Thursday, March 31, 2005

Oooooh! Wow!

I'm leaving on a plane for London in a couple of hours and I figured that while I'm gone I would take down the comments portion of my blog. I will be too busy to check and reply to all the lovely comments since I'm on an extended vacation from work.

I'm off t skip hand in hand with my british friends down long english streets and exclaim over and over again "the exchange rate sucks!"

Long weekends are fun. Fun! Long weekends in London are even more fun! What's even more awesome is that my typical long weekend is spent in NYC, which is possibly more awesome than London, and cheaper.

My life is awesome. You should focus on things that are awesome in YOUR life more often. Like, sit down for a moment today, put on a song you really like, and think about how great that song is. Maybe give someone you like a phone call and tell them "hey, you know what? you're awesome."

Spend more time loving things than hating things and your day might get better.

One thing my mom taught me when I was little was that there is no bigger sin than jealousy. None. She never ever taught me the emotion of jealousy. If I ever wanted something she taught me that maybe one day, if i worked hard enough, or did the right things in life, I could get it, but until then, be happy with the things you have. That was probably the greatest lesson a person could teach another.

Well, either I'm off to London, or I'm off to off myself.
NO. FUCKING. WAY.

I am a HUGE fan of American Idol. I wont front, I love that show and watch it religiously. I talk about the outcomes with my friends and download mp3s from previous night performances. I'd like to think of myself as somewhat of an expert on American Idol. However, when I found a picture of Jim Verraros from Season 1 I had to think for a minute... another minute... I looked at the photo and couldn't for the life of me remember him, at least not based on the photo. Until I peeped my eyes on what he looked like when he was going up against Justin and Kelly. Man, am I glad I gave that guy a gift certificate to Hot Topic or what!? Seriously, though, I'm in awe:



I would like to touch him as he sings show tunes to me... but sadly, I dont think I'm his "type". Maybe I'll sign him.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

WHENEVER I WAKE UP

I finally caught that Spike Jonze commercial that featured Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs sweetly singing (to be honest, at first i thought it was Regina Spektor) and searched the nerd for an mp3 of it.

I found a couple of versions that were posted by Devon Elliott

First there is a remix here.

The original is here.

right click and save as for the pour soul of Devon Elliott's server...

The song is really quite beautiful and simple... I've just become such a sucker for pianos and strings in songs. Josh says that the reason i've been so sad lately is cause every song i like sounds like music for heroin addicts. This one fits right in.

PS - I'm not that sad. Just tired.
ACCORDING TO SOME PAPER, I'M...

I PREDICT A RIOT

Not having a job is fun. I wont lie. I get to wake up whenever, call up Brian and Meredith, and get brunch at Clinton Street Bakery just cause there's nothing better to do. When the No-Job Club met up for their Monday afternoon brunch we ran into Roddy who was enjoying a preflight meal of pancakes and trying to get his last sips of NYC before heading to Scotland for tour. Roddy is one of the sweetest boys I've ever met, and I don't use that lightly. He speaks in poems and looks at things with the innocense of a child. I love having him around to marvel at things I take for advantage, and will really miss him while he's gone.

The No-Job Club debated over what movie we'd see after we ate. I somehow convinced the two of them that seeing the new Ashton Kutcher movie was a really good idea. Not only a good idea, but a great one. One that would make their day 100x better. While we debated over the movie selections, one of the guys from Soulwax came through the door and I was totally stoked. I love Soulwax's album "much against everyone's advice" so much. I used to listen to it obsessively when it first came out and I think it'd hold up pretty well today if it were released. It's much along the lines of whatever Beck is doing, or was doing, or is doing again... They have a new album out now I think.

"Guess Who?" was actually not as bad as the reviews suggested. I don't care what anyone says, Ashton Kutcher is likeable. He's adorable. I want to take him home and make him my little boyfriend and talk about Kaballah and shit. Meredith and I took turns saying "i want him! he's mine!" as Brian actually followed the plot enough to find it necessary to shush the loud chatters in the theater who probably turned up thinking nobody else would be there and it'd be a great location to have a meeting.

When the movie was over, I bid my mates farewell and head to union square to meet up with Lizzy for a pre-show dinner at Zen Palate so we could gossip about our lives. Then we went to see the Features who were opening up for Ben Kweller and the Walkmen (you know, for that $5 Dentyne show). The Features were great -- kind of like the White Stripes with a full band and a bit more punky.

The rest of the posse came in time to check out Ben Kweller, who was adorable as always, and had Evan Dando join him on stage to perform a Creedence Clearwater song, which Nick surprisingly knew the words to, and Josh fully enjoyed since he LOOOOOVES Dando, and Brian... Brian was missing a lot of the night and I think he was possibly posing with his balls on someone's head. Holy run on sentance. Anyway, when Ben Kweller was done, Dando just hung out in the hallway by the lifebeat table and was hardly bothered by anyone. He was merely surrounded by about 4 people, whom all looked like people who knew him, and was smiling and happy. Heroin did wonders to his body cause he looked healthy and preserved.

The Walkmen were great, but they played too many new songs in my opinion (only two old ones... the song titles slip me but one had the line "let's forget the things we did last winter..." and I think the other was "Wake Up"). Their new album is good, but it doesn't mean as much to me as "Everyone Who Pretended to Love Me Is Gone". They didn't seem to into the show either, but maybe I was just projecting. I was really hoping that they'd play "Rue the Day" which just blows my mind. They didnt.

Today (tuesday), I woke up, did some work on some projects, and then went up to SPIN to meet up with Nick for the SPINHouse Live Kaiser Chiefs show. I can't believe it was my first time seeing this band! Every time they've played in NYC I've either been DJing or out of town. FINALLY i got to see them... I'm so happy. The band could not have been anymore adorable. Like lil puppies you wanna take home and feed grapes to cuase it'd look cute to see them fiddle with it. The singer, whateverhisnameis, handled the crowd like he was a regular on Montey Python, making everyone in the super packed offices laugh. It was totally interactive, fun, cute, and they sounded great. You know, you're typical dancey post punk shit with melodic points. Catchy. Delightful.

Afterwards, Nick and I went downtown. As I was waving goodbye to him, attempting to walk across the street not paying attention to traffic, I heard Nick and another male voice yell out my name simultaneously. I looked up and saw that it was my brother Lawrence... and the reason they both were yelling my name was because a car was about to hit me. What are the chances of my brother being at the same corner as me on the lower east side at the same time? The timing was so perfect that I didn't get hit by a car. Yay!

Here's a shot of the Kaiser Cheif's from my view:

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

LET THE CRUSHES BEGIN

Not that I needed anymore of a reason to have a girlcrush on Ollie Oohlas, but these photos from when they were on KillRadio sure help.

Swoooooooon.

Monday, March 28, 2005

COME ON HIDE YOUR LOVERS

So as I mentioned earlier, being the designated driver in Miami has it's advantages and disadvantages. Since my rental car had a cd deck in it I made a mix CD that would make me feel like I wasn't in Miami... which turned out to be less fun than I had pictured (despite my fantastic company who were totally wonderful). The mix cd was for me only... It had no regard for my passengers, which wasn't on purpose. I just figured I'd rather hear shit that makes my heart feel like glowing if I was going to drive people around safely, than worry about the happiness of others for that moment. Besides, my taste rules! Here's the track listing:

The Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
The Drama - Stevenson
The Killers - Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself (Morrissey Cover)
Femme Generation - Honestly, Trudy
Spinto Band & YYYs - karen and mandy (mark eklund & ollie tamale remix machine)
Bloc Party - Banquet
The Bravery - Honest Mistake
The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure
The Go!Team - Huddle Formation
Foreign Born - We Had Pleasure
Interpol - Not Even Jail
Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Right Round (i threw that in between two songs that would make me slash my wrists if I had them back to back)
Bright Eyes - Lover I Don't Have To Love
The Killers vs. The Clash - Somebody Rock Me
My Chemical Romance - Helena

ps - I sort of wish that the line in the Arcade Fires "Rebellion (Lies)" was "People say that you'll die, fast and without warning" instead of "People say that you'll die, faster without water."... not that I'm trying to change the lyrics to my favorite fucking thing of the moment, but I'm just sayin... besides "come on hide your lovers underneath the covers" is one of the sexist lyrics i've ever heard, and I dont know why. Lovers should be a secret. Don't tell anyone who you love, not even the person you love. This is why my blog isn't as personal as it could be.
WE'LL TALK ON GAYDIO

Pitty Sing's "Radio" is on MTV2 right now. It's totally reminding me of something i'd see on VH1 classic (and hear, for that matter). The band is looking good these days... the guitarist looks like Alex Kapranos and the bassist has sweet hair... plus, i don't think they (or their fans) want to kill me anymore, so horay!

But anyway.. it's like Elkland, but I think they've had to censor this a bit more.

Sunday, March 27, 2005

I ASKED YOUR NAME, YOU ASKED THE TIME

You know what makes Miami 1000x better? Being a designated driver. SO FUCKING AWESOME!

Where is the kid with the chemicals?

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

HELL WILL BE FULL

So I posted this in a post below and people have been IMing non-stop to say they have been crying with laughter.

Then I found this which is purely evil. But I laughed. I laughed til I cried. And then I laughed some more.

So in that spirit, here's a photo of my friend Grant from Fiasco (whom are actually fucking great) that i think we should all manipulate. You can host the reults in the comments section by uploading them to imageshack.

Sorry Grant... this shot is too hilarious:

MORNING THEFT ON TOUR

Go see them this week:

03.23.05
New Orleans, LA
Neutral Ground
10pm, more info TK

03.24.05
Birmingham, AL
Highnote Lounge
10pm, w/ The Break Up, Be It The Means, Envy Green

03.26.05
Norfolk, VA
Relative Theory Records
8pm, $6 adv $8 doors

04.21.05
Philadelphia, PA
Doc Watson's
more info TK

04.29.05
Allston, MA
The Pill
@ Great Scott, 10pm, $7

Click here for something HILARIOUS.

Monday, March 21, 2005

HEAR YE, HEAR YE

this is tonight... lost angeles time. dont miss the awesome:

BEN BROWN IS MY HERO

I gotta run to lunch, but i just wanted to say that Ben Brown of Austin, Texas, is the fucking man.

The house party at his place was possibly the best party in all of SXSW. Hands down. Dude, fucking Idlewild played in a living room. IN A LIVING ROOM. Maximo Park played next to a hot tub! MC Chris played in a LIVING ROOM. The Prix and Fractious were fucking amazing as well and DJ Elhaam got a fucking dance party going for all the kids that drank too much of the free SPARKS!

My goodness.

anyway, does anyone have a ticket to the Go!Team for tomorrow that they wanna sell/give me? Please?

PS - i'll write more about sxsw when i get home later.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

TRRRRRRIPY

OK, DSTND is some sort of artist website where people can go to showcase their works. My friend Justin keeps on trying to explain to me what it is, i dont get it, all i know is that I am totally fucking tripping balls from looking at it. It's like Donnie Darko with prettiness.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

MEOW



Gone to Texas.
WHEN I SAY MAXIMO, YOU SAY PARK

Did anyone reading this make it to the Tarts of Pleasure Pep Rally? I think it was possibly sold out... or just incredibly packed.

Hot Chip, with their five synths all in a line at the front of the stage, were a lot better than i expected. I actually had no idea what to expect other than a great live show, and they didn't disappoint. Electro-ish, but not in a brooklyn way.

Maximo Park were really fucking great. Tight as sin and songs that make you tap your foot no matter how hard you try. They're along the lines of the Futureheads or the Bravery.

Karen and I dressed as cheerleaders with the word TARTS across our chest. I kept on saying how i really wanted to go home with a boy so I could have the greatest walk-of-shame outfit ever. I would cover the "TARTS" with my hands, my face with a frown, going "noooooooo."

