johnny knoxville is my hero. he is quite possibly the coolest dude on the face of this planet right now who isnt a musician. does anyone else agree he's just like jack nicholson?
and of course my will for this year. since i'll be flying in a few hours i will once again create a will. half my shit goes to liz, allison gets a good portion because we havent been friends too long so she needs to get to know me as much as she can while i'm dead. i would like deep sea diver, this stage isnt big enough for the both of us, firecrackers dont make friends, and beneath the tide to play a show at my house benefitting anything anti-starbucks. give misters tischler and faiss my regards. and every time you hear a song from the early 90's or look at an orange leaf, think of me, okay?
have a good holiday. mine will suck because i am going on a structured vacation. what kind of fucking sick idea is that.
also thanks to chris p liz emily allison pete and twins for making my week not so dark, backroomish, and filled with pete and pete.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Ch-Ching!
a. i went to repo records today with chris p. liz, emily, and my sister. i got the lady sovereign EP which is everything i couldve hoped for and then some. i fell in love with the girl who rung me up. she complimented me on my X shirt and asked if i was at the show and i said yeah and asked her the same. she said no but she saw them last year. i told her i thought juliana hatfield was great too and she was like yeah i really like the new album. i told her i hadnt listened to any of her post become what you are stuff until that night, and then that lead us to the joy that is the early 90's. we covered juliana, blake babies, the lemonheads, and became incredibly engaged in talking about mark mulchay/miracle legion/polaris. shed never heard polairs but she loved miracle legion and said we were both way too young to because all their fans were like 40 +. i love her she was so cute and her hair was great. repo girl+ me.
b. i need to change my top ten once again
c. i hope everyone read the above.
d. im furious pitchfork (and soon to be everyone else) chose SOOFIYAN STEEVENZ as their number one. predictable? yes. boring record? yes. overhype? yes. travesty? yes. robbing M.I.A. of the number one? nearly unforgivable. until i flipped over to the worst albums page and read this:
Black Eyed Peas: "My Humps"
The verdict is in, and the human race approves: "My Humps" is a worldwide hit! And it's all due to the power of democracy: It wasn't even planned as a single, but thanks to word-of-mouth, iTunes downloads, and inundations with requests at radio and MTV, the label finally caved and made it one. So, for the infinitesimal subfraction of you that have somehow managed to evade this omnipresent cultural crapsack, let me spoil the hook for you: "My hump! My hump! My hump!/ My hump! My hump! My hump!/ My hump! My hump! My hump!/ MY LOVELY LADY LUMPS!" For the rest of us, hearing this song for the first time was 2005's most sobering musical experience. Like "Who Let the Dogs Out" before it, "My Humps" is so monumentally vacuous, slapped together and tossed-off that it truly tests the definition of "song." It's actually more like listening to a five-minute commercial jingle-- a point driven home by the miles upon miles of product placement that attempt to pass for its verses. The good news, of course, is that something responsible for this much misery could never go unpunished, and at the last minute, God got his revenge: What other pop singer in music history has ever unwittingly pissed her pants onstage?
plz read that. i hate the black eyed peas. they have no cred. and just one pitchfork kills you they always come through with snob genius.
b. i need to change my top ten once again
c. i hope everyone read the above.
d. im furious pitchfork (and soon to be everyone else) chose SOOFIYAN STEEVENZ as their number one. predictable? yes. boring record? yes. overhype? yes. travesty? yes. robbing M.I.A. of the number one? nearly unforgivable. until i flipped over to the worst albums page and read this:
Black Eyed Peas: "My Humps"
The verdict is in, and the human race approves: "My Humps" is a worldwide hit! And it's all due to the power of democracy: It wasn't even planned as a single, but thanks to word-of-mouth, iTunes downloads, and inundations with requests at radio and MTV, the label finally caved and made it one. So, for the infinitesimal subfraction of you that have somehow managed to evade this omnipresent cultural crapsack, let me spoil the hook for you: "My hump! My hump! My hump!/ My hump! My hump! My hump!/ My hump! My hump! My hump!/ MY LOVELY LADY LUMPS!" For the rest of us, hearing this song for the first time was 2005's most sobering musical experience. Like "Who Let the Dogs Out" before it, "My Humps" is so monumentally vacuous, slapped together and tossed-off that it truly tests the definition of "song." It's actually more like listening to a five-minute commercial jingle-- a point driven home by the miles upon miles of product placement that attempt to pass for its verses. The good news, of course, is that something responsible for this much misery could never go unpunished, and at the last minute, God got his revenge: What other pop singer in music history has ever unwittingly pissed her pants onstage?
plz read that. i hate the black eyed peas. they have no cred. and just one pitchfork kills you they always come through with snob genius.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Winter
i hate this fucking season more than my life itself.
mission-avoid the sun and fuse at all costs. clean. kill self.
mission-avoid the sun and fuse at all costs. clean. kill self.
