March 31, 2004
Ho-Hum
I've been reading the Dante Club recently. It was a little ho-hum until they got to the part with the flesh-eating maggots. The author drops the hint rather clumsily, 50 pages before, but it's still gross when they finally talk about it. I've discovered that I am a fan of historical fiction, sort of.
Last night I watched the first season of the British show the Office. I laughed out loud. It is funny when a person wears a cellphone in a shoulder holster. It is also funny when a second person calls that person & says "cock" & then hangs up. Ricky Gervais is unbelievably good as the office manager.
April Fool
I'm supposed to have a new website up tomorrow but it might not happen until late in the day because I am a lazy dimbulb. If you are looking for it, please be advised.
March 30, 2004
March 29, 2004
1 for 3
I got my acceptance letter from Mass Art today. If all goes well, we'll be calling Boston home come August or September. If any of you 8 people have any suggestions about where to look for apartments or what neighborhoods are cheap/decent, please email or comment.
Stay tuned for more interesting, not about me news tomorrow.
March 28, 2004
March 26, 2004
"Like swimming in a pool with all your clothes on."
It doesn't make much sense but instead of going to see The Ladykillers this afternoon, we went to Jamba Juice. I got the Peanut Butter Moo'd. Thumbs-fucking-up. It's got bananas in it. BANANAS!
I'm going to see TV on the Radio tonight. I hope their as good as J. Hopper says. The TVOTR weblog can be read here.
Champion Sound
I'm not sure if I mentioned it before but this Jaylib collabo (love this slang abbreviation) is really growing on me. I still think it's not as good as it could've been; one side of the first single "The Official" is lukewarm. The first track to really catch my ear was "Raw Shit" w/Talib Kweli. I think it was the final piece of a mixtape that I'd been making in my head for my friend Jon, my first mix in too long. Other hot ones include "McNasty Filth" (does one of those guys sound like Jay-Z?), "The Red" (other side of the 1st single) & "Heavy" (that bassline!).
"Spring has sprung," as my mom says.
Sorry people. Sometimes I get home from the job late & I go to bed instead of looking at the internet. Can I blame it on my new plan to cut down on my sugar intake? It's been two days, which doesn't seem like much but, I like things with sugar in them. A lot. Especially these & these & these. In accordance with the wishes of several of you seven readers, I will make every effort to do this every dang day.
Here are somethings:
I've been trying to make up my mind about the new Blonde Redhead. Did you know that the reason it's been so long between records is that Kazu got kicked in the face by a horse! That's so awful that just thinking about it makes me not want to go anywhere near the Return of the Black Stallion.
With the eventual abscence of Columbia College's computer lab from my list of places to print pictures, I've begun saving my nickels for one of these Epson 4000s & thinking more seriously about sniffing out a refurbished Imacon 323.
Starsky & Hutch is neither as bad as you think it is or as good as you want it to be. Does that make sense? It is not Sabotage for 90 minutes, either.
This is the last time I'll mention it I swear but, the Madvillain LP came out this week. Buy it immediately. And MF Doom is coming to Chicago in May.
March 24, 2004
So Good
I just got back from seeing Ted Leo & Electrelane at the Logan Square Auditorium. The opening band Perfect Panther was painfully bland (if that's possible) but, oh boy, how good were the other two? So good. Please forgive me for being adjective-ly challenged right now. Blame it on tinnitus. Electrelane covered Springsteen's I'm On Fire. Ted Leo countered with Dancing in the Dark AND Stiff Little Fingers' Suspect Device. When I heard the opening chords I was besides myself. It was the first time during the show where I felt better for being quite a bit older that everyone else.
March 22, 2004
Critically Acclaimed
Noted Local raconteur Brian Costello & his live talk show were featured on WBEZ's 848 this morning. Welcome relief during their fund-raising. You can go see it at the Empty Bottle tonight. In the interest of full-disclosure I will mention that Brian was my roommate once, sort-of.
March 21, 2004
I always wanted Nike Lava Domes
I just got Where'd You Get Those? in the mail from photoeye, of all places. They had it on their "deep-discount" page for a $20. Bobbito is a many of many manias, apparently.
March 19, 2004
See America
More goodness from the Library of Congress Digital Archives: Silkscreened posters from the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This one is one of my favorites. This one & this one too. And that's just from the "highlights". Don't forget that you can download decent sized files to print too, if you've got the means. link from the Food Section, of all places.
