HAVE YOU HEARD?: THE JOY FORMIDABLE

Last night I finally got to see a band I've been loving loving loving for months: The Joy Formidable.

A few months ago, after I had seen Jenny Eliscu and Gurj Bassi tweet about them a bunch, my friend Peter Gaston sent me their album, A Balloon Called Moaning, and I instantly fell in love. Like, within 30 seconds of listening to the first song I heard, which was "The Greatest Light is The Greatest Shade," I was dumbfounded by how a band this good could exist:

I would listen to that song non-stop for hours and days. It was dreamy like My Bloody Valentine, but poppy like the Smashing Pumpkins and the perfect song to get me relaxed whenever I was stressing.

I found myself riding my bike around the city with that song pumping through my headphones -- never loud enough -- making me feel like I was flying through the streets in a movie of my own.

Seeing the Joy Formidable last night was amazing. Watching the three piece take over the stage and enchanting the audience with adorableness as they cited their sadness over yesterday being the last day of their tour was too much cuteness to handle... but don't get me wrong, they're not a cute band. Performance-wise, Ritzy played her guitar with as much primal ease as Kurt Cobain, flailing around at times and never missing a note. I looked around to see if there was another guitarist on stage because I couldn't believe how great she was -- not because she was a girl, but because she was just amazing. She didn't seem tethered to an instrument twice her size... rather, it seemed like it was an extra appendage (that she knew how to control way better than any appendages I was actually born with).

It's been so long since I've had a chance to just get so completely lost while watching a band. Thank you, Joy Formidable.

New Single:

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• Even Rupert Murdoch is worried about China's growing economic power. Shit is gonna get really messed up over here in the States. What dialect of Chinese should I be learning? Seriously.
• Germany has raised their security alert because of suspected terrorist activity.
• A new superbug has emerged in Europe called NDM-1. In fact, one of the dudes from the European Center for Disease Prevention called it a "Super superbug." 77 cases have appeared in multiple countries in the EU, and 3 in the states. The bug is immune to almost all vaccines and can cause UTIs and pneumonia. They also said that it may have been spread from India. Good times.
• Super long profile about Sarah Palin in New York Times. She's totally gonna run for President in 2012 and she's totally going to win. She knows that popularity rules uber alles. Shoot, she's also probably been prepping and learning things and stuff.
• The Egyptian blogger who was jailed for insulting the President of Egypt and possibly insulting Islam, has finally been released after 4 years. What would you tell this blogger he missed while he was away?
• The TSA is going to have a lot of essplainin to do pretty soon. I'm doubtful this new security situation is going to last much longer: Airline pilots are trying rally against it, an online group is trying to initiate some sort of "National Opt-Out Day" (November 24), the Taiwanese animated our biggest fears, the TSA has been hit by lawsuits, and even beloved illusionist, Penn Jillett called the cops on a TSA agent that felt his crotch without asking first. Will you be opting out next time you fly? Here's what happens when you decline a full body scan.
• Japan is working on making the future happen now with facial recognition vending machines.
• The first transgendered trial judge in the country has been elected. Big day!
• Waist-high flooding in England.
• The FDA is probably gonna ban caffeinated alcoholic drinks, and FOURLoko is changing it's ingredients... which will kill the product anyway since it tastes like crap.
• The police have taken the producer of "Survivor" into custody cos they think he was involved in his wife's murder in Mexico.
• Cholera has hit the Dominican Republic.
• Strong earthquake in Indonesia. No damage. Thank goodness.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

An elementary school in Provincetown, MA will make condoms readily available to students. While their official stance is that they don't want the kids to be having sex, they'd rather that the students be protected than not. I fully support this concept. I'd rather a bunch of sexually active 10 year olds than pregnant ones. I grew up in Tenafly, NJ and we had a really amazing sex-ed curriculum and education. We learned so much that all the students were too scared to have sex. I think about 75% of us graduated virgins. Virgins convinced that we'd get AIDS without a condom and STDs no matter what. Nobody got pregnant when I was in school and a fuckton of my classmates went on to the top colleges. Sex Ed is kind of a great thing.

Speaking of babies... Over 300 dead baby fetuses were found in a Buddhist temple in Thailand. Uh... what?

Japan has successfully brought back the first asteroid dust to Earth! I can't wait til they find out that there's some sort of super fuel components and BP decides to make Space their next money maker.

People in Europe (and eventually the States) can look forward to colder winters thanks to Climate Change. Over the weekend I was watching the 'Underwater Worlds' episode of "Ancient Aliens" on The History Channel (watch it here) and they fascinatingly discovered the remains of cities underwater that would have been built about 10,000 years before humanoids were thought to be able to do such a thing. What if, in 10,000 years, our ancestors find our ruins under water and wonder how primitive man ever did such a thing. Hmm...

The Beatles are finally going to be available on iTunes! Great timing guys! Just when nobody actually pays for music.

Prince William is now engaged to Kate Middleton. Finally. If she was in my family (and Prince William was Jewish) they would've been dated for like 2 months before everyone put pressure on us to get engaged and married.

A residential building collapsed in New Delhi, India, killing 61 people. So sad.

New York City! Get ready for iris scans!!!!

More seriously: 1 in 7 US households have been struck by hunger issues. So upsetting.

INTRODUCING... SUPERNOVA1979C

The big announcement from NASA was the discovery of an infant blackhole they are calling SuperNova1979C.

It might not be a black hole, but it probably is. And it looks like SuperNova1979C is about 31 years old, give or take 50 million light years.

The exciting thing for scientists is that this is the youngest ever observed "black hole" and will give scientists to research how they behave and how they happen.

