50 words about 500 days

(500) Days of Summer. A review in 50 words (not counting the last 13)

I like the new M. Ward CD (music is subjective, fuck off). M. Ward likes Zooey Deschanel. So I go see her new movie.* I really liked it! I thought it was super cute. I want to work at a greeting card company that plays Black Lips at their parties.

* this makes complete sense in my brain. Also, this sentence doesn't apply to the count - because whenever you see "*" on here you should immediately stop reading because it means I am losing my mind. and my focus. oh also, the soundtrack was really good.

Our San Francisco/Sonoma Trip!

So - if you've ever been in my car you know that I love me the TV on the Radio. When they announced their spring tour I was bummed to see that their only LA date was Coachella, so that meant no other play-y in LA-y (and Pomona is just too far.) So when I saw that they were playing in Oakland over Memorial Day weekend I had one of those lightbulb moments and decided we needed a good road trip!

We arrived in San Francisco around lunchtime and took the bus up to Amoeba - I LOVE taking public transportation. I'm not sure if I would love it so much if I had to do it everyday, I'm sure the novelty of it would wear off, but when we are traveling I really enjoy it. We have sort of made a tradition out of buying CDs at local indie record stores while on vacation and I was happy we fit it into this trip. (purchases included Jason Lytle, Au Revoir Simone, Reatards, and two Nick Cave Re-issues)

I found a good deal at the Hotel Palomar, it is a Kimpton hotel, and they are quickly becoming my hotel chain of choice. Comfy beds, and really loud flushing toilet and a shower that didn't drain very well, BUT I would totally stay there again, centrally located and did I mention the comfy bed?

We had some TASTY crab-deviled eggs and a couple of beers before dinner by the water at MarketBar in the Ferry Building, (side note: I don't think I have ever, in my almost 15 years knowing my husband seen him SO excited over a group of shops). Beers and deviled eggs. yum.

Then..

Guy booked us a really yummy dinner at Ozumo Sushi. The Hanabi and Futago were amazing. Everything was great. Including the Sapporos.

After dinner we headed on the BART to Oakland to the recently renovated Fox Theater - it's one of those historic, crazy buildings with really amazing architecture. We had 5 or 10 more beers and were treated to an amazing show by one of my favorite bands.

Saturday morning was a little rough (see mention of beers above) so we got a slow start out of town and eventually made it to Santa Rosa where we checked into our hotel and had a really great lunch at Omelette Express-- soo yummy



Our home base for the wine tasting trip was Hotel La Rose - small, quaint, in the heart of their little historical area and the bed was really comfy... (comfy beds are crucial to my traveling happiness in case you couldn't tell - it has to be firm, not too firm and big enough so that 6'4" husband does not cut into my side of the bed by sleeping diagonally on small beds)

After fueling up on sandwiches and iced tea and when I finally began to feel human again it was time for some wine tasting! We hit a good amount of wineries in the Forestville, Sebastopol and Windsor areas (favorites are marked with a handy asterisk - man I love those things)

Hartford Family Winery
*Harvest Moon
Hook & Ladder
*Woodenhead
DeLoach
Dutton-Goldfield/Balletto Vineyards

Harvest Moon was probably my favorite of the day, and not just because they had a really awesome chocolate lab named Charlotte. Woodenhead had an amazing deck with views of the valley and a woman who worked there was from LA and her parents lived in the same house in the heart of Hollywood for the last FIFTY YEARS. I loved that.

That night we had dinner at El Dorado Kitchen in the Sonoma Square. Note: when traveling check to see if the town where you booked dinner is having any events, like a jazz fest, that could make finding parking near-impossible

ANYWAY - it was really good - I had the truffle risotto, Guy had short ribs. And for desert we had a S'Mores tart. mmmm...

Sunday morning we woke bright and early and without a hangover (yay) and went to breakfast at Parkside Cafe - oh. shit. yum. Chicken Fried Steak and the Country Benedict were both great and not too heavy. Really tiny place with really amazing food.

We walked around the Windsor Farmer's Market and some antique fair thing in Healdsburg before starting day two wine tasting at:

*Stryker
Seghesio
Papapietro
*Dutcher Crossing
**Preston
Mazzocco

Stryker had a remarkable tasting room, beautiful grounds, some horny snakes, and two guys working - one was lively, engaging and outgoing and the other was his total opposite. Guess which one we got?

