ouch. (the owls are not what they seem edition).

sometimes, when we are young, we do foolish things. like, oh i don't know, decide to get tribal tramp stamp tattoos. and then a year later, 'fix em up' by adding emo stars to each side. and then hell, why not add an ugly tribal sun tattoo to your shoulder which slightly unintentionally resembles the 'godsmack' logo and then later on 'fix that one up' by adding your zodiac gemini sign and an ugly misplaced star?

or wait. maybe that was just me.

well, the tramp stamp is here to stay, tacky emo stars and all. (at least until i 'fix it up' with maybe some sweet fairy or butterfly wings, that is). but the godsmack (seriously was NOT my intention until a certain 'clever' gentleman brought the resemblance to my insecure attention) sun is now, thankfully, long gone. half twin peaks inspired (the owls are not what they seem, ya'll), half 'i just need something bad ass to cover this shit up with,' i went under the needle for the, let me see here, 15 or 16th time last week (although this is technically tattoo number 13 since it covered one up, 'fixin's and all'). 4 long hours of ouchies with one very talented and patient tattoo artist, and i now got a badass owlie covering that shit up. see pics above for the before, during, and afters. as soon as this shit heals in the next couple o' weeks i'll be heading back for final touch ups.

bad. ass.

kaaaaaaaaate nashhhhhhhh.

so i got an email asking if i'd do a phoner interview with the lovely brit pop songbird kate nash this week in preparation for her 11/9 gig at the vic. (anybody going? or want to go? good chance i can cop a plus one).  this is kewl, bc she is neat. this is unfortunate b/c A) i have a cold and sound like a nasaly geek and B) phoners with brits (as i learned with al doyle of hot chip) are extremely difficult to decipher, specially with my shitty speaker phone and lack of proper interview equipment.

that being said, all i really wanna ask her about is how awesome it must be to be married to one of the jarman brothers and if she gets to hang out with johnny marr all the time since he's dropped outta the modest mouse roster and joined forces witht he cribs. does her husband's lip still bleed all the time? does that affect makeout sessions? as you can see, im at a loss for proper interview content. i dont really give a crap about her new record, sure it's dancey and quirky and sassy and fun. i know this already. what do i not know? has she overcome her jitters from her 08 performance at the vic? (painful to watch, sadly).

erg. i wish my chirp 'how to interview bands' workshop was this week instead of after this interview. OH WELL. maybe i can record it and bring it in as an example of what not to say. suggestions for questions in comments, 'preciated.

the vaselines slather up tha' sexin' at lincoln hall

I may not have known shit about The Vaselines other than what Nirvana taught me up until a few weeks ago—but I got one helluva semi-private lesson at Chicago’s Lincoln Hall this past Thursday night. The Scottish duo Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee came off as a blink-and-miss-it blip in the mid-to-late 80’s alternative rock scene, forming in ’86 and releasing their debut record Dum-Dum in ’89—only to break up shortly after its release. If the garagey lo-fi outfit hadn’t found a fan in a certain Seattle grunge ringleader, it’s hard to say if The Vaselines would have the reputation they have for themselves today. Thanks to Mr. Cobain, (who even named his daughter after Ms. McKee), several of us are more familiar with the work of The Vaselines than we may even realize after covering tracks such as “Molly’s Lips,” “Son of a Gun,” and “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam” on Insecticide and MTV Unplugged, respectively.


Twenty some odd years later, for whatever reason, Kelly and McKee decided to give their simple, two-bit guitar cult status another go with a reunion tour in ’09 and a sophomore LP release, Sex With an X on Sub-Pop Records this year. Their performance last year at the Metro had stirred up a lot of hype, and after hearing several friends and critics’ raves, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check them out personally at the always incredible Lincoln Hall.

