Yeah, so it's another one of those "wow, it's been a week since last I babbled typographically. Wait. Gotta poop first. I guess that's what happens when all you eat after waking up at 6pm is a Bloomin' Onion from The Outback, and a bowl of ice cream, having drank two cups of coffee, a Jack & Coke, and a flat Sprite. My body must hate me. Ahhh. Okay. Back.
Just got back a little while ago from the 11pm Luna show at the Knitting Factory. Great stuff. I Am the World Trade Center opened, playing a mostly-pre-sequenced set of fun, dancy electronic pop. I liked them a lot, more than I usually like anything dancy. I do think they should change their name to Vocoder & Reverb, because that is the only way they sing every song. And while Vocoder works splendidly in some songs, a cover of "Don't You Wanr Me?" by the Human League required a little more vocal presence for the male parts, than the low bleatings of Vocoder. Still, I bought a split 7" and a 12" of theirs. They were fun and Matt got some good pics, I'm sure.
Luna was great! Then again, with songs like theirs, they have to be. Even though they didn't play all of my top 5 favorite Luna songs ("California" and "Moon Palace" were accounted for, but not "Bobby Peru," "Slide," or "Tiger Lily"), I still enjoyed the set immensely, as the newer songs really sounded great in a live setting. The last time I saw them was on the tour for "Pup Tent," so they had a couple less albums to draw tracks from...but, there is always the Luna Live CD/2xLP if you or I have to hear the older songs. I'll post the setlist later. I'm really tired now. And it's only 5:20am. What's that about?
xoxozzzzzz...
j-ro
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Friday, March 14, 2003
From Thursday morning:
Yeah, so Come Down ruled balls yet again! No surprise to anyone who's seen them live, ever. But boo to the Mercury Lounge for having the band from Ireland play at 7pm to an empty house. I don't know if they were any good or not, because Charlie & I got there in time to witness the last song by some Swedish Electroclash band that James Iha(Yes, that James Iha!) skronked on sax for (details lovingly filled in by a very bilious Mr. Hanney), as if he were Bill f*ing Clinton (the * is pronounced as frrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, in case you were wondering -- because, when I curse, I just fucking do it - like when I'm driving behind the livery guy taking up two lanes).
The band we did get to see besides our beloved Come Down, was a band called The Blame. Apparently, they live in NYC. Which is unfortunate for all of us, really. The first song was called "Pick Up Slut" and it only got worse from there. I thought I was being funny by quipping "It's been so long I've forgotten how to rock in a non-ironic manner." Apparently, though, the Blame were no joke. They were many jokes. The astounding literacy of the singer's lyrics were bested only by his inability to use metaphor in any successful way at all. It is one thing to be pretentious, but in order to make it work, you have to compensate somehow. Singing about girls in pickup trucks and referencing Kerouac and Ginsberg (by this point, who hasn't read HOWL or On the Road?), necessitates some kind of quality lyric to follow up with, anything to redeem such an obvious and over-used name-drop. I mean, come on, Gregory Corso rhymes with torso and Neal Cassidy was the focal point of On the Road. I was insulted as a lyricist, and as a rock and roll fan. I believe that I will be writing songs with the same titles as theirs (I was given a copy of their setlist, tee hee), much like Beau Sia did with Jewel's A Night Without Armour -- responding in kind with A Night Without Armour II, which was an amazing read. Which I still need to get a copy of. I will maybe write, record and perform those response songs for you guys sometime. That would be fun. Boy they sucked. And they chased the crowd away with ther suckdom. They actually reached the 9th level of Suck.
But Come Down was amazing. I danced. I saw Charlie dancing. I think some hipster Japanese girls were laughing at me dancing. But I am not Rivers Cuomo, so it didn't bother me. And afterwards, they gave us the new ep on a 3" cd. It is so cute and i was so happy and i jumped up and down for joy (in my mind, anyway), and I got to play a song from it on my show. YIPPEE!!!
Oh yeah, and my in theory Come Down shirt looks great, in theory. But I have to wear shirts underneath it, because it is too thin to wear on its own. If you didn't get that, forget it. But the cd is awesome. WOOO!!!!!!
And Charlie is crazy. Absolutely. And I had to sing him Toto songs because he couldn't think of what they sang. So he was treated to me singing bits of "Africa," "Rosanna" and "Hold the Line." Rock! Now he remembers them. He'll never forget, lest I have to sing him those songs again. Heh heh.
