Alright, it's gig time, what t-shirt am I gonna wear?

This weekend I stepped out to the Firebird for what turned out to be a perfectly awesome rock show.

We Landed on the Moon!: The flexibility and energy of this band is amazing. It is of course always great to hear someone playing some good music, which they surely did, but what really got me is how much fun they have doin' their thing. It's infectious. But not like "oh noes! I am disease-ridden!" More in a good way. Like, there has been an outbreak of rock n roll. People everywhere are coming down with it. Symptoms include smiles and wild dancing. Pleased be advised there is no cure; the only available option is to let the disease run its course, so if you find you are suffering the effects of this illness please report to the front of the stage for treatment.

Blind Eyes: What can I say about them? Local band, three white guys in standard arrangement. I was not wowed. I'm not knocking the idea of three white guys in a local band, mind you. I can think of at least one such group that has always impressed. But them... I believe I heard someone refer to them as "Bland Eyes", and that pretty well sums it up. My attention was not grabbed by the complexity or energy of the music, or by the depth of the lyrics. I did think they had a slightly interesting sound with their use of a blues guitar in a rock band, but it wasn't strong enough to stand out and make up for the band's overall shortcomings.

Elsinore: And speaking of complexity... I don't have any of their records, but I've now seen Elsinore a good three or four times. They're not local, but they come through St. Louis somewhat regular. It's only at this last show that I'm beginning to understand how much they've got going on in some of their songs. Somehow they managed to blend a beat that kicks with something as beautiful and sweet as a sea breeze. It's only because of their lead singer, I feel, that they are able to pull this off. The rest of the band is fairly adept as well, but it's he who really brings it all home. I was of two minds, torn between wanting to dance around and just bask in the music; ultimately I settled for dividing myself in two and using each half of my body to do both at the same time. The stage presence wasn't quite as strong as I've seen it be in the past - the last time they came through the lead singer was cracking jokes and bantering back and forth with the crowd - but I'm more than willing to forgive that as they were on day 28 of 28 of their tour.

But wait, there's more! Have some video goodness...





When I die, I sure hope I don't have pie all over my face...

Never had it so good

Wish my commute was that easy. The next bicycle I buy will have the power of flight.

In other stuff on the interweb developments, huzzah for the Pitchfork RSS feed. I am all caught up on music news (which goes along with my general theme of being more aware of news in general) and it's good times. Plenty of stuff that I won't post on the blog but will be shared on that Buzz thing...

I'd been having some virus drama for a while that was a perpetual annoyance as none of the programs I could find were able to get rid of it. Finally today I got around to trying a factory restore. I'd been reluctant to do something so drastic, but enough was enough. Sick to death of corrupted programs and crashes, and with this shiny huge new hard drive backing up my data seemed to be less of a problem. Boy am I glad I did. I didn't lose anything important, and I even downloaded the latest versions of the programs I use most. Included in that list was The GodFather, which is an awesome but cumbersome way to alter tags and file names of mp3s. With the amount of music I have dumped into random folders and the obsessive methods I have when it comes to organization it's definitely a must have. While I was looking around I came across Tag&Rename and decided to check it out since it had better reviews. Turns out this works way better. So much more powerful and intuitive. Should be much easier to make headway on the Great Reorganization now. How friggin sweet. Thanks you, cnet. I also played around with personas finally, so Firefox is now all infused with music. The only downside is I forget which theme it was I'd been using for Firefox, I seem to have lost the ability to add IMDB and Meriam-Webster to my toolbar search engines, and my FoxyTunes controls are a little wonky. Gotta see if I can work it out.

It feels like I'm watching something dyin'

What is "indie"?

A sound? A philosophy? A label affiliation?

