So I lost my camera two months ago. Found it today in a tiny little pocket in my backpack.
Also, I've been talking to a friend of mine about starting a record label, and it looks like it's going to happen. There's a possibility, (not sure how large of a possibility), that if we pursue it, we could get the rights to re-release some out of print CD-R's by Six Organs Of Admittance onto vinyl.
I'm sure that means nothing to most people who read this. But they're a very well-recognized name, so not only would it be a financially sound investment, but it would also put us in a great position to put out vinyl for other bands in the future.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
"Bury The Bottle With Me" - Dick Curless
This is a song I've been thinking about a bit lately, given the whole quitting drinking thing.
Apparently it's written by Dick Curless (amazing name), but I first heard it through Robbie Fulks.
"There's a stone in yonder graveyard with my name carved in it deep.
It don't tell my life story these things it can't repeat.
I never had a family I never took a wife.
All I had was a bottle and I drank away my life.
So bury the bottle with me for it's what tore me down.
And I won't be alone tonight when they put me in the ground.
When they lower my body down.
A drunkard is a sinner on this I place no doubt.
Oh the Lord won't share this palace with a thing he lives without.
For the bottle is the devil and drinking is his name.
Now the bottle is what took my soul and petrified my brain.
So bury the bottle with me for it's what tore me down.
And I won't be alone tonight when they lower me in the ground.
When they lower my body down."
Apparently it's written by Dick Curless (amazing name), but I first heard it through Robbie Fulks.
"There's a stone in yonder graveyard with my name carved in it deep.
It don't tell my life story these things it can't repeat.
I never had a family I never took a wife.
All I had was a bottle and I drank away my life.
So bury the bottle with me for it's what tore me down.
And I won't be alone tonight when they put me in the ground.
When they lower my body down.
A drunkard is a sinner on this I place no doubt.
Oh the Lord won't share this palace with a thing he lives without.
For the bottle is the devil and drinking is his name.
Now the bottle is what took my soul and petrified my brain.
So bury the bottle with me for it's what tore me down.
And I won't be alone tonight when they lower me in the ground.
When they lower my body down."
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Jeffrey Lewis and a ridiculous friday night
I went to see The Mountain Goats with Jeffrey Lewis on friday. I'd already seen The Mountain Goats, which was awesome. But the real attraction was getting to see Jeffrey Lewis, as I've loved his albums from the start. I found him through a connection to Moldy Peaches, as he was a big part of the New York anti-folk scene.
Anyway, both in person, and on stage, Jeffrey Lewis is the real deal. I feel sort of the same way that I did when I first saw The Fiery Furnaces, in that this is a band who could do anything they wanted. In this case, they basically played a set of punk songs. In fact, they did a pretty poor job of selection from their 5 albums worth of material, and still blew a lot of people away. They even played one of the most annoying songs, "another girl", and turned it into one of the highlights of the show. Although anything with a chorus as awesome as this....
"Now I've found another girl,
and she's cuter and younger than you ever were.
She could kick your ass if you fucked with her.
And she's good in bed, and she calls me sir."
... is bound to slay an unsuspecting audience.
I was excited to see the Mountain Goats again, but 2 songs into the set, something in me snapped and I had an anxiety attack. I had to leave immediately, and went to find something to drink, to calm my nerves. I cracked the bottle while waiting for the train. I was immediately busted by the cops for drinking in public. $115 fine. Brutal.
Anyway, the kicker is that one of the triggers that probably set me off was seeing Dan Bejar (Destroyer, member of New Pornographers) show up after Jeffrey Lewis' set, walk directly backstage, and come back out with beers in his hands. It was pathetic. Clearly, he doesn't give a shit about music at this point. He's just showing up to shmooze. This is an artist that's produced some amazing material, including one of my all-time favourite songs "This Night." In fact, he's so prolific that I even referenced him in a previous blog post! But that's all over now. Fuck Dan Bejar.
Oh, and fuck the cops too. I peeled the label off, and went over to a corner to drink. They're just drumming up funds, I guess. But they could've at least let me keep the bottle I'd taken 3 swigs of.