Follow SuperNova1979C on Twitter.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

NASA is going to be making a big announcement today at 12:30EST. According to their site:

"NASA will hold a news conference at 12:30 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 15, to discuss the Chandra X-ray Observatory's discovery of an exceptional object in our cosmic neighborhood."

What could that mean?! It's not about the Gamma bubbles, since that was discovered by Fermilab. Could it actually be the discovery of Nibiru? Was Zecharia Sitchin actually right?! As my friends like to tell me, "The Aliens are finally coming to take you home!" Either way, I've got my HAARP averting tin-foil hat on, and I'm ready to listen.

There was a huge skyscraper fire in Shanghai.

The British couple that has been held hostage by Somali pirates for over a year have finally been freed. I really can't believe we live in a day where pirates are such a threat.

Caterpillar just bought Bucyrus - a mining equipment manufacturer - for $8.6 Billion. Just gonna put my Nancy Drew hat on and say that Caterpillar know of something that big needs to be mined, and knows that they're gonna make their money back. Gold is up to $1600/ounce. Could there be a mystery reserve that they've discovered? Maybe on the Moon?

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

Murders in NYC are back up 15% this year. Hide your kids and hide your wife.

The Post Office lost $8.5 BILLION last year. Not like, they lost it in the mail... but more like, they're going broke. Here's an idea for them: Stop hiring such lazy assholes.

Cholera in Haiti has claimed 796 victims and over 200,000 are in danger of catching the highly contagious flu. Where's Wycleff now?!

That pesky Indonesian Volcano, Merapi, is really messing things up over there. The death toll reached 206 and over 380,000 people have been displaced. Scientists warn that it could get worse, which might not be TOTALLY bad news. With Mt. Merapi situated so close to the equator, if it emits a large enough quantity of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, it could cool our global climate a few degrees and that could be a huge help to living things as the ozone starts depleting. However, if the sulfur dioxide doesn't make it high up enough, we could have a lot of acid rain on our hands. Wait and see?

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

Check out our giant space bubbles. They're in the center of the Milky Way and they're 25,000 light years wide. Scientists have no idea what the eff they are.

Now there's a streak in the NYC skyline -- WHICH I MISSED!!!!! I'm calling shenanigans. It's a contrail for sure.

Oil prices are now nearly $90/barrel. There's 40 billion barrels of untapped oil that was just discovered in Brazil. The biggest reason Brazil elected Dilma Rousseff was because she was the former Chief of Energy. She ran all that energy stuff, and now that there's $3,600,000,000,000 (did i do that math right?) in Brazil's land, shit is gonna be huge. I suggest you pick up Portuguese for Dummies asap.

Hollywood and Bollywood are working on becoming bff. I knew "Outsourced" was a great show.

Lastly, there's been a Polio outbreak in Africa. I didn't realize that's still around!

HAVE YOU HEARD?: JESSIE J

A new friend of mine just texted me to say "Do you know Jessie J, musical artiste? Vulgar gal rap." Naturally, I want to know about all things musically new that I haven't heard before, especially when it involves a woman breaking down the barriers of femininity that society places on them.

Last night I had a conversation with someone about the concept of "post-feminism" and how I grew up as one of the guys and never thought of myself as a woman/girl held back by the constraints of society. Both my mom and dad worked, and that was never weird at home. My mom also cooked, and that was just what it was. I was always expected to do as well as the guys, if not better (because my parents would tell me that I was THE BEST). Even as the smallest one in my social group (of more guys than girls), it was never assumed that I couldn't do something because I was a girl... it wasn't even assumed that I couldn't reach things that were high up since I was always climbing on stuff like a monkey. Basically, me and my female friends grew up as dudes with slits and that was the ONLY difference (particularly since I didn’t grow boobs until I was about 18).

So the verb "banging" comes into play. It means "to bang" as in "to have intercourse." I was asked "Can a girl bang a guy?" I say yes. I say that if the girl is telling a story about having "intercourse" with a guy, then she can say "i banged that dude." Similarly, a guy can say "i banged that girl," or a person might be able to say "we banged." It puts the power into the hands of the story teller, which, in my mind, neutralizes gender roles. It's not necessarily a bad thing if a person says they banged another person, but it’s slightly less vulgar than to say “fucked” and a lot less awkward than saying “had intercourse with,” or “made love to,” or “railed.”

Anyway, I am a fan of this Jessie J character’s song “Do It Like a Dude,” for this precise reason. She wants to bang and is unapologetic about that. She also c0-wrote Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A." with Dr. Luke, so I love her for that alone. God Bless!

TEAM FACELIFT

My boy, Matt Raz, edited a video for Team Facelift's "Heart Attack," which was directed by Tommy Mas and is of a song off their new mixtape called "6 Grams". Catch a cameo by one of my favorite dudes on Twitter and in music, Prince Terrence.

I need to go to the party in this video. Matt, where is it and why am I not there?

Oh... and if you've never heard of Team Facelift, their ish doesn't typically sound like this. They usually sound more like License to Ill-era Beastie Boys... which was the Boys' best era, if you ask me.

TEAM FACELIFT - "Heart Attack" from Matt Raz on Vimeo.

DAWN OF THE TED

Love Zombies? Love teddy bears? You're in luck (via @lvlewitinn)

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

Schools in Broward County, Florida, have been on lockdown after an email was sent that said "something big was going to happen."

The G-20 Summit has begun in Seoul.

General Motors reports $2 Billion profit. Not bad.

THE RACCOON WHISPERER

My friend Caiti Beth is in Alabama and she video'd her friend going out to the woods and luring a raccoon (whom she appears to have a prior relationship with) back to her house to play with. I suggest you don't try this at home, but certainly enjoy the adroableness below:

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

So I'm going to try and make this a daily thing where I post about news things that happened while you were sleeping. Typically, this will go up earlier in the day, but I was super busy this morning.

A mysterious missile appeared to have been launched off the coast of California. Nobody seems to know what it was. Even the Pentagon is boggled. Here's my three guesses:

1. US trying to attack the Indonesian volcano.

2. Unidentified Submerged Object of other worldly origin, thus proving Colleen Thomas RIGHT.

3. Uh... something we should be really effing nervous about.

The Large Hadron Collider made a big bang!

A pill with an embedded microchip. It's meant to make sure you're taking the right meds at the right time. Not so sure I feel ok with this.

Cholera outbreak in Haiti's capital.

Everyone is nervous about Israel's East Jerusalem housing plan.

4,000 people stranded on a cruise ship.

THE ALIENS COMETH

So says Colleen Thomas:



I love all these stories of the End of Days that call out specific dates of when things are supposed to happen. According to the video above, that date is TODAY. But Colleen seems to think that Obama is just heading over to India today. Whoops. I think her dates are a bit off.

I'm all about the crazy stuff happening in our world that proves that we totally messed shit up. The price of gold skyrocketing. The climate being out of whack. The price of cotton going up because fields all over the world are being destroyed by the messed up climate. Nuclear reactors going out of whack. Nuclear missiles going offline. Planes dropping out of the sky. Volcanoes exploding. Oil pouring out of the earth from a sprout we planted. I could probably go on and on and on with all those actual examples of the End of Days. However, effing cooks like Colleen has to ruin it for the not-so-crazy-crazies like myself.

Sheesh.

David Icke ruins it too:

links via Videogum and Gawker.

I LOVE OUTSOURCED

This weekend I kept it super lazy. I watched four episodes of my new favorite show "Outsourced" on TWC's On-Demand service. I'm not sure if i love the show because it's funny, which it is, or if because the main character is a dude played by the new object of my affection: Ben Rappaport.

Ben Rappaport looks like this:

THE BEST SWIMSUITS

It's been a while since I've worn a one-piece swimsuit, and I've never really written about anything fashion oriented on here because I'm more of a person who just wears clothing. I could take it or leave it as long as it basically looks cool.

However, these swimsuits from Black Milk are INCREDIBLE:

SONG OF 2010

I hope that 2010 is defined by Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair."

Here are two videos for the song:

TODAY'S PLAYLIST 10/12/10

HAPPY COMING OUT DAY

If a person can choose to be Jewish, was it right for the Nazis in Europe, Nasser’s followers in Egypt, and 15th Century Spaniards to persecute, murder, and eradicate them for this choice?

When people -- specifically religious leaders -- suggest that homosexuality is a choice and turn the other way when gays are persecuted, murdered, and humiliated, they should remember the struggles they (and their ancestors) faced when they lived as something they felt was right in the face of opposition.

Is homosexuality a choice? Is it how people are born? Is being Jewish a choice? Is it how people are born?

The debate could go on for the ages. Just live and let live. Stop pointing fingers and finding issues or scapegoats. Find compassion and understanding.

BRANDON FLOWERS ALBUM ART REVEALED...

... to be my wet dream.

I'M DJING AT THE HUDSON HOTEL TONIGHT

The Tarts of Pleasure are DJing tonight at the Hudson Hotel at 11pm.

Here's the facebook event for it: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127888473919056&index=1

I'LL GLADLY TURN THIS INTO A BRANDON FLOWERS BLOG

There's never enough Brandon Flowers:

THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND

I'm gonna be out of town this weekend with a few friends in the middle of PA for 4th of July weekend. But just in case you're in NYC and looking for fun stuff to do, here are some ideas:

Thursday July 1:

CIRCA AT DARKROOM OPEN VODKA BAR
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=133065686714006
Start Time: Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 10:00pm
End Time: Friday, July 2, 2010 at 4:00am
Location: DARKROOM
Street: 165 LUDLOW BTW HOUSTON AND STANTON

TISWAS -- Scissor Sisters release party, vodka open bar + more!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=125759497466437
Start Time: Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 10:30pm
End Time: Friday, July 2, 2010 at 4:00am
Location: BEAUTY BAR
Street: 231 East 14th St. (btw. 2nd & 3rd Aves.)

22 and unemployed
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126798020690361
Start Time: Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 10:00pm
End Time: Friday, July 2, 2010 at 4:00am
Location: gallery bar

Friday July 2:

MISS KITTIN + CHERYL Friday July 2 at Webster Hall
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132582486763908
Start Time: Friday, July 2, 2010 at 10:00pm
End Time: Saturday, July 3, 2010 at 4:00am
Location: Webster Hall: 125 E11th St between 3rd & 4th Ave

TRASH! with a Japanese Goth Pole dancer (!) plus Miss Kittin in ballroom!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115672331811638
Start Time: Friday, July 2, 2010 at 11:00pm
End Time: Saturday, July 3, 2010 at 4:00am
Location: The Studio below Webster Hall
Street: 125 E 11th St between 3rd & 4th Ave

Saturday July 3:

Warm Up with Delorean, Janka Nabay, Glasser, John Talabot, and Korallreven
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140441942633183
Date: Saturday, July 3, 2010
Time: 3:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: MoMA PS1
Street: 22-25 Jackson Avenue, at 46th Street
City/Town: Long Island City, NY

INNER PARTY SYSTEM LIVE PLUS GUESTS @ BROOKLYN BOWL
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127465000623788
Start Time: Saturday, July 3, 2010 at 10:00pm
End Time: Sunday, July 4, 2010 at 4:00am
Location: Brooklyn Bowl: 61 Wythe Ave (between N11 and N12)

HUSSLE CLUB - "GOOD MORNING, MIDNIGHT"

Hussle Club is one of my favorite new NYC bands. I've totally been to the party that's in this video.... uh...

