We Built This City On Rock & Roll

2007-07-25T02:18:00.000-04:00

Lolla Schedule Released

2007-06-12T09:32:00.001-04:00

I never plan anything, so it's pretty surreal to think I have already completely planned out 3 days of my life in August. Here's My Lolla.

Day 1
11:45 Fratellis
12:30 Ghostland Observatory
1:30 Ted Leo
2:30 Polyphonic Spree
3:30 Sparklehorse
4:30 MIA / Moe
5: 00 Rapture
6:30 Black Keys
7:30 LCD Sound System
8:30 Daft Punk

Day 2
12:45 Tokyo Police Club
1:30 Tapes n Tapes
2:30 Silver Chair
3:30 Motion City Soundtrack
5:30 Hold Steady
6:30 Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Snow Patrol
7:30 Spoon
8:30 Muse

Day 3
12:15 The View
1:45 Smoosh
2:15 Amy Winehouse
3:15 Palo Nutini
4:15 Kings Of Leon
6:15 My Morning Jacket
8:00 Pearl Jam

Awww

2007-06-09T16:37:00.000-04:00

Hopefully this isn't an ad for some upcoming tv show. Im not sure
exactly what it is, bit its adorable and touching and as I was walking
around times square... it was nice to see something with a beautiful and
simple message.

What do you think its for?

Hair, nails, and deli?

2007-06-09T16:34:00.000-04:00

This bodegga is either lost in translation or making a pathetic attempt
to offer multi taskers a broad range of services.

She's like so whatever

2007-05-31T23:17:00.000-04:00

Like everyone else, I'm waiting for the day to arrive when Avril's "Girlfriend" will grow old. Days go by and I still can't get enough of it.

Today I came across the "worldwide" release of the single which includes 8 versions of the song in different languages including Italian, French, and Mandarin. Here is the Spanish one! It's too fucking funny.

And also, here are the chords. I'm predicting this to be the new Since You Been Gone, so start recording your own versions now. Ya hear me Ted Leo? i may post my own version (which is fuckin hilarious)!

Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend (Spanish) (yousendit download)

D
hey hey you you i don't like your girlfriend
D
no way no way i think you need a new one
D
hey hey you you i could be your girlfriend

D
hey hey you you i know that you like me
D
no way no way you know it's not a secret
D
hey hey you you i want to be your girlfriend

verse 1:
D
you're so fine, i want you mine, you're so delicious
A
i think about you all the time, you're so addictive
Bm G
don't you know what i can do to make you feel alright

D
don't pretend i think you know i'm damn precious
A
and hell yeah, i'm the motherfucking princess
Bm G
i can tell you like me too, and you know i'm right

Em
she's like so whatever
A
you could do so much better
Em A
i think we should get together now

and that's what everyone's talking about

CHORUS

D A Bm G
hey hey you you i don't like your girlfriend
D A Bm G
no way no way i think you need a new one
D A Bm G
hey hey you you i could be your girlfriend

D A Bm G
hey hey you you i know that you like me
D A Bm G
no way no way you know it's not a secret
D A Bm G
hey hey you you i want to be your girlfriend

verse 2:
D
I can see the way, i see the way you look at me
A
and even when you look away i know you think of me
Bm G
I know you talk about me all the time again and again

D
So come over here and tell me what I want to hear
A
better yet make your girlfriend disappear
Bm G
I don't wanna hear you say her name ever again

Em
because she's like so whatever
A
and you could do so much better
Em
i think we should get together now
A
and that's what everyone's talking about

REPEAT CHORUS

Twang - Either Way

2007-05-26T02:43:00.000-04:00

Rach's Story

A few years ago I worked part time in a resturaunt. Everyone was really friendly but there was one guy who I became completely smitten with. He was funny, he was charming, and rediculously attractive. One night after work we went to a club. We were standing at the bar when he leaned in and kissed me. It was the most amazing kiss ever, I just melted. A few nights later I was in a bar with my mates and I saw him. A smile spread across my face. As I went over to say hi, much to my shock and disapointment, another girl was on his arm! I later found out that she was his girlfriend of 6 months.

Totally crushed I tried to forget about him, but it was no use, I'd totally fallen for him. Although it hurt I settled for the 'just friends' thing in hope that he would leave his girlfriend.

I had all but given up until one day he appeared at my doorstep and grabed me and kissed me. When I pulled away he looked deep into my eyes and told me that he loved me and that he couldn't live without me. He said he went to bed dreaming of me, and wakes up looking for me, but only to find a girl he barely knows, despite being with her for a year. I was shocked, my heart was racing, and I could feel the tears stinging my eyes.

That was three years ago and we are now engaged. A few weeks ago he came running home from work after listening to the radio and hearing this song. he looked at me and said, "this is us!"

I love him more than anyone could love another person. Now, everytime I hear this I think of three years ago and how lucky I am to have him.

Twang - Either Way (yousendit download)

Eddie & Flea

2007-05-06T18:29:00.000-04:00

May 5 at the Henry Fonda Theater in LA.

Eddie & Flea... the next supergroup?

Setlist:

Ed Solo:

Walking The Cow

Driftin'

I Am Mine

No More War

Ed with Flea and Jack Irons:

Throw Your Hatred Down

Watch Outside

Corduroy

Habit

Better Man

The Kids Are Alright

2007-04-25T11:38:00.000-04:00

Make me fries!

There have been countless "misheard lyrics" versions of yellow ledbetter. They have all been pretty funny. But this new one is one of the best. Enjoy.

2007-04-24T14:13:00.001-04:00

If nothing is everything, I had it all...

2007-04-24T13:37:00.000-04:00

If nothing is everything, I had it all...

Apparently J Records held a contest to commission a video for Pearl Jam's "Gone." This was the winning entry, a beautiful video filmed in New Orleans' ninth ward, September 2006.

Monkey News

2007-04-23T14:43:00.000-04:00

Chimpanzee that! It's Monkey News.

While Ricky, Stephen, and Karl are away, I thought I'd share this increadable and adorable video of a chimp and a doggy teaming up to show some japanese kids how to exercise! enjoy.

Love Is Dead

2007-04-21T15:43:00.000-04:00

The Upwelling were featured on Spin.com this week! (click for the article and mp3 downloads)

If you haven't listened to their new single(?) "Love Is Dead," it's time to give these guys a second look. This band has the potential to be the next super-rock group. Every move they make seems to be in that direction. They are on tour right now, and if the pop progression and melodic lyrics of "Love Is Dead" reach out and connect with you, I'd say it's time to see them live. I know, some people will say "Love Is Dead" is just a cute pop tune, but taking into consideration the lyrics of other Upwelling tunes like "Steps," "Ruth," "Enemy," and "Who Needs You Now," you have to acknowledge that Ari Upwelling is a lyricist extroidinaire whose deep connection to his emotions allow him to produce material that has strong pop sensibilities but also resonates with all of our vulnerabilities, time and again.

Tour Dates:
4/21, Babson Park, MA (PepsiCo Pavilion)
4/22, Johnson City, NY (Magic City Music Hall)
4/24, New York, NY (Nokia Theatre)
4/25, Poughkeepsie, NY (The Chance)
4/27, Sayreville, NJ (Starland Ballroom)
4/29, Baltimore, MD (Ram's Head Live)
5/1, Washington, DC (9:30 Club)
5/3, Hampton, NH (Hampton Beach Casino)
5/4, Providence, RI (Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel)
5/6, Hanover, NH (Dartmouth College)
5/8, Wantagh, NY (Mulcahy's)

2007-04-17T20:04:00.000-04:00

This was posted today on FoxNews.com -- Jimmy, Robert & JPJ will be attending the memorial in NYC:
A-List Rockers Prepare for Ahmet Ertegun Memorial
A staggering list of top rock, pop and soul stars are set to gather tonight in New York to honor the late Ahmet Ertegun.

Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Crosby Stills & Nash, Bette Midler, "Soul Man" Sam Moore, Kid Rock, Solomon Burke and Stevie Nicks are among those who will perform at Jazz at Lincoln Center as a tribute to the legendary cofounder of Atlantic Records.

Among those attending but not performing: Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, Peter Wolf of J. Geils Band, Mick Jones of Foreigner and many others. Henry Kissinger is expected to say a few words from the stage, as is David Geffen.

Ertegun passed away last winter after falling backstage at a Rolling Stones concert in New York that doubled as a 60th birthday party for Bill Clinton.

Ertegun started Atlantic in 1947 with his brother Nesuhi and Herb Abramson. In time Arif Mardin, Tom Dowd and Jerry Wexler all became part of the timeless team that produced Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Wilson Pickett and even Foreigner.

All the artists for this event, by the way, are working gratis, I am told. The performers flew themselves and their bands to New York. The rest of the tab is being picked up by Live Nation and Time Warner. And the performances will be filmed, but just for archival purposes, possibly for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.

