I Feel Alright

See How The People Here Live Now

2009-07-28T18:29:00.001-07:00

Hope That They're Better At It Than I Was

So John Darnielle announced today on the Mountain Goats website that there will be a new Mountain Goats album titled The Life Of The World To Come that will be released this coming October.
The post reads like this:

July 28, 2009 the Good News

Kept busy all spring and I'm here with the news.

1. 1 Samuel 15:23
2. Psalms 40:2
3. Genesis 3:23
4. Philippians 3:20-21
5. Hebrews 11:40
6. Genesis 30:3
7. Romans 10:9
8. 1 John 4:16
9. Matthew 25:21
10. Deuteronomy 2:10
11. Isaiah 45:23
12. Ezekiel 7 and the Permanent Efficacy of Grace
The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come
release date 6 October 2009

The album was recorded between April and June: first at Electrical Audio with Brandon Eggleston; then at Sonic Ranch with John Congleton; and finally at Baucom Road with Scott Solter. Scott also mixed the entire album at Baucom Road. The band is still Jon Wurster, Peter Hughes, and me; Owen Pallett did string arrangments & played on the Electrical session. The third song in the tracklisting above is a link to the song itself - enjoy!

I guess the obvious question is going to be: "John, have you had some sort of religious awakening?" and while I guess lots of people might want to be coy about answering that, that's never really been my style, so: no. It's not like that. It's not some heavy-narrative-distance deal either, though, and it's not a screed. It's twelve new songs: twelve hard lessons the Bible taught me, kind of. More than that I'd want to wait to say until some people have heard it, which won't be long. Will there be more news soon, quite soon? Like, next week, even? Oh yes there will!

I, for one, am excited to hear this album in its entirety as, although there have been several smaller project releases in the last year or so (The Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice- Moon Colony Bloodbath; The Mountain Goats- Satanic Messiah EP; The Mountain Goats & Kaki King- Black Pear Tree EP) this will be the first proper LP release since Heretic Pride which was an incredible effort (albeit in a bit of a new direction- Darnielle certainly taking this past few years' newly acquired taste for higher production value and more complex composition yet another step forward- but I think at this point us Mountain Goats fans have come to expect a certain degree of progression and experimentation in John's new work) and without a doubt one of 2008's best albums. The above-posted announcement does mention Owen Pallet's involvement in the album's "string arrangements" (you might recognize his name from his credits as string/orchestral arranger as well as violinist on records such as Fucked Up- Hidden World and both Arcade Fire LP's as well as the newest Pet Shop Boys LP "Yes") so I'm betting we get some more of the highly orchestrated type string-work which was liberally invoked on Heretic Pride in a way which TMG's previous work had traditionally strayed from- still taut and moving but fuller sounding and littered with steep-crescendoed-swells.

The song which has so graciously been provided to us in TMG's album announcement (Genesis 3:23) seems to be written in a manner reminiscent of some We Shall All Be Healed material, maybe"Letter From Belgium", "Quito", and "Against Pollution", and there are also some phrase-ending-inflections he uses a few times which are somehow familiar, perhaps sharing an aural-chromosome or two with "Autoclave" from Heretic Pride. I like it, then again I like everything TMG does.

In other entirely unrelated news, our buddies over at Grillo's Pickles are going to be featured in the Boston Globe this week so keep an eye out for that, it's supposedly going to be written concerning an interesting new pickle-pursuit which Trav embarked on recently. In the last few days Adam Sandler also ordered a Grillo's tee, big ups to Sandler for being down with the up and coming pickle scene, we can only hope he's wearing it while listening to unreleased demo's of "The Lonesome Kicker".

Well that's about it as far as breaking news for me, but here are some records I've been listening to lately:

This record is actually not a proper LP but a collection of songs from various compilation releases as well as the Mountain Goats' Songs About Fire, Orange Raja, Taking The Dative, and Tropical Depression. As is the case with most TMG releases this one's just packed with the signature TMG lo-fi recording style, intelligent lyrics packed with geographical, historical, and literary references, and desperate and earnest at-the-end-of-his-rope type vocal inflections which characterizes the first half of Darnielle's career. Personal highlights include the tracks "Golden Boy", "Pure Gold", "Song For John Davis", "Going To Port Washington", "The Only Thing I Know", "The Anglo-Saxons", and "Flight 717: Going To Denmark".

The Mountain Goats- Ghana
* * * * *

This album does a great job of not only invoking the perfect ghosts-of-rock-and-roll-past but managing to keep it from ending up stale, it seems like a breath of fresh air into a genre which is pervaded (and perverted) by so many blatant rehashers. Think garage rock, Iggy, Richard Hell, and even some early Psychedelic influence (shoot out to Barrow for turning me on to the Nuggets compilations, especially the Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era (1965-!968) boxset). "Energetic" is probably a word that should be used in this description, "infectious" too.

King Khan And The Shrines- The Supreme Genius Of King Khan And The Shrines
* * * * *

This thing just sounds dirty and evil and awesome. J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr/Witch.. ya might've heard of him) on drums and presumably also sharing some guitar duties.

Upsidedown Cross - S/T
* * * * *

Man, this single is a beast. Fast nasty snarling garage rock/punk that doesn't let up the whole way through, comparable to maybe AK-47 or a quicker Dead Boys or just a snotty bunch of assholes laying it down in a style that remains tangentially classic without ever even coming close to being a "throwback".

The Sleaze - Smokin' Fuckin' Cigs single
* * * * *

I originally listened to this record on the suggestion of John Darnielle and so by its title had initially assumed it to be some sort of black metal record; I would have been happy enough with that as usually everything John recommends in the way of metal is awesome, but here I was dealt an interesting surprise. This thing is not metal, it might not even be rock and roll, its a whole different beast. Weird loops, atmospheric and odd and sometimes downright uncomfortable sounding vocals, choral backing tracks, feedback, and a type of somehow fundamentally contradictory rhythmic ambience that certainly owes a debt on some level to the likes of Leonard Cohen and maybe Phillip Glass (and on not-quite-the-opposite side of the coin, perhaps even New Order). Hard to classify, its very weird and cool and I think it does a good job of standing for itself.

Blackout Beach- Skin Of Evil
* * * * *

This bad boy is a mix of dark doomy metal, jammy psychedelia, and the like- I have reason to suspect that these guys use Marijuana. In reading this band's name and the record's title you can probably get the general impression that you have some Sabbath fans on your hands, and thats certainly part of it, though they tend to be way more lo-fi and (you guessed it..) fuzzy sounding. I'm pretty sure a lot of this album is unrehearsed, most of these songs are probably improvised from root-riffs that the band planned on jamming through. They have a lot of other releases (many cassette-only) so it's kind of hard to get a grasp on their whole catalogue but this album will find a place in the collection of any fan of loud fuzzy electric guitars and improvisational shredding. Sorry that I don't have any cover art.

Fuzzhead - High In A Basement
* * * * *

Well, that's all for me right now. Keep watching the skies.

Oh You're So Virulent, Jens

2009-06-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well Maybe I Am, Maybe I Am.

So I went down to NYC for the weekend and returned only to find that everyone's favorite singer/songwriter/weirdo/genius Jens Lekman has contracted the much-publicized H1N1 Virus aka Swine Flu. Sweden's native son posted this info on the Smalltalk section of his website:

June 27, 2009

I picked home one last souvenir from South America, it's called the H1N1 virus. Wrongfully known as the Swineflue.

I was crossing the Atlantic when things started getting really bad, the fever was hallucinogenic and shaking me like a leaf and I grabbed the sleeve of the Air France steward. "I'm not feeling well, I should see a doctor" I said and the reply came as a brilliant mix of death anxiety and french rudeness: "Uh, yes... Terminal D... go there maybe... when we land". After that the stewards and stewardesses took long detours. A ring of empty seats formed around me. Peoples eyes were kind but determined, they read "Poor you, I really wish you all the best but if you come near me or my kid I will have to stab you with this plastic fork". I got up and went to the bathroom where I fainted.

Now I'm in quarantine for ten days. I can see the summer through my window and it's just perfect. Summer is always best through a window.

For those of you currently residing underneath (or perhaps deep within) some type of geological formation, Jens Lekman is a critically acclaimed Swedish musician who has released some of the most interesting work of recent memory and is the mastermind behind Night Falls Over Kortedala, one of 2008's Top 5 LP's. His style is pretty unique, combining crooning and dynamic vocals with oftentimes catchy and upbeat drum breaks/loops, expansive string parts (both original and sampled), and witty, dark, and forlorn lyricism. He gets likened to Belle & Sebastian pretty frequently so for the sake of comparative originality I'll say that his work can be described as being loosely akin to the sound one would imagine Beck having cultivated if he had continued down the same sonic path he had chosen on Mellow Gold and Odelay combined with a touch of quasi-Morrissey sensibility. Due to his widely varying sound and unique compositional strategies it's always up in the air when he performs live, audiences may be treated to a large scale production of his songs complete with ample accompaniment or a personal solo mandolin set.

So, in hoping that this troubled-troubadour makes a full recovery (I'm certain that of all the art emerging from this perceived epidemic, the post-infection song(s) Jens will surely pen in regards to his experience will undoubtedly outshine any other reactionary compositions) I've decided to put the spotlight onto some of my personal highlights of Jens' work.

First off, here's a fantastic video of Jens doing an extremely interesting cover/artistic re-rendering of Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al":

Next, here is Jens' incredible cover of Arthur Russell's "A Little Lost". He plays the song on a yellow Kalimba which gives the music a truly haunting sound that bleeds together in a cloud of consonant fluidity alongside Jens' vocals. This video is extremely aesthetically pleasing as well, with Jens seated alone in a theater amongst a sea of similarly yellow-fabric-upholstered seats:

To conclude the Lekman portion of tonight's program I'll leave you with 3 of his releases, his first LP "When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog", his newest LP "Night Falls Over Kortedala" and a collection entitled "Oh You're So Silent, Jens" which is a compilation of his EP's "Maple Leaves", "Rocky Dennis In Heaven", and "Julie" as well as a couple tracks from "En Garde Fanzine" and the "Accelerator Compilation". All three are more than worthwhile listens, I've been enamored with his work since the first time I heard it. I've posted a couple of these before but I'm pretty sure the links are dead by now seeing as how it was over a year ago, and anyway these releases merit re-visitation.

Jens Lekman- When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog

Jens Lekman- Night Falls Over Kortedala

Jens Lekman- Oh You're So Silent, Jens

Now, in other business, a record which has managed to grab me by the brain recently is Paintbox's forthcoming LP Trip, Trance, and Travelling. I believe it's been released on vinyl by Prank and it is really a great effort. It's a moot point to try and compare it to other artists, but that's never stopped me before: This album somehow manages to sound like a combination of "We Must Burn"-era Poison Idea and "Self Titled"-era Rocket From The Crypt tinged with moments of influence from Sheer Terror, The Enkindles, and even Rancid.

Paintbox- Trip, Trance, and Travelling

Next, we have the ambitious 1997 LP "Mississippi Luau" by Charlie McAlister released on Catsup Plate Records. This record is an incredible lo-fi concept album blending Polynesian song structure with the instrumental sensibilities of the American South. I've read that it is potentially John Darnielle's (aka The Mountain Goats) favorite record, so take that for what you will.

Charlie McAlister- Mississippi Luau

Finally, I'd like to draw your attention to a few links. Our buddy Josh Feola recently re-located to Beijing and is heading up a couple new blog-projects that will definitely be worth your attention, so make sure to check them out over at:

http://joshfeola.posterous.com/
and
http://megalopoli.posterous.com/

ps, theres a new video from our buddies in SCREAMING FEMALES up on RollingStone.com, check it out HERE. These guys have been on the grind lately doing long tours filled with top notch individual gigs and finally getting the press they deserve. Check out the video and then go buy their records from the guys over at Don Giovanni Records. Next Boston gig shoud be a blast (July 18th @ House of Blues).

Well, that's it for now, I'm off to the drive-in Bingo.

Tonight

2009-06-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown

It's no secret that I will forever be indebted to my father for (among countless other things) getting me into all the coolest music that I listen to; so, yesterday on Father's Day I began recounting just how many of the top played records in my collection are direct products of his taste. Among this myriad of artists lies the body of work produced by Jimmie Dale Gilmore and his sometimes-associates The Flatlanders. The man's voice is impeccable and The Flatlanders were pioneers (the group consisted of Jimmie along with Joe Ely and Butch Hancock), but this particular record has always stood out to me. It's Jimmie's third solo LP, it was released in 1991, it's called After Awhile, and thanks to my father I've been aware of how incredible it is for nearly as long as I can remember.

