Hurts so good…

What better way to celebrate the destruction of our planet, than to see Caribou on Thursday night? Paul was kind enough to hook me up with a ticket. When we got to the venue, the opening band, Fuck Buttons, were still fucking buttons. The show was piped into the speakers downstairs, so we could hear what we were in for…I was a little scared. It sounded off the charts loud (I’m old-ish and my eardrums are way more sensitive than they used to be). Paul was eager to get inside and I didn’t want him to think I was a wimp, so I followed. Fuck Buttons were definitely loud, but at the time it didn’t seem like eardrum shattering loud. It was more like, so loud that it made my skin shake….which felt pretty cool. I had the urge to dance, old-school raver style, but apparently people don’t dance in Williamsburg. Not wanting to be that girl, I just folded my arms across my chest and bent my knees up and down like everyone else in the room. Then Caribou came on. Wow! They were amazing. I was a fan of Andorra (Daniel Snaith’s last album), but it didn’t really blow me away. I think Caribou is just one of those bands you have to see live to fully appreciate. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, any band that uses two drummers is a winner in my book. And to add sprinkles to the cupcake, they positioned the drum kits at the front of the stage, so you could watch both Snaith and the other drummer dude (whose name I don’t know) in all their spazzy, Cerebral Palsyesque glory. Not only was the band insanely tight, but so was the video projection going on in the background – keeping me both visually and sonically entertained. After the encore, when the music stopped and my skin began to reattach to the bone, I realized that both Caribou and Fuck Buttons were actually eardrum shattering loud. I tried to have a conversation with Paul, but he sounded all muted and wah-wah–wah Charlie Brown. I went to sleep that night with that horrible post concert ring…where everything around you is silent, but you can still hear a pounding, white noise hum. My ears have since healed and I can say without a doubt, it was worth the pain. After seeing Caribou play I feel as though the earth….hemp loving Hippies….all of mankind…we’re going to be okay (as long as we continue to recycle!).

Caribou– She’s The One
Caribou– Melody Day
Fuck Buttons– Ribs Out

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I’m not a dirty Hippie!

My hair just does that naturally…and I live in Brooklyn, not Portland. Get it straight fools!

I’m going to see these guys next week. Super excited.

The Dodos– Horny Hippies
The Dodos– Nerds
The Dodos– Fools

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Get Off the Soapbox and Get Your Fuckin’ Shinebox…

Are my views on the environment important? I don’t know. I do believe we aren’t spending enough money in this country to combat this problem. And what are we spending money on? The War on Terror, The War on Drugs, The War in Iraq, etc. The first thing we can do as a nation is legalize marijuana. That would create a whole new cash crop. And it would make everyone nicer. I think the music on the radio would get better, too. Mainly because no one likes to listen to Britney Spears when they are high. They like to hear good music like…
King Crimson– Epitaph
Spottiswoode & His Enemies– That’s What I Like

I believe the money made from legalizing weed by taxing it and possibly exporting it would greatly help this nation in its time of need. Plus, there would be more jobs. Less people in prison serving time for smoking a joint. That would equal more money as well since we wouldn’t be spending 40,000 a year to house a prisoner.
But, that’s not going to happen until we change the system. The main lobbyists to keep marijuana illegal are the alcohol & pharmaceutical industries. Now why would they spend money to keep something illegal? Money. They would lose money. People would drink less. Thus, there would be fewer DWI’s and fatalities cause by alcohol. Sure, there would probably be more stoned drivers on the road… but, that’ll just make more traffic since they won’t be driving that fast. They’ll have the windows down. Probably listening to some music…
The New Pornographers– All The Things That Go To Make Heaven & Earth (live)
Stereoheroes– Boom Slang
And to wrap all this up into a neat little package that ties into Mimi’s post… you can run a car on hemp oil! Yeaaaaaaahh!
Hemp Car!
Smoke Weed Everyday!
Read This Book!

