March 2005 | Main | May 2005
04:40 PM - best video ever
I found the best music video ever. It involves a lizard.
link to this post | Comments ( 3)
11:46 AM - MORE SBR! Contest!
The other night at the El Jezel show at Luna Lounge was fun as always, and of course I brought along some Serious Business stickers. If you can correctly guess whose crotch this is you will win something. Must give first name and if possible last name or some other detail. Good luck. Marta and Dan, who tried to show the SBR love but the sticker just wasn't liking his goatee. George and Kristie, who were more than happy to be models. And finally, Marta got one of me looking silly. Wow, this collection of SBR-pimping is really growing quickly, huh? By the way, there are pictures on the internet from Karaoke the other night. Look here. The one of me and George is pretty silly, but the two of Marta and the guy who joined her onstage to do some very sexy dancing are hilarious.
link to this post | Comments ( 21)
09:58 AM - You hung around and bothered me every night
I just wrote a big entry about this but as usual it got eaten when IE didn't like a page I tried to open to get an mp3 link so screw it, you get the abridged version. Sorry. I got a copy of the new Raveonettes album, Pretty in Black last week (it comes out next tuesday, May 3rd), and I've been listening to it quite a bit. I have to say though, I hate this copy protection crap on promo cd's. I understand that you're just trying to keep jerks who like to leak albums under control, but for those of us who don't even have a real stereo (at least not for playing cd's, vinyl only, baby) and just put music into iTunes to listen to while we're stuck in our cave of a home office all day, it really sucks to have to listen to an album through some weird little software. At least this one didn't have to be installed like whatever was on that Kasabian cd. Seriously I listened to that once on my discman and that was about all I could take. Anyway, sorry about the rant. The point was supposed to be that the new Raveonettes album is pretty amazing. It starts off with "the Heavens" which is a nice soft and pretty mostly-acoustic track and quite a surprising choice for an opener, especially since for some reason it reminds me distinctly of and Arcade Fire song... but the album chugs along, moving through the predictable and not-so-predictable styles for Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo: 50's style rock (the inclusion of their version of "My Boyfriend's Back" is SO PERFECT I love it), surfey rock with a funny title/chorus that somehow makes a lot of sense ("Love in a Trashcan"), and shimmery-shaker egg-laden ditties about dead girls ("Here Comes Mary"). It's all pretty great, and in fact you can listen to most of the songs around the web in one way or another (like on the Raveonettes site, that's a good start). They're on Conan O'Brien tonight. I'll be staying up to watch that. Yesterday I was in Times Square and some dud gave me two free tickets to see Good Charlotte at Radio City. I didn't go. BUT, speaking of free concerts, NADA SURF is playing one this Saturday, April 30 at 7pm at Pier 17 at South Street Seaport. Rain or shine. Part of the Seaport Music Festival. I haven't seen those fine fellows in a good while and it's about time. On saturday there is also the Deli Magazine BBQ at Pete's Candy Store in Williamsburg. Hula, Kelly Buchanan, Au Revoir Simone, and Sylvie Lewis.
link to this post | Comments ( 3)
09:21 AM - All in the family, friday night funtimes!
The best damn rock-n-roll band in town played Trash on Friday, and a whole slew of lovely degenerates came out to shake it with the boys. Photos of the bands will be on my Flickr page soon, but first you have to see the latest installment of the SBR models project! Here we have Smilin' Andy Bean, who represents both The Unsacred Hearts and The Two Man Gentlemen Band! Here we have Maggie and John, who has an awesome keytar band called EZ Machine. Make sure you watch the two fantabulous videos over there. And now, finally, there is Roman from Post Office Gals, who wears the tightest pants ever, but he screams good and lives in NJ and works at Dunkin' Donuts so he's cool with me. And last but not least, Phil the Serious Business intern. Phil just sent me this shot he took to include in the set from Trash... one of the most obvious ones that I had somehow neglected to get thus far: Travis "Serious Business Head Honcho" Harrison. By the way, fellow Park Slopers, guess what fine coffee and tasty treat establishment is about to open up right on 5th ave and 9th st (next to Daisy's)... summer walks to and from band practice will now be much more frosty and refreshing (and caffeinated!), indeed! Oh look, it's the SBR merch table! If you see this at a show, buy everything!
