BEULAH UPDATE...sort of

http://tinyurl.com/yaomx5z

(I told you Pitchfork was still my place for news)

So that’s what Miles from Beulah has been doing the past 5 years…growing out his hair and hanging out at Hooters…with…with hooters. “Miles Kurosky – Owl Whisperer. “

I know I’ve peppered Beulah into a few of my posts. They are one of those great bands that remind me of college/early NY. I first heard tracks off of “Handsome Western States” on WVUD while driving around Newark, DE delivering pizza (Grottos) my junior year. There was no iPod auxiliary jack (or CD player for that matter) in the Ford Escort/Pizza Warmer hybrid they had me pilot. Wild West kids…wild western Delaware.

HWS was such a hard album to find if I remember correctly. I think it was an Elephant6 release which didn't have much distribution at the time...let alone to college indies. I scoured Bert’s on Main St but I think I ended up picking it up in Philly. Great story Tom…cheeeesus.

Pitchfork’s Top 500 Songs of the 2000’s: A CugeRock Commentary

Out of all of the music sites I check on a regular basis…I go to Pitchfork for news and reviews most every day. News is news and the reviews used make sense to me despite being two paragraphs longer than they should have been. Lately I haven’t agreed with some of their reviews retroactive to me purchasing and listening to the album reviewed. This concerns me.

On a similar note, their “Top x of x time period” lists are always way off the mark in my opinion. Currently on the site they are doing a “Top 500 Tracks of the 2000’s” ( http://tinyurl.com/qn9ygo ) or what they view as the top 500 influential songs given the past decade. They also have many other related articles and lists including the top 200 albums of the past decade which oddly enough I completely agree with…aside from a few rankings in question.

Now back to the issue at hand. Someone high up at Pitchfork (I’m acting like its Globex Corp.) or Mr. Pitchfork’s son/daughter (Pete or Penny Pitchfork) must absolutely love the band The Knife cause I feel like they’re on every top whatever-the-fuck list they put out…and they suuuuuuuuuuck. Antony & the Johnsons is a close second. One year I think two of the Knife’s albums were in the top 5 for the year. So I thought…wow…these guys must be good. Notsomuch. I know Pitchfork doesn’t like to make obvious ranking choices but peppering in obscurity for obscurity’s sake or pop-music singles for pop-music singles sake does not do anyone any good. You shouldn’t reward artists who cater to what would sound good at a pro basketball game during a timeout. I used to give Pitchfork the benefit of the doubt as they are music experts (and honestly…I still do) but once you read the disparities below you’ll see how I’m starting to have doubts. Keep in mind…this what they are saying is the top 500…FIVE HUNDRED SONGS OF THE PAST 10 YEARS….top 500….last ten years.

KEY MATCHUPS IN QUESTION - (#Ranking. Artist – “Song” vs #Ranking. Artist – “Song”)

1. Outcast – “Bombs Over Baghdad” vs 301. The Shins – “Kissing The Lipless” (SHOULD BE #1…or at least in the top 10…301? Crickets!)

4. Beyonce – “Crazy in Love” vs 142. Flaming Lips – “Do You Realize?” (I don’t deny Beyonce’s hit track and its importance but #4? Whaaa? #142 for the official state song of Oklahoma!)

5. Daft Punk – “One More Time” vs 99. MGMT – “Time to Pretend” (Time to check your list one more time so I can pretend you’re not serious. Wheeoa!)

7. Missy Elliot – “Get Your Freak On” vs 44. Franz Ferdinand - “Take Me Out” (That’s fair…oh gaaa!)

17. Annie – “Heartbeat” vs 155. Coldplay – “Clocks” (makes ZERO sense)

19. R.Kelly – “Ignition (Remix)” vs 89. Postal Service – “Such Great Heights” (I feel like R.Kelly pissed on my head from a very SHORT height when looking at this ranking. Swish!)

