109 posts tagged “links”
I wish I could go see La Roux on Sunday, but sadly I will be covering the Treasure Island Music Festival this whole weekend (I know, woe is me). We pulled the La Roux interview from the archives for your reading pleasure over at POP OFF.
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[Causerie] La Roux
Since you guys just got off a UK tour with her, is Lily Allen as horrible as she’s made out to be? She’s played our club before.
Do people think she is horrible? (laughs) To say what we think…like, when everyone else does that in their friend group, they’re not seen as bad. But when it’s written down and the facial expression is done, then it gets taken out of context. If one of your friends said it, you wouldn’t even remember if it sounds horrible or botchy. She’s really not like that at all. But you have to know it to understand it. Someone went on my Myspace and left a comment that said “You’re such a bitch!” And that really hurts, because really, really really really I’m not a bitch, but now I can’t change your mind because you think I’m a cunt. [more...]
Did you know "Trapped In The Closet," chapters 1-12, was nominated for a Grammy in 2006?
Shit's weird, I know.
(That so did not stop us that summer when I lived on campus to watch it religiously. VH1 aired chapters 1-6 every night back for a whole week, and we totally parked it on my sofa armed with beer to wash down all those bad puns.)
Once word got out at work today that this used to be my cell phone ring, we started poking around the internet and found out there is gonna be an installment of Chapters 23-32 (yes, you read that right) released this summer. We are so having a screening party for this.
I actually just tried to find his PR agency's information to email them and find out the right date, but then was reminded that he, like, you know, totally messed that up for good. Oops.
Some observations, musings, and notes from this week and more in my musical alliances:
- The Killers were at the NSSN pre-party (of which Cold War Kids dominated), just wandering around to watch the show. Dude Ronnie, what happened to your hair?! Holy receding hairline Batman...
- Saw Brandon Flowers use the bathroom upstairs in the backstage area. I didn't actually see him pee or anything, but watching a rock star go in and out of a bathroom like a regular person is definitely funny. (Plus, everyone I talked to about NSSN all agreed on one thing: homeboy somehow got hot in between '06 and '08 and it showed. Holy tight pants.)
- I got to witness our band send-off when they take stage at Mezzanine; the members line up on the stairs backing the curtains and then shuffle on stage. It was really neat to see both sides of the curtain from where I was standing backstage.
- NSSN: Ben Gibbard, what the fuck?! He lost about a good 70 pounds (picture from RS @ Coachella) and sorta looked like Nikolai from the Strokes from where we were sitting. He's just so...lean now. It was a little odd. As Becca so eloquently put it, "Manerexic!" We both didn't recognize him when he popped up on stage, but Death Cab totally ruled last night. Doing acoustic "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" was a ballsy move at a arena radio show, but it was spot on. And "Cath," of course, was fucking beautiful live. I totally get shattered every time I hear that song (which was playing in this bar Danielle and I went to on Tuesday, bonus points Pilsner Inn).
- Chris Walla also looked like Mister Rogers' son with a orange sweater vest, white collared long sleeved shirt, and tight slack combo last night.
- Hot dude from Music for Animals at the local band competion - come to Mexico with us!!
- I did my end of year lists for The Tripwire on Monday: best albums, singles, videos, headlines, and shows of 2008. We should be running them sometime next week I think. We also had to do a best of 1998 records list, so I obviously employed Wendy to help me out. We sat over sushi in Fremont and lamented how much we used to be into Destiny's Child and Goo Goo Dolls...
- Russell from Bloc Party: why do I still have a stupid crush on you!? Grr...
- Drummer from Franz Ferdinand did our NSSN afterparty at popscene and was super wasted, getting on the mic every so often to whoop to his DJ selections and yell. It was highly amusing.
- Related: Alex Kapranos, still as beautiful as ever! I brushed against him last night while at pop and was struck by his beauty. Seriously, really pretty.
- Speaking of hotness, we got the new glossy flyers for the Scissors For Lefty New Year's Day show, and husband looks gorgeous! I'm bummed Kristin and I won't be here for it, but, you know, we're kinda gonna be in the U.K...
- Tonight I am seeing Alanis Morrissette. Is it weird to be oddly excited about that?
- I realized the other day I have seen wallpaper. nine times this year, the last being for the pop/Mezz Orphan's Ball rigt before Thanksgiving...this is a problem...
Who am I kidding, I still love this video:
All my clips to come next week, now I must somehow pull my brain off the floor and function...fucking three hours of sleep...
