Complete Control

VGS

2012-02-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

Saw VGS last night, after a hiatus of MANY years. They still got it, the music's still amazing, the kids are still dancing, ALL IS GOOD.

KY: Never Stops Being Amazing

2011-12-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

Tomahawk

2011-10-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

This blog is more or less a snapshot of what I'm into at any given time. I just listened to the last post's "Simply Beautiful" and remembered how incredible it was. I'm terribly biased in thinking my taste is the only taste that matters but isn't that the reason for blogs anyway? To deliver our take on the world to the masses? I'm listening to Tomahawk religiously now, another Mike Patton project. Yes, I am one of his many disciples, deal with it. This song especially:

Fantomas - Simply Beautiful (An Al Green Cover)

2011-09-19T18:50:00.000-07:00

Operation Ivy - Jaded

2011-09-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Husker Du and Mould

2011-04-14T19:25:00.000-07:00

It looks like my old (read: current and forever) obsession is making a bit of a comeback in the mainstream circles. First, there's this:

Green Day's cover of an old Husker Du classic to be released this Saturday on Record Store Day. What really sells it is having the original there too so some young punk kid who maybe hasn't heard of Husker Du can listen to it and find that he really digs their music.

The Original:

The Cover:

Just about the perfect song, musically/lyrically etc. Green Day's homage is genuine (Billie Joe is a huge Husker Du fan) but it's hard to outshine the masters. I know it shouldn't be a contest, but as much as I love Green Day, Husker Du wins this round hands-down.

My introduction to Husker Du actually started with Metal Circus, a copy of which was miraculously available at the Central Library in Jamaica, Queens. They had other Husker Du CDs on the shelf but I opted for Metal Circus because it only had 7 tracks and my ADD mind figured I could at least tolerate that. I was at one of those stages where I felt I needed to go back to the roots. The name Husker Du was always brought up amongst the punk rock/music intelligentsia, my inner mind pronouncing it Huh-sker Do, like a husky dog. It was a good year before I saw a Bob Mould interview where he said the name of his band and I was shocked that I had been wrong the whole time.

As a decent segue, I saw an epic Bob Mould show at the Highline Ballroom several years back. I figured this was the closest I'd ever get to seeing Husker Du live. I'll be damned if my eyes didn't water just a little when he played 'Celebrated Summer'. I could feel the older fans around me get enveloped in this nostalgia, maybe actually having heard Husker Du play it live in the 80s. Once again, another instance of 'I should've been born in the 70s'. Well, now Foo Fighters have collaborated with Bob Mould for one song on their new album "Wasting Light" and I'm considering buying it just because of Mould. My relationship with FF is virtually nonexistent though I have to admit that I do like a couple of their songs. The music is much stronger than the lyrics/vocals however. And I always felt they weren't as hard-hitting as they could be though that might be my Nirvana bias showing.

But Dave Grohl just went up 100 spots in my ranking of cool musicians because he really gives Husker Du props and in an interview I heard on WRXP he admits that his band have basically been ripping off Husker Du. It was said in a good way. Plus there's this and the equally amazing caption.

I met Bob Mould after the Highline show. I was actually really nervous and after a bit of encouragement from my sister I went up to him and he signed my DVD. I didn't say much. How do you tell someone that their music changed your life without sounding like a giant cliche? How do you tell someone that the songs they've written are your therapy? How many ways can you say 'you rock' without sounding like a drunk fanboy? I told him I loved Husker Du and that the show he just finished playing was amazing. He thanked me. As I walked away all I could think was 'I Just Met Bob Mould and I Didn't Make A Total Fool of Myself!' That mantra stuck in my head for days.

I'm glad Bob's getting respect from famous successors such as Dave and Billie Joe. Maybe he'll gain some more fans with this newfound attention to him and his old band. Now to get people to join the Grant Hart bandwagon!

KY

2011-04-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

My Idol:

Back from the Dead

2011-01-18T17:59:00.000-08:00

It's been ages. Long enough for the powers that be to eliminate the two Peeping Tom songs I rec'd on YouTube in the last post. Fah.

