Statute of Frauds

So I Lied.....

2005-10-12T22:45:00.000-04:00

....when I said that I'd make more effort to keep this blog from being an orphan. Cut me some slack....I just started a new job, the gfriend moved in, and playoff baseball is upon us. SoF isn't the highest of priorities now unfortunately, and I still have more fun writing for CMG anyhow.

But chances are I'm not going to write about the new Ladytron record Witching Hour for Cokemachine, so I'll just use this space to tell all y'all how surprisingly fantastic I've found it to be. Part of a CD buying binge that also found me kicking down for the new My Morning Jacket (great), Beta Band Hits/Live record (great reminder of why they still rule), and Franz Ferdinand (grew on me, but still a sophomore slump), Witching Hour essentially puts to rest the theory that Ladytron are little more than a hot singles band. Of course the singles "Destroy Everything Your Touch" and "Sugar" are both extremely catchy and sexy, but they're no longer the only reason to tune in. The band has finally learned how to correctly utilize guitars, the production is very full, and the result is an excellent album that I wouldn't have imagined myself enjoying (let alone buying) a month ago. The group's trademark hypnotic vocalizing and synth-driven basslines remain, but everything else is taken up a notch.

This just in. The California Angels just got majorly fucked. Halos set-up man Kelvim Escobar strikes out A.J. Pierzynski on a splitter that was clearly caught by catcher Josh Paul. Paul flips the ball back to the mound and the Angels head to the dug out. Three outs. Except that for some reason the home plate umpire claims that the ball hit the ground, and Pierzynski trotted to first base. Ruled as a strikeout and an error, greatly despite the fact that the ball was caught, and the umpire even seemed to punch the batter out. So instead of heading to the top of the tenth inning tied at 1-1, a pinch runner steals second and Joe Crede doubles him home for the win. Like I said, the Angels got fucked. And I would rather see the Angels get to the WS than the Sox, only if because they dispatched the Yankees. I'd like to see the Astros win it all because Bagwell and Biggio deserve to, and Brad Ausmus went to my high school.

Thinkin' Bout My Doorbell...White Stripes/Shins - 9/24/05

2005-09-25T18:44:00.000-04:00

This here blogger turned 26 yesterday, and he figured that spending said occasion at the Mets' Single-A ballpark in Coney Island watching two giants of modern-indie was as good a way as any to spend it.

Slightly off-topic, the original branch of Totonno's Pizza on Neptune Avenue (7-minute walk from Keyspan Park), most certainly lives up to the hype, and may actually be my new favorite NYC slice (with Grimaldi's finishing a close second). You may think its a good idea to hit the joint up before catching this upcoming weekend's Across the Narrows gigs, and you'd be right...just be prepared to spend at least an hour in line, quite possibly longer. Excellent pies though, and they have Brooklyn Pennant Ale.

Considering it's a minor-league baseball stadium, Keyspan Park is actually a decent place to see a show. Sound was good, port-o-johns were plentiful, and if you happen to be on the field, the stage is high enough that the amount of time spent on your tiptoes will be minimal.

I missed Brendan Benson, but suffice it to say, The Shins were The Shins, playing a tight 40-minute set that sounded exactly like the album cuts, save an extra three-minute '"jam" tacked onto the end of "One By One All Day." That the songs can sound exactly like their studio counterparts and still be a blast to hear in concert is a testament to how great a songwriter James Mercer is. There was merely one new song played; a good thing considering that this band has taken the art of milking minimal studio output to unprecedented new heights (and have they played "Fighting in a Sack" live, ever?). The keyboard player was his usual court jester self; quoting John Fogerty's "Centerfield" and bragging about his skills in "shooting the freak" on the boardwalk earlier in the day. And for all of those Zach Braff fans who may have been seeing the band for the first time, while the band opened with "Caring Is Creepy," "New Slang" went unplayed (scandalous!). The Shins are a great band. Just put out that third album already. Seriously. It doesn't need to be any longer than your other two albums. Just do it. The Fiery Furnaces' "EP" is even longer than both Shins albums.

The last time I saw The White Stripes in concert was at a 2002 free show in Union Square sponsored by Chrysler (leading them to open with "The Big Three Killed My Baby," natch). Before that it was at one of their sold-out Bowery gigs. Those shows were fun. The Coney Island show was more than fun...it was borderline awe-inspiring. Did the birthday charity of my friends leave me more than a little drunk during the set? Yes. This band is fun to see sloshed. Didn't matter. Would have enjoyed it just as much sober. Their stage presence was huge (augmented by red and white lights, white bushes, and red tapestries), and the performance never let up; even after the 'how on earth do you top this' opening triptych of "Black Math," "Blue Orchid" and "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" (wowsers). Jack and Meg have five records under their belt now, so they've got more than enough songs with which to rock a stadium crowd. Furthermore, they seldom take longer than a 10 second break (at most) between tunes, so the energy level never sags. The majority of the set was culled from the Elephant album, there were roughly six songs from the recent (and excellent) Get Behind Me Satan, and you had the hits from their other three discs (unsurprisingly, no "Fell In Love With a Girl"). They also played Meg's 30-second "Passive Manipulation twice, and had two bright red timpani drums onstage that were literally only used for the combined minute that Meg sang the song (big glockenspiel too....only used for "The Nurse"). For those curious, "Seven Nation Army" was the second to last song in the 25-minute "encore."

A friend commented that the White Stripes live show features "the rawness that you get with the first two Black Sabbath" albums, and he's correct. As fun as their studio albums can be, I sincerely hope the next White Stripes release is a live disc because that's where they're at their finest. While I was at first unquestionably skeptical of the ability of two individuals to wow a huge crowd at a baseball field, such fears were unfounded. Jack White knows what he's doing, and I've never had more respect for his band than I do now.

(BTW: Jim Jarmusch stood behind my party and I for the whole show; clad in a black ballcap simply reading "Johnny Cash." Rock.)

Musical Shorts.....

2005-09-21T11:24:00.000-04:00

Echo and the Bunnymen - Siberia

This hit shelves yesterday, and from what I can tell after a half dozen listens or so, it's not half bad. Basically picks up where 2001's Flowers left off, which is to say more sweeping ballads about how a now craggy-voiced Ian McCulloch ain't the young buck that he used to be. Granted, he's roughly the same age as Bono, but sounds twenty years older on account of his multiple pack a day Marlboro Red habit (seriously...listen to the vocals on Porcupine and then compare...smoking kills, kids). The production is far more full than its been in awhile, and though there's at least one mid-tempo ballad too many, "Parthenon Drive," "Stormy Weather" and "Sideways Eight" would have sounded nicely at home on Ocean Rain. Bass player Peter Wilkerson does a considerably admirable job of replacing Les Pattinson's bounce (especially on "Parthenon Drive") and there's a lot more Will Seargent on Siberia than on any of the other late 90's Bunnymen-MK II discs. A little goopier than I would have liked, and the subject matter seldom strays from 'oh man, look how friggin' old I am' but Siberia constitutes good proof that the Bunnymen are still far more relevant than nearly any one of the current crop who cite McCulloch and co. as a major influence (cough, cough, Coldplay, cough).

The Strokes - "Juicebox" - Kudos to Stereogum for providing a download link for (what I believe) is the new Strokes single. That being said....what the hell is this crap? I don't mind the now uber-glossy production (relatively speaking), but this sounds like four songs stitched together, none of them being overly good. A seriously de-tuned bassline with what sounds like power chords seems to herald a heavier, angry version of this band, and then you've got Julian sounding oddly like Kurt Cobain as he wails that "we've got a city to love!" Maybe this will grow on me, and while I appreciate the band's willingness to explore their horizons...it sounds like they're trying a little too hard here.

King Biscuit Time - "C I AM 15" - More props to Stereogum are in order for providing a link to a new video from King Biscuit Time, a/k/a the now defunct Beta Band frontman Steve Mason's solo project. While I was aware that King Biscuit Time was going to release a record at some point, I was unaware that the street date was Spring of 2006 (too long!) or that a single was even in the works. This video is a mere reaffirmation of the obvious; Steve Mason fucking rules. This has made my day.

This Heart's On Fire...CMJ goes Sub Pop @ The Bowery

2005-09-19T11:48:00.000-04:00

Hey now. No secret that this here blog has been an orphan now for longer than I care to admit. This was brought on by a combination of lack of free time, using said free time to submit to here, and such utter disgust and frustration with my day job that any urge to write in a blog that may or may not be read by seven people was diminished.

My new job starts in a week, and things have been looking up in general lately (gfriend moving in, b-day coming up soon, NY Giants appear respectable), so hopefully this is the beginning of more and better posts. And without further adieu....

Last Saturday night's Sub Pop showcase at CMJ was the only actual 'label showcase' I attended all weekend; the Friday night decision to go see the horrible adaptation of Everything is Illuminated instead of the Hello Sir! showcase with TigerBearWolf and We Versus The Shark not being one of my smarter moves. While Neil Young meets GBV wunderkind Chad Van Gaalen hit the stage at 7, myself and fellow CMG writer Sean Ford didn't arrive until 9:45, at the end of the Fruit Bats (a/k/a C-grade Shins) set. They really weren't letting in folks with CMJ badges at this point, which was odd considering the only time the place even approached looking sold out was when Wolf Parade was on.

Instrumental rockers Kinski hit the stage at 10:05, playing the first four tracks off of their recent Alpine Static in order in addition to two older songs, and what I was told was a Travelling Wilbury's cover (?) with actual lead vocals. Kinski have only been around since 1998, but they just look old. One guitarist is bald, and the other is a hefty dude with facial hair suggesting that he's listened to The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East more than a couple of times in his life. But they completely rocked. I very much dug Alpine Static, and it translates incredibly well to the stage, offering all the hairpin turns of the studio tracks with the extra noise, improvisation, and requisite rocking out that a good live show should provide. These guys simply enjoy themselves onstage, which is why its a shame that the venue was about 1/3 full for their set, and they won't sell any copies of Static because the Fork crapped on it (by Joe Tangari no less....stick to Britpop dude). Fans of Black Sabbath or the out of print/underrated 1993 Navarro/Avery project Deconstruction would do well to check Kinski out when they're in your hood.

Rogue Wave came on next, and despite accolades a plenty, the only Rogue Wave song I am familiar with is "Kicking the Heart Out" from hearing on a Virgin Megastore sampler. Everybody says they sound too much like the Shins, but I found this to be inaccurate after witnessing their very good set (especially considering they toured with the Fruit Bats). They're simply a very pleasant sounding rock band with good charisma and a melodic sound. They definitely do have the charming/ordinary somewhat disheveled look that I guess could make them odd hearthrobs among the Death Cab set (especially the lead vocalist...sort of a hipster's take on a young Steven Stills), and their set got better as it went on. Maybe their first record sounds more like The Shins than the new one. At any rate, I'm looking forward to it.

If you have any plans to catch Wolf Parade's show at the Bowery Ballroom on October 24th, buy tickets now. Methinks that once Pitchfork gives their upcoming Apologies to the Queen Mary a 9 point something, its all o-vah. I've been listening that record for about a month now. The first few times you listen, you'll write them off as Modest Mouse Jr. But give it a chance, and you'll be completely hooked. They're buddies with the Arcade Fire, but really sound nothing like them, opting for a considerably rawer, maybe Tom Waits meets early Mouse sound. There's hints of Frog Eyes (who members of Wolf Parade have played in) in the vocals too.

Clearly, judging from the now large crowd, this band was who the kids wanted to see, and at least to these ears, they didn't disappoint in the slightest. Despite being seemingly wasted., guitarist/lead vocalist #2 Dan Boecker was extremely amusing, contorting his emaciated frame on each song while only committing the amateurish sin of constantly telling the crowd how drunk the band was in between tunes. Keyboard player/lead vocalist #1 Spencer Krug seemed to be more together, despite his displeasure on having to play on a gigantic rented electric piano that he claims to have never seen in his life. Live, the band exuded a degree of nervous energy that nearly reached breaking point levels on songs like the jittery Krug-sung anthem "I'll Believe in Anything," jittery Boecker-sung anthem "This Heart's On Fire" and swingin' keyboard showcase "Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts." They looked like a mess, and took the longest to set up the stage, but Wolf Parade's set killed. There was even something resembling a mosh pit in the very front row, leaving one dude with a huge gash on the side of his head (which he said was awesome...ew).

So this left the Constantines at 1:30, whose set I stuck around for mostly out of respect, not because I think that either their first record or Shine a Light are particularly good. But I wasn't about to be one of those guys who flip out for the hyped opening act and then split for the more seasoned headliner (like those disrespectful bitches last week at The National gig), so I was game. The Constantines have a reputation for being a live band whose shows transcend their studio recordings, and the relatively (maybe 2/3 full) large crowd seemed to back this up. And they actually were very good live, tight and energetic, leading me to think maybe I need to give Shine A Light another chance. Their set seemed to be split evenly between that record and the upcoming Tournament of Hearts (cool name for an album).

Few additional notes....Chad Van Gaalen seems to be everybody's best friend, prancing onstage and singing inaudible backup vocals during both Rogue Wave's and The Constantines' set. Maybe they all felt bad that he had to go on at 7. Furthermore, if you listen to his excellent Infiniheart , you'd think he was a diminuitive, Oberst-like dude...but he's easily over 6 feet, and kind of looks like Will Ferrell with a shaved head.

And if you live in the NYC area and want to see Wolf Parade, but don't want to be bombarded by scenesters on a Monday night, head out to New Haven, CT on Saturday 10/22 to see them at Cafe Nine. While I currently reside in the East Village, I'm a native of the Greater New Haven area, and it never ceases to blow my mind how 100 minutes on the Metro North train is the difference between hyped bands playing sold-out 500 seat venues versus 50-person dives far more suited to hosting Blueshammer! than blogosphere darlings (or seeing non-sold out Doves and Decemberists gigs at the 700 capacity Toad's Place). Seriously....I've had friends who used to bartend at Cafe Nine....Yalies don't even go there. It's all old men and professional drunks. It's a five dollar show. If you've ever wanted to get real up close and personal with your new favorite Canadian band, here's your chance.

Poor Kids.....

2005-08-22T20:37:00.000-04:00

You think that Kris Benson was throwing batting practice the other day....the starter from Iowa in the Little League World series just gave up three jimmy jacks and was pulled from the game without getting a single out. Sometimes it sucks to be a kid.

The coaching conferences on the mound are miked too.....so all we ever hear are words of encouragement, when one can guess what coach really wants to say after he pulls his #1 starter after 5 runs and no outs.....

Feast to Famine.

2005-08-14T22:54:00.000-04:00

It's not like rooting for the Mets is ever anything other than a thankless task, but seldom is there a game that instantly subtracts five years from your life. This is such a game. It's times like this that I wish my Dad didn't force me to watch every one of Dwight Gooden's starts when I was six years old. Never has an episode of Six Feet Under seemed so much like Sesame Street in comparison. Fuck all!

Ten Years Ago Today.....

2005-08-09T22:24:00.000-04:00

....I was 15 years old, and being a young, suburban Jew, had just witnessed my first two Phish concerts a few weeks ago. I was preparing to embark with the 'fam on a trip to Cape Cod, and had stocked my CD case with several Phish, and more importantly, Grateful Dead albums. In fact, I needed to make a quick stop off at my buddy Aaron's place to pick up a Dead bootleg on compact disc that I had lent to him last week.

I walk into his bedroom and turn on the radio, which was playing the Dead's hit single, "Touch of Grey." BFD, the radio always plays "Touch of Grey." Change the station, and I hear a version of "China Cat Sunflower" from the Europe '72 disc. Umm....considerably more random, but okay.

At which point Aaron blurts out, "HE'S DEAD!" Who's dead? Says I. "JERRY GARCIA!" Jigga what? After changing the radio dial to Connecticut's third and final (at that time....now there's only one) classic rock station and hearing another obscure Dead song, I realized it was true. Now I felt especially stupid for turning down the opportunity to see what would have been my one and only Dead show in Albany, NY a few weeks prior. Jerry Garcia was dead at the age of 53; not surprising in light of what homeboy did to his body coupled by his insane tour schedule, but too soon nevertheless, and still not a heck of a lot different than Keith Richards.

Despite being loaded with Dead tunes, the four-hour drive to Cape Cod sucked. Mike Lapatino from Connecticut rock station 99.1 WPLR was urging temperance among Deadheads, encouraging them to be thoughtful and listen to the tunes as opposed to "doing a big bag." The Dead classic "Eyes of the World" came on the radio, and my mom said, 'hey, this song is really good.' Damn right. The scene at Chatam, Cape Cod head shop "The Dead Zone" the next day was especially eerie....no music was playing, and all of the employees were silent and staring into space (probably just really stoned, actually).

So yeah...today was the 10th Anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death, and while Phil Lesh is still my favorite member of the Dead, losing Jerry still completely sucked. None of the post-Jerry incarnations of the Dead (e.g. "The Other Ones", Bob Weir's "Ratdog", "Phil Lesh and Friends", and all of the members minus Jerry known simply as "The Dead") have come close to capturing the feel of the real thing, although the uber-Dead cover band (e.g. they cover whole shows with the proper equipment setup) "Dark Star Orchestra" is lots of fun. Like Ryan Adams, I feel no shame in listening to the Grateful Dead with much fervor, and plan on listening to "That's It For the Other One" from 2/13/70 in full before heading off to sleep. R.I.P. dude!

Five Reasons why TigerBearWolf kick ass....

2005-08-08T23:59:00.000-04:00

5. Shirtless drummer
4. Vintage "Orange" stacks like Dead Meadow use
3. No nonsense guitars - Gibson SG in one stack, Les Paul in the other
2. Play to 18 people at the Lit Lounge (16 of which are friends of the band) like it's 30,000 at MSG
1. Uncanny ability to simply bring it in a live setting; proving that they actually have the chops to back up the guitar pyrotechnics on their debut record.

The next time they're going to be in town is for a Hello Sir! Records label showcase at CMJ. If you like the RAWK, you must go. That gig will also feature We Versus the Shark and Maserati, both of whom also kick ass. Hello Sir is a label to watch, and TBW's album is still the best rock album I've heard this year next to The Woods.

Sweep-age

2005-08-07T23:31:00.000-04:00

So after a dis-heartening (if offense heavy) series with the Brew Crew, the Amazins' turn around and sweep the increasingly pathetic Cubs (although not as pathetic as this douche thinks San Francisco is). I was at Saturday's game, sitting in field level seats that the scalper claimed were "right on top of the Cubs dugout man!!!" They were actually about 15 rows behind said dugout, but a good time was had because Jae Seo pitched a hell of a game, and the bullpen didn't choke. Why the former was left to languish in AAA for so long while Kaz Ishii racked up nine losses and an ERA over 5.00 is a mystery, but managing a pitching staff doesn't exactly appear to be Willie's forte (evidenced by the considerable overuse of Bert last week when fresh arms were rearing to go). It was announced at the game yesterday that it was Victor Zambrano's birthday. Mets fans didn't so much boo as simply ignore the announcement altogether. One excellent game might not entirely redeem him in the eyes of Mets fans (esp. because he's the ugliest member of the piching staff by a country mile), but it helps. Then again, it just may be a testament to the sheer awfulness of the Cubbies' bats. Did Derek Lee reach base at all these past two games? Me thinks not.

TigerBearWolf are an amazingly kick-ass rock band from Greensboro, NC who are playing the Lit Lounge on 2nd Ave. tomorrow night, August 8th. 5 bucks, and two other probably shitty bands. TigerBearWolf are not one of these. Their debut record is among the most solid pure rock albums I've heard this year, and the live show purports to be extremely intense (for more proof, Amir at CMG posted a fine review of their album a few months back, as did Stylus). If Fugazi crossed with 70's AOR blooze sounds like your thing (and it ought to be), then you should go. I'll be the only guy there who knows any of the lyrics. Trust me on this one. I would not go to the scary, over-hipsterfied dungeon known as the Lit Lounge on a Monday night if I wasn't serious about the talent.

Back from Miami....

2005-08-02T21:42:00.000-04:00

I've been updating so infrequently lately that I'd forgive you (all six of you) for thinking that this blog was an orphan. But there were no updates at all last week because (1) a really stressful three days at work put me in a completely awful and paranoid state of mind, (2) I was vacationing in Miami the other two days I would have normally been at work (South Beach, to be specific). Miami is a fun place; it was as oppressively hot there as it is here, but such hotness is easier to take when its accompanied by palm trees, sand, and clear green ocean. July is supposedly 'off-season' because it's so warm, but the bars are still pretty packed in the evening, as are the beaches. Maybe next year I'll return for this. The hotel bar at The Delano reminded me a lot of the one at The Hudson here in NYC, unsurprising as they're both Ian Schrager ventures (even the websites look the same). For some odd reason, my girlfriend and I must have heard The Killers' "Mr. Brightside" at least 14 times in 4 Miami days. Good song as mainstream radio smashes go, but I still liked it better when it was called Placebo's "Special K."

I even managed to get in some reading over the long weekend, poring over Grateful Dead bass man Phil Lesh's autobiography 'Searching For the Sound.' It's not a collaboration; Lesh deserves serious props for writing the entire 331 pages by himself. The majority of the pages are spent describing Lesh's formative years and the Dead throughout the 60's, while Lesh seems to cover the 80's and 90's in about 40 pages (not that 80's and 90's Dead is really worth many more pages than that). I had no idea what an accomplished composer Lesh was until I read the book, nor was I aware of his skills on trumpet....I was always under the somewhat false impression that he just became a musical phenom out of mid-air. The portions of the book in which he describes the Acid Tests and the Dead's earliest rehearsals were (holy shit! Mike Cameron just tied the Mets game in the 9th with a HR!!!) very amusing, utilizing flowery language that could have only come from the pen of a man who did weekly acid in the 60's and just happened to play bass for the Grateful Dead. The parts where he describes his courtship with his current wife Jill were also very touching. The book was very good as rock bios go, and highly reccomended to anyone who thinks they might be into that sort of thing.

And now for another sort of thing...there was a 90 minute gap between the typing of this line and that last one. The Mets just beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-8 on a bases loaded walk in the 11th inning. This after Victor Zambrano left after 1.1 innings, with 6 earned runs off of 4 HRs. The Mets tied it in the 9th after Mike Cameron hit one over the centerfield wall off of uber-hairy Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow. A surefire double play ball also ricocheted off of Milwaukee's shortstop in the 11th inning. Easily one of the more classic Mets matchups I've seen in ages, evidence that this current Mets squad has fight, and further proof that Grateful Dead Concerts are like baseball games. The only lowpoint? Trillion-dollar man Carlos Beltran....0-5 with two double play balls. Quit pullin' it dude! LET'S GO METS!