i think i may need to augment the top ten to a top fifteen. so here it is, the best of the best
15. Matisyahu-Live At Stubbs
14. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-s/t
13. Every Time I Die-Gutter Phenomenon
12. The Mountain Goats-The Sunset Tree
11. Art Brut-Bang Bang Rock And Roll
10. Kings Of Leon-Aha Shake Heartbreak
09. Sleater-Kinney-The Woods
08. Bright Eyes-I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
07. Against Me!-Searching For A Former Clarity
06. Franz Ferdinand-You Could Have It So Much better
05. Architecture In Helsinki-In Case We Die
04. The Spinto Band-Nice And Nicely Done
03. The White Stripes-Get Behind Me Satan
02. The Decemberists-Picaresque
01. M.I.A.-Arular
15. Matisyahu-Live At Stubbs
14. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-s/t
13. Every Time I Die-Gutter Phenomenon
12. The Mountain Goats-The Sunset Tree
11. Art Brut-Bang Bang Rock And Roll
10. Kings Of Leon-Aha Shake Heartbreak
09. Sleater-Kinney-The Woods
08. Bright Eyes-I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
07. Against Me!-Searching For A Former Clarity
06. Franz Ferdinand-You Could Have It So Much better
05. Architecture In Helsinki-In Case We Die
04. The Spinto Band-Nice And Nicely Done
03. The White Stripes-Get Behind Me Satan
02. The Decemberists-Picaresque
01. M.I.A.-Arular
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Conformity blahblah Conformity
i hate how theres this big group of friends. and they always hang out. and save for one or two people they never hang out with anyone else. i think it's stupid, dull, and a breeding ground for conformity. and i think they're fake about it. i dont know that just doesnt seem appealing to me. they hang out the same places, the same people, do the same things. whateverrrr.
i hate christmas shopping.
but yesterday, i bought myself PETE AND PETE SEASON TWO DVD. probably one of the best purchases ive made since get behind me satan.
i hate christmas, but today i thought of the sad look on the face of a cute lady in her mid-20's who was really sincere about the whole thing if i told her that. just an imaginary scenario. it kind of made me sad, sorry im bitter.
i hate christmas shopping.
but yesterday, i bought myself PETE AND PETE SEASON TWO DVD. probably one of the best purchases ive made since get behind me satan.
i hate christmas, but today i thought of the sad look on the face of a cute lady in her mid-20's who was really sincere about the whole thing if i told her that. just an imaginary scenario. it kind of made me sad, sorry im bitter.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
White
i feel like doing lots of painkillers, but not xanax, and bathing myself in refrigerator light, wearing lots of plain white tshirts, drinking only water, growing a beard, starving myself, and just listening to lots of shoegazer and appleseed cast. for a long long time.
i want my house to be eternally dark.
maybe ill move to the arctic circle.
i never ever want to drink coffee or tea as an adult. i hate kids that drink it, and regardless of what they say, know, or realize, its just about sophistication. fuck sophistication. give me wesley willis! give me tim kinsella! give me the white stripes! give me juicy juice, valium, pete and pete, and my red couch please. please. please me.
i want my house to be eternally dark.
maybe ill move to the arctic circle.
i never ever want to drink coffee or tea as an adult. i hate kids that drink it, and regardless of what they say, know, or realize, its just about sophistication. fuck sophistication. give me wesley willis! give me tim kinsella! give me the white stripes! give me juicy juice, valium, pete and pete, and my red couch please. please. please me.
Enigma
theres this backflipping sensation in my stomach and i dont want it to go away
theres this enigma in my life but i wonder if it really matters and if theres time
i just finished catcher in the rye. christian told me how holden caulfield was an enigma, the grey hair and all. i want to be the catcher in the rye.
the perks of being a wallflower completely ripped off of the catcher, so stupid. i cannot believe chbosky decided to write it so parrallel. i read the perks and i heard all the comparisons to the catcher, and i never really thought i'd get it when i read the catcher. well i did, and the perks sucks now. totally uninspired, lackluster, cliche. "i feel infinite"? come on now. the smiths dont make me feel infinite, they make me feel moody. not that i dont like moody. i like moody alot more than i like "infinite". i doubt ill experience "infinite" unless there is a change in the stars and said enigma comes down to earth and steps into my reach. for the first time in a really long time, i listened to an album with breakdowns. something urged me to throw on r. borlax from HORSE the band. im dissapointed in newfound HORSE fans. they used to play the american legion in my town, and before we know it they'll be signing with solid state and playing taste of chaos. goddammit.
and yes, mr. pierce returns, january third in the alumni office!
tomorrow begins christmas break. i don't want to go on a cruise, whatsoever. i may stay behind in miami. thatd really be the ultimate, im going to try to figure it out.
theres this enigma in my life but i wonder if it really matters and if theres time
i just finished catcher in the rye. christian told me how holden caulfield was an enigma, the grey hair and all. i want to be the catcher in the rye.
the perks of being a wallflower completely ripped off of the catcher, so stupid. i cannot believe chbosky decided to write it so parrallel. i read the perks and i heard all the comparisons to the catcher, and i never really thought i'd get it when i read the catcher. well i did, and the perks sucks now. totally uninspired, lackluster, cliche. "i feel infinite"? come on now. the smiths dont make me feel infinite, they make me feel moody. not that i dont like moody. i like moody alot more than i like "infinite". i doubt ill experience "infinite" unless there is a change in the stars and said enigma comes down to earth and steps into my reach. for the first time in a really long time, i listened to an album with breakdowns. something urged me to throw on r. borlax from HORSE the band. im dissapointed in newfound HORSE fans. they used to play the american legion in my town, and before we know it they'll be signing with solid state and playing taste of chaos. goddammit.
and yes, mr. pierce returns, january third in the alumni office!
tomorrow begins christmas break. i don't want to go on a cruise, whatsoever. i may stay behind in miami. thatd really be the ultimate, im going to try to figure it out.
Hows For An Entry?
i have my top ten list. i think it's final. i'll write tidbits tomorow.
10. Art Brut-Bang Bang Rock And Roll
09. Beck-Guero
08. Every Time I Die-Gutter Phenomenon
07. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-s/t
06. Bright Eyes-I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
05. Architecture In Helsinki-In Case We Die
04. The Spinto Band-Nice And Nicely Done
03. The White Stripes-Get Behind Me Satan
02. The Decemberists-Picaresque
01. M.I.A.-Arular
and of course you have the wilco live album but i dont think that counts because its a compilation technically, and the matisyahu live at stubbs record. ahhhh, yeah tidbits later. thats the ultimate, right now.