This entry will mostly be about Nirvana and how they are one of the handful of bands that made me into the warped person I am today. Imagine being 13 years old and one of your favorite singers just fucking kills himself. Imagine you and all your friends in shock the next day at school. And then imagine the media clusterfuck that comes with this and feel like he was still being exploited after death.

The great thing about Nirvana, if you're learning to play guitar, is that the songs are relatively simple. Guitar solos clock in at a max of 10 notes strung together. Many of the songs use the same chords. It's not rocket science yet it's just as genius. Kurt knew punk rock, took its spirit and infused it into a more darker alternative kind of music we're grudgingly forced to call 'grunge'. Now, today, ages after I first listened to these songs, I have finally taken it upon myself to learn them and play them. I can play "About A Girl", "In Bloom" and "Heart-Shaped Box." More or less. I read somewhere that after Kurt learned how to play 3 songs on the guitar, he started writing his own. Punk fucking rock.

I bought Kurt Cobain's journals from the bargain section at Barnes & Noble some time ago for $7.98. He's obviously not perfect. Yes, he was a drug addict. He was a flawed human being like all of us and he would be the first person to acknowledge that he is no hero worthy of worship. But how can you not admire a guy that wrote "Geeks Unite" in his journals and once wrote that he wished he was gay just so he could piss off homophobes?

I bring Kurt and Nirvana back from the dead when I play their songs on my cheap electric guitar attached to a Grunge distortion pedal. I bring them back from the dead when I play Disc 2 of "With the Lights Out." I can't concentrate when I listen to the demos. The purity, the spark, the germ of a song born. This is what it is to love music, to live music.

Peeping Tom

2010-02-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

This is what I'm listening to these days:

Primus - To Defy the Laws of Tradition

2010-01-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

Various

2009-12-10T11:43:00.001-08:00

I'm in the middle of a very intense new obsession with Faith No More. Listened to the album "The Real Thing" for the first time ever just last week. It's blowing my mind. Where have I been all these years? Strange that I was a Mr. Bungle fan BEFORE being a fan of FNM.

And I still mean to write a lengthy post of KY eventually.

Blockage

2009-10-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, as I was walking down the street, I had some sort of music epiphany. Oddly enough it happened while I was listening to Nine Inch Nail's "The Wretched". Everything formulated and clicked in my head, how certain chords, sounds, patterns and repetitions can come together to make the perfect song. I'm sure there's some kind of music theory behind this but I don't think it's something that can be readily explained. Maybe it's because since I started playing the guitar, you just pay more attention to notes and chords and beats than just what the singer is saying. (although that's crucial too) Right now I feel like Thom Yorke is channeling every sound/note/beat/rhythm I could possibly want to hear in this song:

I think I'm on my 100th listening or something. It's perfect. It's so perfect I can even excuse it for being on the soundtrack of the movie that will not be mentioned in my blog ever. I feel like everything Thom's worked on recently was made for my ears. It's almost scary.

That being said, I think I will update this thing more. Again.

Thom Yorke

2009-08-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

He is the greatest man working in music right now, period.

HUSKER DU

2009-08-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

So Bob Mould is performing songs from an unnamed Husker Du LP with No Age at the ATP Festival. It would cost me approximately $160 to watch what would probably be their hour long set - I don't care for the other bands that are playing on Sunday. I've been thinking about this long and hard now for the past 2 days.

PRO: Bob Mould singing a bunch of Husker Du songs!
CON: No Grant Hart, therefore it's not really like seeing Husker Du live.
(other con: pricey)

My dream is to see Husker Du live even though I know Hart and Mould hate each other. I constantly switch between 3 impossible fantasies in my daily life: seeing Husker Du live, seeing Fugazi live, seeing Radiohead live w/ front row center seats. Clearly I'm living on another planet.

Would Bob Mould really perform Grant Hart songs? How would I feel about that? How would Grant feel about that? For now, I'm thinking of writing Bob Mould and asking him to bring this closer to me because I'm selfish. He will probably hate me.

Grant Hart is coming out with a new album in October http://www.granthart.com/news.htm Looking forward to it!!!

Life and Times

2009-04-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

About Bob Mould's new album...

I honestly wasn't expecting much. District Line was kind of a disappointment to me but considering I'm a loyal Bob Mould fan, I had to buy the new album.

