swept away

legitimately would like to know if @thegraduate sold their souls to the devil. you know, in like, an agnostic sense. why are their songs so consistently good?

ANSWER ME.

recently, i got around to downloading the graduate's every other time, an EP companion (of sorts) featuring b-sides to their recent release, only every time. don't ask me what the album titles mean, i'm not feeling very ~deep~ right now.  you could say that i am overwhelmed with things we shall not speak of (work/life/packing/#firstworldproblems), so i just take new music as it happens, as i stumble across it, and enjoy it for what it is.

just listen up: you can stream the songs for free, and then download them (preferably the entire album, obvs) for whatever price you choose. yep, radiohead-style. today, they released another set of songs on an EP titled sea legs. same deal-- listen, and then pay-what-you-want for the songs you want.

ain't life grand?

trying to find the in-betweens

[the naked and famous - "young blood"]



current earworm.

also, you can stream holy ghost!'s album here for another day or so before it comes out. they'll be hitting the echoplex on monday, april 18, along with chairlift. show and ticket info here. i've had two tickets sitting in my shopping cart, but i'm on the fence. if i survive the coachella weekend relatively intact, i'm hoping i'll make it there.

speaking of coachella, in case you were interested-- which i'm sure you are-- i have been able to procure appropriate footwear, a gigantic old-lady hat, and some hair ties. what i need to do now is to pack...

i hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited

the theme of this past weekend (most likely): i ate too much and now you're going to have to roll me home in a wheelbarrow. #gluttonyisgrand. this week's theme is: eating better + getting up off my butt. it's working.. possibly, if you ignore the fries i had at hotel cafe earlier tonight...

if you can watch this without feeling a shred of something-- regret, sadness, awe.. you're dead inside. and dead to me, thx. (link via @gknolle)



stream her entire album 21 (coming out on 2/22/11) on NPR.com here | and check out three songs @ adele's tiny desk concert.

psst: @flo_tweet kroq presale

Florence + The Machine Plus Special Guest Hanni el Ehatib
@ The Greek Theatre on June 13, 2011
KROQ PRESALE: Thursday, February 17 at 10am-10pm
p/w: KROQFLORENCE
regular/plebian on-sale: Friday 2/18 at 10am

so, who wants to go?! i will brave the craptastic parking at the greek for this.

i know a lot of good people in la

one of my favorite songs of the moment, by brett dennen:

[brett dennen - sydney, i'll come runnin' (testify) preview]


things to do this week:
Monday, January 24th @ Spaceland @ 9pm
Lucy Schwartz, The Fling, Belle Brigade and Jenny O - FREE!

Wednesday, January 26th @ The Echo @ 11pm
Foster The People - FREE show residency (check out some of their songs below... "pumped up kicks," which is very reminiscent to me of "young folks" by peter bjorn and john, has been all over STAR 98.7 lately)

Thursday, January 27th @ Mountain Bar @ 9:30pm
Boobs4Food "Together We Can" Concert to benefit LA Regional Food Bank
Cover: $10 presale on Eventbrite (includes 1 raffle ticket)/ $12 at the door (cash only, includes 1 raffle ticket)/ additional raffle tickets: 1 for $2, 5 for $5
... was "can" supposed to be punny? if so, excellent work.

i resolve to...

1. craft more

2. laugh more

3. communicate better

4. stress less

5. eat less junk

6. photo & document (blog) more

... and tie up any loose ends from 2010.

happy new year, from me to you.  for reference, here is my list of resolutions from 2009. #3 and 4, i owned you. let's not talk about the others.

it's filler time

o hai there, internets. yes, i've been gone a good long while again. i know it seems like we've grown apart, but my feelings still remain. i know. it's not you, it's me. but remember: i will always less than 3 you. so when i come back to you, i'll expect you to be waiting for me.

tra la la...

so i snapped out of my laziness kick and edited a few photos Sunday night. here are some of lucy schwartz when she appeared with justin hopkins' "friends round" back in october. she's really got a knack for the catchy tunes (aka the ones you hear featured on your favorite tv shows, duh). up next for this talented songstress: the 6th annual hohotel holiday (benefit) show on december 17, 2010. presale tix are were available here; otherwise, you can try your luck at the door (or various other connections). good luck. (in my editing queue/dock: pix from the inaugural culture collide fest, wherein my car broke down on the way to silver lake to see the outline and AGAINST ALL ODDS, i made it in time for their show).

