Rocking your socks off

Short update today (for once... haha). Lots to do before Gladys (my filmmaking partner) leaves the country tomorrow...

I have found myself more and more getting into rock. Like, relatively hard rock (not metal or anything, but like... gritty rock). I used to be all about more poppy rock, but lately I'm just loving me some down-n-dirty, gritty electric guitar with some booming drums and a rocking bass line. Not to say that some of these songs aren't a little poppy deep down... But instead of making me want to get up and dance at a club, they make me want to go to a motorcycle bar and play pool or something (and probably still dance though). Anyway, here are some of the great rock songs I've been listening to lately:

The W.A.N.D. (mp3) - The Flaming Lips ("At War With Mystics") - iTunes

Berlin (mp3) - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ("Baby 81") - iTunes

Cherry Lips (mp3) - Archie Bronson Outfit ("Derang Derang") - iTunes

Forget Myself (mp3) - Elbow ("Anywhere Anytime: Outdoor Conditioning") - iTunes

Tata dahlings.

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Monday Miscellany - 7.30.07

Yesterday, on the two hour train ride to New Haven, CT (yuck), I was reading an old issue of Entertainment Weekly (my friend gives me his when he's done with them, so I'm usually a week or two behind) and in the DVD review section was none other than a documentary I interned on last fall. That felt pretty cool. Especially because it was an "EW pick" and had scored an A- (which, if it were my film would be unacceptable because only A's are good grades to me and anything less is a personal insult. Haha. But since it wasn't my film and I know from reading EW all the time that an A- means they actually thought it was really good, it was exciting). The documentary is The Mormons, directed by Helen Whitney and created as the first collaboration between PBS Frontline and American Experience. You can watch in it's entirity (all 4 hours of it...) on the website. It should be pretty awesome, though I'll admit I haven't seen the whole thing in it's final form yet because it wasn't finished when I stopped working there and I had class when it aired.

More randomness - a book review: "Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story," by Leonie Swann. It is written mostly from the perspective of a flock of sheep whose shepherd is murdered. They try to solve the murder mystery. Each sheep is such a character. They all have lots of distinct personality traits and stories. While I thought the sheep understood a little too much about the human world (explained by saying that the shepherd used to read to the sheep and teach them new words), it was still really funny to see them interpret human things - particularly religion. There was one scene where a sheep goes into a church, and it's really funny how he interprets everything. The sheep interpretation of the human world makes you think about how ludicrous some of the things we do might seem to outsiders (and how ludicrous they probably actually are). I also like how the sheep are constantly commenting on how inept humans are at life because we don't have a very strong sense of smell. The only time I really thought the book was lacking was when it would suddenly switch to a human perspective very briefly. I never thought this added anything and I much preferred the sheep's perspective. And I'm not really sure if I liked how it ended, but I still really enjoyed most of the book overall. There were a few times it actually made me laugh out loud. There were other times when it really made me think and look at the human world from an outsider perspective.

Anyway, so for the music today I'm just going to throw a few songs up that strike my fancy and not really talk much about them. I have many errands to run today (for one, I have to return the really crappy $10 headphones I bought yesterday for the train ride to CT because I was not about to sit through that without music. But man, when you pay $10 for headphones, you definitely can tell you only paid $10 for headphones.) and it's Bryant Park Movie night, so I have a busy day ahead of me.

(mp3) The View from the Afternoon - Arctic Monkeys ("Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not") - iTunes

Ok, I will say one thing about that song. The album title...? Way too long!

(mp3) Chemical, Chemical - Pretty Girls Make Graves ("The New Romance") - iTunes

(mp3) Black Gold Blues - Laura Veirs ("Year of Meteors") - iTunes

Interesting. I just realized that all three albums are the artists' second to last album (meaning the one before their most recent). That's random. I really like that Laura Veirs song, though I am not sure how I feel about the other stuff I've heard by her. I will have to give it more of a listen than I have I guess. But this song stuck out to me right away, whereas the rest of what I heard all kind of sounded the same. Ok, that's all for today. Tata dahlings.

In a funk

I have a confession to make. I... I love...

I love funk music.

There, I said it. Is that weird? Generally I tend to go for rock/alternative/pop, but then again my tastes have always been very eclectic, so I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. It's just strange to me because I never think of funk when I'm telling people what kind of music I like. And I probably should have realized it sooner because I love non-funk songs with funky beats. But I definitely tend to like funk songs that are a little more closely related to rock than, say, to R & B or something.

I first came to this realization last night when I was listening to Honeycut. Honeycut is part of the Quannum Projects (also including Apsci, Blackalicious, Latyrx and the Blacktop Projects, among others). My favorite song of theirs is The Day I Turned to Glass, which I first heard on The Current.

Another funk band I really like is Julius C. I first heard of Julius C about a year and a half ago when a kid in one of my production classes at Tisch did a mini-documentary on them (some of them went/go to NYU). It was just two of the members (one of whom I think is no longer with the band, but I'm not sure) jamming casually, but I really liked the song they did. I kind of wish I could have a recording of that song, but I have no idea what song it was. But I do love the songs of theirs that I have and that are on their website (go there, you can download some for free). I think I like No Way the best besides the two I've listed below.

The Day I Turned to Glass (mp3) - Honeycut ("The Day I Turned to Glass") - iTunes
Guilty as Charged (mp3) - Julius C - iTunes Unavailable
Velveteen Rabbit (mp3) - Julius C - iTunes Unavalable

And now I'm off to Connecticut (in the rain... ick) to go shoot a few videos for a video contest. I have to stop and buy new (cheap) headphones on the way. My headphones are shot, and I have no idea why. I guess I'm kind of hard on them. I bring my iPod everywhere. Again, my apologies if I'm flaky about updating over the next few days. I will be shooting/editing for this video contest probably the next 48-72 hours straight. Tata dahlings.