Dude...watched some That 70's Show today, and the funniest thing Kelso said was "Party at the Pinciotti house! We're gonna need beer, balloons and girls with low self-esteem." Oh man. Classic. There was something else funny as hell, but I can't remember right now. need sleep. came home from the station, made eggs and bacon. mmmmmmm...bacon. and watched last night's "Ed." They are moving it to Friday nights. Are they trying to kill it? NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! If they cancle "Ed," or ever think about it...I will cut off some executive's genitalia. I'm serious.
Okay. sleep beckons me. See y'all tonight.
xo,
J-Ro
Yeah, so Come Down ruled balls yet again! No surprise to anyone who's seen them live, ever. But boo to the Mercury Lounge for having the band from Ireland play at 7pm to an empty house. I don't know if they were any good or not, because Charlie & I got there in time to witness the last song by some Swedish Electroclash band that James Iha(Yes, that James Iha!) skronked on sax for (details lovingly filled in by a very bilious Mr. Hanney), as if he were Bill f*ing Clinton (the * is pronounced as frrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, in case you were wondering -- because, when I curse, I just fucking do it - like when I'm driving behind the livery guy taking up two lanes).
The band we did get to see besides our beloved Come Down, was a band called The Blame. Apparently, they live in NYC. Which is unfortunate for all of us, really. The first song was called "Pick Up Slut" and it only got worse from there. I thought I was being funny by quipping "It's been so long I've forgotten how to rock in a non-ironic manner." Apparently, though, the Blame were no joke. They were many jokes. The astounding literacy of the singer's lyrics were bested only by his inability to use metaphor in any successful way at all. It is one thing to be pretentious, but in order to make it work, you have to compensate somehow. Singing about girls in pickup trucks and referencing Kerouac and Ginsberg (by this point, who hasn't read HOWL or On the Road?), necessitates some kind of quality lyric to follow up with, anything to redeem such an obvious and over-used name-drop. I mean, come on, Gregory Corso rhymes with torso and Neal Cassidy was the focal point of On the Road. I was insulted as a lyricist, and as a rock and roll fan. I believe that I will be writing songs with the same titles as theirs (I was given a copy of their setlist, tee hee), much like Beau Sia did with Jewel's A Night Without Armour -- responding in kind with A Night Without Armour II, which was an amazing read. Which I still need to get a copy of. I will maybe write, record and perform those response songs for you guys sometime. That would be fun. Boy they sucked. And they chased the crowd away with ther suckdom. They actually reached the 9th level of Suck.
But Come Down was amazing. I danced. I saw Charlie dancing. I think some hipster Japanese girls were laughing at me dancing. But I am not Rivers Cuomo, so it didn't bother me. And afterwards, they gave us the new ep on a 3" cd. It is so cute and i was so happy and i jumped up and down for joy (in my mind, anyway), and I got to play a song from it on my show. YIPPEE!!!
Oh yeah, and my in theory Come Down shirt looks great, in theory. But I have to wear shirts underneath it, because it is too thin to wear on its own. If you didn't get that, forget it. But the cd is awesome. WOOO!!!!!!
And Charlie is crazy. Absolutely. And I had to sing him Toto songs because he couldn't think of what they sang. So he was treated to me singing bits of "Africa," "Rosanna" and "Hold the Line." Rock! Now he remembers them. He'll never forget, lest I have to sing him those songs again. Heh heh.
Dude...watched some That 70's Show today, and the funniest thing Kelso said was "Party at the Pinciotti house! We're gonna need beer, balloons and girls with low self-esteem." Oh man. Classic. There was something else funny as hell, but I can't remember right now. need sleep. came home from the station, made eggs and bacon. mmmmmmm...bacon. and watched last night's "Ed." They are moving it to Friday nights. Are they trying to kill it? NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! If they cancle "Ed," or ever think about it...I will cut off some executive's genitalia. I'm serious.
Okay. sleep beckons me. See y'all tonight.
xo,
J-Ro
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
I didn't wake up at 1pm. I didn't even wake up by 3pm. HA! I came home and was online for way too long typing that stupid post. Figures. But, I did get my hair cut. And now all the ladies are swooning over the mere sight of me. Ha ha ha. I joke, but it was the talk of the MTV NOC center this week. I did make it to the Bravado show, though, and might I say they kicked much ass. They were totally rockin', and Darren brought Sergei onstage to sing "Burning Sensation." The song sounds so good when they both sing it. That song is soo written for Sergei to sing. Listening to the recorded version later, I missed Sergei's voice on it. It's kinda like how in The Beautiful South, Paul Heaton's vocals are complimented by Dave Hemmingway's higher vocals.
