Axis of Tweevil

2012-02-01T14:33:00.001-05:00

www.agentramona.com

I've transferred and merged this blog with a couple others I was keeping to www.agentramona.com. You should check it out, eventually it will be a full fledged website with my zine archive and a NKOTB museum and a recipe book and all that, but right now it's just keeping my sanity to only maintain one blog. Thanks."

2011-12-28T18:20:00.005-05:00

No Hope for the Humanity

What I listened to today:
Arab Spring by Literature
http://literature.bandcamp.com/
was a free download a few days ago, now Name Your Price. That pleasant orchestral folk pop that came in with Belle and Sebastian and went out with the Slumberland revival was recommended by the band Pet Milk, a side project of Brown Recluse, a band who somehow managed to be both Belle and Sebastian revivalists and put an album out on Slumberland. The guitars and drums are outstanding.

Beelzebubba by The Dead Milkmen
A 25 cent cassette in a borrowed Lexus. Did you know the 2010 Lexus SC 430 was the last car to offer cassette players as a factory option? Listening with a friend from Philly who never listened to the Dead Milkmen, even I thought the album could use some serious remastering. It sounds nothing like the two Dead Milkmen shows I was lucky enough to see; the first being their last show in 1994, and then this one at the Athens Popfest in October

bleh, I almost started a Google Hangout to see if anyone wanted to watch the video with me, but after linking this account w/Google + (do any heavy Gmail users have only one account?) I realized it was a stupid idea. Maybe in THE FUTURE.

THE FUTURE may as well be today, when I set up the iPad my mom got for Christmas so that she can 1. FaceTime with her grandson 2. display lots of photos of her grandson....for the record, she found Skype too complicated because it involved buying a camera for her computer but she loves texting and was awesome with Twitter until somehow her account got disconnected...hopefully she'll start up again with the app.

Without my parents reading my blog my dad mentioned that Jersey Boys was probably a Tony Winner because it hit the nostalgic sweet spot for baby boomers. Before I say no shit sherlock, I'd really like to see The Buddy Holly Story when it comes to Philadelphia in the Spring.

If the ladies at Chickfactor could just announce who is playing their little Spring shindig then maybe I could make my vacation plans! At this rate I'll be flying home to see my new nephew Lorenzo and then feeling like a shitty aunt when I get on the train to catch the shows at the last minute. Then again, if it was a secret party with excellent bands it would be so much more like Chickfactor.

Then on the way home listening to Blue Collar Comedy Radio on Sirius I was unfortunately exposed to this piece of homophobic comedy:

Really? I have to share a planet with these people? It only gets better when you read the comments...there is no hope for the human race. That's why I think I compulsively attend the festivals and shows I do, so that for a few precious hours I am surrounded by people I love and bands I love and I can pretend the rest of the world, the problems and the people, just go away.

I'm sorry I felt I had to post that. I'm going to listen to Rodney Crowell's Earthbound on repeat for a few hours so I can cleanse my ears with positive country music.

Jersey Boys on Sub Pop

2011-12-28T02:02:00.000-05:00

Discussing with my friend Jasmine if there is anything at Sub Pop we'd like to listen to. When did Sub Pop become an adult contemporary label? Srsly. I was wondering if that comment was justified, until I came across a 7" released last month of J Mascis doing an Edie Brickell cover. I can't talk too much shit, so many of my favorite bands right now are definitely AAA (that's Adult Album Alternative for those of you who could care less about industry jargon).

So we saw Jersey Boys at the Forrest Theater in Philadelphia tonight. The minute I looked at the price on my ticket I started thinking about why professional theater is so valued when live music is not. The same fucking show every night, the same songs, the same story, the same staging. I'm sure the price is partially set by unions, but the fact that people were willing to buy every seat but the view obstructed? How many rock shows do I go to with an obstructed view? I'm 5' so I've just given up...wishlist item, platform mary janes .

Anyway, the audience looked like the audience you see on a PBS folk reunion concert. Lots of people in their 60s mouthing the words. I'm sure it was intentional to make the music seem timeless, but I could not put together a timeline of when the events were occurring. It was good to put together "this is the catalog of the Four Seasons and these are the significant events in their career" but it's always sad to see the exploitative side of the music industry shown.

I never thought that Sean Tollefson was influenced by Frankie Valli until tonight.

I'd like to take Robert Pollard out to lunch

2011-12-27T01:20:00.002-05:00

Always trying to figure out what team I'm batting for. I already have too many New Years Resolutions, but one that was killing me was not listening to new music. Barely any. So I am going to remedy that (ha) but blogging about it...I'd love to start videoblogging but I'm not sure that would be too much like taking my work home...so here we are.

I bought the new Guided by Voices in a forgetful haze on iTunes at 2 AM on Christmas Eve. Eve as in Evening, as I wasn't sleeping. As if I'd be sleeping in with my adorable nephew sleeping in the room across from me. So today I was checking my credit card (oops) and while debt sucks (new years resolution: pay pal donate and Amazon wish list buttons on blogs), I did see I bought Let's Go Eat the Factory. This is semi significant as when I dropped my eMusic subscription when they dropped Merge, my new music listening also dropped to 0. Bad bad Ramona.

I'm not really buying new music if I'm just buying new music by old bands.

Again, I'm confused by Pollard's theology. God Loves Us simply repeats "We are living proof that God loves us!" When I listen to his solo work all sorts of theologically beautiful messages come out. I can't remember what he was saying at that show in Seattle, but I remember it was so perfectly beautiful, mentioned Christ, and I was trying to write the lyrics on a scrap of cigarette box so I'd remember them when I was sober.

Do I have to describe the music? Can I just talk about how it makes me feel? Can I assume you know what GBV sounds like? Or that you'll know what GBV stands for....

These are things I always love about GBV:

The songs are always perfectly impossibly short. It's very rare you think a song is going on too long. By the time your brain forms that thought, it's over.

At some point Robert Pollard had to decide between being a teacher and being a performer. For me, between being a librarian and hanging around with bands.

At one point in my life I aspired to drink as much as he could. This was a mistake, not only a mistake that got me one step closer to recovery, but a mistake that I have to someday and somehow make amends to that woman from the 40 Watt Club for the night I tried to match Pollard beer for beer and ended up puking over the side of a couch she was trying to rest on all night. It was a New Years Eve show, give or take a few days.

I love they have a big fan fest and my bff said she won't go because she's slept with too many of the boys that go. I want to meet those boys too!

I love that I can put on most GBV albums and be happy just to listen in the background, but when I am driving or laying in bed and listen to the words, I find observations and humor that stick with me for days.

I love that when I was in that strange year where I was a h.s. frosh/community college student I bought the reissue box set of the first 5 albums on CD (aka Box) and I have listened to it, probably at least once a month on average, although perhaps more when I consider the weeks I would listen to nothing else, hundreds or thousands of times since then.

"My Europa" comes through sounding like something on that box set, but recorded in a basement studio.

"Chocolate Boy" song most likely to be played on NPR (I'm guessing).

"We Won't Apologize For the Human Race"...it only took 3 minutes for me to realize this is the longest song on the album. I'm imagining the strings as actual strings caging the band in here. They're quite beautiful. How can they sing the word "some" and make it rise above so perfectly? Was this just an exercise in making a 4 minute song? Are they alien or human? This may end up on my mix of awsome GBV songs I was supposed to make for Tony Perkins a few years back. A few years might be ten-ish now.

I'm thinking it will be humbling to write this with as little research as possible. It will be humbling to be wrong.

Am I going to have to listen to an entire album while writing about it to remember what I listen to this year? I am going to have to figure out a way to remember what I listen to without doing first impression listen blogs on everything (videoblog?)

Then again, there is a reason i didn't like much music this year:

Critic-Approved Archetypes It Takes Effort For Me Not To Dismiss On First Listen As We Go Into 2012

So lets see how long I can keep up the ruse of not being a critic, I'm just on the hunt for that perfect song...or the band that makes me fall in love with them. The last band obsession I had was Psychedelic Horseshit a few years ago. That was a few years ago. That sucks.

Oh, I guess I could be more popular if I put .mp3s and stuff up with the bands I talk about, but whatever, there is so much of that and so little of me. I mean, there is usually something I want to listen to (even for a limited time) on NPR.... like the fact that this Let's Go Eat the Factory is streaming there for a limited time.

A Life Changing Breakfast

2011-12-07T12:40:00.001-05:00

Oh wow. Since that last post.

1. I won the fabric from Fluffyland. It's wonderful. I haven't decided what to make with it yet, but the large piece of floral fabric is perfect for covering my table for craft fairs.

2. I got the job. Srsly. It's been life changing. I get to hang out with a rad band, I went on tour, I work with all their digital distribution accounts, I order/organize and sell the merch, and whatever other random things come up.

It's pretty simple, going to grad school online and studying digital information management DID NOT prepare me for public library work as much as it did of my simple, true dream "to help independent bands navigate the digital music industry". For a while that was sort of a "good luck getting paid doing that Court" so I said "okay, I'll do the 6-18 month old story time every week"...the funny thing is, I came around to loving the story times. I still had a magic number where if the crowd was over, oh, 35 people I was less happy than performing for 15...I know the statistics are good, and I can still do it, but you really lose something trying to entertain/educate so many kids at once, and I'll leave the details of that argument to the teachers and parents.

