Former Ghosts Podcast

Freddy Ruppert is among the greatest people alive. He used to do this band called This Song Is A Mess But So Am I which was among the most inspirational things ever. His new band, Former Ghosts is completely beautiful, nightmarishly dark and I hope we get to make a split single with him someday. He recently made a podcast that is the best! It features songs by friends like Cold Cave and The Dead Science, heroes like OMD and Arthur Russell, things I hadn't heard before but am now obsessed with (Felt Drawings!!) and, I am honored to say, a Silk Flowers song. You can download it HERE

Silk Flowers - Cannibals and Headhunters video

bleed & decorate

We wrote a new song this past weekend and the lyrics are inspired by this movie:




also this time of year always reminds me of my friend John who used to work at a big independent music distributor who told me that CRASS sells best around the holidays, what does that even mean? Sometimes I think it means that people are inspired and angry by the stores and the commercials and so they have to listen to "Big Man! Big M! A! N!" but most of the time it makes me think

HIGH TIMES AT LOW ALTITUDES

We had an action packed weekend. Two shows on Saturday, Practice and a show on Sunday, and practice again on Monday. And boy, are my arms tired...

Mayhem at Market Hotel.





When we got to the show Peter and I received the sweetest surprise. Mathew and Rebecca were also playing. It was a very joyous reunion. I was so PSYCHED!


Ambergris or Hamburgers, whichever.

Kokomo featuring Vanishing Ben.

Luke E. Dragons


Sunday's post-practice pizza "round" up at the rightfuly famous DiFara's Pizza.


Domenic DiMarco loading up the oven. This guy has made more pizzas than god.



Sunday nights show at "Silent" Barn with City Center, Grouper, and Kria Brekkan. Hosted by Strength In Numbers and the incredible Karen Soskin.

Parka Brothers

Busy in the trees.

City Center: Heart throb.

Grouper: Great show, bad photo.

Kria Brekkan

ON KEEPING A NOTEBOOK

"I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, wether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise, they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind's door at 4 am of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends. We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget. We forget the loves and betrayals alike, forget what we whispered and what we screamed, forget who we were." -Joan Didion

BETTY PAGE IS DEAD...

... but, this guy already killed rockabilly. Call in the GARBAGE MAN.

THIS YEAR IN TENS

Ethan

1) Three 6 Mafia - Last 2 Walk
2) citycenternyc.blogspot.com
3) The Younger Lovers - Newest Romantic LP
4) High Places - High Places LP
5) Keegan McHargue - Untitled zine
6) Busy Signal - Loaded LP
7) GAS - Boxed Set
8) Maybe It's Reno - Maybe It's Reno CD
9) Wizz Jones - The Legendary Me LP reissue
10) It's Better at the Beach - "New Corners"

Peter

1) Noceros - show in Albuquerque with USA is a Monster
2) Jeff McBride's magic shows i.e. Masks performance
3) Manuel Göttsching at Love
4) D.J. Harvey at Love, in April, and every other time!
5) Tim L, Donna C, Liz L (& others) zine collaboration (at Desert Island and Printed Matter)
6) Matthew's saxophone hide & slide - Soiled Mattress & the Springs show with No Age at the Dome, London
7) Massive fever, mind melt & mugging, terrible experiences somehow show the way. Knock on wood.
8) Every tour so far with Silk Flowers
9) Pizza party, Madeline, USA is a Monster, and Philip K. Dick in New Haven.
10) N0 WAY BACK!

Aviram

1) Super Bowl XLII
2) Batman at IMAX
3) Eating Difara pizza at Rockaway Beach in the summertime
4) Abe Vigoda "Skeleton" LP
5) Soiled Mattress and The Springs trip to the UK
6) Blank Dogs "On Two Sides" LP
7) No Age, Soft Circle, Silk Flowers northeast tour.
8) Let The Right One In
9) Ariel Pink at the Knitting Factory
10) No Age Nouns lp
Honorable Mention: Nodzzz LP, Omegas demo, City Center

BLACK FLAG'S PIANO

undertones every day of the winter

there's this amazing blog entry where the writer describes the process of following a High Places interview through a couple different websites and ultimately to the City Center myspace page, where he fell in love with Fred's songs. I am also in love with Fred's songs and I'm excited that we're playing with him again this month. Anyway at one point the writer says "thank you myspace top 8" since it facilitated the discovery. I have a lot of conflicting thoughts about