An important question for one who is particular about the labeling of genres and ideas. By the dictionary's definition of the term (here being "independent") - along with a bit of contextual assumption - I imagine its meaning to be something produced and distributed without connection to the mainstream establishment. As a person living an eclectic and slightly Bohemian lifestyle, this is a definition I find terribly appealing. Not that mainstream is inherently bad, mind you, but I feel at times it can be somewhat unwieldy, sometimes archaic and possessing of values that don't align with my own. Arguably this definition of indie could be applied to just about anything, which threatens to make even indie itself begin to become unwieldy, but for simplicity's sake I'll restrict my thoughts here to music. (Though I must admit a deep interest and admiration for indie news - even if it does at times lean a little to the left, I have to respect its telling of the many things that would otherwise not be reported.) Thinking just of independent music quickly runs into a large problem, in that so little of what is being produced today remains truly independent of the mainstream labels. Additionally, the depth of knowledge and history required to define what is and is not indie is simply out of the grasp of the majority of the population. I confess that I can be more than a little obsessive when it comes to the definitions and organization of my music library, but even I have never gone so far as to look up and define the status of individual labels, nor do I have any interest in doing so. Because of this it is my opinion that this once meaningful term has now become corrupted. Which makes me sad. I think of myself as traditionalist and appreciative of the old-fashioned, and I don't like how so many of the old ways and aspects of cultural have fallen by the wayside.

Another way to look at it is in terms of a sound or a genre, but there are issues with this outlook as well. "Indie" is commonly used as a definition specifically for rock music, but what about hip-hop? There's a strong movement in hip-hop for artists and the general style of art that remains independent, perhaps better known as underground. There are some deep-running feelings about it. Just look at how much controversy got stirred up when Nas came out with "Hip-hop Is Dead." He sure got people all riled with that one. I'm sure there are ways the term could be applied to many other genres as well. To be thorough and safe I typically classify my music as "indie rock" and leave it at that, but... if I think about it too much it leaves me with an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach that, at best, this is not specific enough. At worst, I worry that it means nothing at all. Certainly there is enough breadth that it's difficult to justify fitting all these wildly different-sounding artists under a single umbrella. I can't say I'm very happy at the thought of yanking the rug out from under what forms such a significant percentage of what I listen to, though.

Ultimately, what I'll likely have to do is largely leave things as they are and not think too hard about this. Flawed as it is, were it to be taken away I don't know that there's something better to replace it. If this requires wearing blinders, or even screwing my eyes tightly shut and hiding under the bed, so be it. (I will not be sticking my fingers in my ears, it should be noted, cause then I wouldn't be able to hear the music.) As long as I don't read many more disturbing articles like the one that prompted this rant I figure I should be safe and able to sleep at night. The alternative is just too unpleasant to consider.

Paste Magazine - Is Indie Dead?

By the by, though so far I've only been reading this one article (which is fabulously well-written), I think I might be in love with this magazine. I'm considering grabbing a subscription, I'm so impressed by my first look. We'll see how good the rest is as I read further.

Beck - Already Dead

My heart explodes into a thousand downloads

Today's edition of Stuff on the Interwebs is brought to you by the letter J. Once again no New Music Monday as the Great Reorganization continues. In a quick search for an appropriately fitting bit of music I did however stumble across this little thing that I can't recall having heard before. But first! Cool art, made out of interesting stuff no less.


For a long time, one of my uncles has had these rhinoceroses that he's kept around the house. Ever since I was a kid I recall looking at them and thinking they were kind of neat, but there was always this small voice in my brain that wondered why he had them. Finally not too long ago the subject came up and I asked him what the deal was. Apparently he likes them. They're tough, and not to be trifled with, they've got thick skin and they get along just fine doin' their own thing. Maybe you have to be there, or maybe you have to know him, but I find this perfectly hilarious. I think he wants to be a rhinoceros when he grows up.


Prolyphic & Reanimator - Artist Goes Pop

15 amazing used tire sculptures

They call me quiet, but I'm a riot

o.O? The band formerly known as "The Gossip" apparently has changed their name to "Gossip". ...the part of me that likes things to be organized doesn't know how to handle that. Should I find all the locations where the old name occurs and change them to the new? Should I be steadfast and stick with the original? Or should I change the info only for music they've released from the point in time at which the new name was used?

Arrgh. Can't decide... can't decide, brain aneurysm!

No New Music Monday this week. Still in the midst of reorganizing an entire library of music, rebuilding playlists I've destroyed, etc, and it's a beast. Roughly 4.3 gigs filed and in place, 58.5+ left to go. Gonna be at this a little while. Maybe this'll tide you over for a spell.
Gossip - Heavy Cross (RAC remix)

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Now playing: The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name (LA Riots remix)
via FoxyTunes

I'm not much of one for the technology that the kids seem to go crazy over. These days it's all about the iPhones and gPhones and xPhones and zPhones, BlackBerrys and CrackBerries, the PS3s and Wiis, the texting and tweeting and twixting. Me, I prefer to do things the old fashioned way. There have been some new shiny things happening lately that are worth a little attention. Without further ado, and in ascending order of cool/useful/geekness...

