Friday, March 21, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Random Music Stuff
Last weekend's Bob Mould show was great. "I Hate Alternative Rock" was just insane. "Divide and Conquer"??? Are you kidding me? Bob brought the rock. And about an hour later he was up in the DJ platform, spinning for Blowoff. What a fun night.
Friday I went to The Black Cat for Bernie's farewell party. I was pleasantly surprised at Pup Tent, who were playing when I walked in. I need to pay more attention to them. I almost feel bad for ignoring their MySpace friend requests. The Shirks were pretty decent, too. Loud and fast, with a bit of old-school vibe to them. Not related to either band...but I can now say I've seen a naked man on stage at The Black Cat. A rare trip to Ben's Chili Bowl followed. mmmm. Good times.
Did I tell you that my girlfriend is coming to town? Yes, my beloved Cindy Wilson is coming to the 9:30 Club to see me. The B-52's are playing at 9:30 on 4/26. They've got a new record out next week. I can't believe it's not sold-out yet. What's wrong with you people?
On a similar note - Lou Reed is also coming to 9:30. I haven't seen him in over 20 years. Back then I didn't even know who The Velvet Underground were. Should be swell.
I forgot to review the Black Mountain/Bon Iver show. Oops. I'll just say that Black Mountain is going to be big. Count on it. Bon Iver sounded ok, from what I could hear. Too much chatter drowned him/them out. Very, very quiet stuff. I never really even got a good look at the singer, since he was sitting down on a stage that's about 6" high. Maybe next time. NPR was there recording. You can listen to both sets here.
I'm kind of excited about tonight's show at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Sons and Daughters/Holy F*ck/A Place To Bury Strangers. I'm totally digging the APTBS disc. Loud, droney, fuzzy, feedback-laden, rock-o-rific goodness. Holy F*ck ain't bad either. I want to call them dance-punk, but that doesn't quite grab their vibe. They're very electronic, but they're pretty rockin', too. It's like if Kraftwerk were a little more badass. I don't know anything about Sons And Daughters, but I think they're actually headlining. Maybe that means I can get home and get to bed at a reasonable hour for a change. I still haven't quite recovered from the Mould/Blowoff double-header on Saturday.
After a slow start, the concert season is picking up. Bring it on.
Friday I went to The Black Cat for Bernie's farewell party. I was pleasantly surprised at Pup Tent, who were playing when I walked in. I need to pay more attention to them. I almost feel bad for ignoring their MySpace friend requests. The Shirks were pretty decent, too. Loud and fast, with a bit of old-school vibe to them. Not related to either band...but I can now say I've seen a naked man on stage at The Black Cat. A rare trip to Ben's Chili Bowl followed. mmmm. Good times.
Did I tell you that my girlfriend is coming to town? Yes, my beloved Cindy Wilson is coming to the 9:30 Club to see me. The B-52's are playing at 9:30 on 4/26. They've got a new record out next week. I can't believe it's not sold-out yet. What's wrong with you people?
On a similar note - Lou Reed is also coming to 9:30. I haven't seen him in over 20 years. Back then I didn't even know who The Velvet Underground were. Should be swell.
I forgot to review the Black Mountain/Bon Iver show. Oops. I'll just say that Black Mountain is going to be big. Count on it. Bon Iver sounded ok, from what I could hear. Too much chatter drowned him/them out. Very, very quiet stuff. I never really even got a good look at the singer, since he was sitting down on a stage that's about 6" high. Maybe next time. NPR was there recording. You can listen to both sets here.
I'm kind of excited about tonight's show at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Sons and Daughters/Holy F*ck/A Place To Bury Strangers. I'm totally digging the APTBS disc. Loud, droney, fuzzy, feedback-laden, rock-o-rific goodness. Holy F*ck ain't bad either. I want to call them dance-punk, but that doesn't quite grab their vibe. They're very electronic, but they're pretty rockin', too. It's like if Kraftwerk were a little more badass. I don't know anything about Sons And Daughters, but I think they're actually headlining. Maybe that means I can get home and get to bed at a reasonable hour for a change. I still haven't quite recovered from the Mould/Blowoff double-header on Saturday.
After a slow start, the concert season is picking up. Bring it on.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
In Other News....Water Is Still Wet
Did you hear the news today? Michael Stipe comes out in the April Spin Magazine. He's now an official homosexual. Shocker - I know. But good for him. Better late than never.
I know, I know. Worst. Secret. Ever. But, believe it or not, I'll bet there are people who are surprised. Dinger's mom was shocked when she learned Liberace was gay, not too long ago. Really. After working with someone in my office for about 4-years, she finally asked me if I had a girlfriend. Apparently, she never noticed the pictures of my boyfriend on my desk or the HRC sticker on my bulletin board. She ignored the fact that I own a house with another guy and often ended phone conversations with "I love you." It just never occurred to her. Some people just need to be hit over the head with it before they get it.
Good for you, Stipe. When you come to DC, we'll do brunch and talk about Project Runway.
Yay us. Go team.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Ray Of Light
Did you watch the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame awards show this year? I caught the last half of it. A pretty damn dull show with possibly the least interesting group of inductees to date. Highlights? Madonna, of course. Anytime Madonna appears to be nervous makes for good TV. You don't see that a lot. I'm not sure she belongs in the RnRHoF - but love her or hate her - she's had a hell of a career and has outlasted just about everyone. Good for her.
But the real highlight was after Madonna's speech. Most of the inducted artists went on to perform a song or two after their acceptance speech. If they were too old, or were missing too many members, they got someone else to perform fairly faithful renditions of their songs. But not Madonna. She decided not to perform. So who did they get to sing a couple of Madonna songs???
The mother-f*#king Stooges.
That's right. Iggy-f*#king-Pop belting out "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light" in all his shirtless, writhing glory. The songs were nearly unrecognizable. Iggy jumping into the shocked audience, sitting on Justin Timberlake's lap and singing directly to Madonna, about 6 inches from her face. I'm pretty sure at one point Iggy's crotch was about a foot away from Clive Davis' head. I'll have to watch it again to make sure it's Clive.
I'm not sure who set that up, but it was brilliant.
Update:
But the real highlight was after Madonna's speech. Most of the inducted artists went on to perform a song or two after their acceptance speech. If they were too old, or were missing too many members, they got someone else to perform fairly faithful renditions of their songs. But not Madonna. She decided not to perform. So who did they get to sing a couple of Madonna songs???
The mother-f*#king Stooges.
That's right. Iggy-f*#king-Pop belting out "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light" in all his shirtless, writhing glory. The songs were nearly unrecognizable. Iggy jumping into the shocked audience, sitting on Justin Timberlake's lap and singing directly to Madonna, about 6 inches from her face. I'm pretty sure at one point Iggy's crotch was about a foot away from Clive Davis' head. I'll have to watch it again to make sure it's Clive.
I'm not sure who set that up, but it was brilliant.
Update:
