Jerk this

Awesome weekend.

On Saturday, Kathy put together a belated surprise birthday party for me at Cha Cha Chicken, a BYOB Carribean restaurant in Santa Monica located a few blocks from the beach. There were enough people where we basically took over the patio area and got rowdy. I got to hang out with a bunch of friends, eat great food, and get krunk. I also got dope gifts - a 30 GB video iPod, a Mr. California shirt (a vintage line from the 1950's), an Eddie Izzard DVD, and a Homies figurine. Uh yayeaaahhhhh!

On Sunday, I nursed my hangover by lounging around my apartment and then catching Miami Vice. I've never been a big fan of Colin Farrell, but I REALLY like Michael Mann's work and Jamie Foxx is a bonafide badass. I can't remember the last time he played a character I didn't like. Miami Vice was typical Michael Mann fare - big overarching shots of the cityscape, muted colors, and guerrila style camera work which give all his films a more realistic feel. The plotline was difficult to follow at times and some of the tangential storylines weren't very engaging, but the handful of scenes with gunplay were effin' amazing. I've never shot a gun before, but I imagine the sound and feel are very similar to what was conveyed in the movie.

Afterwards, a few of us went to Koreatown for a late night dinner at The Tofu House. It was a nice way to wind down the weekend activities and to send-off Scott back to New York.

I want ewe to want me...

I need ewe to need me...

Blow Me (Up)
David just brought this insanity to my attention.


For $29 this little lady can be yours:

An Amusement Park of Math

No A/C. Ineffective ceiling fans. Bad circulation. Really loud neighbors.

The neighbors part I can't do anything about, but if I get really ambitious, I might try to build this contraption.

Otherwise, I'll just go with my default plan of eating a box of Otter Pops. "Alexander the Grape" has been my favorite since I was a kid. I'm hoping the good people at the Jel Sert Company finally respond to my letters and create a pop named after me - the "Calvin Coolidgeberry."




************


Red Stripe event tonight in downtown L.A. I'm thinking of silk screening a shirt that says "I suffer from A.D.Deez Nuts."

Mew are the cat's mew-eow:

E-dog hooked me up with these rad dudes. This song is cool, it totally fits my mood because a) it contains the word Grave, b) it's strangely, oddly upbeat and c) it's got a massive dose of creepy and ding a ling dong. It also sounds like you are listening to two songs at once. I'm getting apprehensive and nervous to take off in the next two days, but that's life. Oh and go see Danava at Union Pool tonight. I hear that they play around 11.

Mew - Why Are You Looking Grave

Go download 2 Danava songs at their Myspace page.

Human popsicle

The theme for this past weekend? Sweating balls.

I attended my friend Melisa's wedding which was held in "a whale's vagina" (a.k.a. San Diego). More specifically, it was at Balboa Park which has an abundance of museums, gardens, golf courses, and general picturesque surroundings (read: a great place to get hitched). Having spent 6 years in SD, I thought I knew what to expect in terms of weather. Little did I know that the temperature would reach upwards of 110 degrees, something unheard of for this time of year. The combination of the anomalous heat and my full suit made for a deadly combination. I came close to passing out a few times throughout the course of the day & night. Luckily I had plenty of booze to keep me refreshed.

Besides the too too hot weather, the wedding itself was great and I got to see a bunch of friends from the University of Michigan, some of whom I hadn't seen in over 2 years.

On Sunday, Kathy and I headed to the Hollywood Bowl to catch the Thievery Corporation and Flaming Lips show. We went for the music, but stayed for the solidarity of 18,000 sweaty people jammed into an ampitheather. The crowd was an eclectic mix of hipsters, indie kids, hippies, and raver types, their common bond being the glow stick thingies being distributed at the show. People started connecting their glow sticks together, forming a "giant glow stick across America" deal. I entertained myself by tossing them at the crowd, trying to nail people in the head.

