Favorites

My new favorite ice cream is...
Ben & Jerry's Half Baked Frozen Yogurt

My new favorite cartoon character is...
The grandma on Adult Swim's Squidbillies

My new favorite stand-up comic is...
Louis CK

I remember first seeing him on Dr. Katz back in the mid 90's. He did a bit about going in Wal-Mart and buying a bunch of weird, unrelated stuff just to freak people out. It was funny, but I soon forgot about him and carried on with my sad, pathetic Louie-less existence.

Flash forward to August 2005, when I was lucky enough to catch a particularly good episode of HBO's newly-resurrected One Night Stand featuring, yes--you guessed it, the comedy stylings of Mr. Louis CK. And it was good. It was so good, it was more like fucking excellent. In fact, I actually el-oh-eled quite a few times, despite watching it alone. I'd even go as far as to say it's a damn near perfect half hour of comedy. If you have the means I highly suggest you Tivo that shit or something. Here's an audio clip (NSFW):

+ Louis CK: HBO One Night Stand clip [MP3]

He's got an album called Live In Houston for sale on his site, too. It's not quite as tight as the HBO special, but it's definitely worth checking out. Some klips (mostly NSFW):

+ Louis CK: Diner Ordering [MP3]
+ Louis CK: Diet [MP3]
+ Louis CK: Itchy Asshole [MP3]

So apparently the guy's been busy since that Dr. Katz episode. In addition to the stand-up, he's written for Conan, Letterman, and the Chris Rock show, among other things. And now he's taping his own sitcom for HBO. It's called Lucky Louie and will premiere sometime in 2006. You can read all about it in a hefty article from a recent issue of the Boston Globe Magazine here.

Despite his busy schedule, Louie was kind enough to grace the boards at A Special Thing, a site that started as a Tenacious D fan site but has become a haven for comedy nerds everywhere. Actual, life-sized comics like Brian Posehn and Scott Aukerman (Mr. Show), Andy Kindler, and Patton Oswalt sometimes stop in for a chat. Louis CK recently started a “Question and Insult” thread there by promising “anyone can ask me any question and I will provide an answer that is deeply insulting to the person who asks the question.”

Here's what BrickSprickly (aka me) had to say to Louis and the insult offered in return:

BrickSprickly wrote:

Louis:

I know you're busy with your fancy new show, but do you think you'll do a stand-up show in Seattle in the near future? Will you tour after your show doesn't get picked up or what?

PS: I hope your show does get picked up. I'm gay for you.

It will be very hard for me to hit the road for a while. Once the show hits the air, however (in june) I'll probably to go on the road and make some cash. I miss standup and being on the road a lot. And I love working in Seattle.
And you're not gay for me. You're gay for the trillions, literally trillions of cocks that have been in your ass. Do you realize what that means? Trillions of cocks. There have never been trillions of people alive ever. That means that, on top of the billions of cocks that have been up your ass, meaning the cock of every man that is and ever was, there have been billions, trillions more up there, cocks that must just exist on their own without people attached to them, that were conjured by your wizard friend, just so they could go up yoru ass and die.

LCK

http://www.louisck.com

ps. you are not good.

If that's not awesome, I don't know what is. Oh, and by “I'm gay for you” I meant “I really enjoy your work.”

So there you have it, folks--my new favorite ice cream. [Sorry, David Cross. You've been crossed out, my man. Yeah, I'm still a little gay for you too, but you have to understand that things change.]

She Can Let You Down (Part 2)

Sometimes a band transcends the new-band-gone-old paradigm by instead taking on an old-band-going-older role. It just takes a little time. Such is the case with LA's 80's-gone-60's Paisley Underground scene which spawned several worthy bands, including the Dream Syndicate, early Bangles, The Three O'Clock, super group covers project Rainy Day, and future Mazzy Star guy David Roback in his early bands Rain Parade and Opal, among others. I have to admit I'm not really through checking out these bands and exploring this "scene," but so far Rain Parade has sort of stood out to me as a band worth going back to. Their debut album, 1983's Emergency Third Rail Power Trip does a commendable job at sounding like 60's psychedelic folk rock (i.e. The Byrds). It's nearly tranparent. I've found that this song in particular manages to both sound old and authentic and still sink it's fucking hooks inside my brain. That's timeless magic. What's it done to my mind? I can't stop listening to it!

+ Rain Parade: “What's She Done to Your Mind” [MP3]

Jumping back to the present day (or a present-day reflection on the past), England's The Clientele have released a few good records recently. First came their second album, Strange Geometry, released in the US on Merge Records back in September. The follow-up to their solid debut album, The Violet Hour (2003), and the excellent preceding singles collection, Suburban Light released back in 2000/01, Strange Geometry shows the band changing things up just a bit. Without sacrificing much of their core sound (wistful, melancholy, shimmery, dreamy, and yes, 60's-ish), they've made a few alterations this time around: First and most noticeably, they turned down the reverb considerably on the vocals, so they're a bit more clear and upfront than usual. They rock out a little more on tracks like “Impossible,” which at its climax features something of a psych rock guitar solo. There's also the inclusion of spoken word vocals on the track “Losing Haringey,” which is pretty interesting. Aside from these small details, and maybe a bit of a cleaner, more well-recorded sound overall, they're still putting out the good ol' reliable dreaminess that I can't seem to get sick of.

I got to see the band play here recently, and they were excellent. I can't think of a more suitable vibe for the rainy days of the Seattle winter. They played a good range of material, centered of course on their new album, including several of my personal favorites from Suburban Light. At the show, I picked up the early/unreleased songs collection just put out in time for the tour entitled It's Art Dad. It's self-released and currently available only at their shows or by mailorder from the band. The songs included (which were recorded from 1991-96) are lo-fi, with a home demo sound that might be a put off for some. I think it actually works pretty well for them. In most cases, it suits their warm-n-fuzzy sound just right. This disc may only appeal to big fans like myself, but there are actually a few gems that are worth checking out.

+ The Clientele: “Dear Jennifer” [MP3]
+ The Clientele: “The Evening In Your Eyes” [MP3]
+ The Clientele: “St. James' Walk” [MP3]

Before I go, I want to get back to something I mentioned in first part of this post, about how comforting I find old (and old-sounding) music. The Clientele, more than any other band I've mentioned here, typifies this feeling I'm failing to accurately describe. And not only do they seem to match so well the dreary weather of Seattle (which is probably pretty similar to that of the band's London home), but they seem to match me, too. It's strange. I can't think of any other band that so often suits my mood these days. I've really connected with it. Yeah, I need to get fucking happy, right? Well until I do, there's this band that seems to know exactly how I feel. That's just magic.

She Can Let You Down (Part 1)

There's something about old music that just does me right. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I can come close by saying that I find it very comforting. But it's not just comforting--it's something more. It's like a favorite sweater and a good cup of coffee on a saturday morning: warm, well-worn, and cozy.

I wasn't lucky enough to be born to parents with good taste in music, so I missed out a little growing up and have had quite a bit of catching up to do. Every so often, I seem to reach back for something that I've missed. Sometimes I find something cool, sometimes I don't. Either way, I learn something new. One thing I learned recently is that new music is sometimes very good at sounding old. This is good news because, let's face it, some day we're gonna run out of real old music, aren't we?

Yes: Espers, a psych-folk band from Philadelphia, has recently released an EP of covers. The songs are old. The band is new. Blah blah blah. Weed Tree (Locust) is Espers turning it's dark, folky hymns to the past. The covers include songs from Nico, Blue Oyster Cult, Durutti Column, and a few traditionals like “Black Is the Color,” as well as one original song, “Dead King.” Espers do a good job at sounding kind of old already, so songs like the medieval-y traditional “Rosemary Lane,” which makes me feel like I'm at a Reniassance Fair (minus the cleavage and weird sticks of meat), tend to fortify the vibe they're kinda going for. Seriously, this song isn't just old--it's olde:

+ Espers: “Rosemary Lane” [MP3]

Speaking of dark and old, Tarnation was a great band who was a big part of that whole dark, spooky Southern gothic country explosion that happened in a dream I had recently. Seriously, I don't know who you could compare them to, but the mostly female vocals sound a little like the ghost of Patsy Cline's equally talented lovelorn younger sister, Petula. The music is slow, twangy and with lots of reverb and only brightens up occasionally for a few upbeat numbers here and there. This song, featured on both their debut, I'll Give You Something to Cry About (1993) and their second and best album (and first for 4AD), Gentle Creatures, is especially good at sounding old, if maybe at the risk of sounding slightly affected:

+ Tarnation: “Game of Broken Hearts” [MP3]

'Cause She Never Dreams

Whoa. I haven't posted in a while, huh? Don't worry, nothing much has really happened. I'm still looking for a job. It's real fun stuff. (Not really; it's utterly depressing, but I'll spare you.) Otherwise, there's not much more to report. Things could be better; things could be worse. Nothing new there. I've been trying to decide whether I should even bother with this site. It's embarrassingly out of date, for one thing. And well...I'm not sure my heart is in it anymore. Whatever. Who knows. I'll figure something out.

