Tuesday, November 30, 2004
As previously mentioned by DVDGuy, NineBullets.org is on top of Saturday's DBT show at the Tabernacle, having links to the audio up yesterday (thanks to Sloan with speedy taping skills). Also, as previously mentioned by Rock Journalist, there's a few Athens-related .mp3's up at KVRX including performances by I Am The World Trade Center and Japancakes. Here's a link to them courtesy of Large-Hearted Boy. LHB also had a Neutral Milk Hotel show link yesterday and a Kevn Kinney show link today.
Monday, November 29, 2004
A very happy last treatment today to Sarah. It's been a tough fourteen weeks or so, but she's slugged it out like a champ. Bye-bye cancer, hello hair! If you get a chance, hop on over to The Tit Offensive and drop her a comment. Hopefully soon she'll update us as to her upcoming medical calendar. Good luck to her.
Improveverywhere is a troup of UCB grads who play pranks on the public at large. Sure, sounds like some bad MTV stuff, but it's better than that. Take for example the Anton Chekov book signing or their annual "No Pants" subway ride. Pretty fun stuff. Here's the full list.
(Found via Memepool.com.)
(Found via Memepool.com.)
There are lots of interesting goodies that just became available from Karate Media, including:
- Secret Machines Interview - The "as heard on the fresh, new WB" New York trio talks Letterman, kick drums, and space rock.
- Telegram Interview - Charleston, South Carolina, rockers ponder being the "real thing".
- Patrick Dean Interview - The Athens cartoonist on Ditko, Fluke, and absurdity in comics (sure to thrill all you comic book nerds).
- Finally, a quick plug for Karate's lady... KM has posted a nice little feature from ABC news that features his wife's business, Fleece Baby. If you wanna buy some nice Christmas presents for bebbes, and support a local business, check 'em out.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
New Year's Day (January 1) - Bloody New Year (Norman J. Warren, 1987)
B-movie time warp madness; a movie where the new year never comes.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 17) - Sugar Hill (Paul Maslansky, 1974)
"She's Supernatural!" Zombies of black slaves come back to kill whitey. It's about time.
Groundhog Day (February 2) - Shadows Run Black (Howard Heard, 1986)
Because I couldn't think of anything better. This has nothing to do with Groundhog Day, but it includes Kevin Costner in an early role.
Mardi Gras (February 8) - Mardi Gras for the Devil (David A. Prior, 1993)
Takes place during mardi gras and stars Michael Ironside as the devil!
Valentine's Day (February 14) - My Bloody Valentine (George Mihalka, 1981)
"There's more than one way to lose your heart..." is proven by a crazed miner with a pickaxe. The best VD-day themed alternate title has to be Be My Valentine, or Else (aka Hospital Massacre)
President's Day (February 21) - Psycho from Texas (Jack Collins, 1981)
The title just fit. Has nothing to do with presidents.
St. Patrick's Day (March 17) - Leprechaun (Mark Jones, 1993)
"Fuck you, Lucky Charms!" It's got Jennifer Aniston, if that makes a difference.
Easter (March 27) - Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon, 1985)
The best way to celebrate Easter is by playing God with Herbert West, the Re-Animator. Truly a great film.
April Fool's Day (April 1) - April Fool's Day (Fred Walton, 1986)
Watch Ryan O'Neal's troubled son Griffin in this slasher with a twist. Also stars Amy Steel from Friday the 13th Part 2.
Earth Day (April 22) - Piranha (Joe Dante, 1978)
Great eco-horror film with a dream B-movie cast. Written by John Sayles and not afraid to slaughter children and teens.
Cinco de Mayo (May 5) - Day of the Beast (Alex de la Iglesia, 1995)
This is really more a Christmas movie dealing with the birth of the Anti-Christ, but it's also a modern Spanish classic.
Mother's Day (May 8) - Mother's Day (Charles Kaufman, 1980)
Filmed across the lake when Friday the 13th was being filmed, this is a genuinely engaging torture and revenge film with a satirical comment on television.
Friday the 13th (May 13) - Friday the 13th (Sean Cunningham, 1980)
There's still enough time in the day to watch each one (16.5 hours or so). No excuses!
Memorial Day (May 30) - Memorial Day (Christopher Alexander, 1999)
Typical slasher taking use of a previously unexploited holiday.
Father's Day (June 19) - The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
Initially approached with trepidation, this film has gotten the critical praise it deserves, even if sometimes it is a little too laudatory. Depending on your family situation, feel free to subsitute with The Stepfather.
Independence Day (July 4) - Uncle Sam (William Lustig, 1996)
A soldier from Operation Desert Storm arrives home in a body bag but shortly begins to kill everyone he considers to be un-American during the local July 4th celebration.
Labor Day (September 5) - Cube (Vincenzo Natali, 1997)
Certainly a metaphor for the system. The cube can be easily seen as the cubicle from which escape is nearly impossible. At least we have Labor Day.
Columbus Day (October 10) - The Uninvited (Lewis Allen, 1944)
An American couple moves into a haunted house in England. A genuinely creepy film even today.
Halloween (October 31) - Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)
One of my favorite films. The series is generally above average (even part 3) up until the sixth entry.
Day of the Dead (November 1) - Day of the Dead (George Romero, 1985)
Generally considered the worst of the Dead films so far, Day is actually pretty good; it suffers from comparison and failed to live up to expectations due to budgetary (and rating) constraints.
Thanksgiving (November 24) - Parents (Bob Balaban, 1989)
You might remember Bob Balaban from all of the recent Christopher Guest movies. This is a pretty nightmarish film about a set of parents and their possible cannibalistic proclivities. Ah, family.
Christmas Eve (December 24) - Christmas Evil (Lewis Jackson, 1980)
"He'll sleigh you!" Some poor child saw his mom groped by Santa. Much later, he decides to reward the nice (the kids) and kill the naughty (the adults).
Christmas (December 25) - Black Christmas (Bob Clark, 1974)
I can watch Bob Clark's A Christmas Story over and over, but TNT runs into into the ground. Take a break from it with his earlier proto-slasher starring Olivia de Hussey, Margot Kidder, Kier Dullea, and John Saxon.
New Year's Eve (December 31) - New Year's Evil (Emmett Alston, 1981)
A killer goes coast-to-coast killing as New Year's Eve hits each time zone. Besides the premise, this one is typical slasher fare.
...Lest anyone miss it, The Onion is really damn good this week. A great lead story, words of warning for you working stiffs, and even a bit for Hillary's hobby horse. Plus, a brief but great review of B.P. Helium's new album.
Man... people can find some strange things to become obsessed with. This guy keeps an encyclopedia of info about female celebrities' smoking habits.
Seems to be particularly obsessed with Kirsten Dunst.
Seems to be particularly obsessed with Kirsten Dunst.
WED: The Normaltown Flyers, perhaps the longest-running Athens band, play their "Annual Night Before Thanksgiving Show" at the Georgia Theatre. Since Allen's closed, they don't seem to play out as much. But if you like country-rock-ish stuff, check it out.
THURS: Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots!
FRI: The Randall Bramblett Band plays the Georgia Theatre. Bramblett also goes way back in Athens' musical history. Again, kinda country/roots-ish songs. The show was originally listed as being with Barbara Cue, but the Theatre doesn't list it as such anymore.
SAT: If you're in Athens, you can catch Drivin' N' Cryin' at the Georgia Theatre. If you're in Atlanta, you can catch the Drive-By Truckers at The Tabernacle. If you don't know what those two bands sound like by now, then I can't help you.
P.S. Go Dawgs!!!
Since we won't be around much to monitor/update the goings-ons, if you know of any changes or cool additions to the above events list, please comment away. Hope y'all all have a great holiday weekend. Rock on.
(Thanks to Allison for the link!)
Boy oh boy... he was fired up. Every break between music was spent explaining why the article was wrong and why the band he'd just spun was more worthy of the praise. I must say, it was funny.
The set was a little heavy on the math (I can't really distinguish one math rock group from another)... but besides that, great stuff.
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
(Thanks to Jayne for the article!)
ChristmasInAthens.org is already up and running. The site gives a comprehensive list of holiday season activities in our little town. Christmas parade's just around the corner!
Bell, an Australian who began his career in a McDonald's restaurant at the age of 15, became the company's first non-American chief executive officer when he replaced Jim Cantalupo, who died suddenly in April of a heart attack.
Two weeks after taking over the top job, Bell was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and he has been in and out of the hospital since then for a series of surgeries and treatment, including chemotherapy.
Monday, November 22, 2004
For those who haven't read it yet, it appears that Atlanta's again made the list of The Top 5 Most Dangerous Cities In The U.S. (coming in at #3). Officials have not said whether the survey took into account the city's dangerously phat beats.
Bored at work? Gardner's got a link to this cool optical illusion thing you can print out, fold, and show off to office-mates. Think of it as arts and crafts time at work. Like arts and crafts time, it's a useless diversion in the grand scheme of things, but unlike arts and crafts time, you get paid while wasting precious man-hours doing it.
A new Gallup Poll came out last week:
"Only about a third of Americans believe that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is a scientific theory that has been well supported by the evidence, while just as many say that it is just one of many theories and has not been supported by the evidence. The rest say they don't know enough to say. Forty-five percent of Americans also believe that God created human beings pretty much in their present form about 10,000 years ago. A third of Americans are biblical literalists who believe that the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word."
Yikes!
"Only about a third of Americans believe that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is a scientific theory that has been well supported by the evidence, while just as many say that it is just one of many theories and has not been supported by the evidence. The rest say they don't know enough to say. Forty-five percent of Americans also believe that God created human beings pretty much in their present form about 10,000 years ago. A third of Americans are biblical literalists who believe that the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word."
Yikes!
Large-Hearted Boy, which is quickly becoming the guide to Athens audio on the web, has links to shows by DBT, Elf Power, and The Whigs up today (in addition to the Nirvana Peel Sessions - probably in anticipation of tomorrow's box set release). Over the weekend, there was also some DBT and R.E.M.
Robo-Dave e-mailed me his recipe for Robo-Poppers and asked me to post it to the site. So here ya go, the unedited recipe for Robo-Poppers...
Here's the recipe for fucking ROBO-POPPERS. I’m not lying at all. And they are not even that spicy. If you like jalapenos, cream cheese, and bacon, you will want to stuff these things down your pants and make love to them. Here’s my gift to you:
Ingredients:
1. Fresh jalepenos (you take all the seeds out, and most of the vein unless you want to die). Use however many you want to make
2. Cream cheese mixture (cream cheese, minced garlic, pepper, salt, dash of lime juice)
3. strips of bacon
4. baking sheet. (preferably with slits that drains into drip pan)
Directions
Cut a hole in the pepper almost to where you cut the whole pepper in half, but not completely. you need to keep it pocket-like. Take your nail and scrape out the vein and seeds. Then wash the pepper in the sink to get out excess seeds. Don’t touch your fucking eyes during this process and for at least 24 hours after. Recommend plastic gloves. After you've prepped the peppers, set them aside. Take a small container of philadelphia cream cheese that you've let sit out for 30 minutes or so, and mix in table spoon of garlic, Table of pepper, salt to taste, and couple dashes of lime juice. You can add or subract the amount of pepper, garlic, salt to your own taste. But don’t use to much fucking lime juice or the cream cheese mixuture will be liquid. When you’ve got the mixture and the Jalepenos prepared, stuff them with cream cheese mixture, then wrap them in bacon and use tooth picks to keep bacon secure bacon. Bacon is sticky enough to wrap up without tooth pics, but during the cooking process its good to have them on there. Then bake in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bacon is brown. Turn the poppers over once to fully cook bacon. You’ll know they’re done when the bacon is brown, and there is tasty cream cheese mixture sneaking out from under the bacon. After they are cooked, take them out of the ovenmake sure when you wrap the bacon around the stuffed jalepeno to stick a tooth pick in the pepper where the end of the bacon strip is. this holds the bacon in place well while it cooks. epeno to stick a tooth pick in the pepper where the end of the bacon strip is. this holds the bacon in place well while it cooks. When the ROBO-POPPERS are cooked, throw on paper towel to blot. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy.
Here's the recipe for fucking ROBO-POPPERS. I’m not lying at all. And they are not even that spicy. If you like jalapenos, cream cheese, and bacon, you will want to stuff these things down your pants and make love to them. Here’s my gift to you:
Ingredients:
1. Fresh jalepenos (you take all the seeds out, and most of the vein unless you want to die). Use however many you want to make
2. Cream cheese mixture (cream cheese, minced garlic, pepper, salt, dash of lime juice)
3. strips of bacon
4. baking sheet. (preferably with slits that drains into drip pan)
Directions
Cut a hole in the pepper almost to where you cut the whole pepper in half, but not completely. you need to keep it pocket-like. Take your nail and scrape out the vein and seeds. Then wash the pepper in the sink to get out excess seeds. Don’t touch your fucking eyes during this process and for at least 24 hours after. Recommend plastic gloves. After you've prepped the peppers, set them aside. Take a small container of philadelphia cream cheese that you've let sit out for 30 minutes or so, and mix in table spoon of garlic, Table of pepper, salt to taste, and couple dashes of lime juice. You can add or subract the amount of pepper, garlic, salt to your own taste. But don’t use to much fucking lime juice or the cream cheese mixuture will be liquid. When you’ve got the mixture and the Jalepenos prepared, stuff them with cream cheese mixture, then wrap them in bacon and use tooth picks to keep bacon secure bacon. Bacon is sticky enough to wrap up without tooth pics, but during the cooking process its good to have them on there. Then bake in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bacon is brown. Turn the poppers over once to fully cook bacon. You’ll know they’re done when the bacon is brown, and there is tasty cream cheese mixture sneaking out from under the bacon. After they are cooked, take them out of the ovenmake sure when you wrap the bacon around the stuffed jalepeno to stick a tooth pick in the pepper where the end of the bacon strip is. this holds the bacon in place well while it cooks. epeno to stick a tooth pick in the pepper where the end of the bacon strip is. this holds the bacon in place well while it cooks. When the ROBO-POPPERS are cooked, throw on paper towel to blot. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy.
Dave Eduardo sent us a nice little photo that is sure to become Robo-Dave's desktop.
More on the $30 special at Fantasy World.
More on the $30 special at Fantasy World.
An e-mail:
BENEFIT SHOW FOR THE BARNES FAMILY - Mon Nov 22 - Wild Wing - 9-midnight
I've organized a benefit for the Barnes Family for next Monday (Nov 22nd) at the Wild Wing Cafe in Athens. Kelvin Barnes, the drummer for the local Motown act THE SPLITZ, lost his home on Sat Nov 6th to a fire. Kelvin, his wife, their two twin 13 year old girls and 17 year old son lost everything in this unfortunate fire. The family is safe and just moved into a rental house this past weekend. I've had tremendous response from the community and have brought in enough donations to get them set at home (clothes, furniture, etc). However, they are still in need of some financial assistance as well as other items such as food. We will be accepting monetary donations and canned/dry food at the door to help them out for the holidays. So please pass this along to friends. Come see a great band and do a good thing for a family in need! Kelvin's band, The Splitz, will play from 9-midnight.
Here's a direct letter from the family as well!
The Barnes family would like to thank each and everyone for your prayers, donations and phone calls. We appreciate everything you have for our family in our time of need. May God bless you all.
Love,
The Barnes Family
Regards-
Troy Aubrey
BENEFIT SHOW FOR THE BARNES FAMILY - Mon Nov 22 - Wild Wing - 9-midnight
I've organized a benefit for the Barnes Family for next Monday (Nov 22nd) at the Wild Wing Cafe in Athens. Kelvin Barnes, the drummer for the local Motown act THE SPLITZ, lost his home on Sat Nov 6th to a fire. Kelvin, his wife, their two twin 13 year old girls and 17 year old son lost everything in this unfortunate fire. The family is safe and just moved into a rental house this past weekend. I've had tremendous response from the community and have brought in enough donations to get them set at home (clothes, furniture, etc). However, they are still in need of some financial assistance as well as other items such as food. We will be accepting monetary donations and canned/dry food at the door to help them out for the holidays. So please pass this along to friends. Come see a great band and do a good thing for a family in need! Kelvin's band, The Splitz, will play from 9-midnight.
Here's a direct letter from the family as well!
The Barnes family would like to thank each and everyone for your prayers, donations and phone calls. We appreciate everything you have for our family in our time of need. May God bless you all.
Love,
The Barnes Family
Regards-
Troy Aubrey
Friday, November 19, 2004
Ok, so this has already been mentioned in today's comments... but it needs to be a thread of its own. Popmatters.com has a front page article about the supposed saviors of Athens music, the Whigs.
This article is wrong on so many levels... many of which have already been mentioned by Mail Clerk, Rock Journalist, Jayne, Robo Dave, and DVDGuy.
First, I'd like to say that lets not blame the Whigs for this article... blame the author, Jon Garrett.
Second, I'd like to say... no Athens band is a real band until they've done two things:
1) Release a recording. Until then, you're just a party band.
2) Survive a generation of UGA students. Until then, you've just got alot of friends.
So if you wanna save Athens music, get to work Whigwams!
This article is wrong on so many levels... many of which have already been mentioned by Mail Clerk, Rock Journalist, Jayne, Robo Dave, and DVDGuy.
First, I'd like to say that lets not blame the Whigs for this article... blame the author, Jon Garrett.
Second, I'd like to say... no Athens band is a real band until they've done two things:
1) Release a recording. Until then, you're just a party band.
2) Survive a generation of UGA students. Until then, you've just got alot of friends.
So if you wanna save Athens music, get to work Whigwams!
For anyone who missed any of it, The Onion has compiled their post-election coverage on one convenient page - just in case you're not completely sick of anything to do with those two guys (really though, it is funny).
I'm always surprised that Robo Dave doesn't comment much at Bunny Mcintosh's blog.
Especially on posts like this.
Especially on posts like this.
A weekend of disappearing acts...
FRI: In a sort of goodbye to their drummer (Joe - a helluva cool guy), the newly re-christened "Todd McBride & The Cooler Heads" (aka "Todd McBride & The Monday Nite Nobodies") play the Caledonia. They're a really amazing band, Joe's a great drummer (and great cook, I might add), and I highly recommend getting out to see this show if you like rock (just plain rock - done well). Obviously, it'll be a while before they play out again as training drummers is a daunting task. As an added incentive, they'll be playing several Saviors classics in the set. Afterwards I believe there's a goodbye party, so ask around.
Why not plug the Now It's Overhead show tonight at the 40 Watt? Cause it's sold out, that's why. So if you're going, you already know about it. And in actually talking to Andy instead of speculating (for once), I am assured this will be the last NIO show for quite some time. Enjoy it, ticket holders.
SAT: Just before heading out to tour for the rest of the year, We Versus The Shark plays at the 40 Watt. They're best heard through either a great sound system (like at the Watt) or barely any system at all (like at a house party). In between isn't their prime. So, this is the night to try 'em out. Just don't be frightened away by being one of the oldest folks in the crowd - cause if you're an 8-5'er, you likely will be. But they rock, so it's worth it. (Note: The suits were for a special wedding performance; they might be math-rocky-y, but they're not that math-rock-y.)
FRI: In a sort of goodbye to their drummer (Joe - a helluva cool guy), the newly re-christened "Todd McBride & The Cooler Heads" (aka "Todd McBride & The Monday Nite Nobodies") play the Caledonia. They're a really amazing band, Joe's a great drummer (and great cook, I might add), and I highly recommend getting out to see this show if you like rock (just plain rock - done well). Obviously, it'll be a while before they play out again as training drummers is a daunting task. As an added incentive, they'll be playing several Saviors classics in the set. Afterwards I believe there's a goodbye party, so ask around.
Why not plug the Now It's Overhead show tonight at the 40 Watt? Cause it's sold out, that's why. So if you're going, you already know about it. And in actually talking to Andy instead of speculating (for once), I am assured this will be the last NIO show for quite some time. Enjoy it, ticket holders.
SAT: Just before heading out to tour for the rest of the year, We Versus The Shark plays at the 40 Watt. They're best heard through either a great sound system (like at the Watt) or barely any system at all (like at a house party). In between isn't their prime. So, this is the night to try 'em out. Just don't be frightened away by being one of the oldest folks in the crowd - cause if you're an 8-5'er, you likely will be. But they rock, so it's worth it. (Note: The suits were for a special wedding performance; they might be math-rocky-y, but they're not that math-rock-y.)
Thursday, November 18, 2004
This is amazing. Apparently Urkel has grown up to be... well... Starbucky from Battlestar Gaylactica.
I am probably the only one that is somewhat excited about the next round of Hollywood remakes. I thought that both Dawn of the Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre were pretty good, even considering my adoration of the originals. So, I'm willing to give the new remakes a chance, even if my natural inclination is to disparage them. I think I might be alone in the world on this one.
Therefore, when Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, Soylent Green, The Amityville Horror, Scanners, and The Evil Dead hit theaters, I will be in line to see them all. Well, maybe not Soylent Green.
I was a little excited about The Dukes of Hazzard, but I saw a picture of the new cast on the net and the boys didn't even have their shirts mostly unbuttoned! WTF?!? That's just hateful! They better tighten up them jeans and show off some chest fuzz, or that sucker's doomed.
Therefore, when Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins, Superman Returns, Soylent Green, The Amityville Horror, Scanners, and The Evil Dead hit theaters, I will be in line to see them all. Well, maybe not Soylent Green.
I was a little excited about The Dukes of Hazzard, but I saw a picture of the new cast on the net and the boys didn't even have their shirts mostly unbuttoned! WTF?!? That's just hateful! They better tighten up them jeans and show off some chest fuzz, or that sucker's doomed.
The newly-redesigned-and-looking-good Gardner Linn Fan Club has some DJ Danger Mouse news (thanks also to Rock Journalist for mentioning it here) as well as a cool Springsteen link.
AthensMusic.com just put up some pics from last night's performance by Five-Eight at Borders for those curious about how it turned out. They've also put up a new album page for Barbara Cue's Rhythm Oil - complete as always with audio samples.
Men, it's time to fill out an application to be a reality-show stripper on VH1. They're looking for all types of guys, so go ahead, boys! Infamy awaits you!
Information Leafblower compiles The Top 40 Bands In America Today as chosen by a bunch of music bloggers. Large-Hearted Boy, through which I found this, was also a contributing site. As with any list, have your grains of salt ready. DBT made it, though.
Wow this put me in such a good mood today... Jayne sent us a link to a music video that features '70s rockers, hot girls, white-guy dancing, triple decker keys, and monster sounds. Best video ever.... seriously.
Here's a funny review of 10 music magazines that everyone loves to hate...
From the author: "It seems like too much effort for too little reward to write a detailed analysis of what makes all these magazines tick. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m perfectly capable of doing so. It would be entirely within my means to use my decades of formal training in critical theory to deconstruct the shit out of these things until you didn’t know what’s what. I just don’t think you’d understand it. So, since this is a website and all, I might as well just write brief, pithy summaries of each magazine and assign each one some arbitrary and oversimplified score based on nothing in particular."
Also, here's some funny things that readers of Something Awful had to say about music snobbery.
One reader says: "I've found that simply wearing a Merzbow, Wolf Eyes, Xiu Xiu – and sometimes even a Sonic Youth-- T-shirt is enough to keep almost anyone from ever wanting to talk music with you. And the people who would try to talk music with you are generally the type that easily confuses "art for art's sake" with "art for artiness's sake" and you can swiftly evade any impending discussion by name-checking Derrida, Foucault, Ernst and Acker. Just string together some gibberish and be careful to prefix all nouns with "post", quote Nietzsche or Freud at least once, and they won't know what hit them. You don't have to own even one album, and this method works remarkably well on everyone except hip philosophy professors and the 0.01 % of the population that genuinely loves unlistenable music."
Thanks to Financial Guru for the links.
From the author: "It seems like too much effort for too little reward to write a detailed analysis of what makes all these magazines tick. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m perfectly capable of doing so. It would be entirely within my means to use my decades of formal training in critical theory to deconstruct the shit out of these things until you didn’t know what’s what. I just don’t think you’d understand it. So, since this is a website and all, I might as well just write brief, pithy summaries of each magazine and assign each one some arbitrary and oversimplified score based on nothing in particular."
Also, here's some funny things that readers of Something Awful had to say about music snobbery.
One reader says: "I've found that simply wearing a Merzbow, Wolf Eyes, Xiu Xiu – and sometimes even a Sonic Youth-- T-shirt is enough to keep almost anyone from ever wanting to talk music with you. And the people who would try to talk music with you are generally the type that easily confuses "art for art's sake" with "art for artiness's sake" and you can swiftly evade any impending discussion by name-checking Derrida, Foucault, Ernst and Acker. Just string together some gibberish and be careful to prefix all nouns with "post", quote Nietzsche or Freud at least once, and they won't know what hit them. You don't have to own even one album, and this method works remarkably well on everyone except hip philosophy professors and the 0.01 % of the population that genuinely loves unlistenable music."
Thanks to Financial Guru for the links.
Thanks to Rock Journalist (AKA Chris Hassiotis), we now have a link to video of the supposedly controversial Nicollette Sheridan commercial. Hassi's right, it's not shocking at all. What's with all the fuss?
One thing's for sure, TO's a fantastic actor...
One thing's for sure, TO's a fantastic actor...
How do Germans waste time at work? Here's a cool site with some new flash games. Plenty of Bush-related humor and a really fun game in which you try to control a drunk German guy (no, not kidding). Viel Glück!
(Thanks to Vet Pharmacist for the link!)
(Thanks to Vet Pharmacist for the link!)
Athens 441 takes over the Morton one last time with this taped-for-later-broadcast concert. The Good Ship heads up the line-up tonight. Show starts at 8PM (doors at 7PM). For more info, check in with AthensMusic.net.
And if you prefer things more experimental and loud, head down to the Caledonia to see Garbage Island.
UPDATE: Sorry y'all - I did drop the ball on that one. Garbage Island's at Lunch Paper. For some reason, I just had Caledonia stuck in my head when I wrote that. Apologies to the LP.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Large-Hearted Boy, the bottomless cup of cool free music downloads, links to a recent Patterson Hood show at the Watt and a coupla' mp3's from an Elf Power radio performance. The former, of course comes courtesy of Sloan Simpson.
And while I'm at it (though it has nothing to do with Athens and my dumb ass can't figure out how to download it), thanks to whoever posted the Uncle Tupelo show link.
And while I'm at it (though it has nothing to do with Athens and my dumb ass can't figure out how to download it), thanks to whoever posted the Uncle Tupelo show link.
I'm not sure if you need to be registered to read this or not; I don't think I have ever registered for the Washington Post, but who knows. This article isn't very long, and it's about good Christians vs. evil Christians (see if you can figure out which is which!). Unfortunately, there are no serial killers in this one. It gives ya hope, tho! Aww...
There's a great article in the New Yorker about intellectual property rights and plagiarism. It's a bit long but very interesting. Plus, there are serial killers in it!
The idea came last year while viewing another Web site on which cameras posted in the wild are used to snap photos of animals.
"We were looking at a beautiful white-tail buck and my friend said 'If you just had a gun for that.' A little light bulb went off in my head," he said.
Internet hunting could be popular with disabled hunters unable to get out in the woods or distant hunters who cannot afford a trip to Texas...
Monday Night Football featured a controversial commercial with Terrell Owens and a naked Nicollette Sheridan. Unfortunately I missed it... anyone else see it? Know where one can download the video on the 'Net?
- Salon has a great article about my favorite browser, Firefox. For all you people still using IE, make sure you read this one. It's quicker, safer, and has more useful features than the evil e.
- They also feature two live Wilco tracks in their Wednesday Morning Download column. Spiders and Cars Can't Escape. Enjoy!
- They also feature two live Wilco tracks in their Wednesday Morning Download column. Spiders and Cars Can't Escape. Enjoy!
Snake In The Grass is the new album by Southern Bitch. Simply put: It Effing Rocks. Seriously. It's stadium rock, but it's not stupid and it's not showy. The songs have a political leaning, no doubt, but all you have to have is a basic healthy distrust of the powerful and you'll enjoy it - conservative or liberal. They only have one track up on their website, but it's a good 'un. Highly recommend picking this one up and checking them out live if you ever get a chance. Some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet to boot. Read more here.
As previously mentioned, Orenda Fink will be recording her first solo album around that time with Andy Lemaster at the helm. At or around the same time, Patterson Hood is likely to start cutting his next solo album AND working with Kimberly Morgan on hers.
Shortly after all this, Andy Lemaster will relocate to New York and begin splitting time between here and there. What all of this means for the future of Now It's Overhead or Azure Ray is anyone's guess. I've been told Azure Ray is still together and that Maria is also recording solo stuff. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
Five-Eight will play at Borders in the Beechwood Shopping Center (on Alps Rd.) at 8PM as a sort of send-off for the opening dates with R.E.M. I can't even begin to imagine what that'll be like, but just the possibility of Mantione knocking over the New Release DVD rack is enticing enough.
The Banner article from whence I got this info is located here. Of course, they also said the following about this the third longest-running band in Athens: The non-smoking show will feature the up-and-coming local band which performed at Atlanta's massive Music Midtown festival and 99X's Upstart Festival... Which, while technically true, sounds a bit off. My guess is someone at the Banner has a good sense of humor.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Doesn't this look like a Lifetime Television for Women original movie in the making? No one in their right mind would want to marry Star Jones for love. I think the plot would go a little something like this: (1) Lionel Richie look-alike seduces overweight, greedy, self-involved quasi-celebrity; (2) Lionel Richie look-alike proposes, and overwrought, corporate sponsor ridden wedding ensues; (3) Lionel Richie look-alike murders Star Jones during Caribbean honeymoon, making it look like an "accident". Overweight, high-strung women like her pop a gasket by heart attack or aneurysm all the time. Besides, who'd really miss her?
I think the thing that really disgusts me about the whole situation is that her wedding was one of the top stories on CNN yesterday. Ugh!
The Tit Offensive's got information on the Crusade Against Cancer happening at UGA this week. And for the extra lazy (our peeps), you can scroll down to find a website that you can use to help prevent breast cancer just by clicking. Since many people don't like cancer, this is an easy way to do something about it.
Yee haw!
The steamiest part was revealed months ago, though, here.
If that's not your cup of tea, you can always check out cooking with cum. Or you can try drinking from the cocktube (NSFW).
Finally someone is doing something about the dreadful state of pop culture. Starting with Paris Hilton, Ashlee Simpson, and the movie Taxi.
(Thanks to Printmaker for the link!)
(Thanks to Printmaker for the link!)
Great bands (the three that I know of anyway), and it's a great cause. It's an early show, so if you can get out at all tonight, I highly recommend going. For more on Venice Is Sinking, see this Flagpole article.
UPDATE: Felt a bit guilty for posting this so hastily this morning. A few other notes would be that I hear really great things about Heroic Livers, Venice Is Sinking is one of my new favorites, and since we're getting towards the end of their new album touring/shows, this is prolly one of your last chances to see the Fairburn Royals play their new stuff (which is really good). AthensMusic.com seems to agree. So this show has the potential to be really kickass. And as a bonus, it helps animals not make more animals.
Some obits make for great reading. For a great collection of obits, go to obitpage.com. You'll find obits from both famous and everyday folks. In their words:
"This site is the result of a life-long habit of reading the obituary page, collecting obituaries and sharing the most unusual with a cadre of friends — writers, lawyers, actors, educators, historians, among others. Amazingly, there is a significant closet readership for the obituary."
"This site is the result of a life-long habit of reading the obituary page, collecting obituaries and sharing the most unusual with a cadre of friends — writers, lawyers, actors, educators, historians, among others. Amazingly, there is a significant closet readership for the obituary."
Monday, November 15, 2004
What I like about today's Engrish Of The Day is that you get two equally if not more funny signs in the background (my favorite is the bottom one):
Marvel at the pure glory that is William Shatner doing "Rocket Man" by Elton John. Of course, it's better if you're high as a kite before you click here (opens immediately in Media Player).
Apparently, UGA President Michael Adams' need for a "competitive wage" isn't really a worry.
Though it's not really new news by any means, I'm still waiting to read what Hillary has to say about it...
Though it's not really new news by any means, I'm still waiting to read what Hillary has to say about it...
Over at the Gardner Linn Fan Club, you can now ask Robot Jesus and Lil' Gardner for advice, and if you're lucky they'll reply and solve your woes.
And in case y'all missed it, Chris Hassiotis dropped this little gem in a funny conversation about Fantasy World on Baxter (in the comments of this post) a few days back:
Fantasy World is currently advertising on their marquee out front the "return of the $30 special." I want to know what that is. In fact, maybe I'll call them right now.
"Hello, Fantasy World."
"Uh, yeah, I'm calling 'cause I saw your sign for the $30 special thing, and I was just wondering what that was, exactly."
"Honey, that's just a private modeling session, but you'll have to come in if you want to find out more about it. We're not allowed to give out that kind of information on the telephone."
"Oh, okay. Thanks."
(That's hilarious. Thanks Chris. Anyone who takes them up on that offer, please let us know.)
Fantasy World is currently advertising on their marquee out front the "return of the $30 special." I want to know what that is. In fact, maybe I'll call them right now.
"Hello, Fantasy World."
"Uh, yeah, I'm calling 'cause I saw your sign for the $30 special thing, and I was just wondering what that was, exactly."
"Honey, that's just a private modeling session, but you'll have to come in if you want to find out more about it. We're not allowed to give out that kind of information on the telephone."
"Oh, okay. Thanks."
(That's hilarious. Thanks Chris. Anyone who takes them up on that offer, please let us know.)
Apparently, Dick Cheney has a really big penis.
Guess he got jealous of folks talkin' about Bush's bulge, and wanted a bulge-gate of his own.
Guess he got jealous of folks talkin' about Bush's bulge, and wanted a bulge-gate of his own.
Friday, November 12, 2004
R.E.M.'s Green demos and the J. Mascis show from this week in Atlanta linked from Large-Hearted Boy today. The latter courtesy of Sloan Simpson.
(Not work-safe. Thus, it's a link. Thanks to Carla for the pic!)
A weekend surgary sweet music to rot your teeth...
FRI: First up, at 6PM, Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records presents Jason Anderson of Wolf Colonel (K Records), Thanksgiving, & Spencer Rich atop Wuxtry. Dunno those folks personally, but 'on top of a building' always peaks my interest. I'm a sucker, I guess.
Then in a show so nice Flagpole mentions it thrice, The Late B.P. Helium and Elf Power play at the 40 Watt. What can I say about it? It's gonna be fun, so if you like indie pop go there - if only to hear Andrew Rieger say "Thank you" (and nothing more) after every other song, then launch quickly into another that's as catchy as the last. See this Flagpole article on B.P. Helium for more info.
Also of interest: The Butterfly Effect... no, not the crappy movie, but the creation of Solponticello Records. Buncha talented world music folks in a room together. Takes place at the Seney-Stovall Chapel (by The Varsity) at 8PM. Read this Flagpole article for more info.
And don't forget that Bill Frissell's still at Nuci's (see yesterday's post).
SAT: I Am The World Trade Center finally plays the official release show for "The Cover Up" at the 40 Watt. Hope this means Amy's better now. If you've not seen them, it's pretty much just synthesizer-based dance pop, but man, they make it sound good (and put on an energetic show).
Also of interest: The Wild Gumbo plays Little King's (that place by The Manhattan).
FRI: First up, at 6PM, Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records presents Jason Anderson of Wolf Colonel (K Records), Thanksgiving, & Spencer Rich atop Wuxtry. Dunno those folks personally, but 'on top of a building' always peaks my interest. I'm a sucker, I guess.
Then in a show so nice Flagpole mentions it thrice, The Late B.P. Helium and Elf Power play at the 40 Watt. What can I say about it? It's gonna be fun, so if you like indie pop go there - if only to hear Andrew Rieger say "Thank you" (and nothing more) after every other song, then launch quickly into another that's as catchy as the last. See this Flagpole article on B.P. Helium for more info.
Also of interest: The Butterfly Effect... no, not the crappy movie, but the creation of Solponticello Records. Buncha talented world music folks in a room together. Takes place at the Seney-Stovall Chapel (by The Varsity) at 8PM. Read this Flagpole article for more info.
And don't forget that Bill Frissell's still at Nuci's (see yesterday's post).
SAT: I Am The World Trade Center finally plays the official release show for "The Cover Up" at the 40 Watt. Hope this means Amy's better now. If you've not seen them, it's pretty much just synthesizer-based dance pop, but man, they make it sound good (and put on an energetic show).
Also of interest: The Wild Gumbo plays Little King's (that place by The Manhattan).
Thursday, November 11, 2004
There's a club in Macon called 550 Blues, which apparently puts up mp3's of shows there. Right now, there's one up there from Patterson Hood. Don't know the date or songlist or how it sounds or whatnot, but it's here - who knows for how long.
(Found via Large-Hearted Boy.)
(Found via Large-Hearted Boy.)
Though it's generally agreed upon that George Carlin's not been producing his best work lately, check out the cover of his new book:
Certainly puts it on my "must flip-through" list. Anyone read any of it?
(Thanks to Allison for the tip.)
Certainly puts it on my "must flip-through" list. Anyone read any of it?
(Thanks to Allison for the tip.)
Ever since the election, I've been damn sick of hearing about red and blue states. Purple states seem more like it. Here's a few maps to shed some light on the situation. Of course, you might wanna watch out... you know how liberal cartographers are!
(Found via AndrewSullivan.com.)
(Found via AndrewSullivan.com.)
Now, this doesn't mean we advocate actually listening to these records (especially if you're older than say, 17 or so), but it prolly makes Andy Lemaster pretty happy, as he produced them. Something tells me his NYC real-estate shopping just changed neighborhoods.
It's one of those nights when you're gonna have to make a call between great shows because on the one hand you've got Phosphorescent and Summer Hymns at the 40 Watt and on the other there's Geoff Reacher and Annaray at the Lunch Paper. Guess it depends on what kinda mood your in. The Watt'll be quieter. The Lunch Paper'll rock. Up to you, but I know I'm not staying home tonight. See this Flagpole article for more on Geoff Reacher.
Oh, and if you're into jazz, there's that cool Bill Frissell thing happening at Nuci's at 8 (first of two nights). Vic Chesnutt and Viktor Krauss will be there too. Click here for more info on the event or see this Flagpole article.
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Got this e-mail from Troy Aubrey (of Nomad Artists and AthensMusic.net). If any of y'all can help, I'm sure the Barnes' would appreciate it greatly...
Friends, family and colleagues-
I am e-mailing you to ask for your help. This past Saturday, the drummer for the Splitz, a Motown band that I manage, lost everything he owned in a house fire here in Athens. Fortunately, he and his family are fine and were not hurt. Unfortunately, they had no insurance. Kelvin Barnes, his wife and their three children are in desperate need for many items as all of their possessions were destroyed in the fire. They are currently staying at a local Athens motel until they can find a place to rent. Kelvin and his wife have given me a list of immediate items that they could use. This is just a quick list of items. Any donations or help would certainly be appreciated as Kelvin is a great person and I would do anything to help ease the pain of his family's loss.
CLOTHING:
Size 5 and 12-13 Junior Girls (pants, skirts, dresses)
Med & Large Women's (shirts)
Med & XXL Men's (shirts)
Womens Shoes (size 8 1/2)
Girls Shoes (sizes 7 & 9)
Men's Shoes (sizes 11 & 12)
Men's Pants (32w32L & 40waist)
OTHER:
Pillows & pillowcases
Beds & frames, sheets & blankets of any size (Mom & Dad, two twin 13 year old girls, one 17 year old boy)
Bathroom Towels, hand towels & wash clothes (any bathroom related items)
Dishes & utensils (any kitchen supplies)
Furniture (dresser, kitchen table, chairs, couch, end tables, etc...)
Telephone
Washer/Dryer
Refrigerator
***Anything really that would make their lives a little easier as they have lost all of their possessions. You can e-mail me at nomadartists@msn.com or call me directly at the office at (706) 354-6107 to let me know if you have items that you would like to donate to the Barnes family. Small items can be dropped off or delivered to my office at 224 College Avenue (underneath Wolf Camera & Video) in Athens, GA 30601. With larger items, you will need to contact me to set up a way to get the items picked up.
Thanks so much for your help and support for these people in their time of need!
Sincerely-
Troy Aubrey
Nomad Artists, Inc
224 College Ave
Athens, GA 30601
(706) 354-6107 (o)
(706) 380-4610 (c)
Friends, family and colleagues-
I am e-mailing you to ask for your help. This past Saturday, the drummer for the Splitz, a Motown band that I manage, lost everything he owned in a house fire here in Athens. Fortunately, he and his family are fine and were not hurt. Unfortunately, they had no insurance. Kelvin Barnes, his wife and their three children are in desperate need for many items as all of their possessions were destroyed in the fire. They are currently staying at a local Athens motel until they can find a place to rent. Kelvin and his wife have given me a list of immediate items that they could use. This is just a quick list of items. Any donations or help would certainly be appreciated as Kelvin is a great person and I would do anything to help ease the pain of his family's loss.
CLOTHING:
Size 5 and 12-13 Junior Girls (pants, skirts, dresses)
Med & Large Women's (shirts)
Med & XXL Men's (shirts)
Womens Shoes (size 8 1/2)
Girls Shoes (sizes 7 & 9)
Men's Shoes (sizes 11 & 12)
Men's Pants (32w32L & 40waist)
OTHER:
Pillows & pillowcases
Beds & frames, sheets & blankets of any size (Mom & Dad, two twin 13 year old girls, one 17 year old boy)
Bathroom Towels, hand towels & wash clothes (any bathroom related items)
Dishes & utensils (any kitchen supplies)
Furniture (dresser, kitchen table, chairs, couch, end tables, etc...)
Telephone
Washer/Dryer
Refrigerator
***Anything really that would make their lives a little easier as they have lost all of their possessions. You can e-mail me at nomadartists@msn.com or call me directly at the office at (706) 354-6107 to let me know if you have items that you would like to donate to the Barnes family. Small items can be dropped off or delivered to my office at 224 College Avenue (underneath Wolf Camera & Video) in Athens, GA 30601. With larger items, you will need to contact me to set up a way to get the items picked up.
Thanks so much for your help and support for these people in their time of need!
Sincerely-
Troy Aubrey
Nomad Artists, Inc
224 College Ave
Athens, GA 30601
(706) 354-6107 (o)
(706) 380-4610 (c)
Large-Hearted Boy again comes through with some Athens music. This time with Barbara Cue (Memphis - 10/30/04) and Southern Bitch (Atlanta - 11/3/04). The latter, of course, comes courtesy of Mr. Sloan Simpson. Click here to find links to both shows.
SorryEverybody.com has tons of personalized messages from folks who felt the need to apologize for our recent election. Some are really funny... some are absurd... some are sorta sad. In any event, they're all good time wasters.
Wasting grandiose amounts of time all at once seems great - like those extra-long lunch breaks we've spoken of before. However, in most offices, those things are easily noticeable. The tip, like succeeding at any crime*, is to do so a little at a time. Thirty minutes in the beginning of your day. Thirty minutes in the mid-morning. Thirty minutes on either side of lunch. Thirty minutes in the mid-afternoon. Thirty minutes 'winding down'. That's three hours. Means, in most jobs, that you've only 'worked' five. And then combining this method with other time-wasting procedures increases your ability to do relatively little.
*=Slacking is not a crime.
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
For no reason whatsoever, here's an entirely Japanese-themed post...
Above is Masa. Masa is a Japanese-American folk-rocker. He is awesome. Go listen, and if you ever get a chance to see him live - do so.
Weirdly, there's an entire site dedicated to pictures sleeping Japanese business-folk.
Finally, you too can learn how to tie a Sumo diaper like a professional.
(Note: None of these are necessarily work-safe. The first one may have bad words, the second one definitely has bad words and pictures of Asian people flicking you off at the top of the page, and lastly the diaper one has lots of butt - presumably Asian butt. The latter two were found via Memepool.)
Above is Masa. Masa is a Japanese-American folk-rocker. He is awesome. Go listen, and if you ever get a chance to see him live - do so.
Weirdly, there's an entire site dedicated to pictures sleeping Japanese business-folk.
Finally, you too can learn how to tie a Sumo diaper like a professional.
(Note: None of these are necessarily work-safe. The first one may have bad words, the second one definitely has bad words and pictures of Asian people flicking you off at the top of the page, and lastly the diaper one has lots of butt - presumably Asian butt. The latter two were found via Memepool.)
Large-Hearted Boy put up links to a September Patterson Hood show and a June Sunshine Fix show (from AthFest). Dunno about P's show, but I know the AthFest Fix show is great (assuming it's Sloan's tape). So, if either of those interest you, click here.
Slate has a great commentary on last week's Real Time with Bill Maher. Including a screen shot of Andrew Sullivan rubbing his bum.
Please don't cry in public.
UPDATE: Repeated link deleted so I look less stupid. Oversized pic: still there.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Rhino Records has a section on their site called Retro Videos that includes all those old videos you used to love. Artists include Morrissey, Black Sabbath, Depeche Mode, Dio, The Ramones, etc. Go waste some bandwith!
I spent a bit of time daydreaming about Tanya Donnelly this morning.
I spent a bit of time daydreaming about Tanya Donnelly this morning.
Friday, November 05, 2004
Three of the biggest celebs involved with P. Diddy's Vote or Die campaign (Paris Hilton, 50 Cent, and Ludacris) didn't even vote!
So when do we get to collect on their promise (except for Paris, that is)?
(p.s. don't make fun of me when you read the time of this post... I'm stayin' late at work to make up hours)
The Landing (K Records)
Dragon the Magicorn
The Visitations
It starts at 10 PM and will mostly be acoustic performances. Get on it!
"I swear I won't never let 'em get my goat..."
FRI: Pissed off about the way the country's going? Like to Rock? Enjoy things that are awesome? If you answered yes to any of that, then make sure you're at Southern Bitch's show at the 40 Watt. It's the CD release party for their new album, A Snake In The Grass (which is really amazing - more on that later).
If you've never been to one of their shows, you're missing out. Besides being one the best bands in Athens, they really put on a helluva performance and have a really cool crowd of folks. Word has it this show'll be videotaped for an upcoming DVD, which I'm now looking forward to. See this Flagpole article for more info.
SAT: In the afternoon (at about 4:30), you can catch Casper & The Cookies playing outside at Jittery Joe's (5 Points Location) as part of their outdoor festival to benefit the Athens Justice Project (Dunno what that is. Is it anything like the Georgia Justice Project?).
At night, you have the option of either seeing Donkey Punch rock the hell outta Lunch Paper or Don Chambers + GOAT rock the hell outta the Caledonia. Neither would be a bad show and if you're lucky, perhaps you can catch both. Man, this town is great.
Also, congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. No Job who're getting married!
FRI: Pissed off about the way the country's going? Like to Rock? Enjoy things that are awesome? If you answered yes to any of that, then make sure you're at Southern Bitch's show at the 40 Watt. It's the CD release party for their new album, A Snake In The Grass (which is really amazing - more on that later).
If you've never been to one of their shows, you're missing out. Besides being one the best bands in Athens, they really put on a helluva performance and have a really cool crowd of folks. Word has it this show'll be videotaped for an upcoming DVD, which I'm now looking forward to. See this Flagpole article for more info.
SAT: In the afternoon (at about 4:30), you can catch Casper & The Cookies playing outside at Jittery Joe's (5 Points Location) as part of their outdoor festival to benefit the Athens Justice Project (Dunno what that is. Is it anything like the Georgia Justice Project?).
At night, you have the option of either seeing Donkey Punch rock the hell outta Lunch Paper or Don Chambers + GOAT rock the hell outta the Caledonia. Neither would be a bad show and if you're lucky, perhaps you can catch both. Man, this town is great.
Also, congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. No Job who're getting married!
No, I'm not talking about Hooters...
I'm talking about Pollo Loco... or, El Pollo Criollo... or, Salsa Rock Latin Rotisserie Chicken.... whatever it's called. That place on Prince that's connected to the gas station (across the street from Agua Linda).
Man, they have good food... but forget about that. They have the hottest waitresses. Anyone else noticed that?
I'm talking about Pollo Loco... or, El Pollo Criollo... or, Salsa Rock Latin Rotisserie Chicken.... whatever it's called. That place on Prince that's connected to the gas station (across the street from Agua Linda).
Man, they have good food... but forget about that. They have the hottest waitresses. Anyone else noticed that?
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Hey... did any of you's folks go to GBV last night? How was it? Hit that comments link.