Jimmie Dale Gilmore- After Awhile

Now, I'd be guilty of a flagrant omission if I were to leave out the fact that you may recognize Jimmie from his cameo appearance in The Big Lebowski as the timid pacifist Smokey, whom is so memorably instructed to "mark it zero" by the lovable Walter.

And as an added bonus here's a photo of a little souvenir I picked up when I saw Jimmie perform a few years back at the First Congregational Church in Montclair, NJ as part of Outpost In The Burbs:

I felt like I'd be blowing it if I just saw Jimmie Dale perform solo to a crowd of about 50 people and didn't chew the fat with him for a bit after the gig and so I wound up bringing the Lebowski dvd insert over to him. He was a really friendly guy and he seemed genuinely happy to see that someone had remembered his brief acting career, replying "whoa mann..ohh man" about 10 times (punctuated by intermittent laughter) when I produced the insert.

So, Jimmie's a remarkable talent and a real class act, but let's not forget the root of this post: thanks, Dad.

Fuck it, just for good measure here's a video of Jimmie performing at the Townes Van Zandt tribute at The Bottom Line in NYC:

* * * * *
PS our boys over at GRILLO'S PICKLES have gotten even more press from the guys over at Stuff, check the vid HERE. also check out Pickle Freak and keep supporting the Grillo's empire.

Tripping Out with Tim Burton

2009-06-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

Tim Burton's adaptation of Willy Wonka left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I shook my fist in anger and asked why the hell he didn't make it ultra-creepy. I now know that he most likely was saving all the gruesome goodness for his version of Alice in Wonderland. My hopes for the film is that it terrifies young children, and gives me fantastic nightmares. I know this will prove to have all the good wholesome fun of hallucinogens without feeling guilty for taking them. The only bitchy part is waiting until March 5th 2010 to see it.

Don't Do Drugs

2009-06-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

But if you're going to anyway, listen to this:

My buddy RO'C turned me onto this bad boy which is described as Zambian Psych-Fuzz. The band hails from, you guessed it, Zambia and apparently all 4 members share songwriting and vocal duties which makes for a fairly varied release. Anyway, I dont have my more background for this one besides the fact that it came out in 1975 and its incredible. FFO: Africa, Electric Guitars, etc.

Amanaz- Africa

The Post That Was Here Was Stupid

2009-06-18T01:15:00.000-07:00

So here's something completely different.

Take a gander at these Skynet demo tracks. This band is the stuff that legends are made of. They were either ahead of their times or possibly way behind, stuck in some more classical time. But either way, they and their times weren't seeing eye to eye. Members went on to form For Science.

Skynet Demos

enjoy.

For No Particular Reason

2009-06-17T18:48:00.001-07:00

Here's the third Warren Zevon album.

The man was a genius, a truly talented songwriter and performer.
RIP.

Warren Zevon- Excitable Boy

"enjoy every sandwich"

I Used To Be Darker, Then I Got Lighter

2009-06-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

Then I Got Dark Again

So since last week I've been inundated with ridiculous gigs, truly a monumental week for the Boston music scene.

Gig Report:

6/10/09 Meat Puppets @ Paradise
I mentioned this one in the last update but I'd just like to reiterate that the show was really great, Cris and Curt had great stage presence, never faltered on their instruments, and played a varied setlist with my highlight probably being Up On The Sun. I had been anticipating this one for a good while and thankfully had the foresight to buy a ticket beforehand so I didn't have to go down there and endure the opening act to make sure I got in even though I'm fairly certain that the show wound up not selling out, which was surprising.

6/14/09 John Vanderslice / The Tallest Man On Earth @ Middle East Downstairs
Wow, this one was about as great an experience as I could have hoped for. Knocked back a few cool ones, headed over to the club, and arrived basically right before The Tallest Man On Earth aka Kristian Matsson was scheduled to begin his set. For those of you who haven't gotten his debut LP (entitled Shallow Grave) yet, I strongly urge you to go back to the last update and get it immediately- it's easily deserving of a spot on any Top 5 Albums of 2008 list. The album is brilliantly constructed, from the strength of the lyricism and songwriting all the way down to the recording quality, so I was understandingly skeptical about his ability to accurately replicate this sound in a live setting. Much to my delight this Swedish troubadour came out and banged through a stellar set consisting of a great number of instant-classics off of the Shallow Grave LP without tripping up once. His vocals were run through some type of reverb effect that really suited his warbly quasi-dylan yodel-esque vocal changes- especially when he utilized the dynamics of slowly rising vocal crescendos with sudden strained drop-offs to leave the room with a haunting echo. A very powerful performance indeed, as Kristian strolled around the stage, leaning into the crowd and weilding his guitar like a rifle while simultaneously managing to attain prolonged moments of direct eye-contact with each individual audience member throughout the set. Very personal and a very telling performance which has cemented Kristian in my mind as deserving of a mention in any conversation concerning today's most talented songwriters and performers.

Next up was John Vanderslice. The last time he came through town was with John Darnielle aka The Mountain Goats on what was deemed the Back To Basics Tour on which both artists performed their songs solo, but on his newest album (Romanian Names- also available for download in the last update) there is a great deal of instrumentation so I was unsure about how he would perform. Sure enough he came out accompanied by a percussionist, bassist, keyboardist, and an additional guitarist. I'm a recent Vanderslice convert and haven't had time to digest his entire catalogue as of yet, but I was really entertained by this performance. He played through a good number of tracks from the new album including one of my personal favorites "D.I.A.L.O." and then ushered the rest of the band off-stage for a few tracks while he performed solo. It was during this portion that he leapt into a rendition of the track "Lucifer Rising" off of he and John Darnielle's collaborative EP entitled "Moon Colony Bloodbath"; this is the track that made his set for me as I wasn't sure he would get down with any of the songs off of the EP without John there. The band returned and the rest of the set was very energetic and entertaining. An especially enjoyable part of the performance took place when Vanderslice introduced the track "Romanian Names" with the deadpan description, "This is a song about gymnasts who are in love... and they're not supposed to be." The band then proceeded to end the set by picking up a set of acoustic instruments (the keyboardist donning an acoustic guitar while the additional guitarist moved to the flute), walking down onto the floor into the epicenter of the crowd, placing a small desk lamp on the floor in the hub of the small musicians' circle, and playing their final number without any amplification while encouraging a great deal of audience participation. Really a fine way to end the set.

6/15/09 Bill Callahan @ Brattle Theater
Ahh, the culmination of a week-long excursion into the world of the frequent concert-goer could not have ended any better. Here I was given the opportunity to see Bill Callahan aka Smog with whom's music I have lately been near-obsessed. Callahan has had a long career in music ranging from the depths of the lo-fi genre with records like Sewn To The Sky to his later more cleanly produced Smog albums like Knock Knock and Red Apple Falls and finally to his two most recent efforts (the first to have been released under the moniker Bill Callahan) Woke On A Whaleheart and Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle (both available for download in the previous update). His sound and songwriting style takes on a strikingly original form culled from a wide variety of influences, the most obvious of such possibly being Jandek and Leonard Cohen perhaps combined with the lyrical prowess of songwriters like Townes Van Zandt.

I arrived at the Brattle (though I walk past it twice a day, this was my first time visiting the theater aside from a week earlier when I went over there to buy my Callahan ticket) about 5 minutes before Callahan was set to take the stage (again, the god's of gig arrival times smiled upon me) and found a seat in the upper level. As was the case with Vanderslice, I was unsure if Callahan would perform as a solo act or with a backing band (seeing as how his catalogue is so diverse) and upon entering and seeing the presence of a keyboard and drumset realized it would be a collaborative performance. Joining him on stage were a violinist, cellist, percussionist, and an additional guitarist who all managed to robustly fill out the songs (also, during one song the violinist took charge of keyboard duties and during another Callahan himself shed his guitar in exchange for a shift behind the keys). They performed in front of a large projection screen which, throughout the duration of the set, faded slowly through a cycle of vibrant colors, this coupled with the prowess of the band and Callahan's deep haunting voice really took hold of the audience and definitely brought us down-the-rabbit-hole during several numbers. The set-list was fantastic (with an artist that has a catalogue as large as Callahan's you can't really go into a gig with your hopes up for a specific track, seeing as he has so much material to draw from) and included tracks such as "Jim Cain", "Bathysphere", "Too Many Birds", "The Wind And The Dove", "Rock Bottom Riser", and "Cold Blooded Old Times". You really got a feel for Callahan's unique sense of darkly tinged and devastatingly dry wit as he conversed with a heckler, continuously engaged himself in quirky dance-moves as he performed, and made light (during between-song banter) of his set-list's necessitating of frequent tuning alterations. All in all, an excellent set which Callahan and his fellow musicians carried flawlessly. And kudos to the Brattle for providing a great atmosphere, there's no doubt that I'm looking forward to attending future events there.

In an unrelated matter, our good friends over at Grillo's Pickles were featured in yesterday's (6/15/09) edition of Karmaloop TV. Wait until the last minute of the video to see PJ make his debut as "Sam Sam the Pickle Man" and discuss the intricacies of pickle-on-mouth rape. You can find the video over at http://www.karmaloop.com/tv/index.html under the entry for 6/15/09. Also, word on the street is that the Grillo's cart got a visit from the Phantom Gourmet this morning, so keep an eye out for that. Finally, shoot-outs to Trav for hooking me up with a gallon of fresh Grillo's Spears on Friday night, it's good to have the staple of any balanced diet on hand in great supply.

As always, I would never leave you without some records to ponder. Since I already posted the new releases for the above-reviewed artists last time I'll just leave you with some albums that I've had in heavy rotation.

Charlie McAlister- I'll See You In Hell

The Extra Glenns- Martial Arts Weekend
(The Extra Glenns are a collaborative project between John Darnielle aka The Mountain Goats and Franklin Bruno of Nothing Painted Blue and this record features several previously unreleased Mountain Goats tracks including three entries in the "Going to..." song cycle)

Leatherface- Peel Sessions

Smog- Knock Knock

Smog- A River Ain't Too Much To Love

until next time.

New NYC Sports blog

2009-06-12T13:40:00.001-07:00

So my buddy Ian has started a new NYC Sports blog called Four Point Play, be sure to check it out and see just excactly what being a NY sports fan living in Boston can do to you.
http://www.fourpointplaynyc.blogspot.com/

Playing Catch-Up

2009-06-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

So I suppose I'm officially back and as my second order of business I'd like to discuss some links which I would have posted here had I not been slacking for the last year or so.

First off here are a few music pages that deserve your attention:

Modern Hut
This is my buddy Joe's (Don Giovanni Records/Talk Hard/For Science) new project. I havent gotten a chance to catch them live as of yet but I'm really into the songs I've heard.

ATM Machine
This one is just getting started and features John, another For Science alum. It's interesting to say the least and it'll be cool to see how this one develops.

Brandon Tussey
Thanks to the dogg Steinhardt for alerting me to this one. This is Brandon Tussey's (former vocalist for The Connie Dungs and A Radio With Guts) new solo project, the songs up on the page are awesome- way fuzzy and loud with those classic high/abbrasive/vocal chords soaked in bourbon and dragged through a pile of glass Tussey vocal stylings complete with lots of effects. He'll be releasing his first solo record (on which hes apparently played all the instruments as well as done the mixing and production himself) this month. I believe the release format will be fairly primitive, burnt cd's and handmade covers.

Screaming Females
This band has been around for a while and is just finally getting the attention they rightly deserve. A female fronted rock n roll shred-fest, you can get their newest effort Power Move (released by Don Giovanni) as well as their 2 self released LP's over at the Don Giovanni website. The records are incredible and every time I've seen them live they've been stellar. Don't sleep on these guys, they'll be huge very soon.

Next, since I've been gone theres been development in the Trumbull camp:

Its been a long time coming but apparently someday soon issue 1 of Trumbull Magazine will be hitting the stands. It's being headed up by my friends Sami Reiss and Owen Black and I wrote a piece for it last summer featuring a mix of true inebriation-fueled stories from my life over the past few years (with names changed to protect the guilty) and the magazine will feature things of this nature; feature stories, reviews, photographs, etc.
You can get a clearer picture of the project at www.trumbullisland.com and hopefully once this issue gets off the ground it'll be on a more regular schedule.

Next up, enter the Grillo's empire:

In the past few months my dogg Trav Grillo's company Grillo's Pickles has been taking off in Boston. He's got some distribution going around the city and has cornered the market on pickles in the Boston Common with the opening of his innovative pickle cart. Munching on one of these delicious italian dill spears isnt like biting into some whack vlasic, Grillo's are a whole different beast: made fresh with fresh ingredients (cucumbers, vinegar, salt, spring water, grape leaves, garlic, dill, herbs/spices) these are an all encompassing taste experience. He's been getting some great press and he deserves it.
Here are some local features from the past few months:
Grillo's: Damn Fine Pickles On The Common
In A Pickle
So if you're a fan of delicious food stop by the Common (the cart is located outside the Park Street T Station) or hit up the Grillo's website at www.grillospickles.com and become a convert.
And don't forget to follow Grillo's on Twitter at http://twitter.com/grillospickles.

