The Dead Part of You

2008-09-04T12:43:00.002-04:00

What the hell are you still doing here?

Apparently, I can't even be bothered to upload my pictures from Lollapalooza, much less finish recapping it. Will I go in 2009? THE ANSWER IS AW HELL NO!!@@!

I'll put up any ATP pics over where I'm creating my new web identity, http://rockaction.tumblr.com/. With apologies to Mogwai. Update your bookmarks or blogrolls, or start your own tumblelog and follow me.

Officially done.

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, The Ting Tings, The Gutter Twins

2008-08-09T12:00:00.007-04:00

Saturday morning at Lollapalooza started off unexpectedly great - Bob was gone when I woke up, and we arranged to meet for The Ting Tings at 12:45. Rob had no interest in going until DeVotchKa at 3:30, so I set off to get coffee and wander around a bit. Due to time zones or my own built in confusion, I wound up at the gates about an hour earlier than I had planned - 11:15, and there was NO line (!?!!???) so I walked right in again.

There were rumors about Obama being there all weekend, and one look at the event security and anyone could tell he wasn't setting foot near that place.

With no plans, I wound up at Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, which I had no desire to sit through AT ALL, but OH MY GOD - HOW did I miss them? I heard a few tracks during the initial blog buzz wave and didn't care, but they were enthralling live. What if Belle and Sebastian were just a little less twee? Just a little?

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's

I wasn't sure what to expect out of The Ting Tings - My original plan was to check out Does It Offend You, Yeah, but it was 50/50 either was so I found Bob by the soundboard, barely. The Ting Tings turned out to be awesome. They played Great Scott in Allston, a tiny bar, a few months ago and I didn't go - now they were easily playing to 5000 people, each one jumping up and down all happy.

The Ting Tings

Can I tell you how awesome Saturday already was compared to Friday? The weather was awesome, the crowds manageable, I was 2 for 2 with awesome bands, and took my favorite picture of the day:

Katie White, The Ting Tings

Of the screen, I know, but I love it.

I took some shade for a bit during Dr. Dog (it was pretty horrid, from a distance at least) and was able to make my way pretty close up for The Gutter Twins.

I need to make a brief disclaimer here - Greg Dulli? He could totally be my alcoholic boyfriend. Ever since the opening strains of The Afghan Whigs' "Gentlemen", he's owned me. I'd let him hit me, no question, just like those ladies on the talk shows. Rob seemed a little upset by that, and I told him he should be.

30 seconds into The Station, I just started crying, and didn't stop for the next 30 minutes. Each new song brought a new wave of tears, mostly sad, but there was a little bit of teen idolatry going on too. Mark Lanegan stood like a wax statue never moving. Greg Dulli, bloated, ill fitting suit, possibly a bad hairpiece, wandered around stage a bit more.

Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan, The Gutter Twins

My only complaint was that they only played for 45 minutes instead of their scheduled hour. Critics seemed divided, saying it didn't work in the daylight, or that they were able to bring 3AM to a sunny field. All I know is I don't think I could handle it emotionally when they return to Boston this fall for a show at the Paradise, and probably won't go. Because I might be inappropriate.

Gogol Bordello, Grizzly Bear, CSS, Radiohead

2008-08-05T18:02:00.006-04:00

After The Go! Team, Rob went back to the condo and I made the trek back south for Gogol Bordello. Did I mention it was hot? The high temperature for the day was 87F, which doesn't seem that hot, but there was no breeze and it was really humid. And crowded. Freaking crowded. Last year peaked on Sunday with 60K people for Pearl Jam. Radiohead had sold out this first day, with 75K people, which was way too many for the venue. Already at 3:30, crossing the park was miserable.

I don't know much about Gogol Bordello - I remember seeing them on The Henry Rollins Show one week and they were pretty good. Definitely better than Duffy, who I had originally planned on seeing, but the more I listened to in the weeks leading up to Lollapalooza, the more I got real tired of her. Gypsy punks for the win! Sort of.

That's me hiding from the sun. I stood and watched Gogol Bordello, and it was good, but four days later, I can't remember a thing about their set. All I remember is that around 5PM the sun went behind a cloud for the first time all day, for about 15 seconds, and people cheered that.

Gogol Bordello

The plan from there was to meet up with Bob for Grizzly Bear, but there was some mis-communication and he wound up at Bloc Party. I had chicken on a stick (the food was excellent again this year - I know, excellent festival food?) and made it to Grizzly Bear and had the same experience as Gogol Bordello. I was there, I know I enjoyed it, but couldn't tell you why.

Grizzly Bear (nice shorts, Ed!)

Bloc Party bled through for most of the set, and that sounded good too. Unfortunately, there was a LOT of sound bleed between stages this year, more than I remember from last year.

Rob and I had arranged to meet for CSS, and while the sun had finally started to fall behind the skyline, I was still wiped out from the day. CSS are a party band and I couldn't move. After 4 or 5 songs we decided to just sit down in the shade. What I saw was pretty good, it's too bad the circumstances were so awful.

CSS

Off to the big event, Radiohead. My first regret of the weekend was that I missed Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. I caught the last 10 minutes and it sounded great.

Rob and I were able to get, well, not very close at all for Radiohead (Scott's review is pretty dead on - I love his account of the kids across the street from the festival). For the past 9 hours people had been pouring into the field, staking out their claim.

The show was pretty much exactly what you would expect. There were fancy, arts lights, they played In Rainbows and some other songs, and a good time was had by all. About the only thing that surprised me was as The Bends came to a close, fireworks began off to the left, over the Art Institute of Chicago. Through Everything In It's Right Place, and damn near choreographed through Fake Plastic Trees.

Radiohead (the bright green light off in the distance)

I had to pee, so we pretty much left to beat the crowds and go have real food during Dollars and Cents, missing the last four songs, including Optimistic, but that's OK. Before Radiohead went on I went to put contact lens re-wetting drops in my eyes, and it burned because I had actually packed ear medicine by mistake and dropped that in instead. 11 hours without running water and a contact lens in desperate need of a rinsing meant that missing some of an average Radiohead performance from a mile away wasn't that awful, actually.

Bang Camaro, Holy Fuck, The Go Team

2008-08-04T22:19:00.005-04:00

SO how was Lollapalooza 2008? It more like something to endure instead of something to enjoy.

We arrived at the gates about 10:45 to find the line was already stretched for blocks. It was already hot and humid, and apparently sold out for Friday.

We scarily breezed through security (seriously, I totally could have brought my knives out) and headed over to Bang Camaro.

Bang Camaro

Bang Camaro are kind of like The Polyphonic Spree. Only heavy metal. And from Boston. Bang Camaro were something to do while waiting for Holy Fuck.

Holy Fuck

Holy Fuck were a last minute addition when Noah and the Whale canceled, and an A++ addition at that! I enjoyed their set very much. Sadly, it was so hot the umbrella I had brought for the possibility of thunderstorms turned into a parasol - it actually helped and worked really well. We looked stupid, but weren't alone in the idea either. I mostly felt like the goth girl at the Menses Fair in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

We took our time walking in the shade the 10 blocks across the park to The Go! Team. One of my favorite pictures in the world that I've taken is of Ninja from their 2006 Coachella performance. I feel like this year I actually fucking equalled that:

The Go! Team

It's a shot of the video screen, I know. I was not front and center because I was melting. Rob didn't make it through the set, he went off for shade after 30 minutes. As awesome as they were, I just couldn't muster the energy to move.

