sweet and gentle music

right now i'm kinda digging on this track from the chicago band, the changes. listen to it here

the anti-bush online adventure

my friend caspere sent me this: the anti-bush online adventure

the paper chase & we ragazzi @ north six

while most people were probably getting totaled at the les savy fav craziness at volume on friday night, anna and i zoomed on our bikes over to north six to check out her friend's band the paper chase from dallas/denton texas. isn't everyone from denton these days? we got there in the middle of their set, but just in time to hear my favorite song, "don't you wish you had some more." unfortunately though, there weren't that many people there. i still enjoyed watching them create their spastic set, complete with sound effects, guitar, bass, drums and keys. it was hot and sweaty, just the way i like my friday night rock. if the band isn't dripping with sweat, they didn't try hard enough, you know?

i had never seen we ragazzi before either, and this three-piece was definitely interesting. anna says the lead singer sings like prince, but what fascinated me about the band was the kick-ass drummer girl. not only did she hit those drums hard, she did it with such a unique style. it was tough and forceful without being out of control. though their songs started to sound more and more the same, i did like what i heard... and am curious to hear more -- hopefully more diverse songs from this band.

celebrate brooklyn! neil young tribute @ prospect park

on saturday it was a beautiful day. i got a call from annie asking if i wanted to ride our bikes over to prospect park for the neil young tribute. i was game. annie brought the scrabble board and made this delicious picnic for us. we were zooming along, and about three-fourths of the way to the park, the chain on my bike broke. it was so sad. i abandoned the chain on the street (r.i.p) and we walked our bikes the rest of the way there.

we were quite early and stood in line to get into the concert. half of the time we were trying to figure out how we were going to sneak our wine inside. they were checking bags... shit! annie stashed the wine in the bushes near the fence... we thought we would go get it later when we were safely inside. doug and his friends from north carolina met up with us a little bit later. we found out they snuck two bottles of wine in. and we went to fetch our stashed wine. i had kind of a headache and decided not to drink. i was quite impressed that at the end of the night, annie, doug and the gang had finished up the wine! drunks!

annie and i slowly played scrabble as people walked by and commented on our game. people would say thinks like, "is 'liven' a word?" we'd reply, "why yes it is." the concert was pretty bad. though cat power, iron & wine and ron sexsmith i thought were good, most of the people who played were just plain awful... kind of a massacre.

while there, i ran into dt, noah, josh, sean and robin. they were all there just hanging and of course representing for iron & wine. hotness. dt said he never heard sam beam sing the way he was singing at the tribute. it was more of a country style of singing. it was good though. as that crew rolled out, i stayed and hung out a lil longer with annie and co. we took the train home and luckily doug's friend helped me carry my bike home (thanks dude!). overall it was just a nice day spent in a beautiful park. i heart new york!!!

lazy sundays

i woke up the next morning to go and fix my bike chain. there was this obnoxious texas family in line in front of me, just completely boasting their richness. the dad was buying bikes for his two daughters, who were in their 20s. they kind of gave off spoiled vibes as their dad paid for their $450 bikes. the cashier guy was like, it will probably take a couple weeks to get the bikes made, but don't scream if it's a little longer. the dad replied, "oh don't you worry. they'll definitely scream."

after i got my bike fixed, i rode over to mckarren park. met up with doug and annie again. we tried to go over to pete's candy store, but it wasn't open yet. so we bought a bunch of stuff to make dacquairis (spelling?) and also a kiddie wading pool to fill with water. it was pretty awesome. we dipped our feet in the pool and got drunk on dacqairis and mojitos. yummy! somehow i rode home drunk in the dark, totally buzzed on the wonderfully relaxing sunday. i love weekends like that!

a little extra something-something
if you're bored and feel like starting a restaurant, here's how to pitch your restaurant to the mayor.

my awesome roommate anna

i read a lot of blogs... and everyone always talks about their cool roommates, so i figured, i should start doing it too, so i can be wholly awesome.

ok, so let me tell you about my roommate, anna. i met her about two years ago, so unsuspectingly. i used to be the music editor for a teen website, but i was also responsible for posting content on other sections of the site, like a fashion column called "dig or dis," where we took clothing from our delias-like catalog and posted it on the site with some cutesy question like -- floral tank: wilted or in bloom? and the kids would post their thoughts on the java board. most of the time they just talked about how the model's boobs were too big or too small or too fat. it was the stupidest thing ever, but i had to take one of my skinny coworkers each week and take like 7 photos of her wearing various clothing from our catalog. anna was working as a receptionist on the floor where all the fitting rooms were. we instantly connected as we laughed about my ridiculous job. she suggested i write for venus zine, popmatters and kitty magik instead... and eventually i did.


hearing i was the music editor of the site, she talked about her band, knife skills. they were going to play their first show soon. i told her i would check them out. around that time i was throwing a mod party at my apartment, and invited her to come check it out. i didn't think she'd actually come. i didn't think anyone would come. it was raining horribly that night. but people did, anna included. from then on, we became really great friends as we started to hang out more and more.

her boyfriend, deron, now her hubby, was working sound at a club called luxx in williamsburg. i kept reading these huge articles about luxx and the whole electroclash thing. it was around the same time i started to dig the walkmen and basically the entire startime records catalog because my friend miker was doing the website and an old college acquaintance isaac ran the label. i started to hang out with her and deron at various rock shows.