Finally, I'd like to mention the fact that I've become one of the countless Malcolm Gladwell converts over the last couple weeks. I started out with a copy of Outliers that my roommate had leant me and I couldn't put it down so immediately afterwards I proceded to tear through his first two books Blink and The Tipping Point. At the present time I've just been working my way through his archives from the New Yorker and the like over at www.gladwell.com and I'd just like to put it out there that I highly recommend all of his work, all 3 books were certainly worthwhile endeavors.

Ok, so we've made a few strides on our way to catching up and I'd just like to leave you with a few downloads. This week has been an incredible week for music in Boston. Last night I was lucky enough to see the Meat Puppets over at the Paradise Rock Club and they were perfect as expected (despite reports of their last Boston performance having been lackluster I thought that their stage presence and song selection last night couldn't have been cooler). Coming up are two more gigs that I'm really excited for, John Vanderslice and The Tallest Man On Earth @ the Middle East Downstairs on 6/14 and then Bill Callahan @ the Brattle Theater on 6/15; so here are some great records that I've been jamming out to get ready for these gigs:

The Mountain Goats & John Vanderslice- Moon Colony Bloodbath

John Vanderslice- Romanian Names

The Tallest Man On Earth- Shallow Grave

Bill Callahan- Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

Bill Callahan- Woke On A Whaleheart

Guess Who's Back

2009-06-11T11:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in over a year but now I figure it's time to get back on that grind. And what better way to kick this badboy off again that with some uploads by the man from whose lyrics this blog's title and url were initially culled.

So, for now here's Steve Earle's newest effort "Townes". It's a fitting tribute record to his long time friend, inspiration, and teacher Townes Van Zandt and needless to say this record would have made Townes proud to have helped Steve along on the path to becoming the songwriter he is today. RIP Townes.

Steve Earle- Townes

The next thing I've got for you here is the latest offering by Steve's son, Justin Townes Earle (who is obviously named for the legendary Townes). This is Justin Townes' second LP (his third release- behind the Yuma EP and The Good Life LP) titled "Midnight At The Movies". He's still so young and definitely developing as a songwriter but so far all of his material has been incredible. On this album his voice often takes on a quality very similar to that of a young Jimmie Dale Gilmore.

In addition to the sheer talent displayed in the songwriting here it's interesting to note the identifiably autobiographic details of some tracks such as "Mama's Eyes" which gives us a window into the complex relationship between Justin, his mother, and Steve (a relationship explored much deeper in Lauren St. John's incredible Steve Earle biography Hardcore Troubadour: The Life And Near Death Of Steve Earle). Another really standout moment comes at the end of the record with the track "Here We Go Again" which eerily resembles his father's "Goodbye" and "My Old Friend The Blues"; in this track we can really see that he is Steve's son, regardless of the fact that he is competently forging his own musical path.

Justin Townes Earle- Midnight At The Movies

that's it for now, but expect regular updates again.

Favorite Number?

2008-05-02T11:40:00.001-07:00

1,000,000,000.

Yerp. Feeling good, figured id just update with some pictures and shit.

First off, the legendary Clifton route 3/tracks spot has apparently blown up:

x blacken x: wait you know the train tracks are done?
x blacken x: i was straight up in hand cuffs
licensetochiil: Lol
licensetochiil: No what happened
...............
x blacken x: cops came with guns drawn
licensetochiil: Wtf
licensetochiil: Start from the beginning
x blacken x: ha ha ok
licensetochiil: Who was there/what time of day
x blacken x: 11 at night saturday
x blacken x: drinkin straight 24's doin a little paintin
x blacken x: me max danny drew sean
x blacken x: sean serino that straight edge mother fucker
licensetochiil: Wtf
x blacken x: finish paintin and shit then danny p goes yo theres 2 people comin over here
x blacken x: me and max just lit a fire
x blacken x: put that shit out with my beer and was like its the cops dude
licensetochiil: Were dudes smoking weed and shit?
x blacken x: they come with guns drawn..."get those hands up where i can fucking see them.. a wont hesitate to shoot you fuckers"
x blacken x: i mean people blazed before hand
licensetochiil: True
licensetochiil: I can't believe this shit went down at the tracks
x blacken x: and were gonna in like a bit but everyone threw they're shit
licensetochiil: Word
x blacken x: im sayyin that shit was legit
x blacken x: cops come make everyone get on the wall and go you guys know the drill
x blacken x: search my pockets
x blacken x: forgot about my knife
x blacken x: handcuffed
x blacken x: went through everyone else
x blacken x: and they were straight
x blacken x: walked back with them in cuffs over that shady ass bridge and sit on the curb with everyone while they check for warants
x blacken x: whole time the cop that had my knife was playin with it
x blacken x: also the one cop starts talkin about killin us and them never finding our bodies
x blacken x: we sit down they check our fingers for paint... didn't have nothin on me
x blacken x: cop goes..."you lost your knife tonight?"
licensetochiil: Lol
x blacken x: i go "yea i guess i dropped it at the tracks"
x blacken x: took off the cuffs
x blacken x: gave us back my beer
x blacken x: and let us drive away
licensetochiil: Did anyone know any of the cops?
licensetochiil: That's sweet they let you keep the beer
x blacken x: nah i tried to give my sisters name a shout out
licensetochiil: Haha
x blacken x: but they said they didn't know her which is what i usually get before they let me go
x blacken x: then sean drove away in his new car
x blacken x: fucking s2000
x blacken x: queer status

NEXT- Marathon Monday 2008 went off without a hitch. Fishie invited me to a brunch party with liquor and pinatas and as an added bonus due to coincidental living arrangments Gil and Brendan were in attendance. Partied all day outside, good weather, no complaints.

Last weekend in New Brunswick there was like a full weekend of related shows, here are a couple cool pictures of some of the best bands/people in punk, I couldn't make it down but these pictures are great so I figured they wouldn't be out of place here since all 3 of these bands have recently released records on Joe and Zach's label Don Giovanni, if you're not already into each of them then go buy their records. Photo Credits to Ali Koehler.

The Ergs!

Fid

For Science

The Hunchback

My good friend Joe of Talk Hard, For Science and Don Giovanni Records has a new MP3/music blog over at Http://alt-punk.blogspot.com so check that out.

Ok NEXT CT's Stab You In The Head have a new LP out. The band features Jeff Harder of The Ice Age and TALK HARD. You can check them out here and I think theyre playing with Madball in CT on June 7th. Speaking of Talk Hard, here are some unreleased songs from the ill-fated Talk Hard/Outta Hand split. Props to Sawyer for hooking up these mp3's after mine went down with the ship when my last computer died.

Talk Hard- songs from unreleased split

The new RZL DZL LP "Strictly Saucers" is out now, obv its dope- cop it from Lockin Out.

The new LP "Gorilla Marketing" from The Steinways is also incredible, I'm not entirely sure when it comes out but check for updates HERE because it is seriously fucking awesome and you need to buy it, I believe it'll be released on Cold Feet Records.

There's also a new LP by Off With Their Heads coming out on No Idea soon and the songs that I've heard from it are, as expected, great.

While we're at it, another band that you should be watching right now is Gimme Drugs. I can't wait to hear more songs, check out a few tracks here.

Owen/Barrow Dipset Iced Out Skulls Heads vs Merauder Skull Face Bandana debate:

Here are some more records that I've been digging recently- just for livin'.

Uncle Tupelo- No Depression

One Reason- All Rivers Run South, All Roads Lead Home

Lightspeed Champion- Falling Off The Lavender Bridge

Less Than Jake- Hello Rockview

True Blue- The Ice

The Truth

2008-03-12T09:13:00.000-07:00

About Rodney

Well, I'm warning you, this will probably be all over the place again.

Alright as you should know by now, Weston is the shit. Below is rare footage of them in their prime (playing with Chuck) that was taken on 1/21/95 in Philadelphia.

Part 1: Weston at the Calvary Church, 1/21/1995

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Oh you lucky motherfuckers now you're in for a treat. Weston released like 5 LP's (along with several splits and 7"s) and now I'm going to give you the 3 good LP's (2 of which are pretty much perfect). I'm not actually sure that this section applies to anyone since I can't imagine someone surviving high school without these records but I'm not one to fret about logical paradoxes.

Weston- Got Beat Up

Weston- A Real life Story of Teenage Rebellion

Weston- Matinee

Etc...

- I wanna give a shout out to Zach Pitoniak and Gil Sayfan for being probably the only people who actually read this.
- I remember one time I was flipping through a George Carlin book while I was waiting for somebody in Borders or something and one page of the book just said "Fuck Al Jolsen" in the center with no other text and I seriously cracked up for like 10 minutes.
- I'm so glad that I don't really have to wear that fucking annoying air-cast boot thing for my ankle anymore, now my pants selection is no longer limited to ones with a left leg wide enough to go over that fucking moon-boot monstrosity.
- I have such a good idea for a Sick People shirt, I need to contact Dave Tree and set the wheels in motion.
- When I wanna hear just straight SHREDDING I turn to the following:
Mahavishnu Orchestra- Birds Of Fire
Dream Theater- Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory
Metallica- Master Of Puppets
- Tonight I'm either going to get sushi or perhaps hit up the BU Pub
- Last night the Drive By Truckers were on Conan and as I sat there waiting for them to play at approximately 1:18am our power went out and didn't come back on until the morning. I'm going to stream the performance on nbc.com after I finish this. Also I suspect that Jefferson may have received a call sometime yesterday warning him/us of a potential outage.
- Props to the Fucked Up Mixtape for entertaining me (played through my battery powered Radio Shack cassette recorder) in last night's (Almost) Amish Paradise.
- Mikey Flynn says, "Check out my new demo, me and Gebo from The Prowl recorded it. Pro Cassettes will be up for mailorder this week." - WWW.MYSPACE.COM/WHIPCITYEYES

Ok so I don't like to embed a ton of videos on the front page at the same time because it makes for slower load times of the page in general, but this is pretty important.

Ladies (yea right) and Gentlemen, Robin Goodhue:

I'm not really sure that there's much to be said after that video, so I'll just leave you with a few more records that have been stuck in my head as of late.

The Beta Band- The Three E.P.'s

MTX- Night Shift At The Thrill Factory

Billy Bragg- Back To Basics

"The only things I care about are you and my guitar and the corner record store right by your house"

FUCK YOU

2008-03-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

ALTERNATIVE RADIO

Holy shit, so first of all, yesterday was dope. Mad props to the new neighborhood spot Deep Ellum for coming through with a cheap delicious burger after I'd assumed that it became a gay bar when Reel Bar shut down. It's safe to say that we'll be hollering at them in the future. so, fuck, last night we wound up at Dave TREE's House Of Ill screen-printing party. I really can't go into detail right now with all the insane articles of clothing that were produced because I don't want to spoil the surprise for when Sick People rolls onto stage sporting the freshest 1/1 gear to come out of North Beacon street since, hmmm... I don't know..FOREVER. BUT here's a sneak preview of some of Dave's handiwork (dude actually is a legit good printer, everything came out looking dope and he made a ton of shit while we were partying over there):

front:

side:

back:

umm YEA.

Moving on...

For the past week I have been listening to the new Lemuria LP "Get Better" pretty much constantly and I wanted to take a minute to recommend it to fans of The Lemonheads/Husker Du/Dinosaur Jr/Leatherface as well as anyone who enjoyed "The First Collection" which I uploaded in my last entry. The new album's on Asian Man so head over there (or to Lemuria's myspace) and pick it up. As a matter of fact, while you're over at the Asian Man site you should do yourself a favor and scope the new song that Mike Park put up.

News In Brief:
- I Was A Fucking Teenage Boner: A Memoir by Michael "Jeff" D'ambrosio should be out sometime next year.
- Fuck the rain
- Jefferson and I had a falling out with Gil culminating in his having been extricated, if you will, from the lineup of Sick People. This was immediately followed by a drunk Gil being forgiven and welcomed back into the band, the height of which involved him wearing a bunch of my favorite shirts and acting like a retard to Straight Ahead.
- I secretly recorded like 2 hours of tape while everyone was drunk as fuck partying in my room.
- Keep your eyes peeled for a new screenplay by Robin Goodhue entitled "Where Did The Babysitter Go?"
- Mad props to the House Of Ill
- Friday's surprise encounter with Wheels Of Fire (and the Cold Giant) was long overdue, haven't partied with Wheels since I've been mobile again.