It's his best work in a LONG LONG time. I used to wonder why so many more people were fans of Sugar (of which I only own the brilliant Copper Blue) rather than my fave Husker Du but this new album kind of explains why. It's very Sugar-esque, good old rock with just the right melodies the way Mould knows how to craft them. You can call it a form of Power-pop but his lyrics take the whole thing to another level. It's unguarded, like Workbook. I think one of my fave songs is Argos. Bad Blood Better going into another dimension of deep. Looking forward to any shows if he's coming my way!

I'm also listening to a ridiculous amount of Velvet Underground & Nico. Venus in Furs is on repeat as is the new Kristeen Young which I will eventually write about.

KRISTEENYOUNG

2009-04-03T16:18:00.001-07:00

So I saw Kristeen Young live at Santo's Party House on April Fool's Day. I don't think I've ever heard her sound so amazing. Her new album has been playing on my headphones and stereo non-stop. Here's some video footage I took of Touch Tongues:

The Clown Inside You

2009-03-12T14:17:00.001-07:00

My semi-favorite radio station 92.3 KROCK is no longer. Now it plays music for douchewads and jerkbags. I wondered what would be in my playlist if I were a DJ. I knew immediately that the first song that I played would HAVE to be Break by Fugazi. And that's about it. That's not even my favorite Fugazi song but I think it's such a great opener that it would be the first song I'd play on my radio hour called "The Clown Inside You" featuring DJ Shitty Name, Fuck You!

After some consideration I knew I had to add a pretty popular song to keep the audience listening. Hence the Faith No More. (I am assuming my audience has never left the '90s) Then I needed a song with BALLS, so that would be GnR's You Could Be Mine. Then I figured, what the hell, let's give 'em some Mr. Bungle. Carousel is a pretty catchy song. Although the ending might scare some people. And why not add an old fave of mine, some Husker Du? And then a 'new' song I rediscovered by Nirvana. After that, I decide I'm very bored and don't want a stinking audience anyway so I play Mr. Bungle's 10-minute opus that includes the repeated screaming of 'THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME' for several minutes followed by 2 whole minutes of silence as everyone tries to figure out what's wrong with the station. Mass mayhem ensues, akin to the post-War of the Worlds broadcast.

In case anyone is left listening, they are treated to my favorite Fugazi song "Bulldog Front".

Please note it actually took me about 5 minutes to come up with this playlist. Hire me, 101.9!

Joining the 21st Century

2009-02-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

I've listened to 2 new songs made in the past decade. The Kings of Leon's "Sex on Fire" which has stupid lyrics but good music and then this:

Year End Shit

2008-12-30T10:29:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-06T16:39:00.000-08:00

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

2008-08-31T10:18:00.001-07:00

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

2008-08-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-07T19:00:00.001-07:00

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

2008-06-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-22T10:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

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

2008-02-06T10:22:00.000-08:00

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."

YEAR END LIST

2007-12-30T18:34:00.000-08:00

My favorite music that either came out this year or that I listened to heavily this year:
1) Radiohead - In Rainbows
Sorry to say I paid 0 cents for the best album of the year. You've read all the reviews on how revolutionary their selling method was but most have generally overlooked the music. Thom Yorke's never sounded better and his voice KILLS me on "Nude" which I think may be the best track on the album. Greenwood & co. have their arrangements down to a science. Love love LOVE this album, what more can I say about the greatest living band on Earth?
2) Bjork - Volta
Obviously Bjork can do no wrong in my book. One of my songs of the year would definitely have to be "Wanderlust" which I played the hell out of. Plus I finally got to see her live at the Apollo of all places and she was as deliriously amazing as I knew she'd be.
3) KRISTEENYOUNG - The Orphans

Let's get it over with: the bitch is half-crazy but man can she sing. I saw her open up for Morrissey and thought she was alright but it was when I saw her in closer proximity opening for Ted Leo that I found her to be genius. Her on-stage banter needs work but her songs are so extremely operatic/glam and her style so unique that I couldn't help buying an album. Though her style is so over-the-top to the point of abrasive, one of her favorites of mine is "(But it's all just) Imagined", a ballad that can be heard at http://myspace.com/kristeenyoung
4) Bob Mould - Blowoff
Bob Mould is my own personal god. Blowoff is his collaboration with Richard Morel and it's totally dancey/bear intensive yet with a rock edge. It got major play on my stereo this year.
5) Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim
This was one of their new releases this year, a double album of old faves done acoustically or differently and then new material on Hvarf. Another band that can do no wrong for me.