Wait, did I just go off on a tangent about the library again. Go figure. I was really here to show you what I ate for breakfast this morning. I ate noodles for breakfast! I wasn't sure, I didn't want cereal or eggs or sausages or toast, but I was making Oolong Tea and looking for lunch (which is usually a frozen Safeway Select meal, not too exciting, but usually around 300 cals) when I realized, hmmm, these noodles require boiling, and I don't like cooking at work (except for my copious tea consumption) so maybe I'll eat them for breakfast. Yummy yummy yummy idea!Also, I'm the kind of woman who keeps tea bags in her purse and has a tea drawer at home. See, it's not
quite full right now:

You might see the Dieter's tea in there. Yes, it makes you go to the bathroom. I've read a lot of stories online, and there is no set time it makes you go...so with that warning, I only drink it on days I 1. overate while eating out 2. don't really have much planned for the next 24 hours. It does taste good, sorta a roasted field grass black tea taste.

And finally, since I keep eyeing the Keuring and thinking "oooh, I could save money on coffee"....I mostly love my HotShot. The only thing that drives me crazy is the old ones used to have the "heat" and "dispense" buttons on the front, so almost everytime I use it I hit "dispense" instead of "heat" on the first try. I rarely use the French Press, this is how lazy I can be, I usually get my coffee (black, no sugar, no cream) at Jack in the Box so I don't have to park and get out of my car. Yes, this is from a woman who never went to Starbucks by herself until two weeks ago (and I only bought something because I was terribly embarrassed that I had to ask if there was a bathroom key, and I didn't want to be a jerk to the employees, even though I know Starbucks isn't the WORST place to work...I just managed to avoid going there unless someone else insisted, for instance, Starbucks does have clean bathrooms when you're travelling).Okay, so a picture of my HotShot and the rarely used French Press.

Good morning anyone!

2011-08-15T16:29:00.001-04:00

So what have I been up to as of late?

I'm entering lots of contests, getting free stuff on Freecycle, and working on my Tweevil Etsy site. I'm looking for full time work and the company that is helping me rewrite my resume is taking longer than expected. I did the unthinkable yesterday though, I made a ONE PAGE resume and sent it off to a job I really want. One page just seems so insignificant, but my cover letter was killer for a change.

What else?

A garden that won't bloom. Aphids ate my zucchini, so they're all scrapped. Worms at my garbage so I have compost. I ate the tiniest red pepper with two early girl tomatoes the size of cherries yesterday, and that might be my biggest haul this summer. What a waste. Oh yes, it's nice to have a garden, it is not nice to have containers on a second floor patio and notices from the safety inspector that you cannot put plants on the railing where they might actually get light (we finally turned the planters so they're inside the patio).

Oh look, a contest. I like contests, Fluffyland is giving away fabric! Fluffyland is one of my favorite craft blogs for cute inspiration and ideas. I need a better stash, so I'm totally in on this. And you should be too, if you're one of my crafty friends.

2010-05-10T13:43:00.003-04:00

Haha Courtney in San Fran:

because you all know xkcd

2010-05-07T21:10:00.002-04:00

Job Hunting Excuses:

Misspellings in job ads. This is even worse because it's not print I'm looking at, you can edit your Craigslist post at any time. Does anyone know if this has ever been a test to see if you're tactful and have an eye for detail? I get so scared wondering if I should mention it or not.

I suppose I'd like to work for a company that tolerated the occasional typo. I'd rather work for a company that jumped at the chance to make things right.

I once told an interviewer her name badge was upside down. I waited until the end of the interview when the library was about to open. She was more embarrassed than I was, so I guess it was the right thing to do. It had nothing to do with being a Belle and Sebastian fan on her part, but I was tempted to make a joke just in case.

Going to California

2010-05-06T12:00:00.001-04:00

May 25. No I don't have a job yet. I do have a snazzy new phone that makes blogging a bit easier, so mayber this site will start to make sense again.

I will be at the NYC and SF Popfests of course. It doesn't look like i'll make it to Athens this year though.

I also made some decorations for the Prince tribute show at Bruar Falls. My Teenage Stride is playing, i forget the rest of the bands. Here is a preview.

Bruar Falls

2010-02-05T22:12:00.002-05:00

Yeah, my stupid special needs diet leads me to have some strange food items around the house. Last night I made zucchini pancakes with chickpea flour which weren't so bad because the Indian spices covered up the nastiness that is bean flour. I realized I wanted some Sweet Garlic Chili Sauce to go with, but I didn't have any. So I made up this super hot sauce on my own. Now, I would not recommend trying to make it healthier because it would probably screw it up. So fuck you if you don't like high-fructose corn syrup and you use some organic nasty ketchup and it tastes boring...

Sriracha "Cock" Chili Sauce
Heinz Ketchup
Blue Agave Nectar (could probably use honey, I don't even remember what recipe I bought agave for but it has a nice taste between honey and sugar and I'm hooked)
coriander
granulated garlic

Pretty much everything should be mixed to taste, but I think I'm using 2 parts ketchup to 1 part sriracha and 1 part agave.

Anyone else notice Sriracha isn't saying cock sauce on the label anymore? I bet only people over 30 call it that anymore.

test

2009-12-22T19:59:00.001-05:00

test

2009-11-25T11:03:00.003-05:00

Thao With the Get Down Stay Down

Yeah, heard a lot about her via the Kill Rock Stars pipeline. People kept mentioning what an amazing guitar player she was, so I avoided listening to her because I pretty much hate good guitar players.

Well, I caught half a song on the radio last night and thought I was wrong. I liked it.

Then I visited The Hype Machine today. Two songs in, I was right at the start. It's not even the guitar playing that turned me off, she just sings like Cat Power and I hate Chan Marshall's voice too. Yawn. Do we need another Cat Power?

Maybe I got the wrong song when the DJ was backannouncing?

What is important here is my fancy new Droid phone and the ability to listen to WPRB Princeton in my car in Brooklyn. That is a dream come true and makes my life more awesome, even if WPRB plays some songs I don't love.

2009-11-25T10:14:00.002-05:00

Car Feature

Cars need a "waiting in car" feature so the damn alarm doesn't go off everytime you leave grandma in the car for a minute.

My friend wanted to take a nap because we were up way too late last night, but I had to rescue him when the alarm went off when he woke up and tried to leave. I realize this is a security feature, but I'm talking about a button when you do leave someone in the car that is good for say, one hour of escape time without setting off the alarm. Okay?

2009-11-04T13:20:00.003-05:00

I saw an ad for Grand Theft Auto The Lost and the Damned Today on the side of a bus in Brooklyn and the junkie girl had a green jacket with a K shield on it except it said L and i can't find her picture on the internets. Seriously, either they pulled the character or NO ONE has managed to put her picture on the internet yet. She's a junkie, I think her name is Brenda. I'm going to have to go home and get my camera with a flash and sit at the bus station tonight until I get a picture.

Got it:

2009-08-12T10:16:00.002-04:00

Buying Organic "See which of the country's largest food producers are behind your favorite organic snacks."

Geez, would this send Olympia into a tizzy or what? I'm not even going to preach about buying local...first I want EVERYONE to go get allergy tested and then decided how and what you're going to eat.

On that note, I made wheat free pizza last night and it withstood the "still yummy cold for breakfast" test. I think I overheated the milk-water the yeast was in because I couldn't get it to rise. I used Barry Farm's wheat free baking mix which smelled a little more beany than it tasted. We'll see how my tummy feels today, I am always suspect of eating too many garbanzos.

Dahlias

2009-07-15T00:40:00.001-04:00

100_1104, originally uploaded by Courtoly.

An impulse buy at Sister's Hardware in Brooklyn. Look how pretty. Gorgeous! PINK!

2009-06-21T22:11:00.003-04:00

So it's true eMusic is retiring my wonderful 90 downloads every 30 days for $19.99 plan and I'm only going to get 50 downloads now. Truth is, I was really only listening to 1/2 of my downloads even if I got a bunch of random stuff at the end of the month, and that's my first principle of how people start to be sucky music consumers (downloading more than one can listen to).

BUT the good news is some albums that are longer than 12 tracks are going to just be a full album download for 12 credits. I honestly think that could up my downloads to 90 a month anyway because so many albums I get are 30 tracks long and sometimes I skip the short ones to save my downloads. So that's a nice concession, depending on what albums it's available for.

2009-06-09T00:41:00.003-04:00

gardening is so fucking expensive. despite successful crops and an abundance of small creatures (actually, Sharpie size slugs, not small) my friends have me completely paranoid about pollution. so now I've got to spend at least $135 or more having the soil tested. Which sucks because I could just go on with life, eating my vegetables and being happy...or I can spend that money and find out I don't want to eat my vegetables and have been wasting all this time. I feel like crap. I put so much work into the garden and I feel like half the people I know are totally freaked out about the soil.

Here is the most popular article I found online. Families in toxic waste scare told not to eat garden vegetables. I'd like to point out that these levels were so high some plants were dying and lots of people were getting sick. I'm way more scared about the plastic we use (I rarely microwave plastic anymore, just the coverings on tv dinners and sometimes when making squash with saran wrap).

