Chili Powder

ACL - A 5 year old's perspective:

Frederico Aubele

TV on the Radio

ACL

Long time no post! Life has been on fast-forward for the past few months, especially with Marcel starting kindergarten last month. We've been traveling, training for our races, reading, and doing all sorts of kindergarten-y things, and visiting with family . It's been a fun few months, but definitely moving pretty quickly.

We spent the last 2 days at the ACL festival checking out a bunch of bands: Cat Power, Thievery Corporation, John Mayer, Frederico Aubele, Phoenix, TV on the Radio, Aimee Man, Willie Nelson...We also caught bits of Kings of Leon, Raconteurs, Sting Cheese Incident, and The Shins. This our first ACL experience and we are loving it- Marcel is quite the festival goer. We were concerned about the heat after hearing about last years sweltering heat and dust storms, but the heat was manageable with lots of water, misters throughout the park, and shade umbrellas.

Here are a few photos from Day 2...

At Frederico Aubele- I think we were the only folks at the festival sporting a Power Rangers umbrella. 

Taking a break from the music and sun under an umbrella on "the beach".

Rockin' at TV on the Radio- the best show so far...

Cooling off- they had tons of water faucets set up to refill your water bottles (how cool is that?). Marcel took the opportunity to pour a full bottle over his head.

Marcel, future artist, drew pictures of the bands while we watched. I'll try to post soon- they are awesome.

So, today after Zack's 20 miler we plan to head back for a short day 3. Hoping to see KT Tunstall, Ween, and Jose Gonzalez.

Off to clean the house...

Holy God I've Got The New TV On the Radio!!

Return to Cookie Mountain.  There goes my productivity.  Jen's gonna have to move us to our new house by herself, because I'll be listening to TV.  Oh me oh my.

First Class

I went to my first drum class today! I was a bit nervous, as I always am before new things, but it was a really comfortable space and my nervousness vanished as soon as I sat down in the studio. The place was packed! Apparently there are quite a few folks that want to learn how to drum, who knew?

We started off by learning the 3 basic tones which they give names to for teaching purposes- Gun, Do, and Pa. Them we played some rhythms as a group. It was very cool, but hard to hear your own drum to determine that you were doing it correctly! But, overall the sound was great- people were using small and large djembes, and one person was using a bass. We broke the circle into 3 parts, each part playing a different rhythm together. For newbies I thought we sounded pretty good.

Halfway through the class my fingers started to feel swollen, and I had to take off my wedding ring- which made me a bit nervous. But, the alternative, wearing it, was really killing my finger. At some point in the class someone handed me a tin of some sort of waxy balm stuff, and told me to put it on my hands. It seemed to make things better. But then my legs started to feel week- 45 minutes of squeezing a drum between your knees is apparently a good workout.

At the end we actually did a drum circle! The whole reason that I got into this drumming thing was because I love drum circles- that's the hippy in me. Years ago, when I first moved to Austin we used to hang out at the greenbelt every weekend, and listen to the drum circle as we drank beer and sunbathed. Anyway- so everyone could play whatever rhythm they wanted in my class drum circle. The instructions were that you just had to feel the music, them join in when you found your "space" to fit in.. She passed out some shakers, bells, and clicky things for people to use to add sounds. She turned out the lights, and the bass drums started, them little by little we all joined in. I chose to play my drum and try to see if I could hear myself for a change! It sounded awesome- even as beginners! I can't wait to have more experience, the drum circles are going to sound awesome!

Before we left, she had us form a circle and hold hands. That was more than a bit outside of my comfort zone considering I was holding hands with 2 guys and my hands were sweaty and greasy from that balm that they were passing around. Oh well, gotta step outside the old comfort zone to get to a higher level, I guess.

On the way out I found a great drum bag that I just have to have. I need it to carry the thing in, because I don't want to leave it in the car all day when I am at work (the day of class), but I also don't want to be the show-off looking dork that carries a drum around the office. Gotta get me that bag! 

What a great time- who knew drumming could be so wonderful and therapeutic!

Jennifer

Dum Ditty Dum

Check it out- this is the beautiful Djembe drum that Zack got me for Christmas. Don't have a clue how to play it but lessons start next week. This house is about to get rowdy.

Jennifer

Willie

So this song Willie on the new Cat power album, The Greatest, is like six minutes of all the Scorsese Act III montages balled into one.  All the Dirk Diggler self-realization moments, all the Earl Partridge and Frank TJ Mackey eye contact moments, all the Short Cuts rooftop clowns laughing drunk at sunrise moments balled into one lazy piano dirge.  It's your first night in your first apartment.  Your euphoria after getting away with something illegal and nobody's going to catch you.  Watching people walk away. 

I can't stop listening to Willie.

Adams Family

No that's not a typo.  We are all obsessed with Ryan Adams.  Jen closed out her BMG account by buying just about everything Ryan Adams has ever recorded (and The Eagles' Greatest Hits for me). 