i started to meet tons of people, including members of the asian rock jury (pictured above). i started listening to a bunch of cool bands i'd never heard of before. i started taking photos at shows. then i started a blog. she introduced me to music like turing machine, vaz, les savy fav, bishop allen, the new humans, the big sleep, on!air!library!, semiautomatic... most recently paper chase.

she introduced me to vegan food, and i dig her tofu and her vegan Magnolia-like cupcakes. she makes me more politically aware than i would be on my own. she helped me start my own monthly On the Moon Music Presents... party at Luxx, which I stopped doing soon after Vicious took off because booking shows stopped being fun. She encouraged me when I decided to start managing a band.


she introduced me to my long-lost cousin, slim moon!

usually people are never around for my birthday because it's two days before christmas, but anna (along with my ex) managed to round up all of my friends and throw a karaoke party for me... two years in a row. last year, she and i went to chinatown together to buy dumplings for the party. it was pretty spectacular, and made me feel loved.

she's also one of the only girls i know who can do high kicks. she also sings that "thank you for coming to loews. sit back, relax, enjoy the show!" song and dance better than lindsay lohan. she's also the toughest female rock star i know. just check out this photo. too many girls these days just want to look fucking cute and coy. anna is badass. she screams. she writes menacing guitar lines. she tells jokes in between songs. she writes great lyrics. she's BADASS and not afraid to show it.

And then when I had basically nowhere else to go, she let me move into her apartment. i've since come to adore lucy, the stray cat she and deron adopted. and this weekend, she and deron are adopting a dog named nikita from mighty mutts. are there people our age who do caring things like that and are so giving of their time and love? not many. plus, she plays scrabble with me. She's pretty fucking awesome, and one of the coolest people i know.

don't you wish you had some more

i went to see french kicks play bloomies soho yesterday... it was kinda weird. but my love for them is so strong, i ignored all of the weirdness, danced, sang along and had a great time. free shows are always awesome. they played mostly stuff from the new album, including my favorite, "one more time," and also a couple oldies, including "close to modern." here's a video clip of them playing "close to modern." btw, their drummer is amazing. mike, byron and i tried to drink the non-existent "cocktails". after some foraging, we found stella served in wine glasses. some people were walking around with trays of bread. tons of cute indie rock kids showed up. i think only one girl was full-on dancing and singing. indeed, we need to teach the indie rock kids how to dance. stop thinking you're too cool to dance. how can you not dance to french kicks? they're so damn catchy. shame on you.

cass mccombs and iron & wine @ maxwell's

i got a last minute invite to the sold-out cass mccombs and iron & wine show at maxwell's. the last time i went to maxwell's (in hoboken) was to see the walkmen. i swore after my treacherous commute to and fro, i would never go back to maxwell's. but there i was, taking the path train, heading out to jersey on a thursday night. but c'mon, cass mccombs canceled all of his new york dates and this was his only area show for a while. dt and i got there in the middle of cass's set... cass was wearing some kind of eyeshadow and his brand new band had a guy wearing a dress like he just came from some hippie festival. i thought, uh oh. while they did mostly play fast songs, cass did play a couple of my faves: "aids in africa" and "not the way." so beautiful.


i have to say that this is my first time hearing or seeing iron & wine in concert. and boy was i looking forward to it. the band did not disappoint. their songs were so soft and sweet and pure -- probably the most sincere music i've ever heard. ever. the lead singer, sam, had this voice that was like a soft whisper in your ear, incredibly intimate. it gave me shivers. i just closed my eyes and swayed to the music. i found out that i had seen the drummer's other band last week. he also plays in a band called teen wheat who played with circle and square last week at lit. iron and wine and teen wheat are total opposites as far as musical styles, so it just goes to show you that you can use music to express your creativity in oh so many ways.

what am i doing tonight? FREE STUFF!

6 p.m. meet up with mike and byron for the french kicks performance at the bloomingdales in soho. FREE drinks!

8 p.m. move on to some event at webster hall that my friend susan helped put together for some kind of music technology product... uh FREE drinks! even the top shelf stuff. sweet!

10 p.m. sam champion and these bones perform at luna lounge for FREE! good rock/n/roll. woo hoo!

can we say, astrobi seksu!?

wow, asobi seksu put on a great performance last night. i was impressed with their live show -- their songs really come alive... especially with their strobe light endings, though that got a bit epileptic after a while -- for one or two songs, it's a great effect, but after four or five, i start seeing dots and dots and dots... yuki looks like she's in the throes of ecstasy on stage. she just kind of throws her head back and closes her eyes. i wish there were more songs with james on vocals too. he's got a great voice that kind of reminds me of the mink lungs. hot damn!


mellowdrone exceeded my expectations. i had only seen jonathan bates do his solo mellowdrone thang before, but this time it was pretty awesome -- the sound is obviously much fuller with a band backing him and his wild stage antics. his voice travels from sweet jeff buckley-like notes to low sexy drawls -- and it all seems so effortless for his skinny ass. i've never seen someone that skinny. he kind of threw his slim frame all over the stage, pushing mic stands over, stumbling over himself and then finally at the end just falling onto the floor in front of the drums. very mellow-dramatic.


and for those of you who stayed for au revoir simone, i know you were not disappointed. the girls put on a solid show with their dreamy soft melodies. and they looked pretty cute while showing off their catchy fast songs and then falling into their more numbing, romantic electronic ballads. they get better and better every time!

sidenote: dude the line from the killers outside mercury lounge was just ridiculous. it was a mile long, and full of "hipsters." are you a hipster? get in line, right here. haha.

oh my, that billboard scandal

ok i've met keith girard a couple times through my job (most recently at sxsw), so when i'm reading about this huge billboard scandal, it's even crazier!