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Music of the Night

I guess maybe I'm stressed out or something because I've had some crazy dreams/nightmares over the past few nights. On the plus side, I don't know if they were in my dreams or what, but I woke up with two really awesome songs stuck in my head.

The first, which is still stuck in my head (but that's a good thing) is It Bleeds by The Hard Lessons, from their EP "Wise up!" It's a really chill rock song. Since I've already written about them, I'm just gonna say another quick "check them out" because they're awesome. And now you have an mp3 to keep, because I know last time I didn't post any mp3s. I only said to go to their myspace and listen to some of their songs that haven't been released on disc yet, which you should still do by the way.

The second song that was stuck in my head when I woke up this morning is the total opposite of the first song. It's upbeat and poppy. Or, playful. That's a good word for it. It's Dirty Laundry, by Bitter:Sweet, from their album "The Mating Game." I love how the song is basically just like "I'm bad and it's more fun that way." I first heard Bitter:Sweet on The Current, and I thought they sounded familiar. It's because they've been used in the show "Grey's Anatomy," which I used to love (although not so much anymore). I really like the variety of sounds they use - mixing orchestral instruments (on top of the lovely strings that are in most of the songs, some songs have wind and brass instruments too) with electronic sounds. Some of their songs sound as if there's a full orchestra backing them up. My other playful favorites of theirs include The Mating Game and Salty Air. Most of their songs are playful but the ones that slow it down, like Moving Forward or Don't Forget to Breathe, are very relaxed, but still have a funky beat and are kind of echoey, which gives the songs an interesting sense of space. It kind of makes them feel slower than they actually are, but not in a bad way. Does that make any sense? Probably not. I need to work on that whole "putting my thoughts into words" thing. Haha. I guess what I'm kind of trying to say is that they have a very visual/cinematic feel to their music. They've been used on a lot of soundtracks, not just Grey's Anatomy. They are coming to NY on August 23rd... Maybe I will go see them.

It Bleeds (mp3) - The Hard Lessons ("Wise Up!" EP) - iTunes

Dirty Laundry (mp3) - Bitter:Sweet ("The Mating Game") - iTunes
The Mating Game (mp3) - Bitter:Sweet ("The Mating Game") - iTunes
Don't Forget To Breath (mp3) - Bitter:Sweet ("The Mating Game") - iTunes

In other quick news, I went to "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind" last night. It's 30 (original) "plays" in one hour... if they can get through them all. It was great. I thought they would all be funny but some of them were really serious, so it was an interesting roller coaster of emotions to go through in one hour. The sudden serious play here or there was very sobering amongst all the hilarity. There were also a few very experimental moments. My favorite "plays" were the musical numbers (surprise surprise). There's lots of audience participation, but don't sit on the narrow side because you will get left out (there was one "play" - maybe I should start calling them sketches or skits or something - called "Communicable Dis-Ease" where they just went into the audience and played Telephone, but we were sitting on the wrong side, so we didn't get to play). They made it through almost all 30, with the exception of one that they couldn't remember half way through and one that the timer went off half way through. Each week they roll dice to see how many new plays they're going to be doing next week, so if you wait a few weeks in between shows, you will see a completely different show each time.

Ok, lunch time. Tata dahlings.

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Dance Party - 7.27.07

It's Friday! Hooray! (no, actually that means nothing to me because I work tomorrow and the next few days are going to be ca-RA-zy). But I feel like starting different traditions, as this blog is now a few weeks old. So on Fridays, from now on, I will usually (unless I went to a concert or something) post dance music to encourage you to dance your weekend away.

You might recognize this song from the movie "Wayne's World" (shout out to my twin Lisa/Garth!). That's how I recognized it. It's The Ballroom Blitz (mp3) by Sweet. I don't know what album it is originally from, but I have it on the "Best of Sweet" album (iTunes). A silly song, it's fun to sing along too, as well.

Another kind of silly but good dance song with a bit of a rock spice to it is Tick (mp3) by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, from the album "Fever to Tell" (iTunes).

Less silly but still keeping with the rock style is That Great Love Sound (mp3) by The Raveonettes, from the album "Chain Gang of Love" (iTunes). Although I can't decide if this song is really that good of a dance song if you don't know it and can't sing/groove along. It's got a fast beat, but it's maybe a little too consistent of a beat to really experiment with your dance moves... I dunno. I like dancing to it at least, so I guess I will post it anyway.

Happy Friday! Hope everyone's weekend starts off fabulously. Tata dahlings.

Theme Thursday - Dreams

So I'm going to start something I am going to call Theme Thursdays - an idea I will admit that I kind of stole from the University of Minnesota Radio Station, Radio K. So Theme Thursday is going to work as follows: I'm going to pick a word or a concept and find three songs (or so) that relate somehow - either by title, artist or album.

Today's theme (we're going to start off with an easy one) is Dreams. And I think I'm going to try to hit up a few different decades for this one.

So first we have the 80s classic Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (mp3) by the Eurythmics (iTunes). This song like, IS my childhood and I still love it to this day.

Next we have the 90s hit Dreams (mp3) by The Cranberries (iTunes). Man, some great music came out of the 90s. In fact, we're going to do three 90s songs, because Dreamlover (mp3) by Mariah Carey (iTunes) is another great one. And to represent the later 90s, With You in Your Dreams (mp3) by Hanson (iTunes). Not gonna lie - I didn't appreciate Hanson in the 90s, but I do now. Especially after everything they went through to get their newest album released (I got to see the documentary, Strong Enough to Break, about it and meet them. They gave everyone free CDs and autographed them. Way cool.) Yes, they are indeed Indie now. They left their label. Go Hanson. In fact, the just released a new CD, "The Walk," two days ago. It's pretty good. I think I liked "Underneath" better though.

