Alcohol Is My Winter Coat

The Match Factory Girl

2011-08-12T02:11:00.007-04:00

Shadows in Paradise

2011-08-10T01:04:00.007-04:00

Oxford to Mobile

2011-07-06T00:35:00.005-04:00

photobooth

2011-07-06T00:32:00.001-04:00

E.S. XO

2011-07-06T00:28:00.001-04:00

everything part one

2011-06-13T00:36:00.004-04:00

amazingness.

2011-06-11T23:34:00.002-04:00

duchamp

2011-05-31T18:33:00.001-04:00

fire in the hole

2011-05-08T16:48:00.007-04:00

AW + MS

2011-05-02T16:50:00.002-04:00

threadneedle street.

2011-04-29T16:37:00.003-04:00

Stuff.

2011-03-30T20:40:00.010-04:00

Hugh <3

Ghost World influence, cats, + flowers = love u Givenchy RTW Fall 2011

favorites.

Crush

2011-01-11T21:57:00.005-05:00

BEST OF THE YEAR: Albums

2010-12-31T15:40:00.005-05:00

#1: Pernice Brothers Goodbye, Killer

#2: Allo Darlin' s/t

#3: Teenage Fanclub Shadows
#4: Old 97's The Grand Theatre Volume One
#5: Wild Nothing Gemini
#6: Wavves King of the Beach
#7: Belle & Sebastian Write About Love
#8: The Vaselines Sex With An X
#9: Tender Trap Dansette Dansette
#10: The Clientele Minotaur (EP)
#11: Magnetic Fields Realism
#12: Love Language Libraries
#13: Crocodiles Sleep Forever
#14: Best Coast Crazy For You
#15: Elf Power s/t

#16: Let's Wrestle In the Court of Wrestling Let's
#17: Sonny & The Sunsets Tomorrow is Alright
#18: Darren Hayman & The Secondary Modern Essex Arms
#19: Math and Physics Club I Shouldn't Look As Good As I Do
#20: Outrageous Cherry Seemingly Solid Reality
#21: Gorillaz Plastic Beach
#22: Dean & Britta 13 Most Beautiful
#23: Elvis Costello National Ransom
#24: Jonathan Richman O Moon, Queen of Night on Earth
#25: Smith Westerns s/t
#26: Harlem Hippies
#27: Stornoway Beachcombers Windowsill
#28: Robyn Hitchcock Propellor Time
#29: Superchunk Majesty Shredding
#30: Surfer Blood Astro Coast

Also worth mentioning are the records put out by The Walkmen, The Thermals, Ty Segall, Deer Tick, Beach House, Miles Kurosky, Deerhunter, Tracey Thorn, and The Black Angels. ETC.

BEST OF THE YEAR: Songs

2010-12-30T15:53:00.003-05:00

#1: Someday Soon by Harlem
#2: Horophones by Love Language
#3: I Didn't See It Coming by Belle & Sebastian
#4: The Great Depression by Pernice Brothers
#5: You Must Be Out of Your Mind by Magnetic Fields
#6: Baby Lee by Teenage Fanclub
#7: Champaign, Illinois by Old 97's
#8: Twenty Miles by Deer Tick
#9: Watching Birds by Stornoway
#10: Something For You by Pernice Brothers

#11: Green Eyes by Wavves
#12: Too Young To Burn by Sonny & The Sunsets
#13: I'll Keep It With Mine by Dean & Britta
#14: Kiss Your Lips by Allo Darlin'
#15: On Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz
#16: Suddenly by Tender Trap
#17: Stranger in the Window by Elf Power
#18: When I'm With You by Best Coast
#19: Hearts of Love by Crocodiles
#20: Live in Dreams by Wild Nothing
#21: Sex with an X by The Vaselines
#22: If Loneliness Was Art by Allo Darlin'
#23: Five Small Words by Elvis Costello
#24: These Bodies That Came To Cavort by Jonathan Richman
#25: Learned To Surf by Superchunk

#26: Down On Loving by The Soft Pack
#27: Brittany's Back by Love Language
#28: When I Still Have Thee by Teenage Fanclub
#29: I Saw You Blink by Stornoway
#30: Dog In The Burning Building by Miles Kurosky
#31: Post Acid by Wavves
#32: Chinatown by Wild Nothing
#33: Giving Up On Love by Slow Club
#34: Jimmy Had a Polaroid by Math & Physics Club
#35: Rhinestone Eyes by Gorillaz
#36: Nothing's Changed by Outrageous Cherry
#37: Catholic Pagans by Surfer Blood
#38: Sleep Forever by Crocodiles
#39: 2 to the N by Tender Trap
#40: Angela Surf City by The Walkmen
#41: Such a Fool by The Vaselines
#42: My Arms Don't Bend That Way, Damn It! by Let's Wrestle
#43: My Heart by Smith Westerns
#44: Nothing You Can Do About It by Darren Hayman & The Secondary Modern
#45: Paul Verlaine by The Clientele
#46: The Afterlight by Robyn Hitchcock
#47: He Would Have Laughed by Deerhunter
#48: Telephone by The Black Angels
#49: Hormones by Tracey Thorn
#50: Highlife by Southern Culture on the Skids

BEST OF THE YEAR: Shows

2010-12-30T15:39:00.003-05:00

#1: 14 ICED BEARS!!! at Popfest New England in November in Northampton, Mass

#2: Elvis Costello in April in Scottsdale, AZ
#3: Dean Wareham doing Galaxie 500 in September in Atlanta, GA
#4: Old 97's in December in Oxford, MS
#5: Jonathan Richman in January in Pensacola, FL
#6: ATHENS POPFEST (especially Wedding Present, Oh-OK, Raymilland, & Mission of Burma) in August in Athens, GA
#7: Drive-By Truckers in January in Mobile, AL

Also:

Skip Heller/Tallulah Records release show in May in Mobile, AL
Wavves in October in Oxford, MS
Woven Bones and The Fresh & Onlys in March in Mobile, AL
Paul Collins in July in Mobile, AL
Heartless Bastards in July in Mobile, AL
Tennis and Dent May in September in Oxford, MS

happy christmas

2010-12-24T20:22:00.003-05:00

1. christmas song- aislers set
2. christmas eve- gorky's zygotic mynci
3. baby please come home- darlene love
4. snowstorm- galaxie 500
5. christmas at the zoo- flaming lips
6. jesus christ- big star
7. if you believe in christmas trees- cardinal
8. everything is one big christmas tree- magnetic fields
9. walk out to winter- aztec camera
10. december- teenage fanclub
11. she bangs the drum- stone roses
12. christmas is coming- the payolas
13. skiing in the snow- the invitations
14. when i get home for christmas- snow patrol
15. waking for winter- gorky's zygotic mynci
16. summer snow- lou christie
17. i saw mommy kissing santa claus- the ronettes
18. merry christmas (i don't want to fight)- ramones
19. happy xmas (war is over)- john lennon
20. amazing grace- jonathan richman
21. just like christmas- low
22. come on santa- the raveonettes
23. listening to otis redding at home during christmas- okkervil river
24. winter wooskie- belle & sebastian
25. fairytale of new york- the pogues
26. snowbound- the razorcuts
27. bad cover version- pulp
28. christmas downer- departure lounge
29. sally cinnamon- stone roses
30. gift x-change- calexico

obsessed some more

2010-12-21T13:59:00.004-05:00

tommy roe "dizzy"

dick and dee dee "mountain high"

trini lopez "if i had a hammer"

erasure "a little respect"

stone roses "going down"

pulp "something changed"

the grass roots "let's live for today"

harlem "someday soon"

love language "horophones"

stornoway "watching birds"

Grad School: Part Two

2010-12-04T20:37:00.014-05:00

Batesville

writing on the wall at the also very famous Taylor Grocery

Halloween!

dressed as a beatnik and hangin' with some dawgs (photo credited to my friend Amy)

Pontotoc

14 Iced Bears weekend in Northampton, Mass

(photo credited to Graham from the 14 Iced Bears)

spent lots of time at this amazing haunted (by dolls) mansion

best brunch ever

snakeskin boots

about 10 sizes too big

Puritans & Primitives pre-Thanksgiving party (much more noteworthy things went on than this, but sadly no one was in a sharp enough state to capture any of the fun!)

two night ago OLD 97's played here. it was my 11th time to see them. i saw them for the first time when i was in the 8th grade. it seems pretty special to still be seeing them in Grad School!

Grad School: Part One

2010-12-04T17:43:00.011-05:00

this is what my 1st semester of grad school looked like...

new apartment!

hey, it's Ms. Jenny!

Fat Possum offices

Dean Wareham playing Galaxie 500 in Atlanta <3 <3 <3

chicken & waffles

birthday festivities

(last 2 photos credited to my friend Mary Beth)

a Saturday afternoon in the Square

Jesse in a telephone booth!

balcony of the very famous Square Books

art museum on campus

Holly Springs on a Sunday afternoon

Graceland Too!- museum/home of self-proclaimed world's biggest Elvis Presley fan. oh boy.

holly springs is the "antebellum capital of the mid-south" apparently

dear Santa:

2010-12-04T00:51:00.004-05:00

More Obsessed.

2010-09-07T00:38:00.004-04:00

Dolly Parton & Porter Wagoner "Always Always"

The Desert Wolves "Love Scattered Lives"

Sonny & The Sunsets "Too Young To Burn"

East River Pipe "Make A Deal With The City"

The Blue Orchids "Oo-Chang-A-Lang"

Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock "If You Were a Bluebird"

Jimmie Dale Gilmore "I'm Gonna Love You"

The Flatlanders "Julia"

Eddie Cochran "Weekend"

The Orchids "If You Can't Find Love"

Stevie Wonder "Signed, Sealed, Delivered"

Green On Red "Death and Angels"

Steve Earle "Hard-Core Troubadour"

The Troggs "You Can Cry If You Want To"

June

2010-07-05T15:39:00.000-04:00

+

all i did in June was watch Breaking Bad and listen to Teenage Fanclub.

May

2010-07-05T15:38:00.000-04:00

Skip in town + Tallulah Records release show

rainstorm coming on

rainstorm in full effect

BFF's

April

2010-07-05T15:37:00.000-04:00

Phoenix + Elvis Costello

that rooster has my hair

Funny loves American Apparel

the Magic Hat

Tallulah Records

2010-06-01T15:14:00.002-04:00

buy records from me!

tallulahrecords.blogspot.com

Obsessed.

2010-04-01T20:40:00.004-04:00

Lou Reed & John Cale "Work"

1910 Fruitgum Company "Indian Giver"

Phil Collins "In The Air Tonight" (no, i'm not kidding or being ironic)

The Dovers "What Am I Going To Do"

Teenage Fanclub "I Don't Want Control of You"

The Archies "Bang Shang-a-Lang"

Rodriguez "Like Janis"

and my beloved Miles Kurosky, the brandnew "Dog in the Burning Building"

2010 So Far.

2010-02-19T15:23:00.055-05:00

saw the Drive-By Truckers

and Jonathan Richman

Mardi Gras was AMAAAZING!

my listening habits have been very boring. soley consisting of lots & lots of Elvis Costello (shocker), Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever, Magnetic Fields (the new one Realism and old stuff), Outrageous Cherry, & The Go-Betweens.
one interesting discovery- the 1980's Irish band Stars of Heaven.

and i've just started obsessing over Lou Reed & John Cale's Songs For Drella...

i've seen lots of movies:
Human Nature (I LOVE Patricia Arquette)

and The Lover

and Happy Go Lucky, An Education, & Water Lillies. apparently Netflix thinks i am into "Foreign Sexual Awakening" films.

i keep seeing James Urbaniak in every tv show i watch. hottest guy ever?

