little guys coming up big!

Finally some recognition for the us halflings out there !

Important Dates

The lineup at the bug jar is getting sicker by the minute:

3/15 - The Robotanists (friend's band) ok not a good way to start a poignant post but hang on ...


4/1 - Handsome Furs - if you like wolf parade, you like this band ... i got one of their albums ... its currently in reg rot ... teeatts

4/27 - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - if you like the smiths go to this show ... also this is like ... don't miss

4/30 - Jeremy Jay - i have only heard one song by this guy, but i'm pretty much sold ... more to come when i have actually listened to more of his body of work. The bastard has some old school cool dance jaunts though. I love it.

Also remember that quote "But the band's epic slow-burn indie still sounded incredible, ringing and echoing all over the field. Since then, the band's sound has only gotten bigger and more assured, and these days its shows are basically must-see" .... i just ran out of room in my pants ...

fantastic friday frenzy

Overall I would say this week supplied little in the way of interesting news on the music front. However there are a few things worth noting:

Once again it seems the music gods have smiled upon western new york. The Thermals announced their tour and despite stops in Cleveland and Toronto (then Montreal) they decided to make a stop in Buffalo!!!! I'm there like a prom date pimple ... ya heard? My goal for this show is to advance my career as an indie rock roadie. I mean hey, i've got experience (almost 1 year to the date of the thermals show actually). What i lack in physical strength i think i more than make up with in the enthusiasm department. And I work for the right price (gratis of course!)

My goal is to get to 10 boxes of t's, 3 hobo's, and midget dressed as a clown on my shoulders all at the same time by may ... ready ... go!

I totally got my hands on the new Coconut Records album ... some dude totally ripped the stream off the myspace page. I hate it ... but i love it.

I got through all my seasonal mix albums since 2002 this week. My favorite transition out of all of them was off of "Winter Jams". I believe that was circa 2003. I had Jerkoff by Tool trail into In Other Words by BK. That was pretty amazing right there. Also when I was done I put in Strawberry Jam. I think that album is once again listenable ... holy shit did i overdo it with that one.

Remember that one time I couldn't remember the title to the song Tonight Tonight Tonight? Don't worry, i paid dearly, 60 lashes with a cambodian death noodle ought to prevent such silliness from transpiring again.

Still seraching for a guitar on c-list. I need one! Oh and rochester made the music news this week for something coo... wait no it super lame .. the yoosh. Oh and

MY FUCKING RECORD PLAYER COMES IN TODAY!!

short shots

free tunes

I'm freaking out ... they're totally back!

ok, ok gotta get my to do list in order here:
1. get a haircut, and clean myself up
2. write a thousand fake love letters to make it look like i'm lovelorn and romantic
3. practice my stalking exercises


Also they're totally back too!!

So it was a good day for new and free music ... yay.

Every time I go to buffalo I come back with a new song that I can't get out of my head. If you haven't ever listened to Plasticities by Andrew Bird ... man you should. That is a great tune and has gotten me terribly excited to see him live ... well that song and the barrage of amazing live performances shelley kept playing on youtube ...

Also, I have a new record for the amount I paid for a concert ticket. Of course bonna is 4 days and includes a campsite. So I guess if you count ticket + "accomodations" + an extra day of rock its actually cheaper than Lolla was.

Time to get me some phillipians ... also anyone who is interested the Handsome Furs are playing the bug jar ... I am going ... you should come with.

Also the heavens have answered my prayers ... enjoy

finally something pertinent!

I am finally ready to make my final assessment of the album Chemistry of Common Life by Fucked Up ... here goes.

Though Chemistry of Common Life came out many months ago it has taken until just recently for me to be able to find the patience to grasp the apirations asserted on this album. Indie rock review sites (all of them) hailed this album as a great return for punk rock, some even describing it as "hardcore punk".

Upon my first review the only thing I found hard was listening to the lead singer's (Pink Eyes - yes, that is really what he goes by) voice. I didn't find the album to be anything as it was being lauded for.

Facts that helped change my opinion: 1 - I found out they were canadian. Once upon a time I was a hardcore opponent of all canadian music. Quoting "Rush is the only good thing musically to come from Canada". This prejudice has since evaporated and many of my favorite bands hail from the great north. However, there is always going to be slight hesitation when I hear a canadian musician, its like their faces ... there is intrinsically something a little bit off. woah.

2 - I out loud said "the singer's voice reminds me of the first time i listened to the mighty might bosstones". Which alluded to the fact that my two best friends who loved the bosstones would play dicky barrett's howling voice and party while i sat there basically preteneding that I didn't want to rip my own ears off. Obviously that changed, and saying that out loud now ... was the catalyst to give this album another chance.

That said I can now offer these insights. Chemistry is a damn good album. I'm still not entirely sure why its being so pumped up. I do NOT think it is hardcore punk. Its just like this weird rock / punk fusion with some super growly vocals which ... if you into that sort of thing then this will be right up your alley. The album has currently made its way into my regular rotation, and I would recommend you at least give it a shot. It plays fast. There are no slow downs or hang ups, or tangents into the musical punk abyss. I suppose maybe if I had any of their previous work I could compare and understand what this album does that their other ones did not. However I think it best to judge the work based on what it is, not where it came from. I honestly can't tell you that its going to blow your mind, but if you give it a shot I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I haven't yet devised any sort of proper ratting system so at the moment I'm going to stick to an "out of 5". That said I give it a: 3.5 / 5 ... honestly i'm not even sure what that means besides I like it.

moving forward

woah, so i think i am finally ready to jump back into some new music

so last year I had this moment in time where London Calling was like the only album that I would listen to. I have since then been afraid to listen to another clash album for fear that it wouldn't be as good. well, i made the leap to Combat Rock. So far I've been enjoying it, but I haven't been able to drill down to the second half of the album. The first half is easy because there's a couple of burners, plus a couple of well knowns .... more to come ... i hate to sound like some band wagon douche, but the clash are pretty awesome.

I got the new Franz Ferdinand. Admittedly I enjoyed the first two so I really owed it to myself to get this one. I have only listened to it once, and it didn't stand out immediately like hte last two albums. However, there were a few songs that really caught my attention and I think I might have to keep this one in rotation .... i mean pfork likes it so it must be good, right? haha.

Also I got albums by Iran, The Notwist (i guess they're pretty popular already?), St. Vincent, and Parenthetical Girls (i have heard them before and I think I'm already in love this one).

Going to be a busy listening day for me.... those are the best.

edit: i also have this album by a band called Low vs. Diamond. I'm not sure where I heard them, but they seem alright i guess. I've got like six mopey vocals + piano/strings albums now ... so that might get annoying quick.