WASTED & READY
song: french kicks -- "when you heard you"

photo: jinners

we can dance if we want to. indeed!

 

personally, i never thought jesus was that hot.

03.30.03 -- scott woods of rockcritics.com defines what it takes to be a good rock critic [from musicjournalist]:

Great writing skills, mainly: something to say, words to say it with -- a voice. Followed by: open ears and open mind (not that ignorance doesn't occasionally have its aesthetic uses, mind you), some grasp of pop music history, and of course, a love for the subject itself...and a sense of humor never hurt either.

according to the catechism of rock shows by the morning news, i need counseling:

Yes, even that old creepy guy in the back with the out-of-style leather jacket with the bald-guy ponytail has a right to be there, and to rock in his own little way. Save those sideways glances for your elected officials, kids, everyone will be better off if you just ignore them and concentrate on making your experience as pleasant as it can be. If ‘pleasant’ for you means ‘mocking others,’ then perhaps you should seek counseling, as this is not a trait that will serve you well in any situation, but that’s another issue altogether.

also, i thought this was kind of funny:

Rap shows are almost always rock shows, but rock shows are rarely rap shows. If the only person on stage is a DJ – even if that DJ is Fatboy Slim, and a mosh pit is forming – you are at a Disco.

***

like, gag me with a spoon! tell me that this is NOT ridiculous [from ew.com]:

The new house band on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' will be the White Stripes. For a week, at least. NBC announced that Jack and Meg White will perform every night, from April 22 through 25, to promote their new album ''Elephant,'' which hits stores this Tuesday. According to NBC, that marks the longest stint for any guest band in late-night TV history.

Since O'Brien took over the franchise a decade ago, ''Late Night'' has been the most alt-rock-friendly of the after-hours talk shows. (The gig should make up for being postponed nine times on CBS' ''Late Show with David Letterman,'' as Jack White alleged in an interview last week.) ''It’s exciting to have a band as creative and relevant as The White Stripes at 'Late Night' for a whole week,'' O'Brien said in a statement. ''In fact, they’re staying at my apartment.''

  

IT'S OUR TIME
song: yeah yeah yeahs -- "our time"

photo: jinners

it's the year to be hated. so glad that you made it.


RIGHT BANK, SO WRONG

i went to the crazy six-act show at the right bank last night, and was disappointed. though this place was set by the water with a beautiful view of the billyburg bridge (the scene reminded me of philly by the water), the venue was mediocre. basketball was on tv over the bar. there were lots of out-of-place old people on hand watching basketball. the venue was split into two floors. the quiet acts were below by the bar and the loud acts were on the second floor in a space that looked like someone's (empty) apartment.


the only person i was there to see play was kimya. she was the headlining quiet act. but when she came on it was so annoying because i couldn't hear her. people at the bar were chattering away, and even she found it difficult to concentrate. her music is hushed with a little-girl vulnerability, and the crowd just wasn't paying attention (aside from the token few).

when i talked to her before she played she told me she was super tired. she's been touring with they might be giants, who play bigger venues than she's used to playing with her solo stuff... what a tough night. i applauded her for getting through the set, despite the fact that her monitor kept having feedback, people were stepping on the stage to get to the bar, and a handful of drunk hipsters were yapping on about their "deck" lives.


Synesthesia, akiko from semiautomatic's new project, was swollen with feeling. it's one of the most focused acts of the night. she based the entire project on a woman who was dating a cia agent during the jfk administration. the woman convinced some gov't officials to take (acid?) to expand their horizons. hmmm.


intense cellist, bonfire madigan, followed akiko. she was aiite.

03.29.03 -- KEEP IT LIKE SECRET

the big ass rumor of the weekend is that the yeah yeah yeahs, karen o and company (nick and brian), will be playing a "secret" show on monday, supposedly:

Monday, March 31st
secret Yeah Yeah Yeahs show at Sin-E in the lower east side
150 Attorney off of Houston 212-388-0077

***

I DIDN'T GET LAID...OFF
also, i'm sorry if i made it sound like i got laid off. i actually resigned my position and accepted a cooler, nicer paying one. i'm all griped out. it's over. i'm threw with my work woes. there was so much weirdness going on at my old work place. people going up to the roof or mysteriously disappearing to the floor where the construction was going on... for no particular reason.

btw, here's the luscious cookie my editor deb gave to me as a going away present. yummy!

