neko case - new album and single

neko case has a new album coming out on march 3rd called middle cyclone. she also has a new single, people got a lot of nerve, to promote the album that her label, anti-, is offering for a free download on their website. additionally, for every blog that promotes the new single, neko case and anti- will make a cash donation to best friends animal society. download the new track for free here.

to find out how to promote this on your blog to help a good cause, check out this link.

where did all the good shows go???

there is a serious lack of good shows recently. haven't been to one in almost two months, i think. if anyone hears of anything i might like, please drop me a line.

in other news, i went to a christmas parade downtown with my daughter today, and we had a blast. we watched all of the cars drive by and stuff, then we had a picnic in marion square that consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit snacks (yum!). mina then played on some giant inflatable things (slide, obstacle course, jump castle) for about 45 minutes. we topped it off with some cake-cake and hot chocolate at the starbucks across the street and a quick run through of urban outfitters. 'twas an excellent time. i left the camera in the car, but took this shot right when we got back before leaving downtown.


photo taken by myself

good advice. really.

at the drive-in on letterman, a long time ago

this is one of my favorite live performances by at the drive-in (future members of the mars volta and sparta). it is a performance of their song 'one-armed scissor' from their album relationship of command, live on letterman, some time ago. i wish i could have seen this band live before they split up. just ran across this while surfing the ol' web.

'tis a girl

and on a completely unrelated topic, my wife and i just found out we are having another baby girl. where my ladies at?!?!

check out the eyeball!!!

normal 'ol ultrasound shot.

new john frusciante solo album announced!!!

here is an email i received from redhotchilipeppers.com recently:

***********************************

Friends and Fans, 

The Empyrean is my new record and will be released worldwide via Record Collection on January 20th 2009. It was recorded on and off between December 2006 and March 2008. It is a concept record that tells a single story both musically and lyrically. The story takes place within one person, and there are two characters. It contains a version of Tim Buckley's, 'Song To The Siren' and the rest of the songs are written by me. My friend Josh plays on it, as does Flea. It also features Sonus Quartet, Johnny Marr and The New Dimension Singers. I'm really happy with it and I've listened to it a lot for the psychedelic experience it provides. It should be played as loud as possible and it is suited to dark living rooms late at night. 

- John Frusciante, November 3rd, 2008 

The Empyrean Track listing:

1. Before The Beginning
2. Song To The Siren
3. Unreachable
4. God
5. Dark/Light
6. Heaven
7. Enough Of Me
8. Central
9. One More Of Me
10. After The Ending

***********************************

holy crap. i cannot wait. this email makes me so happy.

john frusciante - dying song

here is a nicely done video put together by some youtube-er with john frusciante's 'dying song', which appears on the soundtrack to the movie the brown bunny, playing over the top of scenes from that movie. i love the movie, my friend charles was not a fan. john frusciante contributes five tunes to the soundtrack, although none actually appear in the film (bummer). john frusciante rules, and this is my favorite song by him.

what in god's name... (halloween fun)

so, i was sorting through mina's halloween haul, as all responsible parents should do before letting the kids loose on all that stranger candy, when i found (amongst the few opened wrappers, chewed up sucker sticks (not by mina - eww!), and just plain weird candy) a piece of gummy candy in a wrapper labelled 'gummy body parts candy'. that's all good. in the spirit of halloween, body parts candy is quite normal. i'm all for it. we found a set of teeth still attached to the gums (awesome) and a gummy nose (sweet) and something else that kinda looks like an ear. well, not really. what is that? wait a minute!!!!!


photo courtesy of myself

is it just me, or does that sorta resemble a...nevermind, use yer imagination. anna says it is an ear, but i have never seen an ear that looks like that. comment please, and let me know your thoughts.

jucifer, the pour house, 10/10/08

this past saturday night, i went with my friend shane to see jucifer, a band that we both love and have seen numerous times now. they played at a small bar on james island called the pour house. my friend chris thomas plays drums in the band that opened for them, banana hammock (the best band name i have heard in a while). they are kind of a thrashy, screamy, metal group with lots of mid-song tempo changes. i liked them. chris has made some amazing music over the years, and this is a continuation.

jucifer came on stage at around midnight, and once again blew me away. the band consists of two members, g. amber valentine (maniacal guitar/vocals) and g. edgar livengood (maniacal drums/vocals). the guitar rig consists of no less than thirteen 4x12" speaker cabinets, which is about twelve more than most guitarists have at a small club show like that. upon the first strum of the guitar, my innards instantly turned to liquid (luckily this has happened before, so i thought to bring an extra pair of undershorts).


photo courtesy of myself

they continued on and played a loud, screaming, psycho-drumming set that truly ruled. there was a lame turnout, but that did not effect their spirits in the slightest. and the few people that were there were going nuts.


photo courtesy of myself

after the show, amber v. promptly manned the merchandise booth, chatting with folks and signing autographs, showing no signs of just having blown minds. i bought their new live dvd, jucifer - veterans of volume: live with eight cameras and can't wait to watch it. if you like the band, order it from the link in the previous sentence. it is only $10 plus postage, and it is a limited pressing. the dvd contains a live show, music videos, and tons of other stuff. this is a great band and they need all the support they can get. i also purchased their new album l'autrichienne on pretty pink vinyl. it is a beauty. hope to see you all at the next show!

the breeders cover guided by voices 'shocker in gloomtown'

i am not really a guided by voices fan or anything, but i am somewhat of a breeders fan, and this cover/video is refreshingly rockin' and i like it.

The Breeders |MTV Music

leonard cohen performs 'the stranger'

a captivating performance by leonard cohen on the julie felix show in 1967. this is one of my favorites of his live performances. listen to that finger-picking. wow.

the raconteurs, tabernacle, 10/01/08

after the mars volta show from my previous post, anna and i made our way back to atlanta the following week to see the raconteurs. because of some unforeseen happenings, we ended up bringing our sweet monster daughter, mina, with us, and anna offered to stay with her so i could attend the show (now that is love). we ended up going to the atlanta zoo the next day, so it turned into a fun-filled family mini-vacation. but i digress...

this show was also at the tabernacle, a venue that i like more and more each time i attend a show there. cameras were allowed, so i got some better shots than some of my previous efforts. the opening band was one that anna discovered a while back and liked called the kills, a two-piece band (two guitarists/vocalists - one male/one female) and a drum machine. they played an energetic set and were very entertaining. i wish anna could have seen it...


photo courtesy of myself

the raconteurs blew my mind. as you probably know, the band consists of jack white of the white stripes, brendan benson, and jack lawrence and patrick keeler, both of the greenhornes. they played a great selection that covered both of their albums, broken boy soldiers and consolers of the lonely.


photo courtesy of myself

brendan benson sang the majority of the songs, because jack white was losing his voice. still, the energy created from the entire band was tremendous and could be felt pulsing through the room. one of the highlights of the show for me was when they played 'blue veins', the closer of their first album. i was not smart enough to at first remember my camera can shoot video, but i was smart enough to remember this right after the second verse, and i was able to capture the final 6 minutes of the song. check it out:



video courtesy of myself

my favorite part of the show was when they played 'carolina drama', which happens to be the closer to their second album, and it was the closer of the show. jack white has an amazing ability to tell a gripping story, and this song is an example of that. here is a picture from when they were performing that song:


photo courtesy of myself

i hope jack white's voice is getting better, and i hope to be able to see them again soon. this was such a different experience from when i saw the white stripes last year. both shows were awesome, but the music is so different between the two bands. this time around, it felt more like just a group of guys in a band that really love playing together instead of jack white as the ringleader. he looks good in both positions, but he seems happier here.

keren ann performs 'sailor and widow' live

this is an amazing performance from an amazing artist. performed live for the blue note jazz series.




also, here is a great video for a beautiful song called 'lay your head down' off of her self-titled latest album:

the mars volta, the tabernacle, 09/24/08

my wife, anna, and i recently saw the mars volta in concert in atlanta at the tabernacle, which is a concert venue that was converted from an old church. this is my fourth time seeing the mars volta in concert, and anna's first time. the show was titled 'an evening with the mars volta', which basically means no opening band (fine by me!!!). we ended up in a great spot, although right next to the pa speaker (forgot ear plugs...), but that's ok, because it was worth the 3 days of ringing.