Shoot Outs to the following:

- Deep Ellum
- El Carrizal
- Jarritos (Lime PLZ)
- Private Stock
- Felix Pizzeria

The next order of business is if anyone has even a moderate quality stream of The Devil And Daniel Johnston PLEASE make me aware of it in one of the following ways:

AIM: License To Chiil
Email: mattsieradzki@tmail.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/matthew_s

Well as always I can't bring myself to leave you without a few records to think over until next time and since this entry has no real theme I'm afraid that you're going to be stuck with a few records that I've been jamming heavy over the past week or so. Enjoy.

The Hold Steady- Separation Sunday

Slapstick- Discography

The Connie Dungs- Earthbound For The Holiday

The Replacements- Stink

The Replacements- Pleased To Meet Me

The Degenerics- Generica

She says, "always remember never to trust me," she said that the first night she met me.

She said, "there's gonna come a time when I'm gonna have to go with whoever's gonna get me the highest."

A Postcard To Nina

2008-03-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we all feel as if we're running in place. Here are a few records that, for one reason or another, remind me of how important it is to move on and prevent life from becoming stagnant and repetitive.

Jens Lekman- Night Falls Over Kortedala

Talking Heads- Little Creatures

Ben Kweller- s/t

Drive By Truckers- A Blessing And A Curse

Pedro The Lion- The Only Reason I Feel Secure

Joe Coffee- When The Fabric Don't Fit The Frame

Lemuria- The First Collection

Well, I'm not really in the mood to carry on today, so I suppose that's it for the time being. Check back for another update later in the week.

"It's great to be alive" - DBT

I Don't Have A Clever Title

2008-03-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

for this entry

OK I haven't done a real update in a minute, so here are a couple items of importance.

I started walking (with a dope cane) a couple weeks ago so I think it's safe to say that I'm well on my way to being healed, so that's good. The first weekend that I really went out to party around here again (after my broken ankle-induced 2 month absence) I was treated to a visit from a bunch of maniacs from Albany, so that was cool. Then the weekend after was a serious rager at Ian's crib, basically it's been great being able to hang again. No really retarded specific stories as of yet, just a lot of general unfocused retardation.

Next, I finally took the time to upload the videos I have from Hellhole's first show. I can't remember the exact date or the lineup, but it was in a basement in Lakewood and i went with Erik and Crystal. Hellhole and Staring Problem were awesome and I got to see my friends so I suppose that's all that matters. I'm pretty sure that I recall Geoff Greene explicitly telling me not to put the videos of Hellhole online, so here's Staring Problem.

Staring Problem Part 1

Staring Problem Part 2
Staring Problem Part 3
Staring Problem Part 4
Staring Problem Part 5
Staring Problem Part 6
Staring Problem Part 7

Check out Staring Problem's new LP "You'll Always Be Sick" on Indecision Records.

www.myspace.com/staringproblemnj
www.indecisionrecords.com

Umm ok, so moving on.
NEWS IN BRIEF:

- Remember Sick People? New Songs, New Member ("Cuz I'm the newest member of the Sick People Crew"-RIR) and hopefully a good recording/shows on the horizon.
- I'm so over this fucking boot that I've had to wear on my foot since I got the cast off.
- Gil rolls like a lumberjack and the shorties apparently can't resist.
- Lord GreerZac's brother Nick has been hanging this week. Dude's doper than I was when I was 17.
- Did I buy Light cigarettes last night?
- Orenthal James demo up www.myspace.com/ojdestroy
- Looking forward to partying with Dube, Owen, and Mike Sweet next time I'm around NJ/NYC.
- Two words: BAD LIEUTENANT.
- Celeb Rehab? Yes plz. If you're already 9 months sober and you can't deal with a 3 week rich person rehab because of "cameras and privacy issues" then you're a little bitch (I'm looking at you, Daniel Baldwin).
- Whip it real hard, whip it whip it real hard.
- Hellhole- Uppers/Downers out now www.dongiovannirecords.com

I guess that's all I've got for now, look out for some album uploads later in the week.

Happy Birthday Gil

2008-03-01T08:34:00.001-08:00

Little boy Gil is finally becoming a man. Happy 20th, son (as of like 3 days ago). I'll do a real update with downloads and shit probably tomorrow or maybe later today, but in the meantime...

"I haven't seen a real skinhead since 1985, this one goes out to all you new jacks."

edit: I think this picture from Gil's birthday dinner is an appropriate addendum to this entry.

pictured: Gil, Me, Stop And Think Demo 2

checkmate

2008-01-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

"in 4 moves- the Bobby Fischer of rap" - Hov

RIP Bobby Fischer (March 9, 1943- January 17, 2008)

Fischer was the shit. he became a Grandmaster at the age of 15 and went on to hold such titles as world chess champion/professional weirdo. he was a genius, holding several records for being the youngest player ever to attain many of his accolades, and was forced into the spotlight in the heat of the cold war, crushing Spassky at the World Chess Championships in 1972 in what became a deeply symbolic act for many Americans. (u catch that whole hot and cold thing? yea, im not funny). Oh yea, throughout the course of his career he also played in 8 United States Chess Championships and won every one.

After that victory Fischer took a 20 year break from competitive chess, during which he withdrew from society, emerging only in 1992 to challenge Spassky to another match. in 1981 he published a pamphlet called "I Was Tortured In The Pasadena Jailhouse" which detailed a time in 1980 where he was arrested after having been mistaken for a wanted bank robber. after a series of unfortunate personal events and the development of a public persona clearly negatively affected by some combination of his wild genius and his having been thrust into the national spotlight for such a portion of his young life, Fischer sought political asylum in Iceland, where he was granted citizenship in 2005. in one of his last pubic appearances (in March 2005) via a BBC World Service telephone link from Japan, Fischer denounced George W. Bush as a criminal and stated his refusal to return to the United States while Bush was still in power. he died yesterday of kidney failure, it was reported last year that he had been suffering several health problems and extreme paranoia which had required previous hospitalization.

do some research. pay your respects to a real champion.

FREE JARVIS

2008-01-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

new jersey's native son and everyone's favorite homeboy got locked up again this past week. my man might be looking at some real time so any of you fat-cats out there strolling around with some extra spending money should consider hooking my man up with some "legal aid" for bail so he can at least get out until his hearings and shit.

from Jarvis:

" yo my bail was lowered to $320 so if anyone wants to help out please do, let Jil or Kaitlyn kno."

good dude, shitty situation. holler @ ur boy.

i dont have the energy

2008-01-03T13:10:00.001-08:00

to do a real entry.

but i wanted to make a post because today is the 11th anniversary of when i broke my leg. shit sucked. i was snowboarding and i ate shit, the front lip got caught in the shitty man made snow (ice) and my right binding didnt pop, holding my foot stationary (facing the ground) and my entire body spun around breaking my shin bone in a spiral from my ankle to my knee. in my infinite wisdom i decided to get up and try to walk it off, which immediately resulted in the bones in my leg crumpling together as i fell to the ground on top of the break. this left my leg looking like a black back of tennis balls, all deep bruises and misplaced pieces of bone. then i got to have a cast from my toes to the top of my thigh for 13 weeks which left me pretty much stuck at home. luckily my grandmother had just been diagnosed with cancer and moved into my house so i got to spend everyday hanging with her until she died 2 days after my return to school (RIP Grandma Pat). all in all, a pretty shitty 3 months. fuck it, we live to fight another day.

here are a bunch of records that i've uploaded for various reasons. it'd feel like a waste if i didnt throw them up here as well. as usual, just trust my superb taste and listen to this stuff.

American Steel- s/t

The Honor System- Single File

The Livingbrooks- Night Of The Livingbrooks

Digger- Powerbait

Diesel Boy- Rode Hard And Put Away Wet

The Riverdales- Storm The Streets

The Lawrence Arms- Ghost Stories

that's all for now. like before, there's no real link between these records aside from the fact they're all great pop punk albums. enjoy.

1.

its barely january 1st anymore

2008-01-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

by the time i post this it'll technically be january 2nd, but trust me, i started writing it on the first. basically another year's gone and i guess good riddance, although i cant say i expect too much more from the coming one. i'm leaving some people behind in 2007 and with any luck they wont resurface in 2008, so that's at least one positive.

ive been in new jersey for about a week so let me get you (no one) up to speed.

two wednesdays ago i was walking home from the Brain Failure gig at Great Scott when i decided to stop at the atm. i take out $20 and as i grab the bill it sucks back into the machine and rips off in my hand, so im left standing there with less than a third of the bill in my hand and $20 subtracted off of my balance. so i storm out of the atm as i begin to call the Bank of America customer service number, which just gets me even more infuriated (those automated menus just remind me of Skynet and our impending doom at the hands of Cyberdine Systems). so basically what happened next was a combination of drinking, my banking-induced fury, and inattentiveness led to my promptly eating shit on a huge patch of ice. called 911 and all that bullshit, the EMT's tell me "oh if we bring you to the hospital they'll just take x-rays. we'll do you a favor and drop you off at your apartment even though we're really not allowed to do that" (wow thanks a lot you fucking assholes).

so i went home, and with great pain/determination made it up to my third floor apartment. wrapped my shit up in an ace bandage and proceeded to self-medicate (shout-out to Adam Cohen for coming through with the ill Morphine tea). that saturday i went back to new jersey and everyone was in general agreement that i should see a doctor. so on sunday (this is 4 days after the initial injury) i go into the broad street immedicenter and i tell the doc i think i should get an x-ray to make sure my shit's alright because i twisted it a few days ago. i take the wrapping off and dude goes "you need to go to the emergency room right now, you probably have nerve damage and soft-tissue damage from how swollen it is". great. i hit up the ER at Mountainside and a short 4 hours and 2 percocets later get a glimpse at my x-rays and a diagnosis that i broke the ends of both of my shin bones (tibia and fibula, i believe). the outer one broke completely off and the inner one was split up the middle. long story short, doc casts it and tells me i need to get some screws and a metal plate put in surgically to hold my shit together, but upon my follow up x-ray this past thursday it appears that somehow i was struck with a bit of good luck (yea right) and my shit has healed in a way that's so far making surgery unnecessary, so hopefully i won't have to go under the knife for this shit.

basically i've been fucking straight laid up for the last couple weeks aside from a few short ventures out for various reasons. i mean, i can get up and get around without too much pain right now, but its a fucking hassle so its only gonna happen if its something im determined to do. needless to say, i've been doing a good amount of reading/writing/listening to records/drinking/taking pills/watching dvd's.

shout-outs go to the following:

arrested development season 3
futurama: bender's big score director's commentary
terminator 2
penn and teller: bullshit!
broken summers by henry rollins
hard times by charles dickens
innocent when you dream (the tom waits reader)

and special thanks to all of my friends that have been helping me get around/keeping me company/keeping my spirits up/dealing with my bullshit.

my original plan was to do a list of my favorite records of 2007 along with downloads for each, but as it turns out like 80% of them are on independent labels (one of which is owned/operated by a couple of my close friends) and i'd feel like a dick if i uploaded them for free here.

here's the list anyway:

joe coffee- when the fabric dont fit the frame
the ergs- upstairs/downstairs
for science- way out of control
for science- just another day
american steel- destroy their future
mia- kala
redman- red gone wild
dinosaur jr- beyond
jens lekman- night falls over kortedala
meat puppets- rise to your knees
chromeo- fancy footwork
the gaslight anthem- sink or swim
ben weasel and his iron string quartet- these ones are bitter
streetlight manifesto- somewhere in the between

i suggest you go out and buy all of those (or get your hands on them by some other, shadier means), because each one is phenomenal and you should really get with the times (its fucking 2008, stop living in the past).

alas, i can't allow myself to make an entry in here without including a few aural gems for my 7 loyal readers, so here are the records i've been listening to most since i've found myself in this orthopedic predicament, as it were:

Son Volt- Trace

Wilco- A.M.

American Steel- Rogue's March

Drive By Truckers- The Dirty South

Atom And His Package- A Society Of People Named Elihu

Mahavishnu Orchestra- Birds Of Fire

Boris The Sprinkler- 8 Testicled Pogo Machine

i realize that this is the most pointless disjointed grouping of downloads ive ever done, but fuck it. i'm in pain and this whole ankle thing along with an unfortunate series of events in my personal life combined with the futility of celebrating the new year (as if anything will change) has got me in a state of something less than concern right now. listen to these records because they're awesome and they're what's been keeping me going for the past few weeks in the face of endless bullshit.

13,870 days in the life of...

