i write stuff.

March, huh? So you say you haven't felt like posting since last March and even then it was just a photo of Damon Albarn?? For shame.
Yes, it's true; I lost interest in the blogging. I even lost interest in reading most other blogs as well. I still read you ain't no picasso daily; because, let's face it, Matt blogs so often that he pretty much covers all the bases. There's also Optical Atlas; being an E6 friend it's crucial for me to keep abreast of all new happenings in that circle. Really, that's about it. But this may mark me getting back into the game here.
I recently began writing for the music website Harmonium. Reviews, previews, witty anecdotes, etc. I may also start contributing to other publications as well and thought that it would make a lot of sense to also post my musings here. Because I can. Pictures too. So, here's the most recent:

Late B.P. Helium / Thee American Revolution
The Dame in Lexington, KY
6.26.2006



The mere existence of Robert Schneider’s new band, The American Revolution, is no secret. However, details about the band are being left intentionally vague. Through a series of dropped hints, their song “Subscriptions to Magazines” being featured on a local compilation, and two deafening performances, some of us have gotten a chance to put some of the pieces together. The band performs as a trio; however, whenever Robert refers to the band he lists only himself and his brother-in-law Craig Morris as members, but also points out that there is a separate mastermind at work, guiding the band in the direction of his choosing. A man Robert addressed as “Billy” and thanked halfway through TAR’s set.
As far as the music itself goes, it has been described as “super fuzzy lo-fi psych-pop”, “retardo rock”, and “acid rock”. Think perhaps Deep Purple meets The Stooges meets (early) Pink Floyd. The music is very heavy and psychedelic and would be best accompanied by a fog machine and a liquid projector.
While this is all true, Schneider and Morris are still pop masters, and these sensibilities come through even in their TAR songs. The droning, distorted guitar lines never fail to fade long enough to hear a handclap or two and the songs contain excellent vocal melodies sung by Mr. Schneider himself.
There are very few TAR recordings; the band probably played every song they know onstage Monday night. They kicked into a magnificent psych-pop tune entitled “She's Coming Down” and while sounding as if all the fuzz may implode the speakers, it was all too perfect. The band played about nine or so more songs before closing their set with the favorite “Subscriptions To Magazines”, which Schneider claims he and Morris didn’t even realize was a rip-off of “Smoke On The Water” until after they had recorded it. But honestly, it didn’t matter if no one there knew any TAR songs by heart; it didn’t matter that some people didn’t know who Robert or Craig (lead guitar) or Otto (drums) were. If they happened to wander into The Dame in Lexington, KY on the night of the 26th they got their asses blown out by Thee American Revolution and that does matter.
One day everyone is going to know about this band and they won’t be playing to crowds of 20 anymore.



The Late BP Helium is the moniker under which Brian Poole performs and records. It may seem as if a self-proclaimed acid rock band would not be the most logical choice to precede the pop-rock, kazoo wielding Poole but, in actuality, they’re not far off from one another. B.P. has always been an experimental musician, manipulating and moving vocals around, not shying away from incorporating any type of instrument (no matter how un-pop they may be), and even perhaps including an unnerving chant into a track. Having played with Elf Power and Of Montreal, B.P. is also a connoisseur of delightful pop songs and is no stranger to the sweeter side of things, much like Schneider himself.
The Late BP Helium performed to, perhaps, the smallest crowd they had ever seen Monday night. It may be hard to imagine a band such as LBPH live, as opposed to banging on chicken wire in a studio somewhere, twisting knobs and recording themselves in bathrooms in order to get the sound that they do. BUT it’s certainly not a difficult show to watch. LBPH were magnificent and rocked socks off throughout the bar. Granted, there weren’t many socks in attendance but still.
The songs are filled out by guitars, guitars, guitars. B.P. and touring guitarist Casper Fandango (of Casper and the Cookies) could even be seen playing their instruments with their mouths at various points in the evening and B.P. even invited Schneider and his wife Marci Mars onstage to play percussion on “Candy For Everyone”. All of The Late BP Helium's songs have such a momentum to them, it makes you feel as if you're being thrust through the air while actually you're glued to the spot, transfixed and unmoving.
In the past I have claimed Late BP Helium to be an updated version of the Velvet Underground and they more than solidified this grandiose declaration with their performance Monday night. The only thing I’m left wondering is why B.P. spends so much time touring with other bands and not doing this full time.