Unfortunately, opening act Dum Dum Girls had to cancel the most recent lag of their tour for undisclosed reasons; while McKee still made light of the situation, claiming it was Kelly and the trio of male back-up musicians’ overtly sexual come-ons that frightened them away. I can’t remember another show that came remotely close to cracking me up as consistently as McKee and Kelly’s humorous, sexual charged stage banter. Poor Kelly served as the butt of McKee’s constant cracking; from his lack of groupies, (“Just put a paper bag on Eugene’s head, ladies—any takers?”); his fashion sense, (“What is up with your t-shirt?” McKee jabbed, “It’s my comfort shirt, c’mon,” Kelly pleaded); to his desperate, (yet somehow endearing), come-ons to female members of the crowd (“Who smells so good? Is it you, pink scarf girl?” to which McKee retorted, “How can you smell that far? Are your senses heightened because you lost all your hair? Or is it your bad teething?”). McKee also made stabs at herself, coming across like an adorable, yet sadly, sex-starved rock heroine; joking about ‘relieving’ the male band members and nightly gangbangs—only to turn around and assure the crowd they were more of the ‘tea and scrabble sort.’ The comedic routine nearly exceeded the performance itself—but not quite.

The sound in Lincoln Hall was crisp and clear, as always. Red and gold hues illuminated the stage with blue strobes flickering the background. The crowd, whilst sparse and maybe 40-50% at capacity, made up for the lack of bodies with their enthusiasm. Those in attendance weren’t your typical arms crossed hipster dudes, but hardcore, vinyl collecting, fist pumping, older white men without rhythm--who you knew that if they didn’t now, had worked in a record store at some point in their life. Dancing, swaying, and lots of applause echoed the crowd’s enthusiasm for the stellar showmanship that took hold of Lincoln Hall. If you haven’t had a chance to catch The Vaselines live yet, or visit their classic release Dum-Dum, do yourself some much needed research and check ‘em out now. Better later than never.

Set List:
1. Oliver Twisted
2. Monster Pussy
3. I Hate the 80’s
4. The Day I was a Horse
5. Sex With an X
6. Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam
7. The Devil Inside Me
8. Molly’s Lips
9. Slushy
10. Poison Pen
11. Bitch
12. Such a Fool
13. No Hope
14. Rory Rides Me Raw
15. Ruined
16. Son of a Gun
17. Let’s Get Ugly
18. Mouth to Mouth
19. Dying for It
20. (Enc 1) Sex Sux
21. (Enc 2) You Think You’re A Man
22. (Enc 3) Dum-Dum

the vaselines rule.

i caught the cult 80's alterna-blink-and-miss-em legends the vaselines at lincoln hall the other night.ima write a review too. i'll post 'er up yonder when i get around to it. let's just say it was a pretty stellar show, but you can see for yourself with some vids i captured here.

KEYBOARD CAT RULEZ.

happy halloween ya'll. i was thisclose to being a crazy creepy cat lady for halloween this year but figured that wouldn't really require any sort of costume since i already am one. . . so instead i'm winging it and going as my favorite internet meme. la keyboard kat. i've included a few of my favorite clips below and above for your viewing pleasure. photographic evidence of my attempt at recreating said ball of adorable fur may or may not soon follow in the coming dayz. trick or treaaaaaaaat!

men i want to date : Stefon Alexander

i had to flip through my archived men i want to date posts to double check i hadn't already rambled about the sexy mastermind maestro better known as p.o.s previously. i'm still having a hard time believing i haven't. . . but whatever. i'm doing it now. mr. stefon alexander is a leading force in both the doomtree collective and rhymesayers family, since i can't really post about wanting to date eyedea out of simple taste, p.o.s is not a bad secondary subject of lust. plus, i've seen him live (both performing and not) several times - so maybe not a likely choice, but one i can at least realistically creep on ala mel on flight of the conchords style.

reasons why stefon alexander is a man i want to date:

1) he has tattoos AND glasses- tattoos are sexy, but glasses are even sexier
2) an incredible hip hop artist, his rhymes are both upbeat yet grounded, simultaneously getting listeners fired up and to give a shit - ain't alotta positive rap out these days
3) he's in GAYNGS so if our date wouldn't go well, he could probs pass me justin vernon's digits
4) i've always wanted to kick it with fellow doomtree goddess dessa, so hopefully if we get married she and i could hang out
5) whenever i'd get pissed off at any of my pals for blowing me off, i'd just have stef rap 'goodbye' to them and i'd win
6) he's minneapolis born and bred - a relocation i would not mind in the least, maybe we even have some of the same friends!
7) his style is so versatile i've seen him perform with fellow rappers, some punk shit and even cursive once - which was kind of awkward, but not as painfully awkward as when i starstruck deer in headlights approached him at the bottom lounge to tell him i was a fan
8) i'd get free tix for rhymesayers events for lyfe.
9) i'd get to kick it with slug on a regular basis
10) he keeps it real with his fans - when he busted out 'purexed' at sxsw in 08, he saw me freak out in line for the portapotties and pointed me out with a big ole grin. made me shudder SWV style all weak in tha knees.

muzik trivia.

