Answer: nothing.
Sorry Marvin.
-Too many records to buy, too little $$$. New Sonic Youth tomorrow will burn a hole in my wallet, however.
-Lakers, Lakers, Lakers. I've kept my love of basketball (actually, just Lakers Basketball really) hidden from nearly everyone for a really long time.
I suppose there are several reasons for this:
A. Definitely not punk.
B. Too much Nike. All that swoosh represents is the enslavement of thousands of Chinese babies.
C. Team sports go against my ruggedly individualistic nature. The American dream, right?
Anyways, in my old age (57 this November), I've been getting to the bottom of the following:
A. Not being so much of a dick.
B. Getting back to my roots.
C. "It's like Hamlet said- 'To Thine Own Self Be True.'"
"Hamlet didn't say that
"I think I remember Hamlet accurately."
"Well, I remember Mel Gibson accurately, and he didn't say that. That Polonius guy did."
So that's a lot of existentialism backing up my Los Angeles Lakers fandom. I've got no exit strategy for that point.
-Ladies & Gentlemen: The Fabulous Stains! Finally available. So, the movie may not technically be very well filmed, but the message is undeniable. They should show this to young girls everywhere. It does a very good job of telling the story of strong girls without trivializing them. Netflix it- seriously. I first learned about it through the transcendently-before-it's time Grand Royal Magazine. Which brings me to:
-Grand Royal Magazine. If there was ever any one group of people that were/are consistently ahead of every curve, it's the associates of Grand Royal. Initially, GR was the Beastie Boys vanity record label- however, it evolved into the most unbelievably trend-predating tastemaking organization in the history of pop culture. Not only did GR bring us 4 beyond-great Beastie Boys full lengths (and countless single/eps: see Aglio E Olio, Country Mike's Greatest Hits, Root Down), but they also introduced most of the world to Spike Jonze (Sabotage. Where The Wild Things Are. Girlfilms. Genius!), At The Drive-In, artist sanctioned mp3s (really. Ask this guy), and the Mullet (I'm not kidding). Grand Royal Magazine ("Long Awaited, Much Anticipated, Grossly Outdated") was their compendium of coolness. It only lasted 6 issues, but contained way too much excellence to post here. I have all the issues except for the first and fourth ones, which are nearly impossible to find- so let me know if you come across one. I re-read them all from time to time, when I feel like I need tips on Adidas Vs. Puma, building a demolition derby car, the best ways to harass Ted Nugent, Moog Synthesizers or the truly original expose on the mullet epidemic. Ultimately, the Beastie Boys' unwavering ability to see the future got them out of the record label business before the shitstorm, and now Grand Royal Magazine is a memento of a cooler time- just the sort of thing that the magazine would've written about.
-Dinosaur Jr, Freak Scene. Had to "get" the remastered version of Bug (see first item, above). It sounds 1000 times better than the original version, and just fucking shreds. I am now 100% a Dinosaur Jr. fan, whereas I was only like 50-75% before Saturday. Also, perhaps I could work this verse into my wedding vows?
Sometimes I dont thrill you
Sometimes I think Ill kill you
Just dont let me fuck up will you
cause when I need a friend its still you
Cute!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
I Am So Bad At Blogging, pt. 2: The Month-Late Photoblog
Staycation, guys! Ugh, that term is about as overused these days as "recessionista," "tweet," and "Glen Beck Is A Terrorist." Okay, not that last one, but I'm trying my hardest. But anyway, D and I were ready for a little work ditching, as I had just finished doing a bunch of rich whiny people's taxes, and she had been working harder than anyone else in California, as per usual.
So a Friday was picked, work was ditched, and the mythical Catalina Island was the destination. D had never been there, and I went once when I was but a lad. The original plan was to lead off with an old person breakfast at the Carrow's by our house, but that was of course trumped by laziness. Mastodon's Leviathan was on the Subaru stereo. After barely (of course) making it to the ferry on time, we were off.
So a Friday was picked, work was ditched, and the mythical Catalina Island was the destination. D had never been there, and I went once when I was but a lad. The original plan was to lead off with an old person breakfast at the Carrow's by our house, but that was of course trumped by laziness. Mastodon's Leviathan was on the Subaru stereo. After barely (of course) making it to the ferry on time, we were off.
In the harbor, aboard the vessel.
My better half.
See what I mean?
Leaving the harbor.
Officially on the open sea.