Lolla Line-up

2007-04-11T18:15:00.001-04:00

Lolla Line-up

Pearl Jam
Daft Punk
Ben Harper
Muse
Iggy & The Stooges
Modest Mouse
Interpol
My Morning Jacket
Satellite Party
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Snow Patrol
The Roots
Patti Smith
Kings Of Leon
The Black Keys
Regina Spektor
Spoon
Lupe Fiasco
TV On The Radio
Pete Yorn
G. Love
Paolo Nutini
Amy Winehouse
LCD Soundsystem
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Silverchair
Femi Kuti
Yo La Tengo
Hold Steady
Jack's Mannequin
Stephen Marley
STS9
MIA
Slightly Stoopid
Blonde Redhead
Sparklehorse
Sean Lennon
!!!
Blue October
Son Volt
Motion City Soundtrack
Polyphonic Spree
Peter Bjorn & John
Silversun Pickups
CSS
The Rapture
The Wailers
Roky Erickson
Tapes N Tapes
Heartless Bastards
The View
The Cribs
The Fratellis
Ghostland Observatory
Tokyo Police Club
Rhymefest
Soulive
Cold War Kids
Annuals
Fields
Electric Six
Jim Noir
Elvis Perkins
Sam Roberts
Black Angels
Charlie Musselwhite
Aqueduct
Juliette & The Licks
Dios
Viva Voce
David Vandervelde
Los Campesinos!
Chin Up Chin Up
Ryan Shaw
Colour Revolt
Satin Peaches
Illinois
Arckid
Mickey Avalon
The 1900s
Bang Bang Bang
Bound Stems
High Class Elite
Carey Ott
Matt Roan

2007-04-11T11:55:00.000-04:00

if you are going to coachella can you get me a poster? It looks like it's gonna be rad.

Here is a sneak preview:

2007-04-11T11:03:00.001-04:00

Mike Doughty is involved in a new project called PASS THE MIKE with Mike Campbell (The Heartbreakers) on guitar; Mike Mills (R.E.M.) on bass, guitar and keys; Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) on drums; and Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE) on bass and backing vocals.

The band is currently talking with labels about a possible fall 2007 release.

String arranger Mike Narr described it from the studio last week: "If you took the kind of jazz they play on the Weather Channel out to the alley and beat the hell out of it with a whiskey bottle, and it got really mad and vengeful and vowed to tease puppies, Pass The Mike sounds like the ensuing restraining order. Except with better hooks."

The album also includes guest appearances by Mike D (Beastie Boys) and Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Peeping Tom). The group is recording now with producer Mike Chapman, who helmed breakthrough albums by Blondie and The Knack.

For now, stay tuned to http://www.myspace.com/passthemikeband for updates on Pass The Mike.

2007-04-10T12:56:00.000-04:00

VA Takes the Lead in Paperless CareComputerized Medical Records Promise Lower Costs and Better Treatment
By David BrownWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, April 10, 2007;

Divya Shroff, a staff physician at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northwest Washington, stops what she's doing to answer her phone: It's a doctor down the hall who needs help with a man struggling to breathe.

She calls up the patient's medical record on the computer at her desk and scrolls through lab reports, doctors' notes, X-rays and EKGs, thinking out loud with the medical resident, who is at the man's bedside.

Strep pneumo in the blood. Chest film looks like he's accumulating fluid. Supposed to get a chest tube. Hard to wake up. No new meds that would be sedating him. Looks like he needs the ICU.

Over the next 10 minutes, Shroff visits the patient's room and the ICU, and in both places summons his medical record on other computers while she talks with a half-dozen people about what needs to be done. She spends no time looking for the patient's chart, riffling through paper or decoding handwriting. Nor does she ask anyone to take her word for things. She just lets the evidence -- all of it right there for everyone to see -- make the case that the patient needs to be moved as soon as possible.

It turns out to be the right decision. Soon after he gets to the ICU, he stops breathing. Doctors resuscitate him and put him on a ventilator.

Did the electronic medical record save this 71-year-old man? It's impossible to say.
But this much is clear: Never again will a VA patient's chart be an excuse for things not happening efficiently. Never again will information that is lost, hard to read or impossible to move from one place to another be a factor in the complicated calculus of what makes good medical care -- and, on occasion, saves lives.

The electronic medical record is the most important single development helping to usher in the Era of No Excuses in modern medicine. It is an age in which clinical decision-making, physician performance and patient outcomes are increasingly transparent; patient safety is mechanized; and the once-secret medical chart is sometimes open to contributions from the patients themselves.

Electronic medical records make confusing and physically unwieldy masses of data instantly available, portable and searchable -- altogether more useful than when the information was stored on paper. Computer-accessible records have the potential to save the cost-strangled American medical system billions of dollars in waste, repetition and error. They may also prove to be essential tools of research, allowing scientists to examine patterns of medical practice, drug use, complication rates and health outcomes.

Since 1999, the VA's 155 hospitals, 881 clinics, 135 nursing homes and 45 rehabilitation centers have been linked by a universal medical records network. It allows any authorized person to look at 5.3 million patients' records -- everything from a nurse's note written during a hospital stay, to the result of a blood test drawn at a clinic visit, to the moving-picture film of a coronary angiogram done in a cardiology lab.

Even though President Bush has set a goal of 2014 for when most Americans should have their medical information stored electronically, the Department of Veterans Affairs is today one of the few health systems -- and by far the largest -- that is virtually paperless.

A study commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services last fall reported that one-quarter of American physicians use some sort of electronic record-keeping in their practices. But less than 10 percent have systems that store all necessary data, allow electronic ordering of tests and provide clinical reminders. Only 5 percent of the country's 6,000 hospitals have computerized ordering of drugs and tests, and even fewer have a fully integrated system like the VA's.

Although some people believe making medical records widely available to many practitioners is a threat to privacy, VA officials believe strongly that patient privacy is more secure now than in the era of paper charts.

In the past 2 1/2 years, the VA has investigated 20 complaints of security breaches. Seventeen were for patient records accessed by unauthorized people, and three were for release of medical data to third parties without patient consent, VA spokeswoman Jo Schuda said.

The Problems of Paper:
In the popular mind, the chief deficit in medical records is legible handwriting. But that doesn't begin to describe the problem.

Many hospitals have multiple paper charts for each patient -- one for hospital stays, another for clinic visits and others for specialty services such as physical therapy. Information is passed via carbons, faxes and letters.

The charts themselves are often maddening arrays of paper held together with metal tabs and wheeled in groups by shopping cart from file room to consultation room. (Before the VA got its electronic system, only 60 percent of patients' charts could be found on any given visit.) Looking at X-rays and imaging scans is equally inconvenient and unpredictable, requiring trips to a film library and luck that the right folder can be retrieved.

Electronic medical records eliminate those headaches. But they do less obvious things, too.
Searchable computerized databases allow physicians to examine information collected across time and space. (In the case of the VA, a doctor in Washington can easily find a blood test from a patient treated five years ago at the San Francisco veterans hospital.) The ability to detect trends in physiological variables such as serum chemistry, cell counts, blood pressure and even weight is important to good decision-making. But it is often hard to do. Electronic medical records make it easier.

Electronic record systems also bridge one of the more perilous chasms in medicine: the transfer of care when patients leave the hospital.

Two years ago, a study of 2,600 patients discharged from university hospitals found that 41 percent had test results pending when they left. One in 10 of those tests eventually proved abnormal enough to warrant action -- more testing, a new diagnosis or a change in treatment. However, other research has shown that up to 85 percent of patients visit their primary care doctors -- who these days are likely to have had little if any role in their hospital care -- before a summary of their last hospitalization arrives.

This discontinuity is a well-recognized hazard. A 2003 study showed that 49 percent of patients suffered at least one medical error in the two months after leaving the hospital, often because the outside doctors didn't know what was done in the hospital, or what was left to do.

Such problems are much less likely when everyone has the same information and nobody has to remember to deliver it.

Electronic records are especially helpful in managing prescription drugs, a major source of medical errors. The VA software flags questionable doses and potential interactions. Hospitalized patients have bar codes on their wristbands that are scanned for an identity check each time a pill is dispensed or an injection given.

The VA dispenses 240 million outpatient prescriptions a year. The computer system tells practitioners not only what a patient has been prescribed but what he has actually picked up from the pharmacy.

The value of such a database became clear after Hurricane Katrina, when 560 people were evacuated from the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Miss., and brought to Washington.

"Their medical records were floating in the Gulf somewhere," said Sanford Garfunkel, the 59-year-old administrator of the Washington VA hospital. "But those veterans who had been seen by the VA, we could access their records. We filled 1,800 prescriptions literally overnight."

The VA is now rolling out "My Health e Vet," a feature that allows patients to create a portal to their own charts, where they can record measurements they take at home (weight, pulse, blood sugar, blood pressure); list over-the-counter medicines they use; and offer comments about their health.

"It's a little like MySpace," said Joel Kupersmith, former dean of the Texas Tech University School of Medicine and now the VA's chief research and development officer, referring to the social networking Web site. "The patient will have his own little corner in the record where he can keep his own data. That is a revolution in medicine, as far as I know."

