A New Nuance

Today's "Best Song Ever" Now In A New Spot

2011-05-25T09:57:00.003-04:00

I have relaunched my Today's "Best Song Ever" from many years ago over at a new blog. Come by and check it out at:

http://dailytopsongs.com/

Here are posts about Superchunk and today's post about the Louvin Brothers.

Most Anticipated Albums of 2011

2010-12-28T14:16:00.005-05:00

With 2010 behind us we are set to begin a new year.

After a particularly strong '10 season one might be inclined to expect the worst out of the coming months. Here are 10 reasons to be optimistic or maybe to get your knives out.

1) Wild Flag - TBA
Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss join forces with the perpetually underrated Mary Timony(Helium), I await with baited breath. Search them on Vimeo for some hard proof of their impending awesomeness.

2) Destroyer - Kaputt
The safest bet on this list. I've heard it, it's beyond solid. If you've dug into Bejar's last two 12"s you'll be incredibly satisfied with this slab.

3) Fucked Up - TBA
Somewhere in Canada one of the best bands of our time is working on a "rock opera" which was the subject of some characteristic band jousts around subject matter. With that currently settled I'm putting this on here with the hopes that this will be done and released next year. Don't let me down guys.

4) Jay Electronica - Abracadabra: Let There Be Light
Its a little dicey to bet on Jay-Z's Roc Nation roster. For every Kanye West there's been three Memphis Bleek's. But this Jay already has a great series of singles and mixtapes to his name. So here's hoping for big things.

5) The Wrens - TBA
Ok, I've been let down before. I'll probably be let down again. But I've heard the new material, so it exists. Come on guys.

6) Jay-Z and Kanye West - Watch The Thrown
"So Appalled" and "Monster" are album highlights on Kanye's batshit-crazy and for me uneven 2010 album. Here's hoping Jay can balance Kanye out a bit. (Not that I'm holding my breath.)

7) Dr. Dre - Detox
This can't be worth the wait. Looking forward to putting it behind us though. I guess it could be good.

8) Hunx and his Punx - TBA
2010's excellent compilation Gay Singles wet my appetite for this theatrical garage punk band. Hoping this year's full length debut is nearly as fun.

9) Radiohead - TBA
Duh.

10) James Blake - James Blake
Loved James Blake's EPs and am sure there will be some solid stuff on his full length.

Best of 2010: #1 Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks

2010-12-23T09:35:00.002-05:00

It happened in the mid July heat. Days before I’d see an excellent set by Ted Leo and his mighty Pharmacists at the Siren Festival. I dropped the needle on my copy of The Brutalist Bricks, as I had done several times a week since it’s March release. Everything went as it should, at first. But then… “No one lives for ever love, no one’s wise to try, to try, to try, to try, to try…” I had worn this LP down, old school style. Like your parents did to their Born To Run and Perry Cuomo. Thankfully the record sounds nearly as good exploding out of earbuds. (Thanks also to record companies being wise enough to offer free downloads with the far superior but also occasionally fragile LP format.) That’s when the record leaped from an early favorite to the clear front runner for album of the year, and it tightened it’s grasp for the rest of the year.

The Brutalist Bricks was never likely to top many year end lists. It’s not colossal in it’s commercial reach. It doesn’t upend rock and roll convention. What it is, is a batch of songs, most among the best of Ted Leo’s incredibly fruitful career. But Ted Leo is a workhorse, and the buzzy fly by night world of blogging(not to mention the even more depressing world of corporate magazine music typists) is often bored by consistency. So bored sometimes, that they might not notice an ever-present artist’s second renaissance.

Something in these songs seems to capture the feeling of the moment. Politics abound on the album. Somehow Leo name drops corn subsidies and Congressional pork in punk songs, and never settles for over simplified sloganeering. Instead these songs seem to understand the complexities of the issues piling up on our collective shoulders. They also provide excellent accompaniment to sooth your anxieties about the government and the economy, about the Tea Party lunatics and high unemployment.

The whole record, packed though it is with worries seems to suggest that there is reason for optimism. “Bottled and Cork,” easily one of the brightest rock singles of the year, finds common ground with Yankee doubting foreigners through life’s great equalizers, love and booze. “Even Heroes Have To Die” suggests our living isn’t futile, even though our time might be finite. The album ends with genuine End of the World 2012-style angst on the song “Last Days.” Leo demands we live for the moment even as he assumes that rumors of our demise are greatly exaggerated.

Optimism seems like as good a reason as any to ware through a nice piece of vinyl. I’ve rarely heard a rock record balance a sense of intimacy without dipping into pathos or self serving confessions. Ted Leo has no time for that bunk, he has a lot to expound in forty minutes. I wonder what my year might have sounded like without The Brutalist Bricks. It seems stark. No record on this list, clearly no record this year, comes this close to where I am right now. Since I can’t sing, play guitar or write a song, I look for records that don’t just speak to me but in some way speak for me. Every once in a while I get one.

Best of 2010: #2 Das Racist - Sit Down, Man

2010-12-22T15:19:00.002-05:00

While the phrase “hashtag rap” made the rounds on some blogs in discussing Drake’s punchline delivery style, Das Racist were hash tagging within hash tags and essentially dumping entire Wikipedia pages on listeners all year. Yes, the “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” guys.

Sit Down, Man is the better of two mixtapes DR released this year, that could come to define a new strain of underground rap or could just turn into a once in decade landmark hip-hop release in the vein (and possibly on the artistic level of) Paul’s Boutique. Big words, for sure. And while the wide array of beats from a veritable who’s who of new and established producers does not quite match the sample overload of the Dust Brothers, Das Racist are easily matching the Beasties’ classic for ideas per minute.

Das Racist are nothing if not hyper aware of their perception as Rap outsiders and they play to it. “White Kids play this for your black friends/Black friends smack them.” Das Racist know they're legit, but they don’t expect anyone to understand that. So it goes, they let their rapping do the talking. (Which your dad might say: “is kind of what rap is, no?”) The barrage of references alone can make your head spin. These guys rap like people who get lost in Google land as often as your favorite office drones.

Musically too Das Racist are pushing the conversation forward. To see beats by indie-rock leaning up and comers like Keepaway and Chairlift, to established taste makers Diplo and El-P, and even a beat from Drake associate Boi-1da all on one release further shows the scope of influence being incorporated into the Das Racist world view. It’s honestly the most cutting edge hip-hop shit of the year, goofy as it all may be.

In some ways, Das Racist have spent the past 12 months rehabilitating their image. It’s the kind of rehabilitation that on paper seems impossible. Running from a novelty “hit,” what some might see as a racial handy cap, reportedly disastrous live shows (including one in which they were supposed to perform Paul’s Boutique, but instead yelled over an iPod). They soldiered forward, making intellectual arguments with New Yorker writers, having “cartoon offs” with an editorial illustrator, refining a live show that is now winning raves. All this work has made them a unique and exciting cultural force. But all they really needed to “rehab” their image was this mixtape. Then again what do I know, I’m white and I have a blog.

Best of 2010: #3 LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

2010-12-22T09:02:00.003-05:00

“Dance Yourself Clean” is the best album opener of the year. It’s initial two minutes and change are mumbled and slight. Forcing you to focus, listen closer, listen harder, and then just as it’s about to lose you there is an ungodly shift in volume and a fresh pounding synth. It’s a coy musical move from a guy who knows from coy musical moves. The arresting nine minutes of “Clean” lead to the first single; “Drunk Girls.” The song almost felt like a retread of James Murphy’s lead singles from his first two records, after a few spins the apparent similarities also feel like a coy musical move.

James Murphy’s LCD Soundsystem put out smart LPs. Every beat, sequencing choice, verbal aside, is earned if not upon first brush then by a second spin. You get the sense James Murphy exits in a our world with all currently available musical technology and travels back in time to a place where artists were encouraged to go bigger longer and knottier on their records. Maybe he goes back to the 70’s, but more likely he goes to a time that never existed. People reach for Eno and Bowie when talking about Murphy and it isn’t just the clear musical referencing to those artists(though it’s that too), it is the auteurist nature of what he does. It also, at this point, happens to be the fact that he’s gone from simple studio rat to expert front man and band leader.

This Is Happening may edge out it’s predecessor(Sound of Science) in every Conceivable category other than getting there first. Justifiably this is on pretty much every year end list. It’s honestly been a forgone conclusion for most of the year. Perhaps it’s because what Murphy does is what most rock critics really want to be doing. He has filled his sandbox with his favorite influences. German techno, Bowie ballads, wheezy fuzzy guitars, a seemingly endless supply of rhythmic ephemera, etc. He has all of these things at his disposal and then he finds himself in them all, over and over again, finding angles and portions of what makes him tick. And what occupies his brain is what occupies so many in the “list making community’s” collected minds.

The main subject as always are these damn kids who just don’t seem to be partying right, who just don’t seem to know what their letting get passed them. Which in the end is really a reflection on what Murphy perceives to have passed him by. Which suggests that putting this on your list is an acknowledgment that it’s passing you(me? us?) by.

