The Best Concerts I Saw in 2006

In 2005 i only saw 2 bands that weren't my friends. Those shows were Jason Anderson and Casiotone For The Painfully Alone. Granted, both were fantastic, and of course my friends bands were fantastic (Kalpana, Get Awesome Ninjas, Pink Cammies) but this year really was epic.

I saw a lot of great shows this year, and some I even went to with girls. This is a nice new trend that I would like to continue in 2007. Strangely, my top three shows are all ones I went to alone. It was a tough task to narrow it down to a top 5, but there were some real standouts that were just absolutely stellar. Some of the close ups include: Kind of Like Spitting, Jonathan Richman, Damien Jurado, Flipper, Japanther, This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb, Jeffrey Lewis, and The Thermals.

5.
For fifth place, I would say the Mirah show was fantastic. This was the record release party for Mirah's new remix album entitled "Joyride." The album has great cover artwork of the Fremont bridge, which is quite close to my house, and the show was really close too - at the Here was what the flyer said: 8pm, $5 - Featuring performances, visuals and DJ styles by Mirah, Mt. Eerie, DJ Beyonda, screamclub, Bryce Panic, DJ Anna Oxygen, Pash".
I almost didn't go to this show because I was really getting into sanding my Vespa beforehand, but then Dan twisted my arm and we drove off in the rain even though it was super close. When we walked in Calvin Johnson was selling merch and Phil Elvrum was playing guitar and singing. There were tons of cute girls there and this one band had a song about being a pedestrian and how they love walking around. But I don't even know what band that was because all the acts were so pretentious that they didn't introduce themselves. However, Mirah was super cute and her songs are fantastic and I absolutely loved it.

4.
Earlier in the year, on June 8th at the Wonder Ballroom Joe and I saw The Streets and Lady Sovereign. I didn't really "get" lady sov, but the Streets were so great. They busted out all these songs I had forgotten about and it was really dancy. The crowd was super hip with lots of those tee shirts that have offset designs on the bottom and sides that I own none of. Mike Skinner poured brandy straight into peoples' mouths in the front and it was like a big party. It was fantastic. North Star Ballroom at 635 N. Killingsworth Court. This show took place on November 26, 2006.

3.
So the only reunion show on this list took place at the Roseland Theater on July 26. I have seen Weezer play three times and all three were really cool, but none of them were as rad as when I saw THE RENTALS this summer. Ozma, one of my old favorites opened and they weren't as great because they changed some members, but The Rentals were awesome. Matt Sharp came out dancing wearing an Ozma tee shirt and big glasses strapped on to his head. He bounced around and they played a ton of hits, up to and including "I Just Threw Out The Love of My Dreams" which is technically a Weezer song. The moog synths sounded great and the Matt's singing was top notch. The crowd there was kind of jockish, strangely and I went with a friend but after they played "Friends of P" and I left I called him on the phone and he was across town at some bar, so I consider this show to be one I went to solo.

2.
Okay so imagine you're driving cross country in the snow and by accident you stop in some weird town in the middle of nowhere and imagine the singer of your favorite band is playing an acoustic set at a crappy bar and no one is there but you and also imagine he played your favorite song by said band. This is what happened to me in February when I saw Bob Nanna play in Iowa at Gabe's Oasis.

1.
In an ironic showing of capitalism prevailing for a socialist singer, the best show I went to see this year was also the most expensive. I shelled out $27 to see BILLY BRAGG play at the Aladdin on October 2, 2006. It was so fantastic. I once again went by myself and sat IN THE FRONT ROW! Billy Bragg is so charming and his songs are so punk rock and, dare I say, emo. He had the best stage presence and banter of anyone I've ever seen play. I can't believe I almost didn't go to this show. I loved it!

new pic on top, ya dig?

Rattlecan my heart.

I have begun painting my Smallframe Vespa. For those keeping score at home, this will be my third rattlecan paint job, though my first on a Vespa. It looks good so far: the small bit i've done.

Boyracer - "I've got it and it's not worth having."

Have I mentioned lately that I'm obsessed with Sarah Records? I bought another one of their 7"s on ebay this week, but this one isn't it. This one might be next. It's the band Boyracer, from England, with a great song. Here's a video for it and the lyrics.



I can't even remember a summer day
so much wasted on movement.

Last night alone in your car,
unable to speak.
With every word uncovered.

I've got it and it's not worth having.

And I drink to forget.
Yet increase the distance
I'm trying so hard to be late
It's permanent
This has happened over you.
drink myself stupid and I'm feeling stupid over you.

I've got it and it's not worth having.

(awesome build up and solo)

I've got it and it's not worth having.
I've got it and it's not worth having.
I've got it and it's not worth having.
I've got it and it's not worth having.

===
I love Boyracer, especially this song because this might be where emo and indie pop and punk meet. The verses might be mistaken for Jawbreaker taken on their own. The sound is more midwest USA than midlands UK, and the song was covered by The Lucksmiths
for a Sarah tribute 7" on Matinee! This is fantastic and it reminds me
that one of my favorite blogs that covers all of this is called href="http://www.thesoundofindie.com/">The Sound of Indie

Also, Boyracer is on Yellow Mica Recordings along with my new band ROCKET PUNCH! So, we are labelmates pretty much, no?

Rocket Punch's song "Pink Cashmere" - I don't know why I didn't pick up on this before - is track ten on the "C06" compilation put together by Indie MP3 dot co dot UK! How great is that? Check it out here:
http://www.indie-mp3.co.uk/2006/07/c06.html

Relevant Wikipedia links:
Boyracer (phenomenon)
C86 (music)

===
I have been working on other things lately including the Scoot.net FAQ. I
wrote a big bit about touring on a scooter: Scoot.net FAQ

Summer Flashback

Matt gave me a bunch of pictures recently and this was one of them. It is me during the 2006 Rally In Portland chilling in Sellwood.

The black Vespa in the front belongs to Kalaisha. The three bikes right by those are Cassie, Tracy ("Skirt") and my roommates' - all from Cute Bunnies and Kitties Scooter Club.

Across the street there I am chilling with coffee in hand. Behind me is my roommates' Lambretta, my white Vespa, and I'm talking with some scooter friends from Eugene and some goofball with sandals on a Derbi Predator who just happened to be riding by.

Year in review!

Coming soon: I am going to count down my favorite concerts I went to in 2006!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rocket Punch plays their first show!

Rocket Punch played live for the first time on December 1, 2006.

We played the following:

Kafka on the S.
Michael, Don't Go To Private School
Emma's House (The Field Mice cover)
Pink Cashmere
Dan: The Song
Better Lives
Dumb Kid
Posters for Cats Disappeared (The Capstan Shafts cover)
Sucked Out (Superdrag cover)



In case you missed it, here is a recording of us practicing our song, "Dan: The Song" which is about this kid right here.

Rocket Punch - "Dan: The Song" (Rehearsal - November 14, 2006) link

Thank you to all who attended! SOON WE WILL BE BIGGER THAN U2!

Also, we have 1" buttons, the hip kind, available. Email me for details.

Also, our CDs are available from www.yellowmicarecordings.com

Rocket Punch performs live!!!

As was reported way back here, Rocket Punch is releasing their first record. It is entitled "BLOOD ON THE UKELELE" and is available from Swedish label Yellow Mica Recordings.

I have joined the live band of Rocket Punch and we are playing our first show this Friday. It is free. It will be good times. It is going to be at The Waypost.