As far as old stuff I discovered or rediscovered, I listened to a helluva lot of Nirvana Unplugged, the usual mix of Husker Du/Bob Mould/Grant Hart, got into the Jam and listened to Judy Garland live at Carnegie Hall so many times I should've been arrested and of course the Gay Pimp's "For the Fellas...".

BLOWOFF

2007-08-26T13:18:00.001-07:00

So basically I can't get over Bob Mould and I'm obsessed with his Blowoff project made with this dude Morel: http://myspace.com/blowoffmusic

Their main site is at http://www.blowoff.us/

The site is totally bear-intensive. The music is dancey with hints of his old rock self. Bob Mould's blog is at http://modulate.blogspot.com - He'll be playing some solo shows that I'll definitely check out (in the band will be Brendan Canty a.k.a. GOD) but I'm still debating whether to go to the Blowoff shows because I'll kill the Bear audience groove. I'm gonna get that DVD signed by Bob and mutter to him something about how Husker Du is one of the greatest bands ever before doing a marathon run out of there.

Q & A

2007-07-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'll bite. Taken from CerealBot:

List 10 artists/bands that you've seen live in concert
1-Sigur Ros
2-Bjork
3-Erasure
4-Morrissey
5-The Adicts
6-Goat Explosion
7-Rufus Wainwright
8-Green Day
9-Inspecter 7
10-The Adicts

Answers:
Song you wish you'd seen number 2 do?
Bjork did most of my faves but I would've loved to have seen her do "Cocoon" live or "Pagan Poetry".

How many times have you seen number 3?
Seen live or in concert? First time was at the Beacon all the way in the back, twice at Irving Plaza (one of my favoritest concerts ever was on Andy's birthday and I was by myself and still had a blast!) Then I saw them on Carsick Daily a day later I got autographs at Borders. Then I saw them on their acoustic tour at some weird church-like thing and most recently I got autographs at Virgin. I <3 'Rasure!

Where did you see number 9 play?
Jesus. The one I remember most was at the SweatGlands.

Favorite song number 8 played?
DISAPPEARING BOY (OMG!)

Who did you see number 7 with?
Cerealbot. I drag her to all the Rufie shows!

Favorite venue you've seen 4 play?
The Apollo was the better show.

Favorite concert memory from number 6?
How unhip the band looked thereby making them ultrahip. Also how there were like ten fans there.

Song that always goes off when you see number 10?
Chinese Takeaway I guess?

Best thing about number 1's performance?
Just when you think no band or concert could be unique, Sigur Ros comes along. A true original. Love them.

Why did you go to see number 5?
Cuz they're the Adicts! They rule dude!

How old were you when you saw number 2?
Uh same age as now.

Favorite concert memory from number 8?
My first concert! Dying my hair with spray. :)

Best cover song you've seen from number 4?
He doesn't do many covers live but I guess it would the Dolls' "Subway Train" segueing into "Everyday is Like Sunday".

Would you go to see number 7 again?
Yes. if his frikkin shows wouldn't sell out now that the whole world and their mother is on the bandwagon!

Song you never really liked until seeing number 1 in concert?
Sigur Ros makes aural masterpieces. There's something new to discover in each song. Also, I don't really know the names of any of their songs except for "Svenf-G-Englar" and "Glossoli". XD

Which albums do you own from number 6?
Augh!! They don't have any albums!

Best dance sequence you've ever seen from number 10?
Monkey's jaunty little sidestepping? Actually, I have no idea.

Worst thing about number 3's concert.
The people who do not move!!! Come on, it's frikkin Erasure!! This was a problem at the Beacon and the Church-thing but not at Irving. Also, the annoying guy who is tone-deaf that sings every song at the top of his lungs. Wait, I think that's me.