According to the formal complaint, "gender and race-based discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliatory firings, intra-office sabotage, and other wrongdoing ... took place in the offices of the music industry's leading trade publication."

The complaint adds that Girard and Chang "found themselves in a newsroom culture in which corporate management readily sacrificed editorial integrity for the sake of financial interests, [and] sexual philandering among senior and junior-level staff members was not only condoned but encouraged."

"Schlager frequently and repeatedly made inappropriate remarks to Chang of a sexual and/or erotic nature. ... During all relevant times, Schlager maintained a green phallic vibrator, of the type normally intended for sexual use, in full view on a shelf in his office. On at least three occasions, Schlager removed the vibrator from the shelf and showed it to Chang, and on at least one of these occasions he turned the vibrator on to show Chang that it still worked."

wtf is wrong with this world?

honestly, right now, i can give two shits that lollapalooza is canceled. i couldn't care less about bill clinton's best-selling memoir. why? because this world is just totally fucked up. terrorism is spreading to attack all parts of the world. and we're boo-hooing about not being able to see moz and the pixies while some mother and father across the world is crying over the beheading of their son. i feel so helpless. i feel sad. wtf? anna says this is the beginning of a new world war, and that thought scares the shit out of me. why is there so much hate in the world? can't we all do something to make each other feel good? god, it's so frustrating.

is clear channel evil enough to pull the plug on lollapalooza?

from a listserv somewhere:
We had a couple rentals for Lollapalooza (our business specializes in renting vans to touring musicians) and of course this is a big setback for us. From what I have heard the main problem wasn't ticket sales (Major markets were doing just fine, and Baltimore was already sold out). It was that Clear Channel decided they didn't want to support what is basically a liberal festival. With organizations like MoveOn.org doing major promotions over the whole tour (which in turn were being documented by VH-1 for a series) Clear Channel decided to pull the plug. Without Clear Channel there was no place to play, since as we all know, they own or control almost every large venue able to accommodate a festival of this size. The promoters aren't saying anything because they have to do business with these guys, but that's the back story as I heard it.
Sharky Laguana (ex Creeper Lagoon)
Co-Founder
Bandago Van Rentals

the morning after

jason productshop's new band the morning after

the paper chase & foreign sounding bands

i can't stop watching this video for the paper chase. can't wait to see their nervous, twisted rock at north six on friday (june 25). they're playing with we ragazzi, another band i've been meaning to check out, but my plans just never work out. all the stars are aligned this friday though. you should come out too! that is if you're not planning on les savy fav and q and not u at volume or iron & wine at bowery or enon and mellowdrone at rothko or saintface at sin-e. holy shit! too many choices.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention another great show on Wednesday, June 23 @ rothko. Some of my favorite bands are playing it: Local faves Asobi Seksu (which means "play sex" in Japanese -- rawr!) and Au Revoir Simone (i believe that is a peewee's playhouse reference? anyhoo, these four ladies are dreamy electronic pop) and Mellowdrone (who i've only seen solo, but he's amazing and i can't wait to see the full band play!)

let's also not forget sam champion (very reminiscent of one of my faves, pavement) at luna lounge (free show!) on thursday, june 24, with these bones, who do a funny cover of britney spears' "toxic." show starts at 10...

or if you get a chance, my friend jumee's friend, miho hatori, who used to be in cibo matto is playing solo at pianos at 9 on thursday, june 24. one of anna's friend's band, the quick fix kills, are also playing that show.

is this what touring life will be like?

dop did a double show this weekend, one in jersey, one in nyc. as we are currently booking a tour right now, we got a little taste of touring life with the trek to good ol' passaic. passaic is in the middle of nowhere. we all hopped in a van with the girlfriends, and happily zoomed on over to jersey. we found out that, as expected, dj is a swervey and aggressive driver. i thought we were going to die. but as the trip went on, he got better, so i guess practice makes perfect.

we ate dinner at some sporty bar that had like 10 big screen TVs, and one of the nicest waitresses ever. there was a dj who was pumping all this techno dance music from the 90s. i felt like i was in some kind of time warp. even the CVS was playing wilson phillips from the radio. sung bin ran around with a rubber lobster on her head, and annie and i perused the makeup aisle. yes, suburban life is this boring!


when we played the dead disco party at loop lounge (which is like the tiswas or misshapes of jersey), we were happy to see that the crowd was really receptive to us, including the local band that followed us, mynuskris (pronounced "minus chris" -- as in minus this guy kris who left the band). the party promoters todd and geoff were also totally sweet guys, and that made us feel good about playing a show in some area that definitely needed some good music to pass through. we were pumped to play our set, thinking it would be a great warm up show for the mercury lounge show the next day in new york. we were right. the set flowed beautifully, and dop were charged. and we left jersey. home sweet home!