Fun, yes...but a riot?

2005-07-22T00:19:00.000-04:00

I seriously overrated The Kaiser Chiefs' Employment when I reviewed it for CMG a few months ago. It's not a bad record; its actually quite enjoyable in small doses. But it suffers from a serious lack of dynamics in that the band only seems to know how to play in the red, even at slower tempos. They've only got one song, and it's an extremely energetic one.

That being said, "I Predict a Riot" is still as great a single as I thought it was back in January, so when a buddy said he had an extra ticket to see the Kaiser Chiefs at Webster Hall this evening, I took him up on the offer.

To call Webster Hall a wee bit disgusting in the summer is a bit of an understatement. The place is a fucking sweatbox with ventilation approaching the 4 train at rush hour when the train is stopped and the AC's been turned off because someone's fallen onto the tracks. Add bright white lights to the equation, and it's worse than being in Midtown at lunchtime. Thank god I don't have to go there again until the New Pornographers come around in October.

As for the Kaiser Chiefs themselves, their live show is not unlike their record; energetic, crowdpleasing, and more than a little bit cheesy. Frontman Ricky Wilson looks like Philip Seymour Hoffman circa-Scent of a Woman, and is really the only member of the band who does anything other than simply stand in place. But he attempts to compensate for the other dudes by much jumping up and down, frequent microphone tossing, and shouting "We are the Kaiser Chiefs!" in between most of the songs. A corny, albeit amusing moment ensued during "You Can Have It All" when Wilson pulled a giddy woman by the name of Jane out of the crowd for a slow dance. As for the songs, the band pulled out virtually everything off of Employment, one song I didn't recognize, and closed with the raucous (even by their standards) B-side "Take My Temperature." But basically, there ain't a heck of a lot to say about a Kaiser Chiefs show. You can sing along to most of their songs, they know how to work a crowd, and at 55 minutes, they didn't linger so long as to become offensive. Too bad the same can't be said about the venue in which they performed.

Back from the dead.....

2005-07-20T00:10:00.000-04:00

According to Blogger, SoF hasn't been updated since the 4th of July. That's seriously uncool, and I apologize. Blame it on crazy work hours, the fact that I can't really do this at work, and a general lack of time to simply sit down in front of the computer and type (and when I do get that time, it usually ends up being funnelled into CMG.

Speaking of Cokemachine, the other writers' tendencies to locate album leaks online, coupled with my general lack of self control, has resulted in me recently hearing several albums that are scheduled to be released in September, and all of which I would have waited for the release date with baited breath were this 5 years ago. Upcoming discs from the Super Furry Animals, My Morning Jacket, Dandy Warhols, and The New Pornographers have all somehow ended up on my hard drive, and while I'm not exactly complaining, it's sort of a sad reality that the excitement stemming from feverishly anticipated Tuesday release dates doesn't really exist anymore. I can tell you with absolute certainty that both Pearl Jam's VS. and Rush's Counterparts were both released on Tuesday, October 19th, 1993 because that day was amongst the most awaited in my young life. Fortunately, at least three of the four aforementioned albums are unsurprisingly fantastic--the jury's still out on the Dandy's record because at first blush it sounds way too similar to their older material (i.e. lots of "Boys Better" re-writes).

It's been awhile since I've had a quiet evening at home where the Mets actually won a game. Chris Woodward may look like a martian when he removes his batting helmet, but homeboy has been nothing if not clutch. Kris Benson also had another excellent outing, essentially cementing himself as the team's true #2 starter, but still got an ND due to the fact that game wasn't decided until the 12th.

Apologies for the short post (I'm exhausted), and apologies for the lack of content for the past two weeks.

"And I heard it in the wind.....and I saw it in the sky...."

2005-07-04T23:10:00.000-04:00

"....and I thought it was the end. I thought it was the 4th of July."

The above lyric is taken from the morose Soundgarden classic "4th of July" off of the Superunknown disc. I'm sure there's a lot of songs entitled '4th of July', but the only immediate ones to come to mind are the latter, and that way gloomy U2 instrumental off of The Unforgettable Fire.

I can only think of two songs offhand entitled "We're An American Band;" the Grand Funk Railroad classic, and the Yo La Tengo drone towards the end of I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One. Never though, did I ever think that I would hear those two songs played back to back, but that's exactly how Hoboken's finest kicked off their hour long set at Battery Park this past evening...opening with the YLT tune, and then paying tribute to Homer Simpson's favorite band before dropping a spritely "Stockholm Syndrome" and a mournful "Tears Are In Your Eyes."

Considering the last two YLT shows I witnessed included their 'Sounds of Science' gig and their mostly acoustic show at Tonic, it was mighty refreshing to see a straight-up, Ira/Georgia/James electric set for once. The outdoor acoustics on the lawn were quite solid, as was the show itself. Highlights included a slightly revamped "Autumn Sweater" with a different bassline and jazzier organ riffs, a version of "Cherry Chapstick" that was plenty noisy, if a little too speedy for its own good, "Little Eyes", "Tom Courtenay","The Summer", and an extremely noisy and drawn out final song which I did not recognize, but was still plenty satisfying. Tribute was paid to NYC with a second encore of "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker." A relatively minor YLT gig in the grand scheme of Yo La Tengo, but highly satisfying nevertheless.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks played too. My only prior live SM experience was listening from the parking lot at a Radiohead show in Montreal that we arrived considerably late to, but I was impressed with his set. Relatively heavy on his Pig Lib album compared to the recent Irving Plaza show, part of the fun of seeing Malkmus live is hearing the fun he has with his vocal parts, as well as the improved basslines on just about every song. Things began with the somewhat surprising appearance of "Dynamic Calories" (a/k/a the first song on the Pig Lib live bonus EP), followed by the future SM classic "Do Not Feed the Oyster." Only "Church on White" and "Jojo's Jacket" made an appearance from the first SM album, but in addition to the lion's share of recent Face the Truth songs, concertgoers also got Pig Lib tunes "Water and a Seat", "Animal Midnight", "Dark Wave", and "Witch Mountain Bridge"; utilized somewhat oddly as the set closer. There was also some humor in abundance when the first five seconds or so of "Loud Cloud Crowd" was played, only to be abandoned with a "let's not bother with that one today" from Malkmus. I was happy to hear that the "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" keyboard riff from the studio version of "It Kills" was perfectly replicated onstage.

Laura Cantrell kicked off the festivities with a very pleasant set of cosmopolitan C&W that went nicely with my Whole Foods prepared salad. And is it just me, or is Battery Park not used nearly enough for outdoor shows? The lawn is easy to get to, very nicely shaded, bathrooms weren't a problem, and the sound was surprisingly excellent. God Bless Matador Records indeed. A very pleasant way to spend a holiday afternoon.

(and the Mets beat the Nationals! Only 9 games out of first bay-bee!)

Better late than never....

2005-06-27T22:44:00.000-04:00

I mentioned at one point last week how I would have photographs and a more thorough review of the Sleater-Kinney/Dead Meadow gig from last Thursday at Roseland...well, here ya go. Suffice it to say, the Dead Meadow photos came out nicer because I wasn't constantly being shoved or jumped in front of during their set. The latter is an excellent band that puts on a great live show, provided a late 60's psych-rock revival is your thing. Endless wah-wah infused solos, deep Billy Cox-like bass playing, and appropriate smoke machines. The guitarist is one of the skinniest guys on the planet, but he can play the hell out of his axe. While Dead Meadow is more than capable of writing actual 'songs' (and does so rather well on their latest album Feathers), their live show is more or less just an excuse to jam out; and it's relatively easy to lose yourself in their wall of sound. Here's hoping they get another NYC headlining gig sooner than later. The stage is the best place to witness them, and I'm glad Sleater-Kinney elected to take them out on tour.

As for the Sleater themselves....while the New Year's Eve and Mercury Lounge shows found the band playing the new material relatively by the book, it seems as if they're finally comfortable enough with the new songs to goose them with that extra pizazz that allows them to obliterate the studio versions (no small feat that). "What's Mine is Yours" in particular has developed into a showstopper; featuring an extended noise introduction, a wonderfully self-indulgent Carrie solo break, and enticing hand gestures from Corin during her verses. Both "Rollercoaster" and "Jumpers" were fantastic, and the "Let's Call it Love" jam was far from the litany of "amateur stoner rock cliches" as one blog elected to describe it, but rather a fiery display of twin-guitar interplay that led seamlessly into "Entertain," surprising anyone (and everyone) expecting to hear "Nightlight", which was sadly unplayed (who wouldn't have rather heard this than "Steep Air"?). Sleater's take on jamming actually struck me as somewhat similar to what the Violent Femmes did on the live versions of "Kiss Off" and "Add it Up" found the latter's Add it Up compilation....chaotic with generous amounts of feedback and soloing, but never quite straying from the groove, and never quite flailing off into nothingness a'la bad Phish.

While the set didn't exactly falter when the band elected to play older material, it was clearly apparent that something was missing. Part of this could stem from the fact that they're unquestionably playing with a different set of equipment/pedals this time out, and they haven't quite figured out yet how to make the older tunes work on their new rigs. Then there's the simple fact that an older grrrllll-punk song like "One More Hour" just sounds a little tinny and out of place in a set populated by fuzz behemoths like "Wilderness" and "What's Mine is Yours." The breaks in "Light Rail Coyote" actually sounded muffled; which could be a result of crappy Roseland acoustics, new equpiment, or my failing ears (and probably all three), and while the performance of "Sympathy" may have been the best played version of that song I've heard, pace-wise, it doesn't really work smack in the middle of the set (and play something off The Hot Rock next time, Please?).

Overall though, minimal things to complain about, unless you count the crowd from where I was standing, which was incredibly beat. Just because Carrie jumps up and down during every song doesn't mean that 6 foot audience members should follow suit. I know that Sleater-Kinney is your favorite rock band, and you've been absolutely dying to go to the show...,but be considerate, folks! Alright. Now it's time to watch the ladiez on Letterman.

Dead Meadow = darkness

Dead Meadow = heaviness

Shine a light.

Let's Call it Jamming.

Are you not entertained?

Diggin' the Sleater....

2005-06-24T11:08:00.000-04:00

Hey now. Took a bunch of pictures at last night's Sleater-Kinney/Dead Meadow show, but don't have access to my camera (or a USB cable) at work, so I'll have to post them later. I'll also post a more extensive review much later this evening (after Mets/Yanks action) when I'm not at the office and hopefully not in the throes of a huge stomachache (cheese fries + Blanche de Brooklyn only seems like a great idea at 11:45 at night).

But in a nutshell...new material was utterly fantastic, older songs felt a little awkward, and hopefully the 6 foot 2, spiky blonde-haired guy in front of me who jumped like he was shooting 3-pointers the entire show got hit by a car on his way home. The best part of the show for me was unquestionably "Let's Call It Love" --> "Entertain". I was proud of the ladies that they threw the audience for a loop by not seguing into "Nightlight" (the only song off the new record to go unplayed). While the Dead usually chased "Scarlet Begonias" with "Fire On the Mountain", every so often they chased it with "Touch of Grey" or something else, and that's what made them great. Anything resembling improvisation is more or less extinct in indie-rock shows these days, so S-K deserve much credit. A cheeky cover of Danzig's "Mother" into "Dig Me Out" for the second encore was fantastic as well.

In a word....luck.

2005-06-23T16:35:00.000-04:00

...to describe this past afternoon's Mets/Phils matchup; which ended 30 minutes ago with the Mets ekeing out a 4-3 win. Lucky because Jimmy Rollins botched a sure-fire double play ball that resulted in what ended up being the deciding run. Lucky because Braden Looper found a way to get Bobby Abreu out for the second game straight. And Dougie M. went deep again. Luck's one thing, but credit is also due to Kaz Ishii, who picked up his second win with 6.2 solid innings of 3-run ball. Props to Roberto Hernandez as well; who's finally regained his excellent set-up man form now that he's not being used to '03-'04 Stanton excess. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop all afternoon, and for some reason, it didn't. Carlos Beltran also continues to nearly make up for his ice-cold bat with red hot fielding--his first inning, run-saving, diving snag will likely be on Web Gems tonight...if perhaps in the bottom 5.

A band that gets discussed very seldom on NYC music blogs is Maryland-based, intelligent redneck metallers Clutch. This is because it's not cool to like Maryland-based, intelligent redneck metal. But fuck that. They have a new record out called Robot Hive/Exodus , and it kicks all kinds of ass with a wah-pedal heavy, 70's muscle car vibe. I'd count myself a big fan of these guys based off of their killer live show and stream of excellent '90s records, but I literally had no idea that they had a new record out. This is because their last one, Blast Tyrant, was released just over a year ago, and the last Clutch record (and the one before that) took three years to come out. So color them prolific now. I give major props to any band who've placed a label on their last two records promising "guaranteed rock satisfaction!" Indeed.

SoF's Day Off.....

2005-06-23T10:53:00.000-04:00

Your friendly blogger took the day off from work today. No real reason exactly....aside from the fact that vacation/personal days had been saved up, the Mets have an afternoon game, and there's that Sleater-Kinney show at night. Just felt like a good time to take a mental health day (and when the Mets lose, the prospect of seeing Sleater-Kinney a few hours later will numb the anger).

Such anger was on display last night while watching Dae-Sung Koo give up a base clearing double to Kenny "what team do I play for again?" Lofton on the tv at Maxwell's while waiting for the Neko-less New Pornographers to come on. I think I flipped the bird to the television and probably embarrased my girlfriend in public. Oh well.

Dr. Dog opened for the Pornos, and they reminded me a little of My Morning Jacket, if every MMJ song was about dreams and they completely fucking sucked. Come to think of it, the only thing they really had in common with MMJ was beards, but I felt like making the comparison anyway (and how cool is it that the first thing you see on MMJ's homepage is a screen shot from Nintendo Ice Hockey?).

The New Pornographers took the stage without Dan Bejar (not surprising) and Neko Case, who according to a Rolling Stone article (which I would post if Blogger wasn't being such a bitch) simply wasn't available? Huh? She's a musician....what the heck else does she have to do? Her replacement was A.C. Newman's niece, who looks like Natalie Portman, and does a decent job with the Neko tunes. She sounds like Neko, and though she lacks stage presence, and can't belt it out like Neko does, she did a good job considering the huge shoes she has to fill. The band wasn't exactly tight, and seemed to race through their set, with minimal stage banter or storytelling; save A.C. Newman's habit of saying "this one's called..." before every song. A little too loud as well. But it was certainly an energetic show, and the majority of the New Pornos back catalog is superior enough to overcome crappy Maxwells sound and the lack of their fiery, redhead chanteuse. The songs from Twin Cinema were very well received as well, and I'm liking that album more by the day. I'll still go see them on Saturday because it's free, and I'm guessing the show will be better outdoors.

Maybe I'll do multiple posts today....might as well.

Jigga what?

2005-06-21T23:04:00.000-04:00

This evening's Mets/Phils game had the feel of the 2004 season if only because the Mets owned Phillies starter/ZZ Top fanatic Brett Meyers last year, and they did so again tonight; despite the fact that Meyers' ERA is considerably lower than it was in '04. Starter Kris Benson essentially pitched like he did last week against Oakland; just well enough to get a win. He's lucky to have had the run support. T'was nice to see uncharacteristic home runs from light hitting first basemen (Mientkewicz and Daubach), a 2 for 5 spot with two RBIs from Beltran, and a scoreless inning from Royce Ring.

But as little love as I have for the New York baseball empire located in the Bronx...will there be a single more bizzarre game played in any ballpark all season than this? What's more worrisome...that Randy fucking Johnson gave up seven runs and 3 HRs in 3 innings, or that the Devil Rays' bullpen gave up fourteen an equal stretch? Most teams that are winning 10 to 2 in the fifth inning with Scott Proctor on the mound would win, but the D-Rays aren't most teams. Replays on BBTN basically proved what everyone already knows....Lou Pinella is one sadistic mofo; heartily laughing as he humiliated Travis Harper by refusing to take him out of the game as he meekly gave up 9 earned runs in .2 innings. What should have been a game to make any Mets fan smile somehow ended up as one those all too common Yankee drama fests that will likely be shown during rain delays on YES for years to come. Shucks.

Meltdown.

2005-06-19T20:18:00.000-04:00

Today's Mets 11-5 loss at the hands of Seattle completed an exasperating three game sweep, and while it was plenty unwatchable (thank God for the U.S. Open), it was also rather revelatory, simply throwing into focus what the vast majority of Amazins' fans already know; this is strictly a .500 club, the bullpen is in dire need of an overhaul, Beltran needs to wake the f**k up, and Willie Randolph continues to have his head way too far up his ass when it comes to managing his pitching staff.

The latter fact reared its ugly head once again by Randolph's decision to remove Aaron Heilman after the bottom of the fifth, after the Mets had nearly erased Tom Glavine's horrendous outing by crawling to within one, after Heilman had already pitched a scoreless three innings, and after he had thrown 40 pitches. Is there something that Willie and Rick know that the rest of Mets' nation does not? Did he forget that Heilman is a former starter, the only somewhat sure thing out of the bullpen these days, and that you don't need to pinch hit for the pitcher in the American League (i actually forgot for a second that it was an AL game when I saw Victor Diaz pinch hitting for Chris Woodward in what would have been the pitcher's spot)? I watched most of the game with the sound off, so maybe there was a legitimate reason for taking Heilman out. Like an injury. I don't know. Mike DeJean is a complete waste of skin, every Royce Ring pitch is either way outside or 89 down the middle, and Heath Bell, while better than the aforementioned, is very hittable when he neglects to keep the ball down, which has been often.

For the love of Jeebus, put Heilman in the rotation until Trachsel gets back, and Ishii in the pen where he belongs (and might actually be useful). There must be other devious forces at work here because while such a move may not spark the Mets' bats, it strikes this fan as an obvious thing to do, and just might give fans a little more hope each game before Pedro pitches.

Every so often I seem to forget that this is supposed to be a music blog as well, and for that I apologize. I did something bad last week in that I downloaded The New Pornographers' upcoming Twin Cinema waaaay before it's apparent August release date. I feel a little less bad knowing that I'm seeing them this Wednesday and Saturday and wanted to be familiar with the new material, and even less bad knowing that there's absolutely no way I wouldn't purchase the album both out of respect for the band and their label. It also helps that unsurprisingly, it's great. Moreso than the last two records, Twin Cinema almost seems like a compilation of solo material from their three main songwriters (Newman, Case and Bejar), which might sound somewhat crappy, but it's not. It just means that the tunes where Neko sings lead are more akin to her solo work in that she's no longer restricted to simply belting it out (e.g. the excellent "Bones of an Idol"), and the A.C. tunes sound more like stuff from The Slow Wonder (the title track, "Sing me Spanish Techno") than before. They also use loops now too. Whatever. The New Pornos have now taken on a Super Furry Animals-like consistency of quality, and I'm not gonna expound too much on a record that doesn't come out until August. But believe me when I tell ya that I'm going to be screaming for "Stacked Crooked" at the Maxwell's gig (despite the fact that such enthusiasm might clue the band into the fact that I've already heard the record, pissing them off).

A few days ago, Central Village made a post discussing Hella sideproject "The Advantage", and their rockin' take on old Nintendo tunes. CV posted an Advantage take on a song (actually two songs strung together) from the game Goonies II, and if nothing else, the band's execution was a little too pure to the source material, and sort of suffered as a result. A little better IMO, is this band from Phoenix called Minibosses, who also do the 8-Bit NES cover thing, but with a little more rawk action. Their take on the themes from Castlevania III production-wise sounds like it came from the same sessions that birthed the new Sleater-Kinney record (though probably not by choice). Still, they too suffer from treating the source material with a little too much respect....and there's the odd fact that some of these songs actually sound better when played with the NES's dinky sound than a full scale band. Why nobody has attempted to tackle the first level from Life Force (the other non-Contra Konami game to utilize the legendary Up Up, Down Down, L,R,L,R, B,A start code) is beyond me. Konami games always had the best tunage.

The only thing closer to a complete meltdown in this afternoon's sporting world other than the Mets belonged to defending U.S. Open champ Retief Goosen, leading the pack at the start of the day at 3 under, only to drop to a 4-way tie for 11th at 8 OVER. He dropped 11 strokes! Even I wouldn't have dropped 11 strokes at Pinehurst, and I'm lucky if I can get out to the links more than once every two months.

We'll take it.

2005-06-17T09:48:00.000-04:00

Webster's Dictionary- "Piazza Jack" - "A meaningless home run hit by the New York Mets starting catcher when his team is either ahead or behind by five runs or more, seldom with runners on base."

That's the way it's been for the past three years or so, but a 9-6 win is still a little nicer than an 8-6 win, and the extra run actually allowed Mets fans to breathe a bit easier during that 3-run Danny Graves meltdown in the 8th. Let's hope it's a sign of things to come.

Stop the presses!

2005-06-16T16:59:00.000-04:00

Carlos Beltran just hit a 3-run homer and Pedro Martinez wasn't pitching. The Mets are in the midst of a 4-run inning, and there's still nobody out. Pinch me. They're up 5-3 in the fifth inning. I won't be the slightest bit surprised if they lose this game (and lose it big), but this is still amusing/promising.

I still can't get around the sight of seeing Brian Daubach's ugly mug in the MLB Gameday box when he steps up to the plate. He's like the Sandman from Metallica's "Enter Sandman" video wearing a Mets cap.

Go West Young Men.....

2005-06-14T11:00:00.000-04:00

Regarding the Oakland pitchers that page 86 of this morning's NY Post states are going against the Mets this week....huh? Joe Blanton (1-6, 6.13), Ryan Glynn (0-2, 5.73) and Danny Haren (4-7, 4.28)? Who the heck are these guys? Haren I'm vaguely familiar with b/c he was on the Cardinals last year and bears a striking resemblance to a Licensed to Ill-era MCA, but the other dudes? We have come a long way from the BIG THREE of 2002-2004. I'm actually sort of surprised that Minaya never pulled the trigger on something resembling a 'Heilman + prospects' for Barry Zito swap (who reunited with Peterson would certainly be preferable to every other lefty on staff), but maybe that was never even on the table. Who knows. Oakland sucks, and yet I'm still guessing that tonight's pitching performance may prove to be one of the finest of Joe Blanton's young career; going on the Amazin's predilection for turning crappy teams' #4 starters into Cy Young candidates for an evening. We'll see. I enjoy watching 10 PM games for some reason...maybe because I was never allowed to stay up for them in the 1980's.

