Archive for the 'Music' Category

Jan14th2008

The Editors

editors1.jpgI’m a sucker for live music. I’ll pretty much go see about any band play. I admit though, I got a little spoiled in NYC, able to go see a good band basically on any night. Such good clubs - CBGB’s, Knitting Factory, Mercury Lounge, Bowery Ballroom, Arlene’s Grocery, Sine, Slipper Room, Luna Lounge, etc… I could go on. The best part about it all, you normally can catch a good opening act, local or not, and add them to your list. Lets not forget, it’s not a bad way to spend an evening, drink a beer, here some music and at least get entertained.

We don’t have the music scene here in Atlanta, but there are some editors2.jpggood shows that come through the city. The Roxy, Tabernacle, The Earl, Star Bar and Masquerade are great places to catch a show.Friday, we got out to The Roxy (perks - not too big, easy access to the bar, and good sound system) and I gotta throw my hat in the ring for this one. Go see these guys live if you are at all interested in their music- The Editors. They still have a couple dates on their US tour so check them out. The full line up starts Louis XIV, Hot Hot Heat, and the Editors. Personally, I’d rather see Louis XIV than HHH, but we got there too late (who starts at 7:30 on friday?!). Heat is a little to poppy (like you would find them on an OC soundtrack) and in my opinion, sounded like shit live. Almost like their feedback was off, but I’m not going to make excuses for them. They had a barrage of ten 3-minute songs that thankfully was over fast.

Editors part of the show was very strong. They interacted with the crowd, sounded great, and came back out for a couple extra tracks. Tom Smith is a great frontman. But he’s (for lack of a better descriptor) a scrawny brit, talks like one too. Here’s the confusing part, he has this singing voice that is deep, distinctive and very smooth. You start looking around for a ventriloquist act or someone behind the curtain. Doesn’t match. Anyway, most of the stuff they played was from “An End Has a Start”, with a couple tracks from their first album, “Back Room” including Munich (You’ll speak when you are spoken too).

We had the usual good time, people watching, and our entertainment was definitely maxed out courtesy of one girl, yes, one. She came and joined the group in front of us, definitely looking for that release of a long week working as an administrative assistant, pounding her vodka and cranberry (that’s what it looked like, I’m sure it was something like Zima and grenadine). My girlfriend was almost knocked out by the olfactory overdose of Aussie hair products on our beauty of the night. She had a little trouble coordinating her body to the beat, kind of like the kid who ate too much glue, while her boyfriend held on to her hips in a pseudo prom-pose coupling move (you know what I am talking about!). The best part out the hip-holding, is that he wouldn’t let go even when she was hugging someone else. Hmmm… get out much?

So, get out there and support the music scene. At least it will keep you away from those wanna-be’s on Amercian Idol. For those of you outside of Atlanta, keep on the lookout for Snowden. They should have some new material coming out soon.

Jul31st2007

iTunes Junkie

itunes.jpgThanks Mr. Jobs. Because of you, I need an intervention. Boy, do I need some professional help. Is that the first step - admitting that I have a problem? It doesn’t help that I am an impulse shopper. My decision process is about 2.5 seconds. It really doesn’t help that I’m a sucker for instant gratification. Probably doesn’t work in my favor either that I’m always looking for new music. I really think, that when they did the financial modelling for the the iTunes project, I slotted into the “heavy user” category.

Here’s how my Tuesdays go. Sometime around mid-morning, after I finish my TPS reports, I’ll get an email from Apple iTunes. Most of the time, it has some kind of sexy subject line highlighting some new music. Basically, this sets off this Pavlovian chain reaction unseen by the likes of Ivan Pavlov himself. I begin by scouring the music sites - Paste, Pitchfork, CMJ, Coolfer, MetaCritic, etc… Looking for names, reviews, new releases. Then I pull out my trusty pad, which has permanent residence in my back pocket, to look over the names of bands I jotted down while listening to Alt Nation, Garage, Litium and Left of Center (Sirius channels). And then the final fatal step, I click “store” from that whore of a music program, iTunes. Its like an apple shaped vacuum cleaner attached itself to my wallet and is sucking up anything that resembles currency at a rate equivalent to that of Kirstie Alley at a Krispy Kreme.

Maybe you want the new Editors? Click! - done. How about Interpol? Click! - purchased. Don’t forget about the Smashing Pumpkins. Or The Maps? Tokyo Police Club? UNKLE? Spoon? Queens of the Stone Age? Click, click, click click, click and CLICK! Just to recap, in a matter of, hmmm, 6.5 minutes, I dropped $85 and have it all downloaded, ready to listen. Its like a mad rush. Speed buying. Not insane like those pre-bridal Godzillas at the infamous Vera Wang wedding gown sell-off, but crazy enough. If I smoked, I’d need a cigarette. All I see at the end of the month is damage. Enjoyable minutes, but damage. I decided to punish myself last year and look at my Amex statement by seperating out the iTunes purchases. Not good. I’m sure I covered someones job out there or at least cut myself out of a good 3-week vacation in Europe with an extended stay in Amsterdam. They are constantly making it better (uh-1080p Movies) and easier to shop (”Just for you”). I’m sure that Steve Jobs and his jolly band of Apple elves are working on some Matrix type thing in which your iPod chip is inserted into your skull and the music is instantly downloaded through some intricate satellite system directly to your brain (that would be pretty cool). All you will have to do then is think “yes”. Just another way to deprive me of my milk money.
Anyone know a good support group?