I kind of want to put up a song by the short-lived girl band Dream, but I will resist... I'm not going to sink that low today. But their songs were pretty hilarious.

And now for this decade, Fever Dream (mp3) by Iron & Wine (iTunes), and Dreams (mp3) by TV on the Radio (iTunes) - who I sadly don't get to see for free on Sunday at McCarren Park Pool because I am going to be in Connecticut... boo...

And let's do one foreign song, since it's such an easy theme: Dreams Come True (mp3), by Korean group SES (iTunes unavailable). And yes, this is the Korean version (though some parts are still in English). I don't like the English version because my favorite part of this song is the rap part toward the end, which was excluded from the English version. It reminds me of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Listen to it. You'll understand.

Ok, happy Theme Thursday! Sorry if I'm a little flaky about posting over the next few days. I've got some craziness coming up. But I will do my best to keep the posts coming. Tata dahlings.

Theme song of the moment

Two posts in one day?! Or actually, technically it's Wednesday. Sweet. Who knows. Maybe I'll post again tomorrow (today) after I've slept.

So, this song came on my iPod on shuffle and I realized that (for the moment) it is my theme song - meaning it pretty much describes the way I feel about all aspects of my life right now - so I had to post it right now or it was going to haunt me. I've always loved this song, but I hadn't listened to it in a while, so I hadn't thought of it until it came on by chance. It makes me feel better when I have a song that fits my feelings/mood perfectly. I know I've already posted two Imogen Heap songs, but I guess her music just speaks to me. This song really is beautiful though. I would say "stormy" is an appropriate word for it.

The Walk by Imogen Heap, from her album "Speak for Yourself" (I seem to like this album more than her others apparently, though I love them all):

Inside-out, upside-down,
Twisting beside myself.
Stop that now,
'Cause you and I were never meant to be.
I think you'd better leave.
It's not safe in here.
I feel a weakness coming on.

Alright then, (alright then.)
I could keep your number for a rainy day.
That's where this ends.
No mistakes no misbehaving.
I was doing so well.
Could we just be friends?
I feel a weakness coming on.

It's not meant to be like this.
Not what I planned at all.
I don't want to feel like this. Yeah.
No it's not meant to be like this.
Not what I planned at all.
I don't want to feel like this.
So that makes it all your fault.

Inside-out, upside-down,
Twisting beside myself.
Stop that now.
You're as close as it gets
Without touching me.
Oh now don't make it harder
Than it already is.
I feel a weakness coming on.

It's not meant to be like this.
Not what I planned at all.
I don't want to feel like this. Yeah.
No it's not meant to be like this.
Not what I planned at all.
I don't want to feel like this.
So that makes it all your fault.

Big trouble, losing control.
Primary resistance at a critical low.
on the double, gotta get a hold.
Point of no return, one second to go.

No response on any level,
Red-alert, this vessel's under seige.
Total overload, all systems down, they've got control.
There's no way out.
We are surrounded.
Give in, give in and relish every minute of it.

Freeze or make it forever.
I feel a weakness coming on.

It’s not meant to be like this,
Not what I planned at all.
I don’t want to feel like this. Yeah.
No it’s not meant to be like this,
It's just what I don't need.
Why make me feel like this?
It's definitely all your fault.

The Walk (mp3) - Imogen Heap ("Speak for Yourself") - iTunes

Tunes on a Tuesday

This is yet another day where I feel kind of incoherent (lack of sleep) and don't want to bother thinking of a theme to tie my music together, so I'm just going to throw up a few songs that I like.

80 Days (mp3) by Tin Cup Prophette, from the album "Liar and the Thief" (iTunes). Tin Cup Prophette is yet another band from Athens, Georgia. This song was introduced to me by Paste Magazine. I love the slight dissonance in this song and the use of string instruments. And singer Amanda Kapousouz's voice has a quality that's interesting to me. It's not necessarily that she has great voice, but there's just something about it. I really like the other songs on their myspace too. The song Going Numb kind of reminds me a lot of Psapp.

Take Me to the Riot (mp3) by Stars from their new album "In Our Bedroom After the War (purchase). Their album was released on the internet months before it's original September 25th shelf release date. They knew it would get leaked before then anyway, so they just released it on the internet four days after it was complete. Probably pretty smart on their part. I really like the album. So far no song has really stuck out to me as a favorite the way Your Ex-Lover is Dead did on their album "Set Yourself on Fire." But as a whole, the album is very strong. I chose Take Me to the Riot to post because it is more upbeat and I'm in an upbeat kind of mood.

Speaking in Tongues (mp3) by Eagles of Death Metal from their album "Peace Love Death Metal" (iTunes). This is a great dance rock song. It is entertaining in every sense of the word. It just makes me want to shake and shimmy and jump around. Plus it's amusing/funny when he "demonstrates" speaking in tongues as part of the song.

Ok, that's all the songs for today. Man, I wish I had money and could afford to go to concerts more often. The White Stripes are playing tonight. But alas, I am not going. So many other good concerts coming up this summer. *sigh* Tata dahlings.

These boots are made for walkin'

On Saturday morning, around 9:30am, I went for a very lovely stroll to the grocery store (which is not close by the way). The sun was shining, it was relatively cool still, and the streets were quiet. As usual, I was listening to my iPod. The song My Moon, My Man by Feist, from her album "The Reminder," (iTunes) came on. Turns out, this is the perfect "going for a walk" song. The tempo is just right so that I walk briskly but without too much effort. I listened to the song a few times over to keep my perfect pace going. If there was no one else on the street I was on, I even sang along. Then I decided to look for other good walking songs. Here are 10 songs (in no particular order) that I think are great walking songs.

