Lost in GroVont : a blog

Tell me how to fold it.

When travelling up Sutter Street yesterday on my way to work, the man walking in front of me was holding a toothbrush in one hand, a toy airplane in the other. The toy airplane was red with yellow wheels.

The Airfields -- city-state mp3

All the clocks in my studio automatically changed to the appropriate time while I was sleeping except for my cell phone. Since my cell phone is also my alarm clock, I was awake over an hour before I had expected. Of course, all the clocks at work were off and I worked an hour less than I had planned. Basically I was time's bitch yesterday.

Only one Yeah Yeah Yeahs song turns me on and I must not be the only one since every band is covering it.

Download the Arcade Fire's cover of Maps mp3

Cut it up and slip it back in.

Updated with a pretty picture and the full song.

Spending Sunday in the office is both sad and refreshing. There is no one else here to witness me bopping around the office to the more upbeat songs on my iPod.

And since I'm a giver, here's a link to The Cloud Room's Hey Now Now.mp3 (4935.6K), which is one of the catchiest songs I've heard in awhile.

(Try not to imagine me dancing in the office chair to that one.)

Hiding under the covers

From Tegan and Sara's website:

The White Stripes have recorded a version of Tegan and Sara's Walking with a Ghost and will be releasing it to radio this week. The track will be available through iTunes on Nov 14 and at US retail as part of a special single release on Dec 6.

The track is already floating around the internet. "Walking With A Ghost" is not my favorite song. The White Stripes are not my favorite band. It's an interesting cover but there is nothing spectacular about it.

You can form your own opinion:

The White Stripes "Walking With A Ghost" mp3 (2811.5K)

Damn you mood swings.

The rainy season has finally descended on San Francisco. I'm ready for dark mornings. Tall buildings draped in fog. Mist. Wearing a denim jacket and toque. Weather that fits my mood during the long work day.

The week has been a weird mix of too much work and staying too long at the hotel bar with co-workers after work. I haven't spent much time at home.

And the fun continues as Halloween weekend has filled my calendar. Friday night is No Limit Texas Hold 'Em. Last time I took home $49 dollars.

Don't know what I'm talking about? I learned how to play by watching Celebrity Poker Showdown. Phil Gordon knows what he is talking about.

I have an invite to a house party on Saturday. Unfortunately, I have no costumes in my possession so I might have to slap a "My Name Is...God" sticker on my jacket.

Last week, there was talk of a fund-raising costume party at counterPULSE on Sunday but further information is non-existent on the website.

Sunday might be my day of rest.

Other than Okkervil River, I've been listening to to old Belle & Sebastian while finally starting to focus on the band's biography, Just A Modern Rock Story. I also recently purchased the 33 1/3 book on Radiohead's Ok, Computer. (For frequent updates on the series, check out the 33 1/3 blog.)

As the bonus mp3, Belle & Sebastion's contribution to the Help: A Day In The Life album:

The Eighth Station of the Cross Kebab House.mp3 (5669.2K)

For a few bucks you can pick up the tracks by your favorite artists for a good cause, or you can get the whole album.

Thursday is the new Monday, or er, the new Friday?

Will Sheff had strep throat when he was in San Francisco performing with his band Okkervil River on Sunday night. Will was fueled by steroids and lemons and made it through an hour long set plus another forty-plus minutes after the encore break. He kept saying that he'd rather play than be trapped on the tour bus. Fortunately, Will's voice is naturally rough so except for the one or two times he lost his voice completely there was little degradation of vocals.

The six band members traded places and instruments on the small Cafe du Nord stage. The trumpet player was amazing. Accordions are making a resurgence! I couldn't see the full stage until the crowd thinned out between sets but I was still too far back to see everything.

Having mainly been exposed to Okkervil River's most recent LP, Black Sheep Boy, I hadn't realized how alt-country/folk the band can sound. At times reminding me of Wilco. And with the storytelling lyrics, I thought of the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle.

If you have a chance to catch the tour (and I recommend you do), you can e-mail in your song requests. From the official website:

Also, we’re taking requests for this tour, and they can be sent to the e-mail address requests@jound.com. Sets are filling up fast, so send those requests in soon. If you can, though, try to limit them to one or two – we’ve been getting a few e-mails for, like, 15 songs.

I was able to pick up a copy of the Black Sheep Boy Appendix disc which is as good as the brilliant Black Sheep Boy. Jagjaguwar has an mp3 from the album available for download: "No Key No Plan"

What's this cheery singing all about?

Parchman Farm (who I raved about previously) are on the cover of SF Weekly this week.

Here's a track from their s/t ep, which you can pick up from the Jackpine store.

Say Yeah.mp3 (3099.6K)

I will be seeing Okkervil River tonight at Cafe du Nord. (I'll be late though due some sneaky viewing of an illegal musical theatre production...)

Radiohead is blogging the progress of recording their new album.

Painting Fences Dressed In Fur

Jenny Lewis' long anticipated solo album is scheduled to be released for her 30th birthday. The Rilo Kiley front-woman is giving us a present on January 24th.

"I think 30 can either send you into some sort of depressing tailspin, or the opposite. So with this, it's like a little present to me, like, 'Oh wow, you've made it this long!' "

Here's a track from a live solo show from 10 June 2004:

Rise Up With Fists!! mp3 (5125.3K)

"Raise Up With Fists!!" is listed as track three on Rabbit Fur Coat (Team Love) but I have a feeling all this is going to change.

A bonus heads up to Rilo Kiley fans: RKnet always mp3s of recent RK shows.

In my perfect weblog world...

Ideally, every mid-sized music venue in San Francisco would have a blog. At the end of the night, a bartender or sound guy could go on-line to post a little anecdote or candid pic from the evening's events and the attendees of the show could fill the comments with their own experiences of the night. Most importantly, the kid(s) by the front of the stage who snagged the set list could post it, which would make me very happy. Hell, the band members could even post entries. Great American Music Hall and Slim's would be perfect venues to try nightly (er, early morning) blogging. GAMH and Slim's are some the best mid-size venues in the city, which feature some great indie talent almost every night of the week.

Although Tuesday night has come and gone, I would have read and commented on the proposed blog all day Wednesday. Slim's had Architecture In Helsinki; GAMH featured the double bill of the Hold Steady and the Constantines. Due to a hectic work week, I was only able to commit to the Constantines show, although I would have enjoyed hearing more about AIH and the Hold Steady shows.

The great thing about seeing a band live is determining who does what within the structure of the band. I hadn't realized the Constantines had two lead singers or that the bass player lacked the talent necessary to pull off the rock posturing he continuously displayed.

The set was strong mix of extended versions of older songs and tracks off the new album, which I've only listened to a few times since picking it up at the merch table.

They rocked. I rocked. "Nighttime Anytime It's Alright" is still one of my favorite songs. "Young Lions" is a treat live.

The opener, Tim Fite, was more spectacle than rock. He basically wore a powder-blue suit and stood behind a mic occasionally speaking/singing while text and video were displayed on the screen behind him. The "video Tim" played the guitar more than "3D Tim" while another guy wearing a matching suit hit the space-bar and turned some knobs.

Yes to music venue blogs. Yes to the Constantines. No to Tim Fite.

 

Scumbag College Students

Belle & Sebastian wants you to get dressed up in your best corduroy to watch them play.

“We require a TV audience for filming for a BBC program which will feature the group performing a bunch of songs from the new album.  The studio audience has to dress kind of 70s but NOT glamorous 70's, I'm thinking mid-70's Oxbridge/Scumbag College students, corduroy and suede, elbow patches, shades of brown and fawn, unkempt/long hair, perhaps some heavy eye make-up for the girls, black rimmed specs and stripy scarves.  Please NO trainers, NO printed t-shirts/logos/anything. How about the odd cloak?"

If only I lived on the other side of the globe...and owned a cloak.

And the new album Stuart spoke of is scheduled to be released early next year.

Swimming in the Atlantic

I first heard about Aberdeen City from Bradley's Almanac back in July and downloaded a few tracks. Flash forward to last week when I finally updated my iPod to include the four songs. Whenever these songs played, I would say "Who is this?" aloud sparking concerned looks from others on the San Francisco streets. I couldn't even remember hearing the band's name before, but now, I'll probably never forget it. The Boston-area band is going to be big in the indie music scene soon.