last thursday, FILTER was kind enough to hook me up with tickets to check out mackintosh braun and scars on 45 (great britpop type band, reminded me of a mix between keane and -in some songs- straylight run. was also able to catch a few songs by Joey Ryan & Kenneth Pattengale, who, despite ill-timed jokes about menstrual cycles, were very entertaining.

giving thanks, music is awesome, et cetera

hope everyone is enjoying the last remnants of this holiday weekend.

in other news, this blog is still alive. recently transferred some show photos (lucy schwartz, tokyo police club) onto the comp, so i've got quite a few next big projects to tackle.

what i've been listening to:
- katy perry, teenage dream
- matt & kim, sidewalks
- jimmy eat world, invented
- tokyo police club, champ
- the outline, who you love (EP)
- anya marina, spirit school (EP)

TG it's nearly FRIDAY!

so i've got a designated partner-in-crime for my silver lake adventures (aka the culture collide festival) this weekend. ladies and gents, ampersandblues and i are going to wander about the land of hipsters. we hope to report back with some interesting news and photos; and if not, at the very least, a few bands that we hate/love.

after taking a look at the line-ups/schedule for friday, we've decided to wing it.  each venue we want to get to is a little less than 2 miles away from the previous... i'm wondering how this parking/cabbing/walking situation will work out. a tram or shuttle system would be cool (notes for next year). i'll definitely be checking out the outline @ spaceland, but everything else is sort of play-it-by-ear. there's a pun in there somewhere, i just don't know how to use it.

i heard a couple of songs by voxhaul broadcast and i kind of adore them already. a little like the electro-jaunty version of kings of leon (k.o.l. prior to becoming the hipsters' nickelback, tyvm) may not get the chance to catch them this weekend, but they've got a show on 11/3 at spaceland, so i'm going to note that for the record!

and after friday comes caturday...

M.I.A. M.A.O.

sorry, y'all. been keeping quiet and laying low lately. i am at the beginning stages of sickness, which i'm DESPERATELY attempting to fend off. i hope it's working.

i have gone through some of my pictures from the final something corporate show @ club nokia. some decent ones, methinks. hope to have those posted before... idk, the next century. someday, maybe.

what have i been doing recently/i hope you find this fascinating:
welllllll--i shot some photos of the analog playset / andrew's acoustic show (apologies in advance: pix are not that great, due to my lack of ability to work with lights or basically shoot anything other than shows, wah wah). robots, which are custom decorated by various famous scenesters, were on display. you can still bid on them here for the two remaining days of the auction; proceeds benefit the dear jack foundation! a very worthy cause, imo. not that i'm biased or anything. ;)

i'm also starting to put together my hallowGLEEn costume; there will be a substantial amount of DIY-ing, possible sewing, involved this year. attended vampire weekend @ the bowl on sunday during this ~intense~ heat wave; maintained my ~hipster cred~ by enjoying beach house.

work work work work work more work blah this is boring. i went on a hike.

what's coming up? wherein i pretend i have a life
on friday, literally going to a show just to see an opening band. sorry, other dudes/bands. the graduate @ the key club is probably one of my most anticipated shows of this season, since they haven't been touring extensively the past however many years. WELCOME BACK TO LA.

10/7-10/10 hitting up the (inaugural) FILTER magazine's culture collide fest all over SL with jaime | ampersandblues. check out their crazy delicious line-up below. pretty stoked for tokyo police club, the outline, and whomever else i may discover while traipsing around on sunset...

then azure ray @ the troubadour on 10/22... and best coast @ the troubadour on 11/13. best coast arguably runs one of the wackiest twitter accounts around. seriously, i wish i were as much fun as her/them.

my bedtime is fast approaching. au revoir.

there you go for the last time

i hope for my sake that no other bands are planning to do last-ever reunion tours. because it. just. might. kill. me.

friday, e and i headed out to grab a bite @ the alibi room in culver city before heading down to The Grove (anaheim) for the something corporate show. the kogi tacos were excellent (i had beef, pork-- my fave, and tofu). fancy drinks were fancy. made it to anaheim with time to spare & run into our friend allie at the bar. then proceeded to see nearly everyone i've ever known through this band in the audience (going to try to list them here: blayne, allie, rhonda, leah, and kelly)... haha. the photos below are from the anaheim show-- the first time i'd shot a show in AGES. i forgot how frenzied it gets trying to get good photos in the first three songs. intense.