2007-12-17T15:09:00.000-08:00

you ever get a girl pregnant

2007-12-14T05:43:00.000-08:00

when you was like, seven?

have you ever broke a puerto rican dudes arm for sweatpants money?

it's been a long a long time comin

2007-12-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

but i know a change gon' come.

so, i havent updated this motherfucker since before halloween. fuck, that was a long time ago. for better or for worse a lot of stuff's changed since then and a lot's stayed the same. fuck, i dont even know where to pick up with this thing so i'll just cover what i remember off the top of my head, but check back because i plan on jumping right back in with regular updates again.

i guess the weekend immediately after my last update was the weekend before halloween aka time to get batshit crazy at parties, its hard to imagine this neighborhood filled with more/a higher caliber of retards than usual but somehow its possible. so that was a pretty eventful weekend. rolled to a house party with Sarah, Randy, Hunter, Jefferson, Danial, pretty much the usual crowd. the night's a bit of a blur but at some point some sucker sprayed the entire porch with a fire extinguisher and me and Danial wound up kicking him out of the party/punching him in the face several times to no real end. the next night was a halloween party at Danial/Jimmy/Cassie's, again kind of a blur but i had a good night, as evidenced by the following photo (featuring Jefferson dressed up as "a mexican"):

i think the weekend after that was spent in new jersey where the normal shit went down. hung with Clifton dudes, spent an afternoon in Long Island, and checked out Charlie's DJ night at some hole in the wall bar in Jersey City.

i meant to do this much earlier, but i wanna give props to a new store that opened in Clifton that i first visited on this trip home. they've got sneakers, jeans, t's, sweatshirts, hats, toys, decks, books, magazines, etc. the new spot is called BLACK FLAG and its located at:
244 Lakeview Ave
Clifton, Nj

obviously the only camera i had on hand was in the form of my sidekick2 so forgive the quality of these pictures, but you get the idea:

so go and help out Omar and Lesley (BF's owners), support Clifton commerce, and get your winter gear game up all at the same time. this is a quality spot and its good to see some new blood around Lakeview.

also, that same weekend, during the course of my travels, i encountered the corner of Jefferson and Albany (yea, the OTHER nexus of the universe) and couldnt resist capturing photographic evidence:

between then and Thanksgiving i stuck around Boston, focused on school shit, and cut loose on the weekends around these parts. Thanksgiving week i went back to new jersey and saw my dogs again (shoutouts to clifton dudes + grundle) as well as spent some time with my family, pretty much standard holiday bullshit, generally a good time. that sunday myself, Owen, Gian, and Mccready all went out to Bob's Southern Bistro (an awesome spot for southern bbq and live jazz) for Owen's 25th birthday. it was a good time, and it happened to be the second to last night that Bob's was open so it was nice to be able to check the spot out before it was gone forever.

the last few weekends have been pretty sweet around here, good parties pretty much every Thu/Fri/Sat as of late (shout outs to Enormous Room and GoodLife). this past saturday night there was a For Science gig literally 2 houses down the street from our apartment so we got to get stupid with Joe, John, Zach, and Brian which was cool since I havent really seen anyone from outside Clifton on any of my recent treks home. obv they shredded, with one of the highlights being an opening cover of "Seer" by Witch. afterwards debauchery ensued at Happy Endings and later Jeff/Dube's crib.

in other news:
-Zach Pitoniak flipped his car but he's ok
-word on the street is that our apartment may be getting some new blood in the form of our buddy Chris Nothing
-Randy is almost caught up with Lost
-after a wild night of partying with Danial/Ryan/Zac Greer/Carrie/Laura/Flo, my Sidekick 2 was mysteriously broken, forcing me to acquire a Sidekick ID (aka bummer)
-im gonna do a band with Danial, Dave, and Jefferson that sounds like The Replacements
-Sick People finally started practicing again, the new song sounds like Outburst
-these days Jefferson can really shred
-Gian hooked me up with an electric guitar
-we have the illest Casio synth from like 85 in our kitchen (Jefferson and I are using it to start a band that sounds like NIN/Gravity Kills)
-it's whiskey season again

that's pretty much it as far as the stupid shit i've been up to. below are a few more items to sum up the past 6 weeks:

Top 5 TV Shows (that randy and i have been watching)
Lost
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Penn and Teller: Bullshit!
Trailer Park Boys
Arrested Development

Top 5 Books (that ive read/finished/re-read)
Living Or Dead by Hugh Conway
On Killing: The Psychological Cost Of Learning To Kill In War And Society by Dave Grossman
We Were Soldiers Once...And Young by Harold Moore/Joseph Galloway
The Upanishads translated by Eknath Easwaran
Heart Of Darkness by Josef Conrad

Top 5 Movies (that i've watched, not necessarily for the first time)
The Darjeeling Limited
Half Nelson
The Cable Guy
Heathers
Singles

Top 5 Records (that i've been jamming hard for the past 6 weeks)

The Reigning Sound- Time Bomb High School

Meat Puppets- Up On The Sun

Sugar- Copper Blue

The Jayhawks- Smile

The Mountain Goats- All Hail West Texas

honorable mentions:

Superchunk- No Pocky For Kitty

Witch- Self Titled

so that's it for now. download those albums, spark one up, kick back, and if you dont like them, fuck off.
again, im gonna resume updating this thing regularly so check back soon.

"she came in on the redeye to dallas-fort worth.
all the way from sunny taipei.
skin the color of a walnut shell,
and a baseball cap holding down her black hair.
and she came here after midnight.
the hot weather made her feel right at home.
come on in, we haven't slept for weeks.
drink some of this. it'll put color in your cheeks.

he drove in from mexicali, no worse for wear.
money to burn, time to kill.
but five minutes looking in his eyes and we all knew
he was broken pretty bad, so we gave him what we had.
we cleared a space for him to sleep in,
and we let the silence that's our trademark
make its presence felt.
come on in, we haven't slept for weeks.
drink some of this. it'll put color in your cheeks.

they came in by the dozens, walking or crawling.
some were bright-eyed.
some were dead on their feet.
and they came from zimbabwe,
or from soviet, georgia.
east saint louis, or from paris, or they lived across the street.
but they came, and when they'd finally made it here,
it was the least that we could do to make our welcome clear.
come on in, we haven't slept for weeks.
drink some of this. it'll put color in your cheeks."

good luck and god speed.

a better place, a better time

2007-10-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

so i just listened to the new streetlight manifesto lp. as expected, it rules. Streetlight is without a doubt one of the best NJ bands of the past few years. they got together in 2003 to release their amazing first lp "Everything Goes Numb" and have since also put out a complete re-working of Catch 22's "Keasbey Nights" lp (their version of which was titled "Keasbey Nights: As Performed By Streetlight Manifesto"). if that sounds odd you should be aware that Tomas Kalnoky wrote all of Keasbey Nights and is also the principle songwriter for Streetlight. for those of you wondering what to expect, there have been a couple lineup changes since their inception, but realize that all of Streetlight's founding members were in either Catch 22 (when they were fucking awesome) or One Cool Guy (who were fucking awesome for their entire existence) and just imagine these dudes writing even catchier songs dealing with more mature subject matter and the improved musicianship that comes with an extra 5 years of playing.

also, much props to Clifton's own Mike Soprano for playing on this record.

so anyway, here's their new LP, its fucking fantastic.
it comes out on November 13, 2007.

Streetlight Manifesto- Somewhere In The Between
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HZZE7RM6

track listing:

We Will Fall Together
Down, Down, Down To Mephisto's Cafe
Would You Be Impressed?
One Foot On The Gas, One Foot In The Grave
Watch It Crash
Somewhere In The Between
Forty Days
The Blonde Lead The Blind
The Receiving End Of It All
What A Wicked Gang Are We

maybe the times we had they weren't that bad
and everything else was part of the plan

we sang, "i dont know where we go from here"

in time she might see

2007-10-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

how foolish she was for leaving me
might take a bruise or two before she longs for my kind of abuse
running away was easy, i guess, but you left my mind a sloppy mess
was it so hard to talk about stuff that i couldn't figure out?

whoa is me, she took her things and she ran away, whoa is me

she says she's feeling so much better
she says the air tastes so much sweeter since she left me

sometimes i might suspect that the cause couldn't be as bad as the effect
crazy girls which i seem to collect and then scribble down notes
like a science project
your argument has no defense, it's a big fat lie built on false pretense
but now i roam from home to work singing songs about you and feeling like
a jerk

running away was easy i guess but you left my chest a hollowed out mess

The Impossibles- Anthology
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6IAIYHX6

Lance Hahn RIP (1967-2007)

2007-10-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

heard about this late last night. total bummer. J Church has been an inspiration to many and Lance will not be forgotten.

from punknews.org:

Founding member of J Church and all around well-loved punk icon Lance Hahn has passed away. Hahn had been comatose since Friday, October 12th following a collapse during dialysis. According to a post attributed to Hahn's girlfriend:

as far as the doctors can tell, this collapse was due to a sudden, drastic drop in blood pressure, which in turn was probably caused by a recurrence of the infection he had had in september combined with the stress of dialysis. he received immediate cpr from medical professionals at the dialysis center, but as it took fifteen or twenty minutes to resuscitate him, he suffered neurological damage from lack of oxygen to the brain, leaving him in a coma from which he never returned.

Lance Hahn was the lead singer, guitarist, and founding member of J Church. He also wrote extensive "punk rock history" articles for Maximumrocknroll. In addition of all of this, he found time to run Honey Bear Records. Hahn was working on a compliation book of writings on anarcho-punk bands, called "Let the Tribe Increase," to be released on AK Press.

Excerpt from The Evolution Of A Cro-Magnon

2007-10-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

ok, so by now you should all be familiar with JJ's audio-book "The Evolution Of A Cro-Magnon", but if you're not, you can download it below. its like 5 hours long and every second is fucking incredible/insane. gives you a real window into the Cro-Mags and also into fucked up shit in general, this dude has lived a hard life and he's come out on top. some real crazy inspiring shit in there.

this is from JJ's myspace:
IF YOU WANT THE 'WHOLE' STORY YOU GOTTA DROP $20.00 & COP THE 400 PAGE PRINT BOOK w/ FULL COLOR PHOTOS. HERE'S A QUOTE FROM ADAM YAUCH (MCA - Beastie Boys)ABOUT THE BOOK: "This book kicked my ass. I have known Bloodclot (aka John Joseph) for many years. We know each other from around the NYC hardcore/punk scene. He was always cool with me but until I read this book, his autobiography, I had no idea about his background, about how he grew up. As I read the first few chapters, tears welled up in my eyes. A lot of people talk about coming from the streets, when Bloodclot says it, shit is real. I have tremendous respect for John, all that he's endured and who he has become. I would recommend this book to anyone in a heartbeat. So if you want to remember what NYC was like in the 70's and 80's, if you are interested in selling fake acid at Madison Square Garden, or dressing up like Santa Clause in a wheelchair to hustle money for the Hari Krishnas, or for that matter, if you are just interested in some of the best of the 8 billion stories that NYC has to offer, put a read on this." Adam Yauch May 23, 2006 - NYC.

Jon Josef- Evolution Of A Cro-Magnon
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

well anyway, this audiobook is supposed to be just a teaser for the print version, in which JJ says he goes into much greater detail. it's taken forever for it to be released, but it looks as if the release date is approaching, and thus JJ has posted another teaser story on his blog this morning, so read it because its awesome. the book will supposedly be out in November 2007, so keep your ear to the ground because its definitely going to be a worthwhile read. im sure ill post a review as soon as i get my copy.

THE HARE KRSNA WHEELCHAIR SANTA HUSTLE (from the book)

Retarded-Crippled Wheelchair Santa...

First off, I have to admit that necessity became the mother of invention on this character that I helped create. Allow me to, as we say on the streets, "Break it down for ya." The bogus leaders of the Hare Krsna movement weren't the kind of people who wasted time, especially when it came to making money. In other words, while The Salvation Army and the other groups waited until after Thanksgiving to send their Santas on the streets, these guys had us out there in late October to get a jump on things. That's because all throughout ISKCON in every temple all over the world, November marked the beginning of "The Christmas Marathon," which by the way doesn't involve running, except occasionally from the cops.

Now, instead of pitting devotee against devotee in your local temple, it became a global competition to see who could collect the most money and give out the most books. Although they tried to make it look like the books were the real emphasis, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what it was all about. Like the Wu-Tang Clan said, "Cash Rules Everything Around Me… C.R.E.A.M. get the money, dolla' dolla' bill, y'all!"

Most of the leaders could care less about helping anyone get out of their suffering material condition by giving them spiritual knowledge. It was all about the C.R.E.A.M. baby, and the reason I know that is because a lot of that money we collected found its way into the secret bank accounts they set up all over the world. One so-called guru even spent $10,000 to buy his gay lover a Persian rug for them to have sex on in the Trump Towers, while "Bank Account Swami" (Ramapada), who's nothing more than a crook, had and still operates a loan-sharking business. His scheme involves hustling money from the temples and his disciples, then lending it back to them at astronomical interest rates. Nice gig, huh?