Last year I broke up these posts after every three bands to keep them from getting too massive. So far we've covered the heat, the complete lack of security, that I need to buy some Holy Fuck records and that I still love The Go! Team.

Kanye West

2008-08-04T12:32:00.001-04:00

2008-08-04T01:05:00.003-04:00

Lollapalooza is over and you know what? I'm not too sure I'll be back. As awesome as last year was, this year was - well, it had some pretty awful moments.

I think next year the headliners should be Morrissey, Belle and Sebastian and Bright Eyes. No 75,000 people Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box. No Raging against the Machine.

More this week.

Nine Inch Nails

2008-08-03T21:18:00.001-04:00

The National

2008-08-03T21:05:00.000-04:00

Love and Rockets

2008-08-03T19:21:00.000-04:00

Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves

2008-08-03T17:22:00.000-04:00

Brazilian Girls

2008-08-03T15:20:00.000-04:00

No alarms and no surprises, please

2008-08-03T14:07:00.002-04:00

Lupe Fiasco

2008-08-03T14:07:00.000-04:00

Okkervil River

2008-08-03T14:05:00.001-04:00

MMS works in the ATT tent!

2008-08-03T14:05:00.000-04:00

Explosions in the Sky

2008-08-03T14:03:00.000-04:00

The Gutter Twins

2008-08-03T13:58:00.000-04:00

Gogol Bordello

2008-08-03T13:33:00.000-04:00

The heat is KILLING me

Wilco

2008-08-02T21:41:00.000-04:00

The Ting Tings

2008-08-02T13:55:00.000-04:00

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's

2008-08-02T13:22:00.000-04:00

2008-08-02T11:31:00.002-04:00

Lollapalooza day 1 was hot as balls. Today is supposed to be nicer, but I'm still not getting there until early afternoon instead of late morning.

It was also sold out, and crazy crowded - way more crowded than Pearl Jam last year. It was a little unsettling.

Today's shortened schedule starts with The Gutter Twins, Explosions in the Sky -> Okkervil River, and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings -> Wilco. I'm looking outside and at least see some clouds, so there is at least the possibility I will not bake or fry today.

Grizzly Bear

2008-08-01T18:50:00.000-04:00

Bang Camaro

2008-08-01T16:19:00.001-04:00

Holy Fuck

2008-08-01T16:19:00.000-04:00

The Go! Team

2008-08-01T15:18:00.001-04:00

Buckingham Fountain

2008-07-31T21:29:00.000-04:00

2008-07-30T16:17:00.002-04:00

1 - I've started posting over at http://rockaction.tumblr.com/ because it's just so easy to do.

2 - Before I go to Lollapalooza and post a million mobile photos, here's a new muxtape, 12 random.

2008-07-25T16:33:00.000-04:00

The post titles were all Modest Mouse lyrics

2008-07-24T15:20:00.005-04:00

So do you remember 2002? Boy, I sure do. It was a pretty crazy time - I was pretty much drunk all the time, and dramatical too. It was like I was hard coded for web logging. I just wanted people to like me.

I was inspired by Ron and David (geez, who I don't even read anymore) and started with Blogger and a book on basic HTML.

I moved domains a year later, and Jhames was nice enough to trade records (but I mean really rare ones) for a nice, 4AD-ey template to go with the new domain, ittooktime, taken from the Interpol song Obstacle 2. I was sober by then, but not really less dramatical, still dying inside a bit to be the best little boy on the inter-web.

Inspired by Josh, the next domain was taken from the American Music Club album Everclear: sickoffood.com (hot DAMN that was a great template until I broke it). I also moved from Blogger to Wordpress, (ooh, server side scripting? Can I please fuck it up?) I was also slightly less dramatical, trying more to concern myself with music and links instead of how sometimes I thought that my head would just explode in sadness.

Oh, did I mention I stopped taking the pills last month? It's a little weird with nothing to push the serotonin buttons with. I quit smoking 3 years ago. But after finishing a 6 month comedown from Prozac all of a sudden I've been obsessed with smoking again.

ANYWAY, that database, which I had imported everything into from the beginning just up and fucking died one day, and I couldn't repair it, it felt too much like work. I still have it offline, but for all other practical purposes, it's gone.

And work - the past year I've been really busy there - it's no secret that's where most of the web-logging was coming from. And at home I just found better things to do. Another nail in the web-log coffin.

Last year I started over here on blogspot with The Dead Part of You, another American Music Club reference. But I secretly knew I was pretty much done. Getting sober meant that soon enough life got good, so I had nothing much to web-log about. TV, music, links - there's only hundreds of people out there doing it better. Additionally, Rob came into my life to give me the best year of my life, and you know how I thought of this web-log as an extensive personal ad? That was no longer necessary.

SO, I'm gonna be here a few more weeks - posting pictures and reviews from Lollapalooza and then ATP, but after that I think I'm really fascinated with tumblr. It's what I've been doing here for months anyway. The problem is, of course, ALL the good tumblr subdomains are taken - even vapourtrail.tumblr.com and I mean, really? Don't fear, I'll decide on one and link it here and share my music, photos and such there.

Yeah, almost six and a half years later the whole "personal web-log" here is pretty much done for now.

So welcome to Minnow Brook

2008-07-22T11:37:00.003-04:00

Did I share the tattoo muxtape with you? Whatever, now there's favtape, which culls from loved Last.fm tracks.

It's not much, but I assure you this web log really is finally dying for a pretty good reason with a long explanation. I'll be in techno-detox this weekend, without cable or internet so I'll write it all up in notepad. Since I won't be doing much else.

SKANK

2008-07-20T17:11:00.002-04:00

I feel the pain of interior decorators now (and then I feel nothing)

Bacon V Tofu

2008-07-20T17:11:00.000-04:00

Bloomington

2008-07-09T16:37:00.001-04:00

Aren't bad hotel bathroom camera phone self portraits internet mandatory?

Bloomington is 800 miles from my honey

2008-07-07T20:28:00.000-04:00

When my plane finally goes down

2008-07-07T14:00:00.001-04:00

I hope it falls into the sea

Poop

2008-07-07T13:11:00.001-04:00

Named after the things they replace

2008-07-02T14:11:00.004-04:00

Did I tell you I went to the Ladytron show this last Monday? It was pretty awful. There's an awesome Last.fm review that serves the dual purpose of detailing why the show was awful, along with why I don't ever post anything to Last.fm forums/flame wars anymore.

We got there early and went in just as Datarock was starting. They were all dressing in their matching tracksuits, and claimed to be from Norway, but I think that might have been an act and they were really from Brooklyn. Most of it was pretty good, kind of cracked out Talking Heads.

The show was sold out and packed everyone in the crowd was really bridge and tunnel. It's been a long time coming that I've wanted to use a sentence like "Listen here you little Mary - don't no one care about you and your interpretive dance" and Monday night almost fulfilled that particular dream. It was just this total - THROWDOWN. At the LADYTRON show. Baby dykes and goths and tweakers and suburban trash and art fags all packed way too tightly together and nobody playing nice with each other and getting thrown out. It was pretty distracting.

