Wednesday, December 03, 2003

who'll stop the rain?

New Spectator Sport: the sheer, horrible desperation of the music business

But, God, can you remember a time when the most popular acts were this empty? It's like that awful vacuum before punk, when people were buying Dean Friedman records just to have something to buy, and poster companies were printing off six-foot long images of Nana Mouskouri and Demis Roussos just to have something to sell. Or that space in the 80s before acid house broke (and, at the same time, there was some of the best guitar music ever), when pop music lost its bass and went horribly toppy and starved-sounding. I'm getting a little sick of living through these dead zones.


A great read. Being that my thanksgiving wrap-up (below) was so uncompromisingly depressing, I'll take a break from breaking my own balls and explain what I'm thankful for, musically, this time around.

1.) This casette I found in my parents' attic while I was home, labeled "Best of WPFW Go-Go Night." 90 minutes of Type II (Maxell XL-II, that is) heat from my high school days. I haven't heard "The Hee-Haw" in years, and driving around yesterday I was bouncing up and down in my car and banging on every exposed surface, tapping polyrhythmatically on the brakes. That tape sent me back to the weekend evenings back in DC when a car full of us would be driving around, bouncing the car back and forth and roaring like lions, or sitting in the hallwaus of school with trash cans upturned, 12 people with sticks or knives and water pitchers banging out beats till we got "in the pocket." Now I've got a whole new pile of records to track down. which leads me to...

2.) TurntableLab. This place is like the amoeba records of the internet, in that I'll hit the site looking for one or two things and end up taking a huge hit to the bank account and waiting breathlessly for 7 pounds of vinyl heat to show up via UPS 2 weeks later. It's so bad that I can only go there once a month or I'll get my electricity turned off. They had "Gimme Dat Beat Vol. 2," probably the best single Go-Go comp out there (one which was in a crate of mine that got stolen from a house party over a year ago. I'll probably never find another OG "Sardines" 12", but it's on the comp, and that'll have to do. They've got a reissue of "Let me Clear My Throat" right now. Snatch it up if you missed it the first time around, which you probably did.

And a question: If you went back to your childhood home for thanksgiving, what did you find that you brought back with you?

Monday, December 01, 2003

here comes the judge pt. II

wow. going home is always a nice warm kick in the groin. I got a quick glimpse of what's left and what will forever be left to memory.

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

here comes the judge

how not to solve your problems. remember, two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.

been so long, eh? it's crunch time round these parts and I've been overloaded. there has been an unfortunate delay in the production of the Recoys CD. So if you're waiting for it, hold the old horses and enjoy all of the bounty of autum and winter, like football on thursdays and another embarassing redskins season. the way i see it the skins are just getting all the bad karma out and soon will be as great as the mighty bengals. ahh, what hath parity wreaked upon the NFL that the last sentence holds no callousness?

it was great to see miss topography during her week in LA. although she is detoxing, she seemed to pick up one new a-diction: by the end of the week she was barefoot in the kitchen cooking white chili (which was delicious).

Friday, November 07, 2003

Thursday, November 06, 2003

some velvet morning when I'm straight....I'm going to open up your gate...

the holidays are coming. we've reached that part of the year that is so busy and flies by fast like a bottle rocket, and by the time it explodes you need to get used to writing a new number at the end of ever check.

so: there are going to be some changes around here.

first, I'll probably end up spending most of my blogging time on the rock and roll vote. i think it'll be a lot of fun and actually be worthwhile, hopefully we can get the denim jacket set into the polling booths come next november, and not ironically. if you want to contribute to the blog (as a writer/correspondent/contributor) let me know. I'm looking to get all hands on deck, as it were, that are interested. so let me know.

if you're in a band, and you want to endorse a candidate, please let me know. I'm keeping a list and will announce endorsements as they come in.

second, i'm going to be doing the dirty work of applying to grad school in the next two months. this will take a lot of time, so this space might be pretty quiet. once again, go here if you need your fix.

third, if you live in los angeles, get ready. if you like drinking, and you like dancing, there will likely be a new weekly nightlife choice. it will be fun, it will be free/cheap, and it will be on the east side. no more details until they are confirmed.

Monday, November 03, 2003

you're only funky as your last cut....

general wesley clark weighs in on the OutKast controversy in a TV spot to air during tomorrow night's rock the vote CNN campaign event. take that kucinich!

with this unassuming link i officially announce my entry into the world of campaign coverage/blogging with the introduction of The Rock and Roll Vote, dedicated to providing information and perspective for those of you out there who are both rock and roll mofos and participants in our proud democracy.

coming first will be rock and roll profiles of the candidates, interspersed with relevant news bits (see above) as they break.

soon after that i might start capitalizing certain words.

then in january, our team is headed to new hampshire for a 3 day look at the primaries.

and that's about as far as the plan goes, at this point. after all, how rock and roll is it to plan a year in advance?
i was five and you were six, we rode on horses made of sticks

so, yes, helloween went well....well into the morning.

and, yes, that redskins/cowboys game was depressing. about as much as i can take. the team is dead to me until next season. i don't take well to heartbreak.

and, why yes, that is my chin on page 41 of a glossy lifestyle/fashion mag. no, I'm not completely sure whose tits are next to my chin, although i have my suspicions:



cheers to: colin montgomery for getting that photo spread published, the walkies for pulling off 3 shows in a night, and aeri for filming it.

godspeed to: matt reboholz, somewhere on the 5 north (aka the hot nickel) right now, abandoning the vapid lunatic frivolity of los angeles for the pleasant hippie platitudes and hacky sacking lifestyle of san francisco.

jeers to: russian prime minister vladimir putin, for selectively enforcing the widely ignored tax laws of his country in order to bring down a political rival and seize a controlling interest in the country's largest oil company. this is a slow moving coup by the old school KGB faction of the russian elites, and it will be impacting here shortly. keep your eyes on it.

Friday, October 31, 2003

aka D Rock the Cream Colored Ninja

well, apparently, I have the best Wu-Tang nickname in the land.....

more later when I gush about how great willie nelson's Red Headed Stranger album is....

Thursday, October 30, 2003

there were cars parked from wall to wall

the smoke cleared, and the skies were a little bluer today. as the sun was going down it hid behind a cloud and shot those visible rays of light over the top that you know carry good will or the spirit of a benevolent god, and that you only see driving through the empty country on a long road trip. i smiled.

it's finally fall/winter here. smells as crisp as it can for southern california. it's as cold as you could expect it to get when you're standing next to a palm tree. happy helloween, by the way. do you have a costume? is it probably a bit too subtle for most people to get? will it take frustrating explaining? i hope so....

"I'm all the things you can see through the aleph"
"I'm the tracking shot from the beginning of touch of evil"
"I'm what you least expected"
"I'm a werewolf. you can't tell? fuck....i should have gotten more fake hair."

I'm going as donnie darko in his halloween costume. so if people don't get it at least it's still a costume. they'll just think i'm wearing a grey hoodie cause it's cold. it's a hard lesson I've leaned about high-concept or esoteric costumes: always have a back up plan. so, what's yours?

Monday, October 27, 2003

i have tried, in my way, to be free

Yesterday afternoon I went to brunch in malibu with my parents. we drove to the beach not along the coast but up towards ventura and then down through malibu creek canyon. as we shot down the canyon toward the ocean, a deep red cloud hovered in the sky out the right-hand window (to the west, essentially.)

brunch was surreal. we were eating on a patio overlooking the ocean. to the west, our right as we looked out, the dark cloud blocked the sun, which shone through deep yellow and blood orange like a two hour apocalyptic sunset. 100 yards to the east, another fire was creeping down and out of a nearby canyon and was threatening to break further. The PCH, the highway that runs along the coast of california, was closed, and for the two hours we sat eating two red planes would fly a quarter-mile out from the shore, dip down to scoop up what must have been thousands of gallons of ocean water, then spin round and head back toward the flames.

the smoke itself hung (and hangs) like mist or fog in west LA; it would appear peaceful like an early evening on the coast of maine or a cool san francisco night were it not so hot (and only as long as you didn't know the world was burning). Because we lost an hour of light at night thanks to daylight savings time, it's hard to decide whether the creeping darkness is due entirely to the smoke cover or if the shock of losing an hour of sun contributes as well. All I know is that there is a menacing presence in the sky. It feels like something out of the old testament, somewhere between the 7 plagues and the destruction of sodom and gemorrah.

when i washed my face last night before bed, the grime and ash that had covered my face and was swirling into the drain of my bathroom sink made me think of Ginsberg's Sunflower Sutra.

the air is dry and harsh, the spectrum of light is off, and i haven't slept well for days. cheers, everybody.