Preston is an organic winery, with pigs and chickens and cats and bread and olives and really yummy wines. It was totally my favorite of the trip.




OK. Dinner. I booked us a nice dinner based on online reviews and a Michelin rating. So we walk into this old Victorian House/Restaurant and there is classical music playing, unchipped China on all of the tables, salmon colored walls, DRAPES, and a snooty hostess and I have a mini-panic attack. Where did I book us?? Guy calms me and the Goose and tonic calms me and we sit to eat. OH.MY.GOD. It was BY FAR one of the most amazing meals of my life. Go there. As soon as possible. Life is short people.
Madrona Manor
We had five courses of amazing food paired with fantastic Sonoma wines and Champagne, along with things like parm-reggiano churros, pea Vichyssoise amuse-bouche (actually I don't really know if vichyssoise is usually a SPECIFIC kind of soup - this is how much I didn't deserve to be eating there, anyway - it was cold and I only know what amuse-bouche is because I watch Top Chef - see you CAN learn things from Reality TV). We also were given raspberry/hibiscus crushed ice to cleanse the palettes (the texture of the ICE was amazing) - a mini creme brulee AFTER we finished the desert that we ordered, and a handful of chocolates and carmels AND 2 bags of caramel corn to take on the road. soooooo yum.

The whole weekend was awesome. Yay for vacations. I am working on the next weekend getaway now: Ojai. Have never been there and have always wanted to go. I plan on lots of relaxing.

PB&B

Things that make me go: meh - Pat Benatar, Blondie and The Donnas are playing

At first I was like: "wow, who the fuck cares..." And then I remembered that I am (still) trying to be more positive and less judgmental and thought "I am sure LOTS of people care, and I probably even know some of them. However, I personally do not care and would not spend a nickel on that show.(except I probably actually thought SHIT and not SHOW)" Ok, I MIGHT spend a nickel - but only if the beers were free. And then I thought - "oh, it's probably part of the Fair tour" except I was thinking it in a really judgy way because fair concerts suck ass (and then I replayed the whole positive, know people who like that shit, conversation with myself)... and I was right. Fair tour. OC Fair - I've been thinking that I need to go to the OC Fair instead of the LA County Fair for a change of pace (even though they are all, literally, the same)... maybe we'll go. and you know what, we would probably have a really good time... we will never know.

Oh and that date on the link is wrong but I don't care.

This is how I listen to music. What?

Many years ago my then-roommate and still-good friend, Jodi, got into my car for the first time in a few months and said "You're listening to this cd again?" My answer was - "No, I am listening to this cd still." It was Tindersticks - Curtains and it was sooooo nice.

In 1984 and 85 when I was listening to Purple Rain I refused to listen to side B until I knew every single word on side A. what? (man, I can't EVEN tell you how excited I was to finally to get to "I Would Die 4 U" (U. Iwould. Die4. U. sing it with me. U. Iwould. Die4. U. complete with hand signs. U. Iwould. Die4. U.).

Now, with no side A's or side B's to create goals and no turntables in my car (where the serious, loud, private music appreciation happens) I have had to perfect a new system for my OCD music listening madness.

I listen to it all the way through a couple of times. Wait, first I BUY the CD - crazy concept doncha think?

Ok - Again.

I listen to it all the way through a couple of times. Usually by the third listen I will have identified one or two songs that are really catchy, have a line or two that is really beautiful and/or is a song that I feel would be a challenge to learn all of the words - White Stripes "Hotel Yorba" comes to mind (Well its 1 2 3 4. take the elevator. at the hotel yorba. I'll be glad to see you later. all they got inside is vacancy). I TOTALLY mastered this song. Only it took about 30 consecutive listens. AND I probably had to pull the car over at one point and read along with the lyrics. When I get stuck in one place in the song I will start the song over. Sometimes I get to the end of a song and remember how much I liked the chorus, or a certain line and will go back to the beginning of the song. Eventually I master the song or come close to it and move on to the next song that interests me until I've made my way through the entire CD. The problem is - and it's only a problem if you ride in my car a lot - is that this can literally take months. I am lucky enough to have a really short commute and I can MAYBE get through 3 listens of one song during a one-way trip to work.