We have been listening to Cold Roses, Heartbreaker, Gold, Demolition, Love Is Hell, and although we haven't listened to Rock N Roll lately we both have much of it our our work computers.  Marcel likes to sing the lazy lil chorus to Nobody Girl.

If a tree falls...

If I am at the gym and Lose Yourself comes on the radio, am I involuntarily motivated by Eminem?

Hedwig moment!

my sex change operation got botched

my guardian angel fell asleep on the watch

now all I've got is a Barbie doll crotch

I've got an angry inch

LONG STORY SHORT!

Rock Star

Marcel decided to try on Zack's August Strindberg wig yesterday and show us some Rock Star moves.  What band do you think he belongs in?

Jet?

Kasabian?

The Strokes?

I personally think he looking a bit Ryan Adams:

Yanni Time

Check out how good it feels to be Yanni!  I frickin love this guy.  Om.

Queen Bee needs a Cookiegram

If anybody wants to send Lil' Kim a bouquet of cookies I will totally go halfsies with you.

Kimberly Jones / 56198-054
FDC PHILADELPHIA
FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER
P.O. BOX 562
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106

From here.

Can't Stop my iTunes

Nonstop rotation on iTunes at work today:

Kiwi Maddog 20/20 - Elliott Smith, Roman Candle

Gone - Kanye West, Late Registration

Cutt Off - Kasabian, Kasabian

I'm trying real, real hard to like that new Coldplay, but it's just weak.  I'd rather listen to this.   

And little Early Burly came by in his curly wurly and asked me if I needed a ride

This weekend Zack is reading books on Music.  Specifically, Rock Music.

First Up:  "Classic Rock: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs of All Time"

With chapters that touch on such topics as:  songs about or written on drugs,  protest songs, controversial lyrics, love and lust that resulted in major hits, and of course- the greatest rock anthems of all time... (see below)

Zack read bits of the book to me, while I sat upstairs in the loft on the computer. Whenever he mentioned a song that I knew, I sang him my lovely rendition.  Lucky him.  If I couldn't recall the words to a song he mentioned, I googled the lyrics.  And then sang him my lovely rendition.  He got a rockin' version of Black Dog, complete with vocal guitar sounds.  I also sang him the lyrics to Misty Mountain Hop (which was in the "drug section").  And later I almost spared him more pain when I admitted that I couldn't remember Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.  Then, I suddenly remembered it and sang each part while he was trying to fall asleep.

Additionally, earlier in the night I sang (or tried to sing) at least a few lines of each of the greatest rock anthems of all time (and of course gave my opinions on each of them as well). Here is a sampling of what the author considered some of the greatest rock anthems (he chose 43 total)-

1. Aqualung:  I saw Jethro Tull in concert in high school! I pretty much only listened to classic rock then. Pretty good song.  Pretty awful concert.  The flute -rock just didn't work in the arena where they usually do Sesame Street Live.
2. Back in Black:  I think this was actually the anthem for our  high school  lacrosse team. In 1992. OK... But then again, my prom theme was "Don't Cry" by Guns and Roses...
3. Black Magic Woman: Singing some serious guitar parts here.
4. Blinded by the Light:  Yes! I love this song. My parents had this on a record.  Classic song with misheard lyrics.
5. Bohemian Rhapsody:  OK, I admit, I watch Rockstar INXS and have been singing this song since last week. I like it again, but  I was soooo over it when the whole Wayne's World thing was happening.  It sucks when like the WHOLE WORLD knows a cool song and it doesn't make it cool anymore.
6. Born to Run:  I love to run, perhaps I was even born to run. But, I hate this song.
7. Born to be Wild: See above
8. Carry on Wayward Son:  I died laughing when they played this in Anchorman.  So bad it's good.
9. Dream On:  I loved this song so much when I was younger, I taped it off the radio. And listened to it all the time, with the DJ's voice talking through the opening and all...
10. Frankenstein- I know my classic rock. What the hell is this song? Oh, oops, I just listened to it on Amazon and I do know it.  I should have known it was called Frankenstein- it is very...Frankenstein-y.
11. Heart of Gold- Sigh. I think this song sums it all up.
12. Gimme Some Lovin'- Hmmm. I didn't know this was classic rock...What am I missing?
13. Karn Evil 9 1st Impression: I had no idea this was the name of the song. I thought it was called "Scary Carnival Song That Freaks Me Out Every time I Hear It". 
14. Lights: Yeah! Some rollerskating jams made the cut. BUT, I still think it should have been Don't Stop Believing....
15. Logical Song:  Huge Supertramp fan- Bloody well right.  Not to mention that this and Goodbye stranger are in my 3rd favorite movie of all time, Magnolia.  Feeling the lyrics big time.
16. Nights in White Satin: Oops, I just wrote Satan at first. Feeling his pain.
17. Smoking in the Boys Room: This song does nothing for me. Can't relate.
18. Sara: LOVE this song. I used to play this song on the jukebox at this crusty little bar in Sandusky Ohio where we used to hang out and drink yards.  I haven't seen a yard glass since...oops, got off track there for a moment.
19. Walk on the Wild Side: How could you not like this song? Doo da doo doo doo da doo....
20. Your Song:  This is not an ANTHEM! Snore.  Now, Tiny Dancer, that's another story!

At first glance, I thought. "Are these really all ANTHEMS? I mean, when I think of anthem, I think of a stadium full of people stomping their feet and clapping their hands singing WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU, WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOU. Perhaps I am confused with Arena Rock, I don't know. But, after a little examination into the dictionary.com definition of anthem, I found this:

an·them    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (nthm)
n.

1. A hymn of praise or loyalty.
2. A choral composition having a sacred or moralizing text in English.
3. A modern ballad accompanied by rock music instrumentation.

A bit vague, don't you think? I mean, can't that be ANY song?

So now Zack is reading "Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal".  He's lucky that I don't know crap about heavy metal...his ears are spared. 

Mr. Butterworth

A typical date for Jen and me is to go eat food, have a margarita, then go to Starbucks and make CDs.  Not every town has the Starbucks MediaBars (only Austin and Seattle), and we make the most of it.  I know I'm shilling for the man, but they so rule.  Last Saturday we went and had drinks, then settled into some chairs over at SBUX and made jams.

I don't usually share my SBUX jams cuz it's kinda dorky but I just made the dream jams and I have to share with my buds. 

My CD is called Mr. Butterworth.  It goes as follows:

1. Ursula 1000 - Mr. Hrundi's Holiday (Karminsky Experience Mix)
2. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Godspell According To A.A. Newcombe
3. Phoenix - Run Run Run
4. Tosca - Mango Di Tango
5. Sleater-Kinney - Oh!
6. The Dandy Warhols - Minnesoter
7. Black Star - Definition
8. Shudder To Think - Hot One
9. Thievery Corporation - Liberation Front
10. Tosca - Every Day & Every Night
11. Air - Lucky And Unhappy
12. The Strokes - The End Has No End

Fergie Peed Herself

She's the butt of so many jokes around our house, and then she goes and pees herself.  What else can be said now?  Curse you, Fergie.

z 

what a wedding!

Last night Jen and I went to see one of her childhood friends get married in a very beautiful and heartfelt ceremony.  I had so much fun; their Hava Nagila celebration, the first this little Texas boy has seen in the flesh, was enough to make you hit the phone book to find your local rabbi to convert you.  Ooo we had fun.

pictures to come.

iTunes o' the day

Public Pervert by Interpol will be listened to for 8 hours straight today.

z

An Interview with Marcel: Music

I interviewed Marcel about his musical tastes and here are his answers:

1) What is the total volume of music you own?

50. 5. I mean 50. 20. I have 20.

2) What 5 songs do you  listen to a lot?

• I Like to Move it Move it...(?)
• Waterloo  (ABBA)
• Dancing Queen (ABBA)
• The Maraca Song (some song by John Frusciante that he likes)
• By the Way (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

3) Song stuck in your head and length of time:

• I like to Move it Move it- 20 days
• Waterloo- 50. 50 Days

4) Coolest Music Girl- Lizzie (Hillary Duff) McGuire

5) Coolest Music Guy - Jack White (He really said this on his own) and the Red Hot Chili Pepper people because I just do.

6) Worst song- Passive Manipulation (he didn't actually say the title to the song, he said the "weak song that Meg White sings)- It's so weak, it just is.  Incidentally he LOVES the other song she sings on anther album,  "In cold. cold night..."

7) Good Kid Jams- Raffi is good kid music, its so good that I call it "tid musit"

8) Favorite Kid Song- Humpty Dumpty

It's time to watch the show...

We are back from our whirlwind Fort Worth trip to see the Polyphonic Spree and FW Museum of Modern Art.  Marcel loved his first concert experience, he had his arms up, waving them around the entire time. The show also featured a short fireworks display above the stage during the last song of the show, which was a great way to end the evening. We had lawn seats up close to the stage and had put down blankets- perfect for a 4 year-old.  If you ever get a chance to check them out in your neck of the woods- do so.  Even if you aren't a big fan of the music, they put on a good show and it is interesting to watch the 25+(?) members of the band perform.

Jennifer

Music quiz tag

1) What is the total volume of music you own?

There's 12 days worth of music in my iTunes at work right now.  I don't think I technically own any of it though, thanks to that most fun of applications, ourTunes.

2) What's the last CD you bought?

Well the last one I bought was that White Stripes for Jen, so I'll pretend the question reads What's the last CD you checked out from the library?  Wild Billy Childish's Kitchen Demo's.

