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.

Merry Christmas: Santa on a Vespa

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.

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.

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

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)

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

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

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

Best Shirt Ever

IMG_1425.JPG, originally uploaded by Courtoly.

I've noticed my entries tend to have thin threads connecting them unintentionally, as I should probably save up my ideas and make a rambling connected post instead.

Alas, I saw Rikky from the Besties had this shirt and I wanted one. So I ordered it from sorryimissedyourshow.com

best shirt ever.

The Besties

Vote for the Besties in this silly corporate contest so they can ride a tour bus around NYC instead of the subway.

I'm little

IMG_1151.jpg
Originally uploaded by lesabrisabri.

Sometimes I forget how little I am. This is from the Athens Popfest this summer when we were all singing Minor Threat's "Cashin In" with Bunnygrunt. Can you spot me? Hint: I'm wearing 3" heels.

Capitol Theater, March 16, 1997.

Some Gorgeous Accident
Tullycraft
Bunnygrunt
Kind Dog
Bis

Calvin got onstage with Amelia and Pete of Heavenly (aka Kind Dog) and performed Wanna Be. And here is my gift to you since I am finally digitizing these tapes.
Wanna Be

I'm a smart cookie. In procrastinating my homework I hooked up my iMac to my stereo and figured out how to dump cassettes to CDs. This means my very awesome 10 year old bootleg collection will be digitized. I'm wrassling with how to share this stuff, aside for making riot grrrl cds for the teenagers in Yelm. That should do the trick.

This is the modern world...and things I never imagined in the 90s

Kurt Cobain Dethrones Elvish as Highest-Paid Dead Celebrity

Movie about 1999 WTO Protests in Seattle in the works

Before I go to bed. I saw Calvin Johnson, D+, Karl Blau, and Mt. Eerie play at the Unitarian Church in Philly tonight. I have to take back some of the things I said in this blog earlier about Mt. Eerie, because tonight he sat down and played a straight set and it was lovely. Heck, I would have even liked a little more theatrics as long as it's not the stop start I'm writing this song onstage kinda stuff I'd been seeing him play for the past few years. I think Karl really stole the show though. He has such a big heart and an impressive vocal range and seemingly boundless creativity with the Kelp monthly label he runs. It was nice to see Washingtonians on the East Coast, so even if I'm here a while, I'll always feel like I have two homes.

So in my travelling woes I forgot that the last book in the series of Unfortunate Events came out last week, with a cd from the Gothic Archies of all the songs from the audio books + some. So I present to you, thanks to Paul Shrug for the bulletin,

Stephen Merritt on Fox Atlanta

Further Proof of the Wormhole between Mid 90s Mix Tapes and My Life at 27

Friday night was a bit surreal to say the least. I went to see Rose Melberg play with Pants Yell!!! and Brown Recluse Sings (I think that was Herbie's band's name). Andrea from My Favorite was singing with Rose. Now, I only got to see My Favorite once in their fourteen year career because they rarely made it to the West Coast and never played in Olympia, but after I saw them live last summer they went from "band with that amazing single that got me through high school" to "band I love for presenting me with the alternate view of what my life may have been like if I went to NYC instead of WA after high school". Rose holds a similar place in my heart, although I am guilty of using her lyrics as weapons of mass obsession and generally focusing on one song that I will listen to on repeat over and over and over again ("Golden Gate Bridge" and "Love You More"). The thing is, there were five years of me having adventures with boys who were obsessed with the Softies (and being obsessed with boys who had adventures with the Softies), ending in feeling like the coolest girl ever when she gifted me a t-shirt and cd at Ladyfest 2000, and then she dissapeared and went off to make babies and live in Canadia, and I was okay.

Well, in a little over a year I've seen her play seven times:

1. that gallery in Vancouver with P:ano (since she hadn't played in five years it seemed like a wonderful occasion)

2. Bellingham Pop Fest spagetti dinner (Tullycraft were playing the fest, so of course I was there!)

3. Olympia Eagles Hall ballroom with Math and Physics Club (Charles and I set up the show)

4. Vancouver BC opening for Belle and Sebastian (because I wanted to see Belle and Sebby three nights in a row and Rose opening was the deciding factor)

5. in store with Calvin Johnson and mini-Softies reunion (because I love Calvin too)

6. Olympia Midnight Sun with Jenny Jenkins and Onyx (I put on this show!)

7. Tritone in Philadelphia, Friday night

So living out in the middle of nowhere (literally, about ten miles away from the nearest Starbucks, which I know is not like the Midwest or something) as a fangirl teenager a typical fantasy of mine would be something like "Bikini Kill's tourvan breaks down in front of my parent's house and I get to sit in the kitchen with Kathleen Hanna drinking coffee while phone calls are made to try to get the tour back on the road".

So somehow during the night it was decided that Rose and her entorage would like to stay at my house. So around two a.m. we pulled into my parent's driveway and I snuck the band upstairs past my sleeping parents to the guest bedrooms on the second floor. And after we settled in, it was a little wierd to think "Dear God, these women are my riot grrrl heroines, and we're all grown up and things are going to be okay, even in this corner of suburbia. Thank you."

Unfortunately I had such a busy day ahead of me I didn't have time to make breakfast so we made do with fancy coffee machine coffee. Then I was off on other adventures....

(My inner 17 year old is so jealous of me, now if I could only always look as cute as these ladies and get through library school like Andrea)

WTF? Okay, you may know that among my many passions for music, the intersections of copyright law and online media is one area that I really would love to work in some day. So Soundexchange is an organization that has been collecting royalties on behalf of musicians for streaming music that is used online. The bullshit is they "can't find" some of the musicians to give them their payments. So please, if you know musicians or the people who support them, check the list of who is owed money from Soundexchange and makes sure they get their due.

Hope all is well out in Tweevil land. I've got sixteen boxes of cds to catalog for a massive sale, I'll post about it here so I can collect my affiliate fee :)

Yadda Yadda Crayon cd yadda yadda Lois in the library yadda yadda Yoyo is moving out of the Capitol Theater yadda yadda....come on, is anyone reading this?


-------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: jack endino
Date: Sep 25, 2006 11:46 AM

FYI, any musicians out there who released records in the past decade or so... Soundexchange is an entity set up by act of Congress some years ago to collect streaming royalties on behalf of recording artists (internet and satellite radio, NOT downloads). Hardly anyone knows how it works, and they don't make it easy. There is info at Soundexchange.com but you'll need patience to figure it out. However... you may be owed money. It's total horseshit that they JUST published the list of unpaid artists on the website. Here's some info. Good luck.
Jack Endino


An Exchange with SoundExchange on Unpaid Artists

By FRED WILHELMS

SoundExchange is the sole entity that collects and distributes license fees for digital distribution of recordings; primarily satellite radio services and Internet streaming broadcasts (but NOT downloads). Over the years they have collected money for thousands of artists who don't know about it.

Several years ago, John Simson, the Executive Director of SoundExchange, asked for my help in finding these people. I work primarily with veteran artists and have proven pretty proficient at finding people. Despite my constant prodding, SoundExchange never put me to work, and I finally washed my hands of the project when John told me he could give me the list of "unfound" artists, but only if I agreed to a Non-Disclosure Agreement. In essence, I could find out who they had money for, I just couldn't tell anyone they were on the list.

What happens to the money they can't pay because they can't find the person to pay?

They get to keep it themselves. Nothing succeeds like failure.

In my email this morning was the following note from Simson:

Fred:

Given your concern on this issue I wanted to notify you that, after SoundExchange Board approval, we have posted a list of all performers who are oweð royalties from the period February 1, 1996 to March 31, 2000 and which are subject to release under Copyright Office regulations regarding undistributed royalties.

The list is on the website. Please call me if you have any questions or any ideas regarding our continuing efforts to locate featured performers.

Thanks in advance for any assistance in locating addresses or other contact information for any of the performers on this list.

Regards,

John

This was my reply:

John,

Thank you for the note.