I did get to see the Dirty Three a few weeks back. They were excellent, and the show really gave me a new appreciation. It suited my mood so well it was almost kind of creepy. But it was good. Really good. Would've been even better had they played in my living room. There are quite a few shows coming up that I'd like to attend. Guess we'll have to see if my wallet cooperates.

Upcoming “Jeff” Shows:

10.25.05 - American Analog Set/Verevin @ Chop Suey
10.27.05 - The Decemberists/Cass McCombs @ Showbox
10.30.05 - Broadcast/Gravenhurst @ Neumo's
11.12.05 - Broken Social Scene/Feist @ Showbox
11.15.05 - The Clientele/Radar Bros @ Chop Suey
12.03.05 - Echo & The Bunnymen @ Showbox

I've been without extra money for a while now, but it hasn't stopped me from hearing new stuff (hooray for slsk). I'll post something soon about music stuff. For now, here's a little mix of a tracks I put together in some of my hopeless-est moments as of late. Enjoy.

Sad Bastard Anthology Vol 2: Modest Melancholia
[Deleted]

1. David Pajo: Oh No No
2. Tarnation: The Well
3. Do Make Say Think: The Apartment Song
4. Colin Newman: Alone
5. Malcom Middleton: Loneliness Shines
6. Vincent Gallo: A Wet Cleaner
7. The Places: Program Ten

Here I Am

I'm in Seattle now, living with Wally (my cat) in a 1 BR apartment in Capitol Hill (which is sort of like a less yuppie Dupont Circle, for all you folks back in DC). It's not too bad--I've been getting along just fine, though reality has set in and I am definitely not on vacation. The weather is weird. It feels like Fall already here.

Moving across country has proven to be a pain in the ass, but what did I expect? My Charlie Brown luck was not left behind. But, despite trouble getting back online and issues with my new bank and a few broken dishes, I am settling in pretty ok. I have a bed and a couch and new set of speakers for my stereo. No TV/DVD yet; that will have to wait until after I've secured employment. I made one trip too many to Ikea and dropped a hefty chunk of change at Target for household supplies. Feh.

I've begun to send out my resume, to temp agencies and to a few local companies. Wish me luck. I need to start working again very soon.

I'd planned to write a bit more, about the moving process and my adventures so far, but I'm not feeling up to it. But if you want to check out some photos of my new place, you can do so here.

Last, but surely not least, I just want to say thanks to everyone back in DC (especially my old housemates) for the going away party. It meant a lot. Thanks also to The Antiques for a playing a great little set in my (old) dining room. It was awesome. And many many thanks to Sara for all the help in transitioning to the next phase. You rock.

Here Goes Something...

Packing by Moonlight

Three boxes of books, four boxes of CDs, a few crates of vinyl, and about 30 lbs of DVDs. Approximately 80% of what I own is media. Personal entertainment. Shit to listen to, shit to read and watch. Music magazines. Damn—how many back issues of Tape Op does a guy really need? Or what about the ten yellowed issues of Arthur Magazine? Sure, there's my computer and some music equipment, and of course there are my clothes, but I have so much crap.

I have been selling stuff, too. (Which is a bit unsettling when some of it, like my dumb Ikea furniture, is being sold right from under my ass.) Where's my stuff? Yeah, it's crappy Ikea things and dusty synthesizers I've barely touched in months, but still. Very weird. I'm paring down now. It's more cost effective this way, I suppose.

Oh well, it'll be nice to start over. Maybe I'll get some real furniture this time.

Gimme Shelter

I'm writing this post from tens of thousands of feet in the air, old-fashioned style (on paper), on my return trip from Seattle, currently en route to DC via JFK in New York. I am extremely happy to report that my apartment-finding mission was a success.

After three long days of Craigslist checking, bus riding, walking up and down hills, calling, asking, and being disappointed by no-pet policies and rents just out of reach, I found a place for me and Wally to call home. The apartment is a spacious one-bedroom in a neat building a few blocks off of the main drag in the thriving, fashionable neighborhood of Capitol Hill.

While the location of the building isn't exactly where I wanted to be—I was shooting for closer to 15th Ave., in the more grown-up part of Capitol Hill, rather than Broadway—I can't really complain. Finding an apartment in a strange new city in less than a week's time is no easy feat, but I did it. I fucking did it! And thank god, because I was nearly losing it this week worrying and wondering about my oh so uncertain future and what might happen (or not happen). Now that I found a place of my own, I have one major goal off my back.

With all the running around this week, I didn't have much time for fun. I hardly took any photos. I ate quickly and cheaply. And I made no unnecessary purchases (i.e. records). I was however able to hang out with a few friends. Sara, an ex-girlfriend who has been in Seattle for a while, was kind enough to help me out by letting me use the store she works in as a sort of home base for my apartment search, offering free Internet access and a clean, private toilet. As thanks, I treated her to tasty dinner at Thai Tom over in the U District before heading to the Bus Stop back in Capitol Hill for a beer.

And then last night, after handing over the deposit for the apartment and breathing a huge sigh of relief, Kevin swung by and picked me up from my new neighborhood and we drove out to West Seattle and Alki Beach, both of which I had failed to see during my June trip. It was beautiful and awesome driving along the coast. The sun was setting with the Olympic mountains in the distance to one side and the downtown skyline and Queen Anne to the other. Keving and I chatted as we wound our way around West Seattle and took in the sights. That's when it hit me—I live here now. I'm looking at home. I felt a strange mixture of contentment and anticipation, and I knew I'd made the right choice.

C Ya

Now that the cat's out of the bag at work (and has been for a while—Friday was my last day!), it can now be told: I am moving to Seattle at the end of the month. For those of you who didn't already know, I've been planning this for a quite a while. My trip to the Emerald City back in June was in fact part vacation and part reconnaissance mission. And having checked it out as thoroughly as possible, through my visit, personal recommendations, and reading through several books (namely, this and this), I have decided to give a whirl.

As for my reasons for moving, I won't get into the details. It's just not that interesting. DC isn't doing it for me anymore. That's basically it.
And I picked Seattle because, in all my years as a so-called “army brat,” I never spent any time in the Pacific Northwest. So why not?

I'm flying out tomorrow to find an apartment. I've got three solid days of looking and hopefully securing a place to live and then it's back to the east coast to pack my stuff, sell whatever else I can, and then get the hell out of here on the 1st. Oh, and I guess I've got some hanging out to do before I go. I'm heading to the beach to spend some time with my brother and his family for a few days next week, for one. And then there's the going away party that's supposed to happen here at the house. More on that later, though.

I'm pretty fucking excited—I've never lived in my own place before. And I wanna do it right. It's supposedly a renter's market out there, but they go quick. I have only a few neighborhoods in mind and what I want is pretty specific (old building, 1BR, hw floors, cats allowed, in hip-but-not-too-hip neighborhood). Still, I am cautiously optimistic.

Wish me luck.

With or Without Darwin

Seven Words You Can't Say in Kindergarten [maybe NSFW]

RE: Creationism, intelligent design, etc. Save it for church why don't you? Remember that place? It's God's house. Why, in Sunday school, you can teach kids all sorts of cute fairy tales! Here in reality, on the other hand, evolution—a scientific theory which has about a shit ton of evidence to support it—is what we subscribe to.

Evidence...? I see you're a little confused, my little faith-based friend. Evidence is what people who care about the truth use to support what they believe in and usually consists of things that can be observed and that follow logic and stuff. Shhhh. It's OK. I know it's a lot to take in. You just go on back to pretend land now. (Eat some body of Christ. You look famished!)

I'd much rather discuss a different sort of evolution, anyway. Broadcast, a rock band from England, is set to release their third album, Tender Buttons, on Warp Records September 19th (the 20th in the US). And in the spirit of Karl Rove, the CIA, and matters of national security, the album has been leaked recently. So I've taken a few listens and would like to offer my first impressions to you. Quickly, before there's a cover-up.

For a band who, according to at least few short-sighted individuals, started out as a mere imitation of Stereolab, Broadcast's sound has progressed rather nicely. From the spacey 60's sound of The Book Lovers EP back in '97 to the more electronic, even spacier (dare I say otherworldly) debut album, The Noise Made By People, to their great follow-up album (and best record yet), 2003's Haha Sound, they've been honing their sound ever closer to that wonderful line between synthetic and organic.