Beetlebum

I almost forgot how attractive Damon Albarn was. Well, then I saw this picture.



Whew.

We've got buttons.

I made them, with a little help from my boyfriend. They sat upon the merchandise table at The Dame inside a tambourine. They were free to all and all were happy.

75 bands!

What have I been doing with the majority of my day, you ask? This, thanks to a myspace bulletin featuring the following photo from Virgin, some promo or something, claiming that there were 75 featured musical artists represented. Once I started searching, of course, I couldn't stop nor was I satisfied with most of the incorrect guesses that were already supplied. Good work though to White Shoes and Porter who identified The B52's and The Talking Heads, respectively.
With a little searching I discovered that there is a bit on the left that gets cut off when you download the photo. So, there are 4 bands that you don't see. Lame. You can see the whole thing on the Virgin page.



Don't look below unless you want to be swayed by all of my answers!

Photo adorned with my answers (71 bands listed. well, 73 if you count the 2 doubles):



Bands that are cut off on the left:
1. Pet Shop Boys
2. Cake
3. Scorpions
4. Skinny Puppy

I like music nerd games.

np - Amy Millan - "Skinny Boy" & The Walkmen - "Louisiana" over and over.

Another VD!

Some good Valentine's Day pick-up lines.
Thanks to Dreams of Horses for sending me there.
In the words of my 4 year old brother, Happy Ballentine's Day to everyone!

ldeal Free Distribution

My bf and his hetero life mate, Craig, have pretty much always had a band (under various names), the latest incarnation being Ideal Free Distribution. They have an album, I, that they have been sending to labels for ages now. Finally, with the help of good ole Roberto Schneider, someone took the time to listen to it. I mean, the first time I heard I was shocked. I couldn't believe that a couple douchebags that I was friends with could create such excellent music! I think I even yelled at Tony and exclaimed that he should have warned me of its goodness. So, now there is talk of signing to a certain label and playing shows and me finally having a rockstar boyfriend.
The album is very rich and psychadelic and kind of give you a feeling of being enveloped inside of it, like Circulatory System or Brian Jonestown Massacre. Oh, how I love the wall of sound. There are a lot of layers and parts to the songs, backing vocals, tambourines, handclaps, plus you know guitars and what not. So, they want their shows to give off that same big feel as the songs themselves. That's where Marci, Shelly and I come in. We've been recruited to be the tambourine and maraca (and ass) shakers for the band. While also "bah bah bah"-ing or "la la la"-ing here and there, in addition to dressing mod and being attractive. So, suddenly I am in a band. A good one too. All in all, there are going to be 8 of us onstage. We're going to be like friggin' Belle and Sebastian. Magical!
This certainly gives me something to focus my creative energy into. Not like writing songs or anything like that, especially considering I can't play an instrument. But more along the lines of button-making, silkscreening band t-shirts, making cool show fliers, these kinds of activities or arts and crafts, if you will. I love being dorky!
I'm going home for a visit tomorrow, there is a marathon of activities planned. We have band practice this coming Saturday and Sunday. This is where Marci and I will figure out if we are capable of shaking a tambourine and "bah bah bah"ing at the same time. I honestly have no idea if I can or not. I mean, I'm sure I have the capacity to do it but I've never consciously tried before. It's gonna be weird! And I feel like we're both going to get yelled at a lot by both Craig and Tony.
There is one show on the horizon for certain. The band is featured on the wrfl "Know Your Own" vol. 2 compilation disc that is coming out this Friday the 10th. That night at Underlying Themes is the first of the release shows. There is going to be another however that IFD is going to play. There has yet to be a definite date set but it is going to be at The Dame sometime in March.
Craig is in a band with Roberto called Thee American Revolution; they play retardo rock, kind of along the same lines as The Stooges. They're playing on Friday night for the first KYO release show. It's going to be fun. Though, I'm not excited about having to sneak drinks at Underlying Themes nor am I too pumped up about finally scaling those creepy steps. There are always so many unsavories loitering in front of that door. Ugh.