Naked

2010-01-15T17:03:00.006-05:00

YEAR END LISTS part three: Best Albums Of The Year

2009-12-31T15:34:00.005-05:00

1. Papercuts You Can Have What You Want
2. Built To Spill There Is No Enemy
3. Jay Reatard Watch Me Fall
4. The Clientele Bonfires On The Heath
5. The Bats The Guilty Office
6. The Clean Mister Pop
7. Yo La Tengo Popular Songs
8. Robyn Hitchcock Goodnight Oslo
9. Liechtenstein Survival Strategies in a Modern World
10. Outrageous Cherry Universal Malcontents
11. Those Darlins s/t
12. Rhett Miller s/t
13. The King Khan & BBQ Show Invisible Girl
14. Wilco Wilco (The Album)
15. Camera Obscura My Maudlin Career

I Also Enjoyed: Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard's 'Em Are I, Elvis Costello's Secrets, Profane, & Sugarcane, Atlas Sound's Logos, The xx's xx, Echo & The Bunnymen's The Fountain, Telekinesis!'s s/t, Bad Lieutenant's Never Cry Another Tear, & Justin Townes Earle's Midnight at the Movies

My Favorite Reissues Were:
1. The Feelies Crazy Rhythms and The Good Earth
2. Stones Roses s/t
3. R.E.M. Reckoning

& My Favorite EP Was:
1. Superchunk Leaves in the Gutter

YEAR END LISTS part two: Best Shows Of The Year

2009-12-31T13:47:00.004-05:00

1. BLOODSHOT BBQ with WACO BROTHERS (best live band ever), SILOS, Rosie Flores, etc. @ The Sail Inn in Tempe, AZ
2. Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power @ 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA
3. Jay Reatard @ AMB in Mobile, AL
4. Music Tapes & Nana Grizol @ The Bell House in Brooklyn, NY
5. Rhett Miller @ Wine Loft in Mobile, AL
6. Cats On Fire & Liechtenstein during NY POPFEST @ Don Hill's in NY, NY
7. Heartless Bastards & Jenny Lewis @ AMB in Mobile, AL
8. Pine Hill Haints @ AMB in Mobile, AL
9. Blue Mountain @ Moe's in Daphne, AL
10. My Teenage Stride & Folklore & Still Flyin' @ Cake Shop in NY, NY
11. Those Darlins @ Modified in Phoenix, AZ
12. Starlight Mints @ AMB in Mobile, AL
13. The Metric Mile & The Ballet & MTS & Knight School during NY POPFEST @ Cake Shop in NY, NY
14. Camera Obscura @ The Bell House in Brooklyn, NY
15. Pants Yell! @ Dead Herring in Brooklyn, NY

YEAR END LISTS part one: Best Songs Of The Year

2009-12-31T13:23:00.002-05:00

1. Walkabout by Atlas Sound
2. Before I Was Caught by Jay Reatard (Bradford Cox & Jay had my top 2 songs of last year too!)
3. Future Primitive by Papercuts
4. Slogans by Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard
5. Castle Lights by The Bats
6. Red Light Love by Those Darlins
7. Coast of Carolina by Telekinesis!
8. Planting Seeds by Built To Spill
9. If It's True by Yo La Tengo
10. Learned To Surf by Superchunk
11. In The Dream Life You Need a Rubber Soul by The Clean
12. Can't Hardly Wait by Justin Townes Earle
13. Aisle 13 by Built To Spill
14. Dictator's Lament by Papercuts
15. I'll Fight by Wilco
16. Rotten Mind by Jay Reatard
17. Dreams Come True Girl by Cass McCombs
18. French Navy by Camera Obscura
19. Your Head Here by Robyn Hitchcock
20. VCR by The xx
21. Sink Or Swim by Bad Lieutenant
22. Factory Man by The Clean
23. Sheila by Atlas Sound
24. Tomorrow by Built To Spill
25. Hidden Shame by Elvis Costello
26. Jennifer & Julia by The Clientele
27. More Stars Than There Are In Heaven by Yo La Tengo
28. Broken Broken Broken Heart by Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard
29. I'm Falling by Robyn Hitchcock
30. It Ain't Gonna Save Me by Jay Reatard
31. Caroline by Rhett Miller
32. You Never Know by Wilco
33. Walking In The Park by The Clientele
34. Hung Up On Me by Those Darlins
35. Lisztomania by Phoenix
36. It's Not Rock'n'Roll (and I Don't Like It) by Outrageous Cherry
37. Nothing To Hide by Yo La Tengo
38. The Wolf by Papercuts
39. Roses In The Park by Liechtenstein
40. Steppin' Out by The Bats
41. January Wedding by The Avett Brothers
42. I've Got It All (Most) by Modest Mouse
43. If It's Not Love by Rhett Miller
44. By Staying Here by Liechtenstein
45. I Wonder Who We Are by The Clientele
46. Slight Figure Of Speech by The Avett Brothers
47. 1901 by Phoenix
48. Once We Walked In The Sunlight by Papercuts
49. Another Girlfriend by Rhett Miller
50. No Place To Fall by Steve Earle

The Gravity Of The Situation

2009-12-29T19:41:00.005-05:00

one year ago my friend gave me this picture that he took in athens of Vic Chesnutt. i always loved it.

"flirted with you all my life"

bye Vic. <3

Lost Highway

2009-12-03T19:53:00.003-05:00

Heard Museum

2009-11-05T18:13:00.020-05:00

----> ancient to contemporary Native art from all over the world. i love the minimalism and how that minimalism is so un-contrived & organic, unlike so much Western ultra-modern minimalist & abstract art (which i love too). and it is astounding how modern some of the stuff from like the 1100's is. i can't stand most Western art pre-18th century; this was all so much more exciting. they had it right.

a "fence" (looks sort of like drug paraphanalia to me...uh...)

made with felt-tip markers

feather necklace

punk bracelet!

Europeans HAHA

"like a fat child..."

i went to PHX, AZ

2009-11-01T15:33:00.012-05:00

Funny the cat

Feelies, The New Yorker, brogues

ate breakfast at the famous & delicious Over Easy

shopped at Stinkweeds where i purchased: Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures on vinyl & Robyn Hitchcock's Respect, The The's Infected, Jesus & Mary Chain singles collection, & Superchunk's new EP Leaves In The Gutter on cd.

iced coffee from LUX

went to a wine/beer/sweet-tea-vodka tasting where we bought some Dogfish Head Punkin Ale...

...and to a bar that had PBR on the bathroom door

went to the Heard Museum

rode the Light Rail

saw Those Darlins, who are on the fantastically named Oh Wow Dang Records

and best of all was the Bloodshot Records BBQ, which ended up being one of the greatest things ever. saw The Silos & talked to the wonderful Walter Salas-Humara about my favorite band ever, Vulgar Boatmen, saw the Waco Brothers, who are MINDBLOWING live, & met Jon Langford (from Wacos & MEKONSSS). also saw Exene Cervanka from X and other good people & met/hung out with lots of super dudes.

"RESERVED"

The Silos

Jon Langford playing with Rosie Flores

WACO BROS

their rendition of George Jones' "White Lightning" was FREAKING INSANEly amazing.

Jon is my new BFF. also note my dad's sweet Pavement t.

favorite things of late.

2009-10-28T18:11:00.006-04:00

1. the changing weather & new season. i very much enjoy wearing the cardigans & tights & ankle boots & flannel & turtlenecks that have been stashed away for months. i'm still hanging on to one last, favorite Summer habit, though, which is sleeping in the nude. i always wake up freezing.

2. Linus Roache, who plays my favorite new A.D.A. on Law & Order.

oh hello there.

3. Withnail & I. pure amazingness.

my favorite scene, when Withnail drinks lighter fluid & yells, "i must have some booze. I DEMAND TO HAVE SOME BOOZE!!"

4. songs i've been playing obsessively: Split Enz's "I Got You" & Roxy Music's "Over You"

i've also been on a big Built to Spill kick, both old & new. and i've been loving the new Clientele, Feelies reissues, "Dancing Barefoot"- both the Patti Smith original & the Feelies' cover, the Silos, lots of Elliott Smith, New Order's Technique for working out, & a whole slew of old Merge favorites due to my voracious consumption of the new book out chronicaling the label's history (SO GOOD). probably my favorite label of all-time.

5. the cover of Elvis Costello's Almost Blue. which i received for my birthday from my dear friend Tony.

6. pictures from my birthday party. i don't know why the only good ones of me are with Morris.

(Swedish Princess Cake yay!)

Over You

2009-10-16T00:38:00.003-04:00

i really love a lot of songs called "Over You," or some version of that sentiment, or just about being over you. i guess i find that declaration empowering & close to my heart. but i just really like the songs themselves.

like:

"Over You" by Roxy Music (original) & The Soft Boys (cover)
"Over You" by Right To Left (the band that became Vulgar Boatmen)
"I'm Over You" by The Silos
"Sheet Kickers" by Guided By Voices
"Get Over You" by The Undertones
"Over You" by Euros Childs
"Wait To Stop" by Pernice Brothers

speaking of songs with the same (similar) title, there are lots of songs called "Happiness" by lots of my favorite people that i really love. how interesting!

see:

"Happiness" by Elliott Smith
"Happiness" by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
"Happniess" by Del Shannon
"Happiness" by Teenage Fanclub
"Happiness" by Built To Spill

Fall Mixtape #1

2009-10-12T14:00:00.003-04:00

i made this one for a male friend who shares the same Birthday Month as me. so it's like a Fall/Birthday Month mix.

1. my girl- Hoodoo Gurus
2. stop that girl- Vic Godard & Subway Sect
3. little town flirt- Del Shannon
4. teenage partner- Gene Vincent
5. kiss me on the bus- The Replacements
6. cool- Pylon
7. you turn my head around- Lee Hazlewood
8. get over you- The Undertones
9. sherry- Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
10. what's your game- Ramones
11. til i kissed you- Everly Brothers
12. i want you mine- Sex Clark Five
13. eyes for you- Old 97's
14. heartbeat- Vulgar Boatmen
15. consolation prize- Orange Juice
16. anyway you want it- Dave Clark Five
17. fall- Psychedelic Furs
18. last dance- Mekons
19. lydia- Jonathan Richman
20. love you so- King Khan & BBQ
21. we could be looking for the same thing- Silver Jews
22. i won't tell- Tracey Dey
23. she's my best friend- Velvet Underground
24. soldier of love (lay down your arms)- Marshall Crenshaw
25. satin doll- The Chills
26. way over there- Smokey Robinson

birthday wishlist.

2009-09-20T20:53:00.006-04:00

my birthday is in 20 days.