21. Kelly Clarkson – “Since You’ve Been Gone” vs 84. Peter, Bjorn & John – “Young Folks” (So not fair…Young Folks has been played to death but its such a unique and important song within the decade in indie that it should have ranked ahead of “Miss Independent”)

28. Antony & The Johnsons – “I Hope There’s Someone” vs 286. ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - "Another Morning Stoner" (MY GOD THIS GUY SUCKS. WHY? WHY DOES PITCHFORK SUPPORT THIS GUY? He sounds like a cup of vanilla pudding on valium. They gave TOD album Source Tags and Codes a 10.0 rating in which I gave PF the utmost respect but then ranked the top track #286 Arrrrgh!!!)

29. Hot Chip – “Boy From School” vs 175. Usher [ft. Lil Jon and Ludacris] - "Yeah" (More like the boy from drool…hahaha. No? Guys?)

32. Amerie – “One Thing” vs 123. Kanye West – “Jesus Walks” (Ok. Who the f is Amerie? I fully admit my tastes do not skew to the “blazin hip-hop and r&b" genre but I’ve heard of every other artist on this list aside from this one. And she ranks #32? Really? The “one thing” I’m not complaining about is the album cover – sorry ladies...that was inappropriate)

63. The Hold Steady – “Stuck Between Stations” vs 196. NoAge – “Teen Creeps” (why…why do people like the Hold Steady?…they sound like a Thin Lizzy/Springsteen wannabe hybrid. Teen Creeps so out-rocks it)

77. Three 6 Mafia – “Stay Fly” vs 104. Eminem – “Lose Yourself” (I’m sorry…I would like to hear the argument that “Stay Fly” had a bigger impact than this track)

101. Jurgen Paape – “"So Weit Wie Noch Nie" vs 307. Wolf Parade –“Shine a Light” (see my comments below regarding frauline Paape. Ask anyone who’s heard of which artist…you know the result)

106. The Mae Shi "Run to Your Grave" vs 143. Feist – “1234” (makes sense…sigh. wow.)

111. Aaliyah - "We Need a Resolution" vs 364. Elliott Smith - "Everything Reminds Me of Her" (neither are RIP with this unfair ranking. I feel ill)

113. Kelis – “Milkshake” vs 395. Death From Above 1979 – “Romantic Rights” (I take this “diss” personally - I still have a DFA79 sticker on my car for gods sake…look at my shirt in the Cugerock photo!)

125. The Field – “Over the Ice” vs 216. Sleater-Kinney - "Jumpers" (The Field? This isn’t even a genre of music. A 6th grader could make this. Please listen to the song if you don’t believe me. Then listen to Jumpers. Good lord.)

133. Belle & Sebastian – “Your Cover’s Blown” vs 456. Doves – “Black & White Town” (The ONLY B&S song I skip)

141. Britney Spears – “Toxic” vs 186. Fugazi – “Cashout” (Jaaaaaaaaaaaysus f-ing Christmas…perhaps the most influential band of my generation…comes out with a stellar album after a 3 year hiatus…and hasn’t put anything out in 8 years…and you throw them 45 songs behind

Britney….my BPH is going through the roof. IM SEEING RED!!!)

146. Fennez – “Endless Summer” vs 255. At the Drive-In - "One Armed Scissor" (WHAT A LOAD OF FENNEZ CRAP – LISTEN TO THIS – IT’S NOT EVEN A SONG. How can you kick ATDI in the crotch with that ranking?)

158. Art Brut – “Formed a Band” vs 402. My Morning Jacket – “Off The Record” (Like the band formed…don’t understand the ranking or choice of song)

180. Gwen Stefani – “Hollaback Girl” (should be #500,000,000,000) vs 191. Vampire Weekend – “Oxford Comma” (Words…’pause’…sigh. Words can’t even describe how much I hate Hollabackgirl…the kids didn’t stand a chance)

197. Joanna Newsom - "Peach, Plum, Pear" vs 224. The National - "Abel" (Good, God, Why? Ugh. Fausts – back me up on this)

354. Tinariwen - "Matadjem Yinmixan" vs 363. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth" (clap your hands if you can pronounce that higher ranking band’s name…sheesh)

381. Crime Mob – “Knuck If You Buck” vs 401. The Walkmen – “In The New Year” (wow…I um….wow)

Oh and thanks for integrating “Lala” as a partner for this listing. Id say 90% of the tracks require you to register before listening. Now bands that I wanted to preview (given they’re on this list) and possibly purchase in the future I swiftly dismiss and move on cause I’m pissed…30 second sample…that’s all I would have needed. Bad marketing…bad. There’s other ways to drive conversions. Don’t piss off the potential consumer. Hmph!