Let's Talk about The Liberal Media

My boss often tells me that Air America Radio is going to go bankrupt because no one listens to it and no one likes it. He is wrong.

Above is a copy of an internal memo from ABC Radio Networks.

The message reads:

“Please be advised that Hewlett Packard has purchased schedules with ABC Radio Networks between (certain dates). Please make sure you black out this advertiser on your station, as they do not wish to air on any Air America affiliates. Please see below for a complete list of advertisers requesting that none of their commercials air within Air America programming.”

Here are the companies that refuse to have their purchased radio advertisements run during Air America programming:

Allstate
American Heart Association
Avents
Avon
Bank of America
Baye
BMW Motor cycles
Chattam…. Phisoderm, Gold Bond, Selsun Salon, Ultimate Healing Lotion,.
Cigna
Cingular
Clorox
Coke
Coty
Dean’s Morningstar
Denny’s
Discovery Channel
Eharmony.com
Epson
Expedia.com
Exxon Mobil
Farmer’s Insurance
FedEx
Foot Action
Frito Lay
GE
Gillette Venus
Goodyear
Heinekin Amstel
Hershey’s
Hewlett Packard
Home Depot
Hormel
Hyatt
Interstate Bakers
JC Penney
Johnson & Johnson
Kohl’s
Levi’s
Masterfoods (all brands}
McDonalds
Merial Frontline
MGM
Michelin
Microsoft
Morningstar
National Cattleman Beef
Nestle
Nissan
NYSE
Office Depot
Outdoor Life Network
P & G – Bounty, Charmin, Febreeze, Iams Dog/Cat food, Pepto Bismol
Paramount
Pepsi
Philip Morris
Pier 1 Imports
Red Lobster
ReMax
REI Sporting
Rent-way
Rebert Herr
Schering Plough
Sherwin Williams
Sony
State Farm
Toys R US
Travelocity.com
True Value
United Healthcare
US Navy
USPS
Visa
Walgreens
Wal-Mart
Welch’s
Wrigley
Wyeth

I am going to be taking my very small earnings elsewhere whenever possible, for the small difference it will make.

NY Times mention: link

WFMU Blog discussion: link

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting: link

another link to the memo

More info on Huffington Post: link

---------------------

To liven this post up a bit, here's Billy Bragg playing "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on October 5th, 2006.

If You've got them, light them up

I really want one of these new Gilera Fuocos.

I have an audio treat for old fans of WGSU - especially Greg Gonzalez.

http://audio.cdbaby.com/s/summerbreak-10.mp3

Car of the Month: Citroen DS

A lot of people ask me "John, What is the coolest car in the world?" I answer them, "Of course the coolest car in the world is the Citroen DS."

The Citroen DS was introduced in 1955 and built until 1975. There used to be a white one in my town that was in mint shape and I thought it was the greatest. The Citroen had a lot of majorly advanced technology, like the first electronic throttle control, hydraulic suspension, and headlights that turn when the wheels turn. Here is a picture of the Citroen DS:








Fantastic music video featuring a Citroen DS: link

Happy Vespa

Today I got this carburator in the mail. It is what's known as a Vortex carburator. It is a Spaco/Dell'orto style carb modified by a scooterist in California to be more adjustable and to give a bit better performance. I worked on my scooter and put it mostly back together and took it for a spin around the block. It started up and sounded very angry. I believe it was upset because during the two years I have owned it I have always run a 102 main jet, not knowing any better. Now, I know better and have a 116 main jet. That is a big change. It means the Vespa gets a lot more fuel. This carb is designed for a lot more air, thus the scooter's engine is burning a lot more and going faster. I am very pleased with this. A large portion of this pleasure comes from me putting it all back together single-handedly (with some counseling from my housemates, a phone tutorial from Al of Hot Rod Scooters, and more counseling and parts lending from The McCabes). However, after a few blocks the Vespa died and had to be pushed home. It made weird clouds of smoke out of the carburator top that if I were superstitious I would believe would have something to do with halloween. I am sure something small is wrong with it. In any event, the ride around the block was smoother and quicker than ever before.

Also, today I watched The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift and it was pretty awesome.

The Wrens - "She Sends Kisses"

(With Youtube.com having been bought out recently, I figure I might as well post up this great video for you to enjoy whil I still have the chance. It's "She Sends Kisses" by The Wrens, off of "The Meadowlands.")

she sends kisses
ten tons against me and you’ve gone
I put your favorite records on
and sit around
it spins around
and you’re around again
struck dumb while drugs run at how high reeds
cue every memory at half-speeds
just like….charles, hold-me-downs
I’m-coming sounds
cut crap, who’s filling shoes like these anymore?
past clumsy crushes beneath Thrill Pier
hopes pinned to poses honed in men’s room mirrors
a sophomore at Brown
she worked Lost & Found
I put your face on her all year
from five rows of photos when you wrote
of posed you, dressed blue, a backyard boat
signed at the bottom with this quote:
(#4 North Shore) a cape may address
your new one I guess
‘all’s well in hell and all here’s hoping’
she sends kisses
some signed ‘with Love, Beth oooooo xxxxx’
she sends kisses
same old beth - some signed 666
our shore town knockdown sure was fun
yeah, white trash, what have you
I fired replies back gun by gun
past Seven Wrecks I read your four answers:
1. your move
2. I’m tres involved
3. move on
4. love, Beth
I walk it down
this tourist town
‘just thought I’d’ calls
just friends
she sends kisses
and all at once back doors blow open
she sends…. in envelopes stamped w/ ‘Hope & Hearts’ - ripped right open
she sends…
but I’m corrupt - I wrote back good luck

Kind of Like Spitting - "Valentine's Day is over"

Only a short time ago I was lucky enough to see Billy Bragg play. Tickets were kind of pricey, and thus I could not find anyone to go with me. Most of my friends had never heard of Billy Bragg, and I could only give so much explanation about how he was a big influence on tons of our favorite bands (The Weakerthans and Ted Leo are the ones that quickly come to mind). I definitely knew Billy Bragg would be great, and so I went it alone. I got to sit in the front row! I hardly ever go to shows with seats and rarely if they have seats, will I sit in the front.

Billy Bragg was fantastic. His between song banter was really great and despite me only having one of his albums, I knew a lot of the songs he played.

I figured I might run into someone I know there, and I figured that person might be Ben Barnett. I've met Mr. Barnett on a few occasions, and I saw him walking up the street with a cup of coffee in his hand a few months ago when I was driving to work. Unfortunately, I didn't meet anyone I knew there, but I did have lovely chats with the other people there by themselves (an older woman who was so happy to meet Billy a few years ago at a show in the midwest, a kid who looked exactly like me). Also, I recently heard Ben Barnett is not going to be recording under the Kind of Like Spitting name any longer. At one point a year or two ago he was supposedly going to record with my friends Kalpana as his band and be called Worker Bee. (He was even billed as Worker Bee formerly known as Kind of Like Spitting at a NY show.) In any event, had he been there I would have thanked him for introducing me to Billy Bragg through this cover.

This song is "Valentine's Day is over," which was originally off of Mr. Bragg's "Workers' Playtime" record.

Kind of Like Spitting - "Valentine's Day is over."