Consider This, by Anna Nalick, from her album "Wreck of the Day" (iTunes). Not quite as perfect as the Feist song, but still good. Plus it's beat is kind of funky/jazzy so it puts a little dance in my step.

Le Disko by Shiny Toy Guns, from the album "We Are Pilots" (iTunes) makes you feel like you're walking down a run way. It's a very sexy rock song. It makes you want to stop and pose for the cameras. Luckily, I resisted this urge and kept the fact that I was walking down the streets of Brooklyn in mind.

I am in Love with You by Imogen Heap, from her album "Speak For Yourself" (iTunes) is another sexy walking song. Maybe a little bit slow, but if you're in the mood for a more leisurely walk then that's fine.

Mayan Pilot by Splashdown, from the album "Redshift" (iTunes unavailable). Another kind of jazzy/funky song, it's hard for me to walk to this song without singing along and grooving. When I worked at the Gap years ago, they played this song and it was one of the only ones they played that I didn't get horribly sick of after hearing the same 20 songs looped over and over and over. Although, I must admit, that first half of the summer, they had a pretty good compilation CD going. I had never heard of any of the songs they played, so it actually did take me a while to get sick of them. Other artists I discovered from this compilation include The Magnetic Fields and Elefant (both of whom I started hearing a lot of like 2 years later, so props to The Gap for being ahead of the times with the music).

Beware of the Dog by british pop artist Jamelia from her album "Walk With Me" (iTunes unavailable), which is along the same vein of Rihanna's "SOS." Jamelia samples the music of "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode (and covered by greats like Johnny Cash, Marilyn Manson and Tori Amos among others) but then takes the song and basically completely re-writes it and makes it her own. I really like this whole re-invention of 80s songs trend. It's sexy but still has rock flavor, and I am not sure I could take one more straight cover of "Personal Jesus."

And now for some male influence (although there are men in Shiny Toy Guns), Spread Your Love by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, from their self-titled album (iTunes). There's a reason they're called BRMC. This song definitely makes me want to ride a motorcycle. But since I don't have a motorcycle, it's a great song to take a walk to.

Then we have Unconditional by The Bravery, also from their self-titled album (iTunes). The lyrics in this song ring a little too true to me sometimes though, so if I'm not in a really good mood this song can be detrimental to my emotional state. Still a great song with a great beat nonetheless.

Pretty much any song by Teddybears, but I particularly like Different Sound (iTunes) or Little Stereo (iTunes), from their album "Soft Machine" and I think they have great rhythm for walking. The other great thing about Teddybears is that all their songs sound so different so you can listen to their whole album on a walk and feel like you were listening to all different genres of music. The only thing all their songs really have in common is a great upbeat rhythm.

This is song #11, but it's a song I have already posted and I posted two songs by Teddybears, so I'm not counting it: Get Off by The Dandy Warhols, from their album "Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia" (iTunes). This song is so... bouncy. I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone but me, but that's just the word that comes to my mind when I hear this song. It makes me bob my head up and down and puts a little bounce in my step. Bouncy. I don't mean it in a negative way. This is one of my favorite songs of all time.

Man, there are so many more that I want to post... But I will stop here. Enjoy. Stay out of the rain. Tata dahlings.

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Siren Music Festival

I just have to start out by saying that it's awesome that two of my last three days has revolved around live music, fresh air and water. Oh and click the pictures to make them bigger.

Yesterday was the Village Voice's Siren Music Festival. 12 bands, 2 stages, all free at Coney Island. Now, I'm actually kind of disappointed in myself because I had planned to try to hit up almost every band, but that didn't happen. At all. I didn't even make it out there until 2:30pm because I kept getting distracted or getting important phone calls. Plus when I got there, navigating the crowds was hard and energy-consuming, so bouncing back and forth between stages proved a lot more difficult than I thought it would be.

I have to say, the weather was pretty much perfect. It was a little hot in the direct sunlight, but overall it was quite a pleasant day to spend outside at concerts by the ocean. Coney Island is such an interesting place, and even when there isn't a big event happening the people watching is always fun. Even moreso at times like the Siren Festival though. My friend Laura's boss was like "I saw hipsters crying!" haha.

Anyway, so the first group I saw was Elvis Perkins in Dearland. They were pretty good. The band was just so high energy and they all played off each other, which was really great. I love when you know the people are really having fun performing. I would actually have to say though, Elvis probably had the least energy, which is weird since he's the front man. The drummer was the coolest. I was really glad when he picked up a Bass drum and came to the front of the stage and could move around for a song instead of being stuck in the back behind a drum set. I also liked that they played instruments not necessarily typical of a rock band.

When I left Elvis Perkins, I went to find my friend Laura, which was surprisingly difficult and took quite a while. I caught like 2 minutes of Dr. Dog in looking for her. They seemed cool, but I didn't get a very good feel for them since I was focusing on finding Laura. By the time I found her, I was already exhausted from crowd navigating, haha. Laura and her friend were even more exhausted because they had been there since 1:30 working, so we relaxed on the boardwalk for a while and ate. Unfortunately, this meant I missed The Noisettes, who I really wanted to see. We did wander past the stage at one point and it sounded like so much fun though. I probably should've just gone and watched them by myself, but I felt like that meant I would never find Laura again and I'm not so big on the going to concerts by myself thing.

Finally we decided to hit up the mainstage right before Black Lips went on so that we could slowly move our way up for We Are Scientists and MIA. I have to say, Black Lips was really not so memorable. For some reason they just weren't holding my attention. I kind of spaced out or talked to people through their whole show. The only things I remember about them was the way they jumped up and down a lot and, while I can't say they lacked energy, it didn't actually seem like they were having fun - it seemed really rehearsed to me - and how one of their songs sounded very 60s pop-ish (and only that one song really) but yet they looked very... 90s? I dunno. They had awesome mustaches though... Haha. I remember that much.