But how were Ladytron? OK, I've seen them before and really enjoyed them, but not anymore. It's a personal bias - I don't have the last two albums, and that's where almost all the material was drawn from, except for four songs. So it was just a techno strobe wash of unrecognizable sounds to me.

Would I go see Ladytron again, or even buy one of their records? The answer is No! Ladytron are OVAH.

Datarock

2008-06-30T20:44:00.000-04:00

This song is called NIGHT FLIGHT TO YOUR ANUS

Datarock

2008-06-30T20:19:00.001-04:00

More housing developments go up

2008-06-27T11:38:00.003-04:00

Can I tell you a secret? I think Achewood broke my brain today with the phrase "pussy shavin' music"

What is NOT pussy shavin' music, thank you very much, is the updated muxtape, themed with all the songs that have inspired my tattoos and two songs about tattoos.

And crowded chain restaurants

2008-06-24T16:02:00.003-04:00

I was busy playing Peggle all afternoon again when I realized there's a few things I don't want to forget:

The big Swervedriver show two weeks ago was mostly bland. Most of the set was B-sides and rarities, which made about 10 people really happy, and left the other 290 kind of scratching their heads for close to an hour. The last five songs were great, although afterwards, I realized they only ever had five great songs, when you really think about it.

The big Mark Kozelek show two weeks ago was really good. He layed off the obscurities for the most part. Unfortunately everything has the tendency to sound the same when he plays these acoustic shows. The encore [Glenn Tipton/Rock n Roll Singer/Convenient Parking/Three Legged Cat all strung together in a five minute medley] was awesome. So was "River".

The big Lollapalooza schedule was announced, and I've planned my days. I'm taking location of stages and likeliness of crankiness into account this year in planning. That explains the presence of things like Duffy, The Ting Tings and Kid Sister in there. That explains the absence of CSS, Lupe Fiasco and Saul Williams. And yes, Rob and I really can't come to a decision on the Nine Inch Nails versus Kanye West Sunday night finale.

Interchange causes a mall

2008-06-19T10:32:00.005-04:00

Did you know I was on vacation last week? A lot has happened since then. I saw Swervedriver, Mark Kozelek and the Lollapalooza schedule was announced, which caused one of those moments that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later:

Really.

And what's replacing them now

2008-06-16T11:09:00.003-04:00

I want to see a show where women get their hair done while listening to salsa music.

Reference.

On what was here

2008-06-06T09:46:00.001-04:00

Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking hipsters on this motherfucking train!

With fear and fascination

2008-06-05T15:23:00.002-04:00

Hispandex: New York City Men at the Beach

I think it's meant to be porny, but really, it's quite artsy.

Remember through towns

2008-06-04T13:28:00.003-04:00

Oh, MARY

No, wait.

I don't have any gay pride plans this year, which isn't any different from any other year, actually. And that's all I have to say about that.

Remember through colors

2008-06-03T14:46:00.004-04:00

So last night was the big anthemic technogaze show at The Middle East in Cambridge. M83 played with The Berg Sans Nipple and Matters and Dunaway.

I was in NO MOOD to go to a show last night, what with it being Monday and all. It was sold out and I told Rob if anyone even offered me face value for the tickets we were NOT GOING. Some Frawnch dude inside the club asked us if we had extra tickets, but by then it was kind of too late, right?

We skipped Matters and Dunaway, who I would actually like to see some day. The Berg Sans Nipple is an assy name for a band, and it was pretty basic sampler and banging on stuff. It wasn't awful, it wasn't amazing, it was pretty good when it was loud.

The show was sold out, and here's an awesome quote from the event's Last.FM shoutbox:

Smelled like a refugee camp down there.

I KNOW, RIGHT? The crowd was quite mixed. It was like 50% crafty hipsters - we saw a girl with a shawl that you know she knitted at a Bright Eyes show, with a pattern bought at a Belle and Sebastian merchandise table. 25% were gay boys and who knew. There was even some bear soup. And the other 25% were frat boys and eurotrash, and they were the ones up front. I think Rob and I were the only people over 21.

I wanted to get up close and we lasted there for about 15 minutes. It was really hot and there was some asshat screaming and people jabbering in all kinds of languages and backpacks and knitting bags, UGH. They came on promptly at 11 though and Run Into Flowers was just beautiful. Then Graveyard Girl. It sounded perfect, but there wasn't a lot to look at on stage. Anthony and another frenchie just kind of posing like the European models they are. A drummer behind a sneezeguard. And Morgan Kibby, who's actually from LA and look s pretty LA. I took a portable telephone picture but can't get it off. So here's Anthony, posing.

We went out back for air (there was none) and water (which was room temperature). Like the Middle East was being all cheap by not putting ice in the free water, and not air conditioning the place. We stayed for the whole main set, which alternated between fist pumping anthems and ambient pieces composed of 2 repetitive chords for 5 minutes. Needless to say, the show's pacing was fucked up and not coherent at all. Do I dance? Chat? Wait, is it time to rock again? It was quite good when it was loud. We did not stay for the encore because we had seen enough and it's not like they were going to do anything different. Would I go see M83 again? THE ANSWER IS PROBABLY NOT!!??!!! I will still listen to and buy their records though!!!!! And I will now think twice about shows downstairs at The Middle East, because they are not air conditioned and I am just too old to be sitting in a fire trap like that with children who don't shower.

m83

2008-06-02T23:06:00.000-04:00

Multimedia message

2008-05-31T21:17:00.001-04:00

Remember through smells

2008-05-29T12:05:00.002-04:00

Now, imagine this group of men scarfing down their free pizza in the sex club.

What you need to do is quit asking yourself how I came across this on the internet. Is what you need to do.

Remember through sounds

2008-05-28T11:41:00.004-04:00

OK so you know how I play World of Warcaft and everything? Sometimes even for entire DAYS like on holiday weekends [SHUT UP]?

All dressed up

Even so, I still consider myself a casual player - I've never really amassed a lot of gold. In the game there's an Auction House which is basically eBay for buying armor and weapons and such where I usually spend what little gold I have. I think maybe once I had like 30 gold.

This is a Disgusting Oozeling. Sometime over the weekend I killed some kind of Ooze, and it droppped a bag, and this was in it. Whatever, it just seemed like trash to me. Monday I went to go sell it at the Auction House, starting it at like 20 silver (100 silver = 1 gold).

Within minutes I started getting "whispers" [in-game instant messages] about it, that people were going to kill themselves over this, so I did some research.

The average price that a Disgusting Oozeling sells for is 447 gold. Easily 10 times more money than I've ever had. I pulled mine off and re-listed it at 447 gold / 900 buy it now. It sold for 480.