I have already seen the list on your website. This is truly a prime example of "too little, too late." I understand why SoundExchange waited so long to publicize the list. It is, or at least it should be, a major embarrassment to the organization, and to everyone who has publicly said what a good job the organization has done finding people.

If my comments sound harsh to you, they should. You and I know how SoundExchange has failed to keep its promise, and how much more could have been done to prevent this injustice, and I just cannot put a positive spin on this.

In the first two hours after I had the list, and even before I had gotten completely through the "A" entries, I found five people you and your staff were not able to find in six years. And just so I'm clear on this, these were people I did not know when I started the search. At most, it took three telephone calls to find a current contact and pass on the information about registration. I actually came up with one by checking Directory Assistance in his hometown.

Sadly, there is no way I can spend the time necessary before the deadline to do everything I could to see that SoundExchange does the job it was given. There are just too many people on your "unfound" list, and I have clients who need my immediate attention. All I can do is reach out to as many people as possible in the limited time left and hope that my efforts start a landslide that swamps your office before December 15.

I may be wrong, but I suspect that, with the publication of the list, SoundExchange has abandoned any proactive efforts to locate the "unfound." I hope, for your sake, that after the deadline, you never hear one story about an artist being unable to afford a prescription, or getting evicted, and then you discover they were on the forfeited list. That prospect haunted me during my AFTRA days, and it still bothers me that I didn't do enough to prevent it from happening over and over again.

I truly wish there was some penalty that SoundExchange would have to pay for not finding people. Instead, the organization profits from its own failure by getting to keep the money it should be paying out.

That's a disgrace. Every time you deposit your paycheck, or get a bonus, or give one to someone else for a "job well done," or even expense a lunch, some of that money is coming from artists who never knew it was there because SoundExchange didn't find them in time.

I know the search was not easy, and that there was really no possibility you were going to find everyone, or even almost everyone. You and I know, however, that SoundExchange didn't do all that it could to cut that list to size. I think you are a good enough man to realize the scope of this failure, and I hope that it eventually impels you to do whatever it takes to make SoundExchange responsive to those it is supposed to serve. Today, for artists, the organization is nowhere close to meeting that goal.

Fred

Here's the list of the people they can't find:

http://63.236.111.137/jsp/unpaidArtistList.jsp

I've been circulating the following message. Feel free to forward it to any mailing lists, message boards and telephone poles in your neighborhood.

AN URGENT MESSAGE TO RECORDING ARTISTS

SoundExchange is the entity that collects and distributes broadcast royalties from digital distribution of music. This includes streaming Internet broadcasts (not downloads) and satellite radio services. These royalties have been payable since February 1, 1996. If your music has been played on the Internet since that date, you are entitled to a share of the royalties.

On December 15, 2006, any royalties that are unclaimed for performances up through March 31, 2000 WILL BE FORFEITED.

If you, as an individual or as a member of a recording group, are not registered with SoundExchange by December 15, 2006, you will lose all rights to your royalties earned before March 31, 2000.

There are thousands of identified artists who will lose these royalties unless they act before the deadline. SoundExchange has listed these "unfound" artists on their website.

http://63.236.111.137/jsp/unpaidArtistList.jsp

Take the time to read the list. If you are on it, follow the instructions for filing a claim. It costs you nothing and it does not take much time. If you register now, you will receive the unclaimed royalties and will received future royalties automatically.

Friends and families of recording artists should also check the list. If you know anyone on there, PLEASE LET THEM KNOW IMMEDIATELY. You will note that there are a number of deceased performers on the list. If you know any surviving relatives, let them know about this.

This money belongs in the hands of the artists who created the music.

http://63.236.111.137/jsp/unpaidArtistList.jsp

Fred Wilhelms is a lawyer who represents musicians and songwriters. He can be reached at (email deleted by JE)

Pop Show Oly Sunday

tigerflye
Originally uploaded by Courtoly.

Yeah I know it's during Bumbershoot, but the Sunday lineup really isn't that good. I mean, if you go Saturday and see Of Montreal, and then come to Oly Sunday and see these bands, it's like full out pop bliss weekend waiting to happen.

KJA and Casper are on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, full of spirit and kindess alongside their musical prowess. That's why the tiger, they are cute and fierce, and boy can they sing. Go listen to their musics please because I can't write it justice. Josh and Jordan are the local boys sure to bring joy and song to you as well. Altogether it's going to be wonderful, of a caliber you dont' get to see every week in Oly. Maybe once a month a show this amazing happens where everything just comes together for fun and friendship and magic, I know this is going to be it.

Josh Kane
Jordan O' Jordan www.myspace.com/jordanojordanmusic
Keith John Adams (UK) www.myspace.com/keithjohnadams
Casper and the Cookies (Athens GA) www.myspace.com/casperthecookies

Sunday, September 3rd
8PM $5
All Ages
Olympia Eagles Hall
4th and Plum Streets

bah. i'm supposed to blog about every amazing moment but right now i'm drinking a sparks between circulatory system and the apples in stereo and i'm so not up to writing anything of note. however, the first few nights of popfest are photographed here. and there will be more in a day or two. And maybe i can summarize the amazingness of the fest or maybe i'll let the pro journalists take their shot at it first. whatever. I fucking love popfest and this is the most amazing festival. It's not just indiepop, but there are a lot of pop bands I"ve seen. John Darnielle said this was one of the last vestiges of indie rock culture and I couldn't have put it better. There is no difference between the most amazing bands and the fans here. We are all hardcore. Maybe it was singing Minor Threat's Cashing In with Bunnygrunt or just the MOMENTS that can never be analyzed or summarized . The energy, the buzz, the creativity that is apparent in every second. Athens is my third home. "okay," pierre pauses here, he has to come up with an exciting conclusion, "did you bring up the fact this is a family reunion? I forget your name but I remember you, but the first night at the 40 Watt was a lot of people that were hugging because they are fans or people in bands who are no longer in Athens but they're coming back. This is a family reunion. I can't believe how fast you can type without looking. Okay, 90 words a minute. Perfect, it's really perfect. And Mike and Eric have done a wonderful job. They're gonna break even, and fuck, maybe there won't be a popfest next year" "no, they're already planning it." "I talked to mike about the future of popfest is still to be decided tomorrow, popfest next year. I have to be careful because courtney is typing everything I say. And we're chatting about old friends all over the country, which is the type of converstaion you can have at popfest..."

"and I love your natural editing."

XXXOOO

Once again, boy bands bring me joy whent the real world makes me weep.
Lance Bass admits he's Gay
Washington Courts Uphold Gay Marriage Ban

Actually, the headline made me weep, the article made me nauseous. "...limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples furthers the State’s legitimate interests in procreation..." and "in this case the State has established that DOMA was enacted to codify the common law, to promote procreation, and to encourage stable families."
FUCK PROCREATION! Seriously, raise kids if you want them, but the state's interest in procreation is just a fucking front for nepotism, racism, sexism, homophobia and the whole lot of real social ills. Ideally I want the government out of marriage altogether, no fucking benefits for anyone because they're a couple. Make it really easy for individuals to make designations and benefits to whoever they want, but stop tying it up in the whole barfy coupledom.

I'd considered marriage once. I was overwhelmed with the penalties and benefits turning a relationship into a contract would incur. I could easily procrastinate the issue as long as heterosexism in marriage prevailed. Now I see that whole time in my life as one where I was trying to fit into a space that just wasn't my size. I'm gonna go listen to the Decline and Fall of Heavenly again...

All Ages Music Forum
Originally uploaded by Courtoly.

This is my attempt to move these conversations out of the bar and internet and into a place where everyone is welcome. It is a shared teaching/learning experience and if you have ideas/comments/questions/concerns and aren't coming to the meeting, I would be happy to take them via e-mail or phone and ask for you. My biggest inspiration here is the awesome class Barbara Zelano of the Midnight Sun used to teach at Evergreen called "Marketing the Arts" and the practical knowledge I got from her.

