may the wind be even at your back.

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:10:10 GMT

does anyone have any recommendations for perfect fall-time music?

superglued.com is up and running.

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:53:18 GMT

this summer, i'm doing an internship with superglued.com, a community website based around live shows and finding people who love the music you do. the people i'm working for, rush and lucette, are phenomenal -- they're passionate about music, interesting, and care about bringing people together; so many of my friends have just looked at me and said, "they are your people."

one of the opportunities i'm getting through doing this internship is the option to do a project we're calling "50 in 50," which is essentially just this: i'm going to 50 shows in 50 days and documenting each one. they're all free in the nyc area, since economic times are tough, and rush and lucette wanted to show that there is so much music in nyc to be celebrated without spending lots of cash. the calendar is here, if anyone's interested. there are some seriously great shows on the roster: blonde redhead, soy un caballo, conor oberst & the mystic valley band, the afro-punk festival, built to spill (at siren fest), matt & kim, man man, superchunk, ted leo & the pharmacists, ginuwine, bela fleck, pat benatar and blondie, etc. if you guys are in the nyc area, let me know so we can meet up at shows. my roster is here if you want to see the kind of stuff i'll be going to.

i think i just really wanted to say: this is making me really happy. if you guys have been to shows that you thought were great and want to share the experience, please check out superglued and tell us about how much you love music.

i don't even know, guys. it makes me all wistful!!!

sing me a story i haven't heard yet.

Wed, 13 May 2009 16:25:24 GMT

so i started making this mix like a month and a half ago and i finished it yesterday and took it for a test drive! so shut the hell up lvj and have your mix.

01. it's a fact (printed stained) - matt and kim.
02. talk talk talk - mansions.
03. personal space invader - andrew jackson jihad.
04. talking - annuals.
05. the wolf - miniature tigers.
06. the twist - frightened rabbit.
07. i think i wanna die - someone still loves you boris yeltsin.
08. pink triangle - weezer.
09. if i don't write this song, someone i love will die - hello saferide.
10. the facility - other girls.
11. stumble over my - all girl summer fun band.
12. this is not a test - oppenheimer.
13. there will be fields for us - a drum and an open window.
14. story - great northern.
15. tambourine - the happiness hollows.
16. swimming in the flood - passion pit.
17. aside - the weakerthans.

download password: moremayhem.
click the image for download! this is a great spring/summer/sunny in-transit mix.

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:13:48 GMT

LOL

i ship it // my thread

who do you ship me with???

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:33:01 GMT

just back from an all get out/dead confederate/kevin devine/MO show at the northstar! kevin and manchester put on really great sets. unfortunately, it was severely coloured by the girl who a) was taller than me and stood directly in front of the group i was in after having pushed through and b) gave her boyfriend a handjob in front of me during "cotton crush." then they were tongue-wrestling -- literally; this isn't some clever way to say making out because their lips weren't touching -- and she looked me in the eye. i almost cried.

WHO DOES THAT SHIT???

CONGRATULATIONS!

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:52:12 GMT

i take back every single thing i've ever said about pete and ashlee being rational human beings. i'm sure their kid's gonna be adorable, but his name is bronx mowgli wentz.

julie says, "i'm gonna go write my paper and try to pretend that he didn't just name his kid bronx."

am i the only one that's stuck on mowgli? i get the sentimental value, but -- well, at least he left us a clue. pete's latest blogspot post was fondly titled, "junglebook." maybe we should have known.

still: parents. ♥

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:13:27 GMT

okay. i know that less than half of you care, but INTOUCH IS REPORTING THAT ASHLEE SIMPSON IS IN LABOUR.

i love her. legit, she makes me smile so much. honestly, i think she seems like a fantastic human being from the very little we get from the media. i am ridiculously fond of a) her, b) her music, c) the way she presents herself in public, d) her husband, and e) pretty much anything she does. needless to say, i wish her and pete and the baby all of the best health.

in summation of all of my flailing toward everyone ever: SHE'S GOING TO BE A MOM, OKAY???

have some videos, because i'm all about ashlee tonight:

invisible (this is my current favourite).
little miss obsessive live on ellen.
ashlee in chicago, the musical; she performed as roxie hart in the west end in london -- these are clips of performances and interviews.
autobiography; VINTAGE ASHLEE. god, i love it.

EDIT: BUZZNET IS NOW REPORTING AS WELL.

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:29:28 GMT

isobamapresident.com.

i am so proud to be an american. and it's not even because, "after eight years of hell," we needed this. this is what it should have been all along. this is what i knew we were capable of, and i don't know why it took us so long to get here.

he's not a saviour, but this is a step in the right direction. something's starting.