link to this post | Comments ( 10)
04:23 PM - You wanna be entertained
Wazooblowey! Sleater-Kinney video! Indeed! For the song "Entertain" from their upcoming album The Woods, check it out here. They also have a brand new site (including a blog!). I can't wait for this album (it comes out May 24th).
link to this post | Comments ( 0)
12:26 AM - more sonic love
Here are two points of particularly Sonic goodness of interest to me and perhaps you too: 1) Pixies + Sonic Youth at Jones Beach. June 14th. Indie kids' heads explode all over NY. 2) Thursday, May 5 at 5pm Thurston (Moore) will be signing copies of the new book he has edited, entitled Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture at the Virgin Mega Store in Union Square, NYC. Can I handle talking to Thurston twice in the span of a month? Gee, I sure hope so. Oh and also, though this has nothing to do with the mighty SY, but another fine NYC band... the Unsacred Hearts have released a web-only song! Listen to Drunk in the Parlor Car. Keep checking back there (or just stop by the Serious Business Records site) for more exclusive songs. And go see them on Friday at Trash. I'll probably be doing the merch. I'll forge "Rusty's" signature on their EP if you want. I bet you could get 10 bucks for that alone on Ebay!
link to this post | Comments ( 2)
09:55 AM - dogs, people, awesomeness.
First of all, we have the dog that everybody loved, which we met on a street corner in Hoboken after seeing an incredible show at Maxwell's. Her name was Maggie if I remember correctly, and here is a photograph of Kristie and Jess petting her because she was a total slut. Ok, now some pictures of the Sonic Youth show. I already put a few up over on Flickr but most people probably don't click on the thumbnails over to the right on this page so I thought I'd put some more here, with commentary in case you can't figure out what is going on. By the way, if you're a nerd like me, maybe you will enjoy this - I was lucky enough to grab Kim's set list from the stage so I used it to put together an iTunes playlist of the songs they played. It really was a pretty flawless set and a good introduction for those who don't already know them. Ok, on to photos! Here we have the entire band. They are all being awesome. Thurston is mid-windmill. That is super-awesome. Here are Lee and Jim. They were on the other side of the stage so didn't get many photos of them, but in this one I believe they are being awesome while saying "hey look over there, it's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon!" It's ok though, Lee writes all the amazing pop songs and I'm so happy that he sang "Eric's Trip" at the show. Here we have Kim Gordon playing a trumpet. It doesn't get much better than that in terms of, what? Oh, right, awesomeness. The lovely couple! Kim and Thurston! Two things to note: 1) Thurston is keeping an eye on his amp, just in case it decides to get up and run away. 2) they are both awesome. Kim Gordon is coming to get you. She got in the crowd right after this. Take note of Kim being very pretty and Thurston being very awesome. Finally we have Thurston Moore in all of his Awesomeness. Yes that deserves a big A. Note not only Thurston's awesomeness (and his awesome furry green guitar strap) but also that Steve is getting a talking-to in the back, like he did something wrong. That is very cute. Steve Shelley is also awesome. Before the show we ate dinner in the restaurant portion of the venue. Sonic Youth was sitting at the table next to us. As in, Lee Ranaldo was to my immediate left (until one of their techs sat next to him). We were all trying to be very cool and not vomit from nerves. Here is George of El Jezel, who does an awesome impression of Thurston being awesome. George and I were a couple lucky fellows, since we got to attend this show with three of the coolest bass-playing ladies in all of NY City. From left to right we have Jess, Kristie, and Marta (although it would have been just bit cooler if my favorite bass playing girl could have been there too). This was after the show, when we got back into the city and it went from post-SY-meltdown to Marta's birthday celebration (again).
link to this post | Comments ( 11)
03:55 AM - Whack-a-mole!