photo courtesy of my crappy camera phone

the show was amazing, with lots of energy from the band. they played just at 2 hours long, and performed songs that spanned their entire catalog, with the exception of deloused in the comatorium - nothing from that one... i was expecting the setlist to mimic the one from when i saw them a few months back, but they changed it up, even playing songs that i have never heard live before. here is the setlist:

goliath
viscera eyes
new song (!)
wax simulacra
ouroboros
eunuch provocateur
ilyena
cygnus..., vismund cygnus
the widow
aberinkula

once again, they have blown my mind. anna enjoyed the show, too, though i don't think she was boogying as much as me. also, this is officially baby #2's first concert. that is one for the baby book for sure. here is another picture from the show:


photo courtesy of my crappy camera phone

i will be seeing them the next time they come even close. if you are interested in coming along, let me know.

and on a totally unrelated note, as anna and i were leaving the show, walking down the sidewalk right outside the venue, we passed a dude that, i swear, looked identical to the late, great elliott smith. we both stopped and looked at each other, then turned around and tried to track him down, but he disappeared just like that into the crowd. makes me think, what if... nah. couldn't be.....right?

nine inch nails, atlanta, 08/13/2008

saw nine inch nails recently in atlanta with my friend william, and it ruled. i have seen them before, but this time the stage performance was so amazing. they played tons of great songs, and the current lineup of musicians is tops (although i just heard that josh freese is leaving the band after the current tour, which is a bummer...). they played at the gwinnett arena, and we were in the general admission section. we did not get too close because we wanted to get a good view of the stage show. this photo shows the multi-layered screens that came down to make a kind of 3-d landscape (really sweet in person - the picture does no justice):


photo courtesy of my crappy camera phone

i won't go into too much detail except to say that it must cost a lot of money to pull off some of those effects, and now that trent reznor doesn't have a record label to help foot the bill, he is putting a lot of his own money in to make this a great performance for his fans. a true master, in my book. here is a picture of the band logo that appeared on the screen when they left the stage the first time:


photo courtesy of my crappy camera phone

my favorite part of the evening had to be when they played 'only' from the album with teeth. that song makes me want to get down (though i believe this next picture was taken while they were playing 'echoplex' from their album the slip, which was pretty killer as well).


photo courtesy of my crappy camera phone

already have tickets lined up to see them again on november 1st in greenville, this time with my friends chris and jennifer, and my sweet wife anna!

memory tag

i have many things to write about, but can't seem to find the time. so, for the sake of update this thing so people will come back and check it every once in a while, here is an easy post for me (i was tagged by my cousin adam's wife ann):

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you.

ours (the band) in columbia, 07/25/08

i ventured to columbia yesterday with my wife, anna, and friend, shane to see ours, a band of which i have written about here before (we saw them a few months back in goose creek, opening for filter). they were headlining this show, so we had hopes of more than the six songs we heard from the first show. there were two opening bands, and both were pretty alright. the first was a band called plain jane automobile from orlando, the second called god or julie from brooklyn.

ours took the stage around 10:45, i think, and played a strong hour and 45 minutes. they played songs from their first album distorted lullabies, as well as from their latest album mercy. i got a copy of the setlist, so here is what they played:

willing
black
mercy
drowning
i'm a monster
here is the light
ran away to tell the world
murder
live again
god only wants you
the worst things beautiful
fallen souls
get up


photo courtesy of myself

i can't say anything here that i didn't say in my post from the last time. but again, you must check out this band. seriously. and seeing as how there were like 20 whole people there last night, i can tell that nobody listens to me. well fine!

i was able to record video for one of the songs (the worst things beautiful) with my digital camera. the audio and video both are kinda sketchy, but it was wicked loud and dark, so... anyways, here is the video footage:


video footage courtesy of myself

i got to chat with the lead singer for all of 10 seconds before i backed away because i could tell he was anxious to get about his night. who would blame him. i look like a giant ogre standing next to him. that is a big head!!! i can't wait to see them again.


photo courtesy of myself

the cure in atlanta in june

my wife and i recently saw the cure in atlanta. they were originally scheduled to play this past september, but rescheduled their tour so they could focus on finishing up the recording of their new album (due out in the next month or so). the show was amazing.