What they set up in the Hare Krsna Movement around the world is still going on as we speak. It's a type of pyramid scheme where the guys at the top of the pyramid (gurus and senior devotees) profit from all the hard work done by the guys operating on the bottom. The only reason some of these cats at the bottom stay in the movement is because they hope to one day reach the top and exploit the others now at the bottom. I know for a fact that the temple president in New York opened a recording studio after his fall from grace in the '80s. His cohort Vakresvara Pandit (from Puerto Rico... dude gets around right?) bought sports cars, guns and condos in Virginia with the money he stole and got from Bank Account Swami. Believe me, I haven't even begun to scratch the surface because hundreds of millions of dollars have been stolen in the last twenty-five or so years, all of which was tax free! Their current money making scheme (which is making them a killing) is selling green cards to people from India trying to get in the country. See, religions can get them in on religious visas and get the ball rolling. I just hope an Al Qaeda terrorist doesn't figure that one out. Now that you know just a little of what was going on behind the scenes with the money we collected, all unbeknownst to us of course, you'll really get a sense of how we were being hustled. That's why, as of late, the temples all over the world (except those in Poland because they're a little slow to catch on) are pretty much empty. The rigorous collection schedules burnt everyone out.

In New York, The Christmas Marathon was an all out effort, where seventy devotees worked for a month and a half straight. If you didn't work the streets, you had better be part of the support team which cooked, cleaned, did laundry or whatever else needed to get done for those who were pounding the pavement. I heard through the grapevine right before the marathon started that you could really rack-up out there as Santa Claus. Since there were no events in the area for the Sticker Pick I decided to give it a try. They had me go out to the strip malls on Sunrise Highway on Long Island and people just didn't want to see no motherfuckin' Santa Claus' in October. Cars honked their horns and people screamed, "Hey asshole, you're two months early!" Storeowners threw me out and told me not to come back. It was so brutal out there that some kids even egged me.

But, being the persistent monk I was, I never gave up. My rebuttal to the storeowners became "We had a lot of backed up orders at the North Pole, so we had to start early this year." They obviously found it funny because it started to pay off in large dividends. My donations went from a $100-a-day to $200 then $300, then $500 and before I knew, it was the middle of November. I was in full swing on the marathon and then the Indian summer hit. For three straight days temperatures soared into the 70s and I baked out there in that red Santa suit and white beard and wig combination. By the fourth day, I had the worst jock itch and rashes running up and down my legs from sweating profusely while I walked the five to six miles collecting donations. To make matters worse, the knee I hurt while I was in the Navy swelled to the size of a small grapefruit. I couldn't walk and just when it seemed like my gig was up and my marathon over, our resourceful Pick Leader told me, "You can't walk, no problem. Here's a motorized electric wheelchair! You can go work the lots in Staten Island as an invalid."

Yes folks, I was to play a cripple who never lost the meaning of what Christmas was all about - giving. I was going to be out there braving the elements collecting money for starving children all around the world. As I climbed aboard the motorized wheelchair, which would be my home for the next week or so, I brainstormed. Wait a minute, I thought. What if I went out as a crippled Santa? That would even be bigger than just some regular old invalid. Even better, what if this particular Santa was not only crippled, but retarded as well? This would be FUCKIN' HUUUUGE!!! When the person in charge of collections walked out and saw me in full Santa attire, in character, in that wheelchair, his mouth hung, his eyes bulged out of his head and he cracked a smile. "Wow," he said. "No one's ever stooped that low." He was thoroughly impressed.

The van dropped me off at the back of the mall parking lot in Staten Island so that no one would see me not only walk, but lift the two-hundred-pound monster of a wheelchair out of the van. The driver parked up front in between a few cars and if I got nipped I was to whistle and he would come and get me. As I drove my wheelchair up to the front of the lot where most of the cars were parked, I played it off to a 'T'. I used the bent portion of my left wrist to work the joystick and even cocked my head to one side. I had an empty paint can wrapped in Christmas paper, with pictures of starving children all over it. As I passed a few cars that were exiting, I saw the look on the faces of the people inside. They were totally fuckin' shocked. The parents and the kids were equally devastated. The horrified children then burst into tears as their mothers hid their faces. Hmmm, I thought, that's my angle. I went from car to car as the people left the mall, only hitting up mothers with kids. When I would approach the kids would cry, "Mommy, mommy! What's wrong with Santa?" Then I would reply in my best retard voice, "Santa says please help the starving children," and hold up my can. The mother would hide the kid's eyes and give me ten bucks just to go away. It worked like a charm, car after car and lot after lot. That first week I hit up all the stores around Staten Island, Long Island and even New Jersey. No security guard ever had the heart to throw me out and in one week I did close to 3 Gs in collections.

A week or so later I went back to that first lot on Staten Island and got ready to start the second round. Well, about an hour into it a black security guard who looked like he just got out of Rikers Island came out and told me to get out of the lot. Staying in character I answered okay, but I had no intention of leaving. As soon as he went inside I started working again, but that's when the snowstorm hit. I didn't mind getting wet, but the problem was my wheelchair's tires lost traction and were now just spinning in the snow. Since I couldn't catch my victims and corner them before they got to their cars (most ran as to avoid having their kids see me), I wasn't making any money. That's when I decided to go in and work the aisles of the stores. It was hilarious. Moms with their kids would be looking at stuff on the shelves and hear the motor of the chair from down the other end of the aisle. They would turn around, spot me coming and just stand there in shock. Then came the crying from the kids and of course, the money. I even got bold and worked the checkout line at a supermarket. While I was hustling I had an old lady pat me on my head, talk to me like I was a five-year-old and tell me what a special Santa I was as she put five bucks in my can.

I was doing bigger business than I ever was out in that cold-ass lot. As I made a beeline for a group of shoppers in the frozen food section I heard someone yell, "Hey you!" I slowly spun my wheelchair around and it was that same black security guard running toward me at full gallop. "I told you to get off the property!" he said. "No… no… no you did not… you…. you…. sai… said to get out of the lot." I said stuttering, but the brother wasn't having it. "Your honky-ass ain't no retard, so cut the bullshit. You got your motherfuckin' warning now I'm callin' the cops." I was out of there like Vladimir. I put the chair into high gear, got outside and whistled. The van came screeching up to a halt and its doors flew open. I jumped up out of the chair and sure enough the lady who gave me the five bucks was standing right behind me. She was stunned as I picked up the heavy wheelchair, threw it in the back of the van and jumped into the front seat. "You piece a crap. You should be ashamed of yourself," she screamed. As I closed the front passenger door I pulled off my Santa wig and revealed my shaved head. "Have a Merry Krsna and a Happy New Year," I yelled as we burned rubber and chanted all the way back to the temple.

After a week had passed, my leg was healed and I got out of that wheelchair. The devotee, Adi, who was in direct competition with me for marathon collections, now had passed me. The race was now on. During the last week of the marathon, I donned the Santa suit, traveled around and averaged eighteen-hour days hustling. We were doing huge amounts of money running into malls (kids would go nuts at the sight of us), bars, shops, gas stations, McDonald's and strip clubs. Shit, we even worked traffic lights at busy intersections. Anywhere there were groups of people, we were always there. Finally, it came down to the last night and we knew by counting our money that it was almost dead even all the way up to the end.

The night before Christmas Eve we were somewhere upstate in Dutchess County, New York. It was freezing cold around 11 p.m. and we found one last bar to hit up for all the marbles. It was the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded and whoever hit the grand slam was going to be the hero for padding their guru's bank accounts. His was the homosexual who blatantly stole money and got blowjobs in gay bars. Mine was the child molester who raped a fifteen-year-old girl and split with millions of dollars. As we pulled up in the van we noticed that the parking lot of this particular bar was full and that meant only one thing; it was packed. We stared at each other for a second as if we were two prizefighters meeting in the center of the ring before the first round. We both jumped out of the van. As he ran in the front door, I decided I was going to go through the back door and work the bar toward the front. I saw another parking lot that was empty on the side of the building and ran down the embankment to cross it. As I got about fifty-feet out on the lot I heard a cracking noise. I then realized that this was no parking lot, but it was a small pond, which was frozen over and covered in snow.

I crashed through the ice and sunk to the bottom of the freezing cold water with my can of candy canes. I sunk about fifteen feet and couldn't see anything other than my entire life flashing in front of me. What a way to go, I thought, as a bogus Santa in some scummy pond upstate. But, instead of panicking I crawled along the bottom of the pond and finally reached the shore. I climbed out and crawled up the embankment. My Santa suit was completely soaked and felt like it weighed two-hundred-pounds. My beard was waterlogged and hung off my face by the elastic band. My Santa wig, as well as the rest of me, was covered in algae and pond scum and my can was also full of water. But I still had candy canes and that meant the competition wasn't over yet. I ran to the front door, burst in and yelled, "Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!" The noisy patrons who were gathered around my competitor, forking over the dough, turned and looked at me. It was dead silent in there and finally someone shouted, "What the fuck happened to you Santa?" I yelled, "I missed my landing and the sleigh fell through the pond outside." The entire bar erupted in laughter and they all ran away from the other Santa and came at me stuffing bills in my can in exchange for my soggy candy canes. I won the Christmas Marathon and, just as a foot note, after all the devotees worked so hard that year on the marathon, the scum who ran the temple stole the entire collection. Oddly enough after the last night of the marathon, when all the money was in the treasurer's office he somehow forgot to lock the hundred and some odd-thousand dollars in the safe. All the thief had to do was break through a thin sheetrock wall, open the door and all the money was conveniently just sitting right there. It was so obvious what had happened and even the cops said it was an inside job. Real spiritual, huh?
- Jon Josef

fidatevi fidatevi fidatevi

2007-10-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

whoa-ah-oh whoa-ah-oh

there's not much to say about ben weasel that hasn't already been said. it seems that people either love him or hate him, but either way they're all forced to admit that he has been responsible for a great deal of the best pop punk records ever released and has had a considerable hand in shaping the genre over the past 20 years. from Screeching Weasel and The Riverdales to his writings for Maximum Rock'n'Roll to his book "Punk Is A Four Letter Word", ben has been a huge part of punk for a long time.

being behind so many phenomenal releases it's easy for some new fans to overlook a few, when in reality they all deserve recognition. so, here's Ben's first solo record entitled "Fidatevi". trust me, it rules.

Ben Weasel- Fidatevi
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=S7ZDFGBS

ok, well i love going off on tangents SO from the topic of Ben Weasel we move on to The Queers' LP "Beat Off" which features the a song called..... you guessed it, "Ben Weasel".

The Queers- Beat Off
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KOE7IH9S

The Queers- Ben Weasel
He rants and raves, he screams and shouts
He always flips my lid
But deep down inside he loves you kids
I know that you think he's just a goon
But he makes little Vapid clean his room

He don't like Nirvana
I know he don't like prong
And I'll bet you five bucks that he don't like this song

Ben Weasel -- "He's an asshole"
Ben Weasel -- "He's a jerk"
Ben Weasel -- You just hate him 'cause he don't have to work
Ben Weasel -- "He's an asshole"
Ben Weasel -- "He's a jerk"
Ben Weasel... He's Ben Weasel, he's so cool
He's Ben Weasel, he's so cool
He's Ben Weasel, what can you do?
Ben Weasel he's co cool

He drinks mud, he smokes his butts
He's glued to his TV
But when I drink a brew he frowns on me
He paces in his living room and festers every night
But we know his barks worse than his bite

He don't like Nirvana
I know he don't like Prong
And I'll bet you five bucks that he don't like this song

ok you thought i was done, but NO.
here's Ben's NEW LP entitled "These Ones Are Bitter". It fucking rules, but i swear to god, you better listen to/fall in love with Fidatevi before you try listening to this one or im gonna be fucking pissed.

Ben Weasel and His Iron String Quartet- These Ones Are Bitter
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QEJ0EJFK

much respect to Ben for still making great music after all these years.
check out his blog here:
Weasel Manor

so don't pretend to act like you know me

2007-10-17T17:51:00.000-07:00

and pick apart a mind you don't understand.

im not gonna make a whole post about it, but last night gil and i pounded a few beers and headed down the street to Harper's Ferry where we caught performances by The Falcon, The Lawrence Arms (who performed 15 MINUTES and THE KITCHEN FLOOR, both off of The Broadways' LP "Broken Star"), and the return of the almighty AMERICAN STEEL. anyway, the show was fucking awesome but im not gonna make a whole entry about it, seeing as how i already made one to prepare you jive-ass suckers for this tour (it can be found HERE).

as luck would have it, there is another stellar pop punk show in boston this week.
a bunch of great punk bands are playing tomorrow night @ baby safe haven (somerville- email olddirtybarker@gmail.com for address/directions).

the lineup is:

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS
RINGERS
WHISKEY TRENCH
4 LETTER WORD
CLOSET FAIRIES

email olddirtybarker@gmail.com for address/directions

all of the bands on this show are great, especially Ringers, but im beyond psyched to see Off With Their Heads (since i've as of yet not seen them). OWTH play a style of pop punk that im tempted to equate with the city of Minneapolis, but its probably safer to just compare them to Dillinger Four. now, i know that lately it seems every fast band with raspy vocals gets compared to D4, but this comparison is far beyond deserving seeing as how OWTH's sound manages to be derivative of D4's while still managing to take the songs in their own interesting original creative direction.

so, if youre having any doubts about attending, listen to this album and be converted.
its actually a collection of the following releases in this order:

Off With Their Heads- Hospitals
Off With Their Heads/J Church- Grin And Bear It
Off With Their Heads- High Five From the Rapture
Off With Their Heads- Art of the Underground Single Series Vol. 9
Off With Their Heads/Tiltwheel- Split

Off With Their Heads- All Is Not Well
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6KMEDDTJ

"People worry too much about the end.
I keep it simple, I love and trust my friends,
but I'd rather be in New York doing heroin again."

if i hadn't blown the whole thing years ago

2007-10-16T12:03:00.000-07:00

i might not be alone

CONGRATULATIONS JARVIS!

2007-10-10T11:22:00.001-07:00

so my roommate randy (http://shuvnose.blogspot.com) received word late last night that everyone's favorite Jarvis Tejada was finally released from jail. holler at your fucking boy, Jarvis. im sure he's busy right now out trying to "get his man's wet" in the name of freedom, but i hope to see him the next time i visit nj.

here's what he had to say in a myspace bulletin he posted earlier today:

Date:	Oct 10, 2007 11:17 AM
Subject:	IM OUUUUUUUUUUUT...chek it out n makes it happen....
Body:	Well as you can tell by me being on here, im no longer ina cellso whats goood time to start fund raising lol .... i say some one thros me a welcome back party .... and all proceeds go to fines and fees ... im happy to be out so just make my come back the shitttttttttt......... btw im bored and looking for a job so if you kno of anything or wanna chill n talk about jail hit me up ....

well goddammit.
congrats, cuz.

Tx Mike presents VALHALLA

2007-10-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

tomorrow night @ good life.

FREE (21+)
Thursday, October 11th.
GoodLife (28 Kingston St, Boston, MA)
ft. Bladerunners (DJ 7L and DJ Beyonder)

full moon wednesday

2007-10-10T10:00:00.001-07:00

we walk in werewolf weather.

so this past weekend i went back to New Jersey, a visit which was based partially on my desire to catch an MS benefit in Secaucus which was scheduled to be headlined by The Connie Dungs and The Ergs. well, all in all my weekend faced minor complications but by a bizarre twist of fate and an unprecedented instance of good luck in my life it turned into one of the best weekends that i've had within recent memory. BUT, the Dungs wound up can canceling the show due to Tussey's having throat trouble, which was a bit of a bumout. The Ergs put on a phenomenal show though, as always. ANYWAY, my point right now is that i was going to get to see The Connie Dungs, and this has flung me into a full-blown Tussey phase.

The Connie Dungs were an awesome band that existed from 1994-2000 and released a shit load of records on Mutant Pop as well as several other labels. They were legendary and you should already know about them. so anyway after they broke up singer/principal songwriter for the Connie Dungs, Brandon Tussey, along with almost all the members of the Dungs reform to begin a new project that became known as A Radio With Guts.

ARWG picks up basically right where the Dungs left off, moving even farther into the realm of dark depressing lyrics belted out by Tussey's whiskey-soaked and tobacco-bathed voice to form a finished product that is seeped with unadulterated desperation. so far they've released 2 LP's, one called "Acoustic Series" and one called "Beat Heart Sweet Stereo". both are fantastic, and the former even contains some new renditions of old Connie Dungs songs as well as a Jawbreaker cover.

with the recent reformation of the Dungs, people have been wondering what's gonna happen with the 3rd A Radio With Guts LP for which fans have been waiting 5 years.
well, josh (of both ARWG and the new Dungs) released this statement on August 22nd.

CONNIE DUNGS vs. A RADIO WITH GUTS??

for all concerned that this may be the case--or that a radio with guts is gone because the connie dungs are back in action, don't worry, it's not.
they are co-existing as separate projects.
i promise the new album will eventually come out, and it really does exist. the machine that holds its data and all the archive back-ups are in arms reach from me as i type this. it's all there.
there are multiple, multiple reasons for the long delay, and alot of those reasons combined with me having way to much time working on the album drove me into some neurotic, perfectionist and profound mental block. i was extremely intimidated from the beginning--when the decision was made that i would record and mix an album that more people were waiting to hear than i could wrap my head around. i didn't want to embarrass my band mates. i didn't want to hand over a mix of good songs that sound bad because of my recording and mixing. i have obsessed over these songs and recorded and re-recorded, remixed and remixed and tried so many things, and passed out on the mixing board so many times over the last several years that i got to the point where just the thought of working on it was depressing. nothing was ever good enough--there was always something that had to be done better...it got better and better, but it was never good enough. i took a long break from the album to clear my head in it's final mixing stages, started playing drums for the connie dungs, something to revive my love for the music and just have some fun with music again. two weeks ago, i forced myself to listen to some mixes of the new album i made a while ago, and , to my surprise i got really excited about it again. i needed a big break i guess.
also i ran into brian myers (he recorded 'turntable' and the black knots' album) and he gave me some wonderful mental advise concerning the manias of the recording engineer and how to approach the recording of an album without losing your mind in some perfectionist nightmare.
all things said, the album is in it's final mixing stages, i'm excited about it again, things are through with all the line up changes and drama.
now it's just a matter of time and planning before everything is finally done and the album is out.
i'm sorry it has taken so long, but it would not be as it will end up being without everything that has happened in its development.

--josh mckinley--

so hopefully we'll see this record on the shelves after all. the new songs that i heard from it are phenomenal and sound like Beat Heart era ARWG mixed with Gish era Smashing Pumpkins.

BUT, you couldn't possibly appreciate the importance of this release without first acquainting yourselves with ARWG's first two lp's, so you can download them for free here:

/
A Radio With Guts- Acoustic Series / Beat Heart Sweet Stereo
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=W55JMN3J

i've never been a winner.
i seem to lose everything i ever give a shit about.

BOOKENDS.

2007-10-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

ok so PLOW UNITED were an awesome band that was a big part of the Delaware/West Chester, PA/New Jersey pop punk scene. they were really really good and you should listen to them.

here are two Plow United albums i uploaded, listen to them if you like Weston or Digger or whatever. "The Dustbin of History" is a collection of their earliest recordings from demos/7"s/splits or whatever and "Narcolepsy" is their final release which actually came out posthumously.

Plow United- The Dustbin of History
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6FEQ1IBO

Plow United- Narcolepsy
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WR9CS5X2

edit:

ok well i named this entry "bookends" because it was supposed to be the FIRST and LAST recordings of Plow's career, but hey i was rushed and now i feel like adding a couple more things.

first off, how bad do you want one of these shirts?

so next, here is where you can download what is easily Plow's best release, Goodnight Sellout.

Plow United- Goodnight Sellout!
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZVH4H4EV

and now here's yet another bonus treat. below is a recording from A Radio With Guts' album "Acoustic Series" of a song titled "Shit" which ARWG/The Connie Dungs' Brandon Tussey wrote based around a Plow United lyric. the lyric in question is "if i could treat you like shit then you'd love me forever" and it can also be heard sung at the end of "Don't Call Me Tonight" by Tear It Up off of their LP "Nothing to Nothing".

A Radio With Guts- Shit
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ATSE5E6F

anyway, ARWG are fucking phenomenal and their long-awaited 3rd release is coming up soon, so i'll probably make a whole entry about them this week with mp3s of their LP's.

so educate yourself and get into these Plow mp3's.

a small part of me is saying i still have a chance
the rest of me is laughing at the first part
for being so naive, i dont know what to do but
i wanna tell you somethin, i wanna tell you somethin

yo i brought my bitch out the path-mark

2007-10-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

you on your way to the store, nigga grab me a dutch.

Wu Tang '8 Diagrams' promo vid

so the new WU TANG single "The Heart Gently Weeps" from their upcoming album "8 Diagrams" has been unleashed onto the internet and it definitely lives up to my expectations and makes me more anxious than ive been as of yet to hear their new record. pretty standard Wu fare here, dope beat that samples "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles (u might've heard of 'em), and verses from Rae, Ghost, and Meth that are packed with the interesting and unusual flavorful wu-flow and linguistic stylings that we've all come to love.

so check it. dont sleep.

Wu Tang- The Heart Gently Weeps
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YFNJEZRK

going to georgia.

2007-10-03T15:11:00.000-07:00

welcome to Inspiration 101
there's nothing i can really say.
give respect to a true legend.

lemme show ya how the bricks get it live, gilla

2007-09-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

time warners of the block
showtime, gilla

redman- put it down (produced by timbaland)

barbershop talk come get you a line, gilla.

"in paterson that's just the way things go"

2007-09-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

- bob dylan from Hurricane (speaking about the police's treatment of ruben "the hurricane" carter)

ruben carter

lou costello

allen ginsberg

uncle floyd

just blaze

leon komposky/michael jackson

and fyi, this little bad boy:

was called the Colt "Paterson", and it was named that because it was the FIRST revolver that Samuel Colt produced after obtaining the patent for the gun, and he manufactured it in Paterson.

from wikipedia:

"On February 25, 1836, Samuel Colt obtained patents in the United States, France, and England for the first marketable repeating arms employing a revolving magazine with multiple chambers aligned with a single, stationary barrel. The first handgun based on this patent was the Colt Paterson, so named because it was produced in Paterson, New Jersey.
...
Samuel Colt's first factory, the Patent Arms Company of Paterson, New Jersey manufactured 1450 revolving rifles and carbines, 462 revolving shotguns and 2350 revolving pistols between 1836 and 1842 when the business failed"

       ...incomparable blind; streets of shuddering cloud and
           lightning in the mind leaping toward poles of
           Canada & Paterson, illuminating all the mo-
           tionless world of Time between,
    Peyote solidities of halls, backyard green tree cemetery
           dawns, wine drunkenness over the rooftops,
           storefront boroughs of teahead joyride neon
           blinking traffic light, sun and moon and tree
           vibrations in the roaring winter dusks of Brook-
           lyn, ashcan rantings and kind king light of mind...

- allen ginsberg from Howl

the mystery of chessboxin' / GG click take two

2007-09-26T08:32:00.001-07:00

two stupid things.

1. Ghetto Gods news. Nick Dube is the newest member of GG. expect some new shit soon.
as for right now, the first track we laid down with Nick is up on our myspace.
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/GHETTOGODS
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/GHETTOGODS
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/GHETTOGODS

2. RAW im'a give it to ya, wit no trivia.

so it turns out chessboxing is a real, insane, awesome sport. basically you play chess, then you fight, then you play chess again. pretty intense.

World Chessboxing Championship

a lesson in "keeping it real"

2007-09-25T06:20:00.000-07:00

from Professors Springsteen, Young, and Vedder.

basically, these guys are cooler than you. they've been cooler than you for a considerably long amount of time, and id go out on a limb and say that they'll continue to out-cool you for some time. below is some evidence to support this opinion. respect.

here are some sick videos of bruce springsteen and eddie vedder playing material from their respective music careers together in East Rutherford, NJ (on October 13, 2004).

this first one is their version of Pearl Jam's "Better Man", and while bruce's vocals aren't particularly suited for this song i think he pulls it off and any doubts have been thoroughly dispelled by the insane jam sesh that goes down at the end of this song. some serious shredders are sharing the stage.

BETTER MAN

this is just fucking sick, eddie really steps up to the plate and holds his own during their rendition of one of Springsteen's all time greatest tracks.

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN

here's another legendary Vedder collab joint that i'm sure you're all familiar with, Pearl Jam with Neil Young performing Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" off of his "Freedom" LP. this performance is a great moment in tv history and happened during the 1993 mtv vma's.

ROCKIN IN THE FREE WORLD

and now, because i can't help but come full circle, here's a video of Springsteen and Young performing "All Along The Watchtower" in Minneapolis in 2004. this is like such a dream collaboration and what a song choice. another seriously inspirational jam goes down towards the end of this song as well.

ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

i guess the lesson here is that just because Mick Jagger is a fucking joke doesn't mean that aging singer/songwriters cant still be sincere and awe inspiring on stage. once a shredder always a shredder. all three of these guys have been releasing records for a long time and it seems that to this date none of them have lost sight of what this whole thing's supposed to be about (and id like to go on the record and say that Springsteen's new LP is awesome).
kudos to you, Bruce, Neil, and Ed, for keeping it real.

i got one life to live

2007-09-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

i want it all.

so i just got back late last night from a weekend in new jersey and in honor of my beloved home state here is a special treat. the following is a download link for the currently commercially unavailable Want It All (Rap Remix) by seminal nj hardcore outfit Fury of V, a band that was needless to day instrumental in crafting my musical tastes (in addition to my attitude towards slang).