Maybe it’s just me but the list seems to have too much LCD Soundsystem, Hot Chip, Robyn and of course…Outcast. Don’t get me wrong most all of the pop-songs I detail above are no doubt important and should be a part of this list as they have had relevance across the decade…I mean…especially Jurgen Paape – “So Weit Wie Noch Nie”…no one could deny the catchiness of that one (eyes rolling like a slot machine). Seriously, just because I personally don’t like them doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be included or are important (except for Jurgen…I mean…c’mon). Outcast songs like “Hey Ya”, “Ms. Jackson” and “Bombs Over Bagdad” are great tracks. I love them…any normal human being would. “I am foreaaaaal”. I only have issue with the ranking…I just have issues in general. Bombs Over Baghdad…the top song that defines the decade? I’m sorry….am I being completely biased to rock songs here?

TRACK MIS-STEPS: No tracks on the list were off of the latest Fucked Up album? They threw an older track on for indie cred I guess. No New Pornographers songs off of Twin Cinema? Sing me Spanish Techno? Bones of an Idol?

BANDS LEFT OFF THE LIST ALLTOGETHER: Mates of State, The Anniversary (No DANB tracks?), Quasi, Maritime or Promise Ring (No Electric Pink EP tracks? That was 2000), Stephen Malkmus, Stereolab, Blood Brothers, Matt & Kim, Pilot to Gunner, Radio 4, SLOAN (you have something against Canada?), Rainer Maria, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Beulah. Really…no Stereolab…nothing off Sound Dust. Really? WTF LMAOOL OMG Pitchfork.

My friends will tell you that I enjoy making people mixes…often. I do repeat bands within the mix on RARE occasions. In terms of the top 500 songs of the decade so many tracks could have been cut from bands who appear multiple times on the list (albeit good bands) and so many great tracks could have been included from the aforementioned bands left off.

I could go on but I feel so jaded that there is a sense of physical pain. I’m not an angry person…but when it comes to music...I can get spicy. I just don’t understand the logic applied in terms of what songs are considered more important or more influential than others not to mention the bands that were left out entirely. Please give me a job at Pitchfork and we can discuss…as frienemies.

(Special thanks to Ms. Cathy Cribb for her awsome graphic design skills. Not easy to marry Brit with Ian with Carrie. "Great Job!")

SONIC YOUTH: Retrospective/Album Review -The Eternal

This post is dedicated to Eric & Carrie who pushed me to start this blog a year ago and are huge Sonic Youth fans. They recently welcomed a brand spankin new lil munchkin into their home named Poppy…who totally rocks. Congrats again guys. Your daughter is a peanut btw.

Some bands that have been around awhile, 25 years or so and still tour (less likely to record new tracks) usually sound like garbage…more pop…lyrics lose complexity…tempo decreases. The term “going through the motions” comes to mind. They play the songs that made them popular as an opener and encore but they are usually a lot slower than the originals. Then there is Sonic Youth.
When I heard the Sonic Youth track 100% when I was a kid I thought. “Ummm this is cool”. That was probably the first track I ever heard…then I heard Dirty Boots and said to myself “Umm holy shit this rocks”. They had a way of closing tracks so kick-ass. Then I proceeded to pick up the albums Goo and then Dirty (on cassette tape). I especially liked Goo as this was a nickname I had for a brief period when I was a pre-teen (don’t ask). I listened to them constantly as I delivered pizza in high school. I must be honest that I didn’t dig Kim Gordon’s voice at first…that quickly changed when I heard Kool Thing. Man she’s awesome. Her duet (so to speak) with Chuck-D was reminiscent of Debbie Harry, Blondie-esque but for a new generation. Daydream Nation I didn’t get into later although it came before those other two albums mentioned. Teenage Riot is hands down one of the top songs of all time in my opinion. When I lived in a dingy (that’s being polite) basement on 2nd St in the East Village with my cuz we would go to this local bar called The Library for happy-hour pretty much every other Friday. We would throw in 3 or so bucks and would play the same songs every single time…mine were Minot Threat and Misfits. Danny’s were Pavement and Sonic Youth…no other song but Teenage Riot.