the next day, i was feeling pretty rough. riding around in the back of a van with a bunch of amps and people isn't exactly my idea of comfort, but it was fun. my back was aching and my head was feeling heavy. i tried to chill out for most of the day to psyche myself up for the evening's show. it was part of a karipalooza celebration of one girl's awesomeness in the music scene. hot stuff. i especially love supporting other girlies in the scene, we all gotsta stick together, ya heard? the mercury lounge show promised to be excellent with its hyped up bill: dennis cahlo's new band, the sons of sound, benzos, the band kari manages, and the bravery (or rather, flock of seagulls!). the early part of the night boasted kick-ass rock, while the latter part of the night summoned tripped-up dance music.


dennis's new three-piece band, the sons of sound, completely blew me away. i had no idea what to expect, but i didn't expect the bold pairing of gentle jeff buckley vocals with such dark, badass music. wow! the textured sounds of two guitars and one forceful drummer is just explosive. i can't wait for their next show! i can't help but say it though... i will miss how dennis's solo stuff made me want to cry and yearn for sweet, beautiful things. is that cheesey? sorry i'm so completely bridget jonesin on you.


i love anytime george breaks out the bow in dop songs. i don't know how he makes it sound so beautiful and pure, but his bowed guitar parts simply soar over the crowd and makes my heart pitter patter with such sadness. i also loved that doug stood up front for "cheat death" three part vocal harmonies.

the band started with such a rockin' song -- "mind blindness" with a special extended ending that gets so fucking loud without losing any momentum or catchiness. they also debuted that brand new song, "your summer dress," which joe sings on -- his voice is such a trip, but i love its strange, sweet quality. it's almost other worldly.

there were these kids dancing up front like it was a fatboy slim "praise you" video. it was totally cracking me up. those dances were worse than elaine's from seinfeld. yikes!!! all in good fun though. all in good fun. ok this post is getting way too long.

i finally met mr. coolfer himself! i was so excited when i found out his blog name was taken from slang used by his friends, as in when your friends eat half of your meal, you say, "coolfer eating my meal, dickhead." hotness!

another slang term to add is my friend katy's new one. she was walking into our apartment building one day and the kids outside pointed to her and said, "that's my type. smell it." ahahahahaha!

hooplas involving circus tricks

apparently rachel trachtenburg couldn't make the show last night at north six because she was being interviewed by vh1 or something. after dop practice, we all went over to say hi to eric and the say hi to your mom gang. we thought we'd slip in just in time for shtym's set, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. we suffered through the last half of jason trachtenburg's solo show... the absence of rachel's cute face was thick in the air, as we all tried to patiently listen to jason mutter out long, drawn out, seemingly directionless stories... he seemed to nervous, i felt so bad for him... but it also pained me to listen to it. so much so that i couldn't help but laugh out of nervousness for him. oh.my.gosh. poor guy.

then some kind of funk band whose bassist had this blue light up flashing ring came on stage... and we all knew we had to leave. pizza run. we ran into billy from other passengers there, chomping away on a slice. this town feels more and more like family as time goes by.

we eventually said bye to billy and wandered back to north six. eric finally went on stage super late, but we enjoyed the set nonetheless. i was barely conscious because of my lack of sleep these days. but hearing eric sing "super" is nice and reassuring that someone else in the world holds the same sarcastic sense of humor that i do. word.


back to band practice though. i don't know why, but i am addicted to going to band practice. i think that i miss dop when i don't see them at practice for like a week. having such access to their music and their creative process is an amazing privilege that i take advantage of as much as possible. i see them develop. i see them grow. i see them create amazing songs. i feel like a mother, proud of her children's accomplishments. the beautiful sounds start to envelope me, and i can't help but smile. it's so fucking good! i took some video of them practicing dj's new song, which joe sings on. his voice is so sad and beautiful. the song is so goddamn catchy. watch them here and see for yourself! [warning: it will take you a while to download, even on high speed, but it's worth it.]

everyone wants a drummer

The following is a letter from Max from the Natural History. It seems everyone is looking for a band member who likes to tour. Ain't that a bitch???? If only I was a bad-ass drummer. I'd be in bidness! Help him out, peoples.

Hey Everybody,
The Natural History is looking for a new drummer. Someone who likes to tour a lot and would want to be in a full time band. Well, at the very least would want to tour this fall. We're in the middle of recording our new record which will be done at the end of summer (our current drummer will be finishing up the record) and released early next year. f you know of anyone in the NYC area who might know someone, please forward this to them! If you someone who has always wanted to move to NYC and be a drummer in a rock band, please forward this to them! our help is appreciated.
Thanks
Max

surrender, surrender! rock and roll still exists in nyc

it's been quite a while since i've been to a rock show and had a beer bottle thrown at me, but it happened last night at the blue sparks cd release party by miss alanna. it came out of nowhere and splattered all over near the bar of sin-e. craziness! all in good rock/n/roll fun! it's always a good night when you spend some time at home washing the beer from your face, and the ink from your hands.

in case you don't know, the blue sparks are down and gritty rock and roll that splatters (like a hurled budweiser) with tough spastic fun. it's pretty amazing how tight they are, and i especially love when phil rocks it out on the guitar. he seems so innocuous, but that boy just rips out the demon when he's on stage. in an adorable way, of course! they just pound their guitars, and i don't know how their strings aren't all in pieces right now.

i really liked their entire set, but the old song they pulled out at the begging of john martin was pretty amazing. jo tells me it's an old blue sparks song, but a classic, called "tell me whatcha want." that song is so good, i thought it was a cover song! it's the kind of old school rock song that makes you want to go crazy and scream along, "tell me whatcha want! i want i want i want! tell me whatcha need! i need i need i need!" sooooooo fucking good. i'm officially an addict.


wolfbait (which of course was the fever playing cover songs) played some goodies too, including:
** hall and oates' "maneater"
** r. kelly's "ignition"
** cheap trick's "surrender"

i'm also happy to report that geremy's hair is lookin' better than ever. word.

this was all witnessed by a lovely group of sweet hot familiar peeps. so much raw goodness. i fucking heart new york.


another great band i saw last night was other passengers. this band just gets better and better each time i see them. their dark, despondent lyrics and overwhelming compositions swallow me up into some kind of abysmal black hole. just amazing, and quite heart-stopping live.

free french kicks show

FREE FRENCH KICKS SHOW
Bloomingdale's Soho
Brought to you by Puma & Blender
Thursday, June 24
6:00 - 8:00pm
rsvp@blender.com

Did I mention the free drinks? Yes, free cocktails. Yum!

new slang (for me)

some people i've recently met have been saying some funny slang that is new to me. i thought i'd share them so that you could laugh with me:

mika, christy's gf, is originally from japan. when we were all hanging out at snacky's, she suddenly turned to dj and said, "why you so dick?"

my co-worker jeremy (you may see him spreading around ascap earplugs at the vicious events) has a couple great sayings. if he wants to ask you if you're interested in certain things, he'll say, "do you fuck with that?" and when he wants to communicate that he's tired, he will say, "i'm so assed out."

when my friend mike likes something he'll either say, "hot shit!" or "that's the jam!"

so anyhoo, what kind of funny slang phrases do your friends sling around?

just as an fyi

the walkmen and dresden dolls show at volume has been canceled. volume is still not re-opened yet...

save the dates!

there are some great upcoming shows this week, and you don't want to forget to attend! of course, these are all me-related events or my friends' so i'm sorta biased. but you can still trust my taste in music, eh?

** 6/15: other passengers @ vicious - rothko. i haven't seen the other peeps on the lineup yet, but i'm sure they are real and spectacular.

** 6/15: blue sparks cd release party @ sin-e (w/ special HOT guests) and jo is deejaying. wheee!

** 6/16: circle and square @ lit

** 6/18: bishop allen + adam green @ mercury lounge

** 6/18: dirty on purpose @ dead city disco party - loop lounge (NJ)

** 6/19: dirty on purpose @ karibomb's birthday party - mercury lounge ... also with the bravery, benzos, the sons of sound!

or if you don't like music...

Helen Fielding Reading
** 6/15: The Bridget Jones author reads from her new spy thriller for the chick-lit set, Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination. 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 33 E. 17th St.; 212-253-0810.

PS. I heart Nerds.

PPS. French Kicks play "One More Time" on Fearless Music TV. le sigh. love those boys.

booking a tour!

i'm currently working on booking a tour for dirty on purpose. we have booked dates in new york, DC, pittsburgh and philly so far. we still need to fill the following dates: august 1, 2, 5, 6

we want to travel to places like baltimore, detroit, chicago, cleveland, chapel hill (carrboro), richmond, providence, portsmouth, burlington, saratoga, boston, portland, and anywhere else along the way! if you have contacts or are in a band in those areas and can hook us up with a show, please email me!

check out samples from dirty on purpose's debut ep here.

it's friday! wheee!

hey kids. guess what? it's friday! woooohoooo! here are a couple places to get some good music going on to, uh, get you in that friday mood:

radio indie pop

kexp

cherry blossom clinic with terre t

jinners radio

damian on riot radio... i think around 2 p.m. EST?

a shady lane, everybody wants one

this past weekend was not only filled with lots of weary moments, but my housemates and i watched two documentaries: spellbound and capturing the friedmans.

spellbound was entertaining, but i thought it would be more intense. the kids in it were so cute, and some of those words were damn tricky. the sweat pouring down their foreheads, the biting of the lips, the utter fear of blanking out cringing out of their eyes.... we always knew that vocab tests in school were always so damn nerve-racking, but imagine taking that test in front of cameras and hundreds of parents. yikes! the one lesson i learned from this movie: bee happy.

capturing the friedmans... i really didn't know what i was in for when i decided i wanted to watch this film. and to think that it all started because the filmmaker was profiling new york's #1 clown... who turned out to have some not-so-funny family drama going on. as the story unfolded, i became utterly horrified. then i was confused. then i was like, wtf is wrong with these people? hello, your father is a child molester. geez us!

in the unbearable heat, there is one song that always makes me happy. i love pavement's "shady lane". sing along with me:

Blind date with the chancer
we had oysters and dry lancers
when the check when it arrived we went dutch, dutch, dutch, dutch
a redder shade of neck on a whiter shade of trash
And this emory board is giving me a rash
I'm flat out
You're so beautiful to look at when you cry
Freeze, don't move
You've been chosen as an extra in the movie adaptation
of the sequel to your life.