3) What song is playing right now?

The only thing(s) playing right now are the clothes dryer and the oscillating fan, which put together remind me of Gavin Bryar's Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet.

4) What 5 songs do I listen to a lot?

Public Service Announcement, Jay Z and Dangermouse.
Higher, The Game.
Tumblin' Down, Velvet Goldmine soundtrack.
Hell, Foo Fighters.
Lonely Soul, UNKLE.

5) Song stuck in your head and length of time:
Hairdresser On Fire, Morrissey, weeks on end

Oh, here in london
Home of the brash, outrageous and free
You are repressed
But you’re remarkably dressed
Is it real ?
And you’re always busy

Really busy
Busy clippers
Oh, hairdresser on fire

zack

Musical Tag

I've been tagged by Byakko with a cool music meme:

1) What is the total volume of music you own?

Well, with Zack's CD we have enough to fill a trunk. Not a car trunk, but a storage trunk. So, however that many is.

2) What's the last CD you bought?  Zack bought me the new White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan. Every time we get in the car Marcel asks to hear the "White Stripes", or he accidentally says "The Racing Stripes" here and there. I think there must be something very mysterious about the the White Stripes for Marcel, he insists on looking the cover to the CD every time we get in the car. I used to be the biggest White Stripes hater a few years ago before they got "big". My coworkers used to play "Jolene" over and over again and it drove me mad. I was sour on them, big-time. Until I heard Elephant, and I had to admit I liked it, despite my whining.

3) What song is playing right now? Well, right now I am watching some PBS show about unusual  architecture, so there is some flute ditty playing. But before I turned on the TV I was listening to "Cherry Cherry" by Neil Diamond. Yes, I am a Neil Diamond fan. It's all my Mom's fault. And my 4th grade dance teacher that made us dance to "America". Lets stop for a minute to refresh your memory:

My country 'tis of thee
Today
Sweet land of liberty
Today
Of thee I sing
Today
Of thee I sing
Today! Today! Today!

Ha. Sorry, better move on before I start with the words to Heartlight....

4) What 5 songs do I listen to a lot? Hmmm, I listen to Launchcast at work, and I have been enjoying the following songs lately:

• San Diego Zoo - The Sixths
• Ex-Con - Smog (he lives in Austin now, just a matter of time 'til I bump into his miserableness in the grocery store)...
• Isobel - Bjork
• Cross Bones Style - Cat Power
• anything by Jonathan Richman

...oh and I can't believe I am admitting it, but I like that Trick Daddy song, Sugar (Gimme Some)...

and I added this one:

6) Song stuck in your head and length of time: Your Racist Friend- They Might be Giants. 5 days AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

7) What 5 people will I pose these questions to? Zack, Marcel, Mari, De, Taylor.

Jennifer

Sing a new song, Chiquitita

He comes bearing gifts...

After Zack found out about his wonderful job news, he did what anyone would do- he went over to Waterloo and picked up some CDs....for Marcel and I. For those of you who don't know Zack, that's the kind of guy he is, he didn't even get anything for himself. So I got the new White Stripes and Marcel got a new CD too! No- it's not Raffi, not KidzBop, not a Disney song collection...not even the Spongebob Soundtrack- nope, it's only a CD by one of the best 70's pop groups, ABBA.

Yes, Marcel is a huge ABBA fan, don't ask me how this came about- I can't even remember anymore. All I know is I have sung "Dancing Queen" to him many times, at his request, before bedtime.  I have an old ABBA CD that Marcel has stashed in his room, but the song Waterloo skips. Marcel was pretty bummed on that, that's one of his favorites- so Zack got him another one. What a sweetie.

Other lullabies that Marcel requests- Hallelujah (he knows the Rufus Wainright version- Shrek), Viva Las Vegas, and Highwayman (big Willie/Johnny Cash fan).

Jennifer

Manu Chao

I have now listened to Manu Chao's song La Vie 7 times in a row and going strong.  It is amazing and peaceful and special and I highly highly recommend it.  It is a balm.  (If you're not yet into Manu Chao, please start today.)

Pourquoi pourquoi meme quand les gens s'aiment
Il y a, il y a, toujours des problemes?

Make it 8.  It touches me in my throat in this amazing spot.  Music can do that.

zack

iTunes summertime rawk

My ears look like a Lon Chaney makeup test screening, blisters everywhere!  But I can't stop listening to the summertime rawk on the iTunes. 

In Your Honor, Foo Fighters.  This Grohl guy is one to watch.  He could really go places.

The Woods, Sleater-Kinney.  They're so special.  To be a fly on the studio wall...

Get Behind Me Satan, The White Stripes.  This is buenolicious.  "My Doorbell" is the song I want St. Peter to sing to me when I roll up to heaven in my powder blue Impala.

zack

Move It

This evening during dinner, Marcel out of nowhere starts singing "I like to move it move it, I like to move it move it".  Seems that this song from my (many) days at university bars in 1995 is now in the movie Madagascar.  According to Zack, Marcel was singing the song all day! He loves it.

