Learning to ride a Unicycle: Part 12
Posted on 30 June 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
It’s just like riding a bicycle… only different. Really, after a full week of not riding at all, I was able to freemount on my second attempt and I was also able to ride 455 feet after freemounting on Sunday. Either way I’ve really only spent about 7 total hours in the saddle practicing and learning so the more I do it, the better I’ll get. However, I can only imagine that with a new baby entering our lives in the next few weeks these updates might get a little more infrequent. I’ll still post some pictures of me on the unicycle as soon as I get someone to take a few.
It came from the nineties (Vol. 53)
Posted on 28 June 2009 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
Here’s another dose of 90’s goodness right on the heels of the last one. I remember the first time I ever heard the band Live. It was at one of those CD stores that used to have listening stations where people could listen to music before they bought it. It was probably 1993 or so and the album was Mental Jewelry, which I still think is Live’s best album. For more posts in this series, just find “1990’s” in the drop down category list on the sidebar or just Stumble this post to share it with your friends.
MP3 | Live – Lightning Crashes
MP3 | Utah Saints – Something Good
MP3 | The Pharcyde – Passin’ Me By
MP3 | Catherine Wheel – Black Metallic
MP3 | Soul Asylum – Somebody To Shove
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Part 11
Posted on 25 June 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
Yeah, even though it’s been about a month since I started trying to ride, I haven’t ridden my unicycle since last Saturday. My hip has been feeling better but I’ve also been stretching a bunch too. I’m not sure if it’s really fucked up or if I’m just getting old and pushing too hard. Either way, I’ll be back trying to ride the beast tomorrow so more updates will certainly be forthcoming. In the meantime:
MP3 | cLOUDDEAD – Physics Of A Unicycle Ten
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Days 18 - 22
Posted on 19 June 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
As of today I’ve been attempting to ride a unicycle for three weeks and aside from the fact that my left hip hurts like hell (and, no, I didn’t fall) I think it’s going pretty well. Monday I tried to pry the stripped out crank arm from the unicycle with no success. Tuesday I got the crank arm off with a crank puller but didn’t have time to get any practice in. Wednesday, Thursday, and today I was working on freemounting the right way with the pedals horizontal. The key is keeping your weight on the seat and not on the pedals. I also managed to add a few feet to my longest ride and I’m up to about 350 feet. Did I mention that it has been raining all damn week? That’s made practicing a bit of pain as well. Still, it’s pretty awesome to be able to freemount and then actually ride away.
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Day 15, 16, & 17
Posted on 14 June 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
With a left pedal that really wants to fall off and my new cranks in the mail, I spent most of the 30 minutes I practiced on Friday trying to freemount on the unicycle. I got up on the unicycle without assistance maybe a half dozen times, but without any sort of consistency. I did (however) even with the wobbly left pedal ride about 340 feet. I think that officially makes me a unicyclist now.
Yesterday I didn’t do any riding mostly because it was raining all morning but I did practice today (with a glued on left pedal) for another 30 minutes or so. I got a few rides of some length in, but again spent almost the entire session working on freemounting. It was only going OK but I felt like something clicked and that I was starting to “get it” during the last 5 minutes or so. If only I had a pedal that didn’t fall off.
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Day 14
Posted on 11 June 2009 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
I (again) practiced riding the unicycle during my lunch break but spent most of the time riding with my left pedal wobbling about with light drizzle falling from the sky. Even so I only about 20 minutes but did manage on awesome ride of somewhere around 230 feet or so. I even got some claps from a father & son that were biking on the nearby skate ramps. They actually stopped over and asked me about unicycling. They (remarkably) thought it looked pretty cool. I also got up via a standard freemount twice. Between that and the 230 foot ride, I had a short but super awesome day of practice.
Even so, the wifey basically hates the fact that I’m learning to ride a unicycle. In fact, I was talking about unicycling to her today and she said, “When are you going to learn to juggle,” even though she fully knows I’m never going to learn to juggle. Juggling is for clowns. At this point, I’ll just blame it on the pregnancy.
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Day 12 & 13
Posted on 10 June 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
It seems that I’m going to need to purchase some new cranks for my unicycle as the JB Weld job that I did on Monday held up for slightly less than 1 hour of riding. Somehow I had higher hopes. Anyhow, I did about 35 minutes of riding on Tuesday after work after tightening the cranks, facing the wheel forward, and raising the seat a bit. I did pretty well and managed a long ride of somewhere in the neighborhood of 85 feet or so which included a left turn in the driveway.
I also practiced for about 30 minutes during my lunch break today and, aside from having a tendency to swerve left, had my best day of unicycle riding yet. I was consistently riding at least 50 feet nearly every time and 3 rides longer than 155 feet. I (gasp!) almost feel like I can actually ride this contraption. I think I need another round of JB Weld tonight to hold this thing together until my new cranks arrive.
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Day 8, 9, 10, & 11
Posted on 8 June 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
Friday I only spent about 5 minutes on the unicycle after work, but that’s fine with me. A little break might serve my bruised left ankle/lower leg well (see photo). I did manage to ride for about 30 minutes on Saturday morning before heading up to the Two Brothers For The Love Of Hops beer fest. I can fairly consistently now go at least about 20 feet on just about every ride and even made it almost around the turn in the driveway as well. Maybe 50 feet or so.
I did no riding on Sunday.
Today, I got in about 20 minutes of practice during my lunch break but just didn’t feel all that good or that I made any progress. Part of the issue might have been that just as I started practice I noticed that my right pedal was crooked and seemed to be coming loose from the crank. That’s exactly what it was: the thread where the pedal attaches into the crank arm was pretty much totally stripped. If my temporary solution of cleaning out the metal shavings and applying some JB Weld to the inside doesn’t work, I’ll be out of action until I can get some new crank arms. This is probably my punishment for not buying a new unicycle, huh?
Something like that. It just so happens that the doofus I bought the unicycle from had put the wheel on backwards and (thus) with every pedal I was loosening the pedals and stripping the cranks. Let’s just hope my fix works.
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Day 7
Posted on 4 June 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
So it turns out that when I lowered the seat just a little bit, controlling this damn unicycle contraption became a whole lot easier. I figured this out during the 30 minutes of practice I got in during my lunch break. I managed to at least (fairly) consistently get rides of 15-25 feet and even managed to bust out a ride of about 50 feet!
I also noticed that starting well is crucial and that a little rock back at the start to position my body with a bit of a forward lean generally yielded better results than any other starting position. With any luck (and more practice) I think I might actually get the hang of this. I did also get about 10 minutes of riding in after work in between jogging around the backyard holding the kiddo’s hand.
Slowly but surely…
Two sides of the same kiddo
Posted on 3 June 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted any pictures of the kiddo, so here you go. I can only imagine it will be baby #2 mania once she arrives.
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Day 5 & 6
Posted on 3 June 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
Yesterday, I verified something that’s crucial to unicycling (and just about everything else). No matter what, some things always come first. Whether it’s putting the kiddo to bed, folding laundry, or something else, practicing on the unicycle doesn’t need to be top priority as much as I’d like it to be.
So I spent about half an hour on the unicycle with consistent rides of about 10 feet with one long one of about 20. I didn’t get as many good unsupported rides as yesterday, but did notice that every time I fell, it was due to locking the cranks in the vertical position. I did a bunch of supported riding practicing half revolutions and continuous riding, but without a good practice spot, I was doing so in my garage a little at a time. No worries, as it seemed like a productive day.
Today I found a nice tennis court a few miles from the office and spent 20 minutes of my lunch break riding supported for the length of the court. I didn’t feel all that good today, but thought the practice was still beneficial. Just getting used to not locking out the cranks vertically and/or recovering when my balance goes is good.
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Day 3 & 4
Posted on 1 June 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
I didn’t do much on the unicycle yesterday. I spent maybe 10-15 minutes rocking back and forth but didn’t want to try anything else because my wrist was hurting and I didn’t yet have any guards. I did (however) re-paint my daughter’s bed, sit out in the sun, and drink a few beers.
Today was a different story. I got some wrist guards and hopped on my unicycle about as soon as I got home from work. I did a few minutes of rocking back and forth to get my balance, but things were going smoothly and I was feeling confident, so…
I started taking off from the corner of the garage into the driveway and did it for about 30 minutes. I made it about 10-15 feet a whole bunch of times and the entire width of the driveway (about 25 feet). It was awesome! That’s not to say that I didn’t fall and didn’t appreciate my newly purchased wrist guards because I certainly did. I banged up my left ankle and bruised/scraped up the inside of my left thigh just about every time the unicycle fell to the ground.
It seems that every time I fell it was due to getting “stuck” with the pedals in the vertical position. I’ll have to try to fix that tomorrow.
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Day 2
Posted on 1 June 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
I got up Saturday morning and printed some how-to instructions that I thought might give me a little guidance during this whole learrnign to ride a unicycle business. I followed the instructions as best I could, but since I didn’t have any fences or other objects I could hold onto, I just mounted the unicycle while holding onto the cars in the garage. It wasn’t really enough room, but it was all I had.
I practiced rocking back and forth and occasionally making ½ rotations for almost an hour and was starting to (I think) get a feel for balancing on the unicycle. Then I got a little overzealous and tried to ride unsupported. About a half revolution later I was on my ass. To make matters worse I jammed my right wrist as I braced my fall and even now (2 days later) it still hurts. So it goes without saying that I’m not even going to try to do simple stuff on the unicycle without wearing wrist guards. I won’t be doing much (or any) more until I get a little something to prevent me from breaking myself.
Kids Books: Here's The Punk Alphabet & M Is For Metal
Posted on 30 May 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Product Reviews
--
If you are a parent to a youngster and a fan of fine music (like me), you definitely need to check out the following rowdy rock-n-roll-inspired alphabet books. The two books are called Never Mind Your P’s And Q’s: Here’s The Punk Alphabet and M Is For Metal! and both feature bright, bold illustrations and some of the funniest rhymes I’ve ever seen in any children’s book, ever. I mean, kids books that call out the likes of The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Ramones, AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix, and more sound like just as much fun for us grown ups, right? These books aren’t for uptight squares (though) as they contain words like “sucks,” “hell,” “up yours” and “The Damned.” That being said, my three year old daughter just loves these books (especially the graphic of Iggy Pop wearing a dog collar). I love ‘em too even if trying to explain what “up yours” means is a bit tricky. Have a look at the books below.
Nevermind Your P’s and Q’s: Here’s The Punk Rock Alphabet
M is for Metal! Video Flipthrough
Both books are available in the US through Reckless Records.
12 More Music Bloggers Worth Following On Twitter
Posted on 29 May 2009 | 9 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Twitter
--
So with Twitter becoming increasingly popular these days, Paste Magazine just posted their list of 12 Music Bloggers Worth Following On Twitter. While I follow a few of the music bloggers they’ve listed, there are many other music bloggers you should also follow on Twitter. Here are another 12 (in no particular order):
1. Muzzle Of Bees – Ryan tweets about new releases and upcoming events in Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago and he likes baseball. www.muzzleofbees.com
2. Captain’s Dead – Gregor from NOLA is a blogger like me that just ain’t feelin’ the new Grizzly Bear album.www.captainsdead.com
3. Nine Bullets – Quite possibly the best roots (blues, alt-country, etc…) blog in existence. www.ninebullets.net
4. Avant/Chicago – Chicago show information and more. www.avantchicago.com
5. Punknews – Paste listed Absolute Punk (not a blog) so I’ll include Punknews (also not a blog). www.punknews.org
6. So Much Silence – Kevin is from Arizona and he blogs about hip-hop, indie-rock, and local stuff. www.somuchsilence.com
7. Culture Bully – Minneapolis-based music blog with reviews, news, and more. www.culturebully.com
8. Rocket Fuel – Jeff does the Rocket Fuel podcast which isn’t a blog, but certainly worth checking out. rocketfuel.podomatic.com
9. You Ain’t No Picasso – YANP was one of the first music blogs I started reading way back in the day and still going strong. www.youaintnopicasso.com
10. Sound As Language – The best punk/post-hardcore blog on the internets courtesy of Will. Album reviews, new release info, etc… www.soundaslanguage.com
11. Minneapolis Fucking Rocks – Music news from Minneapolis and around the globe. www.minneapolisfuckingrocks.com
12. Can You See the Sunset? – I couldn’t make a list and not include my own blog. The best of the best. www.canyouseethesunset.com
Learning to ride a Unicycle: Day 1
Posted on 29 May 2009 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Unicycle
--
For whatever reason, I’ve had a burning desire to learn to ride a unicycle for a few months now. To make sure I wasn’t just being impulsive, I waited and waited but (finally) I bought a slightly used unicycle via ebay earlier this week and picked it up today.
I met the seller in a parking lot in Itasca and gave him some cash and he gave me a shiny unicycle. But with today being a busy day at work I haven’t yet had a chance to get in the saddle yet. That’s for tomorrow and I’m pretty excited.
The hardest part of buying a unicycle was convincing my wife that I should get one, so I didn’t. I only told her that I got it during dinner this evening, after I had already picked it up. She was unhappy and may have called me an idiot.
Needless to say, wifey isn’t thrilled about me learning to ride a unicycle and actually said, “I hope you bruise your shins really bad,” when I told her. When I said she was being mean, she replied, “At least I didn’t tell you I hope you break a leg.”
Until tomorrow…
R.I.P - Jay Bennett
Posted on 26 May 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
By now, everyone has probably heard the sad news that ex-Wilco multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Jay Bennett died unexpectedly in his sleep over the weekend. He was just 45 years old. Jay was an amazing musician and while I’ve never met him, I’ve enjoyed his recent solo albums and my 3 favorite Wilco albums are the ones he had a hand in (Being There, Summerteeth, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot). He will be missed.
I’m not going to go into any depth regarding Bennett’s condition, his lack of health insurance, or anything like that. That sort of stuff is better left to outlets other than this. I do (however) have some comments that I’ve been thinking about since I heard the news of Bennett’s death.
Even though the Wilco documentary I Am Trying To Break Your Heart seems to portray Bennett in a fairly negative way, there is no denying that I haven’t liked anything Wilco has done since then as much. Additionally, one of my favorite moments from the film is Bennett’s stirring rendition of “My Darling,” a song he originally wrote/recorded that became a Wilco song.
I love Jeff Tweedy as a songwriter, but isn’t he much better when he has some sort of opposing creative force to challenge him? In Uncle Tupelo, Tweedy had Jay Farrar until the band broke up. In Wilco, Tweedy found foil in Jay Bennett (through the YHF sessions at least). On Wilco’s last three albums, Tweedy has basically gone unchecked as far as I can tell, so while I like those albums they lack the same sort of spark/fire that his Uncle Tupelo and early Wilco material has. That’s just my opinion though.
So with that all I’ve listened to the past few days are some of Bennett’s solo material and the Wilco albums he is featured on. It’s so so very good. It isn’t hard to hear exactly how much he influenced Wilco’s sound during his years with the band considering how much like Summerteeth many of the songs on his album The Palace At 4AM sound. It’s a shame he had to go so soon.
For more, check out the following tributes from:
Ryan’s Smashing Life
NPR
Captain’s Dead
Aquarium Drunkard
Good Stuff You Should Listen To
Posted on 21 May 2009 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Album Reviews, Blog
--
Point Juncture WA tucks vibes, horns, and awesomeness into a sprawling atmospheric thing on Heart To Elk that sounds like wind whipping through the tops of pine trees. Breezy and cool like Stereolab but with the noise and nonchalance of Northwest indie rock. The female/male vocal interplay is a plus as well. Seriously good shit from a band I’ve written about before.
MP3 | Point Juncture WA – Once Tasted Ever Wanted Heart To Elk
What kind of album title is Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future? It’s the latest from LA duo The Bird And The Bee and is one of the best pure pop albums I’ve heard in what seems like forever. Charming and even though I really shouldn’t like this and can’t see myself as a fan of this band, I am. Despite all my better judgment and punk tendencies, I really like this album. It might be because singer Inara George is the daughter of Little Feat founder Lowell George, but probably just because the songs are great.
MP3 | The Bird And The Bee – My Love Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future
Who knew that Bat For Lashes was actually kinda good? For me, the hype had all but killed this band, but I quite like the album Two Suns. Not enough to put it on any kind of year-end list, but well enough for it to find a place in whatever sort of rotation might be considered regular around here.
MP3 | Bat For Lashes – Daniel Two Suns
In Miniature plays oh so sprightly pop-rock with lyrics like “If you be my trailer park, I’ll be your tornado.” Actually in a lot of ways, this sounds like Sarge; a version of Sarge that never hung around with the guys in Braid and where Elizabeth Elmore’s lyrics weren’t so biting. It’s an alternate reality where jangly guitars play while the rhythm section bounces to and fro as the harmonies of layered female vocals hang in the air. The EP is pleasant enough and totally inoffensive, but it just isn’t my thing. In fact, if I lived in that alternate reality world, I’d probably kill myself.
MP3 | In Miniature – Tornado Hey, Marsupial
Bob Mould’s latest solo album, Life And Times, works perfectly as a follow up to 2007’s District Line. I mean, if you like Husker Du, Sugar, or any other solo Bob Mould stuff, you’re gonna like this and the electro and folk touched power-pop contained within. It is sensitive but strong and rockin’ but restrained. I guess that’s what happens when yr’ creeping up on 50.
MP3 | Bob Mould – MM 17 Life And Times
Old & New News
Posted on 4 May 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
New Found Glory played a set of all Green Day covers at Bamboozle Hoodwink this past weekend and here are some videos.
Killswitch Engage have announced that their upcoming fourth (and again self-titled studio album is due out June 30, 2009. Fuck yeah!
As if the fact the Crystal Castles suck isn’t reason enough, evidently they are total douchebags.
Buffalo, New York’s Lemuria have posted their take on the Pixies classic “Alec Eiffel” on their MySpace page. The track is the band’s contribution to the Under The Influence 7” series from Suburban Home.
Patterson Hood (of the Drive-By Truckers) is releasing his second solo album “Murdering Oscar (and other love songs)” on June 23, 2009. Plus he will play Metro in Chicago with Centro-matic’s Will Johnson on June 20th.
Nations Afire is a new band featuring members of Rise Against, Ignite, and Death By Stereo. You can stream four songs on their MySpace page.
Maximo Park has a new album called Quicken The Heart due on May 11th from Warp Records
Broadway Calls have wrapped up work at the Blasting Room on their new full length for SideOneDummy Records.
Suburban Home has released former Gunmoll frontman Mike Hale’s awesome new album Lives Like Mine for free/donation digitally but you could always pick up a copy on vinyl.
Tonight's Shows
Posted on 25 April 2009 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
There are a few great shows this tonight that I will (unfortunately) be missing that you should check out if you have a chance:
Superdrag is playing at Metro
New Found Glory, Bayside, and Shai Hulud are playing at House Of Blues
Classics of Love and Noise By Numbers are playing at Reggie’s
Have fun!
Josh Small / Austin Lucas / Sundowner / Tim Barry - Live 4/16/09 @ Reggie's
Posted on 22 April 2009 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Alright, here are some photos and a review of the stellar show I saw last night featuring Tim Barry (of Avail), Austin Lucas, Sundowner (Chris from Lawrence Arms), and Josh Small. It was almost like a half-assed (but kickass) version of the Revival Tour, but I saw Lucero the week prior so it’s all good. Anyhow, Josh Small kicked things off with a short set that was marred by some bad resonator/banjo sounds but I was still impressed with his solo material.
CYSTSFTS favorite (and Bloomington, IN native) Austin Lucas was up next and man did he ever kill it. He’s got a voice and songs that can just cut your heart in two and (while I don’t recall his entire set list) played faves of mine like “Man Alive,” “Sun Or Snow,” “Go West,” “Dead Factories,” “Somebody Loves You,” and a few more crowd requests. Definitely check out his latest album Somebody Loves You from Suburban Home Records as it is worth your time.
Then we got us some Sundowner and some crazy Sundowner fans (standing directly in front of me) who evidently came from Ohio just for the show. They were stoked to be there and even cheered for Neil (who wasn’t even playing the show). It was a little annoying but actually pretty funny. Chris played a bunch of songs from his album and even a few new ones. He was good but not great. I really love his record but I’ve seen Sundowner before and he has been better.
Tim Barry took to the stage but just as quickly as he and sideman Josh Small got up there, they headed down to the floor after some comments from Tim about how he wasn’t used to playing places as big as Reggie’s. Awesome. Tim played damn near every song of his I wanted to hear and provided (as usual) colorful commentary on his “old dude with acoustic guitar” folk songs. Tim is as captivating a performer as there is and as real as it gets. Nothing about Tim Barry is anything other than genuine and heartfelt and that’s why he is amazing.
Feeling a little overwhelmed
Posted on 18 April 2009 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Maybe it is because of the near-constant stream of promo emails I get from PR companies or maybe it is the stack of unopened CD’s I have sitting on my desk and the 320+ albums worth of MP3’s in my “stuff to review” queue, but I’m feeling totally overwhelmed by new music these days and (frankly) I don’t care about 90% of it. That’s right, I don’t give a shit about almost everything. Even so, I’ve been trying to give you (the readers) some consistency with posting reviews and such, but it is so damn hard to come close to that. With a 3-1/2 year old daughter to keep up with, a job that keeps me blog-free throughout the workday, and the notion that I should actually try to get some regular exercise in, I’ve got very little time to “make the magic happen” here at canyouseethesunset.com. It’s not tragic or anything like that, but really, it has made me numb to so many new releases that I would otherwise probably be super excited to listen to. (Did I actually type the words “super excited?” That’s pretty lame.)
When I started this blog almost four years ago, there was never any intent to turn it into a site that did almost exclusively music reviews, but that’s just sorta what it has become. I mean, my reviews are totally awesome and all, but hey… That is going to change (at least a little bit) moving forward. I’d like to get back to a little bit more of the eclectic and narrative posting style the blog had when I started it. So without any disrespect to any artists/bands/PR people that have sent me stuff that I haven’t gotten to, I’m going to purge my queue over the next few days/weeks and give brief mention of stuff that’s good and pass on everything that’s not. It’s really that simple. There are still going to be reviews so don’t worry. It’s just impossible for one person to keep up with the same amount of submissions that sites with multiple writers can. Especially for a guy like me with minimal time to begin with.
It all brings me to the following question, “Would any of you out there (yes, you) be interested in writing album reviews/show reviews or contributing other content for CYSTSFTS?” Just asking that question is hard enough as this site has been a labor of love for me since its inception. But seeing Sean from Buzzginder and Matt from You Ain’t No Picasso write about getting interns (via Twitter) got me thinking about it. Relinquishing any sort of creative control is a scary proposition for me so this might not happen at all, plus (I’ll be perfectly honest here) this site doesn’t exactly have me swimming in cash so if you wanna write, it would be unpaid. Maybe I just need to change the format (as I mentioned earlier) and give it a go, but (really) if you are interested in contributing, send me an email or DM me on Twitter and we can chat about it. But seriously…
I love music. I just need to get excited by new music again. Quality over quantity bitches.
Catfish Haven / Titus Andronicus / Lucero - Live 4/10/09 @ Metro
Posted on 18 April 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Wow! I’m finally getting this review up over a week after the show. It really has been on of those weeks people! I’ve also realized that I shouldn’t take photos with our little point-and-shoot as they don’t turn out so well. So last Friday I met up with my sisters and their significant others to go see some bands at Metro presented by our friends at Muzzle Of Bees. My twin sister’s finance (let’s call him Tim) is a big Catfish Haven fan so we headed out early enough to see them and (as usual) they didn’t disappoint. I don’t recall hearing any new stuff, but if you are a fan of music that makes you wanna move, you’ve gotta love you some Catfish Haven. We do!
Next up was Titus Andronicus from New Jersey. Now I had heard good things about Titus Andronicus but (for whatever reason) it didn’t really translate to the stage that night. The band was highly entertaining, but ridiculously hard to listen to.
And finally we got us some Lucero. My sister ended up getting way drunk during their near 2-1/2 hour set and could barely stand up, but it was A-OK as the band was as drunk as I’ve ever seen them during any of the 10 (or so) Lucero shows I’ve witnessed. That (however) doesn’t mean that they weren’t good. They brought along a pedal steel guitar player and a guy playing keys so they sounded good.The band played a lot of new songs that were good but all seemed a bit slow, a lot of old songs, some songs from Ben’s recent solo album Last Pale Light In The West, and a bunch of songs they started but didn’t finish. In fact, the band didn’t even play an encore. They just sorta stopped playing because they were just too drunk to keep going. And that is the way it goes.
Red Cortez / The War On Drugs / The Tallest Man On Earth - Live 4/5/09 @ Schubas
Posted on 9 April 2009 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
This past Sunday I had the chance to see Red Cortez, The War On Drugs, and The Tallest Man On Earth at Schubas. I meant to have this up on Monday, but you know how the weeks can get busy, right? Anyhow, Red Cortez was an awesome surprise. Their sound was akin to that of an indie rock Los Lobos (or at least something like that). I predict big things for ‘em.
After Red Cortez, I was excited to see The War On Drugs (from Philadelphia) brought their shoegazey Americana to the stage. I was surprised at how good they were and that so much noise could come from just a trio. It was different than I expected, but noisy and wonderful. Somehow, I’m not sure how their album Wagonwheel Blues didn’t make my best of 2008 list.
And finally, Kristian Matsson (aka The Tallest Man On Earth) captivated the audience with only his voice, guitar, and huge quirky stage presence. It was a great show.
The Heartless Bastards / The Gaslight Anthem / Good Old War - Live 4/3/09 @ The Bottom Lounge
Posted on 4 April 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
This past Wednesday evening I headed downtown to check out Cloud Cult with Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s at Metro but ended up (regretfully) missing the show due (in part) to my own stubbornness. Anyhow, without seeing them this time around, I’d still recommend that you check out Cloud Cult if you can. They play a (musically) very diverse brand of eco-friendly indie-rock complete with on-stage painters (click here for previous photos).
Last night I went to The Bottom Lounge to see The Heartless Bastards, The Gaslight Anthem, and Good Old War. I was actually a bit apprehensive about the whole thing since my wife was robbed at gunpoint two blocks from there a few months ago, but everything turned out OK. Anyhow, Good Old War went on first and were quite good. I’d never heard the band before so I was pleasantly surprised by their fresh and harmonious take on modern folk music.
Next up was the Heartless Bastards who played a bunch of songs from their latest album The Mountain and some other great songs that are going to have me looking for their previous records. Let me just say they fuckin’ rocked and made the Gaslight Anthem’s job of following ‘em pretty tough. The band played with an intensity and dynamic that blew their records out of the water (not that the records are bad), it’s just some bands are just meant to be experienced live. The Heartless Bastards are one of those bands.
And finally the sold-out crowd was treated to a set from The Gaslight Anthem (lucky for us since tonight’s show in Minneapolis was canceled due to a medical emergency). The band did not disappoint as they roared through songs from both their albums and their stellar EP. Their delivery wasn’t as forceful and energetic as I had expected, but you should definitely check ‘em out if you have the chance and see what all the buzz is about.
11 News Items You Might Be Interested In
Posted on 4 April 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Coalesce has posted two new songs from their forthcoming album OX (due out June 9th) on their Myspace page. The band is also playing at Reggie’s in Chicago on April, 24th. See you there?
So it seems that Dinosaur Jr. will release their follow up to their reunion album (2007’s Beyond) on June 23rd have set a on the awesome Jagjaguwar. The record is titled Farm.
Suburban Home Records has unveiled their new Spring/Summer sampler featuring 25 songs from the likes of Drag The River, Yesterday’s Ring, Jon Snodgrass, Mike Hale, Austin Lucas, In The Red, Stereotyperider, Two Cow Garage, Useless I.D., Ninja Gun, Joey Cape, Tim Barry, Josh Small, The Takers, Jr. Juggernaut, Ghost Buffalo, Chad Price. Download or stream it at the link above.
Tumbledown is the country rock band from Mike Herrera of MXPX and their debut album is due out on May 19th. You can hear songs from the band on their Myspace page.
Did you know the Teen Idols have reformed and may or may not be signed to Fat Wreck Chords? Who knows what the lineup will be this time around but evidently they are also now based right here in Chicago. Who knew?
This is cool. Everyone’s favorite ex-Braid member that wasn’t in Hey Mercedes, Chris Broach (The Firebird Band), has posted a great new song on his Myspace page. The song is called “How Well You Know Me” and will be released on 7” in summer
Title Tracks is the new project from John Davis (Georgie James, Q And Not U) and Michael Cotterman (The Loved Ones) and their debut 7” will be released by Dischord on April 6th. You can hear music from the band on their Myspace page.
Tim Barry (whose 2008 album Manchester was my favorite album of last year) has finished writing a new record that he hopes to record in May and have released before the end of 2009. Awesome. He’s playing at Reggie’s in Chicago on April 16th with Sundowner, Austin Lucas, and Josh Small.
One of my favorite bands,Apocalypse Hoboken, have announced a reunion show planned for August 21st at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago. Why? I dunno, but I’ll take it.
Gainesville’s Rehasher is Roger’s (Less Than Jake) non-ska side project and they are done recording and mixing their follow up to their 2004 debut Off Key Melodies. All that’s holding them up now is finding a label to release it.
Woah! Detournement is an East Coast supergroup consisting of Zak Kaplan (Worthless United), Tom Petta (Bigwig), Scott Golley (Lifetime), Dan Desimoni (Plan A Project) and Nate Gluck (Ensign). They have announced that their debut album Screaming Response will be released on May 5th. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
Win tickets to see Bloc Party & Longwave this Saturday (3/28)
Posted on 25 March 2009 | Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Giveaways
--
Hey y’all, wanna go see New York indie rockers Longwave with their friends from the UK in Bloc Party this Saturday (3/28) at the Aragon Ballroom right here in Chicago?
Just leave a comment with your full name and email address by midnight tomorrow (Thursday) for a chance to win two tickets to the show.
It’s that easy. Longwave is touring in support of last year’s Secrets Are Sinister and are also giving away a track previously exclusive to the Japanese version of the album.
MP3 | Longwave – Sideways Sideways Rain Secrets Are Sinister (Japanese Version)
#notatsxsw and some other shit
Posted on 18 March 2009 | 8 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
So if you haven’t been able to tell (or just aren’t following my Twitter updates (@cystsfts) you’ll know that I’m #notatsxsw or anywhere near Austin, TX right now. I honestly don’t know how anyone (or at least anyone who has kids and isn’t working “in the industry”) can afford a SXSW badge, airfare, and lodging these days. I mean, I’ve got a 3-1/2 year old and another on the way plus (if you haven’t heard) the economy isn’t really as robust as it was a few years ago. I just don’t know how people are able to spend that kind of cash for a week long bender with a million great bands. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds like fun and I’d love to be there, but am I missing something? For now though, suburban Chicago will be just fine. Here’s some other stuff.
Yesterday Will over at Sound As Language posted about folk singer Brian Bond and his new album Fire And Gold. Awesome stuff in the vein of Mark Kozelek, Sufjan Stevens, & Denison Witmer. I’m gonna have to get this record.
Here’s an MP3 of Hey Mercedes covering GBV’s “A Salty Salute” from the Everynight Fire Works sessions.
Did you know that The Vindictives have a new record coming out in April? They do. Goes Cube has one coming in May? Yep. And Coalesce has a new record due out in June? They do as well. This is some cool news.
Random bits of new news
Posted on 10 March 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Noise By Numbers has posted some demos on their myspace page. The band features Dan Schafer (The Methadones, Screeching Weasel, Sludgeworth), Jeff Dean (The Bomb, Certain People I Know), Rick Uncapher (Woolworthy, Textbook), and Neil Hennessy (The Lawrence Arms, Smoking Popes) and are supposedly influenced by Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Naked Raygun and bands like that.
What a day for new releases. You’ve got Propaghandi’s Supporting Caste, Cursive’s Mama, I’m Swollen, Austin Lucas’ Somebody Loves You, and New Found Glory’s Not Without A Fight all officially released today. Go get yerself some records.
CYSTSFTS faves Broadway Calls headed into the Blasting Room in Fort Collins, CO today to start work on their second full length.
Here is an awesome video of Iron Chic covering Temple Of The Dog’s “Hunger Strike” courtesy of What We Hate
Wanna see a video of Jeff Tweedy covering Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees?” Here you go thanks to Muzzle Of Bees.
Evidently the long since disbanded Far has reunited, signed to Vagrant Records, and is working on a new album. Hot damn!
Also, Thorns Of Life (you know, that band with Blake from Jawbreaker and Aaron from Crimpshrine) is recording their debut album with none other than J. Robbins.
In even more news of bands getting back together, Ghosts And Vodka (featuring members of Cap’n Jazz and Joan Of Arc) may or may nor be getting back together.
It's A(nother) Girl
Posted on 25 February 2009 | 13 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
I know that I’ve mentioned before that not only do we have a crazed (but adorable) little 3 year old daughter, but we have another one on the way. That shouldn’t be a surprise to any of you regulars. Well, we found out earlier this week that we are having another girl. That’s right IT’S A GIRL. I have pictures to prove it.
So the pictures really don’t prove anything, or maybe I just don’t know what to look for here. But we (at that’s what wifey says) are pretty sure it’s a girl. Anyone have any name suggestions? We don’t yet.
A month or two in the life of...
Posted on 18 February 2009 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
So let’s see, what has been going on around here lately? Lately as in since December or so. Yeah, right before Christmas I mentioned that the wifey is pregnant and she has basically had some sort of morning sickness almost every day since then, so yeah, that’s been tons of fun. We will (hopefully) find out the gender next week. I’ll keep you posted. My three year old daughter has been singing (and continues to do so) Christmas songs and/or just inserting nonsense words into the melody of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” It’s cute but the kid needs to get out of the Christmas spirit until next year. I was going to post her singing (over and over) “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” but didn’t find the motivation to transfer it from my phone. It was cute though.
H’s favorite song to listen to in the car is “Go Cubs Go” so I know I’ve got her set up for a lifetime of disappointment as a Cubs fan. But we were listening to the Tim Barry Munford 7” the other day and as she was singing along to Hey Lolly I thought to myself, “My daughter is singing a Tim Barry song, at least I’ve succeeded in one part of parenting.” But seriously, I’ve been listening to a lot of Tim Barry lately as well as the Look Mexico Gasp Asp 7”, A.C. Newman’s Get Guilty, How Dare You’s Comfort Road, and (recently) bootlegs of CPIK and Thorns of Life.
Other than that, we have all been getting a bit stir-crazy with all the frigid weather so little H has been drawing pictures… a lot of pictures. Here is one of those pictures. I think it is some of her best work so far. So what else? Hailey named a purple plastic fish bathtub toy Collie Poopalooka. Isn’t there a band called that? I’ve spent way too much time on Twitter instead of doing “actual” blogging on this here site. So there. That’s it, well, at least some of it.
Certain People I Know - Live in Urbana 2/13/09
Posted on 15 February 2009 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Friday night I drove down to Champaign-Urbana for the first time in a few years to meet my brother and see the first ever Certain People I Know (CPIK) show and also the Smoking Popes. Coincidentally (or not) I also saw the first Hey Mercedes show back in 2000, and even though it has been now over a dozen years since I first heard/saw Braid in C-U, I’m still such a dorky Bob Nanna fanboy. It’s actually kind of embarrassing. So after drinking some Jim Beam and reminiscing about when we went to school there, we headed to the Union for the show. So CPIK (for those who don’t know) features Bob and Damon (Braid, Hey Mercedes), Jeff (The Bomb, The Story So Far), Matt (This Is Me Smiling), and Lauren. Bob and Lauren split lead vocal duties on the eight songs the band played and musically they bear some resemblance to Hey Mercedes but not exactly. All in all, CPIK was pretty damn amazing even though I don’t have a clue what any of the song titles are. And not that you care, but after the show my brother and I spent the rest of our waking hours drinking Lagunitas brews at the Iron Post. Good times.
Random things from around the web
Posted on 7 February 2009 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
So “Certain People I Know” was a single by Morrissey released in December of 1992 and it also happens to be the name of a new band featuring both Bob Nanna and Damon Atkinson of Braid/Hey Mercedes fame. The first two CPIK shows are scheduled for 2/13/09 in Urbana and 2/19/09 in Chicago. See you there.
Someone grabbed MP3’s of the swearing parts from President Obama’s reading of his book Dreams From My Father on tape. Who wouldn’t get a kick out of hearing Obama say, “You ain’t my bitch.”
Our friends from MPLS at the Switchblade Comb blog posted a track from the forthcoming album from CYSTSFTS faves The Evening Rig. We can’t wait to hear more.
So it seems that Sean Bonner posted some MP3’s culled from various Thorns Of Life videos a few days ago but the download link is already expired. That’s Blake from Jawbreaker’s new band which also features Aaron from Crimpshrine (if you didn’t know) so if anyone has these MP3’s and wouldn’t mind passing them along, that would be awesome.
Speaking of Jawbreaker, have you heard Jazzbreaker? It’s a jazzy big band tribute to Jawbreaker that is really interesting and actually pretty cool in a not-at-all-punk sorta way.
And there you have it.
Who is Bella Morte?
Posted on 2 February 2009 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Wow, I’m only about 30 days delinquent with this post. Figures, right? So we took a little trip down to St. Louis to spend the highly overrated new years holiday with my brother and his wife. After we spent most of NYE morning at The Magic House with my daughter, I headed out to the Schlafly Bottleworks with my brother for a few pre-countdown beers. After a delicious Chocolate Stout and a Winter ESB, we headed across the street to pick up some drinks for the evening.
Basically, we needed to supplement the Fat Tire and bourbon we had on hand, so we stopped at the Maplewood Shop ‘n Save for some Sparks and Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus; classy choices, I know. While standing in the checkout line, my brother (who is always Mr. Chatty with complete strangers) asked a girl in front of us, “Is that a Faith No More shirt?” She responded, “No. It is a Bella Morte shirt.” As big music fans we were both like, “Who the fuck is Bella Morte,” and she proceeded to describe them as a “goth rock” band that sounds a little like Marilyn Manson. Admittedly, that didn’t sound too appealing to me, but we were intrigued. Did I mention that she was purchasing two 6 packs of Smirnoff Ice? Well, she was… and she looked underage. It was actually pretty funny.
So here’s the explanation of the delay. When we got back from St. Louis, I meant to check out Bella Morte but never did. No reason other than I just didn’t do it and (honestly) I expected it to be a big pile of crap. So when I just listened to some Bella Morte songs on their myspace page and I heard more Linkin Park (and maybe even Faith No More) than I did Marilyn Manson I was surprised. What do you think? Should I review their new album?
POST: A Book about the Influence of Post-Hardcore 1985-2007
Posted on 22 January 2009 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Emo
--
First, let me apologize to Mr. Eric Grubbs. This article (and the accompanying commentary tracks) should have been posted over a month ago and I just haven’t gotten around to it. I’m a fuck up; what can I say? Better late than never I always say (and say often).
So for four years Eric Grubbs spent his time away from traffic radio researching and writing a book. He was writing a book about how post-hardcore/emo music evolved from what it was in the mid-1980’s to what it became before “emo” became a four letter word. That book is POST: A Book about the Influence of Post-Hardcore 1985-2007.
Each chapter (more or less) focuses on a band of Fugazi, Jawbox, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Braid, the Promise Ring, Hot Water Music, the Get Up Kids, At the Drive-In, and Jimmy Eat World. Grubbs examines all this through the eyes of a fan and through the eyes of someone who is emotionally invested in this music and whose life has been changed by it. It the humanization of bands that sometimes (even I do it) are looked at almost like deities.
So, while admitting that Grubbs and I have talked many times and that I’ll surely buy him a drink when I meet him, the book is not just awesome, but it is also full of so much detail that people who weren’t there can put everything in context.
I (however) was there. I grew older with this music. I saw Braid at least a dozen times in places like basements and house parties, the guys from At The Drive-In once slept on my floor, and I’m a huge fan of all the bands Grubbs writes about in POST. If you have any interest in the modern “emo” or “post-hardcore” bands and where they came from or in the history of modern rock music you need to check out this book. It’s not perfect but neither are any of the bands he talks about. They are all just people making connections with other people through music.
What you’ll find below are some DVD-style commentary tracks that Grubbs recorded as a sort of supplement for the book and I think it turned out pretty well. While you’re listening to this, go ahead and pick up a copy of POST: A Book about the Influence of Post-Hardcore 1985-2007. You can (and should) do it right here.
MP3 | Introduction
MP3 | Dischord Records
MP3 | Jawbox
MP3 | Sunny Day Real Estate
MP3 | Jawbreaker
MP3 | Braid
MP3 | The Promise Ring
MP3 | Hot Water Music
MP3 | The Get Up Kids
MP3 | At The Drive-In
MP3 | Jimmy Eat World
Things I found on Twitter today
Posted on 5 January 2009 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Wilco’s got another concert DVD coming out in March featuring footage from their 2008 Blue Sky Blue tour. The DVD was also created by Brendan Canty (of Fugazi fame). Read more…
And speaking of Wilco, did you know that Jeff Tweedy’s 13 year old son, Spencer, has a blog? He does and it is actually a good read. www.spencertweedy.com
This one is funny. Houston Calls kicked out Jose because he shacked up with Tom’s ex-girlfriend. I’m serious. Read more…
Hear a new Andrew Bird song from his upcoming album courtesy of NPR’s All Songs Considered. Read/hear more…
This one really isn’t from Twitter even though I have written about it there. So over the holidays, I was introduced to the music of The Ting Tings and I didn’t hate it. I don’t know why, but I didn’t. Maybe it is because Hailey (my 3 year old daughter) has just randomly been singing, “That’s not my name! That’s not my… name!” over and over the past few days. So just remember this; The Ting Tings are a children’s group. You heard it here first.
MP3 | The Ting Tings – That’s Not My Name We Started Nothing
An Alkaline Trio interview from 1998
Posted on 1 January 2009 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Punk
--
I have a love/hate relationship with the Alkaline Trio. Everyone who has been regularly reading this blog knows it, but I was inspired to write in response to one of Meghan’s posts. It made me think of exactly how much of a jaded and curmudgeonly old fuck I have become. For me, the Alkaline Trio is a band that I’ll always love, but know that they will never again wow me like they did way back when… Back when I saw them live in early 1997 at the Channing Murray in Urbana, IL (before Dan was even in the band) and bought their 4 song cassette demo (you know, this was before CDR’s). But for as much as I love their early stuff (pre-Derek Grant), I sorta hate what they’ve become and it kinda makes me sad.
I’m in the minority of people that think original drummer Glenn Porter was way more integral to the band’s sound than most give him credit for. It makes me sad that the Alkaline Trio has basically sucked since Derek joined the band with the exception of “Jaked On Green Beers” and their recent cover of Tegan & Sara’s “Wake Up Exhausted.” I hate to be that guy who says “I only like their old stuff,” but my favorite Trio releases are (without question) the For Your Lungs Only EP and Goddamnit. They may also be my wife’s favorite band ever, probably. I mean, she even has a tattoo of the Alkaline Trio skull/heart logo.
So yeah. That’s my take on the Alkaline Trio today, but right below here, is an interview (or more like a conversation transcribed word for word) that Amy and I did with the Trio back in 1998 for our zine More Than Corn, that shows a much different side of the band; a band that didn’t think they were going to be superstars. We did the interview in Joe’s (I can’t remember his last name) bathroom after they played at the IDF in Champaign, IL. Amazingly, I haven’t ever re-published it here, so, enjoy.
—
Matt Skiba (MS): I’ll be right with you Dr. Jack Kevorkian…
More Than Corn (MTC): What do you think about what’s going down with Jack Kevorkian?
MS: I think Jack Kevorkian is at the forefront of something pretty incredible & if you listen to him speak, he’s a total humanist. He’s a very understanding man. I think that guy has more understanding of death than most people even want to know about. He’s a Samaritan. People want to die. People can’t bring themselves to kill themselves & they’re just in such miserable pain. This guy offers them an option. I mean, there’s certain situations where I wouldn’t want to live. I really respect Jack Kevorkian.
(knock knock knock at the bathroom door…)
Glenn Porter (GP): Hey dudes!
MS: Hey dude.
MTC: Oh, come in & sit in the tub.
GP: What the hell’s going on in here?
Dan Andriano (DA): We’re doing an interview.
MS: Come on in brother.
MTC: Are you guys fucked up right now?
MS: Is that the first question?
MTC: Mmhhmm.
MS: A little bit. We’re not all the way there, we’re holding ourselves together.
GP: Fiddy percent.
DA: I don’t get fucked up.
MS: Danny doesn’t get fucked up. Danny’s a Mormon.
GP: He recently discovered the straight edge movement.
MS: Danny kind of fell a little short of punk rock heritage & he just found out about this band called Minor Threat. He’s really into Earth Crisis.
GP: Danny, put that Budweiser down!
(Danny starts chugging his Bud.)
MS: Danny, NO! He said NOT to drink. Danny’s still trying to understand the concept of straight edge.
MTC: I’m straight edge… between drinks.
MS: I’m straight edge from the time I fall asleep until the time I wake up.
DA: That’s cheesy.
MTC: Why [the name] Alkaline Trio? Is there any meaning behind it?
MS: We don’t have a strong meaning behind our name. Me, Glenn, and our old bass player, Rob, wanted to think of a name that we wouldn’t have to deal with the problem of naming a band and then hearing of another band called the same thing and having to rename the band. We wanted to stay a three piece and wanted to stay away from monosyllabic names. It’s like you pick a cool word, you name your band that, and six months later, before anyone’s ever heard of you, there’s like three other bands named that. So, we wanted to be called the “something” trio, so we opened up a dictionary and got to like the third page into “A” in Webster’s, found alkaline and that pretty much settled it.
DA: I wanted something a little more emo sounding like October Never Cries.
MS: Danny was thinking something like Picnic In October and we were like, “Noooo, not Picnic In October!”
DA: How about Tears Of A Young Boy…
GP: I wanted it to be Big Johnson…
MS: And I was like, “Glenn, there’s shirts that say big johnson,” and he was like, “Ohhh fuck.”
MS: We went through all these things, No Fear, Big Johnson, Co-ed Naked Punk Rock Show, N Sync Trio…
DA: …Bad Boy Trio, Backstreet Boy Trio, New Kids On The Trio.
MTC: So you must like Britney spears then?
MS: We did the Britney Spears Trio…
DA: Her & I had a falling out recently so we haven’t spoken.
MS: She told us she was never going to sell out & then she went on the cover of Rolling Stone. We were pissed.
MTC: Is that why she wants you to “hit her one more time?”
DA: I’d hit her and hit her again.
MTC: So she keeps saying, “Dan, hit me one more time?”
MS: That fuckin’ Britney Spears is going to learn a lesson and she’s going to learn it good!
DA: I gave her all I had and I just couldn’t do it anymore.
MS: Danny just couldn’t hit her where she wanted to be hit I guess.
MTC: Where did you guys record [the new EP] at?
MS: Atlas Studios in Chicago. We recorded our original EP, then our Goddamnit record & we just recorded an EP called I Lied My Face Off which will be out in late June. Glenn wanted to call the new record Fluffy Bunnies but I wrestled him right out of that shit. Danny wanted to call it Screwdriver Again and I was like, “No,” and wrestled him out of that. “I Lied My Face Off” is a song that Danny wrote and it had a good ring to it.
MTC: The new songs are really good.
MS: Thank you. We’re really proud of them.
GP: They’re all about arm wrestling.
MTC: How do you guys feel about the war in Kosovo?
MS: It’s ridiculous.
MTC: OK. How about some funny tour stories.
MS: The funniest tour story that I can ever recollect [is when] we were somewhere in the south touring with the Blue Meanies. It didn’t involve all the members of the Blue Meanies but I was told they didn’t mind if we mentioned their names.
DA: They ate the fucking bible and threw it against the wall and then threw it in the toilet.
MS: They ate the bible.
DA: It’s ritualistic.
MS: I had sunburn worse than anyone’s ever seen sunburn. We went to Mardi Gras and we all stayed up until like eight in the morning and I fell asleep on the banks of the Mississippi and got fried [with] third degree burns all over my face. So the next night, we’re sharing adjoining hotel rooms with the Blue Meanies and I put this diaper rash cream on my face. My face was just burning. It was so deeply red and purple that I left space to make it look like Gene Simmons face make-up. Me and Joe dressed up like KISS. Instead of painting black, I just left my natural skin tone as the star eyes and the lips. It was so badly burned that it looked black. So, I’m running around showing off my rad Gene Simmons face paint and I walked into the Blue Meanies room and because it was Sunday evening, they were reciting hymnals from the bible, ripping out the page, shoving it in their mouth, and swallowing it. They each took turns and by the end of this religious excursion, the bible ended up in the toilet. That was probably the highlight of everything.
(Andy Pishko enters the croweded bathroom)
MTC: Wasn’t it scary?
MS: Well, me and Danny basically sat them down and said, “You guys really need to learn the way of the lord.”
DA: Are you guys familiar with the teachings of our lord Jesus Christ?
MS: And we sat down and talked to them about Jesus for a while but they just took their clothes off and peed on us. We pretty much just gave up and went to bed afterward.
DA: I was bummed cuz I love Jesus.
Andy Pishko (AP): Are you guys religious? Do you love Jesus in a physical sense?
DA: Uh, we try… I’d fuck him. Who else has fucked Jesus? I’d pop his cherry. See, you have to do things like this to guarantee your entrance into hell.
MS: I don’t really hold a lot of heart in organized religion at all. I think what Jesus Christ represents is a really beautiful thing. I think on a very basic level, treating people the way you want to be treated is my ideal philosophy. I think that organized religion has caused a lot more war & pain than anything. I don’t hold a lot of solace in Christianity or catholicism or anything like that. I think it’s almost insulting to put a name on it, not to speak for anyone else, to me, my spirituality is important enough that I don’t want to put a name on it, I don’t want to say that I understand some foreign, ancient history as to be the way my life should be run. I respect the life of Christ & understand that it existed historically. It’s a fact. What he stood for is an amazing thing. How much he was the son of god or how much he parted water into two pieces is beyond me.
DA: Well, Moses kind of did that.
MS: Well, Moses was really into black metal [and] that was the problem. Moses was into a lot of Venom. Jesus was more of a Mercyful Fate guy. They were just like, it should be a civil thing, like, “OK we can both like these different bands,” but Jesus was like, “Fuck no dude. Venom sucks!” They had all kinds of problems. We see this. We just choose to find our own religion.
MTC: Do you guys have any theories?
DA: I have a theory that Matt was put on this earth to rock the shit out of everyone else.
MS: We fuck around with religion but, honestly, I think that if you have religion and it can get you through your day and you’re not hurting anyone or negatively influencing people, it’s a beautiful thing. I’m not a religious person, I would consider myself more of a spiritual person. I think that if people that have religion on a very simplistic spiritual level it’s a really cool thing.
MTC: To each his own.
MS: Exactly! Whatever blows your hair back, whatever gets you through your day, whether it be booze or church, whatever. My religion exists in the present, all of us being alive and sharing time. I think it’s alright to be scared and unsure. People want to believe in religion and feel that this is the answer. I tried to do that, I investigated the shit out of Christianity and wanted to believe in it and I want it to be true but if I really think long and hard about it, I know it’s not. It’s just not realistic. I don’t have any definition or any supreme security of my existence. It’s more a celebration of being alive and being with my friends and playing music with my friends and being around people that I love and just feeling blessed that I have a life, wherever it came from, if it came from god or the devil or whatever the fuck it is. I don’t believe in that but if it’s true, I don’t fuckin’ know. Nobody is ever going to be able to figure it out, you just gotta have a good time and treat people the way you want to be treated. I just firmly believe if you do the right thing, the right thing will happen to you. You’re not going to have any supreme explanation for it. nobody knows anything. I guess that’s my theory.
DA: I have no theory.
MS: I’m gonna get a beer. I gotta pee so bad you’re gonna have to leave.
DA: I want to know what Andy Pishko thinks.
AP: I don’t think much of anything.
MTC: When are you guys moving to California & why?
MS: We’re moving to the Bay area in the fall. We’ve all grown up here but our record label is there. We went out there and were so relaxed. We’re mostly moving for weather and scenery. The beauties of mother earth have been kept from us for far to long, we’re ready to indulge.
DA: I’m sick of Midwestern weather.
MS: I need to excuse myself. Thank you so much, that was rad.
And all through the house...
Posted on 24 December 2008 | 7 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
So yeah, it is Christmas eve and my 3 year old daughter is napping and my wife is still working. In fact, she has to work tonight and tomorrow and it’s bumming me out a bit. I mean, who has to work late on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day? Anyhow, if you follow my updates on Twitter you might already know this, but we’re officially expecting another baby that’s due sometime near the end of July ’09.
Big news, I know. Otherwise, I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year) and that you enjoy it with friends and family as you should. Let me leave you with a list of a two blogs I’ve really enjoyed reading this year and that (if you like CYSTSFTS) you should be reading as well.
Sound As Language
Nine Bullets
Here are some other things that I thought were awesome about 2008 (in no particular order)
1. My daughter & my wife
2. $1.50/gal regular unleaded gasoline
3. The promise of Obama
4. The Revival Tour
5. Weighing less when the year ends than when it started
6. Diet Code Red Mountain Dew
7. My beard
8. Hot Water Music reunion shows
9. Two Brothers’ Beers
What elves do in their down time
Posted on 20 December 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
This is the amazing Christmas card that my brother and his wife sent out this year and, yes, that’s my brother wearing the elf suit. Note the bottle of Busch beer in his hand, very classy. Just remember that if he smells like beef and cheese he ain’t the real Santa.
Another Wordless Thursday
Posted on 18 December 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
The CYSTSFTS readers have spoken
Posted on 17 December 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
A whole bunch of you readers sent me lists of your 10 favorite albums from 2008 with hopes of winning a pair of Radius Earphones. The results are below and are (to me at least) fairly unsurprising, but the number of different albums that appeared on the lists I got was incredible and surprising. As for the contest winner, that’s Ian Bowers. Congrats Ian and thanks to everyone else for submitting their lists.
10. Dillinger Four – Civil War
09. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
08. Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
07. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
06. Blitzen Trapper – Furr
05. Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
04. She & Him – Vol. 1
03. The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
02. The Gaslight Anthem – The ’59 Sound
01. TV On the Radio – Dear Science
Can You Believe It?
Posted on 8 December 2008 | 7 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Can you believe that CYSTSFTS didn’t make it onto Stereogum Gummy Awards list of Best Music Blogs list? Seriously. Who gives a shit? I certainly don’t. You see, people get way too uptight about this whole list-making business and who is the most indie son-of-a-bitch in the blogosphere. I don’t have time for any of that nonsense and, besides, who listens to that much crappy indie rock anyway? I mean, have you seen the Gummy Award for Best Album list? At least Gorilla vs. Bear’s list is interesting and presents some albums I’m now curious to give a listen to.
Holiday Gift Guide #2: For Music Lovers
Posted on 4 December 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Product Reviews
--
This is a music blog so it only makes sense that we’d have a holiday gift guide for the music lover in your life… or (if you are reading this) just for you. Here are some of the things we can’t live without and some things on our wishlist this Christmas.
Radius Earphones deliver loads of bass with a clear high end sound, all in a compact little in ear design that’s less pricey than most in this category. Send in your top ten of ’08 for a chance to win a pair or you can buy ‘em here. ($40)
I grew up making mixtapes for people and think that might be how I won my wife’s heart so many years ago. That’s just one of the reasons that I love the Mixa 1GB USB Mixtape. Novel but awesome. Buy one here. ($33)
Sing it with me, “All I want for Christmas are vinyl records.” That’s right folks! Not only do vinyl records sound great, but they can also be beautiful. I’d recommend checking out Vinyl Collective, Insound, Polyvinyl, and No Idea. ($5-25)
If you’ve got vinyl records you need a turntable to play them on. The Audio Technica AT-PL120 turntable should fill that role nicely. Buy one here. ($265)
Now that I have one, I can’t imagine life without my 8GB iPhone 3G. It would make a great gift for that someone special. Buy one here. ($199)
Dallas traffic reporter Eric Grubbs recently finished writing an amazing book called POST: A Look At The Influence Of Post Hardcore 1985-2007 and if you regularly read this blog you should probably just get this now. I’m not kidding. Buy it here. ($21)
If you go to shows/concerts/cagefights you know things can get loud. I don’t like leaving with my ears ringing but also want to hear all the details. That’s why I love Earlove Earplugs. Buy ‘em here. ($16)
Even though I don’t really take Pitchfork all that seriously anymore, I still think their new book (The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide To The Greatest Songs From Punk To The Present) still provides some excellent reading material. Buy it here. ($11)
Do you want a way to directly transfer music between different iPods without using a computer? Look no further than the miShare. It’s a nifty little device that does exactly what I said above. Buy one here. ($99)
Since not everyone can be in a band, there’s always Guitar Hero. (BTW, click the link for a chance to win it.) I’ve only got it for the PS2 and need to get one for my Wii. Buy it here. ($70)
And if you feel so inclined, you can check out our t-shirt gift guide as well.
Our Favorite Albums of 1998
Posted on 3 December 2008 | 6 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Year End Lists
--
For some reason or another Will (soundaslanguage.com), James (getoveryourselfbklyn.com), and I decided it would be a good idea to share our favorite albums of 1998 with all of you. Since none of us seemed to be decisive enough to come up with only 10, we decided to go with as many as we could come up with (or 20). Now I’m sure I missed something totally obvious, but my CD’s are in boxes in my garage so I didn’t have the opportunity to thumb through ‘em like I would have wanted to. So for better or worse, here are (ten years later) my favorite albums of 1998 (in alphabetical order).
Alkaline Trio – Goddamnit
The best album by my wife’s favorite band. I love this but still prefer the EP that preceded it.
At The Drive In – In/Casino/Out
We were given this LP (on clear vinyl, no less) by the ATDI guys after they crashed at our place in Indy in, um, ’98.
Avail – Over The James
My favorite Avail album. Better than both Dixie and 4AM Friday. So good.
Billy Bragg & Wilco – Mermaid Avenue
Who doesn’t love covers of Woody Guthrie songs? Who doesn’t love Billy Bragg or Wilco?
Boxer – The Hurt Process
We spent a lot of time in ’98 hanging out with these guys. It also doesn’t hurt that this album still sounds great.
Braid – Frame & Canvas
My 2nd favorite Braid album, but probably only because it wasn’t the first of theirs I heard. I still remember these guys playing house parties in C-U way back when.
The Broadways – Broken Star
The album that is post-Slapstick and pre-Lawrence Arms.
Cap n’ Jazz – Analphabetapolothology
Even though this is a collection of previously released material, it was released in 1998 and is more important that it knows.
Dillinger Four – Midwestern Songs Of The Americas
D4’s first full-length and my favorite of theirs.
Far – Water & Solutions
If you like Onelinedrawing, Gratitude, or anything else from Jonah Matranga, this is the band that started it all.
God’s Reflex – A Brief Lesson In Affection
From one of the most underrated/unknown bands from the fringes of the Chicago scene at the time.
Hot Water Music – Fuel For The Hate Game
Yeah. You love this band.
Hum – Downward Is Heavenward
Hum’s final album and a fitting way to go out on top but still my second favorite Hum album.
Jets To Brazil – Orange Rhyming Dictionary
I hated this album the first time I heard it. Seriously. Not so much anymore.
Kid Dynamite – S/T
The perfect antidote to kids longing for Lifetime at that time.
Less Than Jake – Hello Rockview
The soundtrack to all-night drives across central Illinois in ’98. I own the 7×7” box of this album. How cool is that?
Neutral Milk Hotel – In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
What ever happened to this band? This album was an almost instant classic.
Refused – The Shape Of Punk To Come
Exactly what the title implies and more. Another truly landmark album.
Screeching Weasel – Television City Dream
My favorite late-period Screeching Weasel album. Tops behind only Anthem… and My Brain Hurts.
Weston – Return To Mono
For the longest time I only had this on a cassette that Jolene dubbed for me as this was only ever released in Japan.
Skidoosh.
R U Ready?
Posted on 30 November 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
We just put the Christmas tree up and Hailey can’t stop singing songs from The Polar Express. Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas will be here soon, so what does that actually mean? Well, it’s almost time (or already so depending on who you are) for the 2008 crop of year end best of lists to start popping up. And to all you CYSTSFTS readers, I’d love to know what your favorite records of 2008 are. In fact, if you email me a list of your top ten albums of 2008 to canyouseethesunset@gmail.com, I’ll enter you into a drawing to win a pair of Radius Earphones. So yeah, I kinda borrowed this idea from Will, but I’m sure he won’t mind. My own best of 2008 list will be coming soon, so stay tuned for that as well.
Recently 'round here
Posted on 25 November 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Yeah, the holiday season is just about here so I thought I’d give you a rundown of what we’ve been up to lately. In addition to writing about music and here, I’ve also been writing at ParentSphere, a site I write with my wife that is aimed a little more at, well… parenting than this one. We currently giving away a TON of cool stuff including a Flip digital camcorder, an Epson all-in-one printer, and even PopStar Guitar for Wii. Check out the giveaways here if you so choose.
What else? Let’s see… last Friday evening the wife and I headed downtown for a night of show hopping and other such whatnot. We started the evening at Metro to see The Acorn, who were opening for Calexico. While I have enjoyed The Acorn’s recent album Glory Hope Mountain, their live set showed a side that was a little noisier, a little louder, and a little more intense than their album. I was thoroughly impressed. But managed to miss an opportunity to interview Rolf from The Acorn since we didn’t stick around for Calexico and (instead) headed to the Bottom Lounge (I hadn’t yet been to the new location) to see M83.
The show was sold out so the place was (expectedly) packed and I didn’t get anywhere near the stage, but still enjoyed the shoegazey electronic pop-noise. I was (perhaps) even more impressed by their huge tour bus parked outside of the club. A few drinks were had and we even met up with new friends Naomi and Bob from Wichita. Cool peeps and a fun time indeed.
Thorns Of Life (or) Blake's got a new face, err... band
Posted on 20 November 2008 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Punk
--
Why I found out about this on Monday and just now remembered to post it is beyond me but Blake Schwarzenbach finally has a new band. That’s the same Blake that fronted Jawbreaker (one of my favorite bands ever) and Jets To Brazil. Yeah, I’m just as excited as you are. So the band (as if you haven’t already read about it everywhere) is called Thorns Of Life and features the mighty Aaron Cometbus (of Crimpshrine, Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, Shotwell, etc…) on drums and Daniela Sea (of The Gr’ups and The L Word) on bass. Blake has reportedly said “I can say only that it’s loud and tender and we’re called the Thorns Of Life. whether it’s more Jetsesque or Breaker-like I honestly don’t know; It sounds like a storehouse of fond hatred from the last few years and in the now.”
Thorns Of Life played their first shows last week and you can find more photos from them here, and videos of a few songs below.
Fuckin’ awesome.
Holiday Gift Guide #1: Tee Shirts
Posted on 18 November 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Product Reviews
--
With the economy slumping mightily, this holiday season isn’t so much about what you want (but rather) it’s about what you need. You (and everyone else) needs tee shirts, so why not get the ones you love some tee shirts with style.
The Ryde makes super soft & comfy surf inspired tees.
Get huge type looks sweet and other great tees from Turn Nocturnal.
Check out Electric Zombie and their gruesomely awesome shirts.
These shirts ain’t minty fresh, they’re Linty Fresh.
Heartcore Clothing makes some amazing shirts.
For design inspired tees check out Artefacture.
Maybe you go ape shit for Go Ape Shirts? We do.
One, two, three, P Is For Panda has great shirts and great records.
Threadless has officially released a zillion different shirts. I’m not kidding.
Hit the mark and get some tees from Sharp Shirter.
A recipe for brined & roasted turkey with musical accompaniment
Posted on 15 November 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Yes, this is a recipe for brined and roasted turkey with a musical accompaniment, but I’d rather call it Can You Eat the Turkey From the Southside? Seriously folks, Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away.
So I’ve had deep-fried turkey (good), smoked turkey (even better), but my favorite way to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving (or even Christmas) is brined and roasted. Yes, I’ll admit that I ganked the original recipe from the amazing Alton Brown a few years ago, but I’ve made some minor (and delicious) changes. Here’s the recipe:
Can You Eat the Turkey From the Southside?
Start with a 14 to 16 pound turkey, mkay. You can use a smaller bird or a turkey breast, but be sure to reduce the other ingredients proportionally. You’ll also need a 5 gallon bucket.
Brine stuff:
1 cup of salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 tbsp allspice berries
1/2 tablespoon candied ginger
1/2 cup cognac
1 gallon iced H20
Aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 sage leaves
canola oil
So what you want to do is combine all the brine stuff (except the iced water) in a pot and bring it to a boil. Stir until the solids are dissolved, then remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until chilled. It is generally best to do this the night before. Save a little bit of the cognac for yourself and have a drink while you’re at it.
Early on the day of cooking, combine the brine (what you made above) and ice water in the clean 5 gallon bucket. Mix it up and place the thawed turkey (breast side down) in the bucket, cover, and refrigerate or set it in a cool place for 6 hours. It is generally pretty chilly here around Thanksgiving so on the back porch works for me.
Just before you are ready to roast, heat your oven to 500 degrees. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and cup of water and microwave on high for about 5 minutes. Once you get the aromatics nuking, remove the bird from the brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
Place your turkey on a roasting rack inside a wide, low pan and pat dry with paper towels. Add the aromatics you just microwaved to the cavity of the bird along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck back the wings and coat the bird liberally with canola oil.
Roast that fucker on the lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Remove the turkey from the oven and cover breast with a double layer of aluminum foil and return it to the oven, reducing temperature to 350 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound turkey should require 2 to 2-1/2 hours of roasting. Use a probe thermometer if you’ve got one and set it for 161 degrees. Let your bird rest, loosely covered for 15 minutes before carving.
The Bird Cookin’ Soundtrack
MP3 | Broke String Band – Turkey In The Straw
MP3 | The Broadways – Everything I Ever Wanted To Know About Genocide I learned In The Third Grade
MP3 | This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb – Beans, Taters, & Gravy
MP3 | Revrend Horton Heat – Turkey Gotta Gobble
MP3 | George Winston – Thanksgiving
MP3 | Julie Doiron – Falls In November
MP3 | The Cranberries – Linger
MP3 | Left Lane Cruiser – Amy’s In The Kitchen
MP3 | David Grisman – Albuquerque Turkey
MP3 | The Pogues – Streams Of Whiskey
MP3 | Bob Seger – Night Moves
MP3 | King David’s Jug Band – What’s That Tastes Like Gravy
MP3 | The Ohio Players – Jive Turkey
MP3 | The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up – Thanksgiving Grey
MP3 | Daniel Littleton – Thanksgiving Day Parade
MP3 | Ben Weasel & His Iron String Quartet – Only In November
MP3 | Guns ‘n Roses – November Rain
MP3 | The Ergs – Stinking Of Whiskey Blues
MP3 | Sia – Sweet Potato
MP3 | Black Eyed Snakes – Cornbread
MP3 | Bill Monroe – Turkey In The Straw
Jimmy Eat World's Clarity x 10 Tour
Posted on 10 November 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Just last week I had a little back-and-forth with Kevin from So Much Silence about just how great Clarity is after listening to the album from start to finish for the first time in awhile. How fitting then that Jimmy Eat World will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Clarity by performing the album in its entirety at ten shows beginning in February of 2009. Now I’ve seen the band live three times (I think) but not since before their breakthrough hit Bleed American was released. Man this is gonna be fun!
Pre-sale for the Clarity x 10 Tour will begin this Thursday, Nov. 13. For details, see jimmyeatworld.com. General on sales begin Saturday, Nov. 15, with the exception of San Francisco, which goes on sale Sunday, Nov. 16, and Boston, which will go on sale at a later date to be announced.
Feb 23: Terminal 5, New York, NY
Feb 24: 930 Club, Washington, DC
Feb 25: Trocadero Theater, Philadelphia, PA
Feb 26: House of Blues, Boston, MA
Feb 28: Metro, Chicago, IL
Mar 2: Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO
Mar 4: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
Mar 5: Club Nokia, Los Angeles, CA
Mar 6: House of Blues, San Diego, CA
Mar 7: Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ
Vote
Posted on 4 November 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
No matter if you endorse John “Johnny Mac” McCain and the McCainiacs, or Barack “B-Rock” Obama and his posse, do your part and vote. If you don’t vote I don’t wanna hear you complain. At this point in the evening it appears that Obama has won both Illinois and Pennsylvania and may have a shot in Indiana and Florida. Time will tell though, right? If you want regular updates about the election and other silliness from me tonight and every night, you can follow me on Twitter.
MP3 | Team America: World Police – America, Fuck Yeah!
Happy Birthday Hailey
Posted on 22 October 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Yep. I don’t really know how it happened, but my daughter turns three years old today and all I can think about is how time flies by. I vividly remember the day she was born and when she came home from the NICU. I remember the sleepless nights and when she was really sick. I remember her first birthday and how she started repeating things shortly after that. We dressed her up as Urlacher, took her to see the Terrible Twos (four times), and had even more sleepless nights. I remember when she turned two years old and sang a Weakerthans song. I remember her first day of daycare from earlier this year. If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you’ve read about some of these things too.
Being a father is an exhausting but extremely rewarding challenge. Even now, when Hailey is still newly three years old, I think about how every moment passes by so fast. Sure I get to spend weekends with her, but I see her for 2 or maybe 3 hours every weeknight. She’s so young but I think about how I need to cherish every little bit of time we have together because sooner than I realize she’ll no longer be interested in hanging out and playing games with her dad. I’m already thinking that I only have 15 years until she is out of the house and off to college.
Until those days come, Hailey is still my little girl and she is my pride and joy. Happy Birthday Hailey.
Wordless Sunday
Posted on 19 October 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Revival Road
Posted on 16 October 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Hey Bitches! What’s goin’ on? Both Hailey and I have been sick ffor most of the week and wifey’s coming down with it too. That’s how things work around here I guess. Oh well, only one more day to suffer through this week before the weekend comes and the wifey and I head out to The Revival Tour. Yeah, that one. You know, Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, Tim Barry, Chris McCaughan, and possibly more. Should be fucking amazing.
And since I’m pretty slow on the draw, I just now realized that Ben has a solo album available now. Thanks to Ryan from Muzzle Of Bees for posting about that damn near a month ago. I told you I’m slow at times, but hey. I basically only have from sometime after 8PM until I decide to go to bed to do any sort of blogging, writing, reading, listening, etc… yep. Oh yeah, the guys on the tour also have a split LP called Revival Road and just four days ago (that’s October 12th) all recorded a new song called “Revival Road,” which you can hear below.
MP3 | Chuck, Ben, Tim, etc… – Revival Road
Little Birds Say Tweet
Posted on 10 October 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Alright folks, here’s the deal. I’m finally (according to my wife) getting hip to this whole social media thing so I’ve actually started regularly updating my Twitter account. If you want less structured updates along with some stream-of-consciousness rambling and just a whole lotta fun information (and pirate jokes) you should check it out and follow me.
A disappointing first day with iPhone
Posted on 30 September 2008 | 8 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Sorry for the lack of posts around here the past few days. I got an iPhone 3G yesterday and have been trying to figure out exactly what is wrong with it since. I stopped off at the closest AT&T store yesterday on my way home from work and picked up an iPhone 3G and called my wife as I was walking out the door and that was that.
I got the thing home, plugged it in to my computer and added a few albums, downloaded an app (Last.fm), and added some contacts, and went to bed thinking I was well on my way to a fully functional iPhone 3G. Boy, was I wrong.
I turned on the phone on my way to work this morning and where it should show the signal bars and/or the 3G connection it just flashed “no service.” Then the phone restarted itself for some unknown reason (and has done so about a dozen times or more since) and when the phone finally came to after 5 minutes of that white apple staring me down, the phone indicated that it could only make emergency calls. WTF?
So I take it back to the AT&T store where I bought it and they were totally useless. Evidently none of the people in the store are certified to do anything other than sell you an expensive paperweight. They said I needed to restore the phone. So I took it home and did just that… twice. I called Apple support and verified that the SIM card works in another AT&T capable phone and now I’m stuck taking this piece of shit back to an Apple store tomorrow. Urgh…
I’m hoping that they’ll just give me a new phone and that all my problems will be solved, but I’m not too optimistic. So that’s where I’ve been and what I’ve been busy with. Music posts coming soon.
Hey Chicago what do you say?
Posted on 21 September 2008 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Yesterday afternoon the Cubs clinched the NL Central and a trip to the postseason for the second consecutive year. It is the first time they’ve done that in the last 100 years and for me to say that I’m excited would be a bit of an understatement. As the Cubs advance through the postseason and eventually win the World Series you’ll be sure to find more coverage of it right here along with more great Cubs songs.
MP3 | Eddie Vedder – Someday We’ll Go All The Way
A puddle splashing rainy day mix
Posted on 13 September 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
I just spent half an hour this morning splashing around in some puddles with Hailey and it was certainly a ton of fun. We made it out between bursts of rain and it’s currently pouring down in buckets. We’ve gotten about 5 inches of rain since yesterday, but it ain’t nothin’ compared to what Texas is getting. Hopefully Grubbs, Laura, and all our pals in the vicinity of Ike are OK.
So in addition to the pictures one post before, here are a few songs to (hopefully) brighten your rainy (or otherwise) day. We’re heading out into the downpour in a little while to check out rock music for kids courtesy of The Terrible Twos for the third time. We think they’re great and Hailey loves ‘em too.
MP3 | Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue
MP3 | MGMT – Kids
MP3 | Birdmonster – Iditarod
MP3 | Liz Durrett – Wild As Them
MP3 | Chad Van Gaalen – Willow Tree
MP3 | TV On The Radio – Golden Age
MP3 | The Broken West – Auctioneer
MP3 | Bloc Party – Talons
MP3 | Jamie Lidell – Hurricane
Wordless Saturday
Posted on 13 September 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
What the other blogs are saying
Posted on 7 September 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
I can’t really believe that today is the first Sunday of the NFL season already. The weather has really cooled down here in Chicago so it’s becoming more believable with every passing day. Friday night I headed down to Metro to see Bloomington, IL roots rockers Backyard Tire Fire. They were pretty good, but were (IMHO) outdone by openers Joe Pug and (especially) Ha Ha Tonka, who truly brought the goods. I really like the new BTF record The Places We Lived, but the songs just didn’t really translate to the stage as well as I’d hoped they would. Now on to what everyone else is saying.
Switchblade Comb posted a great little documentary about No Idea Records. Easily one of the best labels around.
Do you like Lucero or anything like that? Well, Nine Bullets posted a few songs and the tracklisting from this month’s Lucero message board comp.
Hard To find A Friend posted an outtake from the new David Bazan documentary. Good shit.
Muzzle of Bees posted a video of Jeff Tweedy performing a great new and as-of-yet unnamed song.
RCRDLBL has got a new song frm Matt & Kim.
Did you know that Birdmonster has a new album? I found out via Speed of Dark who’s got pictures of the band live at The Troubadour in LA.
Moka (as always) has got some great new playlists.
The Fest 7: Gainesville or bust
Posted on 6 September 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
By now you all must have heard or read about the ridiculously insane lineup at The Fest in Gainesville, FL. In case you missed it, there are over 250 bands playing over Halloween weekend including: The Bouncing Souls, Dillinger Four, Strike Anywhere, Lawrence Arms, Coalesce, Drag The River, Lemuria, Able Baker Fox, Nothington, Broadway Calls, Two Cow Garage, Polar Bear Club, Algernon Cadwallader, and that isn’t even scraping the surface of just how great the lineup is this year. Seriously.
But that brings me to one question, “How can I get my ass to Gainesville for The Fest?” As of today, there are 55 days until The Fest begins and I either need to scrape together the cash to fly to Gainesville or pack up the car and start driving. Decisions, decisions.
Chicago to Gainesville is about a 16 hour drive and depending on gas mileage and prices, the fuel would cost in the neighborhood of $350 round trip. Flying would save a ton of time and a round trip fare would be almost the same price. Tickets for The Fest are going for the bargain price of $55 for the three days. That’s a lotta bang for your buck but with hotels costing $75-150 a night it all evens out, right?
In total, going to Gainesville for The Fest over Halloween weekend would cost at least $600 not including drinks or food. It’s a lotta punk rock but that’s a lotta green. If anyone else out there is planning on heading down, I’d love to hear what your travel and lodging suggestions/arrangements are.
Win tickets for Backyard Tire Fire @ Metro this Friday
Posted on 3 September 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Giveaways, Live
--
Do you want to win a pair of tickets to see roots-rockers Backyard Tire Fire @ Metro in Chicago this Friday, September 5th? Just leave a comment with your name and email address. Oh yeah, I also shaved off my beard.
The winner will be chosen randomly tomorrow (Thursday) at midnight.
Beard today or gone tomorrow
Posted on 2 September 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Yeah, I’m in the midst of full-on beard growth here. It hasn’t really been that long (3 weeks at most) but it’s looking pretty solid already. I know that the wife isn’t a huge beard fan but hey, when you feel like a beard you just gotta let it grow, right? Right on. So hopefully all y’all had a great and relaxing Labor Day weekend cuz it means that the summer (for all intents and purposes) is basically over. The days here in Chicago are getting noticeably shorter and the foliage is starting to change. And with that Hailey has been frequently asking, “Is the fall coming down? From the sky?” All I can answer is, “Yes, from the sky.”
We headed out to Naperville’s Last Fling over the weekend for some shitty overpriced festival food and got exactly that. We did manage to miss Styx and The Doobie Brothers but with the added bonus of heat, humidity, and crowds of suburbanites, perhaps the festival’s name should be changed to the “Lame Fling.”
Anyhow, my daughter spent the whole time wanting to play any/all of the fountains scattered throughout downtown Naperville and it was all we could do to keep only her feet in the water. We kept her out with the promise of lemonade and ice cream (but note the promise only and not the actual items themselves). Have I also mentioned that one of Hailey’s favorite jams lately has been Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds?” It is. She doesn’t (however) seem to like Iron Maiden, William Elliott Whitmore, Banner Pilot, Motorhead, and Inquisition very much, but that’s what I’ve been listening to lately. Oh well, someday.
The dog days of summer
Posted on 25 August 2008 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Oh that dog. They say that a dog is a man’s best friend and I think it may just be true. Perhaps that is why I cry like a little baby every time I see My Dog Skip or Old Yeller and why I’m crying now. That dumb dog. That dog is the dog you see with my daughter Hailey 4 posts before this. That dog was Kleo and now she’s gone. My parents got Kleo as a tiny little German shepherd puppy in 1996 during the summer before us kids went to college. I remember her giant ears and giant paws that were five sizes too big for her body. I remember when she crapped in the hall of a Cornell University dorm the week we took my sister to school. I remember when she terrorized the pizza guy and ripped up Aaron’s shirt at the front door. I remember so much about that stupid, rowdy, and rambunctious dog. Mostly I remember how sweet she was, especially as she got long on dog years. She was as gentle as could be but ultra-protective of her pack; her family. She was one of the family. Kleo was a wonderful dog but just this week couldn’t really move or get up to go outside anymore. She will be missed tremendously. For all my fond memories of that dog, the hardest part will be explaining to Hailey where her buddy Kleo is when she just isn’t there.
Almost Wordless Friday
Posted on 22 August 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Well, not really. So we’re heading down to Indianapolis this weekend to visit family. Hailey will be super stoked because she’ll have 5 girl cousins ranging in age from 16 to 6 months to hang out with. That is a whole lotta cousins and probably more than I can handle. I might just have to spend my time with my brothers-in-law watching baseball and/or drinking Budweiser.
I haven’t made a playlist for the three-and-a-half hour trip and I don’t think I will. Maybe some Inquisition, Matt Pryor, Lowlights, and Ra Ra Riot or perhaps just silly kids songs. Hell yeah either way. Which brings us to the question/statement, “Weston was so much better with Chuck in the band, weren’t they?” Amy and I were watching old Weston videos on You Tube last night and it totally brought the memories flooding back.
And in way more important news, have you seen the lineup for The Fest 7? I’m not sure how official this is, but if it is even remotely close, I’ll see you in Gainesville for Halloween!
Wordless Thursday
Posted on 21 August 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Sonic Drive-In has invaded Chicagoland
Posted on 19 August 2008 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Chicagoland’s first Sonic Drive-In officially opened for business today in Aurora and I was there. It is conveniently located a mere 5 minutes from my office and also along my route to and from work so when I saw the “NOW OPEN” signs and the long line of cars, I knew it was game time. Now before today, everything I knew about Sonic was due to their goofy TV commercials that have been airing here for years. Luckily two co-workers (let’s call them Jeremy and Clay) grew up in Sonic territory and had been anxiously awaiting this opening since we first heard about it a few months back so I tagged along. As I expected, it was a total clusterfuck of an operation going on there.
We left the office about 11:15 AM and on our way there I asked the guys, “What’s so great about Sonic anyways?” My question was answered with tales of killer cheeseburgers, breakfast toasters, and a million different drink combinations that Sonic (your ultimate drinkstop) boasts. I was told of chili cheese dogs, tots, Ocean Water, and cherry limeades. It was obvious these two guys were excited.
When we arrived at Sonic were greeted by employees directing traffic this way and that. They were looping cars every which way and didn’t seem to even slightly understand how to most efficiently move people through the line. I was hoping for a little more organization and planning for Sonic’s entrance into the 3rd largest market in the US (especially considering that according to one of the guys supposedly directing traffic, Sonic snagged a bunch of their employees at this location from Portillo’s. Even so, for all my complaining we did get back to the office by 12:30 PM and I had my first taste of a sonic cherry limeade.
Ida - Live @ Schubas
Posted on 17 August 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Amy and I went to go see Ida (one of our favorites) at Schubas on Saturday night and they were simply amazing. Chicago’s own Track A Tiger opened the show and were pretty enjoyable but one-dimensional. I chalk it up to me being old, cranky, and tired last night so I think I may owe Track A Tiger a second chance.
Ida took to the stage a little after 11:30 as a trio of Elizabeth Mitchell, Dan Littleton, and Jean Cook and proceeded to coax amazing songs from their instruments for almost the next two hours. There were times it was so quiet that you could literally hear a the cars on Belmont outside between hushed vocal phrases. But Ida has this incredible knack for making quiet incredibly intense so we both left Schubas after the show incredibly happy. The video below features “Don’t Wreck It” from Ida’s new EP My Fair, My Dark that just came out on Polyvinyl Records.
Ida – Don’t Wreck It
Then this afternoon we headed back to Schubas with Hailey in tow to see Elizabeth Mitchell (with both Dan & Jean so I guess it was basically Ida) perform songs from her three children’s albums. It was (again) a ton of fun despite a crabby and teary-eyed Hailey. We saw them at Ravinia last year so we sorta knew what to expect but when Hailey saw Elizabeth & Dan’s daughter Storey up on stage playing a little harmonica solo, she remarked, “I have a harmonica at home. It’s my turn to go up.” Hailey wanted to go up on stage a perform. Totally cute and totally awesome.
Headaches and heroics
Posted on 15 August 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
So yesterday I left work early due to a killer migraine. at first I thought, “Just another headache,” and I popped a few pills. Then the migraine just laughed at me and twisted the vice a little tighter. I couldn’t even think straight and ultimately yacked (yep, I just said yacked) because my headache was so bad. Exactly what you wanted to hear, right? So I then buried my head under a pillow until it was well past dark outside and (thus) no bloggy blog for me.
Tomorrow night Amy and I are headed out to see the one and only Ida and then on Sunday we are taking Hailey back to Schubas to see Elizabeth Mitchell (of Ida) play songs for the kids and (perhaps) take in a little of the Chicago Air & Water Show. The amazing thing about Elizabeth Mitchell is that the kids show is sold out while there are still tickets available for the Ida show. Priorities folks. Priorities. That being said, I expect to see you on Saturday night.
But for now, here we are on a Friday night and I’m just sitting on the living room couch with a mug of green tea and Fugazi’s Repeater playing as I revel in the glory of the amazing Michael Phelps and the miraculous heroics of one Daryle Ward. Speaking of the Cubs, Hailey will now sing the “Go Cubs Go” song when prompted and it is fucking adorable!
One night of freedom
Posted on 9 August 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Yesterday evening right after I got home from work we took our little Hailey over to her Grandpa & Nana’s house, waved goodbye, and then shut the front door. We got in the car and both immediately exclaimed, “Freedom!” Well, it wasn’t exactly like that but Hailey spent the night away from home because Amy and I were going to head into the city to see a show, but opted (instead) for drinking a few Fat Tires at home and watching Transformers. I know, we’re lame.
Anyhow, no calls from Grandpa or Nana yet saying, “Come get your devil child,” or anything like that so I can only assume things are going well. Amy is still sleeping and I’m just about to make a pot of Coffee and put on the new Catfish Haven record for the first time. Again, not very exciting but coffee is coffee and coffee is good.
Tattoos, Skulls, & Little Girls
Posted on 4 August 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
When I first opened the door to Hailey’s room yesterday morning I was greeted by a smiling kid who blurted out, “I have a tattoo…and it matches your tattoos!” She was so excited about the temporary tattoo she got at Kidzapalooza on Saturday. I’m sure she was dreaming about tats. Sometimes I do too. She then proceeded to tell me that the hat hanging on her wall had skulls on it and that they matched the skull on my Wilco shirt even though it is only abstractly a skull. Again she was correct. She loves making these connections between objects and how they “match.” I love it too.
What I did at the Vans Warped Tour (Part 2)
Posted on 2 August 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live, Punk
--
Dear punk kids at the Chicago Warped Tour, I’m totally fucking disappointed with you. The best band at this year’s stop on the Warped Tour had one of the smallest crowds I saw all day and few people were even singing along. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Let me give you the facts: Broadway Calls fucking rocks and are the main reason that I decided to come to the Warped Tour this year. You should have seen ‘em. And when Broadway Calls covered “Boxcar” y’all didn’t even know what song it was. I’m embarrassed for you.
But in your defense (however) the Warped Tour really isn’t punk at all. It is more about fashion, pseudo-pop-core-bullshit, and merchandising than it is about punk rock anymore. I’m actually surprised (but glad) that Broadway Calls has made it this far on the tour. After their comments about it I guess I just assumed that they would have been Lawrence Armed already.
And not only is Broadway Calls an amazing band, they are also super nice guys. So all you kids that were at the Warped Tour here in Chicago (and across the country… I know about you too) you can make things right by picking up a copy of the Broadway Calls record and coming out in full force the next time this band comes to your town. Only kids though. If you are old and jaded like me and can’t find a sitter for your kid, I understand. Just play the record at home.
Kids, I also noticed that the crowd for Against Me! wasn’t all that huge either. What’s wrong with all of you?
Sincerely,
Eric
What I did at the Vans Warped Tour (Part 1)
Posted on 2 August 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Oddly (and coincidentally) enough about 10 minutes before I left the house this morning, my wife exclaimed, “I might be taking Hailey to Lollapalooza today.” WTF? Well, her friend Ashlee had extra passes for today so Amy and Hailey met Ashlee and her son for a little Kidzapalooza action (and to see the Terrible Twos) and some of the “grown up” bands. And this luck is exactly why I should quit blogging and leave it all to the wifey.
So I ended up going to the Vans Warped Tour today (I’ll have the pictures up soon) and quite a lovely day it was. Blue skies and a nice breeze make everything better. Too bad the lineup at the tour wasn’t better. Beat Union (very good and from England) played at noon so I caught a little of their set and then saw bits and pieces of The Color Fred (ex-Taking Back Sunday) and The A.K.A.‘s on my way to see Every Time I Die who were (by the way) pretty damn good. Gnarly too. Next up on my list of bands to see was All That Remains but I had some time (and disk space) to kill and Anberlin was playing on a stage nearby so… I watched ‘em for a spell and took a few pictures but had to leave because they really just weren’t very good.
Walking back to the Highway 1 stage for ATR, I stumbled into Shanti’s sparsely attended set on the Kevin Says stage. She played guitar and sang while Greg (of Bouncing Souls) backed her on drums. She was cute and very good but I’m a little bummed I didn’t get to talk to them at all. So after a few songs I made my way to see All That Remains who proclaimed themselves to be “the most metal band to ever play Warped Tour.” They were metal and they were awesome.
Instead of seeing Four Year Strong next like I had initially planned, I bummed around in the sun and watched the hilarity that was the Mayday Parade live experience. What’s with their curly haired guitar player? He was wearing a red handkerchief around his neck and an orange one around his calf. He was also wearing a black suit coat with no shirt underneath and some nut-crushing-too-tight pants. You’ll have to see these pictures when they are posted. But I then saw Shanti & Greg do a little acoustic thing (also good) before the main event (or at least the only band I really really really wanted to see at VWT. That (however) needs it’s own post.
Lolla-pa-losing
Posted on 1 August 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
For the second year in a row I’m not at Lollapalooza. So fuckin’ what though, right? Yeah, Radiohead is prolly playing as I type this and that is a little bit of a bummer. I also wanted to see Wilco, The Weakerthans, and a few others, but overall, there’s a lot of shit to wade through. I’m also not doing any of the cool “hipster” blogger after parties or any of that shit. Oddly enough, even though I’ve met a few other music bloggers in the “real world” I just don’t feel connected to that whole scene at all. Those folks just don’t understand shitty punk rock basement shows; cheers to those who do. I need more tattoos.
So since I didn’t get press access to Lollapalooza this year (boo fuckin’ hoo for me), I’m headed to Vans Warped Tour tomorrow even though this is easily the worst lineup in the history of VWT. Seriously. Of the 60 or 70 bands that will be at the Chicago Warped Tour tomorrow, there are exact four (4) bands that I really want to see. Are you fucking kidding me? I want to see what the “new” Against Me! sounds like. I’m soooo excited to see Broadway Calls. I also want to see Every Time I Die, Four Year Strong and Beat Union. That’s about it. Sure, All That Remains, Set Your Goals, and Evergreen Terrace would be cool to see, but really I’m only really excited to see four bands.
Maybe it’s the red wine talking, but do I even want to venture out and fight the kids and the heat tomorrow? It makes me sound hella old and jaded, but I just don’t get all the over-produced melodic-post-whatever bands that are all over this year’s Warped Tour. I just don’t get it. I’m old and tired, but I’ll see you there tomorrow.
Day Nine Without Mommy (the last one)
Posted on 25 July 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
I just want to tell you that I’m sorta addicted to Twitter now even though it really has nothing to do with our last day without Amy at home. What is relevant (however) is that Hailey was a bit on the edgy/irritable side today; a sure sign that she is really missing her mommy. We played it cool by going for a jog, playing at the park, and reading a few books. Has anyone else seen this show? Cute, but that damn song is stuck in my head now. You know:
“The phone, the phone is ringing! There’s an animal in trouble… There’s an animal in twouble…”
So it’s 10PM on a Friday night and in about an hour I’m going to go upstairs to wake Hailey up so we can go pick mommy up from the airport. Both of us can’t wait for her to be home. In the meantime, I’m making coffee and listening to Law of the Land from Vancouver’s Carpenter. It is really good but Last.fm thinks I’m listening to The Carpenters. Seriously!
Day Eight Without Mommy (A Mix)
Posted on 24 July 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
Eight days already? Has it really been that long? It is a bit hard to believe that me and Hails have been “on our own” for this long. Let’s just say that if we said we wanted mommy to come home, that would be a huge understatement. Huge.
Earlier this week while I was giving Hailey a bath, I could tell that she didn’t want to go to bed. She just wanted to play and play and play some more. Hailey even went so far as to ask me, “Can we watch baseball?” I was actually a bit surprised by her question so I said, “What?” She clarified, “Watch the Cubs.” She is a smart little cookie that knows exactly what to say to get her way; and she ain’t even three.
We were watching the earlier innings of tonight’s Cubs game and I was attempting to explain the rules of baseball to her. No luck. Hailey just kept asking who everyone was with questions and statements like:
“Is dat D Lee with the bat?”
“Where’s Zambrano? I like Zambrano.”
“Is dat Theriot?”
As a father, I couldn’t be prouder of that little girl even if she is now doomed to a lifetime of agony as a Cubs fan.
Here are a few songs that have come into my mailbox recently including from Caithlin De Marrais (ex-Rainer Maria), from the upcoming Calexico album, from the new Neil Halstead (ex-Mojave 3) album, and from the highly anticipated upcoming Parts & Labor album due out this fall.
Additionally, I’ve included the new Bloc Party single “Mercury” and did you know that John Lydon (of The Sex Pistols & PIL) is accused of a racist attack on Bloc Party’s singer Kele Okereke? You can read the whole story here.
MP3 | Emiliana Torrini – Me And Armeni
MP3 | Parts & Labor – Nowheres Nigh
MP3 | Caithlin De Marrais – The Fire
MP3 | Calexico – Two Silver Trees
MP3 | Bloc Party – Mercury
MP3 | Neil Halstead – Paint A Face
Day Six Without Mommy
Posted on 22 July 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
For the first night in the past few, Hailey went to bed really easily tonight but ten minutes after putting Hailey to bed she started crying and calling out, “Daddy! Daddy!” It broke my heart to just let her cry but I know that she is just weirded out because Amy has been gone almost a week now and she just really misses her mommy. So do I. Anyhow, Hailey then starts saying, “I’m bleeding,” which always gets my attention because of her frequent nosebleeds.
When I got upstairs there was no bleeding. Just a fussy, crying child that said the wind outside her room and the big tree were bothering her. She wanted me to hold her. She wanted me to sing to her. She wanted anything but to sleep in her bed and only wanted to sleep in our bed instead of her own. An easy request but when she told me “NO!” a few times and wasn’t listening to me, I got stern and a bit loud with her. She started crying and screeching louder than I was being.
It was a fucking mess and now it is after 10PM. The long and the short of it is that Hailey is sleeping peacefully and contentedly in our bed as I’m downstairs typing this. I gave in. Parent: 0, Child: 1.
It ain’t as easy as it looks.
Day Five Without Mommy (the big three oh)
Posted on 21 July 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Yes. Today is my birthday and I’m 30. I’m not taking the day off nor am I doing anything particularly special. It’s just another day. I’ll even post some reviews this evening. Hailey and I will go for a jog (she’ll just ride though) when I pick her up after work. I’ll put her to bed and then probably watch the late Cubs game. I have no worldly observations about growing up and getting older to share with any of you. I don’t even have any real remarks about this one. Just another day.
So Amy got into Albuquerque late last night and shortly after I watched (again) the Sigur Ros live performance/documentary film Heima. It is incredible. Anyhow, she got in NM shortly before Hailey woke up with a bloody nose. She was dripping everywhere and crying but I finally got her calmed down and (again) into our bed. It is always something with this one.
Urgh… Amy is going to celebrate my birthday by going to see Rocky Votolato, and Dameon Lee (of Lowlights) tonight. Should be fun. Really, it is actually strange that I spent my 21st birthday in Albuquerque and Amy is spending my 30th there. Very strange indeed.
What the other blogs are saying
Posted on 20 July 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
During a week that I much preferred drinking to posting, here’s what some of the other kids in the blogosphere have been saying.
The ladies from Speed Of Dark interview J. Tillman who just happens to be the newest member of Fleet Foxes.
Muzzle Of Bees has a great recap of the Pitchfork festival so far. Makes me wish I could be there.
I Am Fuel, You Are Friends posted a great video of Feist performing on Sesame Street. My daughter is gonna love this.
Late Night Wallflower has got a video of The Hold Steady rockin’ “Sequestered In Memphis” (from one of my favorites of ’08 so far) on Letterman.
Day Four Without Mommy (A Mix)
Posted on 20 July 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
Last night after Hailey was tucked into bed I sat down with a few beers and watched Murderball. We don’t have anything specific planned for today, but I’m sure we’ll find something productive to do. As for the songs below, welcome to a few songs to help Amy cope with sitting in an airport for a few hours today.
MP3 | Fujiya & Miyagi – Collarbone
MP3 | The Clash – Should I Stay Or Should I Go
MP3 | Dag Nasty – Million Days
MP3 | Sigur Ros – Gobbledigook
MP3 | Beck – Peaches & Cream
MP3 | Black Kids – I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
MP3 | The Beach Boys – Do It Again
MP3 | Sufjan Stevens – Chicago
MP3 | Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl
MP3 | Bishop Allen – Rain
Day Three Without Mommy
Posted on 19 July 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
My mom picked up Hailey (my daughter) on Wednesday night and I dropped Amy (my wife) off at the airport on Thursday morning so that she could hop on a plane and have herself a time at the BlogHer ’08 conference in San Fransisco. That gave me two days/nights without either of my two girls around and lemme tell you the house was quiet. Until I started blasting Feed The Animals of course.
Anyhow, work was crazy so both nights I just basically came home, made something to eat and then watched baseball until I fell asleep. Pretty glamorous huh? More like pretty boring. So I picked the little one up from my moms house this morning and she is contentedly napping right now. The wife is in San Fransisco and I’m at home. Even on P4K festival weekend, I’m at home. Blogging. I guess I’ll just have to listen to Stay Positive and get my drink on this afternoon.
Oh yeah, I’m on my own with the toddler for another whole week. Wish me luck!
Back from the Northwoods
Posted on 9 July 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Yeah, we’re back from a holiday trip to Wisconsin’s famed Northwoods where there was plenty of fishin’, swimmin’, and wakeboardin’ goin’ on. There was also plenty of beer and other mixed drinks flowin’ too including some of my soon-to-be brother-in-law’s homebrew White Flag Wheat Ale. Good times.
There was also no shortage of music playin’ up in the Northwoods either. Since we were up at my uncle Craig’s place, it was generally his iPod that was spittin’ out tunes from the likes of The Shins, New Order, Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac, and Gorillaz. The few times I managed to get my iPod into the rotation, it was quickly displaced due to the inclusion of Rick Springfield and REO Speedwagon on my summer playlist. Oh well. Just wait until I have a cabin in the woods…
A recap of the Smoking Popes show last night
Posted on 8 June 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Okay. So why in the world was the Smoking Popes show last night not sold out? It was their record release show for Stay Down and the first time I had a chance to see them with new drummer Neil Hennessy. You might be familiar with Neil as the drummer for The Lawrence Arms, The Falcon, and (formerly) Colossal and his playing is 100% perfect for the Smoking Popes. They sounded sooooooo good last night. Sundowner (Chris from The Lawrence Arms) opened, but the crowd wasn’t into it and none of the subtleties from his record made it to the stage. I enjoyed Sundowner’s set, but they would be so much better at (say) Schubas.
As for the new Smoking Popes album, Stay Down, well, it sounds like the Smoking Popes, so if you like them, you’ll like the record. A full review and a song or two will be coming soon.
Ben Weasel @ Reggie's
Posted on 27 May 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
How was your weekend? Yeah, I know it’s Tuesday, but yesterday was a holiday ya know. So Amy and I headed down to Reggie’s on Sunday night for the once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to see the one and only Mr. Ben Weasel take to the stage and let me tell you he did not disappoint.
Both Amy and I are huge Screeching Weasel fans, but Amy (who looks much younger than her years) has been (according to her) waiting over 15 years to see Mr. Weasel perform. In fact, when our relationship first became serious she told me that the only guy she would ever leave me for was Ben Weasel. Nuff said.
Anyhow, what do I need to say about the show? The Guts, The Leftovers, and Shot Baker opened but when Ben and his band took to the stage it was pandemonium. They played stuff from Ben’s newest solo album These Ones Are Bitter as well as classic tunes like “Dingbat,” “Science Of Myth,” “I Wanna Strangle You,” and so many more. He played a bunch of Riverdales songs too before ending with “Cool Kids” from Bark Like A Dog. It was amazing. (I didn’t bring a camera so I’ll get a few of Amy’s pictures up shortly).
And (as expected) the usual suspects were all there: Tim, Chris, Brian, Curley, and soon-to-be Mrs. Curley. But noticeably absent was Swanny. “Swanny where were you? I know you read this here blog on a regular basis so leave a comment and let us all know where you were on Sunday night? What could have possibly been more important than Ben Weasel?”
Ghost In My House vs. Phone Dance
Posted on 10 May 2008 | 6 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Having a kid can be the most trying and exhausting thing in the world, but then there are those little moments that just blow your mind and make you realize just how wonderful it really is. Let me explain:
My two-and-a-half year old daughter was being just about as crabby and disagreeable as she possibly could have been today. She had two timeouts, no TV, and plenty of little conversations that went like this:
Hailey: Please…
Mom & Dad: No. Maybe if you stop whining.
Hailey: NOOO!
Mom & Dad: Exactly.
Hailey: PLEEEAASSE!!
Mom & Dad: No.
Hailey: Why?
Mom & Dad: Because we said so.
Hailey: NOOO! Why?
…and on and on and on. But then we went to pick up a gallon of milk from the grocery store before bedtime.
I put the iPod on shuffle instead of the usual kids fare we listen to when Hailey is in the car (one can only take so much “Boom De-Ray”) and Lucero came on first. Something off That Much Further West I think and then Band Of Horses “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands.”
Nothing out of the ordinary until we hear Hailey (from the back seat) say, “I want the ghost in my house song.” Amy asked her again since we weren’t sure and she repeated, “I want ghost in my house.” I could not believe what I was hearing. WTF?
For those who might not know, the song Hailey was asking for was “Is There A Ghost?” also by Band Of Horses. (This is in addition to requesting “phone dance” last weekend, which is “Young Folks” from Peter, Bjorn, and John since I’ve got the intro set as my ringtone.) She is two-and-a-half.
I’m not sure if kids Hailey’s age are supposed to be able to make these sort of connections, but she did. Holy shit she’s growing up fast.
MP3 | Ghost In My House Song
MP3 | Phone Dance
Just say no to Chicago's proposed Promoter Ordinance
Posted on 10 May 2008 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
PLEASE STOP TO READ THIS
Next Wednesday, the Chicago City Council with vote to approve an ordinance that will (if passed) severely and irreparably damage Chicago’s culturally diverse and unparalleled music scene. Image a Chicago without music at Double Door, Schuba’s, Metro or any other small venue. It’s a scary (but very real) possibility with the the proposal already approved by the City Council Committee and on the fast track to be pushed into law.
“So what is detailed in the proposed ordinance,” you ask. Well, in short, the “Event Promoters” ordinance requires any event promoter (DIY or otherwise) to have a license from the city of Chicago and liability insurance of $300,000, but that’s just the beginning:
For the more details and the complete ordinance, check out Chicago music critic Jim DeRogatis’ blog here.
I can only assume that this proposed ordinance stems from the E2 nightclub disaster some five years ago and is the City’s overdone attempt at policing small clubs and venues. Problem is that it would ruin the diverse and thriving musical and cultural landscape here in Chicago. Independent promoters are the lifeblood for getting bands into smaller venues like Uncommon Ground, Beat Kitchen, and The Empty Bottle and (without a doubt) many small promoters that book those venues would no longer be able to afford to book shows anymore. And then what? Would the music disappear?
It is a bunch of bullshit. As someone who has been going to “DIY” shows in Chicago for going on 15 years, all I can say to the Chicago City Council is, “Don’t do it!” I’ve played on stages at places like The Fireside Bowl and Metro and have attended thousands of shows at dozens of venues here in Chicago and don’t see the point of all this. I just don’t.
Bleeding Cubbie Blue
Posted on 1 May 2008 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
So last night I was at Wrigley Field to witness my beloved Cubs blast the Brewers by a final score of 19-5. Great game and sure, the Cubbies hit a few home runs, but this ain’t your grandpa’s Cubs team.
These “new look” Cubs of 2008 play baseball the way that I’ve been hoping they would for years. They take pitches, they take walks, and they aren’t constantly swinging for the fences. All that leads to a hella high team OBP and a lotta runs scored. But then came this afternoon’s game and the return of Alphonso “The Selfish One” Soriano.
Why is Soriano batting in the lead off spot? Especially when you’ve got Reed Johnson, Ryan Theriot, or even Ronny Cedeno who could do that job better than Soriano. Lou doesn’t have a good answer for that one.
I know I’m rambling here, but I’ve got baseball on the brain. Kerry Wood blew it this afternoon and it drives me crazy. Carlos Marmol needs to be the closer. Ok. Here are some Cubs tunes.
MP3 | Steve Goodman – Go Cubs Go
MP3 | The Mountain Goats – Cubs In Five
MP3 | The Brothers Defino – WGN Radio Cubs Theme
MP3 | John Fogerty – Centerfield
MP3 | Steve Goodman – A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Wish
MP3 | Cubs Singers – Hey Hey Holy Mackeral
MP3 | Harry Caray – Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Tonight! The Forms & Cloud Cult @ Schubas
Posted on 25 April 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Hey there fellow denizens of Chicago it is raining pretty fiercely here in the Western ‘burbs right now, but have no fear. You should go check out The Forms and Cloud Cult tonight at Schubas. The show starts at 10:30PM and I’ll be headed out after I play some moon sand with Hailey and jog on the treadmill for a little while. I’ll see you there.
Bloggy McBloggerson (or) A Florida Mix
Posted on 19 April 2008 | Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
So Amy is in Florida for some special Disney event where they’ve invited a bunch of mom bloggers from around the country to check out Disney World. Yeah, she’s pretty much the shit when it comes to mom bloggers. I (on the other hand) am here in Chicago with Hailey on a gray (but slightly warm) day. Bet you didn’t know we were a family of bloggers did you? Well, Amy didn’t have time to make a playlist for her flight to Orlando yesterday, so here is my crack at it.
MP3 | Jack Johnson – Better Together
MP3 | Modest Mouse – Florida
MP3 | Yael Naim – New Soul
MP3 | Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone With You (Pocketknife’s Considerate Eagle Scout Remix)
MP3 | Old 97’s – Big Brown Eyes
MP3 | The Firebird Band – Beautiful
MP3 | Say Hi – Before We Were Brittle
MP3 | Reggie And The Full Effect – What’s Wrong
MP3 | Peter Bjorn And John – Start To Melt
MP3 | Alkaline Trio – Fire Down Below
Go f&%k yourself Baidu!
Posted on 12 April 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Hi kids. You may notice that none of the MP3 download links are working right now. That’s because my excellent hosting provider (Dreamhost has shut down my …/music directory where all the files are hosted. I can’t say that I blame them.
From what I can tell, sometime in the last two days the super-giant Chinese search engine www.baidu.com and their sub-site mp3.baidu.com have been hotlinking to many of the files I have hosted which is straining the Dreamhost server they are located on. Which (as you can probably tell) is not really cool.
So here’s a big fuck you to Baidu and all its patrons! It seems that the Chinese really like my series of 1990’s posts, so I’m going to take down (at least for now) all the 1990’s related MP3’s. Fuck those fucking fuckers.
I’ll let you know when things are back up and good to go.
Three months and a little effort
Posted on 11 April 2008 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Howdy friends and strangers? How are you tonight? I just rattled off a little over 4 miles on the treadmill we keep in our basement and thought that I should share a few of the tunes that I routinely listen to when I’m jogging. I usually go for something fast and/or something powerfully inspirational to keep my pace fast and my spirits high.
I’ve certainly found those “go to” songs and albums over the past few months as I’ve increased both the intensity and duration of my workouts. Why have I been running so much? Well, because I was getting really fuckin’ fat and, as someone who ran the Chicago Marathon only 4 short years ago, I needed to get back into shape.
It seems to be working since I’ve lost just over 31 pounds since January 14th of this year and feel better than I have in some time. So here are two of the songs I like to listen to on my way back to a sub 20:00 5K. I’m nowhere near there yet, but ya gotta have goals, right? What do you like to listen to when you run?
MP3 | A Wilhelm Scream – 5 To 9 Career Suicide
MP3 | Rise Against – The First Drop Siren Song Of The Counter Culture
Hiatus
Posted on 7 April 2008 | 19 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
This is easily the most personal post I’ve written to date. I know this is a music site and most of you don’t give a fuck about who I am, but this will also most likely be the last post around here for the foreseeable future. I am taking a bit of a hiatus to focus on the things that really matter. Sure, posting MP3’s and reviewing albums is fun, but it doesn’t pay the bills.
So what does all this mean and why I am telling you? Well, it means that I probably won’t be posting here for awhile, and if I do it will be only intermittently. Yeah I’ve got a decent middle management job at a good company, but instead of spending my time blogging I need to focus on finding a better job that will help pay a few more of our bills. I’m telling you because I can and because I should. Remember that there are people and families behind each and every one of these blogs you visit. Most of you are probably doing okay, but at certain points in almost all of our lives, we will be struggling in some manner. We are all human.
As we struggle to make ends meet we are pretty typical (I think) of many American families who have over-extended themselves. Maybe we’re not typical of the blogging crowd but, let’s be honest here, this country’s economic problems are not going away anytime soon. I feel like a failure because even though we live fairly comfortably, we just can’t get ahead. This is not a sob story and I’m not asking for any sympathy. These are simply the facts of the story. And if you are near Chicago and might be interested in a copy of my resume, send me an email..
Me in Chicago, Her in New York City
Posted on 4 April 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
What did I do this evening while my wife was hobnobbing with some blogger friends of hers in New York City this evening? After I tucked Hailey into bed with her 13 million stuffed Care Bears, I cleaned up around the house and then jogged 5.5 miles. Really exciting, huh?
I’m finally sitting down to relax a little; just me, some good music, and a glass full of Two Brothers’ Cane & Ebel Rye Ale. Good shit. “And the music?,” you ask. Well, some Paul Duncan (whose latest album Above The Trees is amazing), The Weight, and Lucero with Save The Day’s Through Being Cool on the treadmill. On that note, does anyone know where I can buy a copy of The Weight’s newest album? It just came out but the band’s site has zero useful information. Oh well.
Cheers.
Ta-Ra-Ra Boom De-Ray
Posted on 1 April 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Yesterday was my daughter’s first (ok, just a half day) of day care and my wife and I are struggling a bit with it. She’s only two-and-a-half and we have been lucky enough (or stupid enough) that Amy has been able to stay home with her for the majority of that time but now that Amy is going back to work it is off to day care for little Hailey. I plainly realize that Hailey has grown very attached to both of us and counts on us to always be there, but it is still very hard to watch her cry and beg for us to not leave her. Are we wrong to be so protective of our little girl? Are we doing more harm than good by trying to keep her within her comfort zone? Of course she cries when she is disciplined at home and doesn’t get what she wants, but that (IMHO) is different. She told my wife that she was scared when she dropped her off this morning, and that just doesn’t sit well with me. She’s just a little girl and we only want the best for her.
Here is her favorite song of the moment.
MP3 | Ta-Ra-Ra Boom De-Ray
Whatcha doin' there?
Posted on 29 March 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
It came from the nineties (Vol. 13)
Posted on 23 March 2008 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: 1990's, Blog, Mixes
--
Happy Easter everyone. What better way to celebrate than a few great songs from the nineties? Well, my 2 and a half year old daughter has spent the first hour of the day finding plastic Easter eggs and eating jelly beans. I’m now just waiting for the crash.
MP3 | The Notorious B.I.G. – Hypnotize
MP3 | Dig – Believe
MP3 | Tonic – If You Could Only See
MP3 | Natalie Imbruglia – Torn
MP3 | Eve 6 – Inside Out
What's all this up in here?
Posted on 18 March 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Many of you that are reading this might be inclined to say, “WTF happened to Can You See the Sunset?” Well, this is the new CMS-based design powered by Textpattern. Most of the images are fucked up and still need to be resized and many of the links pointing to the old design might be broken. The margins outside the content area are uneven (anyone?) but there is much more usable functionality in this new layout.
First, Can You See the Sunset is now fully searchable via the input box over on the far right sidebar with a drop-down menu full of categories below that. On the main navigation menu, “Blog” will show you all the posts about more than just music (i.e. my daughter), “Reviews” will show you just that, and the others are pretty self-explanatory.
So this is it. PLEASE let me know of any broken/dead links, functionality issues, and shit that just doesn’t make any sense. I think I’ve worked through most of the issues, but this is a work in progress.
Cheers.
It came from the nineties (Vol. 9)
Posted on 3 March 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: 1990's, Blog, Mixes
--
This is a fitting way to start another week off right. Back to work after a long but eventful weekend. Amy, Hailey, and I spent the weekend up in beautiful Minneapolis, Minnesota visiting friends we haven’t seen in quite awhile. We walked around Uptown, went record shopping, watched the kids play, drank some Surly beer, toured the city’s lakes, listened to the Once soundtrack, enjoyed a real happy hour, drank some good bourbon, and more. I’ll definitely have to move the Twin Cities to my short list.
MP3 | Bone Thugs ‘N Harmony – Tha Crossroads
MP3 | Stereo MC’s – Connected
MP3 | Lush – Hypocrite
MP3 | Alice In Chains – Would
MP3 | Gin Blossoms – Hey Jealousy
Hailey is a punk rocker
Posted on 27 February 2008 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
I’ve posted pictures of my daughter with headphones on before, so here’s a little update for y’all. Echoing the sentiments expressed in one of Grubbs’ recent posts, they certainly do grow up so fast. So fast that she can often be seen wearing a Clash t-shirt from Sandbox Threads and a frilly pink tutu. Cool beyond her years I think. Any guesses as to what’s playing on that iPod?
Changes changes
Posted on 17 February 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Hello y’all. You may have noticed a little “work” going on around here. If things look a little out of place, don’t worry. I’m smack in the middle of the long and tedious process of moving Can You See the Sunset from its current Blogger platform to Textpattern. With that will come improved searches and all sorts of other improvements. Just a little heads up for y’all.
And since you (the readers) will be impacted by this, let me ask a question. If you could improve something (anything) about Can You See the Sunset, what would it be? I’d love to hear from you.
Cheers.
-Eric
My daughter is sick but Kanye and Daft Punk are too
Posted on 12 February 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
This post should have been written yesterday evening but is, instead, a day late. We had just put our sick little Hailey (who is, as of this morning, on antibiotics) to bed and I was jogging along quite contentedly on the treadmill and watching the Grammys and pondering, “What the fuck is this circus shit,” during the Beatles thingy.
Then Kanye West and Daft Punk came on and I stopped jogging long enough to watch what had to be the performance of the night (although Foo Fighters weren’t bad and Tina Turner looks damn good for 68). Anyhow, when I was done jogging I went upstairs to find Amy rocking Hailey on the recliner because the little one woke up crying due to the fact that she is filled with mucus and other nasty stuff and can’t breath for shit when she’s laying down.
So instead of posting last night I ended up rocking Hailey as she slept in my arms for about three hours and then bringing her up into our bed while Amy slept on the couch (her choice). What a night.
MP3 | Kanye West ft. Daft Punk – Stronger (Live) @ The 50th Grammys
MP3 | Kanye West ft. Daft Punk – Stronger Graduation
Lucero/Hot Water Music - 2/1 @ Metro
Posted on 5 February 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Un-freaking-believable. That is what Lucero opening for the first of two Hot Water Music reunion tour shows in Chicago was. It was actually quite strange to see Lucero in an opening slot. Instead of their usual 2 hour + sets, they played an economical 45 minutes but were still awesome. The touring pedal steel player added a little extra twang and a little extra awesome as well.
It was (however) obvious from the get go that everyone was there to see Hot Water Music. And why not? This was one of four (two in Chicago) “reunion” shows that the band was playing to promote their new release Till The Wheels Fall Off. Anyhow, Hot Water Music knocked my socks off and played for 1:45 and ripped through all the songs that I wanted to hear; “Hard To Know,” “Don’t Say You Lost It,” “Better Sense,” “Alachua,” and more. After the show Andy, Amy, and I all commented that we felt way younger than our true ages. I can only hope that this is the beginning of a new chapter in the HWM story. The pix below are (for the most part) courtesy of my wife Amy.
Barack & Roll
Posted on 5 February 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Is your state one of the Super Tuesday states? Did you vote? For my wife and I the answers are “yes” and “yes.”
Josh English/Ben Nichols/Chuck Ragan - 1/31 @ Schubas
Posted on 5 February 2008 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Yes I did head downtown last Thursday night during the blizzard to catch what was an unbelievable show featuring Joshua English, Ben Nichols (of Lucero), and Chuck Ragan (of Hot Water Music) at Schubas Tavern.
Because of the snow it took me 1-1/2 hours drive the 12 miles from work to home and another hour + to get downtown so I (unfortunately) missed Joshua English’s set, but everyone who saw it said he was great. His latest record Trouble None is fantastic so I’m sure that live it would have been awesome.
MP3 | Joshua English – No Ready Answer, No Ready Reply
MP3 | Ben Nichols (Lucero – The War
MP3 | Chuck Ragan – See Yourself To The Door
I (however) only walked in the door as Ben Nichols was starting his set. As anticipated, it consisted of mainly Lucero songs, but Ben and the crowd were having a great time and loving every minute of it. It was nice to hear the songs in a more intimate setting with only Ben’s whiskey-soaked voice acoustic guitar, and a pedal steel accompaniment. It was simply fantastic.
Then came Chuck Ragan. He played songs from his assorted 7 inch records and from hsi full-length Feast Or Famine. It was amazing. Chuck was accompanied by fiddler Jon Gaunt from Whiskey and Co. (who Ben embarrassingly called Whiskeytown) on a number of songs in addition to his own gruff voice and snappy harmonica playing. Chuck also managed to play a few Hot Water Music songs (“God Deciding” and “Old Rules”) as well as “Bleeder” out of the Alkaline Trio’s catalog.
Despite missing Joshua English and spending over four hours in the car that evening, it was a great show that I’m glad I didn’t bail out on.
Fire Bruce Weber Now!
Posted on 3 January 2008 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Hey Illini basketball fans. Are you are fed up with Bruce Weber as I am? I just watched the Illini lose to what looked like a very beatable Ohio State team. Fire Bruce Weber now.
Since he led the Illini to the Final Four and the NCAA title game, the program that he inherited from Bill Self has been steadily declining. Aside from almost running the table in 2005 with Self’s recruits, there has not been much positive news from Champaign on the basketball front.
First, Bruce Weber simply can’t recruit anyone. The list of top recruits that Weber has filed to land is long; Derrick Rose to Memphis, Julian Wright, Sherron Collins, Brandon Rush to Kansas, Eric Gordon to Indiana, and even Jon Scheyer to Duke. The same Jon Scheyer that played high school basketball for Weber’s brother. How bad of a recruiter do you have to be? Fire Bruce Weber now.
Even Matt Painter (another Gene Keady disciple) managed to land 4 top 100 recruits in his first year at Purdue. The Illini could have had Painter or even Thad Matta from nearby Hoopeston, IL. I would be thrilled with either of those guys right now which is why Weber needs to pack up and move on.
Despite the terribly embarrassing loss to USC in the Rose Bowl, the Illinois football program is headed in the right direction. Why? Because Ron Zook can recruit talented players. He might not be the tactician that Weber is, but you can’t teach talent. Hopefully the success of the football program will put some pressure on the AD to make a change. Fire Bruce Weber now.
All this leads up to an 8-6 start for the Fighting Illini this season that includes losses at home to Miami of Ohio, Tennessee State, and (again tonight) to Ohio State. Weber’s Illini team is not talented enough to compete with the best teams in the NCAA and will be lucky to come close to .500 during the Big Ten schedule. I’m frustrated. Fire Bruce Weber now.
The Main Drag covers All My Friends
Posted on 30 December 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
My wife’s hometown (and the people in it) just got a little cooler. When I got married here five years ago, my brother asked for “the best beer” that the bar served and got a Labatt’s. Not a good start. There is now (however) a bar in this small central Pennsylvania town that serves brews from Victory, Dogfish Head, and even Bell’s. Heck, even the local brewery is making s Special Dark lager. Times are changing.
In music related new, one great new band that came to my attention in 2007 is Boston’s The Main Drag. In addition to an excellent debut album Your’s As Fast As Mine, they’ve recorded an amazing cover of LCD Soundsystem’s stellar single “All My Friends.” It may actually be better than the original.
MP3 | The Main Drag – All My Friends (LCD Soundsystem cover)
Listmania 2007 revisited
Posted on 17 December 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
W I ran into a few more Best Of 2007 lists this weekend including one from Heather at Fuel/Friends and my man Eric from Theme Park Experience. Chris Gorilla vs. Bear has a list that proves I ain’t one of the indie tastemakers while Justin from Aquarium Drunkard liked many of the same records I did this year. Yeah, 2007 was a pretty good year for new music.
Listmania 2007 is here
Posted on 11 December 2007 | 6 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Year End Lists
--
We are firmly entrenched in December and that means that every single music blog has posted or is prepping their Best of 2007 lists (me included). Our friend Ryan at Muzzle Of Bees posted an excellent best albums list last week while Amy at Shake Your Fist posted her 50 favorite songs of 2007 list. Gonz from Get Over Yourself posted a killer top ten albums list and so did Frank Chromewaves and Moka. Even Dodge from MOKB posted his top 50 albums.
I was going to post mine next week. Should I feel compelled to post it sooner? Nah… In the meantime (however) here is a list of a four records that I was either totally disappointed in or wanted to (but just didn’t) understand.
Smashing Pumpkins – Zeitgiest
Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
Grinderman – Grinderman
Matt Pond PA – Last Light
Ok? Okay.
Two for Tuesday
Posted on 4 December 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
I forgot my iPod at home this morning and was forced to listen to (gasp!) conventional radio since my choices in the car are radio, iPod, or a shitty old Motley Crue cassette. Anyhow, while listening to WONC, I heard both the following songs and thought they would make a good twofer. It is currently snowing in Chicagoland and I want so badly to be near some mountains right now and wake up for a day of snowboarding tomorrow. I guess I can wish, huh?
MP3 | K’s Choice – Not An Addict
MP3 | The Breeders – Cannonball
More MP3’s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Insound | eMusic
Random slices of goodness
Posted on 16 November 2007 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Wanna see my daughter Hailey sing a song from the latest album from The Weakerthans?
It also turns out that we here at Can You See the Sunset have been nominated for the Hey! Nielsen & Billboard.com Best Music Blog Contest. Vote for us if you feel so inclined. We’d really appreciate it!
Lucero & Bobby Bare Jr. show review
Posted on 16 November 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Last Friday night we headed out to the Metro in Chicago to catch one of our favorite live acts, Lucero. We the missed the openers Whiskey & Co. but arrived just in time to see Bobby Bare Jr. and his band of Young Criminals tear up the stage. Augmented by a drummer, Deanna Varagona on baritone sax and (perhaps) the world’s greatest keyboard player (does anyone know who this guy is?), he and his band impressed the hell outta me and the rest of the audience as well.
Lucero then proceeded to play a Jameson (note the bottle at Ben’s feet in the picture below) & Jagermeister fueled set that lasted well over two hours. They played just about every song everyone wanted to hear and it was amazing. And just like every one of the other half dozen or so times we’ve seen the band, they brought out the rowdy hooligans and a fistfight erupted right in front of us.
The band was joined onstage for their entire set by the mysterious bearded keyboard player from Bobby Bare Jr.‘s band. His awesome playing provided just enough extra oomph And while I can’t remember their exact set list, it was very comparable to the one from the show below that they played about a week and a half earlier in Richmond, VA. Go see ‘em on tour if you have the chance.
MP3 | 01. Intro
MP3 | 02. That Much Further West
MP3 | 03. I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight
MP3 | 04. Sixteen
MP3 | 05. 1979
MP3 | 06. Kiss The Bottle
MP3 | 07. Joining The Army
MP3 | 08. Last Night In Town
MP3 | 09. Slow Dancing
MP3 | 10. What Else Would You Have Me Be?
MP3 | 11. Hearts On Fire
MP3 | 12. Nights Like These
MP3 | 13. Bikeriders
MP3 | 14. Crystal Blue
MP3 | 15. Chain Link Fence
MP3 | 16. It Gets The Worst At Night
MP3 | 17. Tonight Ain’t Gonna Be Good
MP3 | 18. The War
MP3 | 19. All Sewn Up
MP3 | 20. Drink Till We’re Gone
MP3 | 21. Tears Don’t Matter Much
MP3 | 22. My Best Girl
MP3 | 23. I Don’t Wanna Be The One
MP3 | 24. Raising Hell
MP3 | 25. Old Sad Songs
Backyard Tire Fire at Double Door
Posted on 10 November 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
If you live in Chicago and don’t have any plans for tonight let me suggest that you head out to the Double Door and check out the awesome rootsy-rock of Backyard Tire Fire. The show starts at 9PM and features both Phonograph and Chicago Farmer opening.
We went to see Lucero at Metro last night and they were (as usual) great! They played for well over two hours. We saw all the usuals (Andy, Julia, Em, Tim, etc…) except Moe and the band even gave a shout out to the mighty Catfish Haven. Additionally, their tour mates with Bobby Bare Jr. were amazing. Do they have a record out?
Back in business
Posted on 6 November 2007 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Hi everybody! I just wanted to let y’all know that Can You See the Sunset From the Southside is officially back up and running. My old computer is dead and my new one is very much alive thanks in part to the following generous individuals:
Eric Grubbs
James Gonzalez
Andrea Martinez
Jason Dockter
Lee Henderson
Jonathan Crystal
Cruise Crenshaw
Solidarity Blog
You people are awesome. I’ll get back to posting music just as soon as I get my FTP program up and running. Thanks for hanging in there. In the meantime, check out the amazing video below of (perhaps) the world’s greatest Guitar Hero player.
A Halloween Birthday Mix for Amy (or) Thirty Songs for Thirty Years
Posted on 31 October 2007 | 9 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
Not only is today Halloween, it is also my beautiful wife Amy’s thirtieth (30th) birthday. That’s a milestone that means, “Damn we are gettin’ old!” At least I have a year to go. Anyhow, since I already had this post basically done prior to the death of my computer, all I have to do is hit the “publish” button and I’m done. Lucky me. Sometimes a little planning is a good thing.
Anyhow, here are thirty songs for thirty years. All specifically for my wife and all with some special meaning to her or just songs that she really likes. A fitting tribute (along with a visit to the salon) I think. Plus how cool is it that her birthday is on Halloween? It’s no wonder that candy corn is her favorite vegetable. Also, here is my daughter Hailey dressed up as a pink leopard (note the sweet shoes).
MP3 | Screeching Weasel – Totally
MP3 | Troubled Hubble – I’m Pretty Sure I Can See Molecules
MP3 | Cake – Sheep Go To Heaven
MP3 | The Queers – Punk Rock Girls
MP3 | Lily Allen – Smile
MP3 | Parasites – Refuge
MP3 | Hot Water Music – Rooftops
MP3 | Gratitude – Sadie
MP3 | The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up – A Toast To The Happy Couple
MP3 | No On 15 – Pass Me A Straub
MP3 | Minus The Bear – The Game Needed Me
MP3 | Weston – Mrs. Perfect Girl
MP3 | Lucero – Tears Don’t Matter Much
MP3 | Phil Vassar – Just Another Day In Paradise
MP3 | Death Cab For Cutie – The Sound Of Settling
MP3 | Bishop Allen – Click, Click, Click, Click
MP3 | Wilco – Handshake Drugs
MP3 | Paramore – That’s What You Get
MP3 | Jawbreaker – Want
MP3 | Interpol – Evil
MP3 | Rocky Votolato – Suicide Medicine
MP3 | Alkaline Trio – Clavicle
MP3 | The Promise Ring – Happiness Is All The Rage
MP3 | The Dead Milkmen – Punk Rock Girl
MP3 | Allister – Chasing Amy
MP3 | Gnarls Barkley – Crazy
MP3 | Smoking Popes – Pretty Pathetic
MP3 | Of Montreal – Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse
MP3 | Get Up Kids – (Oh Amy) Don’t Hate Me
MP3 | Gratitude – Sadie (Acoustic)
Help keep Can You See the Sunset alive!
Posted on 29 October 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Hello friends and loyal readers, it’s Eric here! We have a bit of a dilemma here at Can You See the Sunset From the Southside. My laptop (that was on its last leg already) officially died tonight. So I need a new computer, but with a new refrigerator first on our list of major appliances to buy, it may be a little while before posting gets back to anything resembling normal since without a computer this site may end up going the way of the dinosaur.
That news may really suck, but you can help! You can click the button below and donate via Pay Pal. Every little bit will help whether it is $1 or $100. And everyone that donates will get mucho kudos here on the site as well as somethingawesome that I haven’t yet determined.
So if you are feeling generous and would like a way to say “Thanks!” for what we do here at Can You See the Sunset From the Southside, feel free to click on the donate link below and give as little or as much as you want. Thank you.
I need a new laptop
Posted on 28 October 2007 | 9 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Here’s the deal folks. My laptop is on the fritz and is only intermittently working. Posting may be a little spotty until I can get it fixed or replaced. Speaking of replacements, any suggestions for reasonably priced (inexpensive) and reliable laptops (non-Mac) would be welcomed.
This recent computer failure comes as no surprise to me since we live in what I affectionately call “Appliance Hell.” In the last two weeks we’ve replaced a microwave/range hood, replaced the pump in our washing machine, and found out that our refrigerator needs to be replaced due to a busted compressor.
An Unexpected Bloody Mess
Posted on 26 October 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
So yesterday afternoon I was standing at a Citgo gas station filling up what Hailey affectionately refers to as “blue car” when something caught my ear. In between ads for taquitos or coffee or something, I heard this song:
MP3 | The Decemberists – O Valencia
That sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen in the suburbs (or anywhere) is it? It was a little weird, but excellent. In less excellent news, according to punknews.org The Blood Brothers have broken up. If you didn’t know it, their last album Young Machetes is totally balls.
Fuel For The Hate (Game On)
Posted on 22 October 2007 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Punk
--
I just happened to be jamming No Division when I surfed over to the newly new and killer www.getoveryourselfbklyn.com and read that Hot Water Music is supposedly reuniting (read more). Holy fucking shitballs! I actually giggled like a little girl when I read that. Seriously. Amy will call me out on that one if you ask her. Oh yeah, that’s also her sweet HWM tat above.
Goodbye Lance Hahn
Posted on 22 October 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Punk
--
According to Austin360.com, punk legend Lance Hahn died yesterday after a long battle with illness brought on by complications from kidney disease. The former Cringer and J Church frontman was only 40 and will be missed. If you’ve got a J Church or Cringer record, play it today and think about Lance.
Two whole years (A Birthday Mix)
Posted on 21 October 2007 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
Tomorrow (Oct. 22) my daughter Hailey will be two years old. I know that I haven’t really written much about her on this blog as of late, but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t the inspiration for just about everything I do. From being born a month prematurely and spending a week in the NICU, to her rotavirus-induced seizures, and even her recent nosebleeds and subsequent cauterization, there hasn’t been a dull moment in our house with Hailey around.
I knew I would lay down and die for her the moment I first laid eyes on her two years ago. It has (however) taken me almost this long to realize that she’ll be breaking my heart every single day for the rest of my life. It’s the way she calls out, “Daddy! Daddy!” It is her incredible smile and the way she giggles. It is watching her learn and grow from day to day. So here is a big Happy Birthday to my little girl.
MP3 | Johnossi – Glory Days To Come
MP3 | Matt Pond PA – Locate The Pieces
MP3 | The Go! Team – Grip Like A Vice
MP3 | Klaxons – As Above, So Below (Justice Remix)
MP3 | Black Kids – I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You
MP3 | Daft Punk – Harder Better Faster Stronger (Alive 2007)
Todd and Wank
Posted on 3 October 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Hey readers! Last night my wife Amy and I were both featured on the Dads On Fire podcast and commented on the topic “Is it possible to be a hip parent?” We thought it was cool that they asked us to be a part of the show. Amy talked a little about her site Mums The Wurd and they focused (mainly) on my other site Dapper Dads. The site (although still in its infancy) is geared towards cool stuff for hipster parents, so if you fit the bill then check it out and keep checking it out as things will be changing often. That’s Dapper Dads.
Anyhow, check out Dads On Fire and download the podcast. Evidently 7000 people nabbed last week’s and with us on this week’s, how could this one not be loads better?
Go Cubs Go!
Posted on 28 September 2007 | 6 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
It’s official. My beloved Chicago Cubs have clinched the 2007 National League Central crown! I can not believe it! Thank the lord they don’t have to play Florida again. Let’s go Cubs!
MP3 | GO CUBS GO!
I can sleep
Posted on 19 September 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
My beloved Cubs just won in very exciting fashion and I’m also listening to the phenomenal new Band Of Horses album. Because of both of these things, I’m having a pretty fucking great evening.
Not as easy as it seems
Posted on 17 September 2007 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Making a baby is fun and having a kid is easy. Caring for a child (especially our little one) is fucking hard. Really fucking hard sometimes.
The little one hasn’t been sleeping well (both naps and at night) for about the last two weeks. She’s been crazy during the day and is now fighting bedtime when she used to be so easy to put down. She’s almost 23 months old and I can’t tell if it is just a stage she is going through or if there might be something else. Argghhh.
She’ll whimper and cry at night and call out for us to hold her. It breaks my heart to not go check on her, but I feel that she might just need some “tough love” here and learn to be independent. Am I wrong to feel this way?
She was the most pleasant little girl for the longest time. She slept well, she was agreeable, and she ate well. Now she protests all three of those things. It is almost as if she is a completely different child than she was a month ago. What gives? I know it will get better, but I’m just venting here. Thanks for listening. It is much appreciated. For more tales of our toddler woes head over to my wife’s blog Mums The Wurd. She also does hella great product reviews and (for the parents out there) is giving away over $500 in free stuff right now.
P.S. The Chicago Cubs are going to give me a heart attack and have been aptly nicknamed the “Cardiac Cubs.” What a win tonight!
A Bears lament
Posted on 10 September 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Fellow Chicago Bears fans, if you watched yesterday’s game like I did, I’m sure you’ll agree that I will probably not need to repost the Super Bowl Shuffle this year. Sad but true.
Rex looked like Rex, and that isn’t really a good thing. Mike Brown is injured and out for the season (again). Cedric Benson looked like the chump I’ve thought he was since the day he was drafted by the Bears. Where did all the magic go?
So I’ve been taking a bit of a brrrrrreak! to recharge the old blogging batteries. Mo’ music tomorrow. I promise! I’ll get those packages mailed out to contest winners (finally) and have a new one up courtesy of our pals at Equal Vision Records. I just need another day to get my head back in the game. That’s all.
Elizabeth Mitchell and family
Posted on 27 August 2007 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Amy, Hailey, and I went up to Ravinia this weekend to catch a rare Chicago performance from our favorite children’s artist Elizabeth Mitchell. She performed songs from all three of her albums including many from her latest, You Are My Little Bird. For those that don’t know, she (along with her husband Dan) are both members of the superb indie-pop band Ida when they aren’t being parents and singing kids songs.
Elizabeth performed a few songs with a full band, but was mainly accompanied on stage by Dan and their daughter Storey who managed to pull off a few great harmonica riffs. Anyhow, the kids were dancing, laughing, clapping, and (of course) crying. We briefly talked to Elizabeth and Dan after the show and (much to our amazement) she sang a little lullaby of “Ladybug Picnic” directly to our visibly exhausted daughter Hailey. It was a wonderful little moment that made us love Elizabeth as a person as well as a performer. Support these wonderful musicians by buying their albums and seeing them live. They totally deserve.
MP3 | Elizabeth Mitchell – Freight Train You Are My Flower
MP3 | Elizabeth Mitchell – Ladybug Picnic You Are My Sunshine
A week of stormy weather
Posted on 27 August 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
The weather here in Chicago last week was about as rainy and nasty as it could be and I think this song sums it all up pretty nicely. Let’s hope for more favorable conditions this week.
MP3 | The Pixies – Stormy Weather Bossanova
Holy Cow!
Posted on 23 August 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Winners for both the Warped Tour Giveaway and the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus contest have been picked, but another contest will be posted shortly.
Also, some readers commented on the fact that I didn’t post Harry Caray doing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” for my Cubs songs post and thought it was blasphemy. Fear not fellow Cubs fans, the song is below. I’m pretty excited after two straight come-from-behind wins in San Fransisco. I can already smell the playoffs.
MP3 | Harry Caray – Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Killswitch Engage Warped Tour Pix
Posted on 16 August 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Hardcore & Metal, Live
--
Of all the bands at the 2007 Warped Tour, I was most excited to see Killswitch Engage. And although their set was only 30 minutes long, the reigning kings of metalcore did not disappoint. And (yes) Adam D is totally hilarious. In between songs while the rest of the band was trying to get him to shut up, he said things like, “All you metalheads, turn to the emo kid next to you and punch him in the dick,” and “Emo kids, what are you crying about?” I almost peed my pants.
Big Warped Tour Giveaway Update
Posted on 11 August 2007 | 7 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
This giveaway is going to run through Wednesday, August 15 and the prizes are as follows:
Mayday Parade Tales Told By Dead Friends CD (autographed by the band)
A Static Lullabye S/T CD (autographed by the band)
Hot Rod Circuit The Underground Is A Dying Breed CD
Chiodos All’s Well That Ends Well CD
Circa Survive On Letting Go CD
Mayday Parade A Lesson In Romantics CD
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Don’t You Fake It Deluxe CD/DVD
Bad Religion New Maps Of Hell CD
Revolution Mother Glory Bound CD
The Vincent Black Shadow Fear’s In The Water CD
A Static Lullabye black t-shirt
Mayday Parade poster (autographed by the band)
The Vincent Black Shadow poster & stickers
Fearless Records stickers
Get Warped! 2007 Warped Tour guide
+ a bunch of assorted goodies
How does all that sound? It looks like this:
You can enter the contest by leaving a comment (click on the number next to the post title) with who your favorite Warped Tour band is and why along with your email address.
Bad Religion Warped Tour pix
Posted on 6 August 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
How cool is it that the guys in Bad Religion are still rocking well into their forties? If you’ve heard their latest album New Maps Of Hell and if you saw them at Warped Tour, you’d know that they show no signs of slowing down.
Alkaline Trio Warped Tour pix
Posted on 5 August 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Personally, I don’t think these Warped Tour picture posts are ever gonna end. These are of Chicago’s own (and new Epic Records artist) Alkaline Trio. They have certainly come a long way since the days when they crashed at our apartment in Indianapolis back in ’98.
MP3 | Alkaline Trio – Off My Mind (Smoking Popes Cover) ALK3/Popes Split 7”
Bayside Warped Tour pix
Posted on 5 August 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Here are some more pictures from last weekend’s Warped Tour in Chicago. These are of New York pop-punk/hardcore group Bayside as they play songs from their latest album The Walking Wounded.
MP3 | Bayside – Duality The Walking Wounded
Bear Down
Posted on 3 August 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Indie Rock
--
This is a strange feeling for me. Lollapalooza starts today ans summer is still in full swing, so how can I be so giddy and excited about the Bears with all that going on and when my beloved Chicago Cubs are in first place in the NL Central? The Cubs have been playing great since the beginning of June, but the start of Bears training camp and the reports coming out of Bourbonnais have got me really excited. John Clayton from ESPN said that the defense looks great, but that it is the Bears offense that is turning heads. Clayton added that Devin Hester and Greg Olson are catching everything that is thrown to them and said, “Hester looks like Steve Smith but faster.” Doesn’t that get you excited?
Additionally, former Bears quarterback and current NFL analyst Jim Miller also likes what he has seen from the Chicago Bears offense. He went on record saying that he thought Rex Grossman was much improved and that he would throw at least 30 touchdown passes this year. Miller also stated that Grossman appears much more poised and that he is stepping up into the pocket after going through his progressions rather than winging the ball off his back foot.
Really, if the Bears collapse this season, I predict that it will be because of Cedric Benson. Can he stay healthy? Will he be an improvement over Thomas Jones? Speaking of TJ, I also predict that he will have a monster season with the Jets this year. He was pissed at losing his job to Benson here in Chicago and is out to prove that he is a top-tier running back.
It is all so exciting that it almost made me forget that two tracks from the upcoming Maritime album due out on the amazing Flameshovel Records have been leaked. They are both below for your listening (dis)pleasure.
MP3 | Maritime – Guns Of Navarone Hersey And The Hotel Choir
MP3 | Maritime – For Science Fiction Hersey And The Hotel Choir
BONUS:
MP3 | Cold War Kids – Hang Me Out To Dry (Ingo Star Cruiser Remix)
Paramore Warped Tour pix
Posted on 2 August 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
You are probably tired of all these pictures from the Warped Tour. That’s just too bad since there are a bunch more to come. These are of the fun and energetic Hayley Williams from Paramore.
Hot Rod Circuit Warped Tour pix
Posted on 31 July 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Seriously, there are way more pictures from the Warped Tour that I need to post here. These are of Hot Rod Music’s amazing set on the Hurley stage.
FFAF & Pepper Warped Tour pix
Posted on 31 July 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Here are some pictures of Funeral For A Friend and Pepper.
Funeral For A Friend
Funeral For A Friend
Funeral For A Friend
Pepper
Pepper
Pepper
A few Warped Tour pictures
Posted on 30 July 2007 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Live
--
Here are a few pictures from the Chicago date of the 2007 Vans Warped Tour. In addition to these, I also took pictures of The Starting Line, Tiger Army, Biffy Clyro, Just Left, The Vincent Black Shadow, Funeral For A Friend, Hot Rod Circuit, Alkaline Trio, Paramore, New Found Glory, Coheed & Cambria, Pepper, Bayside, Bad Religion, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, MxPx, and Killswitch Engage. All these coming soon…
Amber Pacific
Amber Pacific
Kaddisfly
Bleed The Dream
Revolution Mother
Revolution Mother
Thieves & Villains
Sleepy Sunday Afternoon Mix
Posted on 29 July 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
This mix is appropriate for the afternoon after a night out or just a lazy sunny afternoon. After being at the BlogHer conference all weekend, Amy met me at the Vans Warped Tour yesterday afternoon. We saw old friends and made new ones. It was pretty awesome… but exhausting.
I’ve spent most of the morning trying to go through all of the pictures I took yesterday, and I’ll get them up all this week. I’ve included a few here for your viewing pleasure. One of Amy and our old friend Matt Skiba and another of her with our friends in New Found Glory. It was nice to see ‘em and catch up a little. Did you know that Steve from NFG has a one year old daughter that is cute as a button? I can’t even imagine how hard it is for him to leave her at home while on tour.
Anyhow, I’m going to back to sorting through the hundreds of pictures I took. There has to be at least one or two good ones, right?
MP3 | Alkaline Trio – Every Thug Needs A Lady
MP3 | Bayside – Megan (Smoking Popes Cover)
MP3 | The Promise Ring – happiness Is All The Rage
MP3 | New Found Glory – Coming Home
MP3 | Band Of Horses – Weed Party
MP3 | Matt Skiba – Demons Away
MP3 | Lucero – Nights Like These
MP3 | Amber Pacific – You’re Only Young Once
MP3 | Hot Water Music – Clampdown (The Clash Cover)
Big Warped Tour Giveaway
Posted on 27 July 2007 | 26 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Punk
--
Tomorrow is the annual Chicago stop on the Vans Warped Tour, and you know I’ll be there. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to catch up with old friends like New Found Glory and see sets from bands like Killswitch Engage, Bad Religion, and many more.
So with a little help from our friends at Equal Vision, Hopeless, Immortal, TVT, IMM, East/West, Fearless, and more we present you with a Big Warped Tour Giveaway!
Enter now to win CD’s and more from Amber Pacific, All Time Low, Hot Rod Circuit, Chiodos, Revolution Mother, Kaddisfly, Circa Survive, A Static Lullaby, New Years Day, The Vincent Black Shadow, Mayday Parade, and many more.
To enter just leave a comment (click on the number next to the post title) with who your favorite Warped Tour band is and why along with your email address. Winners will be randomly selected next week.
NOTE: More prizes are being added to this contest all the time including signed posters, CD’s, shirts, and more. Check back often for details.
MP3 | Amber Pacific – Video Killed The Radio Star
MP3 | Circa Survive – The Difference Between Medicine…
MP3 | Kaddisfly – Campfire
MP3 | Chiodos – One Day Women Will All Become Monsters
Steroids in baseball (a rant of sorts)
Posted on 25 July 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
I am a huge baseball fan and also a huge Chicago Cubs fan. I am a baseball purist and love digging through the numbers and the history to figure out things like who the best second baseman in National League history is. I’m a big believer in sabermetrics, I don’t like the designated hitter, and I think that on base percentage is oftentimes overlooked in favor of batting average. What I don’t get is why people are so upset and surprised by steroid use in baseball. Let me explain.
The fact of the matter is that even though individual player statistics can be compared from era to era, there are distinct periods in baseball history that will never be repeated again. When the pitching mound was lowered in 1969 that marked the end of an era. When the season was lengthened from 154 to 162 games in 1962, that was the end of an era. The introduction of relief pitching also began a new era in baseball. The period from about 1993-2003 is (to me at least) just another era; the steroid era. No, I’m not happy about artificial enhancement of athletic among the athletes that play this sport. I’m not going to bitch and complain about it though. Nothing is going to change the fact that there have been just as many 50 home seasons (18) since 1993 than there were in the entire 120+ year history of baseball that preceded the steroid era.
Everyone it seems was juicing up and injecting something. This brings me to Barry Bonds. I’ve never met the man so who am I to talk, but it seems to me that no one really liked him even before he started cranking out unheard of amounts of home runs. People just didn’t like him. Perhaps that is why everyone seems to be rooting against his inevitable destruction of Henry Aaron’s hallowed record. Steroids and bad attitude included, I honestly don’t think that there is any way that Barry Bonds isn’t already considered one of the greatest players to ever put on a baseball uniform. Yes, he used steroids which inflated his offensive output. Yes, I think it he is a huge black eye on the history of baseball and I feel terrible for all the “natural” players that have played before him and since, most especially Henry Aaron.
None of that (however) stops the fact that cheating to get an edge has been part of baseball for over one hundred years. The Chicago “Black” Sox threw the World Series in 1919. Pete Rose (the all-time hits leader) bet on baseball. Pitchers have been spitting on, scuffing, oiling, and doing whatever they can to baseballs forever in order to get an edge over opposing batters. Teams steal signals from the opposing catchers from the outfield. You’ve also got pine tar, corked bats, and (now) steroids.
I don’t like Barry Bonds any more than you do, and I certainly think that the use of steroids has cheapened what were once historic achievements. Like everything else it will pass and fade with time though. Baseball will recover and it will ultimately simply be looked at as just another period in the history of the greatest sport in the world.
Go Cubbies!
MP3 | The Hold Steady – Take Me Out To The Ballgame
Simpsonize yourself
Posted on 23 July 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Have you seen this yet? I’ve wasted way too much time on these sites today. In conjunction with the upcoming Simpson’s Movie, there is the BK site simpsonizeme.com which turns your uploaded photo into a Simpson’s character, or you can visit simpsonsmovie.com to create an avatar of your Simpson’s likeness. Both yielded differing results, but I prefer the latter.
P4K
Posted on 13 July 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
If you are wondering who to check out at Pitchfork this weekend, have a look at what I (and a bunch of other Chicago bloggers) wrote for Time Out Chicago. Happy Friday the 13th. Woo ha!
Can You See the Sunset Turns 2
Posted on 10 July 2007 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
It’s hard for me to believe that this past Sunday marked the 2nd birthday of this blog. Yeppers, Can You See the Sunset From the Southside is two. In that period of time I changed the design of this blog (even if only slightly) upwards of 7 times, I’ve shared thousands of songs and spotlighted hundreds of artists, and (hopefully) you’ve discovered something new and wonderful.
Personally, the past two years haven’t been dull. I finally finished school, my wife and I were blessed with a beautiful (if totally spastic) little girl, and in addition to the happenings of life, that’s been enough for me.
Thanks for reading, listening, and leaving comments (just click the number next to the post title) for the past two years. I’ll leave you with the first song I ever posted. Cheers!
MP3 | Lifetime – Ostrichsized Hello Bastards
Uncle's Primordial Soup (vol. 5)
Posted on 6 July 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
Here it is. The final installment of Uncle’s Primordial Soup. There are certainly more great songs from this time period, but these are the ones that I’m most fond of.
Don’t forget to come out to Cal’s Bar tonight (if you’re in Chicago) for the Chicago Blogapalooza presented by yours truly and two other excellent Chicago-based blogs called Songs:Illinois and Big Rock Candy Mountain.
The show starts at 10PM and the lineup includes Frontier Ruckus, Satellite 66, The Gunshy. Should be a blast.
MP3 | Delta 5 – Mind Your Own Business
MP3 | Echo & The Bunnymen – Rescue
MP3 | Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime
MP3 | Teen Idles – Sneakers
MP3 | Descendents – Suburban Home
MP3 | The Replacements – I Will Dare
MP3 | The Jesus And Mary Chain – Just Like Honey
MP3 | The Pogues – A Pair Of Brown Eyes
MP3 | Happy Mondays – 24 Hour Party People
MP3 | Sonic Youth – Teen Age Riot
Chicago Blogapalooza
Posted on 29 June 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Three bands + Cheap beer + Bloggers
Posted on 29 June 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
What are you doing one week from today (that’s Friday, July 6th for all those keeping score)? If you are in Chicago and don’t have any plans you should head over to Cal’s Bar and check out the show. It is 100% blogger sponsored by yours truly and my homies over at Songs:Illinois and Big Rock Candy Mountain.
Three bands + cheap beer + bloggers = good times.
The lineup includes Ann Arbor, Michigan’s Frontier Ruckus, Chicago’s own indie pop darlings Satellite 66 and newly transplanted Chicagoan and Latest Flame artist The Gunshy. Bands start at 10PM, and beers will be poured before that. See you there.
MP3 | The Gunshy – Souls Souls
MP3 | The Gunshy – $4 Pabst Souls
MP3 | Satellite 66 – Going Home Grasshopper
MP3 | Satellite 66 – J.P. Morgan Grasshopper
MP3 | Frontier Ruckus – Dark Autumn Hour Demos
MP3 | Frontier Ruckus – Adirondack Amish Holler Demos
Pitchfork on Saturday Night Live
Posted on 23 June 2007 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Zach Braff is on SNL tonight and unless my ears don’t work, they just name dropped Pitchfork in the last skit. I now believe that the world is probably ending.
A new template just in time for summer
Posted on 23 June 2007 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Hey everybody out there. I just wanted to drop a note that this site will be a little bit of a work-in-progress for the next few days. I’ve just changed the layout of the page and attempted to streamline the coding. Right now I’m just working through some of the HTML and CSS bugs that inevitably come with a change like this.
The tabs for Archives and Stuff point to dead links and the About tab brings you to the old layout. I think this new page is looking good so far. I’d love to hear your comments.
Note to self
Posted on 20 June 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog, Just Plain Rock
--
Hi there. How have you been? I’ve been good but quite busy. Between being out of town for almost a week and (now) finishing up the final touches on a new site design, I’ve been posting a little less these days, but fear not.
I’ll get back on track. I promise. Here are a few tracks to keep y’all satiated in the meantime. All good stuff.
MP3 | Smashing Pumpkins – Tarantula Zeitgeist
MP3 | The White Stripes – Icky Thump Icky Thump
Someday somebody's gonna ask you
Posted on 9 June 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Americana, Blog
--
Last fall my brother got married and the first song that he and his new bride danced to was the Rhett Miller tune “Question.” It was the perfect song for the perfect moment. They played the version that appeared on his excellent 2006 album The Believer. The new version has keys and synths in all the right places and is a little more polished than the Old 97’s version (which is just Rhett and an acoustic guitar) that was on their 2001 album Satellite Rides.
“Question” is (without question) a perfect little love song. All this is only fitting since we are back in Pennsylvania for Amy’s brother’s wedding. These songs are for Kenny and Sarah on their big day today.
MP3 | Rhett Miller – Question The Believer
MP3 | Old 97’s – Question Satellite Rides
Do you feel like we feel
Posted on 8 June 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Just Plain Rock
--
Ain’t nothing like sittn’ on the back porch swing, getting my classic rock on, and sippin’ on an ice cold Straub.
MP3 | Peter Frampton – Do You Feel Like We Do? Frampton Comes Alive
MP3 | Peter Frampton – Show Me The Way Frampton Comes Alive
The songs of the cicada
Posted on 5 June 2007 | 9 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
What is that thing? That (my friends) is a cicada and right now in the Chicago area they are everywhere. There are places (such as where the pictures here were taken) that you can find up to 1.5 million of these insects per acre. (1.5 million!) Luckily for us here in northern Illinois, these cicadas are of the genus of 17 year periodical cicadas of eastern North America called magicicadas. They are often called the “seventeen-year locust”, but they are not locusts.
The group of cicadas that is invading right now can be further classified as brood XIII or the northern Illinois brood which emerge every 17 years to mate, lay eggs, and then (in a few weeks) die. No worries as the red-eyed insects don’t sting or bite. They just buzz. It can be (however) almost deafening at times and drown out lawnmowers, motorcycles, and make it almost impossible to even have a conversation outdoors. Ravinia (an outdoor concert venue) in Highland Park has even moved the date of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert into July to accommodate the noise of the cicadas (story here). Heck, people have even been eating cicadas.
Instead of recipes for cicada tempura, here are some of the cicada-related songs I’ve come across recently. There are many.
MP3 | Cicada – Electric Blue
MP3 | Bindu – Cicada
MP3 | Gum – Cicada Material
MP3 | Editors – Munich (Cicada Remix)
MP3 | Destination Moon – Cicada
MP3 | Justin Martin – Cicada
MP3 | Fursaxa – Song To The Cicada
MP3 | Gescom – Cicada
MP3 | Kiyoshi Mizutani – Cicada At Mt. Hinobikoramaru
MP3 | Nocturnal Emissions – Talpa Cicada
MP3 | Silverchair – Cicada
MP3 | Michio Kurihara – The Last Cicada
MP3 | Odessi – Over Again (Cicada Radio)
MP3 | Sleepytime Gorilla Museum – The 17 Year Cicada
MP3 | V/A Malaysia – The Cicada Herngo D
MP3 | Taeko Onuki – Cicada
MP3 | The Burning Season – Year Of The Cicada
MP3 | Timewriter – Cicada
MP3 | Autopilot Off – The Cicada’s Song
MP3 | Michio Kurihara – Canon In C (C Is For Cicada)
MP3 | Noodreem – Cicada Wave (Acacia Tree Dub)
MP3 | French TV – My Little Cicada
Terrible Twos cd giveaway
Posted on 4 June 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Folk
--
So this afternoon we took our little one Hailey (who is now 19 months old) to see her first rock concert. One of her (I mean our) favorites, The Terrible Twos (ex-Get Up Kids singer Matt Pryor and his New Amsterdams mates), played a kid-friendly matinee show at Schubas. It was pretty cool. One band for about an hour was just about all most of the kids there could handle (Hailey included). By the end of the Terrible’s set, she had removed her socks and shoes and was doing that high-pitched scream that little girls can do.
It was a really fun show though and I know she enjoyed it. We (by we I mean Amy) got the guys from The Terrible Twos to autograph a CD for us to give away. So here is the deal. Head over to Amy’s site Mums the Wurd to enter the contest. And tell ‘em CYSTSFTS sent you!
MP3 | The Terrible Twos – When I Get To Eleven If You See An Owl
MP3 | The Terrible Twos – Ladybug If You See An Owl
The classics never go out of style
Posted on 3 June 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
TGIF in a big big way this week. We got a new (old) car this week and all it has is the radio and a cassette deck. I’m waiting for the aux input we ordered to arrive (hopefully tomorrow) and since I haven’t bothered to dig out any old tapes I’ve been stuck with the radio all week long. It hasn’t been all that bad though. Here are three songs that I heard yesterday which restored my faith in the radio (well some of it at least). Thanks 89.1 WONC.
MP3 | Peter Frampton – Do You Feel Like We Do Frampton Comes Alive!
MP3 | Meat Puppets – Backwater Too High To Die
MP3 | Squeeze – Up The Junction Singles
Song context result repost
Posted on 30 May 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Awhile back I was asked to contribute to the fourth installment of the Song/Context/Result feature that runs over at the always excellent music blog Music Is Art. The gist of the whole thing was explained as, “Tell me about a moment, a song, and what it meant to you.” Here’s mine:
Song: Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants To Rule The World Songs From The Big Chair
Context: It’s the summer of 1985. I’m only 7 years old but I already know that my parents are well on their way to separating. I heard this song many times on my father’s boat that summer where my mother was noticeably absent. I can smell the combination of sunscreen, water, and sand. I can feel the warmth of the setting sun and see its red-orange glow. To this day I can’t remember a time when my parents were happy together.
Result: I’ve blocked out a lot of childhood memories. Maybe as a defense mechanism of some sort. I’m not really sure why, but I don’t want my own daughter to have to do the same.
Jordin Sparks versus Blake Lewis
Posted on 23 May 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
I really haven’t paid much attention to American Idol this year, but I think that Jordin Sparks is gonna win over Blake Lewis. Blake’s beatboxin’ tonight was killer, but I heard a rumor that Jordin got 45 million of the 75 million votes. We’ll see… I kinda wish it was Sanjaya instead.
MP3 | Jordin Sparks – I (Who Have Nothing)
O sweet child of mine
Posted on 14 May 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
This is a video of my daughter yesterday and it is pretty funny. She is just over one-and-a-half, but note the tone of her voice when she says “hey.” Then watch her expression after she says “punk.” Then watch her in destructive action as she knocks a toy car off the ottoman. She thinks its pretty “funny.” I can’t stop laughing.
Featured in the Chicago Tribune
Posted on 30 April 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Not sure how many of you saw the article in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune, but both Craig from the blog Songs: Illinois and I were interviewed for (and prominently featured in) the article. It was called “New paths for e-music buzz” and can be found here or by clicking on the picture above.
Seeing people you don't expect to
Posted on 15 April 2007 | 6 Comments
Filed Under: Americana, Blog, Live
--
Friday night we checked out Lucero and Catfish Haven at Otto’s in Dekalb. Nothing like $2 long islands to get you in the mood to rock, but (really) with those two bands on the bill it didn’t take much. Everyone was out to the Lucero show including our friends Andy & Julia and (much to my surprise) Ryan from Muzzle Of Bees and his girlfriend. Was a great great time.
Catfish Haven pounded out raw and sweaty soul-punk tunes from their latest album Tell Me and even snuck in a killer new song. Definitely check them out if you get the chance!
MP3 | Catfish Haven – Crazy For Leaving Tell Me
Then (as if Catfish Haven wasn’t enough) Lucero played about two hours worth songs about drinkin’ and girls. It was awesome. After the show some drunk fool even tried to pick a fight with Ben from Lucero. How typical.
MP3 | Lucero – I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight Rebels, Rogues, & Sworn Brothers
Thanks to Sarah for snapping the following picture of Amy and Emily with Ben. Ain’t they cute?
Dan Zanes contest at Mums the Wurd
Posted on 13 April 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Just Plain Rock
--
Hey! Dan Zanes is an awesome folk singer/songwriter that just happens to have about a billion CD’s for kids. You can win his CD Family Dance by going to Mums The Wurd. Its a website that dishes about all kinds of cool stuff for kids and their cool parents and just happens to be run by my wife Amy and her friend Laura. If you are one of those cool parents (or even if you aren’t) head over to Mums The Wurd and enter the contest.
MP3 | Dan Zanes – Yo Yo Sweet Yo Yo Family Dance
Lollapalooza 2007 lineup
Posted on 12 April 2007 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
This year’s Lollapalooza lineup has been announced. The festival is August 3-5 in Chicago’s Grant Park and I’ll see you there.The announced lineup includes:
Pearl Jam, Daft Punk, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Muse, Iggy & The Stooges, Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars, Modest Mouse, Interpol, My Morning Jacket, Satellite Party, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Snow Patrol, The Roots, Patti Smith, Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, Regina Spektor, Spoon, Lupe Fiasco, TV on the Radio, Pete Yorn, G. Love & Special Sauce, Paolo Nutini, Amy Winehouse, LCD Soundsystem, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Silverchair, Femi Kuti, Yo La Tengo, Slightly Stoopid, The Hold Steady, Jack’s Mannequin, Stephen Marley, Sound Tribe Sector 9, M.I.A., Blonde Redhead, Sparklehorse, Sean Lennon, !!!, Blue October, Son Volt, Motion City Soundtrack, Polyphonic Spree, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Peter Bjorn & John, Silversun Pickups, Cansei De Ser Sexy (CSS), The Rapture, The Wailers, Roky Erickson & The Explosives, Tapes ‘n Tapes, Heartless Bastards, The View, The Cribs, The Fratellis, Ghostland Observatory, Tokyo Police Club, Rhymefest, Soulive, Cold War Kids, Annuals, Fields, Electric Six, Jim Noir, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Sam Roberts Band, The Black Angels, Charlie Musselwhite, Aqueduct, Juliette and The Licks, Dios Malos, Viva Voce, David Vandervelde, Los Campesinos!, Chin Up Chin Up, Ryan Shaw, Colour Revolt, The Satin Peaches, Illinois, Arckid, Mickey Avalon, The 1900s, Bang Bang Bang, Bound Stems, High Class Elite, Carey Ott, Matt Roan.
Woah.
My baby ain't a baby no more
Posted on 3 April 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Here is a new picture of my little girl for those of you who are keeping tabs. My little kiddo is becoming just that. At 17 months old she’s now a kid. And now that the weather has turned nice all she wants to do is go outside. So I took her for a wagon ride around the neighborhood after work today. Right before I watched Ohio State lose to Florida and kill my chances in the office pool.
A little design assistance needed
Posted on 20 March 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Sometimes I think that I should change the name of this blog to, “Dammit Jim! I’m a blogger not a web designer.” Basically, I realized that this layout doesn’t align properly and looks all kinds of screwy in IE7 and in Firefox. I will be forever in debt to anyone that can help me fix the alignment issues and get the background to show up correctly. Thanks.
Fire Bruce Weber now
Posted on 16 March 2007 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
I just watched the Fighting Illini men’s basketball team blow a 13 point lead over the last four minutes of tonight’s NCAA Tournament game against Virgina Tech. Fire Bruce Weber now. We all knew he couldn’t recruit, but now I’m questioning whether or not he can coach at all.
The Illini had the game in hand. They f’ing choked. Yes, VT stepped up the defensive pressure mightily and their press stifled Chester Fraizer and company, but c’mon guys, this is the Big Dance. Play like it.
When Bruce Weber left Southern Illinois to come to the U of I, I thought it was a good move. Looking back, however, Southern seems to be doing just fine without him around (a #4 seed this year with a damn fine team). Former Illini coach Bill Self is also doing fine, mainly because he can recruit the best kids in the country to go to Kansas with barely more than a phone call. And to think that the A.D. at Illinois wouldn’t even interview current Ohio State Thad Matta when the position was vacant. Dumbass. Fire Bruce Weber now.
I thought that when the bracket was announced for this year’s NCAA Tournament that Illinois was better than a #12 seed, but I was proved wrong. Fellow Illini fans, we need to take notice of this. The #12 seed the team got this year is probably as good as it gets for the foreseeable future. The cupboard is bare and it’s only going to get worse. Mark my words: Illinois will not be part of 2008’s March Madness. Fire Bruce Weber now.
I was your sorry ever after
Posted on 13 March 2007 | 7 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Just Plain Rock
--
It was 75 degrees in Chicago today and with the early onset of daylight savings time, things seem just about perfect around here. It is that feeling that makes me think of The Connells. This Raleigh, NC band had its heyday in the early 90’s but (surprisingly) is still active despite many lineup changes. I recall getting their now long-out-of-print 1993 album Ring for Christmas from my older cousin Steve when I was fifteen years old. The music is essentially jangly southern power-pop with subtle Celtic influences, but is also much more than that. I can probably attribute my feelings about this music to nostalgia, but that doesn’t diminish just how good this stuff is. On Ring The Connells are in perfect form and (IMHO) created a record that should have been a huge hit but that remains amazingly under appreciated. Easily one of the best power-pop rock albums of the 90’s.
MP3 | The Connells – Slackjawed Ring
MP3 | The Connells – 74/75 Ring
MP3 | The Connells – Insane In The Brain (Cypress Hill Cover) When Pigs Fly
Jim gaffigan and hot pockets
Posted on 4 March 2007 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Last night the wife and I (and a bunch of friends) went to see the comedic genius of Jim “Hot Pocket” Gaffigan. He has forever changed how I view Hot Pockets and Cinnabons. You might know him from the new TV show My Boys, That 70’s Show, Super Troopers, or the various Sprite/Sierra Mist commercials he has been in. The show last night was at the beautiful Chicago Theater as part of his Comedy Central Beyond The Pale tour. And despite knowing most of the material already, he was still hilarious. Hee-f%*^&ng-larious.
Oh yeah, my wife also spotted the elusive Bob Nanna (Braid/Hey Mercedes/City On Film) at the show, so we can safely assume he too is a consumer of fine comedy products. Strangely enough, yesterday morning I had a dream and Bob Nanna was in it. Weird, huh? Yeah. Especially since I don’t typically remember anything I dream about.
The details of most of the dream are a bit fuzzy, but (from what I remember) I was fighting with Bob Nanna over a fully cooked rotisserie chicken. It was a race to see who could peel the skin off the delicious bird first. (I told you it was weird). My wife (coincidentally) also had a weird dream two nights ago. She dreamt that the Chicago punk rock band Apocalypse Hoboken played at my grandfather’s funeral. In the church. Too strange. If anyone wants to analyze these dreams and get back to me with interpretations, go right ahead.
MP3 | Jim Gaffigan – Caliente Pocket The Last Supper
MP3 | Jim Gaffigan – The Mexican Conspiracy The Last Supper
Saying goodbye
Posted on 14 February 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
This week has been an emotional roller coaster ride for me. I got a promotion at work earlier this week, I finish my classes (for good) tomorrow, and while many people are celebrating today, my family is mourning.
My grandfather passed away early this morning and although he was in the hospital, it was unexpected. I’m not really good with this sort of thing and I know that my words will never do justice to his life, but fuck it. He was an incredible man that, among other things, raised five children and spent as much time as possible with his grandchildren and (recently) with his only great-grandchild, my daughter Hailey.
Everyone that knew my grandfather loved him. He had a great smile and, just like my little Hailey does, he smiled with his eyes. He was sick early last year but recovered well. We spent what (for us) seemed like a lot of time with him last year. There were birthday celebrations, our summer trip to the Northwoods, my brother’s wedding, and Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, and regrettably so, we missed seeing him over the Holidays. I am sorry about that.
It is a situation like this that makes a person appreciate life a little more. I have many fond memories of my grandfather. As a child I remember his garden in the backyard. I remember climbing the apple trees and the maple tree. I remember the Easter egg hunts both inside and outdoors when the weather permitted. I remember (from only a few years ago) driving up to DeKalb to see a few NIU football games with him. It was great. As a former teacher and administrator for the university and a huge fan of the Huskies, he really enjoyed it. I did too.
I miss my grandfather. We all do.
MP3 | Ben Folds – Fred Jones, Part 2 Rockin’ The Suburbs
Saturday morning cartoons
Posted on 10 February 2007 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
It’s a beautiful and sunny (but cold) Saturday morning here in Chicagoland and things are generally great. I’ve got hot coffee, fresh (homemade) blueberry Belgian waffles, and a mimosa. I’m done with school next week and things at work are looking way up. My 15 month old daughter has a vocabulary of over 40 words and a feisty little personality. She is (however) the sweetest child ever. EVER!
Here is a little Saturday morning playlist courtesy of my wife’s iPod (but tweaked by me a little). Enjoy your morning and I’ll do the same.
01. Kings Of Convenience – Cayman Islands Riot On An Empty Street
02. Jets To Brazil – You’re The One I Want Perfecting Loneliness
03. Screeching Weasel – Thrift Store Girl Anthem For A New Tomorrow
04. The Shins – Australia Wincing The Night Away
05. The Weakerthans – Plea From A Cat Named Virtue Reconstruction Site
06. Iron & Wine – Radio War Our Endless Numbered Days
07. Page France – Chariot Hello, Dear Wind
08. Cake – Walk On By Prolonging The Magic
09. Wilco – Nothingsevergonnastandinmyway Summerteeth
10. The Dismemberment Plan – Ellen & Ben Change
Just adding fuel to the fire
Posted on 4 February 2007 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
GO BEARS! Have a listen to three of the verses from the Super Bowl Rumble parody song courtesy of ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago. It seems like virtually everyone is picking against the Bears today. ESPN even did a poll that proves it. Oh yeah, all the ESPN analysts picked New Orleans to beat the Bears two weeks ago as well.
Just adding fuel to the fire.
REVISION: Evidently there was a good reason everyone picked the Colts to win the game. I guess I just had blinders on. Oh well, we’ve got next year.
MP3 | Super Bowl Rumble (Rex Grossman Verse)
MP3 | Super Bowl Rumble (Brian Urlacher Verse)
MP3 | Super Bowl Rumble (Devin Hester Verse)
Da bears and hurricane Ditka
Posted on 2 February 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
This morning a Gary, Indiana kindergarten teacher explained to her class that she was an Indianapolis Colts fan. She asked her students to raise their hands if they were Colts fans, too.
Not really knowing what a Colts fan was, but wanting to be liked by their teacher, their hands flew into the air. Little Hailey, however, didn’t go along with the crowd. The teacher asked her why she decided to be different.
“Because I’m not a Colts fan” she stated.
“Then,” asked the teacher, “what are you?”
“I’m a Chicago Bears fan,” bragged the little girl. The teacher asked Hailey why she was a Bears fan.
“Well, my Dad and Mom are Bears fans, so I’m a Bears fan, too” she responded.
“That’s no reason,” the teacher said. “What if your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot. What would you be then?”
Hailey smiled and said, “Then I’d be a Colts fan.”
The only thing anyone at work was talking about today was Da Bears. I’m so sick of hearing Peyton Manning this and that. Its time to play the game. By this time on Sunday, the team will be well on its way to kicking some Colts a$$. Bears. Since I’ve already posted The Super Bowl Shuffle, here are a few more Bears songs to get you pumped up for the big game.
Oh yeah, I’m also glad that Rex is our funky QB and not the guy pictured above.
MP3 | Common & Kanye West – Southside Superbowl
MP3 | Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Bear Down Chicago Bears
MP3 | Big Hit Buda – We Da Bears
MP3 | Mac, Jurko, & Harry – Briggs & Urlacher
Brian Urlacher vs. my daughter
Posted on 24 January 2007 | 8 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
We are the bears shufflin' crew
Posted on 21 January 2007 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
The Chicago Bears are going to the Super Bowl for the first time in 21 years, and the entire city is going nuts. GO BEARS! Can you believe it? Not only did they win, but the Bears ended up killing the Saints. They KILLED ‘EM 39-14. Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson had amazing games. The defense stepped up. Special teams was outstanding. To quote Quincy, “I can not believe it!”
Woo hoo!!!!! GO BEARS!!!! They’ll see y’all in Miami in two weeks. No one believed and they won despite Rex. Unbelievable.
MP3 | Chicago Bears – Super Bowl Shuffle (Vocal Mix)
MP3 | Chicago Bears – Super Bowl Shuffle (Extended Vocal Mix)
MP3 | Chicago Bears – Super Bowl Shuffle (Instrumental Mix)
The super bowl shuffle is back
Posted on 13 January 2007 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Let’s all hope (at least us Bears fans) that we get “good Rex” in tomorrow’s NFC playoff match up. I’m not overly confident that the Bears can win the game, but Seattle doesn’t exactly scare me either. If Da Bears don’t win tomorrow, it is because they beat themselves.
Anyhow, because I’ve gotten more than a few requests, I’m reposting the original Super Bowl Shuffle. Although it is a classic, the song is showing its age. What we need is an updated version for the 2006 season, or at least a remix of the 1985 version.
All that being said, it is my feeling that whoever from the NFC makes it to the Super Bowl will most likely get crushed by their AFC opponent. GO BEARS!
MP3 | Chicago Bears – Super Bowl Shuffle (Vocal Mix)
MP3 | Chicago Bears – Super Bowl Shuffle (Extended Vocal Mix)
MP3 | Chicago Bears – Super Bowl Shuffle (Instrumental Mix)
Technical assistance please
Posted on 10 January 2007 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
I’ve noticed that my site looks like crap in Firefox. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for fixing things around here so that it looks good in both IE and Firefox? Any help would be appreciated.
Never seen anything quite like it
Posted on 9 January 2007 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Is it just me or is the new iPhone one of the coolest things you’ve ever seen? I know that everyone is writing about the new iPhone, but from what I’ve seen it appears to be amazing.
I also wanted to tell everyone just how much I like the Lily Allen record. She’s like a female Mike Skinner and that’s alright with me.
MP3 | Lily Allen – Smile Alright, Still
Burning airlines for a good cause
Posted on 23 December 2006 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Hi there readers. How are you? It is Christmastime. A time for giving and sharing. A time for focusing on what really matters in our lives. Things like family and the people we love that make all this music stuff seem trivial.
As a father of a wondrous, beautiful, and exceptionally smart 14 month old little girl, I am truly blessed. The joy she brings to my wife and I is unmeasurable. I live every moment for her.
Sadly, though, there are others out there that life is not as fair to. One such child is Cal Robbins. Cal is the son of J. Robbins and Janet Morgan (both from the excellent band Channels). J. (who has also been in other great bands such as Jawbox and Burning Airlines) also produced records by some of my favorite bands like Braid and The Promise Ring. His son Cal (now 11 months old) was born with type 1 Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a debilitating genetic motor neuron disease. In fact, most kids with SMA don’t make it to age two. Please (in the spirit of the holidays) and in the spirit of helping people, consider making a donation. I know how much I love my daughter and can’t even imagine how J. and Janet are feeling right now. Please Make a donation if you are able. Thank you.
A gift for you my tannenbaum
Posted on 22 December 2006 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
The holiday weekend is finally upon us. Finally. Lots of traveling and spending time with family I’m sure. Anyhow, our good friends at AUX Records are giving away Merit’s latest release (a double EP) for free at purevolume.com/merit. You should check that out.
MP3 | Merit – Blue Bedroom
We here at Can You See The Sunset… are also in the giving spirit. We are giving away a copy of Cricket Spin’s latest album called Grains of Salt, Grains of Sand. All you have to do is leave a comment stating why you deserve to get the CD. Include your name and email address. The contest runs through Dec. 29.
MP3 | Cricket Spin – Last Night Lovers
And since I know everyone is going to buy music with the cash they get for Christmas, we’d love to give you 10% off any order you place at Insound from now until January 14. Just enter coupon code insoundrocks10. Easy, huh?
A very timberlake christmas on snl
Posted on 18 December 2006 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Now, I don’t watch a whole lot of Saturday Night Live anymore. That show (to me at least) hasn’t been particularly funny for what seems like years now. All that being said, I didn’t catch this past Saturday’s show. If you didn’t and are one of the people who still hasn’t seen it (and even if you have) watch below and laugh your ass off.
I know that its crass and inappropriate, but its so damn funny. The early 90’s outfits and bad dance moves a la Color Me Badd (remember them?) are hysterical. When did Justin Timberlake become a comedic genius? A co-worker of mine said that last week’s SNL was the funniest he has seen in a long long time. I’ve seen this at least a half dozen times already and can only stop laughing long enough to sing along. What’s next? A Justin Timberlake collaboration with Jack Black? Hmmm…
Da da dit (we're in trouble now)
Posted on 16 December 2006 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
So Amy and I were driving in the car last night when some guy cut us off. Without even thinking, I blurted out, “What a dick!” (I didn’t realize my mistake, but I would momentarily).
Silence. (It hits me about now)
Then from the car seat in the back my 14 mo. old daughter says “Da da dit,” in an imitating fashion. Da da dit.
WTF? Are you kidding me? My daughter is becoming a repeating machine.
We are in trouble now.
Mediocrity has redeeming value
Posted on 8 December 2006 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Well wouldn’t you know it, Can You See The Sunset… has been named one of Gapers Block’s favorite Chicago music blogs. Awwww (blushing). You can read all about it right here.
Times are a changing
Posted on 27 November 2006 | 6 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Things may be slow here for the next week or so. I’ve got finals this weekend and I’m in the middle of getting things with my new hosting provider (yay Dreamhost!) set up. Just in time for the holidays.
Cheers!
When the two hearted ale don't flow
Posted on 25 November 2006 | 6 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
I walked into the liquor store this afternoon to pick up a few 22oz. Fat Tire bottles and started looking around. I was extremely puzzled because I saw no Bell’s on the shelves where they usually were.
So I asked one of the beer guys, “This may be a dumb question, but where is all the Bell’s beer?” His response was that Bell’s ceased distribution of their products to Illinois as of October 12, 2006. WTF? Where has all the rude beer gone? I (sadly) settled for some Goose Island instead.
When we got home, I jumped on the interweb for some confirmation and here it is. Read all about why Bell’s is no longer selling beer in Illinois and make plans for a road trip to Kalamazoo.
All beer related issues aside, here are two children’s songs for you and your kids to listen to. Oh yeah, one is a version of “Puff the Magic Dragon” by Broken Social Scene.
MP3 | Broken Social Scene – Puff The Magic Dragon Songs For Kids
MP3 | Imagination Movers – I Want My Mommy ST
My little needle full of rubella
Posted on 17 November 2006 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Punk
--
I’ll be a Metro on NYE, how ‘bout you?
MP3 | Alkaline Trio – 97
MP3 | Smoking Popes – Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground (Willie Nelson Cover)
I don't feel like dancin today
Posted on 14 November 2006 | 6 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
People can (and will) sometimes surprise you. Last week a guy that I work with (let’s call him Mike) was talking to a co-worker when I overheard him mentioning how good Jose Gonzalez’s Veneer was. “WTF?,” I thought to myself. So (of course) I immediately jumped into the conversation, and as we got to talking a little he brought up Silversun Pickups, Plastic Constellations, Imogen Heap, Matt Skiba, Cold War Kids (who he went to college with), and more. Mike also said that he regularly reads MP3 blogs like My Old Kentucky Blog. Again, I thought, “WTF?”
Evidently there are closet indie music fans out there and, like I said before, people will surprise you. All that being said, my wife and I can’t seem to get the song below out of our heads. Damn Scissor Sisters!
MP3 | Scissor Sisters – I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ Ta-Dah
Lucero and friends
Posted on 5 November 2006 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Americana, Blog, Live
--
What an exhausting/awesome weekend. On Friday night, my wife and I met up with my sister and her boyfriend for some Thai/sushi and then to the Metro to see the Lucero show. Two of my favorites, William Elliot Whitmore and Rocky Votolato, opened the show and (as usual) Lucero was amazing They played for nearly two hours, which was long enough for the crowd (and the band) to get a few drinks in ‘em. Quantity and quality ain’t such a bad deal. Here’s a few sounds and pictures.
MP3 | William Elliot Whitmore – The Chariot Song Of The Blackbird
Rocky Votolato
MP3 | Rocky Votolato – Portland Is Leaving Makers
Lucero
Ben from Lucero
Ben w/Rocky
MP3 | Lucero – I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight Rebels, Rogues, & Sworn Brothers
Ben (again)
Oh yeah, the following morning (after minimal sleep and severely hung-over) I went down to the University of Illinois with my Dad and my brothers to see some Big Ten football. Surprisingly, the Illini actually looked somewhat respectable against the #1 ranked OSU Buckeyes and only lost by 7. I’m tired just writing this.
Looking for an answer
Posted on 3 November 2006 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
All virtually all you other bloggers have already stated, I too have been dealing with the headaches of the “new” EZArchive for the last week or so and am actively seeking suggestions of new hosting services. Any suggestions?
Happy first birthday Hailey
Posted on 22 October 2006 | 5 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Our little ladybug is one year old today.
MP3 | Elizabeth Mitchell – Ladybug Picnic You Are My Flower
Workin' for the weekend
Posted on 20 October 2006 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
My brother is getting married tomorrow and my daughter celebrates her first birthday on Sunday. Can you believe it? Seems like only yesterday that we welcomed her into our lives. Needless to say, it will be a busy weekend, so I’ll be back here late Sunday with some more musical goodness for y’all. Most likely, another in my “Unofficial History of Chicago Punk Rock” series, but we’ll see.
In the meantime (however), the punks in Lifetime have posted a new song here. Have a listen.
Don’t forget about the Ben Folds contest one post below.
Trucks and trains and waste
Posted on 30 September 2006 | 10 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Pop
--
I’m not sure exactly what the d-bags in Good Charlotte are trying to accomplish with their new song “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl.” If they are trying to explore new musical territory they’ve succeeded. In the process (however) they have somehow managed to make music that is worse than anything else in their already terrible catalog. Instead of crappy mall-punk they are exploring industrial pseudo rap-rock. Wow. I’m not even kidding when I say that this is probably the worst song I have heard all year. I’d like to hear your opinions.
MP3 | Good Charlotte – Keep Your Hands Off My Girl Previously Unreleased
If (instead) of that Good Charlotte crap, you wanna hear some good radio-ready pop-punk, I present the music of Minneapolis’ Quietdrive for your (dis)pleasure. I’d describe them as having catchy-as-fuck songs that (despite having little substance) you’ll surely get caught nodding your head to and humming along to. A guilty pleasure for all seasons that is the musical equivalent of eating gummy worms. Eat a few and it’s all good. Eat two pounds and you are gonna throw up.
MP3 | Quietdrive – Maybe Misery When All That’s Left Is You
Taking it to the streets
Posted on 28 September 2006 | 4 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
While road trips can be fun (to Austin, Massachusetts for example), spending 9+ hours in a car with a fidgety 11 month old can be a bit of a challenge. On our drive home from a long weekend in Pennsylvania on Monday we actually discovered that our daughter is a Gnarls Barkley fan. We left to come home early on Monday morning even before sunup and drove pretty much straight through until we stopped for gas and a much needed break on the Indiana Toll Road. We got Hailey out of the car and gave her a chance to stretch her legs a little (fidgety kid, remember?)
All was good and well until the strangest most unlikely most coincidental thing happened. I went inside and who did I see? My former band mate, Tim from Allister, that’s who. Seriously, I’m not kidding (fuzzy picture above as evidence). How totally random.
Now although I was a founding member of the band Allister (read more about it here) I don’t see those guys too often anymore because of my (and their) busy schedules. Evidently they were on their way back to Chicago from a short east coast tour and headed into the studio to record a new EP before they leave for Japan in a few weeks.
It was great to catch up with them a little and introduce them to my daughter. If you live in or around Chicago, come out to see them on October 8th at Chicago’s Beat Kitchen before they head off to Japan for 2-1/2 months.
MP3 | Allister – Moper Dead Ends And Girlfriends
MP3 | Allister – Somewhere On Fullerton Last Stop Suburbia
I can make a really big mess
Posted on 26 September 2006 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
Above is what happens when my daughter Hailey gets into some Spaghetti-Oh’s. Lucky for me her mom handled the cleanup. (Notice her sweet punk rocker bib).
Did you know that Jeff Tweedy has a live solo DVD coming out on October 24th? Click here to watch the trailer.
Review: Drag The River - It's Crazy (or) but we need more power
Posted on 24 September 2006 | No Comments
Filed Under: Album Reviews, Americana, Blog
--
So I am currently in Pennsylvania with the Mrs. and the Baby. My wife was a bridesmaid in her good friend’s wedding last night. Congrats Becki & Troy!! It was a blast and it was great to see everyone. The music of this next band is the perfect soundtrack for driving through the Allegheny Mountains and sippin’ on a Straub.
By viewing the resume of the musicians that make up the Colorado band Drag The River, you might expect a pop-punk supergroup of sorts. Around since the late 90’s with various lineups, their current one includes former members of Armchair Martian, ALL, The Nobodys, Pinhead Circus, and Hot Rod Circuit. Heck, their first record came out on a label run by the ALL/Descendents crew. (Un)fortunately or not, punk is something this band ain’t.
If Lucero played a little slower and with a little more twang, you might get something close to Drag The River. This is alt-country played by punks, but with an emphasis on the country. This is music that you can either line dance to, or (if you prefer) just sit at the bar and cry in your beer. Their latest album It’s Crazy came out this summer on Suburban Home Records. Drink up!
MP3 | Drag The River – Leavin’ In The Morning It’s Crazy
MP3 | Drag The River – Me And Joe Drove Out To California It’s Crazy
I repeat this is only a test
Posted on 21 September 2006 | 3 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Mixes
--
Did anyone see the Andy Warhol biography on PBS last night? It was part one of two and was fantastic.
I also just learned that the drummer of Rogue Wave’s only kidney just gave out and it is pretty serious. The band is playing a benefit show next Saturday in San Francisco and the lineup includes: Rogue Wave, Ben Gibbard, Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), John Vanderslice, & Ryan Miller (Guster). Help out if you can and read about it at www.roguewavemusic.com
In addition, I was just perusing the Hype Machine to see what is popular with the kids these days. Here is a little sampling.
MP3 | Justin Timberlake – Sexy Back Future Sex/Love Sounds
MP3 | TV On The Radio – Wolf Like Me Return To Cookie Mountain
MP3 | The Rapture – The Sound Pieces Of The People We Love
MP3 | Lily Allen – LDN Alright, Still
MP3 | The Killers – When You Were Young Sam’s Town
MP3 | Gnarls Barkley – Crazy (Vission Remix) Remixes
MP3 | Grizzly Bear – Knife Yellow House
MP3 | Ben Kweller – Sundress S/T
Enjoy!
Funnies in the Sunday paper
Posted on 17 September 2006 | 1 Comment
Filed Under: Blog
--
Who knew that you could make the word blog with your hands like a gang sign? What they don’t tell you is that you’ll sprain every finger trying to get it to look right.
Do you like to laugh? Head over to Gerard Vs. Bear to laugh your ass off. Gerard’s blog trashing rants should be required reading for all music bloggers.
Check out the Handy Music-Blogger ‘Best Of 2006’ List Cheat Sheet over at Catbirdseat. It’s funny how scarily accurate it will be for a lot of indie music bloggers.
And (finally) two songs about blogs for your listening (dis)pleasure.
MP3 | Sprites – I Started A Blog Nobody Read
MP3 | Bob Nanna – Blog Threadless Songs
Call it like you see it
Posted on 16 September 2006 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Emo
--
Okay. By now you all should know that the legendary post-hardcore/emo band Texas Is The Reason is reuniting for one show at NYC’s Irving Plaza on November 25th. Supposedly the show is an attempt provide a little closure (they abruptly broke up in early 1997 while on tour in Germany) for both the band and the fans.
“The one thing we all agreed on, even back then, was that our last show should have been in New York City. We’ve had reunion offers in other states, but we turned them down. This show has been in the back of our minds for a long time.” – guitarist, Norman Brannon
That much is fact. What I’m not so sure about is the rest of the story. It just seems to me that there might be more to this reunion than just one show. For example, their Myspace page has new press photos of the band from the past few months. They are an official member of the Riot Act Media promotions roster. And their official site indicates “full website coming soon.” These actions (to me at least) are not those of a band that has been apart almost 10 years and plans to remain that way. Am I crazy, or might I be onto something here?
Here comes the Nozzman
Posted on 14 September 2006 | No Comments
Filed Under: Blog, Interviews
--
Yes, this is a music blog, but I just felt the need to share the awesome artwork of Nozzman with all of you. He is a cartoonist/illustrator from The Netherlands and actually designed a new header for CYSTSFTS? that will grace the top of this here site within the next few weeks. Seriously, check this dude’s work out at http://www.nozzman.nl. I wanted to know more, so I asked him a few questions that he was gracious enough to answer.
So Nozzman, what is your real name?
Bram van Rijen
Where exactly are you from?
I’m from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The second largest city of our country.
How long have you been making cartoons/illustrations?
I’ve been drawing all my life, but back in 2001 I reinvented illustrating for myself. In 2002 I made my first cartoon for a local music-website.
Did you go to art school?
Yeah, I went to St. Joost in Breda for 1.5 years, but it was all too arty farty for me, so I left.
What inspires your work?
The world around me. There is is so much crazy stuff going on!
What do you do when you are not drawing, painting, and making art?
I love music. I used to be in a punkrock band. I played guitar and did some vocals. We we’re called Cumshot, so our chances of success were pretty limited. I’m into photography as well. Check out my flickr photos. I’m not good or anything, but I just like to shot the world. And I love to travel too with my girlfriend.
How important is music to you?
Couldn’t live without it. Music has always been very important to me. It started back in 1989 when a friend of mine made me listen to ‘Garage Days Revisited’ by Metallica. And that blew me away. I was a huge fan of them for years. And then I discovered ‘White Trash Two Heebs And A Bean’ by NOFX, which was the album that made me listen to punk rock. Nowadays I kinda listen to everything, as long is it’s got some balls.
What music are you currently listening to? What is in your CD player?
At the moment I’m into As I Lay Dying, awesome band, and Shadows Are Security is an amazing album. Reuben, a British band. And I’m listening to Bill Hicks a lot, he’s the best comedian your country has ever had. A lot of his topics our outdated of coarse, but man, he had the finger on the pulse of America.
I love all your crazy little characters. How do you come up with them?
I don’t have a standard way of drawing figures, so I just put a pencil down and see what it will look like this time. One of my handicaps is the nose, those always look pretty fucked up ;)
Your work is very colorful. Explain how color plays a role in your art.
I hate black-and white! I love to do vivid colors and make them contrast the topic I’m painting. Happy pink colors on a tragic scene, that rocks!
Don’t forget to visit Nozzman’s website for tons more of his artwork.
Champions will rise again
Posted on 10 September 2006 | 2 Comments
Filed Under: Blog
--
I realize that this is only the first Sunday of the NFL season. I also understand that the Packers aren’t all that good, but damn, the Bears look like they have a more complete team than they’ve had in quite some time. They look like (gasp!) Super Bowl contenders.
Everyone knows that their defense is tough and they proved it by shutting out the Packers. We knew that Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson could run (they combined for 97 yards today), but a passing game? Yep. Rex Grossman threw for 262 years and Mushin Muhammad had 6 catches for 102. They were on the same page. The Bears even used their tight end Desmond Clark (5 catches for 77 yards) successfully. Folks, I think there might be shades of 1985 here, so enjoy the songs below.
MP3 | The Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew – The Super Bowl Shuffle (Vocal Mix)
MP3 | The Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew – The Super Bowl Shuffle (Extended Vocal Mix)
MP3 | The Chicago Bears Shufflin’ Crew – The Super Bowl Shuffle (Instrumental Mix)