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.

coming to a warped tour stop near you @dearjackhq @1111am

meant to post this a loooong time ago, but now is as good of a time as any! warped tour kicks off this friday, june 25th @ the carson home depot center. a date near you can be found here. i will be joining the dear jack foundation/11:11 A.M. crew on sunday @ the ventura date. i'm going to leave at home any band logo sweaters... just in case.

oh, and THIS is happening:


since i'm going to be there anyway, i guess i'll go check out taylor momsen's band. idk. did i just lose all credibility there?

xo

i'm obsessed with the mess that's america

so, life goes on. i'm working full time now which is equal parts YAY PAYCHECK and OH NOES, NO TIME FOR SHOWS. not that i don't have time, but my body doth protest when i'm anywhere that's not my bed by around 11PM or so.

despite my battle with old age, i did make it out to a few shows these past few weeks. angus & julia stone @ masonic lounge (hwd cemetery), mumford & sons @ fonda, the xx @ fonda, bikelock/kid is qual @ silver lake lounge... all sorts of ridiculous, adventurous fun. might head out to william tell @ hotel cafe this thursday?

totally excited b/c i scored tickets to the now SOLD OUT first time in LA marina and the diamonds' show @ the troubadour on july 6, 2010! someone needs to be my date. not that i'm soliciting... friendship... on the internet... i've been listening to the preview of her album, the family jewels, off of KCRW's site for a month now, and i'm loving it. i did see a live tv performance (i want to say it was for some british program, but my memory is fuzzy) which made me a little worried b/c the sound was a bit weird/subpar, but i hope the live show IRL is going to be good.

[marina and the diamonds - hollywood music vid]


[marina and the diamonds - i am not a robot]

breakneck speed

just (barely) caught up on over 24 hrs of tweets. never again. time to invest in a phone with internets, srsly. also, i am forgoing chatting with friends right now to bring you this Very Relevant Post, so please be appreciative of my efforts. sorry, IRL friends. after this, at the Very Late Hour of 10:10 PM, i will be asleep.

something corporate reunion show pre-sale happened today at 10:00 AM local time. i'm assuming that is all sold out, so your best bet will be regular on-sale at TBA. i owe e my firstborn child and every child thereafter for getting me tix to the following dates (complete listing here):
- the grove in anaheim 8/27
- club nokia 8/28
in other news, SOMEONE owes me his firstborn child for supporting his career. i'm not naming names, but...

aaaand via scenestar & the TPC newsletter, tokyo police club with be at the el rey theatre on 8/12. tix go on sale 5/20 (this thursday) at 10:00 AM on ticketmaster. TPC is heading out to tour with passion pit during the month of june, and then headline from the end of july to end of august with their labelmates freelance whales as openers. stellar lineup. i highly rec this show!

weekly roundup: 04.23.10 edition

the funny thing about these blog titles is that i'll do it once and then never do it again. i just searched to see if i had ever done a "weekly roundup" entry and apparently there are none. i mean, there may be some posts with the words "weekly roundup," but apparently i didn't have the foresight to title them in an organized fashion. oh, well. you guys can deal. and i'll probably forget that i wrote this entire paragraph of nonsense.

where was i? oh... there will be a lot of free downloads, so you should keep reading along.

awesome music awaits:
- gayngs - you can find "faded high" and "the gaudy side of town" available for download on tripwire here.
- freelance whales - daytrotter sessions available for download here.
- hot chip - "i feel better" toko remix available for download exclusively on the music slut (a kickin' site that was rec'd to me by ampersandblues) here.
- the temper trap - "sweet disposition" (RAC remix) available for download on treeswingers here (via andrew/heavy accents).
- elogy - "london" and "beautiful" from their debut album one (out this summer on july 6, 2010). you can d/l or stream those tracks.

no download, but preview the national's upcoming album high violet here on the NYT site. it's making my friday.

finally, the scenestar posted a BUNCH of presale passwords for amazing shows that are coming this summer/fall. i just got mine for vampire weekend @ the hollywood bowl yesterday; there are so many great things coming up (phoenix, she & him) that i can hardly stand it! take a look to the left <--- (sidebar) where i keep the running list of shows that are on my radar. see you there!

i am yours now, so now i don't ever have to leave

[the xx - islands music vid]


tix for both of their LA dates-- at the henry fonda music box (6/5) and wiltern (6/6)-- are on sale TODAY (april 21, 2010) at 10AM. ticket links here: henry fonda music box, wiltern. i'll be a sad panda if i miss this band, so ::crosses fingers::

AND! more exciting news from ampersandblues via tweet: Mumford & Sons add a second show to their Los Angeles appearance: June 3 at @FondaMusicBox. Tix go on sale 4/24 @ 10am via @goldenvoice. this band is brian ireland (of something corporate) approved (via their recent interview with soco-online.org). their june 4th date at the henry fonda music box is sold out... tix will go quickly for this second date, i'm sure.

[mumford & sons - little lion man music vid]
Mumford & Sons / Little Lion Man video

Mumford and Sons | MySpace Music Videos

LIGHTS, LIGHTS, baby

photo of LIGHTS @ Club Nokia April 9, 2010 by mad cao. 

yikes, so it's been nearly 2 weeks since i went to go see LIGHTS open for owl city. been meaning to write up a recap for awhile... here goes nothing:

- i missed much of paper route due to my failure to plan for circling around for an extra 10 mins while i look for a parking spot and/or lot that won't cost me $20+. apparently michael buble was on @ the staples center that night as well. caught the last song though-- a bit too instrumental and woozy for my liking, but i wouldn't mind seeing them again.

- the crowd was an interesting mix of ages. club nokia tix are generally so prohibitively expensive that i feel like most ppl who go there for shows tend to be older. saw a lot of chaperoned kids. there were other people at the bar, though, so i didn't feel too old. yes, i have age issues. and going along with the kind of music we were all there to hear, the crowd was pretty friendly. nary a drunken psycho in sight.

- LIGHTS was pretty flawless. her voice sounded a little faint and/or weird for the first song (not sure if that was just me), but after that, she sounded excellent & was extremely at ease with the crowd and being on stage at a relatively bigger venue.  she has a v. devoted following of vocal superfans... adorable.  i tweeted the set list that night: @xmaox: @LIGHTS set: listening, lions! (fave 4ever), feb air, saviour, second go, ice, pretend, drive my soul, river & last thing on yr mind.

- owl city can be summed up by this tweet: @xmaox: Owl city/Adam dances like how i would imagine a person on drugs would dance. Lots o' flail. Strings are a nice touch though. i'll admit that his songs are ridiculously catchy, but imo the live performance wasn't very exciting. people around me on the uppermost level of the floor didn't seem to be moving around (i did see one couple dancing around intermittently) and the crowd seemed a bit too sedate for my taste, even with the giant lightshow going on... though i liked the addition of strings.

woo! tuesday. normally i'd be stoked about a little rain/shower, but i really wanted to go see the poppies in lancaster & it looks like it's going to rain the day i want to go. wah wah.

adventures in text messages

wherein i am reminded that most people are, in fact, idiots. humanity is doomed.

case in point:
i get some weird, out of context text about something "Derek" says. so i politely respond, asking who this is and what the context is. the response? "Brian ****ing lee. the brian from 30 mins ago."

and i'm all "I think you have the wrong number. Pls stop sending me texts and excuse your language. Thanks!" look, i'm a lady, ok?. i do not take kindly to being randomly cursed at by some IMBECILE who thinks they are talking to someone else. also, (as a woman) i'm a little creeped out and about to see if i can get my service provider to block this weirdo from sending me texts. you are wasting my money!

he responds, "Paige [who he thinks he is talking to], I was just at the track with you." wonder what track this is. racetrack? track and field? why do i care? i don't. i simply thank the higher powers that i had finally decided to get a text messaging plan instead of being charged $0.15 for every text sent and received.

then 10 minutes later "OMG I'M SO SORRY MY FRIEND HAD HER NUMBER SWITCHED."

fin.

and now, for things i DO like: the true blood men. on DETAILS. ALEX SKARSGARD, HELLOOO.

shake off the dust that turned me to rust

going to see LIGHTS tonight @ club nokia; wish me luck and hope i can pass for a hovering-around-21 emo kid... if i don't, clearly my asian genes have failed me. also realized "hovering" is kind of a creepy word. excuse that. FOREVER YOUNG.

i've always wanted to see paper route as well (heard about them when they were on the paramore/jack's tour). the first time i saw LIGHTS @ the troubadour (aka the first time i almost threw-down with a drunken PSYCHO), i wasn't sure what her live show would be like (as with all "electro"-ish acts, you don't know if they're just going to sound like robots on-stage or what). but i was pleasantly surprised-- she has much charisma and stage presence. being a video-game-referencing adorable person with a keytar helps too ;)

[LIGHTS - saviour (adam young remix)]


adam young (p/k/a owl city) has also remixed the something corporate song, "i woke up in a car," for their forthcoming "best of..." album played in space.  you can stream it here on their website.

i'm definitely feeling the LIGHTS remix but the soco one is.... interesting. jury's still out on this one. it's probably because of my irrational/emotional attachment to every soco song, like, ever. i have been hearing a lot of "OMG how could adam young actually make something i like, the world is ending," but hey, miracles happen, and now the song does sound like they're in outer space.

the temper trap

a few short weeks ago in march, i was lucky enough to catch the temper trap (darker my love as their opener) at a sold-out show at the henry fonda/music box. i'm still trying to figure out how to explain their sound (mostly because i am limited to references to music of the late 90's and early 2000's), but their live show was really chill and superb.

after a little internet sleuthing, i think i've got it figured out.  i can't help but compare the temper trap's sound to possibly a better version of switchfoot (the epic, sweeping-ness of it all) and new radicals (specifically "you get what you give"). thanks, a walk to remember soundtrack.  please note that any and all comparisons are not based on scientific observation or experimentation. sometimes these things are inexplicable.



you can see a few photos from the show here (credit: jaime's flickr).  jaime has started a new blog: http://ampersandblues.blogspot.com/ so i'd like to formally welcome her to the blogosphere and urge you to follow her posts!

watch two of their songs "sweet disposition" and "fader" performed stripped down @ this year's SXSW (via tripwire).

[the temper trap - sweet disposition]


[the temper trap - fader]


andddd... a few remaining tour dates for april:
April
8 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Club
9 Atlanta, GA @ The Loft
10 Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
12 Dallas, TX @ Pontiac Garage at HOB
13 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
15 Tempe, AZ @ Clubhouse
17 Indio, CA @ Coachella
19 Solana Beach, CA @ The Belly Up

i only want one night

both videos severely confuse me. only one makes me laugh, though. in the battle of WTFery, which would you choose?

Hot Chip - I Feel Better (click-through for the actual vid which is un-embeddable)

an short interview w/ the director of the "i feel better" video, peter serafinowicz, can be found here @ pitchfork.

MGMT - Flash Delirium

MGMT | MySpace Music Videos

idolator, you, me, and everyone else agree: this vid is bananas.

via @angusjuliastone - album preview & us tour dates

you can still stream angus and julia stone's album down the way on their KCRW's album preview page here.  they're a brother-sister duo from sydney, australia. the preview will be up until april 20th (a few more weeks), so listen up while you can.

and from their blog:

TICKET LINKS WILL GO UP ON MONDAY..!

Wed, May 26 Hollywood, CA @ Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Sun, May 30 Montreal, QC @ L’Astral

Wed, June 2 Toronto, ON @ Revival

Tues, June 8 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall

(so far, i haven't seen anything about ticket links. give me a holler/comment if you know something i don't!)
eta 4/6/10: found the link for the hollywood show!

[angus and julia stone - big jet plane]

we're half awake in a fake empire

good morning, y'all! even though i'm not stoked about the fact that i JUST washed my car on saturday after months of build-up and grime (because i'm lazy and keeping my car clean is not really a pastime of mine), i've been waiting for it to rain for about a week. pretty refreshing... except i think it is officially storming now. yikes. stay safe on the roads, angelinos.

so, a long time ago, my bff marg told me i would love the national and obviously, she was right. so MY BAD for not listening earlier.  i've heard a few songs, but this is my favorite.  appreciate!

[the national - fake empire on letterman july 24, 2007]


as you can see... i am attempting to update more often.

RCRD LBL track - help i'm alive (the twelves remix)

ok, so i don't love EVERYTHING that's ever posted on rcrdlbl.com, but i do love being able to sample and d/l a lot of their stuff, whether it be remixes or original songs. woo!

freelance whales @ the echo tonight

very very excited to check out freelance whales tonight. my friend jaime posted a video of them playing in the NY subway stations awhile back, and i was smitten. they remind me of a dreamy postal service + owl city/hellogoodbye (done proper) + folk (arcade fire-esque). and i kid you not, sometimes they remind me of the sounds that whales make. in a good way. not killer whales though (too soon?). try not to visualize dory from finding nemo doing her impression of a whale, b/c that's NOT what i meant.

eta: after hearing their live show, i think the whale sounds were purposeful. so all is good and/or i just stated a lot of obvious things.

i've been a better tumblr-er than a blogger lately. you can follow me here for daily absurdities, inanities, and amusements... courtesy of moi.

i have a few updates from a couple of shows i attended in march (the early strike showcase @ swinghouse studios & darker my love/the temper trap @ the fonda), but that'll have to wait. i also took some photos @ the jack's mannequin show @ the viper room in feb, but am not sure how i feel about them (the photos, not the band). that's neither here nor there.. this weekend, i've got something corporate @ bamboozle left (squee) with angie comin' in to visit! my first scheduled show for april is LIGHTS who is opening for owl city at a SOLD OUT club nokia show on april 9th. major thanks to mad cao for getting me a ticket!

and with that, i need to outro b/c my hair needs to be flat-ironed. xo

RCRD LBL Track - Dog Days Are Over (Breakage Remix)

dining room domination

[vampire weekend "en el comedor de mi casa!!!"]


barcelona, spain. source

we are the pretty, petty thieves

i'm not too knowledgeable about the moz, but i adore "first of the gang." i heard a cover of the song on the radio and HAD to know who sang it: ZEE AVI.

how lovely is this:
[Zee Avi performs "First Of The Gang To Die" @ Fingerprints Music]

Morrissey's original is a catchy tune propelled along with the traditional mix of electric guitars, drums, and that unmistakable croon. Avi took the song and stripped it down with just her voice and a lone acoustic guitar in a rendition that--dare I say--is even more sweet and tender (no hooligan here) than the original. (source)

you can check out her morning becomes eclectic session from last may here, see footage of her performing the song in singapore here, and listen to the album version of her cover (along with a few other covers by noah & the whale, nouvelle vague, etc.) here. the MBE session is definitely worth checking out-- the cover of morrissey (or interpol for that matter) isn't the only amazing thing she does; she has plenty of original material where she draws from a medley of different influences. def worth your time.

when i walk, i touch the sky

[lucy schwartz - gravity music vid]

ABOUT THE VIDEO:
Gravity, is a colorful fantasy told through interpretive dance and filmed under the light of an old carousel slide projector. Directed by Cooper Roberts.

rpattz is bothered

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

weekend edition

thursday: invited to an event @ the w called the modern mai tai experience. a genuine hawaii/o'ahu mixologist was flown out to the event where he (joey) served some very fancy schmancy drinks, including "the world's first smoked mai tai/drink." yes... literally, smoke comes out of this tube into the martini shaker, and the whole drink is shaken (not stirred, ucwidt).

yes, that is caramelized/brulee'd pineapple you see on the drink. it was incredible, as were a few of the other drinks i tasted - a chi (similar to a pina colada with basil leaves) and a drink which shall remain nameless, because i don't remember it (a sake martini, which was fondly referred to as "like fruity gatorade, but better."). snacked on some appetizers, ran into some work ppl & sneakily (or not so sneakily) tweeted about seeing DJ Skeet Skeet there (who, incidentally, is a prolific tweeter, non-drinker, and nice dude, at least from what i gather).

friday: the last day of my internship. in-n-out lunches. coincidentally, the hawaiian girls DJing last night's event, hot muffins, made an office visit, so i got to meet them-- super sweet. total dawson's creek-esque soundtrack moment with this as my goodbye song:

[james blunt - goodbye my lover music vid]

i know, ~dramatic. i loled too.

saturday - sunday: i avoid weekends like the plague. 'nuff said.

all in all, this whole chillaxed hawaii thing makes me wonder how lawyers even function over there. like... the atty culture so COUNTER to the hawaiian culture. thoughts for another day.

HELLO, MARCH.

the runaways

so, don't kill me, but i find kstew & dakota more convincing as joan jett & cherie currie of the runaways than rpattz playing a new yorker in remember me. though it may just be the case that i'm easily influenced by the epic wardrobe in the runaways... does that make me a bad rpattz fan?? I HOPE NOT.

[the runaways movie - tv spot]

unhappy hipsters

Alligator

Tegan and Sara | MySpace Music Videos

[vampire weekend - giving up the gun music vid]

oic what VW did thar, with the japanese in the beginning. i watched it again, and i still don't get it. great song, though.

and last but not least: unhappy hipsters.

scavenger hunt for sxsw badges!

the band midlake is treating their Austin (TX) fans to a unique scavenger hunt opportunity to win SXSW badges to catch the band at their showcase at the 2010 SXSW Music, Interactive, and Film Conference. for more info, check back with FILTER's original post.

The details are simple, Austinites. Follow FILTER on Twitter. Throughout the next few days, promotion details will come rolling through. Each day, a new landmark will be revealed. Get yourself to it, @reply to FILTER with a photo of you at the locale with #midlakesxsw, and that's it! The first person or team with all 10 landmarks correctly identified will win an awesome local prize pack containing a year's worth of free haircuts from Bird's Barbershop, $25 in gift certificates from P. Terrys Burger Stand, free movies from Alamo Drafthouse, a prize pack from Sweet Leaf Tea, a Midlake prize pack, AND two ever-so-coveted SXSW music badges.

three clues have already been released since last tuesday, the 16th, so get on it. may the best fan win.

i promised i'd never sing of love if it does not exist

i actually like the video more than the song... hayley's makeup in the valentines shot is v. pretty.

[paramore - the only exception music vid]

get back loretta @theviperroom

freebie time: RSVP & post your full name on the wall of the FB event page (or fan + message them, i'm not sure which is more effective) for get back loretta @ the viper room this thursday, jan. 28th.

MAYBE DAVE GROHL WILL BE THERE.

on an unrelated note-- though related in the sense that it is moar awesome music-- here's a video treat (via jaime)!
[freelance whales - generator 1st floor]

lucy schwartz - gravity

tomorrow night, i'll be checking out this lovely lady, lucy schwartz, who is having her record release show @ hotel café. her EP help me! help me! just came out on iTunes today.

this might be my first show of 2010 (is it? can anyone confirm?), so i'm excited to dip my toes back into the scene with a smaller show. lucy's only 20 years old (in the meantime, i'm turning 27 -- OH THE HORROR -- at the end of the week; presents are of course welcome; and yes, everything in this blog is always about me) and she's got an impressive resumé already: she's crafting original songs, opening and closing credits to films, and having her music synced to various tv shows. she's also been featured on KCRW (where i first heard her, actually) & has been dubbed an "emerging artist to watch."

you can d/l a track for FREE here. free is my favorite number, y'all. speaking of free... what are you guys doing on thursday night? stay tuned.

hot chip will break your legs, snap off your head

hello all... MLK weekend is upon us. hopefully y'all have some fun and/or restful plans in store.

lately, i've been a homebody. a lot of job applying, buffy s2 watching (i'm on the last 2 episodes!), reading (outliers by malcolm gladwell), clearly -not- blogging, working, getting my 8+ hours of sleep. I'M BORING. it's the dangers of turning 27.

[miike snow - silvia music vid]

hate to say this, but "silvia" totes should've been on the New Moon soundtrack (which was given to me for the law school edition of secret santa). please don't kill me.

also: saw the vid for "feel it in my bones" by tiesto feat. tegan & sara. holy cow, that song was amazing. but the internetz gods were angry and took it down.... boo. but in other news of videos-that-haven't-been-taken-down (but are un-embeddable): hot chip's "one life stand." what a jaunty and excellent song!

finally, please sign up to volunteer for KCRW’s Winter Subscription Drive 2010. it's pretty much the only radio station worth listening to.

so everybody put your best suit or dress on

what's up, people of the partying variety? first post of 2010. i know you're as excited as i am...

inquiring minds (read: me) need to know: is this ryan ross @ cinespace tuesdays? please to confirm or deny. if it is him (i mean, the choice of wardrobe seems fairly dead-on), then i can't believe i missed it (read: him)!