Robert Pollard

It's been nearly a full year since Robert Pollard disbanded Guided by Voices. Although he's been very busy in 2005 releasing several e.p.'s and albums under various other band names, he didn't release a proper album of all new material. Well, not officially anyway. Immediately following the recording of the final GbV album, he recorded From A Compound Eye. In the spring of 2005, he sent the album out to a few close fans. Word got around and fans started to salivate. Unbelievably, Pollard agreed to allow it to be distributed to a larger group of fans. As leaked albums go, it quickly spread and nearly every GbV/Pollard fan now has a burned copy. He shopped the album and it was eventually picked up by Merge Records, who signed him to a two album deal. In an interview earlier in the year, he joked that he's already completed his contractual agreement with Merge and his first album hasn't even been released. January 24, 2006 will see the official release of From A Compound Eye.

Two days after it's release, Pollard will make his first post-GbV stage appearance on a tour stretching through April. It won't be nearly as packed with dates as the old GbV tours, but he'll be backed by a stellar group of musicians: Tommy Keane (longtime Matador Records artist), Dave Phillips, Jason Narducy (fresh off of a tour supporting Bob Mould, also former member of Verbow), and Superchunk's Jon Wurster (who has also backed Pollard on GbV tours and in the studio). Check the dates and clear your calendar.

Robert Pollard - The Numbered Head

Robert Pollard - I'm a Window

Robert Pollard - Kick Me and Cancel

(photo: Terri Nelles)

The Idle Hands

The Idle Hands have been kicking around the Minneapolis scene since 2002. Within a few weeks of their first gig, they landed an opening slot for the Brian Jonestown Massacre. BJM's Anton Newcombe was so impressed with their sound and attitude that he was tempted to release their album on his own label. Word is that, upon getting the offer from Newcombe, singer Ciaran Daly told Newcombe to toss of. They recorded their debut e.p., the 5-song Dig? at Minneapolis' Minor 7 Studios and released it in 2003.

Their music has subtle hints of the Dandy Warhols and BJM infused with heavy doses of the 80's English pop of Echo & the Bunnymen and The Mighty Lemon Drops. Ciaran and bandmate/brother Criostoir are originally from England and Ireland, so if you hear a bit of an English accent and influence, your ears are not fooling you.

I couldn't dig up any MP3's, but there are several tracks streaming at their website.

25 Years ago today

The Beatles - Across the Universe

Top 10 of 2005

I went through the list of new albums that I've listened to this year and counted up about 60 of them. Keep in mind that of those 60, I have listened to about 50 of them in the last 3 months. These 10 do not necessarily represent my favorites of the year, but they are the ones that have been played the most for one reason or another throughout the year (be it the mood that I'm in at the time or whichever one I could randomly grab and put in the car stereo while keeping my eyes on the road). I have several albums that I'm sure will get repeated listens over time, but there is just not enough time in the day to listen to all of them and give them the immediate attention that they deserve. I hate ranking albums, because they all have their own merits that would trump those of another. So, in no particular order, here are my top 10 albums of 2005:

Bob Mould - Body of Song
Underneath Days

Spoon - Gimme Fiction
The Beast and Dragon, Adored

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
The Price of Gas

Death From Above 1979 - Romance Bloody Romance
Romantic Rights (Erol Alkan's Love From Below Re-edit)

The Wedding Present - Take Fountain
It's For You

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl
Ain't No Easy Way

The Evens
You Won't Feel a Thing

Calla - Collisions
Swagger

American Analog Set - Set Free
Cool Kids Keep

New Order - Waiting For the Siren's Call
Hey Now What You Doing?

Faunts

Their bio reads: "Shimmering walls of pink noise with dreamy, languorous guitar, gently-treated vocals, and swimmingly beautiful melodies." That right there my friends is the hook, line and sinker. Shoegaze music might be a thing of the past but it's spirit certainly lives on, and Faunts are definately one of the new torchbearers.

Listen to Instantly Loved from their dubut album High Expectations/Low Results and see what I mean.

They've got a couple of songs from the record up at their website and a few other full songs streaming on their MySpace page. You can also sample, and buy, all of the songs from Amazon and eMusic.

Lab Partners

In addition to the woxy.com Lounge Act post below, be sure to tune in Friday, Dec 2 at 4:00 when Dayton, Ohio's Lab Partners stop by the Lounge to play some tunes.

woxy.com Lounge Acts

woxy.com has recently added an archive of their Lounge Acts. Visit the Lounge and listen to Quicktime and Windows versions of great in-studio perfomances by The Wedding Present, Low, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Wrens, Rogue Wave, Neko Case and many more.

While you are listening to the Lounge Acts, be sure to cast your vote for woxy.com as Internet Radio Station of the Year in this year's Plug Awards and stop by the Store to pick up some swank woxy.com stocking stuffers.

Rock on.

For Against

As I was going through the Livingroom Library, I pulled out a couple albums that I don't get out often enough: Echelon and December by For Against.

Their first full-length, Echelon, was released in 1985 on Independent Project Records, but would not have been out of place on Factory Records. It mixed smooth vocals with sharp bass lines, jangly guitars and just the right amount of feedback that was no doubt influenced by Joy Division, Gang of Four and the Cure.

In 1988 the band recorded and released their second LP, December. It showed a tremendous improvement in the band's sound and style, with the vocals becoming more prominent and intense at times, while still retaining their smoothness. The rhythm section tightened up and more obvious pop flourishes reminiscent of early R.E.M. were added which gained the record a lot of airplay on college radio stations nationwide.

Soon after December was completed, the band splintered. New members were brought on board to carry the band forward and to record several more albums that fit in nicely alongside the Coctueau Twins and Pale Saints and Kitchens of Distinction, but none matched the innocence and purity of the first two.

Both albums were out of print and have been recently re-released by Words On Music.

Echelons
For Against - Shine
For Against - Autocrat

December
For Against - Sabres
For Against - Clandestine High Holy

The Big Takeover

Hands down, The Big Takeover is the best music magazine around today. Jack Rabid has written and published the magazine for well over two decades. The print magazine is typically published twice a year with each issue presenting in-depth interviews with new and up-coming bands as well as those from the formative years past. Jack has recently re-tooled the website and will be augmenting the printed magazine with articles, reviews and editorials that may not have made it, or could have waited for, the print edition. Read more about The Big Takeover in an on-line edited version of an interview with Jack about the magazine's 25th anniversary. The full interview will be in the upcoming Issue 57. You can order subscriptions on-line or pick up the latest issue at your finer local music/magazine stores. If they don't have it - ask for it.



Bad Brains - Big Take Over

Comments? What Comments?

I enabled HaloScan commenting today and it looks as if it doesn't transfer over old comments. So, if any of you 3 people that regularly read this have left me a comment in the last 24 hours or so, kindly repost it. Otherwise, I may never know you did. Thanks.

It was 40 years ago today

Touring on the strengths of the 1965 Out of Our Heads smash hit (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, The Rolling Stones toured the U.S. for the second time that year. They played their second, and last, Dayton Ohio show on November 27th. Before playing an evening gig at Cincinnati's Riverfront Colliseum (their first Cincinnati appearance), they played Dayton's 6000 seat Hara Arena. Tickets for the show were $4 each. Only 3000 people showed up. One week later on December 4th, they released December's Children (and Everybody's) , featuring Get Off My Cloud, I'm Free, and As Tears Go By.

The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction
The Rolling Stones - Get Off My Cloud
The Rolling Stones - I'm Free
The Rolling Stones - As Tears Go By

Singer Wanted

In an interview with FILTER Magazine Peter Hook reveals that FREEBASS, the supergoup comprising of Hook, Mani (Stone Roses), and Andy Rourke (The Smiths) have nearly completed an album. The only thing missing is a singer.

“We have about 19 ideas. Twelve of them are ready for vocals. We’ve had a problem finding a vocalist. We have not been lucky yet to find the one. I think the problem is that the three of us have such a pedigree of vocalist, that if we come out with someone that’s not good we’ll obviously be slated! You’ve got Ian Brown, bloody Bobby Gillespie, Ian Curtis, Bernard (Sumner) and Morrissey. Those are big shoes to fill, especially collectively."

And if you're wondering what FREEBASS might sound like:

"Ironically enough…it sounds like New Order with a bit of the Stone Roses and a bit of Smiths and some Northern Soul."

Uh...really?

"...they are songs at the moment minus vocals--they all have three basses. Mani does the low part, Andy Rourke in the middle and I do the high bit. (laughs) But it works out quite well."

Fair enough. Either way, it sounds interesting. It's definately something else to look forward to in 2006.

New Order - Bizzare Love Triangle

5 On 5 (well, 3 On 3 this month)

What do Ted Nugent, Gomez Adams and Patti Smith have in common? Randomville has the answer.

Friends of Dean Martinez

Head over to Randomville and read my review of the new Friends of Dean Martinez disc Lost Horizon. If you want to hear what I'm talking about, listen to the samples at Amazon and buy it.

MP(3)

My new favorite t-shirt, MP(3). It was created by Matthew Flemming and is being sold through threadless. Click the image below for a larger picture.

Additions to the Blog

I made a couple of adjustments/additions over there on the right, under the link for My Profile, you'll see I've added a link called Your Location. It'll take you to a Frappr map. Take a minute to register yourself and tell me where you're at.

The other update is to the link for I See Sound over there in the Music section. I had an outdated link, so if you've clicked on it recently you might've got an error message. It's fixed now, so go back and check out I See Sound. They're are recent updates about the return of the mighty Hogscraper, a new song from Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde as well as MP3's from Paperback, Campfire Crush, Rumble Club and the Minni-Thins. They have frequently updated podcasts and other recent articles on Ryan Adams, the Dead Kennedy's, several area live shows and much more.

Indian Summer

I am absolutely loving the warm temperatures here in southwest Ohio. It's comfortable enough to sleep with the windows open while the crisp coolness of the morning air is just right. We usually have our first hint of winter about this time of year, with frost on the windshields and maybe a slight flurry in the morning. The bottom looks to be gradually dropping out at night, but daytime temperatures remain in the 65-75 degree range. Everywhere you look the leaves are 95% changed and starting to fall from the trees. The classic Indian Summer - Absolutely beautiful.

Although it's not really a song about the season itself, Luna's version of Beat Happening's Indian Summer provides a perfect soundtrack to the season.

Luna - Indian Summer

Chris Brokaw

Thanks to Bradley's Almanac for reminding me that Chris Brokaw's new record Incredible Love is available tomorrow. Chris is probably most identifiable as Thalia Zedek's right hand man in Come, although he's recorded and toured with Steve Wynn, Evan Dando, Consonant and The New Year among others. Visit his MySpace page for some streaming songs and his website for some older MP3's. The new song Move has me salivating.

Hallowe'en 2005

Here are a couple of pictures of me and the brothers at a Halloween party Saturday. Left to right: Phil, Me (Matt), Adam. The only real requesite for attendance is that you either wear all black or dress up in costume. Thankfully, Phil left his kilt at home and opted for his new wizard outfit. I kept it simple with a black cape, pants and shirt with a blood red and black paisley tie. Adam opted for the dapper black and white pinstriped shirt. The pictures are dark because a)there was no backlighting outside and b) I was using a crappy digital camera. What you can't see in these is my kick ass black cape. If you look at the second picture, my right hand only shows 4 fingers. That's because I was holding up my cape with the 5th. I wish they'd have turned out better, but oh well. We had an excellent time anyway.

Metric

Today it's been all about Metric. I'll be honest, I don't know much about them and I haven't read any more about them than what is on their website. I've heard a couple of tracks on woxy.com and a few other people have talked about seeing them live, so I figured I'd give 'em a shot. I picked up Live It Out yesterday and cracked it open today. It hasn't left the player since. Check out a few songs/videos at their website.

A couple of Quickies

There's a new Out of 5 mix up, one voice, one (acoustic) guitar. This week there is a little more information on the contributors and links to their blogs.

There's a new blog called I See Sound that is featuring bands and events happening in and around the Cincinnati music scene. You'll find MP3's and links to local bands, interviews and reviews from local concerts by national touring acts as well as occaisional editorials.


In Guided by Voices news:
Suitcase II has arrived. Along with all the other music I've got in the last couple of weeks, it should keep me plenty busy.

Guided by Voices: A Brief History : Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll is now available. It was written by former GbV member Jim Greer and features a foreward written by Steven Soderbergh.

Where does the time go?

Do you ever have those days where you go from Point A to Point B and you don't remember how long it took you to get there? Like when you you get up after a short night's sleep, drive to work the same route you've driven every day for 3 years and your autopilot kicks in to get you where you need to go. Before you know it, you're on your way home from work, driving the same route home, and thinking back on your day wondering where the time went. I've had several of those days lately and I think they're catching up to me. I've been so busy there hasn't been much time to sleep, let alone sit down and post anything here.

About the only time I have to listen to music anymore is in the car to and from work. I'll turn on the car, put some music on and hit the road. There's been a lot of new music come my way lately, so I've been able to catch up on recent stuff that I've not yet heard and listen to some newer stuff that's just come out. Maybe I've just been so entranced with listening to the new music that my autopilot kicks in and gets me where I need to go, allowing me to soak up the new tunage. Here's a rundown of what I've been listening to the last few weeks (and a couple I've yet to sit down and listen to start to finish).

Death From Above 1979 One of my favorites for the year. Two thumbs up.

Another brand new release that is already a favorite is the new record by Calla. Collisions follows in the same direction as their last album, Televise. Two thumbs up.

Bloc Party's The Silent Alarm - Remixed. I typically don't like remixes of songs, as they usually do nothing to enhance the original versions. However, the concept of having different artists remixing the entire album track by track piqued my interest. While there are some worthwhile versions of some of the songs, it probably won't make my top 10 for the year. One thumb up.

Neil Young - Prairie Wind. Another strong album from Neil, follows the path laid out by Harvest, Harvest Moon and Silver and Gold. Two thumbs up.

Supergrass - Road to Rouen. After not hearing the last two records, I figured I'd pay them another visit. One thumb up.

Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel. Not bad, but not their best by far. Classic DM fans will like the classic DM-sounding songs. Thumbs in the middle.

Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better. This will probably make the top 10 of many lists this year. I give it two thumbs up.

On deck:
Echo & the Bunnymen - Siberia
The Arcade Fire - Funeral
Johnny Hickman - Palmhenge
The Fall - Heads Roll


Some other music-related points of interest:

Out of 5 is a website that posts a weekly mixtape in both Flash and MP3 formats. I know little about the website or who is behind it, but they supposedly put up a new mix with a different theme each week with different contributors and corresponding cover art for the mix.

Pete Townshend has a blog. He's working on a novella called The Boy Who Heard Music and the first three chapters are posted there. I haven't read them yet, but I plan on doing so this weekend. Keep up to date with everything else Pete-related at his website, eelpie.

Alright. That should do for now. Until next time...

Shawen Acres

Shawen Acres is the new project from former Guided by Voices member Nate Farley. Details of the project have not been made public so far, but information has slowly trickled out within the GbV community. A new website has been created and three new songs have been posted. Short, sweet and catchy. I'll keep you updated as more information becomes available. (photo courtesy of TerriNelles)

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Proton Proton

I found Proton Proton via Moroccan Role. "They are able to conjure up quite an enjoyable racket as a trio and the rhythm section is surprisingly tight given [Aron] Sanchez is essentially on double-duty. Sanchez designed his ax by using a bass guitar strung with 2 bass strings and 3 guitar strings, with individual pickups for both the bass and guitar strings and separate outputs going to corresponding bass and guitar amps. He then tunes this beast to EeAac."

I'm always intrigued with odd instrumentation and the minimalist, less is more approach. A lot of bands try it, but only a few pull it off (read: Morphine). Proton Proton nail it. Sanchez holds down the guitar and bass ends which allows singer Pau Fuster to sing and "bang on things", like a toy piano. They've got a 6 song EP and some tracks from it available on their website.

Check out the song Chinese Dancer.

Zykos

Here's one of the bands I've been digging lately. They are called Zykos, are out of Texas and have ties to Spoon. Visit their website and listen to the tracks they have up from their 2004 album. Epitonic also has a few others to check out.

*edited to add that I found this band by way of You Ain't No Picasso.

I'm still here

I wasn't digging any of the Blogger default templates and told myself I wouldn't post until I found one I liked. I've been searching for a couple of weeks and I finally found one, courtesy of Blogger Templates. Tell me what you think about it.

I've been doing a lot of searching blogs and websites for some good new music and to try to get caught up on a lot of things that I've missed out on by not having a high-speed connection. So far, I've come across several blogs, a couple I've added over there on the right, in the music section. If you have any that you visit regularly, tell me about it. Turn me on. I do have one question, though. I've heard most all of his stuff, but what is so amazing about Sufjan Stevens?

Numb

After several days, countless hours spent reading news and articles on-line, having on-line discussions, watching reports on T.V. ... I still can't wrap my head around the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I feel like I need to be there to help, but I know I can't. I wish I could fly a helicopter, but I can't. I wish I had more mony to donate, but I can't. I will donate what I can and I hope you will too. I have so many thoughts and emotions. Some are of complete disbelief at how people are behaving there, while I am angered that more substantial relief has not yet been organized by the Federal Government and reached those in need. I can only imagine that as the days go on, my thoughts and feelings of disbelief and anger won't change much. I hope I'm wrong.

GbV NYE DVD

The much anticipated DVD of Guided by Voices' final show is in the can and set to be released on November 15th. The trailier was released today (you'll need Quicktime).

So long Dial-Up!

Finally! I now have high speed internet access and REAL cable. I'm so excited...

New Music

The last few months has been sort of dry for music, for me anyway. I had to get my fix this week, though.

The new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club album is in the headphones right now. It's quite a departure from the first two albums, but an excellent record on it's own.

The New Pornographers Twin Cinema has got about a half-spin, so I can't give a full opinion on it. But from what I've heard, I get the feeling it's going to either really grow on me or collect some dust. We'll see.

The Greenhornes are another band to keep your ears open for. They've been consistently getting better and better over the last several years. Their latest EP, East Grand Blues, is an excellent primer for their next full length and V2 debut. EGB is streaming at their website, give it a listen.

Some other recent bargain bin purchases:
Yatsura - Slain by Yatsura
The Lemonheads - Lovey
Noise Addict - Meet The Real You
Silkworm - Firewater

The fourth quarter is shaping up to be pretty decent, with these albums up early on:
Sigur Ros - Takk (September 13)
The American Analog Set - Set Free (September 20)
Calla - Collisions (September 27)
Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better (October 4)
Rogue Wave - Descended Like Vultures (October 25)
Fiery Furnaces - Rehearsing My Choir (October 25)

Good thing I get three paychecks in December.

Has it really been a week since the last post?

Wow. Let's see, what can I yap about...

I've either naturally passed or had forcibly removed no fewer than 8 kidney stones over the last 8 years. Somehow, my kidneys have managed to turn into stone quarries. Last Wednesday I was at work and felt a pain in the lower right side of my back. So I called the doctor to let them know. They always say to take pain killers if I have them and drink lots of water until they can get me in for an x-ray. I was at work, didn't have any meds and the earliest they could get me in was the following Monday. Yeah. So, I decided to sweat it out the rest of the day (only 3 hours or so) to see if the pain would progress or die down. Luckily it didn't get any worse. I got home, popped a pill and retreated to Vico-bliss on the couch for the rest of the night.

I had my x-ray Monday and haven't heard anything back yet. That experience in itself was excrutiating, not painful but torturous. See, I'm allergic to the IVP dye they put in your blood for the x-ray and I had to drink a half-gallon of apple-flavored barium that was the consistency of skim milk. It was afwul, one sip at a time. I finally got most of it down. So far though, no news is good news. I'll call tomorrow to follow up. I don't have any scans to post (yet), but I have this to share (KC!). Poor turtle! Ouchie!!

Enough about me. I want to talk about Shannon for a minute. All summer long she has been in an excellerated CDA class. She's had class once a week, but they have been cramming a 9-12 month course into less than 6. With 50+ hour work weeks, kids and our daily routines it's buisy enough. Throw the CDA class into the mix and we, especially her, don't have a lot of extra time in the day to do anything but work eat and sleep. She came home from her class this past Monday with her completion certificate/diploma in hand. She still has her final test to take to become officially certified, but now that she has her classwork out of the way, the majority of that stress is out of the way along with it. I could not be more proud of her.

I came across this t-shirt today. You can order it and other's from
Demockratees. I will be ordering one tomorrow.

A Kid's Eye View

Have I mentioned how creative Emma is? She's bossy when she plays with Aaron, but not in a mean way. It's more like she's giving instructions and directions on how to act, what to say, what facial expressions to make - all from a 4 year old mind. Of course, Aaron, being younger, goes right along with it and plays to her instructions. It's amazing to watch them interact. I keep saying that Emma's going to be a movie director one day.

Tonight, I stood outside their bedroom listening to them play. I heard them talking and acting like they were camping in the woods. Emma was telling Aaron to stay in his tent while she goes out to the lake to get some water. She told him that she's going to leave the room and come back acting like she saw a bear at the lake. Next thing I know, she comes around the corner and I was busted. I asked her where she was going and she said - "to the river to get some water". So, I said "go on, pretend I'm not here". She walked by me, went into the bathroom, then comes running out acting like she's seen a bear. Curious, I looked into the bathroom and this is what I see...



Emma says "It's a bear at the lake with a fish in his mouth"

A few new things to be excited about

The new Burn to Shine DVD should be available on August 23rd. Billboard has an article on it. This time around, it'll feature a house in Chicago with Wilco, Tortoise, Shellac and others turning in performances. The last one was pretty cool, with Bob Mould, The Evens and other D.C artists playing in the living room before the house was burned down.

The Lemonheads played a set at Benicassim. It's been almost 10 years since Car Button Cloth. evandando.com is under construction. Could the new Evan/Lemonheads record be on the horizon?

Looks like the Catherine Wheel won't be returning anytime soon. However, Rob Dickinson's first solo album comes out on on Sept 13th.

I don't care what anybody says, the girls in Heart (yes, Barracuda) still have it. Their more recent stuff has been rather bland, but Nancy Wilson can still rock out. I was watching them on PBS Soundstage the other night. I fell asleep on the couch right at the end, during one of the Led Zeppelin encores. I awoke a few hours later, right in the middle of a dream where Nancy Wilson, Neil Young, and John Paul Jones were playing a live show for an album they'd recorded. As usual, I didn't remember details of the dream and performance, but I do remember being excited about it.

Time for a change

I've got a lot of things I'm thinking about changing in my life. This is one of them. I was getting sick of looking at all of the black, green, blue and purple on the old format. I was looking at it today and it reminded me of a bruise. I messed around with some of the colors and stuff, but I realized it was the black background that needeed to be changed. It was just too dark. I tried the all white default background and it was too much in the other direction. This one looks like a happy medium. It may only be temporary, though, until I can find another one out in the ether that I like.

More fun in the sun planned for tomorrow.

Randomville.com re-launched today. One of my articles is up now, another one should follow by week's end.

Facts*

American troops reported dead in Iraq: 1822
Length of the invasion/occupation of Iraq: 869 days
Crawford vacation days of the Bush presidency: 319 days (20%)
Average days of annual paid vacation of the working American: 13
Days of annual leave for military personnel: 30

*courtesy lp.org

Where you been?

Ah, I've been around. There's just nothing much going on in psychicpilot-land. I did just get a swank new cell phone (or as Bitchboy calls it, "a modern cell phone")and I'm looking for some indie rock ringtones and wallpaper to mess around with. It's been so long since I've looked for stuff like that on-line and I have no clue where to go, so if you know of anywhere to look - let me know.

Keep an eye out for the relaunch of randomville.com in the next few days. I've got a couple of articles that'll be published in the relaunch. I'm hoping to be able to contribute more on a regular basis. Stay tuned...

Dinosaur recap

Holy crap. Lou walked on and said "We're gonna have fun tonight". Didn't I say that yesterday? We were both right. They played all old Lou-era Dinosaur Jr. stuff, including Freak Scene and Just Like Heaven (how could they not?). Around the time they played these two a relatively polite mosh-pit broke out. It was great to see J., Lou and Murph back on stage together after all this time. J. absolutely shredded my ears from the opening chords of their set to the last. There wasn't much talk between songs, which was fine by me. They all looked like they were having a good time, especially Murph, who worked his ass of. I almost didn't go because of budgetary constraints, but at the last minute I scored free tickets from someone who had won them from woxy.com. So, thanks to Ikyoto and woxy.com for the free ride.

Now if I can only find a way to get this fishbowl off my head.

My vacation finally came to an end today upon returning to work. I had 10 days at home. I stayed up way too late most nights and got caught up on much needed rest during the day while everyone was gone. I got to spend quality time with the kids hanging out with them, watching them play and get their teeth cleaned at the dentist. I let them sleep in every day, took them to school and picked 'em up early. Most days they wanted to stay home but go to daycare too, so it worked out for all of us. The only downside is that it rained everday that I was off, so I didn't get to hang out with them at the pool like I'd wanted to. Oh well, maybe this weekend.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Bob Mould record is amazing. I've listened to it every day for the last week. I'm hoping I can make one of his shows, but it looks like Detroit is the closest.

Thanks to a fellow woxy.com listener, I'll be seeing Dinosaur Jr tonight in Covington. I'm super excited about it, especially since they've been getting great reviews and the band seems to be having a good time. Last I checked Jason Loewenstein was opening. Tonight should be a fun night.

Oh yeah, and tomorrow's FRIDAY!

New #1

Put the Spoon down, the Bloc Party's over. I have my top album for the year. I'm on my 3rd listen and I can't stop. This is an incredible album. More to come...

TheSonnyMemorial

Here's a picture that we took with Sonny in the studio two weeks ago. L-R: Jimi, Troy, Sonny, Dave Miller, Me.

Dennis, Doctors, Ringo and Bob Mould

I'm officially on vacation for the next 10 days. I was hoping for a week of sun and semi-relaxation, but thanks to Hurricane Dennis it doesn't look like that will be happening. Today was sort of sunny, mostly overcast and warm. The rest of the week looks to be rainy and 10-15 degrees cooler (I'm just to the right of the 'X', on the edge of the yellow area. Courtesy NOAA.). We definately need the rain, but I'd like some "me-time" by the pool, you know.

I went to the doctor today. A new doctor for me, as I'm sick (pun intended) of my old doctor's office. Everytime I go in there, I never see a doctor, it's always a different PA or MA, and it's just really frustrating to not get consistent opinions and help form an actual doctor. I'm seeing a new, actual doctor in a smaller practice to see if that will change. I'm on vacation and I've got the aches, a small cough, a runny nose with green drainage, sore throat and sneezes. Back to the Zyrtec-D and Z-Pack. Fun.

It appears that Ringo is not too pleased with Paul for giving him the cold shoulder at the Live 8 conerts. I think I'd be a little pissed, too. It was cool that Paul was singing with U2 as his backing band, but to have Larry Mullen playing drums next to Ringo in his Sgt. Peppers suit would have been incredible. Instead, Paul's notorious ego took over once again. And they failed to deliver with U2 wearing the Sgt. Peppers suits like they hyped up before the show. Wouldn't it have been great to have The Rutles play the Sgt. Pepper's part?

Finally, I'm patiently awaiting the new Bob Mould record Body of Song. It should arrive in the mail any day now, possibly tommorow. Here's a brief interview by Jack Rabid for Gallery of Sound. So far, the songs I've heard and all reviews I've read have been favorable. I'll give my opinion once I've heard it.

Picture time

One of my favorite things to do is take pictures of my kids. This one of Aaron speaks volumes about his personality. It was taken last weekend at our annual family camping trip. My brother took this picture.

Nightwaves Update v.2

The Nightwaves shows were excellent. Just like old times. I was a bit nervous at the start, but after the first break, it all came back. I wanted to mix up some old stuff, stuff that I played all the time on my regular shows as well as some new stuff that I've been digging lately. I think I accomplished that goal.

Although it was a reunion of sorts, I also didn't want it to be anything more than it was before. I had anticipated getting my old Saturday night partner Theron and another former Nightwaver, Erin Lindsay, on the air via phone, but that unfortunately didn't happen due to technical difficulties. The only thing that I had planned for sure was to play a few songs for Sonny Edrich, a former Nightwaver who sadly, passed away a few years ago. He was definately there in spirit. Thanks to his family, Sonny was able to physically participate as much as possible both nights by way of a life-sized cardboard cut-out of him that we had in the studio with us. As always, it was great to see him again. I just wish I could've had him on the air, too.

It was also great to see, hear and/or talk to Troy Turner, Dave Miller, Dave Bottoms, Steve Barton, Lori Creed, Brent Thole, Gary Horn, Jeff Kobberdahl, Michelle Sulka and Mike Boberg in the studio and on the air again. Thanks to the people that were able to listen locally and called in (even the guy that called and complained that the BBC was being pre-empted for "headbanging music". You don't know it, but "Seeing Red" was for you). Thanks to all of the Nightwavers that couldn't attend this weekend, but helped make Nightwaves a great program. My apologies to everyone outside of the area that wanted to listen on-line, stayed up to try and couldn't. The audio stream was aparently looped with an old-time radio broadcast for the weekend. Extra special thanks to Jimi Kirby for floating the idea for this weekend's shows to WVXU and his diligence in making it happen. Finally, thanks to WVXU for allowing me to be a part Nightwaves and for it to be an unforgettable part of my life.

Here's my playlist from Friday night:

Husker Du - Ice Cold Ice
*
Gang of Four - Ether
Flin Flon - Floods
Spoon - The Beast & Dragon, Adored
*
Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
The Clash - London Calling
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Red Eyes and Tears
*
Acetone - Chills
Swervedriver - Last Train to Satansville
Luna - Buffalo Boots
*
Minor Threat - Seeing Red
Minutemen - Viet Nam
Lazy - Crush
Bloc Party - Price of Gas
*
Afghan Whigs - Debonair (for Sonny)
Ass Ponys - Under Cedars and Stars (for Sonny)
[station ID]
Soul Asylum - Cartoon
Sonic Youth - New Hampshire
*
Doug Gillard - Valpolicella
Guided by Voices - Little Lines
Lifeguards - Shorter Virgins
Pixies - Velouria
My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes
*
Robyn Hitchcock - Alright, Yeah (Storefront Hitchcock version)

*me talking

T - Minus 11 hours

Tonight's the night. You can listen to the audio stream at WVXU or 91.7 FM in the Cincinnati area. I'll post a playlist sometime after the show. After that, I'm off camping for the rest of the long weekend.

Nightwaves Update

The Nightwaves schedule is final. I'll start things off on Friday at midnight. At 1:30 I'll pass the mic to my esteemed collegue and all around great guy Troy. Dave and Jeff will take over at 3am and 4:30am respectively. Mike will start off Saturday night at midnight followed by Steve, Lori and Michelle. I got goosebumps hearing the promo on the air this afternoon and it got me psyched. I really wish I could be there both nights. If it was any other weekend, you bet I'd be there Saturday too, just to hang out.

I started going through my music last night to pull stuff to play, trying to assemble a rough playlist. Back in the day, I used to just show up and browse through the library and pull things out at random. I'd pull out whatever I was in the mood for that night and fit the pieces together with any of the new music that came in that week. I'd often look back at a 3 hour playlist and amaze myself. 99% of the shows I did were completely unplanned until a few songs before. Unfortunately, I don't think I ever kept a single playlist - don't know why. It's been a bit difficult to be back in the Nightwaves frame of mind trying to pick songs to play a week ahead of time. I'm fairly confident it'll be a rockin hour and a half anyway.

Sunset on Mars

On May 19, 2005, NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the Sun sank below the rim of Gusev crater on Mars. This Panoramic Camera mosaic was taken around 6:07 in the evening of the rover's 489th Martian day, or sol.


Photo and caption courtesy: NASA

Lucas builds new moisture farm...

in San Francisco.

Crispy Duck

We spent 5 hours at the pool yesterday. We had a great, relaxing time but I now have a pleasantly painful sunburn. Yes I did wear plenty of sunscreen, but only after realizing I had first applied sun enhancer instead of sun block to my shoulders and face. The enhancer did have an SPF 15, though, so there was some block in it. Not long after we came back from the pool, the rain and wind came, bringing marble-sized hail for about 15 minutes. It's really strange when one minute you are at the pool in 95 degree heat and there's not a cloud in the sky then 30 minutes later the ground is covered in ice.

Now playing: Crispy Duck.

Tomorrow Never Knows

Two weeks ago I was looking forward to a few days off from work, a few days of rest and relaxation and time with the family. It started with the day at King's Island on Aaron's 3rd birthday, then one final day of work. We had a nice visit to the in-laws and a few hours at the beach on the lake there. We came home Thursday and I paid a visit to Granny in the nursing home. I went back to work on Friday, then had the weekend off again. Since we spent the day at KI on Aaron's birthday, we put off having a party for him until the following Sunday.



Just before noon on Sunday, I got the phone call that Granny had passed. It was Father's Day and the day we were to celebrate Aaron's Birthday. Instead of postponing the party, we decided to have it and celebrate both lives. Granny wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Granny was a dear, sweet person who lived a full life. She never had a bad thing to say, cared about everyone and was always smiling every time I saw her. Although she was weak and could hardly speak, I'm glad I got to spend what little time I could with her last week. I'll miss her dearly.


Turn off your mind, relax
and float down stream
It is not dying
It is not dying

Lay down all thought
Surrender to the void
It is shining
It is shining

That you may see
The meaning of within
It is being
It is being

That love is all
And love is everyone
It is knowing
It is knowing

Some pictures from King's Island

Aaron in a fire truck.

Their first ride on a rollercoaster.


Cruisin'.


Kiddie Land, WaterWorks and 8 hours later.

Mark Your Calendars!

Nightwaves is a GO! We've got the green light on two nights - Friday July 1 and Saturday July 2, from midnight to 6am. Same as the old timeslot. We've got 12 hours to work with and probably just as many people participating, so details on who will be on the air when will be worked out in the coming days. One thing is for sure: I'll be there at the start on Friday night for a couple of hours. I was hoping to be on my old time at midnight Saturdays, but a prior engagement will have me even further out of town. Hopefully there will be an audio stream for those outside of the X-Star Network. More details as they become available...

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Today is Aaron's 3rd birthday. We got him a Radio Flyer tri-cycle and he loves it.

We spent the day at King's Island (annual day sponsored by my employer). We arrived there at 10am and left a little around 8pm. It was Aaron's first time there and Emma's first trip where she was big enough to ride the rides. So, we spent most of the day in Kiddie Land and at Waterworks. They had so much energy and fun in the park riding rides for the first time (do you remember your first ride on a rollercoaster or the first time you got to "drive" a car on the track all by your self?), getting pictures taken with Scooby-Doo, Spongebob and Patrick, Dora and Diego. After having lunch with co-workers, Mom took the kids for an hour or so, so Shannon and I could ride at least one ride by ourselves (Tomb Raider). The weather didn't cooperate completely early on, but around 4:00 the sun came out. Afer Tomb Raider we decided to get the kids and head to Waterworks. We splashed in the kids "grotto" pool first, then the wavepool. Aaron loved the wave pool. After that Emma rode a small water slide for kids on her own for the first time. We didn't think she would, but after the first time - she had to ride it 3 more. She then got the nerve to ride the bigger kids slide and rode it twice. A trip around the lazy river about 6:30 calmed them down. We got into dry clothes to ride the train before leaving, and their eyelids just would not stay open. Emma conked first and Aaron followed soon after. We got home at 9:00 and, at 11:30 in the middle of a thunderstorm, they are still sound asleep.

It was great day and another full of kid-firsts. I love experiencing every one of them, and we try to make it just as memorable for them. That is much more important.

New threads

Got my new woxy.com shirt in the mail yesterday. Nice and roomy.

This heat and humidity are insane. We were at the pool last night for an hour or so. The water is ice cold, but feels great. I'm thinking another visit is in store this evening.

Humpday, Nightwaves

I found out Monday that I didn't get the job I had applied for. Oh well - Win some, lose some. There will be others. This week and last week have been really busy and trying at work. I've been doing this type of work for almost 5 years and it's cake work, but it's just not something I can do long-term - mentally. I have a few days off next week to put it all aside and forget about it for a while. Next month will bring me nearly two weeks off with absolutely nothing to do, plus a long holiday weekend, so that's something else to look forward to. A chance to recharge my batteries and leave work behind for a while. Maybe do some soul searching or job hunting.

With the impending sale of WVXU to WGUC, there's been some talk of a Nightwaves reunion of sorts for a few days over the July 4th weekend. Nothing's definite yet, but it has really got me really longing for the old radio gig. I've always said that doing Nightwaves was the best job I never had, despite it being all volunteer. I thouroughly enjoyed playing music for the masses all night long and getting the exposure to so much great music. If radio was not so cut-throat and unpredictable, especially in today's environment, I would've considered a career in radio 10 years ago (so naturaly, I'm highly envious of the jocks at woxy.com!). If we can pull off the Nightwaves shows though, it'll be good to be back behind the mic, spin tunes one more time and to see some old friends. I'll keep you posted if it happens.


Six songs I can't get out of my head this week:
The Clash - London Calling
Velvet Crush - Hold Me Up
Gang of Four - Ether
Spoon - The Beast and Dragon, Adored
Moose - Jack
Robyn Hitchcock - Flanagan's Song

Had a great weekend

We went to a cookout/informal wedding reception Saturday and sat outside in the warm air, under the shade while the kids played in the sandbox. I ate way too much finger food and regretted it later. I got home and barely made it to see Star Wars with my dad and brothers, although I missed the first 10-15 minutes thanks in no part to a malfunctioning ticket printer at the boxoffice. I'll see it again, though. Despite a couple of hokey moments of dialogue (wookees screaming like Tarzan, Darth Vader scraming like a wuss), I really enjoyed it. The closing scenes sent chills up my spine. Sunday I spent several hours at the pool with the kids and got some much needed sun, then dinner at mom and dad's. Happy birthday Rhiannon! Back to the grind today.

Today is June 6, 2005, the 61st anniversary of the invasion at Normandy.

Ugh

It was a short week but a long, frustrating, meloncholy week. Long because work is always busy the week after a holiday. Frustrating because I interviewed for a new position at work and didn't hear back by the end of the week as promised. Meloncholy because Steeltown Boy is gone. The weather is supposed to be beautiful this weekend, so that should help before starting the grind again on Monday. Plans tomorrow, no plans Sunday. I might finally get to see Star Wars.

My persistence has paid off

We've been in this apartment complex for a year and a half. The only real downside is that they are on a closed-circuit Satellite TV system. Needless to say, it's expensive for the channels we get and the reception sucks. They only offer TV services, nothing else. We're too far north of Cincinnati for Zoomtown and not wired for Time Warner. The only internet access I can get here is dial-up through Cincinnati Bell (26.4 kbs). I tried to download a 3 minute song last month just to see how long it would take, and after nearly an hour I gave up and went to bed. Each month, I send the corporate management an e-mail letting them know how much better this place would be if they would get wired for the outside world. Each time I get a response that says they still have 2 years left on the current contract, but that they are trying to negotiate out of it.

Today, I come home and have a flyer in my door - from Time Warner. Starting Monday, they will be wiring this complex and expect to have full cable/internet/digital phone services by the first of August. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's bugged them about it over the last several years, but I'm sure it helped.

Let's get this party started

OK, so I created a blog at Live Journal, then it dawned on me that I liked this format better. I don't think I've ever moved twice in one day. Oh well.

So, here I am. Let's rock.