A couple songs from I:
Ideal Free Distribution - I - Apples and Oranges
Ideal Free Distribution - I - Sonofagun

"With a vuh, vuh, vuh."

Are You Afraid Of The Dark? is one of my very favorite shows of yore. I looove scary things. Above is the pilot, The Tale of the Phantom Cab. Duhn dun dun! It's the one with the riddles. Remember? Classic. Reading through the episode guide for this show is like reliving so many memories and remembering thoughts of my childhood. I don't know how I watched so much television when I was a child and didn't weigh 500 lbs.

3rd Episode - The Tale of the Lonely Ghost

TOP 5 late

I figured I should compile this before February rolls around. Some things are undoubtedly left out. I didn't document my year as ocd as I normally would have due to my displacement, but I think I've covered most of the bases.

TOP 5 Movies of 2k5:
1. Walk The Line
2. Howl's Moving Castle
3. Broken Flowers
4. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
5. The Nomi Song

TOP 5 Albums of 2k5:
1. BRMC - Howl
2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - s/t
3. Antony And The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
4. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
5. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better

TOP 5 Shows of 2k5:
1. Arcade Fire & Final Fantasy @ House Of Blues in New Orleans, LA - 1.24.2005
2. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah & The National @ Uncle Pleasants in Louisville, KY - 9.22.2005
3. Sufjan Stevens @ The Southgate House in Newport, KY - 9.14.2005
4. Castanets & Lazarus @ Circle Bar in New Orleans, LA - 3.10.2005
5. Melody Function & Scourge Of The Sea @ The Dame in Lexington, KY - 10.14.2005

That Arcade Fire show honestly feels like it was a lifetime ago. It was definitely the #1 of the year though. But, then again, it didn't have Belle & Sebastian or BRMC to rival.

kitty + lovesac

What more could a girl ever need?? I mean, there's nothing cuter than seeing a floofy kitty curled up on what is essentially a gigantic beanbag that cost you a small fortune. I mean, right?

B&S induced bliss

I have been listening to Belle and Sebastian ALL DAY. I love them so much. And suddenly, after watching the video for "Funny Little Frog", I want the bf to wear nothing but a form-fitting white v-neck and black pleated slacks for the rest of his life. Stuart Murdoch has such power over me!
Upon my first listen I totally didn't like The Life Pursuit whatsoever but after a couple more I started to dig it. There's just something really 80's Tears For Fears goobery about the music that makes you initially hesitant to give it a chance. But it's totally worth the time and effort. The instrumentation is just a lot different, there are harder sounds on this album than any of the others I think. Once I realised that was what was throwing me off I realised that it DID sound like B&S, just a little differently than I was expecting.
"Funny Little Frog" is a perfect first single for the album too. A classic B&S single.
Marci, the bf, and I are going to witness the magic that is Belle and Sebastian in concert together in Louisville on March 9th. It's going to be so, so wonderful. I can barely see straight. Marci, Carla, Sarah "The Scarf" Jarboe, and I saw them in St. Louis a couple years, after Dear Catastrophe Waitress came out, and I was drunk on B&S for like an entire week following. Maybe more. They have the power to make a girl happy. I'm going to dance the night away.

Belle and Sebastian - "Funny Little Frog" video

The Melody Function

Oh, New Orleans, you're so familiar yet still foreign to me.


My lovely and amazing boyfriend's band, The Melody Function, is playing tonight at The Dame. I am very sad to miss them. They're in the middle of replacing their drummer and lead guitarist so it's sort of a transitional show. They're going to be 2 people short than usual so the set is going to be acoustey complete with shakers and tambourines. Oh, and Robert Schneider! But they'll probably never play another show like it so there goes my chance to witness the acoustey Melody Function. Imagine all those Kinks-esque songs all hippied up! Oh well. But Tony is coming to visit me soon so maybe I can talk him into a reenactment.
They have a couple songs on their myspace page for the masses to enjoy. They're good. Not about me though.

In other news:

You Are Not Scary

Everyone loves you. Isn't that sweet?

How Scary Are You?

Always good to know whether you're scary or not.

np - Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit

So, Happy Christmas. I love you baby.

My favorite Christmas song ever always. It's sweet and pathetic and pretty. Perfect. Plus, I always love dueling vocalists.

Fairytale Of New York - The Pogues

It was Christmas Eve babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me, won't see another one
And then he sang a song
The Rare Old Mountain Dew
I turned my face away
And dreamed about you

Got on a lucky one
Came in ten to one
I've got a feeling
This year's for me and you
So Happy Christmas
I love you baby
I can see a better time
When all our dreams come true

They've got cars big as bars
They've got rivers of gold
But the wind goes right through you
It's no place for the old
When he first took my hand
On a cold Christmas Eve
You promised me
Broadway was waiting for me

You were handsome
You were pretty
Queen of New York City
When the band finished playing
They howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging,
All the drunks they were singing
We kissed on a corner
Then danced through the night

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing "Galway Bay"
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day

You're a bum
You're a punk
You're an old slut on junk
Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed
You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse
I pray God it's our last

The boys of the NYPD choir
Still singing "Galway Bay"
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day

I could have been someone
Well so could anyone
You took my dreams from me
When I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Can't make it all alone
I've built my dreams around you

The boys of the NYPD choir
Still singing "Galway Bay"
And the bells are ringing out
For Christmas Day

np - Scourge of the Sea - "Smitten Kitten"

Funk to funky.

This turned out so nicely that I thought it best to post on the inter net.

What song was #1 when you were born??

Okay, for me, August 30th, 1980, (uh and bernie the jew, kenny, greg backus, lisa ling + lisa ling's twin) the #1 song in the UK was "Ashes To Ashes" by David Bowie and well, the first time I tried it I swear it said the #1 song in the US was "Rock With You' by MJ but I guess I willed that to happen. It was actually "Sailing" by Christopher Cross, which I have never heard in my life. (Ahh, mystery solved it was #1 on January 30th, 1980. I forgot to change the month. Mournful sigh.)

I am heading (back) to the KY tomorrow for the rest of the holidays. I am looking forward to watching my freshly-turned-4 year old brother go apeshit on all of his xmas gifts, playing with my friends, and hugging and kissing my attractive boyfriend. I'm also hoping to receive no gifts with Santa or any type of snowman or nativity scene emblazoned across sweatshirt material. It can happen this year, I feel it! Come on Mom, I know you feel it too! We need to get past this!

I have been listening to Supergrass nonstop for the past 2 days. I almost forgot how totally friggin' awesome they are. Might go see them in Nashville in Feb. Also, I'm still a total sucker for Mike Doughty. He could be singing a song about buying toilet paper at the Kroger or eating a Baby Ruth candy bar and I would still sit there, listening to it with my head cocked to one side, eyes skyward with a dopey grin on my face like it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard. Total sucker.

This post is pretty disjointed but I haven't posted in so long (sorry deaner) and I just keep thinking of random things. Lastly, on the random tidbits that you're interested in, I just started to compile my yearly list of Top #5's (albums, shows, movies). It's tough. Esp since I didn't get to listen to damn near any new music the whole time I was evacuated. Mostly I stuck to ELO. But yeah, I was so out of the loop that entire time. Anyway, Top 5's of 2005 coming soon.

np - Mike Doughty - Haughty Melodic

At long last

After a long stint in the KY I will finally return to the good/big/old/soggy easy next week. Due to various circumstances (no internet, no interest, boy, inebriation) I haven't bothered to post in the past 3 months, obviously. But I'll be in the NO again and back to service you via my neverending wit and wisdom again soon, my pretties!

Also, Happy Tofurkey Day!

Update

I'm not dead but I do sort of want to kill myself. This totally sux.
I'll post more soon I promise.

The future:

I seriously hate hurricanes. If my house is killed by a hurricane named Katrina I am going to be sooo pissed off. Right now I'm thinking about going to Atlanta so that I can be at my hotel, lying by the pool while my home and all of my belongings are being destroyed. Yay! Now excuse me while I go pack up all of my favorite things and then voluntarily evacuate.

Six Feet Under

I am mildly obsessed; it's just too great and so nice to look at. I think I would be more bummed about it being over had I seen all the episodes but I've only seen the first and last seasons. At least I can still watch the ones in between. The females on the show are just tremendous! And all of the characters are such messes that I couldn't not watch.

np - Page France - "Rhythm"

Things that freak me out 1

If I NEVER see another picture of "the world's ugliest dog", who is named Sam mind you, it will be too freaking soon. I basically share a name with the world ugliest dog; it doesn't even need to be in quotation marks because it's clearly true. That is one ugly sonofabitch dog. What happened to this poor creature to turn him into such a hideous monster?? I want to cry everytime I see his picture and suddenly now they're everywhere.
Those miniature babies really freak me out too. And lemme guess, that's real human hair too! Oooohhh! It's too creepy!

i am hobby

Amb bought me a button maker like one year ago and I never could think of anything super cool to make into a button so I haven't used it. Until tonight. Amb and I watched part of Empire Records a couple weeks ago and I got a hankering to recreate Deb's "STU-PID" button that she gave to A.J. and that got me to thinking on some other potential homemade treasures. Linda has been wanting to go out and kiss some boys and she special requested one button so that she could maybe make a few extra bucks at the same time, hence the top button. The other is a product of my brain.



(This is what they look like, except cooler. And rounder. I cut out the text on the first one and glued them all on separately so it looks more fun.)

Button making is a lot of hard work but it sure is fun!

np - Iron And Wine - "Muddy Hymnal"

Indie rock wonderland

So, the Athens Popfest 2005 was pretty darn fun. Robert was recording/mixing/whathaveyou with Will Hart for most of the time during the days so that equaled into lots o' Sam y Marci time. This consisted of activities such as watching Lifetime movies in our hotel room, napping, giggling, laying by the pool, eating soft batch cookies, and other things of that nature. I got into Athens at about 9pm on Thursday. Marci and I quickly slipped into our party pants and matching dancing shoes and went and ate dinner at Michael Stipe's bitchin' vegetarian restaurant, The Grit, before hitting the town. Here Marci and I both had two of the best sandwiches of our entire lives. I love eating at vegetarian restaurants and my food NOT tasting like it's been all ghetto-rigged together. I mean, that chick'n parmesan sandwich tasted like chicken parmesan is really supposed to taste. It was so yummy! There is a plethora of good veggie food in Athens thanks to the high concentration of the hippie/green/weird folk. Athens actually reminds me a lot of Lexington in certain ways. They are very close in size and when you go out you get that incestuous vibe that Lexington has. Everyone knows everyone else, everyone is intertwined in some way. Except of course, their music scene is much bigger and better, mostly due to the aformentioned higher concentration of weirdos there. So many people in Athens like good music! It's so refreshing.
The only band I remember really listening to on Thursday was The Visitations. I must have been loaded or something. Actually, I know we saw The Late BP Helium at some point. I'm thinking the schedule got switched up a bit and it was on Thursday just prior to The Visitations. Brian Helium is really attractive in a "he slightly resembles a goat" sorta way. All I could do throughout their whole set was stare at his goat head. They are very good though. We spend the rest of the evening at the bar nextdoor having to explain to Scott Spillane why we do not do drugs and do not like to be high. He couldn't fathom that at all.
Friday, Poison Control Center apparently were super fun and awesome. I met one of the guitarists, Patrick, at Marci and Robert's wedding in April and he was extremely fashionable and danced all night long. All three of us wanted to see his show but, no dice; we were too busy sitting on our asses in our hotel room and watching Arrested Development to get ready in time. But we did manage to see We Versus The Shark and Casper And The Cookies before Robert played and they were both semi-fun. Not enough so that I concentrated more on them than on my red bull and vodka though. During the acoustey part of Robert's set Will Hart and Bill Doss got onstage with him and they sang the old school song "Warm Milk and Chocolate", which was originally released on cassette in 1993. It was magical just seeing them all onstage together, let alone singing that song. Robert's Marbles show was extremely spirited and all of his E6 pals totally dug his theatrics, esp his I <3 MATH sequined jacket. Then Pylon pretty much brought the house down. I had never heard them before but had researched them a bit when I found out that they were the secret special guest. They were most popular in the early 90's and came out of the scene as R.E.M. That's exactly how they sound too; early 90's intellectual rock, the good kind. The lead singer is this woman who looks just like Marci's mother (and screams like her too) who is turning 50 this year and man, that lady sang her ass off! It was bizarre. The other guys in the band are all still skinny and lanky and just look like older dudes in a band but the lead singer looks like somebody's mom. But I really could see why people love them still after all of this time and were excited to get the chance to see them again after all these years. After the show Vanessa, the lead singer of Pylon, was fawning over Marci and Robert and telling them how great the Marbles show was and we were all backstage and she told us this riveting story about being in NYC in the 70's and meeting Andy Warhol in The Factory. God damn if I was too drunk to retain that memory. All I know is I was completely enthralled. Marci doesn't remember either; we are such drunk bitches. Oh, then we totally went to the lead singer of Elf Power's house because it was his birthday and he was having a party. I do not remember his name or how old he was but I do remember discussing how he looked like a Muppet with Marci, stealing his beers with Marci, and telling him Happy Birthday with Marci. We couldn't stay there for very long though because everyone there reeked of b.o. and we were loaded and tired. Seriously, I decided that 1 in 10 people in Athens just smells bad all the time. Pretty much I was constantly smelling body odor the entire time I was in the 40 Watt, just sometimes it was more potent than others. Don't those hippies know that they can get all natural soap? My Lush soap doesn't have animal fat in it and it makes my body smell like Pledge. I'll learn those darn hippies one day.
Saturday night Marci and I made a point to go out early, 8:30pm, to catch The Love Letter Band per the suggestion of d. But they had cancelled and Superfallingstars were filling in instead. They were fun, even though there weren't too many people there since it was so early and all. They finished it all off with a fun cover of "You Won't See Me" and had some awkward, little boys come onstage and assist with backing vocals. The lead singer, Mike, and I totally bonded later in the evening and talked about funny things. We also saw Elekibass, 63 Crayons, Circulatory System and Of Montreal that evening. Elekibass are 4 Japanese guys dressed in 3 piece suits who are totally hilaaaarious. They totally play up the fact that they are all asian and "don't speaka the engrish" so much. They were jumping up and down, playing their japanese regional art kazoos, tossing their top hats in the air, crowd surfing...I've never seen such a spectacle in the 40 Watt. Due to the fact that I had to go purchase their cd after they were finished, probably get some more alcohol and then talk to Marci about how funny those asians were I guess I missed most of 63 Crayons. Oh, I do remember though that I thought the lead singer vaguely reminded me of Clint Colburn. They look alike in the face a little bit, they do not sing at all alike though. I was super excited to see Circulatory System play; Will Hart is super anti-social so I never really thought I would ever get the chance to see him perform. They did not disappoint either. They were mesmerizing. CS is one of those bands that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy and right, like their music is filling up the room. Perfection really.
Of Montreal was the final band of Popfest. They were good and all but I just saw them recently and I have realised lately that there are at least 2 members of the band that I think are complete dickheads and that really makes me give a shit about their music less and less. I don't know, it's unfortunate when that happens. I'll have to decided to get over it or let them go the way of GBV and no one really wants that.
I met about a million new, fun people and got the chance to get to know a bunch of the fun people that I've met already a little better. I was actually able to have a conversation with Bill Doss's wife Amy, who is so cool I can barely see straight. Talking to her, Kelly (one of Will's roommates), Eric Hernandez (one of the HHBTM guys who organized the whole Popfest) and Mike from Superfallingstars were probably my most enojyable interactions. Well, Marci and Robert too of course. Oh, John Fernandes is also fun. There are just fun people running around all over the place down there, eating good vegetarian food and playing tons of good music. It's a wonderland of sorts.
Oh, one thing I found out while in Athens, red bull is so not vegetarian. It has taurine (bull juice) all in there, as does apparently every energy drink. So, there go my energy vodka cocktails. WHY IS THERE MEAT JUICE IN EVERYTHING?! God!

The Popfest website has little bios for all of the bands that played over the weekend and an mp3 for about a 3rd of them. I've been listening to them all day.