I'm in denial, but I think it's far more important to EAT YOUR VEGETABLES. Still, I'm probably going to get the soil tested.

So, anyone know someone who got sick from pollutants in their garden? It seems like e-coli and the like are much more dangerous.

Also, this area historically was residential and full of breweries. There may have been some industrial work going on here, and there is plenty in Brooklyn to have migrated via water and air to other areas...but it's not Greenpoint sitting on a giant oil slick or anything.

2009-05-04T22:26:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I'm just asking to be humbled. Years of saying people shouldn't order books from Amazon and should support their local bookstores and what happens? I end up with a wheat allergy and find Amazon has the BEST selection of breads and other foods for my tummy. Some stuff I can find locally, but by locally I mean "in random natural food bodegas at 1AM when I've been drinking and don't notice I just paid $7 for a frozen dinner that should be $5 if I went through Fresh Direct". So I'm really excited to have my Annie's Rice Pasta and Cheese

Zee garden looks good. I put in corn and it popped right up. The lettuce and forget me nots I have no idea. I trust the dahlias and garlic are doing their thing underground.

And the damn SF Popfest MySpace page won't load but I'll be there.

2009-03-30T09:27:00.001-04:00

When did the Pitchfork headlines get so bland? Weren't they snarkier before? I just noticed this after the redesign, but maybe it's been a long time coming.

2009-03-09T22:16:00.009-04:00

Dear Emusic,
Thank you for your successful marketing strategies. I wanted to own Guided by Voices album Propeller, so I figured I might be able to find some free mp3s online. Instead, when I Googled propeller mp3s (not even mentioning the band), the first link was to Emusic.

As prolific as Bob is, it's not hard to get a grasp on GBV. In fact, tonight I was just filling in gaps into the eight or so albums I already own.

Even I don't have enough credits to get Hardcore UFOs, and I'm not sure I need it right now at the rate I'm going.

I started last weekend by putting the 1995 box set "box" on my computer. Then I set my Facebook status to "Guided by Voices or Sonic Youth? Discuss." and found my friends were, as I suspected, actually 50/50 on the subject, if they cared enough to weigh in.

Between getting distracted refiling records (a Runaways album signed by Kitty? Juicy by the Notorious B.I.G.?) and double checking my Emusic downloads (hmm, somehow Robert Pollard's Silverfish Trivia was downloaded once but it's not on this computer, and Slumber Party's Musik) it's like I've got a record store here where I'm always coming across new treasures.

I feel terribly terribly guilty that I am not someone who remembers song titles or lyrics, or even what albums are in her collection. Sometimes it's all a big blur, which makes GBV constantly amazing and amusing, and yet allows me to have big stretches of not listening to them because the many songs sound the same. Brilliant, but lacking in distinction.

Enough about GBV, except I rilly rilly want to take a pilgrimage to Dayton OH now. Especially since Athens Popfest isn't happening.

****

Nother reason I love the internet/Emusic:

Sometimes it really helps when I'm on a band's mailing list. For instance, I tried to download the My Teenage Stride January single when it came out but I had a computer fail. Thanks to their reminder, I got March's (but they offered no explanation as to what happened to February) and successfully redownloaded January (the very excellent "Cast Your Own Shadow"). MTS will be playing Cake Shop on Saturday with Knight School and Human Hearts (Franklin Bruno's new project).

I owe Mr. Bruno whiskey.

And speaking of friendly reminders, maybe you would like to read Jenny Jenkin's tour diary and go see her play in your town:

"Hi friends and family! You know I'm on tour right? It's going good. We
left on Feb 19th, we should be back around May 12th or so. Tour is
crazy, sometimes hard, but often amazing! So, my friend David, who I
am on tour with, is doing a blog of the tour. Thought you might want
to know the address:

www.jjdd09tour.blogspot.com

It's very nice and technological of him to do it - I am way too busy
still booking stuff you know? There's pictures and stuff. And you can
share it with others of my friends and family if you want. Hope you
like it!

And you know if you want you can also keep track of where I am
supposed to be by looking at my myspace page, at least when I manage
to update it. The address for that of course is:

myspace.com/jennyjenkinsrockstar

I love you and I miss you, but don't worry too much. Wish us luck!
Thanks! (And thanks to all the amazing friends and family who are
helping us on the road especially!)

Love, Jenny"

2009-03-09T01:30:00.003-04:00

1. I finally put my GBV Box on iTunes. I'm quite satisfied with myself that I bought it when it came out, in 1995, meaning I was sixteen.

2. In the living room, only the Daydream Nation box set is in rotation

3. I'm reading Rip It Up And Start Again and realized I still hadn't listened to the Desperate Bicycles. Luckily someone put up their complete discography so I'm trying to make up for lost time

4. I made it out to the Yoo Doo Faire at Cake Shop but there weren't enough records. Right when I'm reading a book that will clue me into dozens of bands that will look impressive on my record shelf. Seriously. When someone comes over, what do I want to show off?

5. My birthday houseguests embarrassed me when I realized Murray Street was the only SY album I had on vinyl. Hence the Daydream Nation box set purchase. I'm not sure how far I want to take this. The truth is all my early Sonic Youth albums were on cassette and I never upgraded or downloaded replacements.

6. Also reading Perfect from Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life. While he complains in a footnote about girls liking bands for being cute, it really has me wanting to write my personal history of indie rock.

7. Some of the characters: Bikini Kill, Calvin Johnson, Rose Melberg, Lois Maffeo, Al Larsen, Kimya Dawson, Tullycraft, Kindercore, K, Kill Rock Stars, Magic Marker Records, Elliott Smith, Belle and Sebastian, Huggy Bear, Sleater-Kinney. Except his book is all about falling in love with albums (so far, I think the Guided By Voices bit is gonna get ugly) and mine is about having this wonderful twisted fan/musician/friend thing that makes my memories go something like "I was so crushed out on Carrie Brownstein that whenever I saw her I'd get dizzy, but somehow when I saw her on campus I asked her to sign the petition for something that was important enough for me to be collecting signatures for my freshman year. Afterward, I retreated to my dorm room and put more glitter on her shrine."

8. I'm doing the blip.fm thing now as agentramona. Add me.

2009-01-31T22:42:00.001-05:00

Blah. There are barely any good shows coming up in NYC. I noticed Matt and Kim and the Black Kids are touring together. What is that? The overrated, isn't everyone over them tour?

Apples in Stereo and Poison Control Center

2008-08-03T23:56:00.001-04:00

IMG_3294, originally uploaded by Courtoly.

You know whenever I get around the Apples in Stereo magical stuff starts to happen. I really adore and admire them. This was last night in Philadelphia. Plans had been made to get cheese steaks with Poison Control Center and I found myself backstage talking to the guys. Then cute photos were snapped before the PCC and I went to Abner's for a late meal. Those are some serious smiles! YAY!

The Apples in Stereo will be on the Colbert Report Monday August 4th.

Robert will also be at Athens (GA) Popfest with The American Revolution this month.

2008-08-01T02:26:00.002-04:00

If you know the extent of my food allergies you'll understand.

I can't eat most raw foods. So I avoid all unknown raw foods. Except there this the magic thing that lets me eat really fresh raw foods.

Or...citrus, leafs, onions and tomatoes seem to be okay still. Peppers maybes. Last night my friend Johnny and I made salsa from my grandpa's tomatoes, cilantro, onions and a jalapeno pepper and it was amazing.

Or in 2006 my friend Lois brought strawberries from her garden to a party at the ABC House and I got to eat strawberries.

Or tonight, when a corn stalk fell over, and I ate RAW CORN. And it was delicious. Sadly, it was a rather pathetic piece of corn hiding in my garden, but I will share with you the befores and afters.

2008-07-31T12:59:00.000-04:00

Awesome integration, you can now scrobble your Muxtapes on last.fm.

This makes my workday so much more productive!

2008-07-30T22:42:00.002-04:00

Evil fat worms got to my beautiful zucchinis so I'm only left with one plant on the other side of the garden. The corn is looking good. The tomatoes are a bit dried out so I'm trying to water more often, but there are tomatoes on each plant. The peppers are looking good, four plants with peppers on each. I'm not sure if they are bell peppers or long sweet peppers though, so I have to remember to ask my grandpa because some may be near ripe now. So far all I've gotten to eat is a few cherry tomatoes, sage (usually wrapped around chicken and broiled) and mint (mojitos! mint water that doesn't cost $2 a bottle!)

I'm excited to find the Siltbreeze catalog on eMusic as I sometimes have a hard time finding good stuff on there with 90 downloads a month. I got a Times New Viking album (Paisley Reich) and U.S. EZ's Sic Alps tonight. I'll have to load up the iPod and start using it again. I listened to the Melvin's Nude Boots when I was going to sleep the other night and I had to stay up and listen. Since the Melvins have started playing rock songs it's harder to block it out and have weird dreams like when I listen to Ozma.

Like my attempts at creating an indiepop zine, it soon digresses into other musical forms and random life experiences. There are plenty of music blogs out there. Find them. Or tell me about them.