Flyer here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/courtoly/194888329/

I want to say this is a one off event and I'm not trying to start any kind of organization. I'm getting copies of the contracts from local venues and updated Olympia Music Directories. People can bring food to share.

All Ages Music Forum
Wednesday July 26th
6:30 PM
in the Olympia Library Meeting Room
313 8th Ave SE Olympia

Come talk about how to organize an all ages show, why these shows are important, and what local resources there are to help you.

never die never die never die

I don't care how small you are. I don't care how much time passes between your projects. You are genius and I love you and I can't live without you and I would rather die that to hear you are gone.

I will do whatever I can to keep your name on the lips of ladies and men. I was going to name names, but sometimes projects do fade...it's just, it is injust, you are so bright and beautiful.

I think about our detective agency and that queerpunk festival and how the people grew up grew on without the agency or the corps to keep them connected. I know things change, I don't beat the dead horse so much as mush the apples to applesauce so she can still eat the sweetness from my hand.

I love you til your dying day.
Don't ever go away.

Nostalgia is killing me.

EMERGENCY RALLY to Stop US Support of Violence in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel

Percival Landing
Wednesday, July 19th
5pm
(From the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace

Stop the killing of civilians in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon.
Call on the US Government to support the international intervention
and negotiations to end the intensifying war in the Middle East.
End US support of Israel's disproportionate response of attacking
civilians and infrastructure in Palestine and Lebanon.

The current situation

In Lebanon...
Over 150 Lebanese were killed by Israeli air strikes. Israel
continues to bomb civilian infrastructure including factories, power
plants, grain silos, and the only international airport. There is a
sea blockade and Israel is targeting roads and border areas used by
refugees and internationals attempting to leave Lebanon. This is the
worst bombing in 24 years in Lebanon

In Israel...
25 Israelis have been killed, including 13 civilians. Numerous
Israelis have been injured. Towns in northern Israel have suffered
rocket attacks from Hezbollah. One soldier was captured by Hamas near
Gaza and another two captured by Hezbollah near the Lebanon/Israel
border.


In Gaza, Palestine ...
89 Palestinians have been killed in Operation Summer Rain since June
25. Of these, 44 are civilians, including 19 children. Nearly 300
Palestinians have been injured. The foreign ministry office, the main
power plant, a university, roads and bridges and homes were bombed.
Rafah crossing has been closed - resulting in at least 6 death and
600 illnesses. Elected officials are being help without charges by
the Israeli military. While international attention is focused on
Lebanon and Israel, the siege on Gaza continues Ministry offices.

In the US....
The US vetoed the UN Security Council Resolution to end the siege in
Gaza. At the G8 summit, the United States severely limited the scope
of participant's ability to act on behalf of all civilian casualties
in Palestine and Lebanon. The US has failed to call for an end to
violence from all sides and has yet to voice support for multilateral
negotiations. The US continues to supply weapons to the Israeli
military in violation of the terms of the US Arms Export Control Act
and Foreign Assistance Act., while suspending humanitarian aid to the
Palestinians because of the results of a democratic election.


Please join us this Wednesday to stop the spread of violence
throughout the region and call on the US to support international
intervention and negotiations.
*****************************************************************
On Wednesday, July 19th the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace
(OMJP) will be hosting a forum entitled The US Crisis with Iran. The
event, which is open and free to the public, will be held at First
Christian Church at 7th and Franklin in Downtown Olympia, beginning
at 7 p.m. and lasting until about 9 p.m.

The panel will include a presentation by Professor Mark Jensen from
Pacific Lutheran University of a historical survey of Iran, with
particular emphasis on relations with the United States. Professor
Char Simons of The Evergreen State College, who has recently visited
Iran as a member of a delegation traveling with local peace and
justice group the Fellowship of Reconciliation, will provide a
testimonial of her experience along with photos from the delegation.

This will be followed by a an open discussion, facilitated by
Professor Larry Mosqueda of The Evergreen State College, where the
panelists will field questions and comments as well as having an open
discussion among the attendees.

Iran has been identified by President Bush as a member of the "axis
of evil" and as a critical battlefield in the global "war on terror."
It has long been a focal point of U.S. geostrategic policy, being
located in a region of vital significance to US 'interests' and
because of vast oil reserves. Currently Iran has been receiving
increased attention within policy circles, presumably due to their
attempt at developing a domestic nuclear enrichment program.

As a result, OMJP feels it is crucial to engage the community about
the possibility of future military assaults taken by the United
States. We seek to find peaceful solutions to international affairs.

We are anticipating a productive evening of historical and political
exploration, hoping to increase community awareness and knowledge
about the Middle East, specifically Iran. This event is designed
with the intent of providing attendees with the tools to participate
in sustaining a vibrant peace movement that clearly conveys that
foreign matters must be resolved peacefully and diplomatically, with
attention to securing economic, social, and racial justice.

I don't even know what to say about this. Play name that indiepopstr with your friends.

ABSOLUTE EFFIN BEGINNERS

absolutebeginners
Originally uploaded by Courtoly.

Join me and DJ Deathstalker, live and in person, not just on the radio alone in your room, at Le Voyeur tomorrow night, Sunday June 25th, for a night of popsongs, post-punk, and pure evil. Think about it. New Order, Nothing Painted Blue, Magnetic Fields, Merzbow, Boyracer, Ramones, Tullycraft, Heavenly....that sort of sordid thing.

Absolute beginners

absolutebeginners
Originally uploaded by Courtoly.

Next Sunday, post Experimental Music Festival

Minor Threat Joins the War On Drugs

Neato. Andrew Beaujon of Eggs and co-founder of Teen Beat records (according to All Music Guide, please correct me if I'm wrong, must relisten to that Mark Robinson interview I did in 96) has written a book about Christian rock called Body Piercing Saved My Life.

With much delight Tullycraft have decided to enter the 21st century with wacky blogginess. Check out those beards.

My attempt to document the joy this band brings to my life is contained in my Tullycraft photo set.

Also, new recordings in the works, at least two Tullycraft shows this summer.

Saturday, July 8th @ The Sunset Tavern w/ Racetrack, and Parenthetical Girls
Saturday, August 5th @ The Sunset Tavern (Ballard)w/ Boat

And in other pop news, Casper and the Cookies and Keith John Adams will be making their way across the country all the way to my lovely town of Olympia in September. I'm thinking an afternoon barbeque show followed by something on KAOS that night if possible, but we'll see how it actually pans out.

If anyone is morbidly following the truck crash story Matt has posted more info, links to his Flickr photos of the accident etc. A benefit show is in the works (of course).


Also, I am ALMOST done with school for this term. I am taking my time with this final, but as soon as the final is done I can get back to life. I'm looking forward to #1 Sonic Youth on June 30th in Seattle, and the fantabulous Fishboy show I'll be putting on July 21st in Olympia. And ATHENS Popfest.


For those of you who know I keep other blogs, I was thinking about moving to the East Coast. Now that school stress has died down I'm thinking of sticking around, not taking so many classes at once, and just enjoying all the things I get to do here LIKE put on shows, wear jeans to work, and pay less than $500 a month for a really nice apartment. Something about the sunshine, the farmers market, the little treasures I find on the ground (last night I found a glittery magic wand, today an unused sage smudge stick) has me feeling better.

Just a wee update:
Jeremy's report on the damage. No he didn't have renter's insurance so donations are being taken on the DailyKos front page. Jeremy was the first friend I met when I moved to Olympia and I am so grateful that the family wasn't home when this happened.

So I'm sitting here feeling pathetic that I have nothing important to blog about and that my niche blogging is distracting people from the real issues of the day etc. Mainly because my good friend Jeremy is in Las Vegas at the Daily Kos convention doing important political work. He's on the Daily Kos payroll (doing that stuff computer geeks do, programming and whatnot) and likes to rub it in that I used to criticize him for being apolitical and he ended up being a part of one of if not the most important innovations in modern Democracy.

