My voice of activism passed away today.
Nina Simone, more than any other black American, has brought me closer to understanding, even if only on a small level, what true anguish was during the 50's and 60's in the US. The first time LA and I heard her singing "Missisippi Goddamn," we both were taken deep into a new spiritual call for action. Her penetrating voice not only sang, but truly screamed emotion to us. Make no mistakes, she sang only what she felt.... and what she felt was a big "fcuk you" to everything that attempted to bring her down.
For this Nina, you are my hero.

Ever got to a solid rock show and hear nor see a thing on stage?
The first time I saw The White Stripes back in April of 2003, I spent more time trying to figure out who the opening act was, rather than paying attention to the music before me (The Datsuns). Problem is with +6'6" tall boys drunk and singing around me short 5'6" self, it became apparent that I would not only not to see Meg, but I would also not be able to hear a damn thing. As big as the space was, sound reflects horribly inside The Roxy (save me from these fcuking photos) and leads to nothing more than an hollow echo when you're crammed between giants.

Hopefully this Sunday will be a different story. We have 4th row balcony seats for their Orpheum gig. The Orpehum is a much more natural sounding venue and more comfortable. Not only will I actually be able to hear what is being played (nice acoustics in the upper level of this old theatre), I will also be able to see the divorcee's from a good vantage point. Hopefully Easter Sunday dinner does not tire the mood. Add a double shot of express. and I should be good to go...

Also, for those in Boston Sat, April 26th, WBCN will rebroadcast this gig in its entirety.

And official word on Field Day Festival is out: http://www.fielddayfest.com.
Line up changes have been made since the initial rumor.... see you all on Sat June 7th.

Festival season is almost upon us whch means boring East Coast big gigs featuring some America's most mass marketed / consumed bands.... with the expection of one very "hyper rumor' of a 2 day East Coast festival...

Field Day Festival looks to be East Coast America's answer to Cali's Coachella or TN's Bonaroo. Let it be known that no official word has been made public on this event, but, some heavily interested players with the help if a quick and dirty wget of the aforementioned website did discover this very telling gif (now removed from the official site but archived for ages to come by yours truly). If this is any indication of coming events, I for one, will be packing my camping gear very soon.

Even Canadian bands have it bad in the USA:
Godspeed You! Black Emperor Questioned as Suspected Terrorists

The following email arrived from the Radiohead's Waste Dept. today. Nothing would be more ultimate than having your work on their big screens:

We've got a plan.
We need your help.

We're looking for moving pictures.
Can you make moving pictures?

Time is short.
This is what you have to do.

1. Take one of the live MP3's of a Radiohead track.
2. Make some moving pictures to it (can be anything: live action, animation, graphics
etc).
3. Make it at least 10 seconds and at most a song's length (although we prefer shorter).

OR... Have you already made a short film that would benefit from an airing?

Send your work to Radiohead at:

The Picture Gallery
w.a.s.te
PO box 322
Oxford
by Monday 8th May 2003

Formats Required:
For short films / whole songs : VHS (PAL) (You will be contacted if we require higher
quality masters)
For shorter animations, graphics: Quicktime (720 x 576 pixels) CODEC: Motion JPEG B (High
Quality)

Please enclose with it your name and e-mail address/telephone number.

Added newest addition to The List. Mostly all good.

Skinner and The Streets crew threw a jump up show on Thursday night. Anyone who can pull off a 2step version of 'Ghost Town' that works is deserving. Great show... short as expected.. but exactly what I expected.

Tell me whats wrong with this plugin rendering in Safari?

Tonight, The Streets live in Boston. Let's see what Skinner is made of.

So what make a good live show? The venue? The crowd? The Band?
How about a modern day 6 foot tall reincarnation of Janis Joplin?
Feel out Macy Gray. A soul-full of a woman who's know music and knows how to toss a crowd into a frenzy. Given that her last album, 'The ID' got caught between Alicia Keys and Jill Scott releases (Jill's albums being worthy of a full listen), it a pleasure to see her promoting her 3rd release, 'The Trouble With Myself,' by running a romping US microclub tour.
The Paradise was energy. Macy and her band (pure excellence) tore through re-worked hits and new album tracks. The full 2 hour show not only drained the crowd of energy by the last jam, but also left a solid impression on this music snob.
For those reading in from Philly, Brooklyn, or the Southwest, GO to a Macy gig. well worth the small admission price. True smokin grooves.

Most people that know me are aware of my sneaker fascination. I own more pairs than most humans have shirts... but would 'you' or I get get down for a pair of Puma's? Based on these purported ads from the EU, Puma thinks so ( 1 and 2). (borderline work safe).
How 'electro'...

Bunch of great upcoming shows:
03/19 Macy Gray (to see her high is to see Janice J)
03/20 The Streets (first Boston appearance)
03/21 The Datsuns
04/20 The White Stripes

Finally, the music returns...

I hate to admit this, but I think the Grado's sound better in the iPod headphone amp than in the fucking Marantz.....

This past Wednesday marked not only my 28th birthday but the start of a very loving relationship with an Apple iPod (thanks LA!).
How I lived without this device for as long as I have is news to me. By far the impressive piece of hardware ever developed. Sure we have all seen them: folks walking by with the big white earbuds.. . but until you actually hold one in hand and use it for a day.. you just will not understand.
The most difficult part of the iPod has nothing to do with the iPod itself but in choosing what to fill its 10GB of storage with. I rarely listen to music outside of my trusty Marantz CD5000 and Grado SR80's. I feared the loss of fidelity by converting to MP3, but I feel safe in the fidelity that LAME encoding gives me @ 192kps (via the iTunes LAME Encoder of course).
So what's in the iPod right now? A Carl Cox session, all the U2 and Coldplay records... encoding now: "Live @ the Social Volume 1 (the only Chemical Bros. mix CD worth owning)... much more to come.

...

For those in the USA (or access to HBO): The new Ali G show begins this evening at 00:30 EST. Respect.

Oh yes its been a while... the cold is cold in New England. So cold in fact, that it kept my fingers away from this forum. With the return of some warmth (> 35 F), comes a return to normalcy. Listed some new CDs in the list. Dig in.
Playing now: Hotel Costes Etage3. Always a favorite.

Listening to Nicola Conte's "Jet Sounds Revisited." Dope.

For those in the USA who have PBS (which everyone with a TV and antennae does on channel 13 VHF), make sure and catch the 3 part FRONTLINE series on "The Future of Sound." Part 3 focuses in on Iceland and its cast of interesting groups/characters. From my understanding, its well worth a viewing.

So no Walkmen/ Calla review (as you may have guessed by now). I unfortunately have not gotten my copy yet. Ironically enough though, they seem to have caught the eye of the advertising world (as Interpol did with the NFL advert heads). You can catch their 'hit' track "We've Been Had" in the newest Saturn Automotive ad. if you can break those holy gates, youre sure to make it big time.

Big ups to BC, a friend in the biz, that has eliminated my musical drought and provided me with a thick selection of new CDs to dive into. Of important note, was an advance copy of the domestic (US) release of Fischerspooner's "Feels Good Looks Good" (aka "#1"). So many of you should be asking, 'Who the hell gives a shit? It came out on International Deejay Gigilos back in early 2002 (see sidebar date 2002-02-xx).' True enough, but this domestic release is no simple repressing. Capital Records has taken this disc and completely remastered it with a bunch of new tracks. Its truly sounds good.... for a change.

Check the sidebar for the beginnings of the 2003 list....

Finally, the new Massive Attack has started making the rounds on all our favorite p2p's. My first listen is on now.... my thoughts in a bit....