So, I went upstairs and dug in to the depths of my "the years before Zack" CD collection (tucked away in a trunk for fear of embarrassment) and pulled out my 1995 Dance Mix USA Vol 3.  It was hidden next to my New Order, my Cranberries, my collection of disco CDs, and of course my Dance Mix Vol 2 which includes such favorites as Informer and Supermodel. Whoo.....yeah... I just admitted that....

Zack of course is THRILLED that I broke out the CD!  Marcel has already listened to it twice, and I pulled it out less than an hour ago. The song had been banished to Marcel's room only- by Zack.  As I ran upstairs to pull it out of storage Zack said, "Why am I not surprised that you have that song on CD".  I guess I still have it around to torture my husband! I wonder what 10 year-old cheesy dance song they will put in the next Dreamworks movie... I bet I will have it on CD?

So anyways, I know you are humming the tune to Informer in your head right now, aren't you? Aren't you glad I brought it back into your memory?! In case you need a little help remembering the lyrics, if you ever knew them in the first place, here they are:

Informer
You know say daddy me snow me-a (gonna) blame
A licky boom-boom down
'Tective man he say, say Daddy Me Snow me stab someone down the lane
A licky boom-boom down

Jennifer

iTunes this Week

iTunes highlights from work this week:

Joanna Newsom: The Milk-Eyed Mender I absolutely cannot get enough of this album.  She is like a cross between a drunk Shirley Temple, a feral stray cat, and Amy Poehler pretending to be nine years old.  Imagine that collective voice singing about beans and balloons and my favorite, Inflammatory Writ.  She's brilliant -- and apparently from what my friend at work says, it takes 45 minutes to retune a harp after it has been moved, even slightly.  The things you learn.

Iron & Wine The Creek Drank the Cradle I'm a little late to this guy, having spent many years preferring Bonnie 'Prince' Billy over all bearded pretenders.  But this is a very nice album, it puts me in a very nice mood.  It reminds me of when I first heard tindersticks, very suave and boozy with nice lyrics -- at least what I can understand of them.  He's very marblemouthed, plus he whispers, plus his beard muffles all else.  Great album though.

I've also been taking it back to '96 with Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Tortoise.  This is one of my few anything/everything albums.  You want to get psyched up to drive?  You need to have a quiet moment?  Draw a picture?  Write a story?  Focus on your work?  This is the only album you need.  9 years later and I still hear new things in Djed. 

Dandy Warhols Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia I'm a nerd for this album.  I'm a nerd all about these guys.  So packaged to the core, for years I disliked them and couldn't get around their obvious jacking of styles, etc.  But well, say what you will times are different for me now and this is the best album.  Go somewhere else for hipster blogging.  Bohemian Like You is fun, and I have to listen to Godless with my morning coffee every day.

Out of 11 days worth of music in my iTunes I have a whole TWO Brian Jonestown Massacre songs -- but I listen to them daily.  Let's Pretend It's Summer and Somethings Go Without Saying. 

Zero 7 When It Falls This swings.  It's like a nice Burt Bacharach smoothness.  Also kinda cheesy, not very risky or anything but nice and suave.  This is with my afternoon coffee, which I ice if I remember to.  Goes well with the Tortoise on shuffle.

That's all the jams I can remember right now.  We 3 just got back from a wee Friday afternoon happy hour.  Nothing like leaving work SUPER early on Friday afternoon, getting the BEST parking space at Chuy's, and drinking delicious dirt cheap margaritas with Jen while Mar has his happy hour Coke with a million cherries.  We play the scribble game (one of us starts a drawing, the other finishes it) and Jen and I chat work and home buying.  Life is good.  What jams are y'all listening to these days?

zack 

CDs at SBUX

I made another CD at Starbucks Friday.  The Austin and Seattle SBUX's have Media Bars where you can make buck-a-song CDs and they burn on the spot.  And while I realize there are other channels of downloading and burning CDs with considerably more street cred than in a plush chair at Starbucks (and said channels have in the past all but cluttered our hard drives with so much spyware/adware that we felt like we were online in the gulag) -- but MAN it's fun. 

This one's my summertime 2005 jams.  I have to make a summer jams CD every year.  Past summer jams have included Foo Fighters- Times Like These, Them- It's All Over Now Baby Blue, Chili Peppers- Otherside, Radiohead- Karma Police, Smashing Pumpkins- Rhinoceros.  Summertime jams are typically family friendly so we can blast them on the way to runs and on road trips. 