Sonic Youth has so many albums that on the later records I would only pick and chose tracks to download as most of them sucked in my opinion. They were too much of what they are famous for which is long track times filled with feedback. Rather Ripped was refreshing as the tracks had some structure and vocals to them (Download - Reena). I remember seeing them when I was in high school with Pavement, Bosstones, 311 etc at the Philly WDRE fest in the early 90’s. They headlined but their set sucked as all they played were 10min long songs filled with distortion (that’s what I remember). As a teenager I didn’t really “get” what they were trying to do with a live show. I was filled with angst. “Whatevs”. I wonder if that tour many years ago brought them together with former Pavement bassist Mark Ibold…who is now a permanent SY band member. Hmmm. I heard them live two other times. Once my cuz and I couldn’t get into the Central Park Summerstage show so we listened from outside the fence…so good. The last time was literally a year ago on Labor Day weekend when I saw them at the final Macarren Park Pool show in Brooklyn. That weekend actually spawned the Cugerock blog. They were so freakin good. The songs they played were across the catalog and the sound was amazing. Thurston played guitar behind his back for Gods sake. Such a great night. That brings me to their latest album The Eternal.

This album is truly a Sonic Youth album but the melodies and guitars are slightly different. It has the perfect mix of distortion and melody which skewed other albums one way or the other. The first track Sacred Trickster could have been off of Dirty. Same goes for Thunderclap For Bobby Pryn which comes later in the album. Pretty hard not to rock along with either of these tracks. That said they weren’t very different from that their back-catalog. The first track that hooked me was Leaky Lifeboat as it didn’t sound like the normal SY intro. While Anti-Orgasm, the second track is one of those classic 6minute distortion rants. Antenna (the 4th track) is 6minutes of great rock melody and vocals (with a little distortion mixed in which is expected). What We Know if very rockin and pop-ish. Its refreshing and puzzling altogether. Total rocker…maybe Mark had some influence on it?…theeeeen you hear the distortion….classic SY. That was Thurston’s turn and Kim was next with Malibu Gas Station. I feel like Thurston took a few pages out of his solo effort Trees Outside the Academy with tracks like Walkin Blue. This is my favorite track on the album. The husband and wife come together (rare) on No Way which is so kick-ass I can’t even tell you. If I ever hear this live I will pee my pants. Good thing I’m going to see them with Dinosaur Jr in November. WHU-WHU-WHAAAAAAAA??? Such a lineup….reminiscent (yeah I’ve used that word twice in this post) of the Swervedriver/Hum tour.

Like I said, Sonic Youth has such an extensive catalog of music. My bro in law Rob, Eric or my cousin Danny could definitely school me on SY history. I only have experienced a small chunk which had a definite impact on my teenage years….stepped away…and now is back in a significant way. The staying power and relevance of this band is unparalleled. They are an influence on countless bands from mainstream to indie. Most bands from the 80s that are still “on the scene” just plain suck now - U2 I’m looking in your direction. “Blackberry loves U2”…great well Tommy doesn’t. I “Used2”. Ha!

Happy Labor Day kiddos.

Grizzly Bear News

Two things I observed today regarding the band Grizzly Bear:

1. I heard "Two Weeks" in CVS over the in-store radio station (file under "wtf")

-See Video Here - Pretty cool/creepy. http://tinyurl.com/nvomtq

2. Apparently Michael McDonald is a guest vocalist on one of their upcoming singles (that said they may be my favorite band now)

That is all.