Oh, yeah - I got to see this hotness up close on Friday:
Holy hell.
(P.S. Sweets, I can take better pictures than this. C'mon now. How did this photographer manage to make you completely un-hot? I am convinced I can do much better. And for free. Please call me so I can remedy this.)
You know, I have loads of indie rock crushes. Loads. In general, I have crushes on a lotta dudes. And my friends. And assorted puppies. Anyway, maybe I do have a type when it comes to guys, and I think it started with this guy. Blue eyes, great smile, and amazing hair. And while it's true I think #'s 5, 12, and 27 on my crush list are creatures of near perfection, seeing Joey McIntyre in person on Friday pretty much solidified in my heart that he is the epitome of beauty. He is so impeccably gorgeous, it kinda hurts. Absolutely stunning.
I really don't think I'll get over it.
Anyway, yeah...clip below...I'll swoon some more when I can gather my thoughts on the sheer pandemonium that happened Friday. Thank you for coming back, 1989.
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Live - MSTRKRFT @ Mezzanine | SF
[Photos by J Dubbz]
Why do lots of good things have no vowels – New York band MGMT, myths, rhythm, VCRs? Canadian DJ heroes MSTRKRFT qualify for the category, but do they win my heart like that song "Electric Feel"? Here are my five favorite things from last week's show:
5. Everyone else was denied access to the stage – and we mean
everyone. From the enthusiastic dancers that were swooped off to the
blond who tried to hug Jesse Keeler while he was in the middle of – oh,
I don't know, a concert – they all got promptly shown the stairs down
from center stage. I don't think there was enough room for them and
Keeler's moustache anyway. (more....)
My good friend Abby is having a costume party next weekend, and asked all the female guests to dress up in what makes them feel like a goddess. I inititally said I was going to dress up like Janet Jackson because I fell in love with her when I saw her last month, but I can't fucking forget Bjork. She's an international goddess!
Which to choose, which to choose...
I am still basking in the glory that was this show...during "Lights" lead singer Arnel Pineda asked everyone to hold up their phones, and I remember looking out into the stretches of the lawn, and all of the lights looked like fireflies fluttering together in unison. It was so beautiful.
Thank you to my dad, Stuart, Suz, Steph, Pantea, and Kim for making this experience as gorgeous as it was.
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Live - Journey, Heart & Cheap Trick @ Shoreline Amphitheater | Mountain View, CA
Yeah, you read that headline correctly. In the biggest
collective display of geriatrics on stage since the Rolling Stones, I
had the pleasure in witnessing the greatest bands of our soft rock
generation. And I gotta say – belting out "Open Arms" while eating
Pringles with my friends in between is more or less paradise. (more...)
I really shouldn't lament though; it's been a busy summer! What, with the stalking of Radiohead in three cities and rolling through multiple cannisters of film in the past few weeks, I only apologize that I have not been able to comment on why I fucking love Hall & Oates so much. Seriously? I just bought their Best Of and cannot pull myself away. Listen to "I Can't Go For That" as you brush your teeth while standing in your underwear in the morning, and you will understand. It's okay in arriving late to work because of this. It happens to the best of us.
I will take a moment tomorrow to gush about my esteemed lottery winnings in being able to photograph Radiohead at Outside Lands this summer; but for now, here are some pretty pictures from both OSL and the Treasure Island Music Festival, of which I spent about 26 hours with Morgan at and we did not kill each other. He did bodycheck me into a Walgreen's side wall though, so violence did creep up. Kristin, Vroo, Rosie, Danielle, and Miles all made my weekend too - I have the bestest friends.
Also, I was very lucky to have been published overseas/on the international interwebs over at NME.com last week. I used to read that site religiously every morning during my first year in college, and to start writing for them is a huge honor. The Pigeon Detectives were nice English blokes as well who talked a lot about 50 Cent and being a baller. Or something. We should have something live on the popscene website with them soon.
Lastly, my faux boyfriend Rickolas Reed is playing pop tomorrow night, and you can't even imagine how fucking stoked I am. Maybe? Maybe.
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Photos - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, Day 1 | SF
Day 1 – Pure carnage
Highlights: Tears running before the show even started, being corralled like fluffy sheep, and falling in love.