I did some follow up research over the weekend. Aberdeen City have an album, The Freezing Atlantic, ready to be released October 25th. If you live on the East coast, the Boston boys will be playing a city near you. Chicago is as close as they'll get to the Bay Area this year.

Listen to "God Is Going To Get Sick Of Me" (mp3) via the band's website.

For a measly, ten bucks you can pre-order a copy of the album from Newbury Comics. (That $10 even includes shipping!)

BART is still cheaper than MUNI.

First, BART announces that it will run around the clock this weekend. And now there is a downloadable schedule for your iPod.

...if only MUNI would follow suit.

Almost Always Never

Today's post is brought to you by the letter A and the numbers 12 and 36.

The Constantines released their new album, Tournament of Hearts, recently. I haven't purchased it. I'm hoping to pick it up at the show at Great American on Tuesday night.

"Working Full Time" [mp3] courtesy of Three Gut Records.

Tiny Mix Tapes review. Pitchfork gives it 7.6.

I dropped Tom Vek's name a few weeks ago. Here's a track:

I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes.mp3 (3532.4K)

He's playing Cafe du Nord on November 21st.

The Austin, Texas band, What Made Milwaukee Famous, has been linked on many a music blog of late. I just received Trying To Never Catch Up in the mail today. The album shifts gears from beginning to end. The synth-fueled pop starts the album but towards the end you have horns and clapping, reminding me a little of Rilo Kiley.

Here's a track representing the latter: Selling Yourself Short.mp3 (3864.2K)

Trial Run Three Minute Mile

From the EP included with the new s/t Broken Social Scene album:

Download "All My Friends" (2543.0K).

**This is the first time I have posted a mp3, so all the usual rules apply. Please right-click > save as. The track will be avaliable for no longer than 7 days and can be removed sooner without notice for a various array of reasons, including at the request of the people responsible for the sonic bliss.

A long time ago we used to be friends

Want to know what Rob Thomas was thinking? You can download the audio commentary for the Veronica Mars pilot from his website.

Instructions on how to download via TVShowsOnDVD.com:

    •     Click on "Enter"
    •     Click on "Veronica Mars" on the left
    •     Click on "Downloads" on the left
    •     Click on "Downloads" on the right"
    •     Click on "Download" beside "DVD_commentary.mp3" (last thing in the list)

I haven't listened to it yet since I had to re-download the pilot episode first. Let me know what you think.

Music In Museums Shakes The Skeletons

Architecture in Helsinki have a LiveJournal and the most recent post from Washington, D.C. included this snippet written by Kellie:

"I'm really looking forward to the show and we just spent a few hours running around at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum trying to take in all of the amazing exhibitions. I usually get all snobby at museums cuz i hate how they "dumb down" the nerdy info and turn EVERYTHING into an "interactive" display. Boring! But the Smithsonian was ALL class. The display were soooo good looking, the information was incredible and I have neverever seen anything quite like the skeleton display."

If you haven't already heard it, you should do whatever you can to get ahold of their most recent album, In Case We Die. Released in April on Bar None Records, the album is sonically dense weaving from orchestral crescendos to "Clap your hands! Dance!" pop. Although I caught this album late, a few months ago, and mentioned it here even later, In Case We Die is one my favorite releases of the year so far.
 

Does it make you want to read?

USATODAY.com - Is 'Lost' a literal enigma?.

Literary references have been sprinkled throughout the mysteries of Lost: In an episode last season, the character Sawyer was reading Watership Down by Richard Adams, the story of rabbits searching for a safe place in a threatening world. At another point, he read Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, about time travel.

Are people going to turn away from the television and pick up a book? The people who write Lost fanfic and play the recurring numbers in the lottery might read the book of the week in order to dissect the mysterious plot, but will the general Lost audience be moved to pick up The Third Policeman from the library tomorrow? I doubt it.

In other news, the NHL season started today. Two years ago, I became a Calgary Flames fan when I stumbled upon the playoff games on television. After the strike, I hadn't really thought about hockey until today. (It helps that I read a lot of Canadian music blogs.)

