ground indipendendence completely
indipendence however how
stay knew side work
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Monday, July 18, 2005
One Should Always be Drunk
— by Charles Baudelaire
One should always be drunk.
One should always be drunk.
That’s all that matters;
that’s our one imperative need.
So as not to feel Time’s horrible burden
one which breaks your shoulders and bows you down,
you must get drunk without cease.
But with what?
With wine, poetry, or virtue as you choose.
But get drunk.
And if, at some time, on steps of a palace,
in the green grass of a ditch,
in the bleak solitude of your room,
you are waking and the drunkenness has already abated,
ask the wind, the wave, the stars, the clock,
all that which flees,
all that which groans,
all that which rolls,
all that which sings,
all that which speaks,
ask them, what time it is;
and the wind, the wave, the stars, the birds, and the clock,
they will all reply:
“It is time to get drunk!
So that you may not be the martyred slaves of Time,
get drunk, get drunk,
and never pause for rest!
With wine, poetry, or virtue,
as you choose!”
that’s our one imperative need.
So as not to feel Time’s horrible burden
one which breaks your shoulders and bows you down,
you must get drunk without cease.
But with what?
With wine, poetry, or virtue as you choose.
But get drunk.
And if, at some time, on steps of a palace,
in the green grass of a ditch,
in the bleak solitude of your room,
you are waking and the drunkenness has already abated,
ask the wind, the wave, the stars, the clock,
all that which flees,
all that which groans,
all that which rolls,
all that which sings,
all that which speaks,
ask them, what time it is;
and the wind, the wave, the stars, the birds, and the clock,
they will all reply:
“It is time to get drunk!
So that you may not be the martyred slaves of Time,
get drunk, get drunk,
and never pause for rest!
With wine, poetry, or virtue,
as you choose!”
David Pajo Review
This lo-fi folk album from post-rock poster boy David Pajo outdoes itself with each listen. Pajo makes it clear that the four-track recorder has been replaced with cheap computer recording software — Pajo was completely recorded with software that was included with his laptop.
Continue reading here
Continue reading here
American Beer Movie Review
5 guys, 38 breweries, 40 days and 200 possible hangovers — American Beer chronicles Paul Kerminzian’s road-trip with his friends as they visit numerous microbreweries across the U.S. Surprisingly, no DUIs were documented in this crunk bro fantasy.
“This lifestyle we’re living — we can’t sustain this,” said crew member Jon Miller on the second day of the journey. “But I’m sure having fun.”
Continue reading here
“This lifestyle we’re living — we can’t sustain this,” said crew member Jon Miller on the second day of the journey. “But I’m sure having fun.”
Continue reading here
Monday, July 11, 2005
Pelican Review
Pelican is still metal and still instrumental, but it has added to its sound. This record is one of the best to come out this year — not to say that its previous releases were not amazing — this one just encompasses more sounds.
Pelican’s driving, building, metal guitar is never hard to find on Fire, but the listener might have to sift through some other sounds, like an acoustic vamp or some Mogwai-esque spacey effects. On that note, some of the songs, like “Autumn into Summer” posses somewhat of an early Mogwai feel to them, but listeners will be able to tell that this is not Mogwai if they listen for more than a minute — it is something much more metal.
Continue reading here
Pelican’s driving, building, metal guitar is never hard to find on Fire, but the listener might have to sift through some other sounds, like an acoustic vamp or some Mogwai-esque spacey effects. On that note, some of the songs, like “Autumn into Summer” posses somewhat of an early Mogwai feel to them, but listeners will be able to tell that this is not Mogwai if they listen for more than a minute — it is something much more metal.
Continue reading here
Bangkok 5 Review
Imagine the Strokes, if they were from Hollywood. This idea has pros and cons. Pro: the Strokes follow in a long tradition of rock ’n’ roll influences, and adding some L.A. gritty glam to a sound like theirs can only intensify the rock. Con: even though these guys really rock, everything they are doing has been done before: if I want to listen to the Strokes, I’ll pick up a Guided by Voices record.