I wanted to love the first day of Outside Lands. I really did. Everyone who knows me is aware that I have an absolute adoration for my city of San Francisco, and I was so utterly proud to be in attendance for the inaugural year of a huge festival. And hi, duh – Radiohead. But if I'm sobbing twice in an hour before I even get into the show? Well, shit's not right… (more)
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Photos - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, Day 2 | SF
Day 2 – In limbo
Highlights: mentally playing "YYZ" on Guitar Hero in my head, dinner with Matt Nathanson, lots of geriatrics on stage during Tom Petty
How can you tell people to take public transportation when you can't increase service? That was still my gripe come Saturday, and though I was a rested Jenz ready to wait for my decked out train to come, it still took me over two hours again to get to where I needed to be. Maybe I'm just an angry little faux redhead, but man…missing seven bands as a result made me none-too-happy. (more)
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Photos - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, Day 3 | SF
Day 3 – Complete redemption
Highlights: gorgeous weather (for San Francisco), lots of romantic guitar, Broken Social Scene still having 1,029 people in their band, and Jeff Tweedy being adorable
Somehow the weather gods smiled upon our little festival in the park on the last day of Outside Lands, and I arrived to Golden Gate Park with sun shining on my fire engine red hair and in a good mood – only 40 minutes door to door to witness people from Canada? Awesome! (more)
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Photos - Treasure Island Music Festival Day 1 | SF
Words and photos by JENZ
Armed with a bottle of bubbles, my camera, and more snacks than a fourth grade field trip, my friends and I tumbled into the Treasure Island Music Festival early on day one to soak in the sight and sounds. But I had life-changing, brain-probing questions: would I see the creepy carrot again? Could I take excellent pictures in the photo pit while donning an eye patch? Was my butt showing in the dress I decided to wear? Questions abounded as we shuffled off our shuttle and through the festival gates. (more)
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Photos - Treasure Island Music Festival Day 2 | SF
Words and photos by JENZ
Day two of the Treasure Island Music Festival was filled with
some stellar string arrangements, wandering around the fields like an
orphan, and finding out my alien starfish boyfriend has a twin. Going
big on the weekends was never as fun as this. (more)
I remember when that kid did a cute number with a fedora on at an awards show about a year or two ago; so imagine my great surprise and ultimate discomfort when I found out that (a) he sings this song "Take You Down" that I really love and (b) the video for it is wildly inappropriate. I can't even post it here. It features:
- stage humping
- air humping
- hand humping
- too much hip humping everything else
- shirtlessness
- a weird rotating stage that has a bannister on it? Child security railing, perhaps?
- two backup dancers that I am pretty sure were strippers at one point
- hoards of screaming girls
This guy is 19 and has sleeves from his ears to wrist. It makes me feel so unaccomplished.
And in regards to that last bullet, I can't even comment on if he's attractive or not based on the fact he has major baby face and I remember learning about him from my 14 and 13 year-old cousins. Two years ago. Jailbait, anyone?
That being said, "Take You Down" is major babymaking music...I'll keep it in mind...
I'd also like to announce that my friend Wendy was the wonderful, wonderful person that coined the last phrase in the below article...she is a genius. I smell some awesome merch coming up...
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Live - Wallpaper & Hot Tub @ The Independent | SF
I swear to God 08/08/08 was the apocalypse: public full-frontal nudity,
debauchery in direct effect, and every guy I've had a crush on in the
past four months all made an appearance. I wouldn't have changed it for
anything in the world. (more...)
I miss you too.
So I've been a crazy busy bee, but it's with good merit. I was hired to be the blog editor over at Mezzanine, a cool venue I've always had good and drunken and sometimes good drunken experiences at (everyone remembers this, right?).
I've been neglecting my own poor blog, so I am sorry that I've been a bad partner. I have much to say about Radiohead in the next few weeks, why I like that stupid Jesse McCartney song, and much more. I promise to show some more TLC.
Here's some Tripwire shenanigans since the last time we tango'ed; I seriously still love that Wallpaper picture...and in the mean time, I can be caught over at the wonderful Mezzanine blog talking about His Thickeness and other inane stuff. Yay!
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Interview - Trapped In The Van With Darker My Love
Words by JENZ
"There is an incredible amount of trust going on right now," I say as I am led into an unmarked white van by two strangers I've never met.
"Wait - are you gonna kill us or are we gonna kill you?" Tim Presley says with a glimmer of wicked in his eyes. Oh, boy...I'm having second thoughts about this interview...(more...)