***

SLEATER-KINNEY GOES SIX FEET UNDER
hmm. this is so bizarre [from the krs update]:
Sleater-Kinney's "O2" will be featured during the April 6 episode of Six Feet Under. I don't know what this is, but SK/6ft under fans take note!

too bad they couldn't be on sex and the city. i would love to see carrie kick some ass instead of being fashion roadkill. speaking of satc, anna snatched me an awesome satc pink notebook from the ew.com giveaway table. i love the lil' pics inside!

***

ROCK, PAPER, SCISSOR, SHUT THE FUCK UP
you know who you are. you claim to be a photo editor at GQ. you claimed to have spent 16 hours in a jail cell for being "mistaken" by the nypd as a protester at the "die-in". but you played rock, paper, scissors during kimya's set at the right bank last night, and that's just plain wrong. why didn't you go upstairs and romp around like a mainiac? can we get a lil' respect for the artists, please? btw, the sound system at right bank sucks ass.

 


breaker breaker were lil' divas. but two people were dancing to them. why did they have to stand right behind me? below is a picture of the finger dancer during the bb set. he's wearing the hat. if i turned around he would have poked me in the eye. and yes, that's me on the very right. did bb really try to cover a pavement song?

after the right bank we stopped by luxx to check out calif punk instrumentalists, hella. they were hella aiite. i was tired and falling asleep against the sound booth. but i liked what i heard. maybe if it wasn't three am, i would have been even more into it.


i found toby goodshank (of moldy peaches) drawing in the back by the merch table at the right bank.


we thought our handstamps were neato.


i like this blurry pic of our rings. my ring is bigger than her ring. but her ring is definitely cooler. i was bored enough to take a picture of our rings. lame.

 

jco, i'm sorry i called ya so late. i wish i had called earlier. it would have been fun to watch kimya play with ya. i spoke to doug from wooden ghost for a while. he was nice. he told me he also does solo stuff and paints on the side. he went to (art institute of college?) and makes a living through selling his art work and music, though he says painting is more profitable. i always had this bleak impression that one could not make a living off of painting. i came to the conclusion that his work must be really good to sell enough to live off of. now i want to see his work!

HAIKU
rachel has a great collection of movie review haikus on her site. i added to her collection with my haiku review of spun. i'm sending her one on the pianist as we speak. check 'em out!

I WANNA BE ADORED
song: human league -- "don't you want me"

photo: jinners

yes, cyclone, i want you.

NEW QUIZ!
speaking of want, which stroke is your secret lover? i got nikolai, who i actually think is pretty hot. and i hear he's the nicest stroke. bonus.

Your Secret Lover is Nikolai!

While some find him bordering on asexual due to his tendency to be unobtrusive and, y'know, not talk, the strong silent type is what really turns your crank. And does he ever look good in a suit and tie! You communicate on a level that doesn't need words... then again, how many words does it really take to have sex?

03.28.03 -- i gotta joke for you folks:

Question: What do guys and pantyhose have in common?

Answer: They cling, they run, or they don't fit in the crotch!

***

SHE'S NO DUMB GIRL!
davy's sister lucy woodward is going to be on leno on monday. she's gonna be a big star, eh? i interviewed her recently. she was a total sweetheart. there's a pic of her lil' brother and her as kids inside the cd cover (her album while you can drops april 1). if you want to compare the then and now, here it is:


 

  

I'M TRYING TO WAKE UP!
song: the walkmen -- "french vacation" not "freedom vacation"

photo: derek teslik

you know how i'm always complaining that it seems like everyone at and their mother has interviewed the walkmen except for me? well i recently got the chance to throw some funny questions at the guys, and i think the results were friggin' hilarious. every time i read my interview, i can't stop laughing. you're gonna love it, i hope.

 

03.26.03 -- be on the lookout for my interview with the walkmen on the startime records site.