Oh fuck.

Best of 2010: #4 Robyn - Body Talk

2010-12-21T09:24:00.004-05:00

I purchased both of the early Body Talk discs at Best Buy. They were only $7.99, and were some of the most satisfying music of the year. I waited with baited breath for volume three. When, instead an album length Body Talk featuring five tracks from volumes one and two each and five new tracks showed up at that same Best Buy for the disappointing price of $14.99, my rage was clear to the blue shirts trying desperately to not make eye contact with me. So (and I’m not proud of this) I downloaded what I saw as a cash grab. (The zip file was even crassly labeled “Body Talk Retail.”)

Body Talk “Retail” though, did earn it’s place. Cutting some of the fat and replacing somber “acoustic” versions of some of the Body Talk sets’ best work, made the now proper album all the better. What’s more, the five new tracks were uniformly excellent with “Call Your Girlfriend” specifically joining “Dancing On My Own” and “Hang With Me” in this year’s perfect Robyn single triumvirate. The appeal of Robyn is rooted not just in her cutting edge production and expert songcraft. It is also about how humanly she inhabits the emotions of her best songs. “Fembots are humans too,” she says over high tech beats.

Robyn is particularly engaging as a pop musician because unlike many (by far) more popular “fembots” her musical aesthetic is as personal and refined as her image aesthetic. Body Talk feels like a cohesive statement with a ton of dynamic little parts to it and Robyn appears to have complete ownership of all of it. This is no small feet in the year of Ke$ha.

Best of 2010: #5 Superchunk - Majesty Shredding

2010-12-20T10:37:00.003-05:00

You would have to be crazy to expect much, an “indie rock” band, though indie rock seemed to have left this sound some time ago, from the 90’s putting out an album of original material nearly a decade since their last release. There are piles of records released by bands in similar positions and none of them scratch the surface of how good this is. This year Superchunk made an album that was not only “good considering” it was just great regardless of context. A record that could potentially be the best of an excellent career.

I feel so bad for those few voices(fewer and fewer every year), who when Weezer put out a record they say things like “return to form” and “best since…” and every year what they get is a series of more confounding choices from a band that barely resembles the one these fans fell in love with so many years ago. Superchunk’s triumph made me feel worse for them this year. What they’ve done here is come back as an idealized version of themselves. The hard rocking urgency of their early albums, the catchy immediacy of their later 90’s albums, a slight nod the wider sonic palette of their last record(the under appreciated Here’s To Shutting Up), it’s all here. They’ve given fans a record they definitely didn’t expect and didn’t realize they needed.

Majesty Shredding is pop-punk for adults without sacrificing any of the energy and scrappiness the genre requires. Every song has “best song on the album” potential. “Digging For Something,” “My Gap Feels Weird,” “Crossed Wires,” “Winter Games,” listing these songs reads to me like a brand new greatest hits package. If you know someone who excitedly downloaded and was let down by Hurley this year, Majesty Shredding is the Christmas gift you should, nay must, buy them.

Best of 2010: #6 Curren$y - Pilot Talk

2010-12-16T13:34:00.003-05:00

“Obstacles are obstacle illusions, we don’t see ‘em.”

Curren$y should’ve been over years ago. A No Limit soldier well after that was cool, then signed to Young Money and jumped ship right before Wheezy reached critical mass, he should’ve been forgotten a long time ago. But when everyone zigged he zagged, and his gift for word play and his laid back vibe are excellent counter programming to the more bloated hip hop populating the mainstream.

Pilot Talk, grounded by the production of Ski Beatz (underused himself since his landmark work on Reasonable Doubt), is cohesive and smart where so many others are attempting to be everything to everyone. Smart enough to be backpack, but floss enough to match all the big names, Curren$y taps into post-Kanye “brain-stream hip-hop” without over selling his intellectual bona fides(ahem… Kid Cudi, Lupe Fiasco, and to a lesser extent Drake).

The rhymes here don’t unearth some new untapped subject matter, but all the hip-hop clichés are attacked from stranger, smarter angle. His “killer weed” is “Alfred Hitchcock in a zip-lock.” His raps are “Eagle Droppings, [he clarifies] Fly Shit.” He flies Jets, hangs with women, but he also downloads updates for his videogames.

Curren$y and Ski Beatz even managed to get in a Pilot Talk II before the year ran out that at least matches it’s predecessor for excellent work. But the mission statement on the first was so wholly satisfying that a sequel felt, mostly, like a much deserved victory-lap.

Best of 2010: #7 Beach House - Teen Dream

2010-12-15T11:50:00.004-05:00

No one does languid better than Beach House. The California duo politely pack the entire aesthetic sense of Sofia Coppola’s Virgin Suicides into audio form. Not in the way that Air did on that films soundtrack, though that too. Somehow they take the Moog futurist keyboard textures of that band, the coked up high flying classic rock that balanced out the movie’s soundtrack, the lovelorn youthfulness, and the dark edges of the adult world. All that but without all the pretty young girls dying.

Here Beach House don’t blow up the store, thankfully. On their prior Devotion it seemed they’d perhaps reached the full potential of their sound but here it opens up in ways that never seemed possible. What once seemed claustrophobic and sounded undoubtedly like two people in a room attempting to sound fully orchestrated, now feels like a fully functional multilayered band who just happen to sound orchestral. The songs are better too. The triumph of songs “Norway”, “Walk in the Park”, “10 Mile Stereo”, even the staid “Zebra” almost makes their past accomplishments seem amateurish in hindsight.

The fact that this record has held as long as it has is a testament to it’s slow burn charm. “Norway” was released way back in November 2009, many fans myself included had the record before last Christmas. Here’s expecting if you put it on next year at this time it’ll still sound great.

Best of 2010: #8 The National - High Violet

2010-12-15T11:34:00.003-05:00

In 2010 the ennui of thousands of grump out of work or under paid, under loved (occasionally over loved), white men between the ages of 25 and 40 can be audibly identified on High Violet, the fifth album by the National. While Arcade Fire were making some sort of big statements and headlining MSG, the National were sort of saying nothing, but sonically representing everything for a particular angst ridden crowd. That’s the power of this cryptic, mopey band, and it is also their great weakness.

Around April I was feeling very much of their ilk and anyone asking what I was listening to would have been told about the National. But, as I often do, I also might have said it’s not for everybody. In fact, I can’t recall myself telling anyone who bothered to ask unequivocally that they would love the album, in spite of the love fest I was having with Matt Beringer’s baritone at that point.

And I still love this album. The slow burn opener “Terrible Love” feels trite until you realize how little it’s giving up. If this were a Springsteen song we’d be expected to follow narrative and character, instead we’re left with repeated non-descript fragments, open to inferring whatever “spiders” you may or may not be walking with.

Musically the National are all at their best. There’s the subtle groove of “Anyone’s Ghost”, the chiming melodies of “Lemonworld”, the doom and gloom peak of “Conversation 16.” Really, there’s hardly a bum note on the whole thing. (A lot of bummed notes though.) Who knows, you might actually like it.

Best of 2010: #9 Women - Public Strain

2010-12-14T10:00:00.002-05:00

In an age of atmospheric rock bands who forgo the rock part, and regular rock bands who can’t create a mystique for the life of them, Women have stood apart. This is mostly because so much of their music is built on the a back and fourth conversation between a tight as hell pop rock rhythm section and a pair of divergent adventurous guitar players. (I wonder if their dust up this past fall was along those battle lines, for the sake of the story it should be.)

On Public Strain, Women have made a record that is leaps and bounds above what was already a preternaturally unique and assured debut. Through out the record the a wash of fuzz that would feel right at home on a Fennesz record(or might even pass off as a record of it’s own) is cut through with tightly wound pop songs. “Narrow the Hall” is a furiously dark post punk. “Untogether” anchored by one of the most infectious bass lines of the year. “Bells” swelling and slight, allowing for a breath in a surprisingly chaotically paced album. Album closer “Eyesore” is a ghostly dark rock epic. With the right promotional push it could be the black light enthusiast’s song of the year.

Through out the album Women sound like a machine verging on near collapse as it pushes it's self into it’s last possible gear. Guitars sound like the strings are going to all snap apart at once, the drums heads are all going to cave in and all you’ll be left with is a bass thumping forward until it realizes it’s been abandoned. This never actually happens on this album but you get the sense, if they went one track further it would have.

Best of 2010: #10 Tyler the Creator - Bastard

2010-12-14T09:11:00.002-05:00

This is indefensibly offensive music. Let me just say that right away. That I or anyone else likes it suggests we’re little boys with a completely debased sense of humor and a completely immature view of the world.

In my youth I found Kurt Cobain, who’s pro-queer, extreme feminist ideals I took to heart. It lead me down the road of Riot-Grrrl, occasional nail polish, Sleater-Kinney, and a general distaste for all things macho and extreme. But something funny happened on the way to the end of the last century. Rap music. For years I did moral back flips to rationalize my love of the often homophobic and possibly even more often misogynistic perspective on the finest work of N.W.A, Wu Tang Clan, Biggie, Jay-Z and pretty much anyone else you could name.