the opening band was a band i had never heard of, and they blew me away. they were an instrumental band called 65daysofstatic. at least the show was instrumental. there was a microphone on the stage, but the guitarist just used it to say in his english accent, "hello, we're 65daysofstatic. we're from england. thank you.", and that was it. they ripped through there set without pause, and it was awesome. i bought one of their albums on vinyl from the merchandise booth, but i still need to pick up a cd or two and listen more closely.

the cure walked on stage right at 9:15, then walked off 3 hours later right at 12:15. it was incredible. i think they played every song that i could even think of. a great mix of new, old, very old, and obscure. robert smith was in high spirits (i swear i'm not lying), as he kept grinning like a child at the audience. they played three encores, each one we thought was the last, but they just kept returning to the stage. for old dudes, they have some serious stamina, because i was just dancing, and after 3 hours, i was worn slap out! i wasn't able to get any photos at the show because it was an arena ("no cameras, recording devices, or nail clippers/box cutters!" was what the ticket read, I believe). so, i will just include a picture of the ticket stub (it is from the original september 15th show, and we were allowed to reuse them for the rescheduled show). a fine show indeed! cheers!

ew's "20 scariest movies of all time"

back in october of 2004, entertainment weekly posted an article on their website where they grouped, what was in there opinion, the 20 scariest movies of all time. my friend leah sent me the link a few weeks ago, and i realized i had only seen 18 of them (gasp!). so i immediately set out to complete the list (leah was missing 2 as well, so we kind of had a contest to see who could finish first - i totally won! thanks, serial killer henry!). here is what i think about the list, broken down by each title...

1. the shining (1980): easily my favorite movie of all time. jack nicholson is perfect as jack torrance, and shelly duvall and danny lloyd are incredible. the movie scares the bejeezus out of me. i have literally seen it over 90 times (i used to watch it constantly when i lived alone), and as a matter of fact, it needs another viewing since i picked up the 2-disc version a few months back. this is required viewing.

2. the exorcist (1973): this one is in my top 5 favorite movies. some of the scenes in this movie are downright disturbing, but i can't seem to get enough of it. i really enjoyed the "spider walk" scene that they included in the dvd extras. that completely freaked me out, and i wish they left it in the movie. part 2 is pretty decent, but part 3 is nearly as good as the first one.

3. the texas chainsaw massacre (1974): this movie freakin' rules, and scares the living crap out of me. i will never stop on an old country road/highway to try to get help after watching this. i will just stick to the interstates. the villains in this movie are downright sadistic. and leatherface is a big dumb ox, but he is a big dumb ox with a huge chainsaw and a bad attitude. i need my blankie.

4. the silence of the lambs (1991): i wouldn't say this one actually scares me. hannibal lechter is a downright evil dude, and jodie foster is excellent in this as well. there are some great scenes that make you go "oh snap!", but i can sleep in the dark without a nite-lite after watching it.

5. jaws (1975): i haven't seen this in ages, but i remember it was pretty dang scary then, and probably still is. not so much that i would call it a horror movie, but it makes me definitely not want to go on a boat in the ocean. still, they did some amazing things with that big fake mechanical shark.

6. halloween (1978): michael myers is unstoppable. just when i thought he was down for good, he is up and at it again. and jamie lee curtis sure was lookin' fine. an excellent movie to watch in a dark room with friends (surround sound helps). and rob zombie's remake (2007) takes it to a higher, more brutal, level.

7. psycho (1960): this really is an amazing film. anthony perkins plays a perfect crazed mama's boy. and janet leigh (jamie lee curtis's mother, coincidentally) plays the role of a paranoid thief brilliantly. it is hard to believe she is only in the movie for a short time. alfred hitchcock was a superb filmmaker, and this is one of many of his excellent films.

8. seven (1995): brad pitt and morgan freeman star in this freakin' crazy film. i was on the edge of my seat the entire movie the first time i watched it. i still get chills at the end when kevin spacey is talking to brad pitt while the delivery driver is driving down the long desert road with the package. (dangit! i think i just crapped my pants.)

9. rosemary's baby (1968): another of my top 5 favorites. i love the suspense in this. mia farrow plays the helpless victim so exquisitely. i truly love how this movie was filmed. it has a very 70's feel to it, and the shots of new york city are beautiful. oh yeah, and the scene where satan impregnates rosemary is downright horrifying. i can watch this movie over and over and never tire of it.

