Year End Shit

Everyone has to post one, right? Music-wise all I can remember really is that 2008 was the year I discovered Mr. Bungle and consequently lost my mind.

December was the month I decided to pick up the guitar again (a real actual electric Squier Strat, not the one I use for PS2 Rock Band) and listened to Nirvana on repeat to learn their songs. "About A Girl" and "Man Who Sold The World" are my challenges for 2009. Also, yes I know Bowie wrote the latter. Cracked up when I read a YouTube comment saying "I'm pretty sure Nirvana did it first".

Realized I don't mind 92.3 KRock cuz they play old shit now and I am old so it works out. But some of the new stuff does make me turn off the radio. Also, memo to 92.3KRock and assorted other media: STOP TRYING TO MAKE 'CHINESE DEMOCRACY' HAPPEN.

Also, all the new bands are all pussies. Every last one of them. Grow a pair of balls already. KRISTEENYOUNG could kick your ass with a flick of her piano-playing pinkie. BTW, looking forward to her new album in '09. Buying Morrissey's out of obligation, I'm sure it will be grandly mediocre. And I say this as a big fan.

I might post a list later. I plan on writing more in this blog in '09. There have to be more curmudgeons online to put the young hipsters down.

Buncha Stuff

Behold:

"Deep breath...
This was an amazing tour and production - certainly the best thing I've ever been involved with and likely the final tour for NIN on this scale. Thank you to those who came out to see it and forgive me for having a Kanye West moment, but this was FOR SURE the best show of the year and any bullshit end-of-the-year poll you may read in the next few weeks that says otherwise simply has it wrong. Those of you who saw it know I'm right."

This is what we call a dick moment but the sad fact is that I actually agree with Trent that this WAS one of the better concerts of the year.

Also awesome? Kristeen Young at Piano's:


Her new album ain't out yet but when it is ... oh boy you're gonna hear me go on about it.

Also, Ted Leo on Wednesday was awesome. As were certain karaoke participants.

Lights in the Sky

I've been going to shows for the past 15 years. It takes a lot to impress this jaded old clown but Friday August 29th was one of those nights.

For some reason or another, after having listened to every album of theirs and being a pretty big fan for a while, I've never seen Nine Inch Nails live. To be honest my expectations weren't all that high, but I figure hey, I should at least see them once before I die. I thought with_teeth was okay, I didn't really dig Year Zero and I've only given the Slip about one or two listens. The last album I really liked of theirs was The Fragile which got pretty bad reviews from the mainstream media. I knew they would be playing a lot of their newer stuff but I figure as long as I heard March of the Pigs and anything off Broken, I would consider the show a success.

To put it mildly, they kicked my ass. Even in the old fogies' seated area (where everyone stood up for the whole show) I could feel the frenetic energy from the stage. Trent didn't hold anything back. Every once in a while you get those perfect concert moments where everything connects: your life, the music, the band. That this moment is bigger than any shitty thing that has ever happened to you. I felt it. It's impossible to describe it or define it.

The fast stuff was intense (Gave Up), The Wretched was amazing and Reptile surprised the shit out of me and was probably the highlight of the show. Damn, I love that song. The Ghosts material was so cool live, I'd love to go to a Ghosts-only tour. It has this great vibe, a mix of classical and creepy and end of the world soundtrack. The lighting was amazing for this show. I'd never seen anything like it. I didn't think we had the technology for half the stuff they did!

Trent gave a rather poignant little speech. Apparently Pennsylvania is his home state. And back in the day, his fanbase was largely of the male vampire variety. :)

As we were leaving I heard someone ask, what did you think? This other guy answered "Best concert ever!" High praise that I think is justified. I think I'll put this one in my top 10 favorites of all time.

Funniest highlight of the night: an elderly white-haired couple wearing matching tour shirts. I asked my sister what the shirts said. She replied "Closer to God". I cracked up, quickly put my glasses on and looked back. Sure enough they were wearing old NIN tour shirts. Now I'm convinced they were related to either Trent or others in the band.

Photo credit: tcrash247

Again

Kristeen Young at Don Hill's on September 6!
Even closer than that, Nine Inch Nails later this month.

Sigur Ros sometime in September.

Possible non-free Ted Leo show at the godawful Webster Hall.
We'll see.

KRISTEENYOUNG

Saw her recently play at Piano's. She's phenomenal. I went from hating her, to putting up with her, to loving her. I think the best musicians/artists are approached in this way. I recorded the show and like an idiot, I deleted it by accident. Several people took pictures and or videos but I can't find anything online. Small but good crowd. CerealBot described her as a cross between Bjork and Kathleen Hanna. Spot on!