10. Art Brut-Bang Bang Rock And Roll
09. Beck-Guero
08. Every Time I Die-Gutter Phenomenon
07. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah-s/t
06. Bright Eyes-I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
05. Architecture In Helsinki-In Case We Die
04. The Spinto Band-Nice And Nicely Done
03. The White Stripes-Get Behind Me Satan
02. The Decemberists-Picaresque
01. M.I.A.-Arular
and of course you have the wilco live album but i dont think that counts because its a compilation technically, and the matisyahu live at stubbs record. ahhhh, yeah tidbits later. thats the ultimate, right now.
Monday, December 12, 2005
As The World Turns
i think within the century, every phrase/word/whatever will mean the opposite of what we have known it because of sarcastic sarcasm. you know those mannn your band sucks! when really people like your band theyre just being funny about it, or people say to their girlfriends i hate you. stuff like that. wow that was some bad grammar. but i mean whatever, sarcasm is going to destroy words and language as we have come to know it, i would advise you to stop.
mates of state?!!?!?! fricking AWESOME!
i think ill have my top ten list ready to go soon.
mates of state?!!?!?! fricking AWESOME!
i think ill have my top ten list ready to go soon.
Friday, December 09, 2005
AYE!
last night, i fufilled a dream i had since the beginning of 8th grade. i met julianna hatfield.
i fell in love with julianna when i put on come on feel the lemonheads by the lemonheads for the first time since i was a wee lil youth, rocking out to nirvana unplugged in the living room with my daddy. so the opening track on come on feel... is a song called the great big no. towards the end she comes in with evan dando on some KILLER harmonies, im serious, best since like, pet sounds. you need to hear this she just sounds so hot and amazing and like green fields right, the kind of girl you eat spaghetti with on a picnic. turns out she used to be in the lemonheads, so i was so obsessed with her and the lemonheads all through 8th grade. i finally got one of her albums as the julianna hatfield trio, become what you are, which also is sick. well so ill just get into it, julianna is hot and has a voice that just makes guys like me melt.
so a few weeks ago i got X tickets and theyre touring with julianna so i was happy. her set was great, she really knows how to rock and look good. she does her own merch, so i got to meeeeeet herrrrrr and i got a tshirt. i told her how much i loved her harmonies on the great big no, and she was like wow i havent heard that one in awhile.
awesome.
X was great too, never before have i seen so many 50 year old punk leftovers like my dad having the time of their lives. and i skanked with them. and some young punx, so it was all fun and games. john doe, their bassist, has not aged a day since X's early days in the late 70's, i swear, and everyone was just so together. and they played your phones off the hook but you're not! so it was awesome. go out and buy some x and julianna hatfield records.
i fell in love with julianna when i put on come on feel the lemonheads by the lemonheads for the first time since i was a wee lil youth, rocking out to nirvana unplugged in the living room with my daddy. so the opening track on come on feel... is a song called the great big no. towards the end she comes in with evan dando on some KILLER harmonies, im serious, best since like, pet sounds. you need to hear this she just sounds so hot and amazing and like green fields right, the kind of girl you eat spaghetti with on a picnic. turns out she used to be in the lemonheads, so i was so obsessed with her and the lemonheads all through 8th grade. i finally got one of her albums as the julianna hatfield trio, become what you are, which also is sick. well so ill just get into it, julianna is hot and has a voice that just makes guys like me melt.
so a few weeks ago i got X tickets and theyre touring with julianna so i was happy. her set was great, she really knows how to rock and look good. she does her own merch, so i got to meeeeeet herrrrrr and i got a tshirt. i told her how much i loved her harmonies on the great big no, and she was like wow i havent heard that one in awhile.
awesome.
X was great too, never before have i seen so many 50 year old punk leftovers like my dad having the time of their lives. and i skanked with them. and some young punx, so it was all fun and games. john doe, their bassist, has not aged a day since X's early days in the late 70's, i swear, and everyone was just so together. and they played your phones off the hook but you're not! so it was awesome. go out and buy some x and julianna hatfield records.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Winter
man, fuck winter. "but oh! snow! holidays! joy! presents! feel good! love! coziness!" you say. NO. snow, snow is miserable. snow is cool when its cloudy and falling. but then the next day the sun comes and it starts to melt in the streets and a few hours later, im half blind and most of the snow has turned black. winter is time for corporate holidays; valentine's day, christmas, new years. firstly i think this holiday season idea is total bullshit. christmas is ONE DAY. there is no need to drag it out for a month and a half prior. its all just hype up to get people to get happy and go out shopping. another thing: people that are so happy during the holidays. if youre going to be happy be happy the whole year! not just christmas time. presents are selfsih (but i enjoy em anyway). how can i possibly feel good/lovey/cozy if its fucking 25 degrees out, the streets are ice, the snow is black, advertising and joy is raping me left and right, and EVERYONE HAS A BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND.
my school, buncha pricks.
sorry im a scrooge.
my school, buncha pricks.
sorry im a scrooge.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Against Me!
so as most of you know i saw against me! saturday. i interviewed their drummer warren oakes, coolest dude in the universe practically, and here is the transcription.
me: im here with warren from against me! i really dig the new album, and im really glad you guys are in delaware, and uh what was the primary influence behind searching for a former clarity? its primarily electric, and its really different musically but the message is still the same. was there any kind of outside listening that went into it?
warren oakes: you know, we listen to music pretty much all over the map, pretty much all different styles, and at this point theres nothing that we really hear like directly and say "let's try to do that, that sounds interesting" you know, so it's really hard to pin down where influences come in. we you know wanna keep ourselves entertained so we dont want to rehash anything we've done before and we certainly dont want to rehash anything anybody else has done before. we like to try to keep it fresh.