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I’m worried about corn….

Yesterday, I spent the morning at a conference called, The State Of The Planet. I soaked up a lot of fascinating and disturbing information. I’d like to share a bit of it with you. Sorry if this sounds preachy, I hate preachy people and that’s usually not my style but here we go…

Agricultural growth will lead to economic growth. Economic growth will lead to less poverty, less hunger, less disease, less awful stuff… So, why don’t we just get those farms farming, right? Ok sure, but we face some major challenges due to the ongoing issue of Climate Change (you’ve all seen An Inconvenient Truth…I won’t go into the details). Due to our bad habits, the climate crisis is hindering rural development, and it’s coming at a time when poverty is reaching an all time high. Drought, pest infestation, disease (read yesterday’s NY Times article about salmon fishing in Chile) — it’s destroying our agricultural resources – the world’s food and money source. So, in an effort to reduce the impending climate change, we have to start to think about sustainable living and renewable energy sources.

Which brings me to the subject of corn (it’s delicious – I had some for lunch yesterday). And corn brings me to the subject of biodiesel. I thought biorganic fuel was a good idea – an alternative to petroleum gas – an alternative to what has led to international conflict, rising fuel prices, climate change and more of that “awful stuff” I mentioned earlier. While there’s an element of truth to this idea, there are also some serious flaws in going down that biodiesel road (thank you, Mr. President). So listen up hippie biofuelers! While it may seem like it’s better for the environment, certain biofuels will only make the situation of global poverty worse. The high demand for maize, sugarcane and other crops, which are used to make biodiesel, will result in less food for the hungry and less land to farm that food. It will drive food prices up – hurting the poor, who spend a large portion of their budget on food. “Corn” will be the new “Oil” — Daniel Day Lewis stars in, “There Will Be Corn” (the metaphor isn’t quite right, but just roll with it).

And if you want to see some of the horrific effects of climate change, just google “Africa & Climate Change.” During the conference, Kofi Annan spoke about the dire situation there. Holy crap, the number of hungry and disease-stricken people living in extreme poverty is out of control. We need to do something to help!

While not everyone can go to Africa and hand out malaria prevention bed nets, we can certainly try to reduce emissions at home. I’ll start by throwing away all my chemical-ridden cleaning supplies, and I will make an effort to take less cabs. Tomorrow is Earth Hour. At 8pm, you can make a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for an hour.

I’m only just beginning to learn about this stuff and I apologize if any of it seems naive or uninformed. I’d like to know more, so all you smarty science friends…let’s talk.

On a lighter note, here’s a song that Jonah shared w/ me (which he brought back from Ethiopia, where he went to film a documentary about Malaria):
Mulatu Astatqé– Yèkatit

And back on a dark note, here are a couple more songs (which express my sentiment after the conference):
Leonard Cohen– Everybody Knows
Dinah Washington– This Bitter Earth

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Someone in this room is stealing my ideas…

Frankly, I don’t mind being known as a person that started something. I’m sure someone did it before me. But, I don’t know that person. What I do know is this… I have no idea who is actually reading this stuff. So, to the people reading this… start your own stuff. Do your own thing. Feel free to borrow ideas. Feel free to steal ideas. Eventually, you will have some of your own and I will borrow those. An idea factory.

Here’s an idea…

Windsor For The Derby– Maladies

Stricken City– Tak O Tak

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Chinese Democracy = a free can of Dr. Pepper for all of America

Chinese Democracy

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Why we bite…

Hey Oliver, why you gotta bite my sentence fragment style? Don’t you. Know that. I invented that shit? I guess it’s only fair, considering you are the inventor of music sharing. Someone asked me why we started this blog. I can only speak for myself, but here’s my answer – because I like music. A lot. Oliver started a music sharing email thingy. I liked it, so I copied him. Then I had to get a day job and the emails slowed down. Then I went to Mexico and I met some really nice people from Salt Lake City. Then the emails started up again and I was not only giving, but also receiving lots of rad songs. Why I do this – because I like to share music with friends (and sometimes strangers). Because I find that they will share music and goodness with me in return. Basically, I do this because I’m selfish.