But alas, no walk-of-shame for me!

BUMMER

Last night, after coming home from surgery, my friend Gideon found that his apartment got robbed. A burgler broke into his east village apartment and stole his computer, his girlfriend's jewelry, his brother's stuff, a watch his grandfather gave him just before he passed away... many very important things to him that don't have a value. If you happen to buy a computer on craigslist and it's got a bunch of things written by Gideon Yago, let me know so he can buy it back from you or something.

He's bummed out. I'm bummed out.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Friday, March 11, 2005

ALL THAT MATTERS

is that this dog is so fucking cute:

DEEELIGHTFUL

I'm kinda stressing at the moment to clean up my desk. I'd love to write about last night where I performed the most awful cover of "Sweet Caroline" ever imagined (seriously, it was horrendous, i didnt even know it was possible to sing so poorly) at the Heeb Kareoke fete. Or how Brian stole the night by performing "Gloria," and winning the coveted prize of admiration of the Jews (as if he didn't have that already). But I've got shit to do.

So instead, I'm going to post this MP3 that Kavin sent met today of a band called Femme Generation. I didn't bother reading up on them or any of that jazz because i like the song and that's all i need to know. It's like if you combined the Smiths with the Spinto band.

Wednesday, March 9, 2005

THE TARTS OF PLEASURE PEP RALLY!



You better believe that Karen and I will be wearing cheerleading outfits.

From what I've heard, Hot Chip are not to be missed live, and since this is both band's American debut, you can be sure that it's not one to miss. Sort of so you can say "oh yeah... " in a pretentious voice "... i totally saw those bands when they played their first usa show that the tarts of pleasure put on."

six bucks!
A TOTAL W.A.S.T.E. OF TIME

Aqua Teen fans... Say goodbye to next hour.

PS - Anyone that RSVPed for the SXSW party, please be 21 years old or older or have a good fake ID. Thanks!
PAPA CAN YOU HEAR ME?

HEEB magazine is throwing a Kareoke party tonight at Lit. Expect lots of Barbara Streisand, Neil Diamond (i hope), and David Lee Roth covers:

American Schmidol

It's karaoke time. Heeb style.

With an intimidating panel of judges including Heeb Music Editor Arye Dworken.
Those needing liquid-induced courage fret not. Open bar from 9 to 10pm
$6 at the door.
9:00 PM
at LIT, 2nd Ave (between 5th and 6th St)
FLY ME TO THE MOOOOOON

What is everyone's favorite website for getting cheap plane tickets? I'm trying to get tickets to London for late march/early april and so far I've found $415 tickets on travelocity.com. I also checked out expedia.com, a href="http://www.orbitz.com" target="_blank">Orbitz.com, and cheaptickets.com.

I think I named them all... can anyone please tell me about any travel sites that i might be forgetting where I can get a cheapo ticketo?

PS - Kim, Shitehouse, and Imran, please be prepared to have me in your town and maybe in your homes.
FLY ME TO THE MOOOOOON

What is everyone's favorite website for getting cheap plane tickets? I'm trying to get tickets to London for late march/early april and so far I've found $415 tickets on travelocity.com. I also checked out expedia.com, a href="http://www.orbitz.com" target="_blank">Orbitz.com, and cheaptickets.com.

I think I named them all... can anyone please tell me about any travel sites that i might be forgetting where I can get a cheapo ticketo?

PS - Kim, Shitehouse, and Imran, please be prepared to have me in your town and maybe in your homes.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

I NEED A HERO

Tomorrow night I'm DJing a fancy fun party at Hiro... which is where Kate Moss likes to party.
email me if you want to get on the young and the guest list: slewitinn@spin.com

thanks

Doors open 10pm
Hiro:16 St. and 9 Ave. in the Maritime Hotel

Monday, March 7, 2005

I LOVE DIVO

OK, right now, for the past two hours i've been in love with my digital cable Tivo thingy.

It allowed me to go back to back from American Idol -- a show i really actually like -- to Bjork's performance on SNL. It's like, "this is fake. this is real." And it's not that i have anything against the show or it's contestants. I think some of them are really great and potentially fantastic (kelly clarkson, anyone?) But none of them really have what Bjork has in this performance. There, on my screen, she stands in a sparkly green dress while behind her are about 10 string players. She bounces in place, totally posessed by her song. Her voice as unique as her name. Not cookie cutter. Not comparable. I sat watching American Idol thinking about how I really wish at least one of them would bust out a Radiohead song -- something that showed range but wasn't your typical Edwin McCain/Sting ballad -- no such luck. I honestly wouldn't have minded if they performed "Creep" (which i think someone did once on a prior season). That guy who won the World Idol competition, Kurt Neilson, sang "Hunting High And Low" by A-ha and "She's so High" by some other band... which isn't a particularly risky song, but he OWNED IT.

Oh, by the way, one of the guys on AI is from that band Pray for the Soul of Betty. If you're ever around the Lower East Side you've probably seen their stickers all over the place. Has anyone ever gone to see them perform?

BY THE WAY

Maybe I'm totally the last person to realize this, but Britney is a full on stoner. She was wearing that weed jacket the other day and i was like "Oh, cute. Britney is discovering weed." But under closer inspection I realized that she was a TOTAL stoner. Lindsay and i did some research and discussed the evidence:
* oily hair
* bad skin
* weight gain
* laziness (she cancelled her tour)
* fast food addiction

Um... i'm sure there are other pieces of evidence, but i'm getting sleepy.
IT'S OFFICIAL!

I have THE WORST TASTE IN MEN.

Any of my girlfriends could've told you this about 39 years ago, but I finally came to the startling realization that they were right. It happened seconds after I awoke from the hearts-flying-out-of-my-eyes-trance following the viewing of this photo.

A Backstreet Boy, Sarah? Surely you must be fucking kidding. But look at him. He looks like he's been living under a cupboard for the past month. He looks like he needs me to take care of him. He also looks psycho and has, my favorite, favorite, favorite feature: fantastic eyebrows.

Ladies, am I alone here? Am I the only girl who appreciates a nice brow?

Anyway, today I've obsessively been listening to the following:
Kidz Bop - "Float On"
The Killers - "Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself"
Morrissey - "Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself"
The Spinto Band - "Oh Mandy" (for those who downloaded that song, wait til you hear the remix Mark and Ollie from the oohlas did to it for my next single release!!!!!)
the oohlas - "the rapid"
Good Charlotte - "In This World (Murder)" ... hate on them all you want, but every time i send someone this song, they change their mind.
GIVE ME A YAY!

Does anyone know where to get cheerleader outfits in NYC?
GIVE ME A YAY!

Does anyone know where to get cheerleader outfits in NYC?

Saturday, March 5, 2005

EVERYBODY NEEDS TO HEAR THIS SONG

OMG... this oohlas song has been making my fucking life lately. It's not on the single that i sent out, but my god... you need to listen to it. Whenever I play it for friends, they're like "yeah, this is good." and then a week later they'll call me and tell me that it randomly came up on iTunes and now they're blown away by it.

This is how i felt the first time i heard interpol.

Ladies, watch out for the exploding vaginas, and boys, the same goes to you, but with your junk... this one is a fucking doozy.

Friday, March 4, 2005

I BACKED MY CAR INTO A COP CAR THE OTHER DAY... YEAH!!

I have played the Kidz Bop version of "Float On" about 39 times today, and finally when the grown-ups left to embark on their weekend out of the office, I decided to unplug my headphones and blast the song, which caused a small stir around my desk with the remaining kids. They wanted to know what the fuck I was listening to and dancing to at my desk. I showed them the soundscan charts from this week and pointed to the #7 chart position the Kidz Bop Volume Seven occupied.

I shit you not. Last week, 73,502 people purchased the compilation... meaning, that there could potentially be about 73,502 hipster kids floating around our playgrounds in the very near future drinking redbull while making fun of their peers for their symmetrical haircuts and lack of deconstructed Spongebob Squarepants Tshirts.

Here are my suggestions for Kidz Bop Volume 8:

The Go! Team - "Huddle Formation"
The Arcade Fire - "Rebellion (Lies)"
The Spinto Band - "Oh Mandy"
The Oohlas - "Gone"
Louis XIV - "God Killed The Queen"
Interpol - "Evil" ("Rosemary... YEAH!... Heaven restores you in life... YEAH!)
Giant Drag - "This Isn't It"
The Killers - "Mr. Brightside" (just for the sake of the super inappropriate lyrics being sung by 8 year olds)
Franz Ferdinand - "Michael"
LAST CALL FOR SIN

I went to see Motley Crue lastnight -- and despite the fact that I really dont like them -- i really loved the show. It's sad that none of today's newer bands can/try to pull off the huge stadium spectacle that big. Madonna, Jane's Addiction, and the Crue all "bring it" when they play MSG, yet when I saw Coldplay and Radiohead there, it was just like attending one of their shows at roseland or something, but with more people there with me. Now, don't get me wrong, I loved those two shows a lot... but it'd be nice if there were some theatrics to today's live shows. When the Killers play stadiums eventually, I want to see Brandon Flowers start to rise up and fly over the crowd during the last two minutes of "All These Things That I've Done" as fire blasts from the stage and glitter falls from the ceiling and little people dressed as angels fly up from the audience.

Anyway, my lunch just arrived and I'm hungover and starving.

Here's a photo of me and the Vicar pretending to be models for some fashion shoot about new bohemia fashion and misshapes that my friend Seige took for Metropop magazine.

ADDED: Go here and watch Patches the Horse. Something seems very strange to me about this clip, particularly since it shows a horse eating a burger.

Thursday, March 3, 2005

GOOD NEWS IS ON THE WAY

Kidz Bop is a compilation album put out by Razor & Tie (i think) that is basically a children friendly version of "NOW! That's What I Call Music!" covered by adults and featuring kids singing along.

It appears that sometimes they have a very loose criteria for what's appropriate for children, hence their inclusion of Modest Mouse's inescapable and addictive "Float On."

"I backed my car into a cop car the other day... YEAH!"
"A fake Jamacian took every last dime with that scam... YEAH!"

This is too good for you to miss... so download it here... right click/save as.

Wednesday, March 2, 2005

*PLONK* MY TWO CENTS

Maybe it's just my mood, but I think that Regina Spektor/The Strokes song "Post Modern Girls" is the best song the Strokes have ever recorded. I think i just really enjoy the delivery by both vocalists.
STUFFS

I'm DJing the Midtown video premier party tonight at bar ELEVEN. Open bar.

Friday night I'm DJing this thing... again, an open bar.

Also, I'm looking for a new stolen transmission logo. Anyone wanna design one for me?
THE GHOST OF YOU

Linsday and TMFTML finally put their wine glasses down long enough to scribe this comedic brilliance that readers of my comments section will definitely enjoy. Sorry EvBates! Surely, even you'll find this hilarious.

And incase you were wondering why I love the new Good Charlotte record so much, I think this might help explain some things:


DISCLAIMER: I actually like the GC album cause it's really fucking good. Everyone I've sent it to, who previously didn't like it, gave it up to them for making a really underrated and awesome, record.

Inspiration from The Gay Master.

EDIT:

Due to overwhelming demand, and permission from Rina, i'm reposting my family photo:
Left to right: Cousins Eric (17), Renee (11), Lawrence and Rina, Cousin Maurice (18), Me, and my aunt Nancy (my cousins' mom and my mom's sister).

RUE THE DAY

My friend Daniel asked me why the Walkmen (one of our favorite bands) is selling tickets to an Irving Plaza show for only $5. I don't know why they're so cheap, but I bought four tickets.

Did anyone go to the Oohlas show last night? I'm dying to hear how it was!