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:51:41 GMT

from fivethirtyeight.com:

Barack Obama wins Ohio. All call. We aren't "calling" the overall race yet, but that's ballgame, folks. He will be the next president of the United States.

Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.

The roar goes up in Grant Park. They know.

this is it. yes, we can. three ringing words.

there's never been anything false about hope.

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:45:14 GMT

"And so, tomorrow, as we take the campaign south and west, as we learn that the struggles of the textile workers in Spartanburg are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas, that the hopes of the little girl who goes to the crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of L.A., we will remember that there is something happening in America, that we are not as divided as our politics suggest, that we are one people, we are one nation.

And, together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story, with three words that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea:

Yes, we can."

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:25:14 GMT

LET'S D THIS.

get out the vote. make your voice heard. be a part of history.

i'm all tied up and i'm trying my best to get down.

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:32:17 GMT

on thursday night, i went to see the cobra starship show at the trocadero theatre. it was great! cobra was hilarious. at one point, gabe gave a shout-out to my chemical (b)romance because ryland said something inappropriate and gabe responded, "we can't do that. you know what they do to guys like us in prison!" jersey love, kids. the river runs deep. anyway. the whole point of this post is to talk about the very first opening act, with whom i have become acquainted (their music, at least; also, read as: fallen in love with) over the summer:

SING IT LOUD.

there was a point during the month of august where i was listening to one of their songs, come around, about 10 times a day because i would listen to it on my own, and then when i got in the car helluvalot would put it on repeat in a not-so-subtle way.

you should all love them like i do.

THIS MAY NOT BE DIAL-UP FRIENDLY EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE ONLY 25 PHOTOS.

as julie said after we saw them dancing with fans, they are "the scene" at its best. we should be dancing with these guys after they play their sets; we should get to scream and shout to great, fun music with the guys who play it. with them, we are.

first, i'm going to introduce you to them through a few photos, because we all love visuals.

THE BAND. this is sing it loud.

the first photo is sing it loud v1.0, and it is no longer the same band i know now.

l to r: ben peterson (keyboards/backing vocals), nate flynn (bass), pat brown (lead vocals/guitar), kieren smith (guitar/backing vocals), & the old drummer dane.

EDIT: this is sing it loud v2.0, including chris "sick boy" lee as their drummer.

l to r: nate, chris, pat, ben, kieren.

here are some facts about them:

1) they are from minneapolis, minnesota.
2) they haven't figured out how not to post personal pictures of themselves on the internet.

that's all i know.

this is their biography from their myspace, found here:

Sing It Loud is a proud pop band with an arena-rock musical background and a punk-rock pedigree. "So many pop bands are on ‘pop' record labels, but we're a pop band on the most badass, punk-rock label ever," explains vocalist/guitarist Pat Brown. "It lets us keep a more individual and original vibe because we're not associated with a bunch of bands on the same label that sound exactly like us."

On the flipside, the members of Sing It Loud are prepared for punk purists to call foul, but they aren't fazed. "Many old-school, Epitaph punk kids hate our band, but I don't care," admits guitarist/vocalist Kieren Smith. "Honestly, people will love and hate what you do. I'm doing this band for me and my boys. People change, music changes, labels change."

That said, Sing It Loud is happy to usher in change when Epitaph Records releases their debut Come Around on September 23rd. Produced by Motion City Soundtrack guitarist Josh Cain and engineered by Mark Trombino (Blink-182, Jimmy Eat World), Come Around is a collection of songs with fist-pumping melodies (like "I've Got A Feeling" and "Marionettes") and head-bopping choruses (like "Best Beating Heart" and "No One Can Touch Us (featuring Alex Gaskarth from All Time Low)"), which are sure to give fans a full-body workout. It's no wonder that audiences are advised to hydrate before seeing the band live, which is something that longtime listeners have known since seeing the band play their first shows.

Although those first shows were admittedly terrible ("I honestly don't know why [Epitaph label head] Brett [Gurewtiz] signed us; we were so bad," insists Smith.), Sing It Loud showed the kind of promise that couldn't be denied-despite only playing seven shows before they got signed. It all started in April 2007 when frenemies Brown and Smith were in two rival local bands in Minneapolis (Semester and Jamestown Story, respectively) but soon realized they had an unexpected connection: Smith's step-aunt was dating Brown's dad, unbeknownst to the two teens. It was then that they decided to join forces, form Sing It Loud and meld together Brown's love of pop punk with Smith's affinity for arena rock.