Electronic records can also improve physician performance. They can warn of things that shouldn't be done, provide reminders of what should be done and monitor what is done.

A study published in 2004 compared the care of VA and non-VA patients in 12 communities, using 348 quality indicators as the yardstick. VA patients scored higher on overall quality, chronic disease care and preventive care.

Electronic records appear to be money-saving devices, at least in some hands. By one estimate, they could save American medical care $162 billion a year. Many hospital systems, however, balk at the upfront investment, which can range from "a few million to 50 to 60 million dollars," said Pat Wise, an executive with Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, a trade and professional organization.

The cost of the VA's electronic medical record, called VistA (for Veterans Information Systems and Technology Architecture), is hard to measure. It was developed over many years by many people, including hundreds of clinicians. However, the software is now free to anyone who wants to get it through the Freedom of Information Act.

Places where versions are in use include the U.S. Public Health Service's Indian Health Service; the Berlin Heart Institute in Germany; and Nasser Institute Hospital in Egypt. Mexico is adapting it for its entire health system.A Wireless Team
To most patients in VA hospitals, the electronic medical record is essentially invisible. But to the practitioners and their students, it is an ever-present problem-solver, clinical resource and educational tool.

This is evident when Divya Shroff's team of one resident, two interns and two medical students does morning rounds with two wireless laptops on wheeled carts. On one they order lab tests, diets, drugs, dosage changes, X-rays, scans and specialist consultations. Most are entered as soon as they leave the patient's room, a strategy that gets the tasks underway earlier than when orders traveled by foot or pneumatic tube.

The team uses the other computer for teaching, such as when the group gathers outside the door of Harold W. Bazel, a 71-year-old retired Army staff sergeant.

Shroff uses the computer to chart two episodes of sudden decline in Bazel's hematocrit -- the fraction of his blood that is made up of red cells. She calls up the analysis of fluid recently sampled from a large pocket around his left lung. She helps the medical students figure out that a lot of the "missing" blood must be there. She scrolls through the slices of his chest CAT scan, pointing out worrisome densities. The group together makes a plan for how to proceed with a diagnostic workup that it hopes will reveal what is happening inside Bazel's chest. They all then step into his room.

He is sitting on the bed in burgundy VA-issue pajamas. Members of the team ask to listen to his chest. They explain the next study they are ordering and discuss possible results.
"I'm beginning to think you haven't figured out what it is yet," he says.

"Well, we're working on it," Shroff says, and pats his forearm. The team leaves, retrieves the computer carts it has left in the corridor and heads off to its next stop.
If the computerized record is an invisible presence to many patients in the hospital, it is an unavoidable one to patients outside it.

"The computer is reminding me that once a year we need to check your feet," Melissa Turner, an internist who works in the outpatient clinic attached to the hospital. She is speaking to 66-year-old William Torney of Clinton while looking at the monitor on her desk.

Torney is a diabetic. The medical record knows this. It also knows that studies have shown that periodic examination of diabetics' feet helps practitioners catch amputation-inducing sores when they are small and treatable. The computer won't stop reminding Turner to check Torney's feet until she does it and charts it.

He takes off his socks. One at a time, she takes a foot on her knee and examines it. There are no sores, but the pulses are weak, a sign of poor blood flow that can make wounds hard to heal. Turner concludes it's probably not the best idea to have her patient cut his toenails and risk nicking himself.

"I'm going to ask the podiatrists to see you," she says, adding her findings to the computerized note of this clinic visit.Automated, to a Point
Down the corridor, Neil Evans, 34, is between patients.
Evans is a technophile and a big fan of the computerized record. He is also a very busy man. He commutes from Baltimore -- by bicycle, train and subway -- nearly four hours a day and has a set of young twins at home. Efficiency is a priority, and he uses the computer to maximize it.
He's acutely aware, though, of the hazard of having a machine between the doctor and the patient.

"If you spend your entire time looking at the screen, it is going to affect the patient's perception of quality -- and I think it ultimately affects the care you can deliver the patient," he says. He knows that at least part of his success depends on simple human contact. "People don't stop smoking because I tell them to," he adds. "They stop smoking because they respect my opinion, they know me."

Consequently, he tries to use the machine as a tool of engagement, not a barrier.
When he is interviewing a patient, he periodically stops for a machine-gun burst of typing, during which he repeats out loud what he is writing -- a kind of verbal spell-check. He occasionally turns the monitor to show the patient a graph or an image. He ignores the computer during the most important parts of the conversation.
"They know they are going to lose some of my attention, but in the end get more information," he says.

When he sees his next patient, Randy Melvin Brown, 56, Evans spends about half the time leaning forward, forearms on his knees, as Brown describes the searing pain in his legs. It is probably a side effect of chemotherapy he is getting for a blood cancer called multiple myeloma.
Brown won a Bronze Star in Vietnam. His face bears a long scar from an encounter with barbed wire on a fire base there. He is on a complicated regimen of painkillers and neurological drugs. His eyes fill with tears as he describes how they aren't working.
The ubiquity of computers at the VA, where Brown now spends much of his time, has not escaped him. It doesn't bother him.

"From my point of view, I would say it's good," he says of the use of computers by Evans and other doctors. "Sometimes I forget what I'm getting into. I'll go back to him and bring it up, and he'll find it because he's got it in his computer."

Evans types for a few minutes, then faces Brown again to propose a plan. He is going to refer him to a special clinic for people with severe or chronic pain. To tide him over until then, he is going to prescribe a much higher dose of opiates.

Evans swivels back to the computer. At the VA, prescriptions for such drugs require that a patient's name, address and Social Security number be written on paper and signed by hand.
Evans has programmed his computer with a template that allows him to paste in the required information and send it to a printer next to his desk.

"This is what happens when you start using the electronic medical record," he says, peeling off a blank script and putting it in the printer tray. "When you have to do something archaic like write a prescription, it just drives you bananas."

He pushes a button, and in a few seconds the prescription pops out. Even the "no refills" option on it has been magically circled. He signs it. It's the first time he's used a pen in 20 minutes. ·

2007-04-09T19:54:00.001-04:00

Kermit - Hurt

2007-04-05T17:27:00.000-04:00

First there was Trent Reznor, then I think Johnny Cash did it some respect... but now, Kermit takes the lead with the ultimate version of "HURT"...

ben kweller - penny on the train track

2007-03-31T00:46:00.000-04:00

great song! totally wierd video... but def worth watching.

2007-03-27T12:06:00.000-04:00

Sarah

In December 2005 I gave birth to my first baby, a beautiful daughter, however the birth wasn't quite as I planned. She was born 2 months early. I had developed pre-eclampsia and was admitted to a hospital. On christmas eve the special care unit filled up and I had to be transferred to a hospital far from home, where I gave birth to my daughter on christmas day by emergency cesarian. She weighed just 3 lbs. My daughter and I were in the hospital for two weeks while my husband comuted to see us every day. Eventually we made it back to our local hospital and then home.

Everything was well until I developed post natal depression. I was so anxious about being the perfect mother. But I couldn't shift how low I felt. After a long period of denial and a lot of tears all around I eventually went to my doctor for help and he perscribed me prozac.

One day while I was walking with my daughter and listening to my mp3 player, this song came on and made me realize that I would make mistakes as a mother, but that all moms do. It was the first time I stopped beating myself up in a long time. The song came out and for the first time in 8 months I could see a future for my daughter and for my family. My daughter is now 15 months, I've finished taking my medication and I am now back at work. I still have tearful days and feel sometiomes like I am failing, but when I do I take time out and play this record on full volume and things don't seem quite so bad.

snow patrol

2007-03-24T14:39:00.000-04:00

Most of what I remember makes me sure

I should have stopped you from walking out the door

You could be happy, I hope you are

You made me happier than I'd been by far

Somehow everything I own smells of you

And for the tiniest moment it's all not true

Do the things that you always wanted to

Without me there to hold you back, don't think, just do

More than anything I want to see you

Go take a glorious bite out of the whole world

2007-03-21T14:50:00.000-04:00

If late night tv show hosts were in charge of campaign slogans...

2007-03-12T09:46:00.000-04:00

Hey, hey it's the Monkeys!

Arctice Monkeys - Brainstorm

Standing In The Way Of Control

2007-03-09T00:07:00.000-05:00

Here is something very special.

If you are familiar with the gossip or get cape. wear cape. fly, you are really going to love this amazing cover of "Standing In The Way of Control" recorded from Jo Whiley's BBC Radio One Live Lounge. If not, well, I hope this opens your eye's to two ultimately awesome bands.

Enjoy

Standing In The Way Of Control - Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly! (Gossip Cover)
(YouSendIt Download)

2007-03-08T13:59:00.000-05:00

ummmmm, huh?

