Hmazz zzz...

I'm Harry Mazzio I I I. H Mazz is my dj and producing alias. My style blends a vocal driven electro house, dub step, techno and progressive house feel with top 40 hooks I trick out over top of it all. Check out my mixes, tracks & come see me play!

All My Rivals Will See What I Have in Store

Every single study lounge in this building (and every floor/hallway for that matter) has a problem: the air in these spaces is unreasonably hot. Unreasonably unseasonably insanely and inanely fucking hot. Why are we heating our hallways? Not our rooms mind you, the places in which humans actually dwell and have windows and thermostats to regulate their temperature, but the hallways through which we are always moving. The heat is unlike any other. It isn't carried by a current of air; it simply sits in these stuffy halls, five feet wide. Between the gray synthetic fibers of the carpet and the fresh ceiling tiles. So the hot hair is most definitely best described as stagnant. There is never any relief and after a short while in a given floor's study lounge (essentially an enclosed portion of the hallway with desks and armchairs,) the only area of the floor (including the dorm rooms) fit to do any work within (considering the lack of light in the bedroom. Like, literally, my bedroom (which includes my desk) is unlit,) one is overwhelmed by real fogginess and fatigue. Your joints stiffen. Your forehead sweats. Your blinking becomes labored and sentences do not come. I have come to write a paper, I came hours ago, and the only thing I can do is watch this video:

Teenage Cool Kids

I definitely don't listen to much music anymore. I mean, probably more than most people still, but not as much as IIII used to. Which is sort of fine, I decided today. I think it came about from a lot of factors. I had headphones for only the first half of second semester, so it was very rare I listened to music for MY own enjoyment after spring break. I think I kicked it with some Wilco, Japandroids, some other stuff. Listening to less and less music was definitely a yearlong trend too. I lived on a floor with mostly film majors. Movies are something I'm mildly well-versed in so I just kinda ran with that...these days I go to the movies more than I go to shows. I could just be going through a dry period, NOTHING HAS REALLY CAUGHT MY EAR. Also, music criticism has been stale this year, I think. No one is picking up magazines anymore, of course. Plus, Spin and Rolling Stone etc. are just covering the same banal crap as everyone else: Vampire Weekend, AnCo, Lady GaGa, reunions, Green Day...whatever. I don't even know! Should I? Am I wrong? The internet is even worse. You expect the internet to offer exciting criticism. Pitchfork, however, is either pandering or middling. Pandering in their predictable heroes of 2009: Grizzly Bear, AnCO again, Phoenix, St. Vincent, Dan Deacon, Wavves... lo fi, experimental jizz, IDM, whateverrrrr. Same old shit, amifuckinrite? ONCE IN A BLUE MOON Pitchfork will really offer something that's overlooked: your Japandroids, Woods. Middling in that every day there's a swath of 5.0s-7.0s with accompanying reviews that accomplish little... As far as larger publications go, Magnet admittedly does run a pretty great website after years of ignoring the format. Other than that, I'm bored. I know I'm missing something: give me something to read, somebody! I need new avenues of finding new music. My best bet is usually the front page of sordo music database, some kind of shady operation.

Fact

I'm kind of all about PDA and for once I'm hyped on Valentine's day.

Sometimes I Wonder Can I Really Call This Place... Or Should I Find Another Name

So by a certain amount of luck (I guess) Sartaj and I got to go to the sardine-packed Titus Andronicus show at Swarthmore last night. First, wow, were the guys running the show douchebags. We didn't get let in until 9:25 and they spent the 50 minutes they kept us waiting make fun of all the people that couldn't get into the show. Thankfully, this was the only low point of the night. For one, the Olde Club is an amazing place to see a show, holy shit. It's a small, stone building that on the inside is kinda like a cabin; all hardwood floors and low-lights. There's a balcony, basement (complete with the free beer you expect at a tri-co show) and the main floor with a decent size stage and great sound for an underground venue. And it's cramped. Like, impossible to go two steps without stepping on someone's foot or bumping into a shoulder. Titus went on eventually and opened with "Joset of Nazareth Blues" and "My Time Outside The Womb" which had Sartaj and I jumping up and down... alone. Thankfully, this didn't keep up and by the end of "Womb" there was a mess of familiar faces from past TA shows falling all over each other and stage diving. In the middle of their set, they started playing some new stuff for their new record which, get this, is apparently a concept album about the Civil War. You know what, though? It worked really really well. The first tune was just Patrick and Andrew and had a countryish/Dylan feel and that segued into three progressively more rocking numbers. The intensity is still there, for sure... Can't wait to hear the lyrics. Their set, fucking unfortunately, was truncated so as to allow the increasingly more and more ridiclous Los Campesinos! time to set up and play before midnight but I could have cared less, really, no matter how much I love their records. Their, admittedly fucking AWESOME, t-shirts were TWENTY DOLLARS. I'll just wait to catch them at the TLA at the end of March. Sartaj and I left after I snagged four (or five? or six?) more beers and a little chat with Ian, Titus' bassist. They can't play the Philly show with Lucero but they're trying to come out for a one-off headlining show shortly thereafter. Basement, Please???? "This band is going to play basements and shows like this until it's all over." Good to know.

Andrew Cedermark is the nicest guy in the fucking universe. Titus took the stage and he noticed me up front, shook my hand. He has some great solo material. His voice almost reminds me of Richard Thompson... and some other stuff that's on the tip of my tongue but it just slips my mind! CHECK IT OUT HERE.
I woke up at 7 for my 8:40 and threw this on... so good.

Busy weekend: home tonight for Gabby's party (or do I want to see Everyone Everywhere? Got free tix. Or Breakfast and Dessert House? Saw those dudes at the show, so fun. HM...,), Ben Folds tomorrow night with D. (YEAH VALENTINE'S DAY WHATEVER WHY DON'T YOU JUST GET OVER IT,) and I'm really excited for that because as long as I've loved Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five and as many times as he's come through here I haven't been able to see him, then Failures Sunday at Kung Fu Necktie. I've only heard like, four Charles Bronson songs but they were fucking awesome and Orchid used to be one of my favorites eighth grade/freshman year when I was a straight Screamo snob. Should be a solid weekend.

Off to J and H... I think I'm addicted to their lemonade.

A FALSE SENSE OF SPRING

Is this global warming? For the last three to four years without fail we have had warm spells in January and February. If it's the dreaded meltdown, I really don't care. These days, um, no homo, inspire me. Or something like that. Ok they inspire me in this way:
I left my room at 4:30 this morning to go bang out a paper last minute for Mosaic. It was fucking Florida warm when I left the building and I took off my sweater. When I got to the TECH center, I was mostly productive, but also a Twitter fiend. I can't get enough of this Twitter thing. So all day I'm twittering about this awesome fucking weather. I get through Mosaic. Bailed on history lecture cos Sartaj's housing deposit went through and we (Brandon, Matt, Sartaj and I) had to get TT 208 E on lockdown. Got that. Fucking got it so hard. Got it so hard that the only person in the room, the stranger we're going to be living with next year, a Miguel Vaca, shook. I know this. I'm excited for my "experiment in diversity" living situation next year. I'm so past my 93% white high school.

Then I sat at my computer relieved and waiting for Wyatt to wake up so he could help me study for Bionic Human. He wasn't having it so I threw on my purple "pre-gaming for springtime" polo and headed out into the world (which was bright.) Wandered (as much as you can wander around Temple's campus anyway) and eventually settled on that big flat expanse above Anderson and Gladfelter lecture halls. Had to move though, wanted to meet my GF! So I waited by the bell tower on the beach next to some dumb ass fucking broad in a frock and leggings and big shades reading Kerouac and smoking. You're not hot. Anyway, I read the January issue of Outside that featured Lance Armstrong on the cover. Shit was hot. D. finally showed up and I was so fucking happy because the sun brought out all her freckles and I realized that if anyone belongs in the sun out there on the beach by the bell tower then it was definitely her and maybe myself. Us together.

OK no homo but those last sentences are pretty much the reason behind this entry.
So let's take a break from the corny real quick:
Everyone Everywhere is cracking me up on WKDU right now
Miles and I fixed gear frenzy Spring Break 09

D. left me on the grass next to Michele. I tried to read and listen to the Pains of Being Pure at Heart with her but I fell the fuck into a deep sleep and woke up an hour or so later PISSED because: Michele was gone and this somehow made me really mad, the two upperclasmen pseudo intellectuals talking about the meaning of life were STILL smoking cigs and wearing sunglasses under my tree, the sweatshirt I was laying on had become SOGGY and I could barely lift my head up. I got a Red Bull and found Mike V at Anderson Gladfelter tunnel. We talked about music and twitter and Mike was my hero as usual. Actually, Mike, I don't really worship you like I imply, but every time we hang out it's just like "Dude, Mike V is awesome." D. found me again and we sat on a concrete wall, still enjoying the weather, getting bothered by something in the air, found a secret passageway, walked me to the Bionic Human. I nailed that test. Continued with my outdoor life with Linz. Then D. again. We were last seen making out in front of Beury, talking about what. An awesome. Day. It was.

