Conversation of the Week

K: b’s 40 yr old friend is having a talk like a pirate parrrrty

Me: I had heard saturday was “national talk like a pirate day”

K: old ppl are weird … not *dress up* like pirate. you go and *talk* like a pirate

Me: yeah, people keep mentioning that to us because our party is this saturday, and apparently that’s national talk like a pirate day

K: are you being serious?

K: i think you’re joking …

Me: I am being 100% totally serious

K: no you’re not!

Me: yep — http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

K: lol … b is on the phone … we are both dumbfounded right now

Me: you’re so out of the loop you didn’t even know about pirate day?

K: well i will be in dirty jersey sleeping while you are out talking and making out with your pirate. d would make a good pirate

Me: yeah, he can do a pretty good pirate voice

K: this is a really dumb conversation

Me: you started it

K: i know, but still

RIP Jim Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009)

Sorry for the dinks rambling on at the beginning of the vid … Couldn’t find just the video on its own.

Shearwater “Red Sea, Black Sea”

I love this song … I somehow got my mitts on an advanced copy of Palo Santo and the version there, pre-production, was actually my preferred. Still, it’s somehow gut-wrenching, although I can’t quite say why. I assume it’s something to do with Jonathan Meiburg’s incredibly haunting voice. Also – check out the person playing the tambourine because, seriously: friggin’ awesome.

They are promising a new full length and (finally!) a US tour sometime early 2010. [via] I’m going to hold my breath and hope they’re the headliners, too, because I really don’t want to have to buy tickets to fucking Coldplay to see them … especially when Shearwater is the far superior band. Hear that boys? Far superior. Headline. Do it. Bring Clinic (with whom they’re currently touring Europe). I can dig them. Also, please come to Columbus because I happen to think you’re fabulous. Cool.

Here’s one more for you … “White Waves”. Pretty ::

Somerville, We’re All Light, and a Couple of Books

Firstly, the lack of updates has not been due to my usual laziness, but rather that I’ve been devouring books again as of late. One, It Feels So Good When I Stop by Joe Pernice. I wasn’t sure about this one, as I’ve been on and off again stricken with those end of summer blues which, by the way, the Pernice Brothers don’t do much to help. But then I got to thinking about the Pernice Brothers show at Canal Street in Dayton with three of my favoritist people, and decided that even those most anxiously melodic can conger up memories long overlooked.

Case in point: The Pernice Brothers’ “Somerville”

At any rate, I’m glad I picked it up … the book was highly entertaining and quite affecting. He’s true to those moments when you know you could never love anyone else, and ten minutes later when that love of your life is driving you completely crazy. It’s sad, yes, but it’s also funny. It’s heart-wrenching and heart-warming, but mostly realistic to the ups and downs of truly loving somebody.

I’ve also been reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, which is hands down one of the most interesting books I’ve read in years. Bryson spent several years speaking to leaders throughout the scientific community, gaining an understanding of our universe (or rather, what we know about it at this point), and how we as humans figured that out. He then wrote this book, explaining everything from black holes, the basics of geology, the planetary system, gravity, big bang theory, white noise, and so on in such a way that not only do I actually comprehend what he’s talking about it, but I’m actually enjoying it. If high school text books were written this way, I imagine we’d have a lot more young ones interested in the sciences. Also, I learned this little fact:  “Darwin loved an exact number. In a later work, he announced that the number of worms to be found in an average acre of English country soil was 53,767.” Because I’m a gigantic dork, tickle me pink at having learned some new useless trivia.

He goes into great detail about many of the scientists themselves, which is often as interesting as what they studied. Including Henry Cavendish, who was the first to combine hydrogen & oxygen to make water, the first to elude to the laws of the conservation of energy, electrical conductivity, and oodles more. However, he was so terrified of people that most of his work went completely unpublished, only to be discovered long after his death (after others had since made these discoveries and gotten the credit). If you take any interest in the sciences, you won’t be disappointed.

On the music front, I’m having an XTC day … It started when I heard “All You Pretty Girls” this morning, but I can’t find a video with clear sound, so enjoy “We’re All Light” instead:

Fin.

Wisdom of the Ages

Background :: We are at the Conservatory with D’s family when we see an exotic looking bird hopping around near us …

D: Hey pops, what is that?
D’s dad: Why, it’s a little bird!
D: … Thank YOU, Jack Hanna!

Yo La Tengo “Nothing To Hide”

Video features Columbus’ own Times New Viking pretending to be Yo La Tengo. Most of the video was shot in the record store I help out at. I’m scouring the video now to see if I can find any of my flyers on the wall!