Next was We Are Scientists. I managed to push my way up a little more as people left between shows, so I could actually see them pretty well. I really liked them a lot. Great groove-able rock music. Kind of reminiscent of The Killers or Franz Ferdinand with maybe a little Eagles of Death Metal thrown in or something. I'm sad that I didn't get any good pictures of them. As you may be able to tell, this one is blurry. Anyway, they were really fun. Another group that you could tell was really having fun performing. My favorite song they did was "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt." Definitely a crowd favorite and good for singing along to.

Next was MIA, who I love and I'd been wanting to see forever. No matter how much I listen to her music I don't ever really get sick of it. Her music just makes everyone want to dance. My friend Laura was even more excited than I was though, and the second that We Are Scientists was done she grabbed my arm with one hand and used her other arm to literally elbow her way through the crowd. She was like "any bitches get in my way, they're going down!" and one girl nearby kind of laughed and Laura just looked at her and said "you think I'm kidding?" and then proceeded to elbow past a few more people. We got pretty close. I'm glad she was with me because I wouldn't have been quite so aggressive about shoving up. We were in the equivalent of what would've been the 4th row (if you exclude the VIP section). It was pretty awesome. Although for a while I was stuck behind this annoying guy who kept his (fat) arms up the whole time (he kept trying to wave at her or something...) so it was a little hard for me to see and really hard for me to get decent pictures. But the music was good. The crowd was loving it. Even though there was hardly any space, everyone was dancing, at least as much as they could.

MIA is pretty adorable. Every now and then she would stop to talk about getting her Visa and what a bitch that was. Or to talk about how thirsty she was. "I've drank everything on this stage" she joked. At one point her wireless mic went out on her, so she grabbed a wired one, but then she kept walking to far and unplugging it accidentally so she stopped the show and was like "I can't be on a leash!" When she got a wireless mic back, she actually handed the wired mic to some random person in the audience. She's just awesome that way. She goes "now we can have a real conversation." Her backup singer/dancer was pretty cool too. One of my favorite moments was when some random girl somehow ran up on the stage and started dancing for only a brief moment before a security guard grabbed her and carried her off stage, but then MIA actually pulled a different random girl out of the VIP section and onto the stage with her. I think the guy in front of me was livid with jealousy. He was really obsessed. There was this beach ball she was playing with briefly on stage and then kicked it out to the audience and he tried to keep it because she touched it but his friend was like "um, everyone else will kill you." I definitely would've because it was obstructing my view even more than his arms that he never put down.

Last to perform on the Mainstage was The New York Dolls. When all the MIA-ers left, I suddenly was front and center so I decided to stick around, even though I'm not all that familiar with them (but they are kind of legendary, so I mean, why wouldn't I take the opportunity to see them front row for free). By this time though, everything was running late, so they didn't go on until almost 8pm and two of my really good friends were having a birthday party, so I actually didn't end up staying for that long. I stayed for the first maybe 15 minutes of their set. They were fun. The lead singer is kind of... too skinny. Yay drugs! But they still glam-rocked the night away. Gotta say, loved their outfits. My favorite was the guy in the pink. And they seemed like they were having a blast. Too bad only two of the original members are left. Although it has been 36 years and all... I'm pretty impressed that any of them are still performing with the amount of energy they had. I probably would've stayed longer if it weren't for these two really pushy people crushing me from either side. I just got a little claustrophobic and by that time I was exhausted and sore from standing all day, so I wasn't in the mood to deal with it. Getting back out was not fun either though... Yikes.

On my way out, I stopped by the Stillwell stage and caught a few minutes of Cursive, but I didn't have any energy left so I just stood at the back for like 10 minutes. Maybe it was because I was so tired and standing in the back (and couldn't really see because of it) with people who were just chilling out, but it was really hard for me to get into, so I decided to try to get ahead of the crowd and head to the subway.

The line up this year was so great. I'm really kind of sad that I couldn't see everyone. There were very few bands I wasn't interested in seeing. But I still had a very good day, and it's not every day you get to see 5 or so bands for free. Ok, hope everyone else who went had fun too! Tata dahlings.

While You Were Sleeping ~ Elvis Perkins (Ash Wednesday) - iTunes
Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt ~ We Are Scientists (With Love and Squalor) - iTunes
10 Dollar ~ MIA (Arular) - iTunes
Personality Crisis ~ New York Dolls (New York Dolls) - iTunes

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Until tomorrow

Siren Festival. Be there. I know I will.

No real post today because tomorrow will be a super post extravaganza of all the awesome free music at Siren Festival.

Seriously. Go.

Fire in the Taco Bell

Tonight (Thursday night, as it is now Friday) I went to see Electric Six play the Rocks Off concert cruise. While I overall enjoyed the night, there were definitely pluses and minuses. Let's go over them.