SEE ALSO: MY 6/5/09 POST

Oh c'mon...

http://tinyurl.com/m9fvqc

Joe Pernice (of Pernice Bros.) @ Tin Angel - Philly (8/8/09)

I’ve been a Pernice Brothers fan for many years now but the only full album I own is 06’s “Live a Little” which was their last. I have five or six tracks from every other record. I think there are four others. Unfortunately iTunes won’t let me “Compete My Album” for any of them. The first track I ever heard was “Baby in Two” and then I was hooked. I was delighted to hear more upbeat tracks as I sampled more of their music including “Clear Spot” which was apparently on the Gilmore Girls soundtrack. This is a point of confusion that I will address later in the post. Like I had said, I’ve been listening to them for a few years now and I’m still not sure if there are actual Pernice “Brothers” or if that is just Joe Pernice’s name for when he plays with a backing band. I think his brother is/was in the band. I know the band is 100% of Massachusetts origin (home of indie music legends such as Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, Pixies etc) born and bred in Dorchester Mass. Joe Pernice also has been in two other bands – The Scud Mountain Boys & Chappaquiddick Skyline - which I just recently learned about. Joe also has written a novel called “It Feels So Good When I Stop” which was just released. Everything is starting to make sense to me. Joe has to have three different bands and a book because he has too much to say.

For me personally, the one thing that makes the Pernice Brothers different from any other band I listen to (and I listen to many) is the lyrics. The lyrics really get to me. My girlfriend laughs because I am definitely a “tunes first, ask questions about the lyrics later” kind of guy. Plus unlike her I don’t read many “books” per se. I read a lot of content on the web, city papers and magazines…that counts right? Its called AADD…look it up. The music is important of course but Joe Pernice tells a short story in every song which has always drawn me closer to his personal story. The songs/stories often deal with women, money, love, drugs, booze, social standing etc but not in the typical rock-star lyrical formula you’re used to. It’s hard to explain but for me personally, the songs are very relatable yet unrealistic in the same vein. They remind me of situations I’ve been in throughout my adult life but I couldn’t give exact matching contextual detail if you asked me to. You’ll see when you download tracks like “Blinded by the Stars”, “One Foot in the Grave”, “PCH One”, “How Can I Compare”, “Clear Spot, “Working Girls” and “Somerville”. I’ve been trying to keep tabs on Joe Pernice as the years went on hoping to catch a show. After the last album was released, every so often I’d read an article about Joe moving to Canada (he lives in Toronto) or him guest lecturing at UMass (he has an MFA in creative writing) or some other side project. So when I read that Joe had written a book and more importantly was playing music to compliment/support it I was pretty psyched. There were two weekend dates in close proximity to me geographically. Friday at the Bowery on NYC or Saturday at the Tin Angel in Philly. I attended the Tin Angel performance…

I had never been to the Tin Angel. The venue is located in the Old City section of Philadelphia. It is a small upstairs venue with table seating/singular waitress service…a far cry from the sweaty venues I normally frequent (aka it was refreshing). Seeing as Joe played at the Bowery Ballroom the night before I guess I expected something slightly smaller but nothing like this…the place was tiny. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I thought in the back of my mind that Joe just might get up there solo with an electric acoustic. I was right. We walked in and he had a small table set up by the sound board with copies of his books, the IFSGWIS album and some Pernice Brothers recordings. He also had some eco-friendly cloth grocery bags with his label logo (“Ashmont Recordings”) on them. The opening act was a comedy duo consisting of two brothers from Mass called “The Walsh Brothers” (I think?). Pretty hilarious improv. Then Joe came on stage. Surprisingly he had a noticeable Boston accent. His singing voice sounds 180 degrees different then his speaking voice. Honestly…I was scared as you know when you really get into a band but never had seen them perform (or even any photos) so you have a certain expectation of how they’ll look or act? The way they appear in your mind when you hear the tracks on your iPod or in your car. You are afraid “the real deal” will ruin it. I know it sounds silly but it’s true…at least in my case. Luckily Joe looked and acted how I expected. He was a little more average-Joe (no pun intended) in personality than I thought but it really didn’t matter.

