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Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Caught!

Well, I suppose that I wasn't caught, because technically I wasn't doing anything wrong, but my download speed is no longer 1MB. It had been that way for a really long time and I have no idea why since I only pay for something like 725kB download speed. Needless to say, however, the 1MB was pretty nice. The shitty thing now that I'm down to 725kB is that it's aggravating as hell waiting the extra couple of seconds for screens to load. Seriously, I can't fucking stand it! Oh well, I'll get over it, but not if I don't get the job that I interviewed for today.

My interview was for some kind of computer job with a non-profit environmental group. I think that the interview went well and my experience is exactly what they are looking for, but who knows. The job only pays $10/hr., but that's better than what I make as a liquor dude and the hours are very flexible--a big plus. I kind of stumbled when they asked me how environmentalism plays a role in my day to day activities. I didn't really know what to say except that I recycle, swim in Lake Superior all the time and go hiking in Hartley Field religiously.

The new Ripsaw is out on newsstands and I cannot fucking stand how they edited my cd reviews. I don't even think that I'm going to post a link to them. I'm pretty sure that whoever does the editing over there never bothers to read rock journalism at all. There are wholesale sentence changes and ommissions that are fucking embarassing. The whole feel of one of them is totally lost. What a joke. Hopefully the new music editor does a better job than whoever edited this month. Take heed all you wannabe editors: A bad editor is a person who feels that they must inject their own voice into other people's work.

James | 3/31/2004 07:06:00 PM

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G'n'R

Guns and Roses, as far as I'm concerned, are a fucking joke right now. In fact, I'm not even going to waste my time detailing my frustration with Axl, but I read this article and laughed out loud. The absurdness of a statement like,

"In the meantime rather than dwelling on the negative, Guns will be moving forward and surprisingly (without giving away any details) this unfortunate set of circumstances may have given us the opportunity to take our recording that one extra step further. Regardless we hope to announce a release date within the next few months."

shouldn't be lost on anyone who's been waiting 10+ years for that stupid fucking record, because it's never going to come out.

Playlist:
Van Halen-1984(lp)
Kraftwerk-Trans-Europe Express(lp)
Barry Thomas Goldberg-Cottonwood(cd)

James | 3/31/2004 08:19:00 AM

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Monday, March 29, 2004

Seed Math

The Seed Math story is now on the Reader's website. You can check it out here or click the link on the right.

James | 3/29/2004 08:42:00 PM

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Drained

I am feeling awfully drained--physically, creatively and otherwise--at the moment. I will, however, refrain from getting all LiveJournal on everyone's ass and save the whining for the flesh and blood people awaiting me at work this evening.

I'm still wondering how I'm doing on my NCAA board. I've got Duke winning it all and Ok. St. in the Final Four, but am pretty sure that I've not accumulated enough points in the other rounds to matter. Especially since I've got fucking Gonzaga in the final game. Why, oh, why didn't I pick UConn for the Final Four? I had 'em, then switched to Stanford at the last second. That could be my downfall, unless Georgia Tech gets to the championship game, in which case my buddy Matt has everyone by the nuts.

I also witnessed the most grotesque displays of...I honestly do not know what to call this, but it made me utterly depressed--MTV's "I Want A Famous Face." A more insipid, horrible show cannot exist on television. I've got to give MTV some credit for presenting a plasitc surgery horror story along with the idiot twins, Matt and Mike, who want to look like Brad Pitt, but what the fuck? The only point of this show that I can ascertain is to show how fucking shallow some people are. Again, to MTV's credit, they interviewed a girl who one of the twins obsesses over on camera and she admitted that though he looks much better post-surgery, she'd never consider dating him because "it's not all about looks."

I think the main reason I was so horrified watching this piece of shit show was because the twins getting the surgery were/are absolute boneheads (they kept holding hands and patting each other on the ass, which also creeped me out). The parents of these idiots are obviously the sort who just throw money around to shut their kids up so that they do not have to deal directly with how sad they actually are and can concentrate more intensely on the secretary or gardener they're fucking behind each other's backs.

The only upside to the show was that the twins seemed genuinely happy after the surgery. The question, however, of how long that happiness will last remains. One year?Maybe two? What happens when a casting director (these twits want to be actors) tells the twins that they're not tall enough for the part? Or that they're too old? My guess is that they'll be back on the cutting board pronto.

I suppose these kids are young and they've got time to learn, but they're fucking with their bodies and that scares the hell out of me.

Oh, and do they look like Brad Pitt now? Gimmie a break. It's called plastic surgery, not magic, but decide for youself (and if you'd rather not puke all over you computer, resist reading the interview with Mike and Matt).

Last thing: I've been listening to the new Both CD for two days and I'm really conflicted. I can't tell yet if I really don't like it or if I do.

Playlist:
Both-Bleat for Help(cd)

James | 3/29/2004 02:46:00 PM

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Saturday, March 27, 2004

Wow

I have to admit that I am pretty suprised that my Seed Math article got the cover of the Northland Reader this week. First of all, I wasn't even sure that it was going to run. Second of all, there is no second of all.

If you want see the Northland Reader cover, you can see it here. If you want to read the article, you better pick up a print copy, because I'll be goddamned if I can find it on the Reader's website.

James | 3/27/2004 01:56:00 PM

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Note To Self

When writing rock journalism, never use these words again:

"is proof that"
"proves that"
auspicious
Like _______ on acid
garnering attention
most notably
throws down the gauntlet
atmospherics
____ bliss
lilting
sonic nightmare
sonic equivalent of
bombastic combination
classic combination of
pastiche
vividly etched
hearkens
to surprinsing effect
avoids the trappings
surprisingly ( WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME ANYTHING ON A RECORD TOUCHED OFF GENUINE SURPRISE?)

Jessica will get very angry if I/you/anyone does.

I've not gone back to check my writing, but I'm pretty sure I've been guilty of committing at least a couple of these transgression.

James | 3/27/2004 11:02:00 AM

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Hello

Kid Dakota last night was great. I was not aware, however, that Ian Prince drummed for them (this dude must not have a day job). Oh yeah, and he's a really good fucking drummer.

This is a very interesting article (thanks to Berv at PDD for the link). Reading this made me think about how fucked up many segments of our society are. I really do believe that a decent sense of morality within our borders has been lost. Now, the real question is whether or not it was ever there to begin with, but...

Playlist:
Kid Dakota-So Pretty(cd)

James | 3/27/2004 09:29:00 AM

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Friday, March 26, 2004

Before I Go

This really pissed me off. This exerpt is from a NYT article today (to read the whole thing go here:

An array of White House officials, including Ms. Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney, have gone on television to discredit Mr. Clarke's testimony as either politically motivated, to help John Kerry, or as a ruse to sell books.

In New Hampshire, Mr. Bush showed up at an event about the economy accompanied by the widow of a pilot of the plane that flew into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Only a day earlier, television news programs were filled with images of Mr. Clarke surrounded by thankful families of other Sept. 11 victims after he apologized to them for failing to head off the attack.

Mr. Bush prefaced his remarks by pointedly noting that the commission was looking at "the eight months of my administration and the eight years of the previous administration."

This pisses me off for a number of reasons:

1. Condoleeza Rice has agreed to appear in front of the commission in private, hence not under oath. Why? What does she (ie., the Administration) have to fear? I'd like to know how exactly this is providing "full compliance" with the 9/11 commission. I understand that the Administration would probably not like her to come under partisan attacks by Democratic members of the panel, but this panel has clearly demonstrated its dedication to being non-partisan. Hell, Bob Kerry chastised both the Clinton and Bush Administrations two days ago.

2. Bush's pandering on top of continually manipulating the facts to his advantage is so egrerious as to make me believe that his behavior is intentional. This panel, as stated numerous times in the public hearings, is investigating all events leading up to Sept. 11, 2001. Not just the eight years of the previous administration (conditions in the Bush I and Reagan Admins have also been discussed). In fact, the last public hearings specifically focused on the years 1998-Sept. 11 2001.

Sure, this is an election year so playing politics is the strategy du jour. And, to Bush's credit, he was only in office 8 months. I don't personally think that there was much that Bush could have done to prevent 9/11 because (and the same goes for Clinton) it seems that the culture of the intelligence community was so fucked as to make it nearly impossible to get credible information to the people best suited to use it. An example I used the other day: If our intelligence community knew that leaders of a known terrorist organization, Al Queda, were in the United States, then why in the fuck did the former National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and National Security (aka, Dick Clarke) not have this information passed on to him?

However, if Bush is so convinced that he did everything in his power to prevent 9/11, why is he sending his hounds out to make personal attacks on Clarke's credibility instead of attacking his credibility with hard facts? It seems to me that the Bush team is reeling from these admissions and from the fact that Mr. Clarke, if you've ever heard him speak, is alarmingly convincing.

Shit man, just say that you're sorry this fucking tragedy happened and vow that you'll work harder to make sure that it never happens again. I suppose that's not good politics, but that's probably why I'm not a politician

James | 3/26/2004 10:35:00 AM

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Tennis

I'm off to go play some tennis(inside even though it's an incredible day outside), but if anyone is free tonight I strongly suggest checking out Kid Dakota at Pizza Luce tonight. I love thier new 7" and have been meaning to pick up their full-length (on local imprint Chairkickers' Union) for some time now. Hopefully the show turns out wonderfully. Haley Bonar is also playing, so if you read any of her glowing reviews (or perhaps listened to her before), that should be an extra incentive.

ps: sorry for all of the asides today.

Playlist:
My Bloody Valentine-Tremolo EP(cd)
My Bloody Valentine-Glider EP(lp)
Kid Dakota-Can't Get Her Out of My Heart 7"
Black Eyes-s/t(lp)

James | 3/26/2004 09:49:00 AM

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Thursday, March 25, 2004

Spain

I probably post links to too many NYT opinion articles, but I really like this one.

James | 3/25/2004 12:23:00 PM

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E.T.

Go to Experimental Tuesday(kind of like 8th St. Video on 9th St.), now on Thursdays! Here's the press release:

Thanks much to all who made it last week to the kickoff of the Duluth
Art Institute. It was great to see such support.

One more e.t. kicking off this month - our other new venue - Harbor City
International School. For those who aren't familiar - Harbor City is a
very cool arts high school in downtown Duluth. But it's not like the
high school most of us went to. All I can say is I wish places like
Harbor City International School existed when I was young.

It's very easy to find and there's plenty of parking on Michigan Street:

332 West Michigan St, 4th Floor
Duluth, MN

Feel free to use the elevator.

Thursday, March 25, 7 pm - 9 pm, Free/All ages

-Aaron Molina of if thousands
-Chris Baccigalupo
-Ukes of H.C.I.S.

James | 3/25/2004 09:00:00 AM

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Wednesday, March 24, 2004

My Last of the Day

I've just added a number of new Duluth band/musician links that I've been meaning to get up for a while. I've got a question though for anyone with some computer know how: Is there anyway for me to get all of those photos into a standard size so that they aren't all over the place. I'm not sure if this is possible. If it is I'd like to know how, so please either email me or leave a suggestion in the comments box. Also, is it a pain for everything to load. It's not for me, but could be for others. Let me know!

James | 3/24/2004 02:04:00 PM

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Arghhh...and Clarke

I missed out on an auction to get MBV's Ecstasy and Wine lp on eBay just now. I'd been tracking the thing for a week and had my plan all worked out: wait until only a minute remains on the clock then throw down a big bid. Great right? Nope. See, this album is worth big bucks (probably around $70 or so, not to mention being awesome) and the high bid for the past three days was 10.5 Pounds, which works out to about $20. That's cheap. I flew in with a 17 Pound bid with one minute left and just like that the thing got jacked up to over $40. There were two other obsessives pining for this thing and they ended up throwing down right after me. I tried to get one last bid in at 8 seconds but was my attempt was thwarted and the auction ended. Oh well, I suppose I saved myself $45.

In other news, before retiring to my computer to try and get that LP, I was watching Dick Clarke speak before the 9/11 Commission on CNN for around an hour. I'm impressed with the guy because he's the only person who's expressed his remorse at the governments failure to protect the people that died on 9/11. Clarke specifically apologized to the families of the 9/11 victims and all Americans in his introductory remarks today which was classy as hell and, according to two of the Commissioners, the first apology from anyone who has testified.

I will admit, however, that the timing of the book is a bit suspect and reeks a bit of sour grapes. But, if you listen to what Clarke has to say, I'd be a little pissed off myself for being essentially demoted and not taken very seriously by the Bush Administration after putting in twenty plus years in service of my country.

There was also a bit of interesting discussion this afternoon about the memo that Clarke wrote to Condoleeza Rice on Sept. 4, 2001 essentially saying that people are going to be very unhappy if, sometime in the future, a mass action takes place on American soil that takes the life of thousands of Americans.

What this all comes down to, and it's been repeated time and time again everytime I watch these hearings, is that hindsight is 20/20. The only things that our country can do in the future is to try and learn from the mistakes that were made leading up to 9/11. Primarily, how intelligence information is shared between agencies of the federal government and from the bottom to the top of these agencies.

As Clarke mentioned today, if he would have known that two top Al Queda officers were in the United States prior to 9/11(as someone in the CIA or FBI purportedly knew), he would have had their mugs plastered on every television and newspaper in the country. Would this have prevented 9/11? Who knows? Butr it sure couldn't have hurt.

James | 3/24/2004 12:11:00 PM

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Sudan

Will our country do anything about this in an election year? I seriously doubt it. But then again, will any other country? I sincerely hope so.

Playlist:
Barry Thomas Goldberg-Cottonwood(cd)

James | 3/24/2004 10:23:00 AM

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Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Work

I had a great time at work tonight. For the record, in case anyone out there wants to know what their City Councilperson or mayor drinks, I've got some suggestions based on recent purchases:

*City Councilor Neil Atkins-A six-pack of Miller Lite and/or a bottle of Sheffield's Cream Sherry
*City Counselor Laurie Johnson-$2.99 wine or a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio
*City Counselor Donnie Ness-no idea, but I've seen him drink from a mammoth bottle of Heineken at the NorShor before!
*Mayor Herb Bergson-A case of Miller Lite (way to go Herbie)

Work was extra nice tonight because a co-worker brought in his I-Pod and we hooked it up to the receiver. We got to listen to The Postal Service, Gorillaz, Elliot Smith(either/or), Dirty Three and Radiohead, which made work infinitely more tolerable. Well, the white russians helped too.

James | 3/23/2004 08:52:00 PM

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Nice People vs. Horrible People

(Disclaimer: I don't mean to pick on Zoey--third row down, second from the left--because I'm sure that she's a wonderful person.)

A snarky post on Perfect Duluth Day today attempted to dismiss hipsters and yuppies as equally shallow and horrible, drawing distinction between the two based only on the amount of money they have. These types of posts/attitudes disturb me quite a bit. People who I know (I'll label them Person X) like this will generally look at someone (Person Y) and say, "There's a (insert generalization here). What a loser." Or, "Gosh, he/she is such a (insert generalization). How pretentious!"

Most of the time Person X will not even attempt to talk or communicate in any way with Person Y because based on their appearance (suit? band shirt? hemp necklace? sun dress?) Person X has drawn all these assumptions about the values, likes, dislikes, etc that Person Y holds true. Person X does this because assuming things about people based upon their outward appearance is easy. We all do it every day of the week. I'm just as guilty as anyone of this type of behavior in the past and have been trying desperately to rid myself of it.

I feel sorry feel sorry for Person X because they're missing out on meeting quite a few really cool People Y's. I cannot remember how many times when I was in college that I was amazed when someone told me they liked a band or book that I liked and I told them, "Wow, I didn't think you'd know about them." Looking back it was a stupid thing to think because why they hell wouldn't they? Are people that dress like me or that I hang out with actively the only people in the world that could possibly like the same things as I do? Fuck no.

I imagine that Person X sits at the bar with their friends, who probably all look exactly alike, and gossips about how everyone around them sucks except for them, then goes home and cries becaue they are so alone. That's really too bad.

I've been there and it's a bitter world to inhabit, so don't go there. Get better and stop making assumptions about people based on what they're wearing. Go talk to them or get to know them. Then, if your assumptions turn out to be correct, never speak to that person again.

What a person is wearing has no bearing on what really matters: if a person is nice or mean.

I think a bumper sticker floating around says that mean people suck. They do.

(I feel like a goddamn high school counselor. *cringe*)

Playlist:
Husker Du-Zen Arcade(cd)
Seed Math-Volume 2

James | 3/23/2004 11:46:00 AM

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Credit

I just chopped up my credit card today after purchasing My Bloody Valentine's 2 CD Remastered EP disc from Japan. It should be coming out here in a couple of months, but I went ahead anyway. I only realized afterwards that 5565 Yen translates roughly to $52. Ouch! I like MBV, but goddamn! Oh well, it will be worth it because I don't own the first two EPs before Glider and Tremolo, plus the second disc is a bunch of unreleased stuff. That's a huge chunk of change, so from this day until I leave for Coachella I'm vowing not to go out at night and drink. Wish me luck.

Playlist:
My Bloody Valentine-Tremolo(cd)
The Jesus and Mary Chain-Psychocandy(cd)
Broken Social Scene-You Forgot it in People(cd)

James | 3/23/2004 09:22:00 AM

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Monday, March 22, 2004

Tix

I got my Prince tickets. $90. Wow. Our seat are in the lower level about half way up. Prince will be playing in the round, so they should be pretty good. I'm excited...really, I am.

Playlist:
Pavement-Terror Twilight(cd)
Sight Like December-Simply Let Go(cd)
Seed Math-Volume 2(cd)

James | 3/22/2004 09:19:00 AM

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Sunday, March 21, 2004

Prince

The consumate megalomaniac? Yes. A tue artist? No question. Impeccably dressed? Always. Damn I love Prince!

Seeing Prince at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tonight just solidified my feeling that he's one of the best musicians of all-time and a seriously underrated guitarist. The man has an aura (even though the television!) about him impossible to put into words. The closest I can come is witnessing someone so confident in their abilities that you know, that they know, they are on another level than regular people. I was having a difficult time telling whether or not Tom Petty was peeved at Prince for upstaging everyone during "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," but decided that it was a moot point due to the enormous smile on Dani Harrison's face once Prince started commanded his guitar to start weeping. Prince's soloing to close that song was one of the best guitar performances I've ever seen. Easily in my top 5.

Rolling Stone is a joke as it is, but to not have this man in the Top 100 guitarists of all-time is a travesty. I'd love to see Jack White or Kurt Cobain's faces if they were put to a wank off versus Prince. I'll be up bright and early tommorrow as tickets go on sale at 10am for Prince's "last" tour.

The George Harrison induction was, by the way, really great as well. I've always maintained that he was my favorite Beatle. I saw Sean and Yoko there right behind Dani and Olivia, but wonder where the McCartney and Starr delegates were? I hope somewhere close by.

Playlist:
Q and not U-X-Polynation 7"
Prince-1999(lp)
The Beatles-the Beatles(lp)

James | 3/21/2004 08:21:00 PM

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26 Blue

So, sometimes I think that becoming a writer is a fucking worthless venture because I read some people's articles and they're great. But then I read my own and think that they're crap. Mostly I tell myself the same thing: I could never write that. With music it always seems that there is always someone ahead of the game and with more experience. Frustration is setting in and I do not like it one bit. I'm starting to believe that writing is something that you've either got or you don't. But is writing (specifically music) all about mining obscure references that only geeks like myself understand or is it about something deeper? I do not have an answer.

James | 3/21/2004 12:51:00 AM

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Friday, March 19, 2004

Two things...maybe three

Again, many thanks goes out to Starfire at PDD for the props yesterday. About 40 more people visited the site than usually do and I attribute that all to his post. You rule. If anyone who visited the site for the first time yesterday has any suggestions or anything on how I can improve I'd love to hear them. Hey, I'd love to hear anything in those little comments forms. Don't be shy. I also edited up those CD reviews a bit so that they are easier to read. For some reason apostrophes transfer strangely.

This is a question for anyone with a PC: how do you get apostrophes and quotation marks instead of tick marks? I've got no idea.

Playlist:
Broken Social Scene:You Forgot It In People(cd)
The Melvins-Egg Nog(lp) (borrowed from a friend)
Shellac-Uranus 7'
Q and not U-X-Polynation 7'

James | 3/19/2004 10:23:00 AM

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Thursday, March 18, 2004

Reviews and News

I just received an email from Tony Bennett for a Seed Math feature that I'm on for next week's Northland Reader. I'm thinking that this feature will be more of an intro/interview feature due to the lengths that Tony went to answer my questions. The forthcoming Ripsaw will feature the following two CD reviews by yours truly. I might get in trouble for reprinting these before the Ripsaw hits the street, but, barring a cease and desist order...And just to let everyone critical of Xiu Xiu know, I struggle with their work. At first I really just discounted it as some drama queens playing vaguely electronic music, but kind of came around to the point where I actually felt something for the tracks. I think that it has a lot to do with the title track on the new one, Fabulous Muscles, because the lyrics are somewhat absurd, but the music somehow infuses it with undeniable passion. I strongly suggest picking it up and deciding for yourselves.

Xiu Xiu
Fabulous Muscles
5RC

If you've not yet heard "Support Our Troops OH!" from Xiu Xiu's Fabulous Muscles, you're probably all the better for it. With lines like:

Did you know that you were going to shoot off the top of a four year-old girl’s head? Oh wait, you totally did know that would happen, because you’re jock who is too stupid and too greedy and too unmotivated to do anything but still be the biggest…why should I care if you get killed?

it's reminiscient of the worst moment of Xiu Xiu's excellent 2003 release A Promise, where on "Walnut House" Jamie Stewart sings: "I am the dumbest bitch on the planet!" Now, forget that you ever heard either of these songs. Instead, listen to album opener "Crank Heart" and subsequent track "I Luv the Valley OH!" and their seemingly endless layers of electronic fuckery and the chilling vocal intensity with which they are delivered. And focus on songs like the ironic title track-where with an acoustic guitar Stewart paints an unnerving and ultimately poignant portrait of pain amidst the chaos of violent personal upheaval-to see one of today-s most challenging artists at the top of his game.
- James Maryland

The Walkmen
Bows and Arrows
Record Collection

Being cheated or cheated on, like living in a world where the air tastes like burned grease, stinks. You feel it when your favorite local bar closes its doors, your favorite band breaks up, or when your girlfriend admits to you that she's banging her landlord. The Walkmen's Bows and Arrows should most certainly be the soundtrack to strange the new beginnings borne of these painful endings.

A vast improvement, both sonically and conceptually, from 2002's uneven Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone, Bows and Arrows presents a band finally confident in their musical ability. From the Sonic Youth meets "New Year's Day" fusion of "The Rat," to the frenetic "Little House of Savages" and the resigned throbbing of "My Old Man," The Walkmen succeed where another New York band they are often compared to, The Strokes, fail. They convince you that they are, indeed, real people.
-James Maryland

PlaylistL
Sight Like December-Simply Let Go(cd)
Sonic Youth-Daydream Nation(cd)
Seed Math-Volume 2(cd)

James | 3/18/2004 10:40:00 PM

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Rummy

As you can probably tell due to the proclivity of posts today I am doing much computer work. This movie, put together by the fine folks at Moveon.org really sent chills down my spine. I always get that feeling whenever I see someone in a really embarassing situation, like getting caught up in a blatant lie. Hopefully the people that are to blame for leading our country into war waged under false pretenses and outright deception are held accountable eventually. Hope is the only word that comes to mind right now because it really doesn't seem likely. I guess that removing the Republicans from office is the next best thing, but even that rings a little hollow.

Listening to MPR today, I heard a speech given by someone(I never caught their name) who was praising our government on the 1 year anniversery of the invasion of Iraq, saying that essentially with Saddam Hussein behind bars and blah blah blah, the US Government has made the world a safer place. I find that astonishing because I don't feel any safer than I felt one year ago. It also seems to me that Iraq is still a very dangerous place. While its possible that they no longer pose an "imminent threat" (see the above video clip) to the United States, it debatable whether they ever did in the first place. I think that there can be no argument that the world is better off with Saddam Hussein behind bars than at the helm of a nation, however our government needs to heed the lessons that Robert MacNamera(see my post yesterday) learned from Vietnam. First and foremost among them, that before and during Vietnam MacNamera and his collegues "failed to draw Congress and the American people into the pros and cons of a large-scale military action before it got underway" and that "We do not have the God-given right to shape other nations as we choose...'"

There is another argument along the lines of "9/11 changed everything." I disagree. 9/11 was a horrible tragedy that I hope is never repeated again. However, fear mongering behind the grim spectre of that tragic day to achieve unrealistic, unjust goals while putting hundreds of thousands of American troops in harm's way is no way to drive our foreign and domestic policy agendas.

ps: Thanks to Perfect Duluth Day for the Moveon.org movie heads up

James | 3/18/2004 12:45:00 PM

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Loveless

It has been far too long Mr. Shields. Rumors of a boxset are the horizon and last year's "City Girl" was a welcome contribution to a lovely movie, but how about a proper album of new material huh? In other news, I just purchased the Tremelo EP on vinyl from a dude via eBay for $14. I cannot wait.

James | 3/18/2004 09:26:00 AM

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Another Good Blog

Unfortunetely it seems that they are taking a short break right now, but there is a blog about literature and drinking that really should be a part of everyone's daily regimine of web surfing (what a stupid term). It is called, I believe, Problem Drinker and you can visit it by clicking this link. Or you can click the link that I've added on the left. Enjoy!

James | 3/18/2004 08:35:00 AM

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Thanks

Damn, Starfire posted a cool message giving me some props over at Perfect Duluth Day so I gotsta say thanks man. One of these days I may emerge from the shadows and introduce myself. Who knows. In other news, I was reading some earlier posts and feel that I need to apologize for my numerous grammatical and spelling errors. Often times I'm writing on 2-3 cups of coffee and just motor away without thinking or editing. Maybe no one cares, but it makes me cringe when I look back upon it.

Playlist:
The Microphones-Live in Japan(cd)
TV on the Radio-Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes(cd)

James | 3/18/2004 07:59:00 AM

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Wednesday, March 17, 2004

The Fog of War

I'm familiar with the broad brushstrokes concerning the Vietnam War, but know very little about the intimate details actually involved. I just recently watched an hour long talk with filmmaker Errol Morris and former Secretary of Defense Robert MacNamera that was broadcast from UC-Berkley about a month and a half ago and must say that I am intrigued to see this movie. The conversation with both men(though mostly MacNamera) was interesting to see not only because MacNamera is viciously animated (he's 88 for godsake) but his view of world politics in its current state was very refreshing. Essentially, MacNamera believes that what our world leaders and its citizens must do is to learn lessons from the past so as not to repeat them in the future by engaging in meaningful dialogue at all levels: personally, governmentally, internationally, etc. I implore anyone interested in today's state of affairs(because the moderator tries very hard to draw parallels between Iraq and Vietnam) to watch this webcast. You can find it here.

James | 3/17/2004 12:37:00 PM

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Archives

As though anyone cares, my archives are back up and functioning. Wey hey!

Playlist:
Black Eyes-s/t(lp)
Neutral Milk Hotel-On Avery Island(lp)
Neutral Milk Hotel-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea(lp)
The Jesus and Mary Chain-Psychocandy(cd)

Actually, as I was typing out today's playlist a funny story popped in my head that occured last week. I did a little record shopping while I was in town for the Broken Social Scene/Stills Music for America show at Treehouse Records in Uptown. While I was there I happened upon a Dead Boys record from 1977, Young Loud and Snotty. I'd never heard the Dead Boys before, but had heard Pearl Jam cover "Sonic Reducer" a number of times and figured I might as well check out the record. As I was perusing the back cover, I saw that their bass player was named Jeff Mangum. I kind of freaked out because I looked the band picture of early 20's punks and thought, Man, either Jeff Mangum is really old now and looks really different, or this isn't the same Jeff Mangum from Neutral Milk Hotel. But, then I thought How many Jeff fucking Mangum's are there in the music world? And figured that I'd just purchased something from his early punk days before he started making crazy pop songs. Hell yeah! Then, after I got home and looked at the album a little more, I realized that the bass player's name is Jeff Magnum, not Mangum. Boy did I feel like an idiot. It's still a good record though. It's the kind of punk I like-before hardcore and after the Stooges.

James | 3/17/2004 10:10:00 AM

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Tuesday, March 16, 2004

SLD

I've added a link to my Sight Like December story in the Northland Reader. For my first effort, I'm happy with it though it is a bit meandering and should probably just get to the point faster than it does. Oh well.

James | 3/16/2004 09:02:00 AM

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B-Boys

With a new Beasties album ready to drop in a couple of months, I recently checked out Hipster Detrius and nearly shit myself when I saw this. And I thought that I was obsessive.

James | 3/16/2004 08:57:00 AM

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Lightning

I've been offline for a bit due to an unfortunate lightning strike in my neighborhood which fried my modem. I was actually on the computer typing when I saw the lightning flash and subsequently got shocked via my keyboard. Scared shitless is a good way to describe my reaction.

This weekend was a great weekend for shows in town and I decided to partake heavily. Saturday night The Dames, Black-eyed Snakes, and Sight Like December damn near tore Pizza Luce to the ground. I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed seeing three Duluth bands whose musical styles are so different play so well on one evening. It is a testament to the strength of the music scene here. Sight Like December continued to just impress the hell out of me. They've asked me to write a smart-ass bio for them, so I've got to pump them up a little. The Dames and Snakes were no slouches either however. The Dames set rocked harder than I'd seen for a while and the Snakes kind of got a droning Sonic Youth thing going after a while. I remember commenting to a friend that Snakes drummer Brad Nelson has got to either be in great shape or beat to fucking hell after one of their sets. The man looks damn near possesed behind the kit at times. All in all it was a great time and I'm sure that the MAC made a ton of money.

Sunday night was, incredibly, even better than Saturday as the Hold Steady and I Am the Slow Dancing Umbrella played. Another band from Minneapolis played as well, but I cannot remember their name(which says a little about their indie-rock by the numbers sound). I hadn't seen Slow Dancing Umbrella for a while and was really impressed by the set. A pastiche of strange found sounds, keys, and guitar fuckery. Brian can really affect you with all the nervous energy that he brings to their, often times, brief performances. Some people have asked me why people like them and my only response is that I don't really know why people like them. Why is kind of irrelevant with Slow Dancing Umbrella, but you either really like them or you really don't it seems. After many cocktails and the band that I cannot remember the Hold Steady came on and rocked my world. Lifter Puller is one of those bands that I've heard a lot, but never went out bought one of their records. I had also never seen them live, but was blown away by the Hold Steady. To boil it down, it was just great guitar rock mixed with a lead singer who just exudes a nervous charisma that is undeniably great. I'm a bit mixed on their new album (though I strongly recommend it to people who like Lifter Puller), but live their are absolutely incredible. My girlfriend was also nice enough to get me one of their t-shirts that I wore all of yesterday.

Playlist:
Q and not U-X-Polynation 7"
Modest Mouse-Float On 7"
Shellac-Uranus 7"
Sonic Youth-Bad Moon Rising(cd)

James | 3/16/2004 08:22:00 AM

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Friday, March 12, 2004

Tired

Damn! The last couple of days have been very tough. Too much work, but a little play as well.

I saw Broken Social Scene a couple of days ago at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis and was very impressed. I talked a bit to their bass player and tour manager after the show, but was too drunk to take the party back to the Metrodome Holiday Inn with them. They sounded just as good as their CD and they even brought in Metric's Emily Haines to sing "anthems for a seventeen year-old girl." And, by the way, Haines is hot, hot, hot. Really fucking hot if you must know. Here's a picture of her that is more scary than anything, but oh well. I also hobnobbed (what a dumb word) a bit with some of the members of the Stills who also played that night. Good people all, especially Liam their keyboard player and tour manager. We talked a bunch about the upcoming elections and how much they actually mean to Canadians (both bands are from Canada) whereas most Americans couldn't give a shit about Canada's elections.

Anyway, I'll put up a link to the Sight Like December story that is in the current issue of the Reader Weekly whenever they find the time to get it up on their website. Actually, I might just post my version, because I am sure that the edited some of the (in their opinion) more controversial stuff from it. We shall have to see though.

In other news, this lucky dude managed to score tickets to the Pixies show at the Fine Line that was barely publicized at all. I narrowly missed out on tickets by an hour or so before the damn thing sold out. Fuck! Still got Coachella.

Playlist:
TV on the Radio-Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes(cd)
Dead Boys-Young, Loud and Snotty(lp)
Descendents-Milo Goes to College(lp)
Xiu Xiu-Fabulous Muscles(cd)

James | 3/12/2004 02:20:00 PM

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Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Defeated

Sometimes living in Duluth, MN makes you feel like absolutely nothing can ever change. Though things may seem better for a short period of time, they are, it seems, always destined to remain, on average, very...average. Is that the curse of living in this port town? Are Duluth's inhabitants doomed to a life where anything representing freedom and creativity is eventually stripped to the core by some mystical force of nature? I'm feeling very frustrated right now because of an utter lack of communication among a number of people. Fuck this shit.

By the way, one year (maybe sooner) Sight Like December will be considered the best band in Duluth. Their new disc is amazing, not only for the music, but the lyrics are better than anything I've ever heard from a local artist.

Playlist:
Sight Like December-Simply Let Go(cd)
Xiu Xiu-Fabulous Muscles(cd)
Iron Maiden-The Number of the Beast(lp)

James | 3/10/2004 09:49:00 AM

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Tuesday, March 09, 2004

Homegrown RIP

I've just found out that the Homegrown Festival is no longer going to be held. Go here to see for yourself. I'm going to ponder this for a day, but my kneejerk reaction is to just think: WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN THIS TOWN!?

I am truly sorry and I suppose just a bit disappointed to hear this news Scott.

James | 3/09/2004 09:28:00 AM

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Sunday, March 07, 2004

Sorry Guys

I just noticed that I forgot to put up my blog links when I redid my page. Many apologies go out to Steve, Jason, Mould, the Perfect Duluth Day crew, and everyone else. I'm now going to go to sleep because today I was a total slackass and didn't write the story on Sight Like December that is due tommorrow sometime. Therefore, I must rise at 7am to try and get something resembling a coherent (not to mention insightful) story in on time. Au revior.

Playlist:
Primal Scream-Screamadelica(cd)
BRMC-s/t(cd)
Badly Drawn Boy-About A Boy Soundtrack(cd)

James | 3/07/2004 09:47:00 PM

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Saturday, March 06, 2004

Drying Out

The past couple of weeks I have been getting much too intoxicated. I've always believed that the reason I sometimes do this has to do with a dissatisfaction with some part of my life. Maybe it is just that I feel really stuck right now and do not know what the next step for me is. I've applied for numerous jobs, but have yet to get hired. Hopefully things will improve this week, as I'm thinking that I'll hear back from one job that I'd really like to get, but who knows. I've decided to cut myself off of the booze at least until next Sunday's Hold Steady show at Pizza Luce. As for the present moment, quite content listening to Elliott Smith lying in bed. Have a happy night.

Playlist:
Elliott Smith-s/t(cd)
" " -either/or(cd)
" "-x/o(cd)

James | 3/06/2004 09:35:00 PM

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Archives

Does anyone know the html for archives. It seems that I've untintentionally erased mine and I don't have the code or whatever to enable them anymore. Help!

James | 3/06/2004 12:16:00 PM

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New Skin

I've finally gotten my lazy ass in gear and changed the look of this blog. Hopefully everyone likes it. Not that it's really all that big a deal anyway, but I think that this design a bit nicer to look at.

Last night saw me getting very, very drunk with Steve Johnson from Sight Like December. Their violin player Becky joined us later in the night and was gracious enough to drive my drunk ass home because I needed to grab my wallet. Needless to say, too many Derailed Ales (courtesy of the fine folks at the TPB) a couple free Budwiesers, and a shot of tequila later found all of us in very good spirits. Somewhere in there I worked in an interview which should be in next week's Northland Reader. Anyone who is not working or recovering from last night should really think about seeing them at the Sportsman's Bar in Superior. It's pretty easy to find if you just keep driving down Tower Avenue until it turns into Highway 35. I've been told that it is mainly a hick bar and that Steve had to coerce to owner into letting them play because he didn't think that they were good enough.

Liquor Blog News: none really. I promise more action next week. If only those damn Britney Spears tickets I've got on eBay would sell!!!!

Playlist:
The Hold Steady-The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me(cd)
Deerhoof-Milkman(cd)
Sight Like December-Simply Let Go(cd)

James | 3/06/2004 11:52:00 AM

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Wednesday, March 03, 2004

Gay Marrige

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Last night I attended my district caucuses and a number of resolutions were put forward pertaining to gay marraige. As I live in an area inhabited predominantly by students, the debate got very lively-an odd occurance for a Democratic caucus I've been led to believe. This was the first year that I've attended, but from one woman's account the last caucus drew about 5 people all over the age of 50. That the room was packed with more than 40 people(mostly students) was a very positive sign. I'm not sure if it's right to divulge who won our caucus, but, nevertheless, Dennis Kucinich prevailed. Ya gotta love the kids!

Playlist:
Preston School of Industry-Monsoon(cd)
Big Black-Songs About Fucking(lp)
Sonic Youth-Bad Moon Rising(cd)

James | 3/03/2004 12:51:00 PM

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In Theory...

So now that I've completed a small amount of work this morning...

I recently acquired $30 in Best Buy gift certificates lately and used them to purchase two new DVDs: The Rolling Stones' Sympathy For The Devil and Pearl Jam's Live at Madison Square Garden. I haven't yet gotten through the Pearl Jam DVD, but it seems to be essentially a concert video, which is nice. PJ obviously lack the intensity of their early shows, and Eddie is starting to show some signs of wear and tear (the dude is really starting to look like the Boss), but they were one of the first bands that really got me excited about music and thinking about things other than toeing the line. Sure, they were major label babies, but they fought the man and pretty much intentionally (not with drugs) fucked up their careers, which is a lot more than most bands can say for themselves. So, whatever, I like 'em and I liked Touring Band 2000 enough to buy this one.

The Stones' DVD is a bit more of a film-an art school film. It was directed by Jean-Luc Goddard and focuses heavily on the politics of the time: the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and the push pull of the culture wars in general. In between all this the Stones' are recording what may be their greatest song ever. Yep, you guessed it, "Sympathy For The Devil." So it goes and I'm going to tell the truth here: I fell asleep. Maybe it was due to the fact that I was really tired coupled with the outdated feel of the politics, but needless to say I will watch this again very soon.

Hold up. I will comment on one particularly outdated scene that is worth mentioning for those that have not seen the movie. The setting is a junk yard and there are numerous black males with assault rifles, some of whom are reading aloud passages of various books. A red car is brought into the junkyard compound and it is revealed that three white women in white nightgowns inhabit the car. The women are taken prisoner by the black men and is thrown on the ground before two of the men. One of the men begins to fondle the woman while the other delivers a soliloquy to the camera about his longing for the white woman due to her skin, submissiveness, and various other characteristics. The man believes that this is a longing passed down many generations from man to man, slave to freeman, in his family. The woman is eventually led off and shot to death, though not on camera. I think that if you look at this scene in the context of 1970's America, it probably has much more significance in that depictions of a black man fondling, professing his undying lust of, and ultimately killing a white woman I assume was probably a bit more controversial then than it would be today. Not that murder is anything to be taken lightly, but I assume that the shock (or whatever) of seeing the white woman held captive by some black guys was the point of the scene: blacks(specifically men) and whites(specifically women) together, possibly fucking. 1970=big deal, 2004=not so much so. Maybe it's me, but I see interracial couples almost everyday of the week, even in Duluth, so that is really not all that shocking to me. I'm starting to ramble, but hopefully you understand my point.

In other news, I've finally gotten a chance to see Sight Like December and I like them. I'm not so sure that they're as good as everyone seems to think, but the potential is definitely there. Actually, I am going to be interviewing Steve Johnson, the main songwriter, for the next issue of the Northland Reader. I've gotten tips from some people not to mention Bright Eyes, because I assume that a lot of people have compared the two. The comparisons are not too far off, but there are a lot of artists you could compare the music to. Personally, I think that it stands pretty well on its own. Read the article next week for more.

What else...
My mom is going to pay for my plane ticket to Phoenix to see the Coachella Festival. I mentioned that I was going and she asked her travel broker friend how much the tickets were and got me one. What a lady. I protested heavily, but to no avail. That spells good things for the liquor blog.

I'm also wondering when the hell the Ripsaw is going to update its online edition. The new magazine thing looks so so in my opinion. A little too mainstream, but whatever. As long as they keep printing my CD reviews who cares.

I also am really looking forward to hearing from a job that I applied for last week. Friday was the deadline for resumes, so hopefully I hear some kind of response this week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Well I'm out to grab the new Hold Steady and Seed Math CDs. Word to your mammy.

Playlist:
KEXP Internet Stream

James | 3/03/2004 09:40:00 AM

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Tuesday, March 02, 2004

Delicious Pie and Thank You For Calling

I've realized that I am a manic/depressive blogger. Sometimes I will go many days without blogging, then return and blog twice a day for a week. I had planned on posting a big update tonight until I downloaded and installed a patch for Windows XP that took TWO AND ONE HALF FUCKING HOURS to install. So, needless to say I no longer wish to stare at this computer screen. At least I got to listen to a ton of GBV. I'll update y'all tomorrow morning.

Playlist:
GBV-Delicious Pie and Thank You For Calling
-Live at the Wheelchair Races
-Demons and Painkillers
(all from the Hardcore UFO's Boxset)
GBV-Propeller(lp)

James | 3/02/2004 10:13:00 PM

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