good times roll posts top 5 lists from a few nyc bands
good times roll posts top five lists from local new york bands, including sam champion, the end of the world, the big sleep and dirty on purpose. this reminds me that i need to burn joe a copy of the cass mccombs' prefection album since he doesn't already know the genius of cass.

the deli magazine - best of 2005 - cast your vote now!
also, the deli magazine is asking for your nominations on their Best of 2005 lists for best new york city label, band, and scenemaker. i found it tough but this is what i said:

"Best Label in my opinion was North Street Records. They're new, but look how much they accomplished in just one year! 2005 was definitely the year of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. They broke new ground with getting great distribution without a label. You can have a band without a label, but you can't have a label without bands. Scenemakers? I thought Loose Record did a great job this past year in throwing superb parties and bringing the indie community in New York together. But then again, so has Todd P, though in a totally different way. I guess it depends on what particular scene you are talking about. Tom Sean also started a great series with Indie Night School. Tough call!"

ps: i skipped holiday parties last night because i was at work until 9. then afterwards, i went home, booked my flight to sxsw, and watched the muppet show, season 1. all i have to say is MENOMENA, doo doo doo doo doo!

luke stiles, you are funny



so knife skills played the vice holiday party along with favourite sons... but lookee here, luke stiles on gawker. stiles, you are funny.

ps. see shots below of knife skills from the same photographer. word.
** knife skills @ vice holiday party
** knife skills @ vice holiday party 2

the pop manifesto
illy's site finally comes to fruition with its first online issue. check out the body suits, jt leroy, matt safer from the rapture and more. click here.

voxtrot cancel shows due to van problems... but add a new york show!

1. We've had to cancel the rest of the tour [Norfolk, VA/Chapel Hill, NC/Atlanta & Athens, GA] due to our van problems. Sorry to all of those who were planning on coming to see us, and thanks to those who have written nice and encouraging letters to us.

2. We'd like to announce a last minute show in Brooklyn at Magnetic Field. It's an effort to try to make some of the money back that we've lost on this tour, so we appreciate all who can make it!

Weds, December 14th @ Magnetic Field
doors @ 8pm, Voxtrot at 9pm / $5
97 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn, NY, 11201 (718) 834-0069
http://www.magneticbrooklyn.com

3. To top it all off, after all of the confusion with Houston and dates being changed, it seems as if we've been booted off of the December 17th show at Numbers. We'll try and make Houston happen again someday.

Thanks to everyone for being supportive!

Love,
Voxtrot

diamond nights @ bowery ballroom



after 2 months on the road, diamond nights will be returning home to play their biggest nyc gig to date -- bowery ballroom! please welcome them home, buying them drinks and supporting them in what is sure to be a killer show. ha-ha-ha-ha... ha-ha-ha-ha. the boys are attractive.

tuesday, december 13th -- diamond nights @ bowery ballroom

W/ The Giraffes & Stylofone

Buy Tickets: http://www.ticketweb.com/user/?region=nyc&query=detail&event=638084

Check out the video for one of my favorite diamond nights songs -- "The Girl’s Attractive": click here for the video

voxtrot at mercury lounge tonight

voxtrot is playing mercury lounge tonight. these texans are hotter than john mueller's bbq. if you know what i'm talking about, then you know to be at merc tonight. i first heard of them through rosa of green potato ventures when dirty on purpose played with them in austin this past year, and then again when i DJ'd one of skippy's hot august night shows this past summer. i fell in love with "the start of something." the whimsy, the romance, the adorable. sigh. the band goes on at 11 but get there early because you know it's going to sell out.

beards and scarves rock

"i love your beard!"

"i love your scarf!"

"guitars rock!"

"beards and scarves rock!"