Well, apparently he's coming home early as a truck crashed into his house last night.

FIRST OFFICER ANNOUNCES REFUSAL TO DEPLOY TO IRAQ

Thank You Lt. Ehren Watada for Resisting An Illegal War
(Official site, sign the petition, make a donation etc.)


On a lighter note, stream Sonic Youth's Rather Ripped from their official website

So sad!
Athens Popfest:
"also Darren Hanlon had to cancel due to health reasons that keep him from traveling, so his tour with Keith John Adams has been canceled. Keith John Adams will continue the tour, but Darren won't be with him this fall."

Athens Popfest Schedule is up!

My predicted top 10 will be very different from my actual top 10 by the end of the week. I feel sad putting Bunnygrunt so far down the list but Karen isn't playing with them and WTF is Bunnygrunt without her? Darren Hanlon in the afternoon is an insult but alas, who knows what will happen in the meantime. I hope that John Darnielle has time to hang out with us lowly attendees.

10. Ponies In the Surf
9. Bunnygrunt
8. Gordon Lamb
7. Cars Can Be Blue
6. Keith John Adams
5. The Cocker Spaniels
4. The Besties
3. The Smittens
2. Darren Hanlon
1. The Mountain Goats

Although I'm already falling in love with oh-OK

AND I'm reposting this message from the Olympia Punk Indie Underground Music List.

hi Oly listers:
If you have not already, please sign one of the petitions to pressure congress to preserve net neutrality.

net neutrality keeps internet access time roughly the same for us to access all sites. If we do not have this, then larger corporations, or anyone with more capital will reserve the faster channels of internet access for themselves and leave the rest of us to the congested lane. At it's worst conclusion, they could even render sites essentially useless by making them have such worthlessly slow connections, or block them all together.

here are some real world examples outlined from It's Our Net


Consumers
If you are a consumer – a Mom looking for healthcare information to protect your family; a home-school parent using the Internet as part of your education plan; an email user staying in touch with your family and friends – you will have a degraded slower Internet experience with certain Web sites. Some Web sites will even be unavailable unless additional fees are paid.

Small Business
If you are a small business, you may not be able to survive online. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, you may be impeded from provided the “next big thing” on the Internet.

Schools & Churches
If you are a small non-profit organization, like a church or a school, you may not be able to get your messages out to congregants or student families without paying more.
the internet is an oddly egalitarian phenomena in an american society ever increasingly ruled by cabals and capital.


please sign the petition!!

-justin

Charity and Popfests

Autographed Disposible Cameras with photos from celebrities For MIX NYC, a Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. I'm impressed with both the concept and the "celebrities" that agreed to do it...although "celebrity" seems a bit pompous, or something...J.D. from Le Tigre, Daniella Sea from the Gr'ups/Cypher in the Snow/the L Word, porn star Alan Cummings, Jon from Pansy Division, Vaginal Davis, author Jonathan Letham etc. basically people I find fascinating...

Mark Rothkop's Ride Across America to raise money for the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Alternately, you can order yourself some goodies from his label Magic Marker and they'll donate 20% of the sale (I suggest Tullycraft, All Girl Summer Fun Band, Dear Nora, Boy Crazy, the first Kissing Book...okay, it's ALL really good)


Popfests...

The lineup for What the Heck Fest has been announced. I am seriously reconsidering pursuing a career that requires working nights and weekends. I will not be there.

Homo A Gogo is happening again this year. I'm excited to see Tender Forever (because she moved back to France) and Vaginal Davis (who I saw ten years ago at the DirtyBird Queercore Festival in SF and, well, never forgot) . I'll probably be working the concessions booth and making out with people from out of town.

I will however, be at the Athens Popfest although I am getting worried about the lack of lineup announcements, at the very least the Mountain Goats have been confirmed.

And I'm doing my best to make it to the New England Popfest because it really would make me incredibly sad to miss all those bands.

Is it just me or is the tone of this post really uneven?

On Monday Morrissey turned 47.


Tomorrow is Brook's last radio show...Jenny Jenkins will be alternating with Diana Arens on Free Things Are Cool on Wednesdays and Domenica is going to continue Ooooooo on Tuesday nights with Asa for a while.

This blog is governed by a stupid fear that things must be a certain percentage of cute before they are included. If no one else at the above show interests you, Kimya Dawson should be on your radar of tweeness.

Ummmm how often do I have a day where everything goes right?

Okay, moderately right, as I picked up the PA and the monitors were shot and there was only one mic stand. But I ran back to my apartment to grab a handstamp and my neighbor in the hall had a mic stand for me to borrow.

About forty people showed up for Rose Melberg. This is an excellent turn out where she gets money and I don't lose any as the promoter.

Happy Birthday to Neal of the Snow Fairies, who just happens to share a birthday with Dennis Driscoll. So I passed my cell phone around at the show and he got birthday wishes from Dennis, Charles, and even a Happy Birthday duet from Lois and Rose. "I love indiepop" was his indiepop-list post conclusion. Yes, Neal, I love indiepop too.

Ummmm after cleaning up from the show Seth, Josh, and I went to the BroHo for Tic Tacs (which differ from this recipie, but I'm not sharing ours.) So now I'm happy on Tic Tacs. And I came home and found Ross Beach posted this really nice tour diary about crashing at my place. It was an honor.

The epitome of tweevil might be found in the next bunch of links.
See, I've got this buddy Luke aka Lukachu.
And he is well loved. So well loved in fact, that when he decided to move back to Oly, my neighbor Keith decided he needed a grand welcome.

Sadly, I was at work when Lukachu arrived in his new cage..um...I mean, apartment.

Documenting the Process

Three bits of video:
Filling the floor
Double panic when Lexi loses her ring AND Luke calls ahead of schedule
Frolicking in the final product

Tomorrow I'll shoot something of an actual detailed tour...or a skit...suggestions?

Contemporary Poetry Review
Sell Outs and Stanzas: The Rockstar as Poet

It makes me feel old when this is called emo.
Panic! At the Disco- I Write Sins Not Tragedies
and I'm thinking of somehow educating the teenagers
THIS IS EMO
and listening to the Get Up Kids and Braid and Cursive
THIS IS NOT EMO
(holds up black eyeliner)
EMO REQUIRES CRYING, CRYING MAKES EYELINER RUN, BOYS WHO CRY DON'T WEAR EYELINER

(obvious goth problems aside, but goth sucks more now than it did ten years ago, and that's pretty bad)



I love Mirah.

np: Boyracer "It's Love" (Softies cover) from Lacy's May 2006 Indiepop Mix Tape

Things got better. Domenica called and visited and told me how "Snaptight Wars" was the last song Jim played on his KAOS show. Jim and Brooks gave me permission (encouragement?) to put "Making You Tapes Is Better Than Sex" on this blog. So now, dear readers, you too can get messed up in the drama of songs.she.heard.on.the.radio.that.she.obsessed.over.until.she.captured.it.on.tape.
and.later.on.the.band.was.nice.to.her.and.she.never.quite.gets.over.how.wonderful.
this.is.

That Stupid Club- Making You Tapes Is Better Than Sex

Is there a term for people who stay on college radio ten years after they finish college or is this a 21st century phenomenon? Somehow this led me to list of dated song lyrics.

Songs by guys I've dated is next, just kidding. I was describing that imaginary mix for Erin at Rec the Place yesterday, it's would be hysterical to make..."la la la la" song followed by "what the hell is this NOISE?" followed by some "ba ba ba ba" ditty and then "what the hell is THIS, noise?" and some "sha-la la la" song and "what the hell IS this noise?"

Hahaha I feel like I'm following the script of Too Much Too Late right now.

So I honestly feel like shit. Crying alone whenever I hear laughter in the surrounding apartments. So I thought I'd put one of those no-fail sentimental mix-tapes to feel better. But when I turned on my stereo I heard my friend Brooks on the radio announcing he is leaving his alternating spot on Free Things Are Cool on KAOS.