"I was always captivated by bands that could own their crowd and whose fans stood by them through thick and thin," remembers Smith, who counts Kiss and Def Leppard as among is early influences. "They became more than a band; they were a lifestyle."

Sure, that lifestyle had a lot to do with big hair and spandex pants, but it also included longevity-something that the members of Sing It Loud hope to achieve with the release of the album's first single "Come Around." One listen to this infectious, pop-tastic love letter and you won't be able to get it out of your head no matter how hard you try-that is until you listen to "Don't Save Me." Sometimes relationships just aren't meant to be and the song is an ode to making a clean break from the one you worked so hard to woo. Come Around has something for everyone-big riffs, bigger choruses and enough catchy melodies to fill a PODS storage unit.

"We don't want to be a band that lasts for only one or two albums and then drops off the face of the Earth," says Brown. "We want to be able to play shows and support ourselves by doing this for the next 10 to 20 years, hopefully. We love doing this and there's nothing else we want to do."

these are all photos with dane, their old drummer:

MEET THE MEMBERS.

ben, the keyboardist.

ben is absolutely fantastic. while we were waiting to tell pat how fantastic they had been, ben came flying by (probably trying to avoid the crowd, and also because fewer people wanted to talk to him). i smiled at him and he smiled at me and he kept walking, and then he turned around and smiled again and we stopped him so that we could talk to him. i leaned over and said, "you guys were really brilliant tonight. that was an amazing performance," or something like that, and he smiled so wide. he grabbed my hand, leaned in and said, in probably the most earnest voice i've ever heard, "thank you so much! i'm ben." and then he legitimately waited for me to introduce myself before he left for the merch stand, even though he'll never in his life remember my name or face.

nate, the bassist.

this kid is ridiculous, and probably my favourite to watch on stage. after his own set, he shot through the crowd to the merch stand and was there all through hit the lights' set. halfway through forever the sickest kids' set, he came racing into the back of the room where we were standing and started dancing so hard to one of his favourite songs, right in the middle of a circle of fans, singing along with them. they started videotaping (in a cute way, not a sketch way, if that's possible) and he grabs the camera and tells the girl videotaping to get into the circle so they can have a video of all of the friends dancing together. i leaned over to him because he was about a foot away from me, and i said, "hey, i can take that if you want to keep dancing with them," and he did the cutest voice (not able to be transcribed, i kid you not) and waved his hand and said, "nah." about 30 seconds went by of him still videotaping and he leaned over and said, "i feel like such a creep right now," and we laughed, and then he handed the camera back to the original girl and started dancing and singing along again, because in that moment he was just a kid who was watching one of his favourite bands at a concert.

pat, the lead singer.

the pat brown, kids! that's his myspace name, minus the kids part. he photographs well, but on stage this kid (and i say kid ironically in this one, because he's the only 21+ one in the band) absolutely radiates sex. he was trying to make his way toward the merch stand after their set and got mobbed by fans. we decided to wait it out, just to be able to tell him that he had done a spectacular job (we didn't want signatures or photos, by that point, because he looked so tired) and we ended up waiting through 1.5 sets (all of hit the lights and half of forever the sickest kids). he looked over a couple of times and i'm pretty sure he smiled apologetically at wow_katie, and he definitely knew we were waiting for him. eventually, he made it over to us and just slumped in gratitude when we just thanked him for playing a great set and told him he was amazing. he stood with us for about two minutes total, the first of which he kept leaning in to say things about how great forever the sickest kids were and to say how grateful he was that we were there, but the second minute was just silence, and at the end he leaned over, smiled, said thanks again, and then told us it was nice talking to us but he had to go. it was very sweet.

this photo was titled, "pre-show ritual!"

kieren, the guitarist.

wow_katie caught his pick! we didn't get to talk to him, but he was next to us talking to some girls for awhile. he seemed lovely. the only two photos i have are from his photo blog.

that is his cat. she is 16 years old, according to the original caption.

he got a haircut, said the caption.

chris, the drummer.

i have no photos of him! nor do i have stories, because he didn't come out into the crowd after. i do, however, know this: he was absolutely phenomenal to watch drumming. he was (almost) comparable to watching jeremiah (of manchester) in enthusiasm. he was kind of entrancing. if anyone has any info on him, i would greatly appreciate it!