Simple silhouettes and cutouts. 08/27/10 The Grove, Anaheim, CA

Josh Partington, soon to be Esq., Something Corporate. 08/27/10 The Grove, Anaheim, CA

Andrew McMahon, Something Corporate. 08/27/10 The Grove, Anaheim, CA

saturday night was part dos. e and i head out from the westside over to DTLA. run into allie, blayne (happy 100th show!), luke, lesley, and maureen (whom we had met the night before) outside the venue. upon realizing that there were still 1.5 hours left before the band actually hit the stage, decide to forgo waiting in line and hit up rock'n fish to kill time. eventually, we go in, reconvene with friends, and the show starts. a few of us go up in front of the barricade to shoot the (very likely) last soco show... ever. spot breesays from buzznet in the photopit-- i'm not creepy at all, i tell myself.

FORGET DECEMBER. i get weirdly emotional during some song (i don't even remember which one!) because it truly hits me that i wouldn't even know some of my friends without this band. so cheers to the band, to my friends, to these past 5-6 years, to the roadtrips, to the misadventures. may i note, "i love college" (hi tracy!).

also, i may have thrown out my back/neck/hip as i tried to dance around; old age is a drag. as we drift out of the venue, i see more friends after the show: jaime, mary (very nice to meet you!), cheryl, andy, leah, sorry if i forgot anyone... three hours and one impressive temper tantrum (by yours truly) later, we end up at hotel fig where e manages to snag me a final drink for the night-- how fitting, a jager bomb (insert look of horror here). some things never do change?

you don't need to change; your future's with us

things i've been playing on repeat: tokyo police club, elephant shell & best coast, crazy for you. recently bought two door cinema club's (2DCC as i will call them) album, but i haven't had the chance to listen to it thoroughly. incidentally, both crazy for you and tourist history (2DCC) feature cats on the album covers. catty!

has anyone listened to TPC's new album, champ? it's on my "to-imminently-buy" list, but i haven't gotten around to making my purchase yet. saw them last week... or last last week, rather (b/c apparently i've completely lost my sense of time), with the shawn. so many fanboys (including several under-12 year olds-- forreal) and many a song punctuated by handclaps. the show was A LOT of fun, despite the fact that i really have only listened to one of their albums and despite the fact that when i saw they were going on at 11:15, i died a little inside (/is old). the quirky and always lovely freelance whales opened; and there were a ton of superfans of theirs in attendance as well. HUGE growth from their teeny (but sold-out) show @ the echo from awhile back.

not much to update in re: to life. looking forward to august 31st-- tons of new releases, including jenny and johnny's i'm having fun now (jenny lewis of rilo kiley & johnathan rice) and the graduate's only every time (which can be pre-ordered heresies). now, i would really like to go to sleep right now, and i will do so.

until next time, xo

free download: lucy schwartz's "when we were young"

lucy schwartz's sophomore album, life in letters, will be out on august 31, 2010 (digital release).  i had the chance to catch her @ a show at the hotel cafe back in january, when she played a lot of new material (material which will be on this album).  below is the tracklisting for life in letters:

My Darling
Graveyard
Rain City
I Want The Sky
Life in Letters
Those Days
Shadow Man
Gone Away
Somebody To Save
Take a Picture
Morning

@jimmyeatworld & @flo_tweet presales!

i'm a tad late on the update, but you should still be able to get in on the jimmy eat world presale. info below...

Florence and The Machine with Group Love
@ The Wiltern [ticket link] on Sunday, November 7

Presale starts: NOW!
Presale ends: Thu, Jul 29 at 10pm
Use Password: venue
Public Onsale: Fri, Jul 30 at 10am

Jimmy Eat World with We Were Promised Jetpacks
@ The Wiltern [ticket link] on Wednesday, September 29

Presale starts: Thu, Jul 29 at 11am
Presale ends: Thu, Jul 29 at 10pm
Use Password: invented or KROQ
Public Onsale: Fri, Jul 30 at 10am

go steady with me

[tegan & sara - on directing music vid]


anyone going to the honda civic tour w/ tegan & sara opening for paramore?

TODAY ONLY: @theswellseason @sheandhim hollywood bowl tix giveaway!

hello y'all:

the fine folks over at the hollywood bowl have been kind enough to offer a giveaway of a pair of tickets via my blog to the swell season/ she & him/ the bird and the bee show happening THIS SUNDAY, july 18, 2010.  please do enter!

email me the following info BEFORE 5:00PM TODAY (i.e. THURSDAY, july 15, 2010), and i'll pick a random reader to win a pair of tix. GIVE ME ALL YOUR INFOS (EMAIL ME @ EMOKIDSBFF(at)GMAIL(dot)com):
- first and last name
- email
- phone number

as i do not have said tickets in my hand atm, i have no idea what seats you'll get. who knows-- they may be better than the seats i have!

please only enter if you are able to attend. if you're the winner (aren't we all), i will contact you... if you don't respond within a reasonable time frame to confirm that you will accept the tickets, i will pick another winner. so STAY ALERT.

PLEASE RT/RE-POST AND SPREAD THE WORDZ. kthx, and happy thursday!

livenation presale: florence + the machine @wiltern

Florence and The Machine
Saturday, November 6
The Wiltern

Presale starts: Thu, Jul 15 at 10am
Presale ends: Thu, Jul 15 at 10pm
Use Password: venue
Public Onsale: Fri, Jul 16 at 10am
[ticket link]

i won't be in town (going to see some awesome people get married... to each other), so buy away!

summer and fall @ the hollywood bowl

guess who i'm excited to see next weekend? check out the spectacular schedule for the hollywood bowl.

July 18th: The Swell Season/She & Him/The Bird and the Bee [tix]
i've never seen she & him live, so my MOST anticipated band for the night vote goes to them.  they'll be backed (in part) by a band called the chapin sisters (check out a free d/l of their song "digging a hole" here, as well as a rad cover of britney spears' "toxic" on their myspace page). i've never seen once (movie site here) but i have heard many a good thing about the swell season, so that should be epic as well.  it'll be my first time picnic-ing at the hollywood bowl, so i'm going to say a little prayer to the weather gods... be good to me, please!

August 29: Chemical Brothers/Chromeo/Yacht [tix]

Sept. 18th: Phoenix/Grizzly Bear/Girls [tix]
seriously contemplating checking this one out. phoenix!

Sept. 19th: Viva Mexico! [tix]

Sept. 26th: Vampire Weekend/Beach House/The Very Best [tix]
vampire weekend was definitely one of those bands that i REALLY did not want to like. i mean, really. i resisted for a really long time. for one, their name had the word vampire in it... and you all know how annoyingly-into-twilight i am (say it out loud... say it). secondly, everyone was raving about them. EVERYONE. which made me feel like this.  now i'm tired of resisting. it's going to be awesome.

Sept. 30: Pavement/Sonic Youth/No Age [tix]

waiting for the day we're both safe in LA

gold motel is greta morgan's (pssst: formerly greta salpeter of the hush sound) debut solo effort. after packing her bags, greta, an illinois native (i mean, according to wikipedia), headed out to the golden coast of southern california to write some songs... songs which would eventually become summer house, gold motel's full length album which was released on june 1, 2010.

you can actually stream the whole album here on their myspace page. purchase a copy of summer house from their webstore or send yourself (or your friends) a personalized (handmade and screen printed) postcard from greta herself. Why? Because snail mail is fun! we should be best friends, greta.

[gold motel - we're on the run (music vid)]


[gold motel - perfect in my mind (music vid)]


spin.com has an exclusive video for "safe in la" here. now, if only it'd start being summer and we'd stop having so much june gloom and random spurts of rain around here...

eclipse

I KNOW, I'M SORRY YOU GUISE, I HATE TO ADMIT THIS BUT: I WENT TO SEE ECLIPSE at a midnight showing and I KIND OF REALLY LIKED IT. THE FILM. the dismembering and decapitating was pretty rad. bryce dallas howard and kstew's wigs were not, however. but i'm very forgiving.

"Eclipse (All Yours)"

METRIC | MySpace Music Videos

i forgot to add: happy birthday, america.