PHOTO BOMB DOT COM

I'm a huge fan of photobombing. I perform a photobomb at least once a month and think it should be done as often as possible.

However, videobombing is a new artform I MUST attempt asap (link from theinternettoday.com).

VAGINA EXPLODE

New photos of Brandon Flowers for his new album or whatever i don't even know or care but all i know is that men should be angry with him for being so unbelievably hot and perfect and gorgeous and talented and funny and awkward and handsome and good looking and .................. splat.

thanks to Karen and Jessica for these photos.

Tweet Tweet Motherfucker

Hi. So I have been using twitter a lot. A LOT. I really enjoy Twitter because it's sort of how my brain works: a constant stream of short thoughts.

However, I understand that not everyone thinks in the same way -- as pointed out by someone in the comments section of the blog -- so i'm going to compromise: I'm going to post a "best of twitter" type thing. It's basically is going to be like a digest of everything i'm tweeting about or maybe like, flushing things out.

For instance:

Tweet 1:

OMG My boss @libbypigg just shouted: RT @bumpershine Arcade Fire to announce Webster Hall shows next week? -viahttp://productshopnyc.com
35 minutes ago via web

Here's the gist from ProuductShopNYC.com:
Arcade Fire to announce intimate club shows next week
Arcade Fire's manager Scott Rodger just tweeted this.

Arcade Fire live dates will be announced weekly. Best to check in with http://www.arcadefire.com for details. New site launching soon.
Last week he tweeted:

We'll announce some smaller, special shows soon.
Rumor has it that Arcade Fire will play two nights at Webster Hall in June.

Tweet 2:

Listen to Hussle Club, my favorite new band: http://bit.ly/bxzjS1
about 3 hours ago via web

I'm obsessed with Hussle Club. They're playing tonight at Public Assembly in Williamsburg at 11pm. The singer, Prince Terrence, used to play drums in a bagillion bands and now this is his own. Musically, you'll like them if you're into Siouxie and the Banshees, Gang of Four, Bauhaus, or just good music in general. I took my friend Casey to see their first ever show and she likes Hanson but fell in love with Hussle Club... and everyone else at the show basically only listens to post-punk bullshit, so yeah... they appeal to the masses, son.

Anyway, i hope i can be a little bit more eloquent in teh future on here when giving the flushed out / digest version of my twitter page. I'm kind of in a rush right now working on a deck for a client that my mind is in other places.

I hate to suck deck.

OH, and here are some videos:

My brother Lawrence singing "Love Train" like Peter Murphy/Bowie:


Kevin Kearney singing "Fake Plastic Trees" in a way that made me swoon:


A Lady Gaga & Metallica mashup:


OMG Cat:


And lastly:
An interview with a famous physicist known for studying time: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/science/20conv.html

I'M DJING THIS SATURDAY!

Come.Get dressed up. Drink some booze. It'll be a fun time!

I'M GOING ON TOUR!

Tomorrow afternoon I will be leaving town with the lovely, gorgeous and amazing Melanie Fiona. Her album comes out iTunes on Tuesday and we're going to be going on Anthony Bourdain-style adventures.

If you live in any of the areas below and want to show us around when we're in town, hit me up via email: SarahLewitinn@gmail.com

Wanna take us to a cool restaurant? A party? A strip club? Sightseeing? Want Melanie to perform a free show at your house party? Want me to DJ for free at your house party? Want to invite us over for family dinner? EMAIL ME!!!

Monday, October 19th
Philadelphia, PA / Cherry Hill, NJ
Temple University visit

Tuesday, October 20th
Baltimore, MD
7PM-10PM Melanie Fiona Digital Release Party & Performance with EarCandy at Teavolve

Wednesday, October 21st
New York, NY

Thursday, October 22nd
Bowie, MD
Washington, DC Hotel: WESTIN WASHINGTON

Friday, October 23rd
(Friday morning I will be doing a CMJ panel in NYC)
Washington, DC
1:30PM-4PM Yardfest Performance Howard Homecoming

Saturday, October 24th
New York, NY
5PM NY Expo Performance at Jacob Javitz Center

Sunday, October 25th
TBA

Monday, October 26th
Richmond, VA
6PM -7PM Meet & Greet with VCU students and VCU radio

Tuesday, October 27th
Hampton/Norfolk, VA

Monday, November 2nd
Atlanta, GA

Tuesday, November 3rd
Soul Train Awards /Atlanta, GA

Wednesday, November 4th
Atlanta, GA

Friday, November 6th
New York, NY

WHY MAKE YOUR OWN HOOKS?

When you can use others.

Heidi Montag uses Yaz' "Move Out" for her song "Body Language"


Aubrey O'Day uses New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle"



Lady Sov used the Cure's "Close to Me" for "So Human" (which I may or may not be semi-responsible for):



and hopefully you remember when Rihanna used "Blue Monday" on "Shut Up and Drive":


Which song from the 80s or 90s would you sample if you were a pop artist?

Here are my picks from the 80s (which are probably obvious):
Joy Division - "Love Will Tear Us Apart"


The Smiths' "William It Really Was Nothing"


Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi"


From the 90s:
Spin Doctors - "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong"

Sponge - "Plowed"

Seriously? That guitar riff is pretty great.

as is this guitar riff from Bush's "Machine Head"


of course James' "Laid"


and Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta"


Pulp's "Common People"


and lastly, i think: Elastica's "Connection"


can i be in elastica now?

