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.
Thursday, June 12, 2003
Monday, June 09, 2003
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.
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.
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
-----------------------------------------------
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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