Continue reading here
Continue reading here
Audioslave Review
Okay. Enough is enough. Wasn’t the first album a joke that kind of happened to rock in a crappy Clearchannel way? Whatever the deal was, it definitely didn’t warrant another wuss-washed piece of so-called hard rock. “I like driving backwards in the fog because it doesn’t remind me of anything.” Come on. Get some hair down there.
Continue reading here
Continue reading here
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Lords of Dogtown Soundtrack Review
A good soundtrack should be able to be looked at as an entity separate from the film that it was created for. If it can’t be separated, it is almost worthless on its own. There are some soundtracks — such as Pocahontas or Jaws — that give listeners the chance to relive a film while they get extreme on their NordicTracks. These are not soundtracks, as much as they are View-Masters without the slides.
Lords of Dogtown is a perfect example of a well-sequenced, stand-alone soundtrack and it will be reviewed as such. It is a summer soundtrack that might cause its listener to cut off his jeans, grab a twelver and bring his boombox to a riverside barbecue. This album is classic rock. This album is bad-ass rock ’n’ roll.
Continue reading here
Lords of Dogtown is a perfect example of a well-sequenced, stand-alone soundtrack and it will be reviewed as such. It is a summer soundtrack that might cause its listener to cut off his jeans, grab a twelver and bring his boombox to a riverside barbecue. This album is classic rock. This album is bad-ass rock ’n’ roll.
Continue reading here
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Herman Düne Review
Witty and simple, Herman Düne’s newest release offers its listeners a humorous escape into the almost-real world that songwriters David-Ivar and Andre have created. Lo-fi folk from Sweden and France, with seemingly random references to U.S. pop culture like “And all the terminators should be running for governor/ And you will come to live with me in California,” stitch the lyrical stories in Not on Top together with the guitars, ukulele, bass and minimal drums.
Continue reading here
Continue reading here
Fourth of July Preview
For more than 70 years, the city of Davis has offered its residents a Fourth of July celebration including music, food, baseball and fireworks.
“I’ve been attending since 1986,” Davis Community Services Superintendent Connie Foppiano said. “But it’s been going on longer than that.”
The format of the annual festival has not varied significantly over the years, even though the size of the crowd has increased by 2 or 3 percent per year. This year, 10,000 to 12,000 people are expected to attend, Foppiano said.
Continue reading here
“I’ve been attending since 1986,” Davis Community Services Superintendent Connie Foppiano said. “But it’s been going on longer than that.”
The format of the annual festival has not varied significantly over the years, even though the size of the crowd has increased by 2 or 3 percent per year. This year, 10,000 to 12,000 people are expected to attend, Foppiano said.
Continue reading here
Thursday, May 26, 2005
What do they hide in Hyde Park?
Easter Eggs.
Beer cans.
Princess Di’s diary.
Poop.
Cell phones.
Promises.
Kylie Minogue tickets.
Blood.
Picnic baskets.
Hair.
Paramol.
Pounds.
Teabags.
That one blade of grass that looks like Paul Revere.
Water, more than one kind.
Me.
Footballs.
Hide and Seek.
Crazy Frogs.
Prince Albert.
Coppers.
Mushroom trips.
Piggy-back rides.
A couple of crunks.
Pigeons with stumps.
iPods.
Break-ups.
The sun.
In a hurry or not.
Skinned knees.
HP Sauce.
Used condoms.
Robbers.
Some monuments.
A daughter and her mother chasing each-other around a tree until they both fall down, laughing.
New shoes.
Advice.
Maggots.
Two sitting on a bench, almost touching.
Math teachers.
Someone thinking about Central Park.
A Sunday BBQ with stories about ex-lovers.
A kite, almost off of the ground.
A quarter.
AA members.
Happy Slaps.
Bikes, fast ones and slow.
All kinds of people,
and shit like that.
Beer cans.
Princess Di’s diary.
Poop.
Cell phones.
Promises.
Kylie Minogue tickets.
Blood.
Picnic baskets.
Hair.
Paramol.
Pounds.
Teabags.
That one blade of grass that looks like Paul Revere.
Water, more than one kind.
Me.
Footballs.