Plus: it was a cruise around Manhattan with breathtaking views
Minus: It cost a lot of money
Plus: it brought me closer to the Statue of Liberty than I had ever been
Minus: Drunk people, when I myself am not also inebriated, annoy me and being trapped on a boat with them got rather obnoxious at times.
Plus: Electric Six put on a great high-energy performance
Minus: the opening band was not so memorable (I don't remember their name, just that they were from Philly and they sounded like a million other bands I've heard).
Plus: I was very very close to the "stage"
Minus: There wasn't really a stage. They were level with us. I'm short. Therefore it was hard to see. Plus the ceiling was really low, so it wasn't like you could really see over the crowd either.
Plus: My friend Keith got to play the guitar player's guitar momentarily (and so did a few other people. I must admit I'm a tad bit jealous).
Minus: My ears literally hurt. I probably did lots of damage to my hearing as I was standing right in front of a speaker and didn't feel like being the only person in the place wearing ear plugs.
Plus: Great dance music
Minus: Moshers when there's no designated mosh pit who get too rowdy in such a small, confined space
Plus: Perfect weather (especially when it was supposed to rain)
Minus: Slutty drunk girl pole-dancing and obstructing my view of the band (I know you're training for your career as a stripper, but I mean, come on. I paid a lot of money to see the band).
Plus: they played a song from their upcoming album and it was highly enjoyable, which makes me look forward to said album being released
Minus: there was no lighting and with the way the stage was set up I couldn't take very good pictures (and I had to use flash... ew). Plus I don't think I ever got a picture of one of the band members because he was always on the opposite side of the stage.
Plus: The band kind of invited everyone in the audience to the after party to do coke with them (or as they referred to it: "nose candy"). It was a very hypothetical invitation, but it was a nice thought and it was funny how he went on and on about "nose candy."
Minus: This means they're big cokeheads, which is just so cliche.
Plus: They played my three favorite songs.

Ok, so in summary: Electric Six + cruise = great. Other concert goers + stage/audience space = annoying as hell. And now for some mediocre pictures (please remember: confined space, tall people in front of me, lack of light).

This is so you can get an idea how terrible the lighting was...

I loved that because we were on a boat half of them were wearing sailor hats...

This picture is probably the best. It's actually pretty good considering. And damn he is fine.

I was trying to get the poor keyboard player since he always ended up behind the guitar player in all the pictures...

The lead singer started out the concert by hugging random people at the front of the audience.

K, I got lazy and decided to stop captioning them. But you guys get the idea. All in all, fun was had and that is the important thing. I realize the pictures are really small but I think if you click on them, it will make them big in a new window or something.

And some samplings for you (my three favorites from their album Fire):

Danger! High Voltage! - iTunes
Improper Dancing - iTunes
Gay Bar - iTunes

Ok kids, I'm off to bed. Gotta get up early tomorrow and accomplish things. Tata dahlings.

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Do you remember that night? Cuz I don't...

Today I am posting about Cars Can Be Blue. A duo from the indie music factory of Athens, Georgia, the band consists of a guy on drums (Nate) and a girl on guitar (Becky). They both sing. I was introduced to their music by my friend Luke, who kind of just put all of his music on my iPod and said "listen to it or you suck." Their album, All the Stuff We Do, has 20 songs, most of them less than 2 minutes.

The brevity of their songs is a good thing. I'm not sure they would be tolerable if they were longer, but in their shortness they manage to maintain their amusing quality. To be honest, some of their songs are a little too nonsensical/ADD for my taste (like "Bike Shop" with the lyrics repeated: "let's break into the bike shop. do it now. diet coke. aaaaaahhhh." luckily the song is only 49 seconds long). And then some of their songs are just downright raunchy and hilarious (like "Abortion" or "She Needs It"). I just can't listen to them too much without getting a little disturbed.

I think the gems are actually the ones though that aren't so raunchy and are a little more sensical. I feel like it's so easy to be raunchy and make people laugh, but the more clever humor is in the songs that aren't raunchy. Like the song "Hey Hippie" (which having gone to art school for 5 years I can really appreciate, haha). Or the songs "You're so Cute" or "Perm Guy." I also like the 80's rap-spoof song "Do You Want It?" about a girl who ditches a guy on the dance floor. Then there are the songs that are just so weird I kind of have to like them, such as "The Pincher."

One of the songs "D in the P" (take a guess as to what that's about...) actually has Becky singing in a kind of operatic voice, and I must say she has some great vocal potential. I don't really like the nasally voice she yells/sings in for most of the album - it sounds just like a lot of other similar indie female singers (ie Le Tigre). but when she's singing all mockingly operatically, I can hear that she actually has a pretty voice.

One thing I do like about the album is that they kind of spoof a few different genres, and as you may already have figured out, I like albums where the songs sound different. Anyway, I guess that is all I will post for today. Tata dahlings.

Hey Hippie - iTunes
You're So Cute - iTunes
Do You Want It? - iTunes
Abortion - iTunes
The Pincher - iTunes

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Brain freeze

So, I'm sitting here at work, and I can't think of a single song or artist I want to write about. I don't know what's wrong with me today. I guess, instead, I will write about film for this post - since that is my career goal and all.

So most of the movies I've seen this summer have been at the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival. It's fun. The first week I went was terrible because we were way too far back and couldn't hear anything and it was so crowded. The movie was Annie Hall. I'm sure it's a great movie but I couldn't hear a word of what was going on, so basically, I still haven't seen it. Since then though, I've been going with a group that gets there early enough for us to actually hear the movie, and so far I've been very impressed with the movies they've played.

The second time I went, the movie was Paper Moon. It is so badass. It was made in 1973 and Tatum O'Neal won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the age of 10, making her the youngest person ever to win an Oscar in a competitive category (Shirley Temple got an honorary Oscar at the age of 6). Personally I don't really understand why it was a supporting actress award because she was basically the main character, along with the guy in it (played by her father). Maybe just because she was so young. But she made that movie. The movie is about this orphaned girl during the depression who is supposed to go to Missouri to live with her aunt, but the guy who is supposed to bring her is a con-artist (and possibly her father, though he never admits to it in the film) and she blackmails him and then ends up working with him to con people and even being a better con artist than him. She was just like this crazy cool 9-year-old. Although it did terrify me that she smoked in the movie. But she was just so in control of every situation and didn't listen to any adults, and yet she had a kind heart and wanted to help people less fortunate than her too. Coolest 9-year-old around. I totally understand why she won an Oscar for that role. I definitely recommend this film.

