two.points.collapsing

i fell short of my weekend duty of switching the song of the week, so i’m gonna get right on that. see, there was this band hum that i love more than anything, which isn’t together anymore. i hate when that happens. a lot of my favorite cds are by bands that are deceased. no more tours, no more new music. sorry kids, that’s that.

luckily, a lot of those people go on to form new bands that, although they can’t and shouldn’t ever be just more of the old band, are still really talented people making music i really like. see also hey mercedes (ex-braid), slow reader (ex-impossibles), the stereo (ex-animal chin), the lawrence arms (ex-slapstick) and i’m sure more if i sat and flipped through my cds. the whole punk/indie crossbreeding is probably traced at length somewhere that i could track down if i had the time and ambition.

this month i was pleased to hear that a cd i’ve been waiting for since its original alleged release date — way back in june — has finally become officially available through parasol. now i can finally get my hands on a cd by matt talbot’s new band centaur. their first release so far, called in streams, and i love it almost as much. not quite. it’s much softer and simpler, but he’s still writing great songs and music and i still the way his voice floats across the songs he plays. i’d recommend the cd and give a try to life begins if i were you.

[now hearing this: faraquet – the view from this tower.]

DO NOT SEE THE TRANSPORTER. i have to try to warn as many people as possible, as early on as i can. i realize this service would have been better used last weekend when it opened, but to anyone who hasn’t caught it yet and was thinking about it, i suggest seeing one of the several other excellent options available to you (rules of attraction), or just running in the opposite direction of the theatre. it’s the only sensible option.

seriously, DO NOT SEE THE TRANSPORTER, ever. don’t do it. the few scenes of okay but still ridiculous action do not come close to making up for the ridiculous and unbearable excuse for a storyline. the characters appear, make no sense, deliver awful lines, and get in fights that don’t reach much of a climax at any point along the way. nothing is ever explained in the weird plot they devised as an excuse to make an otherwise cool actor get in a bunch of silly fights and cheat death repeatedly, and by the end you’re more confused and stupefied by their brash omission of key explanatory facts to the story that you’ll only leave angry and upset, even if you might be laughing at the nonsense you just witnessed.

i can’t believe they fooled me into seeing that. at least it started off well. but still, DO NOT EVER, EVER SEE THE TRANSPORTER.

[now hearing this: cursive mp3’s, until i buy get out to pick up the cd.]

dammit just barely missed a thursday post. i don’t like having multi-day holes in the record.

if you’re any kind of fan of dj music/turntablism/scratching, or whatever you call it, i recommend the movie scratch. it’s not just educational in the history of the style of music, but there are also a lot of damn fine live segments on there. really a ton of fun to watch if you’re impressed by guys who can do this, and i definitely am (see last october’s trip to see dj qbert live…[nostalgic sigh]). i really liked cut chemist’s interviews too — he’s completely spaced out and hilarious.

i’m starting to think, as i prepare to go to bed, that having waffles with ice cream and chocolate syrup on them for dinner was not the wisest decision i’ve ever made concerning my stomach. i mean, i tried everything to make it feel better too — eating a fun-size milky way bar, sitting here doing nothing — i’m fresh out of ideas.

i will settle for lying still and face down on my pillow i think then. nighty night.

[now hearing this: air – moon safari.]

my midterms are so easy its embarrassing. i think my engineer roommates probably laugh at me behind my back.

“but i try to read lots of books in the time i don’t have to devote to doing work for classes, so i’m still a nerd like you guys, i swear! i’m just a book nerd instead of a math nerd!…guys?….”

i have to see a counselor soon to make sure i’m fulfilling all my obligations for next semester so i can graduate with all the honors and certificates and whatever else i believe i am entitled to (i should get one for whatever you would call the opposite of the “biggest tool in the business school” award. littlest tool? least tool-like? i don’t know what it’s called but i damn well deserve it. at least tied with some other people i know that also don’t suck).

jesus jaywalker, i’m about to sign up for my last semester of classes possibly EVER. probably not, really — but still scary though. but really i’m not scared, i’m excited. being at a university is too easy. you just student-loan your troubles away, or have your parents back you up. i’m really looking forward to standing on my own two feet for once. i think i’ll finally feel like i’ve accomplished something.

not that i haven’t so far. i mean, i got a car and stuff. and i made this killer fiesta dip. i know you just pour powder into a tub of sour cream, but it sure does taste good.