I honestly didn't pay too much attention to Thievery's set - I was more concerned with stuffing my face with the Beard Papa cream puffs somebody had brought. When the Flaming Lips came on, they had their usual grandiose entrance, complete with Wayne in the giant hamster ball, a gang of Santa Claus' onstage, and confetti & balloons being shot everywhere. It turned out that the performance was being taped for an upcoming DVD, so every few minutes Wayne felt compelled to tell the crowd, "c'mon guys, you gotta get crazy and loud. c'mon guys" which basically got most people annoyed since he was dedicating more time to ineffectively hyping up the crowd than playing music. Ultimately, the energy level stayed the same and the crowd started getting antsy, me included. Although when they started playing "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. I" I have to admit I went a little apeshit. They ended their set with "Do You Realize??" and covered Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" for an encore.

After the show, we went back to our tiny studio apt. and sat under a ceiling fan that might as well have been there for decoration.





The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. I

Linda Lamb - Hot Room

Cansei de Ser Sexy - Music Is My Hot Sex

Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It's Hot (Ghislain Poirier remix)

New Band Highlight: Even Odds

Please download this song now.
EvenOdds - Empire's Edge. EvenOdds are from NYC via VA.

C & C Take over LA

So... this C is leaving this coast and joining the coast of the other C for a good 3 weeks or so. This is not under pleasant circumstances, however I plan to make the most of it seeing as now more than ever I'm reminded that life is too short. Thankfully, I will get to see my #1 Kat Benetar on a brief 20 hour jaunt to Seattle on my way to SoCal. We will watch the Murder City Devils and hug ferociously. This next month should be an interesting delve into the past and what is to be the future as well as a serious dose of L-I-F-E, life.

Ben Kweller

New Ben Kweller track featured on Stereogum. Go git it, cause Ben Kwellz is a sweet dude;)

They had hors d'oeuvres

I never thought I'd want to see more DJ AM, but that's what was running through my head as Robin Thicke played through his set. Besides the fact that I'm not really familiar with his music, he didn't really engage the crowd and chose to player slower songs. It was a deadly combination to send me into a Hennessy induced coma.

The only real entertainment was people watching with Kathy and my friend Scott. We spotted some "celebrities," most of whom hadn't been in the spotlight for years and commanded questionable fame even back in their hey-day. In order of appearance, we saw:

Tek from the The Real World Hawaii and cinematic gem, Van Wilder
Jaleel White, a.k.a. Steve Urkel from Family Matters
A guy who looked like Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park
Travis Barker with a 6 man entourage

Yes, good times.


Peeping Tom - Celebrity Death Match (featuring Kid Koala)

Peaches - Operate

Cut Copy - That Was Just a Dream

Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full (Seven Minutes of Madness - Coldcut Remix)

Dear entertainment industry, further evidence that you are screwed

No offense, but this sounds kinda dumb.

Braindump 1.2 - Mixed Media Swap Meet
Donate old brainfood, score free new brainfood

Thursday, July 27
6:30-10PM, Happy Hour until 8PM
The Dark, Air Conditioned Chandelier Room at Fontana's
105 Eldridge Street
between Grand & Broome Streets

Is it hot enough for you? Is your brain wilting? Perk it up! Bring
any media - CDs, books, comix, DVDs, etc - you have already uploaded
or wish to share with others. Get that media out of your life and into
the brains of others! At this Braindump, we will be asking you what
genre nights, i.e. metal, you would like to see at future Braindumps.

Any media left at the end of the evening will be donated to community
supported/based orgs. We thank the mad nice folks at Fontana's for
hosting and past Braindumpers for their generosity and wacky taste.

Sippin' on 'yak'

Heading to the Hennessy event tonight and gettin' my Robin Thicke on. I am so gangster it's unreal.

E-dog!!

So my ONLY plan for tonight was to go to S'Mac. Been planning on it for a week and was so looking forward to it. One of my S'mac comrades decided she should go check out the menu and pre-salivate before leaving work in an hour and found out this troubling truth:

Hours of Operation:
Monday - Closed

FUCKKKK. So, she sent me this rad pic that I just had to post. She makes all my Photoshop dreams come true. I wish I knew how to finnegal that shits. If you ever once doubted the legitimacy of this blog, here is your utter and final proof.