SONIC YOUTH & WILCO
sonic youth/wilco summerstage tix go on sale tomorrow at noon through ticketmaster. Tix are $30.

five things you should know about stephen malkmus before hitting on him (from nerve):
1) He currently doesn't have a girlfriend.
2) The breakup was amicable, but sad. He still bought her a Christmas gift.
3) No, he doesn't or has he ever had venereal disease.
4) He's a sucker for great legs, ice cream, and vacations.
5) He didn't have a girlfriend until senior year in high school. His most recent girlfriend he met at the wedding of a friend.

this walkmen interview references my indie rock boyfriend quiz:
EL: Okay -- there's this quiz online, "Who's your indie rock boyfriend?" And I took it, and I got you.
HL: Oh, my sister sent me that! I've seen it. She couldn't believe it.
EL: How does that make you feel? You're a test result.
HL: Well, she just loved it.
EL: You didn't pass it around to all your friends?
HL: Yeah, I think everyone took it.
EL: It made the rounds.
HL: That's really funny..

DIE-IN?
die-in sounds like it's going to be really melodramatic, like people lying in the street pretending to be dead. link to info on protest tomorrow outside of rockefeller center.

THE BACHELOR
yes, i work with this girl, who is vying for ABC's new bachelor. i don't even know what to say about that, but i think this typo is funny:
Why are you ready to get married now? I want to be with that one person that compliments me.

 

EVERYTHING IN ITS RIGHT PLACE
song: radiohead -- "paranoid android"

photo: jinners

my fortune cookie told me, "an unexpected event will bring you riches." yerrite! anyhoo, i like this photo. i don't even know if they still have this image gallery up in times square anymore? but there's something neat about having hitchcock, british director, juxtaposed with the new york cityscape. i think hitchcock's first hollywood film was called rebecca.

 

03.25.03 -- fametracker is so hilarious. check out their oscar "quotes".

as we suspected, radiohead's new album title hail to the thief is an anti-bush reference. go radiohead! i remember i saw them play liberty state park in august about a month before sept. 11. i remember taking the ferry from the wtc to the concert, passing the statue of liberty, and seeing the twin towers standing majestic. i'm sure they are thinking of that day too. i think i remember them saying something about how cool it was to play with the new york cityscape behind them.

blur has also gotten into the anti-war game -- we all know how political damon is. they have hired anti-war graffiti artist banksy to design the cover to their next cd think tank. the cover will feature a couple trying to kiss while wearing underwater helmets. awwww.

some funny commentary on the michael moore oscar thing. i agree with most of the points. others not so much.

tales from sxsw. i am so jealous! maybe i'll get to go next year. sigh.

band name generated: young valley

 

I KNOW IT'S NOT FAIR, BUT WHAT IS?
song: the walkmen -- "they're winning"

photo: some kind of indie fuck

i think that's what i look like when i pout. unpretty, eh? i should stop pouting. i need to stop the negativity. like, now. cheer up, jinners, don't pull a kari wuhrer! man, that name is hard to say. she should have gone with something like "julia roberts" or "diane lane".

 

03.24.03 -- came upon rupaul's blog while surfing through brain's various misadventures in new york city dating. how funny! you better work it! rupie talked about ouchy the clown. scary.

reading brian's sept. 11 entry makes me wanna cry all over again. makes me relive those terrible memories. i remember walking across the 59th street bridge with some of my coworkers, and thousands of others who couldn't take the subway into brooklyn.

radiohead album is officially titled "hail to the thief" and will be released june 10th on capitol records. Hail To The Thief features 14 tracks and was recorded in Oxfordshire and Los Angeles. It was produced by Nigel Godrich and Radiohead, and mixed by Nigel Godrich. The track listing is:
2 + 2 = 5
Sit Down. Stand Up.
Sail To The Moon.
Backdrifts.
Go To Sleep.
Where I End And You Begin.
We Suck Young Blood.
The Gloaming.
There There.
I Will.
A Punch-Up at a Wedding.
Myxamatosis.
Scatterbrain.
A Wolf At The Door.

