Dumbek's Random Stuff

Sometimes change can be good.

Like when you change offices...

... and the new one is all yours - no more sharing.
... and it's at the end of the hall and around the corner, so nobody just pops-in as they're walking by.
... and your desk faces the door, so nobody can sneak up on you, or look over your shoulder.

... did I mention the 8+ ft. windows yet?


On a completely unrelated note... When I was getting lunch today a woman told me I looked a lot like Justin Timberlake. Unfortunately, she's a woman from my gym who I've dubbed "Crazy Mary". I don't exactly regard her opinion too highly. Maybe I should rethink that.

R.E.M. officially released the info on their upcoming "Best of" cd/dvd. It's going to be called "And I Feel Fine...The Best of the I.R.S. Years". The interesting stuff, of course, comes in the 2-disc version, where you get all the demos, live tracks and "rare" stuff. Some of it has been released before, but there are a few things of note here.

One is the slow-electric version of "Gardening At Night". If this is the version I'm thinking of, it's just beautiful. The tracklist says "previously unreleased", but I'll bet this is the one that was on the incredibly rare Alternative Radio Sampler promo cd. It's so rare, that even I don't own it. That's pretty rare, being that I'm such an R.E.M. freak.

The other track that has R.E.M. fans all abuzz is "Theme From Two Steps Onward". A track from the Fables sessions, the master tapes for this was lost for years. Rumor has it the tape finally turned up. This is sort of the "holy grail" of lost R.E.M. tracks.

And let's not forget the Hib-Tone version of "Sitting Still". Everyone is always so ga-ga over the Hib-Tone version of "Radio Free Europe" they forget that the b-side was just as interesting.

The dvd contains some goodies as well. In addition to all of the regular promo videos, we finally see the 20-minute Left of Reckoning film on dvd. This hasn't been available since Succumbs went out of print on VHS years ago. The early live videos should be interesting as well. Oh, how I wish they included their appearance on Solid Gold. No such luck.

Why another I.R.S. "Best of..." collection? There are already 3 of them. My guess is they're trying to get some attention to get in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for which they're now eligible.

Release date is September 12.

Other R.E.M. news... They're being inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in September. Also, Michael provides backing vocals on a track on the new NY Dolls cd (which doesn't suck, btw.)

Here's a live version of "Theme From Two Seps Onward" from Madison, Wisconsin in 1985.

Just for the hell of it - here's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?" from the same show.


pic from www.cmj.com

Any day that involves a floaty chair, an inflatable flamingo and a Corona counts as a good day.

Today is Sysadmin Appreciation Day.

Somebody buy me a cake, or I'll delete all your email and report all those porn sites you've been surfing at work.

So I'm in the basement on Saturday....playing Xbox and listening to some of my new 7-inch singles I hadn't gotten around to hearing yet...


Dinger: What the hell are you listening to?

Me: Some of my new singles.

Dinger: This sucks.

Me: Oh, be quiet.

Dinger: No - It sounds like a load of crap.

Me: You don't know what you're talking about.

Dinger: hrmph!


Dinger closes the door so he can avoid the racket. I go over to the turntable and realize I had played the record at the wrong speed.

Twice.

(ssshhhh - don't tell him.)

hmmm...let's see....


First off - if you see this guy today - make sure you wish him a Happy Birthday.

Mission of Burma was terrific last weekend, as expected. Two fairly short sets, but those guys can still bring it. A nice mix of old and new stuff, but the classics were definitely the crowd favorites. "Academy Fight Song", "That's When I Reach For My Revolver", "This Is Not A Photograph" pretty much tore the roof off the place. Great band. Great show.

Sunday we trekked up to Philly to catch the Bob Mould Band at Penn's Landing. It was actually a free show, courtesy of Southern Comfort. We got there in time to hear the end of De La Soul, who were pretty much terrible. Maybe the heat had gotten to them by that point. Bob, on the other hand, played a balls-to-the-wall, no-nonsense, kick-ass set. No banter. Minimal breaks between songs. He plowed through most of his standard set in about an hour. A handful of tracks from Body Of Song, plus a bunch of Sugar and Husker Du tracks. We left before The Flaming Lips came on. Standing on asphalt in 95 degree heat was getting old, plus we wanted to eat before driving home. Well worth the trip though.