[now hearing this: empire state games mp3’s, a.k.a the one cd that i will probably never, ever be able to find a physical copy of that i sure wish i had and would buy for triple its original price if i ever tracked one down.]

alright, seriously: why didn’t anyone ever tell me about cursive? what the fuck, people? you had no right to keep this band from me for all these years. NO right at all. i thought we were friends! i thought we shared our treasures and our fantastic discoveries! but now i don’t know if i can ever trust you like i used to. this is going to take some time to get over.

as a whole i would say the plea for peace tour was fair to good. i like the lawrence arms even though it didn’t seem like anyone else did which was a damper on that set. i was pretty un-fond of common rider (we used to be operation ivy! we’re political and conscious and soooo intelligent; so much so that our music can be very audibly just watered down op-ivy leftover crap but you can’t hate us because then you’re not all about unity like we are!), and poison the well was a little too hardcore for my usual tastes.

(i decided a good measure of hardcoreness is the ratio of screaming to singing. thus the new glassjaw cd sucks compared to the old one, because the first one had a higher ratio and was more hardcore and therefore cooler, of course, because glassjaw is a good hardcore band. PTW was probably around 70/30 most of the time, which is a little too high, because the music just wasn’t interesting enough to get me through it on the majority of their songs. admittedly it could have been that the roundhouse-kicking hardcore suburban kids were just too distracting for me to find something to like in the band’s performance, which was all-out if nothing else, so i’d be willing to give them another chance in the future. maybe. if i didn’t have to pay.)

thursday was good because they go all the way and their songs are made to be played live in front of throngs of kids who like to scream. i had a great time with them. they seem like good guys too that have fun playing for people that like to hear them play. i always appreciate getting that vibe from a band.

cursive though? i don’t think i’d ever heard a cursive song before, which i’m now really embarrassed about, because they were outstanding. and they had a cello player! and it made them sound better instead of being used as a stage accessory to make them appear more credible. it was great. dug the cursive. need to get my hands on some cursive. and some guy happily yelled, “i write my name in cursive!” up at the band after their set, which got me pretty good i have to say. oh those crazy kids.

two music blogs in a row. wooo-eeeee. seriously though, check out that minus the bear song. it’s unstoppable. get their e.p.(s). they’re excellent.

**collapsing is not in any way affiliated with minus the bear, their record label, or any subsidiary thereof, and does not profit by their endorsement of the aforementioned band except that if more people buy their stuff maybe they can afford to come down to LA to play more often since they’re from seattle.

[now hearing this: cursive mp3 of “the radiator hums”. jesus you guys… you really should have said something.]

note: if you are offended by me calling glassjaw a hardcore band, which maybe they really aren’t, then i’m sorry but i really can’t be troubled to care. and their first cd is still way better, you’re just going to have to admit it. –b

my buddy joe and i went to the troubadour last night to see some bands play, mainly minus the bear, whom i love. it was pretty strange though, because the rest of the lineup was all these hardcore rock bands that seemed really into screaming and lunging around the stage. the first two bands were pretty terrible and the second was only better because the lead singer was a very large man that danced around a lot, which was at least funny for the first few songs. and he had a theramin, which is at least interesting.

the rest were pretty good though. i’d never heard of bullet train to vegas before, but they were a good time. not the best singers, but pretty energetic and enjoyable. some cool guitar sounds, and pretty hyperactive, basically. i’d see them again. planes mistaken for stars, who went on last, were about the same. only they were better musicians i think. i really liked what they were playing, i just didn’t get into the vocal stuff, because for some reason i can’t really connect with people that only scream things i can’t understand. i guess i’m crazy.

minus the bear was the highlight by far. they’re certainly my favorite band-that-it-seems-like-no-one-ever-talks-about. i saw them back in march opening for piebald, and i’ve just fallen more in love with their stuff as time passes. last night only supported that, in addition to winning over a lot of the audience i think. i caught a lot of people sort of furrowing their brows after they started, then looking at eachother and nodding with the “hey, this is pretty damn good” look. i really think that if they keep opening for bands with wider fan bases, they’ll easily double or triple their own in the next year. especially with their first full length album coming out next month, which is looking to be fantastic. at the show they were selling new ep’s with two of those songs on it and three extras, which i picked up and listened to five times this morning. oh man, it’s good. check out spritz!!! spritz!!!, one of the tunes from the upcoming LP, and remember it — because i’m willing to be that you’ll be hearing more about them soon enough. it’s not just the song of the week, it’s a strong recommendation.

