I don't know about everyone else, but I CANNOT wait for the return of The Office tomorrow night ("Dinner Party", 8 p.m. on NBC).
So, here are a couple videos to get the celebration started.
-Claire
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Mariah: Touching Bodies...and Souls
Mariah Carey is back three years after the release of her last studio album "The Emmancipation of Mimi." Oh, she certainly is.
I caught her "Touch My Body" video on youtube.com yesterday because I heard Kenneth, from TV's 30 Rock, stole the show — hard to do when Mariah, obviously wearing nearly nothing for most of the video, actually has a great voice. Yeah, I said it.
The music video is nothing short of ridiculous, but I love it. And I am 100% surprised that Mariah would invite Kenneth into her bedroom and completely understand why she included a unicorn. The single has already hit #1 in the U.S.
For someone who just passed Elvis' ranking in number ones, and now only waits to surpass The Beatles, you think there'd be some better lyrics than these:
If there's a camera up in here
Then it's gonna leave with me
When I do (I do)
If there's a camera up in here
Then I'd best not catch this flick
On YouTube (YouTube)
'Cause if you run your mouth and brag
About this secret rendezvous
I will hunt you down
'Cause they be all up in my business
Like a Wendy interview
But this is private
Between you and I
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8ISECfO9hNc
Grant it, no one has ever been this blunt, and probably brilliant because of it. Clearly this is true as I just listened to the song (from the anticipated "E=MC² ") twice in a row. I can't stop the Mariah Madness. The rest of the album arrives April 15.
-Brigid
I caught her "Touch My Body" video on youtube.com yesterday because I heard Kenneth, from TV's 30 Rock, stole the show — hard to do when Mariah, obviously wearing nearly nothing for most of the video, actually has a great voice. Yeah, I said it.
The music video is nothing short of ridiculous, but I love it. And I am 100% surprised that Mariah would invite Kenneth into her bedroom and completely understand why she included a unicorn. The single has already hit #1 in the U.S.
For someone who just passed Elvis' ranking in number ones, and now only waits to surpass The Beatles, you think there'd be some better lyrics than these:
If there's a camera up in here
Then it's gonna leave with me
When I do (I do)
If there's a camera up in here
Then I'd best not catch this flick
On YouTube (YouTube)
'Cause if you run your mouth and brag
About this secret rendezvous
I will hunt you down
'Cause they be all up in my business
Like a Wendy interview
But this is private
Between you and I
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8ISECfO9hNc
Grant it, no one has ever been this blunt, and probably brilliant because of it. Clearly this is true as I just listened to the song (from the anticipated "E=MC² ") twice in a row. I can't stop the Mariah Madness. The rest of the album arrives April 15.
-Brigid
Sunday, April 6, 2008
I hate the Walkmen (but give much non-hate to the rest)
Like they say (somebody, somewhere): Two outta three ain’t bad.
(Photo credit: Susan Z. Elgin)
In the context of the Mission Creek satellite show last Thursday in Davenport, two outta three were frikin’ fantasmo. It’s just too bad that the third (the crap in the middle) sucked so so so so so hard.
White Rabbits, which our other fine DI spies were unfortunate to miss, were an energetic group — somewhat of dark yet spry insano pop complete with two drummers, two singers, and a hotly tickled piano. In short, these are things I like. Despite only having one album to extract from — the wonderful debut, Fort Nightly – White Rabbits pulled off a one band hat trick (white rabbit out of a hat?!?!?! Get it?!?!!?! It doesn’t even make sense in this context and whoa!!!!!) with the likes of “The Plot,” “While We Go Dancing,” and “Kid On My Shoulders.” Seriously: when a band can revive itself after an amp decided to inconveniently die, and play perhaps its best song (“Kid”), that’s saying something. In inspired me to get up from my padded chair and join the maybe 15 others dancing. And subsequently made fun of by a friend in Dbag mode (thanks, John C. S.). But it was worth it, and let’s hope these fine men go far.
In other news, The Walkmen blow. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been standing up, excited to hear a reputable band, and feel after half a set that I really just wanted to go to sleep. I think they were drunk, I think the lead singer (I don’t even care to Wiki his name) was a third rate Julian Casablancas wannabe, and the songs almost always dragged when they should have done something, anything at all!, but suck. I hate them, and my iPod is happy to get rid of them.
Spoon? Well, they’re Spoon. Perhaps you’ve heard from other folk that they didn’t play “The Way We Get By,” “Small Stakes,” or a number of Gimme Fiction singles. Consider this: with the show they gave, this seems exciting in retrospect. If they pull a decades-old song from nowhere, a killer Clash cover, and my favorite Kill the Moonlight song, “Stay Don’t Go,” onto the stage, stop whining. Simply the one-two punch of “The Ghost of You Lingers” (miraculous live) and “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” was worth the night. Yes, the two encores could have been enhanced by one mega-encore, and maybe they could have played just half of “The Way We Get By.” It’s pretty repetitive anyway (but in a good way… I guess).
Keep the peace, as I hope ya’ll already do.
~Paul
(Photo credit: Susan Z. Elgin)In the context of the Mission Creek satellite show last Thursday in Davenport, two outta three were frikin’ fantasmo. It’s just too bad that the third (the crap in the middle) sucked so so so so so hard.
White Rabbits, which our other fine DI spies were unfortunate to miss, were an energetic group — somewhat of dark yet spry insano pop complete with two drummers, two singers, and a hotly tickled piano. In short, these are things I like. Despite only having one album to extract from — the wonderful debut, Fort Nightly – White Rabbits pulled off a one band hat trick (white rabbit out of a hat?!?!?! Get it?!?!!?! It doesn’t even make sense in this context and whoa!!!!!) with the likes of “The Plot,” “While We Go Dancing,” and “Kid On My Shoulders.” Seriously: when a band can revive itself after an amp decided to inconveniently die, and play perhaps its best song (“Kid”), that’s saying something. In inspired me to get up from my padded chair and join the maybe 15 others dancing. And subsequently made fun of by a friend in Dbag mode (thanks, John C. S.). But it was worth it, and let’s hope these fine men go far.
In other news, The Walkmen blow. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been standing up, excited to hear a reputable band, and feel after half a set that I really just wanted to go to sleep. I think they were drunk, I think the lead singer (I don’t even care to Wiki his name) was a third rate Julian Casablancas wannabe, and the songs almost always dragged when they should have done something, anything at all!, but suck. I hate them, and my iPod is happy to get rid of them.
Spoon? Well, they’re Spoon. Perhaps you’ve heard from other folk that they didn’t play “The Way We Get By,” “Small Stakes,” or a number of Gimme Fiction singles. Consider this: with the show they gave, this seems exciting in retrospect. If they pull a decades-old song from nowhere, a killer Clash cover, and my favorite Kill the Moonlight song, “Stay Don’t Go,” onto the stage, stop whining. Simply the one-two punch of “The Ghost of You Lingers” (miraculous live) and “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” was worth the night. Yes, the two encores could have been enhanced by one mega-encore, and maybe they could have played just half of “The Way We Get By.” It’s pretty repetitive anyway (but in a good way… I guess).
Keep the peace, as I hope ya’ll already do.
~Paul
Spoon me
I'll go ahead and say it. Spoon was delicious.
Not only did we manage to reconfigure the palatable band name into a whole spoonful of wacky puns, but we simultaneously had our faces rocked off. Unfortunately, we missed the first opening act White Rabbits, which we heard had brought down The Capitol Theatre. The Walkmen (of O.C. soundtrack infamy) actually disappointed me a little. The sound technician must have had his hearing aid on distortion because it was really hard to hear the vocals. Lead singer Hamilton Leithauser literally screeched and flailed his way (almost) silently across the stage, and felt the need to introduce every. song. they. played.
"Here's one you guys might have heard. It's one of our lesser known songs." And that was for "Little House of Savages." Oh, haha, good one, guys! lolz!
Enough of the hors devours (which nearly everyone sat through), and onto SPOON. The crowd loved it the whole thing (especially the saucy 35-year-old in front of me, whose Naturalizers and cardigan nearly melted from all the grooving and dancing she did)(but not the washed up late 20-somethings who couldn't stop sipping their PBR and staring at the too-thin hipster chicks to actually pay attention to the band). Spoon's live version of "I Turn My Camera On," normally overused on TV shows and movies, actually was the freshest sped-up version I've ever heard. Spoon played almost all of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga flawlessly. The cover of The Clash's "Hateful" knocked every hipster present out of his/her respective nappy hair and Chucks. I was pretty bummed the band didn't play "My Mathematical Mind" or "The Way We Get By" or a plethora of other songs I loved when they were released, but I understand those songs are probably a stale bunch to play. But really, fellas, they're the singles for a reason. It probably wasn't the greatest show I've ever been to — nothing really fancy with lights or stage presence — but it was still pretty sweet, and Spoon's live performance was much better than I expected. Hipster nation showed up in full force, making it all the more enjoyable and conducive to pretentious judgment. Oh wait, Spoon also came back onstage for 2 encores — mildly forced encores. But they knew that they would come back for them. The audience didn't really need or want that second encore. PS.
creeksy 4 lyfe
-Ann, who realizes that she just copied Jarrett's sign off, but that's okay because he once labeled a blog post with a slaughtered and very mature version of my last name.
Not only did we manage to reconfigure the palatable band name into a whole spoonful of wacky puns, but we simultaneously had our faces rocked off. Unfortunately, we missed the first opening act White Rabbits, which we heard had brought down The Capitol Theatre. The Walkmen (of O.C. soundtrack infamy) actually disappointed me a little. The sound technician must have had his hearing aid on distortion because it was really hard to hear the vocals. Lead singer Hamilton Leithauser literally screeched and flailed his way (almost) silently across the stage, and felt the need to introduce every. song. they. played.
"Here's one you guys might have heard. It's one of our lesser known songs." And that was for "Little House of Savages." Oh, haha, good one, guys! lolz!
Enough of the hors devours (which nearly everyone sat through), and onto SPOON. The crowd loved it the whole thing (especially the saucy 35-year-old in front of me, whose Naturalizers and cardigan nearly melted from all the grooving and dancing she did)(but not the washed up late 20-somethings who couldn't stop sipping their PBR and staring at the too-thin hipster chicks to actually pay attention to the band). Spoon's live version of "I Turn My Camera On," normally overused on TV shows and movies, actually was the freshest sped-up version I've ever heard. Spoon played almost all of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga flawlessly. The cover of The Clash's "Hateful" knocked every hipster present out of his/her respective nappy hair and Chucks. I was pretty bummed the band didn't play "My Mathematical Mind" or "The Way We Get By" or a plethora of other songs I loved when they were released, but I understand those songs are probably a stale bunch to play. But really, fellas, they're the singles for a reason. It probably wasn't the greatest show I've ever been to — nothing really fancy with lights or stage presence — but it was still pretty sweet, and Spoon's live performance was much better than I expected. Hipster nation showed up in full force, making it all the more enjoyable and conducive to pretentious judgment. Oh wait, Spoon also came back onstage for 2 encores — mildly forced encores. But they knew that they would come back for them. The audience didn't really need or want that second encore. PS.
creeksy 4 lyfe
-Ann, who realizes that she just copied Jarrett's sign off, but that's okay because he once labeled a blog post with a slaughtered and very mature version of my last name.
Back-to-back Weeknight Dancefests
With a flash of my handy pink Mission Creek wristband I was able to go to pretty much all of the shows over the past week, and I did my best to adequately fulfill this task. Though typically I'm not one to go out on a Wednesday or even Thursday night, Mission Creek swayed me from my responsible ways with promises of great live shows.
I headed to The Picador on Wednesday night to see my friend's band, Birth Rites, which drew a reasonably large crowd of friends and fans for a week night show. Though I've seen them play countless times, they really amped it up for their Mission Creek debut and even added a flute to the rock mix.
After Birth Rites' show, the pressures of midterms and homework lured away many of the showgoers but I stuck it out to the end to see the headlining band, So Many Dynamos. I've obsessed over the St. Louis group's song "Search Party" for the past week, playing it on solid repeat multiple times a day. Even though I knew little of So Many Dynamos' music before they hit the stage sometime after midnight, the group's meticulously delivered, hilariously nerdy performance won me over immediately and left my face with a permanent smile for the rest of the night.
Decked out with skinny jeans, shaggy haircuts and black plastic specs, the quartet bounced around like preteens on a sugar high. Despite the waning crowd, the boys' energy could have a filled a venue ten times the size of The Picador. The group rocked with synthesizers, guitars and drums to many songs from their sophomore record Flashlights and their most recent album release, which was recorded with Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie. By the end of the show, all the frantic dancing and laughing left me on a buzz that would prevent sleep for several more hours to come.
As if Wednesday's exertions weren't energetic enough, I hit up The Yacht Club on Thursday for an electronic showdown. The School of Flyentology got the crowd on the dance floor and was followed up by MC/VL, a rap duo who originally performed Wednesday but were asked to stay for a followup on Thursday. Growing tired from the previous night's activities, I anxiously awaited headliner The Hood Internet to go on, which didn't happen until 1 a.m. or later. But the wait was worth it just to hear the DJ's mash up of R. Kelly's "I'm A Flirt" with Broken Social Scene's "Shoreline", which was, in short, an AMAZING dancefest. To hear this song and put The Hood Internet on the playlist for your next party, you can go to http://www.thehoodinternet.com/, where the group offers free downloads of two volumes of mixtapes.
To wrap it up, I'd say my somewhat out of character weeknight diversions were definitely worth the sacrificed sleep and homework.
-Claire
I headed to The Picador on Wednesday night to see my friend's band, Birth Rites, which drew a reasonably large crowd of friends and fans for a week night show. Though I've seen them play countless times, they really amped it up for their Mission Creek debut and even added a flute to the rock mix.
After Birth Rites' show, the pressures of midterms and homework lured away many of the showgoers but I stuck it out to the end to see the headlining band, So Many Dynamos. I've obsessed over the St. Louis group's song "Search Party" for the past week, playing it on solid repeat multiple times a day. Even though I knew little of So Many Dynamos' music before they hit the stage sometime after midnight, the group's meticulously delivered, hilariously nerdy performance won me over immediately and left my face with a permanent smile for the rest of the night.
Decked out with skinny jeans, shaggy haircuts and black plastic specs, the quartet bounced around like preteens on a sugar high. Despite the waning crowd, the boys' energy could have a filled a venue ten times the size of The Picador. The group rocked with synthesizers, guitars and drums to many songs from their sophomore record Flashlights and their most recent album release, which was recorded with Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie. By the end of the show, all the frantic dancing and laughing left me on a buzz that would prevent sleep for several more hours to come.
As if Wednesday's exertions weren't energetic enough, I hit up The Yacht Club on Thursday for an electronic showdown. The School of Flyentology got the crowd on the dance floor and was followed up by MC/VL, a rap duo who originally performed Wednesday but were asked to stay for a followup on Thursday. Growing tired from the previous night's activities, I anxiously awaited headliner The Hood Internet to go on, which didn't happen until 1 a.m. or later. But the wait was worth it just to hear the DJ's mash up of R. Kelly's "I'm A Flirt" with Broken Social Scene's "Shoreline", which was, in short, an AMAZING dancefest. To hear this song and put The Hood Internet on the playlist for your next party, you can go to http://www.thehoodinternet.com/, where the group offers free downloads of two volumes of mixtapes.
To wrap it up, I'd say my somewhat out of character weeknight diversions were definitely worth the sacrificed sleep and homework.
-Claire
KASHER SESH
SUP PIZZA PEOPLE.
Mission Creek Week has finally drawn to a close, and memories memories memories. Remember when I chatted with the guitarist of So Many Dynamos about how The Picador's Ms. Pac Man machine is programmed to be slower than the average? Yes. Remember how we saw the "7/4 Shoreline" v. "I'm A Flirt" mash-up be performed live at The Hood Internet? Of course.
FRIDAY though was probably one of the best nights of my life. CURSIVE at THE MILL??? When i heard about that months ago, I was so dumbstruck. You're gonna fit one of the festival's biggest names into Iowa City's most cozy venue? This could either be magic or a disaster. Disregarding the destruction of one poor table, i'd say it was an incredible success.
Or the fact that me and the crew hung with Tim Kasher for around 54 minutes after the show
The set was incredible first and foremost. I'll throw out cliche terms like "career-spanning" and won't feel guilty. cuz im on a blog and i can do that. Cursive ran the gamut from Domestica-era rockers "The Casualty" and "The Martyr"(perhaps my favorite songs) to quintessential Ugly Organ "Art is Hard", "A Gentleman Caller", while also splicing in new songs off Happy Hallow and their yet-to-be-recorded-or-named future release (recording is set for june, according to Kasher) As usual, the crowd hung on Kasher's every word or idiosyncratic movement, the singer playing the role of the soft victim one minute and strutting out onto tables the next. AWESOME. In fact during the encore, I held Tim's mic stand up for him as he stood on the side of the stage. evidenced by this picture:
(photo credit: claire lekwa)
Here's where the fun began though. After the show, for some bizzare reason the entire crowd pretty much cleared out. SUCKERS. this is like the most unprecedented access you'll ever get for a band you like. Needless to say me and our friends were intent on getting KASHER'D with Tim Kasher. "Jameson shots?" I offered, and he followed the crew and I to the bar. The conversation meandered through topics like how his ultimate aspiration is to become an English professor at a University, but not high school, and how he originally contemplated coming to Iowa to become involved with the writer's workshop out of high school. We discussed favorite authors, favorite directors, Jurassic Park, and otherwise standard shooting of the breeze fare. Our gratuitous shot buying seemed to be finally getting to him, and he stumbled away into the darkness. It was a real fabulous moment though, and I think a somewhat feeling that sums up Mission Creek. The feeling between the bands and fans is just a mutual idea.
creek u laterz
jarrett
Mission Creek Week has finally drawn to a close, and memories memories memories. Remember when I chatted with the guitarist of So Many Dynamos about how The Picador's Ms. Pac Man machine is programmed to be slower than the average? Yes. Remember how we saw the "7/4 Shoreline" v. "I'm A Flirt" mash-up be performed live at The Hood Internet? Of course.
FRIDAY though was probably one of the best nights of my life. CURSIVE at THE MILL??? When i heard about that months ago, I was so dumbstruck. You're gonna fit one of the festival's biggest names into Iowa City's most cozy venue? This could either be magic or a disaster. Disregarding the destruction of one poor table, i'd say it was an incredible success.
Or the fact that me and the crew hung with Tim Kasher for around 54 minutes after the show
The set was incredible first and foremost. I'll throw out cliche terms like "career-spanning" and won't feel guilty. cuz im on a blog and i can do that. Cursive ran the gamut from Domestica-era rockers "The Casualty" and "The Martyr"(perhaps my favorite songs) to quintessential Ugly Organ "Art is Hard", "A Gentleman Caller", while also splicing in new songs off Happy Hallow and their yet-to-be-recorded-or-named future release (recording is set for june, according to Kasher) As usual, the crowd hung on Kasher's every word or idiosyncratic movement, the singer playing the role of the soft victim one minute and strutting out onto tables the next. AWESOME. In fact during the encore, I held Tim's mic stand up for him as he stood on the side of the stage. evidenced by this picture:
(photo credit: claire lekwa)Here's where the fun began though. After the show, for some bizzare reason the entire crowd pretty much cleared out. SUCKERS. this is like the most unprecedented access you'll ever get for a band you like. Needless to say me and our friends were intent on getting KASHER'D with Tim Kasher. "Jameson shots?" I offered, and he followed the crew and I to the bar. The conversation meandered through topics like how his ultimate aspiration is to become an English professor at a University, but not high school, and how he originally contemplated coming to Iowa to become involved with the writer's workshop out of high school. We discussed favorite authors, favorite directors, Jurassic Park, and otherwise standard shooting of the breeze fare. Our gratuitous shot buying seemed to be finally getting to him, and he stumbled away into the darkness. It was a real fabulous moment though, and I think a somewhat feeling that sums up Mission Creek. The feeling between the bands and fans is just a mutual idea.
creek u laterz
jarrett
i told you to be balanced, i told you to be kind
His real name is Justin Vernon, but doesn't "Bon Iver" just sound so much cooler?Bon Iver @ the IMU Black Box Theater, Saturday, April 5
Susan and I have been listening to the sounds of Bon Iver for about the last three weeks or so, not necessarily by our own volition. (This is what comes from living with the director of SCOPE, I guess?) So, nothing against the man, but the initial thought that we had before heading down to the IMU yesterday night was "Thank god we'll finally get a rest from this for a while!"
I confess to not being too familiar with Bon Iver, but to me the band sounds like distant cousins of Joshua Radin, one of my favorite "rainy day" artists. I know that their one album was recorded while in seclusion up in the mountains, a process that has proven both successful (Walden) and not-so (the first, unheard draft of the second Panic At The Disco album). In general, For Emma, Forever Ago sounds like music for being alone on a mountaintop with, and that's a compliment, believe it or not.
I missed the three openers, but I can't say that I feel like I would have gotten a fuller concert experience than the one the headliners gave me all on their own. Bon Iver's performance, despite the whispery, falsettoed tone of his vocals, was muscled and impressive. Ironically enough, I went down to the show looking forward to not having to listen to Justin Vernon's voice again for a while, and came home needing Susan to transfer all of her music to my iTunes.
-Anna
Thrashing at the Mill
Overflowing with scenesters and a slew of fans with semi-angry childhoods eager to see Cursive, Poison Control Center took the stage early and eager. The meshing personalities flew through their sets, screaming occasionally, soloing in edgy keys and grooving off of steady drum beats. With the sunny singer (Patrick Fleming), the seemingly-nerdy bassist (Joey Terry), the darker guitarist (Devin Frank) and the ever solid drummer (Donald Curtis), the Ames band proved that the typical 4-man set is far from worn-out.
At the pinnacle of their set, the band's Beatles-esque "Magic Circle Sympony" anthem blared not only from their amps, but from the vocals of the crowd. Behind nothing but a thumping bass drum, the band sang:
Love.
Love is the answer.
Until you get cancer.
Then you're lying,
Dying
Dead
(I said...)
repeat
Sounds odd, discomforting. But as a slightly weirded out audience crouched down to the bands cue and started belting out the lyrics, the energy began to collect. Louder, the sound swarmed. Until, then standing once again with the crowd moshing, the band played at full volume and blew away with the audience. In the vain of Iggy Pop, Poison Control Center shows that even the bi-product of Ames knows how to form an anthem.
Listen Here
-Cole
At the pinnacle of their set, the band's Beatles-esque "Magic Circle Sympony" anthem blared not only from their amps, but from the vocals of the crowd. Behind nothing but a thumping bass drum, the band sang:
Love.
Love is the answer.
Until you get cancer.
Then you're lying,
Dying
Dead
(I said...)
repeat
Sounds odd, discomforting. But as a slightly weirded out audience crouched down to the bands cue and started belting out the lyrics, the energy began to collect. Louder, the sound swarmed. Until, then standing once again with the crowd moshing, the band played at full volume and blew away with the audience. In the vain of Iggy Pop, Poison Control Center shows that even the bi-product of Ames knows how to form an anthem.
Listen Here
-Cole
Dead Venue By the Time the Last Band Began
I was at The Mill for five hours straight Thursday night. But I was casually late — or just 45 minutes late, which apparently in show time is early — and had hoped to enter the smokey venue as the second band finished.
First local Iowa City rockers Great Lakes Music hit the stage playing breakup ballads and other tunes reminiscent of Songs Ohia or Murder By Death. Frontman, Eric Langley tapped his legs wildly, guitar hanging over his shoulders, as he wailed State Road 63. The band finished just in time for the unmemorable someone's took to the floor.
Two-and-a-half hours in a lanky Bob Dylan-inspired Cory Chisel grabbed the microphone thanking the crowd for the time. Slurping a glass of red wine over the typical shots downed by most musicians, Chisel oozed a sense of class easily forgotten once entering any musicians lair. Chisel's backup group, known as The Wandering Sons (complete with one female pianist) were just that for most of the set, simply watching and waiting to be called upon since the frontman played around three songs solo during the group's time. Boasting the fact that the band wasn't selling merch, Chisel did plug the group's first EP dropping May 30.