Baltimore is getting it's own music festival. The Virgin Festival hits the Pimlico Race Course on September 23. Put together by 9:30's Seth Hurwitz, the festival is headlined by The Who and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Other acts include The Raconteurs (Jack White's new band), The Flaming Lips, The Killers, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Scissor Sisters and a bunch more. Not cheap ($97.50), but still a bargain, if you like a bunch of the bands. Tickets on sale Saturday morning. Save yourself the insane service charges and get your tickets from the 9:30 Club box office.

hmmm....Earlier today Pitchfork reported that The Slits are reuniting and coming to the Black Cat in November. They seem to have taken down that News entry though.


Did you know The New York Dolls have a brand new album coming out next week? I'm all over it.

Rumor has it that a new R.E.M. "Best of" cd is coming out soon. Supposedly it's 2 disks, covering the IRS years. One disk is full of hits. The other is full of demos, live tracks and outtakes. If they keep up these reissues, there are going to be more IRS "Best of" compilations than there were actual IRS albums.

The Hold Steady are playing in Baltimore in October. No word on a DC date yet.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to make it to the Run For Cover show on Saturday. You should go though. It's going to be fun. Guaranteed. But since I can't make it - here are a few cover songs for ya.

Bang! Bang! - Sex Beat
Big Black - The Model
Circle Jerks - Golden Shower Of Hits


Songs are only up for a few days. If you like what you hear - please go buy something.

...then just shut the hell up.

Enough whining about the heat already. It's July in DC. It's going to be hazy, hot, ungodly humid with a chance of an evening thunderstorm every day for the next 4-6 weeks. It's like this every year. Stop acting like it's a big surprise and that it's the end of the world.

You're not allowed to complain unless you're required to stand outside all day, or until it hits 100 degrees. And that's the actual temperature - not the "humiture" or the "heat index" or whatever Accuweather tool you're using to make people think it's 10 degrees hotter than it actually is.

Bring in your pets. Bring in your old people. Pop a cold one. You'll survive.

I hate it when I buy records I already have. At least it's a good one.

The Norman Mayer Group - Moody/Supernova

No - Norman Mayer wasn't actually in the group.

CDs I bought from my beloved Amoeba and Rasputin. Amoeba is a far better store, but Rasputin was directly across the street from my hotel. How dangerous was that?









The list:

Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead - Source Tags and Codes
Naz Nomad and the Nightmares - Give Daddy The Knife Cindy
Seam - Kernel EP
Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Behind The Music
The Oranges Band - The World And Everything In It
The Fleshtones - Do You Swing?
Codeine - The White Birch
The Mice - Almost Forever Scooter
Come - Eleven:Eleven
Beastie Boys - Some Old Bullshit
Bang! Bang! - Decked Out


I'm embarassed to say that I've never heard "The Modern Dance" until last week.

Naz Nomad... is really The Damned doing a bunch of Nuggets-esque cover songs. I'm not sure if it's kind of a joke or they're being serious. Either way - it's REALLY good. This is one of those cds I've been meaning to get since college, but I just never got around to it.

The Mice - Highly recommended by my old college roommate/musical-instigator. 60's influenced power-pop with a bit of Buzzcocks thrown in. One of the many long-forgotten should-have-been-huge bands from the 80's.

Punk Rock Beasties. I bought it for Cooky Puss though.

Bang! Bang! - Not to be confused with another band named Bang Bang Bang. Crazy-fun-sex-rock-dance-punk. Their shows are just one big dance party. If you don't have fun at one of their shows, you should probably just stop going out.

The Mice - Felicia
Naz Nomad and the Nightmares (aka The Damned) - She Lied
Bang! Bang! - Days Are #'d


Songs are only up for a few days. If you like what you hear, please support the bands and go buy something.

Everyone should go see Mission Of Burma tomorrow at The Black Cat. You can thank me later.

Mica

I saw this guy yesterday. I was pulling into the parking lot by my gym and he pulled up next to me. According to Wikipedia he lives nearby.

Yes, he was wearing the suit. And driving a similarly decorated car.

It was kind of like seeing a clown driving a car. Kind of amusing at first, then a little disturbing.

