"I catch the breeze, the smell of eucalyptus trees." - J Church.
Tune in tomorrow night for my slot on Radio TeapotHill at 9PM. Two hours of the American Good Rock.
The Thanksgiving holiday was quite pleasant and relaxing. A lot of it was spent in the car listening to great CDs the Webnoize chaps had brought my way, including Iggy and the Stooges' "Raw Power", the New York Dolls' self-titled effort and The Feelies' "Only Life". The list goes on and on. A lot of records, I am saying.
Apparently Morrissey is covering an awesome PIL song on the flipside of his next single. Unfortunately, there is no way this can be good. "The Public Image" is an awesome song, but there is just nothing Morrissey could do it but destroy it with is frumpery. On a related note, I saw him on Letterman recently and was utterly uninspired. The guy is just plain dull live. Was he ever interesting to watch when with The Smiths? Is there Smiths live concert footage out there somewhere. Anyway, here is ILM's discussion of the PIL cover.
NY Observer describes the Pitchfork effect, and includes some interesting information worth reading about how the site conducts its business and its history.
Oops. Apparently C-Span ran a segment on how racy some of the video games out there have gotten. And apparently, they accidentally showed some boobs on the television.
Big Ticket has links to numerous trailers for The Life Aquatic with Stephen Zissou, which I am looking forward to seeing very much.
Chromewaves reports that the Merge Dinosaur Jr. reissues coming next March 22 appear to be disappointingly augmented. That bites.
EmptyFree has a fairly interesting bit about Japanese surf rock of the early to mid '60s.
Clicky-Clicky UPDATE:
A chap named John at Insound.com finally got back to me regarding the Lilys reissues I was hyped about a few weeks ago. According to John, "that item has not been re-released yet, the release date has been changed and is TBA." All of which I take to mean the whole thing was just a minor mistake of some sort, and the reissues are just vaporware resulting from some intern entering the information incorrectly or something. Hopefully I am wrong, but John's response did not inspire confidence.
Regarding the Nirvana MP3 that was in the last post, and the Nirvana box set. The New York Times reviews the set. Another article I read about music retail indicates that Target is the best place to buy it, as it is selling it $10 below retailer list price.
That is all.
November 21, 2004
"OK, throw me in the river, OK, OK." - Wendyfix.
Lopez and I will be jaunting around various small towns and state capitols (okay, just Harrisburg) for the Thanksgiving holidays. In my absence I leave you with a couple MP3s to tide you over until we get back.
Wendy Fix, the story goes, was an Illinois state high school women's tennis champion sometime in the early '90s. Wendyfix the indie rock trio was christened thusly by My Pal God Records' Jon Solomon, who presumably read about Ms. Fix in a local newspaper while schooling at Northwestern with Haywood's Ted Pauly when Ted started his "college band." Solomon played in an early iteration of the band, and also named Haywood; I guess he's the guy to go to if you need a band name. Anyhoo, Wendyfix the band went on to issue a single seven inch as the debut release of Spade Kitty Records, also based in Chicago. For more on the history of all that, check out this . Happily, Wendyfix recorded quite a few songs during its existence. Sadly, only a few of them saw release. Besides Spade Kitty 001, which featured Pauly's "Slow" on the A side and Brian McGrath's "Silence" on the B side, Wendyfix also had a cut on the solid WPRB radio comp "Dog So Large I Cannot See Past It" called "Knife's Throw" (not their best work). It appears clips of that song and many others are available as .wav files here. Anyhoo, "Slow" is one of my favorites, so check it out. You can also see a video for their song "Pillowhead" here.
I am excited for the forthcoming Nirvana box set. One of the cuts that it includes, "Even In His Youth," was originally released on the flip side of the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single and subsequently on the Hormoaning Australian tour support EP. I taped it off Villanova University's WXVU while I was in high school and just discovering the wonders of college radio. Through the magic of the internet you can hear it yourself before the box set drops on Tuesday by checking this out. Lampshade used to cover this number back in the day.
That is all.
Lopez and I will be jaunting around various small towns and state capitols (okay, just Harrisburg) for the Thanksgiving holidays. In my absence I leave you with a couple MP3s to tide you over until we get back.
Wendy Fix, the story goes, was an Illinois state high school women's tennis champion sometime in the early '90s. Wendyfix the indie rock trio was christened thusly by My Pal God Records' Jon Solomon, who presumably read about Ms. Fix in a local newspaper while schooling at Northwestern with Haywood's Ted Pauly when Ted started his "college band." Solomon played in an early iteration of the band, and also named Haywood; I guess he's the guy to go to if you need a band name. Anyhoo, Wendyfix the band went on to issue a single seven inch as the debut release of Spade Kitty Records, also based in Chicago. For more on the history of all that, check out this . Happily, Wendyfix recorded quite a few songs during its existence. Sadly, only a few of them saw release. Besides Spade Kitty 001, which featured Pauly's "Slow" on the A side and Brian McGrath's "Silence" on the B side, Wendyfix also had a cut on the solid WPRB radio comp "Dog So Large I Cannot See Past It" called "Knife's Throw" (not their best work). It appears clips of that song and many others are available as .wav files here. Anyhoo, "Slow" is one of my favorites, so check it out. You can also see a video for their song "Pillowhead" here.
