April

Phoenix + Elvis Costello




















that rooster has my hair






Funny loves American Apparel








the Magic Hat

i went to PHX, AZ

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.

death, blood, birds, & elves

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

Ode to Summer 2008 (part one).

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

sun city part two.

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).