cross-reference

some good downloads out there right now, so i'm sending you on a field trip to harvest some new tunes.

http://docopenhagen.blogspot.com/
follow the post about The Chrysler - especially download dear dad and brown haired boy but probably get all the tracks. it's beautiful, bare, chilly music. some of the songs take a second to sink in, but they're great melodically.
do copenhagen is originally a copenhagen city guide of sorts. stuff to do in the big C and what not. they also post music.

http://daughtersofinvention.blogspot.com/
follow the link to short dick cuizi - yel under the frank joy in life post. it's great euro-dancy trash.

craigslist is the best

sometimes i like to skim through the personal ads in the weekly before tormenting myself with the crossword puzzle. in that same spirit, i enjoy perusing the various missed connections, and rants on craiglist - it's fantastic.

for example, this gem made me laugh....

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/mis/122773549.html

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jungle video porn room, tuesday - 37

Reply to: pers-122773549@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-01-05, 12:23AM PST

hey man, saw you in the porn rental room on tuesday. said hi, but didn't get to chat about what we were renting. you grabbed a vid and took off on your skateboard. we should watch some nasty porn together. e-mail me bro.
this is in or around venice
no -- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

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i love the part about how he cuts out on his skateboard...

16 Horsepower

16 Horsepower - Coal Black Horse
i was recently digging up info on bitchen canadian outfit frog eyes and came across an unfamiliar comparison - to a 90's era band from denver. a quick listen turned up some excellent alt-country along the dark lines of emmy lou harris and with the dissonant swooping sounds of geraldine fibbers.

after several releases in the 90's, a break from recording around the turn of the century followed by two albums this decade, the band has since called it quits. i don't venture much into the alt-country realm any more, so i'm not sure if this is one of those eternally underground bands that everyone already knows and worships or if this is some regional band from the recent past that is rarely heard outside it's own circle...

the gossip

The Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control

the latest from the gossip - standing in the way of control - is due January 24th from kill rock stars.

i'll say that again - January 24th. buy. buy this record. it's fucking fantastic.

other hightlights from this awesome record: Listen Up!, Your Mangled Heart, and Keeping You Alive.

there's pleanty of standard fare on this record - which by gossip standards is still strong. but include the title track and you've got like 4 solid hits on one record. that's pretty awesome.

because i'm a nice guy i'll remind you - they're playing the echo this month, so check it out. i'm sure you can get the record for like 10 or 12 bucks at the show. the band has a fairly small though very loyal fanbase, so you may consider getting tickets in advance.

Jan 28 @ The Echo
w/ Numbers

Numbers - Beast Life

pet politics resufraces

Pet Politics
Just $3! Buy The EP From Catbird Records!

the magic canadians over at PopSheep turned us all onto Pet Politics a little while back and have recently posted a follow-up - you can check out a second track, hit up the "band" (aka magnus) website and buy the EP (for just $3). i have placed my order and eagerly await it's arrival.

go hear another track and buy the EP for yourself over at Catbird!!

chad van and the WP

Chad VanGaalen - Liquid + Light

cvg and wolf p and el rey last night - fantastic show. kind of odd to see that show on the heels of !!! last month - from a sweaty raging dace off to the rock equivalent of a night at the symphony. yes, i do refer to certain dissonant art-rock acts and "strockvinsky". CVG was awesome. his sound was stronger, more dynamic than i expected.

there's nothing for me to add to the clamour over wolf parade - they're great live. i think they could use a more aggressive drummer and a bassist to hold down the low end a little more. there's a tendency towards too much swing in the drums and the sounds gets a bit top heavy at times. don't get me wrong - huge fan. have been for a long time. just felt like specific songs sounded a bit out of sync.

unrelated side note:
Meg White has announced details of a side-project away from the stripes. rather that release a 55 minute drum-only retro-futurist concept opera co-produced by omar rodrigez-lopez (that deal was there, but it fell through at the last minute i'm sure), she is making a short departure from music to simply be a pretty face. now some of you meanies out there would argue "that's what she does anyway," but i'm sure meg would whoop your ass on the skins with her doe-eyed beats and curvaceous fills. the point of this blather is that she will be the face of the upcoming marc jacobs collection.

31 Knots .... again.

31 Knots
Intuition Imperfected (from Talk Like Blood)
Welcome To Stop (from The Curse Of The Longest Day)

i have no interest in editing this post in any way. all spelling mistakes, poor grammar, offensive or otherwise just plain wrong content is intentional by virtue of my raging disconcern at the moment. please enjoy.

Talk Like Blood is a pretty bitchen album. The Curse Of The Longest Day is a fantastic EP. if you almost maybe liked the mars volta but didn't really care for the jazz exloration psudo ethnic enterprise of it all ... which i guess is kind of like saying "if you liked the quieter side of at the drive in" (and skipping all the qualifications), then you're a shoe-in for 31 Knots. further investigation shows that i've just describe them with the same sense of irony and sarcasm that appears on their site....

Directly after waking up on New Year's day we will be hauling our crap back into my basement and speed-practicing before we begin 4 days of recording from Jan.2 through the 5th. We plan to record about five new songs. A lot of piano and vocals. Maybe we can now be referred to as the "Prog Pop Emo Metal Jazz Singer Songwriter Rock band". I thik that fits.

acording to said website., they are planning a show here in LA but no venue has been set... sounds very professional.

Fri Jan 27, LA, CA - TBA

see you there. where ever "there" is.

some shows coming up

so it's been a long ass time since i paid much attention here. i've been on a bit of a vacation from a variety of things, including paying attention to music.

anyway, all excuses aside here's some shows coming up that you might check out...

Jan 2 @ Spaceland - Viva K
for more info on them, please consult the arctic. very cool people making very good music making very many people dance.

Jan 17 @ The Troubadour - Be Your Own Pet
the single is strong. i'm definitely gonna work on being at this show.

Jan 20 @ El Cid, Jan 29 @ Tangier - Nous Non Plus
their show is a blast. they've been posted here before if you haven't heard.

jan 28 @ The Echo - The Gossip
grrrrrrrrl you rock.

Feb 7 @ The Wiltern - Yellowcard
oh, whoops ... sorry. didn't mean to post this one.

Feb 25 @ (gulp) the key club - Robyn Hitchcock
this next song is also in the set.

Mar 28 @ The Troubadour - Dirtbombs
go get your brain melted by overpowering rock and roll from deeee-troit. all macho power garage rock noise. nothing too faggy.

of course, some of these shows conflict with stuff already listed in the side bar so you'll have to pick your poison.