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Live - The Faint @ The Fillmore | SF
Dear drunk sluts at this week's The Faint show at the Fillmore: really? When my friend Danielle tells you "Dude, you're so drunk you're embarrassing me," pack your shit up and go the fuck home. I'm trying to dance front-row, man...
I was not alone in sharing this sentiment.
The Monday sold-out show was packed skinny-jeans-to-skinny-jeans, and I
wasn't about to let some inebriated ho ruin the party by getting all up
in my grill. (She then flailed around some more after Dee's comment,
slammed herself into a banister I'm sure on accident, and wobbled away
from our trio all the while flipping us off. Awesome.) (more...)
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Exclusive Download - You Say Party! We Say Die! "Moon (Wallpaper Remix)"
Last week we shared the news that You Say Party! We Say Die! is getting their remix on via Remik's Cube. The album comes out digitally on August 26, and features remix versions of the tracks originally found on their sophomore release, Lose All Time. One of the cuts, Wallpaper's version of "Moon," is now online and you can download it below exclusively from us.
This is the first time that the two artists have worked together, and
Ricky Reed (Wallpaper) saw this tune as a gangsta rap throwback remix
(think Ice Cube's "Today Was A Good Day"). (more...)
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Live - Conor Oberst @ Bottom Of The Hill | SF
I once was two people away from buying a ticket to see Bright Eyes, and when I approached the box office, the ticketperson informed me that I was oh-so-close, but no dice.
"You know what then? Fuck you," I thought in my head as I went to have a consolation ice cream across the street.
That was six years ago. And I never got to see Conor Oberst in any form until Friday. It's been a long time in waiting.
(more...)
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Live - Bloc Party, Does It Offend You, Yeah? @ The Fillmore | SF
You ever have one of the bands you're completely stupid about? Like, someone asks you "Hey, have you ever heard of so-and-so?," and you start drooling and nodding like an idiot, unable to comment properly on your love for these groups?
I was in the presence of two of them last night, and I forgot my bib... (more...)
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Live - Hercules And Love Affair @ Mezzanine | SF
You
know what is tragic? Entering a room full of beautiful men than you
can't have. This is the ultimate shitty situation for a straight girl,
and something I have nightmares about... (more...)
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Download - The Morning Benders' Covers Album
We've been following the dudes in The Morning Benders even since our very own Jenz hung out with them at a local playground. The indie popsters will be hitting the road once again in September, joining up with Ra Ra Riot for not-to-miss tour. (more...)
Ah, the power of the 'bearded altbro'...do not underestimate this term, lovies.
I just want to point out right quick the irony from last Friday, from when I wrote, that I talked about seeing this man in concert but didn't think I would be able to since me and the ladies were going up to Echo Lake for the weekend. Well, where the hell do we pull off the freeway en route to Kimber but the Vallejo/Solano border where a Mickey Dee's was, and right as we pulled into the drive-thru I saw the lights of a ferris wheel from the Solano County Fair. Where I'm sure Mr. Sweat was running around in, with a hot dog and cotton candy. How incredibly tragic and mocking life was then.
(The weekend was full of amazingness and awesome, so all was not lost. But I was still bummed.)
I missed both husband's band on Wednesday and friend-of-a-friend's band Lazarus last night for the Mission Creek Festival, so I'm gonna try and make it up this weekend: Bloody Beetroots and maybe Joseph Arthur tonight, and then trying to hit Earlimart, Feist, or Gravy Train!!! tomorrow before ending the night at the Download afterparty for Datarock/Flosstradamus and then my friend Sean's superspecial warehouse party. Sunday I want to attend the Choose GOOD Block Party with my favorite Berkeley sunny indie kids the morning benders, but my mama is coming to hang out with me in the city, and she takes precendence. Duh.
Ratatatatatatatatat, I love you...can I have your bearded babies?
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Live - Ratatat @ Slim's | SF
Here is the thing about the music scene sometimes in San Francisco: it can be brutal getting into at-capacity shows. You could give away your prized Pucci moped, a burrito, and maybe a blowjob for free, and it still wouldn't have guaranteed admission into Ratatat's sold-out Slim's show last week. Six different people asked me for an extra ticket as we walked into the SOMA venue for some electroshredding, and all I have to say is this:
For all that is holy and right in the world, get
your Ratatat tickets now for the full September tour. It's gonna make
you change your pants, bang a stranger in the bathroom, and sweat until
it looks like you just emerged from a shower fully dressed. (more...)