I'm so fucking rich in game now - like winning the lottery. And for what? A non-combat pet that actually reduces your defenses when you summon it? It's kind of like a rare Pokemon I suppose. There's like 11 creatures that can drop it. And they will only drop the bag 1% of the time. And the Disgusting Oozeling will only actually be IN the bag 1% of the time. Here are some comments from Thottbot:

Okay, this will not drop for me. I go to WPL every day, and so far I have killed 6750 or so, have a counter. I have gotten 6 epics, (all of them hurricane), over 750g in greens, and over 700g, using AH, from random blues. I will pay 10g for a bag, and 500g plus all my epics that dropped for the pet.

hehe my ex gf loved pets and I love her so...after 3265 kills I got one for her :) goodluck mates it's a bitch to get but well worth it

as of tonight i'm at 1225 tainted ooze kills...
127 greys, 15 greens, 1 blue, and 2 epics have dropped...

and still no disgusting oozeling.

I wasn't even trying, and I almost threw it away. Last night one of my guild members was looking for some Icecap, and I had a stack hanging around so I sent him some. He wanted to tip me for it and I just kind of laughed the way that lottery winners might laugh at 20 dollar bills.

ANYWAY, I finally started a second character this weekend also, so if you've ever wanted to start playing WoW and want to level up with someone you know then go ahead and friend "Slowdive" [I know, right?], an Orc Warrior on the Eredar server.

I don' think that she's...

2008-05-23T14:13:00.003-04:00

Things We Lost in the Fire

Poor muxtape. Apparently it crashed and we lost everything and need to start over. So mine's been updated with the theme of fire.

TV stained my memories, yeah

2008-05-21T16:03:00.003-04:00

If you didn't already love my boyfriend Rob, here's the latest reason to. He made this for me last night.

If you've never seen Workout, you're kind of missing out. I think it's the only television program that has caused me to not just think, but say out loud "I want to punch her in the cunt".

ALSO, I may have accidentally started a rumor in Hollywood that Power Dyke Jackie Warner is part of the Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew Season 2 cast. Which would be kind of awesome.

Then I'll tell you

2008-05-21T11:13:00.003-04:00

I was so busy watching The Boy in the Plastic Bubble yesterday that I forgot to write all about the big post-rock show last Saturday night, where AM/PM and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band played downstairs at the Middle East. It was a pretty good show! I did not take pictures because it was dark and we wound up standing at the back.

We got there about 10 and the room was filled with teenagers sitting on the floor. For real! I had expected lots of fancy beards, but most of the people there could not grow a beard yet. AM/PM started and people stood up and crushed forward like it was NKOTB. Rob and I lasted about 3 songs before heading back to roomier pastures, since all that was going on was some guy sitting down and looping his guitar in the dark.

Anyway, the Stacie and Bill posse were out back anyway, and there was some chattering while AM/PM played, and once other members were brought onstage it actually started picking up and getting really good. I was going to buy an EP but the merchandise table was looking kind of creepy and lonely.

And how strange was it that this show didn't sell out? Not even close!

A Silver Mt. Zion came on and basically, they were a lot better than I had expected. I had heard that they were just playing the new record and 2 new songs and I don't think that was true. The main guy who sings that sounds dreadful on the record? It's not that bad live! It was loud - I was worried that the quiet parts wouldn't work in a club atmosphere, but even the quiet parts were freaking loud. Am I excited to see them again at ATP:NY? THE ANSWER IS YES!!!

OK, but the absolute best part of the show? Off to our left there was this guy robo tripping interpretive dance with his backpack on, screaming and stomping around for the whole show. I could not stop staring as he pissed off everyone around him. I kept breaking any eye contact because kids on drugs are like animals and you don't want to do any kind of aggressive behavior around them. I pointed him out to Stacie, noting that for once, the most annoying person in the club wasn't directly next to her.

Rob and I were tired and since I've been to a show every week since the beginning of April we left before the encore.

When I can work out how it was

2008-05-20T15:51:00.002-04:00

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry)

Around the Interstate 8

2008-05-14T21:35:00.001-04:00

I messed up the muxtape link yesterday.

To pay for gas to drive around

2008-05-14T12:20:00.002-04:00

Someone over at Datalounge is obssessively cutting and pasting reviews of buffets from someplace and it is without a doubt the funniest thing I have read in months. Seriously, I have to go compose myself in the bathroom, there's tears running down my beet red face from laughing.

I stopped for gas, but where could place be

2008-05-13T13:43:00.004-04:00

Two days late, but it's an Alternative Rock Mother's Day Muxtape, inspired by Earfarm and Stacie, who constantly posts keyword iTunes playlists.

So Friday night was the big Swedish Pop show over at the Middle East. There were 192 people there because it was SOLD OUT, and most of them were politely there on time for Anna Ternheim, who was OK. I think a lot of people were there for her because the room started getting thinner as the night went on.

I only knew one or two Lykke Li songs, and thought they were good, but she was quite a different creature live. I was expecting a sad Swedish songstress, and while her songs are sad, her attitude is more like "So fuck it, let's dance". She and her band turned the room into an indie hipster hoe-down rave-up, and it was pretty impressive.

El Perro del Mar started out onstage alone with an acoustic guitar, opening with "Party" and "Dog" before bringing her band on for some of the newer material. While not nearly as slow, quiet and ambient as last year's set at the MFA, she still holds the Twin Peaks Roadhouse stage presence that keeps everything dreamy.

I forgot to bring my camera. The show went very late but it was very good. I would totally go see El Perro del Mar or Lykke Li again, but Anna Ternheim not so much.

Also, there were at least two people there in the packed club who had full on LUGGAGE with them, and it's like what the fuck?

El Perro del Mar

2008-05-09T23:39:00.001-04:00

Come on over baby there's a party goin on

Lykke Li

2008-05-09T23:19:00.001-04:00

Don't you let me go tonight

We're on a pass, we're on pass

2008-05-09T11:41:00.003-04:00

You know what I forgot to do? Write up what I think of all the records I've been buying over the past few months. At least I keep up with the shows.

Stereogum Presents Enjoyed: A Tribute to Bjork's Post. As much as I love their OK Computer tribute [I skipped the Automatic for the People tribute], this does nothing for me. Most of it's entirely too no wave for my current frame of mind. The only stand out tracks are Liars' "Army of Me" for being so bland and expected, and Xiu Xiu's "Isobel", for being the best track even though it's still pretty mediocre.

I was passed this a few months ago, and it was in pretty heavy rotation then. Better than "Plans", more of a "Transatlanticism" vibe. They're playing in Boston tomorrow, but I'm not going.

Tom Waits on crack. Brilliant. I didn't think their energy would translate onto record, but it did.

Eh, certainly not bad, but not really compelling either. A nice document, I enjoyed it more after seeing his live show.

Not nearly as weak as initial reviews made it seem. Not really compelling either. Do you like music from the 1980's? The standout track is definitely "Graveyard Girl" but not in a good way - the spoken-word breakdown is absolutely cringe worthy.

I'm off to see El Perro del Mar tonight actually. The new record is just as good as her first record, so tonight's sad Swedish girl-group extravaganza should not disappoint.

I love the first two Elbow records, but haven't had the time to consciously sit and listen to their fourth in it's entirety yet. What I've heard is great - I never really bonded with their previous record "Leaders of the Free World", and I'm kind of afraid that's going to happen again. What they need to do is play a goddamned gig in Boston and beat the songs into my head live.

