nah pop, no style

Hi, blog.

I moved into my totally awesome new place this weekend and am quite pleased, if hurting in the lower back region. I now live in my own lil joint with trees around and attractive neighbors I don’t know and no wretched little kids running all around. Also, as promised, I am lacking internet there and not too upset about it. There’s wireless at the coffeeshop down on Braddock Ave, I’m pretty sure, so if I NEED it it’s just a short walk away, but do I really NEED it? Do I?

On tap for this (short) week is an article about Oxford Collapse (they just played here the other night, yes, but they’re coming back for the Unicorn Mountain showcase at the Arts Festival next week. Also I’m going to Bellevue(!) to write something for city guide for the paper. What the hell happens in Bellevue? We’ll find out, I s’pose.

I might get some pictures of the new place up eventually but I really have to figure out how to work my new camera phone. Or just make Brian take pictures of it for me.

I’m considering creating a “Ben Folds Five” tag on this blog, what with the preponderance of posts concerning them lately. Last weekend I was in K-Mart with my mom — I’m just remembering this now — and we were somewhere in housewares, looking at plates or something, when I noticed that, I recognized what was playing on the K-Mart Radio thing, and it made me feel funny. I cocked my little head and listened closely, and quietly freaked out. It was “Magic,” from the Reinhold Messner album — THE SADDEST SONG MAYBE IN THE WORLD. So good and so sad, never a single, off an album that didn’t do all that well, PLAYING IN K-MART ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

What makes these things happen?

Also I thought about how I wasn’t that far, physically speaking, from where I had first bought that album, as soon as it came out in 1999 (Best Buy, I think). And I’m not making any value judgments about that fact — it’s just the way it is. I’m probably not that far (life-plan-wise) from where I would’ve predicted in 1999, though I’m not near where I would’ve predicted in 2006. Funny how that happens.

Midnite Snake profile; I didn’t get to do as much with it as I’d have liked, but I might work more with the material I got and republish elsewhere. Regardless, I’m pretty happy with it. Also, Z’EV preview.

Today walking around downtown at lunchtime I saw a man who looked like an old sailor rolling up to the library on roller blades while another dude kind of stared at him, some young clean people (Mormons?) giving away CD’s (DVD’s?) about the Lord, a man who looked like Inpector Clousseau clutching a briefcase, etc. etc. This place is often more interesting than Oakland during the day, surprisingly.

Today’s paper has my pieces about Midnite Snake and Z’EV; pick one up, I’ll post the online versions tomorrow once they’re LIVE. Midnite Snake is the cover and golly gee is the picture insane. Unfortunately, it’s eclipsed by the back cover AA ad, which, of course, is an ass and says — not kidding here — “Pantytime™.”

Okay, I guess I’m a little jealous of Dov for getting that trademarked before me.

JUST A LITTLE.

Busy week. Moving, cleaning, busy at work because of moved-up deadlines.

Last night I cleaned out my bookbag and in the process found:

- A pinball.
- Like 10 pens.
- My flash drive (I thought I had lost it months ago and was about to buy another soon).
- A couple (unopened/unused) condoms, one of which was expired (draw your own conclusions).
- Several 1″ pins I thought were goners.
- A (mechanical) nut on a little chain, origin unknown.
- A little Heinz ketchup bottle painted mostly blue, which I found on the shelves in the Afro-American collection many months ago.

Right now I’m thinking about how The Yes Album is really great.

I’m in the middle of moving. I moved like half of my stuff today, and the rest will go within the week. Expect me happily settled in Regent Square by Memorial Day. Maybe I’ll post PIXX if I get around to taking them. If I know you, expect an updated contact info email message as soon as I get a new phone number (going cellular in 2007). Also I’m gonna be attempting to go without home internet access, while at the same time continuing work on mounting a brand new internet offensive that will hopefully knock your socks off (after they’ve geeked it into a bed).

I got a spam message this morning that consisted entirely of this image:

So today you can access my article from yesterday’s paper about a show that was last night. You can’t go to the show anymore, but maybe you’re in a different city and can still see The Old Haunts, or maybe you just want to read something mediocre that I wrote, and count the ratio of “Olympias” to “words that aren’t Olympia.” If so, click here. If not, you have my permission to, like, go elsewhere in your RSS reader.

Just got this press release:

BEN FOLDS PLANS FANTASY ROCK & ROLL VACATION

BEN FOLDS EXPERIENCE CRUISE TAKES FANS, ARTISTS & COMEDIANS FROM MIAMI TO JAMAICA IN FEBRUARY 2008

ATLANTA, GA - A consistently busy artist in need of a vacation, power pop pioneer Ben Folds teams up with Sixthman, the leader in the entertainment cruise industry, to plan a holiday with several of his favorite other artists, entertainers and most devoted fans.  The Ben Folds Experience cruise sails from the Port of Miami on February 21, 2008, on the Carnival Imagination, stops in Ocho Rios, Jamaica and returns to Miami on February 25, 2008. Ben Folds Experience goes on sale to the public on June 13, 2007.

