new musicccccc

if you are not a fan of The Thermals, please be advised you are MISSING OUT. they are from portland, oregon, plus one right? they're all fun pop-punk tinged indie rock on Sub Pop, you could kinda maybe put them with Guided By Voices/The Hold Steady/Ted Leo? I don't know; comparisons like that are fucking useless. all I know is their last album, The Body, The Blood, The Machine is all killer and no filler. it's the type of album that explains why 50% of the crowd at any Hold Steady show is bro dudes in funny saying tshirts. meaning: they appeal across the board. I know at least 3 awesome people who like them: Mark D, his friend Dave, and Michael. nuff said.

the new album drops April 7th, but until then click here to download their new single, courtesy of the A.V. Club. propz. this band is seriously funny, like pitchfork being credited with 'breaking' broken social scene. reference reference reference link band reference fashion.

presidente

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

new musicccccccc

Amazing Baby was one of the best bands out of Brooklyn that I got into in 2008; dog knows there were a lot of them. barf.  if I said they sounded like semi-fuzzy hipstery glam-rock, you probably wouldn't listen to them, so that is why you don't listen to me. instead, you go to here and download their EP, Infinite Fucking Cross for free. 

then, you click below and listen to their new song, 'Bayonets', off of the forthcoming full length, to be out this summer. get in on the ground floor with these guys. 

seriously people I am lady gaga

oh my, neglecterinos,

I have quite simps been all over the place.

we no longer have cable tv at the apartment, due to us not paying for it/HD transition, so life has simply ceased to be for me. I mean, I die without the serious fashion no-no's, and THIS IS AWARDS SEASON. a girl can't afford to buy EVERY tabloid, now cmon.

I missed the Grammys on sunday, although I made sure to watch via the intranet MIA's performance. bitch showed up, ON HER DUE DATE PEOPLE, and killed it. she also wore this. I know I am going to dress locosauce when I'm knocked up, but girl is next levs and knows it:


it's things like this that make my life worthwhile.

but in all seriousness, I've been on mode haywire as of late. i'm feeling some big changes are gonna come. possibly new job, possibly two new jobs, maybe getting back in the ol' D&D game, and making some goddamn friends and movin' on out.

when I get overwhelmed like this I have to head home, which is what I am doing, tomorrow afternoon. I get what I need, but sometimes too much so. I should be in a Disney movie, the way I wanna make these dreams come true!

I pretty much feel like everyone needs space from me, so I'm giving it to them.

I suppose some major newz will break soon.

you can teach a dog new tricks.

those of us who are Smiths fans, know that Morrissey is one loopy lad. he writes love songs that are either about men, or women, or both; fat girls he doesn't love and won't marry; songs about dead children buried on the moors; he writes lines so terrible ('I wear black on the outside/because black is how I feel on the inside') they are almost, but not really, good. And that was just with the Smiths.

for years he has claimed total celibacy, and written lots of solo stuff about it. but apparently now the Moz is back, and either went on, or off, the crazy pills, because this new album art of his is questionable at best. behold the bonkerz cover of the new Morrissey album, 'Years of Refusal':


Okayyyyy. so now he fancies himself a pop pop. but for real, he is clearly gayer than thou in that shirt/necklace/chest hair combo. but if this album cover is next levs, then the inner sleeve for the 'Paris' 7inch, is POST levs.



'hi' not included.

oh lordy. seems the ol' boy is finally bust out of the closet. that's the thing about you indie boys.......always braggin' about some 7 inches YOU DON'T HAVE.

hiyo.

My Dream Festival

Fantasy South by Southwest 2009 headliners, as carefully selected and cooltext.com-generated by me:

Supporting Acts Include: 

Letters to Cleo, Chalkfarm, The Odds, Freedy Johnston, Local H, Screaming Trees, The Verve Pipe, Geggy Tah, The Sisters of Mercy's More, Cornershop, Possum Dixon and Ned's Atomic Dustbin

Some Movies I'd Never Watch Again

I love movies, but I admit that I haven't seen a lot of the 'classics' or even 'modern classics'. I have, however, seen a bunch of crap that I would never watch again unless there was a fucking ticker on the bottom the screen revealing the meaning of life, tim kasher's phone number, and maybe the winning lottery numbers for good measure. agree?

* Dungeons and Dragons - well here we go, another total piece of shit starring people way too good for it. I'd call it a paycheck movie, but I'm sure it wasn't. that simply means that jeremy irons (aka jeremys iron) and thora birch are assholes. for someone actually into dungeons and dragons stuff, this was an atrocity, and didn't even really follow a lot of D&D stuff. can I say, Marlon Wayans is in this garbage, and once when discussing the movie, I decided to call him 'Merlin Wayans', which is pretty next level considering.