Cedars have been added to the Editors bill at 9:30 on 7/27. I may have to actually go to this one now.

Speaking of openers... +/- has been added as an opener for The Wrens at The Cat. That's not until October, but it'll probably sellout ahead of time. Buy your tickets early.

Del Cielo is having a bit of a fire sale. They're basically giving things away. $3 t-shirts. $5 LPs. Those prices include postage. Go to their MySpace page and click on "Summer Sale" for details.

I think I'm going to see Mr. Mould (with his band) in Philly this Sunday. According to the festival's website it should be over by 10:00pm. I think The Flaming Lips are headlining, so I should be able to skip out early and still get home at a reasonable time. The fact that it's FREE helps too. The festival site has a nice interview with Bob here.

Sleater-Kinney is coming to 9:30. It sold out in about 4 seconds. Nothing gets a crowd motivated like telling them you're breaking up. The Rogers Sisters are opening. They opened for Art Brut a couple months back. Not bad at all.

You absolutely MUST go see Mission Of Burma Saturday at The Black Cat. No excuses. Antelope is opening. They don't suck either. This could be a contender for "Show of the Year".

RIP Syd.

Here are all of the 7" singles I bought when I was in SF last week.














The High Strung/Capitol Years singles are actually one split-single.

The "Stop Homophobia" 7" is a compilation, which includes Pansy Division doing that "Cowboys Are Secretly Fond Of Each Other" song that Willie got a lot of attention for in recent months.

The Germs "Forming" single is a reissue of a reissue of a reissue. Nothing special, but it's kind of cool to have. Pink vinyl, no less.

The list:

The High Strung - "Loretta"/ The Capitol Years - "Ramona"
Unrest - Cath Carroll/So So Sick/Capezio B
Sleater-Kinney - Entertain/Everything
Velocity Girl - Nothing/Anatomy Of A Gutless Wonder
R.E.M. - Bad Day/Favorite Writer
The Germs - Forming/Sex Boy
Come - Wrong Side/Loin Of The Surf/SVK
Barracudas - Next Time Around/Tales What He Wants
Come - Car/Last Mistake
Tapes 'n' Tapes - Insistor/Crazy Eights
Exene Cervenka - Wordcore Volume 7
The Ponys - Wicked City/Little Friends
Liquor Bike - Thirst Day/She's Gotta Way/Barb's Wired

"Stop Homophobia" - F-gbash - "Another Freak Out"/Black Angel's Death Song - "Brothers and Sisters"/Pansy Division - "Cowboys Are Secretly Fond Of Each Other"/Happy Flowers - "Toast Fire"

Tenpole Tudor - Throwing The Baby Out With The Bathwater/The Conga Tribe
Blast Off Country Style - Giggles 'n' Gloom/Barf City U.S.A./Comet Song/Lake Eerie/G'N'G Reprise

"There's A Dyke In The Pit" - Bikini Kill - "Suck My Left One"/Tribe 8 - "Manipulate"/Lucky Stoners - "Soiled Princess"/7 Year Bitch - "Dead Men Don't Rape



The Pansy Division track was downloaded from their website. Go check 'em out. The song will only be up on here for a few days.

A bunch of our San Francisco Gay Pride pics are up over at flickr.



(All photos taken by Dinger.)

The most excellent blog Lost Bands Of The New Wave Era's current entry focuses on DC's own Tiny Desk Unit. TDU was the very first band to play at the old 9:30 Club. They were also the very last - playing the final set on the final night before the club moved to it's current location.

Most importantly, the LBotNWE entry points to the website of Bob Boilen - the synth player for the band. Go to Bob's site (via LBotNWE) and you can download all your favorite Tiny Desk Unit tracks, videos and other fun stuff.

Meanwhile - here are a couple tracks from that final show at the old 9:30. These can be found on the 9:30 Live! cd. Amazon still has it, but they claim to only have one copy left. Get it while you can.

Wave At The Nice Man, Suzie
I Tried

The songs will only be up for a few days. I highly recommend tracking down this CD and buying it.
The record pic came from Bob Boilen's site.

Got back from San Francisco last night. Did I miss anything? I hear it rained a little.

Details on the trip later.

How sexy is this?: