Last year's Pitchfork had the narrowest demographics of any concert or public event I can remember. It seemed like the entire crowd was an army of 28-year-old baristas or vegan tattoo artists. Not only were Nan and I oddballs, but my daughters (aged 17 and 14 at the time) also missed the demographic ideal by more than a decade.
This year the crowd seemed more diverse. I saw some older folks, and some young parents brought their kids. One memorable sighting was a young dad carrying two beers while balancing a 15-month old on his arm. The kid was happily plunging his fist into one of the beers, then shaking his hand. Dad looked pained but resigned.
Later, during the middle of the set by Hold Steady, I feel a light pressure on the back on my legs. I turn around and there's a 312 beach ball wedged between my calves and the footrest of the guy's wheelchair behind me. I pick up the ball and it's vibrating. All kinds of ideas flit through my mind--the ball's deflating in a wobbly way; there's something electronic--or a bug??--inside the ball. My puzzlement must have been showing; this woman behind me puts her hand and on the ball. "It's a beach ball," she says in the kind of voice kindergarten teachers use for their behind-the-curve kids. "You throw it." She pantomimes throwing the ball in the air. Just when I decide that the ball is vibrating in response to the bass, she takes the ball from hands with an exasperated expression and slaps it into the air. She really wanted it to be a learning experience for me.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Farmer's Market
Nan and I finally made it to the farmer's market. Grape tomatoes (but no vine-ripened full-sized tomatoes), gorgeous chard, radishes, all kinds of greens. I was almost as eager to scan the stuff as eat it.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Next by Gnarls Barkley
Next by Gnarls Barkley
2006 --St. Elsewhere
2008--The Odd Couple
???2010--Gilligan's Island
Doesn't matter what it's called, if the quality is as high as the first two, I'm there.
2006 --St. Elsewhere
2008--The Odd Couple
???2010--Gilligan's Island
Doesn't matter what it's called, if the quality is as high as the first two, I'm there.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Best of 2007
10) Scene of the Crime—Bettye Levette
Bettye LeVette is not another pretty voice. She sings in a cracked Bourbon-aged voice that can distill a world of heartbreak and disappointment into a couple of syllables. Backed by the Drive-by Truckers, LeVette crafts another fine album in the Stax/Muscle Shoals tradition.
9) We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank–Modest Mouse
Isaac Brock keeps some of his annoying vocal gimmicks to a minimum and ups the quality of his songwriting.
8) Chalk—PJ Harvey
The story of failed relationship and an abortion are told as a whispery Gothic horror story. Polly Jean shelved her guitar and learned to play the piano for this album, a spooky and atmospheric masterwork.
7) Sky Blue Sky—Wilco
No, it's not Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but it's got some great stuff here. The intertwining guitars on the coda to "Impossible Germany" is a certified Grab-the-wheel-honey-I gotta-play-air-guitar moment
6) Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga—Spoon
After years of wondering what the fuss about Spoon was all about, this album won me over. Thirty-seven minutes of tight toothsome rock.
5) Sound of Silver—LCD Soundsystem
James Murphy and company pull off the hat trick: an album that makes you laugh, makes you think about life's goals and life's fleetingness, and gets you to shake your booty at the same time. "All My Friends" is my song of the year.
4) In Rainbows--Radiohead
Gorgeous and otherwordly. My favorite to listen on late drives with the moon roof open. It feels like you could drift off into the stars with the music.
3) Neon Bible—Arcade Fire
After being anointed the great indie hope, Arcade could be forgiven for folding under the pressure. While "Bible" doesn't have the quirkiness and surprises of "Funeral," the scope is wider.
2) Challengers—The New Pornographers
People who never got past that "Challenger" didn't rock like "Twin Cinema" missed an album with some of the most inventive arrangements, gorgeous harmonies and stellar melodies of the year.
1) Boxer—The National
Every time I slid this album into the CD player, I felt like I wasn't listening as much as eavesdropping. How can these songs be so revealing and enigmatic at the same time? A brilliant and brilliantly original album.
Honorable mentions:
Cold & Kind—The 1900s
Kala—M.I.A.
Everybody—The Sea & Cake
Chrome Dreams II—Neil Young
I'm Not There—Soundtrack, various artists
Bettye LeVette is not another pretty voice. She sings in a cracked Bourbon-aged voice that can distill a world of heartbreak and disappointment into a couple of syllables. Backed by the Drive-by Truckers, LeVette crafts another fine album in the Stax/Muscle Shoals tradition.
9) We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank–Modest Mouse
Isaac Brock keeps some of his annoying vocal gimmicks to a minimum and ups the quality of his songwriting.
8) Chalk—PJ Harvey
The story of failed relationship and an abortion are told as a whispery Gothic horror story. Polly Jean shelved her guitar and learned to play the piano for this album, a spooky and atmospheric masterwork.
7) Sky Blue Sky—Wilco
No, it's not Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but it's got some great stuff here. The intertwining guitars on the coda to "Impossible Germany" is a certified Grab-the-wheel-honey-I gotta-play-air-guitar moment
6) Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga—Spoon
After years of wondering what the fuss about Spoon was all about, this album won me over. Thirty-seven minutes of tight toothsome rock.