Nine Inch Nails - The Slip is free, and kind of worth it? I love that he rationalizes "This one's on me", which is EXACTLY how I rationalized taking In Rainbows for free - like a frequent buyer punch card. But is it good? The hyper-aggro-industrial-"March of the Pigs" first half does nothing for me, the lush-dreamy-ambient-balladry-pop-trance-"A Warm Place" second half is absolute godhead. The halves are starting to fit together - would the second half be as amazing without the assault of the first half? I think not.

I've Hype Machined the bottom half of the Lollapalooza poster, and not much at all has jumped out at me. I keep liking the Tally Hall songs, I will definitely checkout Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves [holy crap - they're local? And on tomorrow's DCFC bill? Allston rock city represent!] as long as there's no major conflicts, and I just heard Foals today and might have to search them out. Mostly, there's going to be a lot of bottom tier acts to avoid.

I drove around for months and years and never went no place

2008-05-08T10:23:00.001-04:00

For real? The only thing I can't ride is a Demon Drop. Something about the whole free-fall thing upsets me.

marriedtothesea.com

I drove around for hours, I drove around for days

2008-05-06T16:34:00.003-04:00

Round two tickets were released, and Stacie gave me the heads up.

See you there bitches. SEE YOU THERE. Including, but not limited to:

My Bloody Valentine
Low
Mogwai
Shellac
Thee Silver Mount Zion Orchestra
Tortoise, performing Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Mercury Rev
Yo La Tengo

How have you?

2008-05-01T13:41:00.005-04:00

Oh! So Monday night at TT the Bear's was the big shoegaze show hosted by Bradley's Almanac. Film School played with The Douglas Fir.

So the story of Monday was that it was cold and rainy all day, and Rob was sick, and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make the effort to go alone, even though I already had tickets. Rob felt better by showtime so we went, catching The Broken River Prophets in the middle of their set.

Brad was giving away all sorts of stuff. I just about completed my Cocteau Twins collection by replacing my copy Blue Bell Knoll.

The Douglas Fir started out great, real Idaho-y, and the singer was wearing his influences on his chest with the same Sun Kil Moon shirt I have. They were pretty good and I would watch them open again.

Film School came on pretty promptly [10:50, thank god]. It was all kinds of loud and swirly.

I'm actually a big fan of Film School because of Brad's live recording of their last Boston appearance - hearing a song here and there did nothing for me, grouped together it made sense. A little more aggressive live than I had expected. The projections were a little less pretentious than I had expected.

The set was short - about 40 minutes with a one song encore. But it's not like they have tons of material to draw from - yet. I took a video which I had never done before. It didn't come out perfect but you get the idea.

Film School were very good and I would go see them again. A++, P@WER SELLERS!!!#$!!

How have you been?

2008-04-30T14:19:00.002-04:00

Did you know Bai Ling is weblogging, and it's awesome?

In other news, Jeff passed me an internet chain letter, and I keep waiting for something awful to happen since I'm never going to get around to doing it.

In other news, Rob did go to Film School with me Monday, and maybe I'll unload the pictures later today.

Film School

2008-04-28T22:55:00.001-04:00

I can't believe the things that you say

The ground's colorful patchwork

2008-04-28T12:11:00.001-04:00

Medium-to-last call: Anyone want my extra ticket to Film School tonight at TT the Bear's? Drop a comment.

Wind-up anger with the endless view of

2008-04-25T10:18:00.002-04:00

Black hair and the devil's pitchfork

2008-04-24T16:00:00.004-04:00

Before I forget, be sure to spend your weekend indoors watching Coachella. May I suggest skipping Friday and tuning in at 6:50PM EST for Man Man? Other Saturday highlights are

VHS or Beta [8:35 PM]
Hot Chip [10:25 PM]
Animal Collective [11:25 PM]
Portishead [Sunday, 12:15 AM]

Sunday night's webcast includes

Stars [10:15 PM]
Spiritualized [11:10 PM]
Love and Rockets [Monday, 2:05 AM]

You're an angel with an ember halo

2008-04-24T15:05:00.004-04:00

So last Tuesday Stacie, Rob and I went to the big Sadcore show over at Harper's Ferry in Allston. American Music Club played and some other bands opened.

The night started out strange when almost immediately after we sat down at Le's, Mark Eitzel walked in and sat down at the table-in-progress next to ours, which had Vudi and a bunch of girls. I had the Mi Xao while trying to avoid eye contact.

Everyone seemed to hate Barn Burning, like nails on chalkboard hate them, while I was able to just ignore their Counting Crowsism. Ad Frank & The Fast Easy Women were cute for like half the set - mostly it was like watching Hedwig and the Angry Inch, only without a tranny. It just seemed to go a little long for me.

So American Music Club. Hmm. Well, I've seen Mark Eitzel a bunch of times now, and his shows always have an ACOA vibe to them, and tonight was no exception. Before they started in he proclaimed his love for Boston, but admitted he always gets too drunk here, scowled and started looking like he would fall over. Would he yell at us? Smile? Is this happy Mark or angry Mark? How about poorly-lit Mark?

Much like his solo 2007 show, this turned out to be a quick by-the-numbers "I get paid anyway" run through. The first 40 minutes was spent on new material, then a few back catalog numbers and they barely played an hour. Two song encore.

What was good about the show? "Hello Amsterdam" and "Wish the World Away" - Mark had banned songs from AMC's final record "San Francisco" up until now. And they were amazing. I realized I actually have never seen Mark in a simple proper rock band set up before, and once I adjusted to the vocals being unusually low in the mix I thought it was great. The merch table was fierce. I had to stop myself. I picked up the "Atwater Afternoon" tour rehearsal disc and the long OOP "Come On Beautiful" tribute record. Apparently someone found a box of them in his basement and gave them to Mark. I stopped short of a shirt because I do not poop money these days, but they were WAY classier than the last batch of shirts, and I might have to order one.

The crowd was super small [I mean, like there couldn't have been more than 50 people, and really only 30 actively watching] and fucked up, and I don't mean drunk. Just a lot of creepy, creepy people - but I suppose I sort of fall into that category a bit myself. My favorite part was how some of them kept turning around, glaring at and SHUSHING the people talking at the bar. AMC could have cared less, they were still getting paid.

No, wait. The saddest part easily was when Vudi asked the bartender for a Guinness, and pleaded "I have money", and pulled a crumpled fiver out of his pocket. Then bartender actually took the money before bringing him the beer. Not one of us in the crowd was classy enough to buy it for him. Not a single one.

And the Upcoming Shows Muxtape has been updated.

American Music Club

2008-04-22T23:55:00.001-04:00

We all did drugs in the toilet.

You know that ball has no sides

2008-04-22T12:26:00.002-04:00

IF I WERE GOING.

The US festival season kicks off this weekend [SXSW is more of an event than a festival in my eyes] with Coachella, and they finally announced set times so I made up my own weekend. Who knew I would spend like half a day in the Sahara tent?

Coachella was such an adventure in 2006, it'll never be repeated, but I still get insanely tempted every year. I'm considering 2009 already.

But back to the lineup, if I were going. What sucks on Friday? The near crossover between Aphex Twin and The Verve. Previous festival experiences have proved there's no way I would be able to catch both full sets - I'd choose Aphex Twin in the hopes of a tour from The Verve. Plus, I saw The Verve a long time ago in a small club.

Saturday's mess would be Animal Collective vs Akron/Family vs Kraftwerk -> Portishead. I'd choose the bands I haven't seen, Kraftwerk and Portishead.

Sunday's actually not bad at all, but really, do we need two and a half hours of Roger Waters, with not much else to choose from? Really? I can't imagine the crush on the Sahara tent on Sunday night.

ANYWAY, I'm off to Lollapalooza in August, we're told to expect a schedule in June but tonight? It is a SADGASM with American Music Club!

You go out like a riptide

2008-04-16T16:10:00.003-04:00

So last night was the big indie pop show at the Somerville Theater. I took Tim to see Laura Gibson and Colin Meloy for his birthday.

Laura Gibson was all kinds of delicate. It was good - above average, but SO quiet. I tried to imagine any kind of live setting where her performance would work well and couldn't. Lots of quiet strumming, vocals just barely above a whisper and plenty of false endings and silent moments. It was real easy to both distract and get distracted.

Colin Meloy came on at 8:35 and was he dreamy? Stage presence to die for. I bet he tastes like candy. While the Decemberists LOVE to play dress up, last night Colin was quite Saturday afternoon.

The show itself was great. I liked hearing songs like "The Perfect Crime No. 2" stripped down. I liked hearing songs I'd never thought I'd hear live like "Of Angels and Angles". I liked the new song, I liked the banter, I liked the Sam Cooke cover.

What I didn't like, and this isn't really Colin's fault, were his fans. It reminds me that "fan" is short for "fanatic" and some of those kids ain't right. The best example was when he closed with "The Mariner's Revenge Song", which went on FOREVER and required more audience participation than The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which all the sweatered and bespectacled kids around me were happy to do.

I'm glad I went to the show - if Tim hadn't been such a fan I might not have even bothered. I don't know if I'll go anymore [two Decemberists and now one Colin solo show under my belt] as the weeping teenage girls kind of make my skin crawl. WHO AM I KIDDING I AM TOTALLY A WEEPING TEENAGE GIRL.

SANJAYA!

Colin Meloy

2008-04-15T20:52:00.001-04:00

Elbows and earlobes

I'm going nowhere, but I'm guaranteed to be late

2008-04-14T15:26:00.004-04:00

So on Friday night I took Rob to a MYSTERY SPOT. Have you ever just put someone in the car and not told them where they are going? It is pretty awesome.

Earlier in the week I had passed by a carnival in Revere, and even though it was raining and cold, I still decided to drag my boyfriend there, whether he wanted to or not. As we approached and the ferris wheel was off in the distance, I told him that at the very least, we could take sad carnival pictures in the rain.

It was pretty desolate, especially for a Friday night. The carnies were hungry and barked at us along the midway. I got completely suckered into throwing darts at balloons, resulting in my winning Rob a tiny stuffed snake.

I was absolutely dying to ride the Zipper, however Rob said we should work up to it and start with the Tilt-a-Hurl.

The Tilt-a-Whirl was 4 ride tickets, and made me SO GODDAMMED SICK I had to sit down with my head between my knees for 5 minutes afterwards. I'm pretty sure that has officially killed my ability to ride amusements for the rest of my life.

[Five minutes later I was green]

Cold soda and Fried Dough helped with the tummy trouble, and we used up our remaining ride tickets on the thrill less, however indoor, Haunted Mansion.

One of the points of this story is that Rob photographs REALLY poorly. He told me this and I laughed it off as some kind of insecurity, but it's true! 9 months of trying and I have YET to take a picture that captures him, it's impossible.

We hung out by the Sea Dragon because it was BLARING this really gay club music, while some queen rode it by himself and the ride operator just kind of tweaked around dancing.

Do you know what the highlight of the carnival was? Lance motherfucking Gifford. Again. This time is wasn't so much gay as it was David Lynch. OK I'm lying - it was totally flaming. At one point one of the birds flew off into the Tilt-a-Whirl, and during another part the Thunder Bolt ride to our right had all sorts of strobes and screaming and sirens bleeding into his act, so it really was like Twin Peaks for a few minutes. Plus, only 4 people were watching.

After 10 minutes he announced out of nowhere that the stage was wet and he couldn't do any more tricks, and he and Jarrod left. I think they were in their trailer with wood paneling, eating Ramen Cup-O-Soups and reading bible passages to each other, but that's just me fantasizing about sad magicians again.

I assure you, it was a beautiful night.

Elevator is shaky

2008-04-14T14:21:00.001-04:00

You might think I wrote this sign, but I didn't. Loves it though.

TESS

2008-04-13T21:26:00.001-04:00

Tess, motherfuckers.

I'm on a road shaped like a figure 8

2008-04-11T14:13:00.005-04:00

Last Wednesday Stacie and I went to the big show at the Somerville Theater, Mike Doughty. It was pretty good. I got mad at my GPS Patsy again, for directing me through only the most congested areas to get to Davis square. I got there just when I said I would and we ate pizza and went in, because I heard that him and his band had been warming up onstage in disguise as an opening act, and I was right. It was seriously warming up improv.

Mike introduced The Panderers, which was half of his band plus one, and they were - an average bar band, which doesn't really translate to theater space well.

The main reason I was at this show was because I went to school with Mike and he is certainly nice enough and I've always thought his music was good. It's really not my thing anymore, but it's certainly not painful. The crowd wasn't nearly as 'DUDE' as I had expected, so that helped. Actually, I don't think I would have gone if Stacie hadn't been such a huge fan.

The Golden Delicious material sounds just as strong live. The Haughty Melodic material sounds just as 'meh' live. We were threatened with a Soul Coughing MEDLEY at one point, but Stacie and I both agree that two songs does not a medley make. Just hearing half of Sleepless though was enough to make my night.

I still wasn't sure if I would have preferred a theater or a club though. Normally a fan of the assigned seats, it really felt like the crowd wanted to move around, but no one wanted to make the first move. He DJ'd his aftershow at some bar in the Financial District, but we were too old and tired to go. We did hang out for a few minutes by the stage door but eventually felt weird and left. Would I go see Mike Doughty again? THE ANSWER IS PROBABLY!

Mike Doughty

2008-04-09T23:20:00.001-04:00

James Van Der Beek and...

I spent the same 18 hours in the same damn place

2008-04-08T14:27:00.003-04:00

So last Saturday was the big Post Rock show down in Providence RI. Explosions in the Sky played with Lichens, who I learned is actually one of the guys from TV on the Radio.

We go to Lupo's around 6:30, and you know what? It's not the old Lupo's, it's actually The Strand, renamed! Not only did I come this close to getting thrown out of a Cranberries show there [SHUT UP], but I also damn near got my friend Isaac beat up there at a Sugar show. The 1990s. Good times.

ANYWAY, Lichens [Rob Lowe, the bass player from TVOTR] came on about 7:10 and immediately went into his best Michael Brook impersonation by playing a 20 minute infinite guitar piece. It was pretty good.

EitS came on a little after 8 and they were good. I don't know, maybe I'm burning out on the whole instrumental post-rock. I spent a good portion of the show wondering when Mogwai was going to tour again.