March 18, 2004
DUNH DUNH
It took me awhile to come around on the Law & Order - Criminal Intent. More time than it took me to start watching CSI: Miami (another story). The thing is that, where I find the original L&O to be a well done tv drama, I like L&O-CI because it's hilarious. What the fuck is up with Vincent D'Onofrio? He's always sniffing at things & he's always doing this thing where his hands look palsied that reminds me of this kid Kevin Morrison that I grew up with (also another, less interesting story). Most of the time it seems like the show exists just so he can act wacky. I couldn't tell you anything about any of the other characters except that his partner played the doctor's daughter in the underrated Bill Murray vehicle What About Bob? Regardless, I just borrowed the entire first season on DVD from work & now I'm going to watch it. (cue L&O theme song)
Yes, please.
Big thank yous to whatever entity is repressing major-label soul, funk & latin lps from the 70s. As much as I enjoy holding the original artifact in my hands, it sure is nice to rock a clean copy of something like the Nite-Liters Analysis at home. Tonight I also brought home Milk Chocolate's Action Speaks Louder Than Words & Eugene McDaniels Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse. And as long as I'm on a soul tangent, Stones Throw's Stark Reality LPs are worth your while & then some.
"...the beautiful illusion of looking like shit."
Anthony Lane's review of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in the new issue of the New Yorker is pretty good although I sometimes still get lost in the critical jibber-jabber. I hate it when I can't tell what someone means & I have to reread it several time & even then...
UPDATE: Speaking of over-my-head, critical doublespeak, Jonathan Rosenbaum also writes about the movie in this week's Chicago Reader. His review is a bit more positive & also gives some welcome cine-historical perspective. (sorry about that made-up term, I wasn't sure how to word it & it just happened)
March 17, 2004
Cleartext
Before lending my friend Billy the "extra" chapter of Kavalier & Clay from one of the fancy multi-book versions of McSweeney's so he could show it to his fiction teacher, I reread it & enjoyed it so much that I decided to reread the book. Hooray for me. On the train(s) last week I plowed through the pre-DaVinci Code novels of Dan Brown. Angels & Demons was pretty fun, full of art history & religion trivia plus somewhat intriguing characters. Digital Fortress' codetalk & computerese wasn't enough to hold my interest really. It seemed like an exercise in how to write a "techno-thriller". I think I already wrote about those but whatever.
March 16, 2004
Don't Squish the Spider!
Follow instructions & join in the fun at Learning To Love You More.
Newstoday is, um, new today. (sorry)
Can't. Seem. To Get. Off. Couch.
It seems to be one of those days that passes without so much as a finger lifted. The only benefit seems to be, um...anyway, here's some things.
On the Le Tigre site they've got a video for the song Deceptacon. I would describe it as people aerobicizing in jumpsuits enthusiatically. It's better than it sounds. Le Tigre signed to major label-minor-label Strummer & have a record coming out at the end of the summer. I also recently heard that Kathleen Hanna was dating or married to Adrock (maybe that's old news) from those Beastie Boys who've announced they've got a new record coming soon, too. Are we looking forward to it? Herm...
If you thought that the Double Black Album (Jay-Z vs. Metallica) was the end of all of this Grey Album remix madness, some other kids with better time-management skills than me jump in with Jay-Zeezer. Too far or not far enough?
Emmitt Rhoades is no Paul McCartney
SFJ reviews Timbo's most recent and, by extension, the current state of hip-hop, in the Village Voice. Article here.
March 14, 2004
Some Photography + Other Stuff
Blueeyes Magazine - Some nice work contained in a very nice package. Here it is.
Revol Magazine - Debut issue of a nicely designed webzine with photos, design etc. You know what to expect. Here it is.
Carson Ellis - Carson is a friend of Jon Gitelson's who does all the art for the Decemberists & also has plenty of her other great work on her site. Here she is.
The Dismemberment Plan - Have you seen this cool video from a while back? Here it is.
Mosh It Up! - I don't know who these kids are but this video is pretty funny, at least for the first minute or so. Here they are.
MAPS! - The Library of Congress' archives are worth days or even months or browsing. Here are some maps.
March 13, 2004
Nice Medals...Dork
The new N.E.R.D. single includes the line..."your ass is like a spaceship I want to ride..." Can you say overexposure or overextended? Comments?