Anyway, both in person, and on stage, Jeffrey Lewis is the real deal. I feel sort of the same way that I did when I first saw The Fiery Furnaces, in that this is a band who could do anything they wanted. In this case, they basically played a set of punk songs. In fact, they did a pretty poor job of selection from their 5 albums worth of material, and still blew a lot of people away. They even played one of the most annoying songs, "another girl", and turned it into one of the highlights of the show. Although anything with a chorus as awesome as this....
"Now I've found another girl,
and she's cuter and younger than you ever were.
She could kick your ass if you fucked with her.
And she's good in bed, and she calls me sir."
... is bound to slay an unsuspecting audience.
I was excited to see the Mountain Goats again, but 2 songs into the set, something in me snapped and I had an anxiety attack. I had to leave immediately, and went to find something to drink, to calm my nerves. I cracked the bottle while waiting for the train. I was immediately busted by the cops for drinking in public. $115 fine. Brutal.
Anyway, the kicker is that one of the triggers that probably set me off was seeing Dan Bejar (Destroyer, member of New Pornographers) show up after Jeffrey Lewis' set, walk directly backstage, and come back out with beers in his hands. It was pathetic. Clearly, he doesn't give a shit about music at this point. He's just showing up to shmooze. This is an artist that's produced some amazing material, including one of my all-time favourite songs "This Night." In fact, he's so prolific that I even referenced him in a previous blog post! But that's all over now. Fuck Dan Bejar.
Oh, and fuck the cops too. I peeled the label off, and went over to a corner to drink. They're just drumming up funds, I guess. But they could've at least let me keep the bottle I'd taken 3 swigs of.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Seattle
Went to Seattle to see Neurosis and Converge last night. Really don't care for either of the bands, but I'm always up for a road trip.
I went with Paul, which was awesome. I got to pick his brain about Winning, and further express my love of the new album.
I've also been reading The Game by Neil Strauss. It's a book about the world's greatest pickup artists, and I've been loving it. I don't think I'd ever use any of the moves they use, for the most part, but the psychology behind it gave me a newfound confidence. However, I struck out in spectacular fashion with any women of note. I'm not really a player anyway.
On a sidenote, some of the "negs" they use in The Game (kind of like backhanded compliments, showing interest in a girl, but insulting her at the same time) are amazing. My favourite neg is definitely "Oh, you've got eye crusties. No, don't rub them. I like eye crusties!"
Not much of note happened on the trip. Taco Bell had less obese people than normal, which was interesting. We wandered through the gay neighbourhood for quite a while, passing bars with amazing names like "The Honey Hole," then made up a bunch of hilarious should-be gay bar names. I can't remember any of them, but I just thought of "Cock-a-Diddle-Doo" off the top of my head. It's really not a difficult game.
Lastly, I thought of a rhyme while I was standing around in an arcade.
"When I go out to the clubs,
I feel like a drug.
All the ladies wanna be on me."
It's sort of quoting Anchorman, which is completely passe these days. But I thought it was aight.
I went with Paul, which was awesome. I got to pick his brain about Winning, and further express my love of the new album.
I've also been reading The Game by Neil Strauss. It's a book about the world's greatest pickup artists, and I've been loving it. I don't think I'd ever use any of the moves they use, for the most part, but the psychology behind it gave me a newfound confidence. However, I struck out in spectacular fashion with any women of note. I'm not really a player anyway.
On a sidenote, some of the "negs" they use in The Game (kind of like backhanded compliments, showing interest in a girl, but insulting her at the same time) are amazing. My favourite neg is definitely "Oh, you've got eye crusties. No, don't rub them. I like eye crusties!"
Not much of note happened on the trip. Taco Bell had less obese people than normal, which was interesting. We wandered through the gay neighbourhood for quite a while, passing bars with amazing names like "The Honey Hole," then made up a bunch of hilarious should-be gay bar names. I can't remember any of them, but I just thought of "Cock-a-Diddle-Doo" off the top of my head. It's really not a difficult game.
Lastly, I thought of a rhyme while I was standing around in an arcade.
"When I go out to the clubs,
I feel like a drug.
All the ladies wanna be on me."
It's sort of quoting Anchorman, which is completely passe these days. But I thought it was aight.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sounds like Winning!
Ok, so this is going to be my 4th consecutive post not dedicated to girls. Shocking, I know.