5) Sound of Silver—LCD Soundsystem
James Murphy and company pull off the hat trick: an album that makes you laugh, makes you think about life's goals and life's fleetingness, and gets you to shake your booty at the same time. "All My Friends" is my song of the year.
4) In Rainbows--Radiohead
Gorgeous and otherwordly. My favorite to listen on late drives with the moon roof open. It feels like you could drift off into the stars with the music.
3) Neon Bible—Arcade Fire
After being anointed the great indie hope, Arcade could be forgiven for folding under the pressure. While "Bible" doesn't have the quirkiness and surprises of "Funeral," the scope is wider.
2) Challengers—The New Pornographers
People who never got past that "Challenger" didn't rock like "Twin Cinema" missed an album with some of the most inventive arrangements, gorgeous harmonies and stellar melodies of the year.
1) Boxer—The National
Every time I slid this album into the CD player, I felt like I wasn't listening as much as eavesdropping. How can these songs be so revealing and enigmatic at the same time? A brilliant and brilliantly original album.
Honorable mentions:
Cold & Kind—The 1900s
Kala—M.I.A.
Everybody—The Sea & Cake
Chrome Dreams II—Neil Young
I'm Not There—Soundtrack, various artists
Monday, November 12, 2007
Women and Vodka--The Old Bait and Switch
How to sell classic Russian literature to American males during the Cold War:
It even has a selection from Crime and Punishment, featuring that swinging lady-killer Raskolnikov.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Friday at Lollapalooza
Irony does not seem to function in an outdoor concert setting. I'm pretty sure that when Kurt Cobain wrote Lithium, the opening lyrics of "I'm so happy…" is not to be taken at face value. But when the Polyphonic Spree gets the crowd in a huge sing-along, Lithium becomes a feel-good anthem. The camera focuses on Tim Delaughter moving among the audience and singing, "I'm so ugly, but that's okay, so are you," then zooms in on a guy getting a pat on the head while the lyrics are sung to him and it's a big crowd pleaser with this guy truly ecstatic that the joke was on him.
I noted this last year when Sleater/Kinney sang Modern Girl and everyone sang the "My whole life is a like a picture of a sunny day" line. So a song about limits of materialism becomes a festival feel-good song. Not that I minded it either time.
After a hot and muggy day, the sun slips behind the skyscrapers in the west just in time for the 7:30 show of LCD Soundsystem. The area around stage fills up quickly with people who just got off of work and are ready to dance off any traces of the workweek. James Murphy (who has serious bed hair) and the band play an intense set. In between songs, Murphy has droll monologues: “I never know what to say in between songs. What can I say? ‘Are You Ready?’ Never could understand why performers ask that. You are all obviously ready, waiting for the next song. What do you have to be ready for? It’s the band that needs to be ready. And we’re not, so I have to say stuff like this.”
The set reaches its peak during a red hot version of "All My Friends." The song's ending refrain of "Where are your friends tonight?" which has always seemed a twist of a knife now becomes a joyous shout. Our friends are here tonight and we're all dancing our asses off.
I noted this last year when Sleater/Kinney sang Modern Girl and everyone sang the "My whole life is a like a picture of a sunny day" line. So a song about limits of materialism becomes a festival feel-good song. Not that I minded it either time.
After a hot and muggy day, the sun slips behind the skyscrapers in the west just in time for the 7:30 show of LCD Soundsystem. The area around stage fills up quickly with people who just got off of work and are ready to dance off any traces of the workweek. James Murphy (who has serious bed hair) and the band play an intense set. In between songs, Murphy has droll monologues: “I never know what to say in between songs. What can I say? ‘Are You Ready?’ Never could understand why performers ask that. You are all obviously ready, waiting for the next song. What do you have to be ready for? It’s the band that needs to be ready. And we’re not, so I have to say stuff like this.”
The set reaches its peak during a red hot version of "All My Friends." The song's ending refrain of "Where are your friends tonight?" which has always seemed a twist of a knife now becomes a joyous shout. Our friends are here tonight and we're all dancing our asses off.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Magic Beans
Research shows that coffee can protect the liver against too much partying. It doesn't appear to be the caffeine in coffee, but some other ingredient in java.
This is nature in its truest most beneficial form. A big night out and you naturally need a little more coffee than usual and all that java is making everything all right. It's beautiful in a kind PBS nature special kind of way—except that since the ecological system portrayed is your inner organs, it's even more moving.
And proof positive that those folks juicing on diet Pepsi or Red Bull in the mornings aren't just corroding their taste buds, but are fucking with the natural order of things.
This is nature in its truest most beneficial form. A big night out and you naturally need a little more coffee than usual and all that java is making everything all right. It's beautiful in a kind PBS nature special kind of way—except that since the ecological system portrayed is your inner organs, it's even more moving.
And proof positive that those folks juicing on diet Pepsi or Red Bull in the mornings aren't just corroding their taste buds, but are fucking with the natural order of things.
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