A shady lane -- everybody wants one
A shady lane -- everybody needs one
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god
Oh my god, oh your god, oh his god, oh her god
It's everybody's god, it's everybody's god, it's everybody's god, it's
everybody's god
The worlds collide, but all that we want is a shady lane

Glance, don't stare
Soon you're being told to recognize your heirs
No, not me -- I'm an island of such great complexity
Stress surrounds in the muddy peaceful center of this town
Tell me off in the hotel lobby right in front of all the bellboys and the
over-friendly concierge

A shady lane -- everybody wants one
A shady lane -- everybody needs one
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god
Oh my god, oh your god, oh his god, oh her god
It's everybody's god, it's everybody's god, it's everybody's god, it's
everybody's god
The worlds collide, but all that I want is a shady lane.

calling all book worms!

i wish there was a book club called "great books for people who love music." i would totally join that club.

the last book i finished reading was called drinking: a love story by caroline knapp. it was one of the most depressing books i've had to page through, and as i was reading it, i felt like i was also going through many of the trials and tribulations with drinking recounted in the book. the book is actually caroline's memoir on her bout with alcoholism. now i know we all like to consider ourselves alcoholics, but caroline went through some major drinking episodes that make mine seem like some sort of pathetic joke. she would drink before going to work, right after work. hide bottles in back porches. drink entire bottles of wine and replacing them so that no one would know... she drank to deal with pain. she drank to not feel anything. she drank just for the sake of drinking. it was like a nervous habit. some of us bite our nails. caroline fucking drank until she would pass out and not remember anything. reading this book made me realize that i was definitely not an alcoholic, though my love affair is quite coquettish.

now i'm thinking of picking up caroline's other book, appetite: why women want. why? because i wanna find out why.

i'm also trying to get through the corrections. but sometimes it's so fucking boring. granted it certainly has moments of brilliance, but then i get to another chapter and the story goes from somewhat interesting to just plain dull. i was quite attracted to the story however. it's about a family from pennsylvania that is totally dysfunctional. the absolute struggle to get family together, even at the most stressed times. the basic outline plot reminded me of my own family and how disparate everyone is. i think much of my frustrations as a person is partially due to the fact that i don't have much of a family structure to fall back on. i don't have the close bonds. i don't often feel the compulsion to call my familly. not to say that i don't love them, but some of them drive me up the wall. they are quick to criticize me, and i often think my somewhat chronic bouts with depression are because of all the fucked up ideas they have instilled in my head about myself. i was never skinny enough. sometimes not smart enough, though most of the time my academic life was the only thing they ever showed approval of. i was never girly enough. blah blah blah. the corrections covers all of that fucked up nonsense about families and their ability to both support and tear apart each other. hopefully i will plow through this soon and move on to another book... but i'm kind of infamous for reading multiple books at once. judging by my past posts, maybe i should read jonathan franzen's how to be alone. ha. any other recommendations?

to lost souls everywhere

i feel like i'm perpetually caught in limbo. i feel inexplicably sad. i feel lonely. this is partly due to my recent singleton status, i know. when you're in a couple, you don't mind other couples so much. you don't mind the fact that all of your other single friends constantly hook up with other single friends or make out with random strangers, whatever. you don't mind being on your own every once in a while. then you read things like this, and it makes you kind of sad. girls are fucked up. boys are fucked up. and together, they manage to fuck each other up real good. what the hell?

in my new single life, i'm finding that being alone sucks. and what's even more interesting is that in my new digs, i find myself living with a married couple, who are nice peeps and all, but hell, they are newly married. they are a unit. it's sweet, but weird for me.

my new bedroom is what i call "the bat cave." i climb up these creaky, wooden stairs to get to my bat cave. at night when the door is closed, i am swallowed in darkness. and i pass out and dream strange dreams, most of which i can't recall anymore. this past weekend, i found myself in a terrible mood, and i just couldn't get out of bed. i slept all day saturday, then finally ventured out of my bedroom around 7 p.m. granted i went out to support au revoir simone at trash and bishop allen at the tank, but then the next day, i walked around like a zombie yet again. i felt incredibly woozy and unwell. my head was pounding. i was nauseous. i passed out around 7:30 p.m. and didn't awaken again until well past noon the next day. i was suddenly sick.

steadily since then i've been feeling better, and i appreciate everyone who has shown concern. i'm alright. it's kind of amazing how powerful our minds are. if we are unhappy, then we sort of react physically to our emotions. i feel sort of lost right now. it's probably the norm for all people in their 20's but in this town, who has time to fuck around like this? not i. and so i solider on, trying to ignore everything that makes life so miserable for us young ones. in the grand scheme, things like that don't matter much. and like i said, i'm trying not to be emo. i'm trying to look on the brighter side of things. i'm trying to be optimistic and avoid cynicism.

snap and clap!

i gots a photo gallery published on cameron's fun review site, snap and clap. he reviews dirty on purpose's performance at north six... cameron is zee best!

midnight cravings

you know when the clock is nearing midnight, and then a friend calls you and asks you to go for a drink? yeah, that's mike. he was done band practice and was in my hood. i went to meet him at snacky's. i later found out he thought i said spanky's. teehee.

he's one of those dudes who are really easy to talk to and totally sweet and honest about everything. he's the first guy friend i've had in a while who i felt like i could just talk about everything with. he's the best fucking friend! i haven't seen him since i moved out of the east village. so it was good to see him in my hood! i heard that he got into an accident, and it was totally freaking me out! i had not heard from him for about a week, and already something crazy, life-changing happens! time is fucking crazy like that sometimes.

we had so much fun just talking, drinking sake and beer, eating korean bbq beef and peanut chili wontons and watching the kung fu movies on the tv. snacky's is the best! thanks for the good talk, mike. we gal pals certainly appreciate.

y'all got jacked!

this song, "jackin'", is cracking me up. it's by some group called rhymefest. what it is, boy!

knife skills have a hot new site

knife skills, one of my favorite local hard-asses, have brand new site! Check out the buzz and those tough-as-hell mp3s. whoa.

Favorite Songs About Love

I did a search on my iPod for songs with the word "love" in it. Although I must admit that my iPod collection is nowhere near complete, I thought I would share the top 20 songs that came up, based on a random shuffle. What's your favorite love song?

1) "Feeling Called Love" - Pulp
2) "Tropics of Love" - Black Heart Procession
3) "The Love I'm Searching For" - The Rentals
4) "Is This Love?" - Cake
5) "Don't Love You" - TV on the Radio
6) "Ten Story Love Song" - The Stone Roses
7) "House of Jealous Lovers" - The Rapture
8) "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" - The Darkness
9) "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" - The Smiths
10) "I'm in the Mood For Love" - Louis Armstrong
11) "Inside of Love" - Nada Surf
12) "To Your Love" - Fiona Apple
13) "Lovefool" - The Cardigans
14) "Love" - The Sundays
15) "I'm Still In Love With You" - Swearing At Motorists
16) "Loved Despite of Great Faults" - Blonde Redhead
17) "Goodbye to Love" - American Music Club (Carpenters cover)
18) "Between Love & Hate" - The Strokes
19) "Be Be Your Love" - Rachael Yamagata
20) "Love Cats" - The Cure

dearest peeps

i'm sorry i've been such a fucking downer on my site lately. i'm really not that emo. and frankly, i'm really fucking tired of being sad and depressed, and just want to begin enjoying life again. even though i haven't been feeling well this past week, i'll try to always greet you with a smile and not a sigh.
xoxo,
jinny jin jin

kitty magik's new website!

kitty magik launches a swank new redesigned site that is all hotness. and guess who is under their contributing photographers? woo hoo! it's kind of funny since i've done mostly writing for them, but i'm about to submit my blonde redhead photos, and hopefully a photo gallery will follow.

the slow century

i feel like these days, i'm totally into slowing it down. for the past couple of years, i've lived fast. heck, for the past 7 years in new york, i've lived fast. But night after night of hanging out at rock clubs with earplugs and the search for free liquor can be quite taxing. i've never been one to limit my experiences like that, but these days nothing compels me too much. except for things that are free because i've become quite broke.

going to a rock show? probably not unless i'm on the list. this makes me sad as i desperately want to attend lollapalooza and see moz and the pixies. i'm talking, a lot. but not only would i have to take two days off of work, i'd also have to shell out like $90 on tickets and probably another however much on transportation. rock and roll is like my drug and all, but seriously, this habit can get quite expensive on a big scale. perhaps that's why i try to keep most of my show experiences on the smallish, local level.

with all of the work that i do end up doing in the music industry, sometimes i feel like i don't get enough back to sustain the lifestyle. i envy all of the rich kids who have the support of their parents and can afford to do whatever their little hearts desire. i, on the other hand, need to balance everything out with a full-time job. it's a tough thing to juggle in this twisted economy. but c'est la vie! c'est la rock/n/roll!

i've also always thought that i wanted to be a writer, and a part of me still does. but things can get discouraging in this day and age. i feel like many others get the chance to do things that i can only dream of doing... for one reason or another. mostly because my tastes are not very mainstream. that was one thing i learned from interning at entertainment weekly. i despise mainstream stuff most of the time. it's too manufactured and not raw enough for me. thus my life is not mainstream, and the opportunities that present themselves to me are all lowly funded indie projects. but the awesome thing is that i believe in everything i do, and i don't think that i get swayed into writing and believing things that are simply trendy or buzzworthy. anything that i support really does have some weight (in my opinion). it's not all dressed up in purdy bows and ties. it's real. it's meaty. it's something precious to me. it's not a paid-for-commercial. i hope you get that sense of me.

tangmonkey knows where it's at

here's a cool review from sean of tangmonkey.com. thanks for the kind words, dude!

Dirty on Purpose - "Mind Blindness". Vibrant shoegaze pop from a NYC band that knows to blend haze with clarity, summer somnolescence with a young autumn's skip-run-and-fly. (cf. my jeans feel a bit tight, think i washed them a bit too high. i was gonna be late, so i picked up my pace to run.) There are sighs and interlaced vocals, dream guitars, a touch of Yo La Tengo earnesty, but then the brilliant bristling sprint of Doves or "Where The Streets Have No Name". Lots of bands strain to reach this kind of place - Torrez, Tiger Saw, heck, Mercury Rev, - but here's a group that not only has the mood, it's got the soaring, spaceship hook. Marvellous. (To top it off - I'm told they like Os Mutantes.) From the sleekly-packaged Sleep Late For A Better Tomorrow EP.

stop fucking around

things have been quite hectic for me this week, in more ways that one and for all of my friends, i dearly apologize. sometimes i get so friggin' busy with work, music, etc that my head explodes and i become comatose. this week has been one of those weeks where i think my mind just went blank. but i can't swear off rock/n/roll like some people can. i feel like i physically and emotionally need music to feel like myself. it's worse than crack.

i still feel really out of it -- and still feel like a nomad with all my shitty moving around. it's been sort of an adventure, but right now my life doesn't need more drama. today's culture is going more and more for minimalism. take the impact of the film super size me. also consider ordering a small coffee for 60 cents with one less lump of sugar, and maybe no cream at all. frequenting bars only once in a while. cooking more at home and eating half as much. twice the leftovers. mini skirts. shoes that don't have a back on them, i think they're called mules. jeans that expose more than they should because they are ultra-ultra-low-rise. this is steadily becoming the norm. i don't really remember what my point was... see, what i mean? even our thoughts are downsized... or rather, shorter-lived.

the winter pageant @ rothko

the other night i went to see mike's band, the winter pageant. they were so good! there is this incredibly sad, delicate haze that surrounds their entrancing music, and listeners beware, if you are depressed, the winter pageant will only induce more tears. and perhaps, even if you are happy, you will walk out of their show wholly depressed. think of a lost love. think of loneliness. think of disappointments. think of mean girls (not the movie). think of everytime someone ever betrayed you or kicked you in the shins or made fun of you. every time your parents criticized your life, your looks, your low salary. you get the point. incredibly atmospheric (especially when mike breaks out the e-bow) the winter pageant have the same mood as elliott smith songs but they come across as a bit more emotional, more swirly. a lot less bitter. and yes, equally as beautiful.

need new body @ knitting factory

in contrast, the band i saw last night thanks to some list action from dt and rt, was energized, ridiculous, sarcastic and spastic -- need new body. HOLY SHIT. i had no idea what i was in for, but i got a clue when rt was like, "you've never seen need new body? oh man. i guarantee this will end up on your blog." and so it is! i think i spent the entire show squealing in delightful shock and amusement.

re-enactment: aha! oh.my.gosh. aha! wtf?!? oh.my.god.

the band started off doing a few ditties that sounded like a re-interpretation of the theme from all in the family. dude, i'm totally serious. it was obviously some kind of joke (and admittedly funny in a freaky sort of way that someone's voice could be so friggin' high normally -- think geddy lee or joe jurewicz), but then the band suddenly broke into their real set list, which was amazingly dancey and funky, with punk ideals. and whenever i hang with drummers like dt, i am always made to watch the drummer on stage. and i'm glad i did -- that dude was really fucking crazy. his eyes were bugging out and he was thrashing those drums like he was some insane asylum resident gone hogwild. it was kind of scary actually. the main lead singer had a very redneck look to him, and he kind of reminded me of a tim harrington, but with less theatrics and more emphasis on just pure dancing.

also, thank god, creed finally broke up. woo hoo!

good news for people who like bad news -- that's me!

is it just me or is there an air of pixies power on the new modest mouse album? i can't stop listening to it. i love the jubilant squeals bursting forth from singer isaac brock. i love the high-pitched, swooning guitar parts. it makes me inexplicably happy, even during dark times. this will definitely be one of those albums i throw in the cd player whenever i'm feeling down and need an instant pick me up. sigh.

favorite lyric: "we were done done done with all the fu-fu-fucking around!" -- from "black cadillacs"

that joke isn't funny anymore

Being in New York is definitely a privilege. Not only is it expensive to live here, it is one of the most competitive cities in the world. And at times when I think that everyone seems to have lost a sense of community, something comes along to prove me wrong.

Struggling to recover from Thursday night's drunken Makers & Ginger debauchery, I spent most of this weekend kitten sitting for my boss's friend who lives in Nolita. Walking out of that neighborhood was quite refreshing, the warmth of the sun and the myriad of shoppers buzzing along the sparkling sidewalks, happy because they don't have to go to work the next day. I was one of those shiny happy people.

I walked from Nolita to Alphabet City, where I was moving the very last of my stuff out of my two-month sublet. I was kind of sad to be leaving what I think is the heart of the city for me. I spent more time around Avenue A and B in the past two months than in the entire time I've been in the city, which is coming up on 7 or 8 years. I will miss the convenience of crossing through Thompkins Square Park and visiting Mike at Alt Cafe. Or heading over a block to some listening party at Hi-Fi. Or breaking down at 3:30 in the morning and eating San Loco tacos (evil!) Or meeting peeps for drunken fun at B-Side or 2A and walking home afterwards. That is the shizznit.

Now I am back in Williamsburg, a community forever labeled by rock mags everywhere as the birthplace of electroclash and New York's burgeoning indie rock scene. And I have to say, I have missed Wburg a lot. Many of my friends live in the 'burg and steadily I have missed that slower-paced community of friends. The city is immediate and swift. The borough is lounge-worthy and calming in a strange way.

two cute bands, one great show

we are scientists! i was immediately attracted to their geeky name. i heard about them through my friendship with another awesome brooklyn via boston via texas band, bishop allen (pictured below). then someone at work gave me their cd and i was hooked. dude, i'm so excited to check them out this saturday! @ the tank! times square! be there or... well, you know.


bishop allen! one of the most charming and unpretentious bands in new york today, these cats are solid peeps and solid songwriters. I am forever in love with their song, "Quarter to Three." Favorite lyric: "Now let me tell you I've been up since a quarter to three / And I've been pacing back and forth through the hall / I've been thinking 'bout the first time she took my hand / And I don't understand it at all".

UPDATE: By the way, Bishop Allen's "Things Are What You Make of Them" was used in the movie, Saved!. Who wants to go see it with me?