It's this balance between warmth and coldness that's kept me interested in the band over the last eight years. Unfortunately for me, with Tender Buttons Broadcast has tipped the scales heavily in favor of an electronic sound. Turns out they are down to two members and the amazing drummer featured on Haha Sound is not one of them. And so goes the aforementioned warmth that was provided by a terrific acoustic rhythm section. What the new album is lacking is what previously gave the buzzing and the bleeps a place to live. Sure there are still some guitars in there. One or two tracks even feature live drums, or maybe what I'm guessing are leftover drum tracks from the sessions of the last record. And one track, the sad and serene “Tears In the Typing Pool,” is mostly guitar strumming and Trish Keenan's lovely vocal melodies. Still, the majority of these tracks feature simple drum machines and square wave synth sounds, a combination which reminds me at times of early Lali Puna or, more accurately, a little group called Tree Wave. Trish's vocals do help a little, of course, but her voice can be pretty cold—almost icy at times. To make matters worse, the band has thrown in a lot more of the digital distortion they're so fond of (see roughly any Autechre record from the 2nd half of their discography).

Don't get me wrong—it's not as if I dislike electronic music. And I don't think this is necessarily a bad album (in fact, it's been growing on me), but I suppose I'm just slightly disappointed by this new direction. It almost feels like a step back in a way. Maybe this is a progression and I'm being too close-minded. At any rate, if this is the sound of progress, I'm not sure I'm ready to move on.

MP3 - Broadcast: “Corporeal”

Closer to home, in a town to my north called Baltimore, there is a band called Wilderness. They released their self-titled debut album, which incidently happens to have been recorded in my backyard (no—not my actual backyard), on JagJaguwar back in July to some critical acclaim. They're being described as sounding like Johnny Lydon fronting Explosions In the Sky or Savage Republic; even the label says so. I can hear the Explosions connection, in those soaring guitars and in the rhythm. But instead of all the snare drumming of EITS, you get lots of tom. The Lydon thing, with vocals that are more bellowed than sung, is there too, and it almost turned me off to this band. On my first listen, I found myself thinking um...you gonna keep doing that? I got over that, though. This record is awesome.

MP3 - Wilderness: “End of Freedom”

Getting even closer to home, there is my new favorite DC band. They're called The Antiques and I'm predicting that they're gonna be huge. OK, maybe not huge, no one can predict that, but they certainly have what it takes to make some noise.

I first heard of them back in January, when I met Gregg (guitar, vocals) and Theresa (keyboards) at a show at 611 Florida. Months passed. I then learned that a friend of mine (John Rickman - Eggs, EBSK) joined the band on drums. This piqued my interest a bit, and I always try to do my best to support my friends' projects, so I made it a point to catch one of their shows. Unfortunately, it wasn't until a few weeks ago when they played a show on the back stage of the Black Cat that I finally really heard them.

And whoa. I've slept on this band way too long. How many shows had I missed? Why did it take me so long to come out and see them? This is what was going through my mind. The show they put on was just great. I was hooked from the first few songs. I'm not sure how to describe their sound, but comparisons have been made to bands like the Smiths and Felt. The guitar is jangly and tremelo-y and the vocals low and almost monotone. The rhythm section is adept—very active basslines and some incredible drumming. [When everything else dropped away during one of their songs at the show and left the bass and drums to do a sort of solo, I almost freaked out and ended up giving a yelp of approval.] The organ sounds of the keyboards compliment everything else nicely, filling out the sound a bit. Man, it's so exciting to hear a band at this stage. They only have a few singles and demos out and have just been playing shows here and there, right around town. Word is they're finishing up work on a new EP which features the updated line-up. Best thing to do is try to catch them live. The recordings I've heard so far don't quite do them justice. Still, check out one of my favorites so far, from their split single with Unlucky Atlas, and take a look at their website and MySpace page for more.

MP3 - The Antiques: “There's Nothing To Explain”

Roberts Schmoberts

Hey Karl, didn't you get The Memo? You did, didn't you, you big fat lying piece of shit...

From today's headlines at Democracy Now!:

Memo Identified Plame as Undercover
Now to the Karl Rove/CIA scandal. The Washington Post is reporting that a classified State Department memo central to the federal investigation into who leaked Valerie Plame's name as an undercover CIA operative contained information about her in a paragraph marked "(S)" for secret. The Post calls it a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it should have been aware the information was classified. In the memo, Plame is referred to by her married name, Valerie Wilson. Almost the entire memo is devoted to describing why State Department intelligence experts did not believe claims that Saddam Hussein had in the recent past sought to purchase uranium from Niger, as Plame's husband Ambassador Joe Wilson asserted after his fact-finding mission to the African nation. The memo was delivered to Secretary of State Colin Powell on July 7, 2003, as he headed to Africa for a trip with President Bush aboard Air Force One. Plame was unmasked in a syndicated column by Robert Novak seven days later. Prosecutors are reviewing the phone records from that trip and have questioned several of Bush's staffers who were on that trip.

Oh, and here's that Post article. [Login with BugMeNot]

Work Makes Me Do It

Red Rover

There's a great little bio summary here (with a timeline) of Karl Rove and his political games, up-to-and-including the Valerie Plame stuff. Best of all, this page is the first thing that comes up when you Google “turd blossom.”

I do hope you know about this already, but the short of it is: Karl Rove (aka “Bush's Brain” and, yes, “turd blossom”) Bush's top advisor dude and all-out eggheaded nerdboy revenge-fantasy, leaked the identity of an undercover CIA agent named Valerie Plame to reporters. Plame just happens to be married to Joe Wilson, a former US ambassador sent to Niger in 2002 by the CIA to investigate the possibility of Iraq buying uranium (for nuclear weapons) from them. Wilson found no such evidence and reported this back to home base. The Bush administration ignored his findings and used the lie (that is, that Iraq did buy uranium from Niger) as one major reason to invade Iraq. Wilson spoke out about his findings when he heard this, which in turn prompted Rove to speak out (albeit very super secret backgroundishly) about Wilson's wife's indentity as pay back. Oh, and it's important to note that knowingly outing an undercover agent is a felony. Although he didn't point to Plame by name (haha), the Bush twins could have figured out who was talking about. So here you have Rove enacting revenge on a WMDs naysayer and trying to discredit a credible source by bringing his undercover CIA wife (who actually specializes in finding WMDs, btw) into the story.

Why is Rove not saying anything? Why hasn't he been made to sit his fat ass down in front of Congress and the television camera and explain what the fuck he was thinking? What can't these people get away with?

I Got Nothin'

In lieu of a writing up a summary of my visit to Seattle (which I'm feeling increasingly ambivalent about doing), I give you this:

Jen recently tagged me for this meme where you list six of your current favorite songs. You're also supposed to tag six other people, but I only know like two or three.

Rainy Day: “Flying On the Ground”
Malcolm Middleton: “No Modest Bear”
Pernice Brothers: “Dumb It Down”
Linda Perhacs: “Chimacum Rain”
The Cure: “Secrets”
Colin Newman: “Not Me”

Since that thing came out about Nike ripping off a Minor Threat album cover for their ads [see here and here], people here have been Photoshopping corporate messages into classic (and not-so-classic) album covers, sometimes with hilarious results. Here are a few of my favs:

From Seattle

Just a quick update here, since I'm currently at this coffee house on a free 20 minutes of Internet.

Seattle is amazing. It's all hills, trees and water. I never knew, but it actually rivals SF in steep inclines and houses built on crazy angles. Huh. It rained for the first time today. Otherwise, the weather has been gorgeous everyday since I got here on Saturday. Sunny, low 70s. Fucking beautiful. And here's a factoid for all you Seattle naysayers: it actually rains less here than in New York. That is, Seattle gets fewer inches of rain per year. What makes it seem worse is that it rains more frequently here, especially in the winter. So, yeah. It's not as bad as you think, sucker.

I've been doing lots of fun shit, trying to balance touristy stuff (Space Needle, Pike Place, etc.) with less typical things. Jennifer and Kevin (my roommate's sister and her bf) took Jason and I out for a great night of seeing some really oddball/out-of-the-way stuff (the Museum of Mysteries, for example), so I got to see a few things I probably never would have otherwise. I saw Apostle of Hustle last night at Chop Suey and they were surprisingly really fucking good. I have their record and am pretty ambivalent about it, but man—the keyboardist was doing this crazy flamenco dancing on this platform and their drummer was brilliant. And there was hardly anyone there, but the club was cool. The openers were some local band called Slender Means who reminded me at times of the Pernice Brothers. They were actually really tight and made for another great surprise.

