Real Talk

Okay, so some stuff came up, and we actually start recording on Sunday.

To tide all of us over, here's the video of when Michael Jackson was acquited in 2005. It's kind of a slow burner and takes a little while to get going, but right around the 2 minute mark the camera guy jerks his camera very suddenly as if gasping, because he found that lady who released a dove every time MJ was found "not guilty" of a charge against him. The camera jerk is the best part, because it just looks like the camera guy is like "oh, holy shit. that lady is releasing birds. let's just show this."



Here's what I'm saying: next time there's a big celebrity court case that's televised-- let's go. These people have the right idea. Let's get some doves, bring a cooler with snacks and brews, and watch Mel Gibson go to jail! I'm just assuming. I don't think he's going to jail or whatever right now, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. I mean, come on.


EDIT: wait the comments on that video are so good.

Recording!!!!!

We are recording on Thursday and Friday of this week! I'm buggin' with excitement. We did some demos on my laptop that you can listen to on myspace, and that looked like this.


So, yeah, recording on Thursday will look like that. Only instead of a basement we're moving up in the world to a living room in Hamtramck. Also, we're trading in the laptop/usb microphone technique for a reel-to-reel and actual microphones that you can't buy at the apple store.

After that, our next show is Saturday August 21 at FUCKING AWESOME FEST at the Magic Stick. Get ready, because it's going to be a killer fest. We're playing the same night as the Greenhornes. See you there, friends!

Oh, and we're also playing the Ferndale DIY fest. See you there, neighbors!

Alright, time to go watch Keeping up with the Kardashians and hate everything.

I'm using "beyonce" every time I play scrabble now

Often times, I remind myself that Beyonce is a real person. Usually I'll do it by thinking something like "I wonder what Beyonce is doing RIGHT NOW." Or maybe remind myself that she sometimes gets an eyelash in her eye and how it still totally sucks for her, even though she's one of the most important people. ETC.

I think the video below speaks for itself.

Also, I like to think that Tyra's look is somehow related to the commercial success of Just Kids by Patti Smith. The video is from February, a few weeks after the book came out, which was when PS was in the paper EVERY WEEK. I kind of think it was.

WAIT ALSO the username of whoever uploaded this on youtube is "alexaleex." FATE.

this one is easy

Maria's (totally accurate) Shortlist of Albums that influenced her life, arranged by year: Brownell Middle School Edition



7th Grade

"Aaron's Party (Come Get It)," Aaron Carter"

Ain't no doubt about it
I can't wait to get home to you
(I gotta get home, yeah, uh, uh, come on.)
Connected with my baby
Just jammin online with you
(online, online, online)

Here in my room we are as one
(together you and me, together you and me)
Hours connect
As we switch on (switch on)

[Chorus]
She's my best kept secret
My internet girl (my internet girl)
She's my one and only
And I ain't tellin' the world (my internet girl)

She's my best kept secret
Hooked up all night with that girl
(my internet girl)
She's my one and only, my internet girl
(my internet girl)
My internet girl, my internet girl.

Shufflin' through my windows
Gotta find my way back to you
(I gotta find away, gotta find a way)
(I gotta find a way, gotta find a way)

You left me mail in the inbox
Thinkin' about what we should do
(I will type again girlfriend, so tell me, tell me what you wanna do)

You left me the password to your heart
(yeah, that's it. I got it.)
No lookin' back we clicked from the start
I wanna let you know
She's mine

[Chorus X2. fade]

"Briefcase Full of Blues," The Blues Brothers

I probably watched this movie once a week before I made friends in 7th grade. This was the last album I bought at Harmony House, back when Harmony House still existed and I could ride my bike to it. Afterward I probably rode my bike to get ice cream by myself, because, ya know, I was old enough finally.







8th Grade

"The Spirit Room," Michelle Branch

~Finding myself as a tween female singer-songwriter phase~








"This Way," Jewel

~Finding myself as a tween female singer-songwriter phase~









"White Blood Cells," The White Stripes

This is actually probably the first album that made me realize people made cool noises on guitar. I think I was a little bit scared of it though. I mean, compare the opening riff of "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" to the John Shanks produced "Everywhere" off of "The Spirit Room." Sometimes I really miss making mix cds for myself with Michelle Branch, Jewel, and the White Stripes. I always made cheesy printed out covers for them too. Those were the days.

decidedly indecisive

Today I was driving home from the doctor (I got stung by a stupid bee and have an infection) listening to "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac, and feeling pretty out of it after taking 6 doses of a Medrol pack after not eating enough. Somewhere on I-696 between Gratiot and John R I thought it would be AWESOME to come home and blog about the most important albums in my life since freshman year of high school, chronologically. Not because people care, but because sometimes making lists like that is fun, if you try to not think about how it's kinda limiting because most people who actually love music love music too much to make lists about it, which is how I usually tend to feel.

So I started making a list on my laptop in "Stickies." Some years were easy, but for some I had so many albums I wanted to include I felt ridiculous. My limit of one per year became two, and then some years got three. Now I just feel like a big goof, which is what usually happens when I try to come up with lists of albums.

I'm going to post it anyway, mostly because it'll probably be funny to look back at it in a year and judge myself. I remember being in high school and making lists of my favorite albums in my dIaRy. Or favorite bands, or whatever. When I like a band I tend to get super obsessed within a couple days and get really overwhelmed if I don't have some nerdy outlet for it.

For some reason, it was harder picking multiple albums per year than just one. So I whittled it down again to just one per year. Except for the first one, oops. Sorry to "Fun House," "Horses," "The Marked Men," "Four Strong Winds," "The La's," "Piper at the Gates of Dawn," "Got What We Want," "North Country Maid," "Stay Happy," "Los Angeles," "Back in the USA," "Help!,"We Did Not Know The Forest Spirit Made The Flowers Grow," "The Slider," "Electric Warrior," "Young, Loud, and Snotty," "Darkness on the Edge of Town," "Blackout" (yes I mean the Britney Spears album) and everything else, because I might actually legitimately like some of you more. See? I am bad at picking favorites.

Maria's (possibly inaccurate) Shortlist of Albums that influenced her life, arranged by year: GP South Edition



Freshman


"Is This It," The Strokes

This is the album that made me realize that guitars make noises that I want to hear. After 13 years of pretty much only consciously hearing top 40 and young country radio, I always wondered why people played guitar. Then I heard it clearly for the first time. Game changer. Plus I saw Julian's face. His weird, kinda greasy, kinda zitty face, but still great face. Game changer.




"The Velvet Underground & Nico," The Velvet Underground

Blah blah blah, what an influential album for the world, blah blah blah. No, really. When I listen to this album now, 8 years later, I feel like that same geeky teen stealing timpani mallets from the band room and buying cuban-heeled boots from Zappos.com to look like a picture of the Velvet Underground. This album is why I had my first real crush, why I started playing drums, why I spent roughly a year locked in my bedroom in between school days learning their entire catalog and writing nerdy fan letters to Maureen Tucker.



Sophomore


"Marquee Moon" Television

I didn't get it at first. But when I finally did, I listened to "Prove It" on my discman in between every class for a month and made Tom Verlaine (and Richard Hell, since a Voidoids obsession soon followed) shirts with sharpie. NERD ALERT. This carried on through the following summer, as shown by my junior school pic: weird quasi boy hair, braces, black t-shirt with Television pin that went through the wash.



Junior


"Let it Be," The Replacements

I was a moody teen. The Replacements made me feel exciting. Plus they were from the 80s, which was new to me.

How do you say I miss you to
An answering machine?
How do you say good night to
An answering machine?
How do you say I'm lonely to
An answering machine?
The message is very plain
Oh, I hate your answering machine
I hate your answering machine
I hate your answering machine...



Senior


"Dinosaur," Dinosaur Jr

This was the first Dinosaur Jr album I bought, from Neptune Records in Royal Oak back when Royal Oak still had (at least one) record store. Sure, it's kinda erratic, but I don't care because "The Leper" made me wanna marry J. Mascis. The winter of senior year I'm pretty sure wore my purple Dinosaur tour shirt at least twice a week. Once I started being obsessed with Neil Young, I cared about them even more because they also are geeks for Ol' Shakey.