Who luvs jodi da mostest?????

AAAAGH. totally peeing myself, here.

YYY are playing my burfday. @ the Riv here in Chi.

May 26 (tues nite)

who the hell is with me??????????? don't make me spend my bday solo bitches.

bad things happen to bad peeple

you tell em, manda rin. i'm not sure if it's the sudden surge of spring warmth, or if i'm in another one of my infamous quarter lifed crises, but i've been listening to a helluva lotta girly pop shit lately.

manda rin, know her? lead crooner of pop bliss trio bis, best known for their 97 power pop anthem, "tell it to the kids," 99's "detour (are you gonna go my waaaay)", or sadly, most remember the powerpuff girls theme song? yeah. that's bis. but manda rin, see she dropped a solo effort late last year called "My DNA". Ever check it? neither had i. . . until i read a blurb on p4k a few months back and thought. . . hmm, i really should probably own that.

and now i do. and at first, joe d thought, this is obnoxious. way too much bubblegum, and not in an endearing yelle sort of fashion (who i'm also LURVING much right now, despite the fact that not only can i not spell any of her songs (she's a frenchie), but i can't even pronounce any of her damn trax), but manda is just so gosh darned ridiculous i can't HELP but finding myself wrapped up in her videogame princess showdown. i feel like i should be cruising with the top down in my barbie ferrari. like, if i had a real life sized one with a bumpin stereo. my barbie ferrari would have only girly pop programmed in it, so i probably would only drive it in random bursts.

what would my girly pop soundtrack consist of? well, this week it would be crammed with lady sov (kind of having a love/hate relationship with what i've illegally downloaded of "jigsaw," it's no "public warning," that's for sure, but the title track and her two singles, along with the redic lame/catchy track "let's be mates" is so fucking in-yo-head it's insane. so yeah. s-o-V! manda rin, obvs. yelle, as mentioned previously. those come to head instantly. without skimming the ishuffle, it's hard to say. . . i've been listening to some non-girly pop as well lately, like discovery, the side project of vampire weekend and ra ra riot. fucking "orange shirt?" B-A-N-A-N-A-S. thnx, c, for the tip at the fader, dawg.

in addition to that jam, i've been loving what these guys have been up to lately. that royksopp/weezy mash up? shit, that is offffffffff tha hook. 2pac & kakhi king is prettty dope as well. grizzly bear and dead prez? abx, you just showing off now.

but yeah. girly pop. hmmm. i guess i could cruise in my barbiemobile to some old skool aaliyah (not like she's got any post-mortem new shit on the burner, but you get it). some kylie minogue. (holy blast from the past freshman dancing daze). god. i wish my life was just a big dance party. non-stop. so sick of all the noise and static that just fucks it all up, the good time. work drama--corporate dronage. routine meals for one. money. ahhhh. to think of where i am now compared to this time last year. who the hell'd have thought.

oh well. i'm just living this shit as much as i can. and having one helluva dance party while i'm at it. who cares if the only witnesses to my fly ass moves are two fuzzballs named molly and hester and my own reflection? at least i know i got it going on. . .

got the thermals and franz ferdinand to look forward to this week. maybe i'll meet some new cats there, feline or otherwise. . . for now, gotta get back to this manda rin shit. my vaio is blowing it up on this hiptacular monday nite.

Peter, Bjorn and John - Metro, Chicago

It all began with that damned whistling. Like everyone else, it was the upbeat twee sounds of 2007’s pop hit “Young Folks” that brought my attention to the Swedish trio Peter, Bjorn and John. While “Young Folks” took shopping malls and car/iPod commercials by storm, PBJ were eventually tagged by the general public as a “one-hit wonder.” Well those people obviously never listened to 2007’s debut release “Writer’s Block” in its entirety. Still, even with such strong tracks
as “Objects of My Affection” and “Let’s Call it Off,” my iPod and attention span eventually strayed elsewhere anyway.

Fast Forward to 2009—PBJ recently released their follow-up “Living Thing" which has all but abandoned their former sugary sweet pop vibes and have since transcended into a more dark, (if possible for a Swedish pop band), grittier and experimental direction. The whistling of “Young Folks” has advanced to “Nothing to Worry About”’s children chanting chorus as well as the profanity packed, yet still ironically
dancey, “Lay it Down.”