Life's a Zoo

I'm running on about 4 hours sleep today, which is making me somewhat zombie-fied. A little over a week ago I was laying in bed, sick as a dog, unable to answer emails, talk to anyone, have any sort of conversation... it sucked. But at least I'm not sleeping because I've been running all over town, taking advantage of a gorgeous Friday -- and one of the last of the Summer.

One of my favorite things in life are animals. Not only are they delicious, but they're adorable as well. I try to make it to the Central Park Zoo at least once a year, if I can, to just walk around and check out what they've got. It's not much, but it satiates my appetite enough to make me feel somewhat OK with the fact that I haven't been to the Bronx Zoo in about 18 years. I went through a phase where I hated zoos and found them to be evil and cruel for taking animals out of their habitat and plucking them down in the middle of a pen for everyone to see -- but my opinion has since changed. The wild is dangerous with poachers, over expansion, and pollution. At least in these pens, these animals are somewhat safe. My biggest concern is their boredom, as I'm sure looking at people all day is not as exciting for them as it is for me. If anyone has any opinion on the subject of animals in Zoos, I'm open to hear and potentially learn, from your opinion.

Anyways... photos from yesterday:

My boyfriend and I at the Zoo:

Here are the penguins. My boyfriend says I walk like a penguin and he's not entirely wrong:
After the zoo we went to the BMW dealership to check out some bikes and then had an amazing Indian food dinner at this spot called Indigo Bistro in midtown east. I think it's going to be our new regular spot since the service was AMAZING and the food was delicious. They brought us free vegetable fritters, me a free mango lassi, and made a special dish for my boyfriend who couldn't decide what he should get! Happy Indian indepedance Day, by the way!

Apres dinner I hopped over to Art Bar to meet up with my friend John Dirschel for his birthday and was delighted to see his twin brother Brian as well! In high school I was soooo in love with John Dirschel, as were all my friends. He was so cute and looked like Kurt Cobain with long blonde hair and blue eyes. I was a tomboyish runt in high school and everyone just saw me as one of the boys. I had mostly guy friends who considered me their best friend/little sister, and John was one of those guys. I was his lil' sis that he'd wrestle and mess around with... and meanwhile I would dream of a day that he would see me as more than a friend and ask me out. But he was 2 years older than me and left for college when I was a sophomore and soon he joined the Coast Guard, cut of all his hair, and toured the world. I remember seeing him in 2006 when he was on break and he was jacked up. I couldn't believe my scrawny Kurt-esque high school crush was now a real-life man.

He's since left the Coast Guard (or leave of absences? whatever it's called when you don't have to go on tour anymore) and getting his Masters degree in LA and is now way smaller but super toned from doing exercizes that make him secretly strong. When he lifts me up in the air, I basically float. It's so wonderful to be able to see him from time to time and catch up on our lives. We live such different lives but are still insanely connected with many of the same intersts. Anyway, it was really great seeing him this time around since the last time I was with him was when Brandon called me to tell me that our friend Vinny had passed. John was a wonderful shoulder to cry on at that moment, but for whatever reason, it left me nervous to see him again.

Here's a photo of me with the Dirschel boys. Brian is on the left and John is on the right. They're identical and two of the sweetest boys you'll ever meet in your life:
At about 2 or 3 am we left Art Bar and went to Electric Lady Land studios to visit Courtney Love who is there recording. Hole's songs are turning out amazing and really right up there in the realm of Live Through This (my favorite Hole album... according to my boyfriend it's because I was an angry teenager when it came out, and it's a tortured and angry record) and Celebrity Skin. They were recording a cover song -- I can't say which one just yet cos it might be a secret -- and the boys and I were there to be a peanut gallery and talk about quantum physics. I saw a ghost recently and Micko Larkin, the Hole guitarist, heard one sing into the mic at the studio lastnight... so we exchanged real-life ghost stories. I don't think I've gone crazy, but there's a jury out on that.

Anyway, the bathroom at Electric Lady Land is super cool, so Courtney and I took pics of each other. I think this will be my album artwork one day in my fantasy life:


And here's Courtney:
At about 5:30am, Brian and I called it a night and he came over to mine to crash and provided a wonderful dose of entertainment in the morning as Gurj was packing to move out of the legendary 3A apartment.

It's the end of another era.

LOTS OF PEOPLE LOVE THIRD EYE BLIND

The response to my post asking what's the deal with this Third Eye Blind resurgence has gotten a lot of attention. On my blog, there's over 100 posts from people letting me know I'm a fucking idiot for not giving 3EB a chance, and on Absolutepunk.net there's over 500 posts telling me I'm a fucking idiot for... not giving 3EB a chance. They all called me out for dismissing them for being on the radio (when I actually said that it had nothing to do with them being on the radio... specifically since some of my favorite bands were radio bands), and for being an elitist musical snob as well, which is laughable. Oh well. Over the weekend I will be compiling some of the best quotes from the tl;dr postings.

Here's one to give you an idea of the extent to how wrong we (magazine editors) were on this whole "voice of the generation" thing:

"Also, I never looked at Nirvana as a true 90s band. I know they were popular in the nineties, but they were from a whole other genre so comparing Nirvana to third eye blind is kind of ridiculous."

The thing is, I gave them a chance. And it's not that I don't like them, I really have no problem with Third Eye Blind, it's just that I never thought they'd be the band that would become the most influential band of the 90s. As someone from another blog pointed out: from a decade that gave us genres like grunge, britpop, and rave/electronica -- it's some what surprising that this is going on. I bet you Jenkins and company are surprised as well. I grew up in this time. I was there when they were on the radio and I am not being a snob or elitist by saying that there's no way I ever thought they'd be the band that reached the youth in the way they have. This is not a diss to them, it's just an honest acessement. I get that SJ's lyrics are about drugs, relationships, issues, ect... but it still doesn't keep this whole thing from being somewhat surprising.