Tonight I met Thurston Moore. Yeah. LOTS of pictures from the Sonic Youth show to come. We met a very sweet and cuddly bulldog in Hoboken. Happy birthday Marta! I'm tired.
link to this post | Comments ( 3)
02:31 PM - Put it in the appropriate receptacle.
The video for the Raveonettes single, "Love in a Trashcan," from their upcoming album Pretty in Black is really fun and cute. I want to put them in my pocket and carry them around with me. Here's the link for the hi-res .wma version, links for the other versions are in the "more" link of this post. Hey kids! Loft party/show happening tonight in DUMBO! Info is here. Also, it looks like the SBR bands are burning up the charts over at 15 Megs of Fame. Go check out the songs and vote for Man in Gray, the Unsacred Hearts, Secret Dakota Ring, the Two Man Gentlemen Band, and Dracula Zombie USA! Tomorrow night I'm seeing Sonic Youth at Maxwell's. That place is tiny. I'm pretty darn excited. Now I'm going to listen to some MBV while I work because that's just the sort of mood I'm in now. Yay!
link to this post | Comments ( 0)
01:53 AM - The force is strong in this one
Woah, Simon went and bought one of those super fancy replica Darth Vader lightsabers! No, really, watch this video of him with it! I wonder if he'll let me play with it when he moves here (by 'here' I mean around the corner from me!) in a couple months.
link to this post | Comments ( 2)
11:34 PM - Digitalnap is different again!
Wow, Jay did a great job once again, launching yet ANOTHER version of Digital Nap. He is officially a master of css and MT now.
link to this post | Comments ( 0)
01:59 AM - Everybody has a blog these days!
DJ Mojo has a blog now. This is going to be an interesting one, I'm sure.
link to this post | Comments ( 1)
12:37 PM - Diary of a stewardess
My buddy (and super-talented photographer and entrepeneur!) Kafreen (ok yes, Kathleen, I know) has started a blog about her adventures as an airline stewardess! This should be interesting.... check it out. Also, happy 25th birthday to RAR today! Bonus! Hot TUBA action! Tonight at 8:30pm at Luna!
link to this post | Comments ( 1)
11:57 AM - WBMTHFCKRAD
So that MiG radio thing on WBAR last night didn't exactly work out because there were problems with in the studio. Not sure what exactly, but I think it's something about part of their board needing to be fixed. Oh well. It'll be rescheduled for some other time.
link to this post | Comments ( 2)
12:08 PM - DEMONSTRATION IS A REVELATION
Three tracks into the new release by The Books and already my world is upside down. This is like, basically, rap, without the rhyming and actual beats... or it's like Air without the pretension, or like nothing at all. Bravo, weirdos. Seriously, I'm in love with this already. It is beautiful today. Shake up the cats and kittens and get out and go all Polyphonic Spree on the stoop sales and italian ice carts. Tonight, listen to MiG on the radio! Excitement! We'll be live on WBAR (as opposed to dead, I hope) around 7pm tonight! 87.9FM if you're in the city (like, uptown, Columbia/Barnard-ish) or online right here!
link to this post | Comments ( 0)
05:04 PM - Ouch.
I have a headache. Maybe I shouldn't take all those free drinks that sketchy looking characters in bars are always offering me. The ones with smoke rising out of them are particularly suspicious. But really, I hope this stops bugging me in time for the Mussels show tonight. They're good and it would be sad if I had to skip it. Plus I want to have more fun with my fisheye lens and Southpaw usually has really great light (much better than Pianos, where everything is always just red - know what I mean, fellow rock photographers?) Right. So people out there, don't be afraid, make the trip to Park Slope (I KNOW most of you don't have Bloc Party tickets, so don't even pretend you've got plans tonight) and rock out. Say hi and give me an Advil or something.
link to this post | Comments ( 0)
12:49 PM - Tune in this sunday!