I should have learned a lesson from the first time I heard his band That Stupid Club on the radio. The song was "Making You Tapes is Better Than Sex".

Hilarious ESP that he just played Crayon's "Snap Tight Wars" for me and Jim, who was also in That Stupid Club.

Anyway, the point being, I'm going to wander around with my headphones on.

I had a nice phone conversation w/Tim Alborn of (the sadly defunct) Harriet Records a few days ago. That was the final blessing I was seeking before being completely, madly, obsessively able to say what I've mentioned in passing, and not so much in detail.

October 2006 there will be an expanded 2cd set of Crayon's Brick Factory coming out on Yoyo. Pat Maley's been busy with his family, so I'm taking responsibilty (or blame!) for this one. This completes my destruction of all idealism relating to fans, bands, college radio, mix tapes, indie internships, and fanzines. Plus the suspention of disbelief that I should be using these skills to help the poor and suffering in some equally grand measure. All that love is now scheduled into practical matters like mastering analog cassettes for cd...and trying not to let my manic mind oversynthesize how a punk band from Bellingham and my information science classes are the most important things in the world. Actually, it seems like the Library of Congress might not disagree with the theory. But they're busy making sure Sonic Youth (#50) is preserved for all time.

Upcoming shows where you may see me:
Mt Eerie and June Madrona at the Yes Yes, Olympia WA Saturday April 22nd
Rose Melberg and Calvin Johnson at Valoria, Seattle WA Sunday April 23rd
Stephen Merritt, keynote address at EMP Pop Conference, Experience Music Project, Seattle WA, Thursday April 27th

And next month I'm hosting two shows:
Rose Melberg with Jenny Jenkins and Onyx at the Midnight Sun, Olympia WA 7:30PM $6
Team Dresch w/guests, Jakes on 4th, Olympia WA $5

So yeah, since Jenny is silly about not rocking MySpace, I reccomend you listen to Onyx. She apparently lost all her MySpace friends when her account was deleted for bullshit copyright accusations, but I hope to help bring her back again. I love this lady.

About a half hour after I read Onyx's MySpace fiasco I screamed when I saw Suede was playing at the Triple Door in Tacoma. Then I got a good look and realized it's the !@#$%^ who sued Suede and turned then into "The London Suede". Fuckin a, I just want a Brett Anderson fix.

And I want OCLC to fix the WorldCat entry that links Courtney Love of the International Pop Underground LP to Courtney Love-Cobain. I am SO headed for a cataloging career. At the very least I'm thinking of working on the zine library problem again someday (I didn't have anything to do with the one at Barnard, except for being pals with contributor Lauren Martin, who made me a mix tape that...well...damn, okay, you'll get the My Favorite story someday. Cherchez la femme.)

I don't want to define tweevil, but let's start with the statment that it first and foremost involves pop kids with punk hearts.

Gravy Train!!! at the Yes Yes fullfilled every expectation I might have had. I won the "lunch lady" walk off, I made out with Junx, I had screamy back in the day conversations with VIP about Philly, I got on tonight's guest list.

And I've forgiven them for their excess punctuation.
!!! vs. Gravy Train!!! vs. The Go! Team vs. Panic! at the Disco...

makes me miss Therapy?

1. Crayon "Brick Factory" reissue on Yoyo in the fall. I'm at a loss
for words here. I'm going to listen to it again.
2. Team Dresch @ Jakes on 4th Ave in Olympia May 25th. Tour kickoff,
the best queer punk band ever, reuinited ...
3. Rose Melberg, Jenny Jenkins, and Onyx May 18th at the Midnight Sun
in Olympia . Triple bill of lady pop. Such amazing women, I'm in awe.

grad school? fantasy baseball?

Awesome. I just won tickets on Free Things Are Cool on KAOS to see Gravy Train!!! next week at the Yes Yes, and a cd and single.

So I retold the B&S Seattle story so many times I didn't post it here. Awesome times, Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill was on Free Radio Olympia when we left, after the show Stuart gave me the chair Sarah Martin used on the tour. So now I park my ass in a chair that's been onstage with Belle and Sebastian and try to do my library school homework. Fantasy Baseball? Horrible idea with grad school. Don't bother.

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." Voltaire

"Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking." Albert Einstein (further evidence in Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way"...ask anyone who has done the program about "reading deprivation" week)

So when I started this blog I was hoping I'd want to write about politics and pop music. Nah. Starting next week my life is only going to have time for three things: libraries, baseball, and pop music. Actually, I should ONLY be thinking about librarianship...but this is my first year as a fantasy league manager.

Okay, back to the Belle and Sebastian story, so I only have to tell this once...

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Rose Melberg with Belle and Sebastian

I could write a novella of my stupid Softies stories...another one I tell was taping "Love You More" off of KAOS my freshman year. I was heartbroken, so I made a tape of it playing over and over and over again and sent it to my ex. I can't believe she still talks to me. I suppose this is a benefit to cd mixes, that no one will ever feel compelled to see how many times one song will fit on a cassette.
Add that to her giggling and saying "I'm glad you got a ticket!" during her set in Vancouver. The crowd talked through most of her set, and she sang songs with Larissa and Nick of P:ano which was lovely. Played a lot of new songs and "Me and the Bees". See, I should have written this down sooner as I'm already forgetting what she performed.

Snapshot memories from the B&S set:
Stuart climbed on the front monitors during "I'm a Cuckoo" and I started to wonder just what he posesses or is posessed by. What a glorious mix of so many pop icons, there is something wonderful about seeing a performer who has both the self-confidence and the faith of the fans to run around onstage and dance and perform with absolute joy. For all the "sincerity" afforded to indie rockers who come onstage sullen, miserable, and fucked up (um...did you ever see Elliott Smith on a bad night? I felt like I was going down with him.) I see everything right with enjoying the spotlight and the love the fans are giving.

The highlight of the show was their gentle America bashing (this must be part of the contract for playing in Vancouver) and a cover of Madonna's Borderline.

Also, as I elborate on the wonderfulness of the fans, the friend of an online friend that picked up my ticket for me turned out to be another Catholic library staff person getting her MLS. They must have a ridiculous number of librarian fans. I suppose they are second to Bloodhag in that respect, although most librarians I know just tolerate Bloodhag for getting teens in the library to have science fiction novels thrown at their heads.

Standing in the front row, everything seemed so real. Like listening to their albums is fiction and the live show is non-fiction.

Okay, I have an attention span of a flea. I'm going to watch a twee anime called Pom Poko, it's about racoons that transform into humans to try to "scare off the advancement of civilization". For some reason the springtime is always "anime month" for me, then I don't pay much attention the rest of the year. I suppose failing to be an otaku is a good thing.

Two more thoughts about the Portland show:

1. I highly approve of Stuart's NKOTB hat. He's wearing it in the Blues are Still Blue and Funny Little Frog video as well. I resisted telling him how Joey MacIntyre used to cut the top off of his so that he had a "topless hat", but after seeing the Funny Little Frog video, I'm wondering if it's not such a coincidence.

2. When I went to pick up my ticket from the lady I met on Craiglist she was listening to Lois. Is she some kind of guardian angel or what?

And, some final thoughts before sleep:

"We now believe in "coincidence," where we once called it "grace."
Julia Cameron- Some People Say That...God is No Laughing Matter-An Artist's Observations and Objections on the Spiritual Path

"Life is a library owned by an author. It has few books which he wrote himself, but most were written for him." Harry Emerson Fosdick

Okay, I thought I may be able to make a "blog" but with a zinester heart I see there isn't much hope of me avoiding writing with "too much information" and an absolute lack of "professionalism"...which is probably why I love to write but I've never been able to get myself on track as a professional freelancer

Three nights of Belle and Sebastian. I'm still catching up on sleep, so I may have to write this in fragments to get the whole story out. If you desire such ridiculousness, please click on the link to my flickr account where you may piece together bits of my adventures.