The Flames play the Minnesota Wild tomorrow.

For those of you who live in your Friends page instead of a news aggregator, this blog has a LiveJournal feed. Add the other Lost In GroVont to your friends list.

Tuesday's link

One of the best Tegan and Sara interviews I've read in awhile. (Via largeheartedboy.)

Connecticut Music - Music Reviews, Concerts and Music News from ctnow.com - MUSIC.

"I write about mood swings a lot," says Sara.

Nothing But Green Lights

As my weekend ends, I recollect on it with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Friday night, I saw The Fiery Furnaces. I will do a short recap on the show tomorrow. 

Saturday I caught up on all the tv I did not have time to watch during the week. Nothing important happened on television, which isn't a surprise, I know, but as I am reading Klosterman's chapter  called "Being Zack Morris" I recall this passage:

We like the "process" of watching these shows. The idea of these programs being entertaining never seemed central to anything, which remains the most fascinating aspect of all televised art: consumers don't demand it to be good. It just needs to be watchable.

I like good television, Deadwood is one of my favorite shows and critically acclaimed. But I will also watch The O.C. or Gilmore Girls occasionally because it's distracting from reality and I don't have to think for 45 minutes. My guilty pleasure this season is America's Next Top Model. Yes, it helps that in airs before Veronica Mars and that it has a queer girl in the cast this cycle. I also find myself saying out of character things like, "That dress is hideous!" or "She's such a bitch!" I've begun to care about these "reality characters" far more than I want to admit. I have come to the conclusion the people on reality tv fall in to one of three categories:

1. Someone you want to spend time with.

2. Someone you hope never crash lands on your island.

3. Someone who is not unlike wallpaper.

Ultimately, I want Kyle to win because she stands out from the wallpaper only a little, and the makeover that turned her into a brunette last week transformed her from valley girl cute to sexy. She probably has some annoying quality I'll come to loathe as the season progresses, but right now, she's my pick to win.

After work today, I did a mainstream movie double-header at the multiplex. Serenity and Flightplan. I tried to lower my expectations before walking into the theatre to see Serenity. The part of my brain who loves all things Joss Whedon was happy; the cynical part, let out a sigh of relief. Serenity is a good movie but I want to see a new episode next week, which isn't going to happen. Hopefully, Whedon & Co. will continue to produce "Firefly" films yearly (or at least every other year). Flightplan was an okay suspense film.

Also, check out Tom Vek.

"Who is Steve Perry?"

Not surprisingly, the New Pornographers' set started with "Twin Cinema" the title track of their current album and then proceeded to cover nearly their entire discography. (Disappointingly absent was "The Jessica Numbers.")

Background: A little over two years ago, I saw the New Pornographers at the Bottleneck, a small bar venue in Lawrence, Kansas.

The banter between Neko and Carl is always amusing. Rants about guitar straps. (My drunken mind wanted to yell: "Strap on!" Thankfully, I wasn't that drunk.) And thinking aloud, Neko asked the crowd: "Why do only girls like Journey?" Then discussion of Steve Perry ensued until someone in the crowd yelled: "Who's Steve Perry?" The youngest, newest member of the band, Kathryn Calder of Immaculate Machine, sat on an amp with a look that said "Who is Steve Perry?"

Todd Fancey impressed me with his lead guitar. Neko Case was beautiful as usual--her voice and her fishnet stockings. John Collins is stoic on bass guitar. Blaine Thurier is the guy friend you always want to hug. (And he played the tiny keyboard you blow in to--not unlike a bagpipe but tiny--which I have seen used by several bands lately. Does this device have a name?) Kathryn was a nice addition on keys and vocals, but I can't imagine her singing lead. Neko has incredible stage presence and voice to make you swoon. And there was a drummer, Kurt Dahle. I couldn't see him much but he sang on several songs too.

Dan Bejar stumbled out on to the stage several times throughout the evening. Always with beer. One time with a cigarette. As I said before, his voice lends itself well to the pop songs.

Bimbo's 365 has a curfew and Neko made sure they played right up to midnight by bringing the band out for two encores.

The best live show I've seen in a while. The crowd was great.