Speaking of music, Seattle has a plethora of awesome record stores. Sonic Boom, Easy Street (amazing, just went there today and had to force myself not to spend too much money), and Wall of Sound, just to name a few.

I've been taking a ton of photos, editing as I go to save room. I'll definitely have plenty to flickr when I get home.

Well, that's all I have time for. I'll post a full review when I get back to the east coast. Ugh—the east coast.

Say hi to Wally for me, Tim.

Vacation

I guess I forgot to check it earlier this week, but there are a couple of interesting inteviews over on the Onion AV site in their Animation Issue: the creators of Aqua Teen Hunger Force discuss the origins and success of the show, as well as an upcoming project called Squidbillies, and they talk with Billy West (of Ren & Stimpy fame) about working on Futurama, a possible Futurama movie and the demand for classic voice actors being replaced by big name Hollywood types. Excerpt:

The minute they mention a CGI film, they're already looking to see what Renée Zellweger is doing. They're already looking to see what Billy Crystal is doing. This doesn't make sense, to do what they do—spend zillions on visuals, and then have this totally fucking flat-lining voice track. You know, "Hey, I'm Will Smith, I'm a clam! I'm Will Smith, I'm a kangaroo!"

Anyway, I'm leaving for the other side of the country tomorrow morning for a week-long vacation. Having never been to Seattle (or any part of the Pacific Northwest for that matter), I'm really pretty excited about it. A friend recently visited and says I will love it. I think so, too. After reading through a few travel books, it seems like a very interesting town.

I still have a little packing to do, but what I'm really trying to get straight is how to handle having nearly a week to myself without any sort of agenda. I have few people to meet up with while I'm out there, and there is certainly plenty to see and do, but I don't have any real plan. On the one hand, it's ok; I can be as leisurely as I like and just roll with it. On the other, I want to make the most of my visit. In a way, it's actually kind of important that I do so. Well I'm sure it'll be fun, no matter what.

In the meantime, hold all my calls. I may try to do a few audio posts while I'm away. Forgive the mess; AudioBlogger tends to wreak havoc on my formatting. I'll fix it when I get back. I'll leave you with a few interesting music links:

Lemon-Red has a 30-minute+ mix from DJ/rupture available for download. Booty music from the likes of M.I.A. and some ragga jungle stuff. [via Pitchfork]

And speaking of M.I.A., KEXP in Seattle has an in-studio live performance and interview with her available here (WMA unfortunately).

To the West coast...

Hello Shirt

Just a quick update, before a pre-Seattle post in the near future. I added a few links to the sidebar over there. It was getting a little weak. I also updated my vital stats (i.e. what I'm listening to). I still have to do something with the music page and redo my photos (post-Flickr). Ay.

I shall now direct your attention to the first link on my list. Thas right—I've jumped on the del.icio.us bandwagon. I have just a small collection of links so far, but go ahead and check 'er out.

One neat thing I added today is this flickr photo album site. You enter a flickr username and a tag (descriptive words flickr uses for searching photos) and it generates a virtual book with turnable pages and everything. Each photo is clickable, of course, and takes you to the flickr photo page. Pretty nifty.

You could, for example, leaf through an album of photos of my friends, or take a look at my buddy Tim's Harper's Ferry photos.

Sno-Ball's Chance

I go through the same thing every year. As the weather gets warmer, and the swampy DC summer rears its ugly armpit, my thoughts turn to a favorite childhood treat I once enjoyed while staying at my grandmother's house in suburban Baltimore.

The idea is simple: a cup of finely-shaved ice coated in a flavored syrup. It's slushier than a snow cone and thicker than a Slurpee. You can't drink it through a straw; it must be eaten with a spoon. They call them sno-balls. They come in many different flavors, from the standard fruit flavors (grape, cherry, lime, etc.) to more creative/weird varieties (e.g. wedding cake, bubblegum)——all of them artificial, of course. There are also usually toppings like marshmallow cream and chocolate syrup. Are sno-balls healthy? Not very, no. Do I think they're delicious? Yessiree! In fact, they're so damn tasty some people are prepared to kill for them.

The problem with sno-balls, aside from having to choose which of the dozens of flavors to get, is that they don't seem to exist outside of certain parts of Maryland. In the suburbs of Baltimore, for example, you'll find them in roadside shacks set up for the summer. [The one I remember was in a corner of the parking lot of the A&P just outside my grandmother's neighborhood in Woodlawn.] My coworker, who lives in Annapolis, says they have sno-ball stands everywhere up there. Sadly, DC and Virginia have none. I'm not sure about Delaware.

Anytime I speak to a friend who happens to be unemployed during the Summer months, I recommend opening a sno-ball stand in downtown DC. The permits might be a bitch, and it would certainly take a little bit of cash to get started (I hear the ice machines they use go for around $2k), but the first enterprising individual to open a stand would likely make quite a bit of money once word got around. Actually, I think that person would make a killing. Unfortunately, I don't see this happening anytime soon.

There is a bit of hope. Although I haven't yet confirmed it, I hear there are true sno-balls available at a corner market at 14th and W in DC. You can bet that I will soon investigate. In the meantime, if anyone from Baltimore can point me to a good sno-ball stand (maybe somewhere in Hampden?), I would appreciate it. Even in the city of Baltimore, they're hard to find for out-of-towner. Don't bother suggesting that thing in Fells Point, either. Those aren't sno-balls.

Further Reading:
About Sno-Balls
Baltimore Area Sno-Ball stands

Links

The Other Bomb Drops [The Nation]:
Jeremy Scahill of Democracy Now! on the Downing Street Memo/Minutes and (basically) proof enough that George Bush should be impeached. Why is hardly anyone talking about this? Am I blind? More on this later. [See also, an interview at DN!]

Joanna Newsom at Birmingham, Nov. 2004: live video of individual songs. [via del.icio.us/successless]

R.I.P. Mrs. Robinson:
Anne Bancroft dies at 73 [Guardian]
Obituary [W. Post]
Appreciation [W. Post]

Dr. Katz

So I got my Dr. Katz DVDs the other day. As I mentioned previously, I'm a big fan of the show and have been waiting for a legitimate DVD release for quite some time. Since this doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon, I went ahead and got a bootleg of the entire series from eBay.

The series is spread across five DVD-Rs, each labeled and packaged together in a single DVD case with printed artwork. I was slightly dismayed to open the case and find four of the five discs stacked one on top of the other, without any sort of protection. Luckily, save for a few minor scuffs, the DVDs arrived unharmed. What a bad idea, though. Also included is a computer print out of the contents of each disc, with details for each episode. The guy definitely used rough draft mode here, but whatever.

The DVD menus are minimal. Each entry includes either a screenshot from the episode or the show's title page and an episode number (which corresponds to the printed episode guide). The background is some default graphic from whatever burner was used. No frills, but it's easy enough to find the episode you're looking for.

The quality of the video varies with each episode; it ranges from OK to pretty piss poor. Granted, I've only watched about five or six episodes so far, but I've already noticed drastic differences in quality. At best, there are obvious digital artifacts visible, probably due to some compression (AVI?) on the source files. Here and there, there is the kind of glitching you see with a weak satellite signal. On the other end of the spectrum, one of my favorite episodes (with David Cross as one of the guests/patients) is pretty terrible. It looks like it was sourced from a worn VHS copy and then digitally compressed. The audio is also pretty bad with this one, with lots of noise and hissing, again likely attributable to the VHS source. The worst detriment by far, at least in terms of annoyance, appears in a few episodes where the audio falls out of sync with the video. This really bothers me. And though it's not as bad as when this happens with live-action video, you'd be surprised at how important it is for animation. Even in “Squigglevision” the characters mouths are pretty tightly timed with the audio, and when it's off it is extremely distracting. Watchable, I guess, but very annoying.

Overall, I'm glad I bought this thing. It's great to see the show after so long, and I'm sure there are at least a few episodes I missed. The quality is not great, but it is a bootleg afterall. Hopefully, if whoever owns the rights to the show finds out that dorks like me are willing to plunk down the cash ($30+) for poor quality bootlegs, they'll wise up and release a proper set of DVDs for this awesome cult show.

There Will Always Be Sadness

I got in free to the Spoon/Clientele show. Lucky me, I owe a debt of gratitude to Shannon, her friend Chris, and some guy Chris met at the bar in DC9. I could've easily gotten in otherwise—there were plenty of tickets and extra guest list spots for sale outside the 9:30—but I'm glad I didn't have to pay. This show was not worth the fifteen bucks.