CHIRP will be a hosting a sort of gameshow music trivia event at the empty bottle early next month, and in exchange for volunteer hours they asked us to contribute some of our musical know-how. i think my questions are pretty easy and blatant, but what the hell. while riding the rickety #9 up to the metro the other eve, i scribbled down the following q's for submission.

i just realized i've reached official dorkdom after rewording and researching these mere 6 questions the past two hours. slurping on microwaved spiked apple cider, taco sauce ring around my mouth, and pita crumbs and slimy hummus residue caking my authentic 2001 bleed american jimmy eat world hoodie. who needs friends & social interaction when you have rainstorms, a sneezing cat and snacks. not me.

anyway, if you so feel inclined, feel free to leave yer answers/guesses in the comments section and i'll school you on random 90's alternative know-how. at least then i won't feel like i'm a complete waste of music nerdom space.


1) Which member of the superstar troupe Gorillaz contributed to the 2002 world music project entitled Mali Music in which proceeds benefited UNICEF?

A) Del the Funky Homosapien (Deltron 3000)
B) Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto)
C) Damon Albarn (Blur)
D) Mick Jones (The Clash)

2) The 1929 silent surrealist film Un chien andalou by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí inspired which 80’s alterna-rock hit?

A) Bastards of Young – The Replacements
B) Debaser – The Pixies
C) Cities in Dust – Siouxsie and the Banshees
D) There is a Light that Never Goes Out – The Smiths

3) Which 90’s alternative songbird’s given birth name is Myra Ellen?

A) Fiona Apple
B) Ani DiFranco
C) Tori Amos
D) Natalie Merchant

4) Adrian Nicholas Matthews Thaws is an English musician and actor. What do we better know him as here in the States?

A) Plan B
B) Tricky
C) Buck 65
D) Neon Indian

5) David Lynch’s ’92 Twin Peaks prequel film Fire Walk With Me featured which prominent rock musician(s) in its supporting cast?

A) Tom Waits        E) Both A & D
B) David Bowie     F) Both B & C
C) Chris Isaak       G) None of the Above
D) Robert Smith

6) Which alternative rock maestro is linked and credited for working on such 90’s hits as “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana), “Bull in the Heather” (Sonic Youth), “Only Happy When it Rains” (Garbage), and “Disarm” (Smashing Pumpkins)?

A) Billy Corgan
B) Dave Grohl
C) Butch Vig
D) Thurston Moore

raping my writer's block.

words have been difficult to come by lately. the motivation and drive to pummel out material has been dried up and nonexistent. ramblings and reviews have been trickier to knock out than convincing my roommate to do the dishes. in other words, it sucks. in efforts to make a change, i've been stepping up and agreeing to additional obligations beside my norm monthly load. i joined CHIRP. CHIRP is cool. it gets me free tickets to shows and excuses to write as i knock out reviews for albums in rotation. for those of you who don't know what CHIRP is, it's the chicago independent radio project, a volunteer grassroots effort for a noncommercial radio station. currently we're streaming online at http://www.chirpradio.org/ and are fighting legislative powers to pass a motion for low power fm stations to have power in major cities. its a struggle, but hopefully one we can win.

CHIRP has been a great way to meet and connect with new people, and in addition to having even more access to new music, i get the opportunity to attend interviewing workshops to strengthen my current skills and have dj training this saturday with a possibility of being on-air once again after a 5 year hiatus. radio roots. its' a good thing. finally, 5 years after college graduation i'm doing something halfway relevant with my journalism and radio/tv/film degrees. too bad i can't get paid for it. . .

regardless. in addition to chirp, my gigs with venus, chicago innerview, i recently started contributing to another local blog, secret note. so far, i've only contributed one assignment but the editors seemed happy enough with my excerpt and have expressed interest in additional pieces. to try and keep myself on track, i sought out confirmation for some upcoming chi shows. here's what i've got on the books thus far. i still need concert attending buddies, so if yer planning on attending any said shows or would like to, gimme a shout. i could use some music pals.