Let's fast forward ten years and put you in my shoes. Let's pretend you discover that Boys Like Girls are the BIGGEST MOST IMPORTANT BAND of the generation just below you. You're sitting there being like "Wait... seriously? what about My Chemical Romance?" Even if you don't like My Chem, you sort of realize that they had some sort of cultural impact that Boys Like Girls just didn't have.

AN INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM SHIT

A lot of people have been noticing and commenting on how much science I've been twittering about lately. I've always had a very hungry appetite for science, but I was really just someone who subscribed to RSS feeds from news aggregates like Yahoo! and Google, or emailed a rocket scientist friend of mine when new space discoveries were made. But recently and randomly, a friend of mine turned me onto quantum physics. As something I sort of thought was either way over my head or tldr;, when my mind was opened up to the world of Quantum Physics it was like I was a new person... particularly, since I've been really trying to face what being a Jew means to me and how G-d is defined/undefinable. I was actually thinking that diving into the sciences and learning as much as I can about the facts could make an atheist, but it's oddly had an opposite effect. Everything about it is just so incredibly fascinating that when I'm not reading about it, I'm thinking about it. I love it. I love the fact that we're all really, scientifically, connected, and how time is just an abstract notion. I love the idea of other dimensions. And most of all, I love wondering what all this really means.

As an introduction to quantum physics, i suggest you check out these short youtube clips. Yes, they're cartoons, but animation is really the best way to understand how these things work since there's no physical way to show them, really. Tonight, I'm diving into String Theory and fasting for Tisha B'Av. Talk about juxtaposition.

Enjoy!


Double Slit Experiment:


Flatland:

THIRD EYE BLIND EXPLAINED

For the record: I am not comparing Third Eye Blind to the Smiths, per se. I am comparing their importance to kids in their early 20s/late teens, to when I was in my teens/20s. It is 100% baffling to me.

Here's evidence so yo know I'm not lying:
Threads about Third Eye Blind on AbsolutePunk.net.

EDIT: The response that kids are having on AbsolutePunk.net about this blog.

When I was in my teens/20s, The Smiths were one of the most important bands of my life. Sure, they were from my older brothers' generation, but Moz spoke to me as I wanted my best friend to. There were only a handful of musicians that spoke to me the same way that Morrissey did/does, and those musicians were Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain, Thom Yorke, Beck (weird, i know), Ian Curtis (not til my early 20s), and Brian Molko. I basically didn't have that many friends because my parents were strict and didn't let me do social activities after school that weren't transcript/resume boosters (granted, I got so drunk once when I was 15 that I puked for 24 hours straight and so I was grounded for life) -- so those musicians were my friends when my friends were out doing fun shit.

On the radio during this time were bands like Third Eye Blind, Everclear, Matchbox20, Cake, Lit, Bush, Gin Blossoms, Deep Blue Something, etc. I didn't really care too much for those bands because they were radio bands that I felt had no substance. It wasn't so much that they were on the radio... I just felt like they didn't speak to me, were cheesy, and just on this whole different level of music that didn't penetrate the surface. How could you possibly compare the despair of isolation that Morrissey sang about to the ... whatever "do do do" that Stephen Jenkins sang about in 3EB? To me, and lots of other people of the same age group I was in, a band like 3EB et al were a joke. They were a band you expected to hear on the radio, but basically didn't give a fuck about beyond that. You wouldn't be caught dead at one of their shows, you wouldn't be caught dead with one of their cds, and you wouldn't even have to worry about any of that because it was all on a different plane.

Fast forward nearly 10 years and I've got a record label. One of my most favorite bands, the Oohlas, are signed to this label. They're moody and sophisticated and combine aspects of my favorite bands like the Pixies, Nirvana, and the Smiths all into one. I learn that one of the members used to be in Everclear and I find that to be odd and random and totally insignificant other than explaining how come he's got a nice house and studio and can play drums. Another band signed to the label, Permanent Me, were comprised of kids in their late teens. When they saw and recognized someone from the Oohlas as someone from Everclear they basically freaked out. They couldn't believe their absolute luck that they were signed to the same label as someone from Everclear and spent a good hour, if not more, telling me how great Everclear were. I was confused because Everclear was a whatever band to me ... but then, when I asked them what other bands they liked from the 90s, expecting them to wax rhapsodic about how important Nirvana is to them and influenced who they are today... i was BLOWN AWAY to hear them unanimously agree that Third Eye Blind was the best band from the 90s.

I didn't believe them. I asked them if they were joking. They weren't. I asked them if they were talking about the same band I was talking about -- the one with the "Semi-Charmed Life" song. They were. I asked them how many of their friends felt the same way. They said ALL OF THEM.

Now, yes, there are tons of kids in their late teens/early 20s that don't agree with them. But there are more kids than I ever, in my wildest dreams, thought possible, that love Third Eye Blind and consider them their favorite band EVER. I don't know how this happened. I really, really, really don't. But it did. I don't really understand how it could, and would love to be enlightened. But seriously, kids think Stephen Jenkins is a fucking hero genius, while lots of people over the age of 27 had absolutely no idea he was even relevant. While those of us over 27 had left him for dead, basically, Stephen Jenkins was being hailed by the kids as their biggest musical influence and inspiration. What. The. Fuck?

Well, now you know.

I was talking to one of my musical heroes recently and she asked me what the 90s revival was all about. When I told her "Well, I'm glad you're sitting down because when I tell you what i know, you might faint or cry: The 90s revival is all about Third Eye Blind. It's not about Nirvana, it's not about Hole, it's not about Pearl Jam, Green Day or Beck whose constant stream of musical input has lasted til now. It's not about any of the bands that Rolling Stone or SPIN hailed as the saviors of mankind... it's all about Third Eye Blind."