I am excited for the forthcoming Nirvana box set. One of the cuts that it includes, "Even In His Youth," was originally released on the flip side of the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single and subsequently on the Hormoaning Australian tour support EP. I taped it off Villanova University's WXVU while I was in high school and just discovering the wonders of college radio. Through the magic of the internet you can hear it yourself before the box set drops on Tuesday by checking this out. Lampshade used to cover this number back in the day.
That is all.
November 18, 2004
"It's just a small part of a bigger waste of time." - New Radiant Storm King.
Stars now have a video on their website for their song "Ageless Beauty." The song is awesome. The video is a bit WB, but the shots of the band playing and rocking out with all the quick cuts is pretty exciting to watch. And the singer, Emily Haines, performs with a black X over her heart, which is pretty cool (and reminds me of a certain Torgo t-shirt design). Anyway, it worth looking at. These guys are going to be huge. I suspect they will be making an appearance in The OC in the next 12 months. Stars' label's web site is in flash, so I can't direct link to the video, but go here, click on "navigation," go to "album," and click the little icon next to the song title. While you are at the Arts + Crafts site, check out the great video for Broken Social Scene's "Cause = Time."
Infinity Broadcasting plans to cut ties with independent radio promoters. I don't suspect this was an altruistic move to improve the pathetic state of commercial radio currently. Hopefully someone goes to jail for turning radio into a bucket of sputum. Apparently Clear Channel and Cox had already done this. Gotta love that Elliot Spitzer for putting the fear of God, well, poverty, into people.
Wilco played a set on KCRW yesterday, and it is archived here. Check it out. The Wagster says it sounds pretty great.
In other good news, believe it or not The Good Doctor is back in the MP3 blogging game. Check out the cool Yo La Tengo he has up right now.
Finally, the guy who put on the Vermonstress Sub Pop Festival in 1992 also, apparently, put on a series of festivals called Burlingtonitus. There is a bunch of information about it here, as well as MP3s from the different years. Notable acts include Huffy, fronted by one Tim Lauben, who went on to front erstwhile post-Haywood rockers The Red and The Black.
That is all.
Stars now have a video on their website for their song "Ageless Beauty." The song is awesome. The video is a bit WB, but the shots of the band playing and rocking out with all the quick cuts is pretty exciting to watch. And the singer, Emily Haines, performs with a black X over her heart, which is pretty cool (and reminds me of a certain Torgo t-shirt design). Anyway, it worth looking at. These guys are going to be huge. I suspect they will be making an appearance in The OC in the next 12 months. Stars' label's web site is in flash, so I can't direct link to the video, but go here, click on "navigation," go to "album," and click the little icon next to the song title. While you are at the Arts + Crafts site, check out the great video for Broken Social Scene's "Cause = Time."
Infinity Broadcasting plans to cut ties with independent radio promoters. I don't suspect this was an altruistic move to improve the pathetic state of commercial radio currently. Hopefully someone goes to jail for turning radio into a bucket of sputum. Apparently Clear Channel and Cox had already done this. Gotta love that Elliot Spitzer for putting the fear of God, well, poverty, into people.
Wilco played a set on KCRW yesterday, and it is archived here. Check it out. The Wagster says it sounds pretty great.
In other good news, believe it or not The Good Doctor is back in the MP3 blogging game. Check out the cool Yo La Tengo he has up right now.
Finally, the guy who put on the Vermonstress Sub Pop Festival in 1992 also, apparently, put on a series of festivals called Burlingtonitus. There is a bunch of information about it here, as well as MP3s from the different years. Notable acts include Huffy, fronted by one Tim Lauben, who went on to front erstwhile post-Haywood rockers The Red and The Black.
That is all.
"I've been here days, won't be here for a long time." - Treepeople.
So I just finished Azzerad's Nirvana bio "Come As You Are," which I enjoyed a fair amount. I will say that the thing is woefully edited. There are regular instances throughout the book where Azzerad uses the exact same sentence on the same page, with the same images and metaphors and whatnot. Having written for a living I know that this is bad editing. As a writer you get jazzed with your own work and try to move stuff around on the page to build a strand of logic. Sometimes, you end up repeating yourself. In a perfect world your publisher pays someone to read your copy and to ensure you don't do dumb shit like this (OK, in a perfect world you don't write crap). Apparently Azzerad's editor/s were mentally out to lunch some of the time.