The Clientele, who were my reason for going to the show, were pretty good. They played well and played several of my favorite songs. [Though I have to admit it's almost all the same song with them, at least it's a very good one.] It was cool to hear them and be able to appreciate it, as opposed to the first time I saw them and didn't really know their music.

So why was it unworthy of my money? Here's why: the fucking din of background noise I had to put up with was enough to nearly drive me nuts. I shit you not, it sounded like I was in a goddamn stadium. Yes, the Clientele are a fairly quiet band, and yes, they were the openers. But really—do these motherfuckers have to talk so damn much? I'm assuming at least some of them paid to get in. And surely most of them realized there was a live band on the stage. Yet there they were, blabbing incessantly throughout the band's entire performance. Spoiled fucking brats.

So yeah, it basically ruined the show for me. I guess I'm getting old. Or maybe I just really do hate people. Who the fuck knows. I hate to say it, but the Iota show was much better.

Pumpernickel Baby

Due to popular demand, I am here to update you on current events. The current events of my life, I mean. The seemingly insignificant ones. BTW, it's fucking June already???

Firstly, I'd like to just reiterate that three-day weekends are the fucking best thing ever. It is my firm belief that all weekends should be three days long. It makes a lot of sense if you think about it. I mean, you need one day to recover from the work week, one full day of having fun (going out, doing stuff, being active), and another day to get stuff done around the house and ease back into the idea of returning to work. Is that so unreasonable? Plus you get the likeable cousin of the three-day weekend, the four-day work week, built right into the deal. Nothing wrong with that. So will you sign my petition?

Now for a recap (short form):

Had a late dinner with Tim and Sarah on Friday. Tried to go to Anita's but they closed early for some lame reason. Ended up at Amphora and had a decent meal and some great conversation about technology, cloning, and death row organ donors. Got home and Bittorrent-ed episodes of Robot Chicken.

Saturday—lovely and relaxing. Took an enlightened bike ride to beautiful downtown Arlington. Visited Ms. Shannon at Olsson's, looked for Seattle books and smoked cigs. Unfrozen caveman pizza for dinner. Should be noted here that CPK thin crust (tomato, basil, moz and olive oil) is actually quite good. Saturday nite hazy. Made a CD for Sunday's roadtrip. Wally given catnip—myself, the human equivalent.

Pinnacle of weekend: Sunday, not usually my fun day. Went to Baltimore with Shannon as planned. Amazing weather. Hit “The Avenue” in Hampden...Atomic Books, True Vine, and that cafe across from Atomic. Really good limeade there. Bought some weird books and the latest issue of the Big Takeover. Big Spender card filled but not redeemed. Stopped by Druid Park for possible photo ops. Null. Continued on to Fells Point. Walked the docks, took some shots, and talked a lot. Stopped by Sound Garden and picked up a stack, put half back. And if yer keeping track:

Stereolab: Oscillons From the Anti-Sun box
Wire: Pink Flag (re-issue)
Mirah: C'mon Miracle
Owen: s/t
Home Movies Season 1
?

Returned to the South. Ate many sushi. Watched R Chicken and screened Tarnation.

Monday: Personal maintenance. Shave and haircut. Cleaned house. [Bedroom still in ruins.] Attended a Czech bbq with Tim, Sarah, various adults, in a swank house near Tenley Town. Delicious kebabs. Surprisingly fun and much better than stewing in my own juices. Four words: the illustrious Julia Ames.

So there that is. Good folks, good food, great fun. What a doozy. And then it was last night, and I introduced a hater (aka Shannon) to Salvadorean/doran food with takeout from Abi's. Bean and cheese pupusas rule, my friend. And their plantanos fritos are badass. Needless to say, she was converted.

So the Spoon/Clientele show is sold out. What the fuck ever. No one sells out the only Friday show in ages that I actually care about attending and gets away with it. I'll get in, all right.

ARE YOU HAPPY NOW???

Eltit On Deen

I found out through this post from Marc that DVD bootlegs of the entire Dr. Katz series are going around for sale on eBay. I used to watch this show all the time in college and have been waiting ever since they started releasing DVDs of TV shows for it to come out. That has yet to happen. A bootleg will have to do for now, I suppose.

Speaking of goofy and wonderful TV shows, I've finally gotten into Adult Swim's Robot Chicken. I've only caught one full episode (#16) so far, but both times I saw it I was LOLing like a madman. Scenes like the Smurfs dealing with an axe murderer, the totally awesome girl bit, and even the robot incessantly trying to hump a dryer had me in stitches. Check it out if you haven't already. It airs Sundays at midnight (and again on Thursdays) on Cartoon Network.

I started my first flickr group. It is based on the fact that I often find my cat, Wally, sitting up like a person (as seen here). It's called Like a Person, naturally. We have 30 members so far.

Ah yes. The three-day weekend. I love it so. The highlight as of yet looks to be Sunday, when I will daytrip up to Baltimore for photo-taking and buying stuff at my usual shopping destinations: Sound Garden, Atomic Books, Normals, and all those other cool shops on The Avenue. [Note to self: Please to not spend all yer money!!!]

Null

I saw Star Wars Episode III last night. Here's my review:

Blah blah blah digital projection blah blah. Wookies blah blah not bad blah blah. Blah I hate Hayden Christensen blah blah [something to justify spending $10] blah.

So there you have it.

My new favorite person on flickr is...naked_college_running.

Take a Gander

Lovely weekend, it was. The weather made everything just so damn pleasant. I took a bike ride on the Capital Crescent Trail in DC on Saturday. Snapped a few pictures, including the one to the left, of what I thought were some ducks hanging out near the C&O Canal. Tim corrected my city-boy mistake by informing me that those are in fact Canadian geese. Whoops. Anyway, they were cool; there was a whole family of them waddling around. This old guy came up to me just as I was starting to shoot and asked if he could feed them, and I told him it was ok, of course. They were so preoccupied with eating that it allowed me to get that much closer to them. Thanks, old guy! I'll have to remember my own bread crumbs next time.

So I was considering going to see Antena tonight at my least favorite DC venue, Iota. They are a recently-reissued and quasi-reformed French band from the early 80s whose discography-spanning Camino Del Sol disc was released last year on reissues label Numero Group. It is essentially an expanded edition of an EP of the same name, originally released on Les Disques du Crepuscule in 1982. That label is perhaps better known for Factory Records tie-ins (as Factory Benelux) and releasing early material from bands like A Certain Ratio, Durutti Column, and Crispy Ambulance.

Antena's unique “electro samba” (blech) sound and enchanting, French/English female vocals made it my favorite reissue of 2004. I was excited to hear that they'd be touring and playing in my own neighborhood. That is, until I saw that they would be appearing at Iota and that it would actually only be the original singer, Isabelle, who was playing with some back-up band. So I was on the fence about it, until I heard today (thanks, Dominic) that Antena is not playing at Iota, or anywhere else for that matter. The Numero web site has the following to say about it, along with an apology: After only a handful of dates on their first US tour ever, Antena have decided to cancel the remaining dates and head home. Weird. There's nothing on
Isabelle's blog about it. In fact, she seems to indicate that the tour was going well. Well, decision made.

I'm considering getting one of these PocketDocks for my iPod. I never got a dock, since Apple stopped including them. And the regular docs won't work with the iSkin on, anyway. This looks like the perfect solution for giving me that lovely line-level signal I've been craving. You do realize that the headphone out of the iPod is inferior to the line-out of the dock, don't you? Huh, nerd?

And while I'm considering what iPod accessory to buy next, this is happening:

Unseen Pictures, Untold Stories: How The U.S. Press Has Sanitized The War in Iraq [DN!]
Images of thousands of dead U.S. soldiers helped to turn the tide of public opinion against the Vietnam War, but now photo-journalists are even banned from military funerals at Arlington national cemetery. A report this weekend in the Los Angeles Times documented the extremely rare publication of photos of American casualties in six major newspapers during a sixth month period. Readers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Washington Post never saw a single picture of a dead serviceman or servicewoman in their morning papers.

+10

Wonderful commute this morning. Sheets of rain. Completely soaked below the knees. Still drying out. Lovely. It's Friday, though, and tomorrow should be (better fucking be) beautiful.

I've been working on some music lately. You'll never hear it. You can thank me later.

May try to see Star Wars this weekend. What ever should I wear? I just don't know.

This is retarded, but kind of funny. I can't really get into it here in the office. I like Store Wars, though. You know, featuring Obi Wan Cannoli, Chewbroccoli and Darth Tater? Organic food lovers will eat it up.

