Where the Silence Is

MUSIC: Breaking News on Weezer, Pinkerton Tour

2010-04-26T19:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get information from places. People, sources, they tell me things by adding, "I'm not supposed to say anything yet, but..."

This happened to me today. And for whatever reason, I decided that I want to break this news on my rarely updated blog with a readership of 2- maybe 3.

Later this year Weezer are going to be touring, and playing Pinkerton in it's entirety.

This information also coincides with Pitchfork.com's article today mentioning a Pinkerton rerelease as well as upcoming Weezer tour dates.

Just remember, when it's officially announced, you read it here first.

Retroactively

2009-11-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

When I was 12 I heard this band for the first time. I didn't understand it, and I moved on.

A few months later an older girl who I had a crush on, and lived on my street had a copy of it. I mentioned that I heard one of the songs on it, but I thought it was weird. And she said, "Oh no, this is really good." I listened to the entire album, and I still thought the song about dogs and sweaters was really weird, but I liked a lot of the rest of it.

My brother and I didn't hang out very often outside of family functions. He was almost 3 years older than me, so a year later when he was going to the American Theater, which to this day I have no idea where in St. Louis it was(it's long since closed), to see this band, I asked him, begged him to take me. He relented only after I said, for my birthday- originally he was going to take me to see Sponge and Letters to Cleo on my actual birthday. So we changed plans.

It was my first concert without adult supervision. It was magical. During the slow song, I looked around the venue, and everything was moving in slow motion. Cool.

When their second album came out, I bought it the day it came out, and on my first listen, the last song made me cry. I went to school the next day and talked about it with the girl I was into at the time, she bought it too.

I saw them on that tour, I was shoved up against the stage. Only my friend Cameron in front of me. To my right there was a punk rock girl, black hair, bangs, dark eyeliner, spiked bracelet, and a 7-11 button up shirt. It was spectacular.

I saw them one more time, they opened for No Doubt. I didn't go to see the headliner. Their opening set was epic. It was loud, it was fast, at the end they destroyed their instruments, it was the most amazing 45 minute set that I have ever seen. The whole time, I was conscious of that moment for the band. A couple of them already had other projects. The bassist had a project he fronted that had a weird moog throwback hit on MTV. On the stage, he was mesmerizing, and just oozed charisma. After the show I said to my brother, "At some point he is going to want to be a front man, and that's going to end the band."

That's exactly what happened.

They had two fantastic records, and I got to see them 3 times. Even before Conor, they were my gateway drug.

Four years later I was in Santa Fe going to college. I was sitting in the cafeteria my first week, when a striking blond with pink tips saw my shirt and said that they were playing a show in Albuquerque. She said I should go with her and her redhead friend. I couldn't make this up.

We drove an hour to get there, and we got a little lost in Albuquerque itself, but we got there.

The original bassist was gone, but everyone else was there. It was a great show, but it wasn't the same. The swagger was gone. Even the music suffered. That slow song from the first album, the one that made everything in slow motion, it has a loud meandering bass line, and he sped through it. Played it too fast. It was a lot of fun regardless. For one more night, I had one of my favorite bands back. I was up front again, and I knew all the words.

That band was weezer. They've retroactively damaged their earlier work.

MUSIC: UUVVWWZ - UUVVWWZ

2009-07-16T23:04:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, a new album on Saddle Creek Records was filled with folky angst and heartfelt, and at times over the top, lyrical sensibilities. Not anymore.

Lincoln, Nebraska's UUVVWWZ(pronounced double you, double vee, double double-you, zee) have not been a band for very long. Apparently their Saddle Creek debut is the first nine songs that the band has ever composed together and it's certainly a great start.

Lead singer Teal Gardner's pipes shine throughout, and the Deerhoof and Yeah Yeah Yeahs comparisons are obvious throughout. But where their sound really comes together is when they add their blues influence to their rambunctious rock sound. There are definitely four or five songs here that are worth your time, and apparently they put on one hell of a live show.

MUSIC: MewithoutYou, "It's Alright" alright.

2009-07-15T21:00:00.000-07:00

MewithoutYou's latest release has a long title, "it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright". For our purposes, the title can be condensed to just, "it's alright."

It starts off well enough with, "every thought a Thought of You"(emphasis theirs). Which includes the following stanza:

"no one here to believe but You,
everyone else is bound to leave but You,
when we swear, my love is real, we mean,
I like the way you make me feel,"

Which, out of context of the album has to be the most self deprecating, non belief of love that I have ever heard in music. It seemed rather refreshing.

That is, until you listen to the rest of the album and look at the liner notes. "You" is capitalized, because it's a pronoun for Allah, God, Yahwe, et al.

All in all, the album(which is entirely acoustic) comes off as an odd mix of Neutral Milk Hotel, old testament Sunday school ethics, and some sort of child's tale about insects and plants.

It's the best christian rock album I have ever heard.

That's probably not a compliment.

FCC you got nothing on me

2009-06-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

The FCC has certain guidelines for broadcasting content on the public radio airwaves.
The FCC is sort of the modern version of the puritans. They allow certain "bad" words to played at certain times, but no "bad" words that have to do with sex.

For example:

Between the hours of 10pm-6am DJ can play a song that includes the phrase, "Fuck you" or "Fuck Off." But, a DJ is never EVER allowed, regardless of the time, a song that includes the phrase, "I want to Fuck you," or "Let's Fuck."

When I informed my friend Molly of the "Fuck You" vs "I Want to Fuck You" conundrum she deadpanned, "the latter seems much nicer."

MUSIC: 69 Love Songs to be released on vinyl.

2009-05-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

MERGE Records continues to celebrate their 20th anniversary in style.
On June 23 they will release The Magnetic Fields classic album 69 Love Songs on vinyl for the first time.

"This vinyl reissue is beautifully packaged in a 10" slip case box with three double gatefold sleeves and the original booklet in 10" size!" That's 6 10" records.

And it's limited to just 3,000.

So, classic album on vinyl for first time, check, in an interesting format and pretty packaging, check, and in limited production, check. Vinylphiles rejoice!

slow to update....

2009-01-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

I broke my computer. Seriously. So I have been slow to update. It will continue to be slow, but I will update from time to time until things calm down a bit.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2009-01-10T15:30:00.000-08:00

The most interesting release this week is Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion which was only released on vinyl. The CD version comes out on January 20.

The vinyl release appears to be gone. Well, from Seattle anyway. The stores that received shipments sold out the day they put them on sale, and a few of the smaller retailers did not even receive their orders. Amazon.com and Insound are listing long waits for the out of stock record.
Even Domino(their record label) lists the album in their online store as, "currently unavailable."

Seriously, way to go Animal Collective!

MMA: UFC 92: Two New Champions Crowned, The Ax Murderer Is Dead

2008-12-28T09:51:00.001-08:00

UFC 92 was the second straight fantastic pay per view event from the UFC. The main event saw Rashad Evans win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship of the World from Forrest Griffin. Rashad Evans took Forrest down in the third and was raining down punches on Forrest with great vengeance and furious anger. Forrest was able to tie Evans up in his guard momentarily before Evans was able to rise up and land a series of brutal uppercuts which caused Forrest's head to bounce off the canvas and the referee stopped it at 2:46 of round three. Rashad Evans is still undefeated, he still has not attempted a single submission in the UFC, and he is now world champion in the deepest pool of talent in any MMA division in the universe.

For those of you counting at home Rashad Evans has now defeated two Ultimate Fighter winners. Last night he defeated season 1 winner Forrest Griffin and last November at UFC 78 he defeated Ultimate Fighter season 3 winner Michael "The Count" Bisping. Maybe recent winner Ryan Bader won't completely suck and Rashad Evans can knock him out too.

In the fight for the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship Frank Mir completely decimated Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. Mir's standup game looked better than it ever has and he knocked down Nogueira twice in the first round. At the conclusion of that round both announcers were calling it a 10-8 round for Mir. I wouldn't have scored it that way but I wouldn't have a problem if the judges did(In fact only one of the judges scored it a 10-8 round). The second round was more of the same as Mir dropped him with punches and then became the first fighter to ever finish Nogeuiera. Mir smiled, walked over to the side of the cage where Brock Lesnar was sitting, pointed and said, "You have my belt."

Mir went on to cut a great promo. He said that you can do anything, and that he is proof of that. He said that even he didn't believe that he could beat Nogueira. When Joe Rogan asked him about the Brock Lesnar fight Mir called it inevitable, and he began to talk shit about Lesnar ending with, "We'll see if you can get out of the first round this time." Oh my god, I want to see this fight right now!

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson found redemption by knocking "The Ax Murderer" Wanderlei Silva the fuck out and earning himself a $60,000 bonus for knock out of the night honors. During the pre-fight staredown the referee said, "If you would like to touch gloves do it now." Neither man moved. I told Brookie, "They didn't touch gloves!" And she responded with, "Someone is going to die!" At 3:21 of round 1 that just about happened. Rampage ducked under a 1-2 combo from Wanderlei and countered with a left hook right on the jaw and Wanderlei Silva was asleep before he hit the mat. Sleep safe tonight everyone, Rampage is in a pleasant mood. It's possible that he will get the next shot at Rashad Evans title.

The rest of the show was excellent with a series of knockouts and referee stoppages almost all coming early in the fights.

Cheick Kongo looked stellar as he dominated Mostapha Al Turk. Kongo will probably be next in line for a heavyweight title shot after the Lesnar-Mir match in the spring.

CB Dolloway looked very good though he is still nowhere near ready for a match with Middleweight Champ Anderson Silva.

UFC 94 takes place on January 31, 2009 with a huge main event between UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre and UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn in a rematch from UFC 58. This should be an epic battle.

MMA: UFC 92 Preview

2008-12-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

UFC 92 has one of the most stacked cards in MMA history. The show features two title fights as well as the first UFC match between two legends of the sport.

The Ultimate Fighter season 1 winner Forrest Griffin makes his first defense of the Light Heavyweight Championship when he defends his title against the Ultimate Fighter season 2 winner "Sugar" Rashad Evans.

Rashad Evans comes into tonight's fight with an unbeaten record of 12-0-1. He showed in his last fight against Chuck Liddell that he has definite knockout power. That alone makes him a very dangerous fighter.

We last saw Forrest Griffin on July 5th when he defeated then champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson by unanimous decision. Since his last loss, which happened almost 2 years ago, Forrest has turned himself into an excellent all around fighter who can really pick apart an opponent without putting himself in grave danger. In the 2nd round against Rampage he also showed an improved ground game. Forrest does everything extremely well. Some fighters you look at and say, "Oh he's a great stand up fighter," or, "He's a submission expert." Forrest Griffin on the other hand is just a great great fighter.

I expect Forrest to dominate and win this fight fairly easily and give Rashad Evans his first ever MMA loss. I say, Forrest by unanimous decision 50-45.

The Ultimate Fighter theme continues as the two coaches from the 8th season go head to head as Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira defends the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir. Mir is a submission specialist, but he's not as good as the Brazilian Noguiera. At this point in time Mir is best known for beating the current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar in Lesnar's UFC debut. He won that fight due to a questionable stand up and point deduction by referee Steve Mazagatti. One could argue, and I certainly do, that the fight should have been stopped before then and that Mir was being destroyed and he was not intelligently defending himself.

The winner of this fight will face Brock Lesnar sometime in the Spring in a match to unify the two different versions of the UFC Heavyweight Championship. The best case scenario is for Frank Mir to beat Nogueira tonight in order to set up the rematch with Lesnar. Lesnar vs the one man who has beaten him in his career in a battle to unify the world heavyweight titles! That is a huge money fight right there!

Unfortunately for us Nogueira is so much better than Frank Mir and I expect Noguiera to win via submission in the 2nd round.

Probably the most intriguing fight on UFC 92 is Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs Wanderlei Silva. This is of course the first match for Rampage since he lost his belt to Forrest and went on his well, extended rampage. These two men have fought twice previously in Japan for the former Pride organization. Both of those fights ended with two of the most vicious knockouts you have ever seen and with Wanderlei Silva victorious. After the first fight Rampage flipped out and ended up becoming a born again Christian. Shortly after the second loss Rampage fired his coaches and trainers and hired Juanito Ibarra to train and manage his career. After his loss to Forrest, Rampage went on his rampage and then fired Ibarra.

If Wanderlei wins this fight I am afraid of what Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will do. In all of his UFC fights Rampage has showed a propensity for standing and exchanging punches. That is a very dangerous tactic when your opponent is the man known as The Axe Murderer.

I predict that the Axe Murderer will knockout Rampage in the second round. And if that happens, you should probably lock your door.

The only other match scheduled to air live on the PPV is the Ultimate Fighter 7 runner up CB Dollaway against Mike Massenzio. I have no idea who that guy is.

CB Dollaway will win via submission- Peruvian Necktie- in the first round. The peruvian necktie is his favorite submission hold, and he actually tapped out Rampage with it when Rampage was his coach on the Ultimate Fighter.

Overall this should be an amazing show with three huge matches all of which could headline a UFC pay-per-view event.

As is my preference, I will be watching the show at King Cobra in Seattle again tonight. I highly recommend the sweet potato fries.

Music: Top Albums of 2008: Number 9

2008-12-25T15:22:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard yet, there is this awesome Canadian band called Wolf Parade. Their first album come out in 2005 on Sub-Pop and it should be a part of everyone's music collection.

In 2008 the band released At Mount Zoomer which has one of the worst album covers of the year(though it is much less obnoxious on the vinyl version).

In early press the band said that there would be no singles. That it's an album, and should be listened to and treated as such. It is certainly not the most cohesive singular artistic ideal spread across an album that will appear on this best of list. In fact, there are several down tempo passable songs, but the ones that stand out....boy do they ever stand out! The first three tracks in particular are one of the best 1-2-3 opening combos on an album this year culminating with Dan Boeckner singing on Language City.

For some reason this album is doing much better on the reader lists than on the critics lists this year. Don't let this one pass you by.

#10- Okkervil River/The Stand Ins
#11- Los Compesinos!/Hold On Now Youngster...
#12- The Fiery Furnaces/Remember
#13- Margot and the Nuclear So and So's: Animal!/Not Animal
#14- Deerhoof: Offend Maggie
#15- Man Plus: The Hungarian Suicide Songbook

Music: Top Albums of 2008: Number 10

2008-12-25T08:06:00.000-08:00

This fall Austin's Okkervil River released a sequel, yes a sequel, to their 2007 album The Stage Names. That album was originally conceived as an epic double album, but for some reason it was released as a single disc with The Stand Ins coming out this past September. If you put the albums next to each other the covers create a single image.

If you want to hear one of the best lyricists in indie-rock today, and you want his backing band to, you know, rock the fuck out, then this album is certainly worth your hard earned economically depressed cash. Lead singer Will Sheff will make you forget about your bank account and you will feel better about your life by experiencing his heart breaking view of the world.

#11- Los Compesinos!/Hold On Now Youngster...
#12- The Fiery Furnaces/Remember
#13- Margot and the Nuclear So and So's: Animal!/Not Animal
#14- Deerhoof: Offend Maggie
#15- Man Plus: The Hungarian Suicide Songbook

Music: Top Albums of 2008: Number 11

2008-12-19T14:21:00.000-08:00

Welsh 7 piece Los Compesinos! clocks in at #11 with their debut album Hold On Now Youngster...
An exclamation point at the end of the band's name expresses the excitement found in their sound. The standout track on the album includes three exclamation points, You! Me! Dancing!

Los Compesinos! perform some of the best booty shaking, introspective indie rock all served up dripping in a heaping helping of Welsh wit!

This is the best thing to come out of Wales since Sir Tom Jones first asked, What's New Pussycat?

I did not get a chance to see Los Compesinos! perform live this year, and it's the one concert that I skipped that I wished I had made it to.

#12- The Fiery Furnaces/Remember
#13- Margot and the Nuclear So and So's: Animal!/Not Animal
#14- Deerhoof: Offend Maggie
#15- Man Plus: The Hungarian Suicide Songbook

Music: Top Albums of 2008: Number 12

2008-12-17T21:27:00.000-08:00

The most avant-garde release to make the top 15 albums of the year list comes from Brooklyn's(by way of Chicago) brother-sister duoThe Fiery Furnaces with their epic live release Remember. In August of this year the band released a 2 CD set(and 3 disc vinyl) of live material recorded since 2005. The Fiery Furnaces live show is known for a frenetic pace and new interpretations of the band's songs. If any current band's live show demanded a release it would be The Fiery Furnaces.
The album has 51 tracks that cover the band's entire career up to this point and is split up into 6 suites:
1. Old HK
2. Waiting at the Lobby at 665 1/2 Frontage Road
3. In a House Once Owned by the Princes of Mataran
4. Drinking by the Des Plaines River
5. Black Death Bottle
6. A Special Commission of Navajo Basketball Coaches and Blonde Ladies

It's not completely chronological and some of the live tracks are cut with other live versions of the same song. There is a real precision to the way that those tracks in particular are cut together, and the average listener won't even notice the cuts on first listen. The highlights of the album are the multi-song medleys, which are delicately strung together and reinvented.

This is one of the best live releases in years.

#13- Margot and the Nuclear So and So's: Animal!/Not Animal
#14- Deerhoof: Offend Maggie
#15- Man Plus: The Hungarian Suicide Songbook

Music: Top Albums of 2008: Number 13

2008-12-16T11:15:00.000-08:00

Coming in at lucky #13 we have not one but two albums from the Indianapolis based chamber-pop 8 piece Margot and the Nuclear So and So's- Animal! and also Not Animal.

The band recorded so much usable music during their rehearsal and recording session for their new album that the record label and the band couldn't agree on which songs to include. Instead of putting out an album and an EP, or a deluxe version of the album both the band and the label put together their own version of the album. In total there are 21 unique tracks over two albums with 3 tracks making it on to both versions.

Animal! is the version that the band put out, and I like it slightly more than the label's version. You should definitely pick up the band's vision of the album, if not both.

Did I mention that the band is named after Margot Tenenbaum?

#14- Deerhoof: Offend Maggie
#15- Man Plus: The Hungarian Suicide Songbook

Music: Top Albums of 2008: Number 14

2008-12-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

To get from 15 to 14 we have to travel all the way south from Seattle to a magical fairy land. It's in this place known to locals as San Francisco where we find our next band, Deerhoof- Offend Maggie.

The cover is a black and white pencil sketch done by Japanese artist Tomoo Gokita. To me, it looks like a headless luchador. It's almost like it's a luchador posing for a formal portrait and then the artist chose to erase his face to protect his identity.

That's actually where this album falls into the canon of Deerhoof. When the vocals hit in the first song you immediately recognize Satomi Matsuzaki's voice. You immediately know that it is Deerhoof that you are listening to. But as the album progresses there are a lot more crunchy guitars and a real lack of electronica compared to previous Deerhoof releases.

That being said, I think that this album is probably their best release to date. There is a sense of something huge bubbling just below the surface waiting to come out. Let's hope that Deerhoof finds a way to let that music apocalypse happen on their next release.

#15- Man Plus: The Hungarian Suicide Songbook

Music: Top Albums of 2008: Number 15

2008-12-13T15:43:00.000-08:00

The top albums of 2008 countdown begins right now!

At number 15 we have the Seattle bred post-apocalyptic dance-pop group Man Plus with their album, The Hungarian Suicide Songbook.

There are not many albums that were released this year that can boast as a fact that every single one of their tracks has been played on a popular radio station. Man Plus can make that claim with not only their full length album but also with the remixes that they have freely made available online throughout the last half of the year.

Billie Holliday allusions aside, this album is Manat's danceable beats and Jared Mills sexy growl of such lyrics as, "What I like about funeral roses, buy them once and you'll never grow older," and "Do you like how you look? Cause you look like a whore!"

I would tell you to check out their live show in the near future, but the band is currently overseas in Japan recording their follow up to this year's hit album. Once they return to the states do remember that Man Plus put on a can't miss live show.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-12-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

Cat Power- Dark End of the Street EP
Charlie Louvin- Sings Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs

Cat Power releases the leftovers from her 2008 covers collection, Jukebox. It's a cool double vinyl release. One time I saw Cat Power perform solo. I was front row, and on this night the recovering alcoholic Cat Power chose to drink, and she completely flipped the fuck out. Despite her craziness the show went on for 3 and a half hours. It was mesmerizing, and I will never forget that show.

Charlie Louvin is an 81 year old gospel and blue grass living legend. I saw him perform with Neko Case once, it was pretty awesome! He looks like a munchkin, an old singin' dancin' munchkin.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-12-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

This week begins the slow period of new releases that happens every holiday season.

Britney Spears has a so-called comeback album out this week. Which is odd, because she put out an album last year as well. An album that sold 3.1 million copies. Some comeback.

The Decemberists finish up their Always the Bridesmaid: A Singles Series this week. That means I should receive mine in the mail soon, and then I'll be able to talk about it on here.

Oh, you probably shouldn't buy the Britney.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-11-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

The Killers - Day & Age The Killers are my favorite band of Mormons. For a group of Mormons they sure do put together some excellent high energy sex-charged post-punk dance pop that makes me want to fuck. If it turns out that lead singer, and devout mormon, Brandon Flowers gave money to the pro-Prop 8 campaign in California then you should download it for free somewhere. If he didn't, then go ahead and buy it. The cover is super shiny and pretty. The band picture insert makes it look like all 4 band members have completely different gimmicks and belong in 4 separate bands.

Los Campesinos! - We Are Beautiful We Are Doomed this one was finally released here in the states. The CD package comes with a separate DVD and a zine. I haven't listened to it yet, but I am SUPER stoked on this one.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-11-23T14:56:00.000-08:00

Today marks the release of Guns 'n Roses Chinese Democracy. It is the first GnR album in 15 years and the first studio album in 17. This is a Best Buy exclusive, so lame. I love "Sweet Child O' Mine" as much as the next guy, but that is not what we will be getting here.

I don't imagine that I will, ever, hear this album. I heard the first single at a Rock Band party, and I was far from impressed.

This does mean that every US citizen, excluding Slash and Buckethead, are eligible for a free can of Dr. Pepper! You have until tomorrow morning to do it though.
use this link and scroll down to the bottom and on the left side you will see the Free Dr. Pepper link.

I'm sure you will enjoy it more than the album.

For those of you in Seattle go to Easy Street today to get 20% off all non sale items.

MMA: UFC 91 Results, Brock Lesnar is Your UFC Heavyweight Champion

2008-11-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday Night's main event was all it was cracked up to be. In one corner there was the legendary champion and huge fan favorite Randy Couture. In the other corner was the MMA newcomer and a huge beast of a man Brock Lesnar who was appearing in just his fourth pro fight.

The crowd was super hot for the fight with chants of, "Randy" during the introductions and voracious boos all around for Lesnar. In the first round both fighters were clinched up against the fence. Brock is so big and strong that his knees to Randy's thigh actually lifted Randy off the ground. It was an amazing show of size and strength.

Brock eventually took Randy down to the ground in the first round. Randy was able to reverse it and get on top which caused a huge crowd pop and more chants of, "Randy!" Randy was only on top for a moment before Brock rolled him back over and took mount.

Brock Lesnar won the first round on all three judges scorecards.

In the second the fighters exchanged some punches and Randy cut Brock open under his eye. Brock then hit a big right directly to Randy's temple and the world champion crumpled straight down. Brock immediately hit a hammer fist to the face as he pounced on Randy and delivered 35(!) unanswered shots before the referee finally put an end to it all. I had already been screaming, "Stop it! What are you doing, stop the fight?!?" The crowd booed their new champion.

In the semi-main event Kenny "Ken Flo" Florian beat Joe "Daddy" Stephenson in a little more than 4 minutes with a rear naked choke. Ken Flo came down to the ring in this awesome jacket. After his match I took Brookie's iPhone and tried to look up the jacket, but iPhones suck apparently.

Kenny Florian understands how to build and sell a fight. The first words out of his mouth in his post fight interview in front of the crowd was, "I want BJ's belt," BJ Penn is the current UFC Lightweight Champion. Ken Flo added, "I consider BJ to be a master. It's time to kill the master." I want to see this fight so bad!

UFC 91 was an awesome show from top to bottom. With the exception of the main event every fight on the main card ended in the first round. Only the fight of the night award winners Jorge Gurgel and Aaron Riley had a fight that went the distance. The main card fights were so short that every prelim fight was shown on the pay per view to fill time. This is one of the greatest shows in UFC history filled with quick knockouts and submissions. There was not a boring fight to be found.

The next pay per view is UFC 92 on December 27th which has a stacked card with a triple main event. On that night we will get to see Forrest Griffin defend the Light Heavyweight title against Rashad Evans, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira will defend the Interim Heavyweight Title against Frank Mir(winner to face Brock Lesnar to unify the titles), and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson returns to fight Wanderlai Silva. It's going to be spectacular!

MMA: UFC 91 Preview

2008-11-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the biggest UFC fight in....well....EVER!!!

Tonight is the UFC return of Heavyweight Champion Randy "The Natural" Couture as he defends his title against monster MMA newcomer Brock Lesner.

Brock comes into this fight with just a 2-1 career record. His last fight came on August 9th when he dominated Heath Herring for 3 rounds on his way to the unanimous decision. The highlight of the match was when Brock started the fight with a punch to the face which caused Herring to do a backwards somersault. It was AWESOME! At the start of this match Brock will have close to a 50 pound weight advantage on the champion.

Randy Couture is 45 years old and his last fight was against a scared Gabriel Gonzaga on August 25, 2007. It has been absolutely ridiculous that Couture has fought at this high of a level as long as he has, and sooner or later his luck will run out. I hope that happens tonight.

If I was booking this match I would build up Brock Lesner as the super awesome unstoppable babyface and future of the UFC Heavyweight division. Randy Couture is the obvious heel, the man who "retired" while UFC Heavyweight Champion because he wanted to go elsewhere(ie-Affliction) to fight Fedor. He sued the UFC to get out of his contract while the UFC filed a countersuit for breach of contract. THEN Couture appeared and was interviewed on the first Affliction pay-per-view. It was only after he made that stupid mistake that he renegotiated a new contract with the UFC at which point this fight was announced. I would paint Couture as a UFC turncoat. As a man who doesn't care about the company while he still holds the belt. I would build him up so that the fans will hate him and boo him relentlessly. All great fighters have to be able to work as a babyface as well as a heel.

But alas, Brock Lesner is a natural heel, so despite me wanting to see Randy Couture get knocked out in 30 seconds the fans will be chanting, "Randy, Randy!" Whatever.
Regardless of the winner this should be a great fight, and probably the best heavyweight fight that we have seen in a long time.

The most intriguing fight on the undercard is the lightweight matchup between Ultimate Fighter alums Kenny "Ken Flo" Florian and Joe "Daddy" Stephenson. Ken Flo has won 5 straight fights including his August fight where he completely shut down Roger Huerta in dominating fashion.
I hate Joe "Daddy" Stevenson. I hope that Ken Flo chokes him out in 30 seconds.

Other fights on the undercard:

-Nate Quarry vs Demian Maia
-Gabriel Gonzaga vs Josh Hendricks in a fight between two heavyweights that no one wants to see fight.
and Dustin Hazelett vs Tamden McCrory in a fight that is only on the main card because The Ultimate Fighter winner Amir Sadollah had to pull out of his fight due to an infection on his leg. The best thing that I can say about Hazelett is that he was knocked out in amazing fashion when he lost to Josh Koscheck.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-11-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

The Flaming Lips- Christmas on Mars CD-DVD combo, with a MEGA DELUXE version available from their website which includes stickers and trading cards and popcorn, AMAZING!!! I am seeing this at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle on November 21st. Tickets are still available, you should come to!

Los Campesinos!- We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed This is a CD/DVD combo from one of the most fun indie pop dance bands alive today. They only made a single run of CDs for the entire world, and they are only available through Rough Trade, which is in the UK which makes it more expensive to get it here in the states(bastards!). You can also get it via iTunes, but of course sans DVD.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-11-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

I hope you voted.

Danielson- Trying Hartz

The Decemberists- Always the Bridesmaid: A Singles Series - Volume 2 (vinyl)

More pretty vinyl for the Decemberists fans. I won't be able to review it until all of them have been released and they send me the entire series. I just wasn't willing to pay so much for shipping, sorry.

This Week's New.....Oh Fuck It

2008-11-04T15:08:00.001-08:00

Go Vote, Go Vote for Obama!

This Week's New.....Oh Fuck It

2008-11-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

Go Vote, Go Vote for Obama!

MMA: EliteXC is Dead! (officially)

2008-11-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

The last EliteXC show on CBS did a very good rating. A rating that the network and Showtime were both happy with. CBS began the discussions to buy the organization outright.

Two days after Seth Petruzelli knocked out Kimbo Slice he was doing media interviews when he said that he was paid a bonus to stand up with Kimbo. This launched an investigation by the Florida State Athletic Commission. You see, this is a mixed martial arts fight. People made bets on this fight in Las Vegas. You do not pay someone a bonus telling them to stand and exchange with Kimbo in hopes that Kimbo knocks him out. Unfortunately for Kimbo Slice and EliteXC, Petruzelli knocked Kimbo the fuck out.

Due to the ongoing investigation CBS declined to purchase the organization and later that afternoon EliteXC filed for bankruptcy and began firing office employees.

Seth Petruzelli's punch to the jaw of Kimbo wasn't the knockout blow that I had predicted for EliteXC, but his follow up interview certainly finished the job.

The North American MMA market is down to Affliction and UFC. Affliction is only a couple shows away from going under themselves. The first quarter of 2008 seemed like a promising time for MMA in this country, but here we are barely in November and we are just a short time away to being back to only having the UFC.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-11-02T11:44:00.000-08:00

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals- Cardinology
Your best bet for a solid release this week is the 10th release from Ryan Adams and 4th with The Cardinals. I have this one already, but I haven't listened to it in its entirety. It seems solid enough though.
Bloc Party- Intimacy
The Cure - 4:13 Dream
This is the 13th release from a band that no one has cared about in at least 11 years. And I mean really, only 13 releases? Ryan Adams will probably release 13 albums next year.
Deerhunter - Microcastle
Eagles of Death Metal - Heart On Axl Rose once referred to them onstage as the "Pidgins of Shit Metal". Chinese Democracy comes out later this month, and I pray that it's the worst album of all time. We'll see who laughs last Axl.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-10-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

Final Fantasy- Play EP
Of Montreal- Skeletal Lamping
The Raveonettes- EP [digital release]
Sebastien Grainger- Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains
Times New Viking- Stay Awake 7"

Final Fantasy is the, mostly, solo project from Owen Pallett who is probably most known for composing the string parts on the two Arcade Fire full length album. He writes music that feels like fairytale dream sequences and/or the best hallucination of your life.

You can get the Of Montreal album as a paper lantern or a tote bag. Each of those releases come with an MP3 download code. If you don't have the proper lighting for a paper lantern then you can also get it on CD or vinyl, but where's the fun in that?

Sebastien Grainger, formerly of dance-punk group Death From Above 1979, releases his Saddle Creek debut. He plays almost every instrument on the recording.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-10-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

The Decemberists- Always the Bridesmaid: A Singles Series - Volume 1 This is the first in a vinyl single series from the band. You can order it from their website. I did, but I only paid for one shipment, so I have to wait for them all to come out to listen them. But it's going to come on colored vinyl! Who gives a damn what color a CD is?

I'm From Barcelona- Who Killed Harry Houdini?
Kaiser Chiefs- Off With Their Heads
Keane: Perfect Symmetry
Ray LaMontagne- Gossip in the Grain

The strangest album this week is probably this one,
Various Artists: Johnny Cash Remixed. I had the opportunity to listen to this one earlier this week. It is very hit or miss. If you have been wondering how to play Johnny Cash at your dance party then this album is for you!

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-10-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

Crooked Fingers: Forfeit/Fortune which you can only get in independent record stores and from the band's website. Crooked Fingers is one of the recording projects of Eric Bachman who is also in Archers of Loaf. There is a deluxe CD version of this album that also comes with a DVD. I really like getting a DVD with my CDs, seriously.

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's have two releases this week : Animal! is the version of the album that the band wanted to put out. Not Animal! is the version of the album that their record label wanted to put out. The band's version is only available on vinyl and in digital form. The band has requested on their website that you listen to their version first. It has a different track sequence and a few different songs then Not Animal!

Annuals: Such Fun
I like Annuals quite a bit, and I am excited that they are finally putting out a on-digital exclusive album. I like physical music products whenever possible.

Tonight at the STARS show I am planning to pick up their Lonely Robot EP at the merch table. Color me awesome.

MMA: EliteXC is Dead!

2008-10-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

Ken Shamrock did not fight Kimbo Slice last night in the main event. Yesterday Kenny was practicing and he took an accidental headbutt to the head which opened up his head along the eyebrow. He had to have 6 or 7 sutures to close the wound. He visited three different doctors after the injury and none of them would clear him to fight last night due to the wound.

I have not seen the overnight rating for the show, but it opened with Ken Shamrock cutting a promo in which he told the crowd that he was injured and not allowed to fight. At that point you could hear channels changing across the country.

The last second replacement for the oft-injured Shamrock was Seth Petruzelli. Petruzelli is a relatively unknown fighter who is best known for his appearance on the second season of UFC's The Ultimate Fighter.

The hope was for Kimbo to make quick work of a way past his prime Ken Shamrock. A dominant win for Kimbo would have further made him star. Going into last night's show Kimbo Slice was EliteXC's only legitimate big money draw. This is probably no longer the case.

Petruzelli is a much younger and stronger fighter than Ken Shamrock.
The fight begins with Kimbo Slice immediately taking the center of the ring and closes in on Petruzelli with punches. In the exchange Kimbo gets hit on the chin and he collapses. Petruzelli pummels his opponent with 10 or so unprotected head shots and the referee has seen enough.

Kimbo Slice was defeated in 14 seconds. Seth Petruzelli delivered the knockout that destroyed an entire MMA company.

I for one welcome our UFC overlords. Somewhere Dana White danced a jig.

MMA: One of the biggest nights in MMA history is tonight! EliteXC Heat

2008-10-04T16:07:00.000-07:00

EliteXC is running a show tonight live on CBS. The main event is Kimbo Slice vs Ken Shamrock which is an intriguing matchup to say the least. If Kimbo can make quick work of Kenny then it will propel Kimbo into the type of top flight MMA money making draw that EliteXC needs in order to exist as a company going forward.

If this show does a poor rating then CBS is likely to drop EliteXC which would mean that it is just a matter of time before the company goes under. If the show does a good rating then CBS and Showtime will be in line to purchase the group and give the upcoming shows the publicity and money backing that one needs to run an MMA company in the modern landscape. This is one of the most important MMA shows in recent memory.

In other MMA companies possibly going under news: After Affliction canceled their October show they made an agreement with EliteXC to add an Affliction promoted fight to tonight's CBS show. It is the Andrei Arlovski vs Roy Nelson fight which will supposedly decide who gets the next shot at Fedor Emelianenko's WAMMA Heavyweight Championship sometime early next in 2009.

On the other EliteXC shows this year the fighters were not allowed to wear Affliction brand clothing. I imagine this will no longer me the case beginning with tonight.

EliteXC needs a big rating tonight to survive the weekend. As for Affliction? I think that Obi Wan is their only hope.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-10-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

Again with the lateness!

Black Keys- self titled: This is a vinyl reissue on purple(!) vinyl.

Mercury Rev- Snowflake Midnight

I highly recommend saving your money for next week's batch of new releases which are many.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-09-26T14:35:00.001-07:00

What a week. Sorry for the delay, I've been drinking in Key West!

Jenny Lewis- Acid Tongue. I will be listening to this one before I buy to make sure it is not like the last Rilo Kiley album which was bad bad bad.

TV On the Radio- Bad Science

Cold War Kids- Loyalty to Loyalty

Peter Bjorn and John- Seaside Rock

All of these artists previous albums were phenomenal, and I can not wait to hear these. Hopefully I can pick up one or two of these this weekend.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-09-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
Fujiya & Miyagi - Lightbulbs
James - Hey Ma
Simian Mobile Disco - FABRICLIVE 41

Yes, that's James, the same band that had a hit with Laid, which is a karaoke favorite of mine. Fortunately I know all of the words to that song, because occasionally the karaoke lyrics are clean and they replace, "She only cums when she's on top," to something less racey. But I mean, come on, everyone loves orgasms!

The pick of the week is Live at KEXP Volume 4. This year's edition has a solid lineup that includes !!!, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Yeasayer, and more.
It's available at Seattle area indie record stores, PCC, and through that insound link above. Hurry, it's only available through the end of the year.

MMA: Affliction Cancels October Show

2008-09-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Affliction's second show was scheduled for October 11 in Las Vegas. Last week the company informed the Nevada State Athletic Commission that the show was canceled, and then they listed a new date on their website for January 17, 2009 in Anaheim.

UFC president Dana White said at the press conference that announced the new Randy Couture contract that Affliction would be out of business in January. The way that things are looking now you could call him Nostradamus.

Affliction only exists as an MMA company because they thought that they could book the Randy Couture - Fedor Emelianenko match that the UFC was not able to put together when Fedor turned down a huge money offer(He was offered $2.5 million per fight with a $2.5 million win bonus).
With Couture back in the UFC fold, Affliction has no potential big money fight. January's show should do OK business just because it's theoretically enough time to have Fedor fight on the show(he was off of the October show because he broke his hand when he beat the hell out of Tim Sylvia on the debut show).

Though without TV to support the pay per view, no one is going to know about the show or anything about the people that are on it. It's a show for the MMA diehards who want to see Fedor in action regardless of his opponent.

If the year 2008 has taught us anything about the North American MMA market it's that UFC is the brand name, and people will buy the brand name. The last rating for the prime time EliteXC show on CBS showed that very few people will watch a show just because it is an MMA event, and that show was on free tv.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-09-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

Calexico: Carried to Dust
Michael Franti and Spearhead: All Rebel Rockers
Mogwai: Batcat(EP)
Okervil River: The Stand Ins

For the vinyl junkies, Tortoise finally releases Standards on vinyl.
Also, Devotchka have made their album How It Ends available on limited edition red vinyl through their website.

The most interesting release this week is probably Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 US Presidents. It's 3 CDs with each song covering a US president. It includes members of Cake, Califone, Low, Red House Painters, Smog, Xiu Xiu, Charalambides, Wooden Wand and more.

If there is a young child in your life, you should probably know that Kimya Dawson has a children's album coming out this week called Alphabutt. I will be purchasing that one as a gift for a 3 year old.

MMA: UFC 88 Results, Rashad Evans is King

2008-09-07T17:07:00.000-07:00

Last night's UFC 88 was a very good pay per view. There were no match of the year candidates on the show, but there were also no boring matches on the broadcast.

The main event saw Rashad Evans become a star when he threw an overhand right haymaker that knocked Chuck Liddell the fuck out! He was unconscious before he hit the ground. Ref Herb Dean did a great job of seeing that and jumping in for the stop before Evans could land any additional shots. This was such a spectacular knockout that I leaped out of my chair and stood there with one hand over my mouth for a couple of minutes in stunned silence.

The replays showed Chuck's jaw move first and then his neck and head followed. He fell like a ton of bricks, and remained out cold on the mat. This was one of the most spectacular knockouts in MMA history. Between this and the fight where Chuck was knocked out by Rampage all I have to say is: When he gets knocked out, it happens in dramatic fashion. You will see this knockout highlight over and over again for an eternity, and it will always be part of Rashad Evans' highlight reel.

Rashad Evans' next fight has already been announced. He will take on UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin on December 27th in Las Vegas.

In the co main event Rich Franklin looked good fighting at 205 lbs. in beating Matt(don't call me Mark)Hamill. Franklin apparently came into the fight with a cut next to his eye, and it was opened up early. In the second round the ref briefly stopped the fight to have the doctor check the cut, and the doctor said it was fine. In the third round Franklin ended it with a vicious body kick that caused Hamill to grab his ribs and crumple in a heap.

The match last night that told the best story was Jason MacDonald vs Jason Lambert. At the end of the first round Jason Lambert locked in a guillotine choke. I mean, it was locked in deep! MacDonald's head was turning red and he was throwing punches to Lambert's head and body, and was able to hold on for the last 10 seconds of the round while in a deep deep choke.

The second round saw MacDonald take down Lambert, get his back, and then after almost being choked out in the previous round he choked out Lambert! It was awesome. In the post match interview he told Joe Rogan that the guillotine in the first round was really deep but he could see the clock on the scoreboard, and he knew that he could hold his breathe for that long.
I loved this match!

Top to bottom this was a very solid show. I want to thank King Cobra in Seattle for showing the pay per view last night. I will keep going back there for UFC events as long as they have them. They had several projection screens set up for our viewing pleasure. They also mix their drinks strong, and the sweet potato fries are excellent. They didn't even charge a cover last night!

Music: Man Plus Remix Album FOR FREE!!!

2008-09-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

The fine folks over at Man Plus headquarters have contacted me, and they have asked that I share their remix EP with the fine readers at Where the Silence Is.

It's a zip fileof the remix version of five songs from the album The Hungarian Suicide Songbook. Did I mention that it's free?!?!

Seriously, download this, and then go see Man Plus at one of their upcoming Seattle dates:

9/12 - Britney Spears Cover night @ Mars Bar
9/13 - KEXP Midday Dance Party @ Nectar
10/4 - Reverb in Ballard
10/31 - Halloween Show(!) at the Comet

MMA: UFC 88 Preview!

2008-09-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

It seems that a lot of people have forgotten about tomorrow's UFC pay per view after the big news this week of the UFC return of Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture.

The top two fights on UFC 88 are very solid and exciting matchups in the main event of Chuck Liddell vs Rashad Evans and Rich Franklin vs Matt (Don't call me Mark) Hamill.

Liddell is one of the top draws in MMA history, and I have never seen a boring fight with him involved. He is also a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He has knockout power, and he has that killer instinct that makes all of his fights exciting. If he sees that he has staggered his opponent then he will rush in and try to finish the fight.

Rashad Evans won The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 as a heavyweight. He is unbeaten in his career, but he has never fought anyone of the caliber of Chuck Liddell. I think that Chuck will be victorious by knockout, but this fight is not going to be a cake walk.

Whoever is victorious in the main event will probably get the next shot at Forrest Griffin's Light Heavyweight title at the end of this year or early next year.
Earlier this week Dana White stated that he thinks that November's Randy Couture-Brock Lesner fight will top the one million buys mark on pay per view. I think that a Forrest Griffin-Chuck Liddell fight for the title will be the biggest fight in MMA history.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Rick Franklin makes his debut at Light Heavyweight on this show as he squares off against the much more inexperienced Matt Hamill. Hamill is deaf, so the referee in his fights always has to be ready to jump in to stop him at the end of each round as he can't hear the buzzer. That's always an exciting aspect to his fights, but so far he hasn't landed any big shots after the round has ended. It will be interesting to see what Rich Franklin looks like fighting at 205(Middle weights fight at 185 pounds), but I expect him to finish Hamill and look great doing it.

This should be a really fun show. If you are in Seattle tomorrow, feel free to join me at King Cobra on Capitol Hill to watch the fights. I can not recommend the sweet potato fries there enough!

Music: Built to Spill - Perfect From Now On

2008-09-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

Last night at the Showbox in Seattle I was in attendance to see Built to Spill perform their 1997 classic album Perfect From Now On.

The crowd was already riled up in a frenzy and screaming before the first notes hit. Throughout the venue I had overheard people talking about how many times they had listened to the album that day or week(For the record I had listened to it 3 or 4 times this week).

Right before the band began their first song lead singer Doug Martsch said, "This is for Phil Ek." Phil Ek was the, at the time Seattle based, producer of the album.

The hot crowd was so lively that I could actually feel the floor beneath my feet bow as people jumped, danced, and tapped their feet.

As the band neared the end of album closer Untrustable/Part 2 (About Someone Else) they transitioned smoothly right into Goin' Against Your Mind from 2006's You In Reverse.

Built to Spill left the stage to a rousing ovation, and they returned a few moments later to play a two song encore of Big Dipper and a song that once made me absolutely lose it- You Were Right from Keep It Like a Secret.

Built to Spill continues to put on one of the best live performances that you will ever see. Check them out on their current world tour if you can:

9/6/08 McDonald Theatre Eugene, OR

9/8/08 Slim's San Francisco, CA

9/9/08 Slim's San Francisco, CA

9/10/08 Troubadour West Hollywood, CA

9/11/08 Troubadour West Hollywood, CA

9/12/08 Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown, CA

9/16/08 Chameleon Club Lancaster, PA

9/17/08 Toad's Place New Haven, CT

9/18/08 Calvin Theater Northampton, MA

9/19/08 All Tomorrow's Parties Festival Monticello, NY

9/20/08 The Trocadero Philadelphia, PA

9/21/08 The Trocadero Philadelphia, PA

9/22/08 The National Richmond, VA

9/23/08 9:30 Club Washington, DC

9/24/08 Ram's Head Live Baltimore, MD

9/25/08 Terminal 5 New York, NY

9/26/08 Terminal 5 New York, NY

9/27/08 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA

10/1/08 Doornroosje Nijmegen

10/2/08 Melkweg Amsterdam

10/3/08 Tivoli Utrecht

10/4/08 Take rot Groningen

10/5/08 AB Box Brussels

10/6/08 VoxHall Aarhus

10/7/08 Loppen Copenhagen

10/9/08 Folken Stavanger

10/10/08 USF Bergen

10/11/08 Rockefeller Oslo

10/12/08 Sticky Fingers Goteborg

10/13/08 Debaser Medis Stockholm

10/14/08 KB Malmo

10/15/08 Forum Bielefeld

10/16/08 Bhf Langendeer Bochum

10/17/08 Universum Stuttgart

10/18/08 Karlstorbahnhof Heidelberg

10/19/08 K4 Nurnberg

10/21/08 Flex Wien

10/22/08 Weekender Innsbruck

10/23/08 Palace St. Gallan

10/24/08 Locomotive Bologna

10/25/08 In IT Rome

10/26/08 Interzone Verona

10/28/08 La Cooperative Clermont Ferrand

10/29/08 Apolo Barcelona

10/30/08 Caracol Madrid

10/31/08 Azkena Bilbao

11/1/08 La Nef Angouleme

11/3/08 Maroquinerie Paris

11/4/08 Koko London

11/5/08 Thekla Bristol

11/6/08 Zodiac Oxford

11/7/08 Brudenell Social club Leeds

11/8/08 King Tuts Glasgow

11/9/08 Limelight Belfast

11/10/08 Academy Dublin

MMA: Randy Couture Returns to UFC

2008-09-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

Randy Couture is the current UFC World Heavyweight Champion. Last August he destroyed Gabriel Gonzaga, and then two months later he announced that he was resigning as UFC champion. This happened right after the negotiations between the UFC and heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, which was a fight that Couture had publicly stated he wanted.

Then it came out that Couture was not actually retiring, and he felt his pay level was a sign of disrespect.

In February Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira beat Tim Sylvia in a match for the UFC Interim Heavyweight title. Couture was never stripped, because UFC contracts have an automatic roll over if you are a champion. Your contract won't expire until you lose the belt. Randy Couture being the Heavyweight Champion helped the UFC's legal standing.

He sued to be released from his contract, the UFC counter sued, and then Couture appeared on the Affliction PPV in July. The court date for his contractual dispute was schedule for September/October, and I guess Couture realized that he had no legal standing.

A week ago www.f4wonline.com had reported that Couture was in negotiations for a new 3 fight deal with the UFC. Yesterday the UFC held a press conference where they announced the new contract for the 45 year old Couture.

His first fight back will be at UFC 91 on November 15th against Brock Lesner. It will be a 5 round title fight in Las Vegas. Then winner of the Couture-Lesner fight will face the winner of December's Interim Heavyweight title fight between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Frank Mir sometime next Spring.

UFC President Dana White, Randy Couture, and Brock Lesner were all present for yesterday's press conference. Many of the questions were about a possible Couture-Fedor fight, which is a fight that would make a ton of money. Dana White said that they were interested in that fight, but Fedor is under contract with Affliction and he is not interested in tampering. The Fedor questions continued, and Brock Lesner had finally heard enough and he responded with the highlight of the press conference:

"Who give a shit about Fedor? I'm sick of hearing about fucking Fedor. He's not with the company, he might not ever be with the company, so who gives a shit?"

This was awesome! If Fedor ever does sign a deal with the UFC then the pre match hype videos will be filled with that quote, and everyone will want to see that fight. Brock Lesner is a former WWE professional wrestling champion, and he knows how to sell a fight.

Also in the press conference Dana White says that the Couture-Lesner fight will top 1 million buys. The UFC has not yet reached the 1 million buys mark, so it's difficult to estimate that high but this is definitely going to be a huge fight.

The next few months of UFC action is going to be very exciting, and the company is about to make a ridiculous amount of money over the next quarter. Affliction on the other hand? Well, Dana White said in the press conference that he would be shocked to see Affliction in business come January, and I can't say that I disagree with him.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-09-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

I only have one for you this week:

Brian Wilson: That Lucky Old Sun

If you still listen to the Beach Boys, or you think that Brian Wilson's album SMILE was one of the best albums of the last few years then you will probably want to pick this one up.

As for me? I'm going to give that Hey Marseilles album a proper listen this week. I will have a write up sometime in the next 10 days. I promise.

Music: Bumbershoot turns into Bumbersuck, or I Was Assaulted By Bumbershoot Staff

2008-09-02T17:45:00.001-07:00

On Sunday night I was planning on writing about how great The Weakerthans were, and how people think that the song, "Plea From a Cat Named Virtute" is actually, "Virtue" those people are wrong(apparently it's from the Winnipeg motto “Unum Cum Virtute Multorum” (one with the virtues of many). And then follow it up with talk of how just fucking amazing Battles were.

But right now I can't focus on any of that. Yesterday I was physically assaulted by a Bumbershoot staff member, and it was while I was outside of the festival on a city sidewalk.

I bought a poster at flatstock, and I left the festival to go put it in my car for safe keeping. I was walking on the sidewalk, they opened the fence to let in a van or something.

The fence swung open right in my face, so I stepped to the curb and kept walking. A dude in a staff shirt stepped in front of me and said, "Everybody stop" or something similar. At this point, we were like a foot apart so I kept walking and
he pushed me.

I rolled off his push and stepped down with one foot on the street and I was past him at which point he grabbed me, forcibly and hard from behind by my hoodie and yanked and pulled me into the street.

My hoodie was unzipped. If it was zipped I think he would have ripped it, and/or thrown me to the ground in the street. Instead I just stumbled in the street and regained my balance.

I was shocked to be grabbed at all, let alone in such a forceful way. I immediately threw my hands up in the air and screamed, "I am on a public sidewalk, you are not a law enforcement officer!" repeatedly.

One of the other staff people said, "Let him go," and he did finally.

I spun around, still with my hands in the air, and I said, "What are you doing? I am on a public sidewalk!"

He had rage in his eyes and said, "You are/were in in the street impeding traffic." I said, "YOU are NOT a law enforcement officer!" The only reason I was in the street was because that was the direction that I was forcibly thrown in.

He took two steps towards me, at which point other staff people stepped in and got him away from me.

It was frightening, and absolutely ridiculous. I can not believe that this happened to anyone, let alone to me who was just legally walking down the sidewalk, not even inside the festival grounds.

That was the third day of my first bumbershoot experience. It was again oversold and overcrowded. I bailed before the evenings headliners.

A few tips for Bumbershoot 2009:

-Put the food in a court with an entrance to the area. Look at how the Capiol Hill Block Party had their food area set up, learn from them and implement it. It was impossible to walk past the food area for most of the festival.
-Hire staff that won't try to physically restrain pedestrians on sidewalks that are located outside of your festival.
-Sell at least 1,000 fewer tickets per day. Your monetary greed leads to an unsafe and unfun environment for your audience. Also, the overcrowding can cause your staff to go fucking nuts and attack your law abiding concert goers.

Music: Bumbershoot Music Festival Day 1

2008-08-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of Seattle's 3 day Labor Day festival: Bumbershoot. Due to my work schedule I was only there in the latter part of the day yesterday(I will be there for a similar amount of time today, but I plan on attending the entire last day tomorrow.).

When I walked in the gates at Seattle center yesterday afternoon/early evening all of the mainstage passes were gone/accounted for. You see, despite having a festival pass you need an additional(free) pass to get into the mainstage to see the last two performances each night on that stage. Day 1 headliner was Beck, and I was already planning on seeing M.Ward instead of Beck anyway, but I was very disappointed to learn that I would not be able to see Band of Horses(denied!).

Upon walking in to the fest I approached the info booth and asked for a schedule/festival map. "We're all out," I was told. "You're kidding right? This is the first of three days isn't it?" I retorted. They were not amused.

I was close enough to an energy drink sponsored stage to hear the announcement that The Walkmen were next! So I made my way over to catch a few songs. I walked by the table of said energy drink company as their volunteers were emptying cans into paper cups and there were literally hundreds of cups on the table and probably a thousand in the trash cans around the table. "Hey can I have as much as I want?" I inquired. "Absolutely!" responded the excited and caffeine fueled rep. "So why are you wasting so many paper cups if this is a carbon neutral event?" She was not amused.

At this point I tried to make it to the theater where they are having plays during the festival. I really wanted to see Reefer Madness: The Musical! Not having a map made this trek seemingly impossible. For one, I didn't really know where I was going. Suddenly I was at the food lines, and there was no pathway around the lines. I had cut through line after line of hungry concert goers. This was quite possibly the worst layout of any festival that I have ever attended.

I was lost and disoriented. I found another info booth. I asked for a map/schedule. "We are all out, but you can look at the schedule that we have here." "I don't need the schedule, I need the map so I know where things are, and so I don't get lost trying to find Reefer Madness: The Musical!, do you know where that is playing?" The person at the info booth stared at me blankly, and then she suggested that I wander around until I find a map/schedule on the ground that someone had discarded. I am not making this up, that's what she told me.

I was becoming increasingly frustrated, and the other info booth volunteer(a hot punk rawker) could tell, and she took pity on me and told me where I might be able to get another one. Then she pointed and told me how to get to that building. Finally, I was able to acquire a map!

I got to where Reefer Madness: The Musical! was playing, and I was 15 minutes late and they would not let me in. At this point, I seriously needed a drink.

I ran into Dan, and he had a photographer's press pass. I went into a building with him that I should not have had access to, but they saw Dan's pass and just assumed I had one too I guess. I was able to get free coffee, an apple, and I was able to use a bathroom instead of one of the too few for the amount of people in attendance porta-potties. Did I mention that this was a really poorly laid out and organized event?

I think this is when I made my way over to see Saul Williams. He came out in full Niggy Tardust regalia with his face painted, feathers in his hair, and a brightly colored outfit. I have certainly seen better Saul Williams performances, but this one was definitely a high energy affair which the crowd was really eating up. The sound was not the greatest, and I couldn't hear his politically charged vocals for the first part of set. My friend Jessica said that there were sound issues all day.

Saul Williams waited until before his last song before he talked to the crowd about change, revolution, and how exciting of a time it is that we are living in today. I was really hoping for this to lead to "Om Nia Merican" from 2001's Amethyst Rockstar, but instead the set closer, and highlight, was the song, List of Demands (reparations) from his self titled release.

M. Ward was my day 1 headliner, and the one performance that I was most looking forward to this weekend. He did not disappoint. He opened with One More Goodbye and I was immediately giddy. After the first song he thanked everyone for being there and said, "I guess you've all heard Devil's Haircut on the radio enough times," which elicited laughter from the, mostly under-aged, crowd.
Fans swayed together, some danced, some shoe gazed, but overall the crowd was filled with a childlike wonder and we all held on to every lyric. When the band left the stage the crowd refused to yield. "I've never seen an encore on the side stage," said Jessica who was standing beside me. Well there's a first time for everything and the band came back out to play Big Boat from the album Transistor Radio. M. Ward thanked us again for choosing to be in front of this particular stage and he added, "I'm here for all of you!"

Despite the rather horrendous start to my first Bumbershoot, it couldn't have ended in a better way. Well, aside from Jessica and I walking a mile or so before we got a cab- but that's a story for another blog I'm sure.

Today I am most excited to see The Weakerthans! And right now I'm still not sure if I am seeing Tapes 'n Tapes, Final Fantasy, or Thee Emergency in the evening spot. I can guarantee that I will not be seeing Stone Temple Pilots, but I do hope that I can get a mainstage pass so that I can see The Black Keys tonight. I do love them so, and I have never seen them live.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-08-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

This is a slow week on the new releases front.

New albums from The Game and Dragon Force(for you guitar hero inclined metalheads) hit the streets this week.

The most intriguing is Matthew Sweet- Sunshine Lies. I saw Matthew Sweet way back in 1994 when you could hear "Girlfriend" on the radio and 100% Fun was in most of my friends CD collections.

I know that he did that album with Susanna Hoffs a couple years back, but I have never heard it.

If you are in Seattle then by all means go to your local independent record store and find a copy of the new Hey Marseilles album- which I will have more on later this week.

MMA: Kimbo Slice vs Ken Shamrock!!!

2008-08-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

Two of the biggest TV draws in the history of MMA are going to facing off in the main event of the October 4th EliteXC show live on CBS!

Ken Shamrock's UFC feud with Tito Ortiz drew big numbers on cable(on Spike) and on pay per view.

Kimbo won in the main event of the first EliteXC show on CBS, and the quarter hour that his fight took place in was by far the most watched segment of that show which garnered a very good rating.

Shamrock is a way past his prime wrestler(He fought Royce Gracie in the finals of the very first UFC show), and Kimbo was a backyard street fighter who made a name for himself knocking out guys on youtube videos before he started his MMA training.

This is not really a good match up for either fighter. I'm sure that the hope is that Kimbo can knock out Shamrock early and continue to build Kimbo as a legit drawing card in the sport. If Shamrock wins, and makes Kimbo look bad then it could be very bad news for EliteXC on CBS going forward. So far Kimbo is their only solid draw.

Music: Hey Marseilles Takes Over the World

2008-08-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

If you were in Seattle last night and you missed the Hey Marseilles CD release party at Neumos, well it sucks to be you!

I have referred to Hey Marseilles as my favorite local band for most of this year. My friend Jimmer offered me a free ticket to see them at the High Dive back in January or February. That night I downloaded their 4 song EP and put it on while I was getting ready for bed. I was halfway through the first song, "To Travels and Trunks" when I stopped what I was doing and sat down to give the songs my full intention.

The band is a 7 piece that includes several multi instrumentalists as well as multi part harmonies. They have strings, an accordion, a trumpet, and the bass gets passed amongst a few of the band members depending on the song. All 7 are excellent musicians, and even the drummer steps out from behind the kit for some choice harmonies during the set.

The video above is how they opened last night's CD release party at Neumo's. They start off with the instrumental, "Marseilles" and transition smoothly into "To Travels and Trunks." The crowd erupted, and the energy continued to build all night long until they closed with, "Goodbye Versailles," which the crowd followed with mass applause and a very loud, "One more song," chant that unfortunately for everyone involved did not result in an encore. The band remained on stage breaking down their equipment, shaking hands, saying, "thank you," to fans, and signing copies of the newly released CD left and right.

Last night, August 21, 2008 is the night that Hey Marseilles broke through. Last night was the night that everything changed.

I have seen Hey Marseilles play at a couple different clubs around Seattle, in the foyer of the Vera Project(that's right, not even on the main stage), and at a house show at the Greenhouse. The show last night at Neumo's was at least 3 times larger than any other crowd I have seen for a Hey Marseilles show. There were people in home made t-shirts. Seemingly every group of people had brought at least one person a long who had never seen the band before. My friend Molly came along just for fun and she pointed to her smile and said, "Do you see this? I can't stop doing this!"

It was a super hot crowd who moved with the music, sang along loudly, and went crazy for the smooth transitions that occur when things like, the viola player puts down his instrument mid song to play the bass.

At one point Dan turned to Abby who I had just met and he said, "Look at Jon. He looks so happy!" I was Dan, I certainly was.

The band was obviously in awe of the crowd, and they fed off that energy in their live performance. Most of the between song banter was relegated to thanking us all for being there, thanking us for supporting the band, and oh yah by the way there are CDs for sale.

This was the second best live show that I have seen this year. I can only rank the Flaming Lips and their UFO show at Sasquatch ahead of last night's performance.

Hey Marseilles is about to become huge, and it's time that you took notice.

Their debut full length To Travels and Trunks is available via iTunes as well as the band's website.

They also have a myspace page. Though apparently they do not currently have any future dates scheduled.

MMA: Heavyweight Champion Antonio Silva Jr. Busted!

2008-08-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

The Heavyweight Champion of EliteXC(Elite Xtreme Combat), Antonio Silva Jr., tested positive for boldenone(a veterinary anabolic steroid prescribed to horses).
He was suspended a year and fined $250,000 by the California State Athletic Commission. He has appealed the findings. Though I imagine it's going to be difficult to prove that you accidentally took a horse steroid.

Not only is he a cheater, but he's stupid. According to the wiki article on boldenone:

It has a very long half-life, and can show up on a steroid test for up to 1.5 years, due to the long undecylenate ester attached to the parent steroid.

One and a half years?!?! Seriously man, you need to switch to something that clears the system much MUCH quicker than that.

EliteXC is the MMA organization that has a deal with CBS and Showtime. This positive test is related to the last CBS show which aired live on prime time on Saturday July 26th which was a much against Justin Eilers to crown the first EliteXC Heavyweight Champion. In California the athletic commission does not have the power to retroactively change a match result due to a positive test. There is legislation in California slowly working it's way to approval that would give the state athletic commission that power.

So for now, Antonio Silva Jr won the heavyweight title and now will take a year off.

As of right now, he is still listed as the EliteXC Heavyweight Champion on the organization's website. Strip him now, seriously.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-08-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

The Fiery Furnaces - remember
Juliana Hatfield - How to Walk Away
Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line
The Royal We - The Royal We
The Walkmen - You & Me

And of course, I wouldn't be from St. Louis if I didn't mention the following new release:

Nelly - Brass Knuckles

The Fiery Furnaces is a 51 track live album career retrospective available on 2 CDs or 3 records. The back of the case says that you should not attempt to listen to it all in one sitting. Some of the tracks include cuts: ie- they are composed of various live versions of the song and then cut together. I have seen this previously, and it was amazingly done, on the DVD that accompanies the CD release of STARS - In Our Bedroom After the War.
Every Fiery Furnaces album sounds completely different than the others, so I am really looking forward to checking this one out.

I do not know The Royal We at all, but I like their name, so I included them here.

The Nelly album was originally scheduled to come out at the end of last year, but the label was not happy with it at all, so some of it was apparently redone. Suffice to say, that doesn't make me want to rush out and hear it. I'll wait for my St. Louis homies to let me know how it is.

Music: Man Plus Live at the High Dive with New Faces, Elba, and Paris Spleen

2008-08-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Last night's show at the High Dive in Seattle was cause for a long night. There were 4 bands on the bill with Man Plus headlining. I was under the impression that the headliners were going on sometime between 10 and 11, so I arrived at the High Dive around 9:30. Upon walking in I could tell that none of the bands had taken the stage.

The first band up was Paris Spleen. The person at the bar next to me offered to bet that, "One, if not all three band members will have their shirt off by the end of their set." It's a good thing that I didn't take it because the guitarist walked on to the stage sans shirt. They are a 3 piece who I was told have been touring on the same 4 song EP for over 3 years now. Those 4 songs were obviously the most polished of their set, and they played a very straight forward classic rock inspired sound. The talent is definitely there, and I look forward to new material for them.

Next up was Elba, who for the most part were a 3 piece, but for about a third of their set they had an additional musician on stage to either add a second guitar, or to free up the main guitarist to attack the keyboard. They should really consider being a 4 piece the entire time, as the addition of keys gives them a much larger and more dynamic sound. They were very good, and they gave away copies of their CD, "An Avalanche". I picked up a copy, and if it's worth mentioning I'll do a future write up on it as well.

Last night's show also served as the CD release party for local band New Faces debut release on Loveless Records. Again with the 3 piece band, these guys are all 17 years old, and they fucking rock. They have a real playful crunchy guitar sound that is reminiscent of bands like Tokyo Police Club. Their lyrics are beyond their (under)age, and they tackle topics of love and lust like vagabond musicians who are twice their age. I'm not sure if they sold out of their CDs, or if they just packed up and left before I made it over to the merch table, but I can tell you that New Faces are worth checking out and someday soon I hope to have a copy of their album.

At this point of the night I started to yawn and feel groggy. It was almost 1am before Man Plus finally hit the stage. During the first song lead singer Jared Mills jumped down into the crowd and herded the Man Plus faithful towards the stage like cattle to the slaughter. I guess he thought everyone was too far away for the performance.

The band played a 30 or 40 minute set of mostly new material. The sound was great, and singer Ellen Mills could be heard much easier on this night than at their Block Party gig. The band was tight and they obviously enjoy playing in front of people, but it was late and even the band members suffered from a lack of energy by the time their set was over. I can't blame them. It has to be really difficult to sit around to sit around for so many hours before trying to rock the house. The people danced and sang along to the songs that they knew, which unfortunately were few and far between. Block Party crowd pleaser, "Not For All the Cocaine In the World" was absent from the set list as were the majority of songs on their last LP The Hungarian Suicide Songbook. I think that the only songs off the album that they played last night were, "A Ghost Is A Ghost Is A Ghost Is A Ghost," "What I Like About Love," and the last night's show stealer(and excellent closing number), "My Kind of People."

Despite the late night, Man Plus continues to rock, and they are a band on the rise that you certainly need to check out.

My night ended with Man Plus member Ellen talking about Maria Taylor, Azure Ray, and She & Him. In other words, her musical taste is as great as her band's talent.

Music: Easy Street Records Hates Vinyl Buyers

2008-08-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

This week I went to Easy Street Records in Seattle in hopes of getting that new Pierre de Reeder album. They did not have it.

I was able to pick up the latest releases from My Morning Jacket and Son Ambulance on vinyl. While checking out I asked if I needed a different frequent buyer card than my CD one. My CD stamp card says, "Buy 15 CDs, GET ONE FREE!" My cashier informed me that there isn't a vinyl frequent buyer card and that she couldn't stamp my CD one for this purchase.

I was dumbfounded, "But, this is more expensive than the CD version....and I would think you have a more difficult time in 2008 moving vinyl, so you should want to encourage it," and finally I just asked, "But, why?"

She said to me, "I have no idea."

Pro Wrestling: WWE Cuts Galore!

2008-08-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

First things first, the tag team of The Highlanders(Rory and Robbie McAllister) were released today. Rory McAllister made it almost 5 months beyond when I thought he was going to be fired.

Back in March the WWE was in Orlando for Wrestlemania. This was a HUGE pro wrestling weekend with seven shows from four different wrestling companies in a 4 day period. I was there, but I did not go to any of the three TNA(Total Nonstop Action) shows. On the March 27th live edtion of TNA Impact the cameras panned to Rory McAllister who was in attendance and the announcers pointed him out as pro wrestler Russell Murray(his real name). Within minutes Rory received a text message from someone in WWE management informing him that he was shown on TV and that he had to leave immediately. He complied. The next day he was sent home. Wrestlemania is the biggest show of the year, and with it comes the biggest pay day of the year for the wrestlers. Rory who is not a big name wrestler in any way shape or form, reportedly would have made $5,000 for working that one day. He did not receive a Wrestlemania paycheck, sucks to be him.

The day that he was sent home lots of people were talking about it as I was waiting in line to go to the Friday Ring of Honor show. At that point in time the rumor wasn't that he was sent home, but that he was fired. I guess it finally caught up with him.

Stevie Richards was also released today. He's never done anything to impress me, but there was a period of time in the mid to late 90's where he was an independent wrestling icon. I remember reading about him doing a show stealing ladder match at some random indie show and almost breaking his neck. In that period of time I had never seen him perform, but I wanted to so bad. By the time I finally saw him in his 1997 run in WCW he barely wrestled due to the repeated neck injuries and surgeries. At that time he "retired" for a brief while due to the injuries, but many people around him questioned the legitimacy of that claim and thought that he was just trying to get out of his WCW contract.

A couple of years later he shows up in WWE and had a lame gimmick. WWE eventually brought him back as part of the new ECW branded TV show on the Sci-Fi network, and they had him work almost exclusively with current WWE World Champion CM Punk. There was even a series of vignettes talking about Richards neck injuries, and how he was in the main event of the very first ECW pay per view. It seemed like a slow build to him winning the fairly useless ECW Championship, but within a couple of weeks he was back to losing quickly and decisively on a weekly basis. Then in September he took about 5 months off due to having throat surgery. He will be 37 this fall, and I imagine his televised wrestling career is over. He'll always have a special place in my heart for that period of time where he was an American independent wrestling superstar.

Last but not least, 21 year old Colin Delaney was released today. He's my height, and only weighs about 15 more pounds than me. Suffice to say, he is not your typical sized WWE wrestler.

Delaney was given the underdog gimmick. I mean, he was really an underdog. He did not get any offense in his matches for a couple of months. It's a classic pro wrestling gimmick of building up the geek until the fans love him and really want to see him win. He didn't really get over, and then a month or so ago he turned heel on pay per view, and nobody cared. This release was just a matter of time.

But hey, he's only 21, and he was on WWE television! He should continue to get paid a decent amount to work on indie shows. Maybe he will be coming to your town soon!

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-08-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay and short blurb today. I'm still in recovery from yesterday being my birthday.

And on with the new releases:

Dark Romantics: The Good Kind of Sad
The Gutter Twins: "God's Children"/"Spanish Doors" 7"
Original Silence: The Second Original Silence
Pierre de Reeder: The Way That It Was
Willoughby: I Know What You're Up To

Pierre de Reeder is the bassist in Rilo Kiley. I love all of the other Rilo Kiley side projects, so I will probably try to pick this one up as well.

Tomorrow I will hopefully have more energy and by up to writing more.

MMA: UFC 87 Results

2008-08-10T17:30:00.001-07:00

Georges St. Pierre absolutely dominated Jon Fitch for 5 rounds to successfully defend the UFC Welterweight Championship by unanimous decision. With the judges scores being 50-43, 50-44, and 50-44 it looks like every judge scored round one 10-8 in favor of GSP as he was on the verge of absolutely destroying Fitch from the get go. This fight was given fight of the night honors and each fighter received a $60,000 bonus for that award.

The big news coming out of the show tonight was that after the main event UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn got in the octagon and challenged St. Pierre to an upcoming fight. This fight will hopefully take place in Honolulu, where Penn is from. GSP and Penn have fought before at UFC 65 in March of 2006. That was an excellent fight which had GSP winning by split decision.

That of course was a different BJ Penn, and if BJ is serious about his training and conditioning going into the rematch then that will be a fight between two of the best fighters in the world at any weight class.

In the heavyweight matchup Brock Lesner knocked Heath Herring rolling backwards with a big right to open the first round. Brock won by unanimous decision 30-26 from all 3 judges. He dominated from start to finish. All in all this was mostly a wrestling match with Lesner getting takedowns and landing some punches and knees as well, but he never appeared to attempt a submission of any sort. Brock is going to need to learn some submissions if he is going to be the top fighter in the division, but this was only his third professional fight and he is a beast! After the match Brock Lesner played the heel standing over Herring and then miming that he was lassoing and reeling in Herring. You can take the fighter out of professional wrestling, but you can't take the professional wrestling out of the fighter.

Roger Huerta did not win by decision. Kenny Florian played to his reach advantage the entire fight. Huerta was seemingly in constant pursuit and Ken Flo backed away and worked his jab to perfection. This was not the most exciting fight, and Ken Flo won by unanimous decision 30-27.

Rob Emerson won the knockout of the night honors and a $60,000 bonus for a 12 second knockout of Manny Gamburyan. That is not a typo. He hit him with a right left combo which put him out, then hit another right on the ground and the ref jumped in for the save.

Overall this was a quality UFC pay per view, and the main event did not disappoint.

MMA: UFC 87 Preview

2008-08-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, August 9, is the (on paper) best MMA pay per view of the year so far.
It is rare that a show has three fights as exciting as the top three featured tomorrow night.

In the main event we have Georges St. Pierre defends his Welterweight Championship against Jon Fitch. Fitch is 8-0 in the UFC and he has won his last 15 professional fights. He has an impressive knockout victory over Thiago Alves in that time.

Georges St. Pierre(GSP) absolutely destroyed Matt Serra in his last fight to reclaim the welterweight title that he had lost to Serra. GSP is one of the best all around fighters in the world, and he never has a boring fight. Jon Fitch is a good fighter, but he has no chance. GSP will be victorious tomorrow. GSP via 2nd round knockout.

The semi-main event is a lightweight battle between The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 alum Kenny Florian and Roger "El Matador" Huerta. Ken Flo has won 4 straight fights since he lost a 5 round decision against Sean Sherk for the vacant lightweight title. He knocked out Joe Lauzon on April 2 which earned fight of the night honors.

Huerta is 6-0 in the UFC and he has a ridiculous professional record of 25-1-1(his only loss came in a tournament where he was fighting in his third bout of the day). He hasn't fought since last December when he choked out Clay Guida in what was one of the best fights of 2007.

Both of these guys have excellent conditioning and they will surely have a very exciting fight. Roger Huerta will win by decision.

The other match to be very excited about tomorrow is a battle of heavyweights as fromer WWE World Champion and NCAA wrestling champion Brock Lesner takes on Heath Herring.

This is Brock's second UFC fight and it's in front of his home crowd in Minnesota. He made his UFC debut in February against former UFC Champion Frank Mir. Lesner was absolutely destroying Mir before the ref docked him a point for a punch to the back of the head and stood them back up. Brock pretty much immediately took Mir down again, but he left his ankle exposed for too long and Mir was able to submit him.

Brock makes $250,000 per fight before any bonuses. If he loses tonight he could be in danger of being cut. That's a lot of guaranteed money for someone who is not a headliner.

Herring is coming off a March split decision victory over Cheick Kongo. Herring immediately knocked Kongo down with a big punch, and Kongo was just lost from that point on. Herring is a good fighter, and this is a good challenge for Brock Lesner, but Brock is just so gigantic that I find it hard to believe that Herring will come out of this one victorious.

Heath Herring has a cool Undertaker like entrance.

This is going to be an amazing show! If you like MMA at all, then get your ass to a bar that is showing this tomorrow. 10pm EST, 7pm PST.

Music: Conor Oberst Was My Gateway Drug

2008-08-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

In the fall of 2001 I decided to drop my major, take a semester off from school, and transfer to a different school in a different state. It was probably the boldest decision that I had made up to that point.

Two days after Christmas I left Missouri for Colorado. I knew that I had a place to stay my first night there, and I just figured beyond that I would play it by ear. Several people had offered the prospects of a couch or a floor to sleep on, so I figured at the very least I had a rotation of floors in my future.

Jon and Heidi were leaving for China early on January 1. They needed someone to look after their cat for 13 days. They had met me once before, and they knew that I needed a place to stay so I was suddenly cat sitting in a really sweet one bedroom apartment that was above an empty restaurant location which was a few doors down from an independent record store which was across the street from another independent record store.

Late one night I was sitting at the computer in the apartment searching for jobs and the like. I had put the entire music folder in a play list on winamp and set it to shuffle. At some point "Kathy With a K's Song" came on. From the opening line of, "Love is real," I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. I was completely floored.

I searched the hard drive, but I only found one other Bright Eyes song. I started to search for more information on Bright Eyes online, and I was shocked to learn that Conor Oberst was only a year older than me(which seemed even more incredible since I was only 20 at the time).

The next day I headed down to the those record stores on the search for Bright Eyes. The first store did not have any. The one across the street provided me with A Collection of Songs and the Desaparecidos album.

I devoured these albums. A Collection of Songs is mostly composed of songs that Conor wrote and recorded in the basement of th house he grew up in. His song, "Solid Jackson" is about falling in love with the music of a local band, house shows, the scene, and getting lost in a great song, "And I stopped going to church a year ago, and my teachers think that my faith is gone, well I can do without the eucharist, because I found god in a solid jackson song!" This was an early example of why I love Bright Eyes, a few perfect lyrics, themes of feeling alone but wanting to belong, and the transformative power of music. All of this in one neat package with Conor's heartfelt vocals delivering the lines like he has something to say, and goddamnit he will scream them out if that's what it takes to get us to listen.

Desaparecidos is the rock band that Conor Oberst was in that released one excellent concept album about urban sprawl. The one time in my life that I was trying to obtain a fake ID was when they were touring for this album and the local show was 21+. Unfortunately, or fortunately, that show was canceled so I did not need to acquire a fake ID.

Over the next few months I would always check the Bright Eyes section when I was in a record store. I slowly acquired the Everyday and Everynight EP and the split EP with Son, Ambulance which includes the first Bright Eyes song that I ever heard.

Later that year I placed an order with Saddle Creek Records in order to get all of the Bright Eyes releases that I did now have yet. I also ordered The Faint's Danse Mababre based on a recommendation from a friend.

I saw Rilo Kiley live because they had released an album on Saddle Creek. I started listening to M. Ward and My Morning Jacket because they were musicians that Conor Oberst was playing with on a small east coast tour. I started listening to lots of other bands who were recording for Saddle Creek, bands like Cursive, The Good Life, Two Gallants, Now It's Overhead, Maria Taylor, Art in Manilla, Neva Dinova, and this year Tokyo Police Club.

Then Conor went and started his own record label, Team Love. Which is a label that has put out the last three Tilly and the Wall releases as well as the Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins album, and the soundtrack to the movie Shortbus. Those are all albums that I love and still listen to today.

In the liner notes of Noise Floor Conor writes that they use a "cumbersome" opener on the Bright Eyes albums as a way to scare off casual listeners. That practice is obviously missing from this week's self titled solo album put out by MERGE.

The album Conor Oberst opens with arguably the best song on the record, "Cape Canaveral". It has the introspective lyrics and themes of loss and the search for personal destiny that are trademarks of the greatest Bright Eyes songs.

Someone recently asked me what if the new Conor Oberst album was good. "It's great," I said, "But I don't know if you should take my word for it. Conor Oberst was my gateway drug."

MMA News: More on Rampage

2008-08-05T14:24:00.001-07:00

Holli Griggs was driving in her car when she was sideswiped by Quinton Jackson's escalade on the day of the rampage. She was pregnant. The day after the chase she said that she and possibly her unborn child were injured in the incident. She had a miscarriage this weekend.

The vehicular manslaughter law in the state of California does not cover a fetus. Regardless of the effects of the criminal investigation this certainly does not bode well for Jackson in a possible civil case- I say possible only because it hasn't been filed yet. I would be willing to bet that we will see one in this instance.

The Newport Beach Daily Pilot quoted the District Attorney spokesperson as saying,
"Our office will make sure we take as much time as necessary to make a proper filing decision and including all evidence and medical information to make sure any charges that are filed are fair and accurate,"

There are currently no negotiations or plans for Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's next fight.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-08-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

This week we have a couple of releases from the two most successful bands on the Saddle Creek label releasing albums on other labels.

Saddle Creek was essentially created to put out the early basement tape recordings by teenager Conor Oberst. The first official release of the label was Conor’s “Water” cassette tape was coincidentally was his last solo release before switching to the Bright Eyes moniker(along with Mike Mogis, Nate Walcott, and a revolving cast of musicians) of which of course he is most well known.

About 9 months ago there were two shows booked at the 400 Bar(which gets a thanks in the liner notes of the album) in Minneapolis which were billed as “Conor Oberst” and rumors at the time were that Conor and M. Ward were putting a band together. The reality of the situation was that Conor was prepping a band to go to Mexico with him to record the self titled “Conor Oberst” LP which comes out this week on MERGE which is the record label that currently puts out releases from the likes of M. Ward, She & Him, and The Arcade Fire.

I was able to pick up a copy of this album at the Seattle concert last week. It’s really good, and I will definitely have more on this release and Conor Oberst in general over the rest of the week.

The 21st release by Saddle Creek was The Faint’s debut, “Media” which is a much different sound than The Faint that we know and love today. That album was followed by “Blank Wave Arcade” which was followed by recent indie masterpieces “Danse Macabre” and “Wet From Birth”. When “Wet From Birth” was done recording the band was wined and dined by the major labels and in the end weren’t interested in the lack of freedom in dealing with the majors and they eventually released the album on Saddle Creek.

Earlier this year The Faint announced that their new album “Fasciniation” was to be released this summer, and that they created their own label, Blank.wav, to put it out.

This is huge news as The Faint are from Omaha and members of the band have been involved in Saddle Creek since the very beginning. Saddle Creek does not sign it’s artists to contracts, they just put music out one album at a time.

The Faint are listed on the alumni section of the Saddle Creek website along with bands like Commander Venus, Lullaby For the Working Class, and Rilo Kiley.

This has to be a bittersweet day for Saddle Creek Records. If these two albums were released on Saddle Creek then they would have easily been expected to be their top sellers of 2008.

Other notable releases this week:

Clinic releases “Funf” on Domino
Mars Black’s “Stay Black” which is his second release for Team Love(Conor Oberst’s label)
And for those vinyl junkies who are still stuck in 1994: Interscope is releasing No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom on vinyl this week. One can hope that it’s on brightly colored vinyl to go with the sound of a ska princess Gwen Stefani.

Music: Los Campesinos! to release a follow up to 2008's "Hold On Now Youngster" in...2008?

2008-08-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Los Campesinos! just released their first full length(which is worth checking out), oh roughly 5 months ago.

Today they announced that their follow up, We Are Beautiful We Are Doomed, will be released on October 13.

This was just posted on their MySpace:

It's no B-Sides and rarities or "songs that weren't good enough to be on the album cobbled together with some remixes and field recordings of Cardiff's indie scene"; it's ten all-new tracks that none of you have ever heard before.

Sure, we considered re-releasing a radio-edit of 'You! Me! Dancing!' and trying to get famous and scraping another tour out of that, but our parents unanimously agreed that if we did they would never speak to us again.

Rather, we are blessed with having an incredibly supportive record label in Wichita, and they are as excited about such freedom, frivolities and spontaneity in releases as we are.

So the tracklisting looks like this:

Ways To Make It Through The Wall
Miserabilia
We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Between An Erupting Earth And An Exploding Sk
You'll Need Those Fingers For Crossing
It's Never That Easy Though, Is It? (Song For The Other Kurt)
The End Of The Asterisk
Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown # 1
Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time
All Your Kayfabe Friends
_____________________________________________________________________________________

All your Kayfabe friends?!?! Well I have never heard this song, nor have I seen the lyrics, but I'm all ready anointing it as the official song of this blog. Indie rock and wrestling all in one. I love Los Campesinos!

Music: Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

2008-07-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

Last night at a sold out and ridiculously hot Neumo's I was fortunate enough to see Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band.

How hot was Neumo's? My friend Megan left about halfway through the show because she felt like she was going to pass out at any moment. During the encore I had sweat literally running down my face as I thought, "If this was anyone else, I would leave about now."

I have been inside some really sweltering hot music venues in my life, but last night was just ridiculous. Even more so when you factor in that last night's temperature in Seattle was below 70 degrees. Seriously people, have your security crack open an exit door every now and then!

Indie heartthrob Conor Oberst was in high spirits last night. He looked much less emaciated than he had on the last couple of Bright Eyes tours. I joked to my friends that he appears to have been eating since the last time I saw him.

The girls screaming, "I love you Conor!" were more quiet than at your typical Bright Eyes show, and, as per usual, Conor no sold those catcalls all night refusing to even look up when they occurred. He only responded to things yelled from the audience on two occasions. Once during the encore when someone yelled out if he could sign their album, "I can do that," he said. And throughout the next song, which he only lang backup on, he scouted the front of the stage thanking fans for being there and signing additional copies of albums.

His other interaction happened when someone screamed out, "Do you want a cigarette?" "I do," he said, "but you can't smoke in here. I'm playing by the rules tonight."

Jason Boesel(Rilo Kiley, The Elected, various Bright Eyes incarnations) was behind the drums last night, and aside from The Faint's Clark Baechle, is probably the most exciting live drummer working today. He sings backup, he rocks out, and unlike many drummers he has the charisma and stage presence to draw your attention to him.

The Conor Oberst album doesn't actually come out until next week, so I was not familiar with most of the songs. I have a few of the songs from last year's gigs at Minneapolis' 400 Club. Those two shows were the public debut of Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. There is a song from there called, "Breezy" which is not included on the album, but they used that as the encore closer last night. It's a quiet tune about wanting to feel at home, wanting to be home. You know, some of those reoccurring themes from a 28 year old musician who has spent most of the past 10 years on the road.

All in all the band played 16 songs and played for over an hour and a half(subtracting the encore break). Which is all pretty awesome considering that the album only contains 12 tracks.

You can preorder the Conor Oberst self titled release direct from MERGE here.

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band continue to tour the world through November. You should definitely check them out on one of these dates:

07-31 Bend, OR - Midtown Ballroom *
08-01 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill *
08-02 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill *
08-03 Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre *
08-05 West Hollywood, CA - Troubadour *
08-08 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge !
08-09 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle !
08-10 Norfolk, VA - The NorVa !
08-11 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero !
08-12 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom !
08-17 Saratoga, NY - Saratoga Music Festival
08-22 Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
08-23 Birmingham, England - Academy 2
08-24 Reading, England - Reading Festival
08-26 Portsmouth, England - Wedgewood Rooms
08-27 London, England - Electric Ballroom
08-28 Manchester, England -Academy 2
08-29 Argyll, Scotland - Hydro Connect Music Festival
08-30 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Spring and Airbrake
08-31 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic Festival
09-02 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg
09-03 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
09-04 Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Den Atelier
09-05 Zurich, Switzerland - Rote Fabrik
09-07 Munich, Germany - Backstage Werk
09-08 Zagreb, Croatia - Studenski
09-09 Vienna, Austria - Arena
09-10 Prague, Czech Republic - Roxy
09-11 Cologne, Germany - Gloria
09-12 Dorset, England - End of the Road Festival
09-13 Paris, France - Nouveau Casino
09-14 Mannheim, Germany - Alte Feuerwache
09-15 Berlin, Germany - Columbia Club
09-20 Omaha, NE - Anchor Inn
09-21 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium %
09-22 Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre %
09-23 Fayetteville, AR - George's Majestic Lounge %
09-24 Oxford, MS - The Lyric %
09-25 Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom %
09-27 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
10-02 Melbourne, Australia - The Palace
10-03 Brisbane, Australia - Tivoli
10-04 Sydney, Australia - Enmore
10-05 Sydney, Australia - Great Escape
10-21 Los Angeles, CA - Music Box @ Fonda
10-22 Los Angeles, CA - Music Box @ Fonda
10-24 San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
11-08 New York, NY - Terminal 5
11-09 New York, NY - Terminal 5

Music: Devotchka - "We're Leaving" live at the Capitol Hill Block Party

2008-07-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

MMA: More on Rampage

2008-07-29T12:51:00.001-07:00

The day after the car chase Quinton Jackson was with friends and he was apparently rambling about various aspects of the Bible and claiming that he himself was God. This is why his friends flagged down a cop car, and then he was admitted for a psychological evaluation. In the state of California a person can be held for up to 72 hours on a psychological evaluation. Jackson's stay in the hospital was extended beyond those 72 hours. Information beyond this is very hard to come by due to the legalities of HIPPA.

He is no longer in the hospital.

At the end of 2003 and then again in 2004 Rampage was knocked out in two fights against then PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlai Silva. After these fights Jackson was said to have been acting strange and he went into a deep depression. Then he announced that he had found God, and was now a born again Christian.

It appears that we are watching some sort of repeat of this situation, except of course this time he has felony charges to deal with from his accident riddled car chase.

Right now there are no plans, or talks underway, for his next fight. Right now Rampage just needs to deal with his personal stuff, and when, or if, he gets it all worked out then the UFC can think about an opponent and a date for his next fight.

If he is actually convicted of the felony charge then it will be difficult for him to fight again. The California State Athletic Commission would not allow a felon to fight, and it's unlikely that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would allow him to fight either.

We have yet to hear the end of this mess.

Pro Wrestling: Freddie Prinze Jr. joins WWE creative team

2008-07-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

Actor and devoted WWE fan Freddie Prinze Jr. is the newest member of the WWE creative team which is responsible for writing the wrestling shows.

I am not making this up.

Prinze is a wrestling fan. At Wrestlemania 24 in Orlando this year he was shown on the big screen at least once. The WWE does not like to hire writers that are wrestling fans, but I guess the pro wrestling mentality of wanting to be around celebrities wins out in this instance.

Last night's episode of RAW was the first show that Prinze was involved in, and it was a failure of epic proportions. The WWE had spent the last several weeks of television building to the introduction of the new on air general manager of RAW. When the announcement was made that the new GM was Mike Adamle(!) the crowd was deadly silent. RAW will be lucky to get a 2.9 rating next week for the follow up.

All of this of course makes me ask a few questions:

1) How can I become a member of WWE creative?
and of course the question that we all want answered,
2) What does Sarah Michelle Gellar think about all of this?

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-07-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

Not a ton of new releases this week.

Sonic Youth- SYR8, It is a single 57 minute plus track. The SYR releases are much more experimental than your average Sonic Youth album. This is for the big SY fans.

Alice Cooper!! I will not be reviewing this one.

Takka Takka- Migration is my pick of the week before hearing anything. I'll be back with more on this one later in the week.

Arbouretum/Pontiak- Kale This is a split vinyl only release which is put out by Thrill Jockey, I hope to pick this up tonight also.

Music: Capitol Hill Block Party Day 2

2008-07-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

The first band that I saw on day 2 was Seattle's own Man Plus! That's the uber-charismatic Jared pictured performing in the crowd.

Watching Man Plus perform is a high energy affair. By the end of the show it's difficult to remember things such as, "How many people are in that band?" The current answer is 6. It's hard to remember not because there are so many people on stage, but because one man dominates your attention for the entire performance. That one man is lead vocalist Jared Mills. He danced, he crooned, he screamed, he lost pints of sweat, and he even bled for the Man Plus faithful who had gathered to witness their performance at the Vera Project stage.

Man Plus live video
The highlight of the show can be seen in the above video link as Jared jumps down into the crowd to perform, "Not For All the Cocaine In the World" from the album The Hungarian Suicide Handbook.

You can catch Man Plus next on August 16th at the High Dive in Seattle. It's a show that you won't want to miss.

When I arrived at the Block Party on Saturday I walked in to see Kimya Dawson finishing up her set on the main stage. I stood there for a moment and wondered if this is one of the largest crowds that she has ever performed in front of. The one time that I saw the Moldy Peaches in 2002 they played to a crowd of about 400. Since I have moved to Seattle Kimya has played solo shows at the Dearborn on Woodland which is a tiny TINY space which can not hold much more than 50 people. And 50 would be absolutely packing that place. She also played a gig at a house venue, The Green House at the end of last year in a small basement place of similar capacity. It was a little mind boggling to see her in such intimate spaces to playing for a few thousand in the middle of Seattle.

I spent a lot of the early evening inside King Cobra drinking strongbow and eating sweet potato fries. I highly recommend the sweet potato fries.

At this point in the day I went around to check out all of the groups who were tabling. I made my way to theBabeland table. They had a ringtoss game where you had to get the rings to stay on strap-on dildos that were strapped to Star Wars character standees. I won a silver bullet vibrator, thanks babeland!

From there I walked by the Democrats table (the republicans were nowhere to be seen) and I glanced over at the buttons that they had laid out. "Oh my god!" I exclaimed, "What do I have to do to get that one!" "It's a dollar." "SOLD!" And I walked away giggling at my new "For those about to BARACK, we salute you!" button. "BARACK" is written in the ACDC font.

After the tables I met up with Jessica who manages Man Plus. I told her about the performance earlier. She was stuck behind the merch table and did not have much of a vantage point to actually see them play. Her and I almost randomly wandered back over towards the Vera Project stage. Neither one of us had bothered to check out the schedule to see what band was playing. We just decided to see what was going on over there. I am so glad that we did.

As we approached San Diego band Grand Ole Party was already playing to a good sized crowd. A song into being there Jessica and I were saying to each other, "Hey, they are really good," and she made the first Pretenders reference to the band.

Lead singer/drummer Kristin Gundred had us captivated with her amazing voice that she was really letting loose on this night. Two songs in we said, "They are really fucking good!" And three songs in Jessica and I retreated to the merch table to buy their album while I talked about how I am now in love with Gundred.

As we continued to watch the live show Jessica and I also perused the liner notes. While I was overly excited to learn that Blake Sennett(Rilo Kiley, The Elected) produced the album Jessica pointed out that Gundred has a wedding ring on in one of the photos. "So? People don't stay married forever!" I retorted.

I also sent a text message to several friends at the Block Party that they needed to stop what they were doing and head over to see this band. I asked Jessica if I could have her all access wristband. "Why, so you can go ruin a marriage?" "Absolutely!" She declined, and I was left with only an album to remember the experience.

After my new favorite band
finished up I was able to get about 4 people deep from the front of the mainstage to see Devotchka close out the entire weekend. DeVotchka continues to put on one of the best live shows that I have ever seen. Despite Nick Urata being without a bottle of wine the band was in top form. Watching Tom Hagerman play the violin live is a spiritual experience, and something that I will never get tired of seeing. Their set included covers of Frank Sinatra, Ted Thacker, and the Velvet Underground(Devotchka does one of the best covers of "Venus In Furs" around).

The biggest crowd pop of the night was when the opening synth of "How It Ends" hit. During the chorus Nick turned the mic around to face the audience and seemingly all of Seattle sang along.

Devotchka closed their set with, "Such a Lovely Thing" which is very fitting. The song's lyrics include:

you only love me when I’m leaving,
you only love me ‘cause I’m leaving,
you only love me when I’m leaving,
you only love me ‘cause I’m leaving tonight

The crowd wanted to see an encore so bad, but it was 12:00AM on the dot and the show was over. Devotchka played for almost a full hour and a half, and it was an amazing, and fitting, end to the weekend.

Music: Capitol Hill Block Party Day 1

2008-07-27T22:25:00.000-07:00

Day 1:

In the beginning, there was Menomena...

This weekend was Seattle's annual Capitol Hill Block Party. It was a rockin' good time, and I sort of feel like I need to sleep for an entire day to recover from the weekend.

One of the best parts of this festival, above all others that I have ever been to, was the actual "block party" feel to it. Both days I was running into people that I knew left and right. I would split up with a friend who wanted to see a band at one stage while I headed to another stage to watch a different band, and it wouldn't be long before I was enjoying music with friends again.

The band that I was most excited to see on Day 1 was Menomena from Portland, OR. Unfortunately the main stage schedule was off for a bit of the afternoon, and it was when Menomena was on stage that the organizers decided to stick to the schedule. They started a while later than the listed set time, but they only played until the listed end time. I had never seen them before, and I left their set feeling slighted. It's obviously not the band's fault. They were really great for about 5 or 6 songs, and then they were over. I will definitely try to check them out the next time they come through town.

Menomena puts out really cool interactive album art work. Don't download their music, you will want to hold it in your hands. Trust me on this one.

Next came Girl Talk, who had a much larger following then I could have imagined. This is when the pushing, shoving, punching, and beer spilling was at it's absolute worst. I guess everyone wants their 15 minutes on stage. Girl Talk live is the most fun that anyone can have watching a guy play his album tracks verbatim on a laptop.
While it started off super high energy and fun, after a while I felt like I was getting beer spilled on me so that I could listen to "Night Ripper". I was disappointed when he threw in a random Toadies sample never to come back to it again. He should have gone back to it, and maybe thrown in a little Spacehog for good measure.

From there I disappeared into the dungeon that was Neumo's and this one experience kept me out of there for the rest of the weekend.

The crowd inside Neumos would have enraged the fire marshal to no end. The stairs leading from the floor to the upstairs was even jampacked with people. I found myself in the middle of, what appeared to be, the designated couples make-out section. You know how there is always that couple at a show? Well I was completely surrounded by them.

I had never heard the Dodos before seeing them live. My friends Brian and Lyndsey were both very excited for them, so I decided to check them out. They did not disappoint in the slightest! The crowd was super hot and just in love with this band. You could literally feel the floor shake with so many people stomping and dancing. Eventually I had had enough of the heat and being packed like a sardine and I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment, so I bailed on the last part of their set to seek cooler air and water.

I caught part of Les Savy Fav's ridiculously high energy rock spectacle from way in the back, sipping on water. I was so dehydrated at this point that I went to order food and my brain froze. I said, "I'm sorry, I forgot what I wanted. I'm just so," "Drunk?" Said the food vendor, "No, dehydrated! I haven't had any alcohol today." I'm not sure if he believed me, but it was absolutely true.

Local all ages favorite, Natalie Portman's Shaved Head were up next on the Vera Project stage. Volunteering at Vera I have heard lots of rave reviews about this band from the younger volunteers.

I was rather unimpressed. The band members were all so excited to be there, and the crowd for them was the largest that I saw on one of the smaller stages all weekend. This was a mostly under aged crowd and they were absolutely madly in love with this band! The music wasn't bad, but it didn't do anything for me. I have to say though, watching their crowd was one of the highlights of the entire block party.

I caught a song of indie rock flavor of the month Vampire Weekend before fellow KEXP volunteer Susan was kind enough to give me a ride home. It was fun, and I saw them earlier this year at Neumos and didn't feel like dealing with the main stage crowd to watch them on this night.

I returned home ears ringing, dehydrated, exhausted, and covered in beer that was not my own.

MMA: Affliction news

2008-07-25T00:11:00.000-07:00

Kevin Iole at Yahoo! has reported that the next Affliction show will be 10/11 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski. Tom Atencio of Affliction said that match announcement is premature.

That is the fight that makes the most sense. Especially with Randy Couture's non compete clause with UFC running through at least October.

Couture didn't do his legal case any favors by appearing on the Affliction pay per view. Affliction didn't do themselves any favors by having Couture enter the ring for an interview and ask him about the possibility of a Fedor-Couture match. That's right, Affliction planted the seeds for a future Couture-Fedor match which will not be Fedor's next fight. Perhaps they should have had Arlovski do a run in and hit Couture with a chair and say that he's the true #1 contender for Fedor's title. Hey, I'd pay to see that.

Music: A preliminary Black Kids follow up

2008-07-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

I will delve more into this album later, but I wanted to give you my initial thoughts.

I've listened to 3 songs so far, and they are all very bad.

There was one point during, "I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You," where I audibly said, "Oh!" and I completely did not mean it in a good way.

Find the self released Black Kids, it's really good. This major label debut is an abomination.

Music: How to Build Someone Up Just to Tear Them Down, The Pitchfork Way!

2008-07-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Some of you have already seen this.

But how many of you have seen this?

Not even a year ago, Black Kids self-released their first EP and offered it for free on their MySpace page. I read the second review linked above, thought to myself, "Hey, free music!" and went and downloaded it. My favorite aspect of Black Kids at that point was that they chose to list their genre as "indie crunk." I mean, how can you go wrong with a description like that?

As more Black Kids news began being posted on Pitchfork, tour dates etc., they always included an mp3 download of, "I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You."

Eventually KEXP in Seattle caught on, and on November 13th(the day I arrived in Seattle) they too offered I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You as a free mp3 download as their song of the day.

This is the first band to create a name for themselves based only on internet buzz since Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! pulled it off, who also came to the forefront of indie music due to an excellent review and publicity from Pitchfork. Black Kids were being universally praised all over the internet that they(unlike Clap Your Hands) skipped over the indie labels all together and signed with a major label.

I have yet to pick up a copy of the full length that was released yesterday. When I picked up the Brendan Canning album I inquired about the availability of Black Kids on vinyl, and I was informed that there was not a vinyl release of it this week. Being that I already have the EP, I decided that I will just wait until Black Kids are in town again in October and pick up the vinyl(hopefully) version at their show.

Around the time that I was having this conversation at Easy Street Records, Pitchfork first posted a review of the Black Kids album. They gave it a score of 0.0 out of 10. Within hours that review was replaced with the one linked above. Now, I understand that Pitchfork has different writers, and that we should all take reviews with a grain of salt, but what is the deal here?

All of the songs on the EP are present on the LP. Yes, they were re-recorded, and remixed. Were these songs destroyed in the process? I absolutely have no idea, but I've never been so eager to listen to an album with such a terrible terrible review.

Pitchfork absolutely played a huge part in Black Kids rise to prominence, and they should have gotten a thank you card when Black Kids signed a contract.

I just don't understand how Pitchfork went from drooling all over these indie darlings to burning them at the stake, all in a 9 month span. Did I mention that the songs from the EP are on the LP? Pitchfork doesn't have a message board, or online community so there has been no official explanation of the review, or even an explanation of why the review was changed after it went up. Pitchfork's lackluster review keeps Black Kids in the news on music sites all over the web. By panning it in such a dramatic way Pitchfork is giving Black Kids plenty of publicity, and there is no such thing as bad publicity in the music industry. People are talking about it, and people are defending the album. All the while, Pitchfork loses credibility.

Where the Silence Is reader ApeRock posted this awesome commentary about yesterday's Pitchfork review:

I take Pitchfork reviews with a grain of salt, but apparently they do not like the new Black Kids album, and instead of a review they posted a photo of a couple of pugs with a note saying “Sorry :-/”. No review just the photo. Since Pitchfork is one of the ones who hyped the Black Kids in the first place, maybe they are just regretting the fact now. Interesting choice that they chose pugs to represent the photo. Maybe it is because a few years ago pugs where the “it” dog for a while, but really pugs are not healthy dogs. This breed is grossly deformed. The unnaturally short face and upturned nose means breathing difficulties and the potential for heatstroke in hot humid weather. Their compromised respiratory system makes it risky to anesthetize them. Most of these dogs can't even whelp their puppies without veterinary intervention. The large shallow-set eyes are extremely vulnerable to injury and infection. Pugs are also prone to a serious brain disease, joint problems, and skin and allergy problems. So in short Black Kids = Pugs = Problems.

Looks like I need to pick up a copy of this album earlier than I was planning to.
I'll compare the EP and the LP later this week.

Music: First Impressions with Broken Social Scene Presents Brendan Canning, "Something For All of Us..."

2008-07-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

Arts & Crafts puts a lot of effort into their packaging, and their releases really stand out on the record store shelves. This album is no exception.

The cover is a drawing of the Broken Social Scene crew and various other musicians with Brendan Canning standing in the center with his hands in his pockets staring out at the listener. I think that Leslie Feist may be over his left shoulder.

It's a gatefold CD case with some really nice watercolor artwork on the inside. If Arts & Crafts releases this as a gatefold vinyl then that would be a really nice addition to your record collection.

The contributing musicians is a long list which includes your usual suspects from BSS, and a few other Canadians- like Amy Millan(swoon!).

This is not an album where all of the songs sound the same. The album title, "Something For Everyone" is a rather apt description.

The opening title track, "Something For Everyone" opens with some serious guitar fuzz that recalls Sonic Youth at their pop best(ie- Rather Ripped).

The second track, "Chameleon" includes the first Amy Millan sighting. This song is almost an indie rock waltz. This is the song that performed live will make the couples hold eachother and sway.

"Snowballs and Icicles" is a slower acoustic number with a synth and violin backing that draws inspiration from the best of Eliott Smith.

Other songs even delve into the indie dance genre.

On first inspection, this is a really good album that shows that Brendan Canning has a large part in the direction and success of Broken Social Scene. If you like BSS then I would highly recommend picking this one up.

My pick for best song title- "Antique Bull" which I just find to be very clever.

Music: This Week's New Releases

2008-07-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

I have two recommended releases for this week. Well, I guess "recommended" is not the right word since I have not heard the first album that I am going to mention.

A year ago Broken Social Scene member Kevin Drew released one of my favorite albums of 2007, and it was the first solo album from a BSS member that was branded as a BSS release. It was titled, Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew.

Tomorrow we will get the second BSS branded release when BSS collective member Brendan Canning releases his first solo album.
Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning- Something for All of Us. I will be picking this one up tomorrow, and it will be the featured music review sometime later this week. This one comes out on the Arts&Crafts imprint, which is one of my favorite labels. I mean just look at their magical indie Candian lineup: BSS, Kevin Drew, Stars, Amy Millan, Feist(who doesn't need a BSS presents on her albums), Los Campesinos!, American Analog Set, and well I could pretty much drool over their entire roster.

Your second recommendation this week is none other than Black Kids. I was fortunate enough to download their EP for free on their MySpace page before they started negotiating with the major labels to put out their first full length. I also saw them in April open for Cut Copy, which overall was a fucking fantastic indie dance show!

Well they aren't so indie these days as Columbia will be releasing their full length
Partie Traumatic.

The song that made Black Kids is "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You", which is a feel good, upbeat, dance number that makes it impossible to sit still. One of my favorite parts of the song is when lead crooner Reggie Youngblood sings, "You are the girl, that I've been dreaming of, ever since I was a little girl." You should track down this song, and I guarantee it will make you a believer. The highlight of the live show that I attended was their performance of, "Listen to Your Body Tonight" a sexy ditty about flirting, hooking up, lust, future love and what it all means. "Do you want my body? I went to feel somebody, on me, Listen to your body tonight, it's gonna treat you right," and then it all came to a crescendo at the end with the line, "don't be afraid to fall in love, cuz you don't like heights." I think that this is an excellent choice for the final song on the album, but alas it's 7th of 10.

This week you should definitely get Black Kids. If you like Broken Social Scene as much as I do then you should pick up the Brendan Canning as well.

You can check out Brendan Canning on his upcoming tour:

07/27/08 Guelph, ON @ Hillside Festival
08/02/08 Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/02/08 Chicago, IL @ Metro
08/04/08 Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Music and Arts Festival
08/08/08 Regina, SK @ Regina Folk Festival
08/10/08 Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Folk Music Festival
08/15/08 Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Folk Festival
08/21/08 Salt Lake City, UT@ Twilight Concert Series
08/24/08 San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival
8/27/08 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil @ Canecao
8/28/08 Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Citibank Hall
8/31/08 Buenos Aires, Argentina @ La Trastienda Club

Black Kids are seemingly taking over the world with their list of upcoming tour dates which you can find on that link(click their name!).

Music: TV On the Radio Returns!

2008-07-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

TV On the Radio have their own website, and it hadn't been updated for almost a year. Hadn't been- that is until yesterday.

This is all it says:

TV On The Radio's new album Dear Science, is set to release on September 23rd!

Upcoming tour dates:

September
5 Musicfest NW, Roseland Theater Portland, OR*
6 Showbox, Seattle WA*
7 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver BC*
9 Macewan Ballroom, Calgary AB*
10 Starlite Room, Edmonton AB*
12 Knitting Factory Boise ID*
13 In the Venue, Salt Lake City UT*
14 Monolith Festival, Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison CO
19 Street Scene, San Diego, CA
20 Treasure Island Festival, San Francisco CA

*Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson will be the opener.

I just looked up tickets on the Showbox website for the September 6th show. It is not at the Showbox at the Market(the Showbox that people outside of Seattle are aware of). No, it is instead at the worst venue in town: the Showbox SODO. The Showbox SODO is in the warehouse area of "South Downtown" and it's actually in a renovated warehouse of sorts. It has a poor sound set up and a slab concrete floor that does a number on all the joints in your body as you move to the music. Did I mention that the sound sucks?

Oh yah, and if it's an all ages show then you can't have alcohol anywhere remotely close to the stage. My friend Jimmer goes to a lot of shows and he absolutely refuses to go to the Showbox SODO- I can't say that I blame him. I'll probably skip this show due to the horrid warehouse concert hall.

There is a slight chance that I will make it out to the Monolith festival at Red Rocks, but it's not set in stone(pardon the pun) just yet.

Anyway, news of a new TV On the Radio album makes me ridiculously happy! This has become the album on the release schedule that I am most excited about.

MMA News: Anderson Silva and Fedor dominate, Tim Sylvia sucks

2008-07-20T11:33:00.000-07:00

I tried to go to Piecora's in Seattle last night to watch the free UFC show. I was arriving late, because I only really wanted to see the Anderson Silva-James Irvin fight. When I got to the restaurant they had the Mariners game on the TV, but their website said they were going to have the UFC show on. Boo!

I thought about driving 25 minutes to the Magnolia Pub, the other place I know that shows UFC fights, but I wasn't really up to it after working all day. If Silva was actually defending the middleweight title then I would have gone the extra mile(s) to see the fight live.

Instead, I just watched it online.

Silva wins in dominant fashion via knockout in 1:01. James Irvin doesn't hit him. Well he doesn't hit Silva until he throws a kick to the body which Anderson Silva catches. Silva catches the leg and throws a heavy right that lands right in the middle of the face. Irvin goes down from there and Silva pounces on him and throws some more shots to the head until the ref has finally seen enough. An easy day at the office for the UFC middleweight champion fighting up in weight at 205.

In his post-match promo Silva says that his first priority is to defend the title at 185, but he wants to have the best matchups regardless of weight class. I look forward to the impending middleweight champ Anderson Silva vs welterweight champ Georges St.Pierre fight. Seriously, book this now!

I was also able to track down the main event of last night's inaugural Affliction pay per view, which Donald Trump is still claiming was sold out. Prior to this fight I had never seen Fedor Emelianenko fight. He absolutely dominated Tim Sylvia. The fight lasts 36 seconds, but this is a murder. Sylvia grabs a muay thai clinch early, and Fedor lands an uppercut and punches his way out of it(!) and down goes Sylvia, covering his head. Fedor jumps on him and starts swinging away at the head. Sylvia rolls over and gives up his back. Then Fedor shows just how massively strong he is: Sylvia has his arms up covering his head- I would have actually stopped the fight at this point if I was the ref, because covering your head does not constitute intelligently defending your self- then Fedor just thrusts his arm in between Sylvia's arm and his neck. Instantly, Sylvia grabs a hold of Fedor's arm so that he doesn't get choked out. But Fedor locks in the choke with no struggle, clasps his hands, and Sylvia is tapping out. Fight over in 36 seconds. Holy fuck is Fedor strong! I mean, Tim Sylvia is a big dude and Fedor just had his way with him landing punches while Sylvia held him in the clinch and then getting the rear naked choke without even having to try hard.

Fedor is your WAMMA(World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts) Heavyweight Champion!

After the fight Fedor said he wants Randy Couture. Randy Couture entered the ring and said that he wants the fight as well. A pro wrestling angle just broke out! You see, Randy Couture is the UFC Heavyweight Champion and he has a no-compete clause in his UFC contract until at least October. Also, the UFC is currently suing Couture for refusing to fight. I don't think this appearance on a competitor's PPV is going to help Couture's legal defense at all.

Andrei Arlovski beat Ben Rothwell via KO in the third round of their fight, which the Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer called a great fight. I like Arlovski, and I think it's a good bet that we will see Fedor defend his new title against Arlovski at the next Affliction show. The Affliction website currently has no mention of when the next event will take place.

So, WAMMA is this group of people who do a "global ranking" of fighters by weight class. It's stupid, and unnecessary. They think they are awesome though, and I think it's a complete joke that they crowned a champion in the first main event that they are involved in. At least set up a tournament of sorts. Maybe on this show have a couple of "semifinal" matches and next shows have the "finals" and crown the champion then.

It's safe to say that Affliction lost millions of dollars putting on their show tonight. They threw a lot of money at people in order to put together the card that they did. They did get plenty of media exposure.

ESPN.com had Fedor on the main page all day yesterday with an article about him. That's right, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson lost his UFC title to Forrest Griffin and nothing mentioned on ESPN.com. Quinton Jackson goes on a rampage and no mention of it on ESPN.com. Fedor Emelianenko fights in the first Affliction pay per view and it's front page news!

MMA News: Your daily dose of Rampage

2008-07-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's hearing for felony evading, reckless driving and hit and run has been set for August 15. The Costa Mesa police have stated that drugs nor alcohol were involved in the incident.

On Wednesday afternoon Rampage was in fact detained at a hospital for a mental health evaluation. Right now I can not find any information on when, or if, he was released. If he has not yet been released then he will probably be let go this afternoon as we are slowly approaching the 48 hour mark of when he was taken in for an evaluation.

One of the few quotes available comes from someone who works at the same training facility as Rampge, “I think he just snapped. He had a nervous breakdown,” said Paul Foster, a friend and fellow trainer at Huntington Beach’s Ultimate Training Center. “Normally, he’s 99.9% under control. Everybody loses control at one time or another. But not everybody’s around to see it.”

In other MMA news: This Saturday is the debut Affliction show live on pay per view from Los Angeles. There are a ton of tickets available and TicketMaster just slashed the prices. Tickets priced at $1000 are now priced at $585. Despite all of this Donald Trump, who has money in the promotion, continues to do media interviews claiming that the show is sold out. Shouldn't the point of his interviews this week be to drum up interest and ticket sales?

The Affliction show has Fedor vs Tim Sylvia as the main event. Skip it. Watch the free show on UFC instead with the main event of Anderson Silva vs James Irvin. I'm taking Anderson Silva via submission in the 2nd round with a triangle choke.

I hope that Fedor wins by knockout.

In WWE news: This Sunday's Great American Bash is headlined by CM Punk's first ever pay per view title defense when he takes on Batista. Punk should win, if only to appease me.

Music: Seeing bands on back to back days

2008-07-17T12:06:00.001-07:00

I have never been into jam bands. I remember a time when I was an intern at the Boulder Theater where some jam band, String Cheese maybe?, who played five straight nights at the venue. We sold tickets for each night as well as a 5 night pass. The majority of the tickets sold(and all shows were sold out) were of the 5 night pass variety. That just blows my mind, and as I attempt to comprehend it I understand why drugs are a large part of that culture.

This past week I had the pleasure of seeing Wolf Parade on back to back days. It was great, and they did the little things that make it possible to see a muti-night stand from a band. On Sunday at Sub Pop they continually put over the record label and the festival. It made their performance feel like a very special moment, which it was.
On Monday they varied the set list just enough to keep things interesting. In most cases, I never want to see the exact same show back to back.

It also got me wondering what bands I have seen on back to back days. Here is the shortlist:

1998: I saw Pearl for the first and second time on the Yield tour. The first show was in St. Louis and the second was in Kansas City. The St. Louis show was infinitely better. Again, these shows had vastly different set lists which was great- especially for a band that I was so excited to see.

2005: Bright Eyes. The second of these shows was a radio show taping for E-Town Live. I was so glad that I was there for that. Conor Oberst was so hilarious during the interview portions and it was edited to all hell for the actual broadcast. The E-Town people were not as impressed with his humor as I was. This is my favorite band, my longest tenured friend Mike Vallely came out to Colorado for these shows, and we hung out with the "Trees" girls. It's one of my favorite concert experiences just because Mike was there.

2006: Built to Spill. They opened both shows with, "Car" and I hope they play that song every time that I see them. They didn't vary the set list too much, and Radio 1190's Jonny Trash complained afterwards that he felt the shows were too similar. I was just excited to finally be seeing Built to Spill live!

Also in 2006: Sonic Youth. Sonic Youth didn't go on until after midnight, so technically this was two shows on back to back days. Earlier in the day was Lollapalooza and I was fortunate enough to be in the wings for their performance(I have a couple awesome pictures from this that I will try to find). Then around 1am they took the stage at a small venue in Chicago. Feist actually opened for them. After the late show is the first and (so far)only time that I have attempted to party like a rock star. From there we headed to a Lolla post show party, and my friend Dan Gaytan and I were driving east towards the Sears Tower as the sun rose behind it. Then we passed out for the rest of the day.

A few months ago I had attempted to see local Seattle band, Hey Marseilles, on back to back nights, but the second night I was going alone to a place I had never been. I got horribly lost and never arrived.

What bands have you seen on back to back days?

MMA News: Rampage! Redux

2008-07-17T11:34:00.001-07:00

TMZ is reporting that Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson was picked up by police a second time this week.

Yesterday afternoon he was apparently hanging out with some friends, and his friends flagged down a cop car and said that Rampage was acting odd. The police officers at the scene deemed him a danger to self and/or others, so he was taken to a hospital for observation.

It's also being reported that he was very cooperative with police.

After the July 5th title fight loss Rampage said in his post fight interview that he would never have 9 months between fights again.

The top 4 draws in the UFC light heavyweight division are champion Forest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlai Silva, and Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson. Liddell is fighting Rashad Evans in September, and if Chuck wins that fight he would be the obvious choice for the next title match.
If Chuck loses then you could go to an immediate rematch between Griffin and Rampage.

That last idea has probably been tossed out the window this week.

Something is odd in Irvine, CA.

Rampage!

2008-07-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson was arrested yesterday after police were responding to reports of a hit and run involving his vehicle. As you can see from the AP picture, his truck is easy to find since it has a huge picture of himself on it. Awesome.

Once the police caught up with him he continued to drive on a flat tire and led the police on a short chase before he finally stopped. Police officers had their guns drawn as he was taken into custody.

THIS IS HUGE NEWS

Rampage lost the Light Heavyweight title to Forrest Griffin on July 5th. It was a very close and an extremely awesome fight. The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship is the premier title belt in the premier mixed martial arts organization in the world.
Quinton Jackson was the 12-5 favorite in Vegas for this fight, and chances are he will be the odds makers favorite for a potential rematch. He is one of the top fighters in the world at the premier weight class in the UFC.

The only reason why this story isn't being reported everywhere is because it's going to take the media sources a while to figure out who this guy is and what it means. The sports writers in this country are an old boys club, and they are slow to learn no things. They didn't spend anytime learning about MMA as a sport growing up, so as it becomes more popular they have no idea how to report on it. So instead they look down upon it and publish lies. The weekend of the last UFC pay per view where Rampage lost the title ESPN gave something like 12 times the amount of coverage to the competitive hotdog eating contest in Long Island. Let me rephrase that- The premier sporting news network in the world spent 12 times as long covering an eating contest than they did on a title change in the UFC.

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer reported that UFC President Dana White went to Orange County to post bail. I hope that someday n I get into trouble a very powerful rich man will come to my aid.

He was booked on suspicion of felony evading, hit and run and reckless driving.
There were no injuries, so I would not be surprised to see absolutely no jail time handed down. Then again this is the United States and Quinton Jackson is a black man, so you never know. With the PPV buyrate percentage that is negotiated into his contract it's estimated that he made right around 7 figures for his fight on July 5, so he should be able to afford to get himself some excellent lawyers.

It has been a full 24 hours since the incident and no one is reporting that there were drugs or alcohol involved. It does seem like erratic behavior of sorts from the former champion.

In other MMA news the UFC is running a free a show on Spike TV this weekend with a main event of current middleweight champion Anderson Silva vs James Irvin. This will not be for the Middleweight Championship as Silva will be fighting up a weight class. He is hoping to defend the Middleweight title at 185 lbs and also fight at 205 lbs. I hope he holds two belts in two weight classes at the same time.

This free Spike TV special is going head to head with the first pay per view from the Affliction group which has a main event of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia and Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor has long been considered the top heavyweight in the world, but since he's never fought in the UFC my question is, then who has he really beaten? I hope Fedor wins, because I sure hate Tim Sylvia. Regardless I'm only watching this match if it shows up on youtube.

Save your money, watch the free show on Spike.

The albums of my life vs the albums of Jamie's life

2008-07-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Onion AV Club, and then my friend Jamie, did a feature where the writer chose their favorite album for each year since they were born. Jamie included the Indigo Girls, and I just can't really get my head around that. Here's my attempt, and this post is going to take me like 2 hours to compose and it will take you 30 seconds to read.

I was born in 1981: ChangesTwoBowie by David Bowie.
So far so good, Jamie and I agree. Well, she's older than me, but 1981 is the same.

1982- Thriller - Michael Jackson. This is of course, the best selling album of all time. Jamie picked Peter Gabriel. I would be shocked to learn that she actually owns any Peter Gabriel.

1983- Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes. Violent Femmes are a band that I have loved for a long time, and I have yet to add them to my list of bands that I have seen live. I love this album, and I still listen to it regularly. "Kiss Off" and "Add It Up" are two of my all time favorite songs. Jamie went with U2 here. I think that's acceptable. She just made my friend Jose "super U2 fan!" Araguz very happy.

1984- In many ways I want to give 1984 to Prince and Purple Rain In reality though my choice is U2 with The Unforgettable Fire which is easily my favorite U2 album. One time in high school I was in my room listening to this album when a girl I was sort of into called. I answered and she said, "Are you listening to U2?" "Uhh, yah, A Sort of Homecoming," I responded. Unfortunately, or fortunately, that was the deepest connection we ever made.

Jamie went with Depeche Mode. Now that's a sexy pick!

1985- Dare to Be Stupid- "Weird" Al Yankovic. I've met the man, I've watched UHF with him, and up until about 2000 I owned his entire catalog. This one is my favorite.
Jamie went with Jethro Tull, I am not making this up.

1986- They Might Be Giants- They Might Be Giants. I have seen TMBG twice and the shows were 12 years apart. I made a mixtape recently and I included the opening track from this album, "Everything Right Is Wrong Again" Jamie on the other hand gave 1986 to Bon Jovi, I guess she's just livin' on a prayer or something.

Last week I went to a volunteer meeting at the Vera Project. The ice breaker question was, "What's the most embarrassing song on your mp3 player?" The age of the volunteers ranges from high school aged to 50+ year olds and one of the younger volunteers said, "I have some They Might Be Giants. They are really weird, I don't know how to explain them." My answer to this question? Sublime.

1987- REM and U2 both put out classic albums this year. Jamie's choice was The Joshua Tree, and I think that's an excellent choice. Of all of the albums released this year there is one that I still listen to on a regular basis and it's Sonic Youth's Sister which also might be my favorite Sonic Youth release ever. Opening track, "Schizophrenia" is easily my favorite Sonic Youth song.
Props to Rick Ramos for giving me my first copy of Sister!

1988- What a year! Honorable mentions to: Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation, REM's Green, and Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking- which was in fact Jamie's pick for this year. My choice for this year is of course, The Pixies' Surfer Rosa which is one of my favorite albums of all time.

1989- This is the year where Jamie went with the Indigo Girls, but she also chose The Cure. That's right, she cheated and made two picks. Tsk tsk. Indigo Girls? Why didn't she just go with Electric Youth then?
My pick, after considering giving it to The Pixies' Doolittle(which is the first Pixies album I ever bought) is none other than The Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique which has something like 105 samples on it. You can not afford to make an album like this today. This release is an enigma unto itself.

1990- Who would have guessed that They Might Be Giants would be the first band to take two spots on this blog? Earlier this year I was listening to Flood and I was shocked, shocked I say!, that the opening track said, "A brand new album, for 1990," I remember playing pool in Brett Martin's basement and listening to it on cassette. Easily the best They Might Be Giants album, everyone should have this, and it should be added to Rock Band immediately.

Jamie picked The Soup Dragons who I think made one song that I have ever heard of. It's a good song though.

1991- If I could paraphrase Gza, the Genius for a moment: This is the year that everything changed. Jamie and I agree on this year, Pearl Jam's Ten runs away with this year. In May Smashing Pumpkins Gish came out, Pearl Jam came out in August, and then in September Nirvana's Nevermind was released. Pearl Jam is one of my favorite bands of all time.

1992- Alice in Chains' Dirt There was a period of several years in the '90's when I was really into Alice in Chains. I probably listened to "Rooster" everyday for this entire period.

Jamie picked Tori Amos, which I think is fine. I've always liked Tori, but I've never gotten into her. With the exception of the song, "Cornflake Girl" which my future band will certainly cover.

1993- This was my toughest choice yet. Siamese Dream of course has the song, "Today" which is a song that really marked a change in what, and how, I listened to. Then of course there is In Utero, but I am quite certain that the one album released in 1993 that I have listened to the most, and still continue to listen to today, is Bjork's Debut.

Jamie picked the first Counting Crows album. Which I do not really listen to anymore, but historically I have listened to it a metric fuckton of times. Jamie is still living in the past, and it's evident by this choice.

Just kidding Jamie, I love you.

1994- Weezer's Blue Album. Weezer means so much to me. This album means so much to me. The first time I went to a show without adult supervision was on the tour for this album. My older brother let me tag along. I'm going to write more about this in the future as I attempt to review their latest release, aka- The Red Album. Jamie and I agree again on this year! Which is good, because it's a goddamned fantastic album people!

1995- Jamie and I met because of Jewel. Jamie went ahead and picked, Pieces of You and made a sidebar about how she hates Jewel now but how she loved her then. It's adorable really. I don't know the last time I listened to POY, so I can not choose the album that sold almost 12 million copies. It was also hard not to pick Radiohead's The Bends. My choice for 1995 is none other than Oasis- (What's the Story)Morning Glory? I still listen to this regularly and I still play, "Don't Look Back in Anger" whenever I notice it on a jukebox.

1996- A year that brought both my favorite Modest Mouse album and my favorite Pearl Jam. Neither one gets the top spot though, and Jamie and I agree again with Weezer's Pinkerton. Another concert that I saw with my brother. It's also the best concert I have ever been to. Look for more on this in the upcoming Weezer article.

1997- Built to Spill- Perfect From Now On In an effort of full disclosure I should inform you that I have this album title tattooed on my chest. This September Built to Spill is playing this album in it's entirety here in Seattle. I already have my ticket.

Jamie picked Radiohead's OK Computer She then added, "god, music is AWESOME." It sure is Jamie, it sure is.

1998- Neutral Milk Hotel- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Jamie picked Patty Griffin, which is a choice that I just find bland. Honorable mention to Bright Eyes' Letting Off the Happiness

1999- The Flamin Lips' The Soft Bulletin narrowly beats out Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's I See a Darkness who's title track was covered by Johnny Cash.

Jamie went with Fiona Apple's Long Ass Title which is an album which I have honestly never really listened to even though I have her albums that were released before and after this one.

2000- We agree again! The Weakerthans- Left and Leaving This is an album so great that it beats out Bright Eyes' Fevers and Mirrors which is a fucking fantastic album in itself. I introduced Jamie to both of those bands, she's forever in debt to me now.

2001- I was slowly narrowing down my choices from Gorillaz, Weezer, and the White Stripes when I realized that Rilo Kiley's Take-Offs and Landings came out this year. A couple nights ago my friend Lauren and I were drinking Strongbow and singing Rilo Kiley songs. She turned to me and asked which of their songs is my favorite, and without missing a beat I said, "Pictures of Success."

Jamie's choice is a Jason Mraz live album, then she mentioned something about it being before he "sold out." I have listened to two Jason Mraz songs in my life, that I am aware of. Color me not impressed.

2002- For this year I have to give a special shout out to Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot The last time I was in Chicago I took a picture of Marina City and called it, "The Yankee Hotel Foxtrot buildings!"

Jamie and I agree again. The summer of 2002 I preordered the Bright Eyes album Lifted, or the Story's In the Soil Keep Your Ear to the Ground. It arrived just a few days before my birthday. I remember the first time I listened to it, I was in my car and it was raining. I was driving to a party at the Crackside apartments in Boulder, CO. This is the best album from my favorite band.

2003- Dearest Jamie, Thank you so much for not picking the Shins. Love always, Jon

Jamie picked Deathcab for Cutie's Transatlanticism. I would one up her and rank The Postal Service- Give Up ahead of that. The real question for this year though:

Who do I love more Karen O or Jack White? Well today it's Jack White,
The White Stripes- Elephant Jack White sidebar- I bought the first Raconteurs album without hearing a track or reading a review. I saw an ad that informed me that Jack White was in a full band. I bought the album an hour or so later. Maybe 12 hours later I bought tickets to see them play in Denver. Jack White makes me go all crazy like.

2004- The Arcade Fire's Funeral is the obvious number 1 for 2004. It continues to be an album that I listen to regularly, and I always mention it to people whenever I get asked for a recommendation on "newer music," which happens often.

Jamie went with More Adventurous from Rilo Kiley. Which is excellent, and it kind of hurts my head to think that it's already 4 years old.

2005- Jamie and I are in agreement yet again. This time Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning Honorable mentions to - Wolf Parade and Sufjian Stevens. And maybe also to The New Pornographers and the Mountain Goats.

2006- TV On the Radio's Return to Cookie Mountain is the runaway winner. This is another recommendation that I dole out to anyone who is looking for newer music. Jamie went all super obscure on us here and chose The Format's Dog Problems which is an album with an awesome title track and great packaging, but I still couldn't bring myself to pay $7 for it in the used bin at Sonic Boom last month.

2007- Jamie is one after my heart by picking yet another Bright Eyes album, this time it's Cassadaga which would probably be second, or third at worst on my list for 2007. The obvious choice for me is Spoon with Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Honorable mentions to Animal Collective and the Arcade Fire.

2008- Jamie already picked one. I don't think that I am going to. She went with In Rainbows which will not be my pick.

So far this year I really like She&Him, Wolf Parade, Vampire Weekend, the Mountain Goats, and my favorite release so far this year just may be Tokyo Police Club's Saddle Creek debut, Elephant Shell.

So there you have it. This took even longer than I thought it would. Perhaps it will take you longer than 30 seconds to read it now.

Let me know if you think I left anything out that needs to be mentioned.

Fun with Wolf Parade continues, Foals are stunning

2008-07-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning Neumo's sent out an e-mail officially announcing that the Super Secret Guest was indeed Wolf Parade, and that English band Foals had also been added to the lineup.

At 7pm(an hour before doors)there were still tickets available for the show. When I actually entered the venue around 10:20pm it was sold out.

It appears that the recent police reinterpretation of the capacity of Neumo's has ceased. This was the first sold out show at Neumo's in months that actually felt like a sold out show. Packed floor, full balcony.

I arrived just in time to see Foals take the stage. They also played the Sub Pop 20 this weekend, and I of course did not see them. The band set up on stage almost in a circle, facing each other most of the time and not the audience. It was like a punk/indie dance drum circle. Bands members leaned on each other and slammed into one another at various times. They put on a hell of a show and the Seattle crowd was, as usual, super hot and just ate up everything the band threw their way.

The highlight of their set was during their next to last song lead singer Yannis Philippakis disappeared into the crowd. At this point I wandered over to the bar and next to me was Yannis Philippakis! He downed a drink and then headed back to the stage. It was quite simply, amazing.

Foals had no merch at the tables. This saddened me to no end.

Wolf Parade then came on for the main event. I was slightly disappointed to realize that the sound girl who I was silently swooning over at Sub Pop 20 was not a local. She actually was the sound tech(or some similar title) for Wolf Parade.

I remember when it seemed that bands played 90 minutes plus standard. In recent years I've been lucky if I see a band play a full hour before the encore break. Wolf Parade played over 3 hours the last two nights combined.

Last night's set, like their set at Sub Pop, closed with At Mount Zoomer "Kissing the Beehive" which clocks in with a runtime of 10:46. It's a song that highlights everything that Wolf Parade brings to the table, and it's epic nature is a great live experience.

I got an e-mail from a friend in Portland mentioning that Wolf Parade is playing there tonight and that I should go down to see it. I'm not. I figure two days in a row is probably plenty Wold Parade for me right now.

Props to Wolf Parade for having vinyl priced at below the CDs on the merch table.

Sub Pop is no longer a teenager continues and Birdwatchers United (maybe) play a show

2008-07-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

The band that I really wanted to see at Sub Pop was festival closer, Wolf Parade. I have a ticket in hand to see them at Neumo's for tonight, so that was what I kept telling myself over and over again as I analyzed the lineup for Sunday.

I made plans to meet up with a friend, Jimmer, to see an early show at the Comet. The band, Seattle locals, Birdwatchers United! first came into our lives when we saw them open up for Tilly & the Wall a week or so earlier. Birdwatchers were a lot of fun, a high energy feel good pop band, and Jimmer and I each attempted to pick up their CD at the merch table.

Well, Birdwatchers United! were so awesome that they unloaded their CDs before my friend and I made our way to the merch. I became their MySpace friend the next day, and I sent them a message asking if they would have more CDs for sale at the early show, 7pm, yesterday. They responded saying that they weren't planning on it, but they would bring one just for me! I was more than excited.

While I was at work yesterday I received a text from Brian saying that he had another ticket for Sunday's Sub Pop if I wanted to head out to Marymoor. I asked when the headliner went on last night, he responded by saying that, "Wolf Parade goes on at 8:20." I went back and forth on this decision for a while before I decided, Fuck it! I really want to be part of the Sub Pop 20 celebration. Sub Pop is the first independent record label that was part of my consciousness. I had to be there.

At this point I decided that I was going to go home and change after work, go to the Comet to see Birdwatchers United, and then drive out to see Wolf Parade end the festival.

When I got to the Comet, Jimmer had a table and I ordered a drink. The bartenders are very heavy handed, which is a definite plus. Suddenly it was 7:45 and no one was playing, and in fact the band wasn't even set up yet.

Jimmer had plans at 8 as well, so we went outside and introduced ourselves to Emily and (I think) Tim of the Birdwatchers. We received our CDs and discussed their wedding plans before I informed them that we had to go, but we will be sure to see them again!

I hope that they played last night, and I bet it was a super kickass show.

At that point I took off for Sub Pop with, faulty, directions from Brian. On the way there I broke Washington state law and contacted Brian while I was driving to verify part of said directions. He said, "Oh crap!" and thus I got off the highway to turn around.

When I got to the festival grounds the sign said, "No parking after 2pm" and there was a cop at the entrance, I drove past him and parked. He didn't even look at me. There was no parking attendant for me to pay $5 to park either. As I got out of the car I could hear the opening notes of At Mount Zoom opener "Soldier's Grin". I met Brian at the gate and he handed me a ticket(he had actually won tickets while I was trying to win them). The employees didn't scan my ticket or anything, they just waived me in.

I spun around to gage the crowd and I said to Brian, "There's nobody here!" He said that Sunday was less packed then Saturday and that about halfway through yesterday people started to head home. I actually contacted a friend to tell her that I was going there to see Wolf Parade, she had tickets for both days and she told me that she didn't go the second day. I responded saying that she still had a chance. I mean, it's fucking Wolf Parade!
The show was awesome. Wolf Parade played for almost a full 90 minutes. They mentioned before their encore that they were told to only play for 40 minutes and that they were already pushing it. Then they encored with, "I'll Believe In Anything" from Apologies to the Queen Mary.

At this point much of the crowd in front of us had cleared out and I ran forward about 20 feet jumping up and down when I realized what song it was.

"I'll Believe In Anything" is, hands down, my absolutely favorite Wolf Parade song.
The sun was starting to set, the moon was already visible, it was Sub Pop's 20th birthday and I got swept away in the live crowd as we screamed along in unison, "Nobody knows you, and nobody gives a damn!"

So maybe I didn't see the Vaselines, or even Green River, but I did make it out to Sub Pop's birthday party, and I got to see my major music crush of 2008. I'll update tomorrow with a write up of tonight's show, which I am equally excited for.

Here is a link to the Birdwatchers United! myspace page:
Birdwatchers United

Sub Pop is no longer a teenager

2008-07-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

I spent the second half of last week trying to, unsuccessfully, win tickets to the Sub Pop 20 festival that happened in Redmond, WA this weekend.

I failed, but I did win tickets to the Capitol Hill Block Party at the end of the month.

Saturday came and the Vaselines played their first ever show in the US while I was at work- wishing that I was there.

By 5pm on Saturday I was composing a list of reasons in my head that made it OK to not be at the festival. Reasons like, "The Fleet Foxes are playing the Block Party, so I'll just see them there," or "I saw Flight of the Conchords at Sasquatch just 2 months ago," and of course "I've already seen Iron and Wine!" These few mentions at least distracted me, albeit temporarily, from the fact that Mudhoney and the Vaselines were playing. You will have to excuse me for a moment while I cry at this realization....