CARA MAC DENIED

My letter to EJ and the Fruit Bat crew:

I actually sent this. Cause when you love somebody, it's hard to think about....
HOW NOT TO ACT IN A WAY THAT COULD POTENTIALLY COME ACROSS AS PSYCHOTIC.

Hey there...

I'm sure this is some weird archaeic email address from the 90s that nobody ever checks anymore, but that's cool, I've got these 45 seconds to waste and in the event that you actually do read it, then fuck yeah. I just wanted to say that it was great to see you at Maxwell's. I had missed you the previous night at Prospect Park due to my late work hours, just made it over in time for Rayyy and, yikes, Guster. Anyway, it was quite awesome to see you in my former home state with so few people in the audience, though it did make me wonder why the Hell there weren't more people there and just put another skidmark on Jersey's reputation of not being the coolest of the states. I also felt somewhat guilty for being on the list, I hope you got paid in more than their delicious macaroni and cheese.

Anyway, I love your thoughtful indie pop folk songs inflected with mild sadness and can't wait till you come back. If you have any need for a baby's mama in NY, I'm here for ya. Just kidding, sort of.

Love Always,
Cara



That night was amazing. Kyle and I made a deal of you let me be your plus one and I'll let you be mine. We started out at the Okkervil River show at Castle Clinton. They played for an hour and a half!! It was fucking great. I love Jagjaguwar records and their brilliant off beat roster of musical geniuses. Next we drove across the river to Maxwell's to get some tasty eats and see the Fruit Bats. As you can see from above, it was a fantastic show, though sparsely populated.

Award For Best Festival Name Goes To:

CURATED BY KEITH MORRIS FROM CIRCLE JERKS AND BLACK FLAG

This years fest will not take place in Echo Park. We will be moving the fest to downtown LA and the way that it looks its going to be FUCKING AMAZING. The new location that we have will accommodate much more people then the venues that I planned on using in Echo Park and it will be a much better setting. On Monday, July 17th I will be announcing the location for the fest, ticket cost, and some of the headliners. Below is a list of some of the bands that are playing the fest just to give you a sneak peak. New bands will be added every week and there will be a few unannounced guests that will be performing at the fest.
Hope to some of you there.
Sean Carlson

In no particular order.........
Circle Jerks
Giant Drag
The Thermals
Erase Errata
The Ponys
Partyline (ex Bratmobile)
Nudity
Blood Meridian (members of Black Mountain)
Icarus Line
Envy (from Japan- Only and first ever West Coast show!!!!)
Subtitle
Chuck Ragan from Hot Water Music
dios Malos
The Bronx
Sleeping People
Bad Dudes
Carry the Casket
The Black Lips
Upsilon Acrux
Strange Boys
Graf Orlock
BARR
400 Blows
Burning Brides
Gayrilla Biscuits (In a very rare apperance)
Bobby Birdman
Plot to Blow up the Effiel Tower
No Age
The Po Pos
Hit Me Back
Shapes and Sizes
Brother Reade
Foreign Born
Sabertooth Tiger
Future Pigeon
Black Fag
Matt & Kim
Teenage Talking Cars
Thee Makeout Party
Wires on Fire

+a dozen more bands including the headliners will be announced next week.
+a stand up comedy show organized by Jonah Ray.
+an art show showing the work of fifty artists and photographers.
+complete awesomeness cause this is gonna fuckiing rule and it's going to be a weekend long party that hopefully none of us will remember on the following monday but will damn sure know we had a goodtime.
Anyway, all the information for Fuck Yeah Fest will be available on www.fuckyeahfest.com on Monday, July 17th.

Meat is sweet

Anybody in the market for pillows and toys shaped like meat? Look no further than Sweet Meats.




Now you can fluff your pillows and tell people you're beating your meat without any funny looks.

I heart JB

If anybody ever has the chance to see Jon Brion live, GO. He has a permanent residence at Largo in L.A. (and occasionally plays NYC) but due to a bout with carpal tunnel, he's been sidelined for the last 3 months. Last night was his celebratory return. My friend Scott, who's admitted to having a man-crush on Jon Brion, was back in town for a visit and waited in line for over 3 hours just to get bar seats. In my opinion, it was well worth it, mostly because I joined him right before we were let into the venue and didn't have to endure getting sunburned.