I've taken it upon myself this summer to read War and Peace. Already I can tell you my brain isn't very good with stories with too many characters. It is a book to study though, and I wish I had a good old English class (or Russian Literature class) to help me along. Yet finding book resources IS something I can do guilt free at work, and if I figure out the story well enough to recommend it to one poor unsuspecting high school student then I'll be doing my job. I picked War and Peace because I was breezing through 200 page books every day, maybe every other day. This way I'll have a fair warning when I'm coming close to the end. I wish more literary fiction came in standard paperback size. Has anyone else been pretentious enough to read Infinite Jest? Che? That's not stuff that's fun to carry around the city with you.

I'm disappointed the Apples in Stereo/Earlimart/Poison Control Center show tomorrow night was canceled and they're honoring the tickets at the NJ show on Friday. Ridgewood NJ will be at least an hour away by train, and I hope I don't get stranded trying to get back. Actually, I do hope I get stranded and the band rescues me and I have to share a bed with ...... and go to the Philly show. I'll still get to see the Poison Control Center at Pianos tomorrow night so not all is lost. Still. Seeing the Apples in Brooklyn was going to be SO convenient, and I haven't seen them since last fall at the Housing Works Bookstore show in NYC and I was really looking forward to this for MONTHS. I bought my tickets the day they went on sale otherwise I might have said "ah, skip it, see em in Philly this weekend!"

2008-05-30T16:29:00.002-04:00

I don't go to too manys shows that have advance tickets, so I'm extremely excited about

7/31-Apples in Stereo with Earlimart and Poison Control Center at the Masonic Temple in Brooklyn

9/22-My Bloody Valentine

9/23-NKOTB at the Izod Center in NJ

I think I see where I should take some of my personal holidays this fall. Doing those two concerts back to back, I should also get some serious hearing protection. What a wierd week that is going to be...

2008-05-30T02:24:00.001-04:00

typical conversations I had tonight:
shoes
libraries
mixtapes
haircuts
places to eat
neighborhoods/places lived in
bands you used to be in
radio stations
venues
Popfests
the indiepop list
where to park
films
the virtues of Cakeshop
Tullycraft
the White Stripes dress code

www.nycpopfest.org

2008-05-29T19:12:00.002-04:00

I just played in the dirt for an hour outside and it feels great. Sunshine, chopsticks for stakes, empty plastic cups the plants used to live in.

X= zucchini
O= tomato
B= bleeding heart
H= random herb, maybe Sage?
@= lettuce
F= flowers? I hope so.
_= cinder block wall
____________
XX O
OO
X H OOOX
F B @@@@
F

I still have peppers and corn to plant. I should put in some cilantro. We don't have a hose outside, so I have to carry a watering can back and forth at least twice. I needz a bukut.

2008-05-28T20:30:00.002-04:00

Apples in Stereo / Earlimart / Poison Control Center
at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple
July 31 2008

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

I'd honestly been daydreaming about the Apples way too much recently. With Poison Control Center opening? PCC is one of my favorite touring bands I ever saw at Athens Popfest. And there was this time Patrick serenaded this girl on his knees with an acoustic guitar at Little Kings, that was one of the most romantic things I've ever seen at a Popfest.

I got all excited that the DJ on WPRB was playing the Cannanes but it turned out the stream was interrupted and skipped to the next track in my music library.

Tomorrow is the Carrots at Cakeshop for the final Corduroy. I'm so sad we're losing this Thursday night danceparty. The Carrots from Austin TX play wonderfully cheeky girl group pop. DJ's Andi and Jennifer spin girl groups all night. I'll just steal their bio from their MySpace.

"Jennifer K. was the former hostess of the longtime indiepop radio show Ear Candy on KOOP's 91.7fm in Austin, Texas. She also deejayed many club nights, parties, and events around Austin before relocating to Brooklyn in November 2007.

Andi V. was a singer and keyboardist in the late indie new wave band My Favorite. By day, she librarians with children."

See you there?

2008-05-27T18:27:00.002-04:00

I'm hijacking this blog to write about gardening this summer.

In the backyard I have:

1 pink bleeding heart (no flowers yet)

corn

zucchini (flowered today! OMG we're going to have a lot of zucchini in a few weeks)

tomatoes (killed two when they got blown over and broke, one has BABY TOMATOES on it already, 2 others are growing but no tomatoes yet)

lettuce (seems to be recovering from its sleepover in the library. perking up a bit.
looks too big for the container and i'm wondering how fast it will grow when I get it in the ground)

peppers (4 plants green peppers. 4 plants can get really big, same with the tomatoes)

I weeded this weekend and have a big pile of compostable stuff in the back corner. I should bag it up and find someplace I can take it. Also considered getting worms and turning it into a compost pile. i wonder if the landlord would notice.

the garden isn't perfectly weeded but I figured I would just pull out stuff as I dug it up and the rest I could grab whenever it got in my way.

i also fixed my computer and synched it up with my phone. so while my regular digital camera is in the hospital on warranty for a few weeks, at least i have my camera phone.

yay!

2008-05-09T07:30:00.000-04:00

Top 10 Brooklyn Bands in my Heart Right Now

This is strictly a Top 10 as of this moment in May, since there are so many bands I love in Brooklyn and who I listen to definitely fluctuates as I see someone play a lot of shows and/or someone releases a great album.

1. My Teenage Stride
2. Fred Thomas
3. The Vivian Girls
4. Jason Anderson
5. Crystal Stilts
6. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
7. Dizzy Spells Martian
8. The Bright Lights
9. LAL
10. Love or Perish

Non Brooklyn music in high rotation right now: The Apples in Stereo, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, No Kids

Does anyone else using tabbed browsing ever hallucinate that their Gmail tab flashes from an IM but when you focus on it there is no such conversation to be had?

2008-05-07T17:39:00.002-04:00

NYC Popfest 2008

By some small miracle the NYC Popfest 2008 will be happening next month. A limited number of full passes are now on sale for $55, which guarantees your entrance to the following events:

NYC Popfest 2008 Lineup
Thursday June12th@Cakeshop
Love Is All (Sweden)
Alsace Lorraine (NYC)
Oh! Custer (Sweden)
In Interview (NYC)
The Foxgloves (UK)

Friday June 13th@Mondo
Cats on Fire (Finland)
Friday Bridge (Sweden)

Saturday June 14th Shirley Beans Indiepop Dance Party@Galapagos
Mono Taxi (UK)
Cannonball Jane (CT)
Friday June 13th@Pianos
Tullycraft (WA)
The Besties (NYC)
Pants Yell! (MA)
From Bubblegum to Sky (NYC)

Saturday June 14th@Music Hall of Williamsburg
The Ladybug Transistor (NYC)
The Orchids (UK)
My Teenage Stride (NYC)
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (NYC)
Mahogany (NYC)

Sunday June 15th@Union Pool: Pop Celebration Show & BBQ
The Cannanes (Australia)
The Frank & Walters (Ireland)
The Hermit Crabs (UK)
The Silent League (NYC)
One Happy Island (MA)
Bears (OH)
Steve Goldberg and the Arch Enemies (PA)
Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele (MO)

So if you definitely want to see Love is All or Tullycraft you should buy a full pass. Those venues are frickin tiny.

I'm looking forward to a visit from one of my librarian pals that weekend, in addition to lording (ladying?) over the merch table and trying to not lose my mind. I need volunteers! Yet, it is so easy to find volunteers when my friends are broke and want to go to the show :)

2008-04-15T23:32:00.002-04:00

ugh I know he is in the High Places and I can't even see who he is jamming with but it is almost midnight and I just want to see Casiotone and go home.

I did have an existential light seeing Owen go through the backstage door that read "No Exit"

Rodney Graham band

2008-04-12T21:33:00.001-04:00

at the Abroms Arts Center, LES , NYC

www.nycpopfest.org

2008-04-12T14:45:00.002-04:00

Effin iTunes. It has taken me since Christmas to figure out how to redeem my gift cards. I kept clicking on "Store" on the top bar menu and then getting frustrated that "redeem" wasn't an option like the instructions said. Turns out you have to click "store" with the little shopping bag on the left to redeem your gift cards. Thanks Father Christmas!

I gave into curiousity and bought the new Panic at the Disco. No more exclaimation point to complain about.

2008-04-08T11:28:00.001-04:00

How Dry I Am

The NYPL Blog has a great post of vintage postcards about drunkenness up today. In case you need art for your *real* mixtapes :)

2008-04-08T11:24:00.001-04:00

But is this shit legal?
Muxtape vs. Mixwit.

Oh but like pop music, tis fun while it lasts.

2008-04-08T01:55:00.002-04:00

I resisted for about a week, but here is my Muxtape

# 1 Tender Forever - Take It Off

# 2 Heavenly - Ben Sherman

# 3 Jeremy Jay - Beautiful Dreamer

# 4 Boyracer - You're Breaking His Heart

# 5 The Books - take time

# 6 Karl Blau - The Dark, Magical Sea

# 7 Yo La Tengo - Sometimes I Don’t Get You

# 8 Lois - The Trouble With Me
"First I see it, then I want it, then I get it, then I break it down"

# 9 The Rolling Stones - Get Off of My Cloud

# 10 Tullycraft - The Secret History of Devil's Paw

# 11 The Stylistics - You Make Me Feel Brand New

# 12 My Teenage Stride - That Should Stand For Something

I Beat Emo

2008-04-02T12:55:00.001-04:00

No amount of indiepop

2008-03-27T22:21:00.001-04:00

will make up for a Yankees cap and flannel shirt

www.nycpopfest.org

2008-03-25T10:50:00.002-04:00

Shhhhh.....the return of the Lois.....with new songs I hear.....