Friday, October 24, 2003

Space storm coming to Earth

friday afternoon, and everything's broken. we could get a free dress rehursal for a terrorist attack:

Scientists say they expect it to be the worst solar flareup to be felt on Earth since a storm in 1859. That storm caused telegraph wires to short out across North America and Europe.


wear your aluminum hats, folks. it's level orange.

Tuesday, October 21, 2003

Bush optimistic as U.S. deficit hits $374 billion

now who's giving aid and comfort to the enemy? this is real:

Even Osama bin Laden jumped into the discussion, based on last July's White House estimate.

In an audiotape broadcast Saturday by the al-Jazeera television network, the al-Qaida leader lauded reversals he said the United States had suffered since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"They also witnessed a budget deficit for the third consecutive year," bin Laden said, erroneously referring to the two straight shortfalls now recorded. "This year's deficit reached a record number estimated at $450 billion. Therefore, we thank God."

Monday, October 20, 2003

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

News

Roxanne Jekot, who has put much of her professional and personal life on hold to work on the issue full time, puts it even more strongly. "Corporate America is very close to running this country. The only thing that is stopping them from taking total control are the pesky voters. That's why there's such a drive to control the vote. What we're seeing is the corporatisation of the last shred of democracy.


and in other news:
I didn't think that that many people took public transportation in LA, but the MTA mechanics' strike has doubled my morning and evening commutes as people are forced onto the road. ugh.

hopefully the grocery clerk strike will force more people into smaller local or specialty food stores so they don't have to cross the picket lines. there are some great little markets all over the place.

I'm going to start seriously unloading some vinyl on e-bay. i've been living check to check for too long, and I don't really need that jay-z album or the LL 12". they're dope, but I never listen to 'em. who wants some lee donaldson LPs? a pair of super cue-burned Chic "good times" 12"s? everything must go. everything out the door but sigue sigue sputnik. i mean, last time I weighed it, my vinyl weighed 1/2 a ton. seriously, i need a chiropractor. and when I'm prepping for the DMCs and I NEED to get that aboriginals 12" for my routine, I'll just have to go out and spend the loot then. I mean, 5 $20 overdraft fees in 24 hours is a great story to tell at the bar, but I have to live this shit.

I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky.

go red sox. lets go cubbies.

confirmation on that silverlake gang war article below: the shooting that opens the article happened 5 feet from kerri's front door.

I am a halloween genius. you'll see.

Monday, October 13, 2003

Fucking USA

amused/horified
and misadventures of

cem is out of asia and into the middle east and wow. required reading.
Pete's Corner

holy shit. ham told me that "Pete's Corner" was blowing up and I didn't believe him but then I went there and damn, was he right. laugh out loud funny. five stars. cheers, poppy!
LA Weekly: News: Silver Lake Gang War

The shootings in the first paragraph happened across the street from my friend Kerri's place.

Tuesday, October 07, 2003

I'm a cop, you idiot!

i just voted. no on recall, no on the two ballot measures, and bustamante as the replacement candidate, just because his name is so cool. i figure that with a name like cruz bustamante he has to be either:
a) a secret agent
b) a super hero
or at the very least
c) a world class fencer.

"My name is Cruz Bustamante. You recalled my governor. Pepare to die."

and then BAM! Old rolly-polly cruz got moves!

"Ahm gohnah tehhminate you, Cruz!"
"Do what you will, Shwarzennegger, but I know something you do not!"
"Wahht is daht?"
"I'm not left handed!"

Monday, October 06, 2003

eBay item 3628832408 (Ends Oct-02-03 14:02:08 PDT) - New Folder for Windows XP Professional

awesome.

also, thanks to everyone that came out saturday night. I had a great time. hopefully we'll be able to do it again soon.

Tuesday, September 30, 2003

went out, and got dumped, last night....

yes, folks, back to regularly scheduled programming. i'm home, I'm sane, I'm well rested, I'm detoxing. this saturday, I'll be taking the LSAT, having dinner with an ex-chief of the California Highway Patrol, then spinning records with my friend Al after the Ted Leo show @ the Echo. come on out, it'll be free. early show, then Djs 10-2....rock.

the posse's getting bigger for the NH primarys. by this I mean both the democratic field and the group of people going up there with me to "cover" them. anyone work at a media company and need a correspondant or reporter on the ground? can anyone score me a legit press pass? anyone got any bar or club recommendations in manchester? I hear it's beautiful in the dead of winter.

Friday, September 26, 2003

out of the blue, into the slipstream
(some notes from the walkmen/kaito west coast tour)
(from the dramatic persona of bassist Peter Bauer)



Derek: "Hey, Adrian! What's up?"
other end of phone: [unintelligible]
Derek: "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"
other end of phone: [unintelligible]
Derek: "Cool. I need a favor. Any chance you could swing by a club in the next hour, pick up a suitcase, and either drive or hop on a commuter plane to san francisco within the next 24 hours, like an organ courier? I'd make it worth your time."
other end of phone: [unintelligible]
Derek: "This is Derek."



[it's 3 a.m. in canada in a backroom speakeasy where they serve pilsner in glass mugs, there are 9 customers, 1 piano, and 2 mics.]
(pete):
"I awoke last night to the sound of thunder
How far off I sat and wondered
Started humming a song from 1962
Ain’t it funny how the night moves
When you just don’t seem to have as much to lose
Strange how the night moves
With autumn closing in."
[this ends pete's set, but kicks off a long night of piano bar tunes. it is the warmest moment of the tour.]



(remember, folks, dramatic persona of pete bauer)
It's sometime between ten and eleven o'clock at night. We're barelling through the mountains near the Oregon/California border, around 70 mph. I'd be bored out of my skull, but we're watching movies on Ham's computer. After the complete failure of the big chill and a sort of sucess in swept away, we're watching the big budget thriller con air. the movie sound is coming through the speakers, and the car is jumping around like the plane is. this is scary. this is great. oh, wow... here comes buschemi's character. he makes a face. Derek laughs. I look up. we're speeding 'round another corner. my eyes are on the road. Derek's the driver, and his eyes are on the movie. we are absolutely, positively, going to die.



We're driving back up to seattle after the last show of the tour, in portland. Walt's riding shotgun. We're stopped at a light right before the bridge that will take us to the 5 freeway. Someone on the sidewalk screams into Walt's window:
"Where are you guys going?"
Walt: "We're going to hell."
Walt rolls the window up. That was the last moment of fun on the tour.



(dramatic persona of Derek)
I had a fruit-eating contest with Dee, the drummer for Kaito, backstage at graceland. He beat me with a banana, but I schooled him with an orange. Gemma, Kaito's bassist (pictured below), had a different sharpie tatoo every night.



more pictures from the tour can be found here. I was going to offer two rounds of pictures, winners and "Psych Out!" but there weren't too many winners and the ones that were alright were all pretty psychedelic anyway, so there you go.

next week we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming. thanks again to everyone on the tour, and everyone I met along the way. i had a great time.

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

fliten?

ok. I'm home, and I'm healing. the tour was great. now i have to put on the breaks. i traveled 3520 miles in 10 days, and for a few days i'm going to have trouble getting used to waking up in the same bed two mornings in a row and not selling a single t-shirt.

to the walkies: thanks for coming out. i had a great time and the west coast thanks you.

to kaito (uk): you guys were awesome.

to anyone else who's reading this: I'll have pictures from the tour up here in the next day or two, along with a narrative of some of the more interesting goings on. until then, i recommend you read this article from the LA Weekly's Jay Babcock about how today's "retro-rock" is driven by and made possible by modern information technology, not the 10-20 year cycle of pop-culture reminiscence that brought about cheap trick covering "don't be cruel" or hair-metal's glam re-tread.

Saturday, September 13, 2003

bows and arrows



so the walkmen tour is officially underway. san diego was a quiet, pleasant night. last night was at the henry fonda theater in hollywood. the picture above is from that show. the sound was amazing and the place was packed. tonight is spaceland in silverlake. soon to san francisco.

Wednesday, September 10, 2003

tit for tat

i envision some sort of underworld mardi gras where girls will flash their breasts at boys who show them their tatoos. the name of this party/concept is the same as the title of this blog post.

Tuesday, September 09, 2003

secret show

so i guess the walkmen are playing another show in LA (i.e. not just the friday henry fonda show), but i'm going to wait to get clearance before announcing it.
germster

so by now you know about friendster. simple programming makes it easy to see what networks exist between friends and friends of friends, etc. I think we're ready to take it to the next level. Thanks to friendster, I know that I'm "connected to 721,674 people in [my] Personal Network, through 150 friends." but i wish there was a way to find out who's made out with who so i would know how many people are in my "germ network." Basically what I envision keeps a record of who you've made out with and/or slept with, and, without telling you which of your lovers or one night stands is connected to whom, lets you know who is 1,2, 3, etc., degrees away from you via tongue or crotch.