The show was cool. My friends in Come Down were there, as they almost always are for Bravado. Speaking of Come Down, they are playing the Mercury Lounge tonight, and then heading straight out for a 30+ hour drive to Austin, TX to play theis year's SXSW Festival. Now industry people and music fans from the other side of the country, who probably didn't catch their set CMJ set at the Knit last year, can experience the thrill of Come Down. I hope they like it as much as I do. I'm driving Charlie and Dirk. Should be fun. And I have Dirk to keep Charlie (whose mancrush on me is starting to freak me out just a bit -- ha ha) away from me.
Well, it's 5:26pm. I've been up for two hours and it's time for me to eat or drink something. And get away from the damn computer that sucks up too much of my time.
n.p. Dan Bern - Smartie Mine (Disc 1)
The show was cool. My friends in Come Down were there, as they almost always are for Bravado. Speaking of Come Down, they are playing the Mercury Lounge tonight, and then heading straight out for a 30+ hour drive to Austin, TX to play theis year's SXSW Festival. Now industry people and music fans from the other side of the country, who probably didn't catch their set CMJ set at the Knit last year, can experience the thrill of Come Down. I hope they like it as much as I do. I'm driving Charlie and Dirk. Should be fun. And I have Dirk to keep Charlie (whose mancrush on me is starting to freak me out just a bit -- ha ha) away from me.
Well, it's 5:26pm. I've been up for two hours and it's time for me to eat or drink something. And get away from the damn computer that sucks up too much of my time.
n.p. Dan Bern - Smartie Mine (Disc 1)
Saturday, March 08, 2003
I can't believe a week has gone by since my last post. Sometimes, working 12 hour shifts in the middle of the night will just toally mess you up. Seriously, I don't ever know whether I'm coming or going. But at least if you're in the bathroom, it's easier to clean up the mess. Bah-dum-chee! That joke is so painful, but yet I keep repeating it. But yet I keep repeating it. But yet I....nevermind. I'm going to try to keep this brief, as I would like to go to sleep soon so that I can run errands today, like getting new tires and a haircut. I shaved the crazy Menonite beard thing I was growing, and trimmed my classic goatee, so I look like me again. I'll look even more like me when I get my hair cut. And then I'll go into the city and chill for awhile before heading down to Acme Underground to watch Bravado (the artists formerly known as ThisYearsModel -- I guess TYM was too emo (three word name) or too Elvis (Costello, of course) for those crazy kids, but nevertheless, the rock is unaffected) rock the joint, and to chill with some buddies and spend too much money on drinks for them.
Speaking of drinks with friends; tonight I went over to Sean, Jen & Larissa's house with Will, Dallow & Silbowitz to hang out, unsure of what we would do. Well, somewhere along the line, it was decided we were going to high-tail it to Will's house and pick up his DVD of Stephen King's "The Stand" miniseries and watch ALL SIX HOURS OF IT!!! Luckily, we thought of this scheme at 9pm, so we got back to Sean's (after a quick stop at 7-11 for snacks, coffee and booze) just a hair after 10. The film had started by 10:15. Silbowitz was already planning an escape by 10:30, using his dog Max (who was with him) as an excuse. He stayed until about midnight, but only because he had to wait for Sean to leave the room, as the one rule of his house is that once a movie starts, it does not stop and nobody may leave before it is over, or they are not allowed back over for two weeks. Or Sean may just decide to punch you in the throat. So ya gotta move quick. The rest of us sat back with our drinks (I bought and passed around some Jack Daniel's Strong Cola -- or whatever their alcoholicola is called - either way, it's damn good, and I drank enough of it quickly enough to get dizzy and happy) and snacks of choice; I bought the entenmann's chocolate lovers doughnut variety pack, Sean bought the plain crumb-topped, and Dallow got the Cheez-Its. Before we even started the movie, there was talk of other possible future all-night miniseries viewings, such as "V" (the original, not the remake thing) and Lars Von Trier's "The Kingdom" Parts 1 & 2 (since I own both, at about 5 1/2 hours apiece -- and in Danish/Swedish with English subtitles, no less-- so of course, that was my idea), as well as other Stephen King novels-turned-into-miniseries. It'll be fun to watch "The Kingdom" with someone new, since the only person I've really watched it with was Christina.