Here are some great songs that the Mexican SLC Punks shared with me:

Bon Iver– Lump Sum (Brain R.)

Darondo– Didn’t I (Mike F.)

Patti Smith– Redondo Beach (Emily A.)

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If you forget…

Then, perhaps you should just dance. Instead of watching baseball.

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Bigmouth

The Smiths– Bigmouth Strikes Again

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Baseball starts at 3 in the morning…

As much as I love the Red Sox. Having a game at 3 in the morning is difficult. I know that it is because the game is being played in Japan. So, I will go home. Go to sleep. And wake up in time for the game.

Be Your Own Pet– Becky

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Morning stretch

New Buffalo– It’s True

Check out Kristie McCracken’s live dance performance to this song (video directed by Paul McNeil). It reminds me of stretching in the morning. And also of doing The Worm (or, what I think it would be like to do The Worm. I’ve never actually tried).

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Even if you think it’s right…

I spent the day at an interesting place. Should I really give my all? Should I really tell you? Am I speaking to yooooooouuuuu? Nah. I am just talking to myself.

Screw you.

I have inside info. I ain’t telling you.

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Sometimes the things you learn are no longer needed…

I came across a website the other week that had lists of obsolete skills. It made me think. How many skills did I learn and perfect only to not need them later on in life?

1. Nintendo Cartridge Cleaning (although, there is a rare occasion this still comes in handy…) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3aJqJUN1Xw (Thanks, Matt W., for the link)
2.Screwing around with the old school cable remote to be able to watch “kind of unscrambled” Playboy Channel shows or movies on HBO.

3.Making a mixtape on an actual audio cassette. I remember how long it used to take. Hours and hours. Sometimes days upon days. Having to remember to pause it right before that drum hit or fading out when the song wasn’t going to do it on its’ own.
4.With the advent of MapQuest & GoogleMaps, you no longer need to use actual maps or get directions over the phone. The only time I need an actual map is when I am in a huge mall and I’m trying to find the Hot Topic to buy new eyeliner for the goth retrospective at the Bat Cave Nightclub. Or perhaps to buy some sort of ironic tee-shirt.

Type O Negative– Christian Woman

5.Beepers, Pagers, car phones. Who the hell is this, paging me at five-forty-six…When was the last time you heard someone say, “Can I use your phone yo? I just got a page from my shorty, Denise… it’s got a 911 tag… must be important.” There used to be all those pager codes. 911- Emergency. 411- Info. 143- I love you. 000- I hate you. 038*2*09*537- Let’s Go To Bed. 420- Weed. And the list goes on and on. Plus, all of your friends had a code so you’d know it was them paging you. Mine was 31770. If you turn that upside down, it’s Ollie. Pretty cool, eh?

Gangstarr– Skillz

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Soft

Smog– Came Blue

Silje Nes– Ames Room

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IT Guys

I went to see Phosphorescent and The Bowerbirds at Union Hall a few weeks back. I was more impressed by the opening-opening band, The Acorn, than by the two groups I had gone to see. But that’s not what I’ve come here to tell you about. What I’m here to tell you about is Viking Moses. At one point in the night, Matthew Houck (aka Phosphorescent) brought Brendan Massei (aka Viking Moses) to the stage. They performed a song together (I’m pretty sure it was Funny Little Photographs). Brendan Massei made me giggle and sway side to side and feel emotions which I’m still working out. He wore high waisted, light wash jeans, a baggy cotton sweater and nondescript loafers (or maybe they were white LA Gear sneakers? I can’t remember exactly). My buddy Chris said he looked like an IT guy circa 1995. I agree.

Werewolves In The City video:

Viking Moses– Werewolves In The City

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