me: i like it. some people are a little uneasy but i really enjoyed it though. today, what brought you to the grange, this concrete parking lot next to a church in the middle of delaware?
wo: its not the easiest thing to get a show in delaware. youd be really suprised. weve played 49 out of the 50 states in our run so far and somehow we've managed to never have played delaware, until this beautiful saturday afternoon. the dream becomes reality.
me: what happened with the [canceled] show at dewey [beach, delaware]?
wo: i gues there was just a little shakeup. my understanding is the promoter who originally intended to do the show woke up the other morning a decided to retire from show promotions. he was like "you know, i'm kind of over it". so then we kind of um scrambeled and got in touch with the nice folks here who volunteered to do the show. so everything worked out in the end.
me: they are good people. so how is life on tour? ever get sick of each other, you know showers...
wo: yeah, yeah, theres eight of us and we live in that van over there.
me: eight people.
wo: eight people in that van.
me: seats?
wo: there are not eight seats, thats the thing, so its uh crowded,. we're pretty much sitting in each others laps all the time but we really like each other, and it makes it not only possible to do this, but also a treat.
me: thats really good. you guys opened up for green day at giant's stadium in august was it?
wo: uh, september first actually.
me: september september. i thought that was insane, you guys playing a 15,000 person stadium opening for green day. how did it feel?
wo: well the funny thing is, that was actually the start of this tour. we havent been home since then. yeah its kind of wild. it was cool, you know, it was definetly an experience that im happy to have had. you know the reality of it is it wasnt the best or worst show we've ever had. it fell sort of somewhere in the middle. and i mean its a good view from the drum throne onstage as youre looking out towards that many smiling faces.
me: i saw pictures on the site, it looked crazy.
wo: yeah it was pretty epic!
me: favorite color and favorite ice cream?
wo: my favorite color is red and my favorite ice cream is pistachio.
me: ive never actually had pistachio ice cream!
wo: ah, treat yourself!
me: i always think its crazy how its green? i never really got that.
wo: dude, get into it, its delicious.
me: will do. how much longer on this tour? and after tour what are you planning to do?
wo: we're in the home stretch right now. although we will have played all 50 states in our career or whatever, in our existence as a band, as far as this tour goes, we still ahve massachusates and new jersey to check off our list. after those two shows we go up to canada, the 51st state, and do a couple shows in eastern canada. then we wander around kinda aimlessly until december 16th or 17th is when we finally pull into home.
me: gainsville florida.
wo: yeah gainsville awaits us with open arms, and then we spend take some holiday downtime with friends and family in beautiful florida.
me: is gainsville overtly politcal? is there any fuel for your fire persay?
wo: you know gainsville has a pretty rich history of being a protest town in the 60's and 70's and it's always been left leaning. theres a radical library, like community library media center, that does events and they have zines and books and stuff on file for you to check out. its been there i dont know, at least a decade. theres alot of good things going on there. it definetly has a strong current of that. there are some good organic farms outside of town, the best blueberries you'll have in all your life.
me: favorite place to play?
wo: favorite place to play... you know its not our favorite place to play but theres this club in norfolk, virginia, that used to be a gym like a fitness center and they turned it into a venue, but they still left some of the bells and whistles of the gym so the backstage area has a sauna, some jacuuzi hotubs, and a shower area, and they just added a pool tabel and some arcade games back there. so the club itself isnt the best club ever, but damn! that is a life of leisure backstage!
me: thats so cool! we always drive through norfolk on the way to north carolina, and yeah it never seems like anything goes on there. but theres the chesapeke bay bridge, pretty uh, epic.
wo: yeah thats really the only place ive ever been. i dont know what else there is besides that.
me: currently listening?
wo: the mountain goats.
me: the mountain goats? where are they from?
wo: theyre from california, and sometimes its just one guy with an acoustic guitar and sometimes hes got a bass player and other accompaniment. but man! do yourself a favor and get a mountain goats cd and some pistachio ice cream.
me: so i guess ill wrap it up here with warren, on a cold but very nice day in delaware.
wo: thank you very much, thanks for your time.
me: thank you for your time!
against me!. wow, best punk show ive ever been to. their set couldntve been better, best singalongs, best new songs, best encore. best crowd! full frontal rush to the stage, pumping fist, trading sweat, screaming along to the lyrics. i was so close to the bassist, i punched his headstock on occasion. got myself two free waters from a roadie, had a blast with shawn connolly (take the mic) and joe kerr, and later on travis when i turned around and saw the happiest kid of my life. high fived mimi sometimes. band went off, tom gabel came out and played joy, and then everyone came out and played baby! i'm an anarchist. amazing amazing awesome rock and roll.
full on punk binge from now and forever?
seeya.
me: im here with warren from against me! i really dig the new album, and im really glad you guys are in delaware, and uh what was the primary influence behind searching for a former clarity? its primarily electric, and its really different musically but the message is still the same. was there any kind of outside listening that went into it?
warren oakes: you know, we listen to music pretty much all over the map, pretty much all different styles, and at this point theres nothing that we really hear like directly and say "let's try to do that, that sounds interesting" you know, so it's really hard to pin down where influences come in. we you know wanna keep ourselves entertained so we dont want to rehash anything we've done before and we certainly dont want to rehash anything anybody else has done before. we like to try to keep it fresh.
me: i like it. some people are a little uneasy but i really enjoyed it though. today, what brought you to the grange, this concrete parking lot next to a church in the middle of delaware?
wo: its not the easiest thing to get a show in delaware. youd be really suprised. weve played 49 out of the 50 states in our run so far and somehow we've managed to never have played delaware, until this beautiful saturday afternoon. the dream becomes reality.
me: what happened with the [canceled] show at dewey [beach, delaware]?