Galaxy Friends

Last night was really great. First off, big ups to everyone who came out and anyone who told me they liked this song or that or asked what I was playing. That shit is like DJ crack. Seriously. So many nice moments, from the guy who freaked when I played the Seeds to the kind words and encouragement from friends. Extra special thanks to Tim, Andy, and Randy for lending me gear, to Shannon for co-piloting and watching me panic, and to Lary for hooking me up with a nice bit of cash. Big big thanks, everybody. You made my night.

So I only fucked up a few times. I had issues with the iPod, unfortunately. It's not so much the iPod's fault as it was the Hut's shitty mixer. I worked it out, though, and it wasn't too big a deal. It's weird—I was so worried I didn't bring enough stuff and there ended up being all this crap I didn't get to play. This guy, Joi, who was pretty drunk kept coming up and requesting shit I didn't have. He was asking for good stuff but I just couldn't help him out. He did recognize the McCarthy song I played and told me that, in his country (the Philippines), it's “their song” or something. Hah. Oh and someone wanted to hear the Misfits and I couldn't do it. Where's Travis when you need him?

It's a little sad to think that last night was probably my last time DJing at Galaxy Hut. It's always been a positive experience and will certainly be something I miss.

Before I forget—did anyone happen to take any photos? Please let me know if you have any good ones.

I'll Come Running to Tie Your Shoes

The Mice Parade show last night was awesome. They had about 6-7 people playing, including drummer Doug Scharin and Kristin Anna, one of the girls from Mum. It was a percussive delight, I tell ya. Doug is an amazing drummer, first of all—overrated or not, and was playing some great dynamic, odd-metered stuff. At one point he and Adam Pierce (the main mouse) did this great drum solo with Adam going off on this hand drum he was sitting on. I'm not usually a big fan of drum solos, either, but this was lovely. The crowd was sparse...maybe 1/3 capacity or something, but they seemed to be pretty into it. It was kind of cool that way, actually. In fact, there was nary a hipster to be found; I like that. So that's 2/2 great shows from those guys. Good work. [Special thanks to Tim for driving and sparing me from Metro-ing or sitting at home and missing a cool show.]

We caught most of Boom Bip's set before Mice Parade went on, and it was much better than I expected. They had a full band and were way more rock than I would've guessed—drums, kb/laptop, guitars, bass. It's weird; that first album is like indie ambient hip hop, and this new one...do I have a fake or something? Honestly, I haven't listened to Blue Eyed in the Red Room a whole lot because it didn't really grab me a first, but their kraut-inspired set last night didn't sound much like the album at all; I actually found it way more engaging and interesting. We didn't stay for Headphones, but I'm guessing we didn't miss much.

So, I'm DJing tonight at good old Galaxy Hut. I'm sure you noticed the flyer in my previous post (which seemed to go over like a lead balloon, but whatever). I've decided not to bring my turntable. It's too much trouble for only playing a few bits of vinyl. It looks like it's gonna be all-digital: CD decks and my trusty iPod. My set will range from the wonderful to the fantastic. That's the good news. The bad news is that I'll be playing everything backwards. Sorry, technical difficulties.

And finally, this just in: Joe Pernice (of the Pernice Brothers) now resembles a young Jerry Garcia. What's up, Joe? It looks like you've been spending way too much time at home. Why not tour a little and play a show for me?

Oh well, click through to view his self-produced pilot for MTV's Cribs. It's pretty funny, for just some guy showing you around his house.

DJed

Upcoming DC Shows 5.15 - 6.15

Some cool looking shows on the horizon. Here are my picks. What's with all the Tuesday shows?

Tues May 17 - Headphones, Mice Parade, Boom Bip - $10 - Black Cat
Fri May 20 - Gang of Four w/Radio 4 - $25 - 9:30
Mon May 23 - Monade w/The Zincs - $12 - Black Cat
Tues May 24 - Antena w/Andrew Bird - $12 - Iota
Fri May 27 - Unsane, Pig Destroyer, et al - $10/12 - Ottobar
Tues May 31 - The Dirty Projectors, The Wind-Up Bird, Stamen & Pistils - $7 - Warehouse Nextdoor
Fri June 3 - Spoon w/The Clientele - $15 - 9:30
Tues June 7 - Sam Prekop w/James Yorkston - $12 - Black Cat
Tues June 7 - The Impossible Shapes w/Odwalas - Warehouse Nextdoor
Sun June 12 - M.I.A. w/LCD Soundsystem - $20 - 9:30
Tues June 14 - The Antiques w/Unlucky Atlas - Warehouse Nextdoor

Item

Had the original plan for my trip to Seattle worked out, I'd be on my way there right about now. And I would have been looking forward to this tomorrow night. Curses.

Now here's some other random crap...

Excerpts from a speech given by one of my current favorite truth-tellers, Seymour Hersh (the Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker reporter who broke the Abu Ghraib story), were featured on Democracy Now yesterday. He speaks on the current state of the war in Iraq (remember that thing?), and the bullshit smokescreen and outright lies being propagated by the Bush administration, the military, and the right-wing media. Also featured is an interview with Mr. Hersh by DN's Amy Goodman. If you missed it, you can stream or download the entire show here. [Go ahead, they use RJD2 for their bumper music and shit.]

Due to the sorry state of my warm-weather wardrobe, I ordered a stack of stuff from American Apparel recently. They make high quality cotton t-shirts and casual wear, made in the USA and “sweatshop free.” You'll certainly pay for it, but it's good stuff and well worth the satisfaction of knowing that the people making your clothes are earning a decent wage and not inhaling cotton fibers or something all day. Anyway, I got my stuff yesterday and found that one of the shirts I ordered was slightly defective (either that, or I'm just way too symmetrical). So I emailed them today and asked about returning the shirt for an exchange, and they responded by saying they'd just send me another free of charge. Well, hot damn—that's some fine customer service. Such a rarity these days. So yeah...I recommend them. SIDE NOTE: I received some bonus gift with my order. I think it's some kind of girl's top. It's basically like a rectangular piece of cotton with a slit half-way down the middle. I'm not sure how you're supposed to wear it, but if any of you ladies wants it, it's yours.

Have I mentioned how good this new Mice Parade album is? [I did mention it briefly here.] It came out last week (though I thought it already had for some reason), and I got a sweet hook-up on a discount copy from a friend. I was really into that last one, but this record has proved even better, all the way down to the artwork. Ace. Looks like they're on tour, and playing the Black Cat next Tuesday (May 17th). Yesh.

I had something else for you, but I think it was on the whiny/bitchy side, so I'll save that for some other post when I have more to whine and/or bitch about. Until then...

But Just Not Very Many

Things have been such a weird mix of good and bad lately. On one hand, I have so much to look forward to in the next few months. On the other, one area of my life in particular is rife with crumminess. Explaining it all wouldn't make much sense without being very boring, so I'll spare you. Besides, there is much positivity to focus on.

One completely awesome thing was finding out my six-year-old niece Carleigh (pictured here) is really into M.I.A. Yes, M.I.A. I gave her dad a dub of Arular and Piracy Funds Terrorism a few weeks ago, and she apparently keeps stealing the discs to listen to in her room. I love it. She tells me she likes Piracy best, because of the “Walk Like an Egyptian” part. Oh, I'm so proud. I wish I could take her to the upcoming show. I'm about ready to go buy her a stereo and start making her mixtapes.

I finally booked a flight for my trip to Seattle in mid-June. It was supposed to happen a bit sooner, but I couldn't get the time off work. Oh well, the weather will probably be nicer, right? I've been getting recommendations here and there about stuff to check out. My friend John recently went out there and gave me a nice list of things. I'm gonna be there nearly a week, so I have to find plenty to do. It shouldn't be difficult, though. I'm really looking forward to this trip. Like you wouldn't believe.

Oh, and I'm DJing at Galaxy Hut for next week's (May 18) Hump Nite. It will be my fourth (?) and most likely final time doing the Hump, so please come out if you're in the area. It will be a good time, I promise. More on that later...

When we last left our hero

I don't care how cliche it is to say this, I can't fucking wait for this week to be over. Work has been relentlessly hellish lately, and I'm just about to snap. And even though it's Friday and it's almost over, I can't help but think of next week and having to do it all over again. Already my weekend is tainted—by just the thought of Monday morning.

As much as I could bitch and moan about work, everything else has been rather ok. Last weekend was just about the antithesis of the one before. In other words, I got to do some pretty cool shit and had a lot of fun.

Thursday was a show at Warehouse Nextdoor—Uncut and A Place To Bury Strangers. Although Ceremony cancelling their set was a little disappointing, the remaining bands were great. It was really nice to see a short but satisfying show for once. Three bands or more playing for 45 minutes each is a bit much to sit through, even if you like em all.

I saw two movies over the course of the weekend. First was Palindromes, the new Todd Solondz flick. I really liked it, if only for the Mama Sunshine stuff and the hilarious Peter Paul character, but it didn't quite outdo Welcome To the Dollhouse. I did find it less disgusting than Happiness, though, which goes a bit too far overboard in its depravity and misanthropic view for my liking. (I mean, if I want to feel digusted with humanity I need look no further than people I see everyday. Why not save myself the ten bucks?) The second film was Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy, which was just pretty ok. I have to admit I'm not particularly a fan—I've never even read the books—so that may have something to do with it. I remember the text adventure game more than anything else. But it was nice to see Zooey Deschanel, of whom I'm a bit of a fan, and visually it was certainly pretty cool, but maybe I just don't get British humor all the time or something. It's a little too zany for me. Or whatever, who cares.

Sunday was nice. The weather was just amazing. I had brunch with Tim and Andy in the city and then we walked around taking photos downtown and on the Mall. I didn't get many (if any) good pictures, but it was relaxing being outside. That night, after a good dinner at Thai Tanic, a bunch of us caught The Wedding Present at the Black Cat. It was a pretty good show, even for this recent fan, but I'm still sort of regretting not making it up to Baltimore to see Prefuse. I'm almost certain it was awesome.

Well, here's hoping this weekend at least partially restores my sanity. I'm looking forward to Autechre tonight at the Cat. I hope they play something I can dance to. And seeing Leigh and Shannon tomorrow and getting some much needed hugs will be super nice. I'm planning on catching my niece's soccer game on Sunday. The weather should be lovely. I'm gonna take pictures. I won't be here. I won't have to be anywhere.

What blog?

I haven't been posting much lately, have I? In part, I've been preoccupied with a new online addiction called flickr, but mostly I just don't have much to say. This past weekend was spent solitary style. I watched Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, took some photos, and talked to Wally. It was what I have termed a sleepy weekend.


So what does it mean when finding new music online is the highlight of your weekend?

The Pernice Brothers: Discover a Lovelier You
I've been waiting patiently for this one to come out. 2003's Yours, Mine, and Ours was one of my favorites that year, so I've had high expectations for the follow-up. While it's not to be released until June 14th, I found an “evaluation” copy over the weekend and have been really enjoying it so far. Chamber pop is what some people call it, I guess because it has strings and stuff. There's a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson vibe in there, apparently. I dunno, but they remind me at times of The Smiths, and one song in particular on Yours... sounds a lot like janglier moments (e.g. "Inbetween Days") of the Cure. Then again, I'm terrible at connecting the musical dots.

> Visit their official site.
> Listen to “There Goes the Sun”

Mice Parade: Bem-Vinda Vontade
Here's one that's already out. The sixth album from Adam Pierce follows in the footsteps of one my favorites of last year, Obrigado Saudade. This record is even more pop than the last, with vocals from Adam in just about every track and the return of Múm's Kristen Valtysdóttir. Doug Scharin, one of Chunklet's most overrated drummers, also appears. The vocals are good, but what I like most (after the overrated drumming, of course) is the dueling nylon guitars—flamenco style.

> Go here to listen to “Night Wave”

The Wedding Present: Take Fountain
WTF? I never got into this band and they've been around since the 80s. This is their first album since 1997 when Dave Gedge started Cinerama instead (thanks, AMG). What a poseur I am only getting into them now, after all this time (thanks, TIM). Just goes to show you that there are way too many good bands out there. Turns out these guys are playing on Sunday, so I might just become the ultimate phony fan and tag along with a couple of my housemates to go see 'em.

> Listen to “Interstate 5”

And hey, guess what? There's an awesome show tomorrow at Warehouse Nextdoor:

Uncut (see my blurb on the music page for a song)
A Place To Bury Strangers (ex-Skywave)
Ceremony (ex-Skywave!)

I'm gonna be brooding my ass off.

Beard Discussion

Instant Messenger conversation 01/05 (excerpt):

glueslabs (1:07:12 AM): i shaved my beard. you'll have to see it before i grow it back!
glueslabs (1:07:39 AM): my shaven face, i mean
[some girl] (1:07:57 AM): yikes
[some girl] (1:08:00 AM): !!!!
glueslabs (1:08:09 AM): yikes, what?
[some girl] (1:08:09 AM): why did you do that?
[some girl] (1:08:19 AM): im so used to you with the beard now!
[some girl] (1:08:35 AM): i mean when we were "dating" i was totally anti-beard
glueslabs (1:08:44 AM): i was tired of it and i thought i'd try something new. EXCUSE ME
[some girl] (1:08:48 AM): hahah
[some girl] (1:08:50 AM): thats good
[some girl] (1:08:55 AM): so how is that working out for ya
glueslabs (1:09:12 AM): i don't like it :-(
glueslabs (1:09:24 AM): it's beard season!
[some girl] (1:09:27 AM): yeah im not surprised
[some girl] (1:09:37 AM): i know all three of my roommates have huge beards
[some girl] (1:09:47 AM): because of "the winter"
glueslabs (1:09:55 AM): hell yeah
[some girl] (1:10:01 AM): i don't get it, but im a chick
glueslabs (1:10:16 AM): it's ok. just know that winter=beard season
[some girl] (1:10:22 AM): apparently
[some girl] (1:10:35 AM): i'll be warmer if i grow this huge disgusting beard?
glueslabs (1:10:52 AM): haha
[some girl] (1:10:55 AM): you don't see me growing my armpit and leg hair out to keep the heat
glueslabs (1:10:57 AM): it does add warmth
[some girl] (1:11:06 AM): so im told, so im told
glueslabs (1:11:08 AM): well, who knows. maybe you are
glueslabs (1:11:14 AM): we're not close like that anymore
[some girl] (1:11:15 AM): no way dude
[some girl] (1:11:24 AM): im anti-body hair
[some girl] (1:11:29 AM): in all forms
glueslabs (1:11:49 AM): uh huh
[some girl] (1:12:00 AM): well for myself
glueslabs (1:12:10 AM): whatever
[some girl] (1:12:23 AM): hahah
glueslabs (1:12:24 AM): you've offended me enough already
[some girl] (1:12:30 AM): huh?!?!?!
glueslabs (1:12:31 AM): begone with you!
[some girl] (1:12:33 AM): what?!?!?!
[some girl] (1:12:40 AM): im so non-offensive!!!
glueslabs (1:12:43 AM): uh...hello?!
glueslabs (1:12:49 AM): <----beard
[some girl] (1:12:50 AM): HI!
[some girl] (1:12:54 AM): yeah thats true
glueslabs (1:12:57 AM): <-----lots of body hair
[some girl] (1:13:05 AM): you were always an exception to the rule though!
glueslabs (1:13:10 AM): pffft
glueslabs (1:13:15 AM): try and cover
[some girl] (1:13:17 AM): don't pffft me!
glueslabs (1:13:41 AM): the old bait an switch
[some girl] (1:13:47 AM): hahahhahahah
[some girl] (1:14:15 AM): see jeffrey, my dear, with you i looked beyond the facial hair
glueslabs (1:14:24 AM): ohhhhhh
[some girl] (1:14:26 AM): i was like "well if it makes him happy"
glueslabs (1:14:27 AM): well, thank you!
[some girl] (1:14:32 AM): no problem!
glueslabs (1:14:38 AM): so gracious of you, my dear
[some girl] (1:14:43 AM): i know!
[some girl] (1:14:46 AM): im a real gem
glueslabs (1:15:08 AM): yep...a real keeper
[some girl] (1:15:14 AM): obviously!
[some girl] (1:16:13 AM): either way, it would vbe weird at this point to see you beard-less
[some girl] (1:16:26 AM): nice typing [some girl]
glueslabs (1:16:37 AM): anyway, i never had a grisley adams type beard. i kept it fairly well-groomed, thank you very much
[some girl] (1:16:44 AM): this is true
[some girl] (1:17:05 AM): it definitely worked for you
glueslabs (1:17:33 AM): ha
glueslabs (1:17:37 AM): nice cover-up
[some girl] (1:17:41 AM): no it did!
[some girl] (1:17:48 AM): im not lying or covering up!
glueslabs (1:17:51 AM): ....
[some girl] (1:17:58 AM): ..... right back atcha
glueslabs (1:18:02 AM): ;-)
glueslabs (1:18:31 AM): i'm cocking my hand like a gun and giving that chk-chk sound
glueslabs (1:18:40 AM): just so you know
glueslabs (1:19:11 AM): BEARDHATER
[some girl] (1:19:46 AM): hahahha
[some girl] (1:19:54 AM): i don't HATE beards
[some girl] (1:20:14 AM): i just think, in general, that boys look better without beards
[some girl] (1:20:18 AM): BUT
[some girl] (1:20:30 AM): it suits you
glueslabs (1:23:00 AM): go to bed!
[some girl] (1:23:01 AM): i know
[some girl] (1:23:09 AM): hmph!
[some girl] (1:23:13 AM): fine!
glueslabs (1:23:18 AM): you need your beauty rest. har har
[some girl] (1:23:19 AM): ill go to bed!
[some girl] (1:23:26 AM): yeah right
[some girl] (1:23:35 AM): my "beauty rest"
[some girl] (1:23:59 AM): = "my time to pass out and look like shit in the morning"
glueslabs (1:24:12 AM): just don't scare those toddlers
[some girl] (1:24:16 AM): no way
[some girl] (1:24:25 AM): the toddlers love me!!!
glueslabs (1:25:18 AM): uh huh
glueslabs (1:25:26 AM): i'll buy that
[some girl] (1:25:33 AM): for real, they totally do!
glueslabs (1:26:35 AM): i know.
[some girl] (1:27:21 AM): thanks dear!
[some girl] (1:27:31 AM): ok i should go to bed
[some girl] (1:27:34 AM): and you should call me
glueslabs (1:27:40 AM): ok
[some girl] (1:27:43 AM): GOOD
glueslabs (1:27:43 AM): maybe i will
[some girl] (1:27:47 AM): MAYBE?!?!?!?
glueslabs (1:27:49 AM): good night
glueslabs (1:27:51 AM): sleep tight
[some girl] (1:27:56 AM): what the fuck is that all about?!!??!?!
glueslabs (1:28:03 AM): what?
[some girl] (1:28:29 AM): oh im just giving you shit for the "maybe i will" comment
glueslabs (1:28:41 AM): well, i have to check with my beard first
[some girl] (1:28:45 AM): OH I SEE
glueslabs (1:28:57 AM): maybe my beard doesn't like YOU

Note to Self

Stop caring about politics. You didn't give a shit for 25 years——why start now? Worrying about something so utterly rigged and phony will do about as much good as a pile of baby mice on your pillow.

Four-twenty, duuuude!


Stop sharing your opinions so damn willingly. In fact, don't tell anyone anything. Oh wait——do you like feeling embarrassed? Go ahead then; tell strange women on the Internet anything that comes to mind. It won't turn out horribly, I promise. [Haha]

No one cares that you're sensitive. It comes off as neither deep nor interesting; it only makes you look like a pussy. Just remember: Wearing your heart on your sleeve is as effeminate as it sounds.

Never buy hot dog buns at Whole Foods again. Just because you're eating a tofu dog doesn't mean the entire package has to taste like crap.

Grow the fuck up, would you please? You've been coming-of-age for like two decades now. You're not Holden Caulfield, so please stop pretending to reject adulthood before you end up like Seymour Glass.

You think you're turning Japanese?!

You're not different. For everything you enjoy——the music, the movies, the books, the art——there's someone who enjoys it on a much deeper level than you. Ever heard of the Internet? Everyone knows about everything.

Honesty? Honesty is boring. Stop being boring. Ok?

And grow as many beards as you'd like; you're still never going to make up for the fact that you're going bald and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. You never had good hair anyway, so who gives a fuck? Oh yeah, and there are women who like bald men. They just love 'em. And they live in a magical land filled with unicorns and puppy dogs that never grow old.

Let the adventure begin.

Local and Sexy

Substitute Teacher Facing Sex Charge [W. Post]

A 24-year-old woman who worked as a substitute teacher in Fairfax County public schools has been accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student, police said yesterday.

Ok, I just want to get one thing straight here. A 24-year-old woman having sex with a 14-year-old boy is not sexual abuse—it's his ultimate fantasy. It may be illegal, and it may be kinda creepy (or perhaps a little pathetic?), but there's nothing evil or bad about it.

Unless this kid is mentally retarded, he knew full well what was going on, and I'm sure enjoyed all 2 minutes of it. I'll spare you the gruesome details, but let's just say that when I was 14, I couldn't keep my hands off my junk. And I'm sure, with hormones raging, I would've almost killed for the opportunity this kid has had. So let's not demonize this poor woman. Let's get her a date with a dude who can drink.

And yes, I would feel differently about this if it was the other way around. It's a lot different.

End of fucking story.

We Could Walk Together

Good news on two recent favorite bands of mine:

The Clientele are touring the states in June, including a stop at DC's 9:30 Club on the 3rd. Looks like they're playing in suppport of a another Merge Records band, Spoon.

I first saw the Clientele a few years ago having only heard a single song. My friend convinced me to go regardless. It was a good show (in fact, it convinced me to buy their excellent singles collection, Suburban Light), but having heard so little of their material prevented me from enjoying it as much I would have otherwise. I'm not too familiar with Spoon, but I'm planning to go just to hear the openers since I've now listened to just about everything I can get my hands on by them. A lot. Oh, and it looks like their second album will be coming out sometime later this year.

Another awesome Merge band, the Rosebuds, are set to release a new 6 song EP on April 12. You can stream the entire record from here. It's good shit. “El Camino” especially floats my boat. There's a Pitchfork review of the EP as well, if you care what they have to say.

No local tour dates from those guys, yet. Hopefully they'll hit DC sometime this summer.

You know what? Merge is a pretty damn good label. I mean, they've put out their share of crap over the years, and I was never really into Superchunk, but the number of their bands I really like is pretty impressive. I don't know if I could say the same for many other labels.

My favs:

The Clean
The Clientele
Ganger
David Kilgour
Neutral Milk Hotel
The Rosebuds
M. Ward

Blossoms

Holy hell, am I bored at work. This week won't end. And all this nice weather has been wasted on staring out to the hotel across the street and a paunchy Asian man in little blue shorts eating shirtless at his window.

In an attempt wipe this image from memory and fortify whatever semblance of inner peace I have left, I headed down to the Tidal Basin yesterday after work to see the blossoms and take some photos. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the crowd of tourists and their unappreciative kids running around. I walked one time around as the sun set before heading home.

Click through the picture above to see a small set of photos from my walk around the basin.

Why is it Not Friday?

Schiavo Memo Linked to GOP Senate Office
The office of Republican Senator Mel Martinez of Florida has admitted it was behind a controversial memo that said it would be in the political interest of the Republican party to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case. One line in the memo reads "This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue." For weeks right-wing pundits have suggested the memo was a fake. Martinez's legal counsel Brian Darling took credit for drafting the memo. He resigned on Wednesday. [DN! Headlines]

Shia named as Iraq prime minister [BBC]

Saddam 'upset' at Kurd's election [Guardian]

Why bloggers hate Blogger [Wired]

Sony patents tech to beam "sensory information" into brain [WMMNA]

Flagpole Magazine's Bush Adminstration Dictionary [via LHB]

Delocator finds independent cafes by zipcode [via DCist]

Wonder Showzen

Why have I not already heard about this? Tim and I were hanging around last night watching Aqua Teen when he told me about Wonder Showzen, this show on MTV2 he caught after watching Subterranean the night before (see my previous post...no, I don't work for MTV). Anyway, it sounded mildly interesting...a twisted kids show with weird puppets and little kids saying crazy shit, strange cartoons, etc. Well it happened to be coming on, so we stayed up to watch.

Let me tell you, it's fucking awesome. It's completely twisted and dark but so hilarious. The kids on the show are great. In one segment, a girl is on Wall Street “interviewing” businessmen, asking them questions like “How many people have you exploited today?” or offering them a napkin “for the blood on [their] hands.” Then there are these bizarre cartoons and old educational films overdubbed and re-edited, some of which are really brilliant. I laughed out loud I don't know how many times, and that just doesn't happen much when I watch TV.

It sort of reminds me of a cross between Robert Smigel's Saturday TV Funhouse and the “Druggachusetts” sketch from Mr. Show. Anyway, if you're into weird dark humour, I recommend it.

+ Go here to see the pilot episode.
+ MTV2 has some clips here.

Slabs of Glue Has No Standards

I realized last night that VH-1 Classic's The Alternative is much less fun to watch alone than with a friend. I mean, when something like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones comes on, who am I gonna talk shit with? My cat? Wally doesn't care about how annoying Eddie Trunk is.

Tim's got it right: They should just rerun every episode of 120 Minutes from beginning to end. That would be cool.

I keep meaning to catch this Subterranean show on MTV2. It looks decent, but for some reason I always forget about it. Oh yeah—because it's on right in the goddamn middle of The Alternative (Sundays at Midnight).

I need a DVR.