Okay,
I heard "Your Cover's Blown" from the Books EP which I don't own. Despite what seems like fantatacism, there are times when I barely pay attention to the band and miss entire "important" happenings.

For the encore, Stuart asked the audience what songs they wanted to hear. An adorable girl in black knee high socks and a red schoolgirl skirt (as opposed to my white knee high socks and a purple schoolgirl skirt) requested Lazy Line Painter Jane. And then went onstage to sing with them! Okay, that does not do Amy justice, she has a beautiful voice and was thrilled to be "that girl".

After the show I found myself waiting by the backstage gate with a few other fans including Miss Amy. Despite my dirty dreams, I don't know why I really stand there sometimes. I like to hear the stories of the hardcore fans, the ones who traveled the furthest and have seen the band the most, or have the best stories to tell of their devotion. My obsession is probably 50% the fans, 30% the music, and 20% the band/mythology...then there is a whole other level I can only describe as "spiritual", like just now, I was looking at the tour poster illustration with the Bob Dylan print dress in the shop window and "To Ramona" by Bob Dylan came on the radio (as played by the Flying Burrito Brothers, who were friends with my groupie idol Pamela DesBarres, who also loves Dylan...well, I'm not sure what to read into it, but maybe I'm learning, but I need a teacher))...

Sam Coones and Janet Weiss from Quasi (or Sleater Kinney) and Corin Tucker tried to duck out of the backstage area, but at least one fan caught each for a photo. There is something hard for me to comprehend that SK are probably more famous than Belle and Sebastian in some ways, or some places.

Like how oodles of B&S fans had been to the Franz Ferdinand/Death Cab For Cutie show the night before...now, I like both bands, but I actually buy and listen to Death Cab albums. I don't have a TV so I don't know which band is on MTV or the WB more, and they both seem to get a fair number of magazine covers.

Anyway, there were jokes made that all of the above (DCFC, FF, SK/Q, B&S) went out for karaoke the night before.

After photos were taken and autographs signed, the little crowd broke up. I found myself in the awkward position of walking next to Stuart as my car was in the same direction he was heading. I made small talk, told him I'd be at the Vancouver show, and said goodnight.

I couldn't sleep. I ended up talking to my mother on the East Coast and having a very sweet conversation about whether or not she wants to meet her favorite singer, James Taylor. She's not much of a fan girl, except for a rather frightening Seinfield phase where I actually took issue with her "imaginary friends" because she would forget to tell me she was recounting funny things from a television show and didn't really know a wacky lady named Eileen that reminded her of me. I really hope she does meet James Taylor (she has a friend that works for him and can get backstage passes, it doesn't involve any wierdness or effort on her part). I can't imagine someone that successful wouldn't have a bad reputation if he deserved one (granted, maybe I should google some fan sights before I say that, she really doesn't want to be dissapointed if he's an asshole)

Later gators!

(reposted, as I was trying not to say Belle and Sebastian so much that I inadvertently wrote this without even mentioning what I was talking about)
Thursday- Portland, Oregon
Friday- Vancouver, British Columbia
Saturday- Seattle, Washington

Pop music and mania is like a chicken and an egg in my brain. Do I take on grandious adventures because I'm going through a manic episode, or does the promise of music, adventure, and romance induce such a state?

***
The Vancouver show involves the most risk. The show was sold out weeks before it was announced that Rose Melberg is the opening act. I had bought tickets for the Seattle show the morning they went on sale, but since I don't care for the New Pornographers, I wasn't planning on going out of my way to attend any of the other Northwest shows.

But after I won a ticket for the Vancouver show via eBay (yet still having anxieties about getting the ticket due to some PayPal wierdness) I thought fondly of my first Softies show...it was an instore in Swarthmore PA and I went home with a boy for vegan dinner because he was adorable and had a Lois badge on his sweater. He snuck us into the show at the college later, where I was honestly more interested in seeing Cold Cold Hearts. After the show we went back to his house and tried to watch a film, something French and he was probably trying to turn me onto Godard at an impressionable age, but I left in the middle of the night with my virginity intact because the whole fantasy of meeting an adorable pop boy, who ran an amazing label, and played me Elliot Smith songs on his guitar, well, it was too much...too much...

(new Stephen Merritt (evil S just reminded me that Morrissey and Merritt both require double consonants, as I simulatneously misspelled Stephen Merritt's name and caught the typo on the Morrissey ad on My Space...where you can listen to the whole "Ringleader of the Tormentors" album now by clicking on said misspelled ad), In China Said the Moon, on Oooooh! on KAOS...funny when I turned on the radio to see if it was Jenny or Domenica's week I heard the dancey bits and immediately knew it was Domenica...)

okay, more adventures to come

Too many shows this week, and the earplugs I bought for my New Years Resolution are still tacked up on the back of my door.

But I'll start off with an unconfirmed rumor from a good source...maybe someone with more of a Top 40 interest than me can confirm this...you can see all 3 members of Bratmobile in the audience of the Britney Spears Live in Las Vegas DVD.

I'm working on booking shows for Rose Melberg, Cynthia Nelson, Andrew Kaffer, and Rocketship in the next few months in Olympia. Yay.

Speaking of which, if you think you want to be a real life friend, you should e-mail me and come to the all building Martin Apartment Party next Friday.

Tuesday the 28th: Robert Pollard and Once For Kicks in Seattle at the Crocodile

Bob is old and drinks tequila. Tommy Keene's vocals were not turned up at all so I was dissapointed in the lack of harmonies. I somehow denied the fact that Robert plays fucking marathon sets and as much as I wanted to talk to Jon Wurster about a book he mentioned in an interview I read, I was too tired and headed home instead. In my obligatory monthly Tullycrafting, Jeff Fell was there and I think it was the first time in about a year I've seen him NOT wearing a GBV shirt. I have to make a personal note here about how much fun I had talking to D, A, J, and R or I'll forget their names by the next time I see them in Seattle.

Whoa, and I do want to get some sleep tonight, but Merge is nice enough to have the entire Robert Pollard "From a Compound Eye" album available in streaming audio.

Thursday the 2nd: David Rovics and Attila the Stockbroker in Lacey at St. Martin's University

I love David Rovics, but I think (and by his onstage admission) smoking Washington's wacky tabacky made him a little less gregarious than I was expecting. Attila the Stockbroker was a pleasant surprise, as I fear poets as much as my own poetry. Once upon a time the Manic Street Preachers even opened for him. Or maybe it's just my fetish for the English accent. Both performers are amazing poets that find ways to work with political words that I dreamed of but never could find, especially not so directly. Although David brought the house down with "I'm A Better Anarchist Than You" which really made me laugh. I want to support the anarchists, but the few I know that are out feeding the hungry and giving to the poor are far outnumbered by the ones who just manage to piss me off and act like that's the only important political act to participate in.

Friday the 3rd: Son and They Shoot Horses Don't They in Olympia at Le Voyeur
Son's cover of The Smith's Still Ill using the top 2 strings on his guitar for the chords and a loose bottom string for percussion was amazing. They Shoot Horses Don't They is a fun mix of Red Pony Clock and Old Time Relijun, now on Kill Rock Stars.

Saturday the 4th: Stereoearrings (Karl Blau), Ponies in the Surf, and Nire in Olympia at Le Voyeur

Nire were quiet and lovely and made me very happy I didn't spend all my money to go see Low in Seattle this week because they had the same effect on me. A beautiful, sleepy pretty effect.

I love Ponies in the Surf. They're a brother sister duo from New England, with bits of Columbian pop mixed in. I was thinking about how I didn't really like the Owl and the Pussycat too much when their album was released, but now I love the softest boy girl duos I can find. Alex croons, Camille harmonizes, and I just feel so charmed when I listen to them play, like I'm in some kind of plush lounge far away from the cement floors and bar noises I'm actually subjecting myself to when I've seen them.

