On Repeat

Fuck Yeah Dan Harmon

2010-09-25T15:24:00.000-04:00

"I remember doing that as a kid, I’d sit in the mirror and practice freeze frames and stuff. I’d be walking down the hall in my home and every once in a while I’d do a punchline and hold as though there was credits frozen over me, because I was growing up in a world where I was understanding that that was the height of coolness, that that’s how good, awesome, clean people were presented."

(via)

My Gap Feels Weird

2010-09-25T15:08:00.000-04:00

This week I got to see Superchunk which I've been wanting to do since the first time I saw Guided By Voices when I was like, 11 or 12. Basically a lifelong dream realized. I think it's amazing that Superchunk aren't thrown around as much as Jawbreaker or Lifetime when people talk about influences on pop punk bands of today. That's all, haha.

The indie rock line in the sand

2010-07-08T18:27:00.000-04:00

Folks, what is all this confusion about what is indie anymore? It has always been easy for me to know what indie is. It is a little more than punk, a little less than rock. It's that simple.

It is self-conscious of its aspirations. It would love to "rock" like rock but is worried about the attention that rocking could bring.

The Califonia Gurls video is more outrageous/hilarious/subversive/amazing than anything Lady Gaga has done

2010-07-02T00:17:00.000-04:00

I am sick of this Lady Gaga is a serious artiste shit. Sure, the gal knows how to work the industry... if every other pop star had spent like, 5 years working in the industry before deciding to play it, it would be the same thing. I know her videos are supposed to be like high-concept/high-art/high-fashion or whatever too but like, all that shit is lost on me. I shop at the Gap.

Yeah, no, I'm way more blown away by Katy Perry's turn as an Oompa Loompa-style imp that has recently discovered her sexuality. In one scene, she is laying nude on a purple cloud, with shiny purple hair, and after mouthing the line "Sun-kissed skin/so hot we'll melt your popsicle," she covers her teeth with her tongue and looks knowingly at the camera. Like, "come on, I've never been much for subtlety." The plot of the video is just thrown away (i.e. Snoop Dogg appears to be her (literal?) "sugar daddy" and is seen dancing with her and the other Calif. gurls, but then Snoop is the target of a whipped-breast-cream attack that leaves his gummi bear minions incapacitated

Katy Perry's deliberate movements and wide eyes at the beginning of the vid, like while the viewer and also Perry are growing accustomed to this edible wonderland, are kind of charming.

A dress of bubbles? Fuck a dress of bubbles. Calif gurls has Perry donning a dress of that sticky paper candy (that skeeves me out, but still.)

I dunno, I guess what I'm saying is, I'm glad this video has almost 9.5 million views as of tonight.

Lyrics of "The Battle of Hampton Roads" changed so they fit my current situation

2010-06-29T19:57:00.002-04:00

So I'm going back to Kennett Square. I do believe they've had enough of me.

So now I leave Philly my tail is between my legs/
After deep calms of pain we're drunk to the drags/
And now im heading south on 95 again/
And I'm as intellectually/financially poor as I've ever been.

Made up stupid nonsense words humans become attached to and use ad nauseam

2010-06-17T13:46:00.001-04:00

I am pro-"meep"-ban. I fucking hate shit like "meep," some stupid onomatopoeia or idiom or colloquialism that enters the lexicon at the bottom of the popu-pyriamid, with like, band geeks or videogame nerds and then rises, meme-like, to the top, until a school principal gets to the point where they must institute a ban on the word. This isn't a first amendment issue. It's merely a ban on fucking nonsense. If I had any power, I also would not hesitate to stomp this shit out like a foot to cigarette butt for the sake of myself and my staff. SEE ALSO: FAIL AS NOUN

Story about "meep" ban: http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO129435/

Photo

2010-06-04T12:19:00.002-04:00

Primitive Burger King Gods

2010-06-04T11:53:00.000-04:00

My best friend Christian is back in town! Christian goes to B.U. and the type of bro (as in best guy friend) that no matter how long it's been since you've been together last, you pick up right where you left off. You probably need something like that in your life, I think. Anyway, we've been breaking in my new abode with CASES OF PBR and FORTIES. Seriously, it's been a lot of fun. We went to a free screening of "Get Him to the Greek" last night (it's definitely a TBS: Very Funny. Partying-like-a-rock-star-humor rarely fails to amuse. Same goes for Britishisms like "jeffrey.") and dined at Burger King. Christian and I are pretty serious about fast food. So we're feasting on chicken sandwiches and "steak-house" burgers when, after easily ignored songs like "Bring Me a Higher Love" and a Carrie Underwood hit, this song came on and ruined my day with information. Goddammit. I love this song but hearing it at a BK on a rainy night at 10 o'clock? Whilst stuffing your face with sat. fat and processed meat? I HAD TO RESIST URGES TO CONTEMPLATE MY MORTALITY IN ORDER THAT I COULD ORDER SECONDS. It was some kind of music/fast food culture clash. I don't want to hear P.R.G. while I'm eating a burger under fluorescent lights. I don't really want to hear anything at all except the chewing noises that grimly connect us to the cattle we were putting into our mouths.

I WRAPPED UP COMMUNITY FOR A TV AND A GIRL

2010-05-26T13:15:00.000-04:00

Thanks Kristen for letting me do that.

By far the show I was most fond of this season, or maybe any season ever (1), was NBC’s underdog/fanart-stimulator/Soup -host-vehicle/Channel 101-mastermind-masterminded/community-college-set Community. In 09-10, while most people were getting too-involved with the conclusion of Lost (2), I was trying to figure out how to make .gif files so I could join in all the fun people were having with the Community ensemble on Tumblr and Livejournal (3). Speaking really broadly: I liked the show a lot and I think it worked on a whole lot of levels.

(More specific now!) The show sometimes gave me butterflies and I think its first season excelled because it featured: a great ensemble led by a fairly-recognizable anti-Seacrest who is able to make my DAD laugh; an exaggerated but accurate portrayal of a few aspects of college that haven’t yet been beaten into a desk (classroom puns!); inter-character chemistry that became a shipper’s dream; fans that (I think probably) mostly experienced and expressed love for the show on the web; the Dan Harmon that listened to those fans; and Alison Brie.

A laundry list of stray observations that are related to most of the laundry-listed reasons above, written both now and over the course of the season:

READ THE REST OF THE POST AT KRISTEN'S BLOG, A TV AND A GIRL

Lavis Bloke

2010-05-20T16:15:00.001-04:00

I get to see Lavis Blake tonight who are "taking Philly by storm." I will probably heckle something like "What the fucks is your name a reference to?"(edit: to a homeless woman that squatted in the abandoned house next door. I see a trend! Omar, Lavis Blake... someone needs to start a band about "Spare some change for cup of coffee" Liacouras guy.)

I was really bummed when they took their old songs off their site in favor of some more Philly math-lite. It seemed weirdly self-conscious of them. This is another case of me reading way too far into the activity of a local band but, come on, it was kind of drastic. And though the guitars got noodly and open tuned, I've determined this isn't a turn for the worse. LB's place, now, (no longer outliers which, even though I know very little about the band past their Myspace page, I will declare them,) is somewhere between Spraynard's posi-stoke and Algernon's elated emoturity.

Dag Nasty-informed lyrics and annunciation in "On The Road" (which for some reason, conjures images of Fozzybear:) ~~"We live and learn respect."~~ "We live in library stacks" which is even better. Share some motifs with the 'nard dogs: "As the sun goes down/across those hills." Kyle, the singer, is seriously great. His shuddering vocal on "Era of Hopeful Monsters" gives me the chills.

Summer To-Do List, v.1.0

2010-05-18T15:54:00.000-04:00

Cover awesome songs with one or more bands. 4 Non Blonde's "What's Up," Piebald's "King of the Road" with lyrics changed to be about my friends, "Roadrunner" with Kennett-related lyrics, "No Fun," etc.

Convince Failed Attempts at Facial Hair to play a full band set somewhere.

If Fest Chester actually happens, redefine frontman while leading a group of confused and susceptible musicians to local, single show infamy.

Have meaningful experiences while listening to: An Emo Diaries comp, Orange Rhyming Dictionary, This is Happening, another Spraynard all-nighter, etc.

Cook more, cook better.

Make my way to East Fairmount Park or equivalent around sunset any evening I can.

Fight loneliness with loud music, books, writing and, duh, other peeps.

Best Shit I've heard this year so far

2010-05-17T09:59:00.000-04:00

With the impending release of This is Happening, I thought it'd be OK if I listed the best shit I've heard so far this year:

This is Happening
the Monitor
Transference
the Brutalist Bricks
Cut and Paste
That untitled Teenage Softies E.P.
The Skin Cells
Romance is Boring

All of these records are really really good. 2010 >2009

Facebook Status Lyric Atrribution

2010-05-16T13:25:00.000-04:00

I hate it when a person uses a song lyric in their Facebook status without attribution. I am trying to change the world one status at a time but I'm worried I look like a douchebag.

2010-05-12T14:55:00.002-04:00

Just watched a Philadelphia Independent Film Festival submission called "My Kidnapper." Definitely the type of doc I'd read about and would immediately feel like I had to see it, it's that interesting. So read about it.

TV Producer Mark Henderson, one of the six "kidnapees" experiences a kind of Stockholm Syndrome when he starts receiving emails from his Colombian kidnapper. Henderson and some other tourists were taken during a camping trip in the Sierra Nevada mountains by a group of Colombian revolutionaries. They were let go after a few months and then, not quite a year later, Henderson and his fellows start getting emails from the group, asking pretty mundane things like "what've you been up to since?" Their kidnappers became Facebook friends and invited them to weddings. For Henderson, staying in touch with his kidnappers and making the documentary with the other people captured seemed to take on a weird, 21st century therapy... Pretty wild.

Here's the trailer:

Revessay: My off/on relationship with Spraynard's "Cut and Paste."

2010-05-11T09:50:00.000-04:00

I loved Spraynard's first E.P. I guess, like everyone else, I had a Latterman-sized hole in my eardrums that had to be filled? But you know those Latterman comparisons are just lazy so that's the last you'll hear of that.

I think I started listening to that demo during that January warm-spell last winter... or was it late fall? Don't really remember. I remember trekking out to Cedar House, Sartaj in tow, hoping to catch them at an overcrowded shit show. Mimi had given them two thumbs up after seeing them play Fennario a week earlier. I guess we missed Spray, but thankfully got to see Factors of Four rock the kitchen before dealing awkwardly with a crackhead in some Baltimore Avenue Chinese restaurant. So the first time I saw Spraynard was probably at our house that following spring break... their sets haven't gotten much longer. They played the demo + a Plow cover.

A lot of time passed, from a local music standpoint. The buzz about "Cut and Paste" started, in my ears, mid-fall, when Mimi played me "Jay's Cafe," a C+P track that had its debut on "West Chester Nuclear Winter." The song is an instant classic, but yeah dude, my interest in Spraynard had definitely waned by this point. I think I probably had some post-Pirouette fear of band commitment. Factors of Four had yet to fail me (well, actually, they were broken up by the summer's end,) but I just felt too tired to get attached to anyone else. And my ambivalence toward Spraynard continued, through downloading C + P, seeing them play my house one or two more times, and the laser tag show...

READ MORE ON MY BLOG THAT WILL STRICTLY BE ABOUT LOCAL MUSIC RELATED STUFF (IF I KEEP UP WITH IT.) INAUGURAL ESSAY Y'ALL.

Animal Sounds

2010-05-05T12:00:00.002-04:00

I still stand by my hyperbolic claim that Teenage Cool Kids are the best band of the decade. Click to 2:50 into this video and see why.

Also, who didn't love an underdog this tenth of a century? Arrested Development? Conan-as-Tonight-Show-host? Yankee Hotel Foxtrot debacle? Y100-to-YRock-on-XPN? Stuff like that.

EDIT:

They have fucking EVERYTHING a young rock fan wants these days: running and Malkmusite/mathy guitar lines, drones, kiss off lyrics (Savage, sneering in Art School Anarchist: "[So,] is there a reason for your sentimental streak, or have you just gone soft man?"), hooks/bababa's til the Texas cattle come home...

EDIT:
Maybe the problem is there aren't enough young rock fans around to appreciate?

GOT ANY WHAT/May is coming.

2010-04-29T16:47:00.000-04:00

May is coming, everyone.

I think this song, Liz Phair's "May Queen," the closer of her underfuckingrated sophomore effort Whip-Smart (and it IS whip-smart,) does a good job defining that end of year, up all night confusion that finals bring on. "Got any what?" Although Liz is probably talking about fucking rock and roll would-bes like Nash Kato, and, I don't know, finding relief that she's not their only booty call? That WOULD be a relief.

May Queen - Liz Phair

"Don't be fooled by him he's fine.
Rock and roll Ken doll,
He's a national end-all,
He's an on and off friend of mine ...

Where have I been?
Got any what?
Who have I seen?
I spy a May queen.
You were miles above me,
Girls in your arms.
The changing of her majesty's guard is truly amazing.

Got any what?
Disease, hashish, a mind,
Do I have any what?

Where have I been?
Got any what?
Who have I seen?
I spy a May queen.
You were miles above me,
Girls in your arms.
You could have planted a farm
With all of them hay-seeds...."

-Liz Phair (knows that May is coming.)

And here's a bonus. "Polyester Bride."

'Lost' is awk

2010-04-14T11:31:00.000-04:00

Loving the last season of "Lost" but one thing is bothering me. Every time a character interacts with Smoky/Not-Locke/Man in Black, I just feel like they're dancing around a MAJOR issue. Not-Locke is always talking about how he wants to leave the island and the rest of the cast (Richard, aside) is just nervously going along with the plan. Not-Locke HAS to know something is up, right? Like, his followers are totally dragging their feet on this "we're going to take the Ajira plane off the island" thing.

All they have to tell him is "Dude. Leaving the island sounds great and all and we want to help you out, but everyone else says you're THE absolute evil that will destroy the world and if you get off the island it will be the end of everything, or whatever... So I guess what we're trying to say is, like, good luck or whatever, we can't help you out anymore. The whole cork/wine thing..." Is that so hard?!

Wolf Party

2010-04-11T17:54:00.002-04:00

My "cousin," Kristin Gal, prompted me to revisit the Blood Brothers song I appropriated for my longtime internet handle. Definitely regretting the decision to use a song that might, today, be called "like Of Montreal re-imagined as a screamo band" for my net identity. C'est la vie!

Those wolf mechanics banging, indeed.

Class presentations

2010-04-11T03:10:00.002-04:00

Insert easily drawn parallels between these two clips:

Ugh nevermind, clip is nowhere to be found. Jeff and Pierce's zany Spanish presentation on Community 102. Just watch this instead:

How do you fight it? We started our own radio station.

2010-04-11T02:59:00.000-04:00

I will never forgive the teens and tweens of Noggin's target audience. They made a decision during the early double- zeroes: trashy composite sketches of a parent's worst nightmare or clever kids living the "making something out of abs. nothing in the suburbs"-dream. These, the teens weened on MTV's Laguna Screech and the post-90s Real World ("A number of different people in a house doing abs. nothing productive. Let the drama begin!") wanted something like the new MTV but packaged for middle school.

And, actually, that was it: The Big D. Drama. (I'm going to start using we, because I am not excluded, being that I was a tween/teen in the early aughts.) We, for some reason, wanted to look into an awful sort-of mirror every Friday night. And, for awhile, it was fun... until this point of "I no longer know who the fuck I am supposed to have empathy for." Radio Free Roscoe was a respite from/foil to Degrassi: The Next Generation's batshit fucking insanity. Both did have golden nuggets of realism buried in some (brilliant) middle-aged writer's vision of teenagedom.

RFR's of course was much more generous: marginalized, "voiceless" high schoolers will, enterprisingly, find their voice. It entertains me to no end and comes as no surprise that it sprung from the same mind that spawned The Adventures of Pete and Pete. And watching it, I get this kind of embarrassing sense of physically being uplifted (see also: listening to an especially funny Earles and Jensen call, or Rasputin Secret Police's "The Sacred Cup.")

Fine line between precious and awesome. I dunno. That's all I have to say about that for now.

What is not to love about this video?

2010-04-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Well, considering it features Britt Daniel and Janet Weiss performing together on the same stage, there is abs. nothing to not love, only love love love forever. Let me marry this video.

Forget Who We IzZzZz

2010-03-30T23:24:00.001-04:00

I guess I'm not that much better than them, but if a bunch of Johnny-come-lately's crash this ticket on-sale and ruin the week leading up to, day of, and week following July 24 for me, I'm going to be pissed. I mean, I was five when they broke up but I have had an understanding of this band's importance since eighth grade. Matt Pannell put, of all songs, "Hey Ma, Do I Hafta Choke on These?" on a mix for me (the mix also included everything from the Anniversary to Shai Hulud to Reggie and the Full Effect.) Judging by these kids' absolute hatred of Joan of Arc and anything Kinsella-related that may not have an obvious hook/total emoshunul resonance, I doubt many of them have sat through "Hey Ma." But it turned me on, mostly because it, along with Joan of Arc's So Much for Staying Alive and Lovelessness made me feel sophisticated and was a nice break from the glass-shattering, notebook-scribbling intensity of Saetia. That summer, I woke up around noon every day to the aimless open-chord bashing of "Basil's Kite." Back then, there was lots of mystery and I couldn't watch Cap'n Jazz play the Daily Grind on YouTube or connect with fans of Midwestern emo. I didn't even really know there was a Midwest "sound," but now you and all your buds can replicate that scene every Friday night at Philly's newest warehouse parties/basement shows thanks to a bunch of undergrads who chose fascinating names like "Snowing," and "Bearings"to silkscreen onto the covers of their demo 7". So I don't even know why I should be worried, maybe Philly will have had enough mathy emo stuff by the time July rolls around and... well nevermind, that's just not going to happen at this rate.

EDIT: And if Jade Tree folds because they really had to take a chance on these kids buying the Analphabetapolothology reissue and folks remain satisfied with their Soulseek downloads or whatever... sorry for the haterade.

The New Patriotism

2010-03-29T21:41:00.001-04:00

This might get me into some trouble.

Between The Hurt Locker and The Monitor I feel that there's probably a new, young patriotism coming around... maybe one that's sort of, maybe, more understanding (?) of where we are right now? And what it took to get here? And an appreciation of where we come from? New regionalism?

That is a Polaroid Zach took of his room.

Dispatches from John Crodian

2010-03-28T12:32:00.002-04:00

Texts:

Me - These tweenage girls on the R5 just said West Chester was boring. Want me to fuckemup?
John - Tell them about Macaroni Castle. That's what I'm trying to call my apartment.

First of many blurbs I will be writing about NBC's "Community"

2010-03-26T11:35:00.002-04:00

I like that the writers don't overdo it with Abed. I think Abed is two things: a TV character with Asperger's and great metacommentary on how everyone wishes their life was more like a TV show and will go to distant ends to make that a reality. (Actually, those two things are pretty much facts.) It would have been really easy to: have the entire character (and maybe even entire show) revolve around the fact of Abed's Asperger's... the entire show would devolve into jokes about his "social awkwardness" (in most college lecture halls and conversations, being "socially awkward" is considered a disease unto its own) and Abed's storylines would be centered around trying to get him to assimilate into, like, normal society or whatever, and the lessons it would teach would be "it's OK to be different!" (Which it is, and I don't have a problem with that being "a lesson that is often taught," but it would get tired.) Also it would be really easy to have each episode be some amalgam of sitcom tropes and Abed would sort of ground the whole thing by calling everyone out on it. This is something the show does do a lot but not to excess. Abed isn't a crutch the show leans on... he really is like some kind of commentator keeping each character in check. In that way he works to the show's total advantage. Just as the audience is catching on, saying to each other "Hey this is just a riff on _________," Abed steps in and calls everyone out on it.

[Paragraph about the new, hilarious weirdness the show has stumbled upon, using each actor's ability to do physical comedy and tempering it with their great dialogue/chemistry, creating some kind of "synergy" unseen in any other sitcom of late (or at least the ones on NBC Thursday nights.)]

WATCH COMMUNITY.

Amazing Adverb of the Day

2010-03-23T18:31:00.000-04:00

This is a Ben Franklin-level adverb, re: getting drunk, via Community creator Dan Harmon:

"Childhood-revealingly."

This entry is me taking notes. Required something more permanent than a retweet.

Everyone should also know I'm probably going to look like him one day (soon):

Boy on the Verge

2010-03-22T11:02:00.002-04:00

I borrowed Vendela Vida's Girls on the Verge from my cousin who gets an A+ for her (to my total delight) so-clearly-a-Gen-Xer bookshelf. Douglas Coupland's Generation X, Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp, various McSweeney's, etc. The book is an excellent series of firsthand accounts of different rituals the modern day girl chooses to go through: marriage, rushing a Sorority, the debutante ball. But I look like an idiot carrying it around:

My cousin is also an OG Death Cab fan from back in the day. She saw them with the Dismemberment Plan during the amazingly named Death and Dismemberment tour. I had so quickly outgrown Transatlanticism that I couldn't take seriously claims that their old stuff is a lot better and a lot different. And actually when I hear a song like "Crooked Teeth," or even "I Will Posses Your Heart," I always feel like such an idiot for writing their new stuff off. But it's too late now. Or not. Because I ripped We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes and haven't stopped listening to it. It's fucking awesome.

It's mathy and has killer hooks and mopes only maybe a third of the time (Why do I think this is a bad thing for some bands and not others? I don't get me.) Some tracks remind me of American Football (this is always good if we're talking about a band that formed before the insane Philadelphia math rock boom of 2008.) I hate being wrong.

Note to Self

2010-03-21T03:10:00.000-04:00

You should never appear literary. If it shows, then you've crossed the line and become a pretentious bore. And God save us from that.

-Larry Kirwan

Charter of Liberties

2010-03-21T01:09:00.001-04:00

I get amazed by students have lived in this city almost two years and still they say things like Rittenhouse Square Park and have never ridden a bus. It's easy people: William Penn laid out five SQUARES (just. squares.) in his original plan for Philadelphia, and all you have to do to catch the bus is find the sign and all you have to do to get off is pull the cord. Get it? Also find it annoying when students have never been further east than the train station, further north than Susquehanna Avenue, and further west than the fraternities.

One of many blurbs I will be penning about "The Monitor"

2010-03-18T10:43:00.000-04:00

The Monitor, like Grievances, ends on an optimistic note (literally.) Both songs have the feel and the lyrical content of a person that's too tired to carry on. In Albert Camus, Stickles is sucked dry by Glenn Rock, toasting his "general indifference." After an emotion-shattering din, something -- an accordion, perhaps, or a melodica -- plays a melodic tune for the last 45 seconds of the record. A ray of light. All will be well... eventually.

"The Battle of Hampton Roads" goes from Stickles' minor-key pleas for his darling to not "ever leave," (repeated and reinforced by french horns and dramatic drumming,) to a seriously victorious-sounding bagpipe line (again supplemented by rolling drums,) inducing head nods and fist pumps. The rolls shift from the tom to the snares and crash cymbals. Guitars enter. The bagpipes drop out, replaced with an arpeggiating lead guitar riff, like the breakdown of "Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ." This song is, thankfully, far from over. This lead slays. You have just succumbed to tears brought on by the bagpipe's beauty, and now this lead guitar is reminding you that everything will be OK. The band collapses into their trademark din and drone that shifts for another 90 seconds until it sounds like the tape machine is shut off.

In other news, I have been having an amazing time dogsitting my cousin's beast, Ella. She's a pit/cane corso mix and on most days that would a terrifying prospect but she's middle-aged and lazy. We play frisbee for a half hour (she's amazing,) go for a walk, and then she watches TV and eats pizza with me until bed... which she shares with me.

And just like Halloween, I never want to not celebrate St. Patrick's Day. My Catholic grade school was St. Patrick's (and thus my Parish) so it was something I grew up with... it wasn't shoved down our throats, creating resentment. It created, like, a weird sense of pride. Fond memories there... Great friends followed me back to Whitemarsh Township where we enjoyed Franzone's, Guinness and Wawa. A total tri-force.

St. Patrick Was a Rocker

2010-03-17T11:07:00.004-04:00

Just try and tell me listening to this song you still feel pangs of regret about all the money you spent at Hot Topic on Dropkick Murphys merch. Just try.

Irish Rose - The So So Glos

Waking Up Drunk - Spider Bags

Theme From “Cheers" - Titus An...

"So give me a Guinness, give me a Keystone Light, give me a kegger on a Friday night."

This song makes me think of a joyous St. Patty's day morning, pre-parade, everyone leaving their homes for the day.

"Brrrridie! Bridie, girl!" My parents took Mimi and I to see Black 47 at a college fair at, I think, the old Civic Center. I WAS GOING TO PUNK SHOWS IN WEST PHILLY 10 YEARS BEFORE YOU FUX.

The Inverted "Understanding Titus Andronicus" Pyramid

2010-03-17T00:58:00.001-04:00

"OMFG OBERST IS OUR GOD HOW DARE YOU SOIL HIS NAME BY COMPARING HIM TO THIS AVERAGE GUY THAT HAPPENS TO FRONT A GREAT ROCK AND ROLL BAND, SOMETHING CONOR WAS NEVER ABLE TO DO FOR VERY LONG?" - Dumb Bright Eyes Fans that need to grow up at the bottom.

"Although he sounds staggeringly similar to another angsty youngster, Conor Oberst, Titus' Springsteen-Bloody-Valentine sound differs greatly from the Nebraskan folk troubadour." - Reductionist music critics that need to just take out their headphones and think of better things to say in the middle.

"We aren't going to mention anyone but Patrick Stickles and the rest of Titus Andronicus when talking about Titus Andronicus because if you're not lazy, you know that they have no easy points of comparison except maybe the history books they dig their noses in." - Actual human beings at the top.

What I Get When I Tell My Friends to Pose

2010-03-16T00:36:00.000-04:00

New Acquisitions

2010-03-14T19:55:00.000-04:00

Of the physical variety.

Kathleen Edwards - Failer (used)
Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
Belly - Star (used)
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks

First time at Main Street Music in Manayunk. Awesome store, does a great job of bridging the young XPN demographic and the old XPN demographic.

You're Allowed to Have It

2010-03-05T10:40:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite ever comedians, Paul F. Tompkins, did this HBO special about beer a long time ago.

Akin to being inside of an armpit

2010-03-04T16:47:00.002-05:00

It's really weird watching the late-David Foster Wallace read an essay of his that I just finished.

Yeah I'm done for the day

2010-03-04T14:34:00.000-05:00

...because I was retweeted by @nprfreshair.

This was in reference, by the way, for their call to tweeters to come up with their own NPR names.

John Crodian Dispatch

2010-03-03T12:03:00.001-05:00

Text from John just now:
"It's 2010 and people in my English 295 class are doing bad Eric Cartman impressions."

Shiny Adidas Tracksuits

2010-03-03T11:30:00.001-05:00

I just realized I have to figure out what I'm going to do next semester. I don't really know what the next step is... I'm going to have to meet with an adviser soon and pick out my fucking classes. I don't think I want to think about the fall just yet. Might apply for capital semester in Harrisburg just so they can make a plan for me. I wish Might Magazine were still around. I'd have my decision: I'd be in San Francisco in a beat, dude.

A Poem

2010-03-01T23:36:00.001-05:00

I felt better today and I think I'm indebted to my commute-and-pre-class-listening: Andrew W.K. and Loudoun Wainwright III. I also got a monthy Zone 3 Trailpass which I'm super stoked about! If I'm not going anywhere in life, at least I can go anywhere on SEPTA (within 3 zones, including buses, subways, NHSL, Trolleys etc.)

A Poem:

The conquest will survive.

The more that you can give it, then the more it will be
And if you do not have it, you can take it from me.
All we ever wanted was a thing to believe,
And now that we have found it, we have all that we need.

The more that you can give it, then the more it will be
And if you do not have it, you can take it from me.
All we ever wanted was a thing to believe,
And now that we have found it, we have all that we need.

We have found our pride.

Andrew Wilkes Krier

(Remember this on days that lack that extra something.)

Pure White Love

2010-02-28T02:09:00.000-05:00

This story I've been following has, I guess, reached a kind-of conclusion.

From the story, by Philadelphia Inquirer staff writers Mari A. Schaefer, Nancy Phillips, and Tom Infield:
     "A classmate at Interboro Senior High School who was with the girls in the moments before they died told police that she, too, had intended to take her life. The girl said she and Gentile had left school at 9:30 a.m. and walked to the Norwood station. Dorwart sent them a text message, asking her friends to wait for her to join them, the girl told police, who declined to release her name.
     'Hurry up, the train is coming,' the girl replied via text message. 'We missed the first one.'
As the train approached and its whistle blew, the girl said, Gentile stepped onto the tracks. Dorwart followed.
     The girl said she had screamed at her friends to get off the tracks.
     Ignoring her pleas, Gentile and Dorwart embraced and were struck by the train."

Something so eerie about picturing them embracing on the tracks of the NEC... probably won't be able to shake that image for awhile. Especially speeding past Norwood on my way home next Thursday. It sucks. One of those "Life gets better, just trust me." situations.

Internal Citations

2010-02-27T00:17:00.003-05:00

My friend Zac Magnum (real name withheld) runs a great blog called the Styrofoam Drone and a little over a week ago posted an album by a band called the Library of Congress.

You may listen to it and think, "Wow, this is fucking awesome." You may be surprised that this band with a fairly anonymous name borrowed from the intellectual center of our nation's capital put out a great record you never heard. You will swallow that surprise when you learn it was a band featuring future members of Titus Andronicus. "This band features future members of Titus Andronicus? Well, then!"

The album, quite Titus-ly called Writings on the Human Condition, is just as riddled with suburban discontent and other problems of the educated, white, male middle-class as the first Titus Andronicus record. You come for the angst, sure, but you stay for the collaborative feel of the songs. Andrew Cedermark and Patrick Stickles worked side by side (presumably) in Library of Congress. One stops singing and the other starts. Patrick screams, Andrew recites, thoughtfully. "Internal Citations" features the same running lead guitar-playing that makes "No Future Pt. 2: The Day After No Future" a perfect song to drive to. Lyrically, there's a bit more sentimentalism to counter the nihilism.

"Citations" begins with laments: that kids will now be able to "throw away cassettes and CDs," and after 2002, Andrew Cedermark will "never see another palindromic year."

"Sometimes when I'm feeling lonely, I imagine myself as the master of my own destiny and that's happened a lot since my secret crush, she went back to Germany... but as long as I can get back to you, we can steal 'For Sale' signs along the avenue. For all the sausage in Berlin, there's nothing I'd rather do!" Is it weird that I wonder who this is about? Every time I listen to this song, the scene plays out in my head. A breezy Jersey afternoon, picket fences, a station wagon, a tape. HAHA THAT WAS SO FUCKING PRECIOUS OK SNAP-TO.

Los Campesinos! just announced the rest of the dates for their American tour. I'm not surprised they're skipping Philadelphia. I don't know why I don't hate them. They're probably blowing us off because R5 wouldn't give them a big enough guarantee and having them play the TLA last March was sort of a joke (Patrick and Ian Graetzer were there.) Or do I only think that because I'm young and fun can only be had in small spaces without the involvement of thirtysomethings that heard about the show from XPN? I don't know Gareth, I would think it would be gratifying to see how affecting "i just sighed. i just sighed..." is. I'll never forget what a dreadful experience that TLA show was. People trying to make me feel like singing at a show is absolutely uncalled for behavior. I didn't know my babysitter was coming.

"i just sighed. i just sighed..." is the sound of all the weight coming down on me when I realize that I have mised x *********** classes or that I was the only one that didn't want me to apply to London or that maybe getting a ticket to P4K Sunday was a bad idea because everyone thinks I'm an idiot who is broke. It's the sound of me wishing I could take back my stupid "And will you talk to my zine?" @tedleo because he talked to about 100 billion zines 10 years ago and definitely doesn't want to do it again at a punk house to some kid who definitely does not fit in there. It's the sound of me wishing that punk houses in the city were more like parents' houses in the suburbs.

2010-02-26T12:47:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to figure out how to connect my love for Los Campesinos! and Dave Eggers into some kind of combo short essay/review. I think they're definitely "birds of a feather:" sincerity, word vomit, critically polarizing. Looking at this piece from The Awl yesterday for some inspiration: Dave Eggers, Wyndham Lewis and Hate

A true story

2010-02-22T15:12:00.002-05:00

Just dealt with a dreadful woman. She is a graduate student here. She smelled awful. Like my own body odor. Likely in her late-20s but looks fit to be dating my grandfather (but he has much better taste.) Condescending attitude about my ability to enter data. Totally incapable of giving me clear direction but I've figured it out anyway. She won't realize it but her contracting this busy work to me clashes with her and her team's post-collegiate socialist ideology. Disgusting band aid on her finger, edges curling, making me turn my head and gag. I still have that gagging feeling, hence the brusque tone of this entry. The band aid finger was her mouse-clicking finger. I have since drenched the mouse in hand sanitizer. I still don't know how to calculate market equilibrium and that is more important to me than her hundreds of inane guide-use surveys.

Research

2010-02-16T16:21:00.002-05:00

Papers/research I want to publish one day:

Pop Music Fragmentation and the Death of the "Event Band"
Never Made Jenkem: Delinquency Amplification Spiral
Black, Irish, Heavy Metal: The Identity Politics of Phil Lynnott and Thin Lizzy

I Hate the Taste of Coffee on Your Breath

2010-02-15T14:57:00.002-05:00

My personal favorite (and thus indisputably the best) Los Campesinos! songs are the not-immediately-satisfying-but-eventually-life-affirming and slow-building, more dynamic ones. These are the ones even my sister loves! Rather than throwing the listener in the middle of some break up with a glockenspiel and a wall of guitars, the more dynamic Campesinos! tracks ease into the proceedings. You will get a keyboard. Then, a steady drumbeat. Bass, guitar. Finally, a glock and vox. All so melodic and complementary of one another, like "In Media Res" or "This is how you spell..." At half speed, Gareth sounds less desperate and more likably pleading. "In Media Res"'s opening lyric, "Let's talk about you for a minute..." has been getting lots of attention. I think it's a good fit for one of their most interesting songs. The opener of their most interesting, best, accomplished, whatever album yet. I think Romance is Boring is their best because it's a dynamic album filled with dynamic songs... unlike their (still fucking brilliant) debut which is more like a series of post-breakup slaps in the face.

Wise words in today's AV Club/Valentine's Day

2010-02-15T10:59:00.006-05:00

"I hate Woodstock. There is the birth of one of the most destructive myths shoved down the throats of Generations X and Y ever, that this thing that happened in 1969 is the best thing that ever happened in pop music and nothing you’ll ever experience in your lives, pathetic young ones, is ever going to be as good." - Jim DeRogatis

DeRogatis was talking to the AV Club today about the 11 worst rock movies and hit some good points when talking about Wooodstock. I have to agree. The same "music fans" that Christian and I have always maligned for "liking everything, dude" are the ones who go crazy for the Woodstock myth.

Valentine's Day with Miles, Kara and Mimi was a blast. We went to Pizza by Elizabeth's (which I hadn't been to in at least three years) for dinner. I was initially really turned off by that idea. I don't like how they elevate pizza on a gourmet pedestal. Anyone that knows me knows that I love pizza. Actually, anyone between the ages of 16-22 that would ever want to deal with me loves pizza as well. But I don't like when someone takes pizza out of the hands of the common man and makes it 9.25-11 dollars for an 8-inch pie. You can get a slice of pizza that's 8-inches wide and 12-inches long at Lorenzo's for 3 bucks. I balk at the prices at Elizabeth's but the flavor delivers despite leaving an enormous hole in my belly and pocket. I hope their claimed use of locally sourced ingredients is true.

Then we saw Valentine's Day. Ha. I loved Mimi's optimism: "There are so many good people in it! How could it be bad?" Topher Grace makes her swoon. It was an optimism I missed, spending time with so many jaded film majors (and becoming a jaded, amateur film dork myself.) Mimi and I do have a habit of enjoying terrible movies together like Twilight and we were supposed to go see Dear John last week but she couldn't wait for me. Out of a BOUQUET of plots, Topher and (weirdly) Anne Hathway's was the most enjoyable. She's a (SPOILER!!) phone sex operator and Topher freaks out but then gets over it because that's actually a really funny occupation for someone you are dating to have. There was a lot of really tactless gags, obviously thrown in at the last minute punch up the script. A mentally challenged girl in a wheel chair babbling about Ashton Kutcher running barefoot through the airport was definitely uncalled for. Not to get all Gabe Delahaye PC on you, it was just so unnecessary and something I wouldn't expect to see in even an Adam Sandler movie. And also not like I want to give this movie too much credit. Oh, shame on you, Valentine's Day! I expected so much more from you, Garry Marshall, creator of Pretty Woman, Raising Helen, and Georgia Rule! The movie left us all in a really good mood. I guess that was the ultimate goal.

Miles and I also might as well have burned the three dollars we spent on the arcade game, Tokyo Cop.

Isuzu

2010-02-04T00:47:00.002-05:00

I think Temple students have a weird sense of pride about "shootings in North Philly," "right around campus." I think they like the novelty of it. Over spring break or at Easter dinner, they will catch up with relatives who will no doubt make a joke about wearing a bullet proof vest or dodging bullets on the way to class. The student will reflect, not with awe but with the wisdom only a college kid in the big city can possess. (This assumed wisdom is why I have removed myself from on-campus housing.) "It was right by my dorm! Sirens all night! Happens all the time! Crown Fried Chicken massacre!"

Angryangryangry

2010-01-20T13:27:00.002-05:00

Temple University is STRIVING to separate itself from its former glorified community college status and build a world-class institution. Despite gracing the cover of the Inquirer seemingly once a week, they are barely state-class, city-class even, if the experience I just had is any indication.

Regrettably, I am on academic probation. Last year, I fell hard for the lie that college is a land of alcohol drenched opportunity with little consequences and no hard work. There is little hard work, sure, and it CAN be alcohol-drenched but there are consequences. I finished the year with a 1.4. I skipped class. A lot. CLEARLY I need some academic advising. And Temple knows this. They just want to make it as difficult as possible to get any.

It is the second day of my third semester and I haven't gone to class yet. The complication of commuting requires me to drastically change my schedule. Not thinking too far ahead last semester, I signed up for a 9 a.m. class. If I lived on campus still, this wouldn't be a problem. After I scheduled this class, I found out that I'd be commuting this spring. No big deal but I would have to revise my schedule. Ok. So I wanted to do that Monday, which was pretty much "Temple University is Back to Work Day." I was doing my job at the library. Apparently, advising wasn't doing theirs. They wouldn't be taking anyone until Tuesday. Fine. Why did I have to wait for advising?

Temple, maybe (for the most part) with good reason, doesn't allow folks like me who have a tendency toward shittiness to register for or revise their classes on their own. I am ok with this. I am doing my best to get off probation. It sucks. I got a 3.0 last semester. I am trying. I still have to revise and register with an adviser.

So I waited til yesterday, after work. I had work at the library from 10-2. I guess that's frowned upon? Because when I got to advising, they had taken away this precious sign up sheet which is the only way SCT advising wants to communicate with you. They're supposed to be there until four o'clock. I left Annenberg, angry.

I came back today at 10 am, plenty of time before work at 1. I was number 75 on a crude looking sheet. I waited responsibly; no headphones = no missing your name being called. During my wait I missed my first scheduled class: a photo lab, the one class I'm not planning on moving. Other folks were missing classes too. Is this responsible advising? Giving students no choice but to sit, wait, and miss while stranger after stranger is called? Especially struggling students like myself? God forbid you leave and come back to find your name crossed out.

I sat there for three hours, waiting. Students get called by an adviser, follow them into their office and leave 10-25 minutes later. The adviser may not be seen again for at least 15-20 minutes after the student leaves. What are they doing with our time? Is it wrong to assume that they should meet with a student and emerge with the student, ready to call the next name? Doesn't actually dealing with an enormous volume of pissed off Com students get easier when you make it more efficient? I know watching what I see plainly as a bunch of unhelpful stooges behave even less efficiently than the average eats me the fuck up.

After over three hours, I got fed up and left, not wanting to make the administrator I cover for during her lunch hour wait any longer. Because, unlike SCT Advising, I care about the people I'm helping out and I don't like to make them wait. I only expect the same. Tell me, is that too high a standard? And should a statistically below-average student be allowed to gripe? I think so. Because tomorrow, I will miss another class while watching for this incompetence. I'll just be sure, this time, to call out of work so I can spend, quite possibly, all day there instead of half a day. Am I not putting enough time in for you, adviser, or are you not putting in enough time for me?

I thought college was supposed to be BETTER than high school. Better people and better classes are in check, definitely. Better guidance? No way. Maybe SCT advising should be coaching a soccer team like Mr. Mosier did.

Hmazz zzz...

2009-12-28T00:54:00.001-05:00

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

2009-11-03T02:26:00.003-05:00

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

2009-06-06T03:40:00.002-04:00

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

2009-02-14T01:11:00.000-05:00

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

2009-02-13T07:23:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-11T23:03:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-07T01:09:00.003-05:00

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

2009-02-06T15:40:00.001-05:00

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

But he sure is appreciated.

Pedal Faster

2009-01-31T11:34:00.004-05:00

"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

2009-01-25T21:17:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-25T14:18:00.001-05:00

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

2009-01-22T02:03:00.003-05:00

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

2009-01-16T00:04:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-15T23:43:00.002-05:00

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.

Let's Walk Around Some More

2008-12-15T20:01:00.002-05:00

I always want to hear that. I always want to go on adventures at least once a week. I always want to see new and relevant movies once a week with the opposite sex. I always want women that enjoy the outdoors.

I always hate people that think they're ahead of you in life. Even though your lack of cynicism makes you better than those people. This album is for us.

El Guincho-Alegranza
This isn't a music blog but today, december 15, it was 64 degrees. this is music for that kind of day.

Kruschev

2008-12-15T06:00:00.002-05:00

So the kids in the lounge fucked with my door and I for the early part of the year. I eventually got over it, started to laugh at the mayonnaise-filled condoms on the door handle, began referring to three of the four lounge-dwellers as "best friend." The fourth lounge dweller, whom we will refer to as Kruschev or K for short, was never that much fun. So the other guys in the lounge openly make fun of me but I am in on the joke; it is acceptable, it's our pastime, it helps us remain sane. Kruschev takes it upon himself to openly be a dick not just to me but everyone else on our floor - and he's serious about it too. Kruschev makes it known, by way of a fuck you or hey stupid, that he is not happy to see you in the hallway or the elevator. When I am invited by the other lounge-dwellers into their stupid fucking quad room to have a discussion regarding lounge/floor relations, Kruschev turns off the lights in an effort to get me to leave. Unrelated, Kruschev takes it upon himself to place stickers of the anonymous skate shop that (presumably) sponsors him everywhere, making the asshole ever present no matter where you are. Stop sign at 13th and Berks: stupid fucking sticker. Train station: stupid fucking sticker. Elevator: stupid fucking sticker.

Kruschev is the only person that is unanimously disliked by the good-natured people of the floor.

Saturday night Branmuffin and I thought it was a good time to get the lounge. It'd been a few weeks since the last incident between their door and mine, things were getting too quiet. Unbeknownst to me, the three loungers I was on decent terms with had left for the weekend. Kruschev was holding down the fort with some people we'd never met before and a girl on our floor who is rarely not in the lounge. Branmuffin and I acquired peanut butter and smeared it on their doorhandle. There was a bit too much commotion because the girl came out to confront us. We fled before there could be consequences. We came out of hiding and about seven minutes later, there's Kruschev spitting (he has a tendency to do this rather than talking) at me in front of the elevators.
"Stop putting shit on my fucking door!"
"You do it to my door all the time."
"No I don't!"
"Yes you do."
"That's the other three!"
"Well?"
"Stop it because I have to clean it up! Sick of it!"
(walks away)
"Wow, I forgot you're the nicest guy any of us have ever met, forgive me!"

I was proud, he pretty much looked like the asshole we always made him out to be. Then I started to feel bad. Then I started writing an apology in my head because I remembered the day before, Kruschev had tried to get in on the whole "best friend" thing I have with the other three. I pretty much blew him off. So now I felt like the dick. Until tonight when I saw the ever-present lounge queen. We are always more than civil to each other. I thought I'd ask her thoughts. Was I as much a dick as I felt I was? Apparently not. Kruschev thinks everyone on the floor is fucking stupid and hates the way everyone acts (conformists, gah, sk8board angst!) and frankly she does too. Well then, fuck you.

CNE

2008-12-14T18:59:00.002-05:00

"We had the craziest night ever. We ground/grinded on girls we didn't even know. They bought us drinks. We have the Sharpie slash on our wrist to prove we were there. We came back, we recounted."
-11th Floor Life Br0s

Chapter 1. Silly Faces by the Microwave
Chapter 2. I Cry Up and Down the Hallway and Call Otherwise Fragile Guys Assholes
Chapter 3. Drunk Confessions About Peeing on Your Ex-boyfriend
Chapter 4. I Eat My Ramen Alone
Chapter 5. This Hallway is Cramped, I'm Sorry We Bumped Knees
Chapter 6. A Press Conference
Chapter 7. Myspacing Tom Hodges
Chapter 8. Peanut Butter Connie Revenge
Chapter 9. Flight
Chapter 10. In Which I Am Accosted by a Sensitive Foreign Skateboarder
Chapter 11. Best Actor in a Supporting Roll
Chapter 12. Prank Phone Calls, or, "Is that what they're calling it these days?"
Chapter 13. Closure through Cleaning

I live on the 11th floor of Hardwick Hall with a bunch of special people, 85% of whom are wonderful, 10% are totally awful and the remaining 5 are constantly in hiding. Saturday nights usually dissolve into some kind of madness. Last night was no different except that it was probably the most enjoyable. There was so much wonderful stimulation and electricty between me and other human beings that I usually found myself yelling, impassioned, seemingly pissed the fuck off, at Justin (who is a good guy.) So we broke the night into different chapters and that's about all of them that I remember. I had a crisis of personality when I peanut buttered someone's doorhandle and I want to talk about that sometime. Also, I threw a box of pound cake onto the ground with a good deal of force until it broke up into a thousand crumbs, joining the egg roll wrappers, dirty plastic forks and ripped up orange peel on the dusty maroon carpet. This wasn't in my character and I could barely live with myself the rest of the night until Chelley Welly broke out the vacuum and I achieved closure through cleaning.

The End.

Give Me Coffee and TV

2008-12-09T13:34:00.002-05:00

On this day of negative feeling and thinking, amidst an impenetrable lack of sleep (something shared by all freshman,) and a feeling of total lack of any real knowledge...

BLUR HAVE OFFICIALLY REUNITED.

Jubilee indeed, Damon. Thanks for putting your globetrotting aside for five fucking minutes. Graham, thanks for forgetting about trying to be Stephen Malkmus. Alex, thanks for not doing much of anything since the break-up aside writing a book. About your band. And David, I hope you lose that general election because you have some songs to practice.

Now is a great time to reevaluate/familiarize yourself with Blur's catalog. I guess you should start with Parklife. From there it's all you but make sure you give Think Tank a chance.

Thx Damon.

Is Tetris Really My Friend?

2008-11-25T02:53:00.004-05:00

I've spent the better part of my internet life these last two weeks (which is a lot of time in itself) on tetrisfriends.com. It may have started as an effort to be more like Miles Fricker. Maybe it was compensation for lack of Miles in my life. The point is I've been playing a lot and progressing... I think. Trying to learn the "game." Trying to create strategies. At first it just seemed like Tetris was about calculated risks; you get the block you get, you put it in the space it belongs best (even if it means leaving a gap or three in yr wall,) you hope it knocks out a line or two and you move on. I played like this for a few days, happy with the results. The game appeared to move quickly and I felt like I was getting somewhere. However, after I consulted with Miles who, cos I didn't mention earlier, is the Resident Tetris Bull/Koolest Thang in my circle of friends, I found out I had it all wrong: the goal was to get tetrises. As many as you can.

Miles told me to get a tetris one has to clear four lines at once. One does this using the blue-stick. So I took his advice because "you get mad points for getting tetrises." Since then, my whole life is making tetrises. Or more accurately, my whole life is being invaded by thoughts of making tetrises. Anytime I let my mind wander, it turns to visions of what I've been calling "perfect Tetris," the Tetris I want to be playing. I'm perfectly set up to make a tetris: about half the playing screen is covered by my wall. There are lots of green blocks, few red, many yellow and orange. There is a slot to the right or left of this wall and then drops a blue tick. It rotates, finds its place to a side of the wall and then I snap-to.

Earlier, I took a nap and got my first Tetris dream. Tetrisfriends actually changed their interface today... the screen in my dream where the gameplay was taking place looked like the new Tetrisfriends but there were backgrounds like junkyards and the cover of Doggystyle. John Doe's voice was coming from somewhere. He was saying things in between plays of "We're Desperate," which was on repeat.

I'm not keeping up with the blogs I usually do, Marathonpacks and Fightwithknives. They've probably been updated at least four or five times over since Friday with really engaging music industry-related content but I don't know. The new routine is to open Facebook, Hipster Runoff and Pitchfork, Tetrisfriends... must downsize for TF, no time to read anything too stimulating. Must make tetrises.

I share my problem with D. who was the same way this summer except with Freecell. She dreamt of perfect Freecell, solitary cardplaying euphoria. Still, she says it's pathetic that I dream/daydream about this shit.

"Yr jst an entrylvl Tetris altbr0, youll prgrss to mastr Tetris altbr0 and thn lose the urge 2 tetris altgthr."
-Carles, HRO

Have you ever made a conscious effort to ensure someone never wants to try to be your friend ever again? Real life friends and/or video game friends, food friends etc.?

We Were Never In this Together

2008-11-22T13:36:00.002-05:00

A good week:

Wednesday, I went to the Tom Gabel "Searching For a Former Sense of Integrity/I'm Still Legit, I Swear! Solo Acoustic Tour." I guess he sort of "restored my faith," but in what I'm not exactly sure. It's not like I'm itching for the next time I get to see Against Me! at some cavernous warehouse or that I'm 100% thrilled with Heart Burns, Gabel's solo E.P. Maybe I just had a lot of fun getting to scream along with "I Still Love You Julie," "What We Worked For," "Tonight We're Gonna Give It 35%," etc. as they were originally intended to be screamed along with: in a small space, led by an acoustic guitar and the proudest set of vocal cords Butch Vig ever produced. It was hard to deny that the newest song Tom played, "I Dreamed Bob Dylan Was a Friend of Mine," absolutely bled sincerity. It's a simple song, only three or four chords, wherein Gabel and Bob Dylan just hang out... It just harkened back to better days, I guess, When playing "Baby I'm An Anarchist" to a crowd of 200 in a sweaty grange hall didn't seem like a really good dream and long before Spin claimed New Wave deserved to join Nevermind in Rock's Pantheon, in the corner reserved for "Really Incendiary Rock and Roll Records." Then again, though, it was impossible for me not to yell "Eat your words, Tom Gabel!" during "What We Worked For" as soon as he sang "..and may the rights to this song never make one fucking dollar." Eat 'em up with those big label exec fat cats you fuck and some great red wine, good luck finding that integrity. Jk. Kinda.

"I Dreamed Bob Dylan Was a Friend of Mine:"

Thursday, D. down the hall and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire. Fox Searchlight emailed me those movie promo freebie passes, two, first come first served. We got to the Bourse. Some lady appeared to be waiting ahead of me, so I let her go, and then learned she grabbed the second to last spot. First come indeed. So I dragged D. to AKA Music and picked up a Television Personalities album. I really like it; it's like the missing link between the Vaselines and Brian Jonestown massacre. New episode of the Office, this season's best, and then Zack and Miri Make a Porno which was very, very funny but lacked a little of the depth you expect from most Kevin Smith movies. It was a little too Apatow, not that that's bad because I like that, but it just wasn't Kevin Smith. Maybe he should have stayed in Jersey. But I liked it, nonetheless.

Friday I got a call to interview Mischief Brew/Erik Petersen after the show at the Barbary. To be honest, I've never really dug too far into Mischief Brew's catalog, let alone the Orphans but it was nothing I didn't expect. The crowd smelled awful. Brian McGee and Hollowspeed were great roots rock and to me he sounds like a dead ringer for Jay Farrar. I wonder if that southern accent is fake? Isn't he from here? Lusts were just as good, angry and angular garage rock sung through a telephone receiver (a growing trend, I guess.) Mischief Brew often come off as really hoky sometimes but the feelings are unadulterated and they play with a lot of energy/lack of preachiness that most folk punk is missing. People told me over and over again Erik is the nicest of guys and will be really easy to talk to. This was true.

I hope theres a six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon pounders in my future. If not, I have Waiting For Guffman, Bicycle Thieves, and a walk across the Ben Franklin Bridge early tomorrow afternoon.

The Walkmen-"French Vacation"

2008-11-19T13:55:00.005-05:00

I went to AKA yesterday with the intention of buying the new Los Campesinos!. Apparently it doesn't come out til next week, so I was stuck racing to find another option that would cure my "need new album even if it's not necessarily new" fix before my bike, sitting outside unlocked because I fucking left my keys on my bed, got stolen. Since The Walkmen's You & Me has slowly become one of my favorite records of the year (also bought on a whim at Repo Records during Welcome Week) I decided to pick up their debut, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone. Now if that title doesn't feel applicable to me at least 10% of the time, I don't know what was. Plus, the kids on the cover make me jealous. Anyway, "French Vacation" sticks out as one of the best songs on the album, especially at the 3:00 mark when the song as we knew it drops out and vocalist Hamilton Leithauser wails and whines over sparse drums: "Hey, where'd you go? I remember when all our plans were to meet at home. Where'd you go?"

2008-11-11T03:23:00.001-05:00

This guy dreams of unified scenes... don't ya love him!!!!!!

Awrite, Geo...

2008-11-11T03:02:00.002-05:00

...so you gave us the Lazy Student's guide to Exam 2. But what of the Lazier Student's guide to Exam 2?

Just joshing. Not that my journalism professor is reading this. Well he might be. But I'm really appreciative of these exam primers.

On another note. Mike Ford, you took a jab at me so now I'm just going to come forward and maybe take a jab at you. But, really, when it comes down to it we're just a couple of guys who don't care. Regardless, I'm sorry, but I just don't like Sky vs. Sea. I really appreciate you guys asking me to do this but it would have just been too much lying for no payoff except for my name on your Myspace. There's too much delay. Your singer is awful (but apparently everyone knows that? But why wallow in Peter Keating-esque vocal-mediocrity when you could do so much better...or just cut vocals altogether.) And I hate Circa Survive. And when I hear you guys, the only thing I can think of is the awful forty-five minutes I near-slept through the time I saw Circa open for Saves the Day. Your bass playing, though, is really really cool and I'm not just saying that. And Azar is a lot of fun to watch. Otherwise, whackness. Sry.

Instead of writing puff-bios for bands I don't like, I want to write the definitive piece about the actual Philadelphia music scene. Not Man Man/Capitol Years/Spinto Band/Dr. Dog, the bands that get all the coverage, that play maybe one or two hometown shows a year... the ones that the local press doesn't even touch. These are your, what some random blog described as, "post-Polothology" outfits like Street Smart Cyclist and Algernon Cadwallader and Boy Problems. How the fuck did this happen? Thirteen years after the fact, we have a glut of (great) bands taking major cues from the Kinsella brothers and the midwest as a whole. What did Philadelphia miss in the mid-90s? While everyone was fretting over girls, there was a burgeoning hardcore punk scene centered in West Philly... why didn't we get sensitive, too? These are questions I want answered! So I'm setting out to find them. I need to set myself apart from these clowns writing reviews for fun and getting their kicks and giggles from interviews with Sam Fogarino and Frightened Rabbit. Music is my LIFE, man. Let's get legit. Ultimate goal: to do lots of things like this by the end of sophomore year, get picked up by a couple mags and freelance my way out of college before junior year... graduate later, Marc Zumoff style.

Let's talk about hopes and dreams.

"Went to school for a degree in journalism and got sick of it/Wanted to write for music rags, all that Lester Bangs shit/Partied up in Philly basements with the post-emo poster boys/The guys had hair in their eyes like girls and the girls had hair short like little boys."

No Age/Titus Andronicus tonight. I will be up front, crying.

Certain Songs

2008-11-09T13:33:00.003-05:00

My night was kind of like a Hold Steady song:
"He went to the show by himself which was alright! Biked back to the party on Bouvier later on that night! It was a real crazy time and in about two hours the kegs of Pabst got kicked! Ended up at McDonalds confessing his love for some Jersey chick!"

Which was fitting. I went to the Hold Steady/Drive-By Truckers show at the Factory kind of last minute. The Hold Steady are one of my favorite bands but I'm fucking broke and I don't like going to shows there anymore. But my Dad called yesterday morning and was like "Hey, there's a good show in town tonight you should check out: The Hold Steady are playing at the Factory..." So I called it a sign, wrote Steven K. a check for twenty bucks and got pumped. I was also obligated to work this party for this student-run webzine (which was supposed to launch today, but no longer) so that was in the cards as well... The show was amazing, energetic as usual, Craig Finn doing his St. Pauli swilling poet/messiah thing and everybody pumping fists and singing along. They didn't play "Killer Parties" but otherwise, it was a great set: "Stay Positive," "Cattle and the Creeping Things," "Your Little Hoodrat Friend," "Constructive Summer," "Ask Her For Adderal," "The Swish," "You Can Make Him Like You," "Hot Soft Light," "Don't Let Me Explode," "Party Pit," "Massive Nights," "Chips Ahoy!," "Slapped Actress..." there were a few more. I was psyched. I had to leave before the Drive-By's because of that party obligation... Biked backed, gave about 15 senseless kids directions to the party (which pleased me because I was expecting low turn out,) got there, drank even though I said I wouldn't, place was packed, my friend/host Chris Brown cleaned up moneywise... Came back and all Danielle had to say was "McChicken" before I got the drunk munchies, so yeah we went to ShitDonalds and the rest is history. I love weekends.

Best week ever?
No Age/Titus A, Tuesday
Lemuria/Everyone Everywhere, Wednesday
Diplo/Abe Vigoda, Friday
M83 or Pirouette, Saturday (decisions...)
Ceremony/Have Heart, Sunday

Yeah dude, of course we can.

2008-11-05T00:34:00.003-05:00

I'm just thinking back to journalism junior year when everyone was saying how ridiculous it was that some guy whose middle name happened to be Hussein was going to run for president and I just stood there, shrugging my shoulders saying "It could happen, man."

It did and I'm sure we're better off. I haven't really cared about this election since before the primaries were over. I was just fucking tired of it. I didn't know who was right. I still don't. Until today, I was voting for Nader or saying "That shit don't matter..." When the time came, I did what everyone else did, felt good about it and watching that man speak (I had fallen asleep sometime around ten only to wake up two hours later with a new president,) I started to tear up. I'm really not that indifferent after all.

I'm Question Mark and I'm Wondering

2008-11-04T01:40:00.000-05:00

Why did everyone dress like sluts for Halloween?

Oddly Inspiring Things...

2008-11-03T15:58:00.002-05:00

...helping me get back on track:

Cold water (Wyatt and I procured a free refrigerator a while back, plugged it in and let it waste electricity until Saturday when my mom let me finish the orange juice back at school. I rinsed out the plastic jug and now it holds water fountain water and is totally convenient.)

28 Days Later (Watched it for free on Hulu last night. Made me want to do shit.)

No Age-Nouns (The best thing ever laid to tape.)

Train-like, I Must Get Back On Track

2008-11-03T13:02:00.002-05:00

Last week was busy. Philadelphia mighta had the best week ever. I was drunk too much (but so was everyone else) and I missed too much class (a lot of em got canceled anyway!) and Monday night, after the miserable cold cold rain and the arguing couple, I literally shit my pants. Drunk, in the bushes on Liacouras walk... it was like a Blink-182 song. Friday, Scotty and I joined two-million other people at the parade. I was drunk by 12:30 which made for fun but also treacherous bike riding. We met up with my sister and some of her friends for pizza and soda before making our way down to the stadiums. Thankfully, it was a whole lot more organized than Wednesday must've been. They had corralled the drunk masses that couldn't score a free ticket to gain entry into Citizens Bank Park in one of the huge parking lots where there was a Jumbotron and other goodies. We didn't bother to go, instead biking up and down Phillies Drive, avoiding the broken glass and, get this, jeers of like "Bikers!" and "Hey Lance, the Tour de France is over!" At five, we headed home but I stopped to meet my friend Kurt on Oregon Avenue. We walked around South Philly until the subways started running again. South Philly is weird. It just feels so ethnic... I know it was at one time, but still, it's weird. Not West Philly weird where you feel like you're nowhere near a city until you look eastward, it's like you feel like you're on the very edge of something and there's nothing else outside it... um, I'm done trying to explain. While everything was happening Friday it was pretty hard to believe that it was Halloween. Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday to spend in Chester County. I spend the afternoon carving a pumpkin and walking around in the dead-leafy goodness, then trick or treat with some friends. Then we get pizza or sandwiches and watch "Halloweenie" the Adventures of Pete and Pete Halloween special. I wasn't at home though, so it wasn't Halloween... obviously. I didn't even bother dressing up for the Man Man show. I biked to the Starlight Ballroom alone, but then met up with a good bunch of people I often spend time with on the weekends: Matthew M., Diane, Julia, Crystal, Dave "The Good Shepherd" Shepherd, his buddy Curtis and this punkish kid whose name escapes me. Pit Er Pat made us sway, Tim Fite made us say WTF? (especially at the video of him fingering the bloody patch of grass during a song about falling in love with a dead girl) and Man Man got everyone to go insane for ninety minutes. They're incredible live. The songs by themselves are great but then they'll go into these mindbending parts where everyone is banging on shit and Honus Honus is doing this crazy circus/bandstand leader thing... and I don't think anyone looks happier than Chris Powell whilst playing drums. Biked back, watched "Halloweenie" with Diane, Jack and Maddie. For this, they are good people. I was indulged. The world, aka everyone on my floor began to filter back to the 11th floor too drunk. I don't think there's been that many girls vomiting in the bathroom ever. I judged people too much. It's something I've been doing a lot. The good people stayed up until six or so and I began this week's sleep catch-up weekend sesh thing. Slept til four on Saturday. Was reminded of the Evan Dando number: "You stayed awake fourteen days and then you slept a week/Why do you do this to yourself?" Used to make me think of CH but I'm glad it now merely conjures images of Wyatt laughing at me when I wake up alarmed to see the hour on the face of the clock. I spent the rest of daylight loafing in front of the computer until I got enough drive to go to the SAC for an egg sandwich. Then I rode most of the length of the Broad Street Line (what a thrilL!) to meet up with my mom and my sister at the Wachovia Center. Easily the highlight of my weekend. My mom bought me a Primo's hoagie and we just hung out before they saw Coldplay. Like, seriously, best shit ever. This couldn't be topped so I watched Slacker in the dark loneliness of my room. It was fucking great. I'm super curious about Texas now. The land of Britt Daniel. There were more alcohol-related episodes later that night but it's just the same old shit. People need to get smart about their drinking habits. Maybe play it like me: stay away from the parties, stick with the people you know, stick with forties of Hurricane (aka heaven.) I tried to make the most out of yesterday by going for a beautiful bike ride and buying Danielle a banana. The sun goes down too early. Woke up too late today, got financial shit straightened out and realized one thing: train-like, I must get back on track.

Celebratory

2008-10-30T09:29:00.002-04:00

I watched the Phillies win in the vestibule of the First Unitarian Church on Sean Agnew's laptop. I got a bunch of confetti in my mouth and am pretty much out fourteen dollars considering I (along with mostly everyone else) rolled before Tokyo Police Club even started playing.

The Lemonheads-"Confetti"

(Evan Dando was born in Philadelphia and apparently still has family in Allentown.)

Phillies World Series

2008-10-30T04:18:00.002-04:00

Only three games in World Series have been called a tie before the ninth inning: in 1907, 1912 and 1922... due to darkness. Holy shit.

Um, luckily Monday night wasn't called a tie in the midst of the shittiest fucking rain storm of my life. Things at 7th and Pattison were pretty hunky dory until it started. Just a lot of people drinking beer and watching analog television. But as soon as the rain (nearly horifuckingzontal) started, it was like the last few scenes of Children of Men when they're in the refugee camp; fights, people throwing bottles at cars, awful drunk girls. We rolled before the end of the fifth. I was soaked, hadn't been inside for hours and was incredibly nervous for whatever the conclusion would bring.

Lester Bangs-style coverage written for my grandkids coming later today...

Everyone is Everywhere

2008-10-29T02:09:00.002-04:00

I think the best part of living in the city is being able to do things on a whim. For example, I heard about this house show in West Philadelphia yesterday, scheduled for earlier tonight. So it was last minute, but I didn't have any plans... so I could go. Just took the subway there with Scotty and Amanda like usual; was able to procure alcohol which is no big deal because there's no driving involved. It's just so easy. But yeah mostly I want to talk about the show.

Everyone Everywhere is this great bunch of dudes (3/4 Temple kids and I see them around all the time) that play just like, this really happy, Promise Ring-style pop-punk. Like (old) TPR, they sing about pretty mundane (or maybe just really specific?) things; partying because an old friend is back from a semester abroad, bike rides, um, houses with no basements. It's really simple stuff. Not really a retread but it's not breaking new ground either, but for some reason I can't get enough of them. They just make me really happy. I got to see them for the first time tonight at the brand new Breakfast and Dessert House (awesome space, but will probably grow into a really whack scene.) On stage they give off this really lovable vibe... like those really nice guys from back home. And they're back in town for like, Thanksgiving or something. And they're all really into it and like me, sometimes say too much (actually that's really just guitarist Tommy Manson but really, for some reason, this band can't do any wrong in my eyes. Why is this?!). The set was great. They have a seven-inch coming out sometime on Flightplan Records... it's been in the works for like, fucking ever. Should be available by the time they play with Lemuria (November 12, Circle of Hope. Cannot waiiiiit.)

Johnny Foreigner headlined. They're from England and are apparently pretty big (10/10 on Drowned in Sound for their debut) over there. I'd never heard them until I heard about the show and I checked them out. It's like, good spazzy pop but I didn't really delve that deep. Tonight, watching them play, all I could think was Los Campesinos!. I mean, their sound, for one, has the same restless, on-edg-and-still-kinda-twee feel to it. Their singers have the same haircuts. They both wear too-small, girl-cut shirts. This whole Campesinos/Foreigner thing was really bothering me for the first part of their set... I just couldn't get into it. LC! have released one of my favorite records of the year and I just kept wishing it was them I was seeing instead of Johnny Foreigner. But like, there was a tipping point somewhere and I really started to feel it. Johnny Foreigner are actually probably the better of the two bands. They're only a three-piece so there's a lot less bullshit and they're not as stylized as LC! can sometimes seem. What I'm saying is is this: they play the same kind of awesome, glitchy, Pavement-centric twee shit I love but it's only the essentials; no glock, no violins, no group-shouts etc. Also, Alexei (vocals) never called me out on Myspace.

Everyone Everywhere
Johnny Foreginer
Septa Green Line (West Philly trolleys=whackest shit ever. Why can't we have a transportation system fit for the 21st century?)

Much Like "New Wave..."

2008-10-23T03:44:00.003-04:00

...the Tom Gabel E.P. (I know, right? Where the eff did this come from?) is merely half-good. Listen for yourself: http://www.purevolume.com/tomgabel. "Harsh Realm" and "Anna is a Stool Pigeon" are standouts. Just when I thought I was fucking done with this guy... I go buy tickets to his solo show at the Barbary (November 11 if yr counting) and decide to stream Heart Burns while reading about elevated trains.

I had a dream about elevated trains. I had a dream I was riding the Market-Frankford El all night with my extended family. Um. All this reading about public transportation on Wikipedia has got to stop.

Midterm in the Marnin'

2008-10-20T04:02:00.002-04:00

They turned on central heat in my building a few hours ago. It makes this far-off drip/clank noise that's keeping me the fuck up. Someone, make it stop. It's rendering me completely unable to go to sleep!

Crooked Head

2008-10-19T18:23:00.003-04:00

I hate it when people like a given band for their "talent." I avoid using talent to describe any band. The best bands lack any sort of talent. They just write good songs. But there's one thing I have to say about Fucked Up: they're a hardcore punk band with some legitimate talent. You know the deal: Canadian band fronted by a self-described 300 pound baby writes six minute punk epics with a situationist bent, satisfying bookish critics and upped-punx alike. Their new album, Chemistry Of Common Life, pushes the band forward in a way that makes a lot of sense. You get the punk rawk, but also piccolo solos, bongos... you know the deal, you've read the reviews. They brought the whole brutal-yet-philosophical-and-high-minded mess to the Barbary last night. It blew people's heads off.

Like any punk show, it's important to talk about the crowd, which, halfway through the first song, had a gaping hole ripped into it. That led to the usual bouncing off of other people business. It was a lot of fun because, this being a Fucked Up show as opposed to, say, a Champion show, one has to keep this up for more than just two minutes at a time. There were a few points where vocalist Pink Eye entered the audience, picked somebody up and used them as a sort of human battering ram to get through the motionless back-half of the room. He also donkey kicked some longhair in the face which was badass.

Fucked Up closed the often ascendant set with a cover of Wire's "12XU;" Fitting, seeing as my soundtrack for the last two weeks of weird frustration has been Wire and Fucked Up. At a time when punk is at a really strange crossroads, Fucked Up, justifiably, rise above both trendy bullshit and those trashy kids in G.B.H. shirts longing for a scene they were too late to ever be a part of.

Living Is All About This

2008-10-16T02:40:00.001-04:00

I get two phone calls about a free Death Set show in Center City. All ages, free alcohol. I have to write a journalism paper. After an hour of contemplation/research, I decide to follow my heart and Josh's alcoholism; we go to the show. I drank a lot of Sparks. I don't remember much except Scotty and Josh both played drums for Ninja Sonik, I made a likely fatal mistake, Gabby took a fuck load of pictures, lots of people broke up with their boyfriends and Josh crowd surfed during the Death Set's set. I do definitely know it was a transient exceperience. Especially afterwards: thousands of people on the corner of Broad and Market; high fives, slow taxis, traffic as far as the eye can see... Phillies are in the world series, motherfucking Death Set.

CRUSADES! CRUSADES!

2008-10-15T01:32:00.002-04:00

I fucking love this band. They're called Fucked Up and I probably should have gotten into them sooner. What could be better than a group of Canadians led by a schizophrenic, three-hundred pound situationist playing six-minute hardcore punk epics? It's like Black Flag but bigger, longer, uncut. Less neck muscle. They're coming to the Barbary Saturday with the recently-heralded and kinda sexy girl group Vivian Girls. I might break my neck. It'll be worth it. The time is ripe... I need to get my frustrations out at a really violently passionate punk show.

I'm feeling really light right now... I was planning to stay up all night cramming in the Tech Center for the history midterm I thought I had tomorrow. I got through a lot of reading before it dawned on me it's not tomorrow but Monday the 20th... Regardless, I'm staying up late.

Did you know that Magnolia is the best movie ever? Ever have that feeling at the end of a record or a movie or television show where you just want to cry for no reason other than that what you just witnessed was, like, for lack of a better and less general word, amazing? Magnolia gave me that feeling. I'm not sure if it's because one of the characters really hit close to home, John C. Reilly's utmost purity or just the shear bulk of the film I just watched but I got it. Please watch this movie. Every day for two weeks. The soundtrack is very good also. Tonight, I described Aimee Mann as a morose Sheryl Crowe...

Other things that made/make me feel this way:
The Hold Steady's Separation Sunday. Somewhere in the middle of "How a Resurrection Really Feels."
The Titus Andronicus show at Haverford, twice. When Patrick opened the set with a cover of "Going Away to College," and later when they played "Albert Camus" by my fucking request.
Toy Story 2.
Arcade Fire's "No Cars Go" and "My Body is a Cage" back to back.

Actually, I don't think I cried at the shear amazingness of these things but the feeling that overcame me was something akin to what I got from Magnolia...

Things that don't make me cry but feel amazing:
Two forties to the face on a Monday night.
My bed.

Divorce Song

2008-10-13T13:56:00.001-04:00

And the license said
You had to stick around until I was dead
But if you're tired of looking at my face I guess I already am
But you've never been a waste of my time
It's never been a drag
So take a deep breath and count back from ten
And maybe you'll be alright

I'll Never Ask for the Truth but You Owe that to Me

2008-10-13T10:56:00.003-04:00

"The two locomotives and eight of the twelve cars derailed, four of them falling 15 feet off a bridge into a dry river bed. Mitchell Bates, a sleeping car attendant was killed, and 78 people were injured, 12 of them seriously."
Read about the Palo Verde Derailment

I spent a lot of the time I was awake yesterday reading about train lines in the United States.

Lemuria
Their influences say Lemonheads and Sebadoh which rules but I hear more that dog. than anything else. Circle of Hope November 12, can't wait.

I'm afraid that the circumstances that led to this song (or any song like it) could only have existed between 1990-1999.

Too true: "I'll never ask for the truth but you owe that to me."

I'm really pissed at myself for not even trying to get into the Wire show Friday. Scotty's was excellent (Leitch House is a paradise) but this (U.S. Wire tour) only happens once every, like, five years,

Junior year of high school, this became one of my favorite songs ever written.

With Bands Like Theirs...

2008-10-07T00:45:00.002-04:00

It's no secret I love No Age. Nouns is probably going to be the best album of 2008... if not the decade. I just put it on and I'm two songs in, wondering, when there's good music how the fuck can you care about anything else. Say you invest an amazing amount of time or love or care or yourself into something (or maybe all of those things into something at once)... the return is never going to be as rewarding as your favorite record. Your favorite record remains consistent. It says the same things all the time. It's there for you when you need it. It doesn't call you back because it doesn't have the ability to. A wonderful excuse if I've ever heard one. It doesn't matter that it can't call you anyway because when you pull it off the shelf and put it on or cue it up on iTunes, it's always happy to hear from you. It proceeds to be all these things when the first notes come through the speakers... consistent, eliciting good feelings. It doesn't matter that you and I haven't talked about anything of substance since Friday night. I don't know why that is. I don't know if I'm in the wrong. I don't know if any of this is happening for a legitimate reason. But all that uncertainty disappeared five minutes ago when that drawn out "thuuuunk-cluuuuunk" turns into four tom-hits on Dean Spunt's drum kit. "I feel a common breeze..." Thanks Dean, the rest is history.

Satisfied, Unhealthy. Unhealthily Satisfied?

2008-10-02T03:10:00.002-04:00

I just finished my very first college paper. It was on Jorge Luis Borge's short story The Immortal, probably the best thing I've read since I got here. I took myself away from the productivity vortex that is the desk in my dormitory and trekked across campus with Steven K. to the Tech Center (open twenty-four hours a day...) This was after we saw Stereolab and Atlas Sound. I like Atlas Sound, never heard Stereolab. Vice versa for Steve K. We fell asleep two different times; myself during Stereolab, for the bulk of their set, and Steve during Atlas Sound for the bulk of his. You could've gathered that, I guess. Anyway, yeah, I had to write this paper and I did and yeah I'm satisfied. Something strange happened afterward. I went into 7-11 to see if they had headphones. They didn't so I left, yeah, duh, and then, not so duh, starting coughing and throwing up into their trashcan. Was it my sickening self-satisfaction? Was it frustration stemming from lack of conversation? Was it something that I shouldnt've been smoking? Was it the travel coffee mug Wyatt gave me our first weekend here? Was it the fucking Wawa hot dog (I hope not)? It didn't matter because the remains of the chili dogs I vomited on (on, not up. Wawa's ground beek/pork/mystery meat doesn't suck as much as "the Sev's.") may as well have been vomit anyway. I'd better go brush my teeth.

I'm So Fucking Happy I Can Be Here With My Friends

2008-09-25T13:58:00.003-04:00

It's funny how college is nothing like orientation. I rarely see Julie or Brianne or Boog and Anna never hangs out... haha, but it doesn't matter. Philaelphia might be the new Kennett Square. The other night, I sat out in front of Johnson and Hardwick with a bunch of kids that I've fallen in with (probably because most of us wear flannel/plaid, glasses and go to shows) on a patch of grass. We talked and I pulled the grass out from the ground... kinda like home, outside Michocana. I guess I'm comfortable now.

I've only been listening to the Death Set for twenty four hours but I couldn't be more excited to see them next month.

Chicago again this weekend. The first Gallagher wedding in an age. It should be... wild.

One day, Chicago might be the new Philadelphia.

What Would Jesus Not Do?

2008-09-24T02:06:00.002-04:00

I went to an advance screening of Choke tonight. I used to really like Chuck Palahniuk in, I guess, freshman year. I read all his books and fell for all the twists and was grossed out but in love with the simplicity of the punches he delivered with every self-loathing sentence. I got over it though. "Shock value." You must've heard me say it a thousand times. But anyway, the chance came up for me to go to this screening and I thought why not. The movie was pretty good. I might like it better than the book. But that could just be because I'm a hater. The dialogue was a little forced. Sam Rockwell is good at playing a creep. Kelly Macdonald (sp?) was great as usual. She might've been my favorite part of No Country For Old Men and she's so weird/sexy in Trainspotting. The main beef I have though, with the book and the movie, is the whole choking thing. I could never see myself being compelled to send someone money periodically just because I saved their life. It's kind of typical of Chuck P, these ridiculous situations. Like if my Wilmington apartment blew up, I wouldn't think of calling Tyler Durden and moving in with him at some shitty Paper Street squat. The problem is, all his books rely on something like that. But I digress. I got to ask him a question which was kind of cool. I was sitting right up front. He mentioned that he had optioned all of his books at this point to be adapted into screenplays. Pretty much I wanted to know how he felt about letting them go out to become another person's monster. He's pretty cool about it. So there.

The Greatest of All Time

2008-09-23T01:44:00.002-04:00

I took about ten years off my face just a little while ago. But the chest... well, that's some other beast entirely.

I called Chris Dawson. He lives at 1300 and rides this hot, shiny Bianchi Pista fixed gear. I want to copy him. But I'm going to do it over winter break and paint the frame so he doesn't really know. I hope we start riding together once a week. We did last week and I guess tomorrow we're off to Old City so I can get my record fix. I'm going to have the balls to ask if they are hiring anythime soon. I know this.

Saturday, after I bore witness to what Scotty Leitch himself proclaimed as the best Pirouette show ever, we went over to his brother Anth's cramped studio apartment. I guess his girlfriend is a total bitch. After about eight of us sat down on the floor of the living area, she got kind of mad. But then, Anth and Scotty played Archers of Loaf's "Greatest of All Time." It was beautiful. I guess it's kind of Anth's story. I hope he keeps his shit together and keeps making records. About A Million is probably the most well-written music of anyone I've ever known and Spit on a Stranger should be no different. Plus, they're named after the best Pavement song. Or maybe the one that relates most to me. Have a listen:

I'm suddenly compelled to tell you about Arthur. I met Arthur on the train to Haverford for that Titus show a week+ ago. He has an Elliott Smith XO tattoo on his hand. According to him, I'm only the second person to ever guess that. Then, Friday night I saw him at the Mogwai show (fucking loud and awesome by the way.) He was really there to see Fuck Buttons. The week before we was really just there to see openers Crystal Stilts. Arthur likes openers and is a cool guy. I hope I encounter him again... Mimi, you'd probably really like him. Oh and Mimi, before I forget again, Aaron Smuts (fave proffesor status omg omg) is like the Northeast's answer to Brian Walters.

At College,

2008-09-22T11:28:00.001-04:00

no one emails you back. Not newspaper editors, not professors, not whoever's in charge of internships at Magnet...

All This Leverage Kills

2008-09-21T20:39:00.002-04:00

I managed to forget my laptop charger, phone charger, keys for my bike lock and room, Microphones-The Glow Part Two (the CD only, so now I have this fancy K Records artwork to admire...) Yesterday, I brought home my camera but forgot the SD card, so my mom couldn't take cute pictures of Vlad and I this morning. My laptop is going to die in an hour or so. My phone probably won't. I have extra bike keys so it's locked onto (MY FUCKING!!) signpost. Safe and sound. Tomorrow my dad and I trade Visa cards for those chargers and maybe another lunch. I like that I get to see my dad a lot. Sometimes I don't think he's okay with me.

We met Chris Matthews Saturday somewhere near Walnut and Broad. He asked me all these questions about my school that I didn't know the answer to... Haha, do not want to talk about it, but he said he'd take me as an intern. He might be teaching at Temple next year because he's moving back into the area to run for state senate in 2010. Nice guy.

I can't stop listening to Pavement. Two-hundred fifteen+ plays on last.fm this week...

Ugh

2008-09-18T13:30:00.001-04:00

I have diarrhea... again.

Fillmore Jive

2008-09-17T15:01:00.001-04:00

Do have those times when you wave to someone and they don't see you so you just look like an asshole? They exist at college in abundance.

First Piece for the Temple News?

2008-09-17T15:00:00.000-04:00

Titus Andronicus should be the biggest band in the world right now. They have the requisite critical praise and newfound status as college graduates that brought Vampire Weekend a heap of success just a few months ago. But, instead of Saturday Night Live, Titus Andronicus is still playing basements. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I saw them in one September 12 (Haverford College's Lunt Hall to be exact,) and it was nothing short of a spectacle. Like any basement show, it was cramped and people were sweaty but the music ascended to somewhere just over the treetops. Titus' schtick can be described as something like this: manic joy, dissent, anguish, neglect, and senseless debauchery fermented for as long as men have been put down by other men. That's just the lyrics. The guitars, drowning in distortion and reverb, often enter My Bloody Valentine/Galaxie 500 terrirtory and the keyboards shout Springsteen. If it weren't for the drums it'd be a huge, shoegazing mess. These are all good things, exectued flawlessly by five, often drunk, Jersey kids. But the show itself. It's hard to describe without staying focused on the crowd rather than the band because by the middle of every song, most of us found ourselves occupying the same space as Patrick Stickles and crew. They didn't mind, really. Band and audience were one for the better part of the show, screaming the same words about "laughter and loss" ("Joset of Nazareth Blues,") lack of a future ("No Future Pt. 1,") suburban existentialism ("Albert Camus,") and so on. It was beautiful, it was absurd, possibly more nihilistically-Nietzsche than what's-the-use-in-caring-Camus. Now that they're done their studies, they're touring relentlessly. Go see this band. Talk to them and please ask them for advice.

Today

2008-09-17T00:04:00.002-04:00

I gave up on innocence. I stopped watching TV news. I stopped watching TV in general except episodes of Dawson's Creek on DVD and Weeds OnDemand. I said fuck this stupid election. I realized that the only reason people ask if you're registered to vote is to get you to vote for Barack. I guess he's ok. But isn't McCain just ok too? Doesn't that suck? Apathetic. Better things to care about. Olde English. Books. The Stranger. Bikes. Hanging out with Scotty Leitch every day. The new CH. Records. Pavement reissues. Getting the balls to ask for a job at Repo Records.

Also, I gave up on immortality. Given the choice: would you rather die or have your memory completely wiped, get dropped in the Mission District of San Francisco and lead a completely new life, not the one you were leading as ______? Well, I'm kind of indifferent. Either way, Joe Gallagher as we know it is dead. Aaron Smuts, thanks for showing me the light.

From Southern Trees

2008-09-16T14:42:00.002-04:00

Today in Intellectual History-1 with Dr. Aaron Smuts (my favorite class, by the way), I realized the main difference between college and high school so far. In class discussions, you go off on tangents... but they actually mean something. For example, we had to read this thing on immortality for Smuts today. We didn't discuss the reading as much as we discussed immortality in general and different scenarios where it might be desirable (there's all of like, one.) If this were Mr. Longo's English class last year, it'd be a different story. "So what'd you fellas read last night?" "Wait, wait, Mr. Longo have you ever seen ______!?" And on and on for fifty-two increasingly more disheartening and cynicism-inducing minutes. Thinking about it though, Intellectual History might be the exception. My journalism class, sadly, is a joke. George Miller is a great professor and his writing is, fuck, "legit." But the kids in the class are far from... Everyone pretty much wants to talk about their life story and ends up saying the same thing as the person that spoke before them. Like, listen, maybe?

First day, discussion; "what is journalism?" People magazine. Is it journalism?

Simple answer, yes. It disseminates information to human beings. But everyone decided to raise their hand and say exactly that along with some kind of catch. The two catches were, like, but it's base and but it sucks, pretty much. I don't know why fifty kids decided to repeat each other for a half hour. Whatever. So, college: half-legit. And I'm involved. But she doesn't go here. But she's been one of my best friends since freshman year. Just thought that you should know.