#3. WolframAlpha: This could be the search engine to end all search engines. I'm not sure how handy this will be for me - I've got a feeling it could have way more information that I would ever actually need. But if I ever need to quickly slap someone with facts, this would be the place to go. With a quick test query of "Silver Spring" (for those keeping score at home, that's where I was born) this thing figured out I meant the city in Maryland. The data that shows up - on the results page, mind you - includes population, location, elevation, weather... it's completely nerdy that I'm excited by this, I know, but I am okay with that.

#2. Google Buzz: It's all anyone can talk about today. Honestly I've got mixed feelings about it, and I can see how it might get a little annoying... so far the incessant updates about posts and people I don't care about but am somehow automatically subscribed to does not thrill me. But it may prove useful. I have a Gmail window open on my browser at all times anyway, so... Let's see if this will keep me as informed of goings-on as Facebook without all the useless chatter (so, so bored with that).


#1. Cooliris: Ooooh, look at the pretty. Browsing pictures and videos has never, ever been this slick.

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Now playing: Midnight Juggernauts - This New Technology
via FoxyTunes

New Music Monday: Talkin' all that jazz

Unintentionally - for I am not supposed to be letting myself get sidetracked by new music right now, and I promised myself I'd take a little break - I find myself with some fresh finds. Here I thought I was going to do this bi-weekly and use the word "fortnight" more often. Oh well. This week, we're gonna kick it with some new oldies.

Sarah Vaughan: In the midst of a recent Amy Winehouse kick I happen to take a look at some of the similar artists listed on her last.fm page. Randomly (or subconsciously?) I clicked over to see what Sarah Vaughan is about. (Amy does count her as an influence, after all, and drops her name in at least one of her songs.) I usually have to be in just the right mood to appreciate such mellow stuff, but her voice is so soulful and sexy that I couldn't help but fall for her.

Sarah Vaughan - In a Sentimental Mood

Marva Whitney: As mentioned in my recent post about the Ghetto Funk Power Hour there was one artist on that first listen who really grabbed hold. Mr. Griptite closed out the hour with Marva Whitney. What could have been chalked up to the excitement of the moment was proven to be more that. A quick search and listen on Hype Machine showed me that she is a standout. She may not be well-known among those of the interweb generation, but DAMN sister's got soul. And she shows that she can throw down the jazz flavor as well. I'm sold.

Marva Whitney - Sunny (with James Brown)

Either of these ladies would be worth investing in a time machine so I could go back and see them at the height of their glory. Unless of course anyone has a spare laying around that I could borrow for such a purpose. I promise I'll bring it back nice and shiny.

When disaster strikes...

It's a tough time when a dear loved one is near death. For me right now, that someone is my hard drive, and I would appreciate any and all support during this difficult time. So full of music, and pictures, and life. I am less than thrilled (see: full on panicked) at the thought of loosing the entirety of my music library, plus all the amusing pictures I've saved over the years (cause when the apocalypse comes, we'll be judged on the number of funny pictures we have accumulated). Luckily I'd managed to get it working again and save most of the super critical stuff, and it's shiny new replacement arrived today. Now begins the monumental task of reorganizing the whole she-bang. The good news is I found some old but decent speakers I haven't used in years and got them set up, so when I listen to tunes while I work I'll have a little wattage behind them instead of puny laptop speakers. Oh-rah.

Ghetto Funk Power Hour

Man... soul sure is blowing up for me lately. It's takin' over my world. I like it. The other day I got a newsletter from Daptone with a blurb about the debut of the Ghetto Funk Power Hour radio show. It's hosted by Binky Griptite who rolls with one Sharon Jones, so you know he's got some soul cred. I took a little listen and, oh glory of glories, it was good. I have to admit that he doesn't strike me as the most proficient of DJs and there are some kinks there to be ironed out, but the soul was all classic. It makes me sad that I was born in the 80s, I feel like I missed out on so much. How sweet would it have been to listened to this stuff in its heyday? There was quite a lot of good and I may have to dig through again for research purposes, but there was one artist who's thoroughly grabbed my attention. More about that after I've had some time to digest her funky soul goodness and do up a proper new music post.