The seven-person band stole the peak performances even before locally grown Deathships had a chance at the amp. With songs like "These Four Walls" the group's folksy, rocksy, bluesy sound echoed with bar patrons well into the Deathships' set.
At 1 a.m. the headliners finally arrived asking for shots and claps — but most of the audience was subdued or had left. And before they finished, I did too. 2 a.m. is my closing time on a school night. While as much music as possible is a good thing, it's just not possible to keep listeners for more than five hours.
-Brigid
First local Iowa City rockers Great Lakes Music hit the stage playing breakup ballads and other tunes reminiscent of Songs Ohia or Murder By Death. Frontman, Eric Langley tapped his legs wildly, guitar hanging over his shoulders, as he wailed State Road 63. The band finished just in time for the unmemorable someone's took to the floor.
Two-and-a-half hours in a lanky Bob Dylan-inspired Cory Chisel grabbed the microphone thanking the crowd for the time. Slurping a glass of red wine over the typical shots downed by most musicians, Chisel oozed a sense of class easily forgotten once entering any musicians lair. Chisel's backup group, known as The Wandering Sons (complete with one female pianist) were just that for most of the set, simply watching and waiting to be called upon since the frontman played around three songs solo during the group's time. Boasting the fact that the band wasn't selling merch, Chisel did plug the group's first EP dropping May 30.
The seven-person band stole the peak performances even before locally grown Deathships had a chance at the amp. With songs like "These Four Walls" the group's folksy, rocksy, bluesy sound echoed with bar patrons well into the Deathships' set.
At 1 a.m. the headliners finally arrived asking for shots and claps — but most of the audience was subdued or had left. And before they finished, I did too. 2 a.m. is my closing time on a school night. While as much music as possible is a good thing, it's just not possible to keep listeners for more than five hours.
-Brigid
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
America's Next Top [Cookie-Cutter] Model
So after wasting yet ANOTHER hour of my life watching America's Next Top Model tonight, I have to ask myself: why on earth do you keep watching this crap?
Really, I don't know how to explain my love/hate for this show. I do know Trya Banks gets more annoying with each episode to the point where it's hard to watch. Today she actually said, "This photo made me say H2-Oh-no-you-didnint" which makes me embarassed to speak the same language as her, let alone be in the same race. And this is just one example of the ridiculous things that come out of her mouth.
Also, I can't stand how judges are always critiquing girls for their "personality." They ridicule Lauren for being "awkward" and "Frankenstein" and for not having a personality when in reality she just has a different personality from cookie-cutter girls with big cheesey smiles and commercial looks. Also, the "plus-sized" Whitney gets shit for being a size 10 instead of a 2 and one judge told another girl that her haircut got rid of that "weird-Eastern-European" thing she had going on. Since when is it ok for people to talk to young girls like this? Who signs up to be criticized about the things that make you uncomfortable about who you are? And who watches it....?
....Every Wednesday I tune in again and again. And I really don't know why.
--Gina
PS: The commercials between ANTM for the CW's "Girlicious" included a bunch of girls competing (for who-knows-what) by dancing on stripper poles (cringe).
Really, I don't know how to explain my love/hate for this show. I do know Trya Banks gets more annoying with each episode to the point where it's hard to watch. Today she actually said, "This photo made me say H2-Oh-no-you-didnint" which makes me embarassed to speak the same language as her, let alone be in the same race. And this is just one example of the ridiculous things that come out of her mouth.
Also, I can't stand how judges are always critiquing girls for their "personality." They ridicule Lauren for being "awkward" and "Frankenstein" and for not having a personality when in reality she just has a different personality from cookie-cutter girls with big cheesey smiles and commercial looks. Also, the "plus-sized" Whitney gets shit for being a size 10 instead of a 2 and one judge told another girl that her haircut got rid of that "weird-Eastern-European" thing she had going on. Since when is it ok for people to talk to young girls like this? Who signs up to be criticized about the things that make you uncomfortable about who you are? And who watches it....?
....Every Wednesday I tune in again and again. And I really don't know why.
--Gina
PS: The commercials between ANTM for the CW's "Girlicious" included a bunch of girls competing (for who-knows-what) by dancing on stripper poles (cringe).
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