PS: BabyJeff is awesome too. He'd be like an expert level at Rock Band drums.

It's not funny, my ass is on fire

I've been in Mr.Bungle mode for a while. Now I just need to buy Disco Volante and download the stuff to my mp3 player. Watch out streets!

I saw Sigur Ros Monday night at The Grand Ballroom. The Joker was there. I mean Mary-Kate. I don't know why I find this so exciting. Jonsi is completely mesmerizing. I could stare at him doing his praying mantis thing all day. Someone broke out the pot one minute into the set. Kids these days. Gobbledigook almost turned the crowd into pagan ritualists.

I might see Kristeen Young next week, f'realz!
I really need to see Radiohead live. I wish I was a fascist dictator so that people who get first priority to a show are the ones who've never seen them live. Actually, this is a really bad idea. I just want tickets to Radiohead, is this so hard to ask for?! They're the last great band on my list of concerts I have to see before I die.

Is Nine Inch Nails worth seeing? I feel like I'm 17 every time I listen to them.

New Morrissey Video

for "All You Need Is Me":



You know, I'm quite proud of Morrissey. Forget the mediocre song, he's surrounded by his new young band of men in tight shirts and jeans! (minus Boz of course) Why not? Screw tact and decency, WHORRISSEY is back!

MR. BUNGLE

I discovered Mr. Bungle not too long ago. Complete fucking genius. "California" is my favorite so far. Their first album is pretty chaotic and a little harder to get into but great fun as well. "California" has a psychotic lounge feel and Patton's never sounded better. You don't know whether he's being sincere or laying on the cheese during the slow songs and that's half the fun. They throw ten musical styles together in one song and it actually works.

This next quote from a Mr. Alexander D. Victoria I found at amazon.com kind of encompasses how I feel about the way other bands have changed me. Namely Fugazi, Radiohead, Husker Du (what, did you think I wouldn't mention them? C'mon, it's my blog).

"I have a bitter sweet love for Mr. Bungle. They forced my mind to expand long before it was ready. I really wish that I could sit in my car and bob my head to the latest Matchbox 20 song, or makeout with some Celine Dion blasting in my living room, but I can't.

Mr. Bungle, thank you for pounding the last nail into my pop culture coffin.

Be careful with this record. It will change the way your ears work."

In salute to that first album, here's a video from the first song off their first album. Like clowns on acid. Don't watch if you're scared of dolls or said clowns:

Something I Learned Today

Not a day goes by when I don't feel big love for Husker Du. And it's kind of pathetic because Bob Mould and Grant Hart and of course Greg Norton (if I ever hit Bay City, WI, I'll definitely have to eat at Norton's )have obviously moved on but I'm still stuck to this music. Earlier I was looking at some youtube clips of Rites of Spring and some of Fugazi and it still breaks my mind how amazing these shows were. And I wasn't even there! I've thought of making a weird comic centered on the music and era of Husker Du and Fugazi's hey-day but so far it's all stuck in my head. Sucks to have been 5 years old in '85.

The Shit Topic: Band Reunions
The only reason Husker Du or The Smiths would re-unite would be for tons of $ which would obviously suck b/c they hate each other but if I had to choose who I'd rather see reunited, I'd vote for Husker Du. That's Today's Opinion.

You'd think Green Day would have the pull and Benjamins to at least get Mould or Hart to perform with them on stage somewhere. As both a GD and HD fan, I don't get all the hate from both sides in the comments section. Save the hate for Three Doors Down.


Sometime I get depressed thinking how the new kids won't listen to this amazing music and be stuck on Jared Leto's new godawful band or some similar shit. But every once in a while, I'm given a little hope:

Rites Of Spring

Aside from the fact that it's a very warm day here in NYC, the subject line refers to Guy Picciotto and Brendan Canty's band before Fugazi. Got the self-titled album at Amoeba Records in SF and I think it's my favorite purchase so far. There's an energy and intensity here that I think only existed in punk circles circa 1985. Some have called Rites of Spring and Guy Picciotto the precursor/godfather/inventor of 'emo', a word and genre I completely despise and even have a difficult time writing. Let's refer to the man himself for comment:
"I've never recognized "emo" as a genre of music. I always thought it was the most retarded term ever. I know there is this generic commonplace that every band that gets labeled with that term hates it. They feel scandalized by it. But honestly, I just thought that all the bands I played in were punk rock bands. The reason I think it's so stupid is that - what, like the Bad Brains weren't emotional? What - they were robots or something? It just doesn't make any sense to me."