I was tooling around EMusic yesterday when I caught sight of C/Z Records, a label I had completely forgotten about. Anyway, C/Z put out a lot of great records, including Silkworm's In The West. But more importantly, C/Z put out records by Treepeople, the indie rock act Doug Martsch was in before Built To Spill. Treepeople rock. Imagine Built To Spill but crossed with the most agressive Archers of Loaf stuff. Incidentally, there is an awesome double split seven inch of Treepeople and Archers covering eachother's songs. But that is besides the point. The point is, if you like Built to Spill, you should dig up Treepeople records like this one.. The end.
Hey, check this out. H-Dawg from Accounts Receiveable and his cohort D-Money created a website for a photographer, Sven Martson.The site is really modern and clean, and the pictures are pretty good too. Poke around for the shot of the junior high field hockey goalie. If there is a better representation of pre-teen pathos on the web, I challenge you to find it.
Okay, here's the playlist from last night:
1. Ad Council - WESU PSA "Ridiculous."
2. Ride - "Eight Miles High."
3. XTC - "Radios In Motion (White Music Version)."
4. Broken Social Scene - "Alive in '85."
5. The Low Numbers - "Entertain Good Taste."
6. Treepeople - "Liquid Boy."
7. Flop - "I Told A Lie."
8. Roland Kirk - "Why Don't They Know?"
9. Barry Black - "Boo Barry Blip."
10. Brad Mehldau - "Wave/Every Mother's Son."
11. Soltero - "The Moment You Said Yes."
12. The Halo Bit - "W. Sarah."
13. Bright Eyes - "I Woke Up With This Song In My Head."
14. Death Cab For Cutie - "Lowell, MA."
15. Interpol - "Song Seven."
16. Pink Floyd - "Point Me At The Sky."
17. Royal City - "My Brother Is The Meatman."
18. The Conet Project - "The Lincolnshire Slasher."
19. Jbreitling - "Fink (Outro)."
20. Nine Inch Nails - "Sin."
21. Deadbeat vs. Stephen Beaupre - "Ample Slacks."
22. Scott Johnson - "John Somebody, pt. 1."
23. Palace Brothers - "Brute Choir."
24. Pedro The Lion - "The Longest Winter."
25. Sunny Day Real Estate - "How It Feels To Be Something On."
26. Ted Pauly - "Your Bag."
27. Wilco - "Jesus, Etc (Live)."
28. The Beatles - "Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1)."
29. Modest Mouse - "The World At Large."
30. Dizzy Gillespie - "Kush."
That is all.
So I just finished Azzerad's Nirvana bio "Come As You Are," which I enjoyed a fair amount. I will say that the thing is woefully edited. There are regular instances throughout the book where Azzerad uses the exact same sentence on the same page, with the same images and metaphors and whatnot. Having written for a living I know that this is bad editing. As a writer you get jazzed with your own work and try to move stuff around on the page to build a strand of logic. Sometimes, you end up repeating yourself. In a perfect world your publisher pays someone to read your copy and to ensure you don't do dumb shit like this (OK, in a perfect world you don't write crap). Apparently Azzerad's editor/s were mentally out to lunch some of the time.
I was tooling around EMusic yesterday when I caught sight of C/Z Records, a label I had completely forgotten about. Anyway, C/Z put out a lot of great records, including Silkworm's In The West. But more importantly, C/Z put out records by Treepeople, the indie rock act Doug Martsch was in before Built To Spill. Treepeople rock. Imagine Built To Spill but crossed with the most agressive Archers of Loaf stuff. Incidentally, there is an awesome double split seven inch of Treepeople and Archers covering eachother's songs. But that is besides the point. The point is, if you like Built to Spill, you should dig up Treepeople records like this one.. The end.
Hey, check this out. H-Dawg from Accounts Receiveable and his cohort D-Money created a website for a photographer, Sven Martson.The site is really modern and clean, and the pictures are pretty good too. Poke around for the shot of the junior high field hockey goalie. If there is a better representation of pre-teen pathos on the web, I challenge you to find it.
Okay, here's the playlist from last night:
1. Ad Council - WESU PSA "Ridiculous."
2. Ride - "Eight Miles High."
3. XTC - "Radios In Motion (White Music Version)."
4. Broken Social Scene - "Alive in '85."
5. The Low Numbers - "Entertain Good Taste."
6. Treepeople - "Liquid Boy."
7. Flop - "I Told A Lie."
8. Roland Kirk - "Why Don't They Know?"
9. Barry Black - "Boo Barry Blip."
10. Brad Mehldau - "Wave/Every Mother's Son."
11. Soltero - "The Moment You Said Yes."
12. The Halo Bit - "W. Sarah."
13. Bright Eyes - "I Woke Up With This Song In My Head."
14. Death Cab For Cutie - "Lowell, MA."
15. Interpol - "Song Seven."
16. Pink Floyd - "Point Me At The Sky."
17. Royal City - "My Brother Is The Meatman."
18. The Conet Project - "The Lincolnshire Slasher."
19. Jbreitling - "Fink (Outro)."
20. Nine Inch Nails - "Sin."
21. Deadbeat vs. Stephen Beaupre - "Ample Slacks."
22. Scott Johnson - "John Somebody, pt. 1."
23. Palace Brothers - "Brute Choir."
24. Pedro The Lion - "The Longest Winter."
25. Sunny Day Real Estate - "How It Feels To Be Something On."
26. Ted Pauly - "Your Bag."
27. Wilco - "Jesus, Etc (Live)."
28. The Beatles - "Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 1)."
29. Modest Mouse - "The World At Large."
30. Dizzy Gillespie - "Kush."
That is all.
November 15, 2004
"Everything rests upon me, as pearls are strung on a thread." - Kam Fong.
Indeed, it appears I'll be able to do my webcast tomorrow evening, Tuesday the 16th. Log on to http://radio.teapothill.org at 9PM for two hours of this and that. You'll likely hear some Conet Project stuff, as well as this awesome Byrds cover by Ride, among the other rock and or roll we typically aim to provide.
That is all.
Indeed, it appears I'll be able to do my webcast tomorrow evening, Tuesday the 16th. Log on to http://radio.teapothill.org at 9PM for two hours of this and that. You'll likely hear some Conet Project stuff, as well as this awesome Byrds cover by Ride, among the other rock and or roll we typically aim to provide.
That is all.
November 14, 2004
"Don't tell me you've gone astray, I walk in circles." - Sunny Day Real Estate
Here's something mildly interesting: The Good Doctor, a notoriously slack MP3 blogger himself, wrote a bit for Ice Magazine about MP3 blogs and quoted me. It is online here -- scroll down.
My Tuesday night webcast on Radio TeapotHill will not occur the week of Thanksgiving, and may not happen this coming week either because of a business trip. I will know my status this week by the end of the day Monday and will post an update here to let you know if I will be on. Check back.
Someone is asking $100 for a copy of The Cure's The Top on Half.com. C'mon. The record may be out of print, and it may be on my list of things I am looking for used. But it ain't worth $100.
Finally, a couple things that KoomDogg referenced on his blozznog that you all should know about. Khaaaaan. Brian's Radio Blog.
That is all.
Here's something mildly interesting: The Good Doctor, a notoriously slack MP3 blogger himself, wrote a bit for Ice Magazine about MP3 blogs and quoted me. It is online here -- scroll down.
My Tuesday night webcast on Radio TeapotHill will not occur the week of Thanksgiving, and may not happen this coming week either because of a business trip. I will know my status this week by the end of the day Monday and will post an update here to let you know if I will be on. Check back.
Someone is asking $100 for a copy of The Cure's The Top on Half.com. C'mon. The record may be out of print, and it may be on my list of things I am looking for used. But it ain't worth $100.
Finally, a couple things that KoomDogg referenced on his blozznog that you all should know about. Khaaaaan. Brian's Radio Blog.
That is all.
"Ray of light, a petal in my room..." - Royal City.
Big Ticket reposts [scroll down] some of Ted Leo's blog describing his reaction to being psychically kicked in the balls by death and election. Now Ted is pissed. He comes to town 12/9, perhaps I will finally see him.
As a now openly gay performer, Bob Mould understandably has bad feelings about the outcome of the elections this month. Check it out.
Chromewaves notes that expanded versions of R.E.M.'s Warner-era recordings are hitting the racks on January 25th. While a strong point is made that this is just plain silly, Chromewaves fails to hit the heart of the matter, which is, why doesn't IRS do expanded reissues of its R.E.M. catalog, the arguably better portion of the band's work? I like Automatic for the People as much as the next guy, but there has to be some good old rarities out there besides what was on Dead Letter Office and Eponymous. Who among us wouldn't be a better person by owning an expanded and annotated version of the amazing Chronic Town EP?
Yesterday I was obsessed with Sunny Day Real Estate's How It Feels To Be Something On. I played this record to death right when it came out, but was disappointed that the guitars weren't bigger and brassier, that the production wasn't more aggressive on the whole. So at some point in 1999 I just put this record down, hoping that the band would come back around to the edge it had for it's spectacular Diary release. There was even a difference in their live performance: I saw SDRE open for Velocity Girl at the Troc in 93 or 94 and they were spastic and powerful, impressive considering Enigk was around 18 at the time, having written what was basically his masterpiece at 17. Anyway, years later with the release of the record in question I took Lopez to the Troc to see the band headline a show. They were pretty great, but a tad subdued. Fast-forward four or five years and here I am thinking, damn, this is good. So there.
