Sunday, June 26, 2005
goodbye mix tape
side A:
the beast and dragon, adored - spoon
strange - built to spill
car and driver - the rock*a*teens
panic - the smiths
4 door maverick - howe gelb
the charles c. leary - devendra banhart
speeding motorcycle - yo la tengo
i figured you out - mary lou lord
drivin' on 9 - the breeders
shangri-la - kinks
counting down the hours - ted leo and the pharmacists
i love the unknown - clem snide
memory lane - elliott smith
side B:
seems so - the apples in stereo
baby c'mon - stephen malkmus and the jicks
call me mommy - make-up
is she weird - pixies
modern girl - sleater-kinney
don't be crushed - hawksley workman
intermission - nine black alps
the garden - mirah
sea shanty - quasi
rise up - bobb conn
where you'll find me now - neutral milk hotel
holding back the year - lou barlow
clam, crab, cockle, cowrie - joanna newsom
skyway - the replacements
Thursday, June 23, 2005
mix-y
introduction II - the silver jews
ventricle - ponies in the surf
don't die in me - mirah
english music - destroyer
strange - built to spill
home sweet home - bobby conn and the glass gypsies
holding back the year - lou barlow
harness your hopes - pavement
rollercoaster - sleater-kinney
safari - the breeders
i summon you - spoon
i am a scientist - guided by voices
call me mommy - make-up
counting down the hours - ted leo and the pharmacists
i'm sorry i love you - the magnetic fields
master and dog - quasi
this beard is for siobhan - devendra banhart
alcohol - the kinks
baby c'mon - stephen malkmus and the jicks
silver morning after - beachwood sparks
achin' to be - the replacements
sunrise - the who
clam, crab, cockle, cowrie - joanna newsom
ventricle - ponies in the surf
don't die in me - mirah
english music - destroyer
strange - built to spill
home sweet home - bobby conn and the glass gypsies
holding back the year - lou barlow
harness your hopes - pavement
rollercoaster - sleater-kinney
safari - the breeders
i summon you - spoon
i am a scientist - guided by voices
call me mommy - make-up
counting down the hours - ted leo and the pharmacists
i'm sorry i love you - the magnetic fields
master and dog - quasi
this beard is for siobhan - devendra banhart
alcohol - the kinks
baby c'mon - stephen malkmus and the jicks
silver morning after - beachwood sparks
achin' to be - the replacements
sunrise - the who
clam, crab, cockle, cowrie - joanna newsom
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
shows shows shows
june 12, 2005.
first, malkmus at the fetus. setlist, from the stephenmalkmus.com board:
1. Pink India
2. Phantasies
3. Vanessa From Queens
4. It Kills
5. Freeze the Saints
6. Loud Cloud Crowd
(i accidentally wrote over one of the photos, so that's all i have. :'( )
we then headed to downtown to get some food and see spoon. we missed clientele (well, saw the last song, but does that even count?), but got pretty decent spots to see spoon. they were SOOOOOO good. just simply amazing. played most of the new album, and a good mix of stuff off their old albums. some songs played (in no particular order), include:
the beast and dragon, adored
monsieur valentine
i turn my camera on
my mathematical mind
the delicate place
sister jack
i summon you
the way we get by
jonathan fisk
paper tiger
someone something
everything hits at once
me and the bean
the fitted shirt
utilitarian
and some more. it was super SUPER good. just really one of the best shows ever, i think. seriously. if you have the chance to see spoon, GO! GO! GO! GO! britt daniel is really cute, too, just so you all know. i almost had a chance to talk to him, but i chickened out because it was during the late malkmus show and i didn't want to disrupt his viewing pleasure. i totally wish i had, though. oh well. next time....next time. we did brush shoulders. does that count for anything?
then, we cleared out and saw malkmus outside and i talked to him and got a photo (of course) and had another brief conversation (i high fived him and had him sign my "face the truth" after the fetus show).
and then we went back in, heard the sound check, and malkmus played. he was good, but probably not as good as spoon live. that's just a fact. i think that if i hadn't just seen spoon, i would have loved his set, but it was kind of laissez-faire (typical malkmus) and also there were some drunkies that were kind of distracting from the show. and then the whole "do i talk to britt? DO I?" dilemma, that kind of marred the encore. the setlist, again, according to the sm.com board was:
Pencil Rot
Dynamic
(Do not Feed the) Oyster
Loud Cloud Crowd
Wow Ass
Post-Paint Boy
It Kills
Malediction
I've Hardly Been
No More Shoes (which was really excellent)
Baby C'mon (thus making my prediction that they would close the set with that wrong)
Church on White
Freeze the Saints
Water and a Seat
--------------
Jo Jo's Jacket
Incense
Carl the Clod
ghostly pics!
in all, it was a fantastic night.
---
june 14, 2005
ted leo and the pharmacists at first ave.
another excellent show! though i maybe only knew 60-70% of the songs, it was still quite good and ted leo was really energetic and fantastic and guitarry and melodic and funny. and stuff. plus, he covered the boss, and you can hardly go wrong with that.
more ghostly/blurry pics.
tonight? sleater-kinney.
i'm going to be so tired. i already am. :'(
first, malkmus at the fetus. setlist, from the stephenmalkmus.com board:
1. Pink India
2. Phantasies
3. Vanessa From Queens
4. It Kills
5. Freeze the Saints
6. Loud Cloud Crowd
(i accidentally wrote over one of the photos, so that's all i have. :'( )
we then headed to downtown to get some food and see spoon. we missed clientele (well, saw the last song, but does that even count?), but got pretty decent spots to see spoon. they were SOOOOOO good. just simply amazing. played most of the new album, and a good mix of stuff off their old albums. some songs played (in no particular order), include:
the beast and dragon, adored
monsieur valentine
i turn my camera on
my mathematical mind
the delicate place
sister jack
i summon you
the way we get by
jonathan fisk
paper tiger
someone something
everything hits at once
me and the bean
the fitted shirt
utilitarian
and some more. it was super SUPER good. just really one of the best shows ever, i think. seriously. if you have the chance to see spoon, GO! GO! GO! GO! britt daniel is really cute, too, just so you all know. i almost had a chance to talk to him, but i chickened out because it was during the late malkmus show and i didn't want to disrupt his viewing pleasure. i totally wish i had, though. oh well. next time....next time. we did brush shoulders. does that count for anything?
then, we cleared out and saw malkmus outside and i talked to him and got a photo (of course) and had another brief conversation (i high fived him and had him sign my "face the truth" after the fetus show).
and then we went back in, heard the sound check, and malkmus played. he was good, but probably not as good as spoon live. that's just a fact. i think that if i hadn't just seen spoon, i would have loved his set, but it was kind of laissez-faire (typical malkmus) and also there were some drunkies that were kind of distracting from the show. and then the whole "do i talk to britt? DO I?" dilemma, that kind of marred the encore. the setlist, again, according to the sm.com board was:
Pencil Rot
Dynamic
(Do not Feed the) Oyster
Loud Cloud Crowd
Wow Ass
Post-Paint Boy
It Kills
Malediction
I've Hardly Been
No More Shoes (which was really excellent)
Baby C'mon (thus making my prediction that they would close the set with that wrong)
Church on White
Freeze the Saints
Water and a Seat
--------------
Jo Jo's Jacket
Incense
Carl the Clod
in all, it was a fantastic night.
june 14, 2005
ted leo and the pharmacists at first ave.
another excellent show! though i maybe only knew 60-70% of the songs, it was still quite good and ted leo was really energetic and fantastic and guitarry and melodic and funny. and stuff. plus, he covered the boss, and you can hardly go wrong with that.
more ghostly/blurry pics.
tonight? sleater-kinney.
i'm going to be so tired. i already am. :'(
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
neko case - first avenue, minneapolis, mn 6.7.05
neko case played minneapolis last night for the first time since october 2002. and, as always, it was amazing.
since i do not have an amazing memory for tracklists and since it is not too cool to write them down as musicians are playing, i'll just say that she played many old and new songs and played for a considerable amount of time. some of the songs played were, in no particular order: favorite (opened the set with that), deep red bells, intro with bees, if you knew, soulful shade of blue, the tigers have spoken, blacklisted, i wish i was the moon, twist the knife, set out running (opened the encore with this one), wayfaring stranger, furnace room lullaby (closed the set), look for me [i'll be around], three or four new songs, a few old gospel songs, hex, buckets of rain, and alone and forsaken (closed the encore).
in all, it was really excellent. it was the first time neko played first avenue and the first time that i had seen her at a venue with a capacity of over 500 people, but that didn't hamper the performance at all.
noticeable observations:
neko now also rocks a six string guitar! who knew?
john rauhouse, as always, rocked the pedal steel and the banjo. it made me think that more people should rock banjos and perhaps if s-k had had an eleven minute banjo song, i might have forgiven them.
was her guitar player amish?
has neko lost weight?
what kind of shampoo/conditioner does she use? her hair is so pretty.
neko's voice is one of those voices that sounds just as good or better live. i just love that.
the opening band really sucked. a lot. but, at least neko was good!
(no "no cease fires" and i've still only heard "thrice all american" once live, last night not being that time.)
since i do not have an amazing memory for tracklists and since it is not too cool to write them down as musicians are playing, i'll just say that she played many old and new songs and played for a considerable amount of time. some of the songs played were, in no particular order: favorite (opened the set with that), deep red bells, intro with bees, if you knew, soulful shade of blue, the tigers have spoken, blacklisted, i wish i was the moon, twist the knife, set out running (opened the encore with this one), wayfaring stranger, furnace room lullaby (closed the set), look for me [i'll be around], three or four new songs, a few old gospel songs, hex, buckets of rain, and alone and forsaken (closed the encore).
in all, it was really excellent. it was the first time neko played first avenue and the first time that i had seen her at a venue with a capacity of over 500 people, but that didn't hamper the performance at all.
noticeable observations:
neko now also rocks a six string guitar! who knew?
john rauhouse, as always, rocked the pedal steel and the banjo. it made me think that more people should rock banjos and perhaps if s-k had had an eleven minute banjo song, i might have forgiven them.
was her guitar player amish?
has neko lost weight?
what kind of shampoo/conditioner does she use? her hair is so pretty.
neko's voice is one of those voices that sounds just as good or better live. i just love that.
the opening band really sucked. a lot. but, at least neko was good!
(no "no cease fires" and i've still only heard "thrice all american" once live, last night not being that time.)
Saturday, June 04, 2005
more on the jicks: a bit of a rant
i'm at a loss here. real confusion over stephen malkmus and whatnot. it seems that, for the most part, people either like pavement or they like sm+jicks; they seem unable to like both bodies of work.
sm gets a lot of hate. i can only assume it is because people are still mourning the death of pavement and cannot understand that if pavement had continued, with the artistic differences between malkmus and spiral stairs, that the band probably would have gone to shit and turned into one of those bands that used to be good and whose albums you only buy out of loyalty, but end up sitting on shelves never listened to because they are crap. on the flip side, pavement gets hate from people who listen to the jicks but could never get into the 'ment.
aye!
i stand in both camps. i like 'em both. lots. and lots and lots, even. pavement is my all-time favorite band. ever. ever. i've loved them since 1994 when i stole my brother's copy of crooked rain, crooked rain (which, incidentally, i still have. sorry drew!)(i did make it up to him by buying him the reissue of CRCR upon its release last october). i mourned the death of pavement something badly upon hearing news of their break-up; or, rather, hearing rumors and eventually noting that pavement ceased to exist as a band. i was living in a dorm at the time, and even wrote an epitaph on my marker board for the band. oh so very sad...
malkmus was the primary reason i loved that band. his lyrics are clever, his melodies are catchy, and he's awfully cute. i could do without spiral stairs (and have never, for this reason, been too huge of a fan of "preston school of industry") and when i heard that malkmus was putting out a new album with a band called the jicks (sm's definition, according to stephenmalkmus.com bios and thus probably not entirely true since i'm never sure what to believe with him, "J from Jagger plus Mick minus M"), i was delighted. i downloaded it as soon as possible and listened to it and liked it. didn't love it. his jicks work will never hold for me the charms of those first three pavement albums, but, overall, it was good. and definitely better than terror twilight, which, as a last album, is a bit of a letdown, though there are some amazing songs on there.
pig lib, too, gets a lot of hate, which i also do not understand. malkmus is progressing as an artist and shouldn't his sound progress, too? face the truth is yet another step in new directions and i love it. i don't understand why people are so quick to dismiss the jicks albums as being "sub-par" just as i don't understand people who like the jicks and dismiss pavement as being too weird or something.
artists change.
sounds change.
people change.
is it so odd to think that after, what, fifteen years or whatever, recording albums, that possibly, stephen malkmus does not want to sound the same? i don't think so. in fact, i'd hate it if a jicks album sounded exactly like wowee zowee, because that, to me, would signal that malkmus was no longer growing as a musician and was afraid of branching out to unexplored territory. this is not to say that every single album he puts out i am automatically going to love, but i will have way more respect for him for trying new things (think bob dylan - not all his albums are gems now, are they?) than i would were he to regress to his pavement days. (okay, i'm actually lying a little bit here, since i probably would love one more "wowee zowee" type album, but if he KEPT doing that and all his albums started to sound like that, then i'd be pissed.)
this is a bit ranty. nonsensical. typical me type rant on the music industry at large, so apologies if it is not as coherent as a real music writer's opinions would be. but still, overall, malkmus is just movin' on, doing his thing, and staying true to himself, and i completely and totally respect that.
plus, i really love face the truth. it's great.
and, my friends, that is all she wrote.
for now....
sm gets a lot of hate. i can only assume it is because people are still mourning the death of pavement and cannot understand that if pavement had continued, with the artistic differences between malkmus and spiral stairs, that the band probably would have gone to shit and turned into one of those bands that used to be good and whose albums you only buy out of loyalty, but end up sitting on shelves never listened to because they are crap. on the flip side, pavement gets hate from people who listen to the jicks but could never get into the 'ment.
aye!
i stand in both camps. i like 'em both. lots. and lots and lots, even. pavement is my all-time favorite band. ever. ever. i've loved them since 1994 when i stole my brother's copy of crooked rain, crooked rain (which, incidentally, i still have. sorry drew!)(i did make it up to him by buying him the reissue of CRCR upon its release last october). i mourned the death of pavement something badly upon hearing news of their break-up; or, rather, hearing rumors and eventually noting that pavement ceased to exist as a band. i was living in a dorm at the time, and even wrote an epitaph on my marker board for the band. oh so very sad...
malkmus was the primary reason i loved that band. his lyrics are clever, his melodies are catchy, and he's awfully cute. i could do without spiral stairs (and have never, for this reason, been too huge of a fan of "preston school of industry") and when i heard that malkmus was putting out a new album with a band called the jicks (sm's definition, according to stephenmalkmus.com bios and thus probably not entirely true since i'm never sure what to believe with him, "J from Jagger plus Mick minus M"), i was delighted. i downloaded it as soon as possible and listened to it and liked it. didn't love it. his jicks work will never hold for me the charms of those first three pavement albums, but, overall, it was good. and definitely better than terror twilight, which, as a last album, is a bit of a letdown, though there are some amazing songs on there.
pig lib, too, gets a lot of hate, which i also do not understand. malkmus is progressing as an artist and shouldn't his sound progress, too? face the truth is yet another step in new directions and i love it. i don't understand why people are so quick to dismiss the jicks albums as being "sub-par" just as i don't understand people who like the jicks and dismiss pavement as being too weird or something.
artists change.
sounds change.
people change.
is it so odd to think that after, what, fifteen years or whatever, recording albums, that possibly, stephen malkmus does not want to sound the same? i don't think so. in fact, i'd hate it if a jicks album sounded exactly like wowee zowee, because that, to me, would signal that malkmus was no longer growing as a musician and was afraid of branching out to unexplored territory. this is not to say that every single album he puts out i am automatically going to love, but i will have way more respect for him for trying new things (think bob dylan - not all his albums are gems now, are they?) than i would were he to regress to his pavement days. (okay, i'm actually lying a little bit here, since i probably would love one more "wowee zowee" type album, but if he KEPT doing that and all his albums started to sound like that, then i'd be pissed.)
this is a bit ranty. nonsensical. typical me type rant on the music industry at large, so apologies if it is not as coherent as a real music writer's opinions would be. but still, overall, malkmus is just movin' on, doing his thing, and staying true to himself, and i completely and totally respect that.
plus, i really love face the truth. it's great.
and, my friends, that is all she wrote.
for now....
Friday, June 03, 2005
ideas for mixes
+songs with animals in the title
+songs about cars
+songs about kids
+songs that mention the word "beautiful"
+music to cry to
+music to read to
+music for when you want to throttle a co-worker for cross-stitching while at work
+songs for dance parties in your living room (wearing pajamas and eating ice cream)
+songs that make you go "hmm, that was odd"
+bands that start with b
+songs with people's names in the title
+music that would be ideal while watching a sunset
+music for airplanes
+music for lovers
+music for friends
+music for enemies
+music for horses
+music for cats
+music for ugly apartments that you wished you didn't live in, but alas, being a single mom and not getting tons of support, you do and you just have to DEAL WITH THAT FACT
+songs for a room
+songs for a girl
+songs for a boy
+music that will inspire you to write/draw/create the best story/book/picture/song/piece of art EVER
+finger-tappin' good songs
+songs to have on full volume in huge headphones while at work ignoring people and trying to stay secluded
+songs for che guevera
+songs for motorcycles
+happy songs
+summer songs
+spring songs
+winter songs
+songs about intelligence or lack thereof
+robot songs
+stalker songs
+stalkee songs
+songs that make you run around screaming with joy, happy that you're alive
+songs about cars
+songs about kids
+songs that mention the word "beautiful"
+music to cry to
+music to read to
+music for when you want to throttle a co-worker for cross-stitching while at work
+songs for dance parties in your living room (wearing pajamas and eating ice cream)
+songs that make you go "hmm, that was odd"
+bands that start with b
+songs with people's names in the title
+music that would be ideal while watching a sunset
+music for airplanes
+music for lovers
+music for friends
+music for enemies
+music for horses
+music for cats
+music for ugly apartments that you wished you didn't live in, but alas, being a single mom and not getting tons of support, you do and you just have to DEAL WITH THAT FACT
+songs for a room
+songs for a girl
+songs for a boy
+music that will inspire you to write/draw/create the best story/book/picture/song/piece of art EVER
+finger-tappin' good songs
+songs to have on full volume in huge headphones while at work ignoring people and trying to stay secluded
+songs for che guevera
+songs for motorcycles
+happy songs
+summer songs
+spring songs
+winter songs
+songs about intelligence or lack thereof
+robot songs
+stalker songs
+stalkee songs
+songs that make you run around screaming with joy, happy that you're alive
Thursday, June 02, 2005
the jicks
jicks prediction: stephen malkmus will close his set in minneapolis (and possibly probably elsewhere) with the poppy and great baby c'mon!
i have faced his truth, and i can handle it.
what do i love about stephen malkmus? there are oh so many things.
1. his lyrics.
2. his love of creedence clearwater revival.
3. his awesomeness.
4. he's funny!
5. he continues to put out good albums, even post-pavement, which is a feat that i feared not possible.
and so on.
this new album? i'm pleased with it. stephen malkmus again manages to put out something that sounds different than his previous body of work and yet stay so true to the malkmus sound, which could be categorized as "good music". upon first listen, i wasn't certain how i felt about this new one. it was good, but... pencil rot, for example, is such a weird opener that it took me aback. and then another long song? as previously mentioned in this blog, not everyone can pull off the long song, but malky!? he's done it again. no more shoes keeps the listener engaged throughout the eight minutes and stays interesting the whole time. no senseless guitarring here...
overall, i'd give the album a 4.5/5, if i were a numbers type of person. that said, i'd probably just say that it is "quite good" and would recommend.
so go. face the truth! you won't regret it.
i have faced his truth, and i can handle it.
what do i love about stephen malkmus? there are oh so many things.
1. his lyrics.
2. his love of creedence clearwater revival.
3. his awesomeness.
4. he's funny!
5. he continues to put out good albums, even post-pavement, which is a feat that i feared not possible.
and so on.
this new album? i'm pleased with it. stephen malkmus again manages to put out something that sounds different than his previous body of work and yet stay so true to the malkmus sound, which could be categorized as "good music". upon first listen, i wasn't certain how i felt about this new one. it was good, but... pencil rot, for example, is such a weird opener that it took me aback. and then another long song? as previously mentioned in this blog, not everyone can pull off the long song, but malky!? he's done it again. no more shoes keeps the listener engaged throughout the eight minutes and stays interesting the whole time. no senseless guitarring here...
overall, i'd give the album a 4.5/5, if i were a numbers type of person. that said, i'd probably just say that it is "quite good" and would recommend.
so go. face the truth! you won't regret it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
