retrobuzz

libertines' pete doherty arrested in london for possession of a knife while stopped for a traffic violation. what's next, stabbing all of the spice girls while on crystal meth?

a new blog has entered the internet2, making it cool once again to run a blog.
8thpresindahouse is run by the 221 year old martin van buren, the 8th president of the US. i know that's old, but he still seems to be able to stay up on what's hip these day's & what's not. he even threw out a 'HOLLA!' ref in his 1st post. it's much better than GW's failed blog that did nothing but talk about the size of the kidney stones that dick cheney passed over the weekends, 'how neato it is to be president' (you get free stuffed crust pizzas!), & how much fun it was playing uno last night w/ rummy/powell/cheney/rice while on vacation at camp david.

so i ordered the new ash album, meltdown, when it was released a month ago in the uk. to save some $, i opted for the free super saver shipping. after 3 weeks of waiting, i wrote it off as lost in transit. it finally showed up on my door step on friday. after ~10 listens thus far, i can say it's definitely not as good as 2001's free all angels, but there are some gems on there as good as anything they've done. it's probably in-between 1977 & free all angels. their 1st single 'orpheus' is an amazing fast & furious summer song filled w/ catchy hooks. the other outstanding tracks are 'out of the blue', 'starcrossed', 'rennegade cavalcade', & 'detonator'.

it's a more direct flat-out rock album, where charlotte & mcmurray wail away. it still has alot of catchy hooks, but no string arrangements on this album. the only track i think is bad is 'clones'---which is awful (sounds like godsmack or slipnot). wish i caught their coachella set, but the cure played at the same time. had i known about the curiosa fest, i probably would've made it over to the reviled mojave tent for tim wheeler & co's performance.

there's been alot of feedback lately on the franz ferdinand haterade being thrown around on west coast blogs, whatevs, & here. many are asking why, some are getting very defensive, some think it's funny. here's your answer: because it's fun. are they the worst band in the world? no, far from it. are they great? no, far from it. it's fun to rattle the cage of insecurity of some bloggers by continuing to make fun of franz, & getting reactions (good or bad). while i can't speak for the haterade uncle grumbo posts on his site, i can say that what i post here is all a big joke. i think alot of people get it, but some over-protective FF fans go ballistic on me in emails. that's exactly the type of reaction i aim to get.

do i think FF is good? not really, but they're okay. nothing new, nothing to write home from summer camp about. my belief is that many FF fans are/were fans of the white stripes, another not so talented, over-hyped band. the rapture had alot of buzz last year in nyc, but never really took off as hoped. i think that is a really good, fun band. if jack white ever got his shit together & formed a solid band, this would be it. in order to kind of keep that scene going, people in the industry w/ alot at stake had to latch onto a new up-&-coming retro post-punk band. FF fit the bill. i'm sure they like FF, but you'd think they were the stones or something from all the press they get. my biggest problem is seeing a blandish not that talented band get so much hype & praise, when there are so many more deserving (ie better) bands that don't. i've been saying the same thing about the white stripes for 2.5 years after they blew up, & the strokes post-room on fire. it's only a matter of time before people wise-up & see beyond all 'the buzz' & hype surrounding these bands. until then, keep listening to whatever it is you enjoy.

summary: the whole FF haterade thing is one big ephing joke for my amusement. if you think it's real, you ain't too smart.

big thanks out to seantizz & jenbo for their magnificus, superfilous bbq party they threw on saturday. the food was awesome, everyone had a good time. cheers!

went to see last tourist & jared champion play at the berkley front. stayed sober that night, but had a good time. right when i walked upstairs, i heard the FF disc playing on the house stereo, as requested specially by peabs. he loves that band. the opener was solid, & last tourist put on a solid 15 song set. they played a few new songs, which sound better than their last batch of new songs. they drew 70 people there just to see them, pretty good for only their 3rd show since making the return. peabs was visably happy, & toward the end of their set he threw his dad a father's day thanks for 'donating the sperm to create me' & 'for f'ing my mother so that i could be here today'. wow...the bartender was totally hey now. i asked her about FF & she said a friend just gave it to her that day along w/ modest mouse. i didn't make fun, just said 'they're alright'. we talked music for a little bit. hey now.

don't know what you were doing at 3:30am saturday night, but upon getting home from the post party, i flipped on the tv & started to watch 'how high' on usa. what a classic movie. method & red are best. earlier that evening we were talking about the orgins of 'holla', & less than 5min into the movie they walk into class at harvard & threw out a 'HOLLA!'. don't know if they started it, don't care. it was funny.

i went to see the rufus/ben folds/guster show last night at freedom hill. i had a lawn ticket, but was able to navigate through the friendly laid-back security, up to the 7th row. i thought grambo/the grizz/mandypants* also had lawn seats, but they had no problem walking down up front. i trailed & was getting stopped at every check point. turned out their tix were actually in row 7. i caught most of rufus' & folds' solo accoustic sets from there, & moved up to the lawn for guster's. pretty interesting mix of a crowd. they should call it freaks & geeks & hott girls=mmmmBEST!

as always, the banter in-between songs was priceless during rufus/folds. guster closed & got the crowd moving. hott girls love guster. there were these 16 yr kids sitting next to us & they were like rooney american idol rejects. peabs & seantizz kept encouraging them. finally, i pulled one aside & explained that trucker hats are worst, should NEVER be worn, & that von dutch clothes are 'von douche'. i felt like i made a positive difference in someone's life.

dido...!