This post is about Winning. Possibly the best band you've never heard.
Captain Beefheart changed my life, or at least the way I listen to music. I think that the new Winning album is possibly better than Beefheart's opus, "Trout Mask Replica". (The history behind Trout Mask Replica is long, and insane, and way too much to get into here. Suffice to say that it pops up on many critics all-time best of lists, including Lester Bangs, John Peel, and Rolling Stone magazine's lists before they became the rag they are today...)
Winning are my friends. Andy Dixon. Greg Adams. Paul Patko.
I've always had friends in bands. Some good, some not so good, some bordering on great (I wouldn't know any of these 3 guys if it weren't for my obsession with The Winks).
I've listened to the new Winning album approximately 40 times now. I don't do that often. Maybe twice a year.
That No Age album that everyone loved last year wishes it were as good as this album (if that boring No Age album took human form and started listening to records, that is).
This is the album that Radiohead would make if they had 1/1000th of the balls this album does, and if the drumming for Radiohead wasn't as robotic as fucking Johnny 5 (cultural references are good, kids).
This is the album that Pitchfork, the Gods of all that is right and good in music, should be giving a 9-point-something rating to, and lauding as "the next great noiseniks for the post-whatever generation."
This is the album that should be played front to back in its entirety at the ATP festival in Germany, or England, or wherever those things take place, 15-20 years from now.
I think I like it more than my favourite Sonic Youth album.
I definitely like it more than my favourite The Fall album.
I know that every album is a part of you after you've heard it. I think this album is all the best parts of me. The part that used to spin in circles to stumble around in a field, before I'd ever gotten drunk or cared to. The part that would light matches just to watch them burn. The part that used to not step on cracks, ever.
This album might just change my life.
This post is about Winning. Possibly the best band you've never heard.
Captain Beefheart changed my life, or at least the way I listen to music. I think that the new Winning album is possibly better than Beefheart's opus, "Trout Mask Replica". (The history behind Trout Mask Replica is long, and insane, and way too much to get into here. Suffice to say that it pops up on many critics all-time best of lists, including Lester Bangs, John Peel, and Rolling Stone magazine's lists before they became the rag they are today...)
Winning are my friends. Andy Dixon. Greg Adams. Paul Patko.
I've always had friends in bands. Some good, some not so good, some bordering on great (I wouldn't know any of these 3 guys if it weren't for my obsession with The Winks).
I've listened to the new Winning album approximately 40 times now. I don't do that often. Maybe twice a year.
That No Age album that everyone loved last year wishes it were as good as this album (if that boring No Age album took human form and started listening to records, that is).
This is the album that Radiohead would make if they had 1/1000th of the balls this album does, and if the drumming for Radiohead wasn't as robotic as fucking Johnny 5 (cultural references are good, kids).
This is the album that Pitchfork, the Gods of all that is right and good in music, should be giving a 9-point-something rating to, and lauding as "the next great noiseniks for the post-whatever generation."
This is the album that should be played front to back in its entirety at the ATP festival in Germany, or England, or wherever those things take place, 15-20 years from now.
I think I like it more than my favourite Sonic Youth album.
I definitely like it more than my favourite The Fall album.
I know that every album is a part of you after you've heard it. I think this album is all the best parts of me. The part that used to spin in circles to stumble around in a field, before I'd ever gotten drunk or cared to. The part that would light matches just to watch them burn. The part that used to not step on cracks, ever.
This album might just change my life.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Hayden is still good, after all these years
I went to see Hayden for the first time in 9 years last night. I think the similarities between shows 9 years apart are pretty eerie.
When I last saw Hayden, I was 16 years old; it was at a campus bar, I didn't yet have a girlfriend (ever, HA!, those were the days), and I loved every second of it. I even brought the album cover to get it autographed by him! He made fun of me in front of the college kids, and I was incredibly nervous.
Today, I've since graduated from the university he played the first time I saw him, I'm a bitter 25 year old, pissed off that I have to travel an hour to a different campus bar to watch him play, again without a girlfriend, and still managed to love every second of it.
He did manage to play some of his worst material from his first album. He also hates it when people yell "We love you, Hayden!". HATES IT. Which is understandable for what he's doing. The guy plays his friggin trumpet solo parts with "mouth trumpet". Clearly, even he doesn't take himself that seriously.