We're going to be on the radio! "We" being my band, obviously. Yeah. But you knew that. Anyway, this Sunday. Around 7pm. Go to the WBAR site and listen or tune in to 87.9FM if you're in their range. Wow, I haven't set foot in a radio station since my days at WNYU. Crazy. Seems like forever ago. For the Brooklynites looking for a good time tonight, be at Southpaw by 10pm to catch Mussels, the best damn all-shellfish band in town.
link to this post | Comments ( 0)
02:35 PM - last damn time I'm trying this
Internet Stupid. Rock n roll good. Bands last night that I saw: Mason Dixon, John Davis of Superdrag, Mark Gardener of Ride, Morning Theft, The Color Guard. No, not one big show, but rather three separate shows. My hand is covered in those silly stamps. hah. For more hot hand stamping action - hit Pianos tonight at 7:30 to catch one of my favorite bands - Emma La Reina - play their last club show ever (in this form, at least), as well as Mistakes right after them, who are so good that they actually SCARE me. The Octagon is playing on that show too I think, and hopefully I'll get to check them out. Then over to the Delancey for hot Death Disco action. Mojo tells me he's been playing the new MiG/UH 7" over there. If it comes on while I'm there I'll either start dancing or look really embarassed. By the way, now there is a temporary Serious Business Records site where you can actually buy records! Get the debut EP's from Man in Gray and the Unsacred Hearts, as well as their split 7" over there, all just $5 each. Sweet. Both bands just confirmed that they're playing together AGAIN at Luna Lounge on Saturday, May 7th. Hot dog! I mean, hot damn!
link to this post | Comments ( 3)
12:07 AM - Watch Beck (not really) live!
This is pretty cool... I've been obsessing over Guero a bit lately (in case you hadn't noticed) and now you can watch Beck perform songs from it on Morning Becomes Eclectic right here. Thanks to Brooklyn Vegan for the link. It has been years since I've seen Beck live (7 years I think... wow, that's way too long) and about two years since I met him (ah yes, still one of my most talked about moments, right next to recording with Glenn Branca's symphony) and it's honestly a little strange to watch this performance, but very cool. Once I'm done watching this I'm going to check out the Stars session that is also on that site. Sweet. In totally unrelated news, there is a new review of my band's EP on Splendid.
link to this post | Comments ( 3)
01:45 PM - because you should know
I just ate a piggy made out of chocolate. Delicious.
link to this post | Comments ( 1)
03:23 PM - for music, against the internet.
Oh man, whoever wrote IE for Mac needs to be punched in the face. Ugh. It is true, most of making websites is taking precautions for stupid people. Stupid people should not be allowed to internet. Yes, I used it as a verb. Shut up. Now, music. First order of busines, Man in Gray and the Unsacred Hearts at Luna Lounge tonight. It starts at 8:30 pm, UH are first, then Electric Turn to Me after them, then Man in Gray at 10:30pm. Hope to see you there. The Beck special edition version of Guero is awesome and was a very smart purchase. All you haters can shut up now. The Features record just gets better and better. Did I mention the Yo La Tengo box set? It really only costs a few more bucks than a regular cd,and you get THREE of them! One of them has 16 unreleased/rare tracks, which is worth the price alone, but it's especially great for someone who loves YLT but just doesn't have ALL the records (the first two discs provide a good overview). Yup. Also, dear iTunes: Playing ONLY Arcade Fire songs (with Japanther thrown in every so often) does not adhere to my definition of SHUFFLE, especially when there are about 5000 other songs for you to pick from.
Mussels have some hot new songs up on their Purevolume page. Check it out.
link to this post | Comments ( 4)