wo: i gues there was just a little shakeup. my understanding is the promoter who originally intended to do the show woke up the other morning a decided to retire from show promotions. he was like "you know, i'm kind of over it". so then we kind of um scrambeled and got in touch with the nice folks here who volunteered to do the show. so everything worked out in the end.
me: they are good people. so how is life on tour? ever get sick of each other, you know showers...
wo: yeah, yeah, theres eight of us and we live in that van over there.
me: eight people.
wo: eight people in that van.
me: seats?
wo: there are not eight seats, thats the thing, so its uh crowded,. we're pretty much sitting in each others laps all the time but we really like each other, and it makes it not only possible to do this, but also a treat.
me: thats really good. you guys opened up for green day at giant's stadium in august was it?
wo: uh, september first actually.
me: september september. i thought that was insane, you guys playing a 15,000 person stadium opening for green day. how did it feel?
wo: well the funny thing is, that was actually the start of this tour. we havent been home since then. yeah its kind of wild. it was cool, you know, it was definetly an experience that im happy to have had. you know the reality of it is it wasnt the best or worst show we've ever had. it fell sort of somewhere in the middle. and i mean its a good view from the drum throne onstage as youre looking out towards that many smiling faces.
me: i saw pictures on the site, it looked crazy.
wo: yeah it was pretty epic!
me: favorite color and favorite ice cream?
wo: my favorite color is red and my favorite ice cream is pistachio.
me: ive never actually had pistachio ice cream!
wo: ah, treat yourself!
me: i always think its crazy how its green? i never really got that.
wo: dude, get into it, its delicious.
me: will do. how much longer on this tour? and after tour what are you planning to do?
wo: we're in the home stretch right now. although we will have played all 50 states in our career or whatever, in our existence as a band, as far as this tour goes, we still ahve massachusates and new jersey to check off our list. after those two shows we go up to canada, the 51st state, and do a couple shows in eastern canada. then we wander around kinda aimlessly until december 16th or 17th is when we finally pull into home.
me: gainsville florida.
wo: yeah gainsville awaits us with open arms, and then we spend take some holiday downtime with friends and family in beautiful florida.
me: is gainsville overtly politcal? is there any fuel for your fire persay?
wo: you know gainsville has a pretty rich history of being a protest town in the 60's and 70's and it's always been left leaning. theres a radical library, like community library media center, that does events and they have zines and books and stuff on file for you to check out. its been there i dont know, at least a decade. theres alot of good things going on there. it definetly has a strong current of that. there are some good organic farms outside of town, the best blueberries you'll have in all your life.
me: favorite place to play?
wo: favorite place to play... you know its not our favorite place to play but theres this club in norfolk, virginia, that used to be a gym like a fitness center and they turned it into a venue, but they still left some of the bells and whistles of the gym so the backstage area has a sauna, some jacuuzi hotubs, and a shower area, and they just added a pool tabel and some arcade games back there. so the club itself isnt the best club ever, but damn! that is a life of leisure backstage!
me: thats so cool! we always drive through norfolk on the way to north carolina, and yeah it never seems like anything goes on there. but theres the chesapeke bay bridge, pretty uh, epic.
wo: yeah thats really the only place ive ever been. i dont know what else there is besides that.
me: currently listening?
wo: the mountain goats.
me: the mountain goats? where are they from?
wo: theyre from california, and sometimes its just one guy with an acoustic guitar and sometimes hes got a bass player and other accompaniment. but man! do yourself a favor and get a mountain goats cd and some pistachio ice cream.
me: so i guess ill wrap it up here with warren, on a cold but very nice day in delaware.
wo: thank you very much, thanks for your time.
me: thank you for your time!
against me!. wow, best punk show ive ever been to. their set couldntve been better, best singalongs, best new songs, best encore. best crowd! full frontal rush to the stage, pumping fist, trading sweat, screaming along to the lyrics. i was so close to the bassist, i punched his headstock on occasion. got myself two free waters from a roadie, had a blast with shawn connolly (take the mic) and joe kerr, and later on travis when i turned around and saw the happiest kid of my life. high fived mimi sometimes. band went off, tom gabel came out and played joy, and then everyone came out and played baby! i'm an anarchist. amazing amazing awesome rock and roll.
full on punk binge from now and forever?
seeya.
And
and again i must ask please leave your name if youre going to be anonymous. don't hate on the blood brothers, at least theyre original.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Top Tenzzzz Noize
i nearly forgot, my new newspaper piece on the top ten records of the decade so far. i think the white stripes album that shouldve been on there is "get behind me satan" after i realized i have no 2005 albums on there. and also i think i shoulda not had "college dropout" and put the MIA album instead. but shes my number one for '05 (coming soon) and the stripes are number three, so forgive me. another note, it was for the school paper hence '08 etc etc etal.
The 00’s. What can we make of it so far? Mr. Szcerba told me that when you think 80’s music you get synthesizer, and the 90’s come with flannel shirts. But what can we associate this middle aged decade with? We have witnessed the total crossover of hip-hop into every day life. Indie rock has witnessed a huge upsurge and newfound popularity. Rock has become… stale, to say the least. There has also been a massive amount of genre mixing and bending, then turning around again, whether it is synth infused post-punk/dance revival bands, garage blues, psychedelic garage, metalcore, and so on and so on and so on. So the 00’s can be defined as… let’s give it a shot… cross-genre breeding crossover upsurge revivalist. I guess. But anyway, what it boils down to is these ten essential albums for the decade so far, covering all those decade-defining traits we have seen so far.
10. U2-All That You Can’t Leave Behind: Emerging from their dark ages, their pop/disco experimentation, side projects, and (short-lived) hiatus, U2 came back with this. ATYCLB is a glorious comeback, inspirational to an extent, and while not resorting back to former devices and muses, made an album that sits well between The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.