The Rodney Graham Band
featuring the amazing
Rotary Psycho-Opticon
Opening set by Lois
Friday, April 11th, and Saturday, April 12th 8 p.m.
Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, New York

Friday 25th April 8 p.m.
ABC, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

To book tickets please see
www.publicartfund.org or
www.thecommonguild.org.uk

2008-03-25T10:43:00.001-04:00

Reposted on behalf of the band, in hopes of recruiting more lonely Brooklynites into their rose wielding army:

Holy Heartbeats,

A friendly reminder that The Secret History are throwing a party this Thursday March 27th at the Galapagos art space in Williamsburg Brooklyn. In addition to a live performance by us, we will be joined by two rainy pop bands who I really like. The Isles (a New York band who have already made a splash in the UK) and The Exeter Popes.

We are excited to be returning to the stage after taking a bit of time to finish up our debut release, a 5 song e.p. which will be released on the Le Grand Magistery label later this Spring. We will playing a group of songs concerned with varied topics including Rosalia the Martyr of Palermo, Love and squalor in former Soviet Union, and record collecting in the basements of Haunted Houses. In addition, the first 20 or so punters will receive a free 4 piece "Jonah CMYK" badge set...all sepia and solemnity...a collaboration with our indispensible ally, designer Laura Kunkel, the
singular force behind the stirring show posters that we staple gun over Camel ads.

The party will start around 9:30 with The Secret History performing at 11. Miss Modular and Kevington from the sublime Mondo dance party will be spinning between bands and after. The combination of song, spirits and architecture promises to reinforce the soulful pursuit of difference, which...along with soulful pursuit of quality blue jeans, has more or less defined our lives. Or said more simply...you could use a night out. Friday at the office is just a time-kill anyways...

So Come Round and write yourself onto a page or two.

xoxo
Michael Grace jr.

The Secret History/The Isles/The Exeter Popes
A Modern Problems Party at
Galapagos

www.galapagosartspace.com
70 North 6th Street
between Kent and Wythe
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
718 782-5188

www.myspace.com/friendsofthesecrethistory
www.myspace.com/theisles
www.myspace.com/theexeterpopes

2008-02-25T07:26:00.001-05:00

Go Olympia!
While it is awesome that Kimya Dawson is getting so much attention for Juno, ex-Mocket member (and I'm pretty sure she worked at K) Audrey Marrs also gets kudos for being one of four producers of the documentary "No End in Sight".

Saw the Magnetic Fields last night for about the 8th time (catching the last song at a show and seeing Stephin solo count for .5 performances, maybe rounded out by seeing Claudia at a book reading this summer). Why do I keep returning as the price of a ticket has gone from free (Princeton University, May 5 1996) to $40+ including service charges (Town Hall, New York City, February 24 2008). I'm slightly amazed at how many bands are falling into the "bands I've loved for over ten years" category.

Including, Lois, who will be opening for someone somewhere in NYC come early April...I don't think this is any more public than my blog, so maybe I'll make the announcement after I tell the indiepop-list

2008-01-24T21:04:00.000-05:00

Go Vote for Saturday Looks Good to Me at MTVU

Umm, yeah, the birthday show was AWESOME...

2008-01-12T15:54:00.000-05:00

2007-12-26T09:54:00.000-05:00

Hey, this was on Kimya Dawson's MySpace blog and she gave me permission to repost it here:

"When we said yes to Conan I had TOTALLY forgotten about the writers' strike!!! It took a wise man named John Darnielle to email me and remind me.

Then I went and read THIS.

Then I emailed Rhino and Adam and told them I am not interested in crossing picket lines. Playing outside for those picketing, YES.

Walking past them and going on in which would be SUCH a snub with a big old implied "eff you guys- this is our big chance to do something I feel pretty weird about doing in the first place". So not worth it.

I guess now I wait for Adam and the Rhinos to write back and see what they say.

Oh, and...I have been up all night. I learned the hard way not to take a double dose of Emergen-C before bed. And especially don't give a sip to the baby.

Straight trippin."

2007-12-17T23:10:00.001-05:00

I've haven't really been following the details of the writers strike but I know I support the Union. The news just mentioned that it will be interesting to see what actors cross the picket line to promote their movies/shows. I'm wondering if there will be spots filled by desperate musical guests. I always hated staying up late to catch a "musical guest" who was often given 1.5 songs. There are plenty of musicians who don't care about or don't think they deserve royalties for digital airplay...maybe there is some parallel between the negotiations for online content for the writers and musicians. I'm not thinking of this very deeply here, I'd like to talk about it though.

2007-12-04T19:13:00.000-05:00

Dual Cassette Deck with USB out
Dual tape deck with high speed dubbing, Stereo RCA input & output
AND USB out!!!!! ($149) (now if they would only throw in a way to record stereo OUT to cassette then I'd be totally sold...I know, RCA cable audio out from computer to audio in to tape deck...or transfer tapes to mp3s, burn cds, and then tape the cds....)

And I love this Former Rockstar t-shirt even though I wouldn't wear it. I know some people who could though.

(I'd also like to review products from these companies, hint hint, e-mail me)

2007-11-28T19:08:00.000-05:00

So little to say. I live in Brooklyn now but cannot compete with some of the most awesome indie music blogs in the world. I have not gotten into Vampire Weekend and was even a little more turned off after I heard them on NPR...the songs just don't seem to be intellectual enough to warrant namedropping Columbia University in every article. But maybe this is the shift I started to witness in Athens in 2000, whatever was left of indpendent punk spirit was going to be washed away by the chance to be popular and the inclusion of the non-punks into the fold.

It's pleasant enough stuff. Just not going near my top 10 list this year. Maybe if I saw them live I'd feel different.

2007-08-24T01:21:00.000-04:00

I HATE COCAINE

2007-08-07T22:54:00.000-04:00

Athens Popfest 2007: Preview

Yes tomorrow I head on down to Athens for the annual Happy Happy Birthday To Me Popfest. I'm really looking forward to seeing Tullycraft on Friday. I know I just saw them in February, but being so far away from Washington I really really really miss them.

There aren't too many bands playing this year that I haven't seen before, but I'm especially looking forward to Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies . I'm very sad my friend the librarian Robin is no longer with the group, but today at work I found out our health insurance consultant Alex IS! I gave him this bit of advice for Athens, so if you're heading down there, get psyched for this: "If you can manage to sleep from 6AM til noon you will not miss anything".

Also, Casper and the Cookies are backing Daniel Johnston on Saturday night.

See, it is SO worth braving GEORGIA in AUGUST

Gotta pack!

2007-07-17T09:17:00.000-04:00

Indie Rock Bingo Party Saturday in Philly

Hey folks, this Saturday I'll be hosting Indie Rock Bingo at Tritone in Philly. There will be some fun prizes, lots of bad jokes, and alcohol. Please come up and support this crazy idea. I'm just cutting and pasting Sara's announcement because I'm going to work but...

And the DJs, holy shit the DJs are frickin awesome. Not in the boom boom boom get up and dance way, but in the "wow that mix tape saved my life way". Which is a little strange to listen to in public, but whatever, life is better than it was in 94.

Sceniors...ha..

XO
Courtney

SAT JULY 21
Indie Rock Bingo and afterparty

I'm pleased to collaborate on this unsual event with Courtney Bennett,
Philadelphia native, former Olympia resident, and indie-pop promoter
and fan. Bennett hosted Indie Rock Bingo at the NYC Popfest in May.
Instead of numbers and letters, there are tried and true symbols of
indie rock on the bingo cards: K Records, mary janes, a radio station,
a hand stamp, etc.

The afterparty is a fine collection of Philadelphia DJ's who
definitely have informed my taste over the years and used indie rock
as a jumping off point to do so many great things.

Indie Rock Bingo, 8-10
50 cents a round or 3 for $1
Hosted by Courtney Bennett

Afterparty at 10, free for bingo players or $5

DJ LARIS KRESLINS (uwishunu, Arthur, Sound Collector, Insound)
http://herjazz.org/maria/2005/10/20/796

DJ KYLE ANDREWS (a.k.a. Ashy K, Johnny Brenda's, M Room)
http://www.myspace.com/eusa

DJ MON LU CONT (England Belongs to Twee)
http://www.myspace.com/monlucont
Mon booked Team Dresch and Slant 6 at the Koresh Dance Studio and
Huggy Bear at a Y on North Broad Street!

DJ ANDREW CHALFEN (The Trolleyvox)
http://www.myspace.com/thetrolleyvox

2007-06-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

Crayon-Forever Nearly True

Dearest Ned and everyone out there,
I am working on the Brick Factory reissue, a two cd set including at three newly discovered Crayon songs, live tracks from their final performance at Yoyo A Gogo, the Harriet demos, all the singles, cassettes, and compilation tracks, for this autumn.

It is happening.

It will be grand.

XO
Court

2007-06-27T23:43:00.000-04:00

Crayon-Live With It Baby
A totally cute slideshow of photos from the Crayon/Softies tour:

2007-05-19T19:58:00.000-04:00

2007-05-16T23:31:00.000-04:00

Pitchfork

NYC Popfest 2007 at Pitchfork!