NOW, ON TO THE MUSIC.

they are a baby bandom band. their brand of music is pop-punk, with a little bit more pop but the same amount of headbanging. think: we the kings, all time low, the academy is..., and bands a lot like that. in fact, they have toured with all of those bands! i think. don't quote me on that fact. they have at least toured with we the kings, i know that much.

anyway! their music is cute. one of their songs, come around, is totally and completely addicting, and it kills me that we were some of the only people rocking the fuck out to it last night (the only time i've ever moved my body harder during a concert is during the gym class set at warped). that one is their best (in my opinion) and sounds a lot like baby jimmy eat world (as first pointed out by helluvalot). one of their songs, no one can touch us, features a guest appearance by alex gaskarth of all time low and it is fantastically adorable.

for all of their songs, think: strong vocals, loud choruses, some synth, strategic pauses, and sweet lyrics. i think they have a way to go with the development of their sound, but i also think that they're one of those bands who can definitely get there if they try. they have the potential to do something a little bit different with the pop-punk formula, and if it happens i absolutely want to be around to hear it. as of yet, they're better live in my opinion, but their recorded tracks are enough to hook you into wanting to see a show. if this grabs your interest, please go see them. they're outstanding on stage, have the cutest merch, and would love to talk to you.

here's a small .zip file of my favourite songs! they have a full lp that came out two weeks ago, and you should totally go buy it.

download the mix HERE. the download password is moremayhem.

come around; the one that's addicting.
don't save me; their newest single!
no one can touch us; featuring alex gaskarth of all time low.
bite your lip; starts out sparse and builds.
best beating heart; sappiest and cutest lyrics ever.
come around (acoustic); starts out a bit rough but has some stunning harmonies.

their myspace is here! and everyone should check them out.

they have an online merch store here and it is pretty cute stuff. i bought one of the tee-shirts and there are sunglasses, guys.

in conclusion! here are some photos of the dudes being dorks together.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: most of these photos were taken by a guy by the name of collin hughes. he's a music photographer and (seemingly) a friend of the band, and he deserves all of the credit in the world for his lovely photographs. check out his flickr here!

the rest of the photos were from their photoblogs (that they link to on their myspace) or from random image searches that i did. if any of these are yours and you do not want me posting them or want me to give credit, please let me know!

in summation: their music is so fun, guys.

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 13:35:48 GMT

THIS IS MERELY FOR BRYN MAWR PEOPLE:

If you're not at Plenary, you should be.

icon post at pantyshopping!

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:58:04 GMT

8 icons of Jesse Lacey, lead singer/lyricist for Brand New.
7 icons of Patrick Stump, lead singer/composer for Fall Out Boy.

(It's all ninjajab's fault.)

( we all got wood and nails and we sleep inside of this machine. )

there are other things in my life than bmc, i swear.

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:12:31 GMT

I love talking about strap-ons, rough sex, and "mamas, don't let your babies become cowboys" theories about foreplay in my gen/sex class. I love being able to talk about ridiculous concepts, and seeing how much people care what they're talking about. I love the quiet observers whose comments catch you off guard. I love looking at the boy who's sitting next to me (the one, singular male in the class) and seeing "DIP ME IN HONEY AND THROW ME TO THE LESBIANS" written across the top of his paper.

I love my public opinion class, in which the professor talks about "stitch and bitch" associations where people "are sad in each other's presence," and in which he randomly yells out things like "THOSE FUCKERS" and talks about having an article published in a magazine, then laughs and says, "...because I'm so fucking smart."

I love my history class (American, 1940s - present) because we say shit like, "Switzerland was neutral because Hitler couldn't climb the Alps" in reference to why he never invaded, and whose professor assigns 125 pages of reading a week and then tells us not to do it.

I love being back, even though I don't know if I love this place as much as I did last year, because I know that it'll come back -- multiply, probably, because I am and I will be watching people go through exactly what I did just a year ago.

What do you love?

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:47:22 GMT

Hey, guys. Just a heads-up! I'm going to Maine for two weeks and I will probably have internet access, but I'm not sure. If you need to contact me for whatever reason, feel free to send me an email or call my cell phone so that I can get back to you.

♥ Hope everyone's having a wonderful summer.

( PS: my contact info is here! )

guys, guys, it's a catastrofuck.

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:34:15 GMT

So, the scenario is this: the Old 97s are playing in a club in Lancaster (40 minutes & an easy drive from my house) this Saturday night. Tickets are $15, standing room only.

That said, I have no one to go with because I don't think that anyone who's around is even remotely interested in the Old 97s, and I am at the point where I would pretty much sell my soul to be there. Mary, Sophie? Are you guys interested? avoteforla would come in handy right now.