I took pictures even though I was a bit of a ways back, and there wasn't much light. Mostly it was to get back into the swing of taking photos at shows again.

Personally, the only thing I found awful was their lack of encore. OKOKOK, I understand not wanting to encore, that's not the point of the story. But to come out and just get really asshatty pretentious about it ["we put all our love into that set"] had me laughing. And it's not like they even played an unusually long set or anything - they just about broke an hour.

And while it didn't bother me, I know there's lots of hate going on about the crowd, the "new" fans due to Friday Night Lights and WHATEVER. At least they were all polite and clean. It just felt so suburban.

ANYWAY, I also updated the muxtape to keep with the shows I'm going to theme, not the shows I went to.

Spent 18 hours waiting stoned for space

2008-04-06T21:15:00.002-04:00

Taking a break from a Sunday night World of Warcraft session, it looks like the Lollapalooza full lineup finally leaked.

I don't know if my ear is just closer to the ground this year or what, but I actually am familiar with most of the third tier bands this year. Here's who I've already seen, and would again:

Radiohead
Nine Inch Nails
Wilco
Love and Rockets
Bloc Party
Lupe Fiasco
Explosions in the Sky
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
CSS
The Go! Team
Grizzly Bear
The Octopus Project

Of course, festivals are about trying new things. There's a whole bunch of bands I'd like to see for the first time:

Kanye West
Gnarls Barkley
Cat Power
The National
Gogol Bordello
Okkervil River
Girl Talk
Bang Camaro
Spank Rock
The Gutter Twins

And finally, well ugh:

Rage Against the Machine

Explosions in the Sky

2008-04-05T20:12:00.001-04:00

You aint got nothing till ya know her

2008-04-04T14:02:00.003-04:00

Ugh, fine. Here's the Muxtape.

Things I'm listening to:

I picked up this reissue a few weeks ago, based on the post-rock, opening-for-the cure noise. It's not bad - a little digital hardcore sounding in parts.

Holy shit, I get it I get it I get it now. The story of Grizzly Bear is I picked up Yellow House and was kind of meh, and saw them live and was blown away, and now I have their debut album from 2005 and it's easily one of the best things I've heard all year. The delicacy of Iron and Wine, only smashed to pieces. Plus, the remix disc is hot too. Today Grizzly Bear was leaked as a Lollapalooza artist and I certainly hope to catch them there.

Also A++ in the first lineup release? Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Wilco, Bloc Party, Stephen Malkmus, and The Go! Team. B++ artists then include Kanye West, Gnarls Barkley, Cat Power and Girl Talk. And then a bunch of stuff I have very little interest in.

Portishead are headlining Saturday at Coachella - someone was nice enough to pass along a leak of Third to me a month ago and it's fucking brilliant. THE END. No, really - it's just as good as the first one - slighty noisier, industrial sounding even, and that's some kind of progress. Was it worth waiting like 10 years for - actually yes.

Not so much this time. Too much singing, not enough noising. It has some moments, but on a few listens, I actually kind of dislike it [gasp!].

There's the air of the height of the highrollers

2008-04-01T00:15:00.001-04:00

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR.

[from 2007, but still awesome.]

Think it over

2008-03-28T14:28:00.001-04:00

Cling peaches? Oh MARY!

From stand up comics and a rock musicians

2008-03-27T16:10:00.003-04:00

SO - Muxtape or SpotDJ?

Muxtape's pretty web 2.0 looking, but crashed HARD yesterday, so I checked out SpotDJ, which is all kinds of bells and whistles. ANYWAY, I put together a mixtape of a whole bunch of bands I'll be seeing over the next few months. If you have an hour, please to enjoy and don't forget to share your mixes with me.

Our communications come from one lined joke

2008-03-27T10:21:00.002-04:00

When Fred Schneider paves the way toward the chorus with the lyric "Faster, pussycat/ Thrill, thrill!/ I'm at the mall/ On a diet pill!", I can't tell if he's being sarcastic or honestly reveling in his superficial surroundings, and that alone is evidence that the band hasn't lost much of what made it so great in the first place.

I don't have the record, have no plans on buying it, but the above quote just made my fucking week.

New glasses

2008-03-24T15:13:00.001-04:00

We're all so funny but he's lost his joke now

2008-03-21T13:19:00.003-04:00

Out like a lamb. OUT LIKE A LAMB.

A few weeks ago I won the new Say Hi [formerly ...to Your Mom] off of Clicky Clicky [thanks, it showed up in less than 24 hours!] and it is pretty good! Above average electro pop sounds right. I do not think I would go see them live as a headliner, however maybe they will open a gig I'm going to anyway, or show up at a festival I'm attending. I would totally check them out then.

You can pick up all sorts of shit over at the Calo Verde website right now. I got the pre-release digital download of "April" a few days ago. At first it's slightly disappointing, and I'm not really sure why. However it starts getting good about a third of the way into it. I think the only way to describe it is that the recipe is the same, it just tastes better. More mellow that "Ghosts of the Great Highway", way better than Mark Kozelek's solo records - I don't know, there's certainly no "instant" connection to this one, but I'll give it time. I've already got my tickets for his MFA show.

Also from Calo Verde is a pre-release digital download from Alan Sparhawk's [of Low] "rock" outfit. I've only listened to it once, and there's totally an instant connection there. Reminded me immediately of Codeine or Karate. I was kind of 'meh' when I saw they'd be playing live in a few months, but now that I've heard the record I think I have to go.

AND THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS! I watched some TV but didn't get too excited about it. I read gossip message boards. I played World of Warcraft, specifically going backwards and working on my rogue's lockpicking skills, which I forgot about. It's looking like a busy weekend IRL, actually.

Back logged voices on the 7 wonders

2008-03-17T16:46:00.003-04:00

Yo, I totally just printed and filled out a Fug Madness bracket [.pdf file] from Go Fug Yourself. Lindsay Lohan FTW!

Then you'll all have a back to bite

2008-03-14T15:13:00.004-04:00

Wednesday night was the big Bob Mould show. It was fine. I was kind of in a crappy mood, and was all hot and sweaty inside the club, so the show was actually probably really good, I was just too pissed off to enjoy it. I didn't even take pictures. I got to see my old friend Paul who I used to see all the time but now only like every other year.

Bob only played three songs from District Line, and since one of them [Again and Again] was an immensely improved live rendition, I didn't mind. Everyone got real pushy pushy shovy shovy at the end for the Husker Du songs and it reminded me of my friend Isaac and the Sugar show in Providence where I thought I was going to die, so I guess it was a little sad too. ANYWAY, I'm glad I went and would I go see Bob Mould again? THE ANSWER IS YES!!1!@!

Opening band Halou were unfortunately utterly unremarkable. I had the impression I would like them, but it was pretty bland live.

And that was the week that was. No good records were released and I am getting real impatient about the release of The Love Boat, Season 1 [seriously, I can't find it ANYWHERE in stores...]

Bob Mould

2008-03-12T21:18:00.001-04:00

Take that thing away from me

If you stand in a circle

2008-03-07T14:13:00.004-05:00

Another busy week where only a million things happened. OK, nothing happened. Can you tell this web-log is winding down?