Saturday, August 30, 2003

here's a COOL website

My friend Rice is almost finished making his new website, but he said we could check it out now. check out the hyperlinks.

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

where my ninjaz at?

thanks to everyone who came out last night to the echo. i had a great time and i hope you guys enjoyed it.

are you white? do you listen to rap? when you sing along, do you mumble the "n" word, slightly uncomfortable about saying it? here's a tip: replace it with "ninja," as in: "hey sucka ninja, whoever you are." or "jigga....my ninja....." works every time.

gen. wesley clark could beat the flight suit off bush in 2k4.

i'm currently the high bidder for a talking master p doll on ebay. you can make it say "ungh (nah na nah na)"

go redskins.

Friday, August 22, 2003

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

van impe update

here's a story from the buffalo news that gives a bit of context to the whole bush/van impe story i was chasing last week, saying that van impe's outline of prophecy was sent in lieu of the televangelist attending a meeting of religious leaders in washington on july 14th, 2003. here's one interesting series of paragraphs:

National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormick said the White House did not ask Van Impe to make a presentation. McCormick said the meeting is one of many the White House conducts to meet with leaders in various walks of life. He denied it was held to sell evangelists on the peace plan.

However, a official for another group with strong links to evangelicals and Jewish conservatives said, "The meeting was an attempt to sell us the peace plan, and it failed."


i highlight this section because it casts doubt on the the office of the national security advisor's characterization of this meeting, and this is certainly not the first time that the official line coming out of Condi's office hasn't been exactly, or even remotely, accurate. the NSA's version of "the fight for the 16 words" is the most glaring example, of course, but this meeting, and its purpose, seems to me like something that they didn't need to hide. The Bushies were trying to get support from leaders of a group that overwhelmingly voted for them (Evangelicals) for a piece of policy (the road map for peace) that was at odds with the interests (fulfillment of biblical prophecy, in this case through a unified state of israel) of that constituant group. and they failed, it seems.

the picture of W that accompanies the article is priceless. looks like he could save a few souls himself.
a quiet moment

cem and el never cease to amaze me. good, safe travels to you both.
st. christopher smiles.

i received the master for the CD version of the recoys record today, which means that it should be in stores within 6-8 weeks if everything goes smoothly. it includes 3 songs that weren't on the vinyl: 2 recoys studio recordings (including 'Look Out the Window,' which some of you might know from the Walkmen/Calla split) and the Lil' Fighters song "The Recoys," the story of the band told from the perspective of guitarist Peter Bauer and written and sung by Walter Martin. exquisite additions, I assure you.

speaking of pete, he's more than a nascent rock god. he's also a cat breeder. he's currently looking to rid himself of four kittens and one two year old. if you're in the nyc area and want to pick up some free felines, e-mail him.

and, actually speaking of pete again (this is getting awkward), i'm tour managing the walkmen on their september west coast tour, so get your tickets now or you'll just have to read about it here.

sunday night bruce springsteen was at Dodger Stadium. the boss rules. stadium beers are expensive.

i'll mention it again: tues., Aug. 26th my friend Al and I are spinning at The Echo. the night will be free and the beers will be cheap and honestly, if you live in LA and consider youself my friend i am requiring you to go to this. i really don't ask much of you people, you know?

Friday, August 15, 2003

fade to black...

thoughts and prayers and a 3-day weekend go out to the 50 million people without power. get a cold 40 and park yourself on the stoop and thank god that it was incompetance and not terrorism that got you there.

the blackout shows you how little the bushies have done since 9-11 to prepare us for an attack. there is absolutely no reason that we should still be using 50 year old electricity infrastructure when we a) had a huge surplus a few years ago and b) are at war and under attack from terrorists seeking to disrupt our economy and lifestyle. yesterday was a big 'kick me' sign we painted on our own ass. it should not have happened, and the fact that it wasn't caused by sabatoge, the fact that this can just happen naturally, is unacceptable.

if the dems have an ounce of sense they'll pick up on yesterday and when we, on the same day, announced that al qaeda was planning more 9-11 style hijackings and that we were taking air marshalls off the flights most likely to get hijacked, and with the duct tape they had us buy tape those two events to george bush and tom ridge and the tax cuts.

infrastructure upgrades would put americans to work, stimulate the economy, and make us safer as a country, three things that the tax cuts haven't done yet.

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

update II: you gotta have Feith-a-faith-a-Feith

from this MSNBC report on the Van Impe/Bush question:

“My investigation into it is that there’s no truth to it,” National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack told The Scoop, “but I’m continuing to look into it.”

not quite a denial, hopefully we'll get a confirmation or denial tomorrow. anyone talked to Van Impe Ministries (248.852.2244)? I just called them, but it was past their business hours (8am-4.40 EST). I'll try tomorrow and let you know what they say.

UPDATE: I just found this previous van impe response to a similar 'question of the week,' this time mentioning the rest of the bush clan. interesting little rabbit hole we've got here.....

UPDATE II: via long story, short pier, here's the map that van impe has on his web site describing the battle of armageddon, a map likely similar to the outline of the future he claims to have sent the president.
follow up to the last post

I just called the white house press office. they wouldn't talk to me without talking to my editor first, and since I was trying to work this story freelance it was no go. but they have someone commenting on it. someone with an editor, make it happen:

white house press office: 202 456 2673.

and the fact that they're "commenting," not "denying," makes me think there's something to this. but who knows...
no need to worry, folks

now, i know people are getting pretty worked up about what's happening in asia minor/the middle east these days, but they're getting excited over nothing. our president knows "exactly what is going to happen in the Middle East and what part he will have under the leading of the Holy Spirit of God." sound incredible? per Condi Rice's request, W now has in his hands an outline of the future of the middle east, and his role in it, prepared by our friend jack van impe.*

now I've only been born once, but I've heard about the beliefs of the double-birthed christians with respect to the middle east, the apocalypse, and the second coming, mainly through discussions of the left behind series of novels. now i've got no problem with the rapture, where all the twice-birthed disappear into heaven. they'll be happy, it'll be less messy for the rest of us than heaven gate, and maybe we could finally start showing tits on network tv and buy FHM at wall-mart. the one part that gives me pause is where apparently all the jewish people in the world are either killed or converted into christians. now we all know that ashcrost believes in witches and demons, but, you know, whoa....

for bonus points, research the history of western powers using foreign policy as a tool to hasten armageddon. it's not quite as rare as you would think.

*UPDATE 8/13: link changed to google's cache of the relevant web page, as jack van impe ministries seems to have taken down the original.

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

swimmin in women like a water ballet instructor

i'm spinning @the echo tues. august 26th. mark your calendar.

while i won't be on the ballot for governor, I will be accepting, and expecting, your write-in votes. together we can take this state forward.

we're looking for "write-in"terns at campaign HQ. please e-mail a photo & resume if you're interested in this one-evening-a-week position.

it's hot as hell out here.

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

ok, then....

1) I am putting my run for governor on hold till i find out of shwarzenegger runs. the reason i really wanted to run was to take on the terminator. i'm not sure if it's worth my time if i can't take him on. I will save my first run for office for later. and that election, i will win.

2) the first friendster clone has arrived. it looks like it'll function like more of a craigslist than a dating site. should blow up if friendster starts charging, but will it be anywhere near as entertaining without stupid testimonials?

3) redskins training camp opens. whut.

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Thursday, July 17, 2003

IV

pacific sunlight stretches through the room
and gives the plant nearby the door a glow
of holiness: it smiles through the gloom
this thursday eve'ning's newscasts have to show.
four shots across Korea's DMZ
did echo all the way to washington
but there the thun'drous noise happened to be
Prime Minister Blair's words with Bush the son.
Blair's oratory beautifully laid out
the Western duty to the modern world,
while gath'ring clouds of war again blot out
the sun that dries all bloody flags unfurled.
when comes the morning of this awful night,
too short the pause will be 'fore the next fight.

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

III

we're halfway through this week, but yet i feel
as if it's just begun, and that my days
will amble on forever 'fore a break
and i must find my rest in other ways.
our president, it seems, has lied to us,
and whether this misstep was purposeful,
administrative dull incompetance,
or freak snafu, i hope we'll learn in full.
one thing I know about our boy king george:
our press will just ignore his bolder lies.
inspectors?: "[Saddam] wouldn't let them in."
at this reporters barely showed surprise.
but UNMOVIC was in Iraq, no doubt,
and Bush's ultimatim forced them out.



"a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in."

Monday, July 14, 2003

I.V

tonight my DSL is down again --
not down, per se, but stumbling and lame,
i guess. in random fits and starts the lights
will blink, and i can check e-mail. It's good
to have a break sometimes from life's routines
and force one's self to get old business done.
i hate tv. i just won't watch the thing,
except for one program, the Daily Show.
it's on right now, and once it's done or at
the breaks I'll find a way to wrap this up.
my roommate's dog just died. I think she should
adopt a puppy to replace her dog.
the emptiness she feels will go away
like charcoal's black combusting into grey.
I

i guess i might just write my blog like this
a sonnet every day 'till the week's through
it might not be a sure-fire path to bliss
but 'tleast to try will give me tings ah do.
my weekend, not much diff'rent than the rest.
take friday: quiet, ate out with some friends,
we all watched movies (joe dirt was the best),
then with a raucous beer fight that night ends.
on saturday i spun the hottest wax --
new lumidee, pharell, and ODB;
the room, too warm from all the lech'rous acts,
the walls, the people: sweating, just like me.
the lotus festival in echo park
was beautiful on sunday, before it got dark


Wednesday, July 09, 2003

not even i can remember (the cocktails made me a little forgetful)

a) the internet is shit.
b) there will be some live songs on the CD version of the recoys album.
c) metalshop @ the viper room is a much more metal way of spending your monday evening than PMK @ arlene's.

Monday, July 07, 2003

ring ring, ha ha, hey hey

i hope each and every american reading this used their long weekend to take advantage of freedom.

some liberties I enjoyed:

-the freedom to DJ such a hot classic hip hop set at the 'party barn' friday night that some dude puked on the dance floor because he was dancing so hard.
-the freedom to participate in late sat. night cell phone shenanigans.
-the freedom to engage in friday afternoon slip-n-slide
-the right to sucessfully drink a beer while sliding-n-slipping down the slip-n-slide
-the freedom to sleep almost all day sunday

and a treat, rock and roll photos: Bedroom Walls and Seksu Roba @ silverlake lounge, 7/2/03.

Thursday, July 03, 2003

404 for the 4th

stop me if you've seen this already....
here's a game: go to google, enter "weapons of mass destruction", and press the "I'm feeling lucky" button. Clever......

come see me spin psych rock, blues, gospel, and soul 45s in echo park tonight. e-mail me for the info/address. it's ok if i don't know you. you're still invited.

tomorrow, at the party barn, there is a party. if you know what that means, you are welcome to do it up for america. if you don't know what that means, don't get caught sleepin'. superhits of the 80's for the ladies, and damn, my lumidee record isn't here yet (f UPS ground) but it'll get spicy nonetheless.

Wednesday, July 02, 2003

f a title

from walls all around my office the airbrushed faces of celebrities (made up as pirates, rock stars, and revolutionaries) stare out at me from movie posters. Each movie star looks directly at me, like a dead uncle from a haunted oil painting. The men on the posters want to fight or tell me a bit of hidden wisdom, depending on their age. The women want to fuck me, or make love to me, depending on their character. There is a strict formula for these one-sheets. I have a poster on the cramped wall of the closet that I work in, but there aren't any people on it. It's for the movie Volcano.

Some of you might remember the movie Volcano. It was a Tommy Lee Jones "vehicle" about, remarkably enough, a volcano that erupts under Los Angeles. The great thing about the movie is that the volcano destroys the Beverly Center, a truly hideous mall in West Hollywood, in the last 10 minutes of the film. I hate the Beverly Center. There are two great things about the poster. the first is that no one is staring out at me, as it shows a wide shot of Los Angeles being engulfed in lava, and the second is that LA doesn't really look like the city on the poster. I mean, it's got our landmarks, but the city just doesn't look like the one on the poster. You can't see the Capitol building, the Hollywood Sign, and downtown at once from the north. The 101 doesn't cut through them like that. It's just so wrong it's fun.

Also, slate's Adam Kirsch has this article about the lack of great writing about los angeles. He mentions, citing Mike Davis' numbers, that since 1909, there have been 138 books or movies that "have dealt with the destruction of the city by fire, flood, earthquake, nuclear holocaust, or alien invasion." It's not that bad.

Tuesday, July 01, 2003

at least it's an ethos

I looked out my balcony just now and saw the big dipper sitting in the sky between the treeline and the bottom of the balcony above me. I'm exhausted. But I need to mention a few things.

The first is that Howard Dean just raised almost $4 million dollars in 9 days, $3 million of that over the internet. The truly bizzare line from his campaign site: "he [Dean] knows we made $7 million and will blog shortly from the car." The democratic race is now looking like a 3-way contest between Dean, Kerry, and Leiberman, with Edwards next to out of it already and the other 5 already footnotes to the campaign. And the frontrunner is a blogger.

The second thing I want to mention is that I'm going to try and keep politics off Affordable Justice for most of the rest of the campaign. Instead of talking about it here, I plan to write a weekly column about the presidential campaign for The Realist, the online journal of Realistic Records. It hasn't launched yet -- that's probably a few weeks away. If you've checked out some of the links over on the left, many of the people writing for the realist will be familiar to you. Hopefully it'll give all of us a chance to get focused and write some longer-form articles. Hopefully it'll be interesting.

Thursday, June 26, 2003

do the funky penguin pts. I & II

i'm starting to get over the jet lag. i had part two of my root canal this morning. it was great, or, it wasn't terrible and painful.

i'm spinning next thursday night in echo park. I want to put together an "america" set, since thursday night is the night before july 4th. some things in the crate so far:

'star spangled banner' - jimi, probably the rainbow bridge one, not woodstock
'the americans' - a canadian talks about how great americans are, "even though they've been kicked around a bit lately," over an orchestral march, off a 45 on westbound, early 70s?
"we the people" - the soul searchers
"funky president" - james brown
"american justice/fight" - scream

this is a bar without a dance floor, just cats playing pool and hanging out, so these dont have to be disco killers. the hipster vibe is heavy, though. it's hard to tell if it's 83 or 2k3 in this place sometimes, so i can't/won't play 'born in the usa,' because it'd be way too easy. but still: help! suggestions...I'm doing 12-close, and it's a holiday that friday.

Wednesday, June 25, 2003

nyc

wow. what a weekend. i'm still recovering. thanks to everyone who came out to the recoys show on friday. thanks to noah for putting me up most of the weekend. thanks to liz, alissa, pico, haylz, and jinners for having friendships with me where links count. it was great to see all of you. it's pretty silly that i don't live in new york.

there's a couple things going on behind the scenes that i can't talk about right now, but they will be good.

oh, yeah, my friend nuria is the literary editor of a tattoo/piercing fetish site, evilBADevil, and it just launched a few days ago. check it out. it makes my hoohah go woohah!

Tuesday, June 24, 2003

The Scrum

the scrum steals my point about governors vs. legislators becoming president. or makes the point that i was hinting at.
whoa

thanks to everyone who came out to the recoys record release party. it was the most people the band ever played for. here are some pictures from the show and a few from later that weekend. click the image below to go to the photo gallery:


some things to look for:
1) the recoys disappearing in some of the photos like marty mcfly in back to the future.
2) a profesional rodeo rider in a hugh mcintosh t-shirt.
3) max and I popping a bottle of Moet to celebrate the release of the record. attmittedly the bottle is 'independent record label' sized. we're still going to make the 'coys recoup it. suckers.
4) notorious rockers and rock-bloggers all up in the crowd shots.
5) the love. look for the love.

Wednesday, June 18, 2003

from a gray day in the land of KDAY to BK, what you say?

as i was driving to work this morning, i passed a fourty year old woman having what appeared to be a really pleasant conversation with the 101 freeway. she was gesticulating, and every once in a while would lean in as if to tell the freeway a secret. the freeway smiled back in a patronizing way, and shared with her the secrets of ten thousand motorists, alone in their cars, as if to let her know that its lips were in no way sealed.

in three hours i get on a plane headed back east. tomorrow, i'll visit my grandmother for what will likely be the last time. on friday, we're having the record release party for the first release by my record label, realistic records. this is the first project i've been involved with in a while that has come to fruition, completely blossomed into what it was supposed to be, and i'm proud and excited. i'll be spinning records at the party if everything goes according to plan. i'll play 'get out my life, woman' by iron butterfly early on in the night. i just picked it up for $1, and it's funkier than my socks. on saturday and sunday i'll relax and catch up with the friends i never see any more. on monday i fly back towards the left coast with the rising sun pushing the plane back home.

anyone want to buy a monie love 12"??? what about a recoys record???

Tuesday, June 17, 2003

b

it's early evening here, and the sun is creeping along the long reception table toward my elbow, shoulder, ear.

ahh, the clouds came in and i was distracted by this place, and now it is time to go home. the sun never hit me.

Monday, June 16, 2003

holy poop!

the recoys records got here. they look great. the first mailorders were shipped 20 minutes ago.

i went to a party at a car wash on saturday night. kool keith was there just kicking it. i mention that because that's been on my list of things i want to do in this life, being at a party where kool keith was there just kicking it. i'm successfully crossing things off 'the list' much more quickly than i thought i would. i'm guessing, however, that my personal jet pack and condo on the moon are still a ways off.

Friday, June 13, 2003

get 'em while they're hot

we're accepting pre-orders for the Recoys LP at the realistic records site. order now and your record will be shipped out the second we get them. check out the mp3s on the left to check out what you're getting. if you want to order more than one at a time, e-mail me and we'll figure it out.
ok, fine, I'll do my own research.

since no one stepped up to do my research, i'll do it myself. just a sec.

ok, i'm back. so in modern/post-modern days there has been one president elected directly out of a position in the federal legislature: ex Senator John F. Kennedy. before that you've got to go back to Warren Harding, who was also a senator. other than that there have been a grip of governors, a war hero, and a few veeps.

now THAT'S realistic!
potus question

because i know you guys dig research: Which Presidents of the US were not Governors (or VPs) before being elected President? or, When was the last time a President was elected out of the house or the senate?

I ask this because everyone in recent memory has been a governor, other than bush 41, who was VP, ford, who wasn't elected, and before nixon i can't do this off the top of my head.

Thursday, June 12, 2003

all is quiet on the western front.

The Recoys LP Rekoys is essentially out. copies are in the mail and we'll start to do mailorder here once they arrive. maybe i'll set it up this weekend. The official record release party is a week from tomorrow in brooklyn and you're all invited. please come by. i'll see you there.

lip synch contest pictures are/will be available on a photolog i'm starting.

my lunch is here. i'm out.



Monday, June 09, 2003

am i missing something?

one of my big gripes with the english language is that sadbeautiful isn't a word, and there is no analog for it in our tongue.

Sunday, June 08, 2003

program note

the date for the recoys/chimps show/record release party has been changed. the show is on June 20th, which is great, because now I'll be able to go.

Friday, June 06, 2003

quickies

1.) XM Radio: This is one of the coolest things in the world. a classic rap station and C-SPAN Radio are my top 2 right now.

2.) Root Canal: Surprisingly not that painful. On the down side, that particular tooth will never feel hot or cold again, but on the plus side, i got a vicodin persription.

3.) Lip Synch Contest: This will be a spectacle. I'm DJing the thing and will be one of the judges. If you are in Los Angeles, you are encouraged to attend. It's public, free, and there will be dancing and a beerkeg.

4.) Political Endorsement: Affordable Justice would like to take this opportunity to throw it's considerable political weight behind Howard Dean in his bid for the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States.

5.) Travels: I'll be in DC 6/19-20/03 and in NYC 6/21-23/03. let's party.

Wednesday, June 04, 2003

The Recoys/The Chimps
if you don't know, i urge you to ask somebody
-------------------------------------------------
fri june 20
kingsland tavern
corner of Kingsland and Nassau in Greenpoint



In the late 1990's the two most important acts in NYC created mass hysteria in Brooklyn and beyond with mind-blowing double billings at Greenpoint's Kingsland Tavern. Friday the 13th both bands will reunite for one unforgettable evening. Bring drugs, baseball bats, and gun powder. No fucking around.


THE RECOYS/THE CHIMPS
9 PM
-----------------------------------------------

Monday, June 02, 2003

politics and moths

i had a hell of a time getting to sleep last night. maybe this is because i slept till quarter of two on sunday, but i blame it on the moths. i usually sleep with the window in my bedroom open, as it gets pretty warm at night in these parts, and i've never had a problem with insects. those of you who live or have lived in southern california will understand: there just aren't that many bugs around. i also like to read in bed for a few minutes before shutting off the light on my bedstand.

i'm lying in bed. it's about 1am. *whathupthupthup*. i turn around. nothing. look harder. oh, a moth in my lampshade. i try to scare him, or shoo him back to the window. it's not happening. i give him a second.....oh well: *thwaaaapt* dead. sorry, little dude. it's amazing how most insects turn to goo when swatted but moths turn to dust.

back to my book. a few minutes pass. *whathupthupthup*. two? coincidence. oh well: *thwaaaapt* dead.

*whathupthupthup*.

this is too much. this is not mere coincidence, nor the draw of a solitary light in a dark night. no, these ravenous fucks have it in for me. i was up against a conspiritorial band of dirty grey clothes-locusts, who had heard the word on the street about my sweaters and the two suitcoats i rarely wear hanging in the closet. i shut the window, thinking it better to take the heat of the night than to suffer a full-scale invasion of those hungry little bastards. I had killed four, and more were banging their sad alien antennaed heads against the window, rap rap rapping, in my head forevermore.

and i tried to sleep, but the scene played out on the inside of my eyelids: i'd wake up all too bright and too early on this monday morning. stumbling back from the shower, I'd open my closet, and from each hanger only three or four errant threads would remain, pointing down towards the floor, where a dozen or more moths, now a foot long or longer, would roll drunkenly around in a pile of their own shit, which used to be my shit, and included the shit that i was planning to wear to work today.

it is tough, my friends, to drift into dreams when that sort of nightmare haunts you.

the time was not entirely wasted. between the bouts of fear and cursing, i drew up preliminary plans to start a shitty little magazine, the realist, "the journal of realistic records," mainly as an excuse. I'm not sure for what, but i promise you it will be a good excuse for something.

eventually i fell into a fitfull unconscious state, and woke up this morning, tired but feeling free. in the light of day i was no longer pursued by hungry behemoth parasites who would eat me out of everything i had.

or so i thought, until i read this.

yes folks, the days are getting darker. this is a naked power grab, in plain view. we, the people, own the airwaves, yet our custodian, the FCC, pays little heed to the fact that (according to NPR) 99.9% of the public comments submitted with respect to the proposed rule changes opposed what Powell did today. rich republicans giving money and power to rich republicans.

on my way to work i decided that there was only one thing i could do in response: go to New Hampshire.

yes, folks, this is an awesomely important election we're coming up on. it will be bloodthirsty and evil come next november, certainly uglier than any in recent memory, if that's possible. but january 27th, during the first primary, in manchester, NH, it should still be wild and bloodthirsty and fun. and i'm going to be there. i'll be covering it for someone. maybe for "the realist." there's a great excuse already. maybe one of you readers works for someone that could use a wet-eared hack on the ground for the primary. maybe just for this web page.

but i will be there, in the brutal cold, to make sure we make it 'till spring.

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

Saturday, May 24, 2003

mornin'

i get my excercise by dancing.
i get my love by looking in her eyes and saying come, be part of me, let me become part of you.
i get my rest by putting on a pair of thick socks and, though fully dressed, refusing to leave my bed, book in hand, listening to the warbles from trees out my window and smelling the soft grey wind carried on the undulating waves of freeway noise.

Thursday, May 22, 2003

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.
a short note

women: no matter what anyone tells you, no matter what magazines you read, no matter anything, please remember this: "hammer pants" are the ugliest thing ever to grace a female's bottom half. they are not 'hip' or 'trendy' and by wearing them out to a bar or club you are basically signing a contract saying that you won't get laid that night or, if you do bring someone home, he'll be a bigger tool than anything you could find in home depot.

Wednesday, May 21, 2003

music notes

another show last night, the watchers/natural history at the echo. The watchers provided more proof that the early 90's retro vibe is coming back. Maybe it's just that i can't really decipher the chicago indie-math vibe or whatever they've got going on up there, but the whole time i was watching the watchers, i kept thinking about the Ignobles, a band from my high school that was kicking around in the early nineties (and that incidentally was made up of musicians who would later form Today Okay, the Child Ballads, etc). they're not a perfect analog, by any means, but their 'avant-funk' thing really took me back.

Natty Histo (the natural history) played a good show, but the sound was f'd up (vocals consistantly too low) and the place was kinda barren (about 45 folks in a big room for either band) so it was hard to feel that rock and roll energy eminating. they're playing on monday (the 26th) at silverlake lounge, and i bet that place will do them a bit better.

Calla is playing Spaceland on Sunday night, and they were great last time they were there, hypnotizing, so go check it out if you get a chance. $8. and no work on monday. and ask me about the party that night if you're interested and you find me.

very soon we will have a date for the Recoys LP release and a party/reunion show in NYC. Both are about a month away. you'll hear it here first.

here are some stories about the preemptive arrest and detention of protestors at a biodiversity/genetic engineering conference in St. Louis. read 'em all to get a more ballanced picture. they're short, for the most part. remeniscent of the pre-emptive tactics that have been used in DC and elsewhere to make sure things run smoothly.