I have been super busy with organizing popfest and will do my best to blog a bit from there, but expect some super exciting news about my summer job after the fest.

Shapes and sizes at cakeshop

2007-05-11T23:11:00.003-04:00

Shapes and sizes at cakeshop

2007-05-11T23:11:00.001-04:00

Yellow fever

2007-05-02T21:16:00.001-04:00

Yello fever

2007-05-02T21:14:00.000-04:00

Yellow fever

2007-05-02T21:13:00.001-04:00

2007-04-22T13:54:00.000-04:00

NYC Popfest 2007

NYC Popfest 2007
NYC Popfest MySpace

All fest passes can be purchased by sending $60 via Pay Pal to paypal@nycpopfest.com

THURSDAY MAY 24, 2007
Opening night gala
98-104 Meserole Ave., @ EUROPA in Brooklyn

* BMX Bandits (Scotland)
* Pants Yell! (MA)
* Yellow Fever (TX)
* The Metric Mile (NYC)
* Lispector (France)
* Plus other surprise guests!

FRIDAY MAY 25, 2007
Kick off the weekend with Mitch Easter and a rooftop after-party!!!
168 Delancey Street, @ THE DELANCEY on the L.E.S.

* Baskervilles (NYC)
* Mitch Easter (NC)
* The Secret History (NYC)
* The Smittens (VT)
* Affair d'Coeur (NYC)
* The Reverse (NY)
* AND ROOFTOP AFTER-PARTY

SATURDAY MAY 26, 2007
FREE daytime all-ages show
Astroland Stage - Coney Island Boardwalk, @ ASTROLAND on Coney Island!!!!!

* Bunnygrunt (MO)
* Cars Can Be Blue (GA)
* Best Fwends (TX)
* The Gritty Midi Gang (NYC)
* and special surprise guests!

SATURDAY MAY 26, 2007
74 Leonard St., @ THE KNITTTING FACTORY

* Casiotone For the Painfully Alone (CHI)
* The Ballet (NYC)
* Ballboy (Scotland)
* Harvey Williams (UK)
* My Teenage Stride (NYC)
* The Besties (NYC)
* Brown Recluse Sings (PA)

SUNDAY MAY 27, 2007
361 Metropolitan Avenue, @ LUNA LOUNGE in Brooklyn

* Pipas (UK/NYC)
* CAUSE CO-MOTION (NYC)
* Human Television (PA)
* Michael Leviton (NYC)
* Pelle Carlberg (Sweden)
* Dear Nora (CA)
* The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (NYC)

MONDAY May 28, 2007
Memorial Day BBQ & show
484 Union Avenue, @ UNION POOL in Brooklyn

* Allen Clapp & His Orchestra (CA)
* The Gazetteers (NY)
* The Lil Hospital (PA)
* Surefire Broadcast (PA)
* Titans of Filth (GA)
* and special surprise guests!!

2007-04-15T02:45:00.000-04:00

Icicles/Casper and the Cookes/Scary Monster
The Khyber, Philly, April 30 2007, be there!

I lucked out today and got the new Icicles cd at Repo Records on South Street in the discount section.

or as seen in the Motorola commercial

Then I found this great video of Jason Nesmith from Casper and the Cookies singing Don't Stop Believing karaoke with Of Montreal at the 40 Watt in Athens

And a shout out that the third band on the bill in Philly is Neal "the Snow Fairies have really broken up and this is proof" Ramirez's new band, Scary Monster.

2007-04-12T16:09:00.000-04:00

Sooooo funny things afoot at our little Pop Inn in Philly
I got Kev to enter the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Battle of the Bands contest
and The Lil Hosptial is a finalist!

So please vote for him (or if you like the other bands)

http://www.mary-kateandashley.com/media/article.php?1170|1

2007-04-11T19:41:00.000-04:00

Spalding Gray and Calvin Johnson

It's the time of year when I spend too much time mourning those people I loved who are no longer with us, and thinking of sitting in the Washington Center and watching Spalding Gray perform around 1999/2000 is also making me sad. I'll have to listen to It's A Slippery Slope again soon. I think about all the uncertainties I had at that time, fuck Paxil, fuck unboyfriends, fuck graduation...it was pretty much a time to listen to a wise old white guy with a New York attitude and NPR sensibilities and think maybe, maybe things would get better.

There is a new play based on his writings that has been going on in New York and getting good reviews

And it will be performed at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia on April 20 with Calvin Johnson reading and performing an original song he wrote for Mr. Gray. Bravo.

2007-04-06T04:30:00.000-04:00

Sandman and Calvin Johnson Shootout

WTF? WTF? WTF? (okay, that seems to be all Calvin will say too)

Anyway, my buddy Justin is putting a bunch of random videos up on YouTube for our amusement...thanks!

Nicki Click at the Mill Creek Tavern

2007-03-22T23:10:00.001-04:00

Hornet Leg at the Mill Creek Tavern

2007-03-22T22:44:00.001-04:00

Maple Rabbit at the Mill Creek Tavern

2007-03-22T21:55:00.001-04:00

Of Montreal sell out again

2007-03-08T20:56:00.001-05:00

At the Trocadero in Philly

More clinic@netomat

2007-03-08T00:14:00.000-05:00

Clinic

2007-03-08T00:11:00.001-05:00

Clinic at johnny brendas

2007-03-08T00:08:00.001-05:00

2007-03-06T23:31:00.000-05:00

When the Payola scandal broke a few years ago, I was really dissapointed by the use of the word "indies" to refer to the middlemen who brokered the deals between major labels and radio to buy airtime for their artists. I felt that people who didn't know what indie rock, indiepop, or just indie music was would confuse the marketing machines with the small labels and artists who were completely irrelevant to the scandal.

If you're unfamiliar with the scandal, read Payola: The Dirty Industry Practice That is Ruining Hip-Hop or the document containing actual facts and figures about the practice.

I don't know if the use of the word "indie" meant anything to anyone else, but in an odd turn of events, the major corporate radio firms have voluntarily agreed to set aside 8400 half-hour blocks of airtime for independent artists not affiliated with the major labels.

After seeing the Apples in Stereo twice last month I really felt like it might be a magic year for an indiepop band to have a major hit single. It would be no stranger than some of the hit singles I remember coming out of regional radio (ie Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta" on KNDD and Dead Eye Dick's "New Age Girl" come to mind).

And if anyone would like to hire me to program some of those blocks, I'm available.

2007-03-05T23:04:00.000-05:00

As amazing as The Secret History were at Cakeshop on Friday night, I am too tired to write a public piece on my experience so instead, I distract you with my big Flickr project for the evening:

My Mom with the Casualties in 1995

Okay, this might be the funniest picture ever. See, my parents were driving up to Boston to pick me up from a Sonic Youth show (Helium opened btw, Bikini Kill was supposed to and cancelled). My mom saw this punk band in the parking lot of a rest stop and asked if they were Sonic Youth. "No," Jorges said, "we're the Casualties!" "My daughter has probably heard of you, can I get my picture taken with you?" And that is how I got a picture of my mommy with the Casualties.

Like mother like daughter I suppose, as the dorky photos of me with Superchunk at Princeton University attest to, this was May 5 1996
Also in that set are some far away photos of the Magnetic Fields, as I was really nervous we were going to be busted for being trespassing high school students at the show.

Evidence that the Cakeshop is my least favorite venue to take photos in even though I adored The Secret History last Friday night:

Sleater Kinney Setlist from 4/6/96 (pre-Janet) at the Unitarian Church in Philly:

And since this is so much about 1996, let's take a look at me around that time in my natural habitat, photocopying my zine at Office Max.

2007-02-28T02:37:00.000-05:00

A Letter to Olympia:

Go have your heart broken, be saved, experience joy:
Friday at The Capitol Theater
Saturday Looks Good To Me
Chris Bathgate
Calvin Johnson
The Cave Singers
8:30
ALL AGES
at the Capitol Theater Backstage
and it's been a long time since the Backstage had a good pop show. GO GO GO

costs? I'm sad, no flyer for me, someone take a picture PLEASE

Fair warning, Fred Thomas does a lovely cover of Belle and Sebastian's "Like Dylan in the Movies". In fact, his Polyvinyl releases achieve that soul sound Stuart Murdock has been trying to find. Now he's giving it up for his own voice, probably no lovely lass on this leg of the tour, which has a kind of awkwardness and joy that makes him so damn charming. And I love his teeth, his teeth are adorable. AHHHHH!!!!! (I went to Chicago to stalk Tullycraft btw, seeing SLGTM was just a really awesome bonus)

I haven't seen The Cave Singers yet, but please let me know how they are live. I'm very much looking forward to seeing them in Philly with Xiu Xiu and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone next month.

XOXO I MISS YOU XOXO
Courtney <3's Fred

2007-02-24T05:10:00.001-05:00

Tweekends Away-Chicago Style

So I'm safely back from Chicago today and the snow is falling in Philly. A brief recap of this weekend, although you may want to jump to the pertanent sections on
Tullycraft
The Apples in Stereo
Saturday Looks Good To Me

I arrived in Chicago on Thursday afternoon and killed several hours at the Mercury Cafe. I had an awesome turkey and avocado sandwich and coffee while I played on the internet til Leigh got home from work.