This year there's only one R-rated song there, Jadakiss- Hot Sauce To Go.  Track 5, I'll skip it whenever the wee man's in the car.  Other than that we've got ourselves a nice set of summertime songs.  I'm sure these'll get heavy rotation next week when we go to San Antonio for Jen's trail run:

Chemical Brothers: Galvanize, Marvo Ging  Gorillaz: Dirty Harry  Red Hot Chili Peppers: Can't Stop (You would not believe how much airplay the Chili Peppers get around here.  I'm gonna have a strong case for naming our first family dog Keidis when we get our house.)  Bloc Party: Banquet  The Hives: Hate To Say I Told You So (Which Mar loves, he spilled my Diet Coke in the car yesterday, doing his elbow dance thing)  There's also some nice Spinners on there, early Parliament, also some early Stevie Wonder (before he was singing about plants), of course Sly Stone's Hot Fun In The Summertime.  There's also some Jonathan Richman on there, Cappucino Bar.  So it's kind of a mix of old soul and new energy.  I love playing new songs for Marcel, all that discovery.  I'm totally hogging all his '1st time I heard' memories.

zack         

Hey, it's the sun and it makes me shine

It's official, Marcel's first show will be the Polyphonic Spree! Yesterday I was listening to The Polyphonic Spree's cover of Wig in a Box *, and it inspired me to check out their tour dates. Come to find out they have just one show listed in the country, and it just happens to be in Texas. So we will be making the trip to Fort Worth to check out the show and fireworks! I can't think of a better first concert for Marcel. Marcel says "I think that's pretty cool."

  * If you haven't seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch, you've got to check it out! The music great, and the story is hysterical. OK, so the idea of a trashy rock star with a botched sex operation and really bad clothes sounds a bit ... bad. At first, you may be like "what the hell is this?" But I swear, it grows on you. And then you will want to see it 20 times, and see the live show, and get the soundtrack, and the Tribute CD...OK, maybe you won't be as extreme as my family... (side-note- I wouldn't watch this with your kids, but there a few parts under "select-a-song" that we do watch with Marcel and he loves them! He knows all the words to Wig in a Box and Origin of Love. The lyrics of Origin of Love are actually quite educational.)

How the iTunes was sounding last week

1. Jack Johnson: "Constellations".
2. That damn new Beck, which I've grown to like: "Girl".
3. Jay-Z/DJ Dangermouse/The Beatles: "Change Clothes" off the Grey Album, which I think uses "Piggies"?
4. Everything from The Life Aquatic soundtrack: "30 Century Man", "Open Sea Theme", Seu Jorge's "Rock and Roll Suicide" are standouts.
5. The Eagles: "Already Gone".  I have to have a major Eagles fix every summer, without fail.
6. Nine Inch Nails: "All The Love In The World", which is actually a bit of a trainwreck.  Trent Reznor power ballad?  Honestly I have no idea if NIN is still even remotely relevant.  I think the only people buying this album will be guys my age who went to a few too many Lollapaloozas in their day and who still have the old homemade 2-liter bottle gravity bong in their closet just in case some of their bro's come back over for a cookout or something, which they won't, because all the bro's got families now.
7. Mastodon: "Blood and Thunder".  Metal.  Must have metal in my life. 
8. Iggy and The Stooges: "Gimme Danger".  This is actually a car song, not an iTunes song, but I had to include it because Marcel and I are about to go grocery shopping and I'm sure we'll listen to it in the car a few times.  Marcel LOVES Iggy Pop but can't wrap his head around why Iggy Pop would ever want to roll on broken glass onstage.  Mar gets mad and says "That is dangerous!  A kid could step on it and hurt his foot.  That's a bad decision."  But then we listen to "I Wanna Be Your Dog" which he thinks is very funny.  Then repeat the routine over and over until we get to the grocery store.

zack      

Devendra

Jen and I had a nice laugh just now at how bugged this guy is.  Here's a link to an NPR profile on him from 2003, where he kicks out some quality jams.  It's like a song that a ghost of a dead young girl would've sung, tucked away in the attic of a 70s ghost movie, like Audrey Rose or The Changeling.

And I guess this is his page from Young Gods, his label.  He is looking mucho Charleton Hestonio.

zack

Bombay Beats

Yay! We just got a package from Taylor and Brandi!

Marcel went to his CD player immediately to put the CD in. Here is us dancing to the Bombay Beats:

Marcel somehow changed the settings on the camera to sepia when he took this photo of me. I so can not believe I am publicly posting this photo. I must like to laugh at myself....You can tell that the music causes both of us to close our eyes and flail our arms around, which means it must be good. I will see if I snap a photo of Zack getting his dance on later.

Thanks again y'all for the pieces of Colorado we did not get to see last week (and of course, the Bombay Beats!).

Jennifer

TV On The Radio; Zeus & Co.

Today's been a nice, lazy day...Marcel and Jen saw 'Robots'...I ate crawfish etouffe (sp?) and caught up with my old friend Karel...plans for the hike have been pushed back to Thursday due to rain...and I've had TV On The Radio in my head all day.  No TV On The Radio SXSW show this year.  However, Marcel and I are gonna catch a free show at Waterloo Records this Friday; The Kills have an afternoon in-store. 