Hide and Seek.
Crazy Frogs.
Prince Albert.
Coppers.
Mushroom trips.
Piggy-back rides.
A couple of crunks.
Pigeons with stumps.
iPods.
Break-ups.
The sun.
In a hurry or not.
Skinned knees.
HP Sauce.
Used condoms.
Robbers.
Some monuments.
A daughter and her mother chasing each-other around a tree until they both fall down, laughing.
New shoes.
Advice.
Maggots.
Two sitting on a bench, almost touching.
Math teachers.
Someone thinking about Central Park.
A Sunday BBQ with stories about ex-lovers.
A kite, almost off of the ground.
A quarter.
AA members.
Happy Slaps.
Bikes, fast ones and slow.
All kinds of people,
and shit like that.
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding
By the time I make my second left, I should be well into the first song. But I usually am not. Mornings used to begin with excitement. Sun, shit, shower, shave, coffee. Now I’m lucky to leave my bed at all. Sure, I still sun, shit, shower, shave and coffee, but I do it all from bed. That’s the thing about Kensington. My arms grow and stretch here like they never have before. It’s no problem for me to reach through the bars on my window to the top of the sky and wave, “Hello. Good morning, Mister Sun.”
He has yet to reply. Maybe his back is turned on me because he’s looking at Uranus. My arms have no trouble reaching mine. And I couldn’t ask for a better shower—it’s a fancy (American usage of this word) one with a long hose coming up from the bath faucet. My crazy arms like to intertwine with it to let the water trickle through the hair and over the tattoos, across the hallway, to room 5A like The California Aqueduct. The bed is wet and so am I. So what. It’s wet outside and so am I. So what. My pocketbook is dry. I’ll shave when I’m wet. If only I could leave this bed. There is a French Press five feet away, but fuck it—I could press my luck and reach to France for the real thing. OK, Italy. Yeah, I’ll do that and see how many European women I can fondle along the way. It’d be fun to reach through that Chunnel thing, but I hear that those trains go really fast and I don’t want to lose these awesome arms.
Out the window, left over the Thames. By the time I make my second left, I will be well into the first song.
He has yet to reply. Maybe his back is turned on me because he’s looking at Uranus. My arms have no trouble reaching mine. And I couldn’t ask for a better shower—it’s a fancy (American usage of this word) one with a long hose coming up from the bath faucet. My crazy arms like to intertwine with it to let the water trickle through the hair and over the tattoos, across the hallway, to room 5A like The California Aqueduct. The bed is wet and so am I. So what. It’s wet outside and so am I. So what. My pocketbook is dry. I’ll shave when I’m wet. If only I could leave this bed. There is a French Press five feet away, but fuck it—I could press my luck and reach to France for the real thing. OK, Italy. Yeah, I’ll do that and see how many European women I can fondle along the way. It’d be fun to reach through that Chunnel thing, but I hear that those trains go really fast and I don’t want to lose these awesome arms.
Out the window, left over the Thames. By the time I make my second left, I will be well into the first song.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Philip Marlboro interviews Sam Prekop
The Sea and Cake frontman Sam Prekop has just released his second solo album, Who’s Your New Professor. It fits perfectly into his catalog of soulful tropical jazz-rock, a sound he has been cultivating since the mid ’80s when he was in the latin-jazz/folk/soul/southern-rock-influenced Shrimp Boat. Aside from making music, Prekop also paints. Some of his pieces contain simple geometric shapes on canvas that have been said to resemble cityscapes.
PM: I was living in Santa Cruz when I really got into your first solo album. I could relate the mood of the music to a pleasant, coastal California atmosphere. I've been listening to Professor a lot while I’ve been here in London, and find it to work in perfectly as I travel in and out of the crowds. I know that location and climate play a big part on my interpretation of the music as a listener, but what role do they play when the music is being composed?
SP: I don’t know, because I usually compose the music in a tiny little room with hardly even a window. The actual location doesn’t matter as much. I can’t compose the music for people listening in different places. I know what you mean, though. I love to listen on the bus. I like the idea of people listening to music in the world and how the world affects it.