Next came Wait Until Dark, starring Audrey Hepburn who plays another badass female character - ans awesome blind lady who is being terrorized by three con artists but figures them out and takes them down singlehandedly. While some parts at the beginning of it dragged or were hard to follow, the end just gets more and more intense. My favorite part... or well, I'm not going to reveal my favorite part, but let's just say that everyone in the entire park screamed. It was pretty funny actually (the scream, not the movie). Overall, the movie was pleasantly intricate - everyone is plotting against everyone, and after the beginning it stops being so hard to follow.




This past week was To Sir, With Love, starring Sidney Poitier. His character is pretty badass too, come to think of it. He plays a (black) teacher who starts his first teaching job at a school full of ghetto kids in the UK. He pretty much just whips them into shape, when no other teacher can. As racially forward-thinking as the movie is though, it was certainly not very forward-thinking when it came to women. I mean, I know it was made in 1967, but I thought feminism had made more strides by then. The movie implied on many occasions (or even basically outright stated) that all women can think about is guys and getting married. And it was all "let's teach you how to cook - even you men, because you won't necessarily always have a woman to cook for you." Huh? Overall an enjoyable movie, but I mean, come on. We women have more on our mind than men and finding a suitable husband.



Last night I saw (not at the Bryant Park Film Festival) Say Anything, starring a very young John Cusack. Yay for classic '80s teen flicks. It was lovely and romantic and cheesy as all hell, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Or well, except for the scene where Lili Taylor and her ex boyfriend meet by the fridge. That whole conversation just seemed so unnatural to me. And the girl who played Diane Court had a slight lisp, which bugged the hell out of me. If you're going to be an actor, you have to get rid of any speech impediments. I'm sorry, but it's true. Speaking as a hopeful future director, you are limiting yourself by not fixing it. It's not like it's something that requires surgery or anything, just practice. Anyway though, the movie was cute. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And then, like all good romantic comedies, it made me depressed because I don't have someone who would follow me to England. Haha.

Ok, that's all for now. Sorry for the lack of music. My mind is just not really working so well today. I promise there will be music tomorrow. Tata dahlings.

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Let them eat cake

Last night I went to see Anni Rossi at the Cake Shop. Anni Rossi went to my high school. I didn't know her or anything. We didn't have classes together and we never spoke, but I had seen her perform at the music concerts (I went to an arts high school) and thought she was very talented. I also really liked her because I hated the Arts High School and she wrote a song called "Arts High" making fun of the school (although she probably meant it in a loving way, whereas I did not). Anyway, so I happened to notice that she was playing at Cake Shop, so I thought I would go.

We didn't see the first band (we were eating delicious - but expensive - vegan "death by chocolate" cake). But we did catch the second band, The Mad Gregs. I actually didn't think I would like them based on what I had listened to on their MySpace (I fell asleep listening to it before the show, which doesn't make it bad but I didn't think it would make the best concert-going experience). However, I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed them. Their music, while very calm, still kept my interest. They played all sorts of different kinds of instruments - synthesizers, bass clarinet, glockenspiels, their laptops, and they even used the cords to the amp to make music, among other things. It was really neat. And the guys were so adorable and sweet and awkward. I wanted to hug every single one of them. One of them at one point was like "awkward is the theme of the night" because everyone thought they were done but they weren't.

Awkward definitely was the theme of the night too, as I knew Anni Rossi wouldn't remember me (she had no reason to. I wasn't in music and we never had any classes together) but my mean and cruel friends made me (there was lots of pushing, dragging and threatening involved) go talk to her about the arts high school. It was so awkward. No, make that mortifying. I wanted to die. She didn't remember me. I didn't expect her to. It would've been fine if I just went up and bought the CDs and told her great show. She never would've known who I was. But no. My friends just had to make me embarass myself.

But so back to the music. So then Anni Rossi went up. It was just her and her viola. She's definitely gotten better since high school, though her style is still very similar. Considering that a large portion of the show was just her and her viola, I was quite impressed at how full her songs sounded and how engaging she was. Plus, having played the violin myself, I know it is not necessarily easy to sing and play an instrument that is supposed to be held under your chin. But she makes it look quite effortless. I wish there had been a piano there because she's an amazing pianist too, and it would've been nice to see her show off all of her skills. And it was definitely much more engaging when The Mad Gregs came up and played with her for her last few songs. She's much more impressive with a band behind her. If you like Regina Spektor, you'll like Anni Rossi. Unfortunately for Anni Rossi, this means she will probably be compared to Regina Spektor all her life, as she has a very similar sound (not to say that Anni is influenced by Regina or not. I suspect when she first started writing music, she hadn't been since Regina Spektor wasn't really on the radar 6 years ago, which means she came up with that style all on her own.)

Lastly was Boo & Boo Too, who (the opposite of The Mad Gregs) I expected to like but didn't. The music on their myspace kind of reminded me of Electric Six (who I'm seeing in concert, on a cruise, on Thursday! yay!) and so I expected them to be really interesting performers. They weren't really. Before they started playing, they turned everything up about as loud as it would go for no real reason since we were in such a small venue. Luckily they provided ear plugs. But this further made me expect a really high energy, interesting performance. I must say I was disappointed. Besides a lot of flailing and twitching by the guitar players (which was only interesting for a few minutes), they basically lacked energy. The one flailing about the most wasn't even on the stage (there wouldn't have been room for him to flail) and had his back toward the audience basically the entire time. And at least one of them (if not all of them) was totally wasted and kept falling off the stage (the stage was only like 4 inches off the ground, but still). Plus I hate people who act like rock stars when they're not and the wasted guitar player at one point knocked the microphone stand over for no reason really aggressively, which is just disrespectful to expensive equipment. If you can't afford to replace it, that means you don't have enough credibility/reason to throw it on the ground. Sorry guys.