Lola

Kombucha

Feelies reissues

Nick Hornby's new book

Our Noise

Music Listography

Roper Boots, like these

Hefner reissues

Swedish Princess Cake

sex, lies, & videotape

2009-09-16T19:08:00.011-04:00

"i thought about what you would look like having an orgasm"

hot.

2009-09-08T18:47:00.006-04:00

james spader in sex, lies, & videotape

andrew mccarthy, young & old

"coach" on friday night lights

glenn howerton

chef tim love

the boys from noah baumbach's kicking & screaming

svu detective elliot stabler

denis leary, especially on rescue me...

...but this will do as well

paul westerberg

Around My Room, Around The House, Around Town

2009-07-21T14:19:00.009-04:00

Things Of Interest In My Room

my mom made this for her art class but i loved it so much i had to have it. it's Rapunzel, made out of a cardboard tube. you can pull the string and her hair falls out of the "castle."

i love this bust of Ben Franklin- it's actually a cologne bottle, from an antique store, that i got as a gift several years ago. next to it is a sweet globe pencil sharpener i got in Mexico last summer. oh & behind Ben is Daniel Manus Pinkwater's autograph!

poem in the shape of Manhattan

homemade CORGI NECKLACE, that i envisioned & my mom made for me. i think his name is Carl.

'Round The Frontyard & Backyard & Indoors

my two favorite boys in the world! my Saab JoJo & my kitty William.

just hangin'

i made the stained glass thing in high school when my class spent a week in Pine Mountain, Kentucky.

folk art on the walls

Buddy Holly & Everly Brothers postcards & Old 97's concert poster in my bathroom

We Saw Blue Mountain At A Blues Bar On The Water, Then Took Pictures In The Parking Lot

Pensacola Beach

Summer Mixtape #2

2009-07-10T17:41:00.003-04:00

here's another mixtape for another friend. ask me to make you one.

Do Da Bok Bok:

1. cool- Pylon
2. wild wild lover- Flat Duo Jets
3. crash- the Primitives
4. here we go again- Shrubs
5. so long baby goodbye- the Blasters
6. uncle love- Blur
7. flower scene- Plasticland
8. queen of eyes- the Soft Boys
9. calling upstairs- Vulgar Boatmen
10. where you'll find me now- Neutral Milk Hotel
11. crazy- R.E.M.
12. made to love- Everly Brothers
13. while i'm here- Sex Clark Five
14. really mystified- Elvis Costello & the Attractions
15. french navy- Camera Obscura
16. not alone anymore- Roy Orbison
17. clear spot- Pernice Brothers
18. slogans- Jeffrey Lewis & the Junkyard
19. ten feet tall- XTC
20. crazy- Galaxie 500
21. what's your game- Ramones
22. like a summer rain- Jan & Dean
23. i don't care- Justin Townes Earle
24. into your arms- the Lemonheads
25. underwater explosions- Guided By Voices
26. stop before you say it- the Go-Betweens
27. the way some people die- Yo La Tengo
28. y ffordd oren- Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
29. three seeds- Elf Power

Summertime Fun

2009-07-03T20:29:00.010-04:00

i have always been a great Lover Of Summer.

some of my favorite summertime things are
iced coffee
sleeping in the nude
driving with my windows down
jogging by the water
late nights out
playing with my kitty outside
dabbing my sweat with a handkerchief
MUSIC, of course, my favorites for summer being everything by The Clientele + Galaxie 500, 1980's Jonathan Richman especially the song "That Summer Feeling," Belle and Sebastian's "A Summer Wasting," and Mercury Rev's "Car Wash Hair"

this summer, thanks to May's newfound obsession, we've been blasting Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers every time we take a trip in the car. A-MAZING. especially one night, on our way over the Bay, to see some sweet bands + friends, the sun was setting on the water, and Tom was a-blarin'. it was the best ever.
my current fave song is "Listen To Her Heart," off one of the early albums.

after one such sweaty night full of BFF's + bands, attempting to look badass, wearing sunglasses at 3 am in the Waffle House parking lot

recently, i have fallen madly in love with Wylie Dufresne, the endearingly geeky lovably earnest incredibly amazing chef/pioneer of molecular gastronomy. i really want to marry him.
how hot is he????

of course, summer always puts me into an Athens-y mood, especially this summer since i'm planning on moving there semi-soon. i've been looking at houses close to downtown + these are some of the most adorable ones i've found

i stayed at home on the 4th of july, & i pulled the shades so i didn't have to see the sky/ i decided to have a bed-in, but i forgot to invite anybody

2009-07-03T17:44:00.004-04:00

for 4th of July, which i don't like as much as Christmas or my Birthday, but more than Easter or Thanksgiving, here my 3 favorite songs on the subject:

"4th of July" by Galaxie 500

"Independence Day" by Elliott Smith

"4th of July" by X

Test Shots

2009-06-26T13:08:00.005-04:00

William "Willy" Aikin

that tail

fresh faced

outdoorsy editorial

those eyes

fierce

subtly sultry

INTENSITY IN THE EYES!

car ad

serene...but ALIVE WITH EMOTION!

not afraid to get ugly pretty

action shot!

Let's Take Some Drugs & Drive Around

2009-06-25T01:44:00.003-04:00

i made a mixtape for one of my friends, inspired by Summer in the South:

1. let's take some drugs & drive around- The Silos
2. ray charles- Old 97's
3. is it true- Brenda Lee
4. dictator's lament- Papercuts
5. kelvin parade- The Clientele
6. automatically yours- The Pastels
7. higher grounds- Cats On Fire
8. two steps step out- The Go-Betweens
9. here comes the summer- The Undertones
10. merched yn neud gwallt eu gilydd- Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
11. burned- Buffalo Springfield
12. the way some people die- Yo La Tengo
13. holland, 1945- Neutral Milk Hotel
14. the official ironman rally song- Guided By Voices
15. rhythm king- Luna
16. love you so- King Khan & BBQ
17. get a job- The Silhouettes
18. circles 'round the moon- Nana Grizol
19. hang-ten!- The Soup Dragons
20. outdoor miner- Wire
21. world's looking lonely- The Volebeats
22. gardening at night- R.E.M.
23. nananana- The Squalls
24. look out here comes tomorrow- Robert Forster
25. life is strange- Tall Dwarfs
26. Feel Alright- Steve Earle

Summer In The South

2009-06-09T19:06:00.004-04:00

this is my favorite license plate of all time. it's the only one my little Saab JoJo has ever had. sadly, i had to replace it with the new, beach-scene/Jimmy Buffet inspired plate. sigh.

yesterday i took a trip to Pensacola, Florida, to visit my grandfather Cookie. my dad + my uncle bought him a new computer for his birthday so i attempted to explain the mysteries of the Internet to him. this picture was sitting on a bookshelf next to his computer. see my cousin + i dressed up for Halloween probably like...oh my god probably almost TWENTY YEARS AGO. WHAT. definitely 18 years ago at least. apparently he was a Cowboy + i was a Ballerina.

so far this Summer, i have pretty much been strictly listening to large amounts of Guided By Voices, Teenage Fanclub, The Papercuts, + Plasticland.

my fave GBV song ever, "My Valuable Hunting Knife," from the terrific Alien Lanes

Teenage Fanclub's "I Need Direction" from Howdy!

The Papercuts' "Future Primitive" from the absolutely sublime You Can Have What You Want, definitely the best release of '09 so far (IN MY OPINION)!

and well, i haven't got a good Plasticland video to share, but i would like to show you all a picture of them

in all of their hilariously intense psychedelic get up, 80's STYLE!

BYE.

2009-05-23T20:44:00.005-04:00

what i will miss about New York (Brooklyn, mostly):

1. McGolrick & McCarren Park
2. the walk to the Bedford L
3. bagels from the Bagelsmith
4. the friendly corner store where i buy my Diet Cokes
5. my teeny tiny little room with the big window that lets in all those street sounds
6. FRIENDZ
7. $3 Trader Joe's wine
8. fun loft shows every weekend
9. seeing Yo La Tengo at the office
10. free stuff & occasional good times at Matador

what i won't miss:

1. the SUBWAY, especially the G (which i only take to get to the Bell House)
2. being broke
3. smells of Polish food
4. people walking too slowly in Brooklyn & people walking too hurriedly in Manhattan
5. not having my car, little JoJo
6. being sick of my minimized wardrobe
7. taking an hour to get almost everywhere you go
8. not having my best friends around
9. eating terribly
10. not having my GUITAR or RECORDS & RECORD PLAYER

what i am looking forward to this summer:

1. wearing brightly colored nail polish
2. thrift store shopping
3. working at the record store
4. travelling to: the Mississppi Delta, Athens, Birmingham, North Carolina, etc!
5. making & saving money
6. STARTING MY RECORD LABEL! (well, taking the preliminary steps at least-- it'll probably be later in the year when something actually happens...)
7. making movies (me & M's Elvis Costello doc, for one)
8. reading more Southern Lit
9. listening to dreamy music like the Papercuts, old Yo La Tengo, Galaxie 500, & Felt
10. playing with my pretty kitty William!

pop music.

2009-05-14T17:37:00.004-04:00

in honor of the NYC Popfest which is beginning today, i loaded my ipod up with all twee/C-86/indie pop stuff to listen to as i walked around the city & read in the park this week. i think it's the perfect music for this time of year. so, here are some of my favorite songs from that glorious C-86 era:

The Brilliant Corners "Why Do You Have To Go Out With Him"

Primal Scream "Velocity Girl"

The Soup Dragons "Hang-Ten!"

14 Iced Bears "Balloon Song"

The Sea Urchins "Pristine Christine"

The June Brides "In The Rain"

The Field Mice "If You Need Someone"

McCarthy "Should The Bible Be Banned?"

The Pastels "Million Tears"

The Desert Wolves "Love Scattered Lives"

true story: when I met Stuart Murdoch for the first time several years ago, we had a chat about "twee pop" & it turns out he hates the Razorcuts & the Field Mice. but he loves McCarthy & he was actually the first person to clue me into the greatness of the Servants, the June Brides, & the Brilliant Corners. yeah, that's right. thanks Stu.

The Right Angles

2009-04-26T21:00:00.013-04:00

i googled myself recently & lots of things popped up. just a few minutes ago, i googled my high school band the Right Angles & nothing popped up. & that just seemed wrong. i am no one to have anything to google about, but the Right Angles were special, & i wish there was more evidence of their existence to be found. there are 5 people in the world, besides me, that own a copy of our self-recorded EP "What's Going On Here, Please?" Calvin Johnson is one of those people, along with my mother, my friends Tony & Billy, & a lovely musician friend who i was in love with during my whole high school career.

there really isn't enough time in the world to talk about the Right Angles in depth, but i want some photographic evidence of us to be shot out into the internet universe. all of these were taken pre-digital camera days, so they are pictures OF pictures, and thus really crappy, but they shall suffice. here we go...

early practices, circa 10th grade, spring of 2002, in our school uniforms

summer after 10th grade, playing @ Satori in Mobile, AL for "Nick Drake Night"

post-show in 11th grade, fall of 2002, at Picklefish, joined by my high school bf <3

cover of our EP, completed in Nov. 2002

one of many of our Christmas card photos, taken in downtown Fairhope, AL by my mother, in Dec. 2002

back-to-school show @ Satori in 12th grade, Sept. 2003

day-after-Halloween show @ Coffee Loft, Oct. 2003 (notice my sweet jack-o-lantern t)

if we'd made a full length album it would have been called "You Can Rely On The Right Angles" or "What, Who Died, Me?"
[i intend to release Right Angles recordings/videos on my record label. look out for things to come later in 2009 & 2010.]

after every show we played, we'd go to Picklefish with our families & friends & eat pizza & celebrate (we were so beautifully insanely wholesome- we didn't consume one illegal substance or drink ever in high school-- while still being completely crazy). every single time, as we were leaving, we'd say

"The Right Angles are leaving the building."

