Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Watchmen set photos
As I've said elsewhere: these photos from the Watchmen set look pretty good. Yes sir.
As I've said elsewhere: these photos from the Watchmen set look pretty good. Yes sir.
Monday, November 26, 2007
show review: Yo La Tengo at the MFA, 11-16-07 (early show)
This show was weeks ago, or at least one week and half of another, and I've been meaning to write about it ever since. It's had to wait, though, for various reasons, not all of which involve Super Mario, but, frankly, a greater number than I'm comfortable admitting. But here's some time, and if I can scrounge up the effort perhaps we can all make it through this.
So Yo La Tengo played a show, and it was amazing. The show was at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, a musical venue as fine as the art contained therein, and it was actually the first of two shows on the same night, both of which were a part of the since-completed Freewheeling Yo La Tengo Tour. Instead of a standard rock show, the Freewheeling tour featured the band in more intimate settings, performing in an acoustic fashion, with no set list, and copious amounts of discussion and conversation with their loyal fans. It was as interactive as the utterly horrible Kevin Seal film I'm Your Man, and since anybody who's been to a YLT show realizes that Ira's banter is at least as entertaining as his epileptically spasmodic guitar stylings, a fantastic evening was practically guaranteed.
The open-ended nature of the show lead to a rather peculiar set-list, one relatively short on YLT's singles. No "Sugarcube", no "Tom Courtney", no "Autumn Sweater", but a higher covers ratio than usual, and a nice combination of deep cuts and true classics. Musical highlights included "Decora", a jaunty duet on "Big Day Coming" with Georgia's vocals predominating, the always sturdy "Stockholm Syndrome", and a beautiful "Pablo and Andrea" that was even more shimmering and delicate than usual. As great as the music was, though, it was really the presentation and atmosphere that defined this show. Without the banter, the show was pleasant and occasionally beautiful, but the band's witty and charming interaction with the audience elevated this night to something truly special and memorable. Granted I haven't seen nearly as many shows this year as I would've liked, but this is definitely in the running for my favorite concert of the year.
Oh yeah, the wife went with me, and absolutely loved it. She previously didn't care much for Yo La Tengo, but now has added all their albums to her iPod, and over the last week has listened almost exclusively to a best-of playlist I made for her. So now here's another band we agree on, bringing that total up to a nice round four.
Finally, you can go and download this entire show over at Bradley's Almanac. Here's the direct link. I also stole the photo above from his site. Thanks, Brad! Oh yeah, and while you're there you can also download the complete Acoustic Mainlines show that Spiritualized played at the MFA a few days later, along with a ton of other great music. Bradley's Almanac is basically the best site ever, if you didn't know.
This show was weeks ago, or at least one week and half of another, and I've been meaning to write about it ever since. It's had to wait, though, for various reasons, not all of which involve Super Mario, but, frankly, a greater number than I'm comfortable admitting. But here's some time, and if I can scrounge up the effort perhaps we can all make it through this.
So Yo La Tengo played a show, and it was amazing. The show was at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, a musical venue as fine as the art contained therein, and it was actually the first of two shows on the same night, both of which were a part of the since-completed Freewheeling Yo La Tengo Tour. Instead of a standard rock show, the Freewheeling tour featured the band in more intimate settings, performing in an acoustic fashion, with no set list, and copious amounts of discussion and conversation with their loyal fans. It was as interactive as the utterly horrible Kevin Seal film I'm Your Man, and since anybody who's been to a YLT show realizes that Ira's banter is at least as entertaining as his epileptically spasmodic guitar stylings, a fantastic evening was practically guaranteed.
The open-ended nature of the show lead to a rather peculiar set-list, one relatively short on YLT's singles. No "Sugarcube", no "Tom Courtney", no "Autumn Sweater", but a higher covers ratio than usual, and a nice combination of deep cuts and true classics. Musical highlights included "Decora", a jaunty duet on "Big Day Coming" with Georgia's vocals predominating, the always sturdy "Stockholm Syndrome", and a beautiful "Pablo and Andrea" that was even more shimmering and delicate than usual. As great as the music was, though, it was really the presentation and atmosphere that defined this show. Without the banter, the show was pleasant and occasionally beautiful, but the band's witty and charming interaction with the audience elevated this night to something truly special and memorable. Granted I haven't seen nearly as many shows this year as I would've liked, but this is definitely in the running for my favorite concert of the year.
Oh yeah, the wife went with me, and absolutely loved it. She previously didn't care much for Yo La Tengo, but now has added all their albums to her iPod, and over the last week has listened almost exclusively to a best-of playlist I made for her. So now here's another band we agree on, bringing that total up to a nice round four.
Finally, you can go and download this entire show over at Bradley's Almanac. Here's the direct link. I also stole the photo above from his site. Thanks, Brad! Oh yeah, and while you're there you can also download the complete Acoustic Mainlines show that Spiritualized played at the MFA a few days later, along with a ton of other great music. Bradley's Almanac is basically the best site ever, if you didn't know.
the time thrasher : help Crews maintain his memory
Brian Crews manifests himself in digital form via this web blog. It's kind of like having Crews read you the internet. Actually I think it's more of a memory exercise, keeping the old database good and oiled. Perhaps if we're lucky it'll become the number one on-line resource for all our Crews-related needs.
Brian Crews manifests himself in digital form via this web blog. It's kind of like having Crews read you the internet. Actually I think it's more of a memory exercise, keeping the old database good and oiled. Perhaps if we're lucky it'll become the number one on-line resource for all our Crews-related needs.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Holy Shit!
Apparently someone nominated my show for a Pulg Award. Sunday School is up against some pretty hefty competition for Specialty Show of the Year (Commercial Radio)...Steve Jones can suck it!
Apparently someone nominated my show for a Pulg Award. Sunday School is up against some pretty hefty competition for Specialty Show of the Year (Commercial Radio)...Steve Jones can suck it!
ATL is reppin' hard,...vote for Criminal Records, Paste Magazine, WRAS, Deerhunter and the Black Lips. They got nominations as well.
Wierd
Thursday, November 15, 2007
brilliant social observation from the Boston Globe, without any exaggeration whatsoever on either of our parts
The Boston Globe declares that mustaches are now cooler than they've been since "the 1980s, when Tom Selleck's 'Magnum P.I.' made it almost OK to have a bushy mustache". The paper's proof? Three slightly well-known indie-rockers from Georgia, and some guy they saw hanging outside of a club some night. You'd think such a popular trend would have more notable torchbearers than that !!! guy who used to be in the Martians.
The Boston Globe declares that mustaches are now cooler than they've been since "the 1980s, when Tom Selleck's 'Magnum P.I.' made it almost OK to have a bushy mustache". The paper's proof? Three slightly well-known indie-rockers from Georgia, and some guy they saw hanging outside of a club some night. You'd think such a popular trend would have more notable torchbearers than that !!! guy who used to be in the Martians.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
awesome show in San Francisco
So if you are people who live in San Francisco you should probably go see this show, after cutting your hair and taking a bath and getting a real god-damned job and all that other stuff. Wooden Shjips you should know, since they're local, and excellent, but Psychedelic Horseshit is perhaps the highlight, at least for San Franciscans, since the band's from Ohio and probably doesn't get out all there too often. And then Pink Reason are apparently fine, too. But so: definitely a show worth going to. If you don't, please don't come around these parts bitching about your ignorance it in twenty days or so.
So if you are people who live in San Francisco you should probably go see this show, after cutting your hair and taking a bath and getting a real god-damned job and all that other stuff. Wooden Shjips you should know, since they're local, and excellent, but Psychedelic Horseshit is perhaps the highlight, at least for San Franciscans, since the band's from Ohio and probably doesn't get out all there too often. And then Pink Reason are apparently fine, too. But so: definitely a show worth going to. If you don't, please don't come around these parts bitching about your ignorance it in twenty days or so.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
je suis france on john peel's show in august of 2002
John Peel played a couple of songs from the Ice Age 7" back about five years ago. Over half a life ago! Shit. Anyway, we confounded him in a couple of different ways, which is nice. The BBC's site has been streaming these ever since, I think, but I found some mp3s the other day, so here you go. Right click to save or whatever, yeah.
"Darkness Has a Baby" on Peel's show 08/06/2002
"We're Not Driving That Truck" and half of "The Pincher" on 08/07/2002
John Peel played a couple of songs from the Ice Age 7" back about five years ago. Over half a life ago! Shit. Anyway, we confounded him in a couple of different ways, which is nice. The BBC's site has been streaming these ever since, I think, but I found some mp3s the other day, so here you go. Right click to save or whatever, yeah.
"Darkness Has a Baby" on Peel's show 08/06/2002
"We're Not Driving That Truck" and half of "The Pincher" on 08/07/2002
Thursday, November 01, 2007
awesome shit you should own if you are a fan of awesome shit
1. a Nintendo Wii
2. ZACK AND WIKI: QUEST FOR BARBAROS' TREASURE.
OKAY, yes, this looks like a tie-in to some jive-ass Nickelodeon anime crap, but first off it ain't and second off it's AMAZINGly fun and also addictive and frustrating, like the best of video games. Frustrating because you'll be dead repeatedly yet enjoying it every step of the way. And not dead because you didn't time your jump perfectly or because you accidentally made physical contact with water but dead because you didn't figure out the puzzle quickly enough. Yes ZACK AND WIKI is a puzzle game, not like falling blocks but like here's a situation and there are various steps you need to take to resolve this situation but there are no pointers as to what these steps are so good fucking luck with this god-damn situation. But the satisfaction you feel once each situation is successfully figured out and resolved is overwhelmingly enjoyable and highly flattering to the intellect. It took me a couple hours to figure out the best way to arrange a series of mirrors so as to direct a light-beam through a lens and free my flying monkey buddy from a frosty deathtrap. Elsewhere I had to turn caterpillers into saws and moles into drills and implement said animal-tools accurately as two of only twenty steps necessary to successful level completion. It is in a sense like a 3-D cel-shaded ADVENTURES OF LOLO but with point-and-click controls instead of direct action. As it stands this game couldn't really exist in this format on any other system, as it effectively and (yes) elegantly utilizes the Wii's controls at least as well as METROID PRIME 3. And best yet ZACK AND WIKI is only forty bucks brand new, and completely utterly worth it for real.
1. a Nintendo Wii
2. ZACK AND WIKI: QUEST FOR BARBAROS' TREASURE.
OKAY, yes, this looks like a tie-in to some jive-ass Nickelodeon anime crap, but first off it ain't and second off it's AMAZINGly fun and also addictive and frustrating, like the best of video games. Frustrating because you'll be dead repeatedly yet enjoying it every step of the way. And not dead because you didn't time your jump perfectly or because you accidentally made physical contact with water but dead because you didn't figure out the puzzle quickly enough. Yes ZACK AND WIKI is a puzzle game, not like falling blocks but like here's a situation and there are various steps you need to take to resolve this situation but there are no pointers as to what these steps are so good fucking luck with this god-damn situation. But the satisfaction you feel once each situation is successfully figured out and resolved is overwhelmingly enjoyable and highly flattering to the intellect. It took me a couple hours to figure out the best way to arrange a series of mirrors so as to direct a light-beam through a lens and free my flying monkey buddy from a frosty deathtrap. Elsewhere I had to turn caterpillers into saws and moles into drills and implement said animal-tools accurately as two of only twenty steps necessary to successful level completion. It is in a sense like a 3-D cel-shaded ADVENTURES OF LOLO but with point-and-click controls instead of direct action. As it stands this game couldn't really exist in this format on any other system, as it effectively and (yes) elegantly utilizes the Wii's controls at least as well as METROID PRIME 3. And best yet ZACK AND WIKI is only forty bucks brand new, and completely utterly worth it for real.
