So, I’m currently working on a super-secret, super-awesome project with a super-secret someone. More about that later.
I asked my lovely friend Jo (better known to you as Miss Led) to draw me a simple pencil portrait for said new super secret project and I love it, so I thought I’d share it with you here.
Also, you should check out http://www.missled.co.uk/ for more of her stuff, as it’s great.
This just made my day infinitely better (and today was find out how much tax I have to pay day – so it was no small order)
Dude. That’s Greg Dulli playing a heartbreaking song on the frickin’ piano. My level of swooning is out of control.
Did I mention how excited I was about ATP this year, yet? Cos I really am.
Anyway, it’s Dulli’s favourite Cohen song, and it’s part of a series of Cohen covers call “Old Ideas With New Friends” which features among others, AC Newman, Rhett Miller and Bradford Cox (I’m looking at you Sarah, it’s like misery times infinity)
Hi. It’s been a little while, I’ve been using my tumblr ‘cos I haven’t really felt like writing much. My life continues it’s flux heavy passage so I decided to stay in this whole weekend to make sense of it. In fact what I did was consumed popculture by the bucketload, I’m warning you, don’t come near me – I can’t interact with you unless you’re a text.
So far this weekend I have watched:
There was a load more, but I just re-read what I’d already typed and even I found it kind of scary.
I also rewatched both The Signal (awesome goodness) and The Outsiders (I’d listened to too much lifetime) and read half of ” Wish You Were Here: An Essential Guide to Your Favourite Music Scenes” the first 5 chapters of “DIY: The Rise of Lo Fi Culture” and played Bridge & Tunnel – East West to death – particularly Rubrics. Bridge and Tunnel are playing the Windmill next saturday. It is going to be awesome.
Here’s another one of the tracks from the Pink Couch Sessions at IYMI. I heart IYMI and so should you. Donate them some money!
Bridge and Tunnel – Call to the Comptroller’s Office from If You Make It on Vimeo.
Wow, this week the internet just keeps producing awesome. Punknews pointed me in the direction of this video of Gaslight covering Left of the Dial. Gaslight covering the Replacements makes me happier than potential employment.
This cover is almost better than the J Page cover on “We’ll Inherit the Earth” (which is effin great by the way, you should pick it up if you don’t have it.All our favourite bands and Christy Roads artwork) and the J Page cover somehow manages to work Pictures of You and Kiss the Bottle into the end. So yeah, it’s pretty good. Watch and sigh.
I just woke up WAY too early for last night, and I found this on strike gently and had to post it here just to check it was real. It’s Cursive performing the new single – From The Hips (which RULES by the way) on Letterman.
Things that make me suspicious about this a) look how sober Tim Kasher looks – hmmmmm, until he lets out the gutteral scream at the end I thought it may have been an imposter. b) look how respectable they all look – when have you seen those dudes in anything but tee shirts ? and this one doesn’t make me suspicious but is worth watching to the end for Letterman asking – where are you guys from, someone answering Omaha, Nebraska and him responding, I’ll be damned – as if he cannot comprehend that bands could come from there. Sorry Saddle Creek, dave says thumbs down. haha.
Last night’s full moon made me crazy, so I stayed home with Su, drank a bunch of wine and listened to a lot of alt.county (until it started making her sad). I’ve had a really Cory Branan heavy day today which is never a bad thing.
I was cruising videos over at vimeo and I found this one of Lucero doing Nobody’s Darlings at the Ottobar in Baltimore and it resonated with me for a number of reasons. 1) I’m pretty sure Robyn was at this show, I miss Robyn greatly. 2) I’ve had the funnest nights at the Ottobar and 3) this may be the saddest rendition of the song I’ve ever heard. (Also it’s awesome quality, I fricken love vimeo) so yeah. Lucero. Awwwww.
“Nobody’s Darlings” – Lucero from Tony Bowman on Vimeo.
So, before they made the abomination that was Jpod – The Series (hi, Bree isn’t asian and descended from the queen) there was a 4 minute short, made by bookshorts, (this is the OMG I am an idiot for not knowing this part) and starred none other than current crush du jour, Scoot McNairy. You can watch the whole 4 minute spectacular on the bookshorts website here. I’ve embedded the trailer below. For the record, it seems much more Coupland than the series did, Bree does look like Bettie Page and there’s Helvetica everywhere..
Someone posted a Something Corporate video on Strike Gently today, and it took me back to the epic crush I used to have on Andrew McMahon, don’t get me wrong, I was aware this was a guilty crush even at the time, I mean, they were on Drive Thru. The main attraction though, was entirely based around his hair – and in particular his spectacular, thick, floppy fringe that would wildly swish around as he played his piano in that adorable energetic, boyish way of his.
It got me to thinking about my ongoing love affair with floppy fringed boys in bands throughout the last 15 years and I’m shallow enough to write a blog post about it, so here we are (yeah yeah, whatever, you’re reading it)
The thing about the floppy fringed boy wasn’t so much the fringe itself but the promise of boy qualities it held.
Whether it was the super smart,bookish older brother type
Steve Malkmus, Thurston Moore)
the completely non threatening/safe as a teenage crush/slightly effeminate britpop kind
(Alex James, most of the band Marion)
the sweet little brother crush
(Andrew McMahon, Adam Lazzara)
or the grown up a little, done some stuff respectable and dateable now
(Ben Gibbard, Matthew Caws, Keith Murray)
they all had a particular and definite allure.
The floppy fringed boy is, to a certain kind of girl, equal to the perfect ethereal indie girl who wears no make up and band tee shirts, is to a certain kind of boy.
There’s a reason we all swooned over Jordan Catalano and Seth Cohen the first time we saw them, and it can’t just of been the fact they were wearing Vans.
Don’t get me wrong, these days I’m all about the beards and random gruff punk record collections, but I can’t imagine getting old with one of those dudes, you know? How long can hearing about tour only coloured vinyl be entertaining? Floppy fringed boys are the ones who are just a little bit shy around your friends, don’t start fights and read fiction books, not just music bios and message boards.
Like Adam Lazzara said “Literate and stylish, kissable and quiet, that’s what girls dreams are made of..”
P.S. Be aware these boys are far more likely to break your heart and write a record about it then any other kind of boy. They’re probably worth the risk though.
things I learned this week:
I’m trying to view this whole situation as crazy positive. I think it will be. I suck at leaving situations that aren’t what I really want, but are liveable.
See! It’s the planets, dudes. The eclipse on monday is Jupiter in Aquarius, so there’s gonna be a load of growing and explanding and transcending going down. (astrobarry is my king!) I looked up a bunch more stuff about what’s happening Universe wise in the next few months and it seems as though all of this is supposed to happen. So hurrah (ish) (oh yeah, Mercury retro had best stop fucking with my phone – grr)
You can laugh, but being a crazy hippie has ensured I haven’t had a full on melt down about what the fuck I’m going to do with everything being all change-y around me.
Since this was a bit of a weird post, I’ve decided to end it with one of my all time favourite music videos. Swoon over one Calvin Johnson in his youth while tapping your foot to the best Beat Happening tune ever.
Depending on which way you look at today, I got some news which is either incredibly positive and awesome and necessary, or it was terrible and rage making and depressing. I’m trying to go for the former.
The thing about freedom and choice is that there’s a lot of it, and as you get older, no matter how hard you try, you find yourself becoming less open to that and more limited in your expectations.
I’m old enough to know that a situation that doesn’t make you happy at least 60% of the time isn’t worth staying in, I just suck at being the one to end it.
I’m loathed to remain in the lifestyle that was killing me in the first place, but I’ve grown so accustomed to it.
One day, the universe, I swear I’ll do this shit on my own with no colossal pushes. okay? Until then I just want to get better and try and sleep.
