How empty a life must be without Craig Finn in it?
I feel sorry for people who haven't heard Lifter Puller. I don't trust people who have heard Lifter Puller and don't think they are the best band on the planet. Sangre de Stephanie, Nassau Coliseum, Let's Get Incredible, they are all so fucking good that it hurts your brain. I got to see their reunion gigs last summer and it made life worth living. I have never been rocked like Lifter Fucking Puller rocked me. I can't even write a decent paragraph about it because they just leave me in constant awe.
Go listen to lifter fucking puller.
www.lifterpuller.com
Monday, August 30, 2004
Friday, August 27, 2004
Corporate Speak
I was thinking about the nineties today.
I remember when grunge was cool, when slacker was an accepted and welcome term, and when us Generation X'ers thought we were going to change the world. I remember flannel, Pepsi clear, and In Living Color. I also recall loving Pavement and Dinosaur, Jr. and Douglas Coupland and Kevin Smith. It seemed like artists were being taken seriously for their art and not for their commerce. Independent record labels were started daily and some did pretty well. People were willing to go find great music and books and cinema. We were willing to choose good over convenient. Something happened.
The record labels started getting bought by the majors. The independent art house theaters started getting bought by chains. The zines gave way to websites and blogs. The indy radio stations got bought by the giant corporations. We now go to Best Buy to get our CDs. For our books we go to Barnes and Noble or Amazon-dot-com. The stores and shops that didn't get bought by the giant corporate beast are scraping to stay alive, relying on fetish record collectors and local diehards to keep their bottom line above water. Ruminator books was just forced to close. Is Treehouse records or the Electric Fetus next?
I know there was a lot of crap in the nineties too. Each generations forgets the bad stuff and remembers the great things. I just fear that an independent voice will eventually be stifled with the 3000 pound corporate gorilla that is eating all the unique businesses across the nation. It is already happening in small towns. Small Town, TN looks the same as Small Town, CO; Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Home Depot, Best Buy. It is Deja Vu in every city across the land.
I remember when grunge was cool, when slacker was an accepted and welcome term, and when us Generation X'ers thought we were going to change the world. I remember flannel, Pepsi clear, and In Living Color. I also recall loving Pavement and Dinosaur, Jr. and Douglas Coupland and Kevin Smith. It seemed like artists were being taken seriously for their art and not for their commerce. Independent record labels were started daily and some did pretty well. People were willing to go find great music and books and cinema. We were willing to choose good over convenient. Something happened.
The record labels started getting bought by the majors. The independent art house theaters started getting bought by chains. The zines gave way to websites and blogs. The indy radio stations got bought by the giant corporations. We now go to Best Buy to get our CDs. For our books we go to Barnes and Noble or Amazon-dot-com. The stores and shops that didn't get bought by the giant corporate beast are scraping to stay alive, relying on fetish record collectors and local diehards to keep their bottom line above water. Ruminator books was just forced to close. Is Treehouse records or the Electric Fetus next?
I know there was a lot of crap in the nineties too. Each generations forgets the bad stuff and remembers the great things. I just fear that an independent voice will eventually be stifled with the 3000 pound corporate gorilla that is eating all the unique businesses across the nation. It is already happening in small towns. Small Town, TN looks the same as Small Town, CO; Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Home Depot, Best Buy. It is Deja Vu in every city across the land.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
synapse to synapse
Emo is a bad word.
Most emo bands would in fact deny that they are emo, but we all know what it is when we hear it.
A few years ago, when I was unemployed, I became obsessed with Death Cab For Cutie. I bought "The Photo Album" right after I was laid off from the airline. This coincided with the beginning of a gray Minnesota winter. I would sit in my tiny downtown apartment and listen to DCFC almost daily. Healthy? Probably not. It was therapeutic and a perfect backdrop for that moment in time.
I went to a DCFC show and I think I was the only one there over twenty-five. Maybe the music wasn't written for me. I am a little too old to be a sniffling emo-kid. I am, however, not ashamed.
Most emo bands would in fact deny that they are emo, but we all know what it is when we hear it.
A few years ago, when I was unemployed, I became obsessed with Death Cab For Cutie. I bought "The Photo Album" right after I was laid off from the airline. This coincided with the beginning of a gray Minnesota winter. I would sit in my tiny downtown apartment and listen to DCFC almost daily. Healthy? Probably not. It was therapeutic and a perfect backdrop for that moment in time.
I went to a DCFC show and I think I was the only one there over twenty-five. Maybe the music wasn't written for me. I am a little too old to be a sniffling emo-kid. I am, however, not ashamed.
Friday, August 20, 2004
randomness
Twins win
Twins win
Twins lose
work sucks
school is starting
puppy rocks
cold summer
Friday afternoon
start recording tonight
Twins win
Twins lose
work sucks
school is starting
puppy rocks
cold summer
Friday afternoon
start recording tonight
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