So then the question is: do I go anyway, even if I can't find someone to go with? I mean: it's the Old 97s &also, therefore, Rhett Miller. But I'm me, and I can't do anything alone without feeling lame. IT'S A PROBLEM I'M WORKING ON, OK?

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 08:52:38 GMT

So, I guess it's over.

I don't -- there's not a lot that I can say to explain what that means for me, but I know that at least some of you reading this know the feeling, that feeling, of a part of your life ending.

And it ended so well.

"No, it's race related."

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:39:22 GMT

( But it's not racist. )

There's an icon post over at pantyshopping of icons from The History Boys. Some of you might be seeing this for the 2 or 3 or 4 time now, & I'm sorry; just covering my bases!

PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNIE! 19 AND IN PARIS, I AM JEALOUS OF EVERYTHING YOU ARE.

SKYPE.

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 22:09:11 GMT

Skype is a fantastic invention, especially because I have friends across the world and across the country & things. Free calling! Computer to computer. (Computer to actual phone is only $0.02 a minute!)

If you've already got it, let me know? If you don't -- download it and let me know?

sucking too hard on your lollipop

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 04:18:33 GMT

For the record, this is actually the best thing I've ever seen on youtube -- I haven't stopped laughing since the first couple seconds and oh, man, is it lame & brilliant. So, so lame, & so, so brilliant. Whether you're a fan of Mika's song Lollipop or just a fan of boys making complete asshats out of themselves. I can't even, like -- breathe.

avoteforla said it best: I bow at their feet.

another music request.

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:28:38 GMT

This time maybe not a complete shot in the dark?

Does anyone have "Faded" by Soul Decision that they could upload for me? I'd be more than happy to reciprocate. It's been stuck in my head for days and yet I don't actually own it.

Mon, 28 May 2007 23:25:06 GMT

Does anyone have any music by Kate Nash? I'm pretty much looking for the song "Foundations," but if anyone has anything else I'd totally appreciate it.

EVERYONE DESERVES MUSIC, SWEET MUSIC.

Thu, 03 May 2007 00:34:50 GMT

...which is to say, music post! miraielle deemed this mix "ridonkulous."

01 Mercy Of The Fallen by Dar Williams
02 Toxic/Yeah mash-up by Britney Spears and Usher
03 Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight acoustic by Amos Lee
04 Letter Song by Tyler Hilton
05 Whatever You Want by Vienna Teng
06 Holding Out For A Hero by Bonnie Tyler
07 Little Baby Nothing by the Manic Street Preachers
08 Bled White by Elliott Smith
09 Left & Leaving by the Weakerthans
10 When I'm Sixty-Four by the Beatles
11 Slow Down Baby by Christina Aguilera
12 Baby When The Lights Go Out by Five (formerly known as 5ive)
13 Kindle My Heart from the movie A Little Princess
14 Rock Lobster by the B52s
15 Two Princes by the Spin Doctors

Download the mix here!

Let me know if you take it &or like it?

MUSIC POST.

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 19:31:58 GMT

BUT, this music post is a little bit different in that it's a post completely of youtube.com videos. This guy is someone I've recently (read as: since yesterday) become obsessed with, but I really think that his music is worth getting to know.

Jay Brannan is a singer-songwriter who recently appeared as the character Ceth in the film Shortbus, which is where I sort of fell in love with him and his voice. He says that his influences are: Lisa Loeb, Ani Difranco, The Cranberries, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Bjork, Liz Phair, Me'shell N'degeocello, Alana Davis, Sinead O'Connor, and Jack Daniels, and he seems like a funny kid. He looks like a mini-Gale Harold when he has hair, and you can download some of his music here for free, and more of it is available on iTunes. I'd upload it all for you, but a) I bought it and very very few of your computers are authorized, and b) I think he deserves to have the money coming to him so that he can continue to make his music.

He talks a lot at the beginning of some of his videos, just as a warning. (If nothing else, at least listen to the first two.)

Soda Shop is my favourite song, and is also the one that can be heard in Shortbus. Ignore the nakedness and wait through the talking; it's worth it, I swear. The lyrics are lovely and sort of hysterical (and the actual song starts around the 2:26 mark).
Half-Boyfriend is gut-wrenchingly sad, but effortless and lovely (the actual song starts around the 2:00 mark).
Body's A Temple.
Unstable Boy.
26-Hour Day.
Blowing in the Wind, a cover.

He's got another song that I adore called "Ever After Happily," and you should all download it.

That's my two cents.