At this point in our lives I'd rather have Marcel hear harsh lyrics at a show and talk with him about it afterwards than miss any more shows and feel like life is passing us by.  I'm not taking him to GWAR or Crash Worship (if they're even around anymore), and what he does check out he does so sparingly.  And no independent hip-hop shows until he's at least ten.  The Kills will be okay though, if we can even get in. 

And lest it seem I am single-handedly rotting his brain, he and I are also spending this vacation week reading about a lot of Greek mythology.  Each night he'll pick a myth and I'll read it to him, then we talk about it.  It's good for his vocabulary too:  he's already picked up 'fleece', 'underworld', and 'condemned'.  Last night we did the story of the Centaurs and the intro to Hades and Persephone.  Tonight we read about Orpheus and Euridice, one of my favorites.  Here and there I'm tossing out what I can remember from Ovid, but I think I'm gonna need to get a new copy and start reading it some more. 

Jen teased me and said he's the only boy who's gonna ask for a frosting portrait of Zeus on his cake for his 5 year-old birthday party.  I think we could make that happen. 

(All pictures are of the world's greatest band, TV On The Radio.  Everybody should listen to these fellas.  They make me feel good about things.)

zack         

Two Dumb Things I Did Today

While at work today, I decided to Google the band '...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead' -- or 'Trail Of Dead', which is easier on the carpal tunnel.  A picture like the one at left is what I was expecting.  (I've never seen them live, but I do remember when the drummer used to work at the coffee shop in Book People.  He had such wild biceps I thought he would crush my dainty espresso cup like the sissy beverage it so is.)

Well, long story short, I searched and my search results were bizarre, such as the photo to the right-->  So I checked my search out, turns out I didn't type 'Trail Of Dead' -- I had written 'Trail Of Dad'.  Good thing I'm not on the band's street team.  I'd convince a bunch of football lovin', John Goodman lookin' homeboys to show up to their next show -- like me and 80 clones of that dude from King of Queens.  *sigh*...

---

Later, as I was driving home, I was drinking a Diet Coke and listening to Polyphonic Spree super loud.  Traffic was bad, so to entertain myself I was burping in time with the music, big rich burps that made my eyes water.  There's this one part on their 2nd album where they are all goin' off singing something like "...stranger to the sky, you've seen the light!  There's sixteen ways to blow your mind, if you'd open up your eyes..."   Or something hippy like that.  Well I was wedging out these loud foul burps one after the other, mouth open, eyes bloodshot and watering, and a carful of college kids passes me slowly, and the girl driving looks at me like I am the most disgusting thing she has ever seen, like I've got rabies and I'm choking on a whole egg I just stole from the coop.  I love the Polyphonic Spree.

zack

Strange Behavior

Zack is exhibiting some strange behavior today, pre FronteraFest show. I caught him singing a 98 Degrees song, "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)":

Give me just one night, una noche
A moment to be by your side
Give me just one night, una noche
I'll give you the time of your life

The time of your life
Ohhhh
Give you the time of your life
Oh baby yeah

Barf.

He is now at the gym, working out, presumable trying to divert some of his pre-play nervous energy. I am now going to hide the coffee.

Be thinking of Zack and Geoff around 9:30 this eve! Hopefully this performance isn't just una noche. . .

-Jennifer

The Lounge Show

My morning man, Jay Robillard, is playing The Girl From Ipanema.  Everyone has heard the song a million times; we can hear strains of it in our head at its mention; yet when you hear it again it is still so patient and fresh, such a clean voice.  Bossa Nova rules.

The Lounge Show is a Gonzales Saturday tradition, trumped only by our Sunday tradition of Jamaican Gold.   

zack

CDs I can't stop listening to

My car exists to play two CDs, over and over:  From a Basement On The Hill and Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes.  Driving has become an afterthought, something I might as well do while I listen to either of these albums.

The Elliott Smith in particular is special.  It is a posthumous release, of course, and while I'm not going to say I'll miss him - never met the guy - it is always sad to know that the songs have come to an end.  For those who are unfamiliar with Smith and his work, please take 10 minutes and listen to this NPR broadcast over a cup of coffee.  Elliott Smith put out at least six solo albums, so you just might be making the musical discovery of your entire year.

Order of likeage for Elliott Smith's albums:

1. Either/Or
2. Elliott Smith (self-titled)
3. From a Basement On The Hill
4. Roman Candle
5. X/O
6. Figure 8

The other band, TV On The Radio, is doing just fine without my plug so I won't plug...but I did notice their website finally has t-shirts, so hook me up.  They also have a blog there - GOOD LUCK READING IT!  It reads like bad Celine.

zack

The sound of our house this morning....