So right now I am obsessing over learning TV on the Radio's first full-length CD - Desperate Youths, Blood Thirsty Babes and if you have even KIND OF listened to TVOTR's lyrics you know that their shit is fucked up. Fucked up in that FUCK these guys are amazing, genius, insane and inspiring all at the same time. So yeh this will take awhile. Apologies in advance to those riding in my car who don't like track 2, 3, 5 and 7 which I am working on right now. (Leave your treadmill power trip behind. I will be your one more time if you will be my one last chance. - fucking beautiful.)

I have never been able to really get the whole Black Lips "Navajo" from Good Bad Not Evil. That one is hard. Maybe some day I'll go back to it. I have the first and third TVOTR cd's to get through first though. Oh and the EP. shit.

A name is just a name is just a name

I love music. love love love it. When I find out that a favorite artist is coming out with a new cd I get school-girl with an ice cream cone and a new kitten giddy. I research street dates, tour dates, singles, all of it. What I don't do or understand is getting excited over the announcement of an album title and what I really can't comprehend is why I should care about a track-listing. Until you hear the music they are just words. I don't think it's giving you any sort of insight into the music at all. words. I mean, go to NME - and right now the number 3 story is "Pete Doherty names solo album - exclusive" - really? I care about what he's calling his album? Not at all... I mean I am not a Pete Doherty fan but I'm sure there was a similar story when Nick Cave named his last cd and you know what - I probably didn't click on it. I would have read the words Dig Lazarus Dig and thought "huh." MAYBE I would have thought "huh?!" if they correctly inserted the exclamation marks (DIG!!!). But I wouldn't have tried to figure it out and for sure it has not changed my feelings about the cd itself.

The fifth story right now on NME is "Bob Mould reveals new album details" - again - a title and a tracklisting. WHO CARES? Do you think you are going to enjoy it any more (or less) because 4 months before it's released you know that track 4 is called "MM 17" (unless of course there was an MM 1 - 16 and this was just a continuation of those songs)? AT LEAST they gave us the street date and tour dates. Finally - something I could get excited about - if I liked Bob Mould that is. I really don't have feelings about him. I'm sure he's worthy of 30 years of praise I just never got into him.

You see it in all music news outlets - indie and mainstream - and I have never understood it. Please explain it to me.

Music - 2008 favorites

So, as I mentioned, I really don't make best of/top 10 lists. But this year, why the hell not right? I listened to a lot of new music this year and these were the ones I found myself constantly returning to. Here it is.

The Black Keys, Attack & Release
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple
Gossip, Live in Liverpool
The Kills, Midnight Boom
King Khan and The Shrines, The Supreme Genius…
Mudhoney, The Lucky Ones
Jay Reatard, Matador Singles '08
Times New Viking, Rip It Off
TV on the Radio, Dear Science

These came out in 07 but I am lovin em in 08. It's my list, I make the rules.
The Black Lips, Good Bad Not Evil
Kanye West, Graduation

There were a few songs that I absolutely COULD NOT get enough of this year:
Gnarls Barkley - "Little Better" from The Odd Couple (some day I will write about how this song totally and completely describes me)
Magnetic Fields - "California Girls" from Distortion
Jay Reatard - "An Ugly Death" from Matador Singles '08
Tilly and the Wall - "Too Excited" from O

live favorites:
Black Lips @ Detour fest
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds @ The Hollywood Bowl.
Ray Lamontagne @ The Wiltern (have never been to a show in LA at a venue so big that stayed so quiet)
Jay Reatard @ Echo
Spiritualized @ The Hollywood Bowl (technically this was the same show as Nick but they were so.fucking.amazing that they get a separate listing)
TV on the Radio @ the Wiltern
Kanye West @ Nokia

Quote of the year

"we have a smart and moderate president elect who's african-american and has a beautiful family and who hung out with punk rockers when he was in college? it's like waking up and finding out that every crappy top-40 station in america is now playing tv on the radio and the bad brains"

from moby's 11/14 facebook blog

Music

Update: another good reason not to make top 10 lists, I made the original WIP list back in July and half those bands I don't even listen to now. huh.