Okeydokey, here's last night's Radio TeapotHill playlist:
1. Ad Council - WESU PSA "Ridiculous."
2. Kam Fong - 16 and 21 (Mono)
3. Lefty's Deceiver - Cheats
4. Nirvana - Swap Meet
5. Latimer - Start With Me
6. Blonde Redhead - I Still Get Rocks Off
7. Swirlies - San Cristobal De Las Casas
8. The Clash - Career Opportunities
9. Royal City - Is This It?
10. Whorl - Maybe It's Better
11. Lilys - The Hermit Crab
12. Mazarin - I Should Be Sleeping
13. Say Hi To Your Mom - Let's Talk About Spaceships
14. New Order - Leave Me Alone
15. B. Fleischmann and Ms. John Soda - Here She Comes
16. Charlene - Ripoff
17. Yo La Tengo - Shadows
18. The Cure - The Walk (Live 1984)
19. Radiohead - Where I End and You Begin
20. Lali Puna - Faking The Books
21. Petula Clark - Downtown
22. John Brion - Knock Yourself Out
23. Stars - Ageless Beauty
24. Dinosaur Jr. - They Always Come
25. Superchunk - On The Mouth
26. The Lemonheads - Circle Of One
27. Garden Party - Windows
28. Home - Sundays
29. Zeke Fiddler - Half-Baked
30. The Sea and Cake - Jacking The Ball
31. Destroyer - Self Portrait With Thing
32. The Grifters - Just Passing Out
33. Mount Eerie - Wooly Mammoth's Absence
That is all.
Big Ticket reposts [scroll down] some of Ted Leo's blog describing his reaction to being psychically kicked in the balls by death and election. Now Ted is pissed. He comes to town 12/9, perhaps I will finally see him.
As a now openly gay performer, Bob Mould understandably has bad feelings about the outcome of the elections this month. Check it out.
Chromewaves notes that expanded versions of R.E.M.'s Warner-era recordings are hitting the racks on January 25th. While a strong point is made that this is just plain silly, Chromewaves fails to hit the heart of the matter, which is, why doesn't IRS do expanded reissues of its R.E.M. catalog, the arguably better portion of the band's work? I like Automatic for the People as much as the next guy, but there has to be some good old rarities out there besides what was on Dead Letter Office and Eponymous. Who among us wouldn't be a better person by owning an expanded and annotated version of the amazing Chronic Town EP?
Yesterday I was obsessed with Sunny Day Real Estate's How It Feels To Be Something On. I played this record to death right when it came out, but was disappointed that the guitars weren't bigger and brassier, that the production wasn't more aggressive on the whole. So at some point in 1999 I just put this record down, hoping that the band would come back around to the edge it had for it's spectacular Diary release. There was even a difference in their live performance: I saw SDRE open for Velocity Girl at the Troc in 93 or 94 and they were spastic and powerful, impressive considering Enigk was around 18 at the time, having written what was basically his masterpiece at 17. Anyway, years later with the release of the record in question I took Lopez to the Troc to see the band headline a show. They were pretty great, but a tad subdued. Fast-forward four or five years and here I am thinking, damn, this is good. So there.
Okeydokey, here's last night's Radio TeapotHill playlist:
1. Ad Council - WESU PSA "Ridiculous."
2. Kam Fong - 16 and 21 (Mono)
3. Lefty's Deceiver - Cheats
4. Nirvana - Swap Meet
5. Latimer - Start With Me
6. Blonde Redhead - I Still Get Rocks Off
7. Swirlies - San Cristobal De Las Casas
8. The Clash - Career Opportunities
9. Royal City - Is This It?
10. Whorl - Maybe It's Better
11. Lilys - The Hermit Crab
12. Mazarin - I Should Be Sleeping
13. Say Hi To Your Mom - Let's Talk About Spaceships
14. New Order - Leave Me Alone
15. B. Fleischmann and Ms. John Soda - Here She Comes
16. Charlene - Ripoff
17. Yo La Tengo - Shadows
18. The Cure - The Walk (Live 1984)
19. Radiohead - Where I End and You Begin
20. Lali Puna - Faking The Books
21. Petula Clark - Downtown
22. John Brion - Knock Yourself Out
23. Stars - Ageless Beauty
24. Dinosaur Jr. - They Always Come
25. Superchunk - On The Mouth
26. The Lemonheads - Circle Of One
27. Garden Party - Windows
28. Home - Sundays
29. Zeke Fiddler - Half-Baked
30. The Sea and Cake - Jacking The Ball
31. Destroyer - Self Portrait With Thing
32. The Grifters - Just Passing Out
33. Mount Eerie - Wooly Mammoth's Absence
That is all.