With Tyler the Creator’s Bastard, these horrible attributes are abundant and inescapable. But so too is a sense that this is coming from a place of true nihilism, not seemingly from a philosophy of specific hate. This is obviously a white liberal argument (and a very thin one at that) for some pretty vile shit. And so I won’t try too hard to sell this. I will say the beats, mostly produced by Tyler himself, are gritty, simplistic and excellent. And the rhymes are completely immersive in often unpleasant but always captivating ways.

It is one of my ten favorite records of the year because it feels strangely new. (Though it could probably be branded a revival.) In an age of hip-hop for everyone this record insists that some people hate it. It dares forward looking intellectual types to like it in spite of themselves. It’s just wicked. Hopefully both me and Tyler grow out of this shit.

Best Albums of 2010: 11 - 25 (in alphabetical order)

2010-12-13T15:04:00.004-05:00

Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot; Son of Chico Dusty

This behemoth of an album has several missteps(clunky “rock” choruses, Yelawolf, losing those Andre 3000 guest spots) but when it’s right, it is so right that the bad stuff doesn’t stick. Big Boi gives his best performance as an MC, over an LP that can just about fill the Outkast sized hole in your life.

Hannibal Buress - My Name Is Hannibal

Hannibal Burres is one of the sharpest comedians around. A lot of people have a problem with me propping comedy records up with music, I say make your own damn list. You did? Oh. No I don’t want to read it.

The Dream – Love King

The biggest snub of the Grammys 2 years in a row, The Dream is making dynamic amazingly fantastic records. The amount of songs on here that sound like hits is astounding. The fact that most weren’t is tragic. We are depleting our love making anthem reserves; future generations will ask us “Why?”

The Fresh & Onlys – Play It Strange

The Fresh & Onlys will continue to build a sterling reputation as they construct a discography on a balance of an ever deepening palette of wide eyed pop and proto punk influences, and an intuitive and rewarding sense of song craft. Get on board now, or we’ll see you for the reissue.

Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

For a brief moment in the mid90’s alt culture was reveling in a thousand influences from a thousand directions at once. Cornershop disappeared, Beck became a sad scientologist, and Jon Spencer became a rock revival act. Gorillaz is the clearest extension of that aesthetic and this is their best work.

Grass Widow – Past Time

If you’re into mildly angular, somewhat dissonant, indie pop sung by women, your cup runneth over the last few years. So you could be forgiven for skipping these guys as also-rans. Forgiven, but sadly out of the loop on one of the best rock records of the year. Your bad.

Harlem – Hippies

Snotty, unhinged and funny, Harlem are perhaps the clearest heirs to all of Jay Reatard’s finer attributes, without the edge of psychotic perfectionist angst. Which is good because we want these guys to stick around for a while.

Lindstrøm & Christabelle – Real Life Is No Cool

Everything about this album from it’s atmospheric vocals welded onto motorific grooves to it’s title screams: Soundtrack to Asian Fusion Restaurant in Williamsburg. But it’s deliciously spicy and starchy comfort food at the same time, why fight it?

Joanna Newsome – Have One On Me

After the packaging and the shear volume of work comes into focus, Have One On Me is a really grounded album. That it’s still played on a harp by a beautiful young woman who’s distinct ears suggest she’s a mythical-magical humanoid sent here for our collective bemusement is just gravy.

Off! – The First Four EPs

Off! like all great hardcore have an agenda. They are reviving a dead horse beaten to death by a thousand misguided teenagers. They are riding it into the indie-blogosphere and murdering kids with glasses. We thank them.

The Radio Dept. – Clinging to a Scheme

This band has been around for years but apparently never sounded like this beautiful dreamy Swede pop before. So I’m off the hook on hearing their early records. A stunning debut.

Sleigh Bells – Treats

Everything but “Rill Rill” already sounds dated. Here is your incredibly loud First half of 2010 time capsule. Lest We Forget.

Tyvek – Nothing Fits

Hardcore with a Yelp rather than a Growl. Better than that statement suggests, I swear.

Vampire Weekend – Contra

These guys should actually be MORE popular than they are. The songs are great and the music is smartly subtly multicultural. Well I guess that explains it.

Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Too long, too ambitious, too full of its self, but then too good to be ignored. Kanye is as witty as ever, and guest verses from Nicki Minaj and Pusha T are among the best by anyone this year. Skip the extended instrumentals.

I'm Writing Elsewhere

2010-09-17T15:24:00.001-04:00

Hello,

I'm sorry non-existent readers. I've been blogging over at the new Pop Tarts Suck Toasted (http://ptst.org).

Also I tweet a lot: http://twitter.com/TimDuffy

Come find me at these places.

Best,
Me

The National 'High Violet' Review - Originally Posted on Pop Tarts Suck Toasted

2010-07-20T11:31:00.002-04:00

Vanilla as a flavor(and as a euphemism for a certain taste of art or personality) is underrated. There is something about clean, solid, reliable, singular taste that often is far more satisfying than all the bells, whistles, hyphens and sprinkles you can add to a sound or a sundae. Many people have found the National with their steady tempos and low melodic range to be too vanilla(or in the case of our editor often outright boring). I however have always marveled at their particular flavor of indie rock.

This is plain guy rock that understands the working class frankness of Springsteen and the baroque charm of early R.E.M. It takes the urban clatter and conversational vocals of the Velvet Underground an combines it with the austere layered arrangements of big league postmillennial indie(re: Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens). If this is vanilla it is because the National have taken the sums of their parts and made it into a solid flavorful whole that is as singular a sound as any American rock band has hit on in decades.

High Violet has all the things you expect from the National, really the only things you expect, and somehow is still able to bowl over expectations. Matt Beringer still mopes and smirks at the nuances and nuisances of modern relationships and dead end jobs. (A great charade considering Boxer has sold 350k copies and he's allegedly happily married.) The band uses their instruments as nuch for atmosphere as for melody and rhythm.

While the steady build of fans and press coverage assures that this will be the National's biggest album yet, it is also worth noting that the record also owns more of it's 4AD pedigree than any of their previous records. "Anyone's Ghost" plucks along with a surprising post-punky bounce. "Terrible Love" is practically drowning in spacey noise; the Cocteau Twins would be proud. Almost all of the songs hint at the broken everyman melodrama that the Red Housepainters once traded in(but then that's nothing new). The seeping influence of minimal composers and noise sculptors is obvious and acts, to keep the Springsteen comparison going, much the way Phil Spector's Wall of Sound did for the Boss. It deepens the frank simple sons making them just the right balance of epic and ghostly.

For me the album highlight is "Lemonworld" a song that could have felt like a miserable dirge but ends up feeling sweet and breezy(if a bit somber). The drums find a place between groove and texture, the guitars chime making the subtle melodic shift between the verse and chorus seem nearly like a genuine pop moment. The lyrics veer from cryptic to weirdly specific, and are ultimately as relatable or inscrutable as you choose to hear them.

The sound of the National is at first hard to parse. Rock bands often wear a new sound or idea like flair on their coats, or feather boas. It's ornamental and ultimately superficial. Everything the National does has been puréed so that it can pass muster in the tight frame of "what the National do." The results are most definitely not boring, they are in fact one of the tightest most original sounds in modern rock. High Violet is their current high water mark and my current pick for the best album I've heard all year. Get it, enjoy it with some Häagen-Dazs.

Pancreatic Cancer, Stop It, You Could Be Next!

2010-06-22T14:32:00.002-04:00

Check it out.

Kate Spencer who performs and teaches improv is trying to do her part for Pancreatic Cancer. Check it out and see what you can do to help!

BIG MIDEVENINGS WITH JAY MILLER, SI COMEDY FESTIVAL

2010-06-22T09:55:00.002-04:00

Today is your last day to get $5 tickets to Midevenings with Jay Miller at Snug Harbor tomorrow night. Doors are at 7:30pm. Lot's of excitement and surprises.

Get some tickets!

Here's Jay and Casey appearing on the Staten Island Comedy Show:

2 Things: new Les Vinyl, Safety and Desire

2010-06-14T17:02:00.000-04:00

These should really be separate posts but I've already blogged Les Vinyl a few times recently and I feel a little silly just posting to promote myself.

Myself: I will be in a play with a number of people with far more serious acting/theater experience than me July 14th and 15th. Details at THIS LINK!

And here's a trailor to let you get a feel for how intense this thing is gonna be:

Les Vinyl: Have an EP that's coming out in a few months for FREE, digitally. One of the things I'm most looking forward to is their increased use of the lovely voice of guitarist Jenny Miller. Here's a hot track Live at Marie's Gourmet who BY THE WAY make amazing food. (I usually order the White Pie with Breaded Eggplant.)

Untitled from Michael on Vimeo.

RIP Pop Tarts Suck Toasted

2010-06-03T11:48:00.003-04:00

Pop Tarts Suck Toasted is closing up shop. Over the past few years my brother has built quite the following with his music-blog and he's even allowed me to contribute. He'll continue to post to his "Microblog" and will be contributing to a number of other sites.

Poor some out for a hell of a blog!

Check out his good bye.

Check Out Les Vinyl

2010-05-25T13:43:00.005-04:00

In an effort to direct more attention on one of my favorite local bands I'm blowing the dust off of the ol' blog.

Check Them Out On Hype Machine!

The band is Les Vinyl and if you're into Built to Spill or Pavement, they may be up your alley.

If you've...

2010-03-02T13:00:00.002-05:00

...accidentally stumbled over my blog looking for "new content" well here it is:

DONATE TO WFMU!!!!!

My friend Paul explains why you should do this here.

Also Follow me on Twitter I'm way more active there.

THE RETURN OF MIDEVENINGS WITH JAY MILLER

2010-02-24T16:31:00.003-05:00

This season the show will be BIGGER! and BETTER! It's in Snug Harbor in a beautiful little theater so all you folks who never got a seat at Martini Red finally get to sit down. And don't worry drunkies we'll have a bar as well.

Buy Tickets here. Check out our promo below.

STOP PERSECUTING MY BROTHER!

2010-02-09T14:13:00.002-05:00

Hey ya big bullies at Google and the record companies. My brother is just promoting your act better than you can. Lay off!

SAVE POPTARTSSUCKTOASTED.BLOGSPOT.COM

Irrational Fears

2009-10-05T12:41:00.003-04:00

My friend James Harris made a list of irrational fears to launch his new blog .

Here's my list:

1) Do to the recently return to popularity of Eminem we will need to deal with another cultural moment for D12.

2) That James Harris will eclipse me in blog popularity, as he already has in comedian popularity. (This is irrational because this is the first post I've done in months and it's only because he posted one.)

3) Where The Wild Things Are turns out to be a depressing two hour episode of H.R. Puffinstuff.

4) Condoms breaking.

5) The presidency of Barak Obama, the new moon landing? Think about it.

Midevenings with Jay Miller

2009-08-02T11:12:00.001-04:00

True I never post anything on this blog anymore. True that this has already been posted all over the place. However, I want to get the views on this thing as high as possible. So watch it, tell your friends.

Kilgore Trout Is Dead

2009-03-05T16:49:00.002-05:00

Kilgore Trout is Dead

the tipping point. (presented lower case)

2009-02-28T05:41:00.002-05:00

there are more people available on facebook chat than aim. heads will roll.

Win Some Lose Some

2009-02-27T16:26:00.002-05:00

I had a McDonalds' Double Cheeseburger today. It had an extra patty on it. At no extra cost I enjoyed a McDonalds' Triple Cheeseburger. Everything was going great.

Then I was chased 2 blocks by a huge pitbull someone just let off it's leash the dog was bark and pouncing at the back of my legs. I have been violently mugged twice but this was the scariest thing to ever happen to me.

No great closer. Just wanted to share.

The greatest piece of musical journalism ever.

2009-01-18T04:45:00.002-05:00

I just though about the greatest piece of musical journalism I've ever read. It was back in the heady days of 2003.

Pavement Reunion

2009-01-16T10:56:00.004-05:00

Wow! And I thought I had nothing to Blog about!

Pavement, only my favorite band ever, have been hinting at getting back together. I have it on good authority that the following events have offered Pavement ungodly amounts of money to reunite:

- Ben Gibbard's Bachelor party. Ben has offered $12 million but insisted that they only play songs from Terror Twilight assuring that his and everyone else's minds will not be splattered on the walls of the strip club after being completely blown.

- Bonarroo Ontario. Canada's version of the hippy fest. Fun fact: do to trade complications they didn't even need to license the name!

- Feed Gary Young Benefit. I don't see this one happening.

- All Tomorrow's Parties NY. You're probably surprised that with Flaming Lips and Animal Collective already booked this would be happening. They actually just want Pavement to stand around handing out flyers for next year's show, which they would be headlining, under a different name.

- MTV Video Music Awards. An all-star tribute to 120 Minutes featuring The Happy Mondays, They Might Be Giants, Mazzy Star and Korn(reuniting with original guitarist Head).

- Leonard Cohen World Tour 2008. Pavement have been asked to back the singer songwriter for his tour of only the most famous opera houses on the globe.

- The Obama Inaguration. Along with the reunited Fugees. That's Barak's musical wheelhouse.

- An all star tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival. Interestingly this seems to be the most likely one. Playing alongside Jeff Beck, 3 Doors Down, Travis Tritt, Throwing Muses, Drive By Truckers, Lee Scratch Perry, The Headlocks, Jewel, and The Stringcheese Incident. Seriously, when tickets go on sale just buy them, they will be added to the bill.

I haven't blogged all week!

2009-01-16T10:39:00.003-05:00

I have nothing interesting to say about planes in the Hudson or the Golden Globes. Anything worth saying about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been said a million times before and can be simplified pretty easily: irrelevant.

Why would I waste your time?

Oh, I like Arthur Russell all of a sudden. Couldn't be much later on that train I suppose.

Saw Frost/Nixon Ron Howard's best movie if you ask me. (But I generally hate him as a director.)

Hmmm... top 5 things of my week:
5. Hospitals - Hairdryer Piece An awesome slice of atmospheric noise with pop burried deeper than you once thought humanly possible. Came out last year, good discovery for me though.
4. Mickey Rourke's Golden Globe In your face Sean Penn.
3. Vitamins Been sick all week, vitmains might be a false hope but when you can't breath at night you take what you can get.
2. 30 Rock and The Office Haven't watched them yet but my heart swells knowing they are on my DVR awaiting my eye's embrace.
1. Weekends It's here!

So yeah, big show tonight...

Sean Penn Continues To Be Charmless

2009-01-09T15:16:00.003-05:00

Perhaps to reaffirm what an impressive actor he is Sean Penn, receiving an award for his incredibly charming portrayal of Harvey Milk, decided to show just how charmless he continues to be at the Critics' Choice Awards. He dissed Mickey Rourke! (Who rightfully should've been accepting the award for his gut wrenching turn in The Wrestler.)

Penn: "At heart this is a beauty contest, so I had an advantage."

You're taking a dig at the dude's horribly deformed face?! That's what bloggers do Sean. Tsk tsk tsk.

UPCOMING!

2009-01-09T12:15:00.003-05:00

Come see Mancrush!!!! Next Weeek!!!!!

The Worst Thing That Could Ever Happen

2009-01-09T10:27:00.003-05:00

The NY Mag Vulture Blog has reported that AMC still hasn't agreed to give Mad Men creator/genius/god-like television force Matthew Weiner whatever he has asked for. This is no less than a full on cultural crisis and requires immediate bipartisan government intervention. Any politician that keeps quiet during this period should be held responsible for the collapse of all that is good and significant in the world.

Someone Let R. Kelly Piss On Them

2009-01-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

It's his 42nd Birthday!!!

The Only 5 Blogs That Matter

2009-01-07T11:56:00.005-05:00

So it's been proven over and over again that blogging doesn't matter. If it did matter the following would be all you would ever need.

5. Matablog - The label that made me an indie-rock fag and ensured my alienation from literally everyone in high school continues to insulate me from the outside world with snarky opinions and updates on seemingly literally all of my favorite bands going(Times New Viking, Jay Reatard, Fucked Up).

4. Letters To Your Former Employer - With the economy in disarray we can expect to have a lot more fodder for this expertly conceived blog. Hilarious, topical, occasionally seedy.

3. The Unblinking Ear - My Staten Island blogging competition would begin and end with The Unblinking Ear if he ever wrote about(or even acknowledged) Staten Island. As is no one does except Ben Johnson, but he has to share his blogs with a variety of people whom I cannot condone or condemn.

2. WFMU's Beware the Blog - The best radio station in the world has a blog befitting it's reputation. DJ's post wonderful articles on a diverse array of audiophile friendly topics. Several of the most interesting 2008 year end lists can be found on the blog right now!!!

1. New York Magazine's Vulture - The best pop-culture blog on the internet. Uniquely specific and detailed episode to episode coverage of television, culture news, mp3 roundups, and much more.

A Second Opinion: ABBA vs. Lykke Li

2008-12-30T15:56:00.003-05:00

Below is an impromptu conversation started as a result of something Tim Duffy didn't agree being said publicly by someone(in this case his brother/blogger Patrick Duffy) that Tim can reach by instant message.

3:35 PM
me: i just realized you called lykke li "perhaps the catchiest music to ever come from sweden", um abba?!?!?!?!
Patrick: hence the perhaps
me: no perhaps ABBAAAAAAAA
Patrick: yes, it was meant to be a comparative statement to elicit just this response
it captures just how catchy she is that she could be considered on that same plain
me: ABBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Patrick: listen, we all know and love ABBA but it's time for someone else from Sweden to shine through and not just for their quirkiness
me: fuck you, i can't believe you're doing this
Patrick: I'm not doing anything
I'm trying to help sweden
they need to stop relying on the reputation of abba
me: you reallymight have alienated me forever i hope you're happy
Patrick: Tim, I love ABBA just as much as you do
me: no
Patrick: but this is absurd
me: you
do
not
Patrick: Lykke Li is a perfectly acceptable swedish pop star
maybe it's time to come down off your high horse
and accept other swedish bands and artists
you were able to move past Klee weren't you
me: i do, but aaaaaaaaaaaaabbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Patrick: no one even remembers ABBA anymore
they think they were covering the village people
me: i'll fucking end you
Patrick: the last time you said that I had a bruise under my chine for a week
but yeah, ABBA are relics
it's time to move to the future
me: you're a fucking relic!
you're a fucking ghost!
you hear me!?
a fucking ghost!!!!!!!!!!!!
Patrick: having the time of your life...dance, dance, dance...they go so well together
Abba could totally open for Lykke Li

6 minutes

3:54 PM
Patrick: that was fun
we should do it again sometime
me: fuck you

Disclaimer: It might be easy to write Tim Duffy's opinions off, as the parallels between his love of Abba and Tom Scharpling's of the Best Show on WFMU are similar and he also co-opted Tom Scharpling's "You're a ghost!" refrain. To some extent I suppose you'd be right, but co-opting the truth is always a good idea isn't it?

Kim's Underground on St. Mark's is Closing!

2008-12-30T14:06:00.003-05:00

How sad. I always loved that I could bounce between Kim's and Other Music to check pricing and just general record availability. Now where will I browse when I decide I want $1 pizza for lunch!

I went today, everything is 30% off, got The Unblinking Ear's record of the year Celebration by Thomas Function, Portishead's Third, and a Jonathan Richman 7" that is recent and probably crappy but I really liked the song title("You can have a cell phone that's ok but not me").

Mancrush Video/New Year's Show Preview

2008-12-30T10:53:00.003-05:00

Casey: i watching the clips last night
i have ideas of how i'll edit it
i'm gonna just piece together what's funny
create a build
like have the crazy stuff later on
cut out any pauses or drags
me: good
we can pause and drag live
Casey: right

Mancrush at Martini Red(372 Van Duzer Staten Island, NY) 10pm this Wednesday December 31st(New Year's Eve)

House Music, A Poem

2008-12-24T11:12:00.001-05:00

ump-tst, ump-tst, ump-tst, ump-tst

Dear Pitchfork,

2008-12-19T09:25:00.001-05:00

Seriously?!

It's not funny anymore. Grow up.

Love,
Tim

Records of the Year 2008

2008-12-17T10:26:00.004-05:00

In the name of efficiency and beating the big boys to the punch I present an un-notated year end records list. I may elaborate in the next few days but maybe I'll just let it speak for it's self.

10. Deerhunter - Microcastle
9. Zomby - Where Were You In 92?
8. The Fucked Up - The Chemistry of Common Life
7. High Places - High Places
6. Brownwater - Brownwater EP
5. Air France - No Way Down
4. Harvey Milk - Life... The Best Game In Town
3. Jay Reatard - Matador Singles 08
2. Beach House - Devotion
1. Times New Viking - Stay Awake EP

Songs of the Year, Year End Mixtape Tracklist

2008-12-17T09:04:00.004-05:00

Maybe I'll like post mp3s or write something about these songs at some point. These are in mixtape and not quality order.

1. Times New Viking "Pagan Eyes"
2. Little Boots "On Repeat"
3. Lil Wayne "A Millie"
4. Ninjasonic featuring Vivian Girls "Go Tell The World (Remix)"
5. Deerhunter "Never Stops"
6. M83 "Graveyard Girl"
7. La Roux "Quicksand"
8. Air France "Always Collapsing At Your Door"
9. Beach House "Gila"
10. Vampire Weekend "M79"
11. Jay Reatard "No Time"
12. The Magnetic Fields "Too Drunk To Dream"
13. Brownwater "The Brown Green Lantern"
14. Heartsrevolution "Digital Suicide"
15. T.I. featuring Rihanna "Live Your Life"
16. The Mae Shi "Run to Your Grave"

Best Record Art of the Year

2008-12-16T22:35:00.007-05:00

Do people even make record sleeves anymore? Well, yeah some do. Some just give you a jpeg. Still artwork associated with album is alive and well, just look!

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

My Unpopular Opinion

2008-12-15T10:59:00.003-05:00

As a guy who recently alienated both family and friends making a 9/11 joke in the Staten Island Advance perhaps I am the wrong person to say something. However, I can't stand idlely by while a very funny moment on SNL is treated like a hate crime. Fred Armisan's Governor Patterson is pretty hilarious if you ask me(and anyone else who was in the room with me at the time). It's so over the top that I think to take offense is imature.

Seriously, is the governor's disability supposed to insulate him from a little teasing. It's a cartoon. Like Mr. Magoo. A cocain loving Mr. Magoo.

10 Things I Will Not Evaluate Before Year End List Season

2008-12-09T11:31:00.007-05:00

This is my first public list of the season. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

10. Kanye West '808s and Heartbreak' - Kanye regularly appears on my year end lists and this album is controversial. From the sound of things I'm a fan, too bad it won't be making any year end lists.

9. The Wire - I never watched The Sopranos either.

8. Iron Man - My favorite comic book super hero makes a movie with the always entertaining Robert Downey Jr. Where was I?

7. Gossip Girl - OMG! I've seen an episode of this and I have a sense I'd like it, in that Degrassi kind of way. It's gotta be better than Heroes.

6. The performances of Kate Winslet. I cannot imagine myself seeing one of the two incredibly stark movies Kate Winslet is in right now.

5. Slumdog Millionare - This movie sounds so charming. Too bad with a recession and the holidays I will be so apprehensive to see a movie that it will have to wait.

4. The Wrestler - This comes out on Christmas. The window between boxing day and New Year's is so small.

3. Deerhunter 'Weird Era Cont.' - I love Deerhunter, for some reason though Emusic my legal music resource only has the first of the two album set.

2. Jazz, Theater, most fine art, Literature - If it wasn't for low-brow I wouldn't have no brow.

1. The Dark Night - Anyone heard anything about that new Batman movie? It looks like it could be good.

Shaolin Reprasent!!!

2008-12-08T15:47:00.002-05:00

The Onion is dropping some serious S.I. science today!

Free the Juice!!!

2008-12-05T15:20:00.002-05:00

Let's send OJ a cake with a file baked into it.

蟑螂妹是什麼意思?♀?密碼44444

2008-12-03T11:42:00.004-05:00

(The below is a translation of a message I recieved to my work email. The original in Japanese is below. I'd love your thoughts.)

Lu is still talking younger sister thigh thigh construction has been behind a sister ~
Blind to tell you squint called cockroaches sister ~
Cockroach-mei
Lu Tungou after the construction of what is good fuss!
Japan now have been exposed in roach before .... there is enough to be indecent construction

In order to prevent leaks, so add a password

Original:

現在還在講露股溝妹ㄉ股溝妹已經落伍了～
告訴你瞎瞇叫蟑螂妹～
蟑螂妹
露後臀溝有什麼好大驚小怪ㄉ !
現在日本都已經在露前蟑螂鬚....實在有夠不雅ㄉ

為了防止洩密,所以加了密碼(44444)

Victory By Any Other Name Would Be A Loss

2008-12-03T09:42:00.003-05:00

I am a liberal democrat. Anyone who reads this blog should know that. But believe me when I say I am thrilled that the better man won the Georgia run off yesterday. Or the better named man at least.

Jim Martin may well have been a good moderate democrat in the senate, but could he ever weild the power of a man named Saxby Chambliss? How many people could? How would it look when a "Jim Martin" tried to hold is own? Wouldn't ever sour note coming from his mouth just strike the ear like the empty words of a man who could literally be anyone in America? The shear blandness of it all meant this win was a must in the Saxby Chambliss column.

Some will say this victory was Georgia stating their lack of support for one party government, some will say that when Chambliss won the first time around(without getting a Georgia required 51% of the vote) it was already over, some will say that for minorities and lower income Georgians the election ended last month. Well they will all be wrong. The victory of Senator Saxby Chambliss has nothing to do with ideology, political calculation, coincidence, or even the will of the voters. It just so happens that the name Saxby Chambliss is indominable.

My little brother is better than me in everyway.

2008-10-06T20:25:00.002-04:00

So my little brother is a bit of a genius. He graduated very near the top of his class and is going to Boston University on a very generous scolarship. At least I was funnier than him. He couldn't take that from me...

Gah!!!! WHY?!?!?!

Dear Weird Al,

2008-10-06T16:27:00.002-04:00

I'm psyched about the new album seriously. When tomorrow's T.I. parody drops I'll even buy the thing on itunes.

But I have a suggestion. Now mind you I have no conception of how difficult it is to learn and rearrange music on an accordion, but none the less I have a suggestion.

"Weird Al" I ask of you, cover the entire Girl Talk album as a polka. With the economy in free fall don't you think we need a bipartisan artistic endeavor like this?

I hope this finds you well. If at all.

Best Regards,
Tim Duffy(a lifetime fan)

New Weird Al!!!

2008-10-06T13:10:00.001-04:00

Dropping tomorrow! The streets is waiting!

Conservative Editorialists Think McCain Is Most Effective In A Prison Camp

2008-10-06T10:30:00.002-04:00

Today on cnn.com consevative commentator Ed Rollins was chatting up what McCain can do to turn his campaign around. It all checked out, I suppose, until this tid bit:

"From what I hear, the campaign's plans are to put John McCain back in the seat of his A-4 Skyhawk bomber and drop bomb after bomb on Obama to try to convince voters he is unfit to lead."

Does anyone in the campaign recall the last time Jon McCain was in an A-4 Skyhawk bomber he was shot down and imprisoned for 5 years?

"Can I call you Joe?"

2008-10-03T01:46:00.000-04:00

How adorable is Sarah Palin?!

Have You Heard About Ocean's 14?

2008-10-01T12:21:00.005-04:00

It's called Weekend at Bernie Mac's.

(This joke was co-written by Kevin Devlin.)

In Alaska...

2008-10-01T10:57:00.001-04:00

...gubenatorial debates are held at local comedy clubs.

I hope Joe Biden's been hitting open mics.

What The Fuck Kanye?!

2008-09-09T01:37:00.001-04:00

Come on man!

I Am A Failure At Blogging

2008-09-08T11:56:00.000-04:00

My friend Bart told me so.

Dis-Unity

2008-08-25T09:45:00.001-04:00

It is really rude that Barak Obama gave Joe Biden my email without asking. Faux pas.

Andrew Phillip Tipton Wants To Be Your Friend

2008-08-20T20:16:00.002-04:00

This is an adorable video for a really good song. Andrew Phillip Tipton is a Staten Island musician. His album is called The Champion of Love.

Directed by Geoff Celis

Dilema: Times New Viking/Deerhunter Tour

2008-08-14T10:07:00.009-04:00

Times New Viking and Deerhunter are going on tour in support of two of the top 5 best albums of the year so far.(Not to mention the new 5 song EP from TNV that is probably my most anticipated record of the fall. Well almost.)

So everything is great let's buy tickets, Right?! Not so fast. These bands are playing two New York Dates and they're on the weekend... in November! I don't know what kind of raging parties might be going on that weekend. These dates surely should have been announced with less lead time. What's worse is one of the dates has an awesome opener(Vivian Girls) but the other is at a preferable venue, both commuting wise and asthetically.

Convenience vs. one more excellent band. These are the kind of problems I love to have.

The Dates In Question:
Fri-Nov-07 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
Sat-Nov-08 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

My Older Brother Is 4!

2008-08-13T14:07:00.004-04:00

In Blog years my older brother is 4. You might know his work. He's having a show with a few cool bands. My favorite are local (as in S.I. local) heroes the Great Unwashed. But you should really just come for the drinking and the celebration of blogs. The show is on August 30th. More info on the flyer!

Holy Shit!

2008-08-13T00:51:00.001-04:00

If Barak Obama becomes President do you think he can convince the Fugees to make and release an album?

Barak Obama's Favorite Song

2008-08-12T19:32:00.000-04:00

Will Arnett...

2008-08-12T10:14:00.002-04:00

...is going to be on Sesame Street.

I hope he saws Elmo in half.

I'm Not Blogging...

2008-08-12T08:37:00.002-04:00

...til I have something important to blog about.

Dear Jay-Z,

2008-08-07T12:57:00.003-04:00

Love the new song. Seriously, you seem to be in a fighting mood. We love that from you. One thing though, I see you're planning to call your new album The Blueprint 3. Not to step on toes, but does your mandals wearing ass really think that's a bright idea?

Remember The Blueprint 2? Yeah, no one else does either.

I'm just saying it cause I love you Jay.

Money Cash Hoes,
Tim

BLUEPRINT 3 from kwest on Vimeo.

New York Times WTF

2008-08-07T11:55:00.002-04:00

So I'm no linguistic or racial sensitivity expert but the following sentence from the New York Times today rubbed me the wrong way:

"Even stalwart Republicans acknowledge that items related to Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, may become especially valuable if he is elected because he would be the first black in the office."

THE FIRST BLACK IN THE OFFICE?!

The article, if you're wondering, is about political campaign merch collectors. They're a bit like stamp collectors only slightly more sad and a whole lot more scarce.

Evan Bayh wants to be Vice President

2008-08-06T16:06:00.005-04:00

You can just see it in the kung-fu grip he has on Barak's arm and that desperate look in his eyes. "Please man, I need this right now."

Side Note: I really like people from Indiana. In fact I'm pretty sure I've never met a dick-head from Indiana and I've met a lot of dick-heads. Evan Bayh is most likely not a dick-head.

Wow.

2008-08-06T09:45:00.001-04:00

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Brooke Shields, Kinish

2008-08-05T13:52:00.002-04:00

Today I saw Brooke Shields by Broome and Broadway. I also saw the guy who sells me kinishes.

Guess who I was more excited about?

Yum, mustardy.

King Khan Interview on Pitchfork

2008-08-04T10:06:00.004-04:00

So King Khan(with some help from his Shrines) rocked balls off at McCarren Pool yesterday. (I literally saw dozens of men straining to regrow their junk during Deerhunter's solid set only to have them re-rocked off by the Black Lips soon after. What a waste of balls.)

He was interviewed by the Fork today:
"King Khan: That's the secret of the whole Kukamonga Death Cult: I dress up like a homeless person wherever I tour, because it's anti-sexual. When I tour, I'm neither homosexual or heterosexual-- I'm hobo-sexual. So that basically opens yourself up to anything at all-- you could have sex with a piece of cheese and it would be totally natural."

Wow Guys.

2008-08-02T16:12:00.003-04:00

Swing vote was really fucking amazing. I'm going to see it again today. Maybe even tomorrow.

Wow.

I think my sandwich is a little too big for me.

2008-08-02T03:19:00.002-04:00

No homo.

I have funny friends.

2008-08-01T19:41:00.002-04:00

The Jay Miller Show, coming soon, check here for updates.

It's Friday...

2008-08-01T12:38:00.001-04:00

...and it is after 12:30!

Reason to skip The Darknight: SWING VOTE!

2008-08-01T12:13:00.004-04:00

So today is the release of Swing Vote. It's sure to top most critics best of this year and I'm pretty sure Kelsey Grammar will be snatching all of that Heath Ledger best supporting actor buzz over the next couple of days. Of course the whole thing is about Kevin Costner who I think will finally be reckognized as the Paul Newman of his generation.

I am really interested to see how this affects the upcoming presidential elections.

I ordered my tickets Monday. If you didn't I probably won't see you there. This thing is gonna be huge!!!

HUMONGOUS!!

2008-07-30T10:54:00.006-04:00

What a great word! Humongous?!

Did you know it only appeared around 1968?

Did you know that "ginormous" was a word before "humongous"?

World Wide Words did.

Also I need to see this movie.

Tim Kaine = LBJ, In A Good Way?

2008-07-29T12:39:00.004-04:00

So if Obama is like JFK then he might want to look for his Lyndon B. Johnson. Well look at apparent VP front runner Tim Kaine governor of Virginia. The youth to old guy ratio seems about right if nothing else.

Gimme Arena Rock!

2008-07-28T15:53:00.004-04:00

I saw the Boss last night. Ya know Bruuuuuuuuce! Springsteen and the E Street Band. They were every bit as good as I'd expected and they are probably the last band still touring from the "classic rock" era that I have any desire to spend way too much money to see.

I was psyched about arena rock for the night. There's something incredibly jarring and thrilling about music in a football stadium.

Also Max Weinberg is the best part of the E Street Band. Sorry Clarence.

Wish I had pictures, not really the place for it.

Does This Mean I Hate the Hamptons?

2008-07-24T14:28:00.003-04:00

Excellent graffitti on Lafeyette and Grand I believe. (Could be slightly off.)

My Plan: The Dark Knight

2008-07-24T11:26:00.002-04:00

I plan to see The Dark Knight next week just in time for the backlash. My hope is that I get there before people are officially reacting against the movie so I can. If the backlash starts sooner than I guess I will make sure to be part of the counter backlash.

I just want to make sure my opinion makes me look cool.

The Don Draper Guide To Being A Man

2008-07-23T16:24:00.007-04:00

I have fallen in love with Mad Men, catching up on season 1 on DVD in advance of the season premiere this Sunday. This is what I've learned from our hero Don Draper, the manliest man on TV.

1) Smoke, often and without discression as to where you are or what activity is occuring. Go to church, just to smoke.

2) Drink at work, after work, all day. Whiskey was made to be imbibed with a home cooked meal. Enjoy!

3) Neglect your children. They will thank you for it one day by becoming famous or having kids at a young age.

4) Cheat. Your penis didn't agree to get married and no one is cooking for it.

5) Working looks easy but not fun. See image.

George W. Bush, Economics Expert

2008-07-23T13:19:00.001-04:00

"Wall Street got drunk," the president said, "and now it's got a hangover."

Jay Reatard, I Hate You! I Hate You! ...gah... I Love You. (sob)

2008-07-22T13:19:00.003-04:00

Some people have jobs Jay Reatard!

Every once in a while a person who loves your music has to be at a desk(or somewhere else perhaps, like cleaning animal cages, or in surgery) at a particular time. They can't log in to an internet presale right on the dot to order your records. They can't be at Other Music at opening to grab one of your precious split 7" records with Deerhunter on the b-side.

It's just, well, all I wanted was a record. Now I'm left to download an mp3, devaluing music even further in my mind.

Pitchfork Whimps Out?

2008-07-22T10:28:00.003-04:00

Perhaps it was poor Travis Morrison's sobs in Wired magazine but it appears the Fork is afraid of their own opinions.

Today's Black Kids review originally was a 0.0(now changed to a 3.3) and while the body of the "review" hasn't changed the lead in line on the home page was initially: "Everyone makes mistakes."

Say what you mean Pitchfork. Did the album really grow 3.3 better on my commute to work? Can I expect an apology for Fleet Foxes some time soon?

Siren Festival '08

2008-07-21T11:36:00.003-04:00

Over this weekend I sweat my balls off and rocked at the annual Siren fest on Coney Island. In an acknowledgement of my inferiority I have agreed to cover the event for my brother's blog. Check him out either this afternoon or tomorrow for my coverage along with excellent pictures from a very pretty photographer.

the most disturbing video on youtube

2008-07-11T00:51:00.001-04:00

AWE AWARDS!!!

2008-07-10T15:02:00.002-04:00

We've barely updated in months but some how I'm nominated for an AWE award!! Vote for my brother ya know Pop Tarts Guy. Make sure you also vote for my comedy troupe Mancrush for best improv act, since the other two nominees do scripted comedy.

Maybe I'll let you all know my picks in the next few days.

Things I'm Doing This Week

2008-02-11T10:33:00.001-05:00

i have a bunch of things going on this week. here's a run down:

wednesday - mancrush (improv with me, casey, and kevin) w/ geoff celis's film night, 10:30 or 11
http://myspace.com/mancrushcomedy

friday - chester place@martini red w/ captain ahab and the sea crackens, 10pm-???am
me, eric, and russell mp3jing into the wee hours, sexy surf rock from the crackens, drinks from the red.

saturday - snug harbor underground, reservoir dogs (i'm in it!) w/ dead rabbit, burlesque and if you come early dog sees god@snug harbor, dead rabbit is at 8pm, reservoir dogs at 9pm

sunday - reservoir dogs staged reading night 2@snug harbor 8pm

Stimulus.

2008-01-25T10:39:00.000-05:00

It appears in a few months all us tax payers will be getting $600 to help stimulate the economy. Enjoy it, everyone likes free money. I'm putting mine in the bank. A swiss bank maybe.

Anyway, of all people Mike Huckabee(who in many ways is as bad as all the rest of the republicans) had a great point about how silly this policy is. He also has a great bit about the infrastructure of the country, something we should be considering more(remember the bridge collapse last summer?!).

(From CNN) "One of the concerns that I have is that we'll probably end up borrowing this $150 billion from the Chinese," he said. "And when we get those rebate checks, most people are going to go out and buy stuff that's been imported from China. I have to wonder whose economy is going to be stimulated the most by the package. "

The former Arkansas governor then proposed a major public works project as an alternative to the stimulus package.

"If we are going to spend a $150 billion, I'd like to suggest we add two lanes of highway from Bangor all the way to Miami on I-95," he said. "A third of the U.S. population lives within a hundred miles of that. This nation's infrastructure is falling apart, and if we built those lanes of highway, with American labor, American steal, American concrete, I believe it would do more to stimulate the economy. "

David Byrne "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"

2008-01-23T12:08:00.000-05:00

The other night I mp3j'ed for a brief spell at Martini Red. Until some scheduling conflicts took our night away I was set to play deuling laptops with my good friend(and current improv partner) Casey Jost. He dropped a David Byrne cover of the Whitney Houston easy listening classic "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and it sort of blew my mind.

I wanted to share it. This is a pretty high quality live rendition.

Casey records music as Les Vinyl and plays drums in Paragraph. David Byrne used to sing in some band, now he blogs.

Juno, the most over rated movie of the year.

2008-01-22T13:15:00.001-05:00

My MySpace Status for the last few hours has been as follows:

Tim Duffy. finds it depressing that in a year with Superbad and Knocked Up, Juno would be the only comedy nominated for a best picture oscar.

It elicited a response from a usually MySpace-phobic friend of mine which went like this:

From: Terrence
Date: Jan 22, 2008 12:55 PM

you're the only person i know who didn't like it.

you're just a cynic and a nay sayer.

though I will agree that Knocked Up deserved a nod.

This could not be left alone. My Response:

i'm not. it's like the hippest episode of gilmore girls ever.

it's a bad movie. indie by numbers. i will question your taste from here on out for your vehement defense of this movie.

i wish i was just a cynic and a naysayer, i can usually see when that's the case. this time i feel justified. this movie is over praised and mediocre. ellen page and all the actors for that matter put in fine performances especially given the garbage source material and even worse forced quirkiness but that does not make a great movie. below is a list of 10 movies released this year all of which merit that spot in the best picture nominees more than juno:
1. superbad
2. knocked up
3. ratatouille
4. persepolis
5. once
6. the host
7. in the shadow of the moon
8. king of kong: pocket full of quarters
9. american gangster
10. the simpsons movie

below this is a list of movies i haven't even seen that i'm sure are better than juno:
1. the bourne ultimatum
2. the diving bell and the butterfly
3. the assasination of jesse james by the coward robert ford
4. into the wild
5. lust caution
6. 4 months, 2 weeks, 3 days
7. closer
8. norbit
9. 3:10 to yuma
10. charlie wilson's war

For further ruminations on how poor Juno was please see the last few weeks of the Best Show on WFMU.

My Runners up for Album of the Year

2007-12-26T13:15:00.000-05:00

If I were doing a top 25 this year the back 15 would look something like this(in no particular order):

Pissed Jeans - Hope for Men
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna You Are the Destroyer
Deerhunter - Fluorescent Grey
Deerhunter - Cryptograms
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Jay Reatard - Night of Broken Glass
High Places - High Places
Paul F. Tompkins - Impersonal
Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga
Chromatics - Night Drive
Muscles - Guns Babes Lemonade
Wold - Screach Owl
Times New Viking - Presents The Paisley Reich

I know it might seem like I'm hedging, but I just felt like I didn't want albums by obscure acts like the Arcade Fire and Panda Bear to not get their due, ya know?

My Albums of the Year

2007-12-21T13:40:00.000-05:00

So I wasn't going to post these here but felt I was doing a great disservice to folks who might accidentally show up here to not share MY ALBUMS OF THE YEAR. Hey I have a blog, it's the kind of thing you do:

10. Glass Candy - B/E/A/T/B/O/X

I'm in a moment with the Italians Do It Better company. I'll purchase whatever they ask me to. I've not had a similar reaction to a record label in some time. Of the three products IDIB dropped on me this year this one seems the best balance of cohesion and fun thanks to pumping bass lines and gauzy fake strings and horns that bound out of each of this lean set's 8 songs(plus a strange intro that Olivia Newton John would love).

9. Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings

Music that makes you laugh gets a bad wrap. At their best bands as varied as the Ramones, Simon and Garfunkle, and Lil Wayne can elicit a chuckle. The trick is finding where that chuckle becomes a sustainable piece of work. Spiderman of the Rings made me laugh on a bout a dozen levels and continues to. The outrageous Woody Woodpecker laugh that opens the album, the absurdly long "Wham City", the julting rhythms of "Snake Mistakes". This music is built on low rent ridiculousness taken as far as one man and an army of electronic gadgets can take it.

8. Radiohead - In Rainbows

I paid a full $14 for this album. I got my money's worth. I always do with Radiohead.

7. King Khan & the Shrines - What Is?!

Hook for hook, song for song, this would be one of the finest dirty little rock albums of it's time. But King Khan wasn't happy giving these songs the BBQ treatment, instead he enlisted a fiery R&B orchestra that would make Sharon Jones' Dapkings take notice and spilled a variety of tones all over his classic ditties.

6. Kanye West - Graduation

I was initially unimpressed with Kanye's leaner new album, until I realized that his ambition had not shrunk with the album's run time. Initially I thought "Stronger" did not do right by it's source material, I thought "Can't Tell Me Nothing" was a fairly unimaginative rap retread, and you wouldn't of wanted to get me started on "Good Life" and it's T-Pain chorus. But after the third listen or so in it's first days of release I came around, to everything. God bless Kanye West for making a pop album that is serviced through repeated listens.