Blues Traveler Frontman John Popper Arrested After Cops Find Weapons Cache, Drugs in His SUV

Police - Roxanne

2007-03-08T11:27:00.000-05:00

Martin

Just after I turned 17, my friends and I decided to travel up north for a party weekend. As we were driving, my friend lost control of the car and crashed it into a wall. Luckily nobody was killed, but we had to get cut out of the car. Both of my legs were numb and one of my arms was badly broken. I spent the next few months confined to a wheel-chair in the hospital, being totally dependent on the doctors and nurses.

There was this one nurse called Ellie there most days. She helped me with most everything as I couldn't even do the most basic tasks. We talked alot and she told me that she had always dreamed of being a professional singer.

After a while I was released from the hospital, but I still needed someone to help me move around when my parents were out of the house at work.

Ellie applied for the position and she got it, which meant that we spent most days together. Me the wounded and she the beauty, it was like a dream.

Then, one day, without telling her, I arranged for her to sing in front of one of the music agencys in our area. She told me that she loved to sing this one particular track, and after she performed it she got accepted into music college for the following year.

Now, after I completely healed, our special relationship could easily have ended, but that was not the case.

We got married two months later and we moved closer to her college so that she could follow her dream.

This song changed everything for us, it changed my life, and it brought me together with the most gorgeous girl ever.

The Police - Roxanne

Jenny

2007-03-08T00:02:00.001-05:00

this is just an excuse to have another picture of jenny on my blog. oh it's also an excuse to advertise my other blog, my newest creation...

2128675309.blogspot.com/

thats right, it's 865-7309 - The Search For Jenny
the search begins soon.

For now, here is Jenny Lewis featured in a new song from the new dntel album. It's a tearjerker. I love it. Enjoy:

Jenny Lewis - Roll On (yousendit download)

2007-03-07T01:16:00.001-05:00

Show Patrol:

whose going to see Stellastarr* tomorrow night?

ANy idea what time they go on?

many thanks

- the management

2007-02-21T19:14:00.000-05:00

I accidentally deleted my entire blog. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

Thats the past 3 years of my life down the tubes. Par for the course this week.

Anyone know how to recover this thing?

Let this be a lesson to us all... do not play with the title of your blog!

[EDIT]
Clearly the blog gods successfully restored the archives. phew. thanks for everyone's concern!

2007-02-20T18:29:00.000-05:00

Britney Inspires A Rare Television Moment of Understanding

I have never seen the Craig Ferguson Late Night Talk Show before last night. It just happened to come on and we just happened to begin listening to his monologue... and it just happened to have been inspiring and really truly an unexpected piece of morality.

Please watch it here by clicking the February 19, 2007 link: http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latelate/comedy/

Ferguson told viewers Monday that after seeing photos of the 25-year-old pop star’s shaved head, he reconsidered making jokes at the expense of the “vulnerable.”

Spears made headlines over the weekend when she shaved her head at a Los Angeles hair salon and then went to a tattoo parlor where she had a pair of lips put on her wrist. Spears shaved her head Friday, the same day as reports on TV and Web sites that she had briefly checked into a rehabilitation center.

“For me, comedy should have a certain amount of joy in it,” Ferguson said. “It should be about attacking the powerful — the politicians, the Trumps, the blowhards — going after them. We shouldn’t be attacking the vulnerable.”

Ferguson recalled his battle with alcoholism and said he worries Spears may be having troubles of her own.

“Now I’m not saying Britney is alcoholic, I don’t know what she is — alcoholic or not — but she clearly needs help,” he said.

2007-02-20T12:56:00.001-05:00

In the reading for this week, the Torah goes through all the rules that govern
our everyday lives. So detailed are these rules, that it even talks
about seeing your ENEMY'S donkey carrying a heavy load, and how we must
help (23:5). As Onkelus explains, we have to put away our hatred for the
person, and help his donkey with its load. As Rabbi Liebowitz explains
(in Majesty of Man) we have to learn to suspend our hatred toward the
man, even though that hatred is totally justified (or else it would be
wrong to hate, and the Torah wouldn't bring it up). How can the Torah
expect us to stop hating someone just long enough to help their donkey,
and then go back to hating them again? And if the point is to help your
enemy, why does the Torah find a case specifically involving the
person's donkey, and not a case involving the 'evil' person himself?

One way to explain it is that it's human nature that the more we feel
and care about something or someone, the better we take care of it/them.
However, too often we get caught up caring too much about our OWN
feelings. This Mitzvah (commandment) is the ultimate exercise in working
on this tendency. We may have a legitimate reason for feeling a certain
way, but if it prevents us from doing what's right, we must suspend our
feelings and do the right thing. This exercise in suspending our
personal feelings is why the Torah uses a case of a 'hated' man. The
donkey is used to make us realize that our actions and feelings toward
others affect more then just them and us, but even those AROUND us, and
can even affect our animals. Although we don't see it all the time, we
affect our surroundings more then we know, which is something we need to
be constantly aware of. The lesson from the Torah is that doing what's
right sometimes means doing it for someone that's wrong, because you
never know whom you'll change in the process.

Changing Trax

2007-02-20T08:18:00.000-05:00

Illana

I left school when I was 16, without any qualifications to my name. I went from one job that I hated to another. When I was working at a news agent, I met a really great guy, Alan, who became my boyfriend of 5 years. Alan gave me the courage to go back to University. At the end of 3 extremely hard years, I graduated with a degree in interactive media design. I was so proud of myself and I got a job at a local company. Not long after I was offered a once in a life time opportunity to work in New York, also, my boyfriend proposed. I decided to accept his proposal and turn down the job. But sadly, things started to go downhill in our relationship and no matter what we did, we could not work things out. I was in pieces. In the end I decided I had to move away and I applied for a job in London, which I got.

Around that time I heard this song on TV and I just felt that I could relate to it so much. Since then I met a new guy and I'm still in London, but whenever I hear this song it reminds me of the wionderful time I spent with Alan and how greatful I am to have met him.

Nelly Furtado - Try

2007-02-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

Apples in stereo at bowery...

What happened?

2007-02-14T13:45:00.000-05:00

My father always says "Ecco's are shoes for life." So I was pretty
excited this morning when I pulled my ecco boots out from under the bed
to wear for the first snow of the season! At first they felt kind of
wierd. It seemed like something had been stuck on the sole? By the time
I got to work I realized the shoes were falling apart! How does the sole
of a shoe, while quietly resting untouched underneath my bed, just
totaly disintegrate?

2007-02-09T09:40:00.000-05:00

So cool!

44th between 5th and madison, these wood pilings seem to be bracing the
two buildings or something?

That is just about the coolest alley I have ever seen!

2007-02-08T23:51:00.000-05:00

Some requests filled... (yousendit links)

Pearl Jam - Hawaii '78

King Of Leon - On Call

and Big Star - Thirteen

for anyone who has read, or it read:

more to come...

Laguna Beach

2007-02-08T23:38:00.000-05:00

In honor of my new found passion for Laguna Beach season's 1 & 2,
(season 3 was utter trash), I got myself some stephen sunglasses - spy
42's. You love em?

gawd hates a fag

2007-02-08T14:17:00.000-05:00

THIS IS SO UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is not a joke. These freaks at Love Gods Way must be totally insane. I tried to laugh at the video above, cause if it was in the borat movie it would be hilarious... but something is wrong with people who preach hate, and this is up there in my book with Hitler and the Klan.

Also check out their list of Gay Bands To Keep Your Children Away From.
I can't believe they missed Peaches. Wierd.

http://lovegodsway.org/

A beautiful day

2007-02-07T12:31:00.000-05:00

I have the day off so I'm running around in the freezing cold and
enjoying some sun, fresh air, and color.

Corinne Bailey Rae brings Sexy Back

2007-02-05T13:09:00.000-05:00

Right then,

Thou not a unique singer historically speaking, Corinne Bailey Rae is quite unique in the modern music scheme. Her songs are heartfealt and enlightening, and her voice... well, thats the reason she's made it to where she is today. (Where she is today happens to be as a nominee for a few britt awards). More specifially, today, she was on radio one.

Corinne Bailey Rae brought sexy back from the 1920's by re-interpretting a current hit in a way that not only made it her own, but I think, also made it bettah, as they say.

DOWNLOAD:
Corinne Bailey Rae - Sexy Back (JT Cover from Jo Whiley's Radio One Live Lounge)

good morning new york!

2007-02-05T08:30:00.000-05:00

Good Morning New York City!

I never make it to work this early, but this week I have incentive
seeing as how the project I'm on may be ending and I don't truly know
where my next paycheck will come from. So be it, that's the life of a
Contract Attorney, and it affords me the ability to take off for England
for a month or Hawaii for a week whenever I feel like it.

Despite the beauty of the picture above, its actually cold as hell this
morning. Maybe I should go somewhere warm like Laguna Beach or Austin?
Its a bit early for Coachella and South by, but Im anxious to get this
festival season into full swing.