Twas rather windy.
Though I was not fazed.
Remember this guy (and the people in front of him) for later.
South tip of the island.
And then it happened. The family in the picture above (in front of grey sweatshirt guy) decided to start throwing up, at the front of the boat- which was going pretty much top speed. You do the math. When my sunglasses started getting splashed, I thought it was the ocean. I was very mistaken. Grey sweatshirt guy, luckily for me (and unluckily for him) took the brunt of it, though my sweatshirt was out of commission for the rest of the trip. His may not have been salvageable. Poor guy. Also- the lady came to apologize to him, and the baby she was holding started throwing up again! I may not know too much about the seafaring life, but I do know you should avoid the highest point on the boat if you tend to get motion sick.
We did make friends with the other thrown-up-upon people, and they took a picture of us, far away on the back of the boat.
Into Avalon Harbor.
My seafaring lass.
Casino.
Friendly tourist pic.
We basically just did a bunch of hanging around, eating a bunch of food, and enjoying the weather.
And looking at fish via glass-bottom boat. Tourism!
Yes, that is a submarine.
At the end of the day, we walked down to this beach (it is a protected wildlife area) and just lazed around for a good while.
Rocky, but relaxing.
And Dawn almost fell in.
Back to reality. Or, at least Orange County.
A patriotic afternoon voyage.
A bunch of dolphins started swimming in the boat wake after I took this picture, naturally.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
I Am So Bad At Blogging
[Note to self: Catalina Island Adventure photoblog coming soon. Maybe.]
Ugh, I'm still mostly asleep for some reason. It's not like I don't get enough sleep- my incessant selfishness and lack of any real responsibility probably afford me too much. Luckily, I don't let worrying about my budget for vinyl reissues at Insound keep me up at night. Usually. So here's how I've been spending my days in my general post-adolescent malaise:
-Wedding planning. Almost done (yeah right. Jinx!). Much was accomplished in Paso Robles last weekend (a phrase that has never been typed before!)- cake tasted/arranged for (it's gonna be good, and I don't even like cake. Seriously.), invitations designed (I was a totally wannabe graphic designer for a while, so I was prepared to be a dick about the invitations. Luckily for me, my fiance is more than capable of arranging excellent looking invitations without my faux-knowledgable snide comments), and my Sound System Assistant was arranged for (Thanks, Turtle Boy).
-We decided to take Monday off for a leisurely drive back south, so we stopped in Malibu for lunch/early dinner. As with most things, I was generally unimpressed by Malibu. I enjoy all of the leftover architecture from the 30's-40's-50's-60's, but other than that, I really don't see the big deal. Overrated, like the other 90% of Los Angeles. After we made a Lawyer Emergency Internet Pit Stop at the Panera in Santa Monica (I much prefer Santa Monica to Malibu, btw), we went the rest of the way home on PCH- though only out of necessity, since it weas now rush hour(s). Blech.
-I've sworn off physical record stores. I hate to say it, but it's true. I have a spreadsheet on my phone (nerd) of about 300 different records I need to buy (yeah right), and have only managed to find 1 of them in 3 trips to different places. The exception, of course, is Amoeba, but I can't drive there all the time. At least it took me 15 years of record buying to get to that point. Everyone else: keep going. I am an isolated case of extreme nerdiness and even more extreme jaded-ness.
-The one record I did get was Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking. As I may or may not have said before, I never liked Jane's until this past year or so. I think it has to do with living in Southern California- Jane's is everywhere (even the post office), and they wore me down. I remember hating this record in college. We had this neighbor that lived in an apartment behind our house, above our garage/practice space (which undoubtably sucked for him), and he was an older grad student who commuted (!) from Berkeley (!) 3 or 4 days a week. He was super wierd and tended to invade your space with unsettleing regularity. He used to just roll in through our back door, go through my cds and grab the ones he wanted to copy. He always traded me cds in return, although I rarely listened to them because he annoyed me and I am an asshole. One of the few I did listen to was Nothing's Shocking, which Jason and I hated (also the 2nd Meat Puppets album- the one that Nirvana did all the songs from on Unplugged in NY. I still don't like the Meat Puppets. Kurt Cobain really captures the vibe of the songs, while being 200% more tuneful than the original songs). Anyway, like Jeremy "Bummer" Machi says "We always become what we hate."