November 9, 2004
"All these cheats have defeated me." -Lefty's Deceiver
I transferred to Wesleyan in 1994 because I realized I had sort of flubbed the whole college-picking process, thinking that going to college was good enough and that once I got there there would be plenty of people and a lot of them would have the same interests and values as me. Two years at Bucknell, where few were interested in liberal causes or indie rock, proved me wrong. Frankly, I probably got in to Wes because my then-girlfriend had a good friend in the admissions office. Not that I had bad marks at Bucknell; in fact, I made Dean's List in my final semester. I just think that my SAT scores and high school GPA probably skewed lower than the average at Wes.
Anyway, the point of all this is that when I got to Wes I was able to do the things I liked with people who were cool, and the place where almost all of this transpired was at the radio station WESU. To me, WESU was what college was, the good parts anyway. When I think of the parts of college that I like, I think of WESU. Anyhow, I was alerted this morning to the fact that the president of Wes is considering whoring out 50% of the University's broadcast time for a piddling $50K from NPR, who would use the airwaves to run redundant broadcasts of their flagship programming. Here are three vantage points on the issue. First. Second. Third.
Anyway, I am very pissed. And am working up a scathing letter to the Administration. Enough about that.
Of Note: Trosko has a memo for pizza companies regarding the cheese issue. TimesNewRoman has a caution regarding W's tax liability for his new political capital. One-time Small Hours showmates Turing Machine return with what sounds like a brutal ass-kicking of a record.
That is all. Tonight's playlist up tomorrow.
I transferred to Wesleyan in 1994 because I realized I had sort of flubbed the whole college-picking process, thinking that going to college was good enough and that once I got there there would be plenty of people and a lot of them would have the same interests and values as me. Two years at Bucknell, where few were interested in liberal causes or indie rock, proved me wrong. Frankly, I probably got in to Wes because my then-girlfriend had a good friend in the admissions office. Not that I had bad marks at Bucknell; in fact, I made Dean's List in my final semester. I just think that my SAT scores and high school GPA probably skewed lower than the average at Wes.
Anyway, the point of all this is that when I got to Wes I was able to do the things I liked with people who were cool, and the place where almost all of this transpired was at the radio station WESU. To me, WESU was what college was, the good parts anyway. When I think of the parts of college that I like, I think of WESU. Anyhow, I was alerted this morning to the fact that the president of Wes is considering whoring out 50% of the University's broadcast time for a piddling $50K from NPR, who would use the airwaves to run redundant broadcasts of their flagship programming. Here are three vantage points on the issue. First. Second. Third.
Anyway, I am very pissed. And am working up a scathing letter to the Administration. Enough about that.
Of Note: Trosko has a memo for pizza companies regarding the cheese issue. TimesNewRoman has a caution regarding W's tax liability for his new political capital. One-time Small Hours showmates Turing Machine return with what sounds like a brutal ass-kicking of a record.
That is all. Tonight's playlist up tomorrow.
"He keeps her nose warm with his hand." the Lilys.
I haven't had anything really jump out and grab me to write about since the election. But I was just minding my own business right now working on a review of a forthcoming ~Scape compilation "But Then Again." My research tool me to Insound, where I hardly ever go anymore, and I noticed something HUGE. Apparently this coming week the Lilys' Eccsame The Photon Band and A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns are being re-released [Click here and look at the left sidebar]. I can't find any information about this at all. I don't know if this is an expanded re-issue, a straight re-issue, or a vinyl re-issue or what. All I know is that these are two of my all time favorite records. Brief History of Amazing Letdowns is probably my favorite record EVER. Insound has no other information, Manifesto, the Lilys label of record for Precollections has no information, Spin-Art who originally issued the records has no information. Amazon, bubkus. Is this a cruel hoax? Does anybody out there know anything? I just shot an email to Spin-Art, hopefully that will yield some answers.
The Lilys, primarily because of their first three releases, are probably the band I hype most, if you don't count bands that I know personally. More details as events warrant.
UPDATE: Lilys fan site Returns Every Morning has some pretty great video of the band doing a song called 365 (from the record Precollection) at Swarthmore College last spring. Precollection is a step back toward the Lilys material I truly love, and this live performance makes me think the studio versions don't really do the songs justice. This live version of 365, despite somewhat inferior sound quality, shows the band is gravitating back toward the shoegazer indie rock style. Lilys fans will already be aware the band changes styles frequently across their catalog, which makes being a fan a bit of a challenge. There's a servicable Lilys bio here, though it misidentifies Lancaster, PA as Lancaster, VA, and fails to identify Harold Evans as the brain behind the excellent Spin-Art band Poole, whose first full-length Alaska Days is gorgeous and sugary pop (Lilys' Heasley lends his hand on one song on the album). The real gold in the Poole catalog is the "Mary Shakes Her Hair" 7" -- the songs from the 7" are also on the first full-length, but the earlier mixes from the 7" rock a bit more and are rougher around the edges.