Buy Kind of Like Spitting releases at Redder Records

Someday boy you'll reap what you sown
You'll catch a cold and you'll be on your own
And you will see that what's wrong with me
is wrong with everyone that you want to play your little games on

Poetry and flowers, pretty words and threats
You've gone to the dogs again and I'm not placing bets on you
coming home tonight
Anything but blind
if you take me for granted than you must expect to find
surprise, surprise!

Valentine's day is over, it's over
Valentine's day is over

If you want to talk about it, well you know where the phone is
Don't come 'round reminding me again how brittle bone is
God didn't make you an angel
the devil made you a man
That brutality and the economy are related now I understand
When will you realize that as above
so below there is no love

Valentine's day is over, it's over
Valentine's day is over

For the girl with the hour-glass figure, time runs out very fast
We used to want the same things, but that's all in the past
And lately it seems that as it all gets tougher
Your idea of justice just becomes rougher and rougher

Valentine's day is over, it's over
Valentine's day is over

Thank you for the things you bought me
Thank you for the card
Thank you for the things you taught me when you hit me hard
That love between two people must be based on understanding
Until that's true you'll find your things all stacked out on the landing
Surprise, surprise!

Valentine's day is over, it's over
Valentine's day is over, it's over
It's over

Old Project

I am putting some new parts on my old white Vespa. They are performance parts, and they are both hand-me-down parts from these scooters:

Portland's own THUNDERTURD

NYC's UrbanBarn Scooter

It seems like these parts are going to a fitting recipient.

New Project

I got the first bit for a new project in the mail today. It came in a huge box and I forgot that I was getting it so I was surprised. Here it is. Can you guess what the project is?

Vitreous Humor - "Why Are You So Mean To Me?"

This band is named after the liquid in eyeballs, and actually live up to such a name. They are a midwestern emo band who did a split record with one of my favorite bands ever, Boys Life, and this song was on it.

It's also on their record "Posthumous," which was the first record I bought after moving here. I found it for $2.50 at CD Exchange on Hawthorne. The whole record is really good, but this song and the first song "My Midget" are incredible. This song was recorded in 1994 and sounds better than anything else I have that was recorded that year. Apparently this band was courted by the major labels, but never signed. Thus, "Why Are You So Mean To Me?" is a secret superhit.

You might know this song because a "popular" band, Nada Surf, picked it up and covered it a few years ago. That's where I first heard it. Their cover is really good, but this original version is screamin' great. The guitars sound like the ocean on rocks and the drums are anxious and may not even be on time but still sound spot on. I hope you like this song.

CLICK THIS LINK, SISSY! then click "FREE" (bottom right)!

Vitreous Humor at Crank! Records : link
Vitrous Humor at MySpace : link

The Promise Ring - "Electric Pink"

Continuing on with the "Music My Sister Wants to Hear" series, we have the song "Electric Pink" by one of my favorite bands ever, The Promise Ring. I think of The Promise Ring as a very summery band, except for their early stuff like on The Horse Latitudes, which I consider to be a little bit autumnal and nocturnal.

This is one of the songs my sister would hear in the car with me driving. It's off of their EP of the same name, which came out after "Very Emergency" but before "Wood/Water" (both of which I associate with the summertime). Please listen to this in honor of an Indian Summer.

CLICK ON THIS, SISSY!

This disc was really great because it's artwork is almost all just a solid pink block on the cover, but with the song titles in small type at the top. One of the members of The Promise Ring is a graphic designer, so all their albums had fantastic artwork that made you excited to be buying their albums. This EP also included a re-recorded version of the song "American Girl" which was off of their "Boys & Girls" EP, which is an interesting statement in itself. It's kind of self-indulgent, but kind of neat and relaxed. It really lets the band get out their material in a great way. I wish more bands took having fun as seriously as The Promise Ring did.

I live on a small street, with very small shoes but in a big house, with a big wardrobe. I've got the whole world in my hands; it's a small world after all. And there's not much to say on five bucks a day, and there's no other way, so we're just hanging around. For the weekend to come we're all hungry and dumb for Friday. Please don't press that we dress, high heels and loud shoes are a mess step out with quiet feet. I'm pleased to meet; meeting is so hard to do when you're dead. Between a wink and an earthquake there are conversations and complications go on, on, and on I pretend that I understand my hands and the rest are only a test. To be paid to be pressed when we end we will be softly kissed.

Yeah, I feel electric
Pink in the cheeks
We look like animals
Seven days a week
I'm too polite
You're too brief

{There's more of The Promise Ring, including buying their stuff, at www.jadetree.com
I love The Promise Ring so much, I'll probably post more of their stuff soon.}

Dressy Bessy - "I Saw Cinnamon"

My sister lost all the songs on her iPod. She wants me to send her some songs that she likes that I introduced to her. I told her to just download a bunch of new music that she'll probably like, such as Lily Allen. She never had this song, "I Saw Cinnamon" by Dressy Bessy on her iPod, but she's had it in her head for years. I saw Dressy Bessy play in 2002 at CBGB's and it was great. They are named after an old Playskool doll. This song is a superhit, by all means. So, here it is.

CLICK ON THIS, SISSY!!!

Buy Dressy Bessy's stuff at www.dressybessy.com

The Lucksmiths - "Smokers In Love"

The Lucksmiths - "Smokers In Love"

In the last installment of the three part commemorative Lucksmiths coverage we hear a great track off one of The Lucksmiths' lesser known releases - the "Staring at the Sky" ep. This is one release I don't even have (and I've got most of their stuff). I am holding out until I buy a new turntable and then get this one on 10" vinyl!

This song is autumn-specific and super catchy. Thank you for listening to Lucksmiths week. I have topped myself and I don't know where I'll go next.

artwork:Wilhelm Sasnal "Girl Smoking (Anka)" 2001, Oil on Canvas -45 x 50cm [link]

Download "Smokers in Love" by following this link:
http://www.bookclubrecords.com/mp3.htm

Purchase Lucksmiths releases at Matinée Records: [link]

In the early morning, when you wake each other up
Coughing like you might not make the afternoon
You keep the curtains closed and you carry off a conversation
But you both know that it’s still far too soon to say you’ll be OK

La la la la la

You keep the curtains closed and you hide behind the newspaper
You got yourself some nicotine in the nick of time
And even though the weekend doesn’t really make much difference
You spent Thursday on your backside whistling “Friday On My Mind”
Super-supine

La la la la la
Smokers in love

Happy and hungover on the first day of October
Struggling to remember the last night of September

In the early evening, then you crack each other up
Laughing ’til you’re practically bent double on the floor
Amidst a sea of empty bottles, crockery and coffee cups
Using anything for ashtrays, drinking drinks you can’t afford
And you’re still bored

La la la la la
Smokers in love

The Lucksmiths - "Deep Sea Diving Suit"

The Lucksmiths - "Deep Sea Diving Suit"

In most of The Lucksmiths' songs the singer seems absolutely happy. Sure, there are a few downtempo numbers such as "I Prefer The Twentieth Century" or the last track we heard a few days ago. But, The Lucksmiths are generally accurately considered a "happy" band. However, this track strikes me as very sad.