50 *More* Bands I’ve Seen … with some Local Yokels

51. Scrawl* 52. Life of Agony* 53. Megadeth 54. Times New Viking* 55. Eric Clapton 56. The Fratellis 57. Butch Walker 58. Log 59. Cheater Slicks* 60. Tim Easten* 61. Earwig* 62. Tyvek 63. Sonic Chicken 4 64. The Patsys* 65. Violent Femmes 66. Pantera 67. The Thermals 68. Bob Burns & The Breakups 69. Nine Black Alps 70. Ok Go 71. Brimstone Howl 72. The Von Bondies 73. Psychedelic Horseshit* 74. Mors Ontologica* 75. Tiara

76. El Jesus de Magico* 77. Ryan Adams 78. The Sundresses* 79. Cobra Verde* 80. Social Distortion 81. RJD2 82. Spoon 83. Metallica (awful!) 84. Grafton* 85. Guided by Voices 86. Black Sabbath (extraorinarily awful!) 87. Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments 88. The Moon Upstairs 89. Hot Tuna 90. Machinehead 91. Terrible Twos 92. The Makebelieves* 93. Tim Lee 3 94. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 95. The Fondas 96. Pet UFO 97. My White Bread Mom 98. The Lindsay* 99. Church of the Red Museum* 100. Whiskey Daredevils

RIP Les Paul

50 Bands I’ve Seen Live

I tried to leave out local bands, unless they’ve gone on to some level of fame (like the Turks, although I guess that means I *could* stick Times New Viking, Scrawl, and quite a few others on the list). So it goes. Also, there were some that got added or replaced simply to allow a bit more eclecticism. Too, many didn’t make it because I had to pick 50 … sorry to the likes of Life of Agony, Megadeth, Machinehead, and many others during that two year metal phase I went through back in the late 90’s. And, to those damnable pop bands that I wish I hated so they didn’t make the list, but I secretly love (here’s looking at you Fratellis and Butch Walker). And finally, my apologies to any bands my parents took me to in my teen years (that’s you Survivor, Eric Clapton and Van Halen).

1). Leonard Cohen 2). Love* 3). The Zombies* 4). Paul Westerberg 5). Bob Dylan* 6). The Who 7). Neil Young* 8). ? and the Mysterians 9). The Reigning Sound 10). Chesterfield Kings 11). The Dirtbombs* 12). Dan Sartain 13). Gogol Bordello 14). Wilco 15). Screaming Trees 16). Matthew Sweet 17). Old 97’s 18). Brian Jonestown Massacre 19). Deicide 20). Southern Culture on the Skids 21). The Tough and the Lovely 22). Simon & Garfunkel* 23). Brian Wilson 24). The Pretenders 25). The Romantics*

26). Okkervil River* 27). Social Distortion 28). Cracker 29). PJ Harvey 30). The Walkmen 31). Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise 32). Peaches 33). World Party 34). Morrissey 35). Soul Asylum 36). The Hold Steady* 37). Pernice Brothers 38). Marah* 39). Mitch Easter 40). The Guess Who 41). Joe Cocker 42). Willie Nelson 43). Emmylou Harris 44). Motorhead 45). David Gray 46). Martin Sexton* 47). Chris Smither* 48). The Jayhawks 49). New Bomb Turks 50). Art Brut

* means I’ve seen them more than once…

Last Birthday of my 20’s

It was Monday.

I was  excited about this being the last birthday I’d have to have in my 20’s … Everyone tells me the 30’s are better anyway. Besides, there’s something rather boorish about being in your twenties. You’re assumed dull, naive, and generally uninteresting. At least, that’s what I tend to think about those in their twenties. So, good riddance.

D threw me a surprise party Saturday; well, it was a surpise up until about Thursday when several people (including him) let it slip. Which was fine, as it gave me an excuse to go buy a new hat (check!) and a pair of pants that would make my ass look really good (and, check!). He really did a great job getting everyone together … almost everyone here in Columbus that I love came out for it. I took my camera (after repeating in my own mind all day not to forget it), but failed to pull it out of my purse once we got there. So the photo attached is from someone else’s birthday party the week before. So it goes. Also, D always makes that face for pictures. I don’t know why.

We stayed at the bar until about 1am, when most everyone had cleared out for the night. A new friend of ours decided he was bored with us straights and that we were leaving to go to a gay bar a couple of blocks away. We did. And it was amazing. It was a pretty hardcore gay biker / bear bar. I’m talking like 200 huge dudes with shaved heads, giant guts, and grey beards down to their belly buttons. With no shirts. With leather harnesses. There was even a whipping post. I can’t say I’d ever seen anything quite like it before, but I’m seriously glad we went. Just the fact that the place exists makes this city an even better place to live. We had a really good time … thanks to a very interesting and very entertaining new friend. Although, I must admit, I have never felt less attractive in my entire life. To top it off, D made me a 2:30 am breakfast of bacon & eggs & biscuits.

All in all — best birthday ever.

Unfortunately, I’ve had a sinus infection ever since, so my actual birthday and this entire week has been kinda awful. It’s at its worst today. I may just end up having to go to urgent care if it doesn’t abate sometime soon. Fortunately, D got me another Mystery Science Theater 3000 DVD boxed set, so I have something enjoyable to do the rest of the evening. Which I’m off to watch now…