Overall, last night was a positive experience. I also watched a few episodes of Flight of the Conchords with one of my mean and cruel friends (I don't have cable so it was my first time seeing the show). I highly recommend it. The great thing about it is how they are just so deadpan. Plus it's kind of a musical and it takes place in NY, which immediately gives it bonus points in my book. The musical sequences are hilarious. And Jermaine looks just like this Czech guy who worked with my study abroad program in Prague. It's kinda weird actually.

Ok, sorry these songs took me so long to put up. I actually had to work at work today... imagine that ;-) And I haven't even really had much of a chance to listen to her CDs, so I will post some old songs from the arts high school too. I think she is one of those artists that I like live better...

First is Ecology, though I like the version on her myspace better (odd that the best one isn't on her CD...). Next we have Venice. I really like this one. I feel like she may have done it in high school, or something similar because it sounds so familiar to me. I wish the song was mixed better. Her voice is so quiet and distant-sounding.

Now I'm going to post some of the live recordings of songs she performed at the Arts High School so you can hear how awesome she is at the piano: Arts High, Unwrinkled T-shirt, and Sleepy Head. I don't actually know if that's what the titles were, but that's what I call them. I just have these CDs from our concerts with no labels of any kind... And sorry to the guy on Unwrinkled T-shirt because I have no idea who it is. Unwrinkled T-shirt is probably my favorite. Sleepy Head was a good example of some of the more experimental music she did (and believe me it got way more experimental than that). And actually, maybe I'll post Public Transportation too. I'm pretty sure that is the correct title of that one. She performed that one a lot and it was an Arts High fave.

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A Little Nostalgia

I'm feeling a little nostalgic today, so I am going to post about one of my old favorite bands, Remy Zero. Sadly, Remy Zero broke up in 2003, just as they were finally starting to receive some notice (for the most part they were at this weird in-between phase where they were not indie so they weren't in with that crowd but they weren't mainstream either so no one seemed to know about them). Strange how it happens like that. I just got an email from them one day saying, "Remy Zero has been put to rest." It was a sad day. The letter is still on their old website if you'd like to read it, even though they broke up like 4 or 5 years ago. Apparently they were toying with the idea of reuniting in 2006 but didn't. Sadness.

I first discovered Remy Zero about 6 years ago when their song "Perfect Memory" from their last album, The Golden Hum, was on a tv show I was watching. The song made me cry really hard, which is a rare achievement for a song, so I decided I had to find out who these guys were. The more stuff of theirs I listened to, the more I loved them. Every song of theirs was just beautiful. "Perfect Memory" isn't the only song that has made me cry by them. My favorite song of theirs became "Prophecy," from their album Villa Elaine. But really, I liked almost every song I heard. Their music has a very cinematic feel so I used a lot of it for soundtracks to my student films in high school. My freshman year of college I actually did a narrative photography project for my photography class based on their song "Hollow" (from The Golden Hum) and set it to the song.

I'm not the only one who realized the great cinematic potential to their songs, as their song "Fair" (from Villa Elaine) made it onto the infamous Garden State Soundtrack. Unfortunately, that was after they broke up... They would be huge today if they had still been together when that happened. Everyone else on that soundtrack is. In fact, Zach Braff must really like them because he also used the song "Prophecy" in The Last Kiss. Their song "Save Me" was also the theme to the terrible WB superman show Smallville.

So what are they up to now? Shelby and Cinjun Tate (brothers and the original leaders of the band I would dare to say), have formed Excavation Records, on which their new band Spartan Fidelity seems to be the only artist, and are making music much like Remy Zero's music. From what I can tell frome their website, their musical style is very similar but the songs up on their site are more boring. Maybe it's just because they were all so slow, so it's hard for me to get a good idea. But Remy Zero had much more variety in the pacing of their music. I did kind of like the song "Another Sad Face" though from their website.

Gregory Slay, former Remy Zero drummer, is now working on Sleepwell Music. I don't actually know what his role in it is and I can't really figure it out from the site. Their website kinda freaks me out to be honest. It's annoyingly difficult to navigate and it takes to long to load. The music was ok, but the quality of the recordings wasn't so great.

Cedric Lemoyne, former bass player and possibly my favorite member, doesn't appear to be doing anything post-RZ. That's too bad. Or well, it looks like he, Jeffrey Cain, and Gregory Slay may have joined the blues band U-Ka...? At least for the album Bermagui? Gregory Slay seems to be a permanent member of U-Ka, but it looks like Cedric and Jeffrey mainly just joined them for the album. Jeffrey Cain has been a busy one. He has a solo album that was released in May, as well as his project Isidore - a collaboration between him and the guitar player of The Church - which reminds me a lot of a local Minneapolis band I used to really like, the Honeydogs.

As sad as I am that they are no longer together, on the positive side, I did get to meet them once. When I was a sophomore in high school they did a free live performance and autograph signing at The Electric Fetus record store in Minneapolis (where I grew up). They were so nice. They let me have a poster for free and they all signed it for me. My friend Sarah had them sign her ass. Not my proudest moment... But it was a really fun experience. We were like 5 feet away from them during the performance and even in that small, crowded record store they put on a really good show. I miss them. I want them to get back together. Maybe someday. Tata dahlings.

Prophecy, by Remy Zero (Villa Elaine) - iTunes
Hollow, by Remy Zero (Villa Elaine) - iTunes
Perfect Memory, by Remy Zero (The Golden Hum) - iTunes
Another Sad Face, by Spartan Fidelity (Excava-11) - iTunes unavaible

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