It is a cover of "Deep Sea Diving Suit" by The Magnetic Fields. Perhaps Tali (the singer/drummer) has some connection to this song other than just to record it for the B-side to "T-Shirt Weather." Maybe the song just sounds like that. I love it because it's such an absurd analogy, but it works so well. I also love the line "There's no point pointing pistols at me now" because when I hear it I hear "pointing pistils" instead, which would be so fitting. What a great song. Enjoy!

http://www.geocities.com/cassrevival/deepsea.zip

You [D]didn't have to say that [G]I'm no good 'cause I know

There's no point pointing pistols at me now I'll just go

I never should have asked you to be kind but I'm slow

I'm sor[Bm]ry, but how can I get t[G]o you
[A]stuck in my fifty-p[G]ound lead boots, stuck in my[A] deep sea diving suit? [G] [D]

I n[D]ever thought you'd turn [G]on me 'cause you're my best friend

you say I never offered you a thing in the end

and now you wouldn't trust me with a grain of sand

I'm sor[Bm]ry, but how can I get t[G]o you
[A]stuck in my fifty-p[G]ound lead boots, stuck in my[A] deep sea diving suit? [G]

unhappy Vespa

My Vespa broke down yesterday on the way to the amusement park where all who arrived on scooters were to be given free admission. Unfortunately, there are a few major problems with it and it will probably be off the road for some time. I will update this when I figure out some of the problems.

The Lucksmiths - "The Sandringham Line" (live)

The Lucksmiths - "The Sandringham Line"

Live at The Courthouse Theatre
Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
May 1, 2003

I discovered The Lucksmiths while studying abroad in London during Autumn 2003. They had just released their album, Naturaliste, which is one of my top five favorite albums of all time.

I saw them play three shows in London. To celebrate three years of Lucksmiths listening (and I listen to them constantly), I have three of my current favorite Lucksmiths songs to share with you, one at a time.

I rode the train a lot to shows by myself. I listened to my CD player and this track - the second track on Naturaliste - really stuck out to me. While "Camera Shy" is a perfect upbeat opener, the Lucksmiths slow it down on this song. It's a very assertive way of arranging the album, and really shows that The Lucksmiths know what they are doing. They don't pile their "hits" on to the beginning of the album. They know what works, and they make the album a great listening experience because of it.

The Lucksmiths write a lot of songs about the weather. This is a great example of one. "It's grey and wet and warm" perfectly sets the scene. Also, "I sat backwards on the train and suddenly the city was further and further in front of me" is a great pun that is fun, smart, and pointed.

Here is a link to the best Lucksmiths fan site on the internet: link
It has an illustrated song reference guide that states The Sandringham Line is a "Melbourne train line running from the city centre to Sandringham, taking 27 minutes."

Here is a link to the Lucksmiths' official website: link

The best place to buy Lucksmiths records in the United States is Matinée Recordings.

I'm sorry this isn't an mp3. It's a RealAudio feed. I used to have it ripped to an mp3 on my old computer, but that computer died two years ago.

Here is the link to hear "The Sandringham Line" live - you have to click on "click here to listen" in the center of the page:
http://uob-community.ballarat.edu.au/live/lucksmiths03/

Please check back on this site in the next week or so for some more Lucksmiths greatness.

She’s given it some thought
And it’s giving her some grief
Could it be she’s bored beyond belief?
By the time she says goodbye
She’s looking somewhere else
Stifling a sigh and gritting teeth

At the open door she pauses
It’s grey and wet and warm
Before the pending storm
Every now and then she misses horses
We’re too young for regrets
This is the closest that she gets

So I sleep in with the cynics
While she pushes from her mind
The twenty-seven minutes of the Sandringham line
The suburbs sliding past
Stretching to the sea
Her fingers brush the glass unconsciously

At the open door she pauses
It’s grey and wet and warm
Before the pending storm
Every now and then she misses horses
We’re too young for regrets
Surely we’re too young for regrets

I sat backwards on the train
And suddenly the city was further and further in front of me

Tamiroff - "Feet From A Music Video"

Music this good makes me wish I lived in Rochester. I never had the pleasure of seeing Tamiroff play live. They kind of sound like an old Emo / DC style of punk. They have twinkly guitars and harsh vocals and sweet melodies and start-stop rhythms; all the stuff that I like. I have been meaning to write about them for a long time. Chris from this band went to Geneseo and was in a few of my classes and involved in WGSU.

"Feet From A Music Video" is another example of my favorite song from a band being the first song I ever heard from them. It's track one on their disc "Bittersweet and Strange."

There are a few more songs of theirs available on myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/tamiroff

Apparently, their website no longer works but here was the link:
http://tamiroff.cjb.net/

This is probably because the band broke up. Fortunately, some of the members of this band went on to a new band called Polar Bear Club.

Tamiroff "Feet From A Music Video"
Stop window shopping
placement product
top shelf secrets
should of stopped us
our story is an advertisement
for some remix of love
I turned around faced the cinema
It turned us all into
The hopeless romantic
Teeting our lips, moving our hips
It says a lot
to be so wet and in-between
We've made our point
We let everyone win
I noticed it
when your feet were wet and blind
Follow me into the place
of perfect pediatrist harmony

"Livin' the dream."

I bought a 1971 Volkswagen Riviera camper van. I have wanted a Volkswagen Bus for longer than I can remember. It is very strange to actually have one. I drove it all around Portland today and listened to this mix tape. I drove it to the record store and bought the self-titled Boy's Life album and "Bang Bang Rock & Roll" by Art Brut.

Chin Up Chin Up - "Fuck You, Elton John"

Chin Up Chin Up's song "Fuck You, Elton John" is a classic WGSU hit known better as "EFF YOU Elton John." WGSU was always playing the first records of bands, so this one is from their first record. The band is touring soon with Cursive and The Thermals, so maybe I'll go see them when they play here. The original bassist for the band was killed by a drunk gang member in a hit and run accident on Valentines' day after pushing his girlfriend out of the way of the oncoming vehicle. This song is a WGSU hit that we still mention, but I hadn't heard in over a year until I downloaded it today.

Chin Up Chin Up - "Fuck You, Elton John" (mp3)

More info on Chin Up Chin Up

Racing Yugos

Our friend Bill keeps Yugo racing alive and well in Geneseo, New York.

link

Bob Nanna - "Accidents Willl Happen" (Elvis Costello cover)

Back in 2001, Bob Nanna, the singer from Braid and Hey Mercedes had a list of his 365 favorite songs of all time. I have this list somewhere ("Chesterfield King" by Jawbreaker and "Car" by Built to Spill were near the top). He recorded covers of many of the songs. These covers became some of my favorite recorded music of all time. They included songs by Kind of Like Spitting, The Dismemberment Plan, Pedro The Lion, Jawbox, Alkaline Trio, Fugazi, Elliott Smith, and Small Factory. I don't understand why these covers are not readily available and discussed all over the internet. Granted, they are all pretty lo-fi and I think he recorded them all on his laptop, but they are all fantastic. This one isn't even my favorite of the bunch, but it's perfect. This one is the song "Accidents Will Happen" by Elvis Costello, which originally appeared on his 1979 album Armed Forces.

Bob Nanna - "Accidents Will Happen" (Elvis Costello Cover)

Accidents Will Happen

Oh I just don't know where to begin
Though he says he'll wait forever, it's now or never
But she keeps him hanging on
The silly champion
She says she can't go home without a chaperone

Accidents will happen
We only hit and run
He used to be your victim
Now you're not the only one
Accidents will happen
We only hit and run
I don't want to hear it
'Cause I know what I've done

There's so many fish in the sea that only rise up in the sweat and smoke like mercury
But they keep you hanging on
They say you're so young
Your mind is made up but your mouth is undone

And it's the damage that we do and never know
It's the words that we don't say that scare me so

There's so many people to see
So many people you can check up on and add to your collection
But they keep you hanging on
Until you're well hung
Your mouth is made up but your mind is undone

I know, I know.