10. poltergeist (1982): directed by the guy that brought us #3, this movie is nowhere near as sadistic, but it still scared the pants off of a 12 year old layne, i gotta say. the part where the boy is counting endlessly and the tree attacks him through the window; the part where the guy starts peeling away the skin from his face while looking in the bathroom mirror; that freaky midget lady. holy crap! i have the soundtrack to this loaded on my ipod, and i get goosebumps everytime a track from it comes on.

11. a nightmare on elm street (1984): i don't even need to say anything here. (mutter) dang freddy, making me scared to fall asleep for 3 solid years (mutter).

12. john carpenter's the thing (1982): this was one of the two that i had not yet seen when i read the list initially. my aforementioned friend leah borrowed it from her dad so that i could borrow it. and it ruled. i was all thinking it was just some kind of psychological type thriller, you know, folks in the arctic going stir crazy and stuff, until about 30 minutes in when the spider-alien-thingy burst out of the dog!!! i was glued to the screen for the next hour.

13. the evil dead (1982): this is number 5 on my top 5 favorite movies. it is so scary, bloody, and funny all at the same time. i was screaming, saying "ew!", and laughing insanely simultaneously. this is the only movie that could accomplish that, ever. i have bought three different versions of the dvd release (i think) over the years without hesitation. this movie is just so cool.

14. carrie (1976): man, this movie is so close to my top 5 it is not even funny. it scares me so bad that i have to watch it in the daytime. the soundtrack is eerie and haunting, and i listen to it often (i love the soundtracks to most of these movies as much as i love the movies, and i collect them often). sissy spacek kills in this move. in every sense of the word.

15. night of the living dead (1968): a masterpiece. this movie has been released so many times it was hard to find an appropriate one to link to. if you haven't seen this, you must do it now. forget the colourized one, forget the 3-d one, get the original b&w $5 one. you can pretty much find it anywhere. it is the best zombie movie of all time.

16. the omen (1976): this wraps up my top 5 favorite movie list. i love this movie more than words can describe. the characters are extremely believable, the death scenes are superb, the story itself is amazing. i want to watch it again right now after just thinking about it. the remake was okay, but the little dude just wasn't as believable.

17. an american werewolf in london (1981): this is the second of the two that i had not seen (until a few nights ago, that is). i rented this from netflix, and man, was i surprised. this was an excellent movie from start to finish. the effects during the transformation scene were so realistic and painful looking. i can't believe i had never seen this one before!

18. henry: portrait of a serial killer (1990): this is the one that allowed me to sneak by both leah and her dad to complete this list (they had both never seen it). i happened to rent this a few years ago because my friend richard was talking about how sweet it was. i gotta say, richard, i didn't think it was sweet, but it was definitely messed up. i might watch it again as soon as i completely forget everything that i saw, just to remind myself why i shouldn't have watched it again.

19. the hitcher (1986): good ol' c. thomas howell. alright, this movie was okay, but definitely not one of the 20 scariest of all time. i would have replaced this one with george romero's martin (1978), the tale of a young fella with vampiric tendencies. the hitcher does make me never want to pick up a hitchhiker, so it did have some value to me.

20. lost highway (1997): wha??? one of the scariest movies of all time. i mean, it is an excellent movie, and that scene where the dude's face gets split by the glass-top coffee table is brilliantly painful-looking, but i can't remember being scared. just mildly confused. i would maybe replace this one with the amityville horror (1979) or misery (1990) or something. still, though, a great movie.

in conclusion, thanks, entertainment weekly for taking the time to compile this list. thanks, leah, for sending me this link in the first place. thanks, anna, for not divorcing me for watching so many scary movies all the time. and finally, thanks, mom and dad, for not letting me watch any of these when i was younger, so i can watch them so much more often now that i am old. time for me to go. i gotta watch me some movies.

kickball!!!

i just joined a kickball league! i heard about it from a posting on our social board at work and thought, "what the heck!". i have not played kickball in a while, but i remember it being insanely awesome, and i have been looking for ways to stay in shape while having fun, so this is going to be perfect. it is only one day a week starting mid-june, but a little is better than nothing, right.

so this summer, every wednesday night, i will be ripping it up on the kickball field. oh, let's be honest, i am going to pull a hammy the first game because i didn't stretch enough beforehand...

i even have a member card in my wallet now, which i guess makes me official.