The only three songs that number 3 would have to play to make a concert?
Love To Hate You, A Little Respect and for all the desperate fans FINGERS AND THUMBS!

How far did you travel to see number 5?
Just Manhattan

I NEED ADVICE, I NEED ADVICE

2007-06-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

"...because nobody ever looks at me twice."

My fellow droogs, ponies, clownettes and saints: please advise me on this pressing matter. Whorrissey is taping Letterman this Monday and I am debating whether to go or not. Should I wait 6 hours for the possibility of being within the same TV studio-sized space as His Most Unholiness? I have nothing doing on Monday since I'm on paid vacation. Is my Smiths-addled brain warping all common sense? I have no intention of meeting him, I heard he's a bitch.

"If you're loud people step back. If you're quiet people step forward."

2007-06-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ian MacKaye for the win:
http://www.ottawaxpress.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=12323

This is why I think Fugazi is one of the very few genuine bands out there. It wasn't about money, it wasn't about bitchy alliances and arguments or someone having some inane heroin overdose or groupies or any bullshit. It's just straight-up about the music. "Merchandise" has to be one of my most favorite songs of theirs, along with "Bulldog Front". They just mean what they say and it's so hard to find that in the world of music. A band that's real, not a facade. A great fucking album, not a monotonous hit single. That's why I'm so passionate about my favorite bands. I wouldn't waste my time, money and energy on something that didn't come directly from the heart.

Speaking of which, check out some Bob Mould at ifc.com where he recently played live on the Henry Rollins show. Two of my faves in one, does it get better than that?

Talking Smiths

2007-06-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

That's a clever play-on-words referencing the title of a series of monologues written by Alan Bennett. Okay, maybe Morrissey would've gotten that. But I'm not here to talk about him (for once).

The other half of The Smiths are featured in a DVD that will see its release sometime in July. It's called "Inside the Smiths", and neither Morrissey nor Marr agreed to be in it. Which leads the average fan to ask, 'what's the point'? I understand that Morrissey and Marr are the bedrock behind the Smiths, but unlike other fans I do realize the important roles that Joyce and Rourke played in the band. They were not session musicians. The Smiths sound would not be complete without them.

The NME has an interview with Johnny Marr. Here's a segment:
Q: The six things I guarantee I'll never do are...
1) Allow my music to be involved with advertising McDonalds or any meat product.
2) Wear winklepicker shoes.
3) Wear a tie onstage.
4) Have a fringe that faces North instead of South.
5) Lend a drummer my money.
6) Reform The Smiths.

Number one is a good one, glad to know Morrissey's habit has stuck with him even though he hasn't. I don't know what number two is. Number three is either a clever dig at Morrissey or those new hipster emo bands that care more about fashion than music. Number four is definitely a dig at Morrissey while number five is a clear jab at Joyce. Or maybe all drummers are crazy, who knows.

I waver between Number 6. Sometimes it sounds like the best idea in the world, but at other times (and more often) I think they should leave The Smiths dead and buried. I can't see any of them doing a reunion for the right reasons. Joyce and Rourke would do it for the money. Morrissey says he'd rather eat his own testicles than reform the Smiths, but I think his big ego would like to see what would happen if they did do it. If it ever happened there's no way I'd get tickets to see it, so I'd rather it didn't. There is an energy and bravado that they had in their Smiths days that can never be replicated this many years on. I could talk forever on this point, but best to leave it at that.

Holy Shit

2007-06-11T17:40:00.001-07:00

I just saw the setlist for Morrissey's recent show in Vegas. He played "Whatever Happens, I Love You", which is in my top 10 Morrissey songs of all time. If he plays this in Philly, my head will fly right off.

Notice the James Dean backdrop. Golden.

When I got the music, I got a place to go

2007-06-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well, not in this case. I'm listening to Rufus Wainwright on a livestream because I couldn't get tickets to his show. It's very modern but a little depressing. Much like the whole blog phenomenon.

So this is the music blog that I always wanted to start up. Already I hate the name I've chosen but at least it's simple and tells it like it is. The Bouncing Souls held a similar credo in the mid-90s. I don't care to kill MTV, I just don't care for it.