She didn't believe me and accused me of either lying or talking out of my ass. I told her I wish I wasn't truth-telling, but I was. And, after asking a couple other sources in their 20s, she realized I was right on the money.

How the fuck did Stephen Jenkins do it? Seriously.

EDIT: By the way, the reason i brought up the fact they're on the radio, and that having nothing to do with why i didn't like them, was because a lot of the bands I like were on the radio. Man, people kinda miss the point. shit. also, i don't dislike 3eb (in fact, I love "Wounded"), but i never thought they'd be the band that stood the test of time in such a major way, and I'm sure they're surprised as well. i'm just pointing this fact out to my peers who dont know. i just did all you 3eb fans a favor and brought your favorite band some attention from people who work in major media outlets and told them that they were relevant and missing something under their nose. You're welcome.

BE A MUSIC VIDEO EXTRA!

Tuesday July 21
Come be a video extra for a live Young Love performance at Webster Hall Studio.

They'll be filming our concert scenes between 6:30 and 9:30. Stop by for any or all of it!

Webster Hall Studio
125 East 11th Street
Entrance to "The Studio" is just to the right of the main entrance.

RSVP: Jane@vbnyc.com

MY NEW PARTY

Sunday School Matinee is the all-ages version of my infamous Stolen Transmission Party (5-Time Paper Magazine Nightlife Award Winning party, inspiration behind many songs, the subject of at least one book, the place where a few couples met and later wed, and thrown with her party partner KarenPlusOne/Karen Ruttner) -- which hosted performances by bands like Hot Chip, The Horrors,InnerPartySystem, Maximo Park, The Futureheads, Tokyo Police Club, and more.

Sunday School Matinee has been specifically created for under-21's in the NYC area that don't get to experience cool bands and DJs because almost all the venues in NYC are 21+.

Sunday School Matinee is doing something that's never been done in NYC before: It's a tastemaker-type party for all-ages with on-the-verge bands, celebrity DJs, dancing and TEENAGERS that come every week with the hope of seeing something new. It's a place where they might expect to see a secret show, a rare acoustic performace, or see someone from their favorite band playing a special DJ set.

There's only going to be a couple of these until school comes back in session in September (which is when we'll go back to being a weekly), so please be sure to come tomorrow.

Word is getting out that Sunday School Matinee is the place to be if you want to see some of the best up-and-coming bands in NYC or touring through this fine city. What's our evidence of this? Well, the President of Virgin/EMI was at Sunday School Matinee the other day. He dropped in to check out the bands and loved what he saw. Will he be back again? Probably.

As ohmyrockness suggested, last week's Sunday School Matinee was the hotly tipped show. Its guest performers: The Drums, Your Nature and A Million Years, blew everyone's expectations. Believe the hype about these bands.

This week wont be any different. We have Grieves, Reni Lane, and The Rochambros. A true variety of sounds ranging from Grieves' backpack hip hop/trip hop grooves, Reni Lane's hypnotic and ever so Coldplay-fronted-by-a-woman sound, to The Rochambros' highly Elvis Costello/Pixies influenced tunes.

PAUL AND THE PATIENTS

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't really updated this blog in a while. I basically just Twitter now, and that's all. But right now, just in case there are people who read this and not that... I am exploding with the need to talk about a band I am fucking obsessed with right now: Paul and the Patients

I share an office with these wonderful girls named Jennifer and Jessica and they're always playing Paul and the Patients and I'm always walking into their office and asking who it is... always assuming that it's either some new or unheard Longpigs song. In fact, I remember once when they were playing their song "Complaint 15" I turned to Joanna and said "I love the Longpigs!"

Unfortunately (or strategically), "Complaint 15" cuts off on their MySpace, but that's ok because it's on iTunes.

I also really loved the song "Blogspot" so I typed out the lyrics and stuck them on here since this is a blogspot.

"Blogspot"
you've done your very best
we're gonna put it to the test
and everyone
will tell everybody
got a very different sound
and the world will gather round
and everyone
will tell everybody
your singer's very tall
he seems to have it all
and everyone
can see his body
you got the very best guitars
your dressed by many stars
and you will sound
just like everybody

tell them all
tell them something, where to go, and what it's all about
tell them how to feel when they shout it out
tell everybody
tell them all
tell them something how to tip when they buy their drink
tell them how to trip when they try to think

it went just like it should
response was very good
and everyone
saw everybody
they've all been wearing shirts
which caused a trend alert
and everyone
saw everybody

tell them all
tell them something, where to go, and what it's all about
tell them how to feel when they shout it out
tell everybody
tell them all
tell them something how to tip when they buy their drink
tell them how to trip when they try to think
and everybody
tell everybody else
tell everybody else
and everyone
tell everybody else
tell everybody else
tell everybody else

the problem with this plan
it has a short lifespan
and everyone
knows everybody
so you should take your band
over to japan
you have some diehard fans
everybody

tell them all
tell them something, where to go, and what it's all about
tell them how to feel when they shout it out
tell everybody
tell them all
tell them something how to tip when they buy their drink
tell them how to trip when they try to think
and everybody
tell everybody else
tell everybody else
and everyone
tell everybody else
tell everybody else
tell everybody else

tell lots of people
but not too many

NewNowNext Awards 2009

More NNN Awards & Watch Gay Videos

DEAR MAYA, I LOVE YOU.

The new Sounds song for you: "Dorchester Hotel."
I hope you like it. Lemme know if you do please.
You can DJ it. Post it. Email it.