ANYWAY, last Friday Rob suggested we check out Caspian playing at The Middle East Downstairs, and after concerns about weather and etc. I finally just said YES! THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN EXCELLENT IDEA BOYFRIEND SINCE THERE HAVE BEEN NO SHOWS TO ATTEND TO IN FEBRUARY!!1!!

Oh my God. Can I even begin how amazing they were? The crowd was full of awful children, but luckily Caspian were Loud. However, it was a Post-rock Loud, so there were some quiet moments where all you could hear was your average Friday night bar conversations and sounds instead of the music. A little irritating, but what an awesome find. I bought a T-Shirt AND a CD [I know!]. A++, Power Rockers!

Monday, Nine Inch Nails released a new record [What WHAT?] internet only like Radiohead. Once the server load calmed down, I was able to get Ghosts I-IV sometime on Tuesday. It's 36 instrumental tracks. It's a bit much. It's all very sketchey and demoey. They're all good - there's just no...story? Cohesion? I mean, if you took all of the interludes from The Fragile [and these are SO like The Fragile's interludes] and put them together, does that make it a good record? THE ANSWER I THINK IS NO!!1!!. REQUIRES FURTHER LISTENING.

Go Away White is just god-damned brilliant. Puts Interpol and Editors and Bloc Party RIGHT back in their place. Seriously - I had SUCH low expectations for this. I figured it would be a dramatic Love and Rockets record - but it really just picks up from 4AD's In The Flat Field. It doesn't even sound like they're trying and it's white hot.

Finally, The Gutter Twins. Oh my God. Do you know what this record feels like? It would be like if I smacked Rob around, then left him, then crawled back to him through glass to beg his forgiveness, only to have him kick me to the curb, fetal, bleeding and sobbing. Greg Dulli and his dirty white boy soul combined with Mark Lanegan's Whiskey for the Holy Ghost - HOW COULD THIS NOT SLAY ME??!!?!?!?

IT WAS A BUSY MUSICAL WEEK!

Of what I really feel I needed to say

2008-02-29T14:16:00.004-05:00

Continuing my latest obsession of cataloging and reviewing all of the records that I buy this year, two weeks ago saw new releases from American Music Club and Mike Doughty.

Because I've only named this web-log and bought a domain based on American Music Club songs, I should be all over this. It's certainly not bad. But it's got me thinking about the whole "American Music Club" mark II phase they're in, which sadly, isn't a phase at all. I mean, when Spinal Tap went all jazz odyssey at least it was different. The latest two AMC records have unfortunately drifted in and out of my speakers and I've barely even noticed. For that matter, I barely even noticed that half the band had changed for this record. I mean, if you're going to replace half your band, I think you'd at least want to bring in new sounding blood, and not just replacements for the old blood. Still going to the show though.

Can I tangent strangely here for a moment? Back in the mid nineties, and I'm not going to place this in context, my friend Maura gave one of the most brilliant arguments against killing yourself that I still hold dear to today:

But what if Ride makes another record...and it's good?

It's kind of my exact sentiments about American Music Club.

Remember when I subscribed to eMusic? Yeah, those were good months. One of the things I picked up was an exclusive live recording by Mike Doughty, and on one song he riffs right into American Music Club's Firefly. The new Mike Doughty record? Probably his best yet - certainly his best solo outing. The recipe didn't change but it just tastes better this time.

OK, "Fort Hood", "More Bacon Than The Pan Can Handle" and "Navigating the Stars at Night" are actually downright amazing. Stacie and I already have our front row mezzanine tickets - she has promised to embarrass me and I can only hope she makes a banner to hang off of the balcony.

Sometimes my feelings get in the way

2008-02-26T14:38:00.003-05:00

SO, the big news is I have finally stopped using Patsy to guide me to places that I already know how to get to. For one, it was kind of weirding out passengers, and secondly, Patsy loves driving me through the ghettos of Boston, fancy that.

Anyway, remember how I totally wanted some kind of drag queen voice for it? As it turns out, the voices are pretty easy to record. Once you have the list of commands and file names, it's pretty easy to go at it. Plus, I already know how to use Audacity. So instead of:

# 'RbBack.ogg' => 'Go around the roundabout'
# 'LnRight.ogg' => 'Stay in the right lane'
# 'AhLeftTurn.ogg' => 'Left turn ahead'

I can record

# 'RbBack.ogg' => 'Hold on gurrrrl - there's a circle of death comin' up'
# 'LnRight.ogg' => 'I told you to keep right!!'
# 'AhLeftTurn.ogg' => 'OH MARY! Turn your clicker on, we're gonna make a left!'

Sometimes I'm angry that I feel so angry

2008-02-21T14:15:00.003-05:00

So have you heard that Kristin Hersh is only making the best record ever? I'm not talking about the CASH pay what you want scheme for the new material but her 10-4 You project - for fifty bucks she'll record 10 songs of your choosing live to tape with a personalized intro.

You know, at first I thought $50 was pretty outrageous, but once I thought about it, I realized it's actually a fucking steal. My initial list of favorites is now being reworked into a list of favorite rarities that don't get played live often, if at all.

Seriously, I'm dreaming of other artists at a similar career level [are you listening Bob Mould? Mark Eitzel?] that I would pay to record some tracks for me. What Kristin needs to do is spread the word if this works out for her. Is what she needs to do.

Sometimes all I really want to feel is love

2008-02-20T12:18:00.003-05:00

Pornography or music, pornography or music. I can't decide what to write about. Oh yes I can.

I picked this up the day it was released - I've listened to it a few times now. I mean really sit down and listened to it. Or had it on in shuffle in the background.

So. Generic. HOWEVER, I assure you I am still very excited about seeing him live next month.

I am not seeing Hot Chip live in April unless the show is moved to a larger venue, since it sold out in days. But the record? I picked up "The Warning" on a whim a few months ago and love it. This one isn't nearly so instantly infectious. The title track is just gorgeous, but I haven't really checked the rest of it out as much as I'd like.

Boston's really feeling the crunch of losing Avalon finally. Most shows are going to the much smaller Paradise, which is great - I just can't put off ticket purchases anymore since things are selling out there quicker and quicker as larger and larger acts are booked there.

Can I tell you a secret? My TomTom arrived Monday and I immediately loaded the imitation Patsy voice onto it and it's OK. It's nice to have a campy new tech toy, basically, but Patsy's pretty insistent on me taking Route 9 to work when I know for a fact that the Mass Pike is way quicker...

You don't even know the topic

2008-02-19T16:01:00.000-05:00

Your OH MARY moment of the week:

You're starting conversations

2008-02-15T14:35:00.003-05:00

I was going to write about the last few records I bought, but instead wanted to explain the reasoning behind my latest impulse purchase, a TomTom. I've obviously wanted one for the tech/map factor, and while it's not necessary in my day to day life, it would be occasionally very useful. When did it become so necessary in my life?

It became necessary when someone published a Joanna Lumley voice hack, that's when. Sweetie, you have arrived at your destination.

Additionally, I want the drag queen hack ["GURL, you done FUCKED UP now. I said LEFT."] and the pearl clutcher hack ["MARY! Turn your clicker on! Turn your clicker on, we're gonna turn right!"].

Sunday Night:
	Kanye West
	Nine Inch Nails

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