The Field Mice - "Emma's House"

The Field Mice - "Emma's House"
Sarah Records 12 / December 1988

intro Bb Eb Bb
intro Bb F Eb Bb
intro Bb F Eb Bb

Early morning by the harbour Bb F Eb Bb
The clouds above form one sheet that's grey Bb F Eb Bb
Early morning by the harbour Bb F Eb

Where you are Bb F Gm
Where you now are Bb F Gm
You have nothing to live up to Bb F Gm
You have nothing to live down Bb F Cm
Emma's house is empty Bb F Gm
so why do I call it Emma's house? Bb F Cm

Five to six, that's what the time is Bb F Eb Bb
The cold cuts through my shirt of cotton made Bb F Eb Bb
Five to six, that's what the time is Bb F Eb

Where you are Bb F Gm
Where you now are Bb F Gm
You have nothing to live up to Bb F Gm
You have nothing to live down Bb F Cm
Emma's house is empty Bb F Gm
so why do I call it Emma's house? Bb F Cm

instrumental Bb Eb Bb
instrumental Bb F Eb Bb
instrumental Bb F Eb Bb

Where you are Bb F Gm
Where you now are Bb F Gm
You have nothing to live up to Bb F Gm
You have nothing to live down Bb F Cm
Emma's house is empty Bb F Gm
so why do I call it Emma's house? Bb F Cm Eb Bb

==
Sarah Records Field Mice tab Emma's House tab, Emmas house tab, Field mice chords, guitar tab, guitar chords, songs to know, love and play.

Ride a Vespa and Win!

I never win anything, but today I won the www.TheScooterScoop.com guess what scooter Steve bought contest. I guessed Vespa P125, because that's what I have, and he got a P125 T5 model. I won a Sachs Madass hat and a few patches. Awesome!

The Instant Nostalgia will burn you.

WWW.LITTLEHITS.COM is the best mp3 blog out there. Here are two things they missed, only because they're nostalgic in a winter 2004/2005 type of way, and not because they don't fit the canon of perfect pop, because they do.

The Capstan Shafts [Vermont, USA]- "The Day You Called Me Pretty" mp3
from the 2004 album Chick Cigarettes on Asaurus Records

The Pink Cammies [Geneseo, NY, USA - disbanded]- "Blood: The Song" unreleased, 2005 mp3

You can fuck around on LittleHits and find your favorite songs. I'm kind of scared to point out which ones I like the most, because I just like to keep them secret. But here are two to start.

Small Factory [Providence, RI, USA - 1991] - "Suggestions" link
Also this is the first track on their singles compilation The Industrial Evolution, which is fantastic.

Bluboy [England] - "Stephanie" from the Some Gorgeous Accident ep on Sarah Records, 1993 link
Take note: this is what the Kings of Convenience ripped off. Sorry, but at least you heard it from a friend.

Bonus track
Holiday Flyer [California - 2001] - "Clover Valley Road" link
I love this song because it reminds me of riding my Vespa in Pittsford, New York in autumn 2004.

why I cry

link

@-%--

I didn't go to my friend Mike's wedding, but I hope it was as sweet, charming, and fun as this video.

Every girl that I've seen since looks just like you when I squint.

I just hit song number 6666 on my computer's iTunes. The song is "Emily Kane" by Art Brut. I downloaded it after hearing it on Sirius radio in a rented Chrysler Town and Country, which is actually a much nicer vehicle than I thought it would be.

link

Rollfast Bicycles

I recently bought my fourth bicycle ever. Yes, I've owned more scooters than bicycles. Here is my bike riding history:

First: Ross convertible cruiser. 20 inch wheels. Blue. Toptank model. I still own this bike and it hangs in my old "fort" at my parents' house, but is too small for me.
Second: Huffy "Dirt Water" orange. 24 or 26 inch wheels. 18 speed thumb shifters. Horrible bike. Long gone.
Third: Gary Fisher Mamba. 1997 model (I think). Flat grey. Gorgeous bike. 21 speed grip shifters. Double butted chromoly steel. Owned since new. Wheels were stolen a few months ago but I bought wheels off of some dude for $5 and just need new tubes to get back going.

Fourth: Rollfast Cruiser. I bought it about a month ago on a whim.
I love it for numerous reasons.
The paint looks rusty, but it's not. It's orange and faded and original. The decals are there and faded too. A lot of people have seen this bike and said it looks crappy, but I believe it to be a piece of art. That's why I like it. It looks fast standing still and is simple and beautiful.

Rollfast Bicycles was a partnership between the D. P. Harris company of New York City and the H. P. Snyder company of Little Falls, New York, which is where I'm from. I can't afford an Ira Ryan or a Mountain Cycle, the local bikes of now that I lust for, so I got a Rollfast.

I love the dual top tubes on the top top tube (does that make sense?). Most have the dual tube on the lower of the two top tubes. It's gorgeous. I am considering a fixed gear rear wheel for this. Would that make sense? The tires are not original, but are Cheng Shin (for Trac-Shin!) like every other crappy scooter I've owned.

I can't find a picture of a Rollfast like mine anywhere on the internet, so this is the first. I will write and post more pictures of the Rollfast as I ride it and fix it up. It is nice to have a coaster braking bike again.

Here is one of the few articles I could find on Rollfast Bicycles:
http://www.firstflightbikes.com/rollfast.htm

Popped Collars Are Lame!

This is overdue:
www.poppedcollarsarelame.com

(Don, I'm not a woman.)

A long time ago there was a band called the Castawaves.

Also, Happy wedding Mike Mahoney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Honda Ruckus 125cc in the works.

Everyone knows I love the Honda Ruckus. It is the most original scooter out there - with rat / survival looks right out of the box. Problem is - the Ruckus is available in only 50cc (too slow) and 250cc (too expensive) displacements.

Fortunately, Honda has a 125cc Ruckus in the works, which would be the perfect displacement for the Ruckus. Here is a video of it.

http://www.honda.co.jp/HDTV/motorshow/Tokyo2005-NP6-S/index.html

Rocket Punch set to release "BLOOD ON THE UKELELE"

Rocket Punch is releasing the new record, entitled "Blood on the Ukelele" on Yellow Mica Recordings. Rocket Punch is the solo project from Brad, formerly of Geneseo, New York's synth-pop heartthrobs The Pink Cammies. Yellow Mica Recordings is a Swedish record label that has formerly released 7"s and CDRs of The Capstan Shafts, Boyracer, and Javelins.

The record is truly great and has five songs Brad that have been in the works for the past year. If you are the type to constantly compare bands, I would have to tell you that it sounds like Saturday Looks Good to Me, The Capstan Shafts, Pinback, and The Pink Cammies. However, Brad would say it sounds like Jonathan Richman, Brian Wilson, Jeff Gilbert, The Capstan Shafts, Ariel Pink, Kevin Shields, and KK Slider. Furthermore, my opinion is one of these songs is the best song Brad has ever written, though I'll let you guess which one that might be.

