .mp3s in the, uh, "indie rock make-out song" series. Today's? Beetlebum [live] from Blur. Indie rock make-out party, indeed.

In other news, *sigh*. Dog fucks baby. In the Ass. I can't even begin, however I do recommend reading the comments with the story.

I give up. I'm just watching YouTube the rest of the afternoon.

Labia of Steel, via. I didn't just gasp, I shrieked.

Believe it or not, due to scheduling conflicts I haven't seen any of this season's Simpsons, so I missed the World of Warcraft episode. In related news, I canceled my WoW account two months ago since I wasn't playing anymore.

In related news, JUST LAST NIGHT I was talking about To Catch A Predator, and today Drew has Charles the Predator. Bonus vid? Comb Your Beard is strangely erotic to me.

Something that I don't really like about Blogger/Blogspot is that when inter-peeps drop comments, there's no email address for me to reply to, unlike my old Wordpress set-up. So in true Dear Abby fashion:

CONFIDENTIAL TO! I made four words on Blitz Scrabble before I started crying. Seriously, it's not fun.

CONFIDENTIAL TO! You rock the tumblr. I was wondering what it's purpose was and you totally got it right.

CONFIDENTIAL TO! Surprisingly, I don't miss my cat's ass.

CONFIDENTIAL TO! Actually, it's not confidential at all, this is just for everyone, only the best mash-up viral video ever [run before the copyright claims come flying]. I found myself gasping by the end of it.

CONFIDENTIAL TO! The indie-rock makeout song of the year is hereby christened: "Sleep" by The Dandy Warhols. I know it's from 8 years ago, I'm just catching up now.

Confetti!

So Tuesday night was the big cult-rock show at Avalon. Polyphonic Spree played, and someone named Jesca Hoop opened [she was a bit much].

Polyphonic Spree started around 9ish - there was a pretty dramatic entrance to a lot of pre-recorded music that went on for like 15 minutes. And then.

If you are at a concert that opens with confetti guns, you are only at the best concert ever.

So I'm not all familiar with Polyphonic Spree - I know there are like a million members in the band [actual number in Boston: I counted 23]. I know they play simple anthemic chant-like sing along pop songs. I know they like uniforms.



About 5 seconds into their set I was totally ready to drink the Kool-Aid. Sign me up. If these cats are all just high on sun and air, uniforms and choreography SIGN ME UP. For the next 2 hours I clapped, I waved my hands, I sang along. I thought about joining a cult - but you know? I'd be that cult member - the one all the others talked about. "She don't want to get out of bed and do choreography, AGAIN". Or - "Her uniform all wrinkled, don't she know how to iron?" In my head, it was a cult of drag queens, which is why they called me "she".


Tim DeLaughter, our leader. Or leadr, in Web 2.0 speak

But you know what the best part of the show was? Even better than confetti guns? All my friends. For whatever reason, the planets and stars aligned and I wound up at this show in the middle of seven good friends. We staked our claim on space and a good time was had by all.

For the encore, almost as long as the main set, the robes came out:



And the high point of the encore, the show? Lithium. For reals - and I'm so not a Nirvana fan, but how can you not jump up and down sing along to this with the people in robes?

I'm so lonely but thats okay, I shaved my head ...
And I'm not sad

It made me so happy. If I don't come back from Chicago this August, it's because I'm in a robe selling flowers at O'Hare. Bring hoverbikes.

Did I mention that I read that OJ book last Saturday. My snark title [and there's enough material in there to create a snark title generator] is "If I Did It - It's Because She Deserved It".

I wasn't all up in the OJ trial - too busy being above such things - however, now I completely understand why people thought he was such an arrogant prick.

The Polyphonic Spree were absolutely amazing last night - pics and details tomorrow. Did I mention my missed connection from a few weeks ago - connected? I have to go find some kind of "First Date" wiki for tonight...

I want the Kool-Aid.