10/22 - deerhunter/real estate - metro
10/28 - the vaselines - lincoln hall
10/29 - the books - vic theater
11/17 - dresden dolls -vic theater
11/21 - no age - lincoln hall
11/23 - wolf parade - house of blues

i'm also thisclose to shelling out the monies (a mere $15) for junip (jose gonzalez) & sharon van etten at lincoln hall on 11/6 - anyone interested in being my date? i'll hold your hand and lean on your shoulder.

r.i.p. eyedea

and i was just thinking of listing this hip hop maestro as a man i'd like to date. . . too little, too late as the 28 year old rhymesayers mpls staple was taken from us this past week. cause of death is yet to be released, but i'd assume drugs/suicide as those are the most sensitive possibilities and would explain his family's wish for privacy. i hope this isn't the case, but following the career of mikey larsen, i wouldn't be too surprised given some of his darker subject matters. i'll never forget the first time i heard the opening hooks of 'now' - instantly hooked with his double time rhyming abilities and his knack for keeping up with the likes of atmosphere, murs and other established emcees. so fucking talented. r.i.p. man.

jose gonzalez - better than valium

but the combination of the two : perfection.

today was a tough day. got a case of the overall blues. anxiety overload. feel like something's about to change. this should be a good thing - perhaps the neverending job hunt will finally come to a peak. but instead, there just sat this burden on my shoulders. this unspeakable pain in the back of my mind, like a monkey on my back. after the inevitable meltdown that's been on hold for months on end, i realized it was probably in my wisest interests to stop listening to the magnolia soundtrack on repeat and put the kleenex box away. put the cellphone down and quit anticipating a text which wouldn't come. quit stalking on facebook. fuck, i don't even know what's eating at me - maybe it's just my new birth control mixing up my horomones like a kamikaze cocktail. whatever it is, i hadn't felt in this rough of shape since high school in the lonely angsty fields of argyle, wisconsin.

once i popped the last resort necessity anxiety meds and washed my face, i swapped the ipod to the new junip cd. i had to write a preview for innerview this morning as mr. jose gonzalez and his back up duo will be hitting up lincoln hall in november. i had downloaded their free internet ep last month, and i've been revisiting gonzalez's breakout debut record veneer more often than not lately, but i hadn't checked out the debut junip full length release, fields until a few hours ago when i was chugging iced red eyes at the local cafe in my job hunt.

even if yer not an anxious nutjob like me, you'd have to be deaf or emotionless to not enjoy this record. with the combination of gonzalez's slow, sleepy vocal melodies and classical guitarwork, his band channels african and spanish elements into his easy, folk-lite rhythms. it's extremely chill, and easy to see how gonzalez has earned such international acclaim since his breakout success of the 2005 cover of the knife's 'heartbeats.' swedish by argentinian descent, gonzalez is all over the map with his different musical influences, yet meets the listeners halfway with his relaxed and gorgeous orchestration. typically, i get tired very quickly of guitarists with light vocals - but something about gonzalez's delivery is mysteriously enchanting and romantic. (i swear this isn't just the valium speaking - this album is damned gripping to put it lightly).

it's albums like this that i wait for. the sleepy surprises that you would never anticipate to creep on your top ten lists. the unexpected movers and seductive listening pleasures - no album since veneer has had the same effect on me. so bravo, gonzalez and crew. you and only you have succeeded in helping me breathe normally and loosen the deathly tight grip i've had around my ragged teddybear's neck the past two hours. now i think i can finally sleep easy, and maybe even relax.

i heart jose. and junip. but especially fields. this is a pretty and mesmerizing album. please go listen to it now. you can stream it on myspace (yes, myspace) in completion here: http://www.myspace.com/junip/music/albums/fields-16498472?ap=1