Marcel has chosen the music this morning. I got out of the shower to find him going through CDs. He grabbed 5, opened the CD player,put them all in, and pushed play. I checked the selection a minute ago: Elvis greatest hits, Motown Christmas, One Hit Wonders, Sidney Bechet, and Phish Rift. He confessed that he was looking for the Christmas CD with our favorite Christmas Song "Christmas at Kmart" by Rootboy Slim. Luckily he didn't find it. It was pretty sweet that he put the One Hit Wonders CD in, he knows I am a sucker for cheesy music, and that the CD hold my favorite song of all time "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl). The CD also has a few of Marcel's favorites as well- "Play that Funky Music" and "Knock on Wood". It also has the Starlight Vocal Band's original (non-Anchorman*) version of Afternoon Delight. The Phish choice is no doubt in celebration of his awesome uncle, Uncle Phish, my brother. Growing up in Central New York, Phish was getting pretty popular by the time I graduated from high school. I jumped on the bandwagon shortly after, but it wasn't until I moved to Texas that I actually saw a Phish show. The first one was here in Austin with some friends. The next 3 were here in Texas the next year, with my brother. We did the whole road trip thing, driving to Houston and camping with the rest of the fans (phans?) and then back to Austin, then to Dallas. The roads were full of Phish followers and was a pretty interesting community to be a part of. I didn't comb my hair for 3 days and wore a sarong and Birkenstocks- the closet I have come to being a hippie. We then headed up to New York (stopping at Graceland and Cedar Point Amusement Park- my old workplace from 2 summers prior) and then he left for the Florida Lemon Wheel Show. Good times of course, and Phish holds a special place in my heart- and my son's.

Jennifer

*The Anchorman CD has an Afternoon Delight music video that is out of control. Check it out at MTV if you can. Be sure to look for the part where Paul Rudd gets into the hot-tub by swinging his leg over Will Ferrell's head (in his undies). He gets a bit too close. We watched that part about 6 times. Speaking of cheesy, check out the movie soundtrack, it includes "Carry on Wayward Son". I may just have to get it.

Polyphonic Spree rant

What's up with Entertainment Weekly calling Together We're Heavy the second WORST album of 2004? 

Yeah, because Chingy's new album was so great.  As was Rod Stewart's THIRD album of rehashed songbook junk.  Nelly's two albums Sweat and Suit were just untouchable too.  And Britney Spears' 'greatest hits' album.  And Marcel's girlfriend Lindsay Lohan's stellar debut - that one's really up there with the classics, right next to Sticky Fingers and Fear of a Black Planet.  I mean, Honkin On Bobo, dude.  Honkin On Bobo.  You let Honkin On Bobo slide, but you come down on the Spree. 

They put the Spree as next-worst after William Hung for chrissakes!  William Hung.  That's just wrong.  The Spree rules.  They're out there raising kids on the road, singing about trees, keeping the Theremin alive...  I don't normally get into the top 10 deals at year-end all that much, but man to put the hurt on the Spree like that. 

You gotta hear Marcel sing "HOLD me now, DON'T start SHAKING!  You keep me SAFE, don't EVER THINK you're the only one, when TIMES ARE TOUGH, in your newwww aaaaaage..."  Polyphonic Spree haters have hearts of coal.

zack

Ringtones

I just found a site that has Bonnie "Prince" Billy ringtones for free download.  Those'll really get your attention while you're in the mall.  Like a snail's fart would.  Or rubbing two feathers together.  Or ham. 

Dude rocks though.  "The brother rides," as he puts it.

zack

Ashleeeee strikes again

Last night I finally go around to listen to the Ashlee Simpson Clip. Though I tend to like female singers that sound a bit rough (Cat Power, Lucinda Williams) it was pretty awful.

Funniest thing about it though, was when I was playing it, Zack lept off the couch and went into our son's room. Apparently, he thought the "wailing" was coming from his room, and he had had a nightmare or a leg cramp. He was a bit dismayed until I explained that it was just good old Ashlee, doing her thing.

Ashlee rocks!

I cannot stop watching this clip.  I fear I am personally responsible for the slow download.  At about 20 seconds into the clip some guy yells You Suck! -- and I think he speaks for us all.  This is great stuff.

z

Acid Reflux Redux

I am beginning to think Ashlee Simpson is ahead of her time, really.  Tristan Tzara and Hans Arp pulled off performances as bad as this at Cabaret Voltaire back in 1916, yet that gave way to Surrealism, which gave way to art as we know it.  I would like to think she is inspiring a new revolt, one in which talent will once again be kept sub rosa.  Damn all who expect a singer to sing.

In any case, watch and listen as Ashlee's autobiography reveals yet another appendix in need of editing, this time at the Orange Bowl on ABC.  The download may be slow, but the rampant Booing that takes place once she is done is well worth the wait.  Ashley, destroy; listeners, enjoy.

zack