'this is a pretty sweet place for dipset to play'

jim james acoustic at that weird synagogue on norfolk for the fader mag release... there were candles everywhere... it wasn't crowded... they were serving cheap beer in aluminum bottles... good vibes! and jim james totally killed it! he played 10 or so jams and wailed through them. they sounded like new songs completely, and the shitty casio keyboard was right up my alley. no 'i will sing you songs' or 'one big holiday', but that's ok.

it took me a hot second to get into my morning jacket, and there are moments that i don't like, but it's hard not to admit that this guy writes great songs.

i didn't care for his rants about 'lifestyle' and 'hot sauce' as he puts it [check the link]. i mean, he's on a magazine cover behind a [great] rapper who raps about selling drugs and making money. what hot sauce is jim using? hey i'd put jeezy in front of him too, i'm just saying.

and of course he supports his weird lifestyle... but he writes great songs and sells out venues... jim we have to work our 9-5 jobs to afford your $25 tickets. why don't you give your album away then instead of going through a major label?

i dunno i just don't like how every acoustic performance has to have an anti-corporate undertone. this isn't protest music... and i'm glad! he was fucking amazing! congrats fader!

http://www.thefader.com/blog/articles/2006/09/29/it-beats-4-us

'we make a bed out of dead leaves and branches'

uh-oh! only my new favorite band, no big deal! stuart lupton from jonathan fire*eater's new group! i saw them play the knitting factory about a year ago and it was great. [the casual review is in the archives somewhere]. sloppy, jangly, melodic, damaged, and under-developed songs. it was great i'm telling you...

they're on loog records, run my an ex-NME editor. what about being label-mates with the bravery and the horror?

really, i'm about as excited about this band as anyone could be. chalk it up again for nostalgia! i like their whole shit! more more! i'm freaking out a little.

http://www.myspace.com/childballad

do it. just drop him.

"Veteran power forward Maurice Taylor will fly from his home in Houston to New York today but realizes his stay may be very brief. Taylor said he and his reps have discussed a buyout the past two weeks and it could be done before Monday's training camp."

6.3 points 3.4 rebounds in 18 minutes per? not bad... but if isiah wants to dump him he should just go for it. or trade him... 9 mil of an expiring contract is sweet too, but if the knicks do try to move him, let's try to not to get jeff mcinnis...

takers or leavers

love em or hate em, k is giving away a blow 'poor aim- love songs' e.p. until the l.p. comes out next month.

a few of the songs are pretty annoying but go get it for 'knowing the things that i know' and 'hey boy'

they're good songs!

http://www.kpunk.com/

"you totally nailed it!"

ok here are some shows i've seen at roseland...
the ramones/social d
beastie boys/rollins band
dino jr [2 times]
nirvana [!]
sonic youth [4 times]
unrest
fugazi [4 times]
jesus and mary chain
ned's atomic dustbin [twice]
james
smashing pumpkins
slowdive
and some more i can't remember right now

and now.. dr dog! they opened for the raconteurs, who were not terrible, but very forgettable. the dog was great. loud! they played 'easy beat' and 'die die die'. they looked weird on that stage. totally comfortable, but kinda dwarfed too!

top 10 redux redux

top 10 records from 2006. monday, september 26. it's casual!

10. jesu- silver ep
9. camera obscura- let's get out of this country
8. lil wayne- dedication 2
7. TI- king
6. destroyer- rubies
5. sonic youth- rather ripped
4. silversun pickups- carnavas
3. mountain goats- get lonely
2. islands- return to the sea
1. beirut- gulag orkestar

who else thought the walkmen covers record is amazing? that one's great. the hold steady is disappointingly not on here. no annuals- the ending chorus of 'dry clothes' is the ugliest thing ever. the islands are still rad despite their rap song. still gotta hear the excepter record. dr dog would've been on here but the album is coming out in 2007. white magic would be close. half the tv on the radio album is zzz city. anyone heard the new ludacris? i bet killa season gets back on the list by december. did i miss anything?

what's that sound?

it's the chatter of the beginning of the nba season! this time of year is sick... the MLB playoffs, football, and the motherfucking NBA! and dajuan wagner got signed! who else is pulling for this guy? i hope he gets a starting spot on golden state, especially if the warriors trade dunleavy and pietrus [who will never be any better than he is now. fuck 'upside']. dammit where's the NY drama? they're gonna release mo taylor? fine! larry brown is suing dolan? good! bring the season on! those $15 shoes will fuck marbury's feet up and it'll be the 'franchise' and nate show!

boys and girls in amercia

new hold steady. i've spent some time with it this weekend... and i have to say it's disappointing! there're some jams for sure. charlamagne makes a re-appearance, it's still craig singing, the band is all there from what i can tell, but it just never hits the peaks of the last two. 'chips ahoy' was leaked weeks ago, and even though that track jams, i thought we were in store for some more epic moments. but 'chips ahoy' is kind of the highlight.

the tempo kinda drags, and it's loose, but i expected a lot more from this band... i mean, they're great. sure, the songs will make more sense live but after 7 listens to this album i'm not totally feeling it...

reagan youth at tompkins sq park

hardcore is cool. have you heard? kind of a rad set up for this show... a stage in the middle of the park and people walking around it. but it's amazing to me how little to no progression this genre has made in 25 years. just going through the motions... slam dancing. barely. 'are you hurt?' 'my mom's gonna kill me when she sees the bruise on my arm'. seriously it was all kids, except for the super bitter older hardcore fans standing and glaring at each other. and showing off their ink. it looks like blobs, dudes.

i was kinda weirded out by the scene.... oh, the music you ask? pretty boring. 'this song is about the man! ok 1-2-3-4! fuck the man! fuck the system! i'm awesome!'. there's great hardcore stuff out there. today i was not lucky enough to hear it.

it felt so much more crucial in 1993... or when you're a kid i guess. damn those shirts looked cool. i mean look cool.

haha i'm a grumpy old man!

viva last guggs

will oldham and andrew wk tv show taping at the guggenhiem...

oldham was funny! he totally had svenonius rattled and they looked like they were miserable up there. in a good way. they chatted. svenonius asked dumb questions, oldham laughed, svenonius laughed, it was actually super entertaining. who wants to hear a real interview? i wanted jokes, and i got them!

talk about a 'real' interview... andrew wk was a snoozefest. he got up there with the 'i'm not as dumb as you think i am just look at my crossed legs' mission. he talked about influences. classical music! didn't see that one coming did ya? he also talked about process. in classical music terms! zinger! i like his music pretty much, not mad. but this intervew was like watching a train wreck. instead of coming across smarter, i think remaining in 'character' would've benefited him better. zzz to infinity. more monday night football anthems please...

'i can't feel my face' prequel

i caved and got the mick boogie tape, before the drama tape. there are a million new songs on here, so i was swayed. what can i say i've turned around on 'dedication 2' and julez' stuff has always been great, but always better as a compliment to cam, or in this case, wayne!

this is great, obviously. i'm too lazy to start quoting lines, but they're funny trust me. this is kind of a fantasy tape for me, but i wish cam was on here. he's to busy filming killa season 2. c'mon they have to edit 200 hours of tom-foolery to a 3.5 hour epic. will it be about dealing drugs? i hope so!

go ahead and get this tape. the drama one will be better but it's taking them forever...

masterpiece theater

this hagerty-directed spot for the new BPB is amazing. i swear i've watched it a dozen times.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR8TEW5qESg

also, how great was oldham on conan last night? andrew WK on the keyboards!

what about the new NBA live pics!

toosh report 9/20/06 and/or pitchfork r.i.p.

first line: "There's plenty afoot in the metal underground-- it's the mainstream version that desperately needs a new set of heroes."
last line: "Please welcome the new monsters of rock."

man, they have been OFF in the last year. i don't entirely hate on pitchfork. i think they're fine, but the 'best new music' section this year has been baffling. almost arbitrary! who's editing these legions of writers?

ok albeit stosuy is probably my fave writer on this site, but the new mastodon as the 'greatest big-time metal crew on earth'? 'remission' was great. totally great. 'leviathan' was bad. kinda bad. 'blood mountain' sucks. ok so you're a hardcore mastodon fan and you like all three. but, 'Please welcome the new monsters of rock.'? gush much? there's gotta be some better nu-metal out there to gush about...

bands noted? jehu? josh homme? mars volta? i just don't know... those are pretty lite references...

the album gets a 3.1... stosuy as a music writer gets a 8.3... and pitchfork post 2005 gets a 3.7

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/38617/Mastodon_Blood_Mountain

november 25th!

what you know about me and the wildman going to see texas is the reason SON!?

it's not reigning anymore

"Shawn Kemp's planned workout at the Berto Center never materialized Monday, and it's unlikely the six-time NBA All-Star will receive another invitation from the Bulls."

"Kemp, 36, who retired in 2003 after 14 seasons because of weight issues, also missed a planned workout with Dallas earlier this year."

damn i really wanted to see shawn kemp back in the nba. this dude was fucking sick! you think amare's fun to watch now? remember this guy and GP? even the fat cavs days were funny....

do a google search for 'shawn kemp'

haha awesome

what do i do? what do i do? without you?

new mountain goats! 'get lonely' late i know, but hey, i'm a slacker.

and it's so great! i've been on a bit of a darnielle tear as of late. been jamming 'hot garden stomp' to 'sunset tree' to 'we shall all be healed'. i used to drive around in high school blasting 'hot garden stomp'... 'you were quiet for a while and that was nice, then you came along with your questions... always questions... i hear you talking... shut up...' tapes, man. they were rad.

aaanyway 'get lonely', a good 13 years later, is a perfect progression. this record is a heavy one... how is this guy not happy yet? he sounds more miserable than ever, and content with it. instead of 'dying to tell you he was dying' back in 1994, it feels like he's telling us now 'i'm willing to tell you i'm fucking miserable, if you're interested'. this makes for an awesome record i think. i feel like it's complicated, but not really...

the new grizzly bear LP

"yellow house". now how are you going to avoid talking about the animal collective biting? they're in close proximity of eachother, the both have animal references in their names [in not just the word, 'animal'], and they sound very very similar. yeah, the griz are probably huge fans [do they deny it] of AC, but who isn't?

the new one tries harder to find its own voice, but it's still dave portner stylings everywhere. and it's not all that bad- there are moments of radness, but i just can't shake the comparison. at their best GB sound like a sloppy, big, jam band. at their worst the sound like a lot of other songs you've heard before. a nice revord cover, well produced songs. good, well produced songs!

but it's still totally biting, dudes!

tonight

i promised glick i'd post this flier for her friend's show. go! then stick around for leo and o'dell's tender DJ movements...

when's the last time you heard the word 'wobble'?

i've only listened to this song 25 times in the last 2 hours no big deal

http://www.jibbsmusic.com/player/default.aspx/mid/2428

toosh report 9/15/06

the times reviewed the big black youtube show and an ex-'sassiest boy in america's new book of essays

first line: “Believe me, it was a lot cooler in the 80’s.”
last line: "For now this little pink pseudo-leftist book is about as mushy as he’s going to get."

"What, exactly, was cooler in the 1980’s? Big Black concerts? (Certainly; the live album “Pigpile” offers proof.) Music? The world?"
TRUE
"Dischord has a legacy, and a reputation, to match Touch and Go’s."
TRUE
"It’s easy to sneer at nostalgia, but what’s the alternative?"
TRUE
"The language sounds a lot like Mr. Albini’s surprisingly fulsome tribute to Touch and Go; neither of them can pretend he doesn’t miss the good old days."
YEA I GUESS
"For now this little pink pseudo-leftist book is about as mushy as he’s going to get."
I DON'T KNOW JUST WAIT

sanneh's just touching base here. i wish he would've gone further into svenonius bullshit writing, which i always saw as a backhanded attempt at saying, 'you guys aren't as smart as you think you are'. but toosh, mr svenonius, we went to college too. i dunno maybe i'm projecting. it's also hard to get mad at the singer for one of the best fucking bands ever. look at this photo!

ok so those youtube big black clips are fire! damn big black still sounds just as good as they did back in the day! i kinda wish i went now...

the youtube clips get a pitchspork douche meter of 7.5. sanneh's piece isn't as funny as his last few but the subject matter isn't as funny. and he couldn't really go off because, really, who cares about big black and ian svenonius pocket-readers? thusly the review gets a 7.1. hey man even jose canseco didn't hit .500...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKtnXd7SiB4&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU1PRinyWZI&mode=related&search=
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/arts/music/14sann.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

go see mike bones tonight!

he's playing with TK webb at tonic! 12 midnight!

i can't go but if you like awesome music you should check it out.

ask him about drazen petrovic or mookie blaylock!

it was raining cats and dogs

wa waaa... but it was! and also neil haggerty played the merc last night.

but first white magic opened up. some 'un-named' bro claimed they were 'dull' and 'boring' and i thought to myself, 'is kelly right?'. no! they were great! this time it was a full band with doug, the guy from soldiers of fortune on bass, and the dirty three drummer [!]. it was really good. i'll always be a fan of the billotte sisters, and even though i want to keep saying the mira borrows too much from her sister, i think i'm wrong. the madge has their own thing going on. great stuff. of course they played one of doug's songs and the spell was immediately broken, but it's hard to keep up with all the spookiness...

then haggerty and the howling hex... 30 minutes late. a devoted tamborine player who was standing in front of sheet music[!], poetry interludes, and a sexophone. or in this case, a hexophone! wacka wacka. and the were... FUCKING GREAT! i'm serious! it was a killer jam session! the songs were long, weird, and intense. dude can SHRED. i mean, it sounded weird but his fingers were doing the nuno bettencourt thing. they were all covered in jazz sweat and no smiling at all. i was jamming so hard to the jam vibes! oh yeah. the tamorine guy had a tribal tattoo as well.

i had to post a pic of the trux instead of the hex because they are so damn cool looking..

shreddie lives

ken gave me a copy of the album a few weeks ago but that fucking thing doesn't play in my computer or on my shitty boombox in my room. oh cruel fate! it's like a tales from the crypt scenario... 'you will be waiting for an amazing band's new album... you will get the album early from your friend... then it will not play on any of your devices... mwahahaha!'

so last night was the hold steady record listening party at hi-fi. and they did it right! the record is awesome, of course. they jammed it super loud on the PA and we were a bunch of air-guitaring fools. not as crazy as the last two but i need to really spend some time with it. btw the album art fucking sucks. possibly one of the worst covers ever. hellooo used-bin vibes. the should've hired that photographer nocitoschmellingwildman to shoot it...

if you're not with me then you're against me

tickets don't buy themselves, you know...

chris thomson got fat!

in LA i also scored a copy of the red eyed legends' 'the high when i feel when i'm low' CD for like, a buck. let's take a stroll down the best punk singer of all-time's history... ok!

circus lupus: rad! totally sweet!
los mordidas: even better. but only a couple 7"s [one 7" and one split with Mukilteo Fairies]. so psyched.
the monorchid: the best of all. they were so fucking great. i wouldn't change a thing
skull control: can the monorchid get back together. i mean, this band is good, i'm just saying.
and finally, this red eyed legends band on GSL records.

i guess there's a reason no one really heard about this. it's good, but not nearly as interesting or urgent as all the rest of the stuff chris thomson has done. am i just being nostalgic? there's a shitty dub remix on here too. but i'm glad he's still keeping the dream alive. no folk records here... and any CT material is good material as far as earl is concerned

oh shit! this is a real band! they have a myspace page! i'm a fan!

http://www.myspace.com/redeyedlegends
http://www.redeyedlegends.com

fashion weak

i just missed growing last night at the surface to air shit last night. they played first and for just a second i think. people were all like, 'growing scared away half the crowd!' hm... from other reports it seems all the people were there to see growing, and then bounced! i missed soiled mattress and the springs at susan cianciolo too. heard that was rad.

nothing will top animal collective playing 'winter's love' live at Alexander Herchcovitch last year though. or libertine using the walkmen for their runway show. i was super stoked!

"Stephon Marbury would love to have Garnett in New York"

no shit stephon! and i'd like to sleep on a pile of money and have rites of spring play my living room this saturday! douche!

"Kevin has had more success than I've had," he said. "I really can't put myself in his situation. My situation has been a lot more grueling. I've had to defend myself with the media as a person and as a basketball player."

toosh stephon... would you take a paycut to get garnett on the knicks? and let's say the knicks even got garnett, they'd still be fucked. at this point one super [SUPER] star won't put the team over the top, there needs to be a complete overhaul. starting with dolan! actually, i like the team the way it is... fucked up, young, grumpy, and weird! please can the season start already? dammit!

http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/15513202.htm

so late... solly! and/or toosh report 9/13

i'm really late on the last cam jam 'weekend girl'. i dunno, i was looking for other stuff mixtape-wise, but i finally got it. the 'NY Times' had this to say about the track:

first line: "This much is clear: “Weekend Girl,” by Cam’ron, is definitely not the song of the summer."
last line: "That song, in a totally different summer: would it sound the same?"

kudos for writing about cam and taking digs at wyclef at the same time. the song is a jam. and it SHOULD'VE been the canal street anthem all summer, but it got fucked up [or maybe not... those tapes coming from the south are great]. cam'ron is hilarious on this one [what's new] and sounds totally relaxed a la 'purple haze'

'you see my monday to fridays i need a friday to sunday... we'll eat fridays on friday and go to sundays on sunday'

it easily would've been one of the best tracks on 'killa season'. cam comes back! i care again! more cam rapping about food!

the song gets 4.5 mics and the review gets the same.

btw have you guys downloaded the new itunes? that shit is fun! i forgot i had gang starr's 'ownerz'!

got it!

ha! it just took me 15 years is all! ameoba had the 'DC punk' used 7" bin and i went for it. it didn't take that long... and they had 1 copy! for 3.99! fuck ebay! that place is waaaay too big and i kinda get freaked out in it but i managed to get that 7", the unrest sub pop singles club 7", and slant 6's 'inzombia' on CD. i'm telling you that's one of my favorite DC records. right next to 'repeater', 'play pretty for baby', 'solid brass' and the the meta-matics 12". oh and rites of spring too! i'm saying my 'favorite' not the 'best'...

i'm making bootleg slant 6 shirts fuckit. i mean, have you heard 'partner in crime' lately?

looks awesome!

can't wait for the new gang gang!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl4y6E1DJVY&mode=related&search=

where's bonzi?

what a snoozer of an off-season. gasol broke his ankle. what else happened? did shane battier get traded? iverson is still a sixer right? reggie evans re-upped with the nuggs [nice move]... marbury put out those shoes... kobe said something stupid... zzzz

hopefully action will pick up when camp opens. maybe someone can get bonzi wells for a cheap year? will spre ever get back to the nba [doubtful]?

if anyone has any good nba info let me know. hoopshype has been sucking...

'... all the non-believers!'

new my chem bromance track and website! a new song and some video footage! ok they're not the brightest band in the world. in an 'interview' gerard states that the album is about 'a boy who dies and goes to a parade'. and then the first lyrics of 'welcome to the black parade' are 'when i was a young boy my father took me into the city to see a marching band'. a banana is a banana is a banana.

but the track is amazing. it reminds me of seaweed a little, and they're kind of leaving the pop-punk world and into a full pop/glam one. let's say it's more like queen than the misfits. and it's amazing! the orchestration is is crazy on this one and it's got that epic scope to it. i'm claiming this album to be one of the best records of the year next year already. maybe this and the dog LP. seriously this stuff is killer...

http://www.theblackparade.com/

the standard hotel = doucheville

dr dog report from LA! they played the troubadour with elvis perkins and cold war kids. elvis was much better than he was at the pool... he played his songs with a little less 'drum circle' and 'carney' vibes and that mean his rad songs sounded rad. he did 'ash wednesday', 'without love' and 'while you were sleeping'. not mad!

the dog? what can i say? should i just start the fanclub now? what a great band! the sound was iffy at first but after 2 songs the band had it figured out, and it blew by in a flash! toby was 'in the zone' and they looked like they were having fun. 'alaska' shredded, 'wake up' too. 'ain't it strange' was a bit slow, but it's a treat to see that song live.

cold war kids we didn't bother sticking around for after jason claimed them as 'a band he'd like to punch'.

it was a rad trip. i'm jetlagged. sunburnt. full of too much food. happy birthday KTAX! i call next year! same place! same band! same crew!

blank blank joan of arc

joan of arc/owen at the knitting factory. owen was earnest. american football was a very good band. owen is too icky. and tonight's show was icky. 'love love you and i flove you shoo' rhyming for the sake of rhyming. good for him though. he's going for it. there were hecklers, and they were not appreciated, but at least it was fodder for comedy. i bet he was placed. at least he's got a sense of humor. not anything to listen to, but something to support i guess. maybe just in theory.

joan of arc. terrible. unrehearsed. amazing, and so radl. it's fun to see people file out to tim screaming 'fucking strangers feels better fucking strangers.' it kinda all makes sense. i love it in a non-condescending way. one of my faves!

is your sister in love?

ratatat/envelopes at the bowery!

envelopes was a question mark. as i was eating delicious tacos i thought, 'could the 'lopes be playing right now and i'll miss it?'. they played, and i was there [thankfully], and i love them. so good. so awkward! is your sister in love? who knows but a bunch of 30+ year-olds from europe romped through a set of smile/fist pumping '1990's' anthems. really they were so great. 'REAL MUSIC' they shouted as they struggled hitting notes and vocal keys. calvin johnson where art thou? [other than playing shitty DJ gigs in basements].

ratatat. love them as a band. bad show. foam thumbs? trans am projections? argh! XL is ruining them. please they need someone to say 'you guys don't need your record release at hiro [to much disaster] and the shiney puma shirts might be a bad idea'. they get love from me. and they played a good show. fine. jacob on the keys was a nice, new developement. i have faith. maybe i've just seen them too much...

long, strange trip

ok! the temporary residence showcase at bowery! i was chuffed! it was gonna be great! i bought my tickets a month beforehand!

friday. envy. amazing. really. so much fun. huge, beautiful, melancholy guitars with a cookie monster vocalist. they played jams. people clapped. some crowd surfed. it was kinda rad. i was totally into it other than the japanese talking over some more 'sensitive' moments. all in all, a spectacular show! why aren't they playing BB kings!?

saturday. explosions. a great band that's had all this billy bob thrown upon them. ok dudes, the movie was fine, but really, people freak out on that movie too much. i think i heard the phrase 'friday night lights' 15 times that night. ok so a great band, that is victim [or beneficiary] of a very average-to-good movie. good for them. there was love. it was slightly boring. some swooned. some looked at their watches. they played some new jams, which were great. i will be waiting for the new record like a douche...

sunday. mono. what can i say? a sleepy first 20 minutes, then beautiful shit. i'm saying. it was almost perfect. they played 'halcyon [beautiful days]' and my jaw was dropped for 5 minutes. stole the show. i thought to myself, 'perfect', over and over.

mono wins for posterity. envy wins for fun. explosions wins for nostagia. too much of this music is too much. i have nothing else to say.

proof!

here at earl we pay our writers/slackers 'at large' big bucks for their scoops