In summation, Hayden is awesome, even if his records are hit-or-miss, and the new one is particularly bland. But the hits are still gold, and I needed a reminder of that.
When I last saw Hayden, I was 16 years old; it was at a campus bar, I didn't yet have a girlfriend (ever, HA!, those were the days), and I loved every second of it. I even brought the album cover to get it autographed by him! He made fun of me in front of the college kids, and I was incredibly nervous.
Today, I've since graduated from the university he played the first time I saw him, I'm a bitter 25 year old, pissed off that I have to travel an hour to a different campus bar to watch him play, again without a girlfriend, and still managed to love every second of it.
He did manage to play some of his worst material from his first album. He also hates it when people yell "We love you, Hayden!". HATES IT. Which is understandable for what he's doing. The guy plays his friggin trumpet solo parts with "mouth trumpet". Clearly, even he doesn't take himself that seriously.
In summation, Hayden is awesome, even if his records are hit-or-miss, and the new one is particularly bland. But the hits are still gold, and I needed a reminder of that.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Quitting drinking
So I decided that I'm quitting drinking. Probably for the rest of my life. It really sucks, because I absolutely love drinking. But I've gotta do it for health reasons.
I'll be having a big party to cap off the sober life. I figure it gives people the chance to have one last drink with me, and hopefully wish me luck.
It's going to make it harder to have adventures being sober, but I think I'll manage.
In other news, valentine's day is coming up. It'll be the first single v-day for me in a little under 9 years. I could have a date for the evening if I pursued it, but the girl in question is boring. She's also another Whitney Houston fan, and I never trust those.
I did figure out something fun to do though. Let's call it...
The Whitney Houston Game
"I Wanna Dance With Somebody"
"I Will Always Love You"
"I Have Nothing"
"It's Not Right, But It's Ok"
Play all 4 of these songs simultaneously.
It sounds like the aural equivalent of murder.
When it gets to the middle of the song, and all 4 Whitney's are fully belting it out, I could swear they are all in one room, screaming in each other's faces. Powerful stuff. I've played The Whitney Houston Game 3 times now. I love it.
I'll be having a big party to cap off the sober life. I figure it gives people the chance to have one last drink with me, and hopefully wish me luck.
It's going to make it harder to have adventures being sober, but I think I'll manage.
In other news, valentine's day is coming up. It'll be the first single v-day for me in a little under 9 years. I could have a date for the evening if I pursued it, but the girl in question is boring. She's also another Whitney Houston fan, and I never trust those.
I did figure out something fun to do though. Let's call it...
The Whitney Houston Game
"I Wanna Dance With Somebody"
"I Will Always Love You"
"I Have Nothing"
"It's Not Right, But It's Ok"
Play all 4 of these songs simultaneously.
It sounds like the aural equivalent of murder.
When it gets to the middle of the song, and all 4 Whitney's are fully belting it out, I could swear they are all in one room, screaming in each other's faces. Powerful stuff. I've played The Whitney Houston Game 3 times now. I love it.
Friday, February 8, 2008
You ever get the feeling you'll never grow old?
I can't see myself living past 40. It's not that I have a death wish or anything like that. I just can't actually visualize myself at that age.
I can picture 30, and even 35, but after 40 it just gets blurry.
I think my biggest worry is that I'll change into something that I don't want to (Destroyer, "Don't Become The Thing You Hated"), but time will render this transformation unavoidable. Just like when I imagine what music I'll be listening to 5 years from now. Even looking at the way my friends who are 3-4 years older than me have gotten into weird obscure noise albums, or else totally bland pop music, or indie rock or whatever.... Fuck. I just want to stick to this middle ground, forever.
I've listened to the 4 Japanther albums on my computer almost 3 times all the way through over the last 5 hours or so. I also just finished reading Johnny The Homicidal Maniac, and started into Kurt Cobain's journals (some wild shit in the journals, including a note to Dave Grohl kicking him out of the band from 1988.... weird).
I'm sure none of this media is helping with my current mood. Cobain was never going to grow old either, and of course Japanther would symbolize a fear of music degeneration, being totally simple lo-fi punk shit that I've been listening to for, again, 5 fucking hours now.