Continue reading here
PM: I was living in Santa Cruz when I really got into your first solo album. I could relate the mood of the music to a pleasant, coastal California atmosphere. I've been listening to Professor a lot while I’ve been here in London, and find it to work in perfectly as I travel in and out of the crowds. I know that location and climate play a big part on my interpretation of the music as a listener, but what role do they play when the music is being composed?
SP: I don’t know, because I usually compose the music in a tiny little room with hardly even a window. The actual location doesn’t matter as much. I can’t compose the music for people listening in different places. I know what you mean, though. I love to listen on the bus. I like the idea of people listening to music in the world and how the world affects it.
Continue reading here
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Eggs with veggies, hash browns, toast, cappuccino.
Earl Grey, 1 milk, 1 sugar.
Yorkshire pudding, roast beef, carrots, peas, potatoes, cabbage, horseradish, mint sauce, gravy.
Sweet candy: lemon, pear.
Earl Grey, 1 milk, 1 sugar.
3 Rizzla, Drum, skunk, spit, cardboard from Rizzla.
Stella.
Whole wheat pita, salami, anchovies.
Stella.
Stella.
3 Rizzla, Drum, skunk, spit, cardboard from Rizzla.
Stella.
Headphones with Cathode Ray Syndrome, pillow.
Earl Grey, 1 milk, 1 sugar.
Yorkshire pudding, roast beef, carrots, peas, potatoes, cabbage, horseradish, mint sauce, gravy.
Sweet candy: lemon, pear.
Earl Grey, 1 milk, 1 sugar.
3 Rizzla, Drum, skunk, spit, cardboard from Rizzla.
Stella.
Whole wheat pita, salami, anchovies.
Stella.
Stella.
3 Rizzla, Drum, skunk, spit, cardboard from Rizzla.
Stella.
Headphones with Cathode Ray Syndrome, pillow.
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Stonehenge, Bath
Went to Stonehenge and Bath today. Yeah, Stonehenge is pretty stony. It’s pretty much what you’d expect, but with 2 adjacent freeways. I could totally feel the 4000 year old spirit of crunk. Think about how many people have farted there since it was constructed.
I added something to the ancient wind.
When in Bath…
drink the water. Pretty much the same thing as the Lithia water in Ashland, but crunker because Romans used to drink it.
I added something to the ancient wind.
When in Bath…
drink the water. Pretty much the same thing as the Lithia water in Ashland, but crunker because Romans used to drink it.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Crunkards of the World Unite
Found a couple of cool sites that list good rock shows and clubs:
artrocker.com
irlondon.co.uk
Used artrocker last night and found a really cool free show. It was at a pub, but the crowd was more of a house show crowd. A band from Brighton and Cambridge played called The Cathode Ray Syndrome. They were fucking amazing. Kind of mathy post rock. Imagine The Fucking Champs mixed with Mogwai and you might come close to an idea of what they sounded like. I picked up their cd, so I’ll pass it around when I get back.
I can’t stress how cool it was to go to a small show and see some local acts that I’ve never heard of. A lot of the other students are spending like £10 to get in to shitty clubs, and then paying for drinks once they get in there. I’m so glad I’m a crunkard—I harnessed the spirit of crunk to find last night’s free show and snuck in a bottle of Jack (which was still expensive— £9.99 / half liter). Daniel and I hung out with some of the guys from the band after the show and they smoked us out. Crunkards of the world are usually really friendly to each other.
artrocker.com
irlondon.co.uk
Used artrocker last night and found a really cool free show. It was at a pub, but the crowd was more of a house show crowd. A band from Brighton and Cambridge played called The Cathode Ray Syndrome. They were fucking amazing. Kind of mathy post rock. Imagine The Fucking Champs mixed with Mogwai and you might come close to an idea of what they sounded like. I picked up their cd, so I’ll pass it around when I get back.
I can’t stress how cool it was to go to a small show and see some local acts that I’ve never heard of. A lot of the other students are spending like £10 to get in to shitty clubs, and then paying for drinks once they get in there. I’m so glad I’m a crunkard—I harnessed the spirit of crunk to find last night’s free show and snuck in a bottle of Jack (which was still expensive— £9.99 / half liter). Daniel and I hung out with some of the guys from the band after the show and they smoked us out. Crunkards of the world are usually really friendly to each other.