***

no need to drink, hamilton, your singing is super.

maybe i should count down to the walkmen bowery show like the romans did way back before we had things like date books and chinese restaurant calendars. they had a calendar based on the three phases of the moon, and so they had three distinct times of the month -- the kalends, the nones, and the ides. (did i mention i used to be a latin scholar in high school?) the kalends was the first day of the month. the nones was on the 7th day of a 31-day month and on the 5th day of a 30-day month. and the ides fell on the 15th of a 31-day month and the 13th of a 30-day month. my point is that all the other days were referred to as prior to these days. ie: two days before the ides of march, rather than march 13th. so today would be like 11 days before the walkmen bowery show. sorry for the long, boring explanation.

to continue with the latin lesson, let me post my favorite poem from my favorite latin poet, catullus:

i hate and i love. perhaps you ask, why i feel this way? i do not know, but i feel it happening, and i am tortured.

  

MAKING OUT IS HARD TO DO
song: french kicks -- "crying just for show"


photo: some kind of indie fuck

today, i'm in clark kent mode. hide under the covers. hide from the world. hide from my troubles, and hope nobody notices.

SUH-WEET!
stereogum, i used to love matthew sweet. i totally wanted to be his "girlfriend". i've decided i can still like him, even tho he still totally reminds me of 90s alt rock. but it's cool that he's in a band called the thorns with shawn mullins and pete droge. i wanna hear them! guess i'll have to wait for their album no blue sky to be released in may.

GET OVER IT!
kari wuhrer should just thank her lucky stars she wasn't asked to star in the surreal life. she's a working actress -- what does she have to complain about? can she put food on the table? i'm guessing yes. can she make her own indie and get her own name out there in a respectable flick that is not hellraiser: deader? she can do anything she puts her mind to. she's beautiful and she's working. stop fucking complaining.

BRUSH WITH SEX APPEAL
the ultimate hair comb. i wish i had one of those things, but the farrah fawcett 'do would kill my look. no charlie's angels for me!

INDIE FUCKS
another indie fucks community. i don't like the way live journal is set up. i want to join so i can post non-anonymous messages on people's blogs, but i don't want to pay money to do that. what up? will someone give me a code if they have any extra? i almost feel rude for asking. anyway, i think soultied has the same camera that i do, the porsche of digital cameras. am i right?

03.23.03 -- it's really upsetting me the way Iraq has killed the American POWs, and treating the dead bodies like trophies. wtf is going on? why did we get into this war at this time? i am so fucking upset about this. whatever bush hopes to achieve by this war, it's just not worth it. doesn't he understand the price of human life? it's scary to think that at a very basic level, our president is thinking "eye for an eye" is the best source of redemption. catching the nation at a vulnerable point and manipulating our emotions about 9/11 just so he can start his racist war. doesn't anyone know the difference between saddam and osama? as far as bush is concerned, everyone in the middle east is the same, and that is bullshit prejudice. how can we trust someone who believes in the death penalty? who values human life so little? who has been a spoiled rich kid all of his life? in the end, it all seems like some kind of ploy to get our dreary economy back up and running. yesterday fox news was reporting about the war, but then they went right into a report about how the economy is improving. wtf!?! check out michael moore's open letter to bush. thanks delaunay for the link! also, what is up with freewilliamsburg and their anti statue of liberty stance? haven't we lost enough new york icons? and another link from delaunay.

***

i'm happy to find some news of the protest i didn't go to yesterday. i kind of wish i went now. i guess i was in a bit of a funk yesterday, and just wanted to sit at home, work, and get buzzed on red wine. i did have the news on though, and i was looking for a snippet of something, anything about the protest. then my brain was in "shock and awe" overload, and i started to watch mtv's the real world. i'm going to hell for sure.

OSCAR WHO?
the oscars are on tonight and i don't even give a shit. so lame. i'm turning into eminem!

BOURBON, BE MINE!
so rachel says bourbon and ginger is the new gin and tonic. i agree. i can drink bourbon and ginger all night, and if i don't mix it with beer, i'm aiite. the bartender at starfoods last night had a tee shirt on that said in the back: "i'm not a mooner!" i wanted to tell him that i was. well, some of my friends call me mooney, but not in a mooney suzuki kind of way. no electric sweat on my ass! rachel, keith, and i went to see jackass at the sunshine at midnight. it made me nauseous. keith said the pretentious, arty fucks around us didn't appreciate it. i have to say there were only like 50 people who came to see it, and it was in one of the big theaters. johnny knoxville is ill.