The whole show was kinda mellow and laid back that I felt like he was playing on my friends back porch or something. There also wasn’t any mention of the city he was playing in. There wasn’t any cliché greetings like “Hello Philly”, “Great to be back in Philly” or “Philly…hell of a town”. This was again…refreshing. However he was very conversational with the crowd. He got up and joked around, explained what he was going to do which was read some passages from his book then play some of the covers from the album. He opened with a passage from the book. The story of the novel revolves around a young NYC struggling musician who meets the love of his life then leaves the city her after one day of marriage and heads to Cap Cod/South Shore Boston. The story goes back and forth from the past to the present (which reminds me of 500 Days of Summer). Of course this is how the book is described and what I felt from the readings. I haven’t read it yet. The passages were hilarious and well written (a la Joe Pernice). One passage involves a funny story about Joe meeting Lou Barlow from Sebadoh/Dinosaur Jr outside the late Brownies music club in NYC. Apparently in real-life Joe called Lou and told him he was putting him in the novel but not to worry because he made him out to be a good guy. Lou basically said to Joe – Thanks for the heads up but you can write me in as a total dick if you want.

I’m calling it now. If the entire book is anything like what he read that night…this will be turned into a High-Fidelity-esque indie film years from now. Again…just a hunch…I have to read it first. Joe actually makes reference to High Fidelity in some interviews (that he’s trying to stay away from that comparison) and is apparently friends with Nick Hornby.

The covers he played are amongst his favorite songs that had a significant impact on his life and thus translated well to the story line of the book. I heard of most of the bands but never heard any of the tracks he played except for the Sebadoh track “Soul and Fire”. There was one song “I’m Your Puppet” by Bobby & James Purify that I particularly enjoyed. Most of the bands were obscure and pretty old school (in my eyes at least). I guess the Pernice Brothers have an older skewing fan base judging by the attendees at the show which were in their late 30s/early 40s. I think we were the youngest people there besides the waitress. Given the press I’ve seen and the Gilmore Girls association I thought maybe he appealed to a younger sect as well. Why do I even care? All I’m saying is that it was just noticeable. Regardless the songs were great. I shouldn’t judge. I’m a Blink-182 fan (dead serious).

Then after Joe was done with the book reading and song covers he said he was going to play a few Pernice Brothers songs. My eyes lit up. TOTALLY unexpected. He picked a few tracks he thought would translate better to acoustic versions including “How Can I Compare” which has significance to me personally and one of my favorites so I was pretty blown away. After the show was over I immediately bought a book (yeah) and walked over to Joe to introduce myself and get it signed. He was a really nice guy. I was completely star-struck…you’d think after seeing celebs on pretty much a monthly basis living in NYC for 8 years I’d play it cool. It’s different when you meet someone who created something that has such a significant impact on your life. He asked me who I should make the autograph out to and I said “Tommy” (like I’m fucking 10 years old). My girlfriend seeing that I was incapacitated, stepped in and asked Joe if he could make it out to “Cuge”. Thanks T. I might as well of had a bib on…however I hope I never lose that level admiration for musicians…at any age.

BOOK EXCERPT: http://tinyurl.com/lcc8w8

DOWNLOAD THESE: Somerville, Blinded By the Stars, PCH One, Clear Spot, How Can I Compare, Baby in Two, Lightheaded

Album Cover Wars: Jay-Z vs. Secret Machines

Just saw Jay-Z's new album cover for The Blueprint 3 and the first thing that came to mind was the album cover for Secret Machine's early millenium Now Here is Nowhere. Jay's is a little more "crumpled" or packed with "instrumentation" with a dash of color but similar no? BTW - Download Jay-Zs new track DOA if you haven't already...good beats (why wont any other artists follow suit?)...and I can't fucking stand Auto-Tune. Which puzzles me as to why his next single release was a collaboration with Kanye...aka "Mr. Auto-Tune". Wtf I say. Am I missing something?

Afternoon Delight: Videooh-yeah

Wasn't there a show called "Friday Night Videos" on one of the networks back in the 80's when MTV came out? Anywho, as a Friday treat I thought I'd share some of my favorite music videos with the Cugerock readers (all 3 of them). Most are relatively recent. Take a look at your leisure. Happy Friday kiddos.