* The Devil Wears Prada - I am a feminist who also ends up liking a lot of shit, but this is just too much. this movie is totally unbelievable (not a bad thing, but it is when it tries to come off as such) and can I say, for a movie promiently featuring designer clothes, the wardrobes are a total snooze. Pat Fields did wonders on Sex and the City, but she puts all the characters here in boring common interpretations of high fashion. plus gisele is in it for a scene, AS AN ACTRESS, and she should just stick to fucking Tom Brady back to health, kthx. ah, hot rich brazillian pussy, shit is like the ancient healing waters of Shangri-la.

* Howard the Duck - can you even believe that piece of shit was based on a comic? ooh, tim robbins though, he is crazytown. good to know that an actor starring in IMDB's top rated movie, Shawshank Redemption, can also be in this one, which is probably in the top 100 worst. I don't even remember when I saw this, except that my parents probably strapped me down with a kids meal and set me in front of the tv. I'm sure my Batman Returns toy was cool though.

to be continued....

I'm in love

so in honor of Mark D and I's 6 monthversary, which came and went last week, The Walkmen are going to be playing 'In The New Year' on the best show ever, Conan O'Brien. this is particularly nice for me, because You & Me kind of became something special for Mark and I. it's a beautiful, romantic album full of both hope and sadness. I've never met anyone like Mark D and I am incredibly in love with him. 

I gave up some things that were important to me to move here and help in trying to make a future for us. things have not always been easy; I've learned that the things that can make you so passionate about someone can also make your fights worse. I have made my share of mistakes. this is a testament to what can be accomplished when you meet someone who changes the way you view things, ultimately for the better.

so tonight I'll watch The Walkmen perform their beautiful song about love and hope in the new year, and cheers to Mark D and hopefully what will be a year of firsts for us.

surprise!

so this is the look on my face as I watched the SAG awards:

there were some surprises up in there! mostly in the television categorie. although meryl streep as best actress for doubt was unexpected. heath ledger continued to steam roll the supporting actor category, as did kate winslet, only this time for the reader. 

the SAG awards supposedly mean a ton to the actors because they are voted by fellow actors, but again, the television awards were kinda bonkers in my opinion. 

hugh laurie again for best actor, I'm so tired of that. I wanted to see Michael C. Hall for Dexter win, especially after how next level the third season was. Best Female was Sally Field and again, so played out. 

I mostly watch that shit for the dresses anyway.

'an interesting intersection' or, 'how I can still be eco-friendly while selling my art to an insurance company'

so here's a semi-interesting modern tale:

about a month ago I got hip to this new esurance commersh (the ones with the gross animated ads featuring people who look like tackier bratz dolls and a bizarre super-hero backstory) prominently featuring a song by a band, Cloud Cult. the ad is basically just a mini animated music video and doesn't even really mention insurance. the song, 'Lucky' is pretty tacky too, and the band's name is splashed on the bottom of the screen, labelled as an 'Esurance Favorite', like the cats at their offices fancy themselves indie rock connoseurs. 

fast forward to a couple weeks ago when I was in Mark D's car, cd's typically strewn everywhere, on the way to nowhere in particular. mid-sentence, I exclaim 'omg, you have the cloud cult cd!', and then he asks me not to change the subject. but c'mon it was really weird to me that he had that cd. admittedly, my pal has a very very eclectic music taste, and he has a great time going back and forth with his friends about the hilariously bad music they used to listen to, or rediscovering old gems from high school. I knew nothing of Cloud Cult other than that ad, and immediately thought they were one of those throw-away type bands and I wasn't sure why he was listening to it, except maybe as research for a future conversation at Tortilla Flats. 

on the excruciating 2 hour long ride home from Frightened Rabbit, the truth was uncovered: Cloud Cult is actually an experimental, extremely eco-conscious indie rock group from Minnesota, one that his band The Brother Kite saw at SXSW and is revered by a few of the guys. fittingly enough for a band with a song in an insurance ad, these guys have a bunch of sincere gimmicks, if such a thing is possible: they feature people within this collective painting onstage along with the music, producing a finished painting at the end of each show. the lead dude also has his own record label, embarassingly called Earthology Records, which he runs on his organic farm. they tour in a biodiesel van, keep track of their carbon footprint, and everything having to do with the band is recycled, etc. basically Cloud Cult makes us all look like assholes. 

I really wanted to know how and why the Esurance commercial came to pass. according to an interview with aforementioned lead dude, they've gotten tons of offers over the year to liscense their music out, but because of the stringent eco-ethos they have, they had to turn it all down, despite the much needed money. Esurance apparently asked them, dude did some research, and felt like he could support the company. Esurance had helped make a fest the band played earlier 'green', and also became the green-sponsor for the band's current tour, paying for the bio-diesel and picking up the tab for the carbon offset. 

I guess my cynical self can suck it, and we can all ethically jerk off to Erin Esurance now. I mean, there is really nothing negative I can say about this, and I look forward to seeing the Cloud Cult documentary coming out later this year. 

if this blog was tv guide, the song would get a jeers for being kind of lame, but the story in general would get a cheers. here's to next levs.