Author Archives: Duff

À la Super Eggplant, currently, I am…

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Eating: Enough food to feed a third world country and that’s what I’m eating for every meal. Just STARVING lately but presumably due to STRESS.

Making: Absofuckinglutely nothing. Made a little progress on Ame’s friendship star beginning of last week. Since then: nuttin’, honey.

Reading: Dad’s and my March challenge short stories “The Complete Stories” by David Malouf which are breathtakingly good. Best short stories I’ve EVER read? I’m thinking so.

Watching: LOST which is fucking rocking my world. And other shows that really aren’t as good: Jericho (OK, not great); New Amsterdam (really kinda bad but the dude is so watchable, what can a lonely girl do?); How I Met Your Mother (I do not call last night’s episode returning with a bang, sorry kids) and some DVDs to help me out during the 2008 CD Reorganization Project, I’ll try to pop in and tell you about them before I take off. Have had many plans to go to U2 3D over the past few weeks. All have fallen through. I hope it’s still playing when I get home!

Listening: Obsessively to Jesse Malin “Glitter in the Gutter” which is in CONSTANT rotation, I just can’t stop playing it. Bon Iver “For Emma, Forever Ago” and Matt Costa “Unfamiliar Faces” are close seconds. Also getting to know the new Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks. A bit rougher/less produced than Malin but pretty damn good. Have been introducing other slackers to Nada Surf “Get Lucky”, The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (self titled) (FUN!), Mike Doughty “Golden Delicious” and Missy Higgins “On a Clear Night”. Going to see The Raveonettes tonight although I haven’t gotten through the entire new album yet; everytime I start listening something else gets in the fucking way!

and p.s. thanks to Fuel/Friends and the LaBlogotheque Concert à Emporter of Stephen Malkmus, this morning I am listening to Reckoning (yes, that’s R.E.M. to you young’uns) which has not been listened to full on…in many years. So many good songs on this album.

December Album Reviews

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Absolutely Love & Adore:

Sea Wolf “Leaves in the River” – So awesome. Love the lyrics, and the mood, and the harmonies. Just lovelovelove.

Bat for Lashes “Fur and Gold” – Eccentric and layered. Worried it’d be too Tori Amos for me but the music behind the voice (almost Berlin-like or Cocteau Twins. lordie this brings me back in time) is so much more enjoyable (to me) that the comparison falls away fast (phew).

The Avett Brothers “Emotionalism” – A little bit country, a little bit folk rocky. Lots of enthusiasm and fun.

Lupe Fiasco “The Cool” – This kid is a blast. Love how he’s mixing in lots of sung vocals as well.

Random Singles:

  • “Skinny Love” Bon Iver (break my heart much, would ya)
  • “In the Sun” Donna De Lory (cover of Joseph Arthur, so many people have covered this now, it’s almost unbelievable)
  • “Work That” Mary J. Blige
  • “Just Fine” Mary J. Blige
  • “Apologize” OneRepublic & Timbaland (LOVELOVELOVE)
  • “Raining in Baltimore” Brandi Carlile (cover of Counting Crows)
  • “Thou Shalt Always Kill” Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip (so much fun!)
  • “Paperweight” Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk
  • “Endless Shovel” Rogue Wave

Other Albums I Liked:

  • Augie March “Moo, You Bloody Choir” – Aussie rock.
  • Brother Ali “The Undisputed Truth” – Really enjoy…to a point. It’s a LONG album and I start to forget who I’m listening to…
  • The Foxboro Hot Tubs “Stop Drop and Roll” – Whether or not this is actually Green Day, I think it’s a LOT of fun.
  • Simple Kid “2” – sounds like a combination of Beck and Elliott Smith.
  • Nick Light “The World Forgetting by the World Forgot” – kinda Matt Nathanson-y. Not sure he’s made himself distinctive enough to really break out. I’ll be interested to see.
  • UGK “Underground Kingz” – I’m not sure I’ve ever made it all the way through (what’s up with rap albums having like 38.5 songs?), but I like it in select doses.
  • Juno soundtrack – Love (LOVE!) a lot of this but can’t listen to it in one go, gets monotonous. Taken in doses, however, the sweetness and the romance bring you right back to the mood of the movie, which is AWESOME.
  • Hard-Fi “Stars of CCTV” – Really liked their new one (first to me); just catching up on the back catalog.
  • The White Stripes “Conquest” EP – Sort of a “protest against the press” album to me, if you dig into the lyrics. Just as good as their recent album, just shorter!
  • Jay-Z “American Gangster” – I don’t buy ALL his albums but I think this one is a solid “entire album” listen. Love all the movie references and the tough guy talk.

Not really for me / but maybe for you!:

Radiohead “In Rainbows” – I stopped being a Radiohead fan such a long time ago (sorry, I’m just not THAT COOL); you should be surprised I even gave this a chance. I do find this album “LISTENABLE” and honestly that’s a compliment given what I thought of the previous couple. And there are a couple songs I actually LIKE (“House of Cards” would be one), but I don’t enjoy enough of it and I often “fast forward” when random songs from it come on up shuffle. It’s just not really my thing.

Siobhan Donaghy “Revolution in Me” – I bought this hoping to get a pop diva fix. It’s got some nice songs, but I don’t find myself looking for it on the Pod.

Shamefully have either not listened to at all, or not all the way through, or so few times that I can’t legitimately offer an opinion:

  • Mavis Staples “We’ll Never Turn Back” (loved the samples I listened to on iTunes but just haven’t gotten around to it)
  • Dyme Dec “Space Music” (although I have listened to the one song “Let It Be” a bunch, which features speeded-up Beatles and is AWESOME!! I’ve told you about it before.)

In Concert: Matt Nathanson

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So apparently Monday night shows at House of Blues start at 6:45 p.m. If your “goal” is one of the openers, hey, you can be home by 9! Nuts!

This dude has seriously the best stage banter I think I’ve ever seen/heard at a show. Lots of fun, totally charming. And looks about 22 causing us old folk some bizarre conversation since 90% of his references are 80s. Turns out he’s 35 (or something, this discovery was made late last night and I cannot be bothered to look it up again); Never would have guessed!

I loved the songs and the banter and the energy he throws into the crowd and my god the brilliant covers. (He rocked Don’t Stop Believing.) But seriously? House of Blues? You’re kind-of sucky. If you are even an inch below the balcony overhang, the acoustics are COMPLETE CRAP. We did not stay for Lifehouse because frankly, how are they billed as the main band when Matt Nathanson is also taking the stage? How? (Smooches to you, funny boy!)

Things I Should Not Have Been Doing post 11 p.m. Last Night (But Clearly Was)

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  • Drinking beer(s)
  • Eating an entire half of a large pizza (hello)
  • Watching a movie
  • Playing DJ for a friend
  • Burning CDs
  • Taking pictures
  • Flickering
  • Continuing work on the 2008 CD Reorganization Project

I guess I figured since I’m not getting any fucking sleep anyway (thanks a lot, increasingly stressful life, you can suck my dick anytime), I might as well stay up until 2 a.m. every night this week when I have to get up at 6 a.m. I’m pretty sure my emotional wellbeing (and of course beautiful face) need more than 3.5 hours sleep (lord knows I STILL can’t fall asleep right away even if it’s 2 a.m. before I get in bed. Damn.It.). Good thing vacation starts on Thursday. And you never know, the lack of sleep might actually put me to sleep on my gazillion-and-97-hour flight so KEEP YOUR FUCKING FINGERS CROSSED because me getting more than 10 minutes of sleep on a plane ride would be fucking AWESOME and unheard of.

In Concert…Over the Weekend.

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Doug Hoekstra: The female vocalist (whose name I never caught; it was one word, started with S? Shaz?) has a really nice tone to her voice. Great harmonizer, she makes his voice sound a lot fuller.

Peter Mulvey: Given Amanda’s huge crush on him, this is the third time I’ve seen him and that’s probably just the first three in a long list. A deep, deep voice. Sassy sense of humor. Really connects with the audience.

The Spares: Wow! They were great. Very twangy, definitely on the country side of country/folk. The lead singer has a just absolutely crystal clear voice. Lovely. Great harmonies. Best “Wayfarin’ Stranger” I think I’ve ever heard (and I’m not a lover of that tune).

Carrie Newcomer: Songs sounded pretty. But I guess I prefer my activism with a (heavy) dose of humor and sarcasm and a (LOT) lighter dose of contemplative, meditative “let’s all be good to each other”-ness. You know I’m not somewhere I want to be when people are yelling “Amen” at the end of songs…