TWEE BUMMER

Ugh dude I've been all over The Pains of Being Pure at Heart since like, November when I saw a pic of their E.P. on the Titus Andronicus Flickr. I pirated a leak of their full-length and got down to it all through Christmas break. It's fucking awesome. I guess for one thing they're not very subtle. They're obviously going for the whole early-90s British/Twee thing. Their album cover totally apes Belle and Sebastian, their distorted but shimmery guitars are totally Jesus and Mary Chain and the cooing male/female vocals remind me of some My Bloody Valentine. I have no problem with these things however and neither should you. They make me smile real big.

"but come saturday, you'll come to stay
you'll come to sway in my arms
who cares if there's a party somewhere
we're gonna stay in

come saturday, you'll come to say
maybe there's no harm
in a wasted summer with no drama,
we're gonna stay in"
-"Come Saturday"

They just got best new music'ed today. No big deal. Just wish I wrote about them sooner so I didn't seem like some bandwagon newb. They're playing Kung Fu Necktie sometime soon. 21+ NO HOMO UGH. They might be 09's jollier answer to the aforementioned Titus Andronicus.


Um, this is the wrong cover but whatever. Snag this record quick before they become another hipster commodity.

In other news, tonight I spent a solid hour and twenty minutes watching Septa Rail Fan videos on Youtube. The one I was most stoked about was this:

It's the El from 40th Street Station to the 69th Street Terminal. I've only ever been as far as 46th but I yearrrrrnnnn to go all the way with the MFL man seriously. I had this dream where I went to Millbourne. It was an amazing community with tidy houses and a delightfully suburban grid layout. This probably isn't the case as it's wedged between kinda-scary-Westernmost-Philadelphia and seen-better-days-Upper Darby but the point is I dream of these things. Also, I got really excited when Danielle called it the El and not the MFL/Blue Line/Subway.

Chester County SEPTA cool kids, doesn't this bum you out?

"Until September 19, 1986, commuter service on the line continued past Elwyn to West Chester. In fact, the line itself is still known in official documentation as the West Chester Line. Major rehabilitation was needed on the line, and SEPTA had limited funds for the necessary repairs. In addition, Chester County was more interested in expanding the Exton Station on SEPTA's R5 Paoli/Downingtown line. SEPTA only had funds for one of the two projects, so R3 service to West Chester was terminated in favor of expanded R5 service."

From the R3 Wikipedia article. I hope they go through with the proposed extension to Wawa. No more dreaded Granite Run Mall traffic for John to fret about in the back seat as I speed to catch a train.

Strawberry Burns

Art Alexakis might be the most underrated 90s holdover/human being still alive:

But he sure is appreciated.

Pedal Faster

"We just had the most amazing night of our lives. Being in high school is almost exactly like television but I ask: where are the palm trees? Adam's parents went away for the whole weekend. Kyle got us three handles of Vladimir, a really high-end vodka. By eleven o'clock I was wasted and loved my friends so much. I played ping-pong with an interesting boy from college and my best friend fell asleep on top of a cute upper classman from our rival high school! Everyone was just dancing and engaging in meaningful experiences like throwing up in the snow, smoking weed and leaning on each other's shoulders taking pictures... leaning on each other's shoulders in our lives."
-High School Party Queen

I didn't want to come home and play another "benefit show" at Kennett High School in the fricking auditorium but I did and it turned out to be pretty fun. We played ok. We have a number one fan whose name is N4TH4N and he showed up with his bff DelgadoUno. We totally appreciated that and the hecklers calling for Pavement up front. We also liked how, finally after a lot of prodding, all the children came up on the actual stage to watch Pirouette. I'm so stoked that that band has become fully realized since Brendan and Brendan joined. I'm gonna say that the new EP is a grower. "Pedal Faster" and "Donthatemeifyoudonthaveto" are easily top five in the Pirouette canon (my sister said it best: the best chugga parts.) "Passing the Grass" and "Breezeway Girlfriend" take the usual, mathy, Pirouette formula and warps it: "Grass" has a bizarre chorus warning that "no one can drive a race car on E," and "Girlfriend" has Amanda singing in her operatic soprano. It's pretty fucking awesome actually if a little unsettling at first. The actual recording sounds different than anything Scotty's ever done at Tomato. I guess the instruments sound more fleshed out and the mix is really clear but it still retains that "this was recorded in a basement" feel. He does some interesting things throughout the record like including nearly an episode's worth of Ninja Turtles samples. Realest shit.

Then we rolled up to Kyle Macklin's friend's party. Do I even need to say anymore? Just picture 8 fifteen year old girls not being able to stand up without stumbling across the living room floor and the four of us (Miles, Will, Mimi) loling all the way home. With our handle of Vlad. That was rightfully Will's anyway.


I'm tired of indie party playlist music: MGMT (don't even start,) Of Montreal, Girl Talk, "Daft Punk is Playing at My House." I'm hoping I won't hear any of that tonight at my very first fraternity party (AXP BRO) but chances are everything I hear tonight will have been put through a vocoder before being laid to tape. Until I get back hear and listen to the new Pirouette EP.

Fuck the MGMTs.
Fuck sob stories.
I love my life right now.

Pirouette-"Donthatememorethanyouhaveto"

Dont Hate Me More Than You Have To - Pirouette

WORLD SERVES IT'S OWN NEEDS

Wish I could post the official promo vid. Michael Stipe kinda looks silly always looking off the lyric sheets these days. Even still, every time I put on Accelerate it sounds as reaffirming (reassuring?) as the day i got it.

Yum, Sunday Mornings

I love this Sunday morning.

There are so many bad fucking people in this world/school. I sure as hell am not one.

LOL SECOND SEMESTER

Do you think my Writing for Journalism class laughed at me because - during the mandatory cute introduce-yourself-and-tell-us-a-funny-lil-fact session - I said I was uninspired or because I said I think Philadelphia is the most fascinating city in America?

New Years Res: cut the overarching sincerity?
NEVER.

Because I spend my nights dancing under a light in a quiet corner of campus on one of the few patches of snow-covered green grass with a girl to whom nothing really matters except what she likes.

THERE WAS LOTS OF BULLSHIT MUSIC IN 08

Fleet Foxes put me to sleep like the Panda Bear record did last year. But the Panda Bear record has since become one of my sister and I's mutual favorite things so who knows? I didn't think many albums came out this year that had much worth but there WERE a few.

1. Titus Andronicus-The Airing of Grievances
Ok so yeah this year wasn't all that exciting for music. But then there's this, this grimy suburban screed from North Jersey with enough teenage misery for an army of prep-school nihilists/Sartre-scholars in the making. The song titles speak for themselves - No Future Part 2: Day After No Future, My Time Outside the Womb, Albert Camus, Fear and Loathing in Mahwah New Jersey. Nothing hits closer to home sometimes than these words.

2. No Age- Nouns
I think if I were around in 1992, Sonic Youth would be my No Age and Dirty would be my Nouns. They represent something larger than themselves: nationwide DIY, trendy skateboarding (lol), bedroom experimentation, cool teenagedom. My favorite lyric of the year: "With passion it's true." CRED ALERT - SAW THESE GUYS IN A BASEMENT AFTER P4K FEST.

3. Algernon Cadwallader-Some Kind of Cadwallader
get up GET THE FUCK UP PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE THERE IS NOTHING ON YOUR MIND BUT THESE INTERTWINING GUITARS AND THAT GUY THAT GUY CANT REALLY SING CAN HE?! Fuck all. This band does not sound like Cap'n Jazz. This band does not sound like American Football. This band sounds like twinkly emo finally made it to Philadelphia. I am thankful.

4. Los Campesinos!-Hold on Now, Youngster...
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.

5. Los Campesinos!-We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Love is a losing game.

2009: YEAR OF NO BULLSHIT

Hi. I'm now living in 2009. I will be strictly "no bullshit" in 2009. You know how every mother fucker is trying to "reduce his or her carbon footprint?" Well I said fuck that, I'm taking it to a whole new level. I am completely eliminating my bullshit footprint.

I will get drunk and sing along to songs that I don't really know the words to. I will make words up. I think that this is fun. I am having fun. I am being true to myself.

I will not read Pitchfork every day. I especially won't buy the new Animal Collective album.

I will not talk about music like a Pitchfork review.

I'm not going to write a word about music that other people will read until I break the Pitchfork habit.

I will enjoy things for their function as opposed to their form (i.e. fixed gear bikes)

I will learn lots of thing about people.

I will not take myself seriously.

I will go into things with an open mind.

I will still hold grudges against people that I have grudges against; this is who I am.

I won't give into hype.

I will have fun.

I will be fun.

Fun is not putting other people down.

I will be proud of who I am. I will use self-consciousness only as a guise or a device.

How will you reduce your bullshit footprint in '09?
Do you have anything to add to my list of ways I'm going to reduce my bullshit in '09? Let's be honest here, I know I didn't cover everything.