England

I’m heading off for England in a week. I don’t really know what to expect, the last time I was there it wasn’t such a big thing for me, I was young. But now my favorite bands are all from across the pond, from punk to britpop to even the ineptly named nu-rave.

Which brings me to a conversation I just recently had: what in the world will the 2000s be remembered for? There’s such a definitive line between the decades, but what of my generation? I hope to god it won’t be remembered for emo, which although significant due to its popularity, is a pathetic attempt to reach out to those who have long lost grunge but want the goth aesthetic. I mean look at them! Tell me they weren’t in it for the money rather than the music. Seriously.

Then again, there is “indie” rock. Although, in this age of MySpace and iPods, and where almost every music loving home owns a computer, why is it that people are accepting the same generic drivel from this tired, worn-out “genre”? Why can’t there be that one guy in his bathroom creating a unique masterpiece that actually gets recognized for it? That, would be indie.

These days, especially in England, people seem to be yearning for that ideal, so much that they just accept a tired Oasis clone as the best thing to happen since… well… Oasis, simply because they represent all things indie, which is principally their rise to fame due only to word of mouth on the internet. I speak of none other than the Arctic Monkeys. “SHUT UP! Enough already, Ballstein! Who cares about Derek Zoolander anyway? The man has only one look, for Christ’s sake! Blue Steel? Ferrari? Le Tigra? They’re the same face! Doesn’t anybody notice this? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!” Just the way I feel about these cookie cutter indie bands. Does no one seem to recognize that it’s the same thing over and over again?

By the way, if anyone gets the chance, see This Is England, an amazing movie about skinheads in the 80’s. It’s a heavy one, but what an incredible portrait of the nationalism and racism during the Thatcher years partly brought about by the war in the Falkand Islands.

Concerning England, I really have no idea what I should think about going there. I remember a day when Japan was my country of worship, but I feel as if my bonds with Japan were weaker than what I feel for England. Music is now my life, and music from England has been consistently my favorite, going all the way back to the Kinks and the Beatles and up to Blur and Radiohead.

I guess leaving many of my best friends has also had a bit of an effect on me… It’s tough to think I’ll be seeing so little of the people who are closest to me in my life. But I have to accept it. I have to know that it isn’t the end of the world, and I will see them again, as hard as it is for my deluded mind to believe.

The Red Elvises at Rusty’s Surf Ranch 3/24/07

The Red Elvises are quite possibly Russian rockabilly at its best. Imagine a band made up entirely of men in flamboyant suits of red flames or sofa patterns along with a normally clothed woman on guitar and a scantily clad woman on keyboards/accordion/keytar. The frontman has the most amazing energy I’ve ever seen out of all the shows I’ve been to; he really knows how to get the crowd going. His lyrics are written with the intention of sounding badly translated and his delivery in each song is impeccably timed.

Under the blue blue sky
Stupid blue birds fly
It ain’t butterflies
Sex in paradise

I’ll get me a hat, you’ll wear a thong
We’ll love and dance to a metallica song
O baby, what a beautiful day
Tra la la la la

We’ll live in a hut, and talk about art
We’ll get a fat cat, named Bonapart
O baby’ why don’t we get away

-excerpt from Sex in Paradise

They’re so gimmicky that it’s hard not to love them.

Bloc Party at the Wiltern 3/20/07

Wow. All I can say was that might have been the best show I’ve ever been to.

OK, so the first opener, The Like, was pretty terrible. Their songs were all structured exactly the same, making them intensely boring. But whatever.

Next up was Final Fantasy. Basically a solo effort by Owen Pallett of Arcade Fire fame (he co-wrote the strings arrangement for their albums Funeral and Neon Bible), his performance alone made the show worth the money. He loops violin sounds to create amazing songs, all the while someone is showing a story through transparencies held over a projector. It was a really cool effect.

Then finally Bloc Party. Now, I wasn’t really expecting a lot from them. Their new album was less new wave, a bit slow, and when I saw them at the Greek Theatre last summer their playing was sloppy and the vocals were muddy. Everything has changed. Their playing was impeccable; they’re the type of band much more well-suited to the small-club-venue setting rather than the whole outdoor 2,000 person audience. They played every single one of their best songs in a lengthy hour and 15 minute set. At the Greek, I felt Bloc Party was very intimidated by their opening bands, MEW and Broken Social Scene. MEW I might let slip by as an opener, but Broken Social Scene is a huge band, way bigger than Bloc Party was at the time.

This will probably be the last time I see them.
Why’s that?
‘Cause they’re so mainstream now that I’ll never be able to get tickets.
They’ll probably be filling up the Staples Center not too long from now.

Like I Was Never Gone

I realize it has been a while since the last post, but what can I say.

Despite their lackluster live performance a few months ago, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s first eponymous album is my favorite album ever. I can sit down and listen to it all the way through without so much as moving a finger; I fall into a state of utter calmness as I walk through each song as if they were each part of a trail finally culminating to a grand view of the entire world below.

Menomena do doo dododo. Menomena do do dodo. Front and center at the shadiest venue I’ve been to yet was a band renown for its catchy weirdness and the use of a bass sax. I mean, seriously, it’s one of the silliest sounding instruments ever used in a band, but it contributes to the overall sound nonetheless. I am speaking of none other than Menomena at the Echo.

First and foremost: find the venue. No signs, all the billboards in Spanish, 8 pm and black as pitch, where the hell could this place be?

Oh yeah, you see that neon sign which isn’t glowing that says Restaurant? Well there’s a white door underneath it. That’s the uh… entrance.

Luckily, the acoustics were great inside (at least they were in front of the stage) and the outside really didn’t do the disco-ball-smoking-room-out-back venue dubbed “The Echo” justice.

Sidenote: Ever since I purchased the twelve dollar Etymotic Research earplugs, I haven’t been so paranoid about hearing loss at the shows I go to. The case being that hearing loss runs in the family and it would be majorly uncool to wear a hearing aid when I’m 30 rather than deal with earplugs when I’m 18.

The Parson Redheads opened first for Menomena. A nine-member psychedelic hippie supergroup who put on a pretty decent show. They might have done without the tambourine guy, but each of them contributed pretty much equally throughout their entire set. Besides, the dude was really into hitting that tambourine; he was almost lost in the waves of rhythm those lovable Redheads were dishing out.

Next up, Bon Savants. Bass guitar, drums, guitar, and barely audible keyboardist (only live). Highlight: guitarist looked like a combination of Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai and Jason Lee and could play the Junior SG like no other.

Finally Menomena came on. They played my two favorites right off the bat. The two songs which I they needed to play for me to be content with this show and not go home and bitch about how they didn’t play their best for a show in LA (TV on the Radio I’m looking at you). Pretty convenient coincidence, I guess.

A good drummer keeps rhythm. A great drummer sings while never missing a beat. Danny Seim is a great drummer. Not only did his drum beats sound identical to those on the album, but never before have I seen such a dedicated individual. Closing his eyes the entire time, his sticks never missing a beat, I could see he was doing this with a self-satisfaction that only comes with a love for what you do.

By the way, Menomena’s “No Encore Policy” has officially ended with LA.

Deerhoof, Spinto Band

Listening to Deerhoof at certain times with certain people in certain places can be completely surreal. I felt like I was in a Dali painting.

The Art Brut/We Are Scientists show this saturday night is going to have the Spinto Band opening for them. Is it strange that I’m beginning to like the opener more than the headliners? Not that I don’t love Art Brut or We Are Scientists, but I just can’t get enough of the Spinto Band. Go out and listen to some of their CD, Nice and Nicely Done, they might just be your new favorite band.

I’ve also come up with a few designs for the LP Club. Check ‘em out.

Oink.me.uk

I am now part of the elite class of… oinkers? Oink.me.uk is a crazy exclusive bittorrent community. Luckily I found some very nice people to invite me in. Can you imagine downloading that new album you can’t find anywhere else on the net 2 weeks before it comes out? How about downloading it in less than 2 minutes? Now you may see the advantages of a community like this.

There has to be a catch though, right?

Of course there is, but it’s simply common courtesy as bittorrent goes, meaning you must have a fair share ratio (meaning you upload at least half as much as you download). But I haven’t found it to be an issue yet.

Damn. Life is sweet…

Update: Please don’t ask for invites, I only recieve them once I become a power user (upload 10 GB, be a member for 2 weeks, and keep a ratio of at least 1.05). I’ll announce when I become a power user on this blog, and I’ll be happy to invite people as long as they send me some kind of proof that they won’t cheat and that they’ll maintain a good ratio.

Movies, iTunes, iPod

Movies to see:
Science of Sleep
Idiocracy

The recent update to Apple’s iTunes is a huge improvement, despite the occasional bugs, especially on the iPod front. It not only is much more visually rich and attractive, but the syncing is significantly easier to use, not to mention intuitive.

I don’t know about the rest of the population, but a 60 GB iPod simply is not sufficient for an 86.68 GB song collection, and this has been very limiting. I use to manually manage my songs and videos, which was a huge pain if anyone’s ever tried it. Essentially, it entailed dragging every single file I wanted to be on the iPod from the Library to the iPod Library. It worked fine for a while, but then it started to become annoying when I wanted to change the tags for some of the songs or videos, and noticed that, since the computer and iPod don’t sync, I’d have to do the same change twice, once on the computer and once on the iPod. An incredible waste of time to say the least.

However, I recently had an epiphany. I realized that if I put all the music and video I wanted on my iPod into a playlist on my computer, I could have iTunes simply sync that playlist every time I connected. This meant that I could make sure everything was up to date (tags, play count syncing, etc.) on both my iPod and computer. Not only that but now if I want to add a new CD to my iPod all I have to do is drag it to the “Master” playlist, and the next time I hook up my iPod, it’ll be synced automatically.

Now I know this may seem like a very obvious solution, but if I can help just one more troubled soul out there, I could go to sleep proud that I made a difference in the world, albeit a very superficial one.

On games and movies for the iPod:

I’ve just bought Vortex on the iTunes Music Store (they finally dropped the ‘Music’ after about a year of offering TV shows in addition to songs) after adoring Zuma while bored on the bus. Both of these are games designed specifically for use on only the iPod 5th generation (i.e. video enabled), and they are gorgeous. The graphics are great, the gameplay is fantastic, and the fact that you can save your progress was a stroke of genius on the designer’s part. So if you have a video iPod, consider shelling out the $4.99 for Vortex or Zuma (the only ones I can vouch for as amazing).

I’ve also just bought my first movie from the iTunes Store, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. As mentioned in the Stevenote on Tuesday, all video on the iTunes Store will be 4 times the size of what was previously offered, and on my 17 inch monitor, it doesn’t look half bad, but on the iPod it looks fantastic. I’ve downloaded my share of movies and converted them to iPod format, but none ever looked as good as this did.

Sidenote: Saw The Black Keys at Amoeba (got a pin and a poster, which I ripped off the wall and had them sign), then Ima Robot at Safari Sam’s on Tuesday (another poster, no signage though). New club, pretty nice, but no air conditioning. What were these people thinking when they built this place? Pictures will be posted as soon as disposable camera film is developed.

Life is Troubling

I’m beginning to find life troubling. I look at the fake smiles and the wanted words, but all I can hear or see is disappointment because we can’t speak scripted lines that are perfect for each and every moment.

Maybe this is why we admire movies and music and books so much. Everything in them is exactly how we want them to be. There are no unintentional stumbles, no looks of disappointment when the realization hits that there was something infinitely better to say in that moment of time.

Maybe that’s my real attraction to music. I listen to the rhythms and the lyrics and am mystified by how profoundly they affect me. How they can convey such a deep sense of meaning? I want nothing more than to bask in its perfection. I could never duplicate my favorite song; it may sound exactly the same in every way, but it wouldn’t be the original. Or, at least, this is how I used to view much of the entertainment I enjoy.

Looking at more of the independent or alternative entertainments allow me to experience something that is clearly original, but is definitive because it can be reproduced. There is no mysticism about it, it feels natural and can be connected to.

But at the same time I look back and think to how I could still never duplicate, let alone attempt to sound like, some of the musicians I’ve heard in my life.

I’m stuck at a point where I can’t exactly tell what I’m supposed to follow. I don’t know exactly where my life will take me. I have some vague idea that I’ll be somewhere still alive, but it is neither here nor there.

Artists create masterpieces. But where does the inspiration come from? How does one sit down and create without stopping themselves and worrying that others will ruin the feeling that it evokes in the creator? All of my art has been wiped away because I was scared. Who knows who might have liked it, who knows whether I can even remember what it was. But it’s something I need to overcome because I know it will play an enormous role in my life.

I speak of this because my generation has become divided, much like generations before. There are the psuedo-thinkers and the outside-the-box thinkers. The pseudo-thinkers genuinely feel like they have something going on in their head, but nothing of any sense comes out. They stick together and feed off of each other’s knowledge, refusing to find out anything new for themselves. They alienate intentionally. They have their own… unique… tastes.

The outside-the-box thinkers are the revolution. They are the ones who look in between the cracks and discover something to keep for themselves. If their discovery gets out in the open, they leave it high and dry. They create, they move on. Nothing lasts for them. The little known ones are the ones to keep. “Weird for the sake of being weird” rather than “Weird for the sake of fashion.”

The dichotomy is not quite as clear until after the fact; maybe in a decade or so. But the side which draws to you is obvious. Why? Because you’re reading this blog.

I’m with you.

Update: I realize how this sounds, and yes, it was written at 3 am in a painkiller induced stupor.

Amazing Things

My Oddica package which I recently blogged about arrived in the mail today (ordered Sunday, arrived Tuesday, amazing):

Blackbird Migraine

Ghost Cameras

The poor quality of the pictures (of me, above) does not give justice to the amazing quality of the designs, but everything about them is astounding.

Second day of driving, it’s even easier today.

My music recommendation for today: Minus the Bear. Check out Highly Refined Pirates especially. Indie rock, pure and simple.

Bruin Woods ‘06

I had a great time last week with all my buddies that I see once a year for a week up in Lake Arrowhead.

Brian, Chelsea, Rachel, Riley, and I hangin’ out up in the treehouse at Bruin Woods in Lake Arrowhead.

Can’t wait to see you all next year (but hopefully sooner)!

In other news, it turns out I have four impacted wisdom teeth which require surgery under anesthesia to remove. This will happen Thursday (August 17, 2006) morning, so don’t expect much out of me for about 2-4 days afterwards.

I drove a car for the first time EVAR today. It was surprisingly easy… I’ll be having another lesson tomorrow morning, then another on Wednesday afternoon.

For anyone who has a mac and is a student:

Schoolhouse is possibly the most useful program for assignments I’ve ever laid eyes upon.

“With the ability to sort and organize your assignments, exams, and projects quickly and easily Schoolhouse is a must have for any student on-the-go. The power of smart groups allow you to interact with your work as simply as your iTunes library. Newly introduced in this version are Classcasts, the ability to publish your assignments to the web automatically for anyone to subscribe to. And with powerful automatic graphing of your grades and a GPA & Finals calculator you’ll never be in the dark at the end of the semester.”

It seems that this app can export assignments to iCal or even to an iPod. How sweet is that? And it’s free (although I’d gladly pay the developer for it).

To all you Windoze users out there… umm, well… good luck, I guess. I’m sure pen and paper will work fine to remember stuff.

My Sidekick 3 is working great; it has many much needed upgrades which the SK2 lacked (mainly the track ball and the size of the device, no longer does it have the dimensions of a bar of soap). My only complaint is that the battery becomes depleted after a very short amount of use compared to the SK2, but hopefully this will all be sorted out in the next OTA (Over-The-Air) update.

Check out Tapes ‘n Tapes, by the way. A link to a torrent of a music video of theirs is here. They’re awesome.

Just ordered a bag from Iron-on Resistance along with some shirts from Oddica, there’s a coupon right now for $7 off your order if you write in the code ‘tell’ so I figured I’d just go ahead and get Blackbird Migraine and Ghost Cameras printed on the ever so soft and communist American Apparel.

Still working on my summer work of second semester Honors World History (I’ve already finished second semester Honors World Literature) from 10th grade which I missed while in Italy and Japan. I have to finish this or they won’t let me into 12th grade. Damn Pali thinks I have a textbook delinquency too, so they won’t give me my schedule for next year (I turned in all my books for sure).