1. Architecture in Helsinki - Do The Whirlwind: Get out you Turbo Grafix, a packet of Big League Chew and some Garbage Pail Kids. Love this video...current yet nostalgic.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/architecture-in-helsinki/56960/do-the-whirlwind.jhtml#artist=1244091


2. Mogwai - Batcat: Such an intense track and the creepy video matches the song so well...I really haven't seen a better fit.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/mogwai/293394/batcat.jhtml


3. Blur - Coffee & TV: How can anyone not identify with this guy?

http://www.mtv.com/videos/blur/181200/coffee-tv.jhtml


4.The Eagles of Death Metal - I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News): Good cameos and a great song...man I wish I could pull off a mustache and aviators.

http://www.mtv.com/videos/eagles-of-death-metal/77014/i-want-you-so-hard-boys-bad-news.jhtml


5. Every Time I Die - Ebolarama: One of my favorite hardcore bands from Buffalo NY. Fuck disco...hardcore flows so much better at the roller rink.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw_6dNXxyJM


6. Belle & Sebastian - Step Into My Office Baby: Ha! I can like...so relate to this. Reminds me of my first job in NY. "Cheeky Scottish humor"

http://www.mtv.com/videos/belle-sebastian/25091/step-into-my-office-baby.jhtml

TOMMY'S TOP ROCK SHOW MEMORIES: THUS FAR...

Haaaay y’all. I know…I know. I’ve been lagging on posts. This usually happens when my professional and personal lives join forces to get a little more frantic than usual. Why can’t I just blog for a living? (whu-waaa) I’d have so much crap to say you’d get sick of me. Anywho, I’ve had three weeks or so to reflect. I thought now would be a good a time as any to take a trip down memory lane and rank the top shows I’ve seen in my life thus far (since I was a young punk).


1. RUSH “Roll The Bones” Tour (or was it Presto?) - The Tower (Philly) - 1980something – My first show EVER (My aunt Joanne instructed my cuz Danny & I “not to breathe” while in the venue – marijuana reference…we had no clue what she was talking about at the time)


2. Death From Above 1979 @ Bowery Ballroom (NYC) 2005 – I threw my full cup of beer to the ground I was so pumped…my voice was shot for a week


3. Quasi, Elliot Smith and Sebadoh @ The Astoria in London 1999 (Study abroad…the line up from heaven in my book…one of a few times I saw Elliot…once in Philly/NYC/London…my friend Cathy and I bailed on a class mandated theatre outing…umm I think it was worth it…f-the Old Vic).


4. Guided By Voices + The Strokes + David Cross – Apollo Theatre – NEW YEARS EVE - Harlem NYC 2001 - Need I say more? This was exactly what we needed after such a shit-September (thanks Osama). Unfortunately that was the only time I’ve been to the Apollo. Tried to go to one of those Morrissey shows but the Moz as always was sold out)


5. Any Pavement or Bouncing Souls show ever seen…most taking place at the Troc in the early to mid 90s


6. Sonic Youth – Last McCarren Park Pool Show – August 2008 - The term “still got it” is insulting…the night was steamy but clear…rocked so hard…Thurston played like he was 18yo…”I love you Kim” was a common outburst by men and women


7. Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Bowery 2002 – JSBE are one of the top live acts I ever seen…Elliot Smith came out midway through the show as a surprise to debut some new stuff…it was the last time I saw him before he passed


8. Blur - The Black Cat - DC - 1996 (Favorite brit rock band of all time…I wept)


9. Swervedriver/Hum @ Irving Plaza (NYC) 1998 – Chris…remember?…so seeeeeck


10. The Quasi Tour NYC 2002 w/ Danny Cuge – Brownies, Knitting Factory, Maxwells and Coney Island for Siren Fest (Manhattan/Brookyn/Hoboken NJ)