I've gotta say, I really enjoyed the miniseries. But I had never noticed Molly Ringwald's messed-up eye before. And I've recently watched "The Pick-Up Artist" and "Pretty In Pink." Maybe it was because her hair was black instead of red that I noticed. Hmmm. Now I have to go back and watch some more Molly Ringwald movies. Or maybe she just couldn't stand looking at and making out wiith Gary Sinise? Hmmm. Interesting. Anyhow, it was a good way to start my three-day weekend, as the last week or so has been nothing more than a faint blur to me. Not that it has been bad. Just draining. But I had another job interview at work, and received some complimentary words here and there. So that helps make the other stuff wash away. I did spend a nice chunk of change at Tower Records the other night, so I've been enjoying some new things...
One cd I bought was a re-issue of a Section 25 record. I had heard of Section 25 because of their association with the early Factory Records scene in Manchester. But I really didn't know what to expect, aside from the fact that Bernard Sumner of New Order produced this record, and that Mark Robinson of Teenbeat Records (Unrest, Air Miami, Flin Flon, etc) likes them a lot (enough so that he once released a bootleg cassette of them at the DC Space on the label back in its early days). Well, "From the Hip" is an interesting album, which one would immediately recognize as Factory Records, early 80's (it is in fact from 1983, with bonus tracks spanning from 1982-1985), as defined by Joy Division/New Order, Crispy Ambulance and the like. Fans of dancier New Order tracks from this time period, like "Blue Monday," or the more atmospheric ones ("Elegia") should love this album, as it combines an almost New Agey etherealness with hard programmed beats, which New Order took to the masses with tracks like "The Perfect Kiss." Instrumentals are blended with songs sung alternately by Larry Cassidy and his wife, Jenny Ross. There are five more Section 25 re-issues by LTM to check out, including a live one, all featuring bonus tracks and extensive liner notes. I will definitely be picking up more of them, and highly recommend this release to fans of the Factory Records scene from the 80's, before that Happy Mondays crap came up the pike.
Wow, sorry for the mid-blog accidental record review. Guess I'm gearing up for the deadline I missed this week for PLAY Online Music Magazine. Ooops. While at Tower, using my "I worked there for so long that my former manager feels bad, so I still get to use my discount " discount , I picked up "Songbook" by Nick Hornby, which was actually on the banner ad at the House of Chicken & Waffles blogspot above a post I made where the first words are "Much like the fictional Rob Gordon..." I also finally got my hands on the Velvet Underground "What Goes On" Australian box set when I paid a visit to Record Stop, on a tip from my dear brother Matt. WOO HOO!! I still haven't sat down with it yet, but I've waited for a good 8 years or so, so a few more days won't hurt.
Okay, it's now almost 8am. So much for going to sleep early. HA! Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm.............................................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
that's me sleeping until 5pm again. I hope not. Let me sleep Monday before work.
Speaking of drinks with friends; tonight I went over to Sean, Jen & Larissa's house with Will, Dallow & Silbowitz to hang out, unsure of what we would do. Well, somewhere along the line, it was decided we were going to high-tail it to Will's house and pick up his DVD of Stephen King's "The Stand" miniseries and watch ALL SIX HOURS OF IT!!! Luckily, we thought of this scheme at 9pm, so we got back to Sean's (after a quick stop at 7-11 for snacks, coffee and booze) just a hair after 10. The film had started by 10:15. Silbowitz was already planning an escape by 10:30, using his dog Max (who was with him) as an excuse. He stayed until about midnight, but only because he had to wait for Sean to leave the room, as the one rule of his house is that once a movie starts, it does not stop and nobody may leave before it is over, or they are not allowed back over for two weeks. Or Sean may just decide to punch you in the throat. So ya gotta move quick. The rest of us sat back with our drinks (I bought and passed around some Jack Daniel's Strong Cola -- or whatever their alcoholicola is called - either way, it's damn good, and I drank enough of it quickly enough to get dizzy and happy) and snacks of choice; I bought the entenmann's chocolate lovers doughnut variety pack, Sean bought the plain crumb-topped, and Dallow got the Cheez-Its. Before we even started the movie, there was talk of other possible future all-night miniseries viewings, such as "V" (the original, not the remake thing) and Lars Von Trier's "The Kingdom" Parts 1 & 2 (since I own both, at about 5 1/2 hours apiece -- and in Danish/Swedish with English subtitles, no less-- so of course, that was my idea), as well as other Stephen King novels-turned-into-miniseries. It'll be fun to watch "The Kingdom" with someone new, since the only person I've really watched it with was Christina.
I've gotta say, I really enjoyed the miniseries. But I had never noticed Molly Ringwald's messed-up eye before. And I've recently watched "The Pick-Up Artist" and "Pretty In Pink." Maybe it was because her hair was black instead of red that I noticed. Hmmm. Now I have to go back and watch some more Molly Ringwald movies. Or maybe she just couldn't stand looking at and making out wiith Gary Sinise? Hmmm. Interesting. Anyhow, it was a good way to start my three-day weekend, as the last week or so has been nothing more than a faint blur to me. Not that it has been bad. Just draining. But I had another job interview at work, and received some complimentary words here and there. So that helps make the other stuff wash away. I did spend a nice chunk of change at Tower Records the other night, so I've been enjoying some new things...
One cd I bought was a re-issue of a Section 25 record. I had heard of Section 25 because of their association with the early Factory Records scene in Manchester. But I really didn't know what to expect, aside from the fact that Bernard Sumner of New Order produced this record, and that Mark Robinson of Teenbeat Records (Unrest, Air Miami, Flin Flon, etc) likes them a lot (enough so that he once released a bootleg cassette of them at the DC Space on the label back in its early days). Well, "From the Hip" is an interesting album, which one would immediately recognize as Factory Records, early 80's (it is in fact from 1983, with bonus tracks spanning from 1982-1985), as defined by Joy Division/New Order, Crispy Ambulance and the like. Fans of dancier New Order tracks from this time period, like "Blue Monday," or the more atmospheric ones ("Elegia") should love this album, as it combines an almost New Agey etherealness with hard programmed beats, which New Order took to the masses with tracks like "The Perfect Kiss." Instrumentals are blended with songs sung alternately by Larry Cassidy and his wife, Jenny Ross. There are five more Section 25 re-issues by LTM to check out, including a live one, all featuring bonus tracks and extensive liner notes. I will definitely be picking up more of them, and highly recommend this release to fans of the Factory Records scene from the 80's, before that Happy Mondays crap came up the pike.
Wow, sorry for the mid-blog accidental record review. Guess I'm gearing up for the deadline I missed this week for PLAY Online Music Magazine. Ooops. While at Tower, using my "I worked there for so long that my former manager feels bad, so I still get to use my discount " discount , I picked up "Songbook" by Nick Hornby, which was actually on the banner ad at the House of Chicken & Waffles blogspot above a post I made where the first words are "Much like the fictional Rob Gordon..." I also finally got my hands on the Velvet Underground "What Goes On" Australian box set when I paid a visit to Record Stop, on a tip from my dear brother Matt. WOO HOO!! I still haven't sat down with it yet, but I've waited for a good 8 years or so, so a few more days won't hurt.
Okay, it's now almost 8am. So much for going to sleep early. HA! Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm. Must wake up by 1pm.............................................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
that's me sleeping until 5pm again. I hope not. Let me sleep Monday before work.
Friday, February 28, 2003
So yeah, I played my second solo show ever last night at Saints N Sinners. That was a good time. I wasn't drinking enough, tho. I was still way too nervous, considering that there were only 30 or so people there, anyway. I dunno. Mostly it was all my friends. My friends are amazing people. Some of them travelled almost an hour to see my sorry ass. And I was almost totally deaf. It made it very hard to even tune a guitar. Tuning was the first 5 minutes of my act. And I only played two songs. Just read a bunch of random writings of mine. Excerpts from my book and whatnot. Nobody told me I suck. So I'm beginning to think maybe I don't. I mean, I'm pretty confident in my writing ability, and I know that if I could do justice to my own songs, they would be great. But my performance skills need a lot of honing. Maybe when I get my hearing back I should start rehearsing more. Hopefully I can. Well, I gotta eat so I can go to work tonight. My friends are awesome and ridiculously supportive. I love them all so much. Thanks guys and gals!
xoxo,
j-ro
current music: My Dad Is Dead - The Taller You Are, The Shorter You Get
xoxo,
j-ro
current music: My Dad Is Dead - The Taller You Are, The Shorter You Get
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