[now hearing this: centaur – in streams. i have a lot to say about this one too but i’ll hold off for another day. it’s time for mongolian barbeque anyway. mmmmmm.]

i have no right to complain about school, ever. my classes demand very little of me and what they do demand is pretty much a joke. that doesn’t make me any happier having a quiz and midterm on the same day though and having to study bullshit instead of playing max payne. seriously, that game is the best thing to spin in my console all year. soon to be thunderously replaced by this though. sweet jesus. i’m pretty sure i actually get aroused when i think about that game. and it doesn’t bother me.

[now hearing this: random mp3 says…the who – baba o’riley. rock and roll man.]

{postscript: alright, i’m studying, flipping through my (awful, pointless, doesn’t smell what it’s shovelling) textbook looking at key terms in bold and in the margins and what have you, and what’s there on the side of the page, defined clearly so we poor readers can understand? i’ll quote exactly because it deserves nor requires any more comment:

“quality exists when the firm’s goods or services meet or exceed customers’ expectations.”

i mean come on.}

i’m at work flipping through an ‘urban’ magazine doing research for one of my boss types, and i see an ad with the line, “including the hit single, ‘no panties’ featuring [some singer]…” and after the initial “jesus”, i actually start to worry, because the world is full of people that wouldn’t react that way, but instead with a “daaaaamn” or a “yee-ah”.

that’s why i have a hard time playing with others.

it’s time for some notes on the weekend now past, before i forget to write what i’m thinking about writing. it might be easier to make a list or use bullet points, but that’s not for me. although i think it is an effective method for the medium, i don’t want to grow to rely on it. it probably isn’t good writing in the broader sense and it could allow one to get lazy.

friday night was not much to speak of because cheeseburgers (in-n-out, best around) and cookies (diddy riese’s, best around) and alcohol (around in plentitude) and video games (constantly around) isn’t such a bad run; it just doesn’t make for much of a story. and neither did the party we were talked into going to later on. except a tall fruity black guy was putting his arm around one of our crew a little more than is customary in most circles, which was funny at least. too bad the girls weren’t very interesting or attractive even if they seemed to like us just fine. better to go home and get some rest for saturday night.

which would see us off to our friends’ place for a birthday party entitled, “the slackjawed yocal brou-ha-ha”. i don’t go to many ‘theme’ parties but i have to say it’s a fun idea to get as white-trashy as you can and go drink beers with some friends. i had to cut the sleeves off a t-shirt for the occasion, not having any trailer park wear in my closet, waiting to be showcased at such an event (surprising, huh?). it was an underattended but still pretty decent time, i thought. but i’m biased.

tonight was better. nothing beats good company and lots of cute smiles and a winding, enjoyable conversation. we’ll leave it at that because i want to go to bed grinning like i am right now.

[now hearing this: laptop shuffle pulls up… houston – “…at the foot of the gunflint trail”. i think i grabbed this from their mp3.com site, which has lots of good stuff by them, which i would point you toward if you like heavy spacy rock. and before you ask, they’re from minnesota, not anywhere in texas. go figure.]

i am always saddened when i remember that burning airlines isn’t a band anymore. especially when listeing to mission: control or remembering the concert they played on september 12th of last year — saying, “let’s just play some music and have a good time,” in the aftermath of such a tragedy.

i feel like lots of my favorite bands are no longer together, and i worry about what that says about me as a music fan (aging? nostalgic? mired in a musical moment whose time has passed? old and jaded and uninterested in recent offerings?). instead of growing outward i’m almost as often pushing roots further inward, such as picking up old jawbox cd’s at amoeba and telling myself the new stuff i bring to the listening station isn’t worth the money. check out this song of the week though, and tell me there isn’t a quality that’s hard to match, then or now. it’s called consolation prize from the cd grippe and it’s smashing. then afterward, email me and recommend some new stuff because i’m feeling out of the loop these days.

[now hearing this: roommates playing halo on my tv.]