Tuesday, May 20, 2003

danger

threat codition orange, people. look alive.

i made it through the weekend without any intoxicants. well, i did lick some tequila off a girl's arm, but that was for her sake, not the tequila's, so I'm not counting that. I didn't make it through without incident, however.

tow truck drivers are bastards. i guess they're just doing their job, and i guess someone has to do it. but to charge me $186 to get my car down after I chased him 3 blocks on foot seems a bit cruel. that's $62 a block. fuck that.

saturday began with a dodgers game, which was great, and which was thankfully much shorter than the 3+ hours that a basball game will normally run. then the wives/sharp ease/so damn insane at casa del pueblo, a newish punk co-op spot in echo park. i missed the wives, the sharp ease were great, and I'm glad i stuck around for So Damn Insane. They're best described as 'Fox News Punk,' rabidly and ironically flag waving lyrics and noisy chaoitic music (itreminded me of circus lupus for a moment). and they all switched instruments throughout the show: 3 different singers over the course of the thing, etc. fun and recommended to all. i'm pissed i missed the wives.

these last two days have been a throwback to 1994. sunday night featured a lungfish show at spaceland. i had never seen lungfish before, which is nearly shocking considering they were a dischord band playing at all the spots i'd go to, when i was going to them, while i was living in DC. they were pleasant. glad i caught them. the real story is The Enablers, their opening band. They were a spoken word outfit a la Jim Carrol. Really, I felt like i was going to go home and watch 120 minutes late night on MTV, read Naked Lunch, and then dial-up to the internet at 2400 BPS. 1994 all the way.

Speaking of which: I went through the $1 record bins at Rhino yesterday, and they had a special going wherein you buy $20 worth of merchandise and take home a box of 30 random CDs. I only bout $18 of stuff but I have a way with people who work the register and walked out with one of these mystery boxes. it's all forgotten CRAP from 1992-1994. There were a lot of throwaways from SST records, but my favorite so far is Lyrics by Smiley by Smiley. Smiley is a female MC coming out of Detroit around '94. This record is wall to wall sub par g-funk beats played on a cruddy casio or something, and Smiley mentions her beeper every 6 or 8 bars. the breakout single, it's clear, was track 3, "slangin' hootchie" or something like that. ladies and gentlemen, let me say this: if you're fed up with the 80's nostalgia that's going around right now, please realize that the inevitable 90's throwbacks will in all likelyhood be worse. Imagine showing up to a club and everyone's in flannel and they're playing perl jam or someting. just seriously think about that for a minute. thank you.

Friday, May 16, 2003

the used book store

There's something about a girl alone in a used book store that makes me go absolutely wild. The smell of old paperbacks is already intoxicating, it's like the romance and danger on the pages is leaking out into the aisles. Then i turn to my right or down the next aisle and there's a beautiful, smart, hip looking girl looking through the s-z part of the 'classics/better fiction' section. she follows me to the regular fiction section. i wasn't sure if i should ask her what she was looking for ir just slam her up against the bookshelves and take her right there. i mean shit from that first look i could see the two of us driving in a convertable 80 miles an hour on a desert road listening to the modern lovers and eating oranges. i think calvino has a whole book about falling in love with someone mainly because she's a reader.
at this point it would be appropriate to send a shot out to the lovely ladies of random house in nyc.

so this is day 5 of detox/straightedge for me. i've actually felt more f'd up than usual as many, many years of toxins are finally breaking free of my huddles masses and making their way to a brave new world somewhere else. i mean, as i write this i'm eating a sandwich with vegan fake cheese and alfalfa sprouts on it and i'm eating baby carrots with it. last night i spent 4 hours at a bar and drank water the whole time. strange and troubling times, kids. shock and awe.

going to my first dodgers game tomorrow night. booya. also, lakers lost. booya. i hate the lakers.

Thursday, May 15, 2003

talk amongst yourselves

and as a bonus somewhere in the link above there's another recoys mp3, this time it's "the blizzard of '93," later reworked by the walkmen as "the blizzard of '96."

the actual blizzard of '96 was my favorite of the two because it litterally froze DC solid, there was 1-2 inches of solid ice over the entire city (over every surface, streets, sidewalks, trees, etc.) and it was impossible to go anywhere so everyone stayed at home and read and went sledding and the like for almost 2 weeks. it happened right when our first semester final exams of senior year were scheduled and they delayed them and delayed them and in the end they just cancelled them so instead of feeling like we had to stay home and study during this extended break from school in the end everyone could slip and slide around their neighborhood and drink beers, etc.

Monday, May 12, 2003

eBayin' it

I'm starting to sell off some of my records. not my guaranteed party rockers, just a couple hard to find underground rap records whose potential value in dollars far exceeds the number of times I've actually listened to them. hopefully i can get around $200 for one of the first eminem records.

I'm also considering the great derek detox experiment. as in, let's see how long i can go without taking a drink. i'm thinking maybe i could go a month. i can easily go till friday - i usually don't drink during the week - but then my boozehound buddies come into the picture and things get all pear shaped and, but that's where the challenge comes in. and so, an invitation: join me in going straightedge (except for the no fucking part) for as long as you can, just for the hell of it, whoever goes longest without the sauce, etc., gets a prize and respect. who's with me?

Friday, May 09, 2003

smells from my youth have been hitting me this week.
the ghosts of hollywood are back, rustling leaves.
i feel summer creeping in and creeping out again.
i can't wait to dance with you tonight.
i can't wait to roam the streets, laser-eyed looking for that smile.
i'm in love with the feeling that shines through, in your eyes.

Tuesday, May 06, 2003

added to my list

last night i added another task to my list. before i die, i want to write a 5 act shakespearian comedy about the birth of hip-hop, set around the time of a midsummer night's dream but with a plot that mirrors the bronx and nyc in the late 70's. sideplots on public art and dance and ending with the 16th (?) century version of Kool Herc's first block parties. the catch? all the dialog is taken from rap lyrics.

Thaddeus: Can I tell them that I never really had a gun? That it's the bass that the Terminator X spun?
{exit Thaddeus}
{a crowd begins to assemble in the public square. The king appears on the balcony.}
King: It's been a long time, I should not have left you....
{the king gives a speach. I don't have time to write it now. suffice to say it;s made up of rap lyrics. his speach is over. the crowd does not disperse. he turns to his legion.}
King: Move the crowd! Move the crowd!
{the legion disperses the crowd. exeunt.}


oh, and this sentence is from a piece about the strokes. read the whole thing. link from jinners:
And the simple word 'please,' from the golden throat of James Brown is pure miserable sexual longing from the dawn of creation to the end of time in the entire universe, from apple blossoms calling out to bees to whales fucking in the oceans to grizzly bears, sharks, rhinoceroses, mountain goats, zebras, frogs, flies, all of us desperately needing it, and James Brown tying it all up in that one little word as if God only clove us into two unfathomable sexes and made it impossible for us to understand each other just so He could hear James Brown stretch that one little word into a spider's web, hang it between two distant stars and try to cinch them together with just that one word: 'please'.

Saturday, May 03, 2003

"quick- while its still beating."..

are you fucking reading this?

and by the way, the Tuesday, April 29, 2003 post here is also amazing.
a poem written about this website by a computer:

affordable justice i the best trip of 3 of this country
from nowhere on my eyes
shot open, my taste, too ,
hard: 2 13 PM LinktoComments
Comment w pride will reduce threats posed
against Federal agencies police departments that magical moment
lying on when the door
opens and it but hopefully
be a copy
of of my venti iced
americano extra strong today, tonight
traffic generated by Derek
Teslik at work, on my commute
during morning and look the
tamale guy
who runs clear demonstrated willingness
to work. and you can you to
work. today.getting up i know if
lucky, you
get?you walking aimlessly they float
past streetlights, and i post
it dude.readpapers, caraccident,
isntthiswhatinsuranceisfor?, backtobed]*garbagetrucksrumbleandknock*fuck*drove to change the
day.

this reminds me of those cut-up excercises that burroughs and byron gysin were getting into back in the day.

here's one for bangin brooklyn.

brooklyn website and then you can blow
a bitch.
but i did but not
wrong for the right look at graduation,
we could technically
go visit my work and i was.
cum stain on the puns.
but
laugh. about
what he was really funny that i
left side of
my tights.

and new top:

the relationship will sleep with the
one way answer: try to me
that I ve been
stopping a long so okay, stunned at work
still loving the A
few titles to someone to the hat and
ideas for a
few centuries ago?him: uhhh, no,
problem but an orange lighter with
him which is better, milk
or else Also, sorry
about st. louis, missouri? please consider

Friday, May 02, 2003

it might be that the cute barrista at starbucks made my venti iced americano extra strong today, but i'm thinking this will be a good weekend.

there are, as always, terrible and forboding mistakes being made by the bush administration as we speak that will likely plunge our nation deeper into debt, fear, unemployment, increased terrorism, etc., that must be addressed before we can comfortably get back to serious levels of boozing, sexing, and general dangerous fun. to wit:
US hires Christian Extremists to produce Arabic news.
Who sold north korea those nuke reactors?
and the W. administration is keeping the findings of the congressional report on 9/11 classified so we don't find out they dropped the ball before the attacks happened. why? so bush can run for re-election on the homeland security issue and not be criticized for allowing the deaths of 3000+ americans on his watch.
and there's a move to expand domestic wiretap and subpoena powers to the CIA and the Defense Department.
and then there's the damn tax cut plan.
etc.
etc.etc.
etc.

it's going to rain tonight, traffic will be bad and it might be a good night to get some kids together at my place or somewhere else, drink wine and listen to jazz like grownups for a few hours before breaking into the cases of tecate, turning the rap and rock up loud and refusing to grow up.