Blood on the Ukelele:

1. Pink Cashmere
2. Better Lives
3. Small Volcanoes
4. Michael Don't go to private school
5. Kafka on the S.

The first two songs can be heard already at:
http://www.myspace.com/rocketpunch/

Also, I should include the address for Yellow Mica Recordings:
http://www.yellowmicarecordings.com/

Yellow Mica Recordings is run by a member of the group Javelins, and this is my favorite song of theirs:
Javelins - "I Was Raised as A Polar Bear."

major announcement coming soon

New Kalpana track!

OMG! Geneseo/Rochester now Brooklyn, New York band Kalpana now have a new track! Although my reviews of "This Dead Horse" and "Hors de Combat" are long overdue, I'll just skip to it and go to their new song.

It's called "O Carcass! My Carcass!" It's live, and it has yelling. Chances are it will be on Kalpana's next record, which rumor has it will be one continuous piece of music from start to finish and will be called "How to talk to God (if you must)."

http://glassanimalindex.com/media/music/carcass.mp3

This track starts off slow-ish, like many Kalpana tracks do, but then speeds up a bit with double timed drums that are still slow. The electronics are really taking over the band too, and where the "Hors de Combat" songs had a metal influence, the ones on "This Dead Horse" have more of a glitch influence. At the half-way point the song breaks into a really emoish scream/breakout section. It must be Aaron singing on that part, I'll guess. Aaron kind of sounds like the dude from Sparta, if you like to think of singers in relation to each other.

At just over eight minutes, the song isn't short. But breaking it into two parts keeps it tight and actually cuts the fat. The screaming verse only goes for four times.

Listen and hear for yourself.

Rising Up / Rising Down

Dave aka Este aka the drummer from ROCKETS AND BLUELIGHTS is in a new hardcore band called Rising Up / Rising Down. He is wearing the same "GOOD RATS" T Shirt as seen in Rockets and Bluelights photos, so I know it's definitely him.

On their myspace page you may listen to three of their songs, but unfortunately not download them. The untitled one sounds the most like Rockets and Bluelights.

They refer to themselves as a "power trio," so they must be good! They also have a crappy geocities site like Rockets does, which does have this cool insect shirt logo, but no info on their recordings.
http://www.geocities.com/rurdweb/

IRA RYAN

Today In front of my office I saw the coolest single speed bike. It was marked "IRA RYAN" and I didn't know anything about it. So, I looked it up later today and found Ira Ryan is a bike courier here in Portland. He just started making his own frames and now makes bikes himself. Anyway, I thought this bike was so sexy and so awesome. Here it is. I am going to get a single speed or fixed gear pretty soon. I love them so much.
www.iraryancycles.com

Rockets and Bluelights

Rockets and Bluelights

Albany, New York's greatest band ever, Rockets and Bluelights now has a fan-run myspace page. It includes downloadable mp3s of "Now This Year" and a few other songs, although I've noticed "Forest Green and Autumn" is mislabeled. Anyway, it's fantastic:
http://www.myspace.com/rocketscats

Also, their website is back up, including some semi-infamous pictures:
http://www.geocities.com/rocketscats

Rockets and Bluelights, you are not only still very explosive, you are my favorite band of all time.

Since the Geocities site for Rockets and Bluelights is so unstable, and for a long time wasn't online, I have copied all the text from them here for posterity. Most of it kind of doesn't make much sense but I like it anyway.

july 15th once again forgot about this. we have been taking it easy. we have also compiled the two 4 song ep's we did at dead air recordings (first as rockets and songs from the 10") onto one music w/ new packaging and things. we still have copies of 10" as well. if you would like some music please email bluelights_tour@hotmail.com (cd's are $4 and records are $7) ask about postage please. full length extended play cd with 10 new songs should be out by the fall on peterwalkee records. also, we will be doing a split with once and for all that will be released by mike and oneohfive records.

last winter we got to tour with western sky, from new hampshire. there arent good words for how wonderful they are, but you should find out for yourself. at the end of the tour our wheels, the hacker express, had a stroke which he never fully recovered from. since then we've been living in albany trying to save and get a new van. trying hard but we're still pretty broke so if you want any music or patches or buttons or posters or drawings you can send us postage and maybe a donation or something and we'll really appreciate it. if you're into that you can send an envelope to :

treehaus 643 Morris Street Albany, NY 12208

if you include your email address it'll make it easy for us to get in touch with you if we dont have something

also, we have a 10:" record that we have to sell for 8 dollars so we can get more... the inside looks like this

on our first tour, two summers ago, we played a show in providence at our friend chris' house, the sickle. tin can fest was happening that night, which we couldn't play, so we flyered ours as a free after show. along with western sky, one reason and struction played. one reason are from mississippi and they love life and rock so hard with so much heart, and later brought us to our first waterfall at sliding rock. we love them very much. struction are amazing too. they're music is something very new that people will someday really appreciate. we just played two shows with them at the knitting factory in new york and the crack house in plattsburgh.

MUSIC:

we have an mp3 at this of a song called a smashed piano

we hope to have most songs here and alot of video as well...

we've put out 3 ep's by ourselves that all have 4 songs each, the first one under the name friendship isterrible, we called it unlearning the differences between... we wrote it and recorded it in rajesh's family basement in beautiful columbia county, ny, it goes a rambling discontent, father tells his son how to matter, what they made you mean to me, and junked up on chemistry... then we changed it to rockets and bluelights close at hand and made another version of this with a different picture on the front and one more song on the beginning called henchmen, that song was then put on an albany compilation by lin at losing face but, after that we went to North Amherst, MA and we recorded we are giants, henchmen, whatthey made you mean, and now this year (because we can't wait)... 2 or 3 of them may or may not be on the first one as well... then we came home, then we went back to Massachusetts and recorded a smashed piano, andee, forrest green and autumn, we bleed this in the winter and a song called wintermission that we haven't let anyone have yet, we put them on a cd at first but then we went to Rochester, NY and met Adam who put the aforementioned songs on a 10" record for us, which is nice... now we are finishing nine or ten new songs to put on a cd that our friend Matto is going to help us with thanks.

the day dan went to russia.

My friend Dan, who is also the bassist for the Get Awesome Ninjas, is now in Russia and I am really excited about it. He is blogging a bit about it on his blog:

http://foreign-lawns.livejournal.com/

He also reports:

I gotta get you some pictures of the Ladas and Zhigulis over here. Lots of Benz and VW sightings too. A few scooters here and there, and some VINTAGE Russian motorcycles getting everyday use still.

I love Ladas - I used to see them in Costa Rica. I don't know what a Zhiguli is. What is it, Dan? I would love to see some of the motorcycles and scooters they are riding in Russia, and what the Russia style for 2 wheelers is. Dan, can we get a report? What is cool in Russia? Sorry, guys, but this is much more exciting than me talking about how much I love ORGASM DEMENTIA, even though they are great.

Dan you are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Movie Every American Must Go See

The conservatives have said United 93 is the movie every American must go see. The liberals have said An Inconvenient Truth is the movie every American must go see.

I say "WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?" is the movie every American must go see.

link

Volvo Update:

when I got the Volvo it had 161,xxx miles and now it has 170,000 miles. It needs an oil change, new windshield (cracked on route 26 somewhere I believe), a good interior cleaning, some summer tires, and a STEREO so I can listen to The Pine instead of 94.7fm!

Yellow Mica Recordings

Yellow Mica Recordings is an indie pop label from Sweden that releases CD-Rs and 7"s. They have released records from such musical sunbeams as The Capstan Shafts and Boyracer. I mention them for no reason.

