manboylovecrushprizefighter69@hotmail.com

Here is a photo of manboylovecrushprizefighter69@hotmail.com from the aforementioned P.U.B. League night, in all our glory. Yours truly at stage left.

Also pictured, from left: Ephy Wheeler, violin, Ben Adamson, drums, Andrew Paris, vocals, Casey Smith, bass and Caleb Kuntz, guitar.

(click photo to enlarge)

Anticipatin'

2010 is shaping up to be an awesome year for music already.

Here are a few albums I'm looking forward to in the next few months.

Johnny Cash "Ain't No Grave", 2/26
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "Beat The Devil's Tattoo", 3/9
She And Him "Volume Two" 3/23
The Dead Weather "impossibly quickly released 2nd album", April
Against Me! "White Crosses", TBA Spring
Gogol Bordello "Transcontinental Hustle", TBA Spring
The New Pornographers "Together", 5/4
The Gaslight Anthem "American Slang" 6/15
My Chemical Romance "impossibly stripped down album", Summer.

I have tickets to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at First Avenue in Minneapolis in late March, and expect them to play a lot off the new album.

Hopefully, it'll be the first of many shows I get to see while traveling in the states.

Oh my stars and garters....

I've been meaning to blog for a few weeks now, but it seems like too much bizarre stuff keeps happening, from the sad (Haiti earthquake, Jay Reatard's death) to the strange (Conan's farewell to NBC) to the completely ridiculous (Sarah Palin on Fox News, seriously?), and it's been difficult keeping track of it all, let alone writing about it..

In my defense, I've had my own bizzare month I've had a hard time keeping track of.

First, I had a minor role in a commercial for an iPhone game that included electric guitars, skulls, fireballs, robots and mullet wigs.

On the way to the shoot, my timing belt went out on my car, ripping $400 out of wallet. Luckily, I had good friends nearby that were able to tow me back home (it was -30 and I wouldn't want my car stuck out in that).

While my folks are out of town, I'm watching their place, which comes with a few perks, such as the Netflix account. So far, I've watched It Might Get Loud, a documentary about the electric guitar starring The Edge, Jack White and Jimmy Page. One of the highlights was a clip of Jack with a custom-built Gretsch he uses for The Raconteurs, which has a built in retractable microphone at the bottom of the guitar.

The clip shows Jack in mid-shred position, with blood all over his otherwise pristine white guitar, followed by him pulling out the mic and howling into it like a banshee. I also really enjoyed The Edge and Page's respective back-stories, which I wasn't too informed of previously.

In addition, I got two Brendan Canty (Fugazi drummer) directed Wilco documentaries, both filmed in the Sky Blue Sky tour era. "Ashes of American Flags" is a live video filmed in classic venues like the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, the 9:30 Club in DC, and Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, OK.

The other, "Shake It Off" is a more intimate, in-studio documentary about the writing and recording process the band used on the Sky Blue Sky sessions.

I had a freakout moment when there was a clip in the latter film of keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen being interviewed inside of (what I'm pretty positive was) a Chicago guitar shop where I had my own amp worked on whilst on tour this last summer. Weird!!!

Then, another weird thing happened. When it was (no exaggeration) 40 degrees below zero, I saw, for the first time in Fairbanks, one of those goons on the street advertising for Liberty Tax, in the stupid Statue of Liberty costume. In -40! Who does that?! Too bad my skills of snapping iPhone photos while driving stick mid-intersection aren't up to snuff, because the following shot is worse than a Nessie sighting, but hey, I swear it happened.



I also took up a cheeseburger eating challege: 25 McDonalds cheeseburgers in 24 hours before I turn 25. I made it to 12, then was sick all the next day. Barf! Might not be trying that one again.



If all that stuff wasn't weird enough, I'd say the goofiest thing I got myself into was the local Pick Up Band League, a musical answer to pick up sports leagues.

The ever changing P.U.B. roster boasts both seasoned and amateur local musicians, who are placed into teams that intend to separate bandmates, couples, siblings, etc. so that we are all out of our element.

My band won the Golden Ukulele, which is the trophy for best band. We wrote one original song, and performed two mash ups, which, whether or not were well executed, were loads of fun.

The first was an auto-tune soaked mash up of Van Halen's "Jump" and Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight" (the vocoder really gave Cline's part a hefty post-2009 update). This was followed by a cover of Bloodhound Gang's mash up of Weezer's "Undone (The Sweater Song)" and the Wu Tang Clan's "Ain't Nuttin to F Wit".

I think my favorite part of the whole thing was our band name:

Manboylovecrushprizefighter69@hotmail.com

Our good friend, who was the announcer was so annoyed at having to remember our name!


My teammate Ephy poses with our prize, the Golden Ukulele

I dare February to try to be weirder than this month, especially as it will be my last month in Alaska for quite some time.

End of a Decade.

I know everyone's tired of all the Y2K jokes, but I thought it would be hilarious to have a 1999-themed party, complete with a rice and beans menu, a marathon of my favorite movies of the year (Fight Club, American Beauty, Being John Malkovich), as well as a soundtrack of the self titled Le Tigre album, Wilco's Summerteeth, Blaster The Rocketman's The Monster Who Ate Jesus, and Damien Jurado's Rehearsals For Departure. But, being the procrastinator that I am, I didn't give myself the time to plan such an event.

Instead, I went to a bonfire, spent time with some good friends, and went home the next day and finished up my albums-and-movies-of-the-decade lists.

You won't find a Pitchfork-esque "cream of the crop" list here, but more of a list of albums and movies that moved me, influenced my songwriting, changed my life, etc. I know there are a lot of repeat offenders, don't knock me.

Here they are.

Albums:

100. The Juliana Theory “Emotion Is Dead” (Tooth And Nail, 2000)
99. Bob Dylan “Modern Times” (Sony, 2006)
98. Jack Johnson "On And On" (Brushfire, 2003)
97. The Kills “No Wow” (RCA, 2005)
96. Arctic Monkeys “Humbug” (Domino, 2009)
95. Wolfmother “Wolfmother” (Interscope, 2006)
94. Brand New “Deja Entendu” (Razor And Tie, 2003)
93. The Horrors "Strange House" (Stolen Transmittion, 2007)
92. Murder City Devils “In Name And Blood” (Sub Pop, 2000)
91. The Builders And The Butchers “The Builders And The Butchers” (Bladen County, 2008)
90. The Exploding Hearts “Shattered” (Dirtnap, 2006)
89. The Arcade Fire "Neon Bible" (Merge, 2007)
88. Loretta Lynn “Van Lear Rose” (Interscope, 2004)
87. Rilo Kiley “More Adventurous” (Brute/Beaute, 2004)
86. Bob Dylan “Love And Theft” (Sony, 2001)
85. Tim Easton “Break Your Mother’s Heart” (New West, 2003)
84. Showbread “No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical” (Tooth And Nail, 2004)
83. The Blood Brothers "Burn, Piano Island, Burn" (V2, 2003)
82. Modest Mouse "Good News For People Who Love Bad News" (Epic, 2004)
81. Yo La Tengo “I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass” (Matador, 2006)
80. Black Lips "Good Bad Not Evil" (Vice, 2007)
79. Tegan And Sara “Sainthood” (Sire, 2009)
78. Against Me! “New Wave” (Sire, 2007)
77. Air "The Virgin Suicides: Original Motion Picture Score" (Astralwerks, 2000)
76. River City Rebels “In Love/Loveless” (self released, 2009)
75. Yeah Yeah Yeahs “Fever To Tell” (Interscope, 2003)
74. The Black Keys "Rubber Factory" (Fat Possum, 2004)
73. Fucked Up “The Chemistry Of Common Life” (Matador, (2008)
72. The Juliana Theory “Music From Another Room EP” (Tooth And Nail, 2001)
71. The Killers "Hot Fuss" (Island, 2004)
70. Blenderhead “Figureheads On The Forefront Of Pop Culture” (Tooth And Nail, 2001)
69. The Filthy 42s “Positively South Jersey” (Boot To Head, 2007)
68. mewithoutYou “[A-->B] Life” (Tooth And Nail, 2002)
67. The Avett Brothers "The Gleam" (Ramseur, 2006)
66. The White Stripes "Elephant" (V2, 2003)
65. Blindside "Silence" (Elektra, 2002)
64. Squad Five-O “Late News Breaking” (Capitol, 2004)
63. The Strokes “Is This It” (RCA, 2001)
62. Queens of the Stone Age "Songs For The Deaf" (Interscope, 2002)
61. Interpol “Turn On The Bright Lights” (Matador, 2002)
60. Karen O And The Kids "Where The Wild Things Are: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" (Interscope, 2009)
59. Bright Eyes "Cassadaga" (Saddle Creek, 2007)
58. Death From Above 1979 "You're A Woman, I'm A Machine" (Vice, 2004)
57. Kings Of Leon “Because Of The Times” (RCA, 2007)
56. Element 101 "Stereo Girl" (Tooth And Nail, 2001)
55. The Muffs “Really Really Happy” (Five Foot Two, 2005)
54. Palomar "Palomar II" (Self-Starter, 2002)
53. The Killers "Sam's Town" (Island, 2006)
52. Pedro The Lion “It’s Hard To Find A Friend” (Jade Tree, 2001)
51. Matt Costa "Songs We Sing" (Brushfire, 2006)
50. Ben Kweller “Changing Horses” (ATO, 2009)
49. Mates Of State "Bring It Back" (Barsuk, 2006)
48. Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros "Global A Go-Go" (Hellcat, 2001)
47. The Bronx “The Bronx” (White Drugs, 2003)
46. Sarah Carter “Sarah Carter” (self released, 2009)
45. Interpol "Antics" (Matador, 2004)
44. Ryan Adams “Easy Tiger” (Lost Highway, 2007)
43. One 21 "One 21" (Facedown, 2001)
42. Monsters Of Folk "Monsters Of Folk" (Shangri-La, 2009)
41. Titus Andronicus "The Airing Of Grievances" (Beggars/XL, 2009)
40. This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb "Front Seat Solidarity" (Plan-It-X, 2006)
39. Squad Five-O "Bombs Over Broadway" (Tooth And Nail, 2000)
38. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "Howl" (Red Int/Red Ink, 2005)
37. Frank Turner "Poetry Of The Deed" (Epitaph, 2009)
36. mewithoutYou "Brother, Sister" (Tooth And Nail, 2006)
35. My Chemical Romance "The Black Parade" (Warner, 2006)
34. Destroy Nate Allen "Take It Easy" (Quiver Society, 2007)
33. Huntingtons "Songs In The Key Of You" (Tooth And Nail, 2001)
32. Gasoline Heart "You Know Who You Are" (Mono Vs. Stereo, 2006)
31. She And Him "Vol. 1" (Merge, 2008)
30. Wilco "Sky Blue Sky" (Nonesuch, 2007)
29. Ryan Adams "Gold" (Lost Highway, 2001)
28. The White Stripes "De Stijl" (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 2000)
27. Tegan And Sara "If It Was You" (Sanctuary, 2003)
26. Fucked Up "Hidden World" (Jade Tree, 2006)
25. Pinback "Summer In Abaddon" (Touch And Go, 2004)
24. The Sounds "Living In America" (Watertower, 2003)
23. Paul Baribeau "Grand Ledge" (Plan-It-X, 2007)
22. Modest Mouse "The Moon And Antarctica" (Epic, 2000)
21. The Gaslight Anthem "The '59 Sound" (SideOne Dummy, 2008)
20. The Hives "Veni Vidi Vicious" (Burning Heart, 2000)
19. The Raconteurs "Consolers Of The Lonely" (Warner/Third Man, 2008)
18. The Avett Brothers "Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions" (Ramseur, 2006)
17. Neko Case "Middle Cyclone" (Anti, 2009)
16. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "Baby 81" (Red Int/Red Ink, 2007)
15. The Everybodyfields "Nothing Is Okay" (Ramseur, 2007)
14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Show Your Bones" (Interscope, 2006)
13. Ben Kweller "Sha Sha" (ATO, 2002)
12. The Hives "Tyrannosaurus Hives" (Interscope, 2004)
11. Neko Case "Blacklisted" (Anti, 2003)
10. The Avett Brothers "Emotionalism" (Ramseur, 2007)
9. Against Me! "Searching For A Former Clarity" (Fat Wreck, 2005)
8. Tegan And Sara "So Jealous" (Sanctuary, 2004)
7. Kings Of Leon "Youth And Young Manhood" (RCA, 2003)
6. Gillian Welch "Time (The Revelator)" (Acony, 2001)
5. Ryan Adams "Heartbreaker" (Bloodshot, 2000)
4. Ben Kweller "On My Way" (ATO, 2004)
3. The Avett Brothers "I and Love and You" (American, 2009)
2. Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" (Nonesuch, 2002)
1. The White Stripes "White Blood Cells" (V2, 2002)

Films:

100. Cast Away (Robert Zemeckis, 2000)
99. Mean Girls (Mark Waters, 2004)
98. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000)
97. Frida (Julie Taymor, 2002)
96. Lost In Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
95. Into The Wild (Sean Penn, 2007)
94. Walk The Line (James Mangold, 2005)
93. The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2007)
92. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Shane Black, 2005)
91. Team America: World Police (Trey Parker, 2004)
90. Whale Rider (Niki Caro, 2002)
89. Hot Rod (Akiva Schaffer, 2007)
88. 50 First Dates (Peter Segal, 2004)
87. Avatar (James Cameron, 2009)
86. Elf (Jon Favreau, 2003)
85. Equilibrium (Kurt Wimmer, 2002)
84. Vanilla Sky (Cameron Crowe, 2001)
83. 3:10 To Yuma (James Mangold, 2007)
82. Once Upon A Time In Mexico (Robert Rodriguez, 2003)
81. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009)
80. Pay It Forward (Mimi Leder, 2000)
79. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (Garth Jennings, 2005)
78. Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle, 2008)
77. Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007)
76. Star Trek (J.J. Abrams, 2009)
75. Blood Diamond (Edward Zwick, 2006)
74. School Of Rock (Richard Linklater, 2004)
73. Spiderman 2 (Sam Raimi, 2004)
72. A Mighty Wind (Christopher Guest, 2003)
71. Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff, 2001)
70. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuaron, 2004)
69. Iron Man (Jon Favreau, 2007)
68. American Gangster (Ridley Scott, 2007)
67. Brick (Rian Johnson, 2005)
66. Monsters, Inc. (Pete Docter, 2001)
65. Thank You For Smoking (Jason Reitman, 2006)
64. Sin City (Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, 2005)
63. Ocean’s Eleven (Steven Soderbergh, 2001)
62. Casino Royale (Martin Campbell, 2006)
61. Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 2000)
60. Hellboy (Guillermo Del Toro, 2004)
59. Where The Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze, 2009)
58. The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)
57. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)
56. Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)
55. District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, 2009)
54. Catch Me If You Can (Steven Spielberg, 2002)
53. Requiem For A Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)
52. Garden State (Zach Braff, 2004)
51. The Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, 2002)
50. A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard, 2001)
49. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow, 2005)
48. The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman, 2002)
47. O’ Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2000)
46. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)
45. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)
44. Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001)
43. Lars and the Real Girl (Craig Gillespie, 2007)
42. V For Vendetta (James McTeigue, 2006)
41. The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)
40. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
39. Grindhouse (Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino, 2007)
38. Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess, 2004)
37. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
36. Blow (Ted Demme, 2001)
35. The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, 2004)
34. Everything Is Illuminated (Liev Shreiber, 2005)
33. Munich (Steven Spielberg, 2005)
32. The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, 2006)
31. X2: X-Men United (Bryan Singer, 2003)
30. Knocked Up (Judd Apatow, 2007)
29. Saved! (Brian Dannelly, 2004)
28. Cold Mountain (Anthony Minghella, 2003)
27. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy (Adam McKay, 2004)
26. Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, 2007)
25. Coffee And Cigarettes (Jim Jarmusch, 2003)
24. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher, 2008)
23. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
22. The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004)
21. Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008)
20. Punch Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)
19. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004)
18. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003)
17. Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005)
16. City Of God (Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002)
15. No Country For Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007)
14. Adaptation. (Spike Jonze, 2002)
13. I’m Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)
12. 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002)
11. Idiocracy (Mike Judge, 2006)
10. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)
9. Big Fish (Tim Burton, 2003)
8. High Fidelity (Stephen Frears, 2000)
7. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Quentin Tarantino, 2003)
6. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001)
4. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
3. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
2. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michele Gondry, 2004)

I'd love to hear any comments, films/albums I missed (there were a lot I never got to see and hear), and the like.

Or if anyone's interested in having a Y2K theme party, let me know.
I'll be here.

Latebloomin'

It's been -30 degrees and and my car hasn't been too happy running in that temperature, so I'm trying to stay inside a good amount this weekend and knock out my to-do list. I got some comics and Frank Turner's new album, "Poetry of the Deed" to keep me company.

I don't know how I am just finding out about him, but he is awesome. This album flows from traditional english folk to modern folk to punk to pop and back and everywhere in between, and has catchy sing-alongs all over the place.







Check it out: www.frank-turner.com






I finally did get my Christmas tree up this weekend, and also saw Avatar in 3D, and thoroughly enjoyed what I thought would be needless sensory overload (note the sweet 3D glasses).

And we will drive these warlords out.

The other day I was listening to Gasoline Heart's first album, You Know Who You Are at work, and it brought back great memories of riding a bike in East Atlanta and made me long for the city and warm weather.

It's been snowing, below zero degrees, and although I'm enjoying this Alaskan winter, I'm looking forward to moving to Minneapolis this coming February.

Looking forward to the springtime, the city, and plenty of music.

I miss being able to see the bands I listen to everyday, like I did when I was in Atlanta, and I'm hoping to do plenty of that when I move.

Once, I rode bikes with some friends to a Ghost Mice show at this cool art space called Wonder Root in Atlanta, sometime around my birthday this last March.
I walked in the door, happy to see my friends Chris Johnston and Eric Ayotte, who I'd met on an aforementioned trip to Gainesville, who welcomed me with warm smiles and hugs.

It was a great night, and I was pleased to catch one of the opening bands, Atlanta's own The Wild. The burst of folk-punk joy coming from these 4 kids was not much different stylistically than Ghost Mice, apart from the added drumkit and extra pair of voices, and they played with such solid confidence, bravado and stamina, you'd have figured they were co-headlining.

One of the things I loved about this band was the lyrics, which were decidedly upbeat, clear, and sung with a big smile. I got a 7" from them, which came on brown vinyl that boasts great renditions of the songs I heard that night, which play like most feelgood basement anthems: full of cheer, acoustic guitar, and the combined voices of girls and boys singing about staying positive in a sad world.

Here's a snippet:

"Well the answers are still blowin' in the wind, despite all the efforts of politicians. But no breeze will ever loosen our grip, we'll rise our fist with a grin! 'Cause who wouldn't die for their best friend? We'll wipe the sweat from our brow, and we'll drive these warlords out".

By the time I write this, the second pressing of said 7" will probably already be sold out, because these are the kinds of songs you want to listen to over and over until you know all the words. Based on the solid performance I saw and their great attitude, these boys and girls should be going places.

Good places.

http://www.myspace.com/thewildatl

Thankfulness.

For being sick sometimes so I can remember what it feels like to be well.
For cheetah and zebra print snuggies and robotic reading lights.
For families and friends and peace.
For tap dancing and Melissa Etheridge singing about global warming.

And mostly, for the awesomeness of this video.