Soundtrack for this morning:

The Twang - Wide Awake
The Oohlas - Small Parts
Mr. Hudson & The Library - Too Late...
Franz Ferdinand - Hallam Foe Dandellon Blow
Cat Power - Evolution
Kings of Leon - On Call
Amy Winehouse - Valerie (Zutons Cover)
Sleater Kinney - Good Things
Field Music - She Can Do What She Wants
Good Shoes - The Photos on My Wall
Enter Shikari - Sorry, You're Not a Winner
LCD SoundSystem - Watch The Tapes
Lucinda Williams - Learning How To Love
Son Volt - Slow Hearse
The Pigeon Detectives - I'm Not Sorry
Amplifier - The Consultancy
Bob Seger - Roll Me Away
Noisettes - Don't Give Up
Pearl Jam - Hawaii '78

2007-02-04T19:31:00.000-05:00

Pete got a brand new flat screen for his brand new apartment. We are
watching the game, ordering the pizza, and just enjoying being the men
that we are!

2007-02-04T18:56:00.000-05:00

Im still walking over 2 peters. Missing touchdowns in hd, left and
right. But I did have to stop a moment to catch this amazingly classic
new york streetscape.

2007-02-04T17:47:00.001-05:00

Oy vey, what a day!

I got rescued in record time! Now I gotta run to the party. Thanks for
everyones concern and thoughts. I couldn't have survived without your
well wishes!

Go bears!

TRAPPED!

2007-02-04T17:21:00.000-05:00

I am currently blogging to you from in between the 9th and 10th floors
of the office building I've been working at for the past few months. The
elevator got stuck as I was leaving for the day, headed to Peter's for a
superbowl party. Funny enough, I had taken a bunch of soda from lunch to
bering to Pete's, so if I end up stuck for the next 15 hours, at least I
will have my sidekick for internet access, and something to drink.

The security guard on the intercom estimates I will be rescued in the
next 15 minutes... ill provide updates as they become available.

2007-01-31T23:58:00.000-05:00

Hey there.

I haven't really heard anything worth bloging about. I'm going to try and get back into blogging old skool style, it used to be fun. As a new segment, I present the first of many Changing Trax:

To start us off, I'm reprinting one of my favorite changing trax. This was written by Erica, one of my oldest and best friends, in honor of her mother. Erica had a baby girl two weeks ago, and she named her after her mother. Here is their song, originally published April 28, 2006:

Name: Erica

Song: Sia - Breath Me (download) (lyrics)

The story behind it:

This song evokes many emotions about my mom who passed away 8 years ago today.

My mom was a brilliant woman, with so much potential, so much passion, so much conviction. She could have done anything with her life. She was outwardly powerful, extremely opinionated, and could at times be somewhat intimidating. But in reality, she was scared. She was lost. She had all the tools to be this highly successful person, but she wanted coddling. She wanted to be held. She was scared to move forward. There would be times where it seemed she took strides forward, but then she would lose herself. She couldn't quite make it to the top. In reality, all she wanted was to be loved. She had so much love in her life, but she wanted more. She needed to be the focus, but was not willing to reciprocate that need. She tried so hard: she tried to be a good mother, and she was. She tried to be a good wife, she wanted to be a faithful friend. She tried to be the lifeof the party, the beautiful woman with the long blond hair. But when she couldn't be that person all the time, she turned into a little lost girl. In the end, she died thinking she was a lost cause. We, her family, know differently.

Breathe Me, to me, is about somoene who is lost. Someone who tries and tries, but gets knocked down everytime, no matter what. Somoene who is so fragile that any bad time or dip breaks her. Someone who tries to cope, tries to live, tries to thrive, but always ends up broken. Someone who just wants to be held and be told that everything will be alright.

This is a very special song for me on so many levels. There are many songs that evoke emotion, whether it's a song from my childhood or a song that played at my wedding, but this song is so powerful to me because it haunts me every single time I hear it.

My mom was an amazingly brave and talented woman, and she is extremely missed. Everytime I hear Breathe Me I think of her and her life and how much I love her.

2006-12-15T20:42:00.000-05:00

photo courtesy jocelyn

2006-10-11T16:55:00.000-04:00

I'm posting more about this beacuse it's such an easy way to help donate money to charity and to get in shape.

RUN WITH LANCE - 5,394 miles donated to date
Lance Armstrong is training for the marathon in NYC, and he's raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation as he goes. Donate your miles to reach the goal by 11/5.

RUN TOGETHER - 15,591 miles donated to date
Give your miles and win the fight for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Presented by the Nike Women's Marathon, you can run for this cause until 10/22.

CHICAGO SHOWDOWN - 9,919 miles donated to date
Choose your turf, and donate your miles to Chicago White Sox Charities (Southside) or Chicago Cubs Charities (Northside). The side with the most by 10/22 wins more.

i heart nike+

2006-10-06T16:28:00.000-04:00

I've been running with the Nike+ for a few months now. To my friends, I've been singing it's praises since it was anounced back in June.

I didn't mention it here because I decided to give it some long term testing before jeddeth decided to endorse it.

jeddeth is not all about the hype!

After owning and running with this system for a few months, I have to admit, it's the best thing to happen for running since god invented feet. You should get this thing.

Last week Nike introduced Group Goals which lets you donate the miles you run to a cause. How friggin cool is that? I mean I'm running anyway, so why not help cure cancer at the same time?

I am constantly inspired to run more, run faster, run longer, and run harder because when I get home I know I will get to see the results on my computer. The tracker logs my distance, pace, time, and calories burned for each run.

On the run side I've been using one of the nike+ runs. Not the crystal method bullshit. I listened to that, but its just a music mix. The one I listen to is a music mix that is narrarated by Alberto Salazar. Yeah, I didn't know who he is either. It turns out that he is an award winning coach, like olympics or something.

During the run he talks to me about the speed I should be going, when to give it my all, how to pay attention to what my body is telling me about my running, and when I need it he reminds me to just keep going a little longer, or that I'm halfway there, or that I need to remember my goal! It's awesome. I'm currently working on strengthening my endurance. It seems to slowly be working and I am pretty much addicted to the workout and music on that program.

The other cool thing is that you don't need to buy nike sneakers. I found that you can put the $29 transmitter in a sneaker waller and if you own a nano already thats pretty much your only cost. All of the amazing features on the website are free.

I think if you run you should get this thing going and challenge me! Did I mention that friends can challenge eachother? Just pick a time or distance. You each run at your own convienience or head to head and then the website compares your times and distances and proclaims a winner!

Everything about the system makes running more fun and before you know it your a happy and healthy running enthusiast. Pretty sweet.

/advertisement

2006-09-26T21:45:00.000-04:00

if you don't already have it... Head over to MTV's The Leak in the next six days for a full-album preview of Sam's Town from The Killers. The sophmore effort from the band will hit stores on October 3rd. In related TV news, the band will ring in the new season of Saturday Night Live this weekend. The band will also participate in a 3-night residency on Jimmy Kimmel Live starting October 3rd. (via silent uproar)

The Features

2006-09-26T12:21:00.000-04:00

HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE FEATURES?

September 27th, tomorrow night woohoo, is my most highly anticipated concert in recent memory.

The Features, from Nashville / Murfreesboro Tennessee are playing the Mercury Lounge at 9pm! Check out their Myspace. They're dancy, sing along-able, sometimes they sound like weezer, sometimes battle, sometimes they are totally unique, but most of all, they are always awesome!

A few months ago my friend Sarah sent me an mp3 of a band. She said they had been on Universal but were dropped and the label she worked for was looking to sign them. I listened and within moments was in love. ("love at first listen"?)

It turns out the features were signed to Universal in 2004 and put out a genius album called "Exhibit A." I don't understand why I never heard it or heard of it, but at the time I think I was too busy with Rilo Kiley and Postal Service to really have time to discover any other serious passions. And trust me, my love for The Features has become a serious passion.

Yeah, but I almost forgot to mention. The features were on Universal and they were asked by the label to record a cover of the Beatles "All You Need Is Love" to be used in a chase credit card commercial. When the band refused, Universal dropped them. How incredibly respectable and principled is this band? I'm just waiting to hear that they are all worship pete dougherty or they fall into some awful southern stereotype... but it doesn't seem that they are capable of that.

I love this band because I love the lyrics, the music is exciting, and the lead singer's voice is powerful and attractive. I can listen to "Exhibit A" over and over and over... and I usually do. I listen to it at work, I listen to it whilst running, and I wake up to it as my morning alarm clock. And amazingly, every time I find a new Features' song, I love it. I have yet to be disappointed.

Here are 3 of my favorites. Check them out, but I'm warning you, if you don't have space in your life for a new favorite band, you might want to just sit this one out.

I would love to just share everything I have. It took me a while to track down the few Features eps I have found. I know there's even more I need to get, but alas, here are three great tracks for now. "Blow It Out" from the "exhibit A" album has a little children's rhyme built into the chorus that makes me feel like a little kid, but a little kid in a rock band. "Contrast" is off their new EP and it was the first song I heard and I knew this was something special. Finally "D-Con Radio One" is an unreleased(?) befitting ode to my all time favorite radio station.

The Features - Blow It Out (yousendit link)
The Features - Contrast (yousendit link)
The Features - D-Con Radio One (yousendit link)

2006-09-25T18:27:00.000-04:00

wierd

pink, gervais, and the fratellis

2006-09-21T09:49:00.000-04:00

wow pink! why'd you go and pose toppless for some german magazine? I'm not sure I really get it cause last I heard you was preachin' to all the little school girls about how they shouldn't grow up to be a ho, but then you sprawl your tata's across the glossy newstands of a foriegn country. What up with that? Oh, and thanks, I like it a lot.

Fan's of the office, extras, or just Ricky Gervais:

Today Gervais will release another podcast in his ongoing series of the world's most downloaded podcasts. I can't wait to hear what they have in store today. For anyone who hasn't gotten on the Karl Pilkington bandwagon and discovered the stupidity that is possible of human-beings... check out last weeks show (sendspace link) which was one of the funniest I've heard in a while.

Now, getting to some music:

Everyone loves The Fratellis and their lovable hits Henrietta and Chelsea Dagger but their entire album is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I especially like Everybody Knows You Cried Last Night which makes me giggle everytime.

The Fratellis - Everyone Knows You Cried Last Night (yousenditlink)

2006-09-20T13:51:00.000-04:00

preview two new tunes from the who

Guillemots Take Me Out!

2006-09-20T09:10:00.000-04:00

The Guillemots are one of my favorite emerging artists of 2006. They were my favorite for the Mercury Prize and they have managed to realease track after track of interesting sounds and creative arrangements that always add up to awesomeness. Recently the guillemots packed the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge and gave an amazing performance of their current single 'Trains To Brazil' and a twisted version of 'Take Me Out' by Franz Ferdinand.

download and focus in on the twisted version of 'Take Me Out' for a moment... they took an overplayed indie classic and made it exciting again...

The Guillemots - 'Take Me Out' (Franzie Panzie cover) (yousenditlink)
The Guillemots - 'Trains To Brazil' (yousenditlink)

New from the Killers

2006-09-19T09:44:00.000-04:00

It's gonna be a killer's kind of day. I'm not sooo excited about this new album and all they hype surrounding it. I do not think the Killers = new U2 comparissions are anything but totally rediculous and I wish people and the media would just stop already. But you gotta give the people what they want and I did think they were great at the VMA's... so here are some goodies:

from the album...

The Killers - All The Pretty Faces (Studio track from Sam's Town) (yousendit link)

and from The Killers live at Blackpool Empress Ballroom U.K 8-9-2006
This is the entire show as one MP3 (sorry it's an 80mb xdrive link), and it includes 6 of the new songs...
I believe the set list was:

01 - When We Were Young
02 - Somebody Told Me
03 - Sam's Town
04 - Smile Like You Mean It
05 - Bones
06 - Jenny
07 - Can You Read My Mind
08 - All These Things...
09 - Drive Faster
10 - Mr Brightside

If you are in New York the Killers will be performing a secret show at Webster Hall this Friday, September 22. Pre-Sale tickets will be available 3PM http://ticketing.concertmaps.com/thekillers/

Username: thekillers password: tickets

Okay. bringing things back to normal, non-hipster hype mode... here is an excellent video of Pearl Jam performing Baba O'Rielly at the Reading Festival last month. This was the moment when they just absolutely blew away every single brit in the crowd. Enjoy!

2006-09-18T16:29:00.000-04:00

name that rock star!

Here's a hint... he's the guy on the left and his name is printed on the photo. Unbelieveable.

2006-09-15T13:48:00.000-04:00

last nights poster
Would make a nice tramp stamp for some little PJ hottie!

from pearl jam's italian dates.

2006-09-13T13:03:00.000-04:00

Most of the Killer's new album

anyone who is dying in anticipation of the new killer's album. I reccomend checking out the show they played in Blackpool this weekend. It was broadcast on radio and and you can hear the whole thing RIGHT HERE (including 8 or 9 songs from Sam's Town).

I myself am way too bust trying to get to the bottom of the lonelygirl15 controversey.

2006-09-08T16:27:00.000-04:00

I came across this adorable singer songwriter from LA on youtube. She instantly won me over with her personality and pipes. Then I took a quick listen to her 8-track sampler that I found on oink and I was totally blown away with how talented, entertaining, and did I mention talanted she is? I dunno, I just really related to her lyrics and I think she has a great voice. Her songs are catchy and she's really like-able. What more can you really ask for? The next Jenny Lewis? Maybe. A definite up and coming superstar? Definately!

Terra Naomi - Up Here (yousendit)

and check out all here youtube videos...

2006-09-05T13:12:00.000-04:00

Tonight The Mercury Prize will be handed out...

1992 - Primal Scream - Screamadelica
1993 - Suede - Suede
1994 - M People - Elegant Slumming
1995 - Portishead - Dummy
1996 - Pulp - Diffrent Class
1997 - Roni Size & Reprazent - New Forms
1998 - Gomez - Bring It On
1999 - Talvin Singh - OK
2000 - Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of the Bewilderbeast
2001 - PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
2002 - Ms Dynamite - A Little Deeper
2003 - Dizzee Rascal - Boy In Da Corner
2004 - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
2005 - Anthony & The Johnstons - I Am A Bird Now

My money is on the Guelimots or Muse... although I'm guessing the arctic monkeys or Thom Yorke will get it.

If anyone has a copy of Guelimots performing "Take Me Out" from radio one please send it my way, that was just plain awesome.

2006-08-29T16:56:00.000-04:00

Today is the prefect day.

I have been waiting for today for months.

We had a day just like today. It was rainy. It was cloudy. It was dark. I was heart broken. I felt ways I didn't really understand and I thought that I was just going to have to get used to those feelings.

That day someone sent me a song. A song that was officially released today. And today is just like that day. Well, here in New York anyway. It's just the perfect day for this album to be released.

I have wanted to share this song for the world to hear since that day. It leaked a while back, but today with it's official release I want to take a moment and celebrate this song and this album. It spoke to me when I needed music to. I relate to it, I cherish it, and I enjoy it immensley every time I listen.

Here you can listen to the WHOLE ALBUM.

make sure you absorb every second of track 3 "empty"

Buy the album, you will not regret it.

2006-08-24T12:59:00.000-04:00

one day the wrens will be bigger than they are now.

2006-08-21T19:52:00.000-04:00

I'd never heard this pearl jam rareity until today. It's a must listen. Not really a song, not really a spoken word poem, not really a break up story, but not really a love story either... its just what it is... beautiful. I believe it's from the russian or japanesse editions of the lost dogs compilation. enjoy. be sound.

Pearl Jam - I'm Still Here (right click and save as)

she said to me, over the phone
she wanted to see other people
i thought, "well then, look around, they're everywhere"
said that she was confused...
i thought, "darling, join the club"
24 years old, mid-life crisis
nowadays hits you when you're young
i hung up, she called back, i hung up again
the process had already started
at least it happened quick
i swear, i died inside that night
my friend, he called
i didn't mention a thing
the last thing he said was, "be sound"
sound...
i contemplated an awful thing, i hate to admit
i just thought those would be such appropriate last words
but i'm still here
and small
so small.. how could this struggle seem so big?
so big...
while the palms in the breeze still blow green
and the waves in the sea still absolute blue
but the horror
every single thing i see is a reminder of her
never thought i'd curse the day i met her
and since she's gone and wouldn't hear
who would care? what good would that do?
but i'm still here
so i imagine in a month...or 12
i'l be somewhere having a drink
laughing at a stupid joke
or just another stupid thing
and i can see myself stopping short
drifting out of the present
sucked by the undertow and pulled out deep
and there i am, standing
wet grass and white headstones all in rows
and in the distance there's one, off on its own
so i stop, kneel
my new home...
and i picture a sober awakening, a re-entry into this little bar scene
sip my drink til the ice hits my lip
order another round
and that's it for now
sorry
never been too good at happy endings...

2006-08-20T15:27:00.000-04:00

great family guy tonight...

great family guy clip

2006-08-13T20:01:00.001-04:00

2006-08-09T11:22:00.000-04:00

You need to see this genius photo project and website.

this dude listens to music with his dog and then when the dog likes a band the guy contacts the band and gets them to take a picture with his dog! here are two of my favorites...

dog & the editors

dog & jose gonzalez

but check them all out here http://www.girella.com/dog-likes-music.htm

2006-08-07T18:47:00.000-04:00

Nothing makes a guy feel better than watching other people cry while they're eating. Am I right? I am right, aren't are I? Yeah... I'm right.

cryingwhileeating.com

2006-08-07T17:03:00.000-04:00

this is freaking me out but I can't stop watching it. What's wrong with her?

2006-08-03T23:20:00.000-04:00

some awesomeness...

fuck the vma's, here's the music video of the year.
from okay go...