It's late and I'm feeling so tired

I thought naps were supposed to be a good thing. It would seem this is not always the case. First, I had this weird dream where I wanted to get dessert so I went walkin' about to find some. Only I headed into this rougher residential neighborhood, so of course I wasn't going to find anything. I wanted to turn around and head back, but had just passed some random person and was worried about them watching and judging me when I immediately went past them again. Figured I would turn at the corner, walk over a block and then head back on the next street over. It was all going beautifully, until for some reason I found myself walking uninvited into a random stranger's house. Luckily no one was home and I was about to leave, but my luck ran out when someone returned and found me standing there. He wasn't too pleased to find me, and told me so by pulling out a gun and shooting at me. And at a cat, just for good measure. It wasn't so bad though. I could understand where he was coming from. And it turned out the bullets were actually BBs. Once he calmed down and I got patched and drugged up, we watched infomercials and listened to music for a while.

More importantly, that stupid nap has whacked out my sleep schedule. I've been awake for like the last six hours (ugh), and so bored. Spent some time playing around under the hood of the blog. Finally figured out how to put icons on the sidebar, been meaning to get around to that for ages. Small victories. Oh, and I stumbled across Corinne Bailey Rae. Just read that her husband died of an accidental overdose while she was in the middle of recording her second album. How sad. I've yet to listen to it, but the first is still as good as I remember.

Let's hope I'm not so messed up that I can't get something productive done today.

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Now playing: Corinne Bailey Rae - Trouble Sleeping
via FoxyTunes

New Music Monday: Baby, you know I got soul

For my next trick, I will attempt to make New Music Monday a semi-regular occurrence. Perhaps bi-weekly, so I will not be under quite so much pressure to go through so many songs that I can come up with an opinion about someone I haven't heard before ever seven days (that's a little bit of pressure). Aiding me in this, on my left I have last.fm - for a geek about being organized, having so much information about who, what and when I've been listening to stuff is like pure heaven. On my right, I have blogger - I've just discovered the ability to post-date posts (and have them automatically published), which to me feels a little like having a time machine.

Now then. Some black folks are still mad about how Elvis Presley stole our music and made it big. I can't claim to know much about that, it was way before my time, and I've not taken the time to go back and study about that period of musical and cultural history. My appreciation for Elvis pretty much starts and stops with that remix of A Little Less Conversation; other than that, to me he just doesn't sound like someone to get excited about. I used to wonder if the reason he didn't move me was cause he's white. I mean, let's face it, there are simply some things that white folks just aren't good at, like clapping on two and four. Not that I like to perpetuate stereotypes, but this is something I've seen many a time with my own two eyes. This week I have found some white folks who clearly know what it's all about, so I'll have to lay to rest my previous theory about why Elvis ain't got no soul. Mental note: next time I see Mos Def I should ask him what he was singin' about.

Alice Russell: I can't now recall how it was I found out about this lady, but based on who she's worked with I imagine she must have found her way into my library in connection with the Quantic Soul Orchestra. I've been diggin' on those cats for a while now, and if I remember correctly I also had a solo track or to by Ms. Russell floating around. I believe I must have listened to it, but I guess I just wasn't yet in the right place to hear it. Listening to her makes me think of soul food (the slap-yo-momma kind), she's so full of life and power and emotion. She's also so incredibly vibrant she makes me think of classy sassy black ladies, or perhaps a diva who's been at this for years. Surprise! Turns out she's a white girl. Not only that, but she's from Britain. I knew they were famous for rock, but soul? Well then... shut my mouth. In light of these developments I would like to offer my profuse apologies to all the white people and specifically white girls who I ever spoke or thought ill of. In the future Iy'll even take it easy on teasing you about the clapping thing.

Alice Russell - Hurry On Now
And for further knowledge, check her out behind the scenes @ SXSW '09.

Leigh Jones: This is one currently in my brain's inbox for checking out in the immediate future, on the recommendation of one Peevee Wonder of Animate Objects. Actually, he suggested everyone google her. Me, I take that to mean I should last.fm and hypem her (I swear to Bob, if I ever hear anyone seriously use those terms as verbs I'm gonna go poke the interwebs in the eye with a big pointy stick).