Amazin's aside, I've been finding that the first half of 2005 has been rather fruitful so far as mindless, British power-pop singles have been concerned. First there was The Kaiser Chiefs "I Predict a Riot" (great tune, average parent album), any number of songs off of Art Brut's Bang, Bang, Rock and Roll, and for the first time yesterday I heard "Apply Some Pressure" from Maximo Park, and that too is an incredibly catchy slice of Brit power-pop, sounding like a herkier-jerkier Futureheads with some screechy, Sister Ray-esque, organ for good measure. I guess I'm supposed to be completely sick of these "fake Gang of Four" (a Brownstein phrase) bands by now, but that Maximo Park tune is quite the pleasure. I've listened to the rest of the album once through, and while only "Grafitti" and "Signal and Sign" immediately grabbed me, I was impressed enough with the rest to at least give it some more cursory listens. Indeed.

Baseball n' BBQ.....

2005-06-12T22:30:00.000-04:00

I do love me some Mets baseball, but I'm not so lame as to completely waste a Saturday night by watching a game from start to finish, especially one that doesn't ge underway until 8:35 on account of rain. So I was pleased that dinner and post-dinner ice cream consumption allowed me to only catch the bottom of the eighth inning and onward. The good bits (i.e. 9th and 10th innings) of Saturday night's Mets / LAAAngels matchup were evocative of that Yanks/BoSox game last year where Jeter re-arranged his face diving into the stands for a foul ball, except that you're supposed to expect stuff like that from Jeter, if not elite pinch hitter Marlon Anderson, whose inside the park HR and subsequent bloody face was easily the most entertaining Mets moment I've seen this year since Dae Sung Koo's double off of Randy Johnson. And it makes perfect sense in retrospect that such bravado could only be followed up by a Cliff Floyd walk-off jack, although I admit to expecting him to strike out looking at an 80 mph change-up at the time.

So I leave this afternoon in the 5th inning to grab some brunch, and get back in time to see Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez making Kaz Matsui look even more helpless than usual on a steady diet of breaking balls en route to closing out a 4-3 Angels win. Ugh. David Wright was understandably disappointed for allowing a run to score in the prior inning by being unable to handle what was in his defense a considerably difficult grounder, but the brunt of the blame should be placed on the Amazins' incredibly lifeless bats, which once again appeared to go predictably limp with runners in scoring position...especially in the first inning, when a measly one-out single with runners on second and third could have made Angels' starter John Lackey's afternoon considerably shorter. The considerably tall pitcher lacked his best stuff all afternoon, walking a season high six batters, but the latter probably had as much to do home plate umpire Eric Cooper's non-existent strikezone as with control problems. The latter neglected to give Pedro Martinez the corners all afternoon, and tossed out Mike Piazza in the first inning; apparently for arguing balls and strikes while sitting in the dugout. Young has officially earned himself a spot alongside Mark Wegner and C.B. Bucknor in the SoF Hall of Fame for douchebag umpires.

But more than just baseball was afoot this weekend. This weekend was also host to the Third Annual Big Apple Barbeque , in which some of the country's finest "pitmasters" took over the three blocks of Madison Avenue alongside Madison Square Park for two afternoons of live music, Brooklyn Beer , and lots of kosher goodies like pulled pork shoulder, smoked sausage, and beef brisket (not your bubbe's version). The key was to show up early, 'lest you wanted to wait 40 minutes for your $7.00, appetizer-sized plate of barbeque. While local eateries such as Blue Smoke and upstate favorite turned Harlem haunt Dinosaur BBQ were represented, the real draw were the pitmasters from down south, where some would have you believe that BBQ is a religion. The pork shoulder from "Big Bob Gibson's" from Alabama was especially fine, as was the sausage from Elgin, TX; supposedly the 'smoked sausage capital of Texas' (which is seriously saying something).

From a musical standpoint....James Brown trombonist Fred Wesley supposedly led his band around 5:00, but my party (members of MMM and Peephole, actually) was long gone by then. Most of the entertainment fell into a kid-friendly, wedding band style mix of rock and country, although I was quite surprised to hear one act do a nice cover of Tom Petty's "Listen to Her Heart" and make no alterations to the word "cocaine" in the first verse. Rock!

Shea-dro..........

2005-06-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

It was ridiculously hot last evening. I was in the right field Mezzanine at Shea, and after having rapidly imbibed both a Bud and a sausage, I felt like I was going to vomit. It didn't help that the sun was still out for the first two and a half innings. But Pedro Martinez was on the mound, so the heat and/or nausea was well worth it. There's a reason why Bill "Sports Guy" Simmons once wrote that he would often drive 4 hours to watch this guy pitch for Boston or plan his entire week around his starts....poetry in motion. 2 hits, 12 Ks, and a complete game. It's only fitting that his no-hitter in the 7th was broken up by .217 rookie Chris Burke...another in the long line of no name light hitters to keep the 44-year streak of zero no hitters intact (e.g. Kit Pellow of the Rockies (Glavine) and at one time some no name Rockies starting pitcher who doubled (Trachsel). Regardless, when Pedro is on, the crowd eats it up, creating an energy at Shea not unlike when Doc Gooden was on the mound (and I am old enough to remember what that was like....albeit just barely). Minaya for President.

When did they start serving corndogs and Cuban sandwiches at Shea? 3 bucks for a corndog seems like a bargain compared to 5.75 for sausage and peppers. I think the Cubans were only $4.50....only 50 cents more than a less than delicious Nathan's hot dog. I'm not really feeling the Nathan's switch.....the french fries are better than last year, but Shea had Kahn's hot dogs for soooooo long, and I would have liked to think they would honor that tradition. That said, the way in which the hot dogs are cooked still makes the Nathan's dogs taste the exact same as the Kahn's version. Weird.

Gomez put out a double live album yesterday. I had no idea. Good for them.

Third album = meh.

2005-06-06T14:16:00.000-04:00

So I've actually listened to the new Coldplay disc enough at this point to confirm what I had initially thought/feared many months ago; X/Y is the sound of a band trying sooooo hard to remain huge while "expanding their sound," that they forgot to write more than five decent songs. Listen hard enough and you can probably hear the sound of a frustrated Chris Martin angrily cursing out the Pro Tools rig when he can't decide whether or not "Square One" would be better with or without the keyboard squiggles in its first 5 seconds. Nothing, but nothing appears ever so slightly out of place, and the lack of looseness and/or catchy songs robs the band of its strongest trait IMO - warmth. Songs like "Square One," "Twisted Logic" and "Low" serve no purpose other than to simply exist as a springboard for the band to overuse new synthesizers and on the latter, sound like Interpol. The album is not without a few good cuts - "Fix You" and "A Message" will likely prove to be their biggest hits yet, and will unquestionably cause the band to shift several units long after the first week Billboard surge. I like the track that jacks the riff from "Computer World", and the 'hidden' track (hidden how?....it shows up as track 13 on my CD player) "Kingdom Come" is actually quite good because the band sounds loosey-goosey...like "Green Eyes" from the last record.

But that's about it. This thing as a whole is just simply too polished. In an effort to appear "forward thinking" and "futuristic", the majority of X/Y just comes up sounding cold (and don't even get me started on the lyrics). This is coming from someone who completely loved the last record. X/Y just makes me appreciate Sleater-Kinney that much more.

Zambrano In 'Not Awful' Shocker!

2005-06-01T23:03:00.000-04:00

Backed by some clutch double plays, an increasingly dangerous Jose Reyes (3 singles, 3 SBs), and a (gasp) clutch Piazza RBI, Victor Zambrano managed to outduel Arizona sinkerballer Brandon Webb, garnering the victory in a 2 to 1 win. I was walking into my apartment right when this game ended; I'm told that Braden Looper's 'save' was considerably Looper-like in that it was far from clean, but this was still a solid win---a fine way to ease into Thursday's Pedro start and a much needed confidence booster for Zambrano. It's not like he was that awful in his past few starts, but at least this game didn't have his trademark '3-run inning' that he seemed to post with alarming consistency.

Man....those Royals put up a fight. Who's gonna lose their job?

On the not so hot side...Miguel Cairo strained a hamstring attempting to beat out a grounder, not unlike this lucky fellow, and is day to day. When the hell did a hamstring become so easy to strain? I played little league for five years and never strained mine....did break two ribs from failing to get out of the way of a fastball though. With the bases loaded. Tie score. We won the game!

And is it just me, or were the Mets really hot on getting Juan Gone on their staff a few years ago? I think at the beginning of the Alomar-era. Looks like they may have actually dodged a bullet for once there.....

I listened to most of the tracks off the new Coldplay disc here. It actually didn't sound half bad, although my tinny laptop speakers were having a hell of a time handling the synth overload on more than a few tracks. I don't hear U2 so much as, well....Coldplay with a heavy synth makeover and some New Order-style drive and propulsion to some of the tracks. "White Shadow" sounded especially good on first listen, and "Square One" packs a punch, and completely rips off the 'Theme from 2001,' in somewhat hilarious fashion. If there is one thing that Chris Martin shares in common with Bono (at least all post Rattle and Hum Bono), it's his penchant for utterly silly, rhyming lyrics that are laughable outside of the context of a hockey stadium, but will somehow probably sound really good within those same stadiums. Early verdict: not exactly OK Computer, or even War, but not awful, and fortunately not a facsimile of their last two records.

What the hell.....VH1 Classic just showed the first 45 seconds of Echo and the Bunnymen's "Never Stop," rudely cut to a commercial, and then played some weak-ass Style Council song, but tagged it as being the Echo tune. Weird. Now the Soup Dragons are on! Love me, hold me!

Weekend Distractions

2005-05-29T00:14:00.000-04:00

And yet another surprising win for the Amazins' - beating the Marlins and Dontrelle Willis 6-1...with Kaz 'close your eyes and pray it finds the strikezone' Ishii on the mound. Mike Piazza actually got three RBIs off of two opposite field hits, meaning he probably won't bat in any more runs for at least 2 weeks. Good pitching, timely hitting, the 2005 Mets can be formidable when everybody elects to do their job.

Being at my childhood home in Connecticut for the weekend allows for several distractions that can't be found in my East Village (Stuytown actually...) apartment. Like the "VH1 Hits" and "MTV Hits" channels, which aren't on Time Warner Cable and actually play nothing but videos, sans commercials. I got to see the new Kelly Clarkson and Backstreet Boys videos back to back. While not nearly as strong as "Since You've Been Gone," "Behind Hazel Eyes" is wonderfully bombastic in all the right places, and is still far better than it has any right to be; even if this time her around band comes closer to biting Evanescence than Interpol. I can't remember the name of the new Backstreet song, but it's the epitome of a 'mature' comeback ballad--overcooked with somber piano pounding and a huge string section. Lots of fire and car scenes in the video too. Meh.

And then there's the X Box; something that you think you'd be more likely to find in the apartment of a 25 year old than at his parents' house, but Dad sure does like his sports video games. MVP Baseball 2005 is the latest incarnation of the popular EA Sports franchise, and it's tons of fun, and quite weird in a variety of ways. Firstly, it comes packed with "EA Trax," so you're constantly being fed lame mainstream indie songs from the likes of Hot Hot Heat, The Zutons, Bravery, and Dropkick Murphys (did Gammons have a hand in this?). Strangely enough, the misogynist swill of Louis XIV's "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" actually sounds kind of decent when it's accompanied by Carlos Beltran going yard against Miguel Tejada in Home Run Derby.

Even stranger, there's batting 'mini games' where you can tee off against pitchers and earn points by hitting targets and hitting the ball to the proper field. Before you do this, you can choose the delivery of the pitcher you're up against, and you're given the option of a variety of well known arms with recognizable wind-ups like Kevin Brown, Pedro Martinez, Dontrelle Willis, Derek Lowe, and the like. Maybe about 25 in all. Fair enough. Would you believe that one of these supposedly famous pitchers is Jae Seo? Wonder what wiseass Mets fan slipped that one past the beta testers? They utilize his 2004 wind-up; the deliberate one where he swings his arms over his head en route to giving up tons of runs. He's still way better than Victor Zambrano this year, and he's still languishing in AAA. Bummer.

Fridaaaaay

2005-05-27T23:32:00.000-04:00

So The Woods finally hit shelves fo' real this week, and a solid majority of the reviews have been rather complimentary, as it should be. I stick by my 94. Of the negative reviews, one was more or less conservative whining from a fan who fears anything resembling change, while Anthony Miccio's review over at Stylus was borderline irresponsible. Sorry, but I feel strongly about this band, and when somebody references Creed in a Sleater-Kinney review and then proceeds to lash out at the band for leaking the album four months in advance and then asking folks not to listen to it minus the artwork(as if this was under their control at all), I get annoyed. The Woods also has nothing whatsoever to do with that last dying grasp at relevancy known as St. Anger. Miccio liked the new Stephen Malkmus, and now I feel dirty for liking it too.

Holy shit, did the Mets just win back to back games against a first place team? Last night they did it with twelve runs, this night, just one. Pedro Martinez pitched another typically fantastic, 10 strikeout game, and he actually got a fully deserved win for once, if no real run support. One run courtesy of a Cliff Floyd double was enough, and Braden Looper got a shockingly sweat-free 1-2-3 save. The Braves lost tonight too. After the unabated hell of being a Mets fan earlier this week, the Amazin's are still only 3 games out. Crazy. This is why I love baseball, even if rooting for the Mets is far more stressful/Job-like than it has any right to be.

And speaking of crazy, it still really, really sucks to be a Cubs fan right now. Does any major league starting pitcher have worse luck than Mark Prior (and against the Rockies no less)? What kinds of ladders does this guy walk under on his way to the ballpark? One can only hope that Mr. Rusch has finally come into his own as a reliable #3 starter (yikes).

I can see definitely see this band Art Brut having a bit of a Franz Ferdinand-type year in 2005. They're British, catchy, and cheeky as all hell. Their debut album Bang Bang Rock and Roll reminds me a lot of The Buzzcocks and early Violent Femmes; simplistic, extremely catchy, and actually quite hilarious. It's been ages since a rock album had me laughing out loud on the subway, but hearing "Good Weekend" for the first time made me do just that, to the curiosity of all passerby. The song where the lead singer brags about "sipping Hennesey with Morrisey" is a little lame, but the (relatively) old single "Formed a Band" is still ace, even with cleaned up sound.

I have to go to a wedding on Sunday. This is the first 3-day weekend I've had all year, and the last until the 4th of July. I work really hard. What inconsiderate moron schedules a wedding on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend?

"I Spent a Sunday Wastin...."

2005-05-22T16:40:00.000-04:00

The only thing more utterly infuriating than watching the Mets' young infield completely waste a typically excellent Pedro Martinez start againt the Yankees? Utterly horrendous managerial decisions to follow-up said infield gaffes. Decisions like pitching to Hideki Matsui with two outs, an open base, and old man Williams, batting .233, on deck. A frustrating, and all too predictable end to the first Subway series....made even more so by the fact that it looks like the first place Marlins are surprising no one by sweeping the powerhouse known as Tampa Bay. Meh.

At least Boston has seemingly managed to take advantage of Atlanta's now awful bullpen. Equally awful? Listening to Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren call the game on TBS. Seriously.... does Pete check for evidence of Skip's pulse between innings? I realize that Skip's been doing this thing for thirty years and his late father is the legendary Cubs announcer, but Skippy makes Ralph Kiner sound like Howie Rose. Soundwise, this is like watching bowling. Which is not to say I'd still rather hear either of the TBS guys every day for the rest of my life versus three hours of Tom Seaver (if not Fran Healy). Matt Clement's sinker is nasty through 8.

So yeah, a Sunday afternoon Mets loss that shouldn't have been such is demoralizing...but beat the Braves and Marlins next week, and all's forgiven.

(And to all Belle and Sebastian fans who may have been insulted, I'm well aware that the title of this post is not the actual lyric of that song)

Stereogum just drew my attention to a blog where someone is keeping track of their progress in studying for the July 2005 California Bar Exam. Fun blog, and a neat idea that I can sympathize with because I did the exact same thing last summer, only for New York. The California Bar Exam is arguably the hardest in the country....methinks that blog will have fewer and fewer posts as July approaches (or at least it ought to!). Good luck. Get it right the first time!

Ever Get the Feeling U2 Spend Too Much on their Light Show?

2005-05-22T01:52:00.000-04:00

Say what you will about the larger than life, preachy, every-man rock cottage industry that has been U2 for the past 13 years or so....they seldom fail to give you your money's worth onstage.

Last night was my second time seeing U2 at Madison Square Garden; the first (and only) was in June of 2001 on the first leg of the 'Elevation' Tour (what an innocent time that seems like now). I may have enjoyed that gig a bit more; which probably has more to do with the thrill of seeing U2 for the first time than any noticeable drop off in quality between the two shows. The two constants at every U2 show are (1) unbelievable lights and (2) a multitude of corny human rights/equality preaching courtesy of Bono. Both are expected, and in the context of a sold-out, BIG rock show, neither is unwelcome. Bono's earned the right to devote 4 minutes of stage time to a disembodied voice reading clauses from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights verbatim and another 3 to emphasizing the 'cross, crescent, Star of David' bandana that he wore for most of the show. No problem. But playing "Vertigo" all the way through twice? Rajeev from OneLouder told me this was a throw back to their earlier days when a lack of material found them playing "11 O'clock Tick Tock" twice in a set, but that was out of necessity, no? Eh, still a fun tune to hear in a live setting, and I guess not unlike the time I saw Ween play "The HIV Song" twice in one of their sets.

For those who've been paying attention to sets on U2's recent tour and were hoping for some surprises being it's The Garden and all....few were in store. The encore did feature what appeared to be an impromptu take on "Gene Genie," b/c Bowie was "in the house," but save the seldom played "Original of the Species," the set was in keeping with most of the shows on the tour. Opening with "City of Blinding Lights" was an excellent idea, giving the band plenty of opportunies to show off the huge 'LED lights/beaded curtain' thing that was the main lighting rig, while of course using tons of hot white lighting during the "OH YOU LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL TOOOONIGHT!" part. "Love and Peace (or else)" from the recent How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb was a definite show highlight, using lots of red light and strobes, and seguing cleanly into a version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" that made far more sense in context than when I saw it in June 2001. The run of Acthung Baby songs in the first encore was a masterstroke; capturing the information overload aspects of the Zoo TV tour while giving The Edge an excuse to do the awesome extended wah-wah jam tacked onto the end of "Mysterious Ways"--band's been playing it that exact same way since 1992, and it's still my favorite part of a U2 show. Even though everyone knew it was coming, the 'old-school' portion of the show with "Electric Co." and "An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart" was very solid, and it was nice to see "Running to Stand Still" returned to the set--even if it now appears that Bono wants it to be about human rights as opposed to heroin addiction.

And for all the bombast, things still were less than perfect, which was somehow refreshing. One of the LED light rigs actually got jammed during the first encore, holding in place for the last half hour of the show and making things more difficult for those behind the stage. The Edge's guitar cut out for at least 5 seconds during "All Because of You", and Bono's voice was noticeably ragged for the first half of the evening; forcing The Edge to step up and sing a few of his parts here and there ("Miracle Drug" and "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own" in particular).

Cheesy as hell? Of course. Extremely fun? Absolutely. They're U2. Other bands aren't.

(speaking of which, Kings of Leon opened the show, and were very good, but suffered from being extremely loud. So loud that the finer subtleties of their songs, which makes the majority of Aha Shake Heartbreak a quality record, were impossible to make out, and the show just fell into a guitar heavy morass. Still, their rhythm section is tight as hell, and I'd be curious to see them at one of their own gigs.)

A few photos....our original seats were actually waaaaaay back in the 300's section with a giant overhang obscuring just about everything. But we did not stay there for too long...kudos to the ushers for not kicking us out of the walkway.

Yeah.

2005-05-20T23:08:00.000-04:00

Watching Subway Series baseball while munching on Lucky Burger and drinking Miller Lite causes people to do strange things....like spend $6.99 on iTunes purchasing Steppenwolf's Greatest Hits for example. "Born to Be Wild," "Magic Carpet Ride," "The Pusher," and "Don't Step on the Grass Sam" are all kick ass biker songs, and there's probably at least 3 decent songs from the remaining 12, so $6.99 seemed like a deal. The Mets lost this matchup; mostly on their inability to cash in with runners on base, and some horrendous fielding gaffes. Kaz Matsui must spend his time off the field walking under ladders. Even when he starts to come out of his slump, and crushes an RBI double to left-center, he still finds the time to blow an easy inning ending double play that lead to two Yankee runs. Going tomorrow, followed by U2 at night. That's what I call a Saturday.

Right now, what sounds like a vinyl rip of the upcoming White Stripes record Get Behind Me Satan is playing on ye old iPod speakers. This sounds way more like the Stones' Beggars Banquet than it should have any right to. Lots of piano and marimba. No duds on tracks 1-7...color me impressed so far.

My promo copy of Sleater-Kinney's The Woods showed up in the mail yesterday. Check for my CMG review of same next week. Getting promo packets in the mail is always fun because the label tries really hard to sell the band to folks like Entertainment Weekly writers and college radio programmers in the Midwest, so in addition to the usual label fawning, The Woods pack comes with a 4 page essay from Rick Moody as to why the band kicks so much ass. Very nice, but take a cue from the Joe Perry Project and "let the music do the talkin'." I'm not going to waste too much space here to explain why The Woods is the greatest rock album to hit shelves since...uh, the last Sleater-Kinney album because I can do that on Cokemachine. But the girlfriend was stone faced serious when she thought my speakers were busted 3 seconds into the first song. ROCK!

Way sleepy. Check back at some point for a U2 breakdown!

New York Gets What They Deserve....

2005-05-17T09:10:00.000-04:00

It took awhile to set in that I was actually about to witness a Nine Inch Nails show last night at the Hammerstein Ballroom. It began to come into focus after hearing the lead singer of sometimes inventive/often excruciating, goth-piano rock duo The Dresden Dolls announce, "we'd like to thank Trent Reznor for this opportunity." Weird.

And I'll never admit to being the world's largest NIN fan either; familiar only with the Broken EP, The Downward Spiral, and their singles, but willingly paid up for MMM's extra ticket when he offered it, knowing at the least that the show would not be boring.

And it wasn't. You want lights? How about constant strobes, white hot lights, and a variety of colors not unlike the rig used on Radiohead's Summer '03 tour? Smoke machines? Check. Screaming girls in black tank tops utterly yearning to have sex with Trent Reznor even though they all know he wrote a song about acquiring VD? (MMM's observation, not mine) Check. A skinny, smack addled lead vocalist dressed in black? Not so fast....like David Gahan and Duff McKagan before him, apparently Reznor has traded the needle for dumbbells (or if you're a conspiracy theorist, juice) because dude's huge. He still stalks the stage like a madman, jumping on his guitar player, chucking the mic stand, and wasting numerous bottles of Poland Spring on the first few rows, but his newly cut frame can't help but give his tunes a little more authority.

Despite a sizable contingent of females in the audience (at least 50/50, maybe even 60/40), this was a testosterone heavy gig. OL , MMM , and yours truly had a nice view from the mezzanine, which was cool because there was an unobstructed view of the stage, and a nice take on the sweaty moshing madness occuring below. The band opened with the second song off the recent (and very good) With Teeth, and the audience wasted no time in proving to Reznor that they had actually bought the new album, shouting every word of the expletive laden chorus. There were only 4 songs played off that record (and not even the best one, "Only"), which was a little disappointing because it really is a solid effort that would work onstage. But what the show lacked in newness, it made up for in back catalog, containing all of the expected hits, songs with one word titles like "Piggy" and "Suck", and an unbelievable version of "Gave Up" from Broken that was chased by a crowd-friendly run of "Hurt," "Wish," and "Head Like a Hole." Trash stage, end show, no encore necessary. ROCK.

Walking in Battery Park is quite scary, and not very sensible either.....

2005-05-14T17:52:00.000-04:00

My job is located about a 30-second walk from Battery Park, and 9 times out of 10, I'm not there on a Saturday. But when the workload gets heavy, I'll squirrel myself away at 26 Broadway, listen to the Mets lose one-run ballgames, and do some legal stuff. The Financial District is generally a ghost town on the weekends, but when the weather's nice, throngs of tourists hop the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island and whatnot. These folks buy fistfuls of tiny Statute replicas, crappy pro-NYC t-shirts, and faux-Yankees caps; all of which are sold by numerous vendors in the area. Actually witnessing live humans buy this stuff gives me the creeps for some reason.

If one were to view the boxscores for last night's and this afternoon's Mets/Cards matchups without actually knowing who was pitching, they'd be forgiven for simply assuming that Tom Glavine was behind today's 7-6 loss, and Pedro Martinez hurled last night's 2-0 gem. T'was actually the other way around, and for once I feel fortunate to have had tickets to a Glavine game. Despite giving up five runs, two HRs, and being essentially without his trademark command for the majority of his 6 innings, Martinez still only picked up a no decision because Scott Speedman-lookalike Mark Mulder was equally ineffective. Martinez actually had a chance for the win, until the usually rock-solid Roberto Hernandez uncharacteriscally coughed up two runs in the eighth. Eh. He's human. Also human is the otherwise 'red hot' Mike Cameron, who struck out with men on 2nd and 1st to end the game (off Jason Isringhausen no less....famous for being perhaps the only Met in history to call front-office man Jay Horowitz a 'Jewboy' and contract tuberculosis). Hopefully Kaz Matsui's base-clearing triple is a sign of better things to come.

The online publication I scribe for is completely enamored with Spoon's new Gimme Fiction, as is just about every other reputable publication you can name. So why do I find it so dull? The first track, "Sister Jack", and "I Summon You" are all pretty excellent, but the rest of it just strikes me as overly simplistic and a little stale. Mind you, I didn't have this problem with Kill the Moonlight or Girls Can Tell. Call it "minmalist rock" if you will, but I just hear a lack of ideas and repetitive riffs. "I Turn My Camera On" is the one track everyone seems to adore, and even after forcing repeated listens, I still think it's one of the album's weakest songs; a lame take on the falsetto vocals employed in the Stones' "Emotional Rescue" made no better by a two note bassline repeated to the point of annoyance. It's just not funky. It should be noted that the whole of Gimme Fiction still sounds like Abbey Road compared to the new Weezer, which Pitchfork rated about .4 too highly.

Of similar concern is Separation Sunday from The Hold Steady, heralded by The Village Voice as a front-runner for Album of the Year, and single-handedly responsible for resurrecting classic rock (?). It's a decent record, but let's not be afraid to call it what it is; spoken word rants over faceless bar-band rock n' roll, okay in small doses, excruciating for more than 25 minutes.

The new Caribou record The Milk of Human Kindness is fantastic, and I eased my guilty conscience by purchasing a bona fide copy of it this afternoon from Other. While listening to the excellent, build-up, tension and release tactics employed on "A Final Warning," it dawned on me that I had heard this track somewhere before. Something by Neu!? Can? Oh yeah....the hot jam flowing out of "Piper" from the Phish show on 12/12/97 in Albany, NY. Dan Snaith is a closet hippie. It's ok; Phish shows never got better than they did in December of 1997. TMOHK is all about crazy drums fills and misty-eyed keyboard grooves. One of the best things I've heard this year.

I also felt bad for playing the crap out of the new Sufjan Stevens before it's July release, so I picked up his Greetings From Michigan record too.

And wouldn't cha know, but the new Nine Inch Nails is far better than anyone would have a right to expect it to be. But Reznor already makes about 15 times as much money as I could hope to see in my lifetime, and I'm paying through the nose to see him on Monday, so I can live without giving him my 15 bucks. I'm assuming he feels differently though....

Brooklynvegan drew my attention to what is apparently a questionably funny joke from Brooklyn based doom metallers Type O Negative. A link in the comments section on BV's site seems to establish that it's not 4 Real; fortunate considering how much the Bloody Kisses record kicks ass. Kinda tasteless, even for them, and especially in light of Dimebag Darrell's passing.

Sometimes I get to Listen to New Music....

2005-05-08T22:18:00.000-04:00

When I'm not cursing at WFAN or making New York a kinder, gentler place for landlords and their rent-stabilized tenants, I get to listen to stuff. Stuff like.....

The National - Alligator - This is one of those bands that I'd been aware of for months without ever actually having heard anything by them. In fact, when I wanted to go see Palomar at the Merc a few months ago, the gig ended up being sold out because unbeknownest to me, the National were the headliner, and I guess they've got a following. CMG gave their new record a positive write-up, and Rajeev at OL recently said that they sound like Tindersticks; which can only be a positive thing. He's right. They do sound a hell of a lot like Tindersticks. The lead singer only sings in a seductive baritone, and nearly every song has the sexy, sloooowcore R&B feel that's practically been trademarked by the aforementioned Brits for the past 14 years or so. Unlike Tindersticks however, The National can actually do uptempo and rockin' without sounding embarassing. Eerie, sexually charged lyrics too. I think I'm going to like this record.

Mercury Rev - The Secret Migration -Been out in the U.K. for awhile, comes out here in two weeks. I wanted Pitchfork's review to be wrong, but they're actually on the money for once. Johnathan Donahue has finally turned into a bonafide dirty hippie. Migration mostly lacks the mystery and darkness that made Deserter's Songs awesome, and All is Dream tolerable; instead trafficking in wide-eyed, hippie, new-aged crap-some of which The Magic Numbers would have a hard time digesting. Sample lyric - "In the wilderness, nothing is what it seems/In the wilderness, life is but a dream!" Bernard Sumner is taking notes.

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois - I feel more than a little dirty writing about this because it doesn't hit stores until July (something I was not aware of when a leak came my way). But it's nothing short of fantastic. 74 minutes long, and I have yet to completely digest the second side because songs 1-12 are so good. To be honest, this is the first SS album I've ever listened to; having been scared off by his tendency to embrace his Christian faith and the simple fact that the new wave of indie-folk generally isn't my bag. But I need to hear more, and everyone tells me that Greetings From Michigan is also excellent, and similar in it's use of dozens of instruments, female backing vocals, and mid-fi production. Must pick that up. "Jacksonville," "Chicago," and "Casimir Pulaski Day" are among the greatest songs I've heard this year.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - I like the Grateful Dead. Ryan Adams likes the Grateful Dead. This sounds like The Dead. Easily his most palatable effort since Heartbreaker.

The Raveonettes - Pretty in Black - An impulse buy on the part of the Girlfriend on the same trip that I impulsively bought the National record. I generally thought of these guys as a more gimmicky, Scandinavian answer to the White Stripes with a Phil Spector obsession, but this is surprisingly excellent after a few listens. Generally speaking, the "E! Online" reviews hosted at Metacritic are remarkably stupid and over laudatory, but their review of PiB stating that Quentin Tarantino has a soundtrack to his new movie actually makes a little sense. There's spaghetti Western sounding ditties not unlike the Nancy Sinatra tune that opened up Kill Bill Vol. 1, more than a handful of Spector-esque tributes (Ronnie even chips in at one point), and a variety of styles and sounds far more expansive than anything on their first two albums (well...a full length album and the mini album that was Whip it On). Time will tell if it sticks, but so far, I like.

Sitting on the hard drive.....Nine Inch Nails, Caribou, Architecture in Helsinki.....

Dave likes our record. Das should make us happy. It does not.

Mother Nature's a bitch

2005-05-03T00:08:00.000-04:00

It's ten minutes past midnight, and the Mets just beat the Phillies 10 minutes ago 5-1 on the strength of another very solid Pedro start, a 4-5 Reyes performance, and most importantly, what Howie Rose told me was a towering 3 run HR from Carlos Beltran. Cliff "arguably the hottest hitter in all of baseball right now," (Rose's words, not mine) continued to be just that, going 2 for 4 with a stolen base and increasing his hitting streak to what I believe is 18 games. Huzzah!

I'm unquestionably a little biased, but I have very little negative to say about the WFAN radio duo of Gary Cohen and Howie Rose. Especially the latter, who also happens to be a rabid Beatles collector, and whose call of Todd Zeile's second HR in last year's Mets/Phils game on June 2nd (the one where Zeile tied it with a HR and hit another in his next at bat) was arguably the finest display of unbridled enthusiasm/fandom that I've heard on a radio broadcast. And he calls a hell of an Islanders game too.

Notice how I said ten minutes past midnight. This was either the slowest nine inning game ever, or one severely delayed by rain. The over two hour rain delay, plus the winds and 45 degree weather, was enough to send my freezing ass back home on the 7- train before this game got underway. My seats were directly behind home plate (upper deck though), and I always relish me a Pedro start, but not at the expense of being as incredibly uncomfortable as I'm guessing most of the crowd was at this game. Inclement weather didn't stop me from blowing 12 bucks on a beer and a sausage though....

I'll never consider myself to be a rabid Weezer fan. I own all of their records, and like everybody else, would easily place Pinkerton among my favorite albums from the latter half of the 90's, but I never collected Weezer singles or adorned my college dorm room with a gigantic blue flashing "W" like some dudes I knew at Rutgers. It's unquestionable that neither the Green Album nor Maladroit come close to being as solid as the first two Weezer records, but I never sold them back, nor would I refer to them as being offensive.

I've heard the leak about a half dozen times at this point, and must say that Make Believe is the first Weezer record to be so utterly horrendous that I would place it into the "offensive" category. It's predictable as all hell, and even more annoying. Song 3 ("This is Such a Pity"...that's the actual title) makes me physically ill, and if fans thought that "Beverly Hills" was a crap single (which it is), second single "We Are All On Drugs" will have them jumping off of a bridge. I'm guessing that Make Believe will get 4 stars in Rolling Stone, and hopefully the shit reviews it deserves from everybody else. Cuomo should've called it quits after Pinkerton.

Value and rock shows....

2005-05-01T22:04:00.000-04:00

Mucho apologies for the utter lack of posts last week. One would be surprised how difficult it can be to find a free 25 minutes or so, and blogging at work is generally verboten. Still, laziness also played a bit of a role. The Mets are tied 3-3 with the Nationals in the 7th, but let's concentrate on more musical exploits this time around.

So yeah, I'm assuming that most folks in the blogger universe are going to see New Order at the Hammerstein this week. I opted to pass considering the roughly $95 price for two tix before service charge. Last night I saw Stars at Southpaw ($15.00), seeing Decemberists on Wednesday ($17.50), and just bought tickets for Sleater-Kinney at Roseland ($21.00). So essentially I can see three relatively young, exciting acts for the price of one New Order show. Nothing against New Order, whose latest record Waiting For the Siren's Call is surprisingly solid, but until I make a little more scratch, sacrifices must be made (then again, I still probably would have gotten shut out). Hope you're down with the man who wrote "here comes love, it's like honey!" vocalizing "She's Lost Control."

Speaking of Sleater-Kinney, shame on you if you haven't visited their recently updated website yet. Take the quiz, download the new single, read the blog, but just make sure the volume on your computer is low because the first thing you'll hear is the LOUD power chords from opening Woods track "The Fox." Not safe for work without the mute button. You've been warned.

Regarding the Stars show at Southpaw...it's a shame the battery on my camera was completely shot because the "mezzanine" level really allows photo-ready bloggers to take some fantastic shots. I've only seen five shows at that venue, and while I remain in love with the Southpaw baseball cards in the men's room (Sid Fernandez....nice), sightlines, and variety of Brooklyn on tap (Mmmm...Pennant Ale), they have got to do something about the air conditioning there, or lack thereof. Always a hot box. I'm a big supporter of Stars' recent Set Yourself On Fire, and the band essentially played all of the good songs off of that record, plus a smattering off of their prior release Heart (nothing off of Nightsongs...not even their Smiths cover). Lots of crazy prancing and witty stage banter from frontman Torquil Campbell (apparently every Stars song is about 'fucking'), and they somehow managed to cram seven musicians onstage. While their performance was very tight and energetic, the show suffered from a weak sound mix, placing too much emphasis on the snare drum and too much volume overall ; making for a bit of a shrill din. Still, the interplay between Campbell and co-vocalist/guitarist Amy Milan carried the day, and their infectious energy on songs like "Reunion," "What I'm Trying To Say" and show opener "Set Yourself On Fire" was much fun to behold. It's refreshing to see so many people enjoy such an unabashed pop outfit, and I won't hesitate to check them out again. The next time for New Yorkers will probably be Summerstage as the opening act on a Decemberists/Death Cab For Cutie bill, and I could see myself attending that show, if leaving before the headliner comes on.

I'm a bit slow to report on this, but I joined members of OL , MMM , and peephole at the Tribeca Film Festival showing of 9 Songs last week, which for those out of the loop, is the latest film from 24 Hour Party People director Michael Winterbottom, and promises the viewer hardcore sex with hardcore live Brit-pop. And well....yeah, that's what the viewer gets. The music scenes were far more engaging than the sex scenes; the latter of which seemed more than a little awkward and borderline creepy....like walking in on your sister in the act. But the live performances (BRMC, Von Bondies, Super Furries, Franz, Primal Scream, among others) were well shot and extremely well mixed; Elbow actually looked like a totally kick ass band. The couple in the movie consists of a British dude and an American girl who leaves him at the end of the movie. Eh, no big loss. What kind of girl willingly goes to see Elbow and the Von Bondies but stays home when SFA is in town?

Far better was the TBFF showing of Punk Attitude, the latest in what seems like a long line of movies to explore the 70's punk explosion and the players therein. What made this movie better than most was a very large amount of interview footage, some interesting live performances, and an emphasis on seldom covered acts such as The Screamers, X-Ray Spex and The Slits; the latter being a big influence on Sleater-Kinney and whose frontwoman, Ari Up, appeared to have been on some really good shit during her interview portions. Just when it seems like the movie is running a bit long, it jumps ahead some 15 years or so, and the last 25 minutes is a jumbled mess as it somehow tries to reconcile hip-hop, the 80's, Nirvana, and nu-metal in...uh....25 minutes. Regardless, better than most rock docs., and worth it for Henry Rollins's spot on imitation of every Limp Bizkit song at the end of the movie ("if I was a 17-year old, I'd be like...yeah!"). And apparently, part of being punk rock is having really lousy dental hygiene; I have never wanted to brush three times daily as much in my life after witnessing the chompers on all the interviewees in this movie.

And yeah...back to using "Arial" for my font.

Didn't see this comin....(yeah right)

2005-04-20T22:53:00.000-04:00

It's like the late Michael Hutchence once quipped, "sometimes you kick, sometimes you get kicked." The Aaron Heilman that the NL East knows and loves made an unsurprising return to form in the Mets' 9-2 whupping at the hands of the Fish a few hours ago. Heilman is an incredibly frustrating pitcher to watch in that flashes of brilliance are simply marred by his utter inability to keep the ball down. When he keeps it low and movin', he's unhittable. But nearly every fifth pitch simply dies in the heart of the strike zone. I feel like I could hit those pitches. If nothing else, he did make Carlos Delgado look like the bitch that he is on more than one occasion.
While I think it's certainly possible that Josh Beckett peaked early, when he's on, it's like watching Eric Gagne reborn as a starter (I realize the latter began as a starter....but you know what I mean). 96 mph fastballs chased by 74 mph curves on the corners. Gets plenty wild from time to time, but most of the time....yikes.

Even more depressing is that due to the continuance of the Time/Warner blackout, I was forced to watch the game at Reservoir at 11th and University. Common sense dictates I can't hit the bar every night, and between last night's romp and tomorrow's Pedro action, methinks I picked the wrong night. Reservoir is actually a decent place to catch a game. It's not a Mets bar, but it's not not a Mets bar, lots of tvs, and the jukebox is packed with bands that I never listen to anymore, but get a kick out of hearing because I loved them sophomore year of high school (e.g. Blues Traveller, Black Crowes). And it gets me nostalgic because it's right around the corner from my law school alma matter. But regarding the Time/Warner, Cablevision debacle....don't these people (esp. Jimmy Dolan) fear hell?

First Impressions on highly awaited new singles from big bands-

White Stripes - "Blue Orchid" - Sounds a lot like DFA1979. Not the monster "Seven Nation Army" was, but still pretty bad ass once you get used to Jack White's falsetto.

(quick interruption based on the television...is it just me, or should VH1 Classic be renamed to 'endless stream of mid-80's Depeche Mode videos?')

Coldplay - "Speed of Sound" - "Clocks" part-deux, only happy. Pretty decent nonetheless. Safe as milk choice for a first single.

Springsteen - "Devils and Dust" - Not even sure if this is the first single or not. Starts mellow, builds big. Good enough, but kind of melodramatic, even for him. I thought Brendan "super AOR sheen" O'Brien's production nearly ruined his last record, and the production unfortunately sounds wholly similar here.

(television interruption...the Stop Making Sense version of "This Must be the Place (naive melody)" on VH1 Classic. Nice. Maybe it's not all DM videos. UPDATE- now the B 52's "Legal Tender" is on. sweet.).

That's all for now....

Burn, Baby, Burn....

2005-04-18T22:50:00.000-04:00

No sooner do I get home from seeing Ash at the Bowery than I learn that despite staging a now all too typical late inning rally capped by a Cliff Floyd jack, the Mets lost to the Phillies 5-4. Kaz Ishii walked 6 batters, and at one point supposedly threw 11 balls out of the strike zone in a row, but most half-way decent teams can overcome 5 runs. When was the last time the Mets got more than 5 runs? Methinks the home opener. Could be wrong. Kinda sad.

Ash played a very solid set of their high octane power pop; consisting mostly tracks off of their relatively recent (new in the U.S., 10 months old in the U.K.) disc Meltdown, plus the expected U.K. hits (e.g. "Burn Baby Burn," "Shining Light," "Girl From Mars" etc.). While peppy frontman/eternal teenager Tim Wheeler is a suitably energetic frontman, it's lead guitarist Charlotte Hatherly who steals the show, partly because she gets to play the best riffs, mostly because she's hot...especially when her bangs get in her eyes. The venue was only about half full for Ash's set, which is unsurprising considering how incredibly poorly they've been marketed in the U.S., but still unfortunate because their best songs are tailor-made for losing your shit. I'm sure the U.K. audiences give them the enthusiasm they deserve, but not so much here.

NYC whipping boys/New York Magazine subjects du jour The Bravery performed after Ash, but I didn't see 'em. Although I was more than a little curious to see if they were really as awful as purist Brandon Flowers would lead you to believe, I wasn't about to find out at 11 o'clock on a school night. And this is from someone who thinks that "Honest Mistake" and "Fearless" are actually somewhat decent little tunes.

Oh yeah, the Mets lost yesterday too, at the hands of Florida hard thrower and Beavis look alike A.J. Burnett. I only mention this because Dave O'Brien spent several minutes in the booth discussing how Burnett is unique amongst ball players in that he has a variety of body piercings (O'Brien knows this how?) and his favorite band is Marilyn Manson. So much so that while lesser players label their bats with either their own, or female names, Burnett's bat really and truly says Marilyn Manson on it. He has another bat labelled Zombie (maybe in reference to White Zombie? Quit livin' in 1996, dude). Granted, Marilyn Manson probably does come off as fairly revolutionary in the clubhouse boombox among the more common likes of 50 Cent and Toby Keith, but somehow I can't help but think we need The Spaceman now more than ever.

Likes Marilyn Manson, fastball hits 98 on the gun.

Sheff's a bitch.

2005-04-14T23:09:00.000-04:00

Right now the Baseball Tonight gods are praising Gary Sheffield for his "restraint" in only taking a single violent swipe at a drunken BoSox fan in right field who may have been reaching for the ball, or for Sheff's dome. Hard to tell. Actions after the swipe included a weak throw to the infield, followed by Sheffield getting up in the dude's face, and said dude getting rightfully ejected. The right field wall in Fenway is close enough to the field that drunken fans can do these sort of things. BoSox won by the way, beating Randy Johnson 8-5.

I will always be of the belief that barring an extreme situation; such as the ugly KC Royals incident from two years ago or say, when a solitary fan literally charged the mound against this former Met, part of being a professional athlete means realizing that you make far too much money to take out your frustrations on fans. Drunken fans can be assholes. Suck it up and show a little restraint. The 'heat of the moment' argument always rings hollow to these ears. Sheffield's brief outburst will probably only get him a slap on the wrist, and wasn't nearly as heinous as Artest-gate or that chair throwing incident with the Texas Rangers last year, but he's still a bitch.

The only reason that I mentioned the Sheff thing before discussing the Mets' 4th win in a row, is that the Amazin's game was kinda boring. This could be because I was forced to listen to it on internet radio, but seldom has one team done so much with so little. Hardly any of their 4 runs were the result of balls leaving the infield, but rather Jose Reyes's killer speed, poor Astros fielding, and Johnny Franco's complete inability to keep his former team from scoring on him. Should have bowed out gracefully, dude. Whatever. A win is a win, though a little long ball action would be welcome. Expect a loss tomorrow night (Heilman). And oh yeah, Mikey still sucks.

Saturday ought to be a motherfucker....2 dollar tickets for Pedro/Leiter at 1:00 and then Thurston/Kim at 7:00. Better stock up on Red Bull.

Am I wrong for thinking that "Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare All)" by Type-O Negative (Brooklyn stand up!) is one of the greatest goth-metal songs ever?

Quit hatin' on me, Dave.

"Next Year Is Waiting Until the 8th Inning...Every Game."

2005-04-12T19:43:00.001-04:00

Well....it may be too soon in the season to say that the title of this post always holds true, but damn if opening day at Shea wasn't similar to the Pedro/Smoltz battle that preceded it. Two (former?) aces locked in a pretty decent pitcher's duel, and the Amazin's once again waited until the 8th to blow the game open with a 5-spot. Differences between yesterday's game and Sunday would be that Glavine left in the 6th, creating the opportunity for Manny Aybar and Dae-Sung Koo to immediately cough up a two run lead (do I hear Heath Bell?), and that the long ball was completely absent. But timely pinch-hitting (Cairo and Anderson...both batting .667 if memory serves), woefully inept outfielding (courtesy of the Astros), and a classic Johnny Franco performance allowed the Mets to carry the day. Not to be lost were 2 very clutch hits from Kaz Matsui (to make up for some of the saddest looking hacks this side of Al Leiter), and consistently awe-inspiring (well....by Mets standards for the past 7 years) 1st base work by Dougie M. No way in hell Piazza or JP would have made half of those plays last year.

Shea is still a viral cess pool, opening day still brings out the dirtiest Mets fans imaginable, the price of hot dogs has increased, and for some reason the magnetic calendar is a heck of a lot harder to read than it was last year. Either that or I'm going blind. Let's Go Mets.

A job well done.

2005-04-12T19:43:00.000-04:00

Piazza and Beltran have been known to take many forms.

Weekend Notes....

2005-04-10T22:53:00.000-04:00

First, some kvetching.

It's official; the second season of Deadwood now makes NO SENSE WHATSOEVER.

Normally whatever cloudy state my mind is in from watching the aforementioned show can be helped by watching the very entertaining Boston Legal on ABC at 10, but the latter is on an all too long hiatus to make room for Grey's Anatomy, which SUCKS. Imagine Scrubs, except not spine-splittingly funny, overlong, and melodramatic. Supposedly Boston Legal is going to take a Monday night slot when it comes back later this month. Not the worst of ideas....nothing worth watching on Mondays otherwise, and seldom any baseball games.

Finally, I just learned that the Coney Island Siren Festival is on Saturday July 16th. I'm a groomsman in a wedding on the 16th. This is the danger of having "friends" who don't listen to good music.

Now for some good news. The Mets finally played a game this season that didn't suck. Pedro Martinez would appear to be 4 Real, pitching a complete game 2-hitter with 9 K's. It was almost for naught; aging starter, turned closer, turned starter John Smoltz struck out 15 (!) Amazin's and gave up no runs until the floodgates opened with a Carlos Beltran dinger in the 8th, followed by the same from Cliff Floyd and David Wright.

John Smoltz is one of the few members of the Atlanta Braves who I can't really say I dislike. He loves the game, is well-spoken, and is a shoe-in for an ESPN 'Baseball Tonight' job when he decides to call it quits. Still, anyone who goes on record as voting for Dubya "because he's a man of character" deserves to lose a game where he strikes out 15 batters (then again, hating Republicans and cheering on baseball players is hypocrisy on the level of hating drugs and cheering on rock musicians, so maybe I should just shut up).

And speaking of rock musicians, yours truly finally got to see The Fiery Furnaces this past Saturday at the death trap that is Webster Hall. Even though the place has seemingly increased in size since I was last there, and they widened the entrance doorway to the main hall, the horrendous exit situation (narrow, only one, lots of stairs) will still leave the audience fucked beyond fucked should a (heaven forbid) Great White-like fiasco occur. Someone with some influence should speak up.

But as for the show....t'was interesting. I literally hadn't seen the band live since they opened for Sleater-Kinney back in the summer of 2003, and while that show featured two drummers and Eleanor Friedberger on guitar, only one drummer this time, and Eleanor was restricted to vocals, while her brother handled all the axe work. Furthermore, it was really obvious that Eleanor had a serious head cold, and her voice was reduced to a ragged croak by the evening's end. The set itself was wholly different than last Thursday's Northsix gig chronicled by OneLouder andMMM; completely in the "medley" mode that they've done in the past--which is to say comprised of bits and pieces of all of their songs, somehow strung together in one hour long chunk. Songs get played faster, slower, backwards, louder,...you'll pick out a lyric here, a Wurlitzer hook there, etc. This is all held together by a drummer who acts like Animal from the Muppets, but all too often gets stuck playing a basic 4/4 when he can't figure out what else to do.

This musical approach was appealing, and would have likely been more so had Eleanor not completely lost her voice. However, lots of the melodies inherent in the Furnaces' best songs get buried in the guitar heavy mix, and Matthew Friedberger's over-reliance on effects becomes grating over time. Melody was in short supply; pummeled into submission from the guitar heavy assault, only giving way when Matthew took over on the Wurlitzer Electric Piano; an instrument which was responsible for delivering many of the recognizable hooks and/or transitions. The medley lasted around 50 minutes, and was followed by two encores consisting of some new songs, and "Here Comes The Summer" from their recent EP. All in all, a fun time, made even more so from seeing the confused faces of the Webster Hall 'regulars' who were there for the Saturday night "singles auction." gross.

Dead-ly Widsom

2005-04-04T21:45:00.000-04:00

We here at SoF have two passions, that of music, and that of (Mets) baseball. We're also not ashamed to admit that we like the Dead. With that in mind, I direct the reader to this long celebrated short essay about the similarities between Dead shows and baseball games by David Gans, longtime host of the nationally syndicated Grateful Dead Hour. His contributions to the Dead community over the years can allow me to look past the fact that when I got a chance to interview him back in college, he was less than nice (I had to pay for the long distance call to Oakland, CA too).

While I'm reluctant to beat a dead horse, if this afternoon's Mets game was a Grateful Dead show, it'd have been a gig from the summer of '85; known for otherwise good shows ( by 80's Dead standards anyway) that were often completely derailed at the end by the band's frequent decision to encore with "Day Job," a horrendous short lived pop tune that was thankfully retired by '87. Yeah.

Ouch.

2005-04-04T17:30:00.000-04:00

"It's only Game 1 and I'm already completely fed up" - SoF's roommate.

That basically sums it up.

Generally speaking, 12 K's from your starting pitcher, 3 HRs from your starting lineup, and 4 RBIs from your young, studly centerfielder, is more than anyone could ask for on opening day.

But Mets will be Mets will be Mets, and nobody should be overly surprised that Braden Looper, who spent most of the spring getting shelled, lost the game on back to back jacks in the bottom of the ninth. They say that once surly Pedro has changed his ways, but ten bucks says they don't sit next to each other on the plane ride to Atlanta later in the week. And to think of all the wasted time spent on MLB Gamecast. Someone get Ugie Urbina on the phone stat.

Long time, no posts.

2005-04-03T17:43:00.000-04:00

Last week was a bit of a wash for SoF....which I blame on another intense workweek, and the fact that I was sick for at least half of that workweek (bit did I stay home? hell no).

Mets baseball officially kicks into high gear tomorrow, and for now it looks like angry New Yorkers will have no choice but to listen to it on the radio. It goes without saying that this is seriously fucked up. I was hoping that tomorrow's game just might have been carried on ESPN so I could tape it, but such does not appear to be the case for New Yorkers. Looks like I'm taking a long-ass lunch break at 2:15 to enjoy the satellite dish at the TGIFridays near my work tomorrow. Mmmm....overpriced Cobb Salad....

Jason at the ever reliable Always Amazin' has some thoughts about who the Mets opted to keep on the active roster, and I agree with more or less everything he says. Unless there's something I'm blissfully unaware of, holding onto Felix Heredia while shipping Matt Ginter to Detroit seems like a horrific idea, and 3 lefties in the BP strikes me as excessive. When Heredia gets battered like cod fish, hopefully Wille/Rick will realize that Heath Bell is merely a phone call away. I too would rather see Victor Diaz warm the bench than Marlon Anderson, but I'm guessing he'll get his swings in sooner than later.

Music wise, one band that's been in extremely heavy iPod rotation as of late is these four dudes from Greensboro, NC calling themselves TigerBearWolf. I don't deny that this is a really stupid name for a band, but like the carnivorous animals that comprise their namesake, this record is completely ferocious. Think of Fugazi on a serious Deep Purple kick, or At the Drive-In reborn as a biker band. Maybe neither of those descriptions sounds overly appealing, but let it be said that the album rocks with a purity unlike any I've heard in quite some time. Credit is due to Amir Nezar, a fellow CMG writer responsible for turning us all on to the band. His review of the disc features some MP3s for download, and can be read here. These guys play the Knit a week from Tuesday, but I think I might wait for the hopefully inevitable Mercury Lounge gig, only because I've come to find that I'm usually far too tired to enjoy Tuesday night shows from bands that aren't named Yo La Tengo, or Sleater-Kinney.

Birthday Wishes...

2005-03-25T12:56:00.000-05:00

To Tommy Glavine who turns 39 today. Only 38 wins to go to reach 300 dude!

OneLouder reports that tickets for New Order, May 5th at the Hammerstein Ballroom go onsale next Friday (April Fools day in fact). Between that show, and Decemberists at IP the day before, the first week o' May is looking fun indeed.

Completely off topic from music and/or Mets baseball, March 25th holds an interesting spot in the hearts of landlord/tenant lawyers like this blogger, or NYC history buffs w/ a taste for the macabre. March 25th is the day that Triangle Factory Fire broke out in 1911, as well as the day of the tragic Happyland Social Club inferno in 1990. There's memorials going on in the city right now as we speak. Don't say SoF never teaches you anything. Back to work....

First Impressions....

2005-03-23T08:56:00.000-05:00

Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze - Listened to the first half about 4 times, second half (as in, beginning with "Someone's In the Wolf") twiece. Better than I would have expected. I don't miss Nick Oliveri at all. There's a run of songs in the middle of the record...."Burn the Witch," "In My Head," "Little Sister," "I Never Came," and the aformentioned "Wolf" that's practically flawless in terms of both hooks and badass geetar playing. I find it hilarious and a little unsettling that Josh Homme actually utters the word 'p-ssy' in the rockin' kiss off "Broken Box." I mean, with that title, I guess it should be expected, but it comes out of nowhere.

The Decemberists - Picaresque -Listened to it all the way through twice. I realize that the phrase 'first impressions' is a little silly considering this leaked ages ago, but good soldier that I am, excepting "The Infanta", I had never heard the record until its release yesterday. This appears to be pretty great too. Far more dynamic than the band's prior releases with nary a reason to press the skip button. Heavier instrumentation, a couple of songs that sound like instant Decemberists classics ("The Bagman's Gambit," "The Infanta," "Sixteen Military Wives"), and of course, not one, but two sea shanties chockful of accordion tailor-made for the next sailor's ball. I always find it interesting how high Colin Meloy's vocals are mixed on Decemberists records....you can really digest all of the lyrics on the first take.

That's it for now....

March sadness.

2005-03-20T23:31:00.000-05:00

They say a fool and his money are soon parted. I'm forced to agree, if only because the words "new" and "Woody Allen movie" have been synonomous with "shit" for the past six years or so, and I still went and saw Melinda and Melinda this weekend. It was better than Curse of the Jade Scorpion, but my roommate tells me that Meteora is a 'way better' record than Hybrid Theory too. Oh, to have been living in NYC back when the Woodman was as consistent as these guys.

The Mets homepage would lead me to believe that this afternoon's game was interesting as spring games go, but I still couldn't watch it due to the Time/Warner, Cablevision impasse. So long as they've kissed and made up by opening day, I won't complain too much. I think I will be forced to complain about the Jason Phillips for Kaz Ishii deal though. In addition to the inherent difficulties of having two guys on one team named Kaz, Phillips had seriously gotten his act together this spring, was equally adept at playing 1b or catcher, and caught virtually every game Tom Glavine pitched in 2004. Ishii will be a serviceable 5th starter, and puts up reasonable workhorse numbers, but I still don't think the Mets are putting nearly enough faith in Matt Ginter, and correct me if I'm wrong...but doesn't this mean that after Mikey goes down in the first week of the season, our savior is a career .212 hitter who once had troubles with Johnny Law for spousal abuse?

Pour a little for the Connecticut Huskies, who capped off a very up and down season with an embarrasing defeat at the hands of N.C. State. Having spent his formative years living in Connecticut, this blogger is bummed at seeing the Huskies get knocked out this soon, only if because up until a few years ago , they were the closest thing that CT natives had to a full blown professional sports team (pour a little for The Whalers too). Granted, it's not like UCONN didn't win it all last year, but living in Connecticut is boring, and Husky-mania always gives those in the Nutmeg state a little something to be excited about come March. Not so much this time around.

A crazy work schedule kept me from writing anything about the Doves concert last week, and Brooklyn Vegan has already included a fine page that compiles reviews from just about everyone I attended the show with, so I'm not going to say much about it now, except that it was very good and I agree with most of what's already been said. Regarding the Magic Numbers though...my only exposure to them prior to the Doves gig was via their vocalizing on the latest Chemical Brothers disc, and based off of their voices alone, I did not expect them to look like the considerably furry hippies they are (I'd provide a website, but you try googling 'magic numbers' with any degree of success). They were all excellent musicians and singers (especially the bass player...super tight!), but in terms of schmaltz....let's just say they make Belle and Sebastian sound like Fugazi. Hope you have a high tolerance for songs about love!

Decemberists, Queens of the Stone Age, M.I.A., and the Yo La best of all coming out this Tuesday = me eating lots of ramen noodles Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Cheers.

Say it ain't so....

2005-03-18T09:04:00.000-05:00

As was basically expected based off of the acquisition of Miguel Cairo and surprisingly able backup shortstop Chris Woodward, the Mets went and released Joe McEwing yesterday. "Super" Joe was a fan favorite based off of his drive, can-do attitude, and ability to play a bunch of positions, if not his bat. Sort like Rudy at Notre Dame, McEwing had the heart and soul, if not the stats. Despite batting something like .450 against Randy Johnson, Mets fans couldn't help but groan when the man stepped to the bat, if only because the man was a light-hitter. And just when he started to get a bunch of playing time last year, and improve his stats, his season was ended on a take-out slide by some rookie punk on Colorado. At least the Mets let him have two weeks before the start of the season to find a new home. Like Old Yeller in the backyard, SoF views this Mets move as bittersweet, but necessary, and for the best.

As an aside....couldn't resist anymore and found a copy of Sleater-Kinney's The Woods yesterday. It's supposed to be a noisy record, but supposedly the "official word from Sub Pop" was that the version I was hearing was unmastered. I question this slightly, if only because many folks have said that so-called "official" versions of the record also appear unmastered, but that's what the band was going for. But there's "noisy" and there's "sounds like Bleach-era Nirvana demos with Jason Everman" noisy. This copy of The Woods is the latter, and I can't believe that the band, or Friddman, would've have rubber stamped the record sounding like that. I listened once and took it off the drive. Cheers.

Back, back, back....

2005-03-13T23:26:00.000-05:00

It's been nearly a week since SoF has been updated, which I attribute to an absolutely brutal work week (and this one could be just as bad). I have never valued the weekend so much in my young existence. Apologies.

Despite Mets spring training games being on for nearly two weeks now, this afternoon was the first time I was actually able to watch one, on account of it being on the WB. I treat spring training games on tv like all tv golf that isn't The Masters or U.S. Open; interesting for about 30 minutes, then pleasant background noise. Studly pitcher Kris Benson hurled a very solid 4-innings, and Tom "fuck modesty" Seaver didn't annoy me nearly as much as he usually does, probably only because I was just grateful to watch baseball on the tube again. He and Ted Robinson spent the entire afternoon discussing Tiger-hall of famer Al Kaline; more or less oblivious to what was happening on the field.

One of my closest friends from high school plays bass in a Providence, RI based ska-pop/college-y rock band called Zox. Though I'm not a huge fan of the genre, Zox is very good at what they do, and they played a fine gig at the Tribeca Rock Club this past Saturday. The TRC is hardly one of my favorite venues; structured like a railroad-style apartment and featuring surly older barmaids who do not give you your 6 dollar Heinekens with a smile. Fortunately, they seldom book any bands that I'm dying to see (mostly jamrock and middling blues bands), and the crowd is always comprised of drunk kids about seven years younger than I, which I find amusing. I'm assuming they don't card.

I've been listening to the Kaiser Chiefs record for about a week now (officially out this Tuesday), and I'm convinced that people who claim to enjoy Brit-pop, but have an aversion to this band need to lighten up. It's as pure a single-oriented Brit-pop record as I've heard in some time. Immaculate production, and every song is baited with multiple hooks. Minimal depth, but maximum pogo-action. I'm bummed I didn't get a ticket to their Bowery Ballroom show.

The NY Times printed a very interesting article (registration required) today about a new music venue opening in April on 2nd and Avenue C called "The Stone." The operation is run by John Zorn, and sounds to be very much in the vein of Tonic should that place be forced to call it a day. Apparently all of the ticket money is going directly to the musicians, and the only thing they plan to sell onsite is exclusive live CD's (eg, no booze).

Finally, I just finished reading the Anthony Kiedis autobiography Scar Tissue, a book that I, rest assured, would have never purchased had the girlfriend not thought it cute to buy me a copy for Valentine's Day. It was actually a rather amusing read in a guilty pleasure sense, although I have to wonder how AK was able to remember all of the stuff that goes on in the book, considering that he's either shooting up or smoking crack cocaine every three pages (it's to his credit that he didn't seem nearly as fucked up in RHCP Behind the Music). I won't give too much of the game away for those that think they might be interested in reading, but I will offer this-I had no idea that "I Could Have Lied" is basically about Kiedis's failed attempt at bedding Sinead O'Connor ("Flea and I loved The Lion and the Cobra, and she was this tough bald chick in combat boots"). Now I think I need to read Marilyn Manson's autobiography.

Statute of Frauds = Metal Manic

2005-03-07T22:42:00.000-05:00

We here are open to all types of music at SoF, but we're entitled to likes and dislikes, and 8 times out of 10, those likes seldom include theatrical bands of the nu-metal ilk. But we're not eliteist, so when my roommate asked me two months ago if I wanted to pay 40 bucks and go see Slipknot at a hockey arena in New Jersey, I said "eh, why not."

For those out of the loop, Slipknot are eight beefy dudes from Iowa who play a considerably theatrical blend of classic speed metal and the not-so classic rap metal kind; buoyed by ferocious drumming and the typical unintelligble metal growl of vocalist Corey Taylor. They all wear costumes and masks, refer to each other by numbers 1-8, and have a fiercely rabid fanbase who refer to themselves as "maggots." Rock!

There were two opening bands at this show-Shadows Fall and Lamb of God. It was pleasing to know that both bands were firmly entrenched in the more old-school vein of Slayer and Sepultura than say, Korn. No whining about how Daddy abused them when they were little, no horrible rapping; just unintelligble screaming. Both bands featured crazy, Dave Lombardo-styled double kick drum action, fleet-fingered leads to complement heavy riffage, guitarists with long hair who were able to whip their locks in perfect time to the music, and most importantly, no DJs. Lamb of God seemed to have ever so slightly more variety to their sound-including a willingness to play in 6/8 time, but Shadows Fall was the better of the two groups; if only for vocalist Phil Lebonte's 5-foot dreadlocks and timely shout out to "our fallen brother, Dimebag, fucking Darrell!" (this is also the guy who refused to cancel shows even when he had laryngitis, saying that 'if Curt Schilling can win the World Series with a bloody ankle, then I sure as hell can sing with laryngitis.' Shadows Fall are from Massachusetts) I guess it's an unwritten rule in metal stage patter that you aren't truly metal unless you drop an F-bomb in between every other word. But I guess real metalheads are some truly crazy fucking motherfuckers, so it's ok.

If there's one thing to be said about Slipknot, it's that they at least have a sense of humor. Entitling a song "People=Shit" is funny enough, but the humor is taken up a notch when the song is accompanied onstage by two large monitors that quite literally spell out that People=Shit. Same goes for the song with the chorus "If you're 555, then I'm 666!!!!" But maybe the funniest thing about the band is how they have 8 members, yet only 5 of them really do much of anything other than run around and hump the two extra drumkits that the band has set up on the sides of the stage (imagine if the Mighty Mighty Bosstones had two extra dancers in addition to Ben Carr, or Radiohead had multiple Ed O'Briens). Actually, of the three extraneous members, one contributed some muted DJ scratches (ugh), and the other two guys occasionally played their drums as opposed to climbing on them; but the five dudes making the music could stand to make more $$$ per gig if they streamlined the operation a little bit.

It's unquestionable that the 'Knot have serious chops-especially drummer Joey Jordison, who was given a drum solo where his riser was lifted up and spun around a'la Tommy Lee or Palmer from Emerson, Lake and Palmer. They're loud, fast, and demonic sounding; this was the first concert I've ever attended where devil horns were raised and it wasn't meant to be ironic. Some of their newer songs have some ever-so slightly melodic sectons with proggy tendencies, but not enough so to make you think Mike Piazza is a fan. Speaking of fans, Slipknot seem to appreciate theirs; hauling out their double platinum record plaques in between songs and thanking "all of you maggot motherfuckers for making this possible" while stating how "they're honored to play for the fans, and not the other way around." In all seriousness, it was sort of touching.

All in all, a surprisingly good time. But once is plenty.

Most definitely 666.

Into the Woods

2005-03-03T21:11:00.000-05:00

So yeah....I suppose that SoF has very gradually morphed into a sort of Sleater-Kinney fansite, not unlike MMM slowly becoming an Underworld fansite. S-K played the Mercury Lounge last night, and once again this evening. Had this been 2004, I would have gone tonight in a heartbeat-but I didn't work 11-hour days in 2004.

In addition to a handful of (relative) oldies, S-K's set last night consisted of their entire upcoming record The Woods, which I think I've only refrained from illegally seeking out because I've had access to a relatively crisp soundboard copy of their NYE set (essentially the new album) for some time now. Just about everything consistently said about the new material; raw, psychedelic, bass-heavy, Grateful Dead-influenced, is true. Carrie actually seems to play honest-to-goodness barre chords from time to time, and Corin's guitar now sounds capable of playing super-low basslines. And there's mucho fuzz. What some of the new songs lack in speed, they make up for in oom-pah-pah, evidenced by the fact that Janet is allowed to go off now more than ever. OneLouder put it nicely in their review of the show when commenting that Janet owns the new material. Drum fills all over the place. Painfully heavy drum fills. There was literally a point during the punk-rock bridge of new song "Let's Call it Love" where I felt like my skull was about to cave in. I may be mistaken about this-but Janet looks like she uses purposely over-sized drumsticks, which always calls to my mind Tommy Chong behind the drumkit during the "Rockfight" scene in Up in Smoke.

Speaking of "Let's Call It Love," it's the one new song that would appear to be S-K's largest concession to the hippie set as it's apparently always followed by dissonant improvisation that leads into the new song "Night Light." If you were marking this on a Maxell Casette tape, it would read "Let's Call It Love" -> Space Jam -> "Night Light." Not unlike "Help on the Way" -> "Slipknot!" -> "Franklin's Tower" or "Estimated Prophet" ->"Eyes of the World" for all you Deadheads out there. Sorry if that was lame, but the new Sleater material has me extremely excited; if only because it seems to bridge my unabated love of their sound with so many of the late 60's psychedelic acts that I worship.

The not-so new tunes included takes on "O2", "Get Up", "Sympathy" and maybe two others I can't recall, but it's actually a little difficult to imagine much of the older material co-existing with the new songs; so different are their sounds. Some of the tracks on One Beat sort of hint towards the rawness of the songs on The Woods, "Light Rail Coyote" in particular, but it will be most interesting to see a non-small venue Sleater-Kinney show (this June most likely) where they're not purposely showcasing the new album as much as they are now.

Despite me supposedly taking a bunch of pictures, the one below is the only photo that came out well enough to worth posting. Still can't believe The Woods doesn't really hit until May 24.

Secular Jewish female rockage

Death by drumming

2005-03-03T08:56:00.000-05:00

This ain't the full scale Sleater-Kinney concert review I'm sure some may have been looking for, only because I refuse to do another crappy write up at work. More will likely be forthcoming in the evening hours, but suffice it to say, with regard to the new material- JANET, JANET, JANET. Yeah.

Of Baseball and Indie Rock....

2005-03-01T13:56:00.000-05:00

It's considerably crappy outside in NYC, but I'm assuming the temperatures in Port St. Lucie, Florida are far cheerier. At any rate, the Mets open up their "Grapefruit League" exhibition games tomorrow afternoon against the team formerly known as the Montreal Expos. I'll be at work, but I'd be watching at least the first three innings if I was home. I find that even the most diehard baseball fans (including myself) have a difficult time making it through more than 3 innings of an exhibition game (on tv anyway). The marquee guys play maybe the first two....and then you're stuck with the guys with the nameless uniforms numbered 79, 63, 87 and the like. 'Now playing 1st....number 95'

Regarding the musical portion of this post, I'm sure this will be old news to many, but for some reason it only dawned on me this morning on the subway that the Yo La Tengo song "Moby Octopad" is mostly about falling asleep on the couch with the Mets on. YLT never prints their lyrics, and the groovy whispers of the tune focus more on atmosphere than lyrical substance. However, its clearly audible that the chorus begins with "8 oclock the lights are on at Shea" and ends with "Huskey makes the turn and heads for home." I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One was released in 1997; Butch Huskey was the Mets starting first baseman in 1996 (and 1997).

It's no secret that Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan are hardcore Mets fans. With this in mind, I was a little disappointed when Georgia asked me whose number I had on when I was wearing a Leiter jersey at their Hanukah shows this past December. But when I mentioned it was Leiter, who had just signed with the Marlins, she completely redeemed herself by immediately saying- "ah. fuck him." More proof that this is Yo La Tengo's world. We're just fortunate enough to live in it.

Random tidbits...

2005-02-28T23:28:00.000-05:00

Comin' at cha on a snowy Monday evening. That means tomorrow is new release day. Among some of the notables?

Doves - Some Cities - I purposely didn't wear out my purloined copy to give me something to look forward to. Doves' third album isn't quite as deliciously moody as it's first, but also isn't nearly as dull as most of side B of The Last Broadcast. They'll never get the full on Coldplay treatment in the States, but they can still demand upwards of $100 bucks for a pair of tickets to their sold out, upcoming Bowery gig.

Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible - 10th Anniversary Edition - Interesting that there's a 10th Anniversary Edition of a record that was never officially released in the U.S. I'm looking forward to picking this up because in addition to remastering the tinny U.K. recording, it includes the unreleased U.S. mix, which is reportedly far heavier. Despite liking the most recent Manics record, Lifeblood, very much, I won't argue that nothing they've ever written can measure up to the very angry tirades within THB. Remember-this was before disturbed, Cobain-esque gutiarist Richey Edwards disappeared off the face of this earth, and he's responsible for such luscious couplets like "He's a boy/you want a girl so tear off his cock/tie his hair in bunches/fuck him/call him Rita if you want!"

Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams - White people love Jack Johnson. He makes Dave Matthews look like Chuck D.

50 Cent - The Massacre -Wasn't this supposed to be called The St. Valentine's Day Massacre? I think the single "Disco Inferno" sucks, and Rolling Stone gave it 4 stars. Proceed at your own peril.

Mars Volta - Frances the Mute -I didn't entirely dislike the first Mars Volta record because I'm a Rush fan, and it did have at least 7 minutes worth of serious riffage. But this one got a 2.0 from the 'Fork. And Cokemachineglow scribe Chris Alexander has informed me that it's "the worst album ever." I'm intrigued enough to find it for free somewhere. RS gave this 4 stars too. David Fricke no less.

Speaking of Pitchfork, they were kind enough give an impressive 4.5 stars to the lead off track on Sleater-Kinney's forthcoming The Woods (which I honest to God have yet to hear), but then the reviewer has to squander his good will with some throwaway line about how up until this point, he'd would never had called S-K "fun." Me neither dude. Sleater shows are up there with root canals and the DMV. Smarmy bastard.

Onelouder isn't kidding when they say that the new Dead Meadow record, Feathers, is a quality effort. Their 70's laced, psychedelic sludge rock has been making my ear buds a far more interesting place to be for just under a week now.

Snap!

2005-02-25T16:48:00.000-05:00

The sound you hear is a collective chuckle from all intelligent music aficianados.....

Back to the Future.....

2005-02-25T09:44:00.000-05:00

No posts for the past few days = ridiculous working hours/general tiredness/can't bill blogging to the client. My apologies.

OneLouder told me yesterday that The Futureheads are already booked to play Webster Hall in the not-so distant future. I loved them at Maxwells 3 months ago, and I decided to see if they could repeat the magic with their Bowery Ballroom show two days ago.

Futureheads are an excellent live act. They're very comfortable with themselves onstage, (lots of audience banter, jumping up and down, smiling etc.) and they have a knack of making the weaker (relatively speaking) tracks on their album seem like classic hits (e.g; me saying to myself-'this song is great! so why do I always skip it on the record?').

That said, the Bowery gig wasn't quite as electrifying as the Maxwells show; one reason being is that they actually seemed to benefit from being piled on top of one another in Hoboken, if that makes any sense. They're just four average dudes, and while they brought a relatively interesting light show this time around, they at times seemed to be struggling with stage presence. Furthermore, the first 15 or so minutes of the set (about 55 minutes) was plagued with sound separation issues-the guitars seemed too muffled and quiet, and there appeared to be a level of urgency that was lacking. More or less the same setlist as before-all of the record except the acapella track, two b-sides, and a very good new song called "Aria" that sounded rather Police-esque. It's worth noting that they came onstage to the strains of "Bohemian Rhapsody." The audience was treated to hearing the whole song up until the "I see a little silhouette...." portion, at which point the band came out and kicked into "Le Garage." Cute. All in all, a fun time with a justifiably hyped band, but I think I'm going to wait until some new material hits the street before seeing them again. David Fricke was clearly enjoying himself.

Disco-rama

2005-02-21T12:43:00.000-05:00

The title is not in reference to the sketchy Greenwich Village CD stores known for low prices, surly service, and the sinking feeling that all of their merchandise fell off the back of a truck, but rather a current exhibit at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts that I took in this weekend w/ the Woman, as well as members of OneLouder and MMM.

Originally exhibited at the Experience Music Project in Seattle and supposedly curated by ex-Spin Magazine scribe Eric Weisbard and journos Ann Powers and Julianne Sheppard, it was impressive to say the least; overflowing with random minutae ranging from the electric basses used by Chic, to typed letters lamenting the closing of exclusive gay disco "Flamingo," to a collection of vinyl albums said to be responsible for the disco backlash (e.g. "Sesame Street Fever," a Marilyn Chambers record, "Disco Duck" etc.). And that barely begins to scratch the surface.

This particular Saturday afternoon featured a two hour long panel with a number of figures instrumental to the disco boom, including "Godfather of Disco" and gay activist Mel Cherren, Flamingo founder Michael Fresco, and Studio 54 publicist-extraordinaire/Behind the Music-talking head Carmen D'Alessio.

Boiled down to its elements, the panel consisted of older folks fondly recalling the good 'ol days of the legendary Paradise Garage and gay club staples such as The Saint and The Gallery, while completely condemning any DJs that don't spin three-minute songs with vocals. Everything other than the latter was lumped in as mindless "boom boom" music. I took the aforementioned phrase to encompass the collective experience of paying 40 bucks to wait in line and dance to WKTU beats with most of Northern New Jersey at places like Crobar and Avalon. Fair enough. But if there was downside to the panel, it was that the panelists were completely dimissive of the fact that there's plenty of modern day DJs with enough talent to make today's intelligent clubbers just as elated as the panelists were back in their day (at times it felt like my father constantly telling me how virtually everything I listen to nowadays is completely terrible when compared to the Beatles and/or Stones).

However, one significant difference that the panelists touched on involved the fact that inventive clubs are all that much more difficult to keep active today due to the harsh economic climate and extreme expense of keeping them open (thus the ugly transition to bottle service). Despite some of the negative vibes on the part of the panelists, the afternoon was still well worth it as a glimpse into a bygone era told by its participants, as well as a few priceless memories regarding such things as Madonna's debut performance at the Paradise Garage (it's one thing to refer to use the N-word onstage if you're Gloria Gaynor...but not if you're a relatively unknown "small white bitch").

Yeah. Back to work on this lovely federal holiday.

And that's when I showed her my German Short-haired Pointer...

2005-02-16T12:24:00.000-05:00

Get your mind out of the gutter. The title is actually a reference to the breed of the victorious canine at the recent Westminster Dog Show, sort of like the Superbowl for dogs. I was pulling for Knotty the Bloodhound, as the hound group hasn't had a winner in 22 years, but at least there were no Toy Poodles in contention this time out.

In the category of random rock shows that I think I want to attend, Wreckless Eric plays Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ on March 10th. You may remember him as the Drury-esque, aging British punk who sat in with Yo La Tengo for the third night of their recent Hanukah run. His slightly off-key rendition of Blondie's "Sunday Girl" in response to Ira Kaplan's request that they "play some songs written by Jews!" was golden. Will YLT repay the favor at his gig? I'm sure it will be amusing to find out.

Pitchers and catchers report to St. Lucie for The Amazin's today. Not quite as exciting as it sounds, but still music to the ears of baseball starved office dwellers like this blogger. Will Grant Roberts put down the bong long enough this year to pitch more than 4 2/3 innings? Time will tell. I'm pulling for Heath Bell to land a bullpen spot if only b/c his wind-up is unique, his fastball hits the mid-90's, and those sideburns. I'd find a picture of said sideburns if I wasn't doing this post at work.

The Charlatans UK have never shied away from generously lifting from others' songs...their "Just When You're Thinking Things Over" is a blatant rip of the Stones' Exile-era "Torn and Frayed," "Here Comes a Soul Saver" jacks the riff from Floyd's "Fearless," and there's a few others I can't recall. But perhaps the most obvious of all dawned on me while on the subway this morning; "The Only One I Know" = Deep Purple's "Hush." Useless music knowledge to be sure, but is there any other kind?

Chekkit

2005-02-15T15:52:00.000-05:00

Apparently Sleater-Kinney is none too thrilled about folks downloading copies of their upcoming record.

Fair enough, but one must ask, what's the deal with Sub Pop's part sending out promo copies three months in advance? If the sorry bunch at Billboard is allowed to hear advance copies of the record, one could assume in this day and age that everybody else will too. I can't help but think that Jonathan Poneman and Co. may have dropped the ball with regard to the release date on this one.

I always said that if I was in a kick ass rock band, I would be annoyed, and yet at the same time rather flattered that people cared enough about my record to download it three months in advance. The Sleater make a variety of good points in their website posting. Whether or not this will make me any less likely to listen to it early, especially with the knowledge that I plan to purchase it, and give it a glowing online review (provided its as good as I think it will be), is up for debate.

Of jazz organ and female rockage....

2005-02-15T11:34:00.000-05:00

Firstly, if you're interested in learning about the history/shows of the short lived Fillmore East I mentioned in the last post (and you should be) this site is very handy and informative.

I think it's kind of sad that I only learned about last week's passing of jazz organ legend Jimmy Smith by reading about it on the All Music Guide. Nicknamed "The Preacher," Smith had his contemporaries (Jimmy McGriff, Brother Jack McDuff), but it was he who clearly put the Hammond B-3 on the map in the late 50's via several recordings on the Blue Note label.

However, his best known work probably remains the track "Root Down," if only because it's been covered a number of times, most notably by the Beastie Boys. The latter essentially sampled everything on that song except the organ part for the well known Ill Communication track, endearing it to thousands of youth who probably failed to realize that the bassline wasn't theirs. The original recording can be found on "Root Down! Live!," a West Coast gig from 1972 on the Verve label. I reccomend it extremely highly, as it's a session of 70's organ jazz so piping hot that it'll fry your speakers. The Root Down bassline remains one of the best ever to this day, and the cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" is also muy caliente. R.I.P. dude.

Finally, although they have yet to post anything regarding this, I was informed earlier today by Onelouder that Sleater-Kinney's The Woods has apparently leaked, and is making the rounds. I'm old enough to fondly recall a time when the first time I heard new music was on the official release date...making Tuesday anticipation all the more strong, but will I listen to this record ahead of it's May 24th release date? Damn right I will.

"The Dead are alive....the Dead are alright, with me..."

2005-02-14T16:03:00.000-05:00

The above quote was taken from "Stones" off the most recent Sonic Youth record. If there's any band of erstwhile indie-rockers who knows about the Grateful Dead, it's probably Sonic Youth; if only because Lee Ranaldo is supposedly a huge fan, and the Youth are one of the few bands that garner mad respect among the peeps, yet improvise their asses off onstage (e.g. they jam while managing to avoid the dreaded 'jamband' tag).

I make no bones about loving the Grateful Dead. I traded hundreds of tapes in high school and college, and in terms of being extraordinarily prolific songwriters (until the 80's anyway) with unbelievable chops, the Dead are in a league of their own. I could write paragraphs about this provided I wasn't wasting time at work as I type.

The point of this post is to commemorate the fact that 35 years ago, the Dead played two days worth of completely legendary shows at Bill Graham's East Coast baby, the long defunct Fillmore East. It was located on 2nd Avenue and 6th street next to Moishe's Kosher Bakery; a cheesy bar called "Ike" is there now, in addition to the Emigrant Savings Bank. But if you look up, you can still clearly see the brickwork that used to comprise the theatre. 2-13/70 and 2-14/70 have since passed into lore for Deadheads, being a pair of amazing shows featuring career-defining performances of what many 'Heads consider to be their most sought after tunes, "Dark Star," "That's It For the Other One," and their cover of Bobby 'Blue' Bland's "Turn on Your Lovelight." It's a transcendent experience, captured in a very nice Soundboard version on the mail order only "Dick's Pick's Volume 4"- the Dick's Picks series comprising crystal clear recordings of killer shows-named for recently deceased Dead archivist Dick Lavatla (It's sort of like porn in that I think they're up to Volume 31 now or something). You don't get the effect of the legendary "Joshua Light Show" that accompanied most shows within the Fillmore's three year (I think) existence, but whadya gonna do.

At any rate, the Valentines Day shows of 1970 deserve to be remembered, and serve as a fantastic jumping off point for anybody interested in anything remotely Dead related. You don't even need to be stoned to enjoy it.

Where were you when they we're gettin' high? (e.g. fell off the face of the Earth?)

2005-02-11T12:59:00.000-05:00

Oasis tickets for their 6/22/05 show at Madison Square Garden go onsale to the public tomorrow morning. Was Irving Plaza booked that night? Maybe the lame-o Aussies in Jet can help fill some of those seats, but this is just a little silly. I saw the Brothers Gallagher play to a half full venue of Black Crowes fans at the Oakdale in Wallingford, CT a few years back, and their live show kinda loses something fierce when its not accompanied by 100,000 lager louts singing along. And this is coming from someone who thought that both Be Here Now and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants were both decent (never bought Heaten Chemistry).

Nailz.

2005-02-10T09:16:00.000-05:00

Happy 42nd Birthday Lenny "Nails" Dykstra! Easily the most entertaining centerfielder ever to wear a Mets uni, and probably the best (until this season anyway....:-).

VH1 Classic + iTunes = $$$

2005-02-09T22:50:00.000-05:00

Seriously...they should have an iTunes Music Store page that synchs up directly with whatever happened to be on VH1 Classic All Request Hour that day. Apple would rake it in. Somehow I managed to survive for the past twenty-five years without ever owning a copy of The Fixx's "Red Skies," but iTunes just makes it too goddamn easy to purchase. Only now do I realize how much vocalist Cy Curnin sounds like The Manic Street Preachers' James Dean Bradfield. Other totally superfluous yet homehow completely necessary iTunes purchases? Beck's "E-Pro" single (Beck on autopilot with heavy guitars, still pretty great) and Elvis Costello's recent "Monkey to Man," another song I probably would have never heard were it not for VH1 Classic's "Classic, Current" portion, where old videos are chased by new ones. I've yet to find any other way to see the Cure videos from their latest album.

On April 17th and 18th, Ash and The Bravery are are playing Bowery Ballroom. Ash is an Irish band who play overdriven, excellently produced power-pop, and have a bazillion hit singles across the pond. Their latest effort Meltdown has been out over there since June, but will only see a U.S. release in March (come to think of it, their 2001 release Free All Angels was treated the same way). I would wholeheartedly reccomend that fans of vintage Weezer or Fountains of Wayne check them out. The last time they had a two night run at Bowery was in April 2002...the opening act for night 1? Interpol (night 2 featured South if you're curious). That was my first time seeing Interpol, and to tell the truth, I thought they were Joy Division rip offs and I hated them. I have since changed my tune, as I love both of their two records...just goes to show a live glimpse can sometimes be deceiving. I hated the Secret Machines live before I heard their record too.

As for The Bravery, while I find their singles catchy, I'm gonna paraphrase David Lowery and say that "what the world needs now is another glammy, 80's aping, disco-rific, Strokes-ian band like I need a hole in my head." I think the two bands are actually trading off the headlining spot over the course of the two nights. The hell with that; when The Bravery write their "Shining Light" they can headline. But not until then.

Not only is March 2nd the first of Sleater-Kinney's two nights at the Mercury Lounge, but also the Mets' first spring training game against Montr...I mean, Washington. My cup runneth over March 2nd.

But as fate would have it, March '05 is in general a hell of a month at the Merc. Is it just me, or has the quality of their bookings seemingly increased over the past two years?

March 4th - Calla and Palomar
March 8th - Stars
March 12th - Menomena
March 13th - Magnapop (a reunion show!...I just remember their 1994 120 Minutes song "Slowly, Slowly" ripped off the chorus from Violent Femmes' "Kiss Off")
March 21st - The Go! Team
March 24/25 - Dead Meadow / Jennifer Gentle (a BYOB show...bring your own bong)

I apologize for not hyperlinking any of these bands, and apologize for a dearth of posts. My new job makes me very lazy when I'm not at the office.

Gruffage....

2005-02-03T23:38:00.000-05:00

Contrary to what most of the blogosphere would have you believe, The Arcade Fire shows did not constitute the only worthy NYC gigs this week. Practically slipping under the radar was a rare solo performance from Gruff Rhys, frontman for completely friggin' awesome Welsh popsters Super Furry Animals. That last collection of adjectives can give you a fairly good concept of my considerable love for this band, and in terms of making inventive British pop albums that manage to be cohesive and yet crammed with singles, no other UK act from the late 90's, early 00's has come close. They've released six full length albums since 1996, and while you really should purchase every one, the recently released singles comp. Songbook is a good place for neophytes to get infected (but if its unavailable, buy Radiator instead).

The show was at Tonic, and was billed as one of the first in what I hope is a number of benefit shows to raise dough for the venue's several problems. Gruff just released an all Welsh language solo record in the UK, but it's not currently set for a U.S. release (although pretty easy to find on your choice of P2P software). The setup consisted of him and a guitar, a handful of crappy 80's synths, an electric gutiar tuner (aka-"electric bagpipes"), and a sampler. Even better than his cheery pop songs was his banter in between those songs; translating his Welsh lyrics, discussing how he plays his left-handed guitar right handed, passing the mic to the audience to get sampled barnyard noises, entering and leaving to a horrendous 80's synth take on "Just the Way You Are"....the man possesses a low key charm and self-deprecating manner that's impossible to dislike. Practically everything was off of his new Welsh record; the exceptions being the Roman Roads song off of SFA's Mwng album, and an English language number called "Colonize the Moon," which was akin to the acoustic portion of "No Sympathy" off of Rings Around the World and may or may not be an unreleased SFA song. The evening was clearly helped by my party being in the front row- part of the fun being from watching Gruff fiddle with his myriad machines- but it was as charming a performance as last night's Arcade Fire gig was intense. The new Super Furries disc supposedly hits in May. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Note the football scarf

2005-02-03T23:37:00.000-05:00

80's keyz.

2005-02-03T23:36:00.000-05:00

that walkman is reportedly playing "the single most played song on Welsh national radio ever."

Dang....

2005-02-03T12:57:00.000-05:00

Far be it from me to have a quick chuckle at another's misfortune, but this is just too much. Check for more gooey goodness at Gerard Cosloy's site. Mmmm....time for lunch.

Why bother going into too much detail....

2005-02-03T09:07:00.000-05:00

...because there's really not much I can say about last night's Arcade Fire show that won't already be said by 800 NYC area bloggers with more time on their hands than I :). But suffice it to say, in terms of living up to the hype constantly so heaped onto their live show, the band delivered and then some. The Arcade Fire do things in a live setting that most bands don't attempt; like pretending to beat up on each other with drum sticks and whacking the heck out of random cymbals and stage monitors while screaming, despite the fact that said cymbals aren't miked and can't really be heard outside of the first row. As cliche as this sounds-they really appear to feel their music, man. Any one member of the band always appears to be freaking out with his/her eyes rolling in the back of their head at any given time. Usually two members, actually. Everyone trades instruments, everyone onstage appears to be playing the set like their lives depended on it, and yeah, David Byrne came out for the "Naive Melody" encore. I'm still not in love with the way AF plays this song-they can't quite emulate the utter bounciness so crucial to the original-but their effort is laudable. Man, David Byrne is old....his hair is so shockingly white you'd think he actually supplements it with white dye or something. All told, a fantastic show from a band that has plenty of potential to do even greater things.

Oh yeah, openers "Man Man" were plenty interesting as well, at least for a half hour (then they got annoying). Think Tom Waits meets Black Dice meets a backwoods version of Out Hud. Wierdo kids from Philly emulating Southern hicks with multiple percussion sets onstage and a bearded guy who played trumpet, clarinet, and flugelhorn. I have to hear their record.

Weekender Stuff.....

2005-01-30T21:43:00.000-05:00

Hey now. Last night's Tiswas shindig at Don Hill's here in NYC was a bit of a mixed bag to say the least. On one hand, it's proof that having a guest DJ really does bring the peeps out--it was as crowded as I'd ever seen it (at least at 1 AM when the DJs take over). This was in stark contrast to two weeks ago, which I did not attend, but MMM claims featured about 8 people and was nothing short of depressing. Weekly parties seldom have a lifespan longer than 5 years or so, but Tiswas has been around for 10, and the turnout last night was a quick riposte to the idea that the party is dead in the water.

The guest DJ in question was The Charlatans' frontman Tim Burgess, appropriate because he has a vocal spot on the new Chemical Brothers' record, and the party was billed as 'release celebration' for said record. Burgess didn't go it alone, there was another dude in the booth at nearly all times (supposedly part of the Great British House (GBH) crew of Lotus fame), and it seemed to be a bit of a tag team effort, which didn't exactly annure to the party's benefit. When the duo rolled out the expected Tiswas hits (Happy Mondays, Clash, Strokes etc.), it was muy enjoyable, but there was at least a 45 minute lull consisting of nothing but old soul numbers and reggae that nobody (including myself) was familiar with, killing the momentum. It was quite amusing however to see Burgess completely stoked to hear his vocal contributions to the Chems track "The Boxer" blaring over the PA. But while he clearly seemed to enjoy the selections he played from his band's Up at the Lake album, several party goers appeared confused, most likely because that excellent record still hasn't been released here. Hopefully The Charlatans' new record deal with Sanctuary will clear that up. Last round of complaints- a $15 cover charge despite the abundance of posters made for the occasion clearly advertising $10, and the playing of a song from the second Libertines record. The first one is pretty bitchin', but one should never have to hear anything from the second Libertines record at a party, unless the host is dying to send folks packin'.

Bloggers rejoice! The feverishly anticpated New York City Arcade Fire shows are this week.

This is sort of funny...if you attempt to visit the Fiery Furnaces website and forget to include a 'the' before the band name, you're actually taken to a site where you can buy actual household furnaces. Maybe I'm just easily amused. I didn't care for Blueberry Boat nearly as much as the majority of the blogosphere, but I must say that their recently released EP is most excellent and extremely cheery; especially the first three songs. Great listening for those with short attention spans such as myself.

Obligatory Sleater-Kinney note-The Carrie portion of their website was recently updated. Apparently she listens to the Grateful Dead and worships Curb Your Enthusiasm and Strangers With Candy. No surprise. You need good taste to rock that hard.

You may have realized that this site has featured practically nothing from the sports world as of late...expect that to be the norm until Spring Training begins. There's plenty of devoted sports blogs that can cover the offseason (baseball anyway....) stuff far better than I, and I've had even less time to post as of late due to job commitments/stress. Posting about NYC music is quicker and easier. But expect to see plenty of twisted Mets-oriented content from a disgruntled fan when the season begins.

Word Gets Around....

2005-01-27T13:24:00.000-05:00

For the past week, the company line on nearly every blog/indie site imaginable regarding the new Bright Eyes releases has been that I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, is a career high watermark, while Digital Ash in a Digital Urn is considerably weak.

The latter has not been lost on consumers. Just this afternoon I went into J&R Music World to purchase Wide Awake, only to find that it was completely sold out. There were about 19 copies of Digital Urn for sale. And who says that Oberst fans will purchase anything his cute mug is associated with?

Some Cities bring me diamonds....Some Cities bring me gold...

2005-01-26T19:39:00.000-05:00

Apologies for never writing in this thing anymore. I'm still adjusting to the new job, and stress levels the likes of which I've seen....well....never.

Firstly, it's bad enough that Mercury Rev's The Secret Migration came out in the UK on Monday while us Yanks won't see a release on these shores until May (especially egregious considering the Rev are, uh, American and stuff). This is a seriously stupid move on the part of V2 seeing as Mercury Rev easily have a large enough fanbase to...I dunno....sell out Irving Plaza 3 nights in a row, and due to the nature of their cult fanbase, releasing the album in May isn't going to increase sales.

But what's worse is that the album was initially going to be available in full on iTunes on 1/25. Lame, but fair enough. Instead, now iTunes is only offering an "EP" of the first four songs on The Secret Migration. So if you're a huge Mercury Rev fan who is law abiding, you'll pay for these four songs now, and then pay for them again when the record finally comes out. Not cool. Furthermore, the lead off track, "Secret For a Song" has already been available on iTunes for awhile now. So in theory, you could end up paying for that single song 3 times (I suppose you wouldn't have to click it everytime it was offered, but still)! It's a good track, but not that good. What does this translate to? Download it illegally as much as humanly possible, and then be a good sport and buy it in May. Something this incredibly asinine could only be thought up by a record executive.

Elsewhere, my colleagues at cokemachineglow were nice enough to hook me up with a not so legal leak of Doves' Some Cities. Although I have yet to leave the "honeymoon" period with the album, it's a winner so far. Splits the difference between the first two....not as haunted as Lost Souls, not as cheery as Last Broadcast. Highlights so far are easily the swingin' "Black and White Town," "Snowden," "One of These Days" and "The Storm." The only noticeable blight is "Walk in Fire," which is practically a cover of "There Goes the Fear" in a different key. C'mon guys, Doves fans are too intelligent for you to pull that shit. Still, this one is shaping up to be a frontrunner for 'favorite disc of the 1st quarter of '05.' Last I checked, onelouder had posted a few sites where individual Doves tracks could be found. Rock on.

"Where we arrrrrre...."

2005-01-21T13:36:00.000-05:00

".....in the blink of an eye you get several meanings." God how I loved getting free Elephant 6-related CDs back in college. That tasty morsel is from Olivia Tremor Control's cumbersomely titled "A Peculiar Noise Called Train Director" (at least that's what I recall) off of 1999's totally kick ass Black Foliage: Animation Music record. According to da 'fork, the aforementioned have been brought out their hiatus for a one off gig at All Tomorrow's Parties '05, running starting on 4/22 somewhere in the U.K.

And who but better to curate the gig than creepy, Republican, Brown Bunny 'auteur' Vincent Gallo, who's to be commended if only because the current ATP lineup doesn't include esoteric Bunny-soundtracker John Frusciante.

Gerard Cosloy is a funny man. And he's probably right about this one. Viva los Mets!

Stalker-Kinney.....

2005-01-20T17:04:00.000-05:00

The Sleater-Kinney shows at Mercury Lounge are like, sooooo sold out. Considering they sold out their 2003 Southpaw (Mmmm....Brooklyn Pennant Ale...) gig in about a day (and after it had only been announced three days before showtime), not a huge surprise. I can remember exactly where I was when I first noticed those tickets onsale (at my desk at my old job working for the Entertainment Software Ratings Board if you're wondering). Despite being about 120 degrees inside Southpaw that night, that show kicked ass, as did their opening gig for Pearl Jam the next night (opening your set with "The End of You" and "The Drama You've Been Craving" usually purports for a good show).

Rajeev at Onelouder kindly requests that nobody block his stage left view of Carrie....but I already carved my initials into the floor a foot from the stage weeks ago, so he loses. Man....May 24th. Scary to think that the Mets will already be something like 17 games out of first place before the new Sleater-Kinney record comes out.

Yeah and yeah.

2005-01-20T10:27:00.000-05:00

Minimal updates have been made due to much work and much stress. Severely lame I realize, but whadya gonna do. Most of my rockage information comes second hand from other folkz blogs these days.

Morecowbell has a post from January 17th with two MP3s off of Idewild's upcoming (I think March) Warnings/Promises. Idewild was quite the 'it' band back in 2000, as their 100 Broken Windows record kicked (and still kicks) much ass, sounding like R.E.M.'s Murmur on a steroid/amphetamine cocktail. They slumped a bit on 2002's overly glossy The Remote Part, but I'm still looking forward to the new record. Excellent live show. Of the two tracks posted, "Welcome Home" is especially nice and folky, wheras "I Want a Warning" has jagged edges, but is a touch dull.

Sleater-Kinney at the Mercury Lounge in early March is now onsale, but if you care anything about incredible rock and roll, you already knew that. I'll be there on the 2nd (three or four feet from stage left, of course). Their new album is supposedly called The Woods (a reference to the remote upstate NY place where they recorded it perhaps?) and will feature 10 tracks. Thanks to OneLouder for the info.

Of course one of the many completely great things about owning an iPod is that the shuffle feature, when it isn't "shuffling" the same 7 or 8 songs back and forth, allows for some serious back catalog listening. Just yesterday I was on the L train, and exposed to R.E.M.'s "Binky the Doormat," a deep track from their underrated (and very wierd) New Adventures in Hi-Fi album. Maybe the creepiest R.E.M. track ever, and I hadn't listened to it in at least 6 months or so. Especially the part at the bridge where Stipe goes..."WRRROOOOWW!" That album has a ton of great R.E.M. songs that nobody outside of their hardcore fanbase knows exist...."Low Desert," "Leave," "New Test Leper," etc. Probably the last R.E.M. disc I don't have a significant beef with.

Weekend Notes...

2005-01-16T19:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's heartbreaking, but ultimately entirely expected, 20-17 Jets defeat essentially epitomizes Gang Green's everlasting M.O.: if there's a way to lose, we will find it.

Meanwhile, the Pats have held the Colts to a FG with 3 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. 20-3. The Pats will win this game. Say all you want about dome teams being unable to adjust in a snowstorm (was this even on the forecast last night?), but at 21/33 with 188 yds passing, this will prove to be one of the sorriest games of Eli's older brother's career. The Pats will repeat.

I can't write about football as well as I can Mets baseball (or baseball in general), and I can't write about Mets baseball as well as I can NY music (IMO). One thing's for sure though-unless the talent is out of this world, I'm done with shows at the Tribeca Grand. The five Kaiser Chiefs songs I witnessed there last night showed them to be a solid Brit band with plenty of onstage energy and potential (although "I Predict a Riot" was still unquestionably their best song), but I just don't like the way that venue does business. You're forced to wait on multiple lines irrespective of whether the Church Lounge/concert venue/coat check is crowded at all, and the venue itself is always frighteningly crowded and extremely hot. The pre-show DJs have minimal imagination and are too loud for conversation, and the bands never start on time, usually favoring a 1 AM timeslot. The only bands I want to see at 1 AM are Radiohead, Sleater-Kinney, and maybe the Rolling Stones. 8 dollar Heinekens too. Granted, it seems a little whiny to bitch about a chance to see an up and coming band in a swanky hotel when it's techincally free, but 'free' shouldn't be synonymous with 'treated like an animal.' I won't deny that they book good talent, most of which is seeing the East Coast for the first time (e.g. Erol Alkan, Bloc Party), but if a band is really that good, I say see 'em at the Bowery or Merc a month or two down the road.

Who Doesn't Love Twee-Pop?

2005-01-13T17:08:00.000-05:00

Lookin' for something to do tomorrow night? Sure ya are. Palomar is playing at the Mercury Lounge tomorrow night with The National. Never have I heard the latter, but I'm told they're good. As for the former-Palomar play gorgeous power pop with three-part female harmonies that you'd have to be really evil not to like. Yours truly seriously dug their newest album. They get far less coverage than most NYC (or in this case, Brooklyn) bands, but are far better at what they do than most of them. They hit the stage at 10:30, which of course means 11:00 MLEST (Mercury Lounge Eastern Standard Time).

We live in a Geek USA....

2005-01-13T14:30:00.000-05:00

Minimal to report except a reminder that the first of two "Jimmy Chamberlain Complex" rock shows takes place at the Mercury Lounge tonight (the next one being next Thursday). I'll be in attendance, and am expecting to see a really shitty nu-metal sounding band anchored by an amazing drummer. Whatever. Only 10 bucks, and at 8:30 (i.e. 9:00 at the earliest), an early show.

Regarding the new and improved pitchfork page that supposedly took forever to get right....assuming its complete...what the hell was the big deal?

They Took More Drugs Than a Touring Funk Band...SING IT!

2005-01-10T20:26:00.000-05:00

If there's any band who would take a sick pleasure in playing a break-up joke on their fanbase, it'd have been Mclusky. However, this seems a little too real. I'm assuming the reasons for their breakup to have been primarily monetary....if they weren't getting along, they sure as hell knew how to hide it onstage. Here's a band that was extremely funny, prolific, darkly sarcastic, and frighteningly heavy with a DNA-coil tight rhythm section. They will be missed by anyone who had the pleasure of seeing them live, or went into spastic convulsions whenever "Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues" or "To Hell With Good Intentions" came on. I suppose they won't be missed by the obnoxious bitch who lives downstairs from my apartment, but if there's going to be no more new Mclusky albums, i'll just be forced to terrorize her with the mountain crushing bass of Do Dallas that much more. For shame.

I recently downloaded the Soft single "Lucky Jam" off of MelodyNelson. It was apparently the one song I recall enjoying from their set at Rothko the other night. That song, alongside the shaggy photos on the band's website, comprise a gigantic neon sign which clearly reads "we love the second Happy Mondays record and we don't care who knows it." Granted, I like Bummed a lot too, and "Lucky Jam" is definitely catchy like a lot of songs on that record, but a serious lack of originality is in evidence. I mentioned the Regular Fries in the previous post, and while they were derided somewhat for milking the baggy sound a few years after its heyday, they actually brought plenty of new ideas to the table-like fuzzy Dave Friddman production, the best Kool Keith guest spot ever, and throwing out fake cheques signed by the band into the audience (plus, they always sounded really stoned). Their War on Plastic Plants isn't such an easy find (never officially released in the U.S.), but it's quality. I can't hate the Soft track outright b/c The Mondays were gods, but it still makes me feel a little icky.

Speaking of gods....I recently downloaded Sleater-Kinney's NYE set off of easytree (kudos to Brooklynvegan and Largeheartedboy), and I can't believe that the start of baseball season will actually arrive sooner than their new record. What a friggin' tease. I think the fourth song is called "Four Seconds." It starts off sounding like a cover of Radiohead's "Blow Out" before an amazing Tucker chorus, and the bridge is a complete beat down which climaxes with Carrie Brownstein screaming LET'S GO! Corin Tucker's guitar sounds like Billy Cox's (as in Hendrix's Band of Gypsies) bass in at least two of the songs. Track seven is 13 minutes. I've said it once, I'll say it again...you play checkers, S-K play chess.

Leave It to a Monday.....

2005-01-10T09:11:00.000-05:00

First, I'm having an awesome dream that the late 90's, Madchester revival band The Regular Fries have gotten back together, and my alarm goes off. Then the 4 train I'm on gets stuck between stops for 25 minutes. Now I find out that Mclusky have apparently broken up. What's next? Are the Mets going to trade David Wright and Jose Reyes for Sammy Sosa and some unnamed Latin prodigy? C'mon Monday....do your worst.

Weekend Notes.....

2005-01-09T20:55:00.000-05:00

Last night I was in attendance at Rothko with members of OL and MMM to check out the Austin, TX-based band Voxtrot at "Call the Cops" night (which I'm assuming is a Happy Mondays reference). I skimmed an MP3 or two courtesy of BrooklynVegan, and thought they were worth a look.

Firstly, I seem to recall Rothko being shut down a little bit last fall on account of fire code violations, and the place is still more than a little creepy if you ask me. They've expanded the basement area (relative to when I was last there in May) to include a bar and a very narrow lounge, and there's also a completely dark room with some thrift store couches and what appeared to be exposed wiring. Direct Drive was in attendance downstairs spinning some hard D n' B, but the whole downstairs area just felt a little unfinished/cramped/unsafe. It's nice to see a hipster rawk joint other than Pianos with Magic Hat #9 on tap, but I've had so much of the stuff in the past 5 years or so that I think I've acquired a distaste for it. Too syrupy. Blind Faith and Humble Patience are better.

Upstairs however, features a decent sized room bathed in red hues with surprisingly good sound. Voxtrot hit the stage at around 11, and were decent. Their studio stuff seems to have some further subtleties that are somewhat lost in the live translation. They've got the right influences....Belle and Sebastian, some R.E.M. and lots of Smiths, but their influences were a little too apparent at times; one original was a note for note "This Charming Man" rip, and closing your set with The Cure's "In Between Days" seems like a cop out-evidence of a lack of faith in your original material. The melodies were good, and there appeared to be potential hooks, but very few distinguishing attributes otherwise. I'll need to listen to their studio tracks some more.

Oh yeah...unless another band happened to go on at 1:00, the "surprise headliner" was some band called "Soft." It's impossible to take a band seriously with that name. I only caught three songs, but the first one seemed surprisingly decent....sort of a Madchester type thing with high pitched vocals, faux Brit-accent, loose limbed drumming and a definite guitar hook. Can't recall anything else, except that the lead singer looked just like the dude from Soundtrack of Our Lives were he to drop about 40 lbs. Still, why the hell are you going to call your band Soft? Dumb, dumb name. Rothko was completely packed at that point. Was everyone there to see what they thought woud be a surprise band, or do Soft have some kind of significant following? Who knows.

Yeeeoowww!!!!

2005-01-09T16:04:00.000-05:00

HOLY F'IN ##$^$#! CARLOS BELTRAN IS GONNA PLAY CF FOR THE METS IN '05!!!!!! HUZZAH!! YEEOOOWWW!

Just thought that last post was a little devoid of genuine emotion. This is cooler than Kim Deal.

Congratulating the Upper Deck on winning "The Race to Shea" yet again.

(Car) Los Mets.

2005-01-09T15:36:00.000-05:00

According to ESPN's baseball index, Carlos Beltran is set to sign with the Mets for 7 years and $119 million, with an 11 million dollar signing bonus and a no trade clause. Granted, the lawyering thing pays pretty well, but it's times like this I wish I spent more of my childhood working on a breaking ball than attempting to save the princess.

John Heyman's Newsday piece uses the phrase "instant credibility" to refer to the Mets after this (and the Pedro) signing, and most Amazin' fans would be hard pressed to disagree. Furthermore, there'll be that much more animosity when the Mets open at Shea against Houston, and they actually play the 'Stros 3 more times this season than other NL Central teams (a strange byproduct of interleague play).

Is it refreshing and gratifying to see a Mets GM go the extra mile and have a notoriously stingy owner open the coffers for once? Of course. The Mets are not a small market ball club, and should not be run like one. If I had ten dollars for each time I muttered a Beltran-derived "holy shit" while watching this past season's NLCS, I could afford season tickets. 42 stolen bases last year, 38 HRs, awe-inspiring defense, and he's only 27. Can he hack it in the Apple? Spring training can't come quickly enough.

How this will impact Floyd/Piazza, and an apparent vacancy at 1B remains to be seen.

Slow Day at the Office.....

2005-01-07T14:28:00.000-05:00

Those scandalous Brits at NME are reporting that The Charlatans have entered the studio to record their new record, with a release date of fall '05. "But that's crazy!" you say. "Didn't Up At the Lake come out this past summer, and their last record came out nearly 3 years before that?" The fact that the latter still has yet to be properly released in the States notwithstanding, the answer is yes. This would appear to be an awfully quick turnaround time between records, but the Charlatans rock, so this is good.

Furthermore, they've just signed to Sanctuary Records, which would lead one to believe that the upcoming record might see light of day in the U.S. this time. Did you know that their hedonistic, coke and E driven, dancetastic record Wonderland was released here on 9/11/01? That's why nobody bought it. That's why they got dropped from their U.S. label.

The Charlatans have also posted a newly recorded instrumental track on their website for free download. It's a pretty slight track-just some krautrock doodles that sounds like the backing track to Wilco's "Spiders"-but did I mention it's free? Long live the Charlatans.

Mo' Lists Even Though It's '05

2005-01-06T13:51:00.000-05:00

I now interrupt this lunch break to throw in a quick plug for Cokemachineglow's new Top 60 of the 2000's list. It wasn't my idea, but it ended up coming out decently all the same.

'Heads....

2005-01-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

College Bowl games make for great background noise. Why the hell are Shaq, Gary Sheffield, Pat Riley and Will Ferrell at the Orange Bowl? Don't they have anything better to do? Pete Carroll is one of the more Presidential looking head coaches in the NCAA. The full, white hair, chiseled features of a young John Kerry; dude's in the wrong business. But his team is making unbelieveable catches like they're going out of style. 38 pts. in the 1st half? WTF?

Tickets for the Futureheads at Bowery Ballroom go onsale tomorrow at 12. You want to go to this. I caught them a few months back at Maxwells, and it was easily one of the Top 10 shows I'd seen all year. Their self-titled record was one of my favorite albums of 2004, and the live show is just as tight, and twice as energetic. You will pogo like crazy. Remember how Franz Ferdinand played the Bowery back in February '04 and then they managed to sell out multiple Roseland nights come October? The Futureheads won't do that; they're not quite as cute, more caustic, and their songs deal with the difficulties of human interaction as opposed to girls. But I'm guessing they'll sell the shit out of Irving Plaza come....say, April. Go now.

Back in 1994 I was 15 years old. Green Day's Dookie was completely inescapable. My mom bought the album for my then 12 year old sister, and I refused to like it because I assumed that if my sister owned it, it must be terrible (which is essentially fact most of the time). Only when I was a little older could I admit to myself how much Dookie rocks, and that my sister had the right idea for once. I bought American Idiot last week. It's fantastic. "Jesus of Suburbia" could be the finest thing they've ever done.

When Bloggers Get New Jobs....

2005-01-04T00:32:00.000-05:00

....daytime updates become scarce until one learns exactly what he can get away with. So don't expect too much for the early weeks of January, but we'll see what we can do.

The sports posts on SoF have been virtually non-existent as of late, mostly because I'm a Giants fan, don't know enough about the NBA to be overly critical, and the Mets Hot Stove has been relatively cold (although that will likely change sooner than later).

That said, big props are in order to Eli Manning and Tiki Barber for making the final Giants game of the season extremely fun to watch, in spite of the complete lack of post-season implications. The latter eclipsed Giant great Rodney Hampton in total yardage, and broke Joe Morris's single season running record (set back in '86) on the final offensive play of the game; a draw play that only became such after an intelligent audible on the part of Manning. Homeboy notched his first NFL win after a six game losing streak (at least three of which really should have been W's) and only stands to improve.

I have nothing against the NBA, but I can't help but think that this winter will be that much colder without the NHL.

NYE @ MSG

2005-01-02T18:36:00.000-05:00

Apologies for the lack of content in recent days, but being the holidays and all, one gets lazy. Anyway, this blogger was indeed in attendance at Madison Square Garden this past Friday for the much anticipated S-K/Lips/Wilco gig. Sorry for any sort of overlap between this write up and the excellent one over at OneLouder, but considering I was seated directly next to the latter for a good portion of the evening, a little sameness might be inevitable (and I apologize for its length).

Bands at MSG not named Phish usually tend to start on time, and true to past experiences, Sleater-Kinney hit the stage at 8:02 (following a brief Fred Armisen riff in his Prince get-up). The entire set consisted of songs off of their recently finished, Dave Friddmann produced, album (May release though...WTF?). The only songs I had any familiarity with included "Bomp," (working title) a Black Sabbath-y thing with punk rock breaks that they first played back in April '04 at Irving Plaza, and "Entertain," a Brownstein rant which closed the set (and the past three S-K sets I've witnessed). Careful S-K fans will note that the latter features a new chorus; its old chorus actually surfacing in another new song. Friddmann's doing perhaps?

As for the rest of the new material? Like the MTA says, 'sometimes you've got to move backwards to go forwards,' and in this fashion, Sleater-Kinney have discovered power chords. Power chords and fuzz. The new material features previously uncharted S-K waters, such as fuzzbox guitar solos, walls of noise, and length. If the new material is any indication....the new album could be a long one indeed. Think Band of Gypsies, Comets on Fire, and Matador darlings Dead Meadow. But in spite of all of this, OneLouder is correct in their statement that the band still sounds like nobody but Sleater-Kinney. Though not familiar with the material, I enjoyed every song, and am feverishly anticipating the upcoming release.

Furthermore, according to their official site, they've booked The Mercury Lounge March 2 and 3rd as part of a quickie tour followed by a larger one after the new album's release. This is the smallest venue they've played in years, and I wouldn't be surprised if it sells out in a matter of days. Not onsale yet, but you've been warned.

(As an aside, a chance encounter with the band at the East Village Two Boots on 12/30 has revealed that "Entertain" is the sixth track on the new record, so you're in luck if it's a favorite.)

As for the Flaming Lips, I had never seen them before, but was familiar with their live reputation; lots of shtick, and same-y sets based off of their tendency to use pre-recorded sounds. Their NYE set followed this to a tee. The sides of the stage were adorned with dancers in furry animal costumes, large inflatable suns, and most notably-scantily clad ladies in pasties; the effect being not unlike the portion in the Brazilian Simpsons episode where Marge is a little surprised as to what constitutes children's programming. The Lips also thought it would be cute to have gigantic inflatable balloons in the audience....except that the balloons were huge and somewhat hard, making enjoying the music difficult as most of the set was spent getting hit with gigantic inflatable objects. Wayne Coyne stills uses hand puppets, still uses fake blood, and was constantly spraying the audience with confetti and telling the audience how they were at "the best f'in party in New York!" As for the music? Not much to report as they simply rolled out the same hits that they've supposedly been playing forever, and due to the pre-recorded stuff, they sound like they sound on CD. One nice touch was a "Warpigs" cover where Coyne traded off vocals with Corin Tucker (who had the luxury of singing the "Satan laughing spreads his wings!" line). Anyone who's heard her duet with EV on Temple of the Dog's "Hungerstrike" knows that homegirl doesn't need to be in S-K to belt it out. This set became a little more than a little painful after 30 minutes.

I've only seen Wilco one other time before last Friday; at the first of two Summerstage shows in 2003 with Sonic Youth. It was without a question the best concert I'd seen all year, with Wilco exhibiting a warmth and intimacy virtually unheard of in the realm of live music. It was like a giant BBQ with all of your closest friends.

While I knew better than to expect such a sensation at MSG, I sincerely hope that the band never plays there again. The sound was often too loud, and extremely muddy; it was near impossible to sort out each guitarist's contributions, and bottom end was nearly non-existent. Opening with "Less Than You Think" into a feedback jam into "Spiders" was a masterstroke, but I can't help but think that the rest of the show struggled to keep up, and too often it seemed like the band was going through the motions. "Poor Places" was followed by a fairly conventional balloon drop and plenty of hugs onstage, and this was met with Jeff Tweedy's declaration that his New Year's resolution is to never pick up a guitar. And how to achieve this feat? Covers. For the next 25 minutes, Wilco morphed into a cover band, taking on Judas Priest ("Livin' After Midnight"), The Band ("I Shall Be Released"), a Captain and Tenille song, and "Something in the Air" (whose original author I cannot recall, but I'm familar with the Tom Petty version). Tweedy played no guitar on these songs. The encore was all covers too, leading a visibly intoxicated woman to scream "play some F'in Wilco!!!" long after the lights had come on. Such was a sentiment with which I could not disagree. It would have certainly been nice to hear a few more originals, and closing the show with an obscure (and extremely sappy) cover was probably not a good idea. Still, the band was already fighting an uphill battle with the horrendous sound in the largest local venue they had ever played. And the crappiest Wilco show is still better than the best effort of legions of other bands, but mediocrity seemed to be the order of the evening.

So Sleater-Kinney stole the show. Not a huge surprise.

Watching TNT Will Never Be The Same...

2004-12-29T11:28:00.000-05:00

For New Yorkers/watchers of intelligent television/generations of law students, this is a sad day. RIP, Man.

Just Because It's the Holidays....

2004-12-28T13:32:00.000-05:00

....Doesn't mean that there aren't a bunch of great Jan/Feb shows already onsale. In fact, one of the more interesting byproducts of the holiday season is that everybody completely forgets about early 2005 shows, and then the good ones sell out like hotcakes when folks awake from their holiday stupor. Translation? Now is as good a time as any to buy tickets. Some notables include...

Neko Case and the Sadies -February 13/14 at Bowery Ballroom

Two nights at Bowery always equals high demand. Her solo material is far more on the alt.country tip than her work with the New Pornos, but it's equally fantastic in its own right. Plus, she's coming off of a critically acclaimed live record with The Tigers Have Spoken. Did I mention that she's extremely hot? Guaranteed to sell out sooner than later.

Mission of Burma - January 14/15 at Bowery

Hipsters like MoB. A lot. I'd be very surprised if this didn't sell out.

The Constantines - January 8th at Mercury Lounge

Canada's answer to Fugazi. While I didn't quite care for their 2003 release Shine a Light as much as nearly everyone else did, it's still a very solid record, and these guys have large enough of a following to sell out the Merc.

The Dears - January 15th at Mercury Lounge

Canada's answer to a Brit-pop band circa 1994. Fronted by a dude who's been referred to in the press as "the black Morrissey," the few tracks I've heard are more like a "black Damon Albarn circa Parklife." Seriously. It's frightening/unsettling how much their frontman sounds like 'the cute one.' I haven't really listened to enough of their stuff to say yay or nay, but their fanbase in NYC is unquestionably larger than the Merc is capable of holding. Enough so that I'm shocked that this gig isn't at the Bowery. If you think you wanna go, act now.

The Sountrack of Our Lives - January 18th at Bowery Ballroom

They reportedly now need to include a (TSOOL) after their name in the U.S. because apparently Dick Clark has their band name trademarked to describe his radio shows/NYE parties and the like. I could launch into a discussion as to why this case would be a slam dunk for TSOOL if they weren't nice enough to oblige and decided to proceed to litigation, but I won't. A very fun Swedish band who worship at the altar of Rock Radio-circa 1968-1972, their 2002 disc Behind the Music was one of my favorite albums from that year, and easily one of the better purchases I've made while drunk. Their new record is expected in the States in early '05, and has been racking up solid U.K. reviews for the past 3 months or so. Lots of bitorrents can be found at Largehearted Boy. Opening act Inouk's self-titled debut record is more than a little uneven, but has enough good material to lead one to believe they won't be too offensive to listen to for a half hour, so show up early. This show might not sell out immediately, but I doubt there'll be tickets at the door either.

Low - February 3/4 at Bowery Ballroom

I find Low extremely boring, but I'm in the minority here. Will sell out.

Random Top Ten for Week of 12/26/04

2004-12-28T11:36:00.000-05:00

Dearest apologies for blanking on this last week, but without further ado.....

Top Ten Most Bitchin' Scenes from Godfather Part II (aka-best, movie, ever)

10. Fredo's angry tirade post-Michael discovering he's a turncoat ("I was stepped over!...I'm your kid brother Michael!....I can handle things, I'm smaaaaht!!!").

9. Michael's laughably false sincerity in pretending to forgive Fredo at their mother's funeral.

8. Michael's expressionless door-closing in the face of Kate when she arrives to pick up the children.

7. Signor Roberto's overly sincere/frantic apologies to the young Vito Corleone upon realizing exactly who he is.

6. Hyman Roth getting offed at the airport under tight security after his solemn statement that he was an aging Jew, and yet was still denied entry to Israel.

5. The young Vito Corleone getting his revenge on the Sicilian don responsible for the death of his father, brother, and mother ("my father was Atonio Andolini....and this is for you!!!...(stab!)").

4. (Big smack on the lips) "I know it was you Fredo! You broke my heart....you broke my heart."

3. Frankie Pantangalie (sic) nearly getting murdered by the Rizzoto Brothers at what's actually Bar 7B in the East Village.

2. Any of the amazing scenes in which Hyman Roth lectures Michael about Moe Green, 'the business we've chosen!', or La Cosa Nostra being "bigger than U.S. Steel." They all tend to run together after awhile.

1. When Michael learns from Kate the awful truth about what really became of his future son (shudder).

"We're bigger than U.S. Steel."

And now for something completely random....

2004-12-27T01:17:00.000-05:00

Billy Corgan is more or less dead to me. I won't question the fact that both Gish and Siamese Dream are incredible records that deserve every last bit of praise that's heaped upon them, and when you subtract "Porcelina of the Vast Oceans" and cut Disc 2 in half, Mellon Collie is plenty good. But Adore sounded waaay too much like a weak batch of Disintegration-era Cure B-sides, and Machines of God was downright irresponsible. Zwan was sort of neat for about ten minutes, but then I made the awful mistake of seeing them live (doubly egregious considering I could've seen Queens of the Stone Age at a dive bar in Old Bridge, NJ that night).

Then again, the only reason I cared about Zwan, or the last Pumpkins record for that matter, was that Jimmy Chamberlain was in the band. Never have other band members been less significant--the Pumpkins and Zwan consisted of BC and JC alone. Primarily a jazzbo before he hooked up with Billy Corgan in the late 80's, Chamberlain's licks always owed more to Buddy Rich and Gene Krupka than John Bonham, and the man's swingin' contributions always made for some of the most furious air drumming this side of 2112. Homeboy had some well documented problems with the needle in the mid-90's, but boy oh boy could he bring the pain on "Geek U.S.A."

So I'm looking at the January schedule for the Mercury Lounge, and notice that some band called the Jimmy Chamberlain Complex is playing there on January 13 and 20, and the band name is followed by the requisite 'ex-Smashing Pumpkins' label. Huh? A little research has revealed that Chamberlain has a solo record coming out on January 25th, with vocal contributions from Corgan, Rob Dickinson from Catherine Wheel, and Bill Medley, aka one half of the Righteous Brothers (!?). Apparently Chamberlain handles the skins, and co-writes the songs with another guy described as an "L.A. based songwriter who has worked with everyone from Macy Gray to Fred Durst." Meh. The two thirty second song clips on the website offer little to get excited about, although Chamberlain's signature drumming is very high in the mix.

This has a 1.9 Pitchfork rating written all over it, but if you think I won't be in attendance at the Mercury Lounge for at least one of those dates, you'd be sadly mistaken.

His auxilliary drumming on "Walking With Thee" and "The Second Line" was rumored to have brought the house down.

The Wait Is On....

2004-12-26T20:57:00.000-05:00

...for Wilco, Flaming Lips, and Sleater MuthaF'in Kinney on Friday. I've always believed the one week stretch between Christmas and NYE to be a very strange sort of limbo....lots of folks on vacation, those who aren't on vacation wish they were...and the whole week has no feel. Sort of like 5 Tuesdays in a row. On the other hand, it also serves as a fine opportunity to toy around with whatever Santa happened to leave under the tree.

Kyle from South Park isn't kidding when he says it's tough being Jewish on Christmas. But it may be easier in NYC than anywhere else due to the large number of Jewish musical/comedy/cabaret shows that crop up to compliment the usual rock shows.

Heeb is a fantastic magazine that's currently released four times a year. A lazy description of its contents would be 'VICE magazine for/by Jews,' although the writing is generally much better, and the tone is far funnier with less condescesion. In addition to publishing the magazine, they also sponsor citywide events and parties, and this past Tuesday found the latest installment of their "Storytelling" series at the always fahbulous Joe's Pub. The format usually entails a 10 minute opening monologue from the evening's given host (this time SNL writers Slovin and Allen, in the past, deadpan genius Todd Barry ), and then a series of 7-minute stories from Jews and honorary Jews; most of whom are NYC based comedians/writers.

While last Tuesday's edition was not quite as laugh out loud hysterical as the other two I've attended since 2003, it's still an excellent concept that hits far more often than it misses. Highlights included Girlcomic.net founder Becky Donohue discussing her 1/16th Jewishness, frequent VH1 talking head Bex Schwartz explaining how she ruined Christmas for most of her elementary school class, and singer songwriter Jill Sobule (whose latest disc Underdog Victorious is most excellent) regaling the audience with a handful of tunes. Slovin and Allen's opening monologue regarding the unconditional love/hatred celebrated by Jewish grandmothers was also a gas. Always an enjoyable time, and Heeb is a publication worth rooting for.

In addition to the aforementioned, I also managed to catch one night of what I believe is the 4th consecutive season of What I Like About Jew, a 90 minute collection of musical vignettes and comedy sketches which is the brainchild of former Rockapella member/Nomar Garciaparra look -alike Sean Altman and Rob Tannenbaum. It was funny enough to allow me to look past the fact that the latter is one of the head editors at Blender Magazine. The show was essentially Borscht-belt comedy taken to humorous extremes, featuring memorable odes to J-Date (where 'everybody's funny and everybody's smart'), circumcision ("a little off the top, that's all, that's all!"), "Reuben the Hook-Nosed Reindeer", and most notably-a hysterical anti-'Jews for Jesus' rant that nobody seemed to disagree with. There were also guest comics in the guise of Cindy Kaplan, Eric Schwartz, and the ubiquitous Todd Barry, who remains as funny as ever, despite the fact that he hasn't seemed to have changed his material much in the past two years. What I Like About Jew might not come around again until the holidays in 2005, but check it out when it does. Highly recommended.

T'was the night before Christmas....

2004-12-24T13:01:00.000-05:00

....which to us Heebs of course means Chinese and seeing multiple movies for 10 bucks via sneaky methods at the Times Square megaplexes.

Sorry for the recent dearth of posts. I've been something as of late that I haven't been in ages-extremely busy.

Not much of note to report except that ESPN had provided a list of ballers to whom the Mets have recently offered minor league contracts. Among the more interesting names-The 43 year old Andres Galarraga, whom this blogger can actually recall fondly from the '86 Expos....perpetually stoned/injured/cranky righty Grant Roberts....and young righty Juan Padilla, who has goggles like Jason Phillips, a wind-up very similar to Freddy Garcia, and who I only saw pitch once last year-the Yankees threw him to the wolves for an inning or two in the famous Varitek-A-Rod brawlgame last season.

And speaking of which...homeboy finally resigned.

Here's hoping Santa hits all y'all up.

Have You Seen Him Have You Heard?

2004-12-21T18:52:00.000-05:00

Ian Brown is playing at Webster Hall on February 26th, and my question is, does anybody care? And furthermore, can anybody who's seen (or read about) the guy in the past comment on whether or not he plays Stone Roses tunes?

His 4th album, Solarized is supposed to be released in the U.S. pretty soon, but other than that, the only un-Roses related material Americans can buy is his second album, the cheekily titled Golden Greats. I purchased a copy of it back in college because this girl I had a crush on told me it was good. She was wrong. Ian Brown may have had the golden voice to go with John Squire's golden licks, but having heard the solo material of both, they're pretty awful when they don't have each other's back. Brown's solo material is mostly faceless trip-hop with his voice turned up far too high in the mix. On the brightside, South's remix (with some help from James Lavelle) of the hokey Brown track "If Dolphins Were Monkeys" is pretty awesome.

If I could have it in writing that he was going to play "I Am the Resurrection" and "She Bangs the Drums" I'd consider going. Anyone else?

No joy in L.A.?

2004-12-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

Now I'll never admit to being a huge L.A. Dodgers fan, so maybe there's something I'm missing here. But should this go through (and there's minimal reason to think it won't at this point)....

The Dodgers will lose starters Kaz Ishii and Brad Penny, 1B Shawn Green and reliever Yhency Brazoban. They've already lost '04 MVP candidate Adrian Beltre. They would get Javier Vazquez, who's already rumored to be going to the White Sox for Paul Konerko and maybe another bat or two, a submarine reliever in Mike Koplove, and Yankees prospects at 3B and Catcher.

So this leaves the Dodgers without two of their strongest run producers, and a starting rotation consisting of Hideo Nomo, Jeff Weaver....and? Am I missing something here, or are Paul DePodesta and Frank McCourt lost their minds?

Slow Tuesdays...

2004-12-21T12:30:00.000-05:00

Seinfeld wasn't kidding when he said that Tuesday 'has no feel.' It's unquestionably my least favorite day of the week for that reason. It's neither here nor there.

Just a few thoughts on Pfork's Top 50 Singles of '04

It's nice to see them embrace the "iPod revolution makes it a-ok to cherry pick hot singles" argument with their most inclusive Top 50 yet, although I'm still finding it hard to swallow that Pfork staffers have actually listened to the Big and Rich record.

They trashed "Drop It Like It's Hot" (and it's parent album) in their We Are The World section, but it still somehow made #39. Does anything that Snoop has put out in the past decade really compare with "Gin and Juice"?

Though both were included in the Top 50, I can't find a single person on earth who thinks that Annie's "Heartbeat" (#1) is a better song than Annie's "Chewing Gum" (#11), but I suppose tastes can differ.

MMM will unquestionably be pleased to see Allison Goldfrapp at #43 (and next to Mclusky no less).

Sea Ya!

2004-12-20T15:01:00.000-05:00

According to Coolfer, sincere Brooklyn chamber-pop band Sea Ray has called it quits. Judging from the last time I saw them, not a huge surprise. Maybe their label, Self-Starter Foundation, will now have more money to promote Palomar. I was unable to catch the latter's set at the Knitting Factory this past Saturday, but I assume it kicked sugary-sweet power pop ass.

And speaking of sugary sweet, remember the Simpsons episode where Bart and Milhouse take on Springfield Broadway-style after eating the squishee made "entirely of syrup?" I just had a "Mountain Dew-Live Wire" Slurpee and was unable to blink for ten minutes after it was done. Those things are so potent they should be illegal.

Mondays are lame....

2004-12-20T12:16:00.000-05:00

Back in town after a lengthy weekend smack in the center of the questionably great state of Pennsylvania. I think I would have been completely bored and disenchanted out of my skull if I had attended Penn State, but apparently the younger sister loved it. It speaks volumes when one of the two record stores in State College is forced to advertise itself as a "hip, Greenwich Village-style, record store." They were playing the The Cure when I walked in, and I left with a 6 dollar copy of Echo and the Bunnymen's Flowers, so I suppose it's not all bad.

Cokemachineglow has posted the first installment of their Year End Extravaganza which covers 50 of the writers' combined favorite discs. You'll be able to check out individual staffer lists (including that of yours truly) on Wednesday.

Jason at OneLouder has been kind enough to post a link to a rip of the recent Doves single "Black and White Town." I've listened, and suffice it to say, it sounds very Doves, which can only be construed as a good thing. Lots of layers, a pleasant boom-thwack drum riff, and insistent piano with a lilting guitar solo towards the end. But (like Jason mentions) it also clearly sounds like it wasn't the cleanest of rips...coming off of the radio or the like....so it will sound a bit flat. But it's a nice snapshot, and I'm very much looking forward to the March release of Some Cities. I'm not sure what it means though when the NME says they want to 'crack America.' They certainly have no trouble selling out NYC venues when they visit, and have received mucho accolades from the U.S. press.

Curious to know what SoF listened to in his High School Jewish youth group days? Go check out Widespread Panic at RCMH in April. At their best, Widespread can sound like vintage Allmans pummeling their way through the first half of Physical Graffiti. At their worst, like the last time I saw them in 2000, one song will consist of a guitar solo in D minor for 45 minutes. Make sure you shower when you get home dude.

I have very little nice to say about the most recent Libertines album, but I loved the first one, and they were excellent when I saw them tour behind it. So this is unfortunate if it turns out to be true.

And yesterday I discovered for the first time the AMG's Writer's Bloc Page. It's literally a chance for each of the writers to write a short (some anyway) biograpy of themselves. Endless entertainment. Who knew that Stephen Thomas Erelewine (who looks like what you'd expect him to look like) will "always defend" Urge Overkill's Exit the Dragon, or that Francois Couture is devoted to cataloging "demanding music"? The latter might explain why the man has written 3 paragraphs about seemingly every Frank Zappa song ever put to wax (for example).