Sorry To Be Tardy To The Party

Sometimes I miss stuff. We all do. Don't sleep, so to speak. The point of this is that I am now a fan of Band of Horses. I avoided the hype last year, but finally got around to listening to the debut album, Everything All the Time, and I'm really impressed. I read somewhere that it can be described as a cross between the Flaming Lips and Neil Young, and I guess that could be apt. I'm not much of a Flaming Lips fan, though, and I can only handle Neil Young in small doses, but I listened to this Band of Horses album three times since yesterday. It's that good. They opened for Modest Mouse a few weeks back and I missed the show due to the fact that I thought tickets were too pricey and I already had plans to see The Rentals. I don't regret my decision, but if the shows were on separate days, and I knew then how great Band of Horses is, I most likely would've bitten the bullet and gone to both shows. Here's their video for The Funeral:




My favorite song on the album. The song and video are pretty depressing, though, but that's life. I vaguely remember catching this on MTV2's Subterranean at some point last year. Apparently it didn't wow me then as much as it does now. I hope to do a write-up on the Ayres/Catchdubs mix I alluded to in the last post some time in the near future. I enjoyed it, and I'd like to spread the word. Also, the next post will have another great video, from a group that couldn't be any more stylistically different than Band of Horses. So, be on the lookout for that.

Until Then,
Later.

M.I.A. Gives Me A Headache

In other news, I'm slightly disappointed with the new Madlib, Beat Konducta in India. I posted the preview video on here a while back, and I was super pumped to hear it since the first Beat Konducta was so outstanding. So, I throw the new one on the iPod for a fun run the other day and I think it actually slowed me down. Maybe I need to listen to it in a more subdued environment, but I just wasn't feeling it, so to speak. I mentioned before that I had a favorite song based on the short video, and I now know that the song is entitled (Variations). It is easily the best tune on the record. at least as of today.

Anyway, today I plan on a fun run soundtrack of a DJ Ayres/Nick Catchdubs mix entitled Superfriends that I grabbed from brooklynradio.net. Maybe I'll give a description in a later post.

Until Then,
Later.

Suckamufagus

So I picked the car up yesterday. Four hundred dollars later and my brakes are fixed. However, I still don't have a passenger mirror. Let's hope that doesn't set me back another couple hundred.

In other news, I finally saw the Simpsons Movie last night, since I got a free ticket in my specially marked package of the Season Nine DVD. I gotta say, it was fine. Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but perfectly serviceable. I kinda wanted to see a show at the Beachland Ballroom last night, but yesterday was my last chance to use my free ticket. And, a big F YOU goes to the Willoughby theatre that made me pay an extra quarter since the "free" ticket was only good for $8.50 and the price to get in was $8.75. I wonder if that means that this area has higher-than-average ticket prices, or maybe the people behind the Simpsons Movie were just cheapos.

The nonsensical title of this post is a reference to Riley Martin from the Howard Stern show. I recently started listening regularly for the first time since 1996. I'm back baby! In the future, these posts will probably be peppered with Stern quotes/moments/etc. I'd say that the Iron Sheik's appearances caused me to jump back on the wagon, so to speak. Him and some other regulars are gonna be at the Agora Theatre pretty soon, but ticket prices are too steep for me.

I'd love to stay and chat, as it were, but it's time to get ready for a long and eventful weekend. I'll go into more detail when there's more time.

Until Then,
Later.

Professor Murder and whatever else

So I didn't make it to the Blondes show last night. I was quite sad, but didn't feel like driving my death trap of a car to any place other than the mechanic. And since they don't fix cars at the Beachland Tavern, I wasn't there. However, I did finally take it somewhere to have it looked at, so hopefully everything turns out ok.

In other news, I mentioned yesterday that there would be Professor Murder pics today. So, without further ado, here they are:

Here's one of the band.


And here's another one. I had a wonderful time, but it had to be the first show maybe ever where I felt OLD. The kind of feeling where you might actually be the oldest person there besides the bartenders. The feeling you get when you don't want to tell the cute girl you're talking to how old you are because you're worried she'll give you a nice smile and walk away, never to be seen again. Yes, the 18-20 crowd was out in full force at the b-side Sunday night. I decided that I wasn't going to drink too much, since I got pulled over on Thursday after the Rentals show (nothing bad happened, just a f'n hassle and a half). Anyway, I had to maneuver my way around the water cooler all night since it was getting so much use from the young'ins. Plus, the band has very little material, so the set was ultra-short. But, well worth the $5. I missed em at the Ratatat show on St. Patrick's Day, so it was cool to finally see them. Good stuff.

And, I got my first comment on yesterday's post. AND, it was from someone I'd never even met before (to my knowledge). I guess that means that people might actually be reading this thing. With that in mind, maybe I'll try a little harder to make these a little more quality filled. So, since I haven't done one of these in a while, here's the tracklisting for my forthcoming fun run! In ABC order.