Karl made noise with a radio and effects pedals. He cut his hair and wore sneakers and looked super cute. Really. I love him and knew I was being superficial of his hippieness, but I've had enough of boys in pigtails for one lifetime.

Afterwards I drove out to KAOS 89.3 with Nire and Ponies in the Surf so the Ponies could play a live set on Gimme Indie Rock. They sounded great and I intend to post the video soon.

Okay, sleepie time...really...I need to do this more often instead of trying to write it all up at the end of the week...

Okay, the greatest mystery in my pop canon...

Why is Jordan Knight from the NKOTB wearing a Bauhaus shirt in The Right Stuff video?" I mean, for at least ten years I have pondered this, and no one believes me, but now, ha, it's clearly visible in the shots of the band riding around in the convertable. And they end up chasing girls in a graveyard. Think about this, pre-Hot Topic, pre-punk revival....where the hell would a boy band member get a Bauhaus shirt? (fyi his admitted musical taste has always been of the Motown and pianist variety...The Stylistics, Elton John etc. I have never heard of Jordan name dropping post-punk bands in an interview)

Doubly confusing, but alas, invisible in the quality of the video I found, is Jonathan Knight wearing a Sugarcubes shirt under his orange shirt in the Hangin Tough video (or the extended, Hangin Tough live video). This is 1989! Again...was this some hipster working in the wardrobe department. (The NKOTB wardrobe manager/groupie recruiter Uncle Rob was an idiot pedophile...spare me from accusations of slander, I talked to the guy on the phone when I was 13 and he was an absolute pervert. If he was a record collector nerd things may have been quite different. Ewww, like I have to defend myself, here are is a note he wrote to me after I complied with his request to send some photos...)

I'm on YouTube. With treats from the Wedding Present, Tullycraft, Tender Forever, Harvey Danger, the Mae Shi, and more to come...okay, and some stupid videos of my friends and I screwing around or having innane conversations. Enjoy.

Of course, be aware that YouTube is addicting...things like a Comet Gain video from MTV's Alternative Nation, or Morrissey on the bus with a bunch of kids, or Magnetic Fields videos....

And, for those of us who believe Morrissey could never make too many records, now he's got one with the FBI as well.

I actually recognize four of artists in the Whitney Biennial this year...Daniel Johnston, Momus, Jim O'Rourke, and Martha Colburn...disturbing...its like an early nineties college radio music director gone art snob...

This is how rumors get started, thank you Mr. Stephen Cramer, now, I feel ethically icky about reposting someone else's entire story/post/article without their permission, but it's short and sweet:
on friday night, jeff griggs informed me of a masters of the hemisphere reuinion in april at the 40 watt during the annual twilight criterium bike race. "yeah, if you know any nerds who were into the masters, let em know." so, here i am, letting u know. show will be like $3 at the door.

The Masters of the Hemisphere were my introduction to Athens pop, they came through Olympia in 2000 and played live on my friend Karen's radio show.

However loveable the Masters were, Sean Rawl's Still Flyin is da bomb. It's all the name Dub Narcotic promised and never delivered...really spectacular for a bunch of indie kids....

What is more disturbing about the March 2006 of Playboy...a little interview with Stuart Murdoch or a fashion spread that begins "Whether you listen to hip-hop or indie pop, you want to dress like a rock star. Here's how"?

Summing up Stuart: he was "mystified" by Belle and Sebby being voted the best Scottish band of all time, the band has become "tougher and more rocking", and he has a "fondness for the Mets"

Good news-ish, no actual indiepopstrs were actually photographed for that fashion spread. Really, boys, keep on the argyle sweaters and ill fitting suit jackets, occasionally wear a pair of pants that are too tight, and that's all the fashion I care to see...

Valentines Day.
I figured having no one was better than having someone who always seemed to screw it up. Not that I don't screw it up. Every year I seem to accumulate another box of Hello Kitty cards I forget to give out.

But a small miracle happened that my other called to say he'd be passing through town tonight. I found myself speeding home from work, stopping to buy a box of condoms and feeling really sorry for the guy in front of me that was loaded down with a basket of candy and cards.

A quick fuck followed by a single cigarette, intimate conversation, and loneliness by midnight. Like all relationship decisions, I must verify this with the Radio 8 Ball..."Should I keep going with this?" Answer: Andy Dick and the Bitches of the Century, "Cock and Balls" (gist-I'd give up all the booze and drugs if I can keep my genitals...wierdly accurate.)

Tomorrow I plan no such romance, but an excuse to wear a ridiculous combination of pink and red and glitter to work, display erotic books and movies for our patrons, and eat lots of candy. Oh yeah, and the live version of Radio 8 Ball is on KAOS Radio tomorrow night. Honestly, not a lot of indie pop will be played, and after Cars Can Be Blue's in studio performance, I'm not sure if I'll ever be allowed to reccomend a band again, but the overall quality of the entertainment, the wonderous nature of the oracle, is something I am very enchanted by.

Congradulations to the Three Imaginary Girls for a SOLD OUT 69 Love Songs Pre-Valentine's Day bash at the Crocodile. As usual, I'm too tired to write detailed stuff, so J can harass me about not writing a show review, and then in a few days I may have more to say...but come on, but there is a certain band I would comment on every post if I didn't stop myself....for instance, how the lead singer was wearing a Bunnygrunt shirt last night and we all can say:

YAY for the East Coast Bunnygrunt tour this spring. It looks like Bunny Matt is just starting to book/plan the tour...hmmm...perhaps I need a vacation?

And for a bit of liberal guilt, watch Blue Vinyl. From the milk crate storage to the computer, from the lamp in the corner to the record collection. I'm shacked up with plastic products that release dioxin at various points in their consumer cycle (oh yeah, and those toys under the bed too). The film does reiterate that vinyl is most toxic when burned (ie if your house is on fire)...but firsthand I can say you can get a nasty respitory reaction from plain old stupidity like letting a vinyl office chair roll up against a gas heater for a half hour. Or when you get asked "what would you save if your house was on fire"- your record collection is actually a practical answer because left to burn it could very well be the most toxic part of your apartment.

Okay, and gossip today, although I'm hesitant to BELIEVE anything I read in the Onion, I want to believe that Johnny Marr is working with Modest Mouse. But I suppose I can suspend my disbelief, like pretending thatMorrissey is not gray

I will be attending the Three Imaginary Girls Pre-Valentines Day 69 Love Songs bash on Thursday in Seattle. I came across Sean Nelson and His Mortal Enemies's setlist in my investigations, although the Harvey Danger frontman goes on last, he's got dibs on "Busby Berkley Dreams", "Underwear", "The Death Of Ferdinand De Saussure", and one more...(again, only insignificant gossip can be posted here, because I'm sure I'm half wrong).

Other Magnetic Fields news...Stephen is working on a cd of songs to accompany the final book in Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Yes, book 13 will be the end of our adventures with the Baudelaire orphans, and the book and cd will hopefully be ready for an October 13th release. I think you can get a sneak peak of the album by finding the audio books of the Unfortunate Events, with songs from The Gothic Archies already released.

Ohhhh I just discovered Redd Kross podcasts hosted by Jeff McDonald. The amount of new music available online is only trumped by the random information on music you already listen to that you can spend time looking at.

Or freaking out that, Now back in the studio, Redd Kross are working on a new release for 2006."

I've spend more time looking at Evan Dando photos than Supercult porn recently, and I pay for that shit yo. Right after I paid, I realized I paid for a site that has no photos of hot boys.

Wandered further until I found myself re-reading Kathleen Hanna's zine, My Life With Evan Dando, Popstar. Ah...

"I put on my headphones,
And I tune out
I am devout
The girls are singing about my life
But they're not here, they've got the wild life

If you want to find out, find out
Youv'e got to look them in the eye
That's why my only choice
Is to find the face behind the voice...."
Belle and Sebastian
Act of the Apostle II

So I hope to find time to read
I'll Take You There: Pop Music and the Urge for Transcendence soon. . I watched The Gospel According to Jesus this afternoon but fell asleep, slowly getting through Good Catholic Girls and Restless Souls: The Making of American Spirituality and I cracked openThe Confessions of St. Augustine this evening as well. I'm also still thinking about What God Wants.