Now, Leigh and I go WAY BACK to the early days of the damned Belle and Sebastian fan list Sinister. She had organized a picnic in 1998 for the folks on the list to socialize in DC, and that is the event I made my "Fuck Me I'm Twee" shirt for. I'm no longer on the Sinister list.

Friday afternoon I hung out with Leigh's roommate Dan and made rice crispy treats for Tullycraft. I'm on some kind of silly baking for bands kick, probably out of gratefulness that I don't have to promote the shows.

Aren't they fucking cool?

I think they liked them (this girl was awesome too).

The Apples in Stereo had this Drumhead for sale at the merch table with a pricetag of $40. Since it was signed by the Apples and Casper I really wanted it. I tried to buy it and it was not for sale.

The trick was, whoever wanted to buy the Drumhead got it for free. I had Tullycraft sign it too.

Notice the dirty drawing from Corianton in the middle? Thanks Cori. I love you too.

Casper and the Cookies sounded great, but I was stuck in the back of the room and had a lot of catching up to do with my old roommate Jessica.

For the Apples in Stereo Jessica and I headed up to the balcony hoping to have a better view. A better view is debatable, but we did have fun upstairs and there was room to dance.

"Don't forget to send Pavement their royalty check."

Saturday morning I got to partake in a wonderful Chicago tradition, Drunky Brunch at Joey's Brickhouse. I believe it is now $12 All You Can Eat and $1 drinks. This resulted in a dizzying array of Long Island Ice Teas in pretty colors being passed around the table, but not to me. I gave up drinking for Lent and somehow made it through this weekend sober.
The one thing I REALLY wish I had a photo of, but felt too dorky and all, was Bob Nanna from Braid showing up and talking to his friends at our table. Poor Jess has Braid lyrics tattooed on her arm that just minutes before she was showing the table, but the sleeves went down the minute he walked in the room.

Saturday Saturday night was time for Saturday Looks Good to me. Fred announced that their next album will come out this fall on K Records which makes me very happy. I wasn't sure how many people would come out in the snow but the place was packed. We thought the show was going to start at 8:30 so we got there early, too early, and killed time playing games at the table.

I had seen the "Northwest Experimental Version" of SLTGM last year, so I was completely unprepaired for the full on, bombastic, swinging, soulful full band PLUS Betty Marie Barnes on vocals. Given our shared history, I think we were both very happy to hear their cover of Belle and Sebastian's "Like Dylan in the Movies". The place was crowded and full of dancing afterwards, so we headed home.

Brunch again on Sunday morning and then on the plane back home.

Confidential to the couple in the front row at Saturday Looks Good To Me: The reason you couldn't figure out what Modest Mouse album that song was on was because it was The Pixies

2007-02-23T01:39:00.000-05:00

Hey, I've added an indiepop search engine to the sidebar. You can get the code for if you want to put it somewhere handy, or e-mail me suggestions for other sites to prioritize for the searches.

Also, I'm in Chicago for the weekend. Tomorrow is the Tullycraft/Casper and the Cookies/Apples in Stereo show I've been obsessing over. Saturday we're going to see Saturday Looks Good To me. All and all, a pretty incredible weekend to look forward to.

XO

2007-02-19T22:20:00.000-05:00

Should the twee pop article on Wikipedia be merged with the indiepop article?

Radar magazine had a rather disturbing article on "tweemo" fashion in the January/February print edition. I'm not quite sure they get it, or maybe I don't get it. I think the history of twee pop was a reaction against the machismo of punk, and twee as a reaction against the gloom and glamour of emo (which I still want to call neo-emo) is fine. Summing it up with a bit of faux-vintage fashion, Dave Eggers Novels, and Belle and Sebby records? I suppose that's why I don't read magazines too often. But I have to question the tweemo thing for one major reason, how can something like that exist if it's not on Wikipedia or their own website? Does anything exist if it doesn't exist online? Let me get back to that...

Speaking of emo, I found a vintage postcard Ken Shipley gave me in the attic of my parents house. It was part of a framed collage I made including a)a b&w photo of a guitar a boy gave me in college before moving to Memphis and breaking my heart b)a b&w unintentional sillhouette photo of a boy I fell hard for in college before much too much drama to ever be recounted on this blog, or at least I'm waiting til the WTO movie comes out and I can tie it into that c)postcard from random zinester boy about live falling apart whenever you move away d)ruined polaroid I found in the street somewhere e)aformentioned vintage postcard.

So at least I have these postcards and photos. After the transcendent time I had at the Apples in Stereo show I have really been feeling, well, frustrated, that fan mail has become a lost art. I feel really strange mailing letters and presents to bands, I wonder if I'm the only one who still does this. Or if the blog or fansite has become the only appropriate place to express your love? I tried to ask Stephen Merritt about this at the EMP Pop Conference last year but everything he said was drowned out in the Song of the South controversy and I never saw a transcript. But it doesn't matter, does it?

I am glad, with all the crap that is going on my my life right now, which I am going to spare my family the embarassment of having posted to the internet, I have a bunch fo shows to look forward to. First off, Friday, I can't believe Friday is the Tullycraft/Casper/Apples in Stereo. Then Saturday we're going to see Saturday Looks Good to Me, and I'm excited to see how Fred Thomas' new material is working out. He moved to Portland last i heard.

Also, we're getting really really close to announcing the bands for NYC Popfest 2007.

And finally, after I calm down from the Chicago whammy, The Secret History, featuring members of My Favorite will be playing at Cakeshop in NYC on March 2nd. Back to what I said earlier about how does something exist if it doesn't exist on the web, I'm sorry they don't seem to have a MySpace or webpage to share, yet. It will be awesome to hear new songs and see the new band lineup from Mr. Grace. It is also My Teenage Stride's record release party, so I'm expecting some new all around goodness from Jed as well. I will probably babble about both bands much as soon as I stop freaking out about how awesome my Chicago trip is going to be.

2007-02-18T12:50:00.000-05:00

New Love: Apples in Stereo and Kevin Devine

Last summer at the Happy Happy Birthday To Me Athens Popfest I fell in love with the Apples in Stereo. I've noticed my taste in music swaying away from the melancholy to the celabratory. I had listened to Tone Soul Evolution from the library, but it never really caught me like their live show did.

If you have an hour you can watch that set

Which is so strange that some of the most amazing moments of my life are captured online now.

I was even more excited when I saw that Casper and the Cookies were the opening act on this tour. I booked their Olympia show last year and think they are just the sweetest band. They give so much energy into their performances and have such a great ear for pop tunes. So I bought a ticket for Philadelphia.

So this was my first time at the North Star Bar and I pretty much liked it. The stage wasn't too obnoxiously high off the ground and people didn't crowd the stage so there was room to dance. I met some really nice girls and everyone was friendly. The first act, Elevator Falling, was good psychadelic rock pop, but I was really freaked out how much the lead singer looked like my ex. Casper and the Cookies sounded great. They have such a crisp sound where you can hear EVERYTHING, probably due to Jason's extrodinary engineering skills.

But then things got scary between the Casper and Apples sets. The band was taking a really long time to get onstage and it turns out Rob Schnieder had an asthma attack backstage. There was a time when we thought the show was going to be cancelled. It was horrible. John came onstage and explained they were going to come out soon, and they took to the stage around one o'clock.

It was terrific. I love pop bands, but I love bands that can record pop and play LOUD. The Apples in Stereo just have this incredible uplifting energy, something I want to be surrounded by and just drown in as much as possible.

After the show Rob was very nice and hung around talking to the fans and taking pictures with everyone. I felt a bit dorky asking, but then he asked me and I'm not that shy!

Okay, I promise you there will be more obsessing coming up this week, as I've written, Tullycraft were added to the Chicago bill...damn! I LOVE THESE BANDS!!! So that is next Friday at Subterranean, and I am going to see the bands and visit my fabulous friend Leigh.

They were also on Conan this week but NBC had the video pulled from YouTube.

Before I head off to the second part of my Apples adventure, I am going to see Kevin Devine. Kevin Devine is a Brooklyn based singer-songwriter who I can't not compare to a sunny Elliott Smith. But having seen Elliott throughout his career, I am absolutely relieved to hear someone who doesn't seem to carry the same demons with him. He's got three songs up on AOL Spinner Music right now and will be playing at the Unitarian Church in Philly on Wednesday night at 7:30.

2007-02-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

After Yo La Tengo
I will be heading to Sugar Town at Tritone, hosted by the lovely Sara Sherr.

It’s half-off with a Yo La Tengo ticket stub.

$6 21+

9:00 Doors
9:30 Amy Quinn/Citizen Mom reads
9:45 Y-Front
10:00 Jen Hess
11:00 Voodoo Economics
11:30 Fun dance party with DJ’s Julia Factorial, Darshana & Chetena

2007-02-10T01:56:00.001-05:00

Jonathan Richman, VIP, and Yo La Tengo

(click photo for more pictures)
Jonathan Richman at Johnny Brenda's, February 8, 2007
VIP at the M Room February 9, 2007
Tomorrow night?
Yo La Tengo at the Trocadero
I'm very happy to see my video has remained on the first page of I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass dot com.

2007-02-09T13:51:00.000-05:00

Oh dear Jonathan!

(first draft cross posted to the indiepop list)

Highlights from Jonathan Richman's Philly show at Johnny Brenda's February 8 2006:

Opening with Salvador Dali AND later playing Pablo Picasso

If it is possible to have TOO MUCH Jonathan swinging his crotch in your face I got that last night. I also almost got wacked in the head with his guitar when I closed my eyes for a second. I almost got wacked in the head with the guitar when I was paying attention too.

He's all buff with nice arm muscles and didn't use a guitar strap for the entire performance. I can't remember if that is typical, but he was really swinging the guitar last night. Plus I realized Calvin Johnson's most enthusaistic performances are a poor substitute for Jonathan's calesthenics.

Totally weird but I wanted to touch his sneaker for good luck but I didn't. I'm not sure what else to do when someone is THAT CLOSE onstage.

People screaming "Free Mumia" during his Mumia song

Going from "Not So Much To Be Loved, As To Love" (which is a quote from St. Francis's prayer "Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace") to a song whose title I don't know, but it has a bunch of lyrics about how he prayed for love and fell in love because of his prayer, and he even got the jingle bell shaker and blesed the crowd and it was very funny and sweet.

Hearing Springtime in New York and rememembering when he played that on September 11th in Portland and not crying this time.

The spoken word part of "Let Her Go Into The Darkness" performed in French, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew

Neal Ramirez didn't have a ticket but someone sold him one and he got in.

People congradulating Herbie on this rockstardom. His band Brown Recluse Sings had a song on Veronica Mars this week.

Meeting house photographer Katie after the show and finding out she shares my love of Tullycraft and Lil Hospital.

2007-02-07T23:49:00.000-05:00

I bought a last minute ticket to see Jonathan Richman tomorrow night in Philly.

I was reminded of just how many amazing memories I have of 2006, and they all come in snapshots, ink polaroids if you will....

The last night of Lakefair, sitting on the roof of Lois' shed with my friend Seth and Al Larsen, watching the fireworks and talking about pop music and YouTube.

Al mentioned this video of Jonathan performing in Berkley in 1981

Yes, the movie of my life will be made of rock videos of people you've never heard of but will always remember.
On a slightly related note, I'm going to Chicago to see Apples in Stereo, Casper and the Cookies, and Tullycraft. Because I do stupid stuff like that. Because I really like the way Rob Schnieder carried a notebook around like Harriet the Spy. Because Tullycraft and me is "like having a pet, but I'm not sure who is the pet and who is the owner" (thanks Kardhym!). Because Jason and Kay are the sweetest. I'm so there.

2007-01-24T13:42:00.000-05:00

Darren Hanlon - The Unmade Bed

Wow, a perfect "you girl" video by Darren Hanlon. Watch the whole thing, revenge is sweet. Notice the poor Jens Lekman with the smashed uke!

I play music!

2007-01-23T18:59:00.000-05:00

100_2117, originally uploaded by Skipping Stones Records.

Okay, not really...but I think this blog should continue to provide evidence that I AM REALLY SHORT!!!!

I did go look at stripper shoes today. I'm thinking the $70 might be a good investment to be able to see bands at some of the shows I'm going to soon. I've started to keep a calendar at myspace to keep track of what I want to go to.

Hmmm, what else, I got a nice bunch of CDs from Stewart today. The new Hulaboy is excellent. Nice solid indie rock pop songs. I havent' listened to the Boyracer, Possum Moods or bonus disc yet.

XO
CB

2007-01-18T15:14:00.000-05:00

Wanna come to my birthday party?

England Belongs to Twee: feat. special guest DJ Mon!
Join Mike McKee and Labuda, some shy art school kids and some rowdy skinheads for a night of oi anthems and the feyest of all indie pop
9pm - 2am, no cover @ the khyber (2nd & chestnut)

2007-01-05T02:29:00.000-05:00

Yadda yadda tag 3 peeps for 5 random facts...I tag LINDSAY because he reads this, I'm not sure who else does...TULLYCRAFT boys? I comment on your bloggy blog...thank you and happy birthday to Douglas

1. When I went to summer camp in 1988 I attempted to write down EVERYTHING that happened, to the point of trying to write while hiking around camp. I would have been deadly with phone in blog posts.

2. The first cd I ever won from a radio station was a Mozart CD from a classical station. My friend Jessica's dad wanted to go to the in store promo at Tower Records' Classical Annex on South Street and I entered my name in the drawing on a whim. We were at Tower's regular store when I won.

3. Today was my first day as the token chick at the record store. This is my first record store job.

4. I was in a short lived band called Fuzzy Navel. I ran into Calvin Johnson at a coffee shop a half hour before we were going to play at the Arrowspace and he apologized that he couldn't go see us play because he was recording the Make Up that night. We opened for Fat Day and Whorehouse of Representatives, two of the best bands EVER.

5. I played fantasy baseball last year but slacked off despite drafting people such as Ryan Howard (after the draft! thats the kind of baseball smartiepants I am!!!) . I promise to not do that again.

2006-12-26T16:05:00.000-05:00

My New Years Resolution is to get back into reviewing that which I consume. To reprocess and reflect on what I observe and where I am.

So my parents live in what I call the suburbs because it's more romantic to say that than explain the countryside where I have seen the farms give way to mansions. Or I haven't seen, as most of this construction, including the renovations on my parents' home, happened while I was in Washington.

So while I am here at their house, between the move from Olympia and the move to Philadelphia, I try to take advantage of the big flat screen tv and the entertainment
1. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (documentary, 2005)
While I enjoyed Daniel's music immensley, I have never been a completist, nor have I spent too much time learning his mythology. My telling of the story was "he is crazy and made music in his parent's basement and worked at McDonalds". I had no idea he went to college, fell in obsessive love, crashed his dad's airplane, rolled into Austin with the carnival, or was on MTV in the 80s. Sadly the interviews with Daniel himself are mostly in the form of cassettes he recorded at various points in his life.

2. Concert.TV presents "Ted Leo and the Pharmacists"
Opening with a sweet cover of the Pogues "Dirty Old Town" I had high hopes for this. Unfortunately it is not a straight through concert, but interspersed with interviews and "commercial breaks" (what is that called, when the break is just to promote the station itself?). Now, I've been meaning to see either other film by Justin Mitchell (Songs for Cassavettes or the Death Cab documentary) but I just haven't gotten around to it. I suppose it is an easy enough formula...but I hate the artsy filming of indie bands. I like talking heads, I don't like footage of blurry fingers on keyboards or random bystanders looking unusual (or usual, oh there is a gothish chick, there is a black guy in a NYC t-shirt). I blogged instead of paying too much attention to Part I, so I'll let you know if I get to part II.

2006-12-24T18:26:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas: Santa on a Vespa

2006-12-18T18:46:00.000-05:00

Sorry the video is kinda shakey. I wanted to enjoy the moment as much as I wanted to capture it. Sadly the video doesn't include the part where Calvin walked by singing loudly.

2006-12-18T05:41:00.000-05:00

So much cuteness. I'm working on uploading lots of videos and pictures over the next few days. I kinda want to feel "done" when I leave.

2006-12-08T04:49:00.000-05:00

Courtney's Good-Bye Mix
Saturday December 16th
with
Tullycraft
Math and Physics Club
and
Special Guests
Doors at 9, Show at 10
21+ $5
at the Clipper
402 East Fourth Ave.
Downtown Olympia WA
Club Info 360-943-6300
Pioneer Music

2006-12-05T21:10:00.000-05:00

2006-12-05T06:08:00.000-05:00

Hyperlocal and Hypertopical

I hung out at the Brotherhood tonight with the kind folks from Oly Blog and felt a very satisfying kind of in real life community while being surrounded by internet peeps. I lurk there, don't waste your time trying to see what I post. I did get to share several ideas I have for Oly centric stuff, and some of those may be happening with my input or the assitance of more permanent locals.

But I came home and checked the indiepop list to see some YouTube links to the first gigs of a fine indiepop band in England, and it really made me feel like an amazing wee part of an international pop underground. I mean, this band just played their first shows in the UK and I can see it in WA without going through some super obscure VHS trading circle from some fanzine I got in the city?

YAHHHHH I LOVE THE INTERNETS!!!!!!!! (I'm old, this stuff hasn't always been here)

2006-12-03T05:14:00.000-05:00

Since I'm moving to Philadelphia, I will no longer have to fool myself that falafel tastes like scrapple and fried Spam tastes like pork roll. It doesn't. Now if only Tastykakes would get Isolated Soy Protein out of their ingredients I may be able to eat like a normal person.
So here is the musical content since I can't find an mp3 of anything relative except for that damn irrelevant Burning Airlines song
"Nobody bakes a cake as tasty as a Tastykake!"

(do-da-da do do doo doo doo-doo doo doo do-da-do)

no-bo-dy bakes a cake as tast-y as a tasty-kake

2006-11-20T02:26:00.000-05:00

Another online music award voting site. Write in Athens Popfest as the criminally overlooked vote.

2006-11-17T04:19:00.000-05:00

I'm an archetype, not a stereotype!
Questionable Content
I read 1-100 but had to stop for sleep.