Coherency = nil. Success.
I can picture 30, and even 35, but after 40 it just gets blurry.
I think my biggest worry is that I'll change into something that I don't want to (Destroyer, "Don't Become The Thing You Hated"), but time will render this transformation unavoidable. Just like when I imagine what music I'll be listening to 5 years from now. Even looking at the way my friends who are 3-4 years older than me have gotten into weird obscure noise albums, or else totally bland pop music, or indie rock or whatever.... Fuck. I just want to stick to this middle ground, forever.
I've listened to the 4 Japanther albums on my computer almost 3 times all the way through over the last 5 hours or so. I also just finished reading Johnny The Homicidal Maniac, and started into Kurt Cobain's journals (some wild shit in the journals, including a note to Dave Grohl kicking him out of the band from 1988.... weird).
I'm sure none of this media is helping with my current mood. Cobain was never going to grow old either, and of course Japanther would symbolize a fear of music degeneration, being totally simple lo-fi punk shit that I've been listening to for, again, 5 fucking hours now.
Coherency = nil. Success.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Another girl, another blog post
I know I probably seem like a womanizer at this point, but I swear I'm too incompetent to manage such a lifestyle.
Anyway, here's a story from a couple of weeks ago.
I went to a house party in which my attention was divided between 3 things:
1) Drinking
2) Playing Rock Band
3) Hitting on a cute girl
I down my 6 pack fast, and take care of the first point. I sing my ass off all night, again, succeeding in the second point. Then in the middle of playing a song, the cute girl starts making out with me. Awesome.
So, the next part involves stumbling around on the street, making out with cute girl, and eventually getting her home. I tiptoe to her room with her, and within 10 seconds, the guy who had been sleeping on the couch, and I had assumed to be her brother, comes into the room and pummels my face. It turns out that the guy on the couch was actually her boyfriend.
I covered up my face as best as I could, and got out of there, bloodied and confused.
Here's the crazy part. She wakes up the next day, and she's beaten up too.
(I'd like to point out that if I were in the situation where my girlfriend comes home with a guy and walks right past me to the bedroom with him, I'm not beating anybody up, I'm packing my shit and leaving. But maybe that's just me.)
Anyway, I finally got to talk to her about it all a few days ago, and she says that she woke up with blood all over her face, and she wondered where she fell. Unbelievably, she would prefer to imagine that while she was walking home, she smashed her face on something, then went home and fell asleep.
The entire situation is crazy to me. I accept every aspect of it, and given the circumstances, I'm lucky that I only got a little bit beaten up. That's all fine. What I'm not cool with is that nothing of consequence came from it.
It's almost as if this story exists simply as a story. There aren't any moral consequences, and that's somehow really fucking sad. I'm just another guilty party in a story of drunken debauchery and idiocy.
I guess it makes for a decent story though.
Anyway, here's a story from a couple of weeks ago.
I went to a house party in which my attention was divided between 3 things:
1) Drinking
2) Playing Rock Band
3) Hitting on a cute girl
I down my 6 pack fast, and take care of the first point. I sing my ass off all night, again, succeeding in the second point. Then in the middle of playing a song, the cute girl starts making out with me. Awesome.
So, the next part involves stumbling around on the street, making out with cute girl, and eventually getting her home. I tiptoe to her room with her, and within 10 seconds, the guy who had been sleeping on the couch, and I had assumed to be her brother, comes into the room and pummels my face. It turns out that the guy on the couch was actually her boyfriend.
I covered up my face as best as I could, and got out of there, bloodied and confused.
Here's the crazy part. She wakes up the next day, and she's beaten up too.
(I'd like to point out that if I were in the situation where my girlfriend comes home with a guy and walks right past me to the bedroom with him, I'm not beating anybody up, I'm packing my shit and leaving. But maybe that's just me.)
Anyway, I finally got to talk to her about it all a few days ago, and she says that she woke up with blood all over her face, and she wondered where she fell. Unbelievably, she would prefer to imagine that while she was walking home, she smashed her face on something, then went home and fell asleep.
The entire situation is crazy to me. I accept every aspect of it, and given the circumstances, I'm lucky that I only got a little bit beaten up. That's all fine. What I'm not cool with is that nothing of consequence came from it.