His performances are a modern day one-man-band spectacle. He'll take a song and construct it from the ground up, laying down the tracks for each instrument until everything comes together as a comprehensive whole. For example, he'll hop on the drums, lay down the part, record it, loop it, then move onto the next instrument. This continues until all the different parts are accounted for. To see it done in person is fucking amazing. The most disgusting thing is that he's equally talented on all the instruments - piano, guitar, drums. Sonofabitch.

Last night, he opened up the show with a stand-up routine from Largo regular, Greg Proops. You may remember him from ABC's "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" He was the guy with glasses who wasn't Drew Carey. Being Jewish and having been in Germany for the recent World Cup, the majority of his jokes revolved around World War II, the Holocaust, and his general dislike of Germans. He also really hated the state of Connecticut, Alabama, and Indiana (his homestate). His act was ok - I was more intrigued by his half valley girl/half stoned off my ass on benadryl drawl.

When Jon Brion hit the stage, he played his usual collection of familiar songs mixed in with personal jam sessions. Notably, he covered The Mamas & the Papas, "The End" by The Beatles, and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd. He also brought Benmont Tench (the former keyboardist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) onto the stage to play some duets. Awesome.

One trademark of his performances is that at every show, people in the audience have an opportunity to call out song requests. Jon Brion will weed through all the requests and eventually decide on a song (or songs) to play. Last night however, he was more focused on playing music and getting back into the groove of things. Read: he didn't take very many requests. Too bad, I was ready to yell out "Bone Thugs!" if given the chance.

Seriously, go see Jon Brion perform if you can. You won't be disappointed.

Punk Rock Radical Marching Band?

Sounds intriguing....
Times Up! and Rude Mechanical Orchestra Fundraiser:

Friday, July 14th
8pm-late
@ the Times Up Space
49 E. Houston St.
Suggested donation $7-10

Environmental action has never sounded so good! Two long
time allies are teaming up for an evening of rocking out
and raising money for the good fight.

NYCs punk rock radical marching band the Rude Mechanical
Orchestra leads an evening of music that includes
Monkeyshine 9, Heavy Creatures, Quick Release and Phil Not
Bombs. Each band includes at least one member of the RMO,
so you know itll be good. Also featuring DJ Suggested D's
dance floor madness and the infamous blender bike.

East River Music Project

East River Music Project -- Flyer for 7.22.06 show
Originally uploaded by TobiasAC.

It's the Summer of outdoor music and here's another great line-up to keep ya going...

Through The Heart:

One of my favorite people made an amazing zombie film. Please go see it before it hits theaters...

Tripwire Curating Mccaren Park:

It is finally official... Pretty Girls Make Graves are headlining our date at the McCarren Park Pool. We will be announcing the other bands on the bill in the next day.

Mark your calendars:
Sunday, July 23 - Pretty Girls Make Graves @ McCarren Park Pool

http://thetripwire.com/news/2006/7/12/the-tripwire-presents-pretty-girls-make-graves-in-brooklyn

$$:

"On a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 means "not at all satisfied with my life" and 7 means "completely satisfied," the people on Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans average 5.8—the same as the Inuit people in Greenland and the cattle-herding Masai of Kenya, who live in dung huts with no electricity or running water. Calcutta's slum dwellers score only a little lower, at 4.6."

That's the most interesting part of the article, but if you'd like to read the rest, click here.

Dos mensajes...

I'm kind of in love with this band right now. Can't post a song yet but when I do you are going to love it. At least you will if you ever loved the Breeders, Kim Deal, Madder Rose and super awesome female fronted 90s rock. So, if you live in LA, go check this shits out. Also, though it doesn't seem to say it anywhere, I'm pretty sure the Fruit Bats are opening the Ray Lamontagne, Guster show at the Prospect bandshell tomorrow night. So I'm going to go stare at EJ and wish he would marry me so that I could have his little botanical bat babies already. Ew.

Respektor:

By now you know that I love Regina Spektor. If you haven't caught this Conan performance of "Fidelity" definitely check it out. Though I'm sad to see she straightened her hair and wore uncharacteristically boring clothing for the show. She's usually so quirky and rad. The straight hair totally throws me off.