11. The Charlatans – Irving Plaza 1996 (I was obessed with these guys in high-school. I think this was before their keyboardist Rob Collins passed away…I had foot surgery the day before..it was a delicate situation but I managed to stay up front)


12. The Thermals – First Unitarian Church Philly 2007/Bowery 2006 – Both Unreal (The Philly show was on my b-day….yaaaaay Tommy)


13. Morrissey – Electric Factory – 1998 - I felt like a little girl….he covered “Shoplifters Unite”


14. The Lemonheads – Black Cat - DC – 1990somethin (Car/Button/Cloth Tour?) - Wasn’t that crowded…my friend Paula and my sis got on stage and sang with Evan Dando…hilarious…absolutely hilarious


15. Mates of State – Knitting Factory – New Years Eve 2006 (NYC) – They Covered Anne Murray’s “Danny’s Song”…nuff said.


16. Mars Volta/The Rapture 2003 - Roseland – Rapture was so much better - I was on crutches and I think my girlfriend at the time broke up with me the very next night…”swish!”


17. Weezer – The Roseland – 2002 - So good…they played a boatload off of Pinkerton and the blue album…not much off of the crappy green album which just came out


18. Blood Brothers – Irving Plaza 2006 - Rawkous. God I’m so pissed they broke up…along with DFA79…The Kinison…the list goes on.


19. Beastie Boys, Roots & Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – OLD Phila Civic Center 1992? - We got really drunk in Ron B’s minivan before the show…Creepy Rick P puked on the side of a Wawa


20. H2O, Bosstones, Warzone – 1996 UMD Student Union – I chatted with Dickey Barrett after the show and Warzone ended up staying in our apartment as my roommate was the college radio program director…and they were broke….and they were definitely not acting “straight edge”


21. Hall and Oates & Chicago at the Sony E-Center/Tweeter Center/Susquehanna Bank Center/Partridge in a Pear Tree Center – Camden 1998? - We were the only people under 40 there but god damn are those guys are legends…Chicago played all of their old tracks with a horn section…incredible


22. Fucked Up, Pissed Jeans – Kung Fu Necktie (Philly) – 2009 – See my post from 1/29/09 & 2/2/09

23. New Pornographers - 9:30 Club (DC) - Winter 2005 - Twin Cinema Tour, Neko on vocals, my sister was 7-months preggers with my niece "Rosie" so her husband and I were holding onto her belly with one hand...beers in the other...one of those shows I'll never forget. Chris...remember when Rob tackled an evergreen tree in the park after the show? Sorry Amy. "Three Men and a Baby...almost"

Those are the top 23 off the top of my fat head….in no particular order except for maybe the top 3. I’m sure there’s a ton I am forgetting. There were a number of SKA shows I went to in the early-mid 90s but nothing crazy comes to mind. In terms of most recent (in the past 12 months), I’ve seen M83, Phoenix, Walkmen, Thermals (Philly & NYC shows) among a few others. These were top-notch shows and the first time I had seen M83 or Phoenix but nothing so life-changing that I would throw it on the aforementioned list. Phoenix would have made it up there if we hadn’t missed the first 3 or 4 songs. TIP – If you are going to see a band at Terminal 5…get there at 9pm no later. There are many shows coming up in the late summer/early fall I want to hit up including Animal Collective, Bouncing Souls/Lifetime, Joe Pernice, Slackers, Dinosaur Jr and another round of Phoenix shows so there will definitely be “Volume II” of this post…when Im 50. Hopefully I can keep this going till I’m an old man and die. Yeah…I’ll be that guy at a show.

(In the “future”)
Kid #1: “Who’s that geezer in the back?”
Kid #2: “I know…so lame…doesn’t he know that Green Day broke up in the 20’s”
Kid#1: “Hahahah what a loser…you want a hit of these neon space-dust-crystals”
Kid #2: “Totes McGoats bro...let's get stoopid”

Happy Independence Day America

"No Taxation Without Representation"



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzhnMyCxQG0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u2HAZcpfWA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHDMm6jtBXI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nwf9afokOE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmp-DrtSWj4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDDRoyKSh_M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwMRSnRa-k8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C63RxYeQZDY