That is all.
I haven't had anything really jump out and grab me to write about since the election. But I was just minding my own business right now working on a review of a forthcoming ~Scape compilation "But Then Again." My research tool me to Insound, where I hardly ever go anymore, and I noticed something HUGE. Apparently this coming week the Lilys' Eccsame The Photon Band and A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns are being re-released [Click here and look at the left sidebar]. I can't find any information about this at all. I don't know if this is an expanded re-issue, a straight re-issue, or a vinyl re-issue or what. All I know is that these are two of my all time favorite records. Brief History of Amazing Letdowns is probably my favorite record EVER. Insound has no other information, Manifesto, the Lilys label of record for Precollections has no information, Spin-Art who originally issued the records has no information. Amazon, bubkus. Is this a cruel hoax? Does anybody out there know anything? I just shot an email to Spin-Art, hopefully that will yield some answers.
The Lilys, primarily because of their first three releases, are probably the band I hype most, if you don't count bands that I know personally. More details as events warrant.
UPDATE: Lilys fan site Returns Every Morning has some pretty great video of the band doing a song called 365 (from the record Precollection) at Swarthmore College last spring. Precollection is a step back toward the Lilys material I truly love, and this live performance makes me think the studio versions don't really do the songs justice. This live version of 365, despite somewhat inferior sound quality, shows the band is gravitating back toward the shoegazer indie rock style. Lilys fans will already be aware the band changes styles frequently across their catalog, which makes being a fan a bit of a challenge. There's a servicable Lilys bio here, though it misidentifies Lancaster, PA as Lancaster, VA, and fails to identify Harold Evans as the brain behind the excellent Spin-Art band Poole, whose first full-length Alaska Days is gorgeous and sugary pop (Lilys' Heasley lends his hand on one song on the album). The real gold in the Poole catalog is the "Mary Shakes Her Hair" 7" -- the songs from the 7" are also on the first full-length, but the earlier mixes from the 7" rock a bit more and are rougher around the edges.
That is all.
"From my head to my toes to the tip of my nose you get these words wrong… every time" - New Order
Well, this whole election thing sucks. Almost every blog I read was bummed or ranting, so there is no point to linking to any specifically, though I thought Catbirdseat's blackout was kind of classy and Music For Robots' punk sampler seemed an appropriate response, too.
Anyhoo, while W's henchmen and their religious right militia were putting their steel-toes to our gonads, I spun a couple hours' worth of tunes. Here is the playlist:
1. Ad Council - WESU PSA "Ridiculous."
2. Deadbeat - Fixed Elections
3. Blonde Redhead - I Am There While You Choke On Me
4. Nirvana - Here She Comes Now
5. Archers of Loaf - Audiowhore
6. The Clash - Janie Jones (Recorded Live at the Bonds International Casino, Times Square, 4.7.1981
7. Bedhead - The Dark Ages
8. Haywood - You Talk Twice
9. The Mendoza Line - The Beechwood Standard
10. Pavement - Pueblo (Beach Boys)
11. Godrays - Carkeys, Ponytail, and Gum
12. Poole - Meredyth on a Monday
13. Kitchens of Distinction - What Happens Now?
14. Elliot Smith - Ostriches and Chirping
15. The Wedding Present - She's My Best Friend
16. The Trouble With Sweeney - At Noon
17. They Might Be Giants - Untitled ("They sound like all kinds of people...")
18. Isotope 217 - >>
19. B. Fleischmann - Take A Day Off
20. Tele:Funken - Factotum
21. Haywood - Come On Tell The Truth Now
22. Fugazi - Last Chance For A Slow Dance
23. Samiam - Slumbering
24. Karl Hendricks Trio - Get Out Your Hankies for This One
25. Lefty's Deceiver - Masse Is Never Luck
26. The Unicorns - I Was Born (A Unicorn)
27. Terry Bickers/Bradleigh Smith - I'm Set Free
28. The Lilys - You're Getting Closer
29. Mock Orange - Double Down
30. Pavement - Camera
31. The Nels Cline Singers - Watch Over Us
That is all.
Well, this whole election thing sucks. Almost every blog I read was bummed or ranting, so there is no point to linking to any specifically, though I thought Catbirdseat's blackout was kind of classy and Music For Robots' punk sampler seemed an appropriate response, too.