From Modular:

If you're not too beat up from Siren...

The Modular Monthly
Sunday, July 16
2-7pm
Union Pool
484 Union Ave, Williamsburg

Foreign Islands Live!!!
Foreign Islands has been killing it with their live
sets in and around NYC lately. These guys combine
elements of dance, rock, and PARTY into everything
they touch. www.foreignislands.com

DJs Roy Dank and Brion Paul
Not only is Roy Dank THE man about town, he also DJs
the highly popular Pop Your Funk parties at APT. His
buddy Brion Paul will be spinning by his side. You may
remember Brion from the "What To Do with the Drunken
Sailor?" party.

Food provided by Jean’s Cook Up (Harlem)
We're not F-ing around when we say this is seriously
some of the best fried chicken/soul food/good food
we've ever had. Our man Dante will be on hand with
plates of the good stuff. www.dantefriedchicken.com

$3 w/ RSVP to modular@modularpeople.com $5 w/out
$2 PBR all day (band room only)

I Heart This Man

Just thought I would drop a note to say that one of my top 5 most AWESOME, most inspiring dudes of all time, Mr. Eric Bachmann of Archers of Loaf, Crooked Fingers will drop his first solo release [although CF were pretty damn solo too] on August 22nd via the beloved Saddle Creek Records.

Via Saddle Creek mailing list:
"Eric Bachmann largely wrote his new album, To The Races, in June and July of 2005 while voluntarily living in the back of his van. Bachmann made the best of the hospitable Northwestern summer by setting up home and shop in his vehicle, and found that living like a makeshift Siddhartha worked well for him: he used the time to craft the unadorned and unapologetically forthright collection of songs that compose his first Saddle Creek release."

No NYC tour date yet....

You can read my review of an old Crooked Fingers show here.

He's getting closer

Going to the Cut Chemist album release party at Turntable Lab tonight. I'll just pretend that it's not being sponsored by Urb Magazine and The Rebel Organization.

The Ginger Hop:

So I went up to Woodstock this weekend. It was a grand old time w/ my Aunt and Uncle. We saw geese, deer, yellow butterflies, beetles and horses. I took a lesson on a sweet old gal named Ms. Ginger. I was also clued into a phenomenon I had never heard of before. Apparently horses dance. It's called dressage and it looks a little like this. Fuck yeah for horses.

Burp It Up:

Here's a holler out to Chip and E-dog for showing me the joy that is Burp Castle. Located on East 7th St, Burp Castle boasts shitloads of delicious Belgium brews. I have fallen in love with this little number, we call her Kriekbier. She tastes like cherries. Anyhow, I highly recommend checking out their wealth of delicious bubbly, burpy brews.

So awkward

I can't decide which clip makes me feel more uncomfortable.



OR

Message from Michael Moore:

I'm one of those many dorks on the Michael Moore e-mail list. He just sent out a blast about his upcoming movie. Apparently this latest effort is "a comedy about 45 million people with no health care in the richest country on earth." It's aptly, sillily entitiled, "Sicko." I'd be interested to check it out, it's 75% shot and hits theaters in '07. If you want to join his mailing list, go here.

Belle & Sebastian at the Hollywood Bowl tonight, along with The Los Angeles Philharmonic and The Shins. Apparently, people are allowed to bring in their own food and drinks. Should be a good show.

It's a rainy rainy rainy day...

4th of July will never be the same again. I got a call yesterday to wish me a happy 4th and lay on me some of the worst news, if not the worst news ever. I've never been one for praying, but I'm praying that the fireworks last night weren't my Dad's last. Therefore not going to post any of my stupid, drunken, band-related adventures of the wknd. They don't matter for shit.

I really wish I could post Joseph Arthur's "You Are Free" but I'm not allowed. Feel free to cyber bitch slap me for being so overdramatic: Hot Chip - Look After Me

All apple protected so couldn't post my other top choices:
The River - Springsteen cover by Crooked Fingers
Elliott Smith - I Don't Think I'm Ever Gonna Figure It Out