The sound has changed, and loyal fans have noticed—whereas the former fans of commercial appeal have not—giving “Living Thing” thus far lukewarm to moderate reviews. I’ll be the first to admit, my eager anticipation for the latest release was killing me. When I finally gave the record the full start to finish—I unintentionally grouped myself with the “Young Folks” crowd. Sure, the two singles were poppin’, but what the hell was the rest of this record? Ignorantly
coughing it up to boring filler, I shelved the release and only finally began to appreciate it as a grower after piecing together the tracks one by one thanks to iTunes shuffle.

I had meant to check this trio back at SXSW this past March, but thanks to an influx of margaritas and Budweiser tallboys, this option was pretty much tossed out the window. So as soon as I caught word they were swinging by the Metro, I was out of excuses. It was time to check these dudes out. And you know what? I’m really glad I did.

Following the ambient dream pop sounds of Chairlift, PBJ took the stage for an eager crowd at 10:15. The sold out audience crowded up to the stage, looking even more desperately hip than an American Apparel catalog. Illuminating shades of blue and warm red orbs floated amidst the fog machines, making it extremely difficult to get a decent photo,but at the same time setting the stage and feel for a pretty sweet
set.

PBJ focused mostly on their new material, opening the night up with “Just the Past.” Additional new tracks included the clap happy dance number, “It Don’t Move Me,” the cuss-plugged single, “Lay it Down,” title track “Living Thing,” and of course, the ridiculously catchy “Nothing to Worry About,” (sans gang of self-assured kids, sadly). Older beats included my personal faves “Amsterdam” and the especially
crowd clappy closer, “Objects of My Affection.”

All of this and two other older songs (slipping my mind—“Start to Melt” and “The Chills,” perhaps?) done and out in a 45-minute window. While the hipsters swayed, half-ass cheering, a few overexcited teen girls in the front kept the majority of crowd participation up. (Cheer louder honey! They might just invite you back on their tour bus!)

Knowing full well that the night wasn’t over—(What—no “Young Folks”?!), the trio didn’t disappoint with their encore set. I stuck around through what I assumed its entirety and was not let down. Lead crooner Peter Moren introduced his fave song from the new record, the dreamy “Stay this Way,” which led into the inevitable “Young Folks,”(crowd went bananas, of course), and transitioned into the melodic oldie “Up Against the Wall.”

I gotta give it to them, while PBJ may have slacked it upon crowd banter and conversation—they didn’t mess around, and rocked a solid, non-stop hour hybrid of past and present crowd favorites alike. These dudes proved that not even writer’s block can kill a living thing.

my unkie brad rulez

while in argyle this wknd, the older broski and i decided to keep on keepin on our trend of breaking and entering. (but really, nobody in argyle locks their doors so technically, we just do the entering part). last time it was my grandparents' abandoned gas station. this time? our uncle brad. apparently, his trailer's roof collapsed over the winter and he finally moved into an actual apartment, THANK GOD. he is a forever bachelor hermit, avid hunter/fisherman, social introvert. racist and hick through and through. but one of my fave activities of all time is playing taboo with him. he gets pissed and cusses like a pirate. uncle brad RULES!!!! these are the photos from his trailer. he is my favorite uncle/aunt. NAKED WORLD!!!!

easter bun bun came to town. . .

i was responsible for hiding tha eggz for the mini-roots easter egg hunt this morning. while strategically placing the eggs (i.e. tossing them and not paying attention and then later getting berated from the niece for losing her eggz), i found this lil baby. OMG i nearly puked. way too fucking cute. hoppey easter ya'll.

oh no hester what?

tell me what to read!!!!!

ok, so i finally coughed up the 80 cents that was barring my library membership due to a late return. . . got to the library, didn't know where to begin. i've been a little blue lately and i think i'm about to temporarily turn into a reading/crochet fiend/introvert for a while. . . so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE drop the last great book you read in my comments. . . or something you'd think i'd enjoy :)

thnx.

p.s. can NOT wait until mpls!

Review: Ladytron - Metro, Chicago

With the WAVVES set on Friday, I decided to check Ladytron’s second night in Chicago on Saturday at the Metro. I thought I’d be safe arriving to the venue at 7:00 pm, but apparently I was mistaken—all ages show start on the minute as scheduled—so thanks to my niece’s delayed Hannah Montana movie screening, I was jipped out of Telepathe’s opening set which I had been stoked for. (Did anyone else make this? It couldn’t have lasted longer than 30 minutes, right?) I walked into Ladytron’s set fifteen minutes into their 75 minute set, so at least I didn’t miss out on this as well. . .