9. Franz Ferdinand-Franz Ferdinand: The post-punk/dance revival I was speaking of. Gang of Four as channeled through a fashion show, this album really came out of nowhere (Scotland) and helped to curb the addiction of those so enamored by garage revivalists like the Strokes.
8. Sleater Kinney-One Beat: That other band without a bassist. Almost like a feminine Clash for the new millennium. Fever pitch vocals combine with a raw dual start/stop guitar assault, and simplistic, urgent drumming, complete with lyrics about post 9/11 motherhood, subway riding dogs, and their beloved home of Portland, Oregon.
7. Kanye West-The College Dropout: After Jay-Z called it quits in 2003; people were left wondering what’s going to happen to great hip-hop. West made a name for himself throughout the late 90’s and into the 00’s producing artists, and finally in 2004, answered that question. Great social commentary layered on top of sped up soul samples, and the simplest, least bass heavy beats this side of the Streets.
6. The White Stripes-White Blood Cells: The underrated darlings of that garage rock boom we saw at the turn of the century. Infusing blues, folk, and cabaret piano into punky garage, all the while Jack White’s voice yelps and Meg White bashes away at the drums like a curious three year old who just drank a can of Coca-Cola. This album put Detroit back on the map for underground rock and roll for the first time since the emergence of Iggy and the Stooges, and this record is just as dirty as anything Ig and his gang of white trash ever put out.
5. The Blood Brothers-Burn Piano Island, Burn! What can we make of these skinny Seattle natives? This album rocks, freaks, writhes, squirms and mostly anything else through a messy taco of keyboards, frantic drums, spasmodic guitars and those cat choking-esque howls of vocalists Jordan Billie, and Johnny Whitney. Towards the middle of the album, you may become fearful one of their tonsils is going to come flying from your speakers. It’s raw, it’s certainly not Simple Plan, it’s acid punk.
4. Bright Eyes-Fevers and Mirrors: The perfect compliment to winter, characterized by singer/songwriter/guitarist/heart and soul Conor Oberst’s hypothermic voice. Some songs are sparse; others are vastly layered underneath harps and flamenco guitars. It’s a trip through depression and apathy, but at the same time marking Oberst as the greatest songwriter since maybe Bob Dylan. Oddly enough, he was only twenty when he recorded Fevers, but he sounds as if he’s been around the world and seen just about everything.
3. Radiohead-Kid A: The only way I can describe the feel of this album is by comparing it to being wrapped in a warm blanket. Radiohead fully embraced machinery on this album, creating lush soundscapes, and on some songs, completely taking over from the guitar playing of Ed O’Brien and Johnny Greenwood. The album puts on airs of uncertainty until the very last song, the gorgeous “Motion Picture Soundtrack”. It’s almost like watching someone’s entire life before your eyes or something. Needs to be heard to be understood.
2. The Streets-A Grand Don’t Come For Free: Like I said last year, the best you could hope for from a British white rapper with a thick cockney accent. A Grand is a trip through a bad weekend, breakups and lost bets, stolen cash and loss of friends, but only to be rectified in the last song, the eight minute “Empty Cans”. This album is an incredible listen, from the storyline, to the amazing simplicity of the beats. It’s soulful and bluesy in the most untraditional sense possible. A must for any aspiring kid making beats on his bootlegged copy of Fruity Loops.
1. Wilco-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: A lot of press has called this album folk as done on a laptop, or put Wilco as the American Radiohead. I am not going to do that. This record is an understated epic. It shows a constantly evolving band just becoming familiar with electronic music and running wild with it. It’s sparse mostly; you’re left sensing a lot of empty gaps and the like. It opens slowly, culminating in the quiet drone of “Ashes of American Flags”. It begins to pick up with “Heavy Metal Drummer”, and immediately bleeds into the guitar stomp of “I’m The Man Who Loves You”. The climax comes in the form of the anthem-ish “Pot Kettle Black”, making one last hurrah out of “Poor Places”, finally coming back down in the beautiful “Reservations”. The first half could be about America, and just our culture, the psyche of the people who make us us. The second half seems to just drop all that and make use of ideas and freedom, just living life. All the while the album draws inspiration from the Conet Project, a compilation of eerie radio broadcasts, supposedly holding secret codes for spies in other countries. The album is just pure greatness, and an expression of artistic truth. This album could quite possibly define the rest of the century.
The Decade (so far) In Music
By Joe Gallagher, ‘08
By Joe Gallagher, ‘08
The 00’s. What can we make of it so far? Mr. Szcerba told me that when you think 80’s music you get synthesizer, and the 90’s come with flannel shirts. But what can we associate this middle aged decade with? We have witnessed the total crossover of hip-hop into every day life. Indie rock has witnessed a huge upsurge and newfound popularity. Rock has become… stale, to say the least. There has also been a massive amount of genre mixing and bending, then turning around again, whether it is synth infused post-punk/dance revival bands, garage blues, psychedelic garage, metalcore, and so on and so on and so on. So the 00’s can be defined as… let’s give it a shot… cross-genre breeding crossover upsurge revivalist. I guess. But anyway, what it boils down to is these ten essential albums for the decade so far, covering all those decade-defining traits we have seen so far.
10. U2-All That You Can’t Leave Behind: Emerging from their dark ages, their pop/disco experimentation, side projects, and (short-lived) hiatus, U2 came back with this. ATYCLB is a glorious comeback, inspirational to an extent, and while not resorting back to former devices and muses, made an album that sits well between The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.
9. Franz Ferdinand-Franz Ferdinand: The post-punk/dance revival I was speaking of. Gang of Four as channeled through a fashion show, this album really came out of nowhere (Scotland) and helped to curb the addiction of those so enamored by garage revivalists like the Strokes.
8. Sleater Kinney-One Beat: That other band without a bassist. Almost like a feminine Clash for the new millennium. Fever pitch vocals combine with a raw dual start/stop guitar assault, and simplistic, urgent drumming, complete with lyrics about post 9/11 motherhood, subway riding dogs, and their beloved home of Portland, Oregon.
7. Kanye West-The College Dropout: After Jay-Z called it quits in 2003; people were left wondering what’s going to happen to great hip-hop. West made a name for himself throughout the late 90’s and into the 00’s producing artists, and finally in 2004, answered that question. Great social commentary layered on top of sped up soul samples, and the simplest, least bass heavy beats this side of the Streets.
6. The White Stripes-White Blood Cells: The underrated darlings of that garage rock boom we saw at the turn of the century. Infusing blues, folk, and cabaret piano into punky garage, all the while Jack White’s voice yelps and Meg White bashes away at the drums like a curious three year old who just drank a can of Coca-Cola. This album put Detroit back on the map for underground rock and roll for the first time since the emergence of Iggy and the Stooges, and this record is just as dirty as anything Ig and his gang of white trash ever put out.
5. The Blood Brothers-Burn Piano Island, Burn! What can we make of these skinny Seattle natives? This album rocks, freaks, writhes, squirms and mostly anything else through a messy taco of keyboards, frantic drums, spasmodic guitars and those cat choking-esque howls of vocalists Jordan Billie, and Johnny Whitney. Towards the middle of the album, you may become fearful one of their tonsils is going to come flying from your speakers. It’s raw, it’s certainly not Simple Plan, it’s acid punk.
4. Bright Eyes-Fevers and Mirrors: The perfect compliment to winter, characterized by singer/songwriter/guitarist/heart and soul Conor Oberst’s hypothermic voice. Some songs are sparse; others are vastly layered underneath harps and flamenco guitars. It’s a trip through depression and apathy, but at the same time marking Oberst as the greatest songwriter since maybe Bob Dylan. Oddly enough, he was only twenty when he recorded Fevers, but he sounds as if he’s been around the world and seen just about everything.
3. Radiohead-Kid A: The only way I can describe the feel of this album is by comparing it to being wrapped in a warm blanket. Radiohead fully embraced machinery on this album, creating lush soundscapes, and on some songs, completely taking over from the guitar playing of Ed O’Brien and Johnny Greenwood. The album puts on airs of uncertainty until the very last song, the gorgeous “Motion Picture Soundtrack”. It’s almost like watching someone’s entire life before your eyes or something. Needs to be heard to be understood.
2. The Streets-A Grand Don’t Come For Free: Like I said last year, the best you could hope for from a British white rapper with a thick cockney accent. A Grand is a trip through a bad weekend, breakups and lost bets, stolen cash and loss of friends, but only to be rectified in the last song, the eight minute “Empty Cans”. This album is an incredible listen, from the storyline, to the amazing simplicity of the beats. It’s soulful and bluesy in the most untraditional sense possible. A must for any aspiring kid making beats on his bootlegged copy of Fruity Loops.
1. Wilco-Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: A lot of press has called this album folk as done on a laptop, or put Wilco as the American Radiohead. I am not going to do that. This record is an understated epic. It shows a constantly evolving band just becoming familiar with electronic music and running wild with it. It’s sparse mostly; you’re left sensing a lot of empty gaps and the like. It opens slowly, culminating in the quiet drone of “Ashes of American Flags”. It begins to pick up with “Heavy Metal Drummer”, and immediately bleeds into the guitar stomp of “I’m The Man Who Loves You”. The climax comes in the form of the anthem-ish “Pot Kettle Black”, making one last hurrah out of “Poor Places”, finally coming back down in the beautiful “Reservations”. The first half could be about America, and just our culture, the psyche of the people who make us us. The second half seems to just drop all that and make use of ideas and freedom, just living life. All the while the album draws inspiration from the Conet Project, a compilation of eerie radio broadcasts, supposedly holding secret codes for spies in other countries. The album is just pure greatness, and an expression of artistic truth. This album could quite possibly define the rest of the century.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Kill, Kill, Kill Hippies
goddamn, hippies.
there seems to be a growing mass of teenaged hippies in my area, predominantly coming out of avon grove charter. they piss me off. i will start off by saying you are 15-16, you can't vote yet. i hate their undereducated liberal minds, their ignorance is like a disease. "fuck bush!" do you even get it? give me reasons why george bush is so bad? because he has an agenda? because he's actually doing something? the only reason people loved clinton and thought he was so great because NOTHING HAPPENED in his presidency. im no fucking right wing bush loving hick, but i respect the man, and i know enough that i have no say whether or not im 18, so i just deal with it. another thing; there will never be peace, stop fighting for it. its pointless. you cant expect us to sit back and watch as people fly planes into buildings. you cant act like iraq didnt need serious help. i do think that not much is getting accomplished because people over there refuse to listen, but come on do you think going down to DC to see a few fellow liberal minded bands, piss off cops, skateboard, take pics, and tell a few stories is going to get ANYTHING accomplished? youre not cool if you protest, or hate cops. its just so irrational, like just deal with it. we have a republican controlled democracy, we have police, we are at war. the whole world is at war. its never going to stop, there will always be hatred, i will always hate, you cant act like you dont hate because youre human and hate is an emotion and people have them. unless hippies are emotionless mindless liberal fucks. which in that case, dont hate all you want.
ill quote a song off a seven inch of some old LA punk band on dangerhouse records whose name slips my mind at the moment, and say "send them back to san fransisco".
goddamn.
