School Days

"Classes - Part 2 have begun. They seem to be pretty good so far. Bowling is laid back (which is a relief, nobody wants intense bowling) and my Rock n’ Roll class is off to a good start. On the first day of class the professor made a Scorpions joke (as in “Rock You Like a Hurricane) and summed up the history of music in 20th Century America as “dudes getting drunk and stuff happening.” He latter amended it saying “dudes and chicks—gay and straight, black and white—getting drunk and stuff happening. I like this guy.

He breezed by Buddy Holly and paid more attention to Elvis than to Chuck Berry but I can forgive him these things because he made reference today to the fact that Marty McFly was the one that really invented Rock n’ Roll. Anyone who is currently confused should re-watch the first Back to the Future movie. Michael J. Fox’s character plays guitar at his parents senior prom and while he starts off with “Earth Angel” (by the Doo-Wop group the Peguins) he transitions into “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry, who is called by his cousin at the dance and told he should sound like this. Then Marty goes all Eddy Van Halen… I laughed quite hard when he explained all this as if it were actually how it went down.

I’m waiting around at school right now for my final class to being: Film Noir and American Culture. Should be interesting. It’s the only class I haven’t had yet but I’m looking forward to it despite the fact that I’ll have to be at school till 9:15pm.

Listening to “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry. I don’t care what anyone says this song has more rock in its little pinky than in the entire Elvis catalogue. Title from Chuck Berry too, off Chuck Berry: His Very Best, Vol. 1.

You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)

So we had to make a postcard for Spanish class today to exchange with our fellow “estudiantes.” I think mine turned out well, considering I started an hour and a half before it was due.

The translation of what I wrote is as follows:

Dear (insert name here),
Greetings from Uruguay! You should come here, this place is close to perfect. I’m at my grandmother’s house in the country. The house is very charming with a good view of the mountains. When I come back here another time I hope things are not so strange though. When I got to the house I saw a polar bear, he was sleeping but I ran to the house. My grandmother phoned an astronaut y he came to the house in a Smart Car. The astronaut scared off the polar bear. Come see all of this and not be afraid of the polar bears. If one comes by again I’ll phone the astronaut because he did a good job.



The media was all cut from magazines and I decided to try and explain my decisions via the postcard’s text. I hope whoever gets mine has a sense of humor.

I’m still loving The Handsome Furs. I really want to go to their show this Fridays at the Black Cat. Anyone want to go? Please?

Listening to “Officer of Hearts” by Handsome Furs from Face Control. Title from Dragonslayer by Sunset Rubdown.

On Our Way

Summer classes have been keeping me busy, mostly with talking about New Order in Spanish. I have a few updates worth mention:

The second summer session is going to super-duper hectic: Monday though Thursday in the mornings I’ll be bowling, then head to my history of Rock & Roll class. I already sort of took this class but due to a different departmental listing I get to talk about Chuck Berry in an academic setting again! The historical and sociological implications of the duck walk are terribly interesting…

I need to start looking for my first real job. I’ve had a bunch of jobs, more than a lot of people I know at any rate. Now with the real world looming large I’ve got to figure out what it is that my BA in history has prepared me for. From the casual browsing I’ve done—not a hell of a lot. At least I’m well rounded. Can I get an Amen from the liberal arts people out there?!

New music for July:

“Fresh Like Us” by Chiddy Bang
Sales Pitch: The song uses the hook from Yelle’s “Ce jeu” and they give a shout out to my favorite NBA player / Star Wars character—Rajon Rondo!
Why I love it: It’s got a great summer vibe to it that makes me think of crusing around Potomac in a friends car with nothing to do and nowhere to go, listening to music that was too loud all the while thinking I was so damn cool…

“Lego” by The Maccabees
Sales Pitch: Intensely catchy guitar (like the Dodos or Cut Off Your Hands catchy) and lyrics that include “And the boys chew on Legos / so we can’t build castles or robots / cause the pieces don’t fit together.”
Why I love it: The catharsis at the end, when it gets slower and then builds back up is the best I’ve heard since “Pitch Black Blonde” by JR Ewing. I’m a total sucker for an epic build up and crescendo.

“Pieces of You” by Wolf Gang
Sales Pitch: A near perfect blend of low-fi funk sound and Talking Heads vocals.
Why I love it: I think the sales pitch is more or less my reason. There’s this awesome swirling flute and trumpet portion that sounds fantastic at around the 1:41 minute marker.

