Dealing with the trivialities of life.
Just to keep people up to date with things that are up-and-coming:
Born Ruffians In-Studio Session on Rainydawg Radio
Bronze Fawn In-Studio Session on Rainydawg Radio
Nurses In-Studio Session on Rainydawg Radio
Sigur Ros Live Recorded Set @ Benaroya Hall
Currently compiling and mastering the tracks. They’ll all be up sometime between now and then.
Yeah, like that one Maximo Park song. Not because I need a break or anything (in fact, that’s the last thing I need — my blog updates have been pathetic as of late). I’ll have absolutely no access to the internet starting tomorrow morning until I arrive back in the states on Saturday night. Until then, I hope everyone takes care. I’ll be checking out Banksy artwork and hanging out in Brighton with my Aunt! I hope you all can live without my totally ignorant and snobby music impressions until then.
To all the people who may, or may not, read this blog, I am sorry that I’ll have spurts of entries followed by weeks of silence. It must be discouraging to the readers, and I really do apologize for that.
However, I’ve been all over the place. I only had a week or so back on the east coast before I left for London, where I am situated now. Today is the first day where I have the time to actually sit down and make a few entries. Yet, I promise this won’t be an isolated instance. This blog is a creative outlet for me so I must keep it up.
Coincidentally enough, I’m taking a media journalism class currently at the London School of Economics. I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve been lucky enough to be lectured by many political journalists, ranging from the BBC to Channel 4 to Al-Jazeera. Surprisingly enough, a lot of concepts covered in lectures (which always deal with journalism it terms of politics, disasters, current events, etc.) can easily be applied to fields which I’m interested in (music, specifically).
Anyways, enough of this boring nonsense. The short story is, I’m back to posting, and I will continually do so from here on out. While the subject matter will be a bit different (since I am not residing in Seattle until September), it will still deal with my life, passion for the arts, most specifically, music.
I leave you with one of my favorite Mogwai tracks. Young Team was recently remastered and re-released. It’s out on Vinyl, a 4 LP Release. All the record shops in London are sold out. I came here hoping to get a copy, but to no avail.
Mogwai will be touring with Fuck Buttons across the US come September. Including a show at Seattle’s Showbox on September 4. I will not be back in time to catch it, but this tour is a must-see for any person who wants to see living proof that music is alive and well. That music is changing, evolving, and not stagnant.
Obligatory Song:
Mogwai — Yes! I am a long way from home.
Purchase Young Team here.
My friend Zach and I are a bit weird. We often brainstorm ridiculous ideas that never come to fruition. I’m sure anyone on the internets has seen garfield minus garfield.
One afternoon Zach and I were at the checkout line of a grocery store. We came across a copy of Archie, that comic that just won’t die. I proposed to him the concept of Archie Minus Archie, which was followed by about one hour of giggling madness.
Well, after a lot of work on his part, here it is: Archie Minus Archie Vol. I
Enjoy!
Obligatory Song: The Archies — Sugar Sugar
So these past few week have been a bit hectic. I’ve been promoting my Georgie James interview and have been fortunate enough to work with some other blogs to get the word out. All the tracks are on hypemachine, so that’s worth being excited about. In regards to other music, I’ve been listening to some great stuff. I picked up the new Unwed Sailor, Little Wars, from Easy Street on Monday. I need to keep listening to get a feel, but so far it’s been one of the best alums I’ve heard all year. It’s definitely worth checking out. Anything Unwed Sailor has done has been nothing short of spectacular in my eyes. It’s like sex in your ears, I swear.
I’ve also been listening to a few tracks by The Muslims. Gorilla vs Bear blogged about them here. They were also recently Stereogum’s artist to watch. I’m happy to say that I’ll be interviewing them on the 30th of April. As always, I’ll post the interview and songs in full on here shortly after it takes place. I thank the Muslims for their time and effort in making this happen.
Speaking of in-studios we have some great ones coming up at Rainydawg Radio. This includes The Terrordactyls on April 26. I’m also talking to Fleet Foxes and Unwed Sailor for potential in-studios. Stay tuned for more information on that.
Concluding my brief write-up of music I’ve been listening to is the melodies of Neva Dinova’s latest album You May Already Be Dreaming. I just grabbed it from the studio today, as I get along with everything on Saddle Creek. This is no exception. I’ll be ordering this on vinyl ASAP. Saddle Creek also includes a Neva Dinova themed medicine bottle with fake candy pills, a bit morbid and twisted, but I guess it’s just for kicks. It’s funny, because Neva Dinova’s sound is exactly what I’ve been craving lately. I’m so late to the party on this band, but if you haven’t checked them out yet surely do so.
I leave you with music, maybe I’ll be a good person and do some write-ups for shows I’ve been to. No promises. I’m still waiting on the Terrordactyls in-studio to finish the roll of film I shot at the Why? Show.
Neva Dinova — It’s Hard To Love You (You May Already Be Dreaming, 2008)
Unwed Sailor — Copper Islands (Little Wars, 2008)
Purchase Little Wars
Purchase You May Already Be Dreaming
I’m back in Seattle and the spring quarter is off to a good start, despite the fact that I’m currently technically not an enrolled student here at the University of Washington. I should probably register for some classes. I’ll get on that. Anyways, life has been good, I’ve been hanging out with all the regulars around here. Tim and I will be moving into a room together this weekend, finally, so that should increase the enjoyability level of college overall. Other than that, not much is going on. I dropped some dollars at American Apparel today.
Lots of new music is out and will be coming out in the next few weeks. I need to get my hands on the new Unwed Sailor CD. I love that band. Anyways here’s some stuff I picked up from the studio. We got Pershing in too, yay! I’m attempting to get Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin in for a studio session, for now The New Amsterdams and Georgie James are a go. Fleet Foxes could be locked up soon enough.
Black Keys — Attack and Release
Crystal Castles — Crystal Castle
Elf Power — In a Cave
Los Campesinos — Hold on Now, Youngster…
MGMT — Oracular Spectacular
Parc Avenue — Plants and Animals
Obligatory Song:
The Headlights — April 2 (Some Racing Some Stopping, 2008, Polyvinyl Records)
This is my last morning in Baltimore. This past week has been an utter blur; so many things have happened. I can’t believe I was able to somehow pack it all in. Anyways, I leave for the airport in two hours, and I should be back at the University of Washington in Seattle in the late afternoon.
Friday night was the Malkmus show, which was solid. Last night was the Fuck Buttons and Caribou show. Sadly, Caribou’s drummer broke his wrist so they had to cancel. Fuck Buttons still played, and tickets were dropped the $5. Fuck Buttons put on the best show I have been to all year and in recent memory. Full blog posts and pictures to come once I get back to Sea-Town.
Yesterday I also went to the Cherry Blossoms with Katharine. That was a good time, lots of photos were taken. In short, I need to develop a lot of film and scan lots of polaroids.
Oh yeah, and yesterday I met four people who if I was forced to spend more than 30 minutes with, I’d surely kill myself. Yet, somehow I was able to put up with them throughout the entire show last night. Pitchfork is not the gospel, and you don’t need to have an opinion on every single thing on this universe. Kthxbye!
Obligatory Song:
Kevin Drew — Farewell to the Pressure Kids (Spirit If…, 2007)
So what was supposed to be a night of awesome musical stimulation turned out to not be the case. Fleet Foxes and Blitzen Trapper played the Black Cat Backstage last night and it was sold out. Me, thinking they didn’t have too big a following in this area, stupidly forgot to buy a ticket in advance. Really, it’s all stupidity on the Black Cat’s side because they should have been playing the actual full venue and not backstage. The backstage at the Black cat, according to a friend of mine, says it holds at most 100 people. Seriously, two Sub Pop bands in a venue that holds around 100 people? Ugh.
This would not be a problem as I’m going to Philly tonight and they play at a venue in Philly. Though, given my luck, that show is 21+. I honestly thought Seattle was the only place to do the lame 21+ deal, but no, Philly does it too. Anyways, I’m off to road trip it to Philly. It should be fun. Maybe I’ll end up seeing the Xiu Xiu/Thao Nguyen show tonight. No guarantees though.
Vampire Weekend plays a sold out 21+ show in Seattle at Neumos tonight. All I can say to that is lol. If you want to talk about Vampire Weekend to me, send me an email or what not, get in touch with me. They are a great talent and write very catchy songs. Though, they are certainly not deserving of all the praise they are getting. They are the most overblogged band on 2008 and we are only 4 months into the year.
Enough of my ranting and opinions. I’m off on a road trip. Here’s most likely what I’ll be listening to on the drive up:
Caribou — Andorra (Rock & Roll Hotel on Sunday)
Cut Copy — In Ghost Colours
Fuck Buttons — Street Horrsing (Rock & Roll Hotel on Sunday)
Hot Chip — Made in the Dark
The Mountain Goats — Heretic Pride
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin — Pershing
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks — Real Emotional Trash (9:30 Club on Friday)
Tokyo Police Club — Elephant Shell
Take care homies.
I know, it has been forever since I have updated this blog. I apologize. I’ve been busy with many things in Seattle ever since returning from my Illinoize trip, which was enjoyable. Maybe I’ll discuss that in a future post pending film development. Here’s what I’ve been up to lately:
Rainydawg’s 5th Birthday Party Extravaganza:
Last Friday the University of Washington college radio station I DJ for, Rainydawg, put together their 5th Birthday Party show and it was a great success. We sold out, all 500 tickets, and had to turn away others at the door. The show was headlined by the somewhat local band Menomena, off of Barsuk, and openers were Boat and Blitzen Trapper. The show was nothing short of excellent. I was front row center for all the sets and took some pictures which can be found on my newly established flickr here. I stormed the stage and snagged the Menomena setlist.
Weird
Muscle
Cough
BoySmitw
West
Pelican
My My
Ghost
Wet
20 Cell
Rotten
Evil
Nighttime Photo Sess with Nikki:
Saturday night was kind of rough. I attempted to grab Mountain Goats tickets at the door, because the show just changed to All Ages at the last minute. I was unsuccessful and had to mob back quickly to campus to do my radio show (to be posted later, I promise). After my radio show I felt a bit down due to the lack of John Darnielle in my life. Luckily, my friend Nikki, who I hadn’t hung out with in a long time, was down for kicking it. We took many photos experimenting with my Sunpak flash and her Nikon camera. Photos can also be found on my flickr.
Guitar Jamming with Jessie:
Recently I’ve been playing a lot more guitar than usual. Tim introduced me to one of his friends, Jessie Gracic. She’s quite good at guitar and is a stellar singer and songwriter. Lately I’ve been playing guitar with her quite often. She actually invited me to play a show with her, two weeks from Sunday. We’ll be opening for an all acoustic set for the bands Holyfield and Moneta. I don’t know what I’ve done to receive this gift, but this is something I’ve always wanted. I’ll keep you posted one what’s going down in the coming weeks. I’m hyped.
Other than that, life has been going seemingly well. As mentioned earlier I now have a flickr, and I also just acquired a last.fm. Yeah, I’m getting pretty Indie. One of my best friends from back home, Neil Parikh is coming to visit on Friday, so I’m getting really excited for his visit. He’ll be joining me in studio this Saturday for the Big O so be sure to tune into that or download the show once it’s up.
I leave you with what I’ve been listening to as of late:
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin — Pershing
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks — Real Emotional Trash
Thao and The Get Down Stay Down — We Brave Bees Sting and All
Throw me the Statue — Moonbeams
So two days have passed and I’m still stuck in this never-ending rut. Last night I went to my aunt’s house which was so comforting. I feel like I’m part of that family whenever I’m there, that’s the special thing about my extended family, they’re just like my nuclear family. I arrived back in the dorms an hour before my radio show, and the funk came back. I don’t know what it is, but lately I can’t get out of this state of mood I’ve been in. Lots of plans have been cancelled on me, and I’m just getting tired of it. I’m thinking that I’m going to start sticking to myself a bit more now as a result. We’ll see what happens. I’m missing home and all my friends and family so much. I can’t wait to see them all, everything seems balanced and perfect when I’m with them. Until then, I’ll wait it out. As shitty as that will be.
Obligatory Songs:
