by matttbastard

Was going to pick up on what BooMan, Jed Lewison & Jeff Fecke had to say re: Jane Hamsher’s unholy alliance with Grover fucking Norquist and the  more-progressive-than-thou campaign to unseat that notorious corporate shill, Bernie Sanders (and there was great rejoicing among the assembled Trots  in the spartan Vermont offices of the Socialist Equality Party).

But fuck it — it’s Christmas Eve. We can declare a temporary armistice and put down the hunks of pie until at least, er, Saturday. Y’know, peace on earth, goodwill towards bitter personality cultists, all that rot — right, kids?

Right?

Here, have some Ramones. I mean, if Joey and Johnny could put aside their utter loathing for each other for all those years in the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll and, um, filthy lucre…?

Wishing you and yours a very happy holidays on this Historic Occasion™.

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers

Well as you all hopefully know by now. I’m huge on the whole live music shows thing. Recently I’ve been to one AMAZING show and one… not so good show.

On December 12th I attended the Die Mannequin show at The Sound Academy [which this being my first time attending a show in the area, is A BEAUTIFUL place to have a show. It is SO nice.] The show was amazing as well. The opening bands were good, Die Mannequin was good. It was a good ol’ jolly fun time all around. I have videos and such that you can view on my youtube channel. Located here. I also got to meet Care from Die Mannequin which was pretty cool, along with the guys from Outspoken while waiting outside in line for a hot dog.

The second show that I attended was this past weekend December 19th. It was the Stereos/Midway State show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, which isn’t the best venue for a concert in my personally opinion, but it did the trick for what they needed. The opening band, The Artist Life, seemed to try too hard to be hardcore rock stars. They did a cover of Hey Ho, Let’s Go by The Ramones and pretty much ruined the song for me, and I don’t even think 85% of the prepubescent audience knew the song. The Midway State did a good job on their set. My favourite part was when they covered Tiny Dancer in hopes to recreate this moment from Almost Famous. Which is by far my favourite part of the movie so I was glad to be a part of that, but again, the target audience was not in the right age frame for something like this. Rewatching that clip still gives me chills.  Now I feel bad picking on the Stereos as the lead singer had a sore throat or some sort of sickness that affected his singing abilities. But for truth’s sake, he wasn’t all that good. Videos of that show will be posted on my Youtube Channel shortly.

In news, “Nowhere Boy” is a film based on the life of John Lennon, a film I am quite excited to see myself. A writer from Uncut Magazine wrote a review on it a few days ago. You can find the review here. And the Trailer.

With the decade nearing an end, hundreds of music enthusiast’s are creating their best of the millenium decade list’s. According to Billboard’s decade-ending rock chart, Linkin Park and Nickelback are reigning high spots on their list’s. What’s on yours? Let me know. You can find out more about Linkin Park and Nickelback’s success through the millenium here

Radiohead has decided to return to the studio in January to complete working on their 7th studio album. The last album they produced was released in 2007 called “In Rainbows”. Work on the 7th album began last summer say Yorke and O’brien. You can read up on it here.

‘Tis the season to be jolly, so I did my best with a very funky Christmas show this week with lots of appropriate music and giveaways for our listeners.

Bette Midler opened the show with COOL YULE and that set the mood for what followed. I never thought I would see the day that Bob Dylan recorded a Christmas album, and isn’t he collecting some flak for doing so? But I, for one, happen to love the album Christmas in the Heart and appreciate the guts it took to release it. We played a couple of songs from the album. First up it was MUST BE SANTA. Check out the clip. Gotta love a guy with a sense of humour!

Now if you’re talking cool, there is no cooler, in my opinion, than ‘Keef’ Richards.  My favourite Rolling Stone gave us RUN RUDOLPH RUN and then it was Patsy Raye & The Beatniks with BEATNIK’S WISH. All Patsy wants for Christmas is a man. Tall order Pats, especially here in Byron Bay!

I’ve got a question for you. Who’s feeling a bit grumpy this Xmas? Go on hands up… Well if you’re feeling a little down in the dumps, the perfect song for you is the Staple Singers with WHO TOOK THE MERRY OUT OF XMAS? Another for you mopers is Charles Brown and PLEASE COME HOME FOR XMAS.  What you all need is the optimism of Darlene Love’s ALL ALONE ON CHRISTMAS. Lifted from the soundtrack to the film Home Alone, the famous sound of the legendary E Street Band and Love’s voice make being alone at Christmas almost OK. Check out the video if you don’t believe me:

Next up in our Cool Yule show was Bob Seger and The Last Heard with SOCK IT TO ME SANTA. And then it was The Kinks with FATHER CHRISTMAS and The Ramones with MERRY CHRISTMAS (I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT TONIGHT). Whew, that was a rockin’ set of Chrissie tunes. The three tracks came from a compilation album called Christmas A Go-Go, put together by Steven Van Zandt who also goes by the name Little Steven. As well as playing in Bruce Springsteen’s band and acting in the hit series The Sopranos, he also hosts an American radio program called the Underground Garage . Check out the website where you can listen to archived programs.

Tina Sugandh is also known as TablaGirl. Originally from India, now resident in the US, I love her version of WHITE CHRISTMAS with its Bollywood undertones. We followed with an oldie but a goodie, by Little Esther Phillips and the Johnny Otis Orchestra, FAR AWAY CHRISTMAS BLUES.

I had to include the 80’s New Wave group the Waitresses in the show because they recorded a song about something I really do loath: CHRISTMAS WRAPPIING. Yeah, yeah, bah humbug.

Something most of us have to be careful about over the holiday period is drinking and driving. A great song that deals with the repercussions of doing so is The Youngsters with CHRISTMAS IN JAIL from an album entitled Doo Wop Christmas.  It wasn’t as serious as it sounds, honestly. And neither was the very funny version of  JINGLE BELLS from the Electric Prunes, another great track from Little Stevie’s Christmas A Go-G0 album.

Rufus Thomas makes this rather scary offer: I’LL BE YOUR SANTA. And then it was time for a little Latin in our Christmas show.  First up,  The Enchanters with MAMBO SANTA MAMBO and the wonderful Celia Cruz with some salsa, FIESTA DE NAVIDAD.

A complete change of tone followed:  Clarence Carter with the brilliantly bawdy BACK DOOR SANTA. This Santa makes all the girls happy while the boys are out to play. Naughty Santa.

Roy Woods was one of the founding members of Electric Light Orchestra and left to form Wizzard. Their song I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY was a huge hit for them. Check out the video, with lead singer Mike Morley looking rather like Kris Kringle himself:

The great James Brown injected a little politics into the show with SANTA CLAUSE GO STRAIGHT TO THE GHETTO and then it was the extremely excited Jamaican DJ King Stitt with a little reggae. The song was CHRISTMAS TREE.

For all the cynics listening I had to include I DON’T BELIEVE IN CHRISTMAS from the Sonics. And I’m sure all the rodders would have appreciated SANTA DRIVES A HOT ROD from The Brian Setzer Orchestra.

Were any of you born on Xmas Day? My birthday is in January and that’s bad enough, but I’ve always felt sorry for people born on Xmas Day itself. Like here’s your Christmas and your birthday present. Gee thanks. But at least you don’t get everyone’s Xmas rejects as birthday presents as I do in January. Yeah, yeah, cry me a river. For all of you born on Xmas Day, we played I WAS BORN ON CHRISTMAS DAY from St. Etienne. It’s a nice piece of disco-pop, although I do worry about a band that named itself after a footie team.

The Cocktail Slippers, an all girl band from Norway, have been called “The 60’s Shangri Las meet the 70s Stooges meet the 80s Go Gos”. Loved their Christmas song, SANTA’S COMING HOME. I also don’t mind the occasional tribute band as long as they do it well.  The Chesterfield Kings heavily mine The Rolling Stones for their garage sound and they do a great job with HEY SANTA CLAUSE.

Here’s the delicious Eartha Kitt, with the help of three ‘friends’ singing her hit of 1953 SANTA BABY. Hilarious.

We closed the show with the amazing Darlene Love with CHRISTMAS, (Baby, Please Come Home). The clip is from the David Letterman show of a couple of years ago. What a voice. Merry Xmas everyone!

Here’s this week’s playlist:

I wanted to talk about The Ramones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)”, and how it’s a deep look at the holiday season; how it perfectly describes the exhausting feeling of a relationship that’s on the rocks; how it reflected Joey Ramone’s personal life, and the general mood of the band around the holidays; and how it changed the way we look at Christmas songs forever. I wanted to write about all of that but I can’t, because none of it is true– “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)” is just another nonsense song with a sped up Chuck Berry riff by the Ramones. If you think that’s a bad thing you’ve obviously never heard the other 200 nonsense songs with sped up Chuck Berry riffs by the Ramones. Enjoy!

As a Chicago Bears fan, I think this song perfectly describes our team’s mentality, considering they GAVE UP. Fuck you Jay Cutler! Seriously though, love one another this Christmas. Except Jay Cutler. And Lovie Smith.

Why were the ’80s such a confusing time for so many … artists? The rich musicians offering awkward “Merry Christmas” greetings on Yulesville sound like they stumbled out of a million-dollar coke party just in time to be corralled into a studio space to record these horrible spots. 

And why sequence four audio X-mas greetings in a row? The tendency would be to stagger the playlist a bit so the listener doesn’t go absolute banana fuck-nuts by the time the records over; seems at Warner Bros they never learned this skill.

These curiosities aside, Yulesville is a fascinating compilation that serves as a glimpse into another dimension, where Madonna suddenly cares about whether you drive drunk and George Harrison is roused from a nap in order to read a cue card for a few seconds.

When you finally do get to the music, it’s pretty good. 54.40 will get your balls jingling like sleigh bells with its corn-doggin’ synths and even-higher-corn-content synth-drums, Aztec Camera offer up a cool guitar jam-off, Julie Brown’s rant … well, that doesn’t jingle a goddamn thing and it’s unfunny to boot. I think she invented the unnecessary “like” in conversation too, so, you know, she should be gassed for that (I think she invented the unnecessary “you know,” too; godDAMN).

Book Of Love’s “We Three Kings” keeps the queersville theme going with a seemingly serious and seriously flawed take on “We Three Kings”; thank god Joey Ramone and his Ramones are here to save the day with “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight),” far from “53rd & 3rd” but still better than most of the pap on this christcomp. I just have to wonder: What happened to the fuzzy, snarly crunch of their guitars in the ’80s?

If you were old enough in the ’80s, you were probably wondering what happened to Brian Wilson, too. He’s on here, but only as a quick, record-it-and-get-out audio snippet, promising that “You’ll be hearing from me in 1988.” How comforting! Then, just as you’re starting to assume this will be a bunk stocking stuffer, The Pretenders do what they did in the mid-to-late ’80s: Kick everyone else’s ass. “2000 Miles” (no comma) does just that (check out the video above!).

Side B is an even bigger mess than Side A, full of artists that never were, never could be or never should have been considered. Here’s a quick round-up:

•  Weirdos I’ve never heard of like The Winans (a bad combo of Michael McDonald and Michael Bolton), Siedah Garrett, Force M.D.’s and Sherrick offer limp-dick holiday cheer;
• Prince offers a “Purple Rain”-esque cut that really, really cooks; no smart-ass comment here … he’s … he’s the king …
• Bee Gees talk for 11 seconds, then leave;
• With Body Count still just a gleam their collective eye, Ice-T and Evil-E embarrass the SHIT out of themselves;
• The New Monkees — there was a New Monkees? HOLY GOD — stink things up; this idea should have never left the office building it was cooked up in;
• Fleetwood Mac, Randy Travis and Los Lobos? Ok, time to end this while I’ve still got dignity …

And there you have it: Way too much confusion on nice, red vinyl. At least they had artistic sense in the ’80s! Just to make sure you hear it, here’s an MP3 link to The Pretenders song:

The Pretenders – “2000 Miles”

Our favorite Bay Area bookstore takes a look at old cocktail books.

Lit.

• Want a smooth divorce?  Read Moby-Dick.

• At The Millions, Emily St. John Mandel talks about writing on trains.

• Designworklife takes a look at German book publisher, Zeixs.

• If Sarah Palin is coming to your local supermarket to sign books, please get rid of the tomatoes.

• N+1 discussion between conservative writers Ross Douthat and Reihan Salaam.

• Shakespeare characters write letters to Santa.

• Q: Why did Lewis Carroll add the Cheshire Cat to Alice?

A: To make fun of math ideas floating around at the time. Duh.

• The best books the guys at Deckfight read in the year that is ending.

• Stephen Elliott is giving a lecture at WORD this Friday.

Jams.

• The Ramones, The Cramps, and The Mountain Goats: Peter Bognanni, we like your taste in jams.

• The Beets, Beach Fossils, and Christmas Island =’s favorite tour of earl 2010.

• Who doesn’t own Let It Be by The Replacements?  Slate discusses the albums 25th birthday.

• David Byrne has advice on funding the arts.

The big screen and little screen.

• Spiderman might not play Bilbo Baggins.

• Salon on why The Simpsons don’t matter anymore.

We love food.

• Nine raw chocolatiers at Cool Hunting.

• Cheese is awesome.  The Faster Times tells us why.

• If you just took away the pancetta, I’d consider eating this pizza for every meal.

Brooklyn.

• A dark piece of Brooklyn history took place 49 years ago yesterday when a TWA place crashed into the heart of Park Slope.

The title of the post today is a Jesus and Mary Chain track off of Stoned and Dethroned.  I’ll finish off tonight’s set with it, and it goes out to KRUI (who I’ve seen transition through a couple of different stations), the DJ’s I’ve met there, and the music I’ve learned about from volunteering at “Iowa City’s Sound Alternative” for the past 6 years.  It’s my last show tonight at KRUI, and the majority of it will be the Christmas Show.  The last 30 minutes or so will be a couple of favorite tracks that express how I feel about leaving the station and Iowa City. Listen in at 89.7 fm KRUI or online here from 8 to 10pm.

Here’s an old picture of me in the station when I used to have a show from 12 to 2am on Wednesday nights:

The Christmas Show:
1. The Vandals, Oi to the World, Hang Myself from the Tree
2. Belle & Sebastian, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, O Come, O Come Emmanuel
3. Holly Golightly, Christmas Tree on Fire, Christmas Tree on Fire
4. Low, Christmas, Just Like Christmas
5. Tom Waits, Blue Valentine, Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis
(I still remember my old co-host Zach loving this track, also one of my favorites.)
6. Sufjan Stevens, Sufjan Stevens: Songs for Christmas, That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!
7. The Bird and the Bee, Carol of the Bells, Carol of the Bells (A great request!)
8. Michael Chang or possibly the Flaming Lips doing Plastic Jesus
(Yep my fiance did this and maybe I’ll play it, it’s a cover of an old folk song,  the flaming lips also covered it on Transmissions from the Satellite Heart).

9. The Olivia Tremor Control, Presents: Singles and Beyond, Fireplace
10. Guided by Voices, Universal Truths and Cycles, Father Sgt. Christmas Card
11. The Fall, No HO HO, (We Wish You) a Protein Christmas
12. The Flaming Lips, Clouds Taste Metallic, Christmas at the Zoo
13. The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground, Jesus
14. Spent, Songs of Drinking and Rebellion, Santa Claus to the Rescue
15. My Bloody Valentine, Isn’t Anything, Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)
16. AM, Holiday Happiness & Cheer-EP, Home for the Holidays
17. Teenage Fanclub, Songs from Northern Britain, Winter
18. The Paper Chase, Kill Rock Stars Winter Holiday Album, The War is Over
19. The Everyothers, Kill Rock Stars Winter Holiday Album, 1000 Miles (This went out to David and Sam at OurLifeInIthaca, I love them.)
20. Leadbelly, Important recordings, A Christmas Day
21. Pixies, Come on Pilgrim, The Holiday Song
22. Remy Zero, Remy Zero, Christmas
23. Superchunk, Here’s Where the Strings Come In, Silver Leaf and Snowy Tears
24. The Murder City Devils, Thelema, 364 Days
25. Sonic Youth, Sleighed-The Other Side of Christmas, Santa Doesn’t Cop Out on Dope. (This is my absolute all time favorite Christmas track, EVER!)
I think this was also feature on a Geffen Christmas album shown below:

My last tracks to Iowa City and KRUI:
1. Yo La Tengo’s Don’t Have to Be So Sad
2. Heatmiser’s See You Later
3. New Order’s Your Silent Face
4. The Thirteen Floor Elevators, You’re Gonna Miss Me
5. The Jesus & Mary Chain’s You’ve Been A Friend

Syracuse, NY — To celebrate the end of the semester and Chanukah, @doxtad and Zac had an army of friends over to the Roosevelt for some latkas, Rock Band and laughs. I’ve never played Rock Band before and now that I have, I will never be the same. The game is one of the funnest (and most addictive) I’ve played in a while. I’m not very good on the guitar so most of my time was spent on the mic. Some of the jams I belted out were:

• Blink 182 – “All the Small Things”
• The Who – “Baba O’Riley”
• The Strokes – “Reptilia”
• The Ramones – “Blitzkrieg Bop”

Although the game is packed with quality tunes, these are some others that need to be added to Rock Band 3:

• Vengaboys – “We Like to Party”
• Yello – “Oh Yeah” (Day bow bow)
• Mark Morrison – “Return of the Mack”
• Mariah Carey – “Fantasy”

Some of the other characters that dropped by the Roo were Leach, Hood, A. Pop, Meg and Seltzer. The entire evening went off without a hitch. There was no better way to celebrate half of graduate school being over.

- east coast paper boy

I was never a Christmas person myself, and as a musician each year I’d wonder why all the Christmas compilations always included the same boring songs. So a couple of years ago I decided to create my own Christmas compilation as a reflection of what I wanted to hear while decorating the tree or wrapping the presents or whatever you’re supposed to do in this time of the year. A few copies were offered to close friends – as I don’t own any of the rights I couldn’t actually sell it, and besides, Christmas is a time for giving, right? – and this year I’ll share the famous compilation with you under the format of YouTube links. Although some songs have been replaced and/or added, the spirit is the same of that night back in 2006 when I decided that I would make my own Christmas record:

an alternative xmas (web version)

White Xmas – The Wildhearts
Hey Santa Claus U Fucker – Kevin Bloody Wilson
Yellin’ at the Xmas Tree – Billy Idol
Jingle Bells – Bunch of Believers
Merry Xmas (I don’t want to fight tonight) – The Ramones
Xmas Time – Mighty Mighty Bosstones
A Merry Jingle – The Greedies
Jingle Bells – Sex Pistols
Merry Xmas – Slade
Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Bruce Springsteen

PS – The original CD version is avaliable for friends only and differs from the web one in some tracks.

Chistmas rock songs.

I’m talking about rock songs that mention Christmas throughout the song, not just once or twice. And not just songs with “Christmas” in the title (like “Christmas at the zoo” from the flaming lips).

Some of my favourites here :

Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight) by The Ramones Download mp3

..

Step into Christmas by Elton John Download mp3

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Father Christmas by The Kinks Download mp3

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Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry Download mp3

..

Silent Night by The Dickies Download .mp3

..

I’m talking about rock songs that mention Christmas throughout the song, not just once or twice. And not just songs with “Christmas” in the title (like “Christmas at the zoo” from the flaming lips).

Some of my favourites here :

Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight) by The Ramones

..

Step into Christmas by Elton John

..

Father Christmas by The Kinks

..

Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry

..

Silent Night by The Dickies

..

Who's in YOUR Superband?

When I posted my review of Them Crooked Vultures, I got thinking about the idea of superbands. The idea of taking the “best” parts of other bands, and putting them together in a new band in the hope that this conglomeration of artists could produce something better than they could on their own. Of course, this is all down to personal taste, the idea of what you consider good about different bands and artists, how you hope they would fit together and the sound you are yearning to get from them.

I’ve been mentioning these ideas to people, and it seems that even when people think they are putting effort into their choices, there seems to be some consensus. It seems that most people’s dream superbands take one of two routes. On the one hand, you have the people I will call “Legend Lovers”, who will give you a list of names of classic artists, most of whom are dead, but all are instantly recognisable. On the other hand, you have the “Virtuoso Votaries”, who will pick the artists who are famous for playing fast and complex, and little else. There is some overlap between these groups, but unless people actually sit down and research artists, all their choices fit into these two groups. When it comes to me, my first instinct was to be a Legend Lover as, to be honest, they are legends for a reason!

Vocals: Freddie Mercury/Robert Plant/Roger Daltry

Guitar: Jimi Hendrix/Brian May/Pete Townshend/Eric Clapton/Jimmy Page

Bass: John Entwistle/Geddy Lee/Paul McCartney

Drums: Keith Moon/Neil Peart/John Bonham

Virtuoso Votaries

Vocals: Freddy Mercury/Bruce Dickinson/Ian Gillan/Steve Perry

Guitar: Jimi Hendrix/Joe Satriani/Steve Vai/Yngwei Malmsteen/Eddie Van Halen/Herman Li

Bass: Flea/John Petrucci/Geddy Lee/Cliff Burton

Drums: Neil Peart/John Bonham/Mike Portnoy

The Rules

So, with all this useless research, where does this leave my superband concept? Well, I’ve been putting thought into this, and decided upon some rules for myself. By following these rules, I think I have come up with my personal perfect superband, who could actually have a chance of working together, and is somewhat original.

Rule 1: Avoid Legend Lovers and Virtuoso Votaries lists as much as possible

Rule 2: No dead musicians

Rule 3: Put together a band I think will actually work, musically.

The Band (All Photos Lead To Standout Performances)

Brian Viglione

Drums: Taking up the rhythm duties for my dream superband is Dresden Dolls drummer, Brian Viglione. I know, I’m off to a slightly obscure start, but hear me out. This guy is a really energetic and expressive drummer, and has enough stage presence to not just disappear at the back of the stage. While primarily a rock drummer, with punk influencing the sheer speed of some of his playing, he is also heavily influenced by Jazz, after his father took him to see “The Elvin Jones Jazz Machine” at the age of 11. Playing with Amanda Palmer in Dresden Dolls has given Viglione a good range. He knows when to play softly and not get in the way, but even in these moments he can add sweet little nuances, and not just cymbal taps.  Also, when the time comes, he is able to really thicken up a sound with complex beats, jazzy fills and high-energy rock and roll swagger. He’s the perfect rock to hinge my band on.

Tim Commerford

Bass: One thing I love is when the bass can create movement in a piece of music. It sounds like an oxymoron, but melodic basslines are something we’ve sadly almost lost, but are one of the things that create that classic rock sound that is slowly dissapearing. Listen to most bands, and all you hear from the bassist is the root note of whatever chord the band is rocking. Add the ability to make any song truly funky and you begin to see that the bass guitar is a wonderful instrument and not one to be neglected like this. With Tim Commerford on Bass duties, I know it definitely won’t be. Bassist for Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, this guy is the king of melodic, funky, alterna-rock basslines. Despite this being quite a narrow category, it’s one that he really does truly own. Ok, in terms of alterna-rock funk, the crown goes to Flea, but it’s moments like the intro to RATM’s Calm Like A Bomb that earn Tim his place in my superband. He’ll probably have to drop the effects box to fit into the sound, but that will just make his great playing easier to hear.

Allison Robertson

Lead Guitar: This is where I get controversial. The lead guitarist I have picked isn’t a true guitar virtuoso, or even particularly a big name in their own right. However, the perfect guitarist for this band is coming in and breaking the boys club it is becoming so far, as this superband needs the axe stylings of Allison Robertson. The lead guitarist The Donnas has an irresistible classic rock style, drawn from bands like AC/DC, The Ramones and Kiss, but rather than being big headed and pretentious, her playing style is just a hell of a lot of fun. Chords are big and full, solos are fast and fun, and lead lines fit in brilliantly with everything else that’s going on. My superband has a little bit of classic rock lean, and Allison forms the heart of that sound.

Dave Grohl

Vocals (and Rhythm Guitar): Ok, this band is lacking two things. The first one is star power, the second is a killer front man. This is why we need to call in the services of Dave Grohl. While starting his career as a drummer, Dave has really made it as the singer and guitarist for Foo Fighters. He can disarm you with sweet tones, or scream straight through you, all the while maintaining a sound that very few people will object to. His skilled rhythm playing will round out the sound too, giving Allison the backing she needs for her solos, and help come up with some really memorable riffs to get this band in the public eye and ear. Also, on the subject of singing, all the other band members have had to handle backing vocal duties in their original bands, so there’s potential for some great harmonies and multi-vocal stabs.

I know none of this would ever happen, but it’s a lot of fun to think about and try to put together. Now the question is, who would you want in yours?

This Sunday is going to rock with some great performances by Seattle local bands. The Rawmoans will kick things off with a tribute to The Ramones.  RipSpacer will play a full on rock show and The Scarlets will play rock with afro-cuban influences.  Cover is $5.

This week I lost 4 lbs.  It’s a nice number to see on the scale considering my gain last week.  It’s also nice considering the nutso week I’ve had.

Friday night I went away on an annual girls weekend in Niagara Falls.  There’s always drinking and gambling and it’s awesome.  This year, instead of a steak and loaded baked potato, I ordered the grilled chicken breast (and then removed the skin), rice and steamed vegetables.  I did have one glass of wine, but that was it in terms of hooch.  I still had a great time, I still got to see my friends and I still got to laugh my ass off.  I also still managed to lose some money at the casino, thus proving myself wrong in that I figured I only did badly there because I was drinking.  Einh.

There was a hangover breakfast the next morning at IHOP, where I had poached eggs, wheat toast and some hash browns.  Again, the world didn’t end because I didn’t get to pig out on the Strawberry-Banana Pancakes like I would have in years past.  I still had a great time, because the trip isn’t about food.  LIFE ISN’T ABOUT FOOD for me anymore.  It feels really good to feel this way.  I know that I yo-yo back and forth with that feeling, some days it’s easy to feel that way, sometimes food is all I can think about, but the good days are starting to outweigh the bad.

On Sunday I had a date with a boy I met through eHarmony.  That’s right!  I’ve started to online date.  It’s about as terrible as it sounds and I swear if one person comments that “I know someone who met their gf/bf online and now they’re married/blissfully happy/having their first baby”, I will smack them (at least virtually).  I hate doing it, but it’s impossible to meet guys since I don’t frequent bars and I figured it was worth a shot.  The date was neither bad nor good, but I won’t see him again.  He was nice and good-looking but there was no chemistry.

However, the date meant that I ate out AGAIN and avoided disaster for a third time.  That must be some kind of personal record and I’m extremely proud of myself.

Something else I’m proud of?  It’s my one year anniversary!

I’ve been losing weight and blogging about it for one year.  In that year I’ve had more success than I ever could have dreamed of. 

I have lost 122.4 lbs

I have lost 19.7 BMI points

I have lost six sizes on my bottom half and five sizes on my top half

I have lost the swelling and bruising in my ankles

I have gained the ability to run

I have gained confidence in myself beyond how I look

I have gained my life back

And it feels pretty fucking awesome.

This album rules and you should listen to it.  Its The Zombies.  It’s poppy, psychedelic, experimental, and all over the place.  FEELS GOOD MAN.

http://www.mediafire.com/?tzy2liqzij5

I hate to seem like a hippy by putting this up, but it really is a wild record.  Plus, THAT ALBUM ART RULES.  You’ve all heard Time of the Season, now listen to the rest of the album its on!

Here’s a quick doodly drawing I did today:

And here are some sketches for a Blockhead shirt design:

They are very rough, but you get the idea.

Finally, here is Geoff Useless’s new music video for the song “Tell Me What.”  If you like The Ramones and Screeching Weasel and pop-punk then you should probably like this.  Oh yeah the Guts too…

Wow, what an incredible weekend of music! The Swagger Sticks did a show at Trip in Santa Monica on Saturday. Sitting in on Drums for The Sticks was the incredibly talented Jose Gonzalez and, on bass, my one-time guitar teacher (and Icky’s Ego bassist), Vreny Van Elslande. Vreny is a Berklee College of Music grad and I studied guitar with him in 2003-04. I never thought I would share the stage with a musician of this caliber…now If I could just figure out the difference between a major and a minor chord I’d really be one my way. Thank you Vreny and Jose – it was a priviledge sharing the stage with you muthas. Special thanks to Malcom, Lucie, Nancy, Simon, Dave and Cela for coming to the show!

Also on the bill were some really kick ass metal bands, Sleeping With Angeles and A Typical Mess. These “east of the 110″ rockers know how to get it done. No shit. If they’re not playing Ozz Fest of Crue Fest one of these days I’d be surprised. It would be a shame to see all those riffs go the waste. I believe both bands will be sharing the bill at the Puka Bar in Long Beach on 1/23/10. 

Ego Trip!
On Sunday I went to The Cat Club to see my local favorite, Icky’s Ego. Their show has gotten as tight as a drum in the past month. They flowed smoothly through an eight or nine-song set in front of a full room. I’m constantly amazed by the quality of Dave and Celas’ vocals. One word: Wow. These “Worldwide Popstars” are moving up fast so make sure you catch one of their shows soon!

Playing their third show at The Cat Club was Everyone Needs A Dictator (E.N.A.D) featuring guitarist Alex Kane (and bassist Claire B) of Marky Ramone’s Blitzkreig, the current incarnation of The Ramones. The Ramones, incidentally, are one of my all-time favorite bands! They’re big in Japan (I swear) but they’re not playing free-from jazz just yet (whew). I had actually met Alex about a year ago at the ASCAP Expo here in Hollywood. We sat next to each other during a Jeff Lynne interview on the last day of the event. I spoke to him after the show but he has no recollection of meeting me. That bastard! I’m kidding. (No, seriously, he has no idea who I am). But I can say this: Alex is fuckin’ cool AND he’s from Chicago so there you have it.

At any rate, E.N.A.D melted the stage with a sonic boom of rhythmic assault worthy of the master himself, Johnny Ramone. Word on the street is that The Swagger Sticks will be camping out in Alex’s yard (and his buddy Happin’ Harry) until they let’s us open the next E.N.A.D. show. The same goes for Icky’s Ego. Rock n’ roll stalkers of the world unite!

By the way, here’s Marky Ramone’s Blitzkreig at Punk Spring 2009 in Japan with Alex Kane on guitar and Claire B. in front of 20,000 screaming fans. This will blow your mind:

AFG Must Rock!
Check out: The Swagger Sticks

Here is an album by a band from Portland, Oregon called “The Mean Jeans.”

http://www.mediafire.com/?ugnyak4lwqy

If you like it: http://www.myspace.com/themeanjeans BUY IT!

They play music that sounds like The Ramones if they sang about pizza and getting drunk.  Lo-fi poppy garage-y rock stuff, and its a whole lot of fun.  Very catchy.  Check it out if you like bands like The Ramones, Nobunny, Jay Reatard, Screeching Weasel, or Municipal Waste.

I want to book them in my house.

We found out long ago from the teachings of Lyndsay Buckingham that it’s a long way down Holiday Road. Now that we’ve eaten our way through another Thanksgiving, that route just got a lot more treacherous because every destination along the way is going to be infected with Xmas songs. Dylan croonin’ Little Drummer Boy. Run DMC spitting hot fire about Hollis. Beagles barking out Jingle Bells. O, the horror!

If you’re looking for a little reprieve, don’t turn to your car radio. The airwaves always get overrun with holly-poisoned ditties this time of year.

Your best bet for bah-humbugging these pernicious carols is to drown them out with your own iPod playlists. Luckily, if your stock stereo didn’t come equipped with an auxiliary jack, you can professionally integrate your iPod right at home with a Dice iPod Car Adapter. Unlike those crackly FM transmitters, this kit is custom configured to hardwire right into your stereo for crystal-clear audio. It even keeps your player fully charged while you drive, so you’ve always got plenty of juice to build an impenetrable Ramones barrier between yourself and Bing Crosby’s White Christmas.

It’s either that or turn on NPR.

Últimamente estoy raro… me cuesta diletar. Ya sé que la primera proposición no representa ningún hecho novedoso. No me considero un ser demasiado extravagante pero la veleidosa orientación de mis planteamientos a veces me confiere un carácter, digamos, peculiar. Pero la segunda… me preocupa. En un alarde de frivolidad había pensado escribir algo sobre los litros de oxitocina que me harían falta para volver a mi estado de natural estrechez, pero la humorada, además de tosca y carente de todo ingenio, se quedaría muy por debajo de la consideración de facilona… ¡Y por ahí no paso!

Jo, en serio, no sé qué me pasa. Últimamente no paran de salir de mi boca expresiones como “¿y tú qué opinas?” “no lo sé” o “yo es que de eso no tengo ni idea”. El otro día hasta reconocí que no había escuchado nada de un grupo de culto, de esos que conocen todos los que supuestamente saben de música y que se llevan ahora en las camisetas… ¿Marcelos…? ¿Gerardos…? No, ya recuerdo: Ramones. ¡¡Y encima no son ni españoles!! Pues sí, dije que no había oído hablar de ellos nunca y lo peor de todo es que, seguidamente (y esto no te lo vas a creer), proclamé que mi cultura musical deja mucho que desear. Como lo lees.

En definitiva, un desastre. Estoy pasando una crisis y creo que se debe a la cerveza sin alcohol; está empobreciendo mi autoestima. A ver si ahora con las navidades y las celebraciones múltiples recupero el arrojo propio de la ignorancia y vuelvo a concentrarme en los dictados del Movimiento Diletante. Porque esto es un sinvivir y, además, muy aburrido.

Por cierto, sí, ya lo sé, diletar es un palabro que me he inventado. Pero es que si no cómo iba a hacer yo la broma de la oxitocina…

IRC Exclusive: Legendary Producers Martin Bisi & Bill Laswell Team Up with Fiery Furnances and Dresden Dolls

Martin Bisi is a famed producer who built a recording studio with Brian Eno three decades ago, producing albums for some of the best bands of the 1980’s and early 90s underground rock movement, including Sonic Youth, The Swans, Dresden Dolls and The Boredoms, to name just a few. Bisi, who is also a musician, songwriter and engineer, recently jumped into the sound tank himself to record tracks with folks like Fiery Furnances’ dummer Bob D’Amico, prolific producer and bassist Bill Laswell (The Ramones, Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger and many others), and members of The Dresden Dolls and Balkan Beat Box. Laswell was also instrumental in creating the studio with Bisi and Eno.

In fact, Bisi and Laswell collaborated with Herbie Hancock to record the 1983 Grammy Award-winning song, “RockIt” – the first hit song to feature turntable scratching. Jumping forward to this year, all of this talent in one room is a combination sure to result in something interesting, which is exactly what these next songs, “Mile High – Apple of My Eye” and “Drink Your Wine,” prove to be. The songs are from the recently released five-track digital only EP Son of a Gun, and were sent to IRC by Bisi himself. The first song featured below is a perfect track for Halloween, or even The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack, while “Drink Your Wine” is more of an uptempo rocker that is fun and infectious at the same time (watch the video above).

“Mile High – Apple of My Eye” - Martin Bisi & Bill Laswell from Son of a Gun (2009)

“Drink Your Wine” – Martin Bisi & Company from Sun of a Gun (2009)

Get Son of a Gun from iTunes.

Of the recording of the EP, Bisi said: “With Laswell, I did the ‘modern’ approach of sending him files, letting him do whatever, and then adjusting. He really surprised me. I was expecting his usual very groove or dub oriented bass, and he gave me something very ambient, laden with effects and trippy. That pretty much sums up the M.O. on this EP…With “Mile High- Apple Of My Eye,” I asked Butterface (the keyboardist on the EP) to give me some programmed rhythms and sounds with a trip-hop vibe, specifically for Laswell to play on, and he turned it around in 30 minutes.”