<3.

s.o.n.g.s.

2009-04-26T17:14:00.004-04:00

there are 2 types of songs i've been thinking about lately.

the 1st is the song with spelling- you know, like when the singer spells out words. usually the name of the song, but not always. i love it when they do that.
here are the spelling songs i could think of:

"harborcoat" by r.e.m. ("r-e-a-c-t")
"i stand accused" by elvis costello ("s-t-a-n-d-a-c-c-u-s-e-d")
"the dark side of town" by grant mclennan ("l-o-v-e")
"feeling called love" by pulp ("f-e-e-l-i-n-g-c-a-double l-e-d-l-o-v-e")
"lana" by roy orbison ("l-a-n-a")
"rare breed" by the go-betweens ("r-a-r-e-b-r-e-e-d")

can you think of any others?

the 2nd type is the song that i hear in some random place, like the grocery store perhaps, and i don't know what it is, but i know i've heard it a lot in my life and i just immediately want to find out what it is and listen to it more. it's usually something old and slightly embarrassing, but extremely catchy.
or, this song might just appear in my head. a lyric might pop into by head, or a tune, and i have to find out what it is. usually it's not by a band i know well, but certainly a well known tune.

some of these songs are:

"who'll stop the rain" by creedence clearwater revival
"walk of life" by dire straits
"into your arms" by the lemonheads
"bad reputation" by freedy johnston
"summer in the city" by lovin spoonful
"amie" by pure prairie league
"fisherman's blues" by the waterboys

well then! that's all i've got!

Road Soda

2009-04-13T20:16:00.006-04:00

i've been doing a lot of new things recently, due to my dire financial situation, and just because of life in general, & they are mostly good things! you know, we work with what we've got.

new things:

1. using my collection of vintage handkerchiefs to actually blow my nose because i don't want to spend money on kleenex. kind of old man-ish, but also kind of dainty!

2. wearing ripped up tights. i can't afford new ones, but they add a kind of nice subtle punky/grungy touch to my otherwise preppy outfits.

3. hanging out with lots of really really great & super cool people...

4. ...which kind of relates to the fact that i've only been going to shows that i can get on the guest list for. so i don't have to spend $$. it's pretty sweet knowing most of the people who you want to see play.

5. wearing this jean jacket i got like 10 years ago, when i was in middle school, at the Gap. i literally never wore it until a few weeks ago & now i can't stop, i totally love it!

6. eating subway sandwiches. i admit, i used to look down on subway, i thought i was just too good for them. but you get lots of vegetables, it's cheap, very easy, and it's really darn tasty. it's still sort of embarrassing though.

7. drinking coffee at work. i never used to, but um, free coffee? yes please. today i even made myself an iced one, with splenda & Silk soy creamer, oh my!

8. only being allowed ONE Diet Coke a day. this one is really sad actually. but i just can't afford drinking my usual, like, 4 a day. oh well, RESTRAINT is a good quality for me to practice.

9. not listening to much music. this is also not really a good thing. it's just too exhausting. i've been listening to um... Sex Clark Five & The Del Fuegos. um, yeah, what? weird. well anyhow, here's a video of Sex Clark Five's super terrific cover of a Clash song.

10. getting creative with decorations! i fashioned a table out of wood & books a while back, and now i've got some interesting things on my walls. i'm really into this little Stereolab 7" i got at work the other day that i put on my wall. i think it's so cute!

this isn't really new, but here's the view from my window, from where i am sitting right this second.

"life sucks, again"

2009-04-10T19:59:00.002-04:00

I walked upstream
And I sat in the mud
Life sucks again
Watching trees decompose
And they talk to me
And they smiled at me
-Galaxie 500

...memories of happier times:

1. in high school, during one Good Friday we had off, my best friend & i were going to go to Goodwill and our favorite coffee shop. but instead of both riding our bikes like we usually did, i rode my bike & he rode his rollerblades alongside me. it was a disaster. he was skating across this big busy highway, and i was trying to maintain his slower speed, and we were falling and tripping all over each other. it was kind of scary and really hysterical.

2. it was one of the first warm weekends in the Spring of my second year of college and one of my best friends was having her birthday party at the radio station. we spent the night drinking wine and playing songs on the radio. also, i had a crush on this old guy who had an office near the station and i wrote a note telling his as much to stick under his door. my roommate & i rode our bikes, drunk, back home, which we quickly realized was very, very difficult.

3. last year at this time, i was finishing my Senior Project, staying up all hours of the night like a crazy person to work on it. one Friday night, i'd stayed in to write, and ended up not getting into bed until about 6 am. i had to wake up only 1 or 2 hours later to babysit. despite my only half-alive state, i remember feeling so blissful, sitting out in the kids' big back yard, it was warm, they were running around like mad and i was just sitting there, unable to move, but very happy.

4. in the Spring of my 10th grade year of high school, i heard Galaxie 500's Today for the first time & it changed my life, then and there. exactly 6 years later, as a Senior in college, i read Dean Wareham's memoir which chronicled in detail the history of Galaxie 500, & he changed my life again.

HAPPPEE, SEE:

King of the Monkeys

2009-03-19T19:52:00.004-04:00

through my newly found love of Southern Literature, i've recently discovered Eugene Walter. how i did not know about him before, i do not know-- after all, he grew up in Mobile, Alabama, was the city's most infamous character, and after decades spent living in New York, Paris, and Rome, came back to Mobile in the late 1980's and lived there until his death in 1998. Sucks for me that I never knew him, afterall, I grew up in Mobile from about 1990-2004!

anyway. he was quite an amazing person. he was a writer, poet, editor, actor, translator, puppeteer, basically everything good in life.

he was gay, though maybe never admittedly, as it seemed was the case with a lot of Southern writers/people in the art world in his day. like Truman Capote for instance, who Eugene knew, and who spent a lot of his life in Mobile too. one of my neighbors at home in Alabama was part of Eugene Walter's circle in Mobile back in the day. he & my mom are good friends. he has some other cool-gay-old-dude friends who own antique stores around town & my mom found some of Eugene's books there for me.

i just started reading Milking the Moon, which is his oral biography as told to Katherine Clark. i've only read a tiny bit of it so far but already i am completely enthralled with Eugene Walter.

one thing that Clark wrote about him in her introduction that really made an impression on me was how, though he was a very talented writer/actor/etc., he put his real genius into living his life; as if, his life was his greatest work of art. that idea, to me, is really incredible.

he also loved monkeys. they were his favorite animal. and he loved all "wayward things." in his most famous novel, The Untidy Pilgrim, the main character, who spends most of the book in Mobile, is based off himself. the title "untidy pilgrim" is a juxtoposition of the unrelenting work ethic of early Puritan pilgrims, which was passed down generation after generation to those hard workers up in the North. but in the South, there were only UNTIDY pilgrims, who did not have their lives mapped out, and who were more leisurely; they were the "monkeys" according to Eugene, who lived in the "green and crazy land" of the South.

i love that sentiment.

post #1000000 devoted to Elvis Costello

2009-03-01T16:52:00.004-05:00

i've been having a bit of a SUCKY week & the only thing that's been really keeping me going is Elvis (especially Get Happy!!, GOD that album is gorgeous) so i thought he deserved a little love. i am very grateful he exists.

this is the cover of Punch the Clock, which M & i listened to recently in Athens, in the car everywhere we drove. we think his look is saying, "Oh, me?" in a seductive, coy tone.

M & i made fun of his song "Shabby Doll" because he keeps singing "shabbydoll" over & over again & it's really silly. HAHA. but it's okay, because we're both in love with him. Elvy knows it's all in good fun.
hear for yourself:

i made a list of my favorite Elvis songs about a year ago, & i decided to make a new one, because i think it's changed a lot. this is just like VERY VERY FAVORITES, 'cos i have about a million favorites.

1. WATCH YOUR STEP
2. Possession
3. Wecome to the Working Week
4. Everyday I Write the Book
5. No Action
6. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
7. Miracle Man
8. No Dancing
9. Hand in Hand
10. White Knuckles
11. Senior Service
12. Oliver's Army
13. Veronica
14. Man Called Uncle
15. King Horse
16. Pidgin English
17. Really Mystified
18. Man Out of Time
19. Busy Bodies
20. Sulky Girl

okay, that's all for now. Elvis is bored. goodbye.

death, blood, birds, & elves

2009-02-12T20:21:00.005-05:00

my dad alerted me to this http://www.simonhoegsberg.com/we_are_all_gonna_die/slider.html
photo project called "We're All Gonna Die" by a Dutch artist. it's 100 meters long. it's pretty awesome.

i took a trip to Ocean Springs, Mississippi the other day. i've decided i really like Mississippi. we went to the new exhibit at the Walter Anderson Museum. Walter was AMAZING. i wish i was insane & brilliant like he was. here's a sweet bird painting of his:

in my bookbinding class i made a bird accordian book for a special friend.
this is the cover

and these are some of the pages

i also recently took a trip to Athens, Georgia with M. it was quite a bloody trip, between the bloody lip, coughing up blood, and bloody-ing up the hotel room. deceptively innocently drinking champagne and talking on the phone before the massacre:

we also saw Elf Power and Vic Chesnutt. i wore a bird in my hair. which, along with my green ankle boots, made me look like a woodland creature. or an Elf, if you will.

M & i think A.R. is a hot Elf

and Vic is amazing

crying with laughter

2009-02-03T16:37:00.003-05:00

my new favorite activity is watching hour upon hour of Two & a Half Men. it's HI-LAR-I-OUS.

the theme song & ADORABLE intro gets me every time

so does the "Oshikuru" theme song written by Charlie, a jingle writer

i have 3 favorite scenes & they are so funny they make me literally cry with laughter.

1. at about the 9 minute mark- when Charlie, Jake, & Alan are dressed up as the Flying Monkeys

2. when Jake yells "SQUAB!" & the spaghetti flies in the air- about 1 minute in

3. BEST OF ALL, when Charlie & Alan pretend to be gay. i can't find my favorite part of the episode, but this is pretty funny, especially when Alan says, "Back off sister, I caught this fish!" around 28 seconds.

"woah, i'm in trouble boys/a Southern Alabama kid's in trouble"

2009-01-31T04:19:00.007-05:00

Mobile, Alabama roots

whenever i am about to leave the South, i start going all sentimental & relishing all those great things about the most misunderstood & underrated section of the country.

these are some Southern foods i've been into lately: cheese grits, FRIED okra & pickles & green tomatoes, ranch dressing.
mmm, want some?

and my favorite Southern cities & towns are: Mobile, AL, Fairhope, AL, Memphis, TN, Nashville, TN, Chapel Hill, NC, Winston-Salem, NC, Oxford, MS, Gainsville, FL, Pensacola, FL, New Orleans, LA, Atlanta, GA, Savannah, GA, and OF COURSE, MOST OF ALL... Athens, GA. the loveliest place in all the world.
see, these great boys are from there

my favorite places in Athens are: the 40 Watt, the Grit, THE GRILL, Caledonia Lounge, Secret Squirrel, the Globe, Transmetropolitan, Schoolkids, WUXTRY, and all the hilly back roads just outside of downtown.

i made a "Best Of Athens" mixtape, but that's for another time. so here are my Top 40 Bands/Musicians From The South!! not in order:

1. r.e.m. (GA)
2. the dB's (NC)
3. buddy holly (TX)
4. roy orbison (TX)
5. everly brothers (KY)
6. pylon (GA)
7. b-52's (GA)
8. let's active (NC)
9. love tractor (GA)
10. the squalls (GA)
11. flat duo jets (GA)
12. the silos (FL)
13. vulgar boatmen (FL)
14. jay reatard (TN)
15. dolly parton (TN)
16. otis redding (GA)
17. 13th floor elevators (TX)
18. guadalcanal diary (GA)
19. vic chesnutt (GA)
20. whiskeytown (NC)
21. OLD 97's (TX)
22. steve earle (TX)
23. justin townes earle (TN)
24. pine hill haints (AL)
25. jim white (FL)
26. swimming pool q's (GA)
27. daniel johnston (TX)
28. james & bobby purify (FL)
29. congo rebellion (FL)
30. the right angles (AL)
31. big star (TN)
32. bonnie "prince" billy (KY)
33. neutral milk hotel (GA)
34. of montreal (GA)
35. olivia tremor control (GA)
36. circulatory system (GA)
37. oh-OK (GA)
38. elf power (GA)
39. music tapes (GA)
40. the box tops (TN)

the coolest Southern gal!

ROY ORBISON

2009-01-12T20:38:00.002-05:00

Roy Orbison is probably the coolest guy ever. i mean, just look at those shades.

and the coolest scene of any movie of all time is when Dean Stockwell & Dennis Hopper sing Roy's "In Dreams" in Blue Velvet.

also, he sang the truest lyrics to describe love that i've ever heard in my life, in 1989's "Mystery Girl."

a love so sharp
cuts like a switchblade to my heart
words tearing me apart

love hurts! it's also the greatest! thanks Roy.

Old Year/New Year

2009-01-04T01:56:00.005-05:00

2008 was pretty sweet. the last day of it & the first day of 2009 were spent in Athens, Ga. we saw Of Montreal. they rubbed blood on us & played a full set of covers, highlights being "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "American Girl" by Tom Petty, and the Buzzcocks' "Ever Fallen In Love With Someone You Shouldn't've Fallen In Love With." it ruled, a lot.

E & i post-champagne, pre-Of Montreal:

broken glass: new year's eve aftermath

playing guitar with an extra hand

so anyway, that was 2008. goodbye, year.

now i have some predictions for 2009. what you can look forward to:

COOL PLACES- Savannah, Ga; Memphis, Tn; Oxford, Ms; Gainesville, Fl

COOL VENUE- The Bottle Tree in Birmingham, Al

LEGENDARY BANDS THAT WILL BE COOL TO BE INFLUENCED BY- Tall Dwarfs (and all other New Zealand/Flying Nun people like The Clean, The Chills, The 3Ds, The Bats, etc.), Pavement, Guided By Voices, original Elephant 6 stuff, R.E.M.'s first two albums

FOOD PEOPLE ARE GOING TO LIKE TO EAT- french fries (humble, yet easy to personalize & make more fancy; also, cool in a kitschy and also ironic, these-are-bad-for-me-but-i-don't-care kind of way)

COOL ART TO DO- Bookbinding

COOL ACTIVITY- categorizing all your favorite things in life into structured lists

DRUGS THAT WILL BE IN VOGUE- over the counter medications and the trusty, always readily available alcohol (especial hard liquor and cheap champagne)

COOL THINGS TO WEAR- glasses (preferably ones that make you look like Woody Allen), 80's-ish lace up ankle boots, sunglasses indoors, cropped t-shirts, t-shirts that are too big for you, things that are grey

SOCIAL-Y WEBSITE PEOPLE WILL GET EXCITED ABOUT- Yelp (see mine here! camillaaa.yelp.com)

COOL JOB- not actually having a job but finding creative ways to have enough money to live (i.e. selling cd's & lp's to your local independent record store, selling any items really on Ebay, getting your tax return back, spending your savings, having a birthday/graduating from high school or college or grad school/celebrating a holiday, making bets with people you know you'll win, etc.)

PHILOSOPHY/OUTLOOK FOR THE YEAR- no nostalgia; being more excited about right now & the future than the past, not romanticising the past, not basing new experiences on old ones, making new friends, doing new things, memory loss.

End of the Year Lists: Part Three!

2008-12-21T18:45:00.003-05:00

i saw SO SO MANY terrific shows this year, so it's really hard to cull them down into a concise list, but i've never been known for being concise, so here's my Top 20-ish Shows of 2008:

1. The Pogues & Billy Bragg in NYC
2. Justin Townes Earle in Mobile
3. King Khan & The Shrines in Phoenix
4. Circulatory System @ Athens Popfest
5. Elephant 6 extravaganza in NYC
6. Crystal Stilts & Pains of Being Pure at Heart @ Bard College (my show, i rule)
7. The Feelies & Shrubs in Brooklyn
8. Jay Reatard & Women in Brooklyn (i broke my finger at this show, i kind of rule again)
9. Old 97's in New Orleans
10. My Teenage Stride @ Athens Popfest
11. Okkervil River in NYC
12. Old 97's in Mobile
13. Fat Planet @ Athens Popfest
14. Robert Forster in NYC
15. Jay Reatard @ the Matador offices
16. Dressy Bessy in Brooklyn
17. Meat Puppets in Flagstaff, AZ
18. Elf Power @ Athens Popfest
19. Dean & Britta in NYC
20. (BIG TIE) Deerhunter in Brooklyn/ King Khan & BBQ in Brooklyn/ Marshall Crenshaw @ a middle school fundraiser in a church in Rhinebeck, NY (!!)/ Bunnygrunt @ New England Popfest

End of the Year Lists: Part Two!

2008-12-16T13:56:00.004-05:00

Now, time for the all important Top Albums of 2008:

[Best Reissues]

1. PAVEMENT- BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS
2. R.E.M.- Murmur
3. New Order- Movement, Power, Corruption, & Lies, Low Life, Brotherhood, and Technique

[Best Live/ish Releases]

1. Lou Reed- Berlin: Live at St. Ann's Warehouse
2. Belle & Sebastian- BBC Sessions

[Best EP]

1. The Clientele- That Night, A Forest Grew

[BEST BEST!]

1. Old 97's- Blame It On Gravity
2. Robert Forster- The Evangelist
3. Jay Reatard- Matador Singles: '08
4. Okkervil River- The Stand Ins
5. Silver Jews- Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
6. Fleet Foxes- s/t
7. Elf Power- In a Cave
8. The Raveonettes- Lust Lust Lust
9. Magnetic Fields- Distortion
10. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks- Real Emotional Trash
11. Times New Viking- Rip It Off
12. Music Tapes- Music Tapes For Clouds and Tornadoes
13. Pine Hill Haints- Ghost Dance

14. Billy Bragg- Mr. Love & Justice
15. Jonathan Richman- Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild
16. R.E.M.- Accelerate
17. Elvis Costello- Momofuku [E.C. and R.E.M. are kind of only for sentimental/loyalty reasons, sorry boys]
18. Wolf Parade- At Mt. Zoomer
19. Deerhunter- Microcastle
20. Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, & The Amorphous Strums- Dark Developments
21. Shearwater- Rook
22. Justin Townes Earle- The Good Life
23. The Lucksmiths- First Frost
24. Bonnie Prince Billy- Lie Down un the Light
25. Of Montreal- Skeletal Lamping

and to add a touch of excitement to all the boring text, here is Lou Reed performing the incredible "Caroline Says Part II" from the brand new movie version of Berlin, directed by my arch nemesis Julian Schaebel.
enjoy!

End of the Year Lists: Part One!

2008-12-08T21:39:00.003-05:00

i present to you my Top 25 Songs of 2008, in descending order:

1. "Trapped Here" by Jay Reatard (Song of the Year!!!)
2. "Never Stops" by Deerhunter
3. "Suffering Jukebox" by Silver Jews
4. "Welfare Bread" by King Khan & the Shrines
5. "Dance With Me" by Old 97's
6. "Let Your Light In, Babe" by Robert Forster
7. "Too Drunk To Dream" by Magnetic Fields
8. "The Grey Estates" by Wolf Parade
9. "Supernatural Superserious" by R.E.M.
10. "White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes
11. "Starry Stairs" by Okkervil River
12. "Majesty" by Music Tapes
13. "Paralyzed" by Elf Power

14. "Ride" by Old 97's
15. "Screaming Hand" by Jay Reatard
16. "Lost Coastlines" by Okkervil River
17. "It Ain't Easy" by Robert Forster
18. "Calling and Not Calling My Ex" by Okkervil River
19. "Gardenia" by Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks
20. "Hallucinations" by the Raveonettes
21. "Crystal Stilts" by Crystal Stilts
22. "Softly Through The Void" by Elf Power
23. "When You Fall" by Pine Hill Haints
24. "Time Goes By So Fast" by Jonathan Richman
25. "Farm Boy" by Billy Bragg

be is was i me b c d e f g h i think...

2008-12-03T04:47:00.005-05:00

lately i have been listening to lots of Tall Dwarfs & Chris Knox.

i have also been liking songs like these

(king khan & bbq's "love you so")

that sound like real 1950's songs like this

(gene vincent's "my heart")

see also: the vulgar boatmen's "heartbeat," jonathan richman's cover of "i can't stay mad at you," the ramones' "i wanna be your boyfriend," elvis costello's "really mystified," hoodoo gurus' "my girl," etc.

i like these cartoon drawings of the Presidents
http://www.letrainbleublog.com/2008/10/fourty-four-presidents-mzamaria-sputnik.html

and the graphics for the Queen's Hideaway in Brooklyn
http://thequeenshideaway.com/

and "The Catorialist"- HYSTERICAL
http://thecatorialist.blogspot.com/

AND I LIKE

this bag

and mustache necklaces

and masks like this

and this picture of the Go-Betweens.

My Guide to Greenpoint: Part One!

2008-11-23T00:01:00.002-05:00

i've been speaking out so much lately on behalf of Greenpoint, even boldly declaring it the BEST AREA OF BROOKLYN (oooh, controversial!), so i figured that this lovely, northernmost part of the borough deserved to be written about. maybe one day in the future i will start a blog solely dedicated to Greenpoint. ah, dreams!

i have moved 3 times since i've been in Brooklyn, recently settling in the best abode of all. my room was unfurnished so i had to get creative with books & cd's used as tables or shelves or something. i also put fun stuff on my walls to add a bit of personal FLAV-OR.

notice my adorable, super cool (hey now, don't make fun of me!) Welsh Corgi calendar, side by side with some inspirational Feelies & Buddy Holly pictures.

my very minimal wall.

i live near McGolrick Park which is bound by Nassau and Driggs Avenues. it must be named after some Polish person.

this is one of the many beautiful churches in Greenpoint, on Manhattan Ave., and you can see it from all different points in the area. it's called St. Anthony of Padua Church i believe.

peaking out...

so, now, onto some of my favorite places in Greenpoint!!

sometimes, after a day of not eating very much, i am really hungry and i'll go down to the deli on the corner of Sutton & Nassau and get a bagel with cream cheese for 1 whole dollar. and, when i am workin' in Greenpoint and not in the big city, while everyone else is having some type of meat-y lunch, i'll go down there and get a delicious cheese sandwich. piled high with sharp cheddar, lettuce and tomato, and lots of mustard on a big old roll, it only costs me $2.50!!!! amazing!

another of my favorite food places is Amarin, a Thai restaurant on Manhattan between Driggs & Nassau. sometimes when i am out of Diet Cokes and don't feel like leaving the house, i'll order delivery from them so that they can bring me one. i also get some tasty, surprisingly light and very spicy! pad thai with tofu out of the deal.

one of my favorite non-food places around here is Susan's Laundromat at Diamond & Driggs. before i moved to Brooklyn, i had never dropped off my laundry- i'd always suffered through the dredgery of doing it myself, miserable the whole time. but since i discovered this place, i have changed my ways. i just give them everything & it's only 10 bucks and they do such an amazing job. they are so sweet and neatly hang and fold everything, it is such a joy!

there aren't many "cool" "hip" hotspots in my area of Greenpoint (clearly, since i am talking about LAUNDROMATS in my Guide), but there is one good place called Bar Matchless, at Manhattan & Driggs, right by McCarren Park (we'll get to that later). i recently went there to see my friend's band Pow Wow! [www.myspace.com/powwownyc] play a show. it was also where i spent Election Night! alongside a bunch of happy, drunk hipsters! by the way, only a few blocks down from Matchless, on Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg, there was some major craziness on Election Night! there was a bit of drama eventually, but it looked pretty amazing for the most part. this picture is courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan [www.brooklynvegan.com] which is a great source for music news & happenings in BK.

the only non-positive thing one might be able to say about Greenpoint is the transportation situation. the L is a 15 or 20 minute walk, to either the Graham or Bedford stops. the G is a little closer, with locations on Nassau and Greenpoint Ave., but the G seems to be pretty universally disliked. there is a good place to use the bathroom right before the G stop on Nassau, if you were wondering. i've used it a few times on my way to far-off destinations like Park Slope. anyway.
cab drivers also have no idea how to get to Greenpoint (or Brooklyn in general). despite being located right off the BQE, the few times i've taken a cab in the past 3 months, i've had to direct my driver where to go. which, if you know anything about my sense of direction, is a scary thought.

so i end up walking A LOT. and there are a few certain walks that i make frequetly that i absolutely love. one is the walk from Greenpoint to the Bedford area of Williamsburg. i do this walk if i am going to the subway or Salvation Army or, most commonly, the Music Hall of Williamsburg. i walk past the lovely, lively McCarren Park, which is always swarming with families with small children, kids playing sports, people jogging, old people, young people, hip people, normal people. it's very fun.

then, on my way back home, when it's late at night and i've just been to a show, i love to go to Anna Maria Pizzeria on Bedford for an incredible slice of pizza. they stay open until like 5 am and the place is always packed with drunk people (funny if you are drunk too, highly annoying if you aren't) and the guys who work there are kind of wiseasses and try to sell you 5 slices instead of 1, but all that insanity is worth it, because that pizza is seriously amazing. i eat it as i walk back down Bedford towards Greenpoint, where even very late at night there are people around and it is 100% safe and i get to take in all the beautiful sights that look downright magical at night, like this school right by McCarren Park.

speaking of long walks, last weekend i was at a party in a different area of Greenpoint, down near the East River by Java and India Streets, and by 2 am, i was the only one ready to head home. so as to not send me on my way totally defenseless, D and J "borrowed" a big umbrella for me. what gentlemen. so i walked down bustling Manhattan Ave., in a light rain at 2 am, using this sweet umbrella as a sort of walking-stick. like a cane. like when Kramer was a pimp on Seinfeld.

Notes From the Street:

2008-11-18T14:08:00.003-05:00

(said in gruff, New York, homeless guy voice)

"Hey blondie! Smile! It gets worse, believe me!!!"

-yelled by dude slumped against a wall in Union Square, to me, as i was walking down the street, apparently not smiling, probably because i was carrying two heavy Trader Joe's bags and in desperate need of a Diet Coke.

walk around, walk around, shake

2008-11-07T05:04:00.006-05:00

even though i've got no $$, i'm bidding on these glasses because i like them lots

i'm also contemplating going after these in addition to the grey pair

if it was possible to get sick from listening to one album too much i think i might have died already due to the number of times i've played Opposite Sex by the Vulgar Boatmen in the past 4 days. i only heard it for the first time on Monday night, the day before the Election (!). and i'd be frightened to even guess how many times i've listened to it since. MAN, IS IT GOOD OR WHAT. just bear with me as i go through my VB Obsession Stage 2 here, folks.

look how cool & dorky they looked

i'm going to devote my life to writing a book about them. well, i might not devote my whole life to it, but i'm definitely going to do it! maybe it will be entitled Women and Boatmen First, the title of one of their early cassette-only recordings, or it could be called Right to Left, the name of the band Dale Lawrence (one of the 2 main dudes) was in before the VB. hey, don't steal my ideas now! i know everyone's just dying to get a piece of this goldmine of a project.

and here is this song, it's a really early one by them, or maybe it's even by Right to Left, but Dale Lawrence is singing (there's also Robert Ray, he wrote most of the songs, way to go Rob!) and it's a song called "Over You," that is not on any of their releases and the first time i played this video i was honestly speechless. it's from some 20 year old recording, made in someone's basement somewhere, and yet the beauty and urgency and melody and power of the song manage to completely overwhelm. the song has one lyric: "i'm over you" repeated for 2 and a half minutes, and it's pure bliss, every single second of it.

This Is The Day.

2008-11-03T20:08:00.005-05:00

the last election four years ago was My First Vote. it was also my first year of college. so i was basically surrounded by zealous first-time voters in an incredibly idealistic & liberal bubble. i guess we really felt like we were in control for the first time. so when, around 2 am, things started going downhill very very quickly, it was utterly crushing. we took it personally. the next day, after the defeat was official, the whole campus was just sulking around. classes were cancelled. i remember showing up to my African Art class and our professor saying, "you all don't want to be here do you? everyone is too depressed." we all just morosely nodded "yes" and left.

SO ANYWAY! TOMORROW! HAPPY THOUGHTS! because despite the last election feeling huge, this one is unfathomably huger. a trillion times bigger. this is our last chance to get it right.

so in honor of November 4th, 2008, what else would i do but create a mixtape?

here you go, Election Day, enjoy.

1. Super Tuesday- vic chesnutt
2. Washington, D.C.- magnetic fields
3. November- the desert wolves
4. America Is- violent femmes
5. Politics- girls at our best!
6. Christ for President- billy bragg & wilco
7. Heroes & Villains- the beach boys
8. George Says He Has Lost His Way In This World- the clientele
9. Leader of Men- let's active
10. Until the Poorest of People Have Money to Spend- west coast pop art experimental band
11. Welfare Bread- king khan & the shrines
12. Workin' in the Coalmine- lee dorsey
13. I Fought the Law- the crickets
14. Running the World- jarvis cocker
15. The Greedy Ugly People- hefner
16. We Are All Bourgeois Now- mccarthy
17. Don't Worry About the Government- talking heads
18. Never Been in a Riot- mekons
19. Police & Thieves- the clash
20. Government Center- the modern lovers
21. Middle Class- pointed sticks
22. Help Save the Youth of America- billy bragg
23. 2 Little Hitlers- elvis costello
24. Exhuming McCarthy- r.e.m.
25. Dear God- xtc
26. Finally Free- elf power
27. Change the World All Around- vulgar boatmen
28. Dismantled King is Off the Throne- felt
29. Freedom- the housemartins
30. Glad To See You Go- ramones

Dear World,

2008-10-29T00:11:00.004-04:00

please find me either a copy of or someone who has a copy of or someone who knows someone who has a copy of OR EVEN someone who has ever laid eyes on a copy of
this record

apparently there is more than one (me) fanatical Vulgar Boatmen fan out there so this album starts running at about 80 big ones. but i NEED it so badly it hurts!

lots 'o' things

2008-10-26T18:20:00.005-04:00

1. FIRST OF ALL, MUSIC.

a. lately i've been listening to The Soft Boys, The Silos, R.E.M.'s Murmur, Jay Reatard, Sonic Youth, and one night recently Brian Eno's Another Green World was played by me & a special someone over & over again throughout the night. but more than anything else, i've been WAY into PAVEMENT lately. especially Wowee Zowee, which was the only one of their albums i hadn't played a ton over the years. but i've made up for it in the past few weeks, as that album is on constant repeat.
here is their video for "Rattled by the Rush":

b. Elliott Smith is the only person who could make Big Star's "Thirteen," the most achingly beautiful song ever, even more beautiful.
this is from Lucky Three, a film E.S. was in:

c. the day after my birthday, the magnificent Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour came to NYC. it was quite a spectacle. the crowd was rabid & the place was completely packed. i had the great honor of watching most of the show from backstage, while i rubbed elbows with some of the biggest indie rock icons of the past 2 decades. they are some of the coolest, most creative, sweetest, most genuine and talented people anywhere in the world. it was the best birthday present ever.

i was also left with an old, hole-y, AMAZING e6 t-shirt at the end of that long night (that actually never ended, because we never went to sleep). a few days later i also got an old, AMAZING Athens, Ga t-shirt from my friend for my birthday. how 'bout that.

2. This past weekend was CMJ in the city & lots of crazy/drunken/amazingly fun things went on.

a. on Thursday night, i went to see Mission of Burma.

b. on Friday during the day, Jay Reatard came to the Matador offices & played a few songs as everyone in the office stopped what they were doing and huddled around to watch. it was like a mini-concert in the middle of the workday. pretty amazing. Jay's Matador Singles '08 is one of my favorite albums of the year.
here he & his band do an awesome cover of an old Go-Betweens (!!) tune:

c. on Friday night, E came in to town. we made gin & tonics and went to Gowanus. we wanted to see Crystal Stilts, but arrived too late because apparently in New York City shows actually start on time. SHEESH. so we saw Ladybug Transistor who the man at the door referred to as "Ladybirds." from there, we headed to Manhattan. along the way, we ran into my subway pal from my hometown as well as a busker on the subway who, despite his designer glasses that i complimented him on and his fancy 12-string guitar that he let me play, asked us for a "donation" after he played us 2 beatles tunes. i hate when people sing to me. but this dude was pretty hysterical. we parted ways with our new friend and went to the Matador afterparty in the Lower East Side. drank some free Stellas, had enthusiastic interactions with people who usually never talk to me at work, admired the Halloween decorations, and got out of there around 3 am.

d. on Saturday night, M came over to Greenpoint and he and E and i had some beers & maybe a shot of vodka or two.

it was rainy, so E & i took a cab to Williamsburg for that night's show. Women played first. they were a delightful surprise. really really good stuff. they are from Canada i think.

the venue was supercool and there were crazy Alice In Wonderland videos being played on the walls and we drank Colt 45's and just had a blast. after a few pretty dreadful acts, it was once again time for JAY REATARD. it was SUCH a fun show. superfast songs, high energy from the band and the crowd, singing along and going crazy, those luscious long flowing curls of his.
this way FAR OUT photo was taken by E:

e. oh, but towards the end of Jay's set, a few members of the crowd were getting a bit unruly, and some dude slammed into me and knocked me down, as i was stood at the front of the stage. now i've got a GIGANTIC black and blue bruise on my thigh & what i think is a broken finger:

i'm pretty badass, i guess.

3. i've fallen in love with Brooklyn lately.

a. the other night, after the Mission of Burma show, all by my lonesome, kind of late at night, i took the long way home. i walked 20 minutes down Bedford back to Greenpoint. it was just elating. it was a beautiful night, people were out but it was quiet, the park was on the right, old Polish churches all around.

b. i was also eating a slice of broccoli pizza from a pizzeria right by the Bedford L stop on this walk home. it was one of the best slices i've ever had. i got another after the Jay Reatard show, with E, before we made the late night walk home for our second night of going to bed at 6 am.
tasty:

4. ELECTION DAY, SCARY!

a. also on our walk home from Williamsburg after Jay Reatard, we saw THIS:

it was pretty amazing. it looked so beautiful. perhaps all those Colt 45's were making me overly emotional, but it was really inspiring, kinda got me all misty-eyed. well not really, but almost.

b. my dad pointed me to this hilarious/lovely essay written by the one & only Larry David.
read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-david/waiting-for-nov-4th_b_137029.html

c. i've never been a big SNL fan, but i've been really enjoying all their election sketches. that Tina Fey sure is terrific. the dudes who play McCain and Obama are great too. they make me laugh out loud.

d. semi-related, i've also been reading The Onion a lot and it CRACKS ME UP. especially uproarious are news items entitled "First Openly Gay Racehorse To Compete Sunday" & "John McCain Accidentally Left On Campaign Bus Overnight" and "'I Am Under 18' Button Clicked For First Time In History of Internet." HI-LARIOUS!

teenage.

2008-10-05T00:42:00.006-04:00

"woke up on Monday and got ready for school, put on my uniform, it was three sizes too small. i said, 'dear, dear, dear teacher, i've been six years away and ain't finished my essay 'cos rock'n'roll rules ok!'"
-Gorky's Zygotic Mynci

so. because i have a birthday coming up, & i am going to pretend to not really age another year ever again, and stay this age i am now forever, i came up with the ultimate list of songs about being young. here they are:

1. to be young- ryan adams ("when you're young you get sad then you get high")
2. why must i be a teenager in love?- dion & the belmonts
3. sixteen blue- the replacements
4. thirteen- big star ("maybe Friday i can get tickets for the dance and i'll take you")
5. spanish dance troupe- gorky's zygotic mynci
6. part of growing up- the tammys
7. wouldn't you?- biff bang pow!
8. 1,000,000- r.e.m. ("i could live a million years!")
9. let's kiss- beat happening
10. no time to be 21- the adverts
11. i'm not a juvenile delinquent- frankie lymon & the teenagers
12. susanne cochtrain- the right angles
13. ask- the smiths
14. i think we're alone now- tommy james & shondells ("'children, behave,' that's what they say when we're together")
15. expectations- belle & sebastian
16. you're so square, baby i don't care- buddy holly
17. noise annoys- buzzcocks
18. not yet three- jonathan richman & the modern lovers
19. the boy with the perpetual nervousness- the feelies
20. crazy- galaxie 500 ("you're so old, you must be 23, spent the year in a drunken frenzy")
21. now i wanna sniff some glue- ramones
22. teenage partner- gene vincent
23. joyriders- pulp
24. i know everything- the soup dragons
25. this angry silence- television personalities
26. silver lining- beulah ("punk rock was my first girl")
27. be true to your school- the beach boys
28. my girl- hoodoo gurus ("i took her to a dance and then i didn't see her all night")
29. holy moly- the pastels
30. today i lost a tooth- olivia tremor control
31. teenage kicks- the undertones
32. (i live for) cars and girls- the dictators
33. all grown up- the crystals ("when i'm all grown up/no more ponytails/if he wants to kiss i might say 'all right'")
34. brother- oh-ok
35. teenage fbi- guided by voices
36. doreen- old 97's ("when i first met doreen, she was barely 17, drinkin' whiskey sours at the bar")
37. perfect youth- the pointed sticks
38. the teacher- super furry animals
39. rock'n'roll high school- ramones ("i don't care about history/i just wanna have some kicks, i just wanna get some chicks")
40. teenage high 2- the pooh sticks
41. it's my party- lesley gore
42. sex is boring- ballboy
43. you're just a baby- belle & sebastian ("so kiss me on the cheek and then go off to school")
44. temptation- new order
45. big girls don't cry- frankie valli & the 4 seasons
46. our secret- beat happening ("i said 'i like you' and she said that she liked me/no one in this whole world could ever understand, that's why we're running away")
47. got a job- smokey robinson & the miracles
48. oh oh i love her so- ramones
49. young & lovely- blur
50. melt show- old 97's ("in the front row of the Melt show i fell in love with you and that was 3 weeks ago/i don't believe in school no more, you don't learn anything, you're just waitin' around")

"the boy next door is into better things/the boy next door is into bigger things/the boy next door is me"

2008-10-01T02:27:00.009-04:00

i saw The Feelies a few weekends ago in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. they were phenomenally fast & tight & perfect & amazing. i think the highlight of the show for me had to be "Raised Eyebrows," with it's pounding, primal three-drum intro, giving way to jittery guitars and a beautiful melody. IN-CREDIBLE. this is what the "Raised Eyebrows" (with "Fa Ce La") single looked like when it came out in 1980.

The Feelies are my style icons they were (and ARE) so cool, they just dressed and looked perfect to me.

My favorite album cover of all time, how can you deny THE COOLNESS:

Glenn has the best style of any man ever. He was sporting some amazing tortoisehell sunglasses & nicely-fitting khakis & awesome all black All-Stars.

Oh, and Dave, the guy who plays percussion, was my FAVE. he completely owned the tambourine & bells & maracas & occasional snare and bass drum.

before The Feelies came on, SHRUBS opened for them, and i thought they were the greatest thing i'd ever heard. they also were amazing because they had mini-shrubs on stage with them. and the drummer especially rules because he gave me all this crazy stuff. he liked me.

and, while we're on the subject, i also saw the mighty Robert Forster (of the best band of all time, The Go-Betweens) a few days before The Feelies. Robert wins at life.

the economy in me-land

2008-09-18T16:14:00.003-04:00

NEW YORK CITY IS SO EXPENSIVE. you've been warned. but still, we choose to live here because it's just so darn terrific. i guess.

in the past week, i've had both good & bad experiences with the ways of money.

THE BAD:
1 diet coke at joe's pub in manhattan- $5.45
1 corona at joe's pub in manhattan- $8
1 gin and tonic at joe's pub in manhattan- $10
a round trip subway ride from brooklyn to manhattan- $5 (it adds up real quick!!!)
soy crips from natural food store in williamsburg- $4

THE GOOD:
coffee from a stand in manhattan near spring and hudson- 75 cents (and the guy is so nice too!!)
a bottle of wine from trader joe's wine shop in union square- $3.99
a whole slew of groceries, including hummus, crackers, a Luna bar, eye makeup remover cloths, cereal, whole wheat pasta, bananas, & a box of mac and cheese from trader joe's in union square- $16
12 pack of diet coke from natural food store in williamsburg- $2.99
1 fancy beer on tap at BARCADE (a bar with retro video games, sweet!)
in williamsburg- $5
CD's like pavement's wowee zowee, times new viking's rip it off, and the entire sonic youth back catalog- FREE! (if you work where i work)

& tickets to see robert forster & the feelies within one week of each other- priceless

& i make a whopping TEN DOLLARS a day at my internship. I'M RICH!

things of inter-est lately.

2008-09-01T23:52:00.004-04:00

i've been obsessing over the Vulgar Boatmen for the past few weeks. almost all i've been listening to are their albums Please Panic and You and Your Sister. they were from Gainesville, FL, back in the late 80's & early 90's. they sound twangy and poppy and basically like the best thing you've ever heard and the lyrics are incredible, they make me picture mossy Southern towns with winding, hilly streets, that seem quiet but are actually brewing with activity. um, yeah, anyway. there are not many good videos of them to be found, but this one showcases a beautiful song of theirs called "Drive Somewhere."

Bas Jan Ader is my favorite artist of all-time only after mr. a.w. he was this amazing Dutch guy who did really sweet conceptual art involving sailboats & tea parties & falling off bicycles. he went missing in the Atlantic Ocean during his final work of art. this is a particularly wonderful piece of his, from 1974, called Flower Work.

i've been up to some creative projects, including filming random shots on my video camera downtown at night & of my friends and i being hysterical. we've also been plotting our upcoming band, maybe or maybe not called The Tundra. it's going to be the best tambourine-laced party band ever!! and last but not least, i recorded 2 albums on my trashy tape recorder (that was once used by me to interview Calvin Johnson no less!). they are entitled Broken Tailbone and Twangy & Jangly.

i just re-discovered this part of an atrocious picture once taken of me & E. our legs aren't really that stumpy.

i've also been really, really obsessed with Athens, Georgia, and all things having to do with it. like, Elephant 6 bands (especially Circulatory System and the classic Olivia Tremor Control albums) and the Happy Happy Birthday To Me record label and the band THE SQUALLS. they are incredible. their song "Na na na na" is one of the greatest ever. it was featured on the seminal Athens, Ga: Inside/Out film. this clip from the film is kind of a nice encapsulation of everything i've been into Athens-wise. (you'll see some sweet R.E.M., Flat Duo Jets, Pylon, and BBQ Killers action, among other stuff. oh, and watch Peter Buck- he's amazing in this!)

um, and i've been way into glasses lately. i've been sporting a sweet pair of thick black-framed ones, ala Elvis C. and Buddy H. they look like

plus

and i've obtained a pair of red heartshaped sunglasses, ala one of my other style icons, Lolita:

finally, i've begun watching what some people consider to be the greatest TV drama of all time, The Wire. i'm not even through season 1 yet, but it's super terrific. here is a picture of my fave character, Bubbles, pulling at fast one on some mean drug dealers!

Ode to Summer 2008 (part one).

2008-08-23T20:20:00.004-04:00

well it seems, all of the sudden, the summer is coming to an end. i've got to pack up my things & move to the big city for a little while. Matador & sleeping on floors & Robert Forster & trying to make money awaits me. The Summer of 2008 was pretty great it turns out. Maybe not as surreal as some summers, or as monumental as others, but I don't know, it was pretty fantastic. Pretty high up on the list of All Time Greatest Summers. i saw a ton of amazing shows & listened to incredible tunes & bought a lot of dresses at thrift stores & worked at the record shop & travelled &... did other things. Those are all good things.

what better way to pay tribute to and sum up the Summer of 2008 than with a multitude of lists?! okay, here goes.

top shows of the summer of 2008:
1. justin townes earle
2. king khan & the shrines with the jacuzzi boys
3. old 97's twice
4. meat puppets
5. ATHENS POPFEST in which i saw too many bands to name, but the highlights were circulatory system, fat planet, thee american revolution, elf power, my teenage stride, roky erickson, great lakes, and big fresh.

top bands of the summer of 2008:
1. vulgar boatmen
2. circulatory system
3. my teenage stride
4. the squalls
5. the cuban heels
6. 13th floor elevators
7. elf power
8. ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS, duh
9. fleet foxes
10. cats on fire

top vacations of the summer of 2008:
1. athens, georgia
2. phoenix & mexico
3. new orleans twice

top activities of the summer of 2008:
1. applying for jobs
2. making sno-cones
3. making films about sno-cones, Popfests, & Elvis Costello
4. redecorating my room
5. recording my double album on cassette
6. ATHENS POPFEST
7. watching really really good tv (Mad Men, Rescue Me, The Wire)
8. having dinner parties with friends
9. making lists
10. going to see bands

top thing of the whole summer of 2008:
1. the Athens Popfest

and here is a mixtape i made in honor of the summer of 2008. it might seem similar to other mixes made throughout the summer, but this one is different & special, believe me. these are the only songs you need to know about my summer.

1. i had to tell you- 13th floor elevators
2. one wink at a time- the replacements
3. white winter hymnal- fleet foxes
4. paralyzed- elf power
5. up the junction- squeeze
6. to live and die by the airport lounge- my teenage stride
7. when you're near me i have difficulty- xtc
8. starry stairs- okkervil river
9. ride- old 97's
10. welfare bread- king khan & the shrines
11. margaret says- vulgar boatmen
12. morning of my life- great lakes
13. the grey estates- wolf parade
14. joy- circulatory system
15. falling slowly- glen hansard & marketa irglova
16. everyday i write the book- elvis costello
17. higher grounds- cats on fire
18. i tell myself- the seeds
19. fisherman's blues- the waterboys
20. i don't care- justin townes earle
21. haunted- shane macgowan & the popes
22. don't drop out- dolly parton
23. i can't stay mad at you- jonathan richman
24. nananana- the squalls

r.i.p.

2008-08-05T15:29:00.003-04:00

one of the greatest establishments in mobile, alabama has closed indefinitely. even though people complained about the lackluster service and the waitresses had meth face, Picklefish is still beloved in this corner of the world and holds a very special place in my heart.

they had some of the best pizza i've ever tasted. they had a fantastic jukebox. i recall playing lots of Elvis Costello & Big Country & Tom Petty & Ramones on it. my (legendary) band in high school, The Right Angles, would go there after every gig we played. we would yell "The Right Angles are leaving the building!" when we left, every time, without fail. we found that very humorous. i'll never know how the Picklefish employees felt about it. i saw the Pine Hill Haints there once. they are an amazing band and their bass player plays the washtub. i have ended up there with friends many many late nights after a show or hanging out downtown having a few brews. also, the one and only time i've ever eaten a FRIED PICKLE was there. a fried pickle is the stuff of dreams.

come back soon please Picklefish!

xoxoxoxoxo.

summer & sandy.

2008-08-03T02:47:00.004-04:00

i guess i should say something non-music related here. but nothing's coming to me, as all i ever think about or DO is music. well along with one or two other things. but i digress. i have a phone interview with Matador Records in two days & i've been thinking lots about music. it's really the best thing we've got, you know.

i'm coming out with a double album on cassette soon. one side (songs written in 2007) is called Broken Tailbone and the other side (songs written in 2008) is called Twangy & Jangly.

this is a list of random good songs i've been loving this summer. isn't LIFE GOOD?!

1. nite club... old 97's
2. i don't care... justin townes earle
3. got my mind set on you... george harrison
4. fisherman's blues... the waterboys
5. auntie alice... okkervil river
6. falling slowly... glen hansard & marketa irglova
7. shut down... the beach boys
8. sayonara... the pogues
9. some of shelley's blues... great lakes
10. welfare bread... king khan & the shrines
11. i tell myself... the seeds
12. i can't stay mad at you... jonathan richman
13. actors' colony... my teenage stride
14. rain king... counting crows (L-O-L, i know right? whatever, this song is GOOD ok! i am not ashamed.)
15. big tears... elvis costello & the attractions
16. you don't love me yet... vulgar boatmen
17. he doesn't know why... fleet foxes
18. crying in the rain... dave edmunds with nick lowe
19. up the junction... squeeze (especially fun to sing at dinner parties)
20. the grey estates... wolf parade
21. everyday i write the book... elvis costello & the attractions
22. you're so good to me... the beach boys
23. when you fall... pine hill haints
24. my heart... gene vincent
25. hands off... old 97's
26. mouth almighty... elvis costello & the attractions

i can't believe how many good shows i've seen this summer: old 97's x's 2, meat puppets, king khan & the shrines, justin townes earle, billy bob thornton & the boxmasters. that's in addition to the pogues and billy bragg, crystal stilts and pains of being pure at heart, dean & britta, marshall crenshaw, and stephen malkmus earlier this year...

music lately.

2008-07-24T19:09:00.006-04:00

last weekend, i saw the Old 97's two nights in a row. they are my favorite live band ever. i've seen them 10 times now.

first, in new orleans. ken is my guitar god.

second, on the water with some of my best friends. rhett wore a black t-shirt. it was a perfect summer night.

i've been listening to FLEET FOXES (excellent), the dB's, freddie & the dreamers, squeeze, subway sect, and of course, Elvis Costello. he is probably the most amazing man ever, so, you know. here are a few pieces of proof for that statement:

"(the angels wanna wear my) red shoes" on Top of the Pops

the video for "no dancing"

"lipstick vogue" live

the HI-LARIOUS video for "i can't stand up for falling down"

"watch your step," probably the most gorgeous song of all time, on a television program

and a stunning rendention of "man out of time" on tv

see? what'd i tell you.

sun city part two.

2008-07-12T18:41:00.004-04:00

we drove to Mexico, through the desert.

we walked over the border to Nogales.

it was quite beautiful in some places, and the cheap woven blankets & narcotics sans a prescription were in abundant supply.

we ate at this restaurant, called La Roca, that is built into the side of a cliff. it is very colonial in design & the food was outstanding.

they have a big bird there.

back in Phoenix, we saw King Khan & the Shrines and it was an epic show.

Mr. Khan had a nice owl. and a HOT bod, as you can see.

i also got this shirt & this bruise (from when the keyboardist of the Shrines pulled me onstage to dance and clap during King Khan's show).

sun city part one.

2008-07-12T18:27:00.004-04:00

i went on a trip to Phoenix & this is what i did:

on the 4th of July, we saw Peter Hook dj at a gay club. he fanned me with a cd & we sang the lyrics of the Stone Roses' "Made of Stone" to each other.

the next day, a group of us drove to Flagstaff, where it was about 30 degrees cooler. there, we went to a music festival. people there loved some dude called Roger.

we sat in the grass.

D slept through the first band, because they were just that horrible.

finally, the MEAT PUPPETS! they were tremendous.

and...

3 things:

2008-06-26T20:38:00.002-04:00

my new tiny & adorable record player. first albums played to christen it: JoJo Zep & the Falcons' Step Lively, Elvis Costello's Goodbye Cruel World, The Cuban Heels' Work Our Way to Heaven, and Lou Christie's Lightnin' Strikes.

Willy kitteh blends in with the comforter.

redecorating my bedroom walls;
pop-art wall with Lichtenstein poster & stapler print by me.

Warhol painting done by me years & years ago and cool little cards collage.

framed Herman's Hermits sheet music, Warhol cat drawing, and my interpretation of a Lichtenstein sculpture.

summer playlists.

2008-06-23T17:46:00.002-04:00

i just made two excellent mixed tapes for the summer.

the first is called Summer Dreamy:

1. summertime- galaxie 500
2. don't drop out- dolly parton
3. that summer feeling- jonathan richman & the modern lovers
4. death-defying- hoodoo gurus
5. car wash hair- mercury rev
6. an hour before the light- the clientele
7. a place in the sun- marine girls
8. this summers been good from the start- gorky's zygotic mynci
9. the violet hour- the clientele
10. indian summer- beat happening
11. california (all the way)- luna
12. perfect for shattering- ladybug transistor
13. the good earth- the feelies
14. so good today- the woodentops
15. rain- the clientele
16. gulf shores- bonnie "prince" billy
17. watch your step- elvis costello
18. please rain fall- the sea urchins
19. lovedust- luna
20. i know where the summer goes- belle & sebastian
21. face like summer- gorky's zygotic mynci

the second is called Summer Fun:

1. a summer wasting- belle & sebastian
2. wait until june- the go-betweens
3. here comes the summer- the undertones
4. this old chase- ladybug transistor
5. fresher than the sweetness in water- gorky's zygotic mynci
6. mexico- the desert wolves
7. sunday under glass- beulah
8. threw it away- dean & britta
9. sunnyside of the street- the pogues
10. summer in your heart- the razorcuts
11. shame about the rain- the chesterfields
12. double summer- the chills
13. sunlight bathed the golden glow- felt
14. hazey jane II- nick drake
15. all summer long- the beach boys
16. look away- apples in stereo
17. dream boy- jackie deshannon
18. my days are numbered- the close lobsters
19. the gauntlet/summer with you- masters of the hemisphere
20. the sun goes down and the world goes dancing- magnetic fields
21. adore him- the angels
22. let the serpent sleep- elf power
23. i believe- r.e.m.
24. my heart- gene vincent
25. it's only life- the feelies
26. wan light- orange juice

"a mama cat and her baby, torn apart!"

2008-06-21T01:03:00.003-04:00

my 1st video made with my new video camera. red hook, ny. may 2008. starring me & EKB.

pomp & circumstance: part two

2008-05-28T02:37:00.008-04:00

events following COLLEGE GRADUATION '08.

b-b-q for the old folks on the hudson post-commencement

Olafur Eliasson at MoMA

greatest sculptures ever in Rock City

pomp & circumstance

2008-05-28T02:08:00.004-04:00

events leading up to COLLEGE GRADUATION '08.

punk rock prom

senior dinner

hand gestures at dinner before tent party

a deer prancing in the field

1st pre-party for tent party

2nd pre-party for tent party and 2nd tilted head pose of the night

THE tent party

WOOOO

jet set junta.

2008-05-08T17:07:00.004-04:00

monochrome art is so cool! its so exciting. i am so genunitely into that sort of thing. i think the most minimal, most simple things are the most beautiful. i love art! i was looking at a book about monochrome today and i just realized it-- that i love art. its just so pure and so all encompassing at the same time. its freedom is so beautiful. i also think it is extremely hard to talk about art without sounding pretentious. UGH. whatever. there are worse things in the world than sounding pretentious.

i love this:

i think he is the most important artist of the 20th century, without a doubt. undoubtedly. it seems his pervasiveness in mainstream culture doesn't deter his influence-- every significant artist of the past several decades counts him among their greatest influences. obscurity is pointless in determining greatness.

and i think Buddy Holly is the most important musician of the 20th century. yes i do.