London Crunking
Found a six pack of Stella 50cl (16.9oz) for £5 ($10), a pretty good deal. Any time you find beer for less that a pound it’s a bargain. There is always Strongbow, a hobo cider, if you want to get crunk. You can get a 2 liter bottle for £2.26 over at Tesco. Bars? Yeah, they’re more expensive—anywhere between £1-4 for a beer. I do most of my drinking in my room, on the street or on the tube. There’s no open container law here—it’s just low class to walk around with a 2L of Strongbow, but hey I’m not the classiest.
Yes, I have been doing more than drinking, but I just wanted to break the ice with something we are all familiar with. I started my journey off in Brighton, staying with Ann and Russell. I had a lot of fun hanging out with them and exploring the city by myself. The beach is great. Instead of sand there are pebbles. France is about 23 miles south, but you can’t see it. I think it’s the beach where there was the Mod/Rocker war years back, but I’m not sure—I didn’t see to many of either until last night. I finally found a rocker bar, but I’ll get to that later. Russ and Ann sent me off well on my last night by taking me to their friends house. Paul and Jackie are extreme Guided by Voices fans—their first trip to the states was to catch GbV on their last tour. So what did we do that night? Drank beer, smoked hash and listened to GbV along with other awesome music. I felt like I was at the crunk house’s British cousin’s house.
Needless to say, I arrived in London with quite a hangover. One of the other students asked me if I had been drinking earlier that morning. Rookie. Kensington, the area where I am staying, is one of the poshest in the world. Besides the little boys’ cars like Porshes and Ferraris, the place is also littered with Bentleys and Rolls Royces. So yeah, I look pretty crunk walking around in Carhart hoodie with a 2L of Strongbow. Daniel has been a great roommate. It’s hard not to get along with someone who can claim to have played with the Keystone Eyes. If we get in an argument, it will only be over who gets the last beer, and chances are that neither of us will remember it in the morning anyway.
The internet is shit here, that’s why it’s taken me so long to get this up. Every time I try to do something, it takes about four times as long as I’m used to. So I might not be able to put up photos—I’ll leave that for Myspace. I’ll try to post something on this blog every day or two—keep checking if you want to know what I’m getting up to.
Yes, I have been doing more than drinking, but I just wanted to break the ice with something we are all familiar with. I started my journey off in Brighton, staying with Ann and Russell. I had a lot of fun hanging out with them and exploring the city by myself. The beach is great. Instead of sand there are pebbles. France is about 23 miles south, but you can’t see it. I think it’s the beach where there was the Mod/Rocker war years back, but I’m not sure—I didn’t see to many of either until last night. I finally found a rocker bar, but I’ll get to that later. Russ and Ann sent me off well on my last night by taking me to their friends house. Paul and Jackie are extreme Guided by Voices fans—their first trip to the states was to catch GbV on their last tour. So what did we do that night? Drank beer, smoked hash and listened to GbV along with other awesome music. I felt like I was at the crunk house’s British cousin’s house.
Needless to say, I arrived in London with quite a hangover. One of the other students asked me if I had been drinking earlier that morning. Rookie. Kensington, the area where I am staying, is one of the poshest in the world. Besides the little boys’ cars like Porshes and Ferraris, the place is also littered with Bentleys and Rolls Royces. So yeah, I look pretty crunk walking around in Carhart hoodie with a 2L of Strongbow. Daniel has been a great roommate. It’s hard not to get along with someone who can claim to have played with the Keystone Eyes. If we get in an argument, it will only be over who gets the last beer, and chances are that neither of us will remember it in the morning anyway.
The internet is shit here, that’s why it’s taken me so long to get this up. Every time I try to do something, it takes about four times as long as I’m used to. So I might not be able to put up photos—I’ll leave that for Myspace. I’ll try to post something on this blog every day or two—keep checking if you want to know what I’m getting up to.
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