Anyhoo, while W's henchmen and their religious right militia were putting their steel-toes to our gonads, I spun a couple hours' worth of tunes. Here is the playlist:
1. Ad Council - WESU PSA "Ridiculous."
2. Deadbeat - Fixed Elections
3. Blonde Redhead - I Am There While You Choke On Me
4. Nirvana - Here She Comes Now
5. Archers of Loaf - Audiowhore
6. The Clash - Janie Jones (Recorded Live at the Bonds International Casino, Times Square, 4.7.1981
7. Bedhead - The Dark Ages
8. Haywood - You Talk Twice
9. The Mendoza Line - The Beechwood Standard
10. Pavement - Pueblo (Beach Boys)
11. Godrays - Carkeys, Ponytail, and Gum
12. Poole - Meredyth on a Monday
13. Kitchens of Distinction - What Happens Now?
14. Elliot Smith - Ostriches and Chirping
15. The Wedding Present - She's My Best Friend
16. The Trouble With Sweeney - At Noon
17. They Might Be Giants - Untitled ("They sound like all kinds of people...")
18. Isotope 217 - >>
19. B. Fleischmann - Take A Day Off
20. Tele:Funken - Factotum
21. Haywood - Come On Tell The Truth Now
22. Fugazi - Last Chance For A Slow Dance
23. Samiam - Slumbering
24. Karl Hendricks Trio - Get Out Your Hankies for This One
25. Lefty's Deceiver - Masse Is Never Luck
26. The Unicorns - I Was Born (A Unicorn)
27. Terry Bickers/Bradleigh Smith - I'm Set Free
28. The Lilys - You're Getting Closer
29. Mock Orange - Double Down
30. Pavement - Camera
31. The Nels Cline Singers - Watch Over Us
That is all.
November 1, 2004
"I don't care if I f*ck up, I'm going on a date, with a rich white lady..." - Elliot Smith.
I've been trying for the better part of a year to glean the meaning of Rockist and Rockism from dense and brutally nerdy threads on ILM. Finally, the New York Times comes to my aid. And I've gotta say, I am pretty proud to be a Rockist, or a self-aware Rockist, Which might not make me a Rockist at all. Whatever. To me, sucky music still sucks, no matter whose rules we're playing by.
Take the edge off your fear of four more years of Jorge Bush during the vote count tomorrow night and tune in to my Radio TeapotHill webcast at 9PM. Plenty of time for you last minute voters to mark your ballot and grab a burrito and a sixer on your way home before I start cranking out the tunes. Requests and abuse taken via AIM, jbreitling02. Oh yeah, and if you get booted off the stream, try getting back on -- I've found that I am still getting bumped off the server myself about twice during the show, which problem in turn bounces everybody else. Hey, it ain't perfect, but it delivers the free rock to the people.
I picked up the new Elliot Smith, the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain re-issue, and the Arcade Fire record last week, and I have been totally grooving on them. I played the Pavement joint for about three days straight. Now I am heavy into the Elliot Smith.
What the hell, here is an MP3. If this election is making you paranoid, take heart that you likely can't be more paranoid than the dude behind Bingo Gazingo. His maniacal tune "You're Out of the Computer" is really superlative, busting nerd rhymes with an odd stammering rapping style that is really compelling. Right click and save as.
That is all.
I've been trying for the better part of a year to glean the meaning of Rockist and Rockism from dense and brutally nerdy threads on ILM. Finally, the New York Times comes to my aid. And I've gotta say, I am pretty proud to be a Rockist, or a self-aware Rockist, Which might not make me a Rockist at all. Whatever. To me, sucky music still sucks, no matter whose rules we're playing by.
Take the edge off your fear of four more years of Jorge Bush during the vote count tomorrow night and tune in to my Radio TeapotHill webcast at 9PM. Plenty of time for you last minute voters to mark your ballot and grab a burrito and a sixer on your way home before I start cranking out the tunes. Requests and abuse taken via AIM, jbreitling02. Oh yeah, and if you get booted off the stream, try getting back on -- I've found that I am still getting bumped off the server myself about twice during the show, which problem in turn bounces everybody else. Hey, it ain't perfect, but it delivers the free rock to the people.
I picked up the new Elliot Smith, the Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain re-issue, and the Arcade Fire record last week, and I have been totally grooving on them. I played the Pavement joint for about three days straight. Now I am heavy into the Elliot Smith.
What the hell, here is an MP3. If this election is making you paranoid, take heart that you likely can't be more paranoid than the dude behind Bingo Gazingo. His maniacal tune "You're Out of the Computer" is really superlative, busting nerd rhymes with an odd stammering rapping style that is really compelling. Right click and save as.
That is all.