there are power lines, in our bloodlines

OK so I would also like to shamelessly advertise the party that I am throwing with Nora at Public Assembly. Its the place right next to Music Hall of Williamsburg where Galapagos used to be. Its a really cool space (it still has the waterfall), and we have some awesome bands playing. Good Night States are on at 9, The Bloodsugars on at 10, and The Canon Logic headline at 11. These are all great bands and me and Nora will be DJing between the sets and after. It will be fun no matter what BUT IT WILL BE FUNNER IF YOU COME.

Plus Nora wrote a great show preview on her blog

Here is a flyer. All of the lineup info is wrong, but I just told you the line up....so use your imagination.

ALSO I would like to tell you that you should all come to Lit on Tuesday nights. I know the "cool" days are to come Wednesdays and Fridays BUT. My friend David is always Djing and sometimes I DJ with him, and the crowd is really cool and unpretentious and laid back (kind of like how I remember the crowd at Hanger Bar). Its always dead till about 1:45 and then it somehow gets crowded and people start dancing. Its fun. You should come. David won't let me create a facebook even for it so this is the best I can do.

Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.

So, I went to see Russell Brand on Friday at the El Museo del Barrio Theatre in Harlem. It was awesome. I got there about a hour before doors with my friend Kacey. We froze our tushies off for about an hourand had to listen to this very tragic woman talk about her involvement in a viritual vampire community. She also explained what Facebook to her friend. Note to self: do not ever describe Facebook to anyone. You will sound foolish.
We took our seats and were treated to the soothing sounds of Russells choice opening tracks including Stone Roses, The Libertines, and Morrissey. It was lovely. The stage was draped in kind of rich bohemian/middle eastern cloth and couches with embroidered pillows. Russell took the stage to "Supersonic" by Oasis, fitting I think.
From start to finish I don't think I stopped laughing once. He could basically ramble on about anything and I would probably crack up. He talked about not being able to horseback ride or surf on the set of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, his improvised performance at the VMAs (he said the jokes he really wanted to say and they were a lot funnier that what he actually did. And of course, a lot about sex.
One thing that did put a damper on an otherwise lovely evening was this really misinformed girl who seemed to think that by shouting at Russell incessantly, it would make him love her or something. Instead she just annoyed not only him but everybody in the audience. He was very funny about it, but you could tell that he really wanted her to shut up. "I'm running out of ways to be funny about it darling," he said with a wink. I almost died from embarrasment for the poor girl. I think I have a higher than normal tendency to excessively empathize with awkward situations.
So then we went outside to and observed as a hoards of fans crowded around russell trying to get a picture or an autograph or a kiss or something. I was standing with my back up against the opposite building to his trailer, just taking it all in. After he took a picture with a fan he turned around, looked at me, and DEFINITELY eyefucked the shit out of me. No joke. I didn't imagine it. And then he went back in his trailer and then we waited for all the poeple to go away and for him to come back out, and I got my picutre with im, but I didn't have to jumo around and scream like a fool, which is nice. I will have that picture as soon as Kacey gets her freaking disposable camera developed.
All in all it was a lovely evening, and after the show we went to this new vegan dessert diner called Lula's Sweet Apothecary. Its all vegan and it like an old fashioned amercian soda fountain. The owners were very nice and I think I may have developed crushes on both of them. I highly recommend you check it out. I got peanut butter oreo and rocky road as my sundae flavors asnd they were both delicious.

FIN

you are the generation that bought more shoes and you get what you deserve.

OK. can I just say, that this makes me sad, nauseous, and....upset. You all know that my beloved Hanger Bar, the upstanding establishment that was the site of hookups, makeups, breakups, and illegal activities of all sorts was closed a few months ago sadly. I guess I wasn't really thinking what would happen to it, but I could never imagine the monstrosity that was to come. Seriously NYC, I'm all for feeling safe when I walk the streets, but do you have to turn EVERY fucking bar (and we're talking Alphabet City here) into a sterilized retro-chic bore-fest with "specialty cocktails". Give me back my free bottle of Zygo and my flowered dixie cups! Oh, and to top it all off, this place is now called Elsa. I SWEAR TO GOD, if there is one more bar with a pseudo-old fashioned name (ahem...Beatrice...Ella..), heads will roll. Just LOOK at the before and after pics of the bathroom.

Epic Gloriousness
Wretched Wretchedness

WHY GOD WHY.

i will not hold it in

hey.

ok. so i really and truly cannot restrain myself from listening to Jukebox the Ghost. They are this amazing DC band that I saw at Nora's CMJ show, and "Victoria" and "Hold It In" are on repeat loop in my head. Their new vid for "Victoria" just came out a couple of days ago. 

ALSO, I dunno when the hell this Late of the Pier video for "Focker" came out, but it makes me dizzy....with happiness. AND guess what. Alicia, my pal from London, used to live with them in Camden. Are you serious. Running into them on the street? Coincidental mutual friends? Clearly our paths are inextricably linked.

I LIVE ON THE RIGHT SIDE, I SLEEP ON THE LEFT, THATS WHY EVERYTHINGS GOTTA BE LOVE OR DEATH

HOKAY. lets finish it up.

FRIDAY: I awoke with a hangover and an empty tummy. I ran to Pomme Frites poste haste, only to the make the mistake of ordering my frites with the sauce on top instead of on the side, which makes the sauce-to-frite ratio far to high to be tolerable. So I was walking along with my too saucy frites and who should I spot doing a walking-down-the-street photo shoot but LATE OF THE PIER. I couldn't believe that I recognized them, but I suspect I have a semi photographic memory. They seemed delighted that someone knew who they were and were very curious about my frites and wanted to taste them. They concurred with the imbalance of sauce. The weird thing though was the the photographer kept snapping away while we chatted. SO look out for me in a Late of the Pier photo shoot in the near future. haha. maybe. We talked about their show the night before and I told them that I would do my best to wrangle a way into see them at Irving Plaza.
I proceeded to Nora's day show at Rehab which included not only a great lineup of bands, but also free Function Water and free Colt 45. Here is me sampling some of that barley malt goodness.
The first band I was there to see was Jukebox the Ghost who were incredible. I've been hearing about them forever but hadn't gotten around to listening to them. Wowzers. I love lead singers who play piano at the same time. Its kind of a weakness actually. And "Hold It In" just might be the catchiest pop song I've heard in a long while. The Noisettes were up next. Another band that I had been hearing about for years but hadn't seen yet and they were great as well. The girl lead singer had possibly the greatest outfit I'd ever seen on anyone ever. I don't have any pics of her but you can head on over to Nora's coverage of the event for full disclosure. Tally Hall was the last to play and, after hearing/seeing Nora's obsessive twitters about the band, I was glad to finally see them for myself. They were adorable in their matching vests and matching vocal stylings. I think my favorite was "Welcome to Tally Hall" which featured beatboxing. Clearly making it stand out among the rest. The rest of their set was really good too. Apparently they showcased some new material, but I didn't know. It was all new to me. Here is me hiding behind Nora's CD case

After the show me and Nora went to the Zune reception at Lolita. Which was kinda awkward, because we were like the only two females there. And the photographer made us pose with this random guy. Double awk. BUT it had free drinks and there was a really nice plate of grilled veggies. Which was a plus. We didn't stay long but I'm glad we went, because when we left, there was the most amazing sign I've ever seen in my life. Behold:




I know. What are festoons you might ask? I don't know, and neither does Nora, but you can expect them to be coming in the form of a party name to a club near you sometime in the future. Nora peaced out to read Twilight, and my phone was about to run out of battery so I skipped on over to my friend Kacey's house, who I was going to see White Lies with at Bowery Ballroom at 9. The moment I got up to her room I passed out on her couch and didn't wake back up until like 8. So I composed myself and scurried over to Bowery with Kacey in tow. We met up with Paul and let me tell you, White Lies were absolutely amazing. They were one of the only bands I REALLY wanted to see during CMJ and they did not disappoint. They were like, out-Killering The Killers, I think that is the best way to put it. Their music is like the album The Killers should have made as a Hot Fuss follow-up. Just listen to "Death" and you'll see what I mean (the Crystal Castles remix of it is awesome as well). After that, Paul assured us that he could somehow get us in to the Late of the Pier show at Irving Plaza (most people know that as the Pete Tong/Soulwax show, but I was really only there for LoTP). They were great once again. I've already raved about them so you know the story there. However, Brooklyn Vegan somehow took another awkward picture of me looking confused in the crowd (The first one happened at a Crystal Castles show last year). WHY do I always look so confused in the crowd? Maybe I'm just concentrating really hard on the music, but I am probably just irritated by the flash.
Anyways, the show was awesome. After that me and Kacey went to Veselka for some grub (vegetarian Borscht is da bomb yallz) and then I stopped by Lit for a beer with Paul before collapsing into bedfordshire.


SATURDAY:

Saturday was pretty light on the CMJ shows. The only set I saw was Chief's at Pianos. Who were awesome. Of course. Actually, thier performance got them a write-up in Tripwire, which you can find here .

After their gig, which was at 4, I had to run to Am Appy to find a costume for my porno chic party I was DJing with my friend J. I had no time to try on because I had to go to J's apartment to learn Serato, because I didn't even know how to use it. I grabbed a leotard, some sparkly tights, and hoped for the best. Luckily, both the outfit and the party went pretty well. Here are a few pics. You can see more at Josh Shots (Josh aka host of the party aka love of my life) and on Ithinkyoureswell (if Antwan EVER posts the pictures). I was kind of drunk for most of it, but it was kind of stressful, since I had never DJed with Serato or with J before, but everybody really seemed to like it. Although it wasn't as fun when we had to carry the 100 lb (and I really don't think I'm exaggerating) coffin down 4 flights of stairs while we were both drunk. Somehow I got home with all my shit, but I am not exactly sure how.

Me and J. The Macktown Kids.

There was vinyl on there like 5 mins later I swear


ANYWAYS, yep thats it, that was my CMJ week. yay. I PROMISE TO POST MORE ABOUT LIFE.

GET YOUR HANDS ON YOUR WAISTLINE AND MOVE YOUR BODY TO THE BASSLINE (CMJ PART ONE)

I don't know how many of you were raised going to church, but you know the feeling where you haven't been to church for awhile, and you don't want to go back because you've been gone for too long? Or I guess the same analogy could be applied to the gym...Anyways, I know I haven't written in awhile BUT I WILL NOW. Prepare yourselves for this epic (CMJ) update. I was doing things before CMJ, but they sort of all blur together and I don't really remember that much of it, so maybe we'll save that fragmented memory post for later. And now brace yourselves for my six-day CMJ extravanganza.

TUESDAY:
It stared off with dinner and badge pick up (for her not me) with Nora
before heading over to the Tribeca Grand to see a short set from Lykke Li (whose name is pronounced, for the record LICK-ye LEE. jesus). There we ran into Nora's friend Cameron (i think?), who I think I gave the wrong set time for Hercules and Love Affair DJ set. Sorry man. Anyways, we crowded into the tiny performance space. She only played about songs. Which was plenty enough for me. She clearly wasn't used to the disaffected CMJ crowds, especially this early in the evening. She kept yelling at the crowd to "go buy a driiiiiink" in that annoying dutch accent or whatever the hell she is. Well sorry Lykke (or is it Li?) but DRINKS ARE LIKE $15 EACH. AND if we were actually to go to the bar, by the time we got back, you would be gone. SO if you want to buy us drinks, go right ahead. But in all honesty, I think her music is good, if a little overperformed (like a little too much "oajahaherrrr I'm being possessed by the devil of song!"). She twisted and twirled her little heart out and she really does have an oddly compelling voice. Plus her little backing duo of boys was really hot.

After Lykke finished we realized that it was WAY too crowded to stay for a minute longer, especially with the lack of free alcohol, so we escaped into the chilly night air, and set out to find the Redbull loft, which purportedly had free beer! We got there and lo, there was free redbull (duh) AND free beer. Called Spaten. which is a funny name. It was a little inconvenient to not be able to mix the redbull and beer together, but the bartender was really cute, (AND ended up sharing his secret vodka stash with us) so it was all good.

Cheeseburger was the first band we saw, and they were so hilarious, I think it was the hardest I've ever laughed at a gig. Cheeseburger is like the ultimate old school rock n' roll party band and I thought they were great. They are definitely kind of a novelty and they have songs like "Jellybean" and "Number One Party Song #1" (I don't know if the latter is actually a song name, or if they just say that before every song.

Next up were Vivian Girls who, despite their record being quite good, I did not enjoy at all. I think, on their album, their vocals have this reverby, ethereal quality to them that was totally lost live. They sounded like a middle school girl band trying to be punk and not getting their harmonies down very well. Which is sad, but I can't help it. We left before their set was over. Me, Nora, the boys of Cheeseburger, and their manager Jin, and went to hang out at like....a sound editing suite or some shit....I was drunk i don't really remember where we were. Anyways, we only stayed for a bit and then me and Nora headed over to Happy Ending, and place i had heard of many times but never been. It was lots of fun and really crazy. The kind of crazy that you really can't deal with unless you are a certain amount of wasted, which thankfully I was. The DJ was spinning some good choonz (although he wasn't doing anything that fancy really and certainly didn't need to be THAT protective of his serato equipment). Nora wanted to make out with the DJ so we had to "dance seductively" in front of him. I don't know how I get pulled into these things. But the DJ played Joy Division and New Order, which is all I can ask for really. I was talking pics with my disposable camera, but I haven't got it developed yet. Luckily Nicky got a couple shots.



WEDNESDAY:

I had to go to 9:30 class. I can't believe it, but I did it, and went to all three of my classes! I am so proud of myself. I just laid in bed for a few minutes when I woke up and I said, "Self? You are BIGGER than this hangover". And then I was fine! Meditation works people. After class I ran over to Sarah's to steal her CMJ badge for approx 24 hours. I ran back to NYU so I could go to one of the later panels. It was about full service management companies. It was really interesting. Then I came home. and I slept. For longer than I intended. I ran out the door to catch Friendly Fires at Annex, only for my ID to be REJECTED by the bouncers. I was like "AW HELLZ NO IM DJING HERE TOMORROW FOOLZ" and theyz was all like "THATS NICE LITTLE GIRL, GO HOME". I was pissed. I was supposed to be meeting Paul there too and he didnt answer his phone cuz he was already outside. So I sulked around outside for like 1/2 an hour, until Paul came out, where we proceeded to Pianos where my ID was rejected AGAIN. Wow. My night seemed to be going grandly. So I sulked outside Pianos for awhile, until the bouncer took a break and a I saw my thin window of opportunity and I jumped through it. I got in and the place was absolutely PACKED. They werent even letting anyone into the performance space. I hate hyped bands. Paul said they werent very good. I'll take his word for it. I waited for them to finish and I ran into Phil and Melissa from the office. Which was nice. Because, you know, I don't see them enough. Anyways, after Chairlift, I was whisked away to Music Hall with Paul to see Late of the Pier. WHO BLEW MY BRAINS OUT. Honestly. They were by far my favorite new band of CMJ. They are so young and so boundary defying its ridiculous. They are like Talking Heads meets Queen meets Klaxons. Basically my fantasy band. I cannot stop listening to Bathroom Gurgle. I just cannot. The lead singer is just electric, the whole band is really, they beat those disturbingly awesome sounds out of thier instruments with unabashed enthusiasm just makes me want to pee myself. I remember trying to DJ them last year and I think it was "The Bears are Coming" and people were like "this is not music, turn it off", which shoudl probably teach me not to play demos, but I knew I heard something special in that band! Thier new tracks are much more balanced and especially in thier live version, the wierd synth, 8-bit noises sound much more like accents rather than overpowering. It was a great set and I could believe how few people there were there! Considering Late of the Pier have been around for about a year now and the only other show they were playing costs millions of dollars to get into (ok only 55 but still...). I'd say there were only about 100 people there. Anyways, yes. check them out. They are amazing.

THURSDAY:
I got up early so I could make the most out of my badge before I had to return it to Sarah at 130. I went to an unconventional fund raising panel, which was forgettable, A "what's left of the major label's" panel, which was shocking and depressing (its unbelievable how major labels still havent recognized the versatility and value of alternative distribution), and then a little bit of a blogging panel which was interesting but stuff I mostly knew already. It also made me feel guilty for nt postng often enough.

Then I went over to Pianos where I met up with Sarah (no ID problems this time) and Jo to see The Muslims. This band comes from San Diego but they sound like they are from the UK (so of course I loved them) they kind of sound like The Libertines instrumentally with spiky/jangly guitars but with really deadpan punk vocals (kinf of like the guy singer in X). Bonusly, we saw a guy who had the greatest hair known to man. He looked like Bret Anderson mixed with Damon Albarn. Very cute. He turned out be the lead singer of the next band that was playing.

Then we ate (I had the BEST veggie burger ever. So. Good.), then Sarah and Jo had to go to a meeting so I stuck around to catch Friendly Fires. I am really glad I did, because they are awesome. Very energetic performance, almost like a harder rocking Coldplay, with no piano and more varied percussion (this is a very weird description but its the first one that came to mind. Sry.) After their set, I wandered over to the Fader Fort to see Johnny Foreigner who I THOUGHT was supposed to go on at 4:30 but really wasnt supposed to till 5:15. And I was on a tight schedule so I couldn't stay to see them. But I did manage to talk to a bunch of random people, snag a can of sparks and some deadly SoCo punch, and actually found an alumni of Sac State!!! omg I was so excited and we totally reminisced about midtown and the Florin Mall (which is really ghetto, to those who didn't know). But then I had to split to go to the Song's cocktail party at Happy Ending. It was fun, not too crowded, open bar, shot glasses and Peanut Butter and Co. sandwiches. yay. I could only stay for a bit though because I had to run over to Annex to DJ. I got there around 6. I left a little afte 2. Let me tell you what happened in between.

It was the most grueling DJ session I've ever had in my life, it was so tiring, but pretty fun. I DJed in between bands, and it was just so hot and crowded and loud I almost lost my mind. Chief went on first and they rocked it as ususal. There was a pretty big crowd there for the time they went on (6:30). After, Johnny Foreigner played and they were great as well. Kind of like a less annoying Black Kids. The Next bands blur together because I kept having to step outside because I felt so claustrophobic ESPECIALLY during Passion Pit. Omg, that was the worst. BUt good for Passion Pit I guess. The only band I remember well enough to write about was The Whip who were really amazing. I really can't give you too may details but I just remember being pulled out of my half drunk/stressed out stupor like cold water was splashed on my face. I actually started dancing to the songs! It was crazy, so they must have been good. Just listen to thier single, Trash, and you'll get what I'm saying. I started to leave after I helped JennyPenny count the moniez, bc the guys from The Rapture were supposed to take over after me. I went to 6th ward with Joady, the booker/head person of the night which was nice because she is the sweetest lady ever. I finally made my way home aroun 4. I'd say it was a successful day/night.

OK i cant write anymore or my brain will expode. so stay tuned for PART 2 of my cmj adventure.

I KNOW I LOVE YOU BUT IM FULL OF FEAR

Check out this awesome video set to the Chief song, "Your Direction". One of thier friends just moved into a new place and I guess in the garage there was this unmarked cardboard box that had all of this undeveloped film. Turns out it was all of this incredible old home movie footage. Not only is the footage great, but it totally suits Chief's whole old time LA summer vibe. It makes you feel nostalgic. For a time when you weren't born.

YOU'RE DIRECTION IS NOWHERE BUT HERE

Nowhere but where you might ask? To the Chief show next week! You've already heard me gush about them a million times so...yeah. just go.

Ignite documents and get warm from the Ink of the burning alphabet

holla holla

OK so last week I went to see CHIEF. It was amazing as usual and they got an open invitation to come back and play @ Music Hall anytime! Which is exactly what they are doing on September 18 with The Stills and The Kiss Off. Will post deets as soon as we get a flyer going.

Anyways the concert was super fun with all my favorites in attendance (Sarah, Karen, Zani, the big PA) Also in attendance Mary Kate Olsen (!) who I can testify was dancing her pants off. But the best thing about the night is that I got hang out with Dananananaykroyd. Who is this band with a silly name you ask? Well, they are a six piece from Glasgow. They have two drummers, which play off each other amazingly and are just all around great pub laddish fuzzy rock that you just want to get wasted and jump around to. Anyways they were there having a "night out" with their label manager (and bffl of Paul Adams) Anthony Shaw while here recording their record. Even if they were shite (which they weren't) I would have loved them anyways, because they were so funny I almost died. Like I woke up the next morning and my abs hurt. Their lead singer wasn't there, so I can't attest to his character, but Laura is incredibly sweet (and married to Barry from the Futureheads! Lucky duck), John seriously had me in stitches the entire night, David commiserated with me about being ID-less, Paul made me giggle with his one liners, and Duncan and I bonded over Joy Division. I mean what more can you ask for in a group of musicians? Not much, I say.

I had only really heard of them when I met them, because of my soul sistah and new music expert Brianna but since I have been listening to them quite a bit and they have gotten me through some tough days I will say that. Here's a hype machine link to their single Some Dresses

Anyways, Duncan took some a couple of pics. Im only in two though, so those are the only ones I will show you. because I am vain.


John, Zani, Me, Paul, Someone's Arm


Paul, Me,Zani

sunday paper sits on the front porch, collecting dust with magazines of all the famous people that we never really wanted to be

My first awesome weekend in a very long time!

Thursday: The day after I arrived in the city I was clearly on the verge of party withdrawal. So I went to Hiro Ballroom to see the band Sarah had been peeing her pants over recently US ROYALTY.I practically had to bribe the door people to let me in but it finally worked. I also brought my Mom and my cousin so I could show them how we do things in NYC. I couldnt tell if they were actually having fun or just trying to humor me. Anyways, the band turned out to be amazing. Not to mention extremely attractive. Their single "Summer Remix" is the total jam. Check it out on their MySpace. Their music is very versatile I feel like I could play it at the beach or in a bar or in my bedroom or in a tree. Anyways, after the band played we danced the night away with the band to CSS's DJ set and all in all had a jolly good time. See? look how happy we are!




Then on Friday I went to my the farewell to Hanger Bar Extravaganza. It was sad bc I have a lot of good memories there and its where I learned how to DJ. But I know that the Stolen Transmission Party will live on in some other form in the near future. It was loads of fun. Everyone I love and missed all summer long turned up and it was just one big love fest. And my friend Josh brought this Scottish band who i cant remember the name of that had the thickest accents I'd ever heard. I told them Trainspotting was one of my favorite movies. That really seemed to impress them. I DJed for awhile and it felt so great. I forgot how much I fucking love doing that shit. One song I played that every one lost their shit over was this new song by Ida Maria called "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked". I am sure it is now obvious why it went over so well. You can listen to it here.

I thought the night couldnt get any better, but then Brad Walsh, my favorite retired nightlife photog, made an exception for us and turned up (with his bf Christian!) to take pics in the famed private toilet. Which had gotten significantly shittier since I last saw it. But being the genius that Brad is with the camera, of course he managed to take an amazing photo. Here's mine and you can check out the rest of them on his website.



I also brought pretty much all of my friends to the party as well so there were a shit-ton of NYU kids there. But that's alright. Because it was only the cool ones that came.

SHE WAS WALKING THROUGH THE TABLES IN THE GLASS HOUSE

I know their album came out 1,000 blog years ago (3.5 months in real time), but I am currently falling hard for The Last Shadow Puppets debut album The Age of The Understatement. I don't know why my love for this album didn't sink in until just now, because it seems like an album that would catch you by the collar and immediately win you over. Alex Turner and Miles Kane's voices melt together perfectly. They both have heavily accented vocals that I wouldn't really ever have thought could deal with such heavy harmonies but it works beautifully. The title track is currently my favorite. Turner has got to be one of the most talented lyricists today. Anyone can fit insight into slow acoustic jams, but it takes a lot of talent to put them into faster songs that need to rhyme, goddamnit. My current favorite, the title track, illustrates this perfectly. I love how it maintains that fast paced feeling of running while still managing to sound huge. So kind of like a stampede of elephants I guess :). It really reminds me a lot of the Reverend and the Makers album "The State of Things" (which got hardly ANY press here but I thought it was amazing) which combined the profound lyrics with the quick musical movements. The other track that I love "My Mistakes Were Made For You" sounds like it could have come out of an old movie. With wistful-sounding words and strings abound.

I am SO excited to see them when they play at Manhattan Center with a FULL BACKING ORCHESTRA. Which is why I now know the tix are running like 35 bucks :( but I just might have to spring for it. AND a little birdy told me that yours and my favorite band, CHIEF might be supporting them!!!! Yay! Anyways, here are some lovely Puppets tracks for you to download, courtesy of Hype.

Standing Next To Me
I Dont Like You Anymore


And PS: I am going to be back in NYC tomorrow so hopefully my posts will become more reflective of what Im doing aka going out and losing my shit...hopefully.xxxx

THE FIRST OF THE GANG TO DIE

Gawker. We love it, we hate it, we scorn it, but if you can take the time to slog through all the inane "Gawker Stalkers" and "Snap Judgments" you can find some genuinely interesting and hilarious stories. Like this one I found about intern horror stories. As a former and current intern, I must admit I have never heard of anyone doing anything this outrageous, but maybe interning at Dunder-Mifflin wasn't the most exciting career choice I could have made. Just kidding. Interning at Dunder-Mifflin WOULD be the most exciting career choice I could make right now. The main story they tell though is just kind of weird. How do people get so involved with their bitches? See if you can figure it out

What Not To Do When Anna Wintour Falls On Her Face

TANGERINE AND LIME GREEN, THE SICKLY SWEET COLORS OF THE DEVIL IN MY DREAMS

The big bands are rolling out new music left and right and giving us street urchins a chance to listen in. First up:


The new Franz Ferdinand track that is quote "not a single" is quite catchy. But not as out of the box as I would have hoped for. Its called Lucid Dreams and its only available to stream on their site for a "limited time".


This track, an unreleased song from the recording session of their debut album Hold On Now Youngster! called "How I Taught Myself to Scream". Its a kind of dark and rough. Just the way I like it. It reflects more the live nature of the band that I think was lost in overpolishing some of the LP tracks. Look for their sophomore album due out this year (fast I know!) We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. Download or stream it on imeem




Lastly but not leastly, Oasis has a new song off their upcoming 35th album, Dig Out Your Soul and its called "Falling Down". Not a huge fan of Oasis' later work, but I am definitely a fan of this song. Very rhythmic and hooky, not all fuzzy and wandering. I only have a youtube non-video but here ya go.

----------------
Now playing: My Bloody Valentine - I Only Said
via FoxyTunes

I RUN FROM THE DUST AND GLOOM WITH ONLY MY SECRETS TO KEEP ME WARM

Its been far too long since I've done a Libertines related post, so here are two lovely surprises to all you libz lovurz (which should be everyone on this good green earth if I had it my way). The first is an interview with Dirty Pretty Things from musicnews.com. Personally I love reading DPT interviews if only because I don't have to translate Carl's often unintelligible mumbling. The downside of course, is that I can't see his godlike visage. But you can't always get what you want. If you were wondering, yes Boyz is a gay lifestyle magazine. However all of the members claim to be straight (We all know, of course, that this is a gross fabrication).



The second goodie is a mix of Libs B-Sides and rarities. Now, usually B-sides are lo-fi and deemed too mediocre to be put on any actual album. The former could certainly be argued for these tracks but in no way are they mediocre. The sources for these tracks are the singles b-sides, an EP or 2, the unreleased demo album (Legs 11), the legendary Babyshambles sessions, and maybe 1 more I am forgetting. I especially recommend listening to the ones I have starred, because they reflect a very different sound than the romantic punk that everyone expects. It is romantic yes, but the sound is much more mod than punk, you'll have to hear it to really understand, but the Legs 11 album is something I listen to more often than their traditionally released ones. Yes, it is that good. And I don't feel too back about uploading these tracks, bc most of them were given away b the band anyways. Here are the tracks included (not necessarily in order). Enjoy! PS I can tell the above pic is an early one, because their leather jackets look all squeaky and new and Pete hasn't got electrical tape on his jeans.


Music When the Lights Go Out (Legs 11 version)
Half-Cocked Boy*
Hooray For the 21st Century
I Got Sweets
Never Never
Love on the Dole*
Bucket Shop*
Dilly Boys
Through the Looking Glass
Sister Sister*(with John Hassall on lead vocals!)
Skag and Bone Man
Anything But Love*
France (Legs 11 version)
Mayday
7 Deadly Sins (instrumental)
Lust of the Libertines*
The Delaney (THIS HAS THE BEST RIFF KNOWN TO MAN)
Back From the Dead
Death on the Stairs (Bernard Butler version)
Lazy Sunday Afternoon* (Small Faces Cover)
Who's Got the Crack (Moldy Peaches cover)
Breck Road Lover*
You're My Waterloo*

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MYFD2RPF




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Now playing: The Cure - Just Say Yes
via FoxyTunes

I LIKE YOU SO MUCH BETTER WHEN YOU'RE NAKED

HAI INTERNET. ITs me. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you my favorite new blog of the moment. HIPSTER RUNOFF or HRO for cool kids in the know. As HRO says, they are a blog worth blogging about, and that is certainly true. It truly a pioneer of a new frontier in blogging. Post-alt satire. HRO makes fun of "alt bro's and ho's". Which is basically anyone who thinks they are cool by shopping at American Apparel (or Mer Per and my semi alt friend Amanda like to call it) or Urban Outfitters. Or liking a band based on who's blogging about it. He spends mos of the time trying to classify the "alt" as a poser, an entry level alt, or some other classification he pulls from his brain he even makes diagrams like this one.



Not to say that I haven't been guilty of these transgressions from time to time, but sometimes you get the biggest laugh out of laughing at yourself and people you know. My two favorite article so far have been in two very separate arenas. The first has to do with clothing, the second with music. This shows you my versatility. The funny thing about this blog is that you can't quite tell the opinion of the author. Is he really just making fun of "alts" or is he such an "alt himself the only way he can authenticate and legitimize his status is by mocking all the other hipsters.

Here, HRO makes fun of the NME's "coolest USA bands of the moment. As much as I love the NME, I think I take HRO's side on this one. CHECK



And here he ponders what the world would be like if everyone who owned Sambas were required to register for an indoor soccer league. I play indoor soccer. But I don't own Sambas. What does that make me?



Lastly, I would like to introduce you to my favorite song o' da moment, "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" by Ida Maria. Its fun. Its chanty. You get to shout "NAKED" when you dance to it. What's not to like? DL HERE (Mixtape Maestro) She looks like a feisty chickadee.

EVERYTHING'S IN ORDER IN A BLACK HOLE

Oh Lord. I lol'd my head off when I saw this makeup lesson from Jezebel's Slut Machine. Its a day look with a twist. I can't figure out how to embed it but check it out here.

Speaking of...I finally got around to checking out the new Misshapes.com. It looks really cool. Of course the only legacy I've left there is this extremely flattering picture someone snapped of me at Ruff Club.

I look

1. On drugs (debatable)

2. Confused by the flash (true)

3. Really hot an sweaty (true)

I like the streamers. Nice touch, Samantha. Oh well. I guess I'll have to wait until my return to my redeem myself pictorially.

Lastly, something actually musically related. When I was in London, Paul played me the new Fischerspooner single "The Best Revenge". It is soooo awesome. I know thier last album wasn't the greatest but I think their new album is gonna make them big again. Its like a mix of Cut Copy and Crystal Castles...but better....and with horns. Listen to it here.

THE ADRENALINE IT BURNS A HOLE

If I wrote a linear narrative (thanks punk cinema!) of my trip to London, this post would be a novel, so I'll give you bullet points of things I learned.

#1. THERE ARE NICE PEOPLE OUT THERE.
I flew off to London by the seat of my pants. I didnt really have a place to stay, but help came in the form of two lovely people sent from above. The first was Lee Laborde who is a promoter for LiveNation and helped Chief book a couple of their gigs. One of the nicest guys I've ever met and kindly offered the spare room of his house in Clapham to me and the rest of the band. He is the dashing chap on the right.

However London is very large and some people don't like to take night buses by themselves for fear of being stabbed(wow I sure am glad my Mom didnt read the world news), so luckily I met a friend of Paul's named Alicia who let me crash with her a few nights at her flat in Kentish Town. Here is one of the 10,000 pics i have of her. Elle mag online picked this outfit out of the crowd @ wireless for a festival style article.

She actually became probably the best friend I had in London! So fate worked out nicely in that way.

#2. TRY NOT TO GET DRUNK ON TWO HOURS OF SLEEP AND GO SEE THE NATIONAL
Otherwise, you will end up getting overexcited about a band you don't really care that much about and end up taking approx. ONE MILLION blurry pictures of the stage and make a general fool out of yourself. Exhibit A:


#3.ALL OF THE MAJOR RECORD COMPANIES ARE ON THE SAME STREET.
High Street Kensington to be exact. Well, Sony BMG wasnt there when I was but it will be by now. And I got to go visit all of them as Paul (my favorite Englishman as you all know....well of the ones I know personally) let me tag along to all of his business meetings. Thank you so much Paul!

#4. LAUGHING GAS IS REALLY FUN
Can we get it in the US? This is what you look like shortly after you take it. The other girl in the pic is the gorgeous Tijan who is very cool and hopefully visiting me in NYC!


#5. DOING GUESTLIST AT DURAN DURAN's BIGGEST SHOW IS VERY STRESSFULL
Seriously. It was fun, but NO ONE knows what list they are on and there are like 35 lists and six girls working at the same time, and people show up like 5 mins before the band are due on and expect you to find their tickets for them and then get upset that they don't have aftershow passes. On the plus side, I did get to hang out backstage, meet most of the band, and roam around basically wherever I wanted. Since guestlist took so long, I only got to catch the last 2/3rds of the band's show. I was specifically impressed at the band's cover of The Normal's "Warm Leatherette" which is an awesome sort of new/no wave/post punk hidden gem. Good job guys. Here is me @ the show, obviously stoked



#5 I REALLY FUCKING LOVE CHIEF.
This band is so developed and tight for a new band its scary. They nailed almost all of their shows. Their sound is not something I'd usually go for, but the style they have which is kind of Verve meets like Americana type Neil Young, is done flawlessly. They all sing vocals so there is that really full harmony element. Plus their lyrics are amazing. My current fav is "You Tell Me", which Danny wrote. Basically if you see them live, you become a fan of the band and thats pretty much it. The amount of industry people who showed up to their Hoxton gig was shocking, esp considering that it was raining and the place was damn near impossible to find. Drew and Adam from Babyshambles (!) and Joe Lean was also there with his Jing Jang Jong (Or as Paul would refer to them later in the night as the Jing Fooking Faggots. They got in a bit of a tiff.) Here is a photo that I love that Paul took of all of us outside the 100 Club, where they did their first London gig.


I was also especially proud of them when they played @ wireless on Sunday in front of like, 800 people, which is a huge amount considering their stage and time slot. Ben Harper was scheduled to do a secret early set right before them, so I think a part of the crowd turned up for that. But there was a miscommunication and Ben ended up not playing, and Chief took advantage of the gathered crowd. But then NOBODY left. It was so amazing. I was in front of the barricade filming the whole thing and I just got this overwhelming feeling of happiness for them. They sounded amazing. After they finished the crowd totally dissipated (sad for the next band coming on though). Keeping a festival crowd is a tough job, considering they are not captive, they (probably) didnt pay just to see you, and they could just as easily walk over and get a drink or a bite. This is an really cool pic that Paul or took over Evan's shoulder. Note the Denmark Loves You sign. They've already conquered Europe. Clearly.


I also must share this totally amazing random pic that Paul took. Its fate really.


SO if you havent checked them out yet GO DO IT RIGHT NOW.

#6. A LOT OF SEMI-FAMOUS PEOPLE HANG OUT/STAY AT THE K WEST
We went there on a night the band had off after we had seen Band of Horses at Shepard's Bush Empire. The people that I remember being there were Liam Fray and the rest of the Courteeners (i think, I only really know what Liam looks like), Basshunter, Damon Marley, and Paolo Nutini (I talked to him outside for like 5 minutes before I realized who he was). And this was just like, a random Tuesday night. The drinks were super expensive though. The trick was to get someone to buy them for you :). We took many photo here but these are my favorites.





#7. THE BEDS AT K WEST ARE VERY COMFORTABLE.
Hee hee. Just sayin.

#8. WHEN ON TOUR, BRING A SHITLOAD OF STUFF WITH YOU, OR GET USED TO WEARING THE SAME CLOTHES FOR DAYS.
UGH, this was a very valuable lesson I learned, for my clothes never seemed to be residing in the same place as me when I woke up in the mornings, and I guess I thought it a waste of time to go back to wherever they were. One thing that made it better though, was on Sunday of wireless I got an artist pass, which let me go backstage and have access to pretty much everything the artists did. Including the free Bed Head Salon, where you could book a haircut and style fo freeee. I got one, and it felt so good, I can;t even describe it to you. I felt 100% better. Then I thought I was a hair model. Decidedly untrue, but one can dream.


#9. I FOUND TWO NEW FAVORITE DRINKS.
The first was Gaymer's Pear Cider. It is delicious. Its like apple cider, but with alcohol. Like the original mike's hard. So you don't feel like such a pussy drinking it. The second was Jameson's on the rocks. It may sound a bit...alcoholic, but after waaaaay too much free beer/cider, sometimes all you want is a little concentrated liquid courage. And this was the perfect remedy.

#10. MINGE MEANS LADYBERRY AREA.
You learn something new everyday.


#11 I CAME THISCLOSE TO GETTING TO MEET PETE DOHERTY. THEN CRUEL FATE SHAT ON MY HEAD.
In the cab over to Wireless on Friday me, Paul, and some of Chief shared a cab with Matt Bates from Primark, a booking agency. After impressing everyone with my encyclopedic knowledge of The LIbertines, Matt told me that he was Pete's agent. Keeping my cool, I asked, "so when can I meet him?", Matt said I could accompany him to Pete's Royal Albert Hall gig, complete with box seats. This filled me with boundless joy, but unfortunately I was due to leave on the tenth and his gig was on the twelfth. whyyyyy oh whyyyyyy. its ok. it will happen someday. im sure of it. I told Matt I was coming back to London in January and maybe there would be some gigs then, to which Matt responded with a lighthearted laugh, "Oh, he'll be dead by then". Some people have no faith.

#12. I LOVE LONDON AND CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK.
That needs no explanation.

GET DOWN ON IT

Helllloooo. ok so I promise I wil get back to regular posting soon but in the meantime, if you find yourself free on Tuesday night...or if you have plans you can back out of without losing your job /spouse, you should come down to Bowery Ballroom to see CHIEF supporting the Futureheads (!). This is a show I am very sad to be missing and if you are in the NYC area shame on you if you dont seize this opportunity for a night of mind blowing music.

WE PUT THE SASS IN SASQUATCH DAY 1

OK so I know its been like over a week since Sasquatch and probably no one is interested anymore, but I don't care. Here is a log of the adventures of Samantha and Caitlin, festival going virgins:



FRIDAY: Even though the festival had not yet officially begun, the partay definitely had. There were campers everywhere from all over the world (OK only really the US and Canada) who were really to kick of the weekend in...well style wouldn't really be the right word. Let's say enthusiasm. Caitlin and I dove right into the festivities and before we knew it, we were in VIP camping drinking Grey Goose out of some Canadian boy's trunk and...well I'll leave it there, but suffice it to say the night ended with me losing my bra and my phone. not fun. but fun.

SATURDAY


We kicked off the day with the FLEET FOXES, who were awesome. The way FF's songs sound is completely opposite to what you would expect because they are SO young. The songs sound like they came through a whisper in the trees of some ancient forest. "Oliver James" and "White Winter Hymnal" are definitely my favorites. (Photo credit: Brooklyn Vegan)


Then we made our way down to the pit so Caitlin could see her future husband aka the ever a-fucking-dorable Zach Condon of BEIRUT. I had seen them once before at NYU but this was a way different experience. I really just can't believe that all of these epic ballads come from this skinny 20 something american from New Mexico. The music just suited the beautiful, slightly overcast afternoon beautifully. And we noticed that Zach has french horn tattoos on both of his inner wrists. Hot. (Photo Credit: Caitlin Tormey)

After Beirut, we went back up to our little spot on the hill and snoozed through Ozamatli (sorry diana) and were planning to sleep through the National as well, when WHO should show up but none other than RAINN WILSON, aka Dwight K Schrute. OK, so he was there promoting his new movie, The Rocker, but he was SO funny. Me and Caitlin definitely both have an ugly crush on him. Anyways he told us that the National was too arty and depressed to play stuck somewhere in Canada because their bus broke down. So Fleet Foxes played again instead! Horay!

After Fleet Foxes part 2 we made our way down again to the pit to catch the end of the New Pornographers and get a good spot for MIA. But being the dumb inexperienced shits that we are, we didn't realize that we needed to stand really close to the metal gate to get into the inner pit area. So we were stuck where we were against the metal partition thing. Oh Well. I hadn't really heard too much of the New Pornographers stuff, but they were really awesome. And then they did a cover of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down" which is one of my favorite old songs. I used to sing along to it all the time on the radio when I was five.




ANYWAYS. then MIA came on, and the place went....well, less wild than I would have expected. I don't know. I think maybe this wasn't exactly MIA's target market. Their were some technical problems too, and the performance just didn't seem to run very smoothly. Especially when she was like "Hey sound guy? We need to pretend this is Glastonbury 1993 and we are all on E and this is a rave!!!". I think about 25 people got the reference. But she sounded great when the sound was working. AND she was wearing a t-shirt with a giant picture of Ian Curtis with his name and birth/death day on the back. Which kind of gives her a million points in my book. And she invited people to come up on stage and dance with her. So I don't know. Maybe it evened out.

Sadly, as MIA was playing, I realized I was ill-equipped for the inclement weather ahead:




So after we trudged back up to our hill, we decided to smoke some smoke-ables. Where I proceeded to get high out of my mind. I do not like this feeling. I am upset it made me too incoherent to see Johnny Marr on the big screen thingy. It seriously felt like Modest Mouse played for 3 days. I was so confused. But everyone else seemed happy. So thats good. Then REM got up...and it started to rain. And all we had was one little blanket between four of us. I was not a happy camper. It could have been Michael Moore singing down there instead of Michael Stipe and I wouldn't have noticed. All I wanted to do was get back into my nice warm and dry sleeping bag and fall asleep. Luckily it started raining hard enough that everyone else wanted to leave too. And I did make it back. And I dove into my sleeping back and fell asleep in about three seconds