there seems to be a growing mass of teenaged hippies in my area, predominantly coming out of avon grove charter. they piss me off. i will start off by saying you are 15-16, you can't vote yet. i hate their undereducated liberal minds, their ignorance is like a disease. "fuck bush!" do you even get it? give me reasons why george bush is so bad? because he has an agenda? because he's actually doing something? the only reason people loved clinton and thought he was so great because NOTHING HAPPENED in his presidency. im no fucking right wing bush loving hick, but i respect the man, and i know enough that i have no say whether or not im 18, so i just deal with it. another thing; there will never be peace, stop fighting for it. its pointless. you cant expect us to sit back and watch as people fly planes into buildings. you cant act like iraq didnt need serious help. i do think that not much is getting accomplished because people over there refuse to listen, but come on do you think going down to DC to see a few fellow liberal minded bands, piss off cops, skateboard, take pics, and tell a few stories is going to get ANYTHING accomplished? youre not cool if you protest, or hate cops. its just so irrational, like just deal with it. we have a republican controlled democracy, we have police, we are at war. the whole world is at war. its never going to stop, there will always be hatred, i will always hate, you cant act like you dont hate because youre human and hate is an emotion and people have them. unless hippies are emotionless mindless liberal fucks. which in that case, dont hate all you want.
ill quote a song off a seven inch of some old LA punk band on dangerhouse records whose name slips my mind at the moment, and say "send them back to san fransisco".
goddamn.
Kill, Kill, Kill Hippies
goddamn, hippies.
there seems to be a growing mass of teenaged hippies in my area, predominantly coming out of avon grove charter. they piss me off. i will start off by saying you are 15-16, you can't vote yet. i hate their undereducated liberal minds, their ignorance is like a disease. "fuck bush!" do you even get it? give me reasons why george bush is so bad? because he has an agenda? because he's actually doing something? the only reason people loved clinton and thought he was so great because NOTHING HAPPENED in his presidency. im no fucking right wing bush loving hick, but i respect the man, and i know enough that i have no say whether or not im 18, so i just deal with it. another thing; there will never be peace, stop fighting for it. its pointless. you cant expect us to sit back and watch as people fly planes into buildings. you cant act like iraq didnt need serious help. i do think that not much is getting accomplished because people over there refuse to listen, but come on do you think going down to DC to see a few fellow liberal minded bands, piss off cops, skateboard, take pics, and tell a few stories is going to get ANYTHING accomplished? youre not cool if you protest, or hate cops. its just so irrational, like just deal with it. we have a republican controlled democracy, we have police, we are at war. the whole world is at war. its never going to stop, there will always be hatred, i will always hate, you cant act like you dont hate because youre human and hate is an emotion and people have them. unless hippies are emotionless mindless liberal fucks. which in that case, dont hate all you want.
ill quote a song off a seven inch of some old LA punk band on dangerhouse records whose name slips my mind at the moment, and say "send them back to san fransisco".
goddamn.
there seems to be a growing mass of teenaged hippies in my area, predominantly coming out of avon grove charter. they piss me off. i will start off by saying you are 15-16, you can't vote yet. i hate their undereducated liberal minds, their ignorance is like a disease. "fuck bush!" do you even get it? give me reasons why george bush is so bad? because he has an agenda? because he's actually doing something? the only reason people loved clinton and thought he was so great because NOTHING HAPPENED in his presidency. im no fucking right wing bush loving hick, but i respect the man, and i know enough that i have no say whether or not im 18, so i just deal with it. another thing; there will never be peace, stop fighting for it. its pointless. you cant expect us to sit back and watch as people fly planes into buildings. you cant act like iraq didnt need serious help. i do think that not much is getting accomplished because people over there refuse to listen, but come on do you think going down to DC to see a few fellow liberal minded bands, piss off cops, skateboard, take pics, and tell a few stories is going to get ANYTHING accomplished? youre not cool if you protest, or hate cops. its just so irrational, like just deal with it. we have a republican controlled democracy, we have police, we are at war. the whole world is at war. its never going to stop, there will always be hatred, i will always hate, you cant act like you dont hate because youre human and hate is an emotion and people have them. unless hippies are emotionless mindless liberal fucks. which in that case, dont hate all you want.
ill quote a song off a seven inch of some old LA punk band on dangerhouse records whose name slips my mind at the moment, and say "send them back to san fransisco".
goddamn.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Allison Berger in her Cadillac Dream
in this time of purposely losing friends, and killing friendships, and all that, i do have a friend in allison. she is a new friend. and i will write about her.
she was at the hanson show and i saved her spot when she went to the bathroom. she likes to write, and shes really really good at it. poetry i mean, not journalism. and not shitty poetry either. i hate some of that teen angst shit that passes for poetry amongst peers, argh dont get me started. anyway she lives so far away in devon but no matter i guess ill see her and her awesomness soon enough. she just got published in an ezine, congrats. hmmm.
shes got that smart look about her which is attractive. and she pulls it off well. but i guess its not pulling off considering she is smart. thats all i will say about allison here but hey i hope one day you can cross paths with allison in a similar fashion i did.
her poem (last one down)
seeya in a few hours when i talk about something or someone else.
she was at the hanson show and i saved her spot when she went to the bathroom. she likes to write, and shes really really good at it. poetry i mean, not journalism. and not shitty poetry either. i hate some of that teen angst shit that passes for poetry amongst peers, argh dont get me started. anyway she lives so far away in devon but no matter i guess ill see her and her awesomness soon enough. she just got published in an ezine, congrats. hmmm.
shes got that smart look about her which is attractive. and she pulls it off well. but i guess its not pulling off considering she is smart. thats all i will say about allison here but hey i hope one day you can cross paths with allison in a similar fashion i did.
her poem (last one down)
seeya in a few hours when i talk about something or someone else.
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