Belle and Sebastian, Of Montreal, Evan Dando, David Bowie

I probably wouldn't have left the house tonight if the boy from the record store didn't call me to say my copy of Belle and Sebastian's The Life Pursuit was in. I was gifted a copy last Tuesday from a friend with superior computer skills, also breaking the traditional Death Cab for cutie album he usually gets me for my birthday.

I had a birthday gift certificate, so I also got a Marine Girls record, a Matty Pop Chart CD, a Jad Fair CD, and a Pete Seeger record.

I almost hate Sukie in the Graveyard. What is up with the photos of Tatu all over the liner notes? Granted this time the band also included tastefully moody monchromatic portraits of themselves. Where can I get a bootleg poster of giant close up shot of Stuart like I had of Evan Dando in 93? After twenty minutes of Dando oggling, I realized I'd rather have a poster of Stevie to gaze at.

So I didn't actually say how the Of Montreal show at Chop Suey on Tuesday was. Wow. First of all, there are a lot fewer hippies at their shows in Seattle than in Athens. So Chop Suey smelled better than the 40 Watt in August, but it was way too crowded to dance. And what the hell is the fun of seeing Of Montreal if you can't dance? They opened up with Rapture Rapes the Muses so I was spared the anticipation of hearing my favorite song. Kevin Barnes does glam so well. I love the glitter and the rhinestones and the blue eyeshadow and the whole lovely rock and roll icon worship. I felt like the crowd was packed so tight it was absorbing some of the sound. But the biggest difference between them as an experimental pop band and a glam pop band? I'm thinking "lip synching controversy" if they keep sounding this good live.

The opening acts were almost unmentionable.

I was hoping to find a copy of All Saints for S's birthday, but I think I did even better: an autographed copy of Angela Bowie's "Backstage Passes". I read this a few years after it came out, but I remember her going on Oprah and talking about the book and how she caught David in bed with Mick Jagger. Hotttttttttt! Seriously, at a time when I hadn't read much porn, reading about "the much fabled Lance of Love" sent me into a tizzy. Z and I used to watch Labyrinth and The Hunger for the same reason.

Truely Tweevil: K Records @ Evergreen and how to do interviews

I may backpost, may add photos, but for now, lets just look at the state of my indierockpoplife in Washington State. Or at least the last week of it. Actually, I'm tired after just writing about three events....soooo....

A week ago, Thursday January 26
Calvin Johnson/Mt. Eerie/Kimya Dawson
Evergreen Housing Community Center, Olympia WA
I drove out to Yelm to pick up S so we got there toward the end of Calvin's set. He's doing a wonderful country crooner kinda thing now. There was a period not too long ago where he was trying to experiment with his live performances, but since his tour with Tender Forever I've seen him play twice with just straight up singing and a bit of storytelling in between.
(paraphrased) Calvin said:
"I went to Evergreen in the early 90s and I see something here tonight that I never saw back then. Right there, someone is studying."

Second up was Mt. Eerie. Okay, I try. I've seen Phil play about once every six months for the past few years, and in 98-00 I think I saw him play almost once a month as the Microphones. Having seen basically the entire evolution of his career as a musician, and being completely in love with the early Microphones recordings, I still had to make the snarky comment to S that almost every song he plays as Mt. Eerie sounds like a soundcheck. He's deconstructing our notions of what songs are. He's singing about nature. The structure of verse chorus verse is completely gone. This makes me feel anxious. I never know if a song is ending or beginning. My hands freeze midair as I go to clap a the wrong moment. I just don't like it.

Now Kimya Dawson on the other hand, I find to be beautiful and graceful and wonderous. I'm a little uncomfortable tonight as she's just announced her pregnancy to the world and, well, I'm childfree and spend a lot of energy making fun of breeders. While she's working her merch booth during Calvin's set I smile at her, pat my stomach and give her the thumbs up anyway. But her set is a nice mix of just intriguing and insightful songs, sometimes punctuated by awkwardness at really personal stuff coming through like songs about babies and parenting.
But she told a cute story, and I paraphrase:
"I went to Evergreen. Mirah and I used to work here when it was the Greenery Cafe. After hours we would dance on the tables and sing DeLites "The Groove is in the Heart. She would say "You have such a cool voice, you should sing!" and I would say "No, you have such a cool voice, you should sing!" but neither of us were writing music back then."

January 31st
Of Montreal @ Chop Suey, Seattle WA
So I did a zine ages ago and people were always writing to me asking for advice on how to make a zine. My friend J and I had a perfect lesson at the Of Montreal show...so here is "How to interview awesome bands for your zine."
1. Come up with some questions, and a bunch of topics you're interested in and can have an intelligent conversation about (ie books, radio, recording equipment etc. are generally safe bets)
2. Make phone calls to management/record label etc. to set up an interview
3. If you can't set up an interview, or if things fall through at some step of the process, bring your recording equipment to the show anyway
4. At the show, find the tour manager. Assuming this is an indie rock thing, ask the person selling merch if s/he is touring with the band.
5. Okay, now, any of the above steps can and should be skipped if you can properly identify the person in the band you want to interview. When you see her/him, go up and say "I'm supposed to interview you for (whatever). Can we do it tonight?" See, the general chaos of a tour coupled with a desire for publicity and/or a general sense of niceness means you will very rarely get a "no" (I have NEVER heard a no, but being female may help) . If you must namedrop the people you talked to (ie the manager at my radio station, your tour manager, your label etc.) IF THEY EXIST (if you are really desperate, you don't even really need to have talked to these people, when I was younger, I bullshitted plenty of major labels by saying they had send me publicity materials for bands I liked...I loved it "did we send you a press kit?" "oh yes, that's where I got your number" bullshit I got the number by having multiple secretaries pass me along until I got to the important people.)
6. Once you sit down with your recorder, it's really hard to go wrong. Oh I could talk about interview etiquitte but you may as well read Writers Digest for that. You're going to act nervous and ramble on and interrupt your interview subject etc. but they know you're a college radio dj or zine writer and this isn't NPR or Harper's. Either they're in a well known band and have been through this before, or they're just starting out and are too excited to be interviewed that you have nothing to worry about. That said, the best interview technique I have ever learned is to shut up and wait for the interviewee to talk. Seriously. Don't fill in silences because they feel awkward, let the other person feel awkward and fill in those silences. Okay, now I should remind myself of this every day with every person I talk to, but it comes out when I'm giving expert advice that I can't really take.

Now, the best part about this ,and I don't want to get into a indie vs. non debate, the general idea is if the band only has a handful of screaming high school girls in the front row and you are not one of them, you can probably get an interview...then again, as a screaming high school girl, I got interviews from plenty of bands desperate for publicity either by showing up or via phone, which is a whole nother story.

February 1, after returning home from Damien Jurardo @ the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, OR
So I sent an e-mail to Teenbeat to update my e-mail address, but in an impulse I added: MARK ROBINSON PLEASE COME BACK TO OLYMPIA! (That is what I'm really thinking).

So I fell out of my chair last night when he wrote back and said maybe someday. Okay, I knew he's probably the only person who works there. Does anyone else remember getting Teenbeat records in the early-mid 90s with the catalog inserts that said they were always looking for help in the office? Sigh, or the time I thought my head would explode because Calvin did not kick me out of Dub Narcotic when I had no other reason to be there but to listen to him and Mark play back recordings so I could gloat while they worked on the finer points of production (honestly, I was wondering WHY he was recording at Dub Narcotic, because he gave such an awesome sound to everything he produced that I thought was far superior to the fidelity of D.N. studio....I mean, even Cold Cold Hearts sounded jangly when Mark Robinson was at the dials.)