Every woman needs one of these...

and finally, my new favorite tv show... PANTS OFF DANCE OFF!!!

2006-07-31T10:05:00.000-04:00

I like-a da set lists...

Editors @ Irving Plaza

Bloc Party @ McCarren Pool

Secret Machines @ McCarren Pool

2006-07-28T10:23:00.000-04:00

lATELY, tHIS IS hOW i fEEL aBOUT bLOGGING

2006-07-25T17:20:00.000-04:00

here are two of the greatest moments in music history.

Pearl Jam 7/22/06 - Yellow Ledbetter -> Little WIng -> Star Spangled Banner

Ray Lamontagne - Empty

2006-07-25T17:08:00.000-04:00

She lifts her skirt up to her knees, walks through the garden rows with her bare feet laughing.

I never learned to count my blessings, I choose, instead, to dwell in my disasters.

I walk on down the hill, through grass grown tall and brown and still it's hard somehow to let go of my pain.

On past the busted backs of old and rusted Cadillacs that sink into this field collecting rain.

Will I always feel this way? So empty, and estranged.

And of these cutthroat busted sunsets, these cold and damp white mornings I have grown weary.

If through my cracked and dusty country lips I spoke these words out loud would no one hear me?

Lay your blouse across the chair, let fall the flowers from your hair and kiss me with that country mouth so plain.

Outside the rain is tapping on the leaves to me it sounds like they're applauding us the quiet love we make.

Will it always feel this way? So empty and estranged.

Well I looked my demons in the eyes, laid bare my chest said do your best to destroy me.

See I've been to hell and back so many times I must admit you kind of bore me.

There's a lot of things that can kill a man, there's a lot of ways to die yes and some already did and walk beside me.

There's a lot of things I don't understand why so many people lie, it's the hurt I hide that fuels the fire inside me.

Will it always feel this way? So empty and estranged.

"Empty" by Ray Lamontagne

Ray Lamontagne is cut from a cloth that I thought was used up decades
ago. An artist who is driven by a fire deep inside, a voice in the
depths of his soul, not because he is looking for fame and fortune but
because he is looking for peace of mind and his only way of
communicating with the outside world is through song.

If you read the lyrics to "Empty" from Ray's forthcoming CD "Till The
Sun Turns Black" (RCA) and didn't feel like you were punched in the gut
then I am sorry because nothing is better than having a song move you
that way. That song is pure poetry, balancing the frailty of a man who
is completely lost with the strength of a man who has the balls to tell
his demons that they bore him. Hells Bells! As much as I feel for the
pain and confusion Ray has welling up inside him, there is a selfish
part of me that revels in it because without it, these songs would not
exist. I just hope that the music provides him enough therapy that he
can find ample amounts of inner peace.

As he sat across from me in the studio this past weekend performing on
the show, all I could think about was how honest and pure this music
was. His voice echoes all the emotions he is feeling and it possesses
anyone in its path. As you hear it, you are overcome with a calm only to
be ripped to shreds emotionally by the words of a man who wants you to
feel his pain. "Till The Sun Turns Black" is one for the ages, a record
that will only get finer in time. It is one of the strongest offerings
ever from an artist of my generation.

by Scott Register of www.regscoffeehouse.com

2006-07-21T07:16:00.000-04:00

lastnightsposter

A birthday tribute to Stone.

2006-07-14T10:51:00.000-04:00

lastnightsposter

New from The Thermals!

2006-07-14T00:39:00.000-04:00

Here's the first three tracks from the awesome new album "The Body The Blood The Machine" by one of my all time favorite bands The Thermals!!!!!

The Thermals - Heres Your Future
The Thermals - I Might Need You To Kill
The Thermals - An Ear For Baby

Touring man

2006-07-13T14:00:00.000-04:00

No posts lately cause I was in DC, then Chicago, then San Diego, then Los Angeles, and then Denver. I'm finally back. And I guess I should be suffering some more post tour depression as it's affectionately been coined, but either I'm still jetlagged and exhausted from all the traveling and partying, or unexplainable I'm just a happy camper! Here's why the later is probably the case:

First off, did you see me and Keller on storytellers?

I was quite upset that they cut out my interview where I claimed to have seen pearl jam 347 times and then discussed how coincidental it was that they had also played Black 347 times... How magic like that ends up on the cutting room floor I will never understand!

But after a nice weekend in DC to sit by the pool and celebrate our ongoing independence, I headed for the second leg of my cross continental pearl jam tour!

Dateline San Diego: Friday July 7, 2006

I landed in SD, picked up my convertible, and headed for town. There I quickly made friends with some local lawyers who happened to have just opened a cafe downtown. They were so nice it took me by surprise, I guess I'm not in New York anymore. They told me what beach to hang out at, where the best parties were that night, and how I could easily find the nicest apartment and job as in house counsel for a local corporation. If I ever move to SD, they said they could even hook me up with free HAD cable. They were just so excited to talk to a Yankees fan and so impressed I flew across the country for a concert. Good peeps, good times.

Then it was off to pick up Jesse and to go to the show. We got there early and made some friends and scored some posters. Eventually the girl with out fan club tickets showed up, but in the interim I started getting really comfortable with the atmosphere in San Diego. The weather was perfect, everyone was so nice, and things just felt calm and comfortable. Compared to the stress involved with going to an east coast show, it was a nice change of pace. And that feeling carried on throughout the show. The one thing people comment about that show was how it just felt different and nice. The band seemed at ease, the crowed seemed really happy, and the venue was just airy and peaceful. Eddie even commented a few times about how happy they all were to be in San Diego and how it felt like a homecoming.

The overall feeling really contributed to the show feeling special. Once Eddie got really drunk, climbed the rafters (I haven't seen that in years) and told the unbelievable story of how he wrote Long Road, I knew this was a show I could not have missed. They played crown of thorns, big wave for the very first time, and some cool rarities like Satan's Bed. Oh and I almost forgot the most important part. After seeing Pearl Jam 7 times on the east coast, I finally got to see / hear them open with Release! Thank fuckin god. Every show should open with that fucking song.

After the show we were off to Newport beach for a day on the beach.

That night I went up to LA and went out with Orit who is friends with all the door guys at all the music venues and clubs in LA. She runs parties and shit but I think these connections are just from socializing, which I guess is even cooler. We hung out at the troubadour and made fun of all the LA girls dressed to the nines and waiting in the lines. I have to say, in my mind California girls are supposed to be super hot, toned, and just draw dropping... But in reality New York girls are way hotter. It might be because LA is so spread out and in NY all the girls (hot or not) are condensed into a smaller area... But I mean, we were out at these clubs and on these beaches where these California girls are supposed to be and I was disappointed. I guess I'm just lucky enough that I have a beautiful woman in my life and no one else can compare to her.

Next day was all about sitting at the cafe on Melrose and looking pretty. I shopped for some concert t's ($200 for a vintage kenny loggins t, well worth it). Then we went and watched the world cup in a french restaurant where no one spoke English, just like new york. After the most amazing drive through LA we headed for hermosa beach for some drinks and then to the show (if you've never driven around socal in a convertible you gotta do it. We were doing 90 with the ocean on our right and the sun high above and it was just awesomeness).

Here's my LA observation: it is basically New York but with better weather and more driving. I liked it there a lot. I felt totally comfortable and really liked hanging out with my friends there. Going out was exactly the same, the rooms and people and drink prices were all the same. The radio was better. Most everyone I hung out with was not actually from LA, or even California. And most of them claimed to really like LA but they also hated it. Their apartments were super nice, but as expensive as New York. The main thing I liked better than New York was driving around in my convertible with a car full of friends and singing as loud as I could at traffic lights so people in the cars next to me could enjoy these pipes the lord gave me.

The LA forum is a cool venue because it's basically not used anymore but in its heyday Led Zepplin and the who played there. I guess it was the west coast MSG.

Outside the venue I got a call that the girl I was meeting with my ticket was having a slight delay. It turned out that her pal was not feeling so good. She was supposed to drop her off at the airport and then come to the show, but they had to take a detour to the emergency room. Apparently the girl has Chron's Disease (of all things she has the one disease Mike also has, is there something to that?) Anyway, I guess the few days since the San Diego show had taken a toll and she was puking and unable to fly. So 1/2 hour before they took the stage, my ticket bailed, and I got a ticket for face value from a scalper. It was probably the worst seat in the venue. All the way at the top, on exaclty the opposite side from the stage. As far away as you can get. And I stood there and looked down and starred at my empty seat all the way down in the fan club member's section... and I'm not gonna lie, it didn't feel good. Luckily, I was able to find Jesse's seats and I made friend with the security guard and she was more than happy to let me stay with them up in the good seats.

That was a good show, but it didn't compare to San Diego or to the next night. Although they did play crown of thorns again and an amazing version of Jeremy, which I didn't realize I could still enjoy, but it was good. And oh yeah, this was the night they opened with Release... so disregard what I said about San Diego before and apply it to the first LA show. Amanda (the girl jesse brought with him), said it was the best show she's ever seen. Jesse and I agreed that San Diego was better, but not in front of her.