Want It All (rap remix):
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZCDIG4NP

and as an added bonus here's the fucking phenomenal video for "Do or Die". im sure that anyone who's reading this has already seen it, but in the off-chance that you havent, let me know what it feels like to have your eyes opened for the first time. and if youre one of the legions of njhc supporters who's watched this video til theyre blue in the face over the last ten years, well luckily Fury is one of those things for which a true fan's thirst can never be quenched.

Fury of V- Do or Die:

weezy - im tryin to rap

2007-09-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

flawless parody.
d i p lowriders.

thats the price you pay when you deal with dudes like me.

2007-09-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

get high.

2007-09-16T06:35:00.001-07:00

tales from the hardside

2007-09-15T15:23:00.000-07:00

sonic youth, the smiths, and 'so i married an axe murderer'

2007-09-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

this one's kind of all over the place.

so i've been listening to Sonic Youth- Goo a lot, and i think this record has really iconic cover art:

download the album free here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?amxxrydtxpe

and as it turns out, this illustration is a Pettibon drawing (a doi) based on a paparazzi photo of Maureen and David Smith:

now Maureen and David Smith were witnesses in the murder trial of Myra Hindley (Maureen's sister/David's sister in law) and Ian Brady (Myra Hindley's husband). the case is really crazy, basically Ian Brady called David Smith over to his and Myra's house and when Smith arrived Brady was in the middle of killing 17 year old Edward Evans with a hatchet (and subsequently strangling him with an electrical cord). Maureen and David testified against Myra and Ian and that along with a suitcase of incriminating evidence (pictures, sound recordings, etc. detailing the murder of at least 2 other children) that was found by way of a Manchester Central Railway "left-luggage" ticket helped put the two in jail for life. all in all a pretty wild case, read up on it because im leaving out tons of details.

here are Hindley and Brady's mugshots:

anyway, here's a cool "documentary" (its pretty short, like 20 minutes) about the so-called Moors Murders (christened that by the media after the fact that Brady buried his victims in the moors) that i think is worth watching:

part1

part2

part3

and here's another interesting short documentary about the case:

part1

part2

part3

part4

part5

part6

now, the Moors Murders have another connection to music in that the last track ("Suffer Little Children") on The Smiths eponymous debut is about them.

download The Smiths- s/t here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1KHMQFGO

Morrissey, along with the rest of The Smiths, grew up in and around Manchester (where the murders occured) and had only a few years age difference between themselves and the victims. Johnny Marr has claimed that "Suffer Little Children" was the first set of lyrics Morrissey presented to him after his having suggested the foundation of a songwriting partnership, making it effectively the first Smiths song. relatives of the victims have generally accepted Morrissey's sincerity in regards to the subject. nevertheless, the song was performed for the first and last time at The Smiths' first show in Machester.

here's a weird animated video set to the song, its pretty peculiar but at least you can hear it if you arent familiar with it (btw if youre not familiar with this song u need to step ur game up):

ok so thats it. whatever, maybe you already knew about this shit (wow youre so fucking cool, jackass) but i never knew the whole story behind the cover art to this record so as to connect it to "suffer little children" and i just found it interesting.

1.

squalie

2007-09-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

89 wolfpack and we wilin',
p89-pull gats cuz we violent,fuck
yea, we put coke on the strip
dont quote me boy i aint said shit

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1704731530217568970

mama don't cry

2007-09-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

bury me a g.

RIP
Tupac Amaru Shakur
June 16, 1971- September 13, 1996

there isnt much that i can say about Tupac that hasnt been said before, but he was an inspiration to many including myself, and he wont soon be forgotten.

my neighborhood was full of drive-by's, couldn't survive
all our homies livin' short lives, I couldn't cry
told my momma if i did die
just put a blunt in my casket, let me get my dead homies high

KEEP YA HEAD UP.

i'm not crazy

2007-09-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

just frustrated.

in honor of The Lawrence Arms announcing their intent to play some Broadways and Slapstick songs on their upcoming tour w/American Steel, The Falcon, and Sundowner here are some videos of The Broadways from 1998:

and while we're at it, here's a link to download The Broadways' LP titled "Broken Star":

http://www.mediafire.com/?efzcu12y29d

catch this tour when it comes to your town:

Oct 11 2007

5:00P

Metro

Chicago, Illinois

Oct 12 2007

5:00P

Creepy Crawl

St. Louis, Missouri

Oct 13 2007

5:00P

Mad Hatter

Cincinatti, Ohio

Oct 14 2007

5:00P

Grog Shop

Cleveland, Ohio

Oct 15 2007

5:00P

Rex

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Oct 16 2007

5:00P

Harper’s Ferry

Boston, Massachusetts

Oct 17 2007

5:00P

Living Room

Providence, Rhode Island

Oct 21 2007

5:00P

North Star

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Oct 22 2007

5:00P

Sonar

Baltimore, Maryland

Oct 23 2007

5:00P

Alley Katz

Richmond, Virginia

Oct 26 2007

5:00P

Maquerade

Atlanta, Georgia

Oct 27 2007

5:00P

the Fest

Gainesville, Florida

Oct 28 2007

5:00P

the Fest

Gainesville, Florida

Oct 30 2007

5:00P

Walter’s

Houston, Texas

Nov 4 2007

5:00P

the Clubhouse

Phoenix, Arizona

Nov 9 2007

5:00P

Troubador

Hollywood, California

Nov 10 2007

5:00P

Bottom of the Hill

San Francisco, California

Nov 11 2007

5:00P

Bottom of the Hill

San Francisco, California

Nov 14 2007

5:00P

Aggie

Fort Collins, Colorado

watch me crank dat robocop

2007-09-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

DONT FORGET THE STRUGGLE

2007-09-11T09:25:00.000-07:00

DONT FORGET THE STREETS.

R.I.P.
RAY "RAYBEEZ" BARBIERI
NOVEMBER 27, 1961 - SEPTEMBER 11, 1997

10 years gone. much respect.

here's a link to a great tribute:
http://www.asice.net/specials/222/

here's a video of Walter Schreifels performing his song "a open letter" which is about/dedicated to Raybeez:

it's your choice.

don't try it yourself, you'll get caught in the web

2007-09-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

and i wanted to say...

tugboat annie was a great band that formed in Buffalo, NY in 1991 and existed (with a few small lineup changes) to see a relocation to Boston before breaking up in 2001. basically theyre fantastic, but for some reason remain relatively unknown. you might recognize this music video for their song "posterboy" off of their second LP entitled Wake Up And Disappear (its in my personal Top 10 Greatest Videos list and stands alone as the inspiration for my newest musical endeavor):

now the thing about tugboat annie right now is that its hard to get your hands on their recordings (they properly released 3 LP's and 1 EP, which can basically only be found on ebay at this point). BUT, for you loyal reader, I have a few different things you can download right here. first is their original 1991 demo "El Mar", then 6 demo tracks from the recording of their 2nd LP "Wake Up and Disappear", next a live set from 2000 at the Middle East in Cambridge, and lastly another live set from the Showplace Theater in Buffalo NY (1998). enjoy.

note: these links are kind of long, you might not be able to see the end of them, but just highlight the whole thing and copy/paste it to your browser, itll work.

El Mar demo-
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/6/15/1180460/elmar/ElMar.zip

Wake Up demo-
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/6/15/1180460/WakeUpDemos/WakeUpDemos.zip

Live @ the middle east (Cambridge, MA)-
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/6/15/1180460/06022000/middleeast.zip

Live @ showplace theater (Buffalo, NY)-
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/6/15/1180460/10021998/10-2-98showplace.zip

basically, listen to this band if you like good music. listen to this band if youre not an idiot.
much respect to tugboat annie.

also, while youre at it you should check out some of the members' new projects.

jay (guitar) is playing with Time Farmer (out of Portland, ME)
http://www.myspace.com/timefarmer

jon (bass) is playing with Dear Leader (out of Boston, MA)
http://www.myspace.com/dearleader

if you wanted to fight, well its over my head and i hope i can stay.
im not sleeping, i have friends in everyone.

can i live?

2007-09-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

basically i can't without a functioning phone, and my sidekick 3 broke like fucking 3 weeks ago. i FINALLY got a new phone (sidekick2 {round 2}) today and i could not be more psyched that i'm again able to enjoy several useful features on my phone of which i had been stripped for the last 3 weeks (such as read my text messages/see who's calling me/see who i'm calling/read my emails/use aim).

also about to delve into some pretty heavy reading material, see you on the other side.

matt s.' of the world

2007-09-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

unite and take over.

under the knife

2007-08-30T12:57:00.000-07:00

i've been in new jersey for the past week or so, which why this hasnt really gotten updated. fear not, loyal reader(s) i shall return to boston on saturday and cease my "fucking around".

ps. fuck Passaic General Hospital, unbelievable.

pps. sick ppl crew

Happy Birthday Jefferson

2007-08-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

thats right the dopest motherfucker finally turned 21. jefferson was the first friend i made when i moved to boston in 2004 and he's always been the best dude. congratulations buddy, this coming school year is gonna be fucking retarded. ice age crew 2007.

NA ZDROWIE!

post script:

we went out to the model at midnight last night to celebrate and jefferson brought home a girl of questionable moral fiber who lets just say, graduated college in 1991. bitch is still passed out in the other room.

fuckin' way she goes.

Anarchy's A Mess

2007-08-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

so today is the 80th anniversary of Boston's execution by electrocution (ride the lightning) of Italian anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (august 23rd, 1927). these motherfuckers were tried and convicted of murder, theft, and being anarchist idiots (a crime which, if i had my way, would carry just as harsh a penalty today). a lot of people claim that they were innocent and that the conviction was sparked by anti-Italian and anti-anarchist prejudices. many claim that the whole affair was riddled with a "blatant disregard for political civil liberties", and this may be true. but to be honest i wish the judicial system around here would go for round 2 and clean the scum off these streets.

it may have been "unconstitutional" but i cant help but agree with the case's presiding Judge Webster Thayer when he proclaimed Sacco and Vanzetti to be nothing more than "anarchist bastards".

"all you hippies better start to face reality.
all your far fetched dreams of anarchy.
better start to see things the way they are,
cause the way things are going they won't be goin' far.

world peace can't be done.
it just can't exist.
world peace can't be done.
anarchy's a mess.

things are gettin hectic. it's all gonna end.
you don't know what's waitin' up around the bend.
open your eyes. perhaps you'll realize.
if AIDS don't get ya then the warheads will.

world peace can't be done (world peace)
it just can't exist (world peace)
world peace can't be done (world peace)
anarchy's a mess (world peace)"

NYHC101

2007-08-23T05:49:00.000-07:00

i'm for the people. i stand for them.

RESPECT

2007-08-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

i was born on the other side of town.

ATTN: Boston Shredders

2007-08-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

so owen came over to get BOTH last night and dropped off a flyer, turns out he's in search of a metalhead to fill out his new musical endeavor. anyway, this flier's the shit, and if you think its your bag then holler @ your boy. only serious riff-architects need apply.

for those about to rock... we salute you.

Love's Labours Lost In Space

2007-08-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

so my roommate max was leaving for class the other day and he found this letter at the bottom of the stairs outside our apartment. it's a note printed in distinctly feminine handwriting on the back of a regular first-class two-window envelope.

heres a picture (its backwards because the only working digital camera i have right now is the one in my laptop and im too lazy to flip the image):

the text reads:

Handsome,
Thanks for taking time to see me last night. I feel bad keeping you up all night knowing you have to work in the morning but I love the way you fuck me and just cant get enough. oh, thanks for ignoring my hunger pangs last night, you're the sweetest... and wash your sheet (and nasty pillow cases), or i'm going to do it and you may nt like the way I do it, Dirtball. mwah!
Me.

i have a few guesses as to who this letter was intended for, but im not sure. there are also a few people that i hope it was intended for (jeffersons lost love letters? no weirdo).

fuckin' way she goes.

one.

errybody in the club get tipsy

2007-08-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

back when Mark Walhberg was Marky-Mark
this is how we used to make the party start
we used to mix Hen' wit Bacardi Dark
and when it, kicks in you can hardly talk

we dont kill to kill, we kill to survive

2007-08-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

law of the jungle, dog.

Varg would stab these guys for being faggots

2007-08-20T08:36:00.001-07:00

WORD

2007-08-20T08:25:00.001-07:00

sup doggies

2007-08-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

yo this is gonna be my new blog. ill update this shit soon, now i have to write a paper.