It's almost as if this story exists simply as a story. There aren't any moral consequences, and that's somehow really fucking sad. I'm just another guilty party in a story of drunken debauchery and idiocy.
I guess it makes for a decent story though.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Honesty
I think honesty is important.
So, I'm at a show last night. The band is some of my friends playing their first show, so despite wishing I was at any of 3 different awesome shows going on, I was there for support. I meet a seemingly sweet girl named Elice, and we start talking about music. This is where things go wrong.
Me: "So what kind of music are you into?"
Elice frowns
Me: "I guess... what's really doing it for you lately? What did you listen to on the way here?"
Elice: "The Be Good Tanyas"
Me: "Oh yeah. They've got that song about birds."
Elice: "Right. 'The Littlest Birds Sing The Prettiest Songs'."
Me: "Yeah, that's it. I really hate that song, and I guess I sort of hate them because of that song. No offense or anything. So, what else are you into?"
Elice: "Feist."
Me: "Hmm. I've actually seen Feist twice, and I left before the end of both shows. She's just really boring, I think."
Elice: "Oh, weird. Um, I like to play Jewel songs on guitar."
Okay, you get the point.
I bought another round of drinks.
I kissed her twice, totaling maybe 12 seconds. She left early, and I took the night bus home alone.
She plays Jewel songs on guitar.
So, I'm at a show last night. The band is some of my friends playing their first show, so despite wishing I was at any of 3 different awesome shows going on, I was there for support. I meet a seemingly sweet girl named Elice, and we start talking about music. This is where things go wrong.
Me: "So what kind of music are you into?"
Elice frowns
Me: "I guess... what's really doing it for you lately? What did you listen to on the way here?"
Elice: "The Be Good Tanyas"
Me: "Oh yeah. They've got that song about birds."
Elice: "Right. 'The Littlest Birds Sing The Prettiest Songs'."
Me: "Yeah, that's it. I really hate that song, and I guess I sort of hate them because of that song. No offense or anything. So, what else are you into?"
Elice: "Feist."
Me: "Hmm. I've actually seen Feist twice, and I left before the end of both shows. She's just really boring, I think."
Elice: "Oh, weird. Um, I like to play Jewel songs on guitar."
Okay, you get the point.
I bought another round of drinks.
I kissed her twice, totaling maybe 12 seconds. She left early, and I took the night bus home alone.
She plays Jewel songs on guitar.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Fresh start
So, I'm starting to blog again. I think I had 3 people reading it before, and haven't posted in 5 months. I guess I stopped because I was at a point of thinking that nobody cares what anybody says about music, because listening is such a personal thing.
This time around, it's just going to be an everything blog, though I'm sure you'll still get bitchy music rants pretty often.
So, life....
I've come to realize one crucial thing about dating; I hate the feeling of being in a position of superiority to whoever I'm seeing, in any way. Ideally, I want someone who knows more music, movies, philosophy, world history, fucking anything that will at least put me in a position of not knowing. I can't continue seeing these women in which I constantly feel like I need to teach them everything.
For example, I was watching a hockey game with a girl the other night, and I dumbed myself down to the point that I made the remark "I wish I had a cool name like Bates Battaglia". I'm sure there are dumber things that I could've said, but seriously, that's not me.
And I'm not saying that I need to constantly talk about existentialism, or poetry, or David Lynch films, or anything really. I just want a woman where these topics, and similar topics, are options for conversation.
This time around, it's just going to be an everything blog, though I'm sure you'll still get bitchy music rants pretty often.
So, life....
I've come to realize one crucial thing about dating; I hate the feeling of being in a position of superiority to whoever I'm seeing, in any way. Ideally, I want someone who knows more music, movies, philosophy, world history, fucking anything that will at least put me in a position of not knowing. I can't continue seeing these women in which I constantly feel like I need to teach them everything.
For example, I was watching a hockey game with a girl the other night, and I dumbed myself down to the point that I made the remark "I wish I had a cool name like Bates Battaglia". I'm sure there are dumber things that I could've said, but seriously, that's not me.
And I'm not saying that I need to constantly talk about existentialism, or poetry, or David Lynch films, or anything really. I just want a woman where these topics, and similar topics, are options for conversation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)