Category Archives: Tunes

Bands I will not be seeing live again, unless some other poor fool is paying for the tickets:

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1. Ambulance LTD.
(45 minutes fucking w/ the mics/mix/amps/etc. /20 minute show. BOTH TIMES.)

2. Fiona Apple.
(Seriously thought she was having either a mental breakdown, or a miscarriage, on stage.)

3. Ryan Adams.
(First time, good. Second time, sooooooo bad. Not risking it again.)

4. Radiohead.
(Discordant nonsense. I like music that sounds pretty! Or has a beat!)

5. Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins.

Bands I really want to see although you might not know it from the fact that even though I have had tickets to them in the (recent or somewhat recent) past I have blown off going to the concert for one reason or another:
1. Great Lake Swimmers.
2. Bishop Allen.
3. Stars.

Live Tunes for Fall.

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Definitely Seeing:
August 18 – Bishop Allen @ Subterranean.
August 29 – Beethoven (or someone playing him, eh?) @ Ravinia.
September 8 – Lyle Lovett @ Ravinia.
September 16 – Snow Patrol @ Riviera
September 18 – Kasey Chambers @ Park West
September 26 – Sufjan Stevens @ Riviera

Pondering:
August 23 – Margot & Nuclear So-n-Sos / Katie Todd @ DoubleDoor (anyone want to go?)
September 5 – Band of Horses @ Metro (any takers?)
September 7 – Keane @ Auditorium Theater * (huge venue, seats can be FAR)
September 21 – Bob Schneider @ Black Orchid (just saw him in July)
October 17 – The Fray @ Aragon * (uck. hate that venue)
October 23 – James Blunt @ Aragon * (hate the venue, coming back from Rhinebeck night before? or perhaps that morning in which case could not go)

Can’t See ;(
September 13 – Cat Power @ the Vic (at a class, which sucks since she canceled her last show in Chicago which I had tickets for)
September 16 – Elf Power @ Beat Kitchen (going to Snow Patrol that night)
October 2 – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Vic (working late that day)
October 3 – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Vic (Monica & Charlie in town)
October 4 – Joseph Arthur @ Double Door (at a class)
October 6 – The Long Winters @ Subterranean (heading south for cousin’s wedding)
October 7 – Ben Kweller (!!) @ Vic (at wedding)

*All ages venues/shows = a reason NOT to go…

Gym Tunes.

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Found three (one, two, three) workout mix lists that all sound good.

I’ve been working on one recently, I’ll let you know when I’ve settled on the lineup.

One must take pride in being paradoxical.

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So generally I hate movies made from books, and usually I hate movies made from movies (i.e., remakes, doh), but when it comes to tunes, I LOVE COVERS. What’s up with that?

Because a good song is a good song no matter who’s singing it? That’s my theory behind my irrational love of Danny Michel‘s (recommended to me by Brainy Alison) entire album of David Bowie covers.

The bonus of all this being that Michel’s originals are good too…

KEXP: Band of Horses (7/7).

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Very little miscellaneous chit-chat. Lots of tunes.

I already liked them but listening to this made me want to go back and listen more. And should that not be the goal of a performance podcast?

They may wind up one of my favorite bands of the year!

Songs Titled “Trouble” on My iPod.

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1. “Trouble” – Cat Stevens.
2. “Trouble” – Coldplay.*
3. “Trouble” – Joe Purdy.
4. “Trouble” (cover of Ray LaMontagne) – Kristin Hirsch.
5. “Trouble” – Pink.
6. “Trouble” – Ray LaMontagne.
7. “Trouble” (LIVE) – Ray LaMontagne.

Any coincidence that 5 of the 7 are sung by boys, and 6 of the 7 are written by boys? I think not!

*Why is this even on my iPod? I hate Coldplay.

Today I am here to tell you that Matt the Electrician is HILARIOUS and AWESOME.

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He opened for Bob Schneider last night.

Here are some examples of his awesomeness:

  • He covered Jessie’s Girl by Rick Springfield, with a mid song monologue about his Hell’s Angel uncle basically beating him up for going to a Rick Springfield concert.
  • And how beaten up he would have gotten had he bought the only T-shirt they were selling at the concert, a pink tanktop!
  • He played a song about high school & drinking (prefaced with “This is a true story”), that highlighted things such as Strawberry Hill Boone’s Farm and Colt 45. I was only sad that he didn’t mention Mad Dog 20/20!
  • He did several songs on a teeny tiny banjo!

Laugh out loud funny at times. Serene and thoughtful at others.

His blog and tour schedule and discography, etc., can be found here. The blog is sometimes very minimal, but has its own moments of brilliance, such as this:

my dad got me this Kevin Smith book for christmas……
and i just started reading it……
it’s mostly diary-style, taking place during the pre-pre-production for Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back……
it’s got cool hollywood gossip…..
and it creates that feeling like you’re sitting there listening to him tell you the stories in person….
i’ve always liked his movies…..
never considered myself a fanatic….
but while reading this book….
i get the feeling that we’re friends now…..
no, i don’t GET the feeling…..
it seems more intuitive than that…..
i wonder what me and Kevin are gonna do tomorrow?….

How funny is he? I love him! Go see him! Great show!

p.s. yes, Bob Schneider was also FANTASTIC but y’all must know about him already…
and p.p.s. you can also buy Matt the Electrician albums on iTunes. seriously. I checked! 🙂