The Collector
Terence Stamp is so cold & creepy handsome in this movie. I love it when the bad guy gets away or, better yet, doesn't get chased. (sorry if I spoiled it but it won't matter) One can only hope that if they remake it, they cast Jude Law or that guy from 28 Days.
Stamp sure has been in some crappy movies, huh?
Over/Under
Overrated
Franz Ferdinand - The hype is not lived up to. It's one of those LPs that just makes you want to listen to all of the records that it reminds you of. That seems to be the theme lately, huh? Here's hoping their second one will be better. I look forward to it. The single's pretty great, though. After reading this, I think I sound like a pretentious dick. I should mention that I like this music.
Somewhat Overrated (but still really good)
Lost In Translation - Upon 2nd & 3rd viewings, it just doesn't seem like the movie of the year or whatever. I don't think it was necessarily any better than the Virgin Suicides. The story is fresh, the cinematography of Lance Acord is some of the best since Christopher Doyle & jeez, Bill Murray is the best. There's just something...I could do without the jokes derived from Japanese stereotypes & switched l's & r's. I didn't feel for Scarlett Johansson's character either but that may be because of my lack of sympathy for the post-college drift, especially a post-Yale drift. I also just got my Yale rejection letter not too long ago & now have a chip on my shoulder (I flipped New Haven the bird when we went by it on the train).
Hopefully Not Overrated
Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow - The trailer got me real excited. There's a pretty informative article in the NY Times magazine here. This guy Kerry Conran worked on an Apple IIci for 4 years & had 6 minutes to show for it! Then he got a producer, a few stars, some help & major $$$.
Not Overrated
Ghostface's Supreme Clientele - I thought I was going to have to listen to a cdr dub for the rest of my life but the LP fairy dropped a copy on me a few weeks ago & I couldn't be happier. It's at least twice as good as the newish Bulletproof Wallets which, admittedly, I haven't listened to much but maybe there's some good in the not-so.
March 12, 2004
Food in a bag
Mary & I ate microwaved cheeseburgers from plastic bags on the train. I meant to mention that before. They were surprisingly edible & cost $4 each.
Some other stuff
1. iPod - Don't judge me. I'm not proud of my consumerist tendencies.
2. the Walkmen, Live at the Metro - So good. They played every song like it was their last song ever. There were times when I wished I could somehow hear more than my ears could. Does that make sense? I still like the older songs better but the new ones are growing on me. For a spell I stood behind some "industry types" with their sterling silver jewelry & leather jackets & I felt relatively young. Later I stood near some young girls with "sixties haircuts" & 70's sweater vests who were actually younger than I thought when I looked at the them directly instead of out of the corner of my eye; then I felt old, quite old.
3. Sneak preview for Michel Gondry & Charlie Kaufman's Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind - This movie is amazing. You're following the narrative flow for the first 10 minutes & then the titles come on & then you just let go. Jim Carrey is restrained & likable (you want to put your arm around his shoulders & say "it's gonna be okay guy"), Kate Winslet is as good as she's been since Heavenly Creatures & the rest of the cast (Elijah Wood, Tom Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst & Tom Wilkinson) get their fair share of the movie. At one point, Carrey walks down an aisle in a Borders-like store & into the living room of his friend's (David Cross & Jane Adams) house. David Cross' first line is "Do you want to smoke a joint?" I don't know, go see it when it comes out.
4. Latin Lps - I think I have enough for a section now. I ordered a couple of 45s, too. My parents are so proud.
5. Song Poems - no explanation necessary. Look & listen hombres.
I'm so sorry, not really
I apologize to the 4 of you who read this junk. I was out of town for a spell & away from the cozy confines of the internet. You might be happy to learn that my interview went way better than I thought it might but no word just yet on my spot in MassArt's MFA class of '06.
March 3, 2004
Vinyls
We're going to Boston this week because I have an interview at Mass Art. I'm trying to get into their MFA program. On the way back we're stopping in Pittsburgh & I going to buy some LPs at Jerry's. I've never been there but ex-locals say they have all the deep cuts. Sweet.
March 2, 2004
Dang it!
As is my habit, I have re-abandoned some of that cold, hard non-fiction in favor of something easier on the brain. This week's jawn (some Philly slang as far as I can tell) is a Dan Brown book called Angels & Demons about physics, art, murder, the Vatican & the Illuminati. This guy wrote the Da Vinci Code that was such a big hit last year. ("Unputdownable" according to a quote on his site.) I love me some historical or science/scientific fiction.