Since I was ridiculed many years for only putting 1 album on my "top 10" list I have not made another list. I felt totally justified in proclaiming that Sophtware Slump was so good that it woulda been THAT much better than whatever I could have made 2 - 10. I felt it was a strong statement. Other people, my husband, didn't agree. So whatever. I figure no one gives a shit what is on someone else's top 10, they just want a reason to tell you what's on theirs. The only reason I ever look at someone's list is to make judgements (come on, we're being honest right?) and (less likely) look for new music. If I see something on a lot of lists I may seek it out...

but today as I was rocking out in the car, I figured that since I have a whole tag for "lists" I should use it! And if I make an evolving top 10 list during the year come January I won't have to struggle to remember what I liked and I will already have my list so that you can judge me.

here it is... (I think I was just inspired to make another list; reasons why I have comments disabled)

in alphabetical order by the second letter in the first word:

Jay Reatard, Matador Singles '08
Kanye West, Graduation… it came out in 07, but whatev. I’m lovin it in 08.
The Black Keys, Attack & Release
Gossip, Live in Liverpool
The Kills, Midnight Boom
Times New Viking, Rip It Off
King Khan and The Shrines, The Supreme Genius…
Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple
Mudhoney, The Lucky Ones
newest addition in bold

huh, couldn't come up with 10. I'm sure I forgot some. Don't hate. It's my list. You don't have to listen.

the list will evolve assuming something else I like comes out this year, updates in bold. I have high expectations for the Jay Reatard Singles, Clinic and, Spiritualized

Nick Cave news. omg. omg. omg

FUCK YEH! So, without seeing even a trailer, I have already determined that The Road is going to be my favorite movie of the year and will probably get into the Top 5 (behind Pulp fiction and fighting for placement with Goodfellas, LA Confidential and Purple Rain) and since it was a John Hillcoat film I sort of assumed Nick Cave would, at the very least, be on the soundtrack. Soooo happy when I read the news that he'll be doing the score, that is going to be fan-fucking-tastic. I can't wait.

So to recap the awesomeness that Nick fans have to look forward to in the coming year:

1) The Road w Nick score source
2) Reissues - make that Deluxe Reissues! says who?
3) A new book! Now I just need to finally finish the last one! If it's on the internet in Canada it must be true

yay. I win.

Shuffle All playlist on flight 106

About an hour and a half into my flight, already failed at trying to take a nap, judged 1/3 of the people on my plane, read 83 pages of my book (AL was right, it's pretty good - I think the kids call it a page turner, well they would if they read books.) Felt like giving my thumbs a workout and motivate my brain a little and thought I'd track what songs are coming up on shuffle.

Jane's Addiction - Had a Dad

Mazzy Star - Free
(Went on a date with a guy once who claimed this album was written about him, and when I said "Get out" in my best Elaine/Seinfeld voice he said "if I were Johnny Depp you would believe me" - A) I wasn't doubting you and B) yeh - duh. First and last date. He made jewelry. He had two dining room chairs in his living room because he thought if he had a couch it would make him lazy and he didn't want to be discouraged from going out every night. Clearly he was not the right guy for me.

Gossip - Yesterday's News
(man, I love this live record - I love the line that says "if she asks I'm doin' fine" - her voice sounds awesome right there and sarcasm always gets me right in the place that my heart would be if I had one.

Tindersticks - Jism
(I wonder when their new cd is coming out domestically, I should just order the import)

Bad Brains - Attitude

The Dirtbombs - Race to the Bottom
(I GUARANTEE you this will not be the last time that The Dirtbombs come up, my player loooooooves to play the Dirtbombs. This song is like 8 minutes long, to that I say OH HELL NO, forwarding)

Soulsavers - Untitled (Instrumental)
(sounds like something Guy recorded, that's a compliment btw)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Lay Me Low
(mmmm, Nick + Hollywood Bowl = fuck yeh!)

(Just glanced at the movie playing, I think Debra Messing just was on screen - figures - wasn't I just talking about how I really didn't care for her?)

"If you wanna be my friend and you wanna repent...and you want it all to end and you wanna know when... Make a stand, take my hand...they'll interview my teachers who'll say I was one of God's sorrier creatures" Ahhhh Nick. So good.

Earlimart - Lazy Feet 23
(yeh a fine song but a really poor follow-up to Lay Me Low, and I never noticed they sounded so much like Elliott Smith.)

The Smiths - Hand in Glove

(My back hurts in these seats)

The Who - Love is Coming Down
(2nd Who song of the flight, I really wish Shuffle All meant shuffle ALL)

Buzzcocks - Lipstick

The Notorius B.I.G. - Just Playing (Dreams)

Beatles - Fixing a Hole
(I don't care what anyone says The BeeGees Sgt Pepper movie was AWESOME and this is my favorite Beatles album, comments are disabled for a reason, suck it.)

(Uh I just figured out my headphones weren't plugged in all the way, it sounds so much better now!)

A Tribe Called Quest - Sucka N***A
(is that how the song is listed on the album or just in the Zune? I can't remember.)

(Man something has to give - I've got my sweatshirt, the Zune, a book and a Magazine on my lap - I need a better plan for my seat situation)

Crawdaddys - You Can't Judge a Book.....

KMFDM - Virus (Dub)
(KMFDM has been getting me through some hard days at work lately)

The Black Keys - Yearnin'

Mary's Danish - Venus Loves Leaonard

Swans - Trust Me

The Smiths - The Headmaster Ritual
(Seriously, there are literally hundredes of other artists that could've been played between the 2 Smiths songs - Dirtbombs is probably next)

Thee Headcoats - Pldophile

Magnetic Fields - Xavier Says

Arab Strap- The Week Never Starts Around Here

(I'm totally about to eat a salad I got at Wolfgang Pucks ToGo- chinese chicken salad, my seatmates are going to hate the smell. Sorry seatmates!)

Lost Sounds - Don't Ask Why

The Dirtbombs - Correspondence
(Bah)

Reatards - Memphis Blues

Barry Adamson - The Snowball Effect

The Gories - He's Doin It
I guess it's Mick Collins that the Zune likes, not just the Dirtbombs.

(Done with the salad-first few bites were tasty but it was all down hill after that)

Black Hollies - That Little Girl

Elton John - Social Disease

Jane's Addiction - Three Days (the realllllly long version)

(I think I just found a typ-o in the 9/1 issue of Sports Illustrated, page 32)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Ain't Gonna Rain Anymore
(I always wanted a line like "once there came a storm in the form of a girl" to be written about me)

Misfits - Skulls

Swans - The Child's Right

Swans - Song for the Sun
(Seriously, 3 Swans songs and 2 in a row! Wtf. Was Mick Collins in the Swans??)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds -Midnight Man

Oh- descending! Electronics away!

Landed, taxi-ing, not spell checking, posting

THIS is what Muzak should sound like!

So I had a dentist appointment that involved drilling and "cracking sounds" so I decided to listen to the sound of my music instead of the sound of teeth cracking. I put it on shuffle and below is what I was given... I don't know the names of any songs, just artists....oh and I gotta say this is a genius way to get through a dentist appointment - it wasn't so much the music, that was actually sort of a pain in the ass, since I had to keep asking him to repeat himself when he said anything, but it was a great distraction having to remember all the bands before I could type them out...

A Tribe Called Quest (awesome way to start)
Placebo
Gossip (My new favorite)
Outkast
Black Keys
Headcoats
Marcy Playground
The Hives (note to self, delete the Hives)
Arab strap
Sts9
Jeremy Jay
Galaxie 500
Oasis (see The Hives above, unless it's Definitely Maybe)
Doves (booooring, sorry fans of Doves)
Converge (mmmm, I don't know... Andy suggested this one - better for when I am angry at work I think)
Kiss (oh - we're almost done and this is a perfect way to end, shutting down)

music

MAN! I've been trapped at my computer all afternoon because Zune made me FANTASTIC autoplaylist and I have not been able to drag myself away... I mean, obviously, I will like it cause it's all of my music, but it's playing all the music I actually WANT to hear right now and music I didn't even know know I wanted to hear... I have only forwarded through 2 or 3 songs and that's just because some of Guy's Built to Spill seeped in....

I need to hurry and log off though because Bleck Beck is coming up... good night now... going to see Chocolate Genius now, which the Zune knew because he played a song for me.