The venue was packed full of smiley, dancey teenagers, some probably at their first concert. The energy was enthusiastic and took me back to my own high school days at shows—before I had to start shelling out $6 for a party cup of Miller Lite. Expensive drinks and my tardiness aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the remainder of Ladytron’s set. I had caught these guys last time they were in town this past summer at the Vic, shortly after the release of Velocifero, so I had an idea of what was in store.

The sign on the venue’s door indicating “Intense Strobe Light Presentation” was on the mark; cool blue hues and warm red shadows illuminated the stage; as intermediate bright white flashes of strobe action dominated the stage. Pretty much like what you’d envision what Ladytron’s music should look like—a flashy, electronic dance haven.

The set list was a balanced mix of new and old material—with highlights including Light and Magic’s “Seventeen,” “Tomorrow,” “International Dateline” and Velocifero’s “I’m Not Scared,” “Seasons of Illusion,” and “Ghosts.” The show closed with “Destroy Everything You Touch,” which got the kids to their feet as they swayed under the whirring bubble machine. How precious.

The sound quality rocked and so did Ladytron—the kids ate that shit up and much dancing was had by all. I’m bummed I missed Telepathe this go around but I’ll just be patient until they hit up the Empty Bottle on their headlining tour this summer. Did anyone catch the Friday night set of this show? What were your highlights? Thoughts on headliners The Faint?

Review: WAVVES - Empty Bottle, Chicago

Chicago’s Empty Bottle was PACKED to the nines on Friday night. The reason why? Guitar thrasher garage core wunderkind WAVVES. Opening acts My Gold Mask and Vampire Mask were a pretty impressive line-in to this blog buzz core duo—and the hipsters were ready to rock. I had an idea that the set would be pretty condensed since the average WAVVES track ends up around the two minute mark—but last night’s set was crunched into a 40-minute block. I can assure you, however, that those were 40 minutes of kick ass rockin out. Dude killed it, wailing on his guitar, yelp-screaming his distorted vocals, backed up by the thrashing beats of the drums. It’s so obvious that such a simple formula would work— but not just anyone can make so much noise sound so hella addicting as this duo. Throwback grunge pop at its best—WAVVES busted out several head bopping tracks, including “I’m so Bored,” “Wavves,” and various others from his recent February release. The album serves no justice whatsoever in comparison to the riveting live show. Dancing and drinks were had, and WAVVES brought one of the most righteous sets I’ve caught at the Bottle since Jay Reatard rocked it on New Years Eve. Def check WAAVES the next time they hit up your hood, you won’t regret it.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/wavves

thermin' round.

go to the real blog: MoB to check my 5 Questions feature with THE THERMALS!

one of my personal highlights from sxsw, (it's true, scroll down for more proof), this kill rockstars trio will be headlining the bottom lounge on april 29th here in the windy city. shit will be rocktacular. i'm on the list. review will follow. totally stoked. hutch seems like a nice enuf fellow, he responded to my list inquiry directly and then answered the 5 Qs feature within 24 hours. sooo rad. and good. and Now We Can See is a poptasm of a record. so fucking good. support em and pick it up next tues when that shit hits the storezzzz.

so good. yay. so yeah, that's it. go read some muzzle of bees. that site is kewler than dis one.

bishop allen vs. pbr tallboys (and a creepy statue thingy)

Bishop Allen makes simple, yet adorable pop music. Their male/female harmonic story tale lyrical style, set sing-songily atop a bed of mixed percussion, light guitars and twinkled xylophone action is just too cute for words. And so are they. Bishop Allen brought their spring like charm to a full house last night at Chicago’s Subterranean. The hour long set was packed full of songs from their 3-week old release, Grrr . . . as well as some older favorites from 07’s Bishop Allen & the Broken String including the ridiculously catchy “Rain” and “Click Click Click Click.” I regret not checking these guys at SXSW, their delectable sugary sweet pop beats would have been the perfect soundtrack with the summer like heat—but they brought their own form of sunshine into the snug club walls last night regardless. I didn’t even realize that Grrr. . . had hit record store shelves until I caught word of this particular show. I checked it immediately and was instantly pleased—highlights from the record and last night’s show included “The Ancient Commonsense of Things,” “Dimmer,” “Shanghaied,” "True or False" and “Dirt on Your New Shoes.” The crowd ate it up big time—smiles were definitely a plenty. Def check this act out next time it hits your local club, you won’t regret it.

Ok, so that was the MoB version, sans the fun pics of the cool statue thingy me and ma' girlz kicked it wit all night. Meet Larry. He's super hott.