"take off your scarf!"

those were the audience comments of the night that made everyone in the room laugh and relax. sam beam of iron & wine, in his signature long fuzzy beard, illuminated webster hall last night, with a cute striped scarf around his neck like he just stepped out of a winter wonderland gap commercial (this is not a diss). the comments infused a little humor in the middle of iron & wine's beautiful, lush, hypnotizing set. i heart you sam beam!

it takes little more than a hushed whisper and some intricate guitar picking from the seemingly mystical and magical sam beam to hug and cradle the sold out crowd at webster hall. i felt completely warmed from the performance. sufjan stevens came out for a great surprise performance of two songs. he really won me over. now i have to go buy his album. yeah i know, i'm slow. sometimes it takes me a long time to check someone out. sue me.

this is also the second time i've seen calexico and i really enjoyed their set. as i've said before, they make me think of little unknown mexican cafes where people would dance capriciously around water fountains, possibly adorning a sombrero or a prairie skirt.

ps. yes david byrne was there. he's everywhere.

deli magazine 1st year party

the party is on tuesday, celebrating the magazine you have all come to check out for the scoop on nyc's indie rock bands. the deli magazine! you know the deal... here's the party info: deli magazine 1st year party

i love the 30s depression party

courtesy of the near and dear brendan colthurst. i never see you anymore, dude.

Depression Party
for I Love the 30s
Wednesday, December 7th, 7pm
At Mundial -- 505 East 12th St. Btwn Ave. A and B, NYC

What's all the Hubbub? I LOVE THE 30s! Come see episodes of I Love the 30s, as featured on Comedy Central's Motherload. Meet Morty Chucklestein, Dory Van Hoorn, Hal Zanger, and other stars of I Love the 30s! Drink, Watch, Talk, and enjoy our Depression Party.

RSVP: http://www.ilovethe30s.com/rsvp/

Come see the superlative parade of pronouns: It's It, That's That, Who's Who, and What's What: It's I Love the 30s! If you're lucky, you'll get some bread.

Created by
Brian Donovan, Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Brendan Colthurst and Conrad Mulcahy

Written and Performed By
Alison Becker, Sarah Burns, Jordan Carlos, Brian Donovan, Rob Huebel, Brian Huskey, Mike Birbiglia, Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Conrad Mulcahy, Todd Womack, Chelsea Peretti, Julie Klausner, Andres du Bouchet, Owen Burke, Lennon Parham, Charlie Sanders, Bobby Moynihan, Ptolemy Slocum, Roger Hailes, and many more!

Watch online now: www.comedycentral.com/motherload

the power of the blog buzz

dj sent me a link to this interesting article that talks about blog buzz... in relation to bands like arcade fire, bell orchestre, etc... click here to read it.

what is a blog? why do they have so much power? who reads them? i like to think no one really reads them. they just look at the purdy show photos.

loose record holiday party is tonight!

i will be there partying. so should you!

patti smith @ brooklyn academy of music



i don't know what to say other than, i feel like i've never been to a real rock and roll show before. i know i am a comfortable denizen of contemporary indie rock, but i never thought i'd be going to see rock stars of the 70s perform today... i mean, what's the point, right? ok, now i admit it, i was wholly wrong in my thinking.

suffice it to say that it was quite a surreal moment when i went to see patti smith last night at the brooklyn academy of music. she was onstage with most of her original band with the exception of bassist/trumpeter flea, keyboardist tony shanahan and her daughter jesse (an appropriate androgynous name for the daughter of an androgynous icon), who stood in for deceased members ivan kral and richard sohl. flea brought chili pepper energy to the stage as he bobbed his head ferociously to the bassline. tom verlaine on guitar!!! i mean, it was like a chapter out of the book i just read -- please kill me. here was this icon bursting forth in the gorgeous theater of bam. i felt like i was floating onto another planet, and i wondered, would i like my surroundings?

but there was no doubt -- from the moment patti smith strutted, no, swaggered onstage, slightly beckoning to the wildly cheering audience, i was held captive. i could NOT take my eyes off of her. i loved her frazzled gray mop. i loved the way her white button down was haphazardly tucked into her skinny black jeans. i loved the way her black tie was loosely hung around her neck like she just didn't give a flying fuck. it was so casual and uncaring of the contemporary standards of beauty that it was strangely sexy. she exuded sexuality. you could tell she simply didn't care if anyone got a flattering photo of her. she was fucking patti smith! what she was concerned with was putting on a compelling show with the quality of her oft politically charged music. why had i never seen this woman before? patti commanded so much respect and enthusiasm, it was immensely inspiring and humbling at the same time. i sat frozen as her words seeped out, "jesus died for somebody's sins... but not mine."

and as she sang the first notes of "gloria" from horses, i instantly LOVED her. that unmistakable deep, soulful voice channeled through me and the rest of the audience, who couldn't help but give her a raucous standing O for the majority of the concert. people just could not contain themselves, and i couldn't believe that i was so lucky to witness this remarkable performance.

rebellion, sympathy and wisdom surged through her words as she guided the audience from song to song of her seminal album horses. when the powerfully rising "land" turned into a medley with "gloria," i was completely floored. oh. my. gosh.

in the second act of the night, she came back onstage wearing sort of a davy crocket type jacket, fringe swaying to and fro from her shoulders. she carried what i think was an alt sax on her shoulders like she was a minstrel. her black tie was replaced by a red silk one that ran down her torso like blood. the back curtains rose to reveal a colored screen behind the patti smith group. people cheered in awe and rose to their feet. that part of the set included "gandhi," "pissing in a river" and "southern cross." she also sang "because the night," which had the audience singing and clapping along like it was karaoke night.

after the second and last segment was finished, the audience refused to leave without an encore. everyone was standing, stomping, clapping, cheering -- anything and everything to get her back in front of the mic. after some time, patti and the band came back on stage. she spoke about world aids day and the importance of kindness onto your fellow man. she referenced how she felt like she couldn't help her friend robert mapplethorpe (who took the amazing photo of her on the cover of horses) when he was dying of aids. then to relate it to modern times, she asked why only the rich has access to drugs that help treat such a debilitating disease. why do we give the power to greedy drug companies to decide who lives and who dies? she said, people have the power to change this. surprisingly, i felt so in tune with her words, her philosophy. she launched into "people have the power" and electrified. i was speechless. i think i can safely say this was the best, most life changing concert i've been to in 2005.

michael showalter lectures at nyu

dirty on purpose on pandora.com
out of curiosity, i put dirty on purpose into pandora.com and went through this progression of music...

"mind blindness" - dirty on purpose
"black and gold" - jim yoshii pile up
"associate" - jack logan
"sea" - misc/ill lit
"girls & sunshine" - dirty on purpose
"beaches of the world" - no wait wait
"flying pizza" - swearing at motorists
"here she comes again" - the stands
"i just get caught out" - the go-betweens

sovereign beck - men's neckwear line



my friend ryan started a tie company with his friend will and voila -- sovereign beck was formed. it's the perfect holiday gift for your cute indie rock boyfriend -- hint hint. come to the opening party at wallspace gallery on dec. 8. dj from dirty on purpose wore one of these fantastic ties at their last bowery show. they are awesome. i want one for myself. christy from cheeseburger and erika from au revoir simone are modeling these fancy ties above.

sovereign beck men's neckwear exhibition
december 8-11
@ wallspace
547 west 27th street, 2nd floor

opening reception
thursday, dec. 8
6 - 9 pm

mahi mahi @ sin-e
my co-worker Josh from ASCAP LA is going to be in New York this Sunday to bring you some rock... go say hello to him. PS: I love mahi mahi!

do asians all look the same?
juliet sent me this from korea -- it's a site that tests whether you can tell the difference between chinese, japanese and korean faces... can you tell the difference? apparently i can't. i scored 6... the average score of the test is 7. mike got an 8. wtf?

click here to take the test.