Christie Front Drive

I have been meaning to post about Christie Front Drive for a while now.

I can't think of any good bands from Colorado except for Christie Front Drive. I bought their self-titled "Stereo" album last year for $5 at one of my favorite record stores.

Their songs are epic and actually sound like Colorado.

Here is a link to some of their tracks as well as an interview with the singer:

http://www.liepaper.com/eric.htm

Here is a link to a few more of their tracks from a fan site:

http://www.christiefrontdrive.com/

Low quality photography of bands: Part One.

Of course, while I promise a series of compelling "greatest hits" and "best ofs" posts, it's only natural to start another series.

I used to be very opposed to concertgoers taking pictures of bands during their shows. In my old age, it's one of those things I guess I just don't care about, like boycotting Old Navy and The Gap.

I am not a very good photographer and I take pictures only with my cell phone. Here is !!! from a thursday night show a few weeks ago at the Someday Lounge:

THE VERY BEST OF...

A lot of bands that I love are never going to be big. They're on the decline, they've broken up, no one knew them to begin with. It goes like this. But, in my mind they're huge. They're fantastic. And anyone who saw them years ago or even heard of them is rad. They've had superhits stuck in my head for years.

And it's better if this happened for my friends, too. This was the magic of college radio - there were secret superhits that only we knew about. Tons of bands like this: The Dismemberment Plan, The Weakerthans, The Wrens, Ted Leo. Bands that were sort of pop, sort of punk, all indie.

Now, it's been years since I first heard these bands. I feel I should be stopping by Best Buy picking up their "Gold" collections, their best ofs and box sets. But these bands will probably never have best ofs.

That's where I come in. I'm going to put together some best ofs for my favorite bands that will never have their own.

First on the list is Jawbreaker. I'm trying to get Dan into Jawbreaker, so I'm going to pick out my ten favorite songs and see if it works. Wish me luck.

My new ride

1976(?) Raleigh Grand Prix fixed gear.
Thank you Dan!

Fixed gears are the new skateboards.

BOUNCIN'

I've been listening to a lot of music from about ten years ago. Kind of unpredictably, I've gotten back into jam rock supergroup PHISH. I have been downloading many shows from www.momadance.com and enjoying them very much. My tattooed punk girlfriend refuses to hear about how DIY and great Phish are, how they are so DIY that they only play guitars made by their neighbor from Vermont, how they give all their profits from Phish Food ice cream to charity, how they have a great sense of humor, and how they became huge without any mainstream radio or pop culture support. Actually, I don't think any of my friends want to hear about how great Phish is. So, here is a performance of Phish's biggest "hit" - hated by all mid nineties Phishheads as the ultimate "newbie" song, only suitable for bathroom breaks mid set:

Bouncin Round The Room, performed in 1990

Maybe it's how I don't want to talk about politics any more and have a boring job that Phish's music calms me for. Maybe it was seeing the Phish tribute band Phix play last year. Maybe it's that I'm getting old and I actually saw Phish shows over the summer every summer from 1997 to 2000. I don't know.

My favorite Phish song of right now is "Punch You In The Eye". Look it up.

For the punkers out there I've been downloading all these tracks and loving them too:
One guy's history of Emo from the 1990s to 2000s:
http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/2007/04/spoonful-of-emo-revisited.html

My favorite song from this collection right now is Jejune's song from the split with Jimmy Eat World. I'm totally ripping off stuff like that and Unrest for our band Apples of the Earth.

Car of the Month: My Volvo

My Volvo died on me a few weeks ago, so I sold it. I'm now driving my VW full time, with a lot of Vespa action in between and during the overtime. The transmission went out and needed replacement, and I don't have the cash for it and didn't want a new automatic transmission anyway. This car got me across the United States. A moment of silence, please.

Kind of Like Spitting - “March 25th, 1998"

On Friday I was walking around town when I ran into Ben Barnett. Ben is the artist formerly known as the one man band Kind of Like Spitting. On my computer, the top two most frequently listened songs are Kind of Like Spitting ("You Got Served," "A Song for Annie's Harmonica") and so it really brightened my day to say hi to one of my favorite songwriters.

Ben told me he is getting training at Stumptown Coffee and has formed a new band that's looking for another guitarist. I forget the name of this new band, but I told him I would love to see them play when he gets it together. He told me to "myspace me" and then he and I both had to get back to work.

Here is my first favorite Kind of Like Spitting song:
Kind of Like Spitting - "March 25th, 1998"

What's your interpretation of the course of events that swings from a line on the outside of the fence. I got in a fight at the Team Dresh show and always fighting, me, it came off macho. And I am a lion roaring out loud. In my dreams I'm angry I never touch the ground. I feel like I'm flying somewhere underneath the sheets. I took your bracelet from the bathroom I've had it ever since we met. check your lipstick in the mirror, sway and swing your hips. Head out to the New Bad Things show at the end of Burnside at the oh hell used to be the x-ray, not all that familiar with the history of this town, only been here for a short while, but you knew it. Say your sick of all the narrow eyes and all the lies and the actors feeding on our hearts. We had this one drive, don't talk, don't lie. Everyone is on call for a job that they hate. Check the mirror, check the bathroom, check the toilet, filling up this room. Room that you made yourself from the hangers from the closet down, he was asking for it but you knew it.

Purchase the album "The Thrill of The Hunt" from Redder Records.

Apples of the Earth

Apples of the Earth played our first show on Friday at "Plastic Matt's House" in SE Portland.

Here are the songs we played:

Bluelights
Smile, Come With Me And (Castawaves cover)
Wait (Secret Stars cover)
Pearl Jam is not a very good band
Giraffe (instrumental)

Thanks to Hurah Hurah and The Clearing for playing a show with us! I should really write about those bands because they are both fantastic.