Album of Note:

Face Control by The Handsome Furs
Spazy but controlled, electronic enough that it makes me want to shake a groove loose but rock enough to want to play air instruments along with it. I really like the guys voice too. The songs are well produced and written. It’s been a while since those two things have happened at the same time on a record that I’ve liked a lot.
Tracks to listen to: “Legal Tender,” “Talking Hotel Arbat Blues” and “(White City)”

Listening to “Oysters” by Radiant Dragon from the Island EP and “Sleepyhead” by Run Toto Run from their self-titled. It’s the only cover of Passion Pit’s stroke of genius that Morning of Forced Leisure endorses. God damn I love this song, it sounds like Feist and Aaron Copland got together to make a sick mash up of “Past In Present” and the “Rodeo: Hoe-Down” suite. Title from Chiddy Bang.

Countdown (Sick for the Big Sun)

Well, I’ve had an eventful couple of weeks. Spring 2009 has ended, and the Summer session has begun. I like my Spanish professor a lot— he’s a young-ish guy and seems more hip than any teacher I’ve had before. I think I’ll do okay in the class. I’m not quick with translating in my head and being able to reply but I can do the work so there’s hope. I’m really looking forward to my next round of classes: History of Rock & Roll and a class on Bowling. Sweet!

I’ve also gotten a twitter account. I got sick of Facebook. You can find me by searching “gregpocalypse.” Micro-blogging is sort of dumb but then the status thing on Facebook is too. I’m a sucker for the dumb.

I wanted to explain a comment from a previous post about the summer activities that Nando and I have planned. You see, summer can be a boring time: you either waste or it drags as a child and you don’t get any real summer vacation as an adult. He and I have devised a scheme to try and enjoy one of the last summers that we’ll have as pre-adults (a term that only implies our continued reliance on our parents for food and shelter and not our level of maturity, which would be infantile to adolescent at best…).

It is currently a list of competitions that we shall engage in over the course of the summer. Each face-off can be placed in one of two categories— the direct challenge or a race to find the best. The list of direct challenges include “The Burger-off,” “The Bartender-off,” an homage to the movie Cocktail (on of the greatest summer movies ever) and “The Write-a-movie-off,” though I doubt we’ll actually get to that one. The second group has more potential (as we’ll have to do less). It pits us against each other as we both search for the best whatever it is the challenge calls for. We have currently best bar, best hot wings and best mixed drink (which is under review as it might be incorporated into “The Bartender-off”).

I’m hoping to keep a scorecard and at the end of the summer (on the Autumnal Equinox to be exact) we’ll tally the points and a trophy of some sort will be awarded. The list is a work in progress as we add things and edit but it will be locked in as of the Summer Solstice, or 5:45am June 21st, 2009. I’ll try and post a list of the challenges and keep you updated as things progress.

On the music front I’ve got a couple of recommendations for any interested parties:

Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

I really liked a song of theirs a couple years back (“Long Distance Call”) but I never got into them as a band until a week ago when I picked up their brand-spanking new album. Wow. Some of the best arranged pop rock I’ve heard since Vampire Weekend blew my socks off. Not that they sound anything like Vampire Weekend… they just have incredibly interesting songs that go together as an album quite well. I’m not sure but I think it’ll be on my list of best Albums of the year. It’s a little early for that kind of talk I know, and they wont win the coveted award but this record should be in the conversation as Mike likes to say…

Sunn 0))), Monoliths and Dimensions

When I buy an album I am usually relatively informed about what I’m getting into, I either know the band or have read a review or two. Not always but a lot of times this is the case. With Sunn 0)))’s latest release I had done both. I got it so that I would have some things to say the next time I found myself in Baltimore talking about music (cause it will come up) and I’ve heard all (or almost all) of their other stuff. I think its cool, interesting but not exactly my thing. This album challenged that to a degree that I wasn’t really prepared for. They had been growing more conceptual and for me more likeable (split with Boris and sound-tracking a Jim Jarmusch movie) but this moves things backwards at least a little. Maybe it was the headphones, maybe my mood, but the vocals, which are rather distinct are too Doom-y. I realize this is a ridiculous argument to make., the guys practically freaking invented Doom but I couldn’t get past the silly overdramatic voice that sounded like a cross between a Viking and an Emo kid ………….who ……………. sings……………………………………. like………………………… this………………… I’m going to hold off on judgment until I listen a bit more but right now it looks like a 6.8 to 7.0.

I’ll try and talk about Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest, Los Campesinos!, and a few singles next post but for now that’s all.

As a brief conclusion I’d like to offer a public service announcement: save yourself from Twilight. Yeah, I read it. Elizabeth was talking about it and I decided that it didn’t sound so bad. Well it was. I read it in two days. It’s horrible. I feel like a twelve-year-old girl… and by that I mean irrevocably in the thrall of Mrs. Meyer and her repetitive bland prose style. While the story is highly entertaining she writes like I talk: way too much of the same phrases repeated over and over. I thought I was reading an ancient Greek epic ready to see “wine-dark sea” or “clever Odysseus.” It isn’t easy to admit that I’m hooked, but like a recovering alcoholic the first step is admitting that you have a problem. The second step is hitting rock bottom I think, so I’ll be reading the three other books over the following three or four days. Then I’ll make amends and all that other stuff….

Title is from Phoenix’s latest (I thought it seemed appropriate, what with the Summer challenges coming up and all). Listening to “Idumea” by The Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church from the Cold Mountain soundtrack and “Hungry Liars (feat. Justin Powers)” by Portland Cello Project from The Thao and Justin Powers Sessions.

Sweat It Out

Summer Listening Picks

Passion Pit, Manners
Selling Features:
1.) A high-pitched voice that evokes Journey in just the right way. 2.) They’re what MGMT wishes they sound like, and everyone fuckin’ loves MGMT, right? 3.) When you name drop them you’ll sound like a cool kid but the music is actually good.
Standout Tracks:
“Make Light” – Sounds like bulls crashing around a china shop while making pop music.
“Sleepyhead” – Anyone who dislikes this song is at least a little crazy.
“Moth’s Wings” – I’ve heard some people get on this band for its silly/sophomoric lyrics but I really like this song for both the music and the content. You be the judge.

Lady Gaga, The Fame
Yes, it’s been out since last year. Yes, I should have heard this record all the way through a long time ago. Whatever… It’s summer-good-time-dance-music and I’m on board.
Standout Tracks (besides the singles, which rock but are obvious):
“Paparazzi” – One of three slower love songs on the album. This is by far the best.
“Starstruck” – She equates dancing/love-making to the production of music, and not “let’s make some sweet music, baby” but “put your hand on my waist, pull the fader / run it back with original flavor / Queue me up, I’m the twelve on your table / I’m so starstruck.”
“Paper Gangsta” – Great piano throughout, and though it’s slower there is a driving quality to the beat that works its way under your skin. The way she calls out the potential suitor by calling him a paper gangsta is fantastic too.

Fuck Buttons, Street Horrrsing
I’m not a huge fan of anyone that has profanity in their band’s name. It seems needlessly stand-off-ish to me. Fuck Buttons has overcome that knee-jerk reaction, in part because it sort of sounds like a term of endearment and because I love their sound. A mix of noisy pop and out-there electro. Not for everyone but I will be bumping it this summer.
Standout Track:
“Colours Move” – The opener of an album is a hard needle to thead: do start with the barn burner that will be everyone’s favorite but not what the album actually sounds like? Maybe you kick off with the artistic instrumental interlude to show everyone how much Pink Floyd has influenced you (please note: I hate when you do this… you get one instrumental every two releases and they should come at the end or towards the end!) Fuck Buttons does both and it kicks ass!

Summertime Singles

The Whip, X Marks the Destination – “Trash”
I heard this on MTVU the other day and had to download it immediately. Sassy electro-pop that makes you want to strut around like a hipster douche. I love it!

Smashing Pumpkins, Special release for Nissan – “FOL”
Its that song from the Genesis Coupe commercial. Sue me…

Shiny Toy Guns, Season of Poison – “The Future Is Where We Belong”
Found in Gossip Girl’s season finale, when Chuck and Blair get together at long last. The moment was sound-tracked amazingly well with this song. Gauzy production, big slow drums, choral back-up and well executed transitions all come together well to make this song into something worth listening to after the television stops working its magic.

Azealia Banks, Youth Offender – “Seventeen”
Using the Ladytron track by the same name this rapper turns it on its head and makes one of the funniest songs to come out of hip-hop since Lil’ Mama’s ode to lip gloss.

Title from The Dream, Love Vs Money, listening to all of the above.