September 26, 2004
quotes of the year
I'll do anything I can to get that ratfucker out of office.
--MARK ARM, MUDHONEY
Pearl Jam will do whatever Mark Arm asks us to do. We believe that
Mark Arm might very well have a direct connection with God and seems
to have insight that could only be described as divine (read Mudhoney
lyrics) and if he feels that its is an important election (war,
environment, social justice, and integration) we will heed his call.
--STONE GOSSARD, PEARL JAM
[Taken from a *great* article about No Vote Left Behind, the fantastic Seattle music biz grass roots organization that believed "Music has the power to change things -- like Presidents." The week of concerts going on in Seattle right now is impressive, and shameful in that no other city in the country has anything like this. It's so -- *un*Seattle of them. :) They also have some fantastic posters available for download and guerilla posting.]
Finally: Are you registered to vote?
September 23, 2004
who'll stop the rain?
I'm not quite Gen X, but I'm also not a true Boomer; this is probably why I crave odd indie bands but yet fiercely love the classics. I secretly believe that most of my precious indie rock friends really love that stuff but won't admit it to anyone. Since I am, admittedly, completely uncool, I would do something like drive to Englewood, New Jersey on a Tuesday night to see John Fogerty.
I also absolutely believe that some artists are not only classics, but are mandatory. That they are so very basic that not at least being cognizant of the catalog isn't cool or hip or trendy, it's just stupid. Creedence Clearwater Revival would definitely be a band on that list. I mean, what's *not* to like about Creedence, for heaven's sake? If nothing else, it's the greatest road trip music ever created. Period.
So for these reasons (amongst others) I was looking forward to seeing John Fogerty play with Springsteen on the upcoming Vote For Change tour. And when a friend pinged me on Monday, asking if I'd like to come with him to see Fogerty perform on A&E's Live By Request on Wednesday night, there was zero question.
I knew that music-related TV shows suck to attend. I knew that no matter where we were in line or how long we waited, that our seats would depend on the whims of the production people and how pretty the rest of the audience was. (We were about five or six rows back in the balcony, so even if you taped it, you will not see me.) The only thing on our side was that the show was live, so we wouldn't have to sit through endless retakes.
But that out of the way, the show fucking rocked. Fogerty's voice is solid, the band was loud and tight and rockin. Yeah, it's TV, we're going to hear all the hits, we're not going to hear anything obscure; yes, someone is going to phone and ask "Oh, is there any chance in the world that you could possibly play [insert his most famous song ever that even my 70 year old father knows]". The majority of the crowd was thrilled to be there; and Fogerty himself was clearly overjoyed and in fantastic spirits.
The moment that it hit, for me, was "Who'll Stop The Rain," a song that I have heard almost everyone cover at some time or another. That was the moment where I truly felt - "I am seeing the guy who wrote all these fucking amazing songs actually sing them," where I felt a connection to the music and the performer at the same time. But that was nothing compared to what would happen at the opening notes to "Fortunate Son," which gave me actual goosebumps, made me shiver. The fact that Fogerty's delivery of that song was likely as vehement as it was in 1968 just put it over the top.
Everything else that succeeded it was just a pale afterthought to me, and all I could think was, what on earth will it be like when Fogerty brings his A game to match Springsteen's next week when the Vote For Change tour starts in Philly? Watch out.
September 16, 2004
end of the century for real
Johnny Ramone died yesterday.
Arturo Vega of course has some very nice tributes up at Official Ramones.com. More later from me, after family time today. Right now, my stomach just hurts bad.
September 13, 2004
today's (belated) iTunes purchases
It feels like it's 1985 again, when you feverishly debated whether or not a record "rated" buying on CD or whether you "just" bought it on vinyl. (The all-time favorite quote on this subject, which has become part of my legend so much I cannot remember who originally said it: "Bruce Springsteen recorded Nebraska in his kitchen, you need it on CD so you can hear what was going on in the living room?")
So now it is similar, except in my case it is partly out of sloth and partly out of storage concerns (since all the cds are here, just stored up above in the boxes I moved them in until I once again solve the dilemma of CD Storage that doesn't involve furniture that costs thousands).
(Another sidebar: I honestly haven't had an itch necessitating opening up any of the boxes of CD's since the middle of June, when they were packed and shipped. Does this mean that I really do have my core library on the iPod or am I just self-limiting?)
Anyway, so the reason it took me so long to iust buy these on iTunes was because part of me really wanted the actual records, and then I looked at the storage problem I already have in three months just with the live music, and hit the "buy now" button:
And, the free R.E.M. thingy (not because I particularly like medleys, but because it is free):
So this should make it kind of obvious that I've sold out to iTunes, but I'm not having a huge ethical problem with it, and if you do, post a comment, I'd like to know what you think and why.
September 10, 2004
still alive
I seem to be the only person in Manhattan who did not attend the Franz Ferdinand show, or anything to do with Franz Ferdinand last night, or even be aware that Franz Ferdinand were on the island of Manhattan. Of course, I am leaving out the part where I could not possibly have cared less that they were in my zip code.
Like a friend said a few months ago, "I'm tired of this band and the record isn't even out yet."
I did, however, go see the exhibit by a very talented woman I know from, *cough* the Ryan Adams message board. I actually walked into Niagara and walked back out within half an hour; too much work to do last night.
But, for the sake of proving that this is not a case of "if it's too loud, you're too old," here is my upcoming show calendar:
Sept. 10: Marah in Philly
Sept. 11: Jesse Malin @ Bowery Ballroom
Sept. 30: Ryan Adams @ Beacon Theater
Oct. 1: Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band, R.E.M., Bright Eyes: Wachovia Center, Philadelphia
Oct. 2: Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band, R.E.M., Bright Eyes: Gund Arena, Cleveland
Oct. 3: Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band, R.E.M., Bright Eyes: Cobo Arena, Detroit
Oct. 5: Pearl Jam, Death Cab For Cutie, Gob Roberts [Tim Robbins' band]: The Fabulous Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO
Oct. 12: The Libertines & Radio 4 @ Webster #$@! Hall
Oct. 14: Twilight Singers @ Bowery Ballroom
Oct. 21: Al Green @ Apollo Theater
I could give you a longer list of everything I am missing because of the Vote For Change Concerts, but I'm trying not to think about it.
P.S.: Marah are at Sin-e tomorrow night. My epic treatise on why you should all love Marah is long overdue, but you should go.
September 01, 2004
johnny cash RNC protest
They took my city. They took my streets. They tried to take my park. They pilloried Pearl Jam because of "Bushleaguer" (which, to be fair, is a mediocre song, they could do so much better). They tried to obliterate the Dixie Chicks. The backlash Bruce Springsteen is receiving is mindboggling and unprecedented.
So when I heard about The Man In Black Bloc to protest the RNC's co-opting of Johnny Cash... well, that beat attening the "Shut-up A Thon" over at Fox News.
It started at 4pm, and at first there were maybe a dozen protestors there. We were herded into this tiny, narrow protest pen kitty-corner from Sotheby's. At one point, the media present outnumbered the protestors.
A few splinter groups showed up and started walking by Sotheby's, chanting, and then the Radical Cheerleaders showed up, leading us in a chant of:
"Whose Cash?
Our Cash!"
As long as you're less than 20 people and you keep moving at all times, they legally can't arrest you. After a few more minutes of this, we decided to abandon the protest pen to go stand in front of Sotheby's. The cops just moved the barricades over there. They seemed alternately confused and pissed off, but I guess that's business as usual these days.
Indymedia estimated 600 protestors and 100 cops... and if there were 100 RNC members present, I'd be surprised.
well, i feel safer now. or, to quote the boyfriend, "There better not be any capital crimes being committed in Manhattan right now."
Gentleman with the backwards baseball cap is none other than Dan Bern. Someone on NYC Indymedia claimed that Jello Biafra was present, but I sure as hell didn't see him. There was a lot of singing, but not enough, and a very narrow spectrum of JC's catalog was represented. I also learned that a lot of people don't know all the words to "This Land Is Your Land," nor do most of them realize that it's a protest song.
As usual, creativity in signs. Most of the protest besides singing involved booing and flipping the bird at the RNC delegates leaving Sotheby's, en route to the convention festivities. It was surprisingly satisfying.
Chant of the day:
"You're evil!
You're ugly!
You're fascists and you're liars!
The GOP belongs in a burning ring of fire!"
Or, #2:
"Welcome to New York! Now go the fuck home!"
Towards the end of the march, we were visited by none other than Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. The funny thing was, there were more than a few protestors who don't have television and didn't know who he was at first. The gentleman below agreed to be a good sport once the concept was explained to him, although at first he protested, "All I know is that there's this talking dog in my face, and I'm trying to get Bush out of office."
A bystander did report that Triumph heckled some of the departing delegates, yelling something along the lines of, "Take all your money and shove it up your ass."
Ah, this is what Democracy looks like...