PHOENIX - LISZTOMANIA *BRAT PACK MASHUP*

Someone did this sick video mashup of all the Brat Pack movies from the 80s to a Phoenix song.

Two things I discovered when watching this:
1. The reason why these movies were so successful and good, was because the kids in the movie were always having more fun than you. They were having the fun you though you were supposed to be having in high school (or your late 20s for that matter).

2. Allie Sheedy's character in the Breakfast Club was clearly the inspiration behind Mary Kate Olsen's wardrobe.



video clip courtesy of my brother Lawrence via Jen Carlson.

OFFICIAL BAT FOR LASHES INTERACTIVE WIDGET!

I COULD WATCH THIS GIF ALL DAY LONG

NEW WEEKLY FEATURE: I A&R AMERICAN IDOL

Next week on American Idol, contestants are going to perform songs from iTunes' top 100 songs. I saw this article which had the writer's pick, and decided to do my own A&R challenge. Please reply in the comments (if anyone reads this blog) with your own suggestions? I take American Idol very seriously, and that's kind of pathetic, I know. Sorry. I think this will be a weekly column since I have a very strong opinion on the show.

Not that anybody cares, but here are my picks:

Matt Giraud: Kayne West's "Heartless"
I think this is a great opportunity to show the judges and America that he can be relevant and make a song his own. The charm of "Heartless", one might say, is that Kanye cant exactly sing. Matt Giraud can sing for the most part, and he's basically vanilla. This would be a great way to make Kanye's song the way Kanye hears it in his head. He'll probably give Coldplay's "Vida La Vida" another go with his piano, which might be a good idea as well.

Adam Lambert: Muse "Supermassive Black Hole"
Adam is the Rocky Horror Picture Show on American Idol and I love that. I know i'm in the minority of the hipsters in hipsterville for saying this, but I love him. I think that the only reason why Adam Lambert is on American Idol is so he can perform a Muse song. Will it be the best choice? Maybe not. Please don't do Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." I know you will, though :(.

Danny Gokey: Jason Mraz - "I'm Yours"
He will bore us to tears with the Jason Mraz song which will be dedicated to his dearly departed wife. I really feel bad for Danny, I do. I think his story is totally tragic & I'm glad that he was able to find something positive to come out of such a horrible experience, but I wish he would stop trying to excite us by changing his glasses & instead, try to excite us with his songs.

Kris Allen: Kings of Leon - "Sex On Fire"
I would LOVE to hear him do a Kings of Leon song. He is ADORABLE, but so far I feel like he's stayed on the show because he's cute and I'm sure Simon likes him cos he looks like Will Young and plays it pretty safe. But like Simon said, he needs swagger and confidence. I Can already see Paula Abdul doing a cougar dance at the judges table with her pelvis gyrating on Simon's arm like a pitbull in heat when he preforms it. If he does this song, he will probably win the whole American Idol. However, he'll probably compete with Scott in a coin toss over the Fray song and tell Scott that it was heads when it's really tails and fuck over wonderful, blind Scott.

Allison Iraheta: Katy Perry "Hot N Cold"
While she probably will do Carrie Underwood - "Home Sweet Home" or Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" she would probably sing the roof off the Katy Perry song and make people forget that Perry ever sang it.

Lil Rounds: Beyonce - "Halo"
I'm not sure I have to give an explanation for this. It seems like if she doesn't perform this song, then it'd be the silliest thing for her to do, no?

Scott MacIntyre: The Fray "You Found Me"
Obvious Scott is most comfortable when he's at the piano, and last week he was a bit weak with his performance. However, this is the right kind of song for him to sing and perform that would bring a tear to anyone's eyes. A blind person singing about being found? Really? Couldn't you just weep thinking about it? By the way, hats off to Stevie Wonders' people for trying to cash in Motown week and his similar story to Scott MacIntyre and getting him on the show last week. Scott will have a career after Idol, and it will be exclusively to nice Christian-esque people and Moms.

Anoop Desai: A. R. Rahman - "Jai Ho"
Now before you think that I picked this song because he's brown and this is from a brown film featuring brown ppl, i will tell you: you're absolutely right. Why is he not milking this? The brown community must be dialing in full force whenever he's on (as they should, since he's genuinely quite good), unless they're all like my roommate Gurj and feel Brown Rivalry. However, since he likes R&B and playing up the sexy, he will probably do a fucking sick rendition of "Single Ladies" by Beyonce that will blow everyone's mind. Here are some references for him: The Fray's cover, & some other dude.

Megan Joy Corkery: Adele - "Chasing Pavements"
The judges have already marketed her as their own Duffy/Lily/Adele, so why not just run with it? She'll probably go with one of Katy Perry's 2 top 100 hits: "Hot N Cold" or "Thinking of You"... or if she's feeling feisty, which I really hope she is, she'll attempt the Lily Allen version of Britney Spears' "Womanizer".

ANVIL!!!

Those who know me, know that i'm sort of a little totally obsessed with ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL. The best rockumentary that ever was. It's like the real life This Is Spinal Tap. It's absolutely genius and a true testament to sticking by your dreams and never giving up... and wearing fanny packs.

Here's the Trailer:


If you're in NYC today, please come down to the SOHO Apple store because Lips, Robb, and director Sacha Gervasi will be doing a Q&A from 7-8pm!

YOU DON'T WAN TO MISS THAT. TRUST ME.

LIVING THINGS - "MERCEDES MARXIST"

Living Things are down in Texas right now for SXSW, and making waves as usual.

I'm offering their track "Mercedes Marxist" for free for you to download. I hope you enjoy it.

Living Things - "Mercedes Marxist"

I love them.

If you wanna buy their album Habeas Corpus click here