(how many pearl jam fans are getting this?)

Finally it was monday and almost time for yet another show. But first I had some chillin to do in Venice Beach followed by a breathtaking trip to Malibu to pick up the bearer of my fan club ticket for that evening.

We missed sonic youth the second night, but during the intermission we made some new friends who hooked us up huge. We started out with tickets on the floor in about the 20th row. As soon as we sat down some dude recognized my new concert buddy from the Irving Plaza show. After he mentioned us, everyone around us kept asking if we had really flown out from Manhattan to see pearl jam, and since we both had, we hammed it up. After chatting a bit we got up to scope out the security situation on the floor. There was none. So we walked up to the front. Then the lights went off. So we found 2 empty seats right up front and as luck would have it, the people in those seats never showed up. How does that happen? Is there a pair of empty seats at every show because someone had to go to the emergency room on the way to the show? Either way, I'm glad I was close because it was a great show. They played almost none of the new album and so many rare songs including walking the cow, once, footsteps, mfc, Daughter/(It's Ok)/(I Believe In Miracles)/(Blitzkrieg Bop), Sad, Garden, Down, Go, Better Man/(Save it for Later), I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts (by X), and an amazing Off He Goes.

It was a nice way to end things.

I guess my lack of Post Tour Depression stems from my plans for going to the Seattle shows followed by Lollapolooza and then Prague, Paris, and Reading & Leeds. Hopefully by September I will have had enough, but definitely not yet!

2006-06-30T22:07:00.000-04:00

lastnightsposter

2006-06-30T16:00:00.000-04:00

Last night I was treated to an amazing performance by Jose Gonzalez at the Spin Magazine office. His voice is so soft and a delight to the senses, and his guitar playing is so intricate, the whole set was an emotional beautiful journey through his catalog. Jose wasn't very talkative, but the energy he puts into his songs speak volumes. Check out the track he recently did with Zero 7 and then two of his solo tracks recorded live at KCRW two weeks ago. These are, in my opinion, the best of the best. When Jose played Hand on Your Heart last night I was truly moved.

Here is Spin's take (there should be video of the performance on spin.com soon)

Zero 7 & Jose Gonzalez - Futures

Jose Gonzalez - Hand On Your Heart

Jose Gonzalez - Deadweight on Velveteen

can I stay

2006-06-29T11:44:00.000-04:00

I fuckin love ray lamontagne. crazy right? I never did before. But wait til you hear his new album. It's a masterpeice, I swear, it is. The first single released off it is not my favorite, and definately not the reason why the album is a masterpeice, but it's an enjoyable tune non-the-less. So until the august unveiling of my favorite album of 2006, so far, here is a beautiful and sexy song to tide us over...

Ray Lamontagne - Can I Stay (yousendit)

In additional Ray Lamontage news... Did you hear about his gig in the UK this week?

According to this show thread on his site, during the opener, Leona Ness' set, the crowd was talking and not paying attention and Ray got pissed! He came out on stage and told off the audience and accused them of not wanting to hear music. Then he went back to his hotel. The crowd was very confused. The crew took apart the stage. People left. An hour or two later Ray hit the stage and played a heartfelt set which included the spectacular...

Ray Lamontagne - Burn In My Skin (yousendit)

... as the thread points out, with lyrics like 'please try to ignore this blood on the floor, it's just this heart on my sleeve that is bleeding,' or

Its hard to somehow let go of my pain. Will I always feel this way?
So empty, so estranged. There's a lot of things that can kill a man, theres a
lot of ways to die, there's a lot of things i dont understand, why so many
people lie... its that hurt i had that fuels the fire inside me.

... it's hard to hold his diva behavior against him.

2006-06-29T11:10:00.000-04:00

lastnightsposter

2006-06-29T10:38:00.000-04:00

I thought that a whore didn't have a soul, based on my personal experience.

But Rihanna has taught me to look at them with more compassion.

Jokes aside, this song is so odd. Although it's not a style of music I would ever listen too, the lyrics deserve a moment. Rihanna is likening herself to a murderer because she is cheating on her boyfriend and he knows it, and she is aware that it is killing him. At first listen I was struck by her lyrics, "I don't want to be a murderer." Then I kind of loved the song for a minute. Now I'm just back to perplexed. Did she write this song to help all the other little whores out there relate to her plight? Or to sympathize with her ex-boyfriend? Or is this kind of pop crap not to be questioned?

newayz, download and enjoy!

Rihanna - Unfaithful (yousenditlink)

2006-06-28T19:49:00.000-04:00

mercy mercy me

2006-06-28T17:18:00.000-04:00

If They Mated:

For todays installment of if they mated, we revist the union of strokes and vedders. What a beautiful thing. Wanna hear eddie vedder, josh homme, and the strokes singing a classic song by marvin gaye? sure ya do!

Mercy, Mercy Me - The Strokes and Eddie Vedder (yousendit link)

2nd link

2006-06-27T13:22:00.000-04:00

this is me in 2 weeks...

the jacket

2006-06-27T12:58:00.000-04:00

After watching the MMJ Bonnaroo set I was blown away by one song that I had really never heard before. I asked some seriosu MMJ experts and still couldn't figure out what it was. So after downloading numerous bootlegs and videos, I finally figured it out... and here's your reward:

The Who - A QUICK ONE WHILE HE'S AWAY

MMJ Bonnaroo Version

MMJ Bonnaroo Entire Set as MP3's

Entire MMJ Bonnaroo Video (500MB yousendit download)

What would my euphemism be?

2006-06-26T19:03:00.001-04:00

What would my euphemism be?

I've been obsessed with CLOSER lately. From the very moment the film opens to Damien Rice's epic The Blower's Daughter, this film speaks volumes. Then I was at Banana Republic yesterday buying a new suit, and as the seamstress was hemming my pants, she looked up at me and out of no where states, "have you seen closer? I was watching it last night..." Well, that got us to talkin and after a heated debate I decided to watch the film again for the 2nd time in a week. And you know what, thats a damn fine film. So take a listen to the opening song...

Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter (yousendit link)

crazy roots and instrumentals

2006-06-26T14:58:00.000-04:00

Continuing to monitor the one hit wondrousness of all that is gnarles barkley's crazy...

Here is what seems to be the original sample the song was taken from. I think this is from the 60's
Nel Cimitero Di Tucson

And for all you kareoke fanatics, here's the instrumental version of the hit sweeping the nation:
Gnarles Barkley - Crazy (instrumental)

2006-06-24T14:17:00.000-04:00

lastnightsposter

2006-06-24T11:49:00.000-04:00

lastnightsposter

Last night pearl jam kicked off the 2nd leg of their tour in pittsburg (set list). as you can see the poster is very very cool. From the texts and calls I recieved it was an amazing show beginning with Eddie playing throw your arms around me and then a amazing and always emotional release as the full band's show opener.

Also featured was a rolling stones cover. the last time pearl jam played pittsburg they opened for the stones, so i guess this was some sort of tribute to that. here is the original stone's version for your listening pleasure.

enjoy.

Rolling Stones - Waiting On A Friend (yousendit download)

2006-06-18T16:45:00.001-04:00

"Mmmmm your dirt is my fuckin' food. Don't you understand that by now?"

Lollapoloza 1993 in Indio Caliofornia. Right after pearl jam played "fuck me in the brain," the crowd was being real crappy, throwing shoes at the band for no reason. This was when one of pearl jam's most classic live moments took place.

Hear the whole "shoe the shoeless" show (November 5, 1993) at pearljamlive.com

2006-06-13T20:05:00.000-04:00

here's the automatic covering Gold Digger on Radio One

The Automatic - Gold Digger (via yousendit)

2006-06-13T19:49:00.000-04:00

not easy to watch, but important to think about...

MySpace.com

the automatic

2006-06-13T06:13:00.000-04:00

What's that coming over the hill!?!?

British sensation, the automatic, first struck me as a cross between the arcade fire and a childrens cartoon staring gogol bordello. But the more I listened the more genuis I realized it all is. I'm pretty sure I was fully won over when they covered Kayne West's Grave Digger on BBC One (mp3 anyone?), but then again it's all good. What are you gonna substitue for monster?

Download from yousendit... Enjoy.

The Automatic - Monster (you must absolutely definately with out hesitation listen to this one!)

The Automatic - Raoul

The Automatic - Recover

2006-06-12T14:31:00.000-04:00

Gnarles now with more awesomeness!

2006-06-12T14:17:00.000-04:00

My Morning Jacket on Letterman with the Boston Pops!

2006-06-12T13:01:00.000-04:00

Link to hear:How To Explain

2006-06-11T22:56:00.000-04:00

Since it's sunday and i didn't go to church this morning I thought it would be appropriate to post this excellent cover of The Street's Never Went To Church by the Guillemots! enjoy!

Guillemots - Never Went To Church (you send it link)