Ugh, I'm still mostly asleep for some reason. It's not like I don't get enough sleep- my incessant selfishness and lack of any real responsibility probably afford me too much. Luckily, I don't let worrying about my budget for vinyl reissues at Insound keep me up at night. Usually. So here's how I've been spending my days in my general post-adolescent malaise:
-Wedding planning. Almost done (yeah right. Jinx!). Much was accomplished in Paso Robles last weekend (a phrase that has never been typed before!)- cake tasted/arranged for (it's gonna be good, and I don't even like cake. Seriously.), invitations designed (I was a totally wannabe graphic designer for a while, so I was prepared to be a dick about the invitations. Luckily for me, my fiance is more than capable of arranging excellent looking invitations without my faux-knowledgable snide comments), and my Sound System Assistant was arranged for (Thanks, Turtle Boy).
-We decided to take Monday off for a leisurely drive back south, so we stopped in Malibu for lunch/early dinner. As with most things, I was generally unimpressed by Malibu. I enjoy all of the leftover architecture from the 30's-40's-50's-60's, but other than that, I really don't see the big deal. Overrated, like the other 90% of Los Angeles. After we made a Lawyer Emergency Internet Pit Stop at the Panera in Santa Monica (I much prefer Santa Monica to Malibu, btw), we went the rest of the way home on PCH- though only out of necessity, since it weas now rush hour(s). Blech.
-I've sworn off physical record stores. I hate to say it, but it's true. I have a spreadsheet on my phone (nerd) of about 300 different records I need to buy (yeah right), and have only managed to find 1 of them in 3 trips to different places. The exception, of course, is Amoeba, but I can't drive there all the time. At least it took me 15 years of record buying to get to that point. Everyone else: keep going. I am an isolated case of extreme nerdiness and even more extreme jaded-ness.
-The one record I did get was Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking. As I may or may not have said before, I never liked Jane's until this past year or so. I think it has to do with living in Southern California- Jane's is everywhere (even the post office), and they wore me down. I remember hating this record in college. We had this neighbor that lived in an apartment behind our house, above our garage/practice space (which undoubtably sucked for him), and he was an older grad student who commuted (!) from Berkeley (!) 3 or 4 days a week. He was super wierd and tended to invade your space with unsettleing regularity. He used to just roll in through our back door, go through my cds and grab the ones he wanted to copy. He always traded me cds in return, although I rarely listened to them because he annoyed me and I am an asshole. One of the few I did listen to was Nothing's Shocking, which Jason and I hated (also the 2nd Meat Puppets album- the one that Nirvana did all the songs from on Unplugged in NY. I still don't like the Meat Puppets. Kurt Cobain really captures the vibe of the songs, while being 200% more tuneful than the original songs). Anyway, like Jeremy "Bummer" Machi says "We always become what we hate."
Friday, May 8, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Two Blog Posts That Made My Day (Today)
Not that I was having a particularly bad day... but still.
From Idolator: Dissecting "Superstition" (the song, not the mystical belief). Very interesting to me because of the following- A: I am a recording nerd & B: It's one of my favorite songs.
From Videogum: Uniting Humanity And Squirreldom. Dare I say, my heart was warmed. I've only recently begun realizing my fascination with animals. Growing up with 900 yapping dogs, a bunch of messy horses and a nutso parrott kind of gave me a distaste and exasperatuion for most of the animal kingdom, but thanks to Lindsay at Videogum (and Box Cat, and Nyack The Otter [RIP- too sad to link], and Foxes On The Trampoline, and Lazy Cat, and Baby Hippo, and Crazy Mini-Horse... christ, do I ever digress), I basically have the youtube-viewing habits of an 11 year old girl.
From Idolator: Dissecting "Superstition" (the song, not the mystical belief). Very interesting to me because of the following- A: I am a recording nerd & B: It's one of my favorite songs.
From Videogum: Uniting Humanity And Squirreldom. Dare I say, my heart was warmed. I've only recently begun realizing my fascination with animals. Growing up with 900 yapping dogs, a bunch of messy horses and a nutso parrott kind of gave me a distaste and exasperatuion for most of the animal kingdom, but thanks to Lindsay at Videogum (and Box Cat, and Nyack The Otter [RIP- too sad to link], and Foxes On The Trampoline, and Lazy Cat, and Baby Hippo, and Crazy Mini-Horse... christ, do I ever digress), I basically have the youtube-viewing habits of an 11 year old girl.
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