“I wanted to get a lot of talented musical artists together with possibly a few comedians and have some kind of magical experience,” says Folds.  In a note to his fans about his plans for an upcoming musical vacation, he wrote, “The idea of painting a large bus psychedelic purple, not taking baths for a week and driving around the country jamming out on one chord about the war got shot down quickly.”

Other acts performing on the Ben Folds Experience cruise will be announced in the coming weeks. Information will be updated on www.benfoldsexperience.com as it is available.

Then it goes on to discuss — I’m not kidding — Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man Cruise and the Barenaked Ladies’ Ships ‘n Dip III cruise. I’ll spare you that part.

As you likely know, Ben Folds Five is one of my greatest and guiltiest pleasures. It pains me to see the poor man having jumped the shark so, but at the same time, I really want to go on this absolutely ridiculous cruise.

Okay, so. Tonight, went to see the Brain Handle sendoff tour. Brain Handle have always written great songs, and they’ve grown into their songs as far as playing tight is concerned. Ovens is a fantastic, fun-to-watch drummer, which is great (having started playing drums late, I love watching drummers develop). If you’re in another town, check them out on their tour, which, as of a couple weeks ago, looks something like:

May 15th (T): Pittsburgh tour kickoff
May 16th (W): Cincinnati @ Robbie’s Parent’s House, 4132 Floral Ave, Norwood, OH w/ Dead Sea and Paralyzer
May 17th (Th): St. Louis @ Skullfuckeree, 3520 Wyoming, St. Louis w/ Cardiac Arrest
May 18th (F): off/driving
May 19th (S): Chaos in Tejas Fest
May 20th (Su): San Antonio @ some joint with American Cheeseburger
May 21st (M): Las Cruces – no show…eating, shitting, maybe swimming
May 22nd (T): Arizona - The One Place (?) not confirmed - maybe getting on a hawdcore show there
May 23rd (W): San Diego/Other - NOTHING AS OF YET
May 24th (Th): LA/OC @ Mexican Cultural Center w/ The Cannibals + others
May 25th (F): LA/Silver Lake @ some joint with La Fraction
May 26th (S): Oakland @ Hazmat
May 27th (Su): SF @ Thrillhouse Records
May 28th (M): Portland @ some joint with Hellshock, La Fraction and others
May 29th (T): Olympia @ Witch House
May 30th (W): Seattle @ Atlas Clothing w/ Sex Vid and Black Breath
May 31st (Th): Montana - NOTHING AS OF YET
June 1st (F): Rapid City @ TREA Bingo Hall! with KEPF
June 2nd (S): Minneapolis – 2 FUCKING SHOWS - early at the Alamo/late at Memory Lanes
June 3rd (Su): Milwaukee @ some joint/basement
June 4th (M): Chicago @ Albion (most likely)
June 5th (T): Cleveland @ Now That’s Class
June 6th (W): Albany/Western Mass - NOTHING FUCKING CONFIRMED
June 7th (Th): Portland, ME @ Sahara Club
June 8th (F): Providence @ AS220 w/ some fucking cool bands
June 9th (S): Boston @ 50 Ashford Street, Allston w/ Conversions, Scapegoat, Heathen Shame and Girl Trouble
June 10th (Su): New York City @ 538 Johnson w/ LOSER LIFE, Crime Desire and Easter Kids
June 11th (M): Philly @ some fucking place
June 12th (T): Raleigh @ flint house
June 13th (W): Athens @ a house
June 14th (Th): Chattanooga @ a house
June 15th (F): Nashville @ at house
June 16th (S): Richmond @ No Way Records world fucking headquarters

Also buy their LP.

Midnite Snake also ruled hard and also have a new album out. I’ll have an article about them in next week’s paper. I’ll have an article in tomorrow’s paper about The Old Haunts (on KRS, now featuring Tobi Vail on drums) but by the time it’s online the show will be over because it’s tomorrow. (Remember how I said last week sucked? This should’ve run last week but it didn’t occur to me until it occurred to my editor and that was much too late.) They’re pretty good, so go if you like rock bands. I should be there, but no guarantees; I have a lot of packing to do, not to mention sleeping.

I think I’ll write up a post about Downtown Lunch one of these days soon. I’m familiarizing myself with my options as I go along.

That’s all for now. Seeya.