1. !!! - Heart of Hearts (Somebody was playing stuff at the b-side as Professor Murder was setting up. This song was heard, and it's my favorite from Myth Takes. I'm still miffed that I missed !!! at the Grog this past May. I haven't heard a lot of hype for Myth Takes, but it's one of my favs of 2007.

2. 2 Live Crew - The Fuck Shop (Mainly for the GnR intro and the Van Halen riff. And of course the filth.)

3. A-Trak - Get Em High vs. Heartbeats (Mash-ups tend to have a extremely limited shelf life, but this one's been in the rotation for a few months. Maybe it's because I'm a fan of both songs. That always helps. This and the Jay-Z/A-Ha one from The Rub's It's The Motherfucking Remix Vol. 2 are probably my all-time favorites.

4. Bobby Brown - Every Little Step (Self explanatory.)

5. Boz Scaggs - Lido Shuffle (Play this in ANY bar worth a shit and watch the place go berzerk. I'm not kidding. I was at one once and the dude behind the bar gave me the biggest smirk/head nod ever and turned it the fuck UP. Must be the woah's.)

6. Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again (For my $, the best DM song ever. Peak period Depeche Mode and peak period New Order cannot be f'd with, no matter how many goofs jack it.)

7. Gil Mantera's Party Dream - Super Plus Ice Festival (The day they finally get off their duffs and play this live is the day I'll stop screaming for it at every show. GMPD is just a little more proof that Youngstown Rocks The Motherfucking Hardest.)

8. The Hives - A Little More for Little You (A little while back, I mentioned that this was my favorite song from Tyrannosaurus Hives. It still is.)

9. LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations (Until the second album came out, this was my favorite LCD Soundsystem tune. Now it's probably Someone Great. Also, Tribulations was played while Professor Murder was setting up at the b-side Sunday.)

10. Michael Jonzon - Burnin Up (One of the most played songs on the old iPod. I'd have to say that this one might be the highlight of Chromeo's Un Joli Mix Pour Toi mix CD. And's that's saying something.)

11. New Order - Temptation (Another jam played Sunday night. I think I've heard this one every time I've ever been at the b-side as a matter of fact. Not my favorite New Order song (that would be a tie between the Substance versions of Bizarre Love Triangle and True Faith) but I still like this one.)

12. Professor Murder - Free Stress Test (I was in the mood.)

13. Public Enemy - Brothers Gonna Work It Out (PE is a perennial workout favorite. It always gets me going. This one, in my opinion, is the most underrated PE song in history. However, my iPod has the version from their Greatest Hits CD, so it doesn't have the awesome intro contained on Fear of a Black Planet. Win some, lose some.)

14. Rod Stewart - Young Turks (I tend to couple this with Lido Shuffle. If you see me out and one comes on the jukebox, the other's not far behind.)

I think (hope) that's it. Let's hope the car gets fixed ASAP.

Until Then,
Later.

Return of the Blog

I really need to start writing these every day again. The pics from the Rubber City Rebels/Nimrods show will probably never make it to the internet, but they weren't all that great anyway (the pics, not the show). Anyway, here's some stuff that happened since the last post:

The Punk Rock Holocaust thing was a total bust. The guy at the Rock Hall tried to make me and Tommy pay the $20 fee to get in just to see the movies. F THAT. So we took a $2 tour of Johnny Cash's tour bus instead. Not quite as fun, but whatever. Then, since we had an entire day to kill before the New Bomb Turks, we bummed around Lakewood, checked out My Mind's Eye Records (I'd never been there before and was impressed), and went back to Tommy's to watch Three O'Clock High.

The New Bomb Turks sounded great. Since it was at the Rock Hall, I figured they'd be anti-camera. But, they weren't, and I didn't bring mine. So, no pics.

Thursday was a busy day for rock. Modest Mouse played at whatever Nautica's called now, but tickets were way overpriced (somewhere in the $25-$35 range). The Agora had a ska extravaganza that would've been the show of the year if the year was 1997. Less Than Jake/Reel Big Fish/Streetlight Manifesto/Against All Authority(?) was probably fun, but also overpriced (in the $20-$25 range). I, however, decided to go to the House of Blues to catch the Rentals. I'd been a fan since 1995, but never got to see them live. And, for my $, the day Matt Sharp left Weezer is the day they lost most of their talent. The House of Blues doesn't allow cameras, so no pics. Trust me, though, it was a good show. Best part: 2 for Tuesday was in full effect for the Rentals, so tix were about $10 after service fees and all that. Best part for me: Tommy's girlfriend Jen (author of the awesome Food Blog that matters) picked up the tab so it was free for me! I definitely owe her one.

Then last night, Professor Murder performed at the b-side liquor lounge under the Grog Shop. Some old friends were seen, dancing was done, and fun was had. Pics tomorrow. Hollywood Blondes tonight at the Beachland Tavern. I hope my car doesn't die before I get there. Let's have fun.

Until Then,
Later.

A to the Z

So I have a minute here to update this thing (finally) before I get back to work in preparation for tomorrow's festivities. The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame is doing this Punk Rock Holocaust thing all day tomorrow, and it includes a set from the New Bomb Turks. In all the years they've been around, I never got to see em, so I'm pretty pumped.

There's a lot to talk about, but I'll just touch on a couple things and maybe do a bigger update soon. And, I gotta get back to work. The Rubber City Rebels/Nimrods show Saturday at the Lime Spider was rockin, although a little overpriced. It's too bad that it'll most likely be the last show I see there, since they're closing soon. I snapped a few pics, but haven't had time to post any yet. All in due time.

In other news, I caught the TNA Hard Justice (EASILY the gayest name for any major event ever) pay per view. The finish of the main event was awful, but overall I'd say the show was worth seeing. I read some stuff on the internet that the show was so bad that it effectively killed the company, but I don't believe it. Some people are just drama queens, I guess.

And, I just got done watching this wonderful piece of film as I worked (the entire advertised video, not just the trailer):



Sometimes these shoot interviews can be a little TOO real. Let's hope this tape stays out of the hands of children. Oh, and the Rentals on Thursday. Let's have fun.

Until Then,
Later.

True Hardcore

A few posts back, I mentioned that I had a 30% off coupon from Borders and I planned to use it on either the Monster Squad DVD or the recently reissued The Freed Man CD from Sebadoh. The coupon expired yesterday, so I decided to use it yesterday on the Sebadoh disc. I decided on it for two reasons. Reason number one being that unbeknownst to me until I saw it in person, the Monster Squad DVD comes in one of those paper covers over the case that seem to be quite popular these days. Borders puts those plastic guards over their (non literature) merchandise to discourage theft, and the case tore a little of the paper cover. I like my stuff to be in 100% mint condition at all times, so my choice was made. Reason number two was simply that Sebadoh was cheaper.

The total after the 30% discount and tax came to $10 and change. I didn't want a bunch of bills, so I gave the lady $21. I was in a big hurry to get to the gym (I'll get to that later) so I wasn't paying attention when she only gave me change back with no bills. It wasn't until a few hours later that I realized I was missing a ten dollar bill. I was just gonna let it slide, but I was cajoled into giving Borders a call to straighten it out. I called em today and everything's cool. I got my ten bucks a few hours ago, and I couldn't be happier. The albums good, too. I'm never been the biggest Sebadoh fan (mainly because I never really knew anyone that listened to them when they mattered) but the tape loops and samples remind me of a hip hop record. However, this isn't the reissue I pegged as almost completely unnecessary yesterday. That'll get mention later.

The next order of business was the YMCA. In the summertime, I very much prefer to run outside. However, it was raining so I made the trip to the gym. I'm not crazy about the place, since the clientele seems to skew toward parents and their children. Not a lot of people my age around those parts. So after writing them off for years and years, I decided to give the Hives a try and stocked the iPod shuffle with the one-two punch of Veni Vidi Vicious and Tyrannosaurus Hives. The maelstrom of rock that followed was incredibly unexpected. The major conclusion that I came to after listening to the albums had to be that the major single of each album (Hate to Say I Told You So and Walk Idiot Walk respectively) are easily the worst songs on each album. Best songs (as of today): Outsmarted for VVV and A Little More for Little You for TH. That'll probably change a few dozen times as I get more acquainted with the albums. One more thing: I'll be the first to admit that I had been all wrong about the Hives. Sometimes I get surprised like that, and get proved very, very wrong. That happened with the Hives.

In other news, I recently obtained a copy of the reissue of the seminal album from MF DOOM known as MM...Food?. It went out of print a few years back for sample violations, but the new version is almost 100% intact. The only noticeable difference occurred in the last track, Kookies. It sounds like a remix, and the Cookie Monster sample is gone. The beat also sounds completely different. Needless to say, the remix is horribly inferior to the original. There are so many Fantastic Four samples and other uncredited stuff on the original that I was actually surprised that it stayed intact. I didn't get to watch the accompanying DVD, but it's not worth whatever they're charging for the album. Instead of wasting your money on the crappy reissue, why not get at me for a original 2004 version unopened! If anyone wants it, let me know and I'll make it happen. In closing, I'll post a video to watch. I'm pretty sure this one is taken from the aforementioned DVD. Here's MF DOOM in a good quality live performance of Beef Rapp:



Until Then,
Later.