5. The National - Boxer

No bells and whistles, just one of the most endearingly simple voices and songwriting styles in modern rock served by the least flashy band in New York. It's a shock this band rises above the cacophony of the blogosphere until you realize how undeniably good everything they're doing is.

4. M.I.A. - Kala

M.I.A. is the most punk rock artist of her time. Like Johnny Liden in the 80's and the Clash in the late 70's, she's co-opting everything she's ever heard and staying on top of every new sound on the planet. That she's expanding the vernacular of pop more than Bjork has in years is often lost on the reviewing public who are more interested in talking about politics and her winks at tried and true rock influences(Pixies, Modern Lovers, New Order).

3. Jay-Z - American Gangster

As of this album's release Shawn Carter has the best catalog of any solo rapper in history. This is arguably his third classic. The speed with which it was created might make some assume a certain feeling of tossed off brilliance but the fact is it's full of intricate details and as a whole is one of the most intricately envisioned LP's of Jay's career. Jay-Z doesn't know how to rein it in until he's trying to get something done under the gun. Just like the hustler of this album's arch who fell when he stopped fearing the consequences, this album was made by a man afraid of losing his stature and is all the stronger for it.

2. Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil

The Black Lips have a strong sense of vision and an even stronger sense of what makes an awesome rock song. Somehow it doesn't feel like the second coming of the Mooney Suzuki in spite of all the Nuggets referencing. It's a testament to the band's energy and their commitment to making fresh the sounds of yore.

1. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

Another LAST GREAT ALBUM before the web and single tracks destroy the format forever. Sound of Silver is a classic album with strong beginning, middle and end points. It's like Roger Waters circa 72' came back and soaked in 30 some odd years of pop, post-punk, and electronic music. The album that survives both as a whole and when broken down song by song better than any this year. It also features "All My Friends" the best rock song about aging ever.

Allegations Too Horific To Ignore...

2007-10-30T12:30:00.000-04:00

In light of some information that has come to the fore front my campaign has had no choice but to make an ad. Not an attack ad mind you, simply an ad to point out in no uncertain terms what kind of a man and by proxy what kind of a mayor Steve Goffin will be. I must warn you this is a bit graphic.

Please vote for me on October 31st. For the children.

Same Old Tricks

2007-10-30T10:14:00.001-04:00

Hello Staten Islanders,

I was hoping my first message to you as a candidate for mayor of the North Shore of Staten Island could be a positive one. A message about strengthening our community, about making things better. It would seem my rivals over at the Goffin campaign would much rather throw mud on my sterling reputation. That's fine I suppose I think Staten Islanders want a more high minded campaign. I believe Staten Islanders would rather be lifted up than dragged down to the doldrums of political attacks.

I am running for mayor because I love my community. Sure I love a lot of albums Pitchforkmedia supports, can Steve Goffin honestly say he doesn't. Does he not find himself listening to Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot which received a perfect 10.0 on Pitchfork? I suppose Steve Goffin doesn't know either way because he has decided it is better to limit the amount of information he has.

The other charge is that I love MySpace. Well ladies and gentlemen it's true I spend a lot of time on MySpace, but much of that time is spent reaching out to you my community and the people who make everyday of this campaign worth while. On the other hand how are we to trust someone who puts his web-presence in the hands of others. Will he also put the well fare of his community in the hands of others.

I'd rather not be brought in to this fray. I hope we can lift this campaign up to a higher standard and talk about the issues. I hope that someday soon me and my competitor might meet and look each other eye to eye and know that we are not fighting for ourselves but for our communities.

Thank you and god bless.

I Really Enjoyed This Song

2007-10-23T13:10:00.000-04:00

It's by Jeffey Lewis and it was recorded as a "Black Cab Session".

My last Two Months in Rock!

2007-10-22T10:09:00.000-04:00

It's been a little while... I know I should have called... It's not you it's me... There was no one else, I swear... Okay, maybe there was... I'm back now and I've got lots of Rock shows to tell you about... I know you'll never forgive my absence but please try to forgive it.

9/15/07 - Webster Hall
White Williams 61% - This band could certainly put on a decent show and there might be some good songs buried in their set but to a third full room and to my uninitiated ears it all came off as too polite, too unadventurous indie-rock with a lap-top on stage for show.

Dan Deacon 84% - Dan Deacon is one of the most captivating performers touring today. He has a singular vision and does nothing to adjust it for the size of room he's playing or the type of crowd he's playing to. Lucky for me I'm pretty feisty and managed to make it to the stage so that I could see some of Dan. Curiously though the visual aspects of the show have become less important as his popularity has grown it has become much more about the energy Deacon feeds into the crowd, that energy was on full display.

Girl Talk 94% - Girl Talk at Mercury Lounge last year is one of the best live experiences of my life. After the crowd reshuffle forced by people's being on stage for Dan Deacon I was pushed into the center of the now packed Webster Hall. I feared without full contact with Greg Gillis the show would be ruined. I was very wrong. The crowd was a pit of sweat and movement and Girl Talk has constructed a twisted wonderful world of samples including old staples and new surprises. The energy coming from the crowd on stage was huge and the entire Girl Talk set up nearly collapsed as the crowd almost pushed Greg and his lap-top off the stage. The very frustrated security guards had to help hold it up.

9/19/07 Music Hall of Williamsburg
Black Lips 95% - Of late garage rock is owning my heart. Whether the fresh gems of King Khan and the Shrines What Is?! or the well worn tracks of The Modern Lovers' self titled album this is where my head and heart are this year and no one captures that better at this moment than Georgia's Black Lips. It was a beer spilling rowdy time and I had no shame about jumping around and shouting along to every word in this amazing set (which included to bring it back around included a King Khan cover).

PS: This was my first show at "The Music Hall of Williamsburg" which might be the best (and most pretentiously named) venues in the city.

9/22/07 Bowery Ballroom
Les Savy Fav 89% - These guys have come a long way in the years between their singles comp Inches and their latest album Let's Stay Friends. With a new guitar player and a less tough edged more melodic sound this show is probably the best sounding show I've ever seen from the post-punking Brooklynites. Of course LSF shows don't get graded on music alone. Tim was in fine form running up the stairs and dangling from the balcony, dressing like a detective and rubbing his sweat forehead against mine. So why the low grade? The new music lacks a bit of the aggressive punch of the band's classics of which they played precious little. Seems strange to see a LSF show without "Tragic Monsters" or "No Sleeves". Maybe this is old fan griping, if so I'm sorry.

10/2/07 Webster Hall
Pissed Jeans 90% - Selling noise skronk-punk to a huge crowd is a bit like playing darts blind folded, it's probably not going to work but you could just make it. Pissed Jeans much to my delight seemed to sell all the Man Man fans smart enough to show up early. Their dirdges and caotic performance style wowed the audience and they managed to not over stay their welcome even with trips into the deep dark abyss like the nearly 7 minute "Don't Need Smoke To Make Myself Disappear" in their set. You like the rawk and haven't yet seen these Sub Poppers? Fix this as soon as possible.

Celebration 62% - My indifference to your band grows daily.

Man Man 91% - New material went over amazingly, old material is the same old ruckus that we fell in love with a few moons ago. Still one of the finest acts touring and now they're refining and fine tuning their circus of a stage show. This band is poised to get much bigger this year, mark my words.

10/6/07 Randall's Island

Les Savy Fav 79% - I never thought I could give Les Savy Fav a lower grade than an 80%, but having all of the same qualms with this shortened set as I did with their previously mentioned Bowery set and watching most of Tim's shenanigans on the screens on either side of the stage was strange and jarring and I think the band might agree. I will say Tim had one of his best opening lines ever to what may be one of the largest crowds these guys have ever entertained: "We're Les Savy Fav and this our first show."

Blond Redhead 82% - Am I an asshole for knowing none of these guys albums? Even now three weeks after they impressed me so much in such a huge environment I haven't so much as downloaded a song. Their set was engaging and subtle which was an odd switch up from the rest of this event. They let the music do the talking and it was loud, clear, and mostly pretty beautiful.

LCD Soundsystem 94% - James Murphy is my pick for indie icon of the decade. Something like the Larry David of indie culture Murphy has been able to expand his snooty attitude into a big tent pop act that wowed the crowd many of whom were likely Arcade Fire obsessed depressive types. Inspite of an incredibly able band Murphy makes sure that the crowd's attention is squarely on him. He's charismatic and his songs are not out of place pumping up a crowd of several thousand. Someone get this guy the cover of Time.

Arcade Fire 91% - True or False Arcade Fire are the biggest indie band in history to still be an indie band? I'm not sure but it smells that way. Production values and arena rock moves suite this band well but it's the songs and the clamoring of the nearly dozen people on stage makes them the band Modest Mouse could never be.

10/10/07 Cake Shop
Sorry Jay Reatard and Hunchback, you both sounded fine but this venue sucks.

Stand by for my CMJ related ratings...