Rocket Punch broke up.

Sorry, fans. Rocket Punch broke up! Instead, Apples of the Earth, our new band, will be playing a house show this friday - March 16, 2006 - in SE PDX with Hurah Hurah and The Clearing.

Come to the show to hear the new hit "Pearl Jam is not a very good band" before it hits MTV Europe.

Car of the Month: Porsche 356

Here is a lovely Porsche 356 my girlfriend insisted we take a picture of when we saw it on the street the other night. It is kind of hard to believe these cars have a basic flat four 1600cc engine - the same as my Volkswagen Bus. The silver paint is nice, but the tomato interior really does it.

Jawbreaker – “Accident Prone" (live)

Last weekend I was in a minor car accident. Everyone is okay, though. No one was hurt. I was wearing my Jawbreaker shirt and so here is one of my favorite Jawbreaker songs.

The song isn't about a car accident, but here it is nonetheless.

Jawbreaker - Accident Prone (Live - April 30, 1996)

It's off their fantastic live album which is available from Blackball Records.

What's the furthest place from here?
It hasn't been my day for a couple years.
What's a couple more?
And if I go, don't forget the one good thing I almost did.
I learned your name without words.
I used my eyes, not my hands.
What's the closest you can come to an almost total wreck and still walk away,
All limbs intact?
And when I go, you'll be there crying out, begging me.
I won't hear.
I'll just go fast into this night on broken legs.
A near miss or a close call?
I keep a room at the hospital.
I scratch my accidents into the wall.
I couldn't wait to breathe your breath.
I cut in line,
I bled to death.
I got to you, there was nothing left.
What's the meanest you can be to the one you claim to love
And still smile to your new found friends?
In the same confusing breath,
You pull away and draw me in.
I wanted you. You wanted more.
I built this life and now it's mine.

PREEMPTIVE V DAY

Pre-empting Valentine's Day, here's one of my favorite Valentine's Day songs. It's off of an out of print compilation entitled "Ooh Do I Love You." I like this song because it's a ridiculous metaphor and also references the band singing the song ("the Plan has love for everyone!")

THE DISMEMBERMENT PLAN - "THE LOVE WAR"

http://www.dismembermentplan.com/plan_audio/mpeg/dplan_the_love_war.mp3

Everybody here is a freak
And if you disagree you're even weirder
The world should disinherit the meek,
So let's go for broke and arm the gates of authority
It's what we allow,
And if we're better looking then victory is ours
To spin the bottle, baby, and how,
We've got a war to win, let's win it now

The love war was won with a single love bullet from a love gun
And the Plan has love for everyone!
Don't be left out when a love war breaks out Yeah, oh-wah-oh-wah-oh-oh
It's treason in this town to not be getting down
Yeah, oh-wah-oh-wah-oh-oh
And every day could be Valentine's Day (Oh, oh, oh, YEAH!)

Lovin' is a threat to The Man,
And if he had his way he'd squash it out right
Despising what he can't understand,
So arm yourself and defend your letter
Try to make a joke of it might
But the history of freedom will never be denied...
The carriers of liberty's lights: Oh, Jefferson, Voltaire, Thomas Paine, and Barry White!
The love war was waged by a million love soldiers in a love rage,
And the Plan is fighting every day!
Better pick a side when the love war arrived Yeah, oh-wah-oh-wah-oh-oh
Lives to be loved and the love war needs you all Yeah, oh-wah-oh-wah-oh-oh
It's treason in this town to not be getting down Yeah, oh-wah-oh-wah-oh-oh
And every day would be Valentine's Day
And everyone would love to choose to love in their own way
So do your part; the traitors are kissed at dawn, that's what they say
And every day could be Valentine's Day!

V90: We could do this the easy way or we could do it my way.

I do everything the hard way. I am sanding my project Vespa by hand with 220 grit sandpaper. I am almost done. I am spraypainting it later. Here is what I have so far.

Fun Deficit - "This Is The Dream of Evan and Chan"

I have a lot of posts on this blog that you don't see. I write them up and decide not to post them. I had the idea to post this song back in October, but didn't, and I haven't posted any exclusive music since then. So here's a song that I recorded. It's the song "This is the dream of Evan and Chan" by Dntel/Ben Gibbard aka The Postal Service. I recorded it back in 2002 in Geneseo, before I also realized I was in love with Cat Power. It's kind of whiny, so be warned. For the record, I recorded two discs of 'official' material as Fun Deficit. The first was the self titled ep: four songs released in 2002. I made copies of this and gave most of them to my friends and one to Bob Nanna. Then I recorded "When I Forgot What I Had Been Wishing For" which was so good that I never made any copies for anyone. It still might be too good. Anyway, enjoy this cover. If I were to bust into the same song right now, my roommate Greg would probably cover his end of the heat vent with a pillow.

Fun Deficit - "This Is The Dream of Evan and Chan"

In case you don't know: Evan, Chan
This song's entry on Wikipedia: LINK

It was familiar to me,
the smoke too thick to breathe.
The tile floors glistened;
I slowly stirred my drink.
And when you started to sing, you spoke with broken speech
That I could not understand,
and then you grabbed me tightly.

I won't let go, I won't let go.
Even if you say so, oh no.
I've tried and tried with no results.
I won't let go, I won't let go.

He then played every song from nineteen ninety three.
The crowd applauded as he curtsied bashfully.
Your eyelashes tickled my neck with every nervous blink,
And it was perfect until the telephone started
Ringing ringing ringing ringing ringing off...

Best Car Commercial Ever.

I drove my VW to Washington today. Here is my favorite VW commercial.