>link<

The Pine

The Pine

Since I was involved in the music scene in Geneseo, NY, I was also interested in the music scene in Oswego, NY - home to another college of the State University of New York. Although the label located there, Alone Records, might only be loosely associated with the college, I like to imagine that it takes over Oswego and everyone there knows about the bands on Alone Records. Thus, I was browsing their website one night looking for bands to hear, and stumbled upon a track by the group The Pine.

Although I always say I love punk and hardcore, I only recently realized I only like about 1 percent of it. Probably less; but it's that small portion that I love intensely. But then I hear The Pine and I can not escape them. Their self titled record is the hardest record I have bought in the last year. They sound similar to a Rockets and Bluelights cover band composed of members of Still Life with Matthew Good on vocals. They are really heavy, but also very dynamic.

That, and they attempt to only release music on vinyl.

The first song I ever heard by The Pine was a track called "Growing Calm Together." It was taken from one of their newer albums. Here is a link to it. The Pine - "Growing Calm Together"


Then I heard their early stuff, taken from their first full length and first seven inch. Although some of the titles sound more like Linkin Park tracks, they are great and intense and I love them.
The Pine - early tracks

Links:
Alone Records, Oswego NY
http://www.staticpulse.com/pine/releases.html
http://www.heroine.org/index1.html
http://www.gridsector.com/owsla.html

Notes on The Nineties at Noon

Lately i have been listening to a lot of 94.7 FM "Alternative Radio." I had just assumed that there would be a lot of great stuff on the radio here - incredible stuff on caliper with KEXP or WGSU or WFMU or KCRW - but no.

Instead, I have been enjoying a station that "gets you through your alternative weekday" and plays "the nineties at noon" (despite playing an overwhelming amount of nineties alternative music during all hours of the day).

Anyway, I have still been listening, and thinking about these songs and what they mean. I have listed them in a spectrum - from best to worst - to try to figure out some things about "alternative music." Some bands are listed with actual songs I heard on the air, while some are not.

To prevent this from becoming a cumbersome (lol!) essay, I've left this in the form of notes.

Good:
The dBs "Black and White" By far the best thing I've heard on this station.*
The Cure - anything other than "Friday I'm In Love"
Blur "Charmless Man" and anything other than "Song 2"
Nada Surf "Popular" and "Do It Again" (new one!)
Sublime - yeah love the 'blime
Cake "Frank Sinatra"- anything by them
Primitive Radio Gods "Standing outside a broken phone booth with money in my hand"
Daft Punk - are great! yay!
Hum "Stars" ok this song is great.
Dinosaur Jr. "Feel The Pain"- ok great awesome - Sebadoh too!
The Lemonheads - anything, even "Mrs. Robinson" is well-recieved by me.
The Strokes "12:51" ok this song's guitar used as a synth and great lyrics win me over, no probs
The Smashing Pumpkins - anything by them, even "Perfect" is great.
Weezer "Say it ain't so" (always great especially when DJ announces song as "Say It Isn't So" lol)
Matisyahu - "King without a crown" - this is some reggae dude or something that is a big change at any point and is listenable so I give it the thumbs up!
The Talking Heads, The Clash, Green Day, Radiohead (with an enthusiastic YES!)
Beastie Boys - still fun
The Ocean Blue
The White Stripes - because why not?!
The Verve "Lucky Man" - ok I bought this album back in the day. yeah orchestral britpop i'll take it.

Middle Ground:
Gorillaz "Dare" - I like this but the song doesn't really go anywhere and isn't dynamic enough. The Gorillaz are awesome, though, so I have high standards.
Poe "Angry Johnny"
She Wants Revenge - Who is this band? Sounds like a rip off of Interpol and Interpol is a rip off of Joy Division so i can't hate them for that. anyway i guess this is the middle ground because I don't care either way about this band, but still stomach it as something new.
Everclear "I Will Buy You A New Life"
Blink 182
Sponge "Wax Ecstatic" : woke up with this one in my head and I guess that means it doesn't suck REM "It's the End of the world as we know it (and i feel fine)" please play anything by REM besides this

Bad:
Pearl Jam - anything
Luscious Jackson "With my naked eye" (they played a jungle remix or was this the original. who cares this sux.)
Coldplay - anything except "Yellow" that song is ok.
Beck "Devil's Haircut" - sorry Beck you don't do it for me...
Weezer "Such a pity" (man this song blows even though it's new. It sounds autotuned, even, which is just sad for such a talented group. The lyrics are horrible and sound like they were translated back and forth between english and japanese a handful of times, literally. - see addendum)
Temple of The Dog - I am never hungry for that "i'm going hungry" song
Stone Temple Pilots
Blur "Song 2" aka Blur "Whoo hoo"
Dishwalla "Counting Blue Cars"
The Cure "Friday I'm In Love" played on a day other than Friday
U2 - Bono is cool but I just don't ever feel like listening to U2, sorry dudes.
The Police "Roxanne" not this one again, please
Nirvana
Foo Fighters
Queens of The Stone Age
Jane's Addiction "Jane Says"
Bush "Glycerine"
Soundgarden
Audioslave "Be Yourself"

* - this was heard on a late night sunday broadcast, not an alternative weekday.
--
Addendum:
Lyrics to "This Is Such A Pity" by Weezer

How is your heart, little darling?
I didn't mean to get so made
Let me just hold you closely
How did things get so bad?
I know how to pick on you
You push me over the edge
We cause so much agony
We can't seem to move ahead

This is such a pity
We should give all our love to each other
Not this hate that destroys us
This is such a pity(This is a pity)

What kind of future will we have?
Will we ever find peace?
Everybody thinks we're crazy
They're about to call the police
I don't want to be a chump
You think I'm a fascist pig
Right now everything is black
I don't think we'll ever give

This is such a pity
We should give all our love to each other
Not this hate that destroys us
This is such a pity(This is a pity)

This is such a pity
We should give all our love to each other
Not this hate that destroys us
This is such a pity(This is a pity)

This is such a pity
We should give
We should give our love(Destroys us)Our love...

Pictures

Kalpana / L-R: drew, blair, aaron, michael / march 2004


The GAN / L-R: dan, jeff, zach / march 2004


The Detachment Kit (NYC) / September 6, 2004


The Pink Cammies / L-R: russell, brad, jeff / feb 11, 2005

[I was checking up on WGSU, and it seems they have a gallery of pictures. Many of these pictures were taken at shows I organized or promoted at SUNY Geneseo, and surprisingly many were shots I had not seen. These four are some of the best ones there.]

[click on the pink cammies one - it gets bigger]

The Replacements reunite.

The Replacements are a great band that started in the early eighties and in my opinion are probably second only to R.E.M. They are famous for their truly great and American rock and roll songs and also their antics (like throwing their original tapes into the Mississippi when they heard their record company wanted to issue their albums on compact disc). They are reuniting, and I am rather excited about it. One of their best and most famous songs is "Can't Hardly Wait" and here are the lyrics. They have a lot of great songs, like "Kiss Me On The Bus," "Alex Chilton" (which I wrote about last year on this blog) and "Achin' To Be" (which Pinhead Gunpowder covered on "Shoot The Moon" - a fantastic record). Paul Westerberg, the singer, has solo work that is really great and is on the pop-emo label Vagrant Records. My favorite solo song of his is "We May Be The Ones" which was a big WGSU hit. Anyway, here's to The Replacements.