Thursday, May 01, 2003

slate breaks it down for the ebonically impaired:

"It's the latest example of a linguistic phenomenon known as amelioration, which happens when a word or phrase uses its negative association over time. Other examples include flip-flops like "bad," which can mean good, and "dope," which means great."

not really worth reading the whole thing, but that second sentence is quietly endearing.

instead of reading that, though, watch this. hot bush on bush action. scintilating.

Tuesday, April 29, 2003

[edited]
so, coachella then. some moments:

moment:lying on my back listening to tortise's neo-floyd space rock, a bit of rest after a hard-fought saturday and a bit of prep for the rest of sunday evening, clear air and blue sky and palm trees rimming the periphery of my field of vision.

dicuss: i had never heard tortise before and they were great. i got up near the end of their set to meet my friends before heading over to see sonic youth and damn near half of the polo ground was littered with people knocked near unconscious by the groovy* (*not hippy, actually a bit forboding) music.

moment:kweli rips a freestyle about pres. george w., us foreign policy, etc. it was well reasoned and well worded and well rhymed.

dicuss: talib kweli is dope. what struck me about this was not what he said or how he said it but that almost none of the other performers i saw mentioned world affairs. the beasties mentioned the war a bit awkwardly, but that was it. i feel like we're at an erie place somewhere between fear and disbelief and intimidation. it's not that people aren't blasting bush and co. some are. it's more the sense that everyone's still partying like it's 1999. things have fundamentally changed in so many ways and to have so little public mention of that, let alone debate and discussion, feels strange to me. This is not necessarily the responsibility of musicians, but it's tough to accept that artists are not feeling the effects of geopolitics, and the absense of artists adressing this with their words or music scares me a bit. they're feeling it. we're all feeling it. some of this silence is likely a result of clear channel's demonstrated willingness to blacklist those artists that to loudly voice their discontent with the administration (see the dixie chicks, of course, and the pro-war rallies across the country during the war that were largely organized and promoted by clear channel radio stations. an obivously unrelated aside: the guy who runs clear channel is a friend and buisness associate of dubya from back in the day.) I won't go off on the FCC's proposed media ownership consolidation plans. this isn't really the time, and i have something else more pressing i need your help with:

playboy is searching for the "sexiest babe of indie rock." in the absense of some of my personal nominees being included, I am throwing my support behind Michelle Mae (of Make-Up/Weird War/Scene Creamers/Frumpies/etc. fame). I mean, she's wearing a fucking wizards jersey in her profile picture. how sexy is that!?!?! Anyway go vote for her now. The city and state of Washington need your help. in return, i will help you, uhh, vote for things on the internet.

Monday, April 28, 2003

back from coachella, exhausted, at work. details to come, but to start a TV-guide stye Cheers & Jeers:

Cheers: stooges, talib kweli, tortise, el-p/murs/mr. lif/rjd2/et al., sonic youth, fischerspooner, von bondies, hot hots, white stripes.

Jeers: not too many. the lines to get in the first day, jack johnson and all of his fans (go back to margaritaland), the hives, getting up for work today.

Friday, April 25, 2003

Boohbah

one more reason to love the internet.click everywhere, because this is deep. flash required.

Thursday, April 24, 2003

(s)wish me luck at court tomorrow morning
the World as a Blog

i hate to get meta and bloggy on you but this is pretty fucking cool: real time blog posts from around the world projected onto a map.

I'm going to be busy today getting all sorts of shit done before i co to court tomorrow morning and to coachella this weekend, but hopefully i'll be back later today/tonight to go off on why it is not such a bad thing that a lot of rock musicians are taking themselves seriously these days.

Wednesday, April 23, 2003

did i ruin 4100 bar? because ever after i wrote about the night when kiefer s-land was bartending it's been packed with westsiders, and they mentioned the kiefer thing in the Blender article about silverlake being the #3 most rock and roll town in the country. i wasn't the only person who saw it, but i was likely the first to mention it in 'print.' and then the rush. there's always an f'n line. i don't really care cause i hated the place to begin with. but from here on out i will not mention certain spots by their proper names.

check out the 'saving los angeles' article in fader this month. it's like the blender silverlake articke except not bullshit. and like half the people in the pictures are my drinking buddies. it's kinda weird. there are a couple other of my peeps sprinkled through the rest of the issue too. it's actually really weird. pete bauer got hosed in the startime picture though, he's entirely covered by someone's middle finger in a group shot.
congratulations hayley.

word to nina simone.

love to the bar i am not allowed to name.

word to the women who never look the same.

word to cem. this will be the best trip of my life, and i'm not even going on it.

Tuesday, April 22, 2003

Personal space in cruising cocoons

this is the best breakdown of what it's like to live in LA that i've read in a while. (registration required):

"Los Angeles is all about being in a city but not of it. Or at least not a city as defined by everything leading up to the 21st century. The gossiping front stoops of Baltimore; the laundry strung between buildings like birthday banners on Chicago's South Side; the living, breathing, briefcase-toting sidewalks of Manhattan -- in the American imagination this is City, but it is not the city of our choosing."

Monday, April 21, 2003

another monday morning, with everything broken, after another weekend rocked a bit too hard: 2 shows, 1 party thick with hipsters, and an easter afternoon filled with plastic eggs with tequila in them.

here's what i learned this weekend:

It is not necessarily in your best interests to befriend the bartender everywhere you go. (a gin and tonic should have some tonic in it if you want to retain your composure).

a corollary: the sleeves on a t-shirt were not designed to be worn on one's head.

have a few drinks before it's time to decide who drives. it's a subtle way of putting your finger on your nose before anyone else.

the faint are kinda boring, but les savy fav are more rockiner than most. according to jinners they are apparently also quite skilled at erotic photo hunt. after seing them that doesn't surprise me.

this will ruin my life. with entertainment.

if you know who the tamale guy is, you should read the article in blender this month about silver lake being the third most rock and roll town in the country. you don't need to actually buy the issue, though. blender honks.

it's nice to take a week off anything.
how meta can you get?

instead of file sharing, it's friend sharing, and you can leave 'testimonials' about how cool or slutty or annoying your friends are like they were e-bay sellers. anyway:

friendster

to find me on it search for derek@realisticrecords.net.
the fuck?

edit: fixed. weird.

Saturday, April 19, 2003

and misadventures of

featured link of the week is above. my friend cem, pronounced jem, like the 'outrageous' bandleader, just passed through LA to begin his world tour. starts in cairo, may pass through baghdad. and he can write.

Friday, April 18, 2003

my life can change -- things can happen, significant things -- and i don't have to tell you anything. i forgot that for a second.

i'll be back on monday.

hi pap pap.

Monday, April 14, 2003

spring break

I'm a bit burned out. I'm taking a week off of affordable justice to work on other projects and do some spring cleaning in many senses. over the course of the week I might post some of my favorite photos i've taken over the last few years. I'll be back, maybe sooner than i think, but for now my brain and my typing fingers, if not my body, are off to cancun, coney island, and calcutta for a bit. see you guys in a week or so.

Friday, April 11, 2003

seasons, a long drive, and goodbyes, part II: a long drive

....A long drive then, down sunset boulevard, which streches the length of the city from the pacific to downtown, passes both UCLA and my house, and will give me time to think.

I turn onto sunset, and the sunset is behind me, the road is curving and....

---
and then my lunch got here, and i've got work to do, and i have to finish this later. sorry folks. i'm trying though, i really am. where the hell is salam pax?

Wednesday, April 09, 2003

i went a' walkin'

bored at home, i went for a walk last night, around the neighborhood:down benton, down sunset to silverlake, then up to effie. probably saw 2 people on the sidewalk, other than those hanging out infront of rock and roll clubs. i didn't plan to rock, though, it just happened: about halfway through my 'evening constitutional' i realized i needed some rock and roll. this will happen. i popped into the silverlake lounge first: $5, acoustic, ugh, peace out dudes. on to spaceland. $8, black keys headlining. i'd heard the name before, in some distant but positive context. why not? lets rock. opening band was boring, australian retro/southern rock -- they had apparently just opened for the stones in aussie-land. it felt like the lords of altamont without the acid, and the acid is what makes the lords great. selah. during this set everyone was pretty short, shorter than me, which is rare. i'm not too tall.
then black keys. the crowd gets taller. i stay the same size.

an aside: if you are 6'3", and have a white-fro 2 feet in diameter, in the majority of rock-club situations you don't need to be in the front few rows of folks. i don't care how much you love the band, you're 6'3". and look at your hair. thInk about it dude.

so although i was at most 10 feet from the stage i couldn't see that much, which thankfully was alright. black keys still did it up, playing some of the most honest and rocking blues i've heard from 2 white guys, jon spencer without the new york city, blues with a different kind of explosion, dirty and dusty. his voice was a bit breathy for my taste, too 'fake-authentic,' but when the vocal and guitar lines moved together, or when the jangle of guitar notes on the downstroke resolved breifly to a brief two-note melody on the up, i didn't mind so much.

oh and beck was there, which i guess makes sense, because apparently they'll be touring together.

more of this later, i will finish it, but it might take a week. i have it all in my head though. it's not going anywhere.

Tuesday, April 08, 2003

seasons, a long drive, and goodbyes, part I: seasons

i woke up late for work yesterday. i just forgot to turn my alarm on. it happens, but it has been happening to me too much. my eyes shot open, my clock showed 2 minutes after i was supposed to be at work, and my commute during morning rush was an hour. fuck. drove to work, unshowered, no breakfast, angry and dirty and embarrassed. ready to give up...something. pissed that i was so stressed about a relatively mediocre job in the entertainment industry.

uneventful day at work, and i left a bit earlier than usual. i'm taking a journalism class at ucla. my plan, in the medium term, is to go to journalism school somewhere on the east coast. I miss seasons: that magical moment just as the first snow is accumulating on city streets and everything goes silent, snowflakes shine as they float past streetlights, and you can actually hear each flake falling on top of another like white noise in heaven as a cab crawls carefully over the slick streets; the first spring day when you can go out in a t-shirt, and you are free, finally, you skin feels like it's glowing and everything is green and everyone is smiling; the five-o-clock-alypse, a thunderstorm that rolls in from nowhere on sticky summer afternoons and drops huge raindrops like kamazazi bumblebees as viscious lighning cracks, lights up the sky, now thick and dark but blue and beautiful ten minutes ago, terrible rumbling thunder, and, if you're lucky, you have a copy of 'flight of the valkyries' in your car or your walkman, and you turn it on, and you are on top of the world; the crisp smell of winter, and fires, the crunch of leaves covering the ground, whips of smoke from fireplaces, and football.

as a means to the end (the end, in this case, is seasons, whereas los angeles is, in part, the end of seasons), i am taking this journalism class.

but when i show up i realize (read: the security guard told me after looking at the enrollment papers I hadn't looked at well enough) that my class didn't start till next week. re-cue anger and embrassment. two similar fuck-ups in one day. if i lived anywhere else I'd have taken a long walk to clear my head, but this is los angeles, and if they see you walking aimlessly they think you're a terrorist. A long drive then, down sunset boulevard, which streches the length of the city from the pacific to downtown, passes both UCLA and my house, and will give me time to think.

next: a long drive
the walkmen are on the road right now to memphis to record their second album. vaya con dios, gentlemen. jinners has a rundown of their triumphant 3 night stand at the bowery ballroom in nyc.

Sunday, April 06, 2003


pigface would like to welcome you to the photo gallery from last night's sharp ease show at the decor squat.

Saturday, April 05, 2003

Friday, April 04, 2003

it is windy again today, and i'm sitting at the reception desk at the office. every few minutes, the door opens and shuts as a gust comes through. i hope this is happening all over the city today, a thousand ghosts of the industry rushing to and from appointments.

Thursday, April 03, 2003

the french kicks are in town. their new drummer, hugh, was, as you can probably tell from the photo, in the recoys. they played a budget show last night at the UCLA food court, and play again tonight at the el rey. i might take photos.

it is cooler than usual here, and windy. the city is full of lightweights and lunatics.

the war should be over soon. the peace will take forever. babylon does not fall lightly.

Tuesday, April 01, 2003

is it time for progressives to storm the democratic party?
pride will be my undoing.
Silicon Valley - Dan Gillmor's eJournal - America's Other War: On Liberty

o, canada....da da da da da duuuuuum.

hey hot hot heat: i was wrong. you guys were right. how much is it for a flat in victoria?

how many neoconservatives does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

one highly mobile, gps-assisted crack team of 3 special engineers to change the bulb, 300,000 servicemen and women there to watch the rest of the lightbulbs in the house change themselves, and when the other bulbs don't change themselves, when the house burns down because the new bulb the first 3 put in started an electrical fire, it takes another 300,000 servicemen and women to clear out the wreckage of the house, and plant nice apple and cherry trees while buddies of the first 3 sell the oil that was under the house to the neighbors. it was an ugly house in the first place.
HST - Love in a time of war

hunter s. thompson for espn:

"Indeed, we are truly the sqanderers of what was once the American Dream, and our own dreams, for that matter. In two disastrous years, this Waterhead son of Texas has taken this country from a prosperous nation at peace to a dead-broke nation at War, and that is a very long fall."
when i was growing up the president's chelicopter would fly over my family's house on the way from camp david to the white house.

it's the beginning of april and everything's broken.

there will definitely be a recoys reunion show and record release party in nyc when the record comes out. max and i plan to fly out for it and expense the plane tickets once the record company is big and rich and everything.

and some good news: Reuters is quoting 'senior defense department and administration officials' as being 'confident that saddam hussein was killed' in the first strikes of the war almost two weeks ago. hopefully resistance will melt away. thank god.
my review of the baptist generals cd, no silver/no gold.

Thursday, March 27, 2003

served

*knockknockknockknock*
.../uuoah....whu....[glanceclock]5:35[thinkcrazyneighbor, backtosleep]
*knockknockknockknock*
zzzzlssleeepzzughfucughsleeeeeeeezzzzzz
*knockknockknockknock*
*roomaterumbledoor*sleeeeohhfuuuuushe'swakingmeuhhhhhhhhp*roomateknockbedroomdoor*
*knockknockknockknock*
sleepywhisper:-derekwillyougethtedoor.....
*knockknockknockknock*
[thinkisitashcroftforlastaffordablejusticepost]
bathrobe
front door
sherrif
-are you derek teslik
-yuhhhh
-you're sued!
-fuck.
-later
-later on dude
[readpapers, caraccident, isntthiswhatinsuranceisfor?, backtobed]
*garbagetrucksrumbleandknock*
fuck
*garbagetrucksrumbleandknock*
fuck
[thinkcountersuittortreformgottosleepagain]
*garbagetrucksrumbleandknock*
fuck
halfhourbacktosleep
*alarmreggae*
snooze
*ALARMREGGAE*
exhausted and sued
fuck

Wednesday, March 26, 2003

arab news sources on the web

are CNN and Fox News not giving you the big picture? do you want a bit of context and a deeper look into middle eastern politics than that paragraph on page A26 of the old gray lady, below the fold, next to the 2/3 of a page Macy's bra ad? here are a couple arab news web sites that might be worth your time.

al jazeera
al-jazeera, the 'arab cnn,' put up an english version of its web site a few days ago and has been off the net ever since. either it just couldn't handle the traffic generated by the start of the war and the new english-speaking audience or some jokers in the hacking community took them out with DOS (denial of service) attacks. even money on which it was. either way this link probably won't work until a few days after i post it when the sort out their web problems..

as i'm writing this i have cnn on. the british army centcom representative just insulted the al-jazeera reporter at a live news conference. real slick there, guvnah. your being a jackass doesn't make winning the peace any easier.

dar al hayat
published in the uk, and it looks like they also have a local beruit edition.

al jazeerah
this is not the tv station. I'm not sure what it is, and some of the news completely imaginary ("A US delegation arrived in Amman in its way to Baghdad for ceasefire negotiations" for example), but some of the op/eds seemed worthwhile.

arab news
saudi arabia's first english daily. after reading some current stuff, check out the section on 9/11 (link on the left).
Channels of Influence
StarTime Intl. | Walkmen Interview

jinners does one of the most entertaining walkies interviews i have ever read.

Tuesday, March 25, 2003

Dar Al Hayat - al jazeera yanked from stock exchange

i guess the press is free in this country as long as it is "our" press. in the long run i think al jazeera will be one of the most important elemnts in the development of a peaceful, free, democratic, and global middle-east.

Monday, March 24, 2003

also, a bit of a game: what indie rock songs are people listening to in iraq?

I'll get you started, feel free to chip in:
Saddam: The Walkmen, "Everyone who pretended to like me is gone" or "They're Winning"
Kofi Anan: The Walkmen, "We've Been Had"
Iraq's Republican Guard: French Kicks, "Close to Modern" or "1985"