"Can't Hardly Wait"

I'll write you a letter tomorrow.
Tonight I can't hold a pen.
Someone's got a stamp that I can borrow.
I promise not to blow the address again.

Lights that flash in the evening, through a crack in the drapes.

Jesus rides beside me
He never buys any smokes
Hurry up, hurry up, ain't you had enough of this stuff?
Ashtray floors, dirty clothes, and filthy jokes

See you're high and lonesome
Try and try and try

Lights that flash in the evening,
Through a hole in the drapes
I'll be home when I'm sleeping
I can't hardly wait

I can't wait. Hardly wait.

Car of the Month: Honda Hiccup

March is almost over and we almost didn't have a car of the month! The car of the month for march is the Honda Hiccup. The Honda Hiccup is an old Honda hatchback from the 70s converted to a pickup truck by some cutting! My coworker said his friend came up with this and built one in Southern California, but I can't get it out of my head.

Kind of Like Spitting - The Thrill of The Hunt

Kind of Like Spitting is not a band I try to push on people. It's whiny and weird. The songs are desperate and ugly at points. But, I just picked up the new Kind of Like Spitting album, "The Thrill of The Hunt," and there are so many things to like about it.

First, this is the third KOLS release in almost as many months. Hush Records from Portland put out two releases: one of all Phil Ochs covers and one of all originals titled "In The Red." My good friends at Redder picked up the, well... leftovers, and put out this one. Although both Hush releases are great, the Redder one accidentally is the most interesting.

First, it's the most casual. The songs are some Ben Barnett originals, but a few were by David J (of another one man band Novi Split). In fact, the first song on this, the title track, is a David J number.

Also, there are numeroous covers interspersed with the originals. The covers are interesting and earnest, not unlike my favorite batch of covers ever, Bob Nanna's 2001 covers. Bad Religion's song "You" is done wonderfully and will appeal to any fans of Tony Hawk. Redder had posted three Kind of Like Spitting Bad Religion covers on their website, and this is one of them. Mr. Barnett also plays "Lay Some Happiness on Me" by Jean Chapel and Bob Jennings, and "A Song For You" by Leon Russell and Willie Nelson. Those are songs I am unfamiliar with, but I love the casualness of the covers. Because of this, the disc could sound like a 'party album.'

Furthermore, Kind of Like Spitting covers a Kind of Like Spitting song. "The Thing About Distance" is taken from the old Hush Records self-titled release, and was one of my favorites. It features the timeless lyric "It doesn't mean I can't wish her the best / I hope she gets that job in Ireland." It's a memorable track that will stick in your head, and it's a great example of Barnett as a great songwriter.

But the best tracks on here are some new ones. "Share The Road," which is available for free download on www.redderrecords.com, is a brilliant bike-riding-as-relationship metaphor. It's well done and brief, cutting the proverbial fat right when it counts.

There is another take of "You Got Served" which was one of the high points on Redder's "Metaphysics for Beginners." In fact, that song is one of the few complaints of the album. It is such a good song it should have been the album closer. Instead, the album closes with a cover of Big Star's "Thirteen."

I have a large problem with the track "Thirteen" on this record. First, "Thirteen" is covered more famously by Elliott Smith. It was recently used in the movie Thumbsucker and appeared on it's soundtrack. Smith covered it for almost his entire career, and it also appeared in another short film. Kind of Like Spitting covers this song in the same style as Smith, adding nothing.

This is what is wrong. Kind of Like Spitting and Elliott Smith are not the same thing. They are both emoish boys from Portland, yes. Their methods are the same, but their results are not. The cover of "Thirteen" would have been much better replaced with Kind of Like Spitting's Yo La Tengo cover "Tom Courteney," which is excellent!

For me, the last track almost negates the greatness of the rest of it. The track says "I was just kidding - this is what I wanted to sound like" and it doesn't compliment the talent of Barnett at all. Luckily, the rest of this is killer I still love it.

Lastly, yellow is a great color for this. Kudos to Aaron from Kalpana, who I assume picked it out.

www.redderrecords.com

"Mopeding through the Pacific Northwest looking for Bigfoot sounds ridiculous to many but is something I put everything into and on the line for."

The best story I've read recently is of this guy who rode his moped from Los Angeles to the Seattle area looking for Bigfoot. I wish I had read this a week ago, because I just went to a Moped Army meetup the other day and could have asked them about this. Although looking for Bigfoot is considered ridiculous by most, the author is unfazed. He explains everything and gets you into the story, from his perspective. It's perfect zine writing, and I love it. Please do yourself a favor and read it:

http://www.crappylittledreams.com/expedition.htm

The Secret Stars - "Wait"

In a few weeks I am hopefully going to see Geoff Farina play live. Geoff is an indie rocker who has played in two major groups: the jazzy-emo ensemble Karate, and The Secret Stars. The Secret Stars are not well known. They recorded most of their stuff in the early 1990s, and were a quiet boy/girl indie pop duo. Their first song on their first seven inch is called "Wait" and it was covered by Death Cab for Cutie, which probably brought this song to the biggest audience. The song is really sweet, and both The Secret Stars' version and Death Cab's version are available for download on the online. I don't think Geoff Farina will sound like this or play this song live. His solo stuff is more jazzy, I know. But, that doesn't make this song any less great.

Link to The Secret Stars' version:
http://www.southern.com/southern/band/SECST/biog2.html

Link to The Secret Stars' website:
http://www.secretstars.com/

Label that put out the original seven inch of this song (and a whole bunch of great other stuff I won't get into now):
http://www.simplemachines.net/

Link to Geoff Farina recieving NPR approval:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4138925

Death Cab's Version:
http://www.barsuk.com/

Testamonials:
http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=132214

+
Every town has a diner,
where I'll meet you
and your friends, too
Things are just a bit nicer
over some coffee, you can tell me all about your day
I don't know much about you
Not that I want to
Not that I want to
Sometimes I can't escape from my room
So excuse me
I'll be just a little late

You will wait for me
You will wait for me

Every town has a corner
Where I'll see you
And your friends, too.
Hang out, looking cool
Saying the same things
Over and over again.
Sometimes we all feel stupid
We say the wrong things.
You're not the only one.
Sometimes we all get left behind
In a race of style
It's a dumb thing.

You will wait for me.
You will wait for me.
You will wait for me.
You will wait for me.

The Softies - "Lambretta Boy"

The other day Brad and I went to a really rad record store and they had a ton of seven inches. I picked up another great K Records release: The Softies' 1994 7" in the International Pop Underground series. It has a song "Lambretta Boy" about a scooter boy! I couldn't believe I've never heard of this song, especially since "Holiday in Rhode Island" (which strangely I did on my scooter just last year) is one of my favorite records. Although I am not up to speed on posting an mp3 of this song, the Softies page on Epitonic.com has "Sleep Away Your Troubles" which is the song that sold me on them. here are the lyrics to "Lambretta Boy":

I'd like to imagine your kiss is like dynamite
I didn't think that you would call me tonight

I like you
things you do
you're mod through and through

let's go for a ride on your sparkly Lambretta
I'll sit behind you and cling to your sweater

I like you
things you do
let's talk about The Who

It's all tight trousers and records to you
let's wear our parkas and sport big hair-dos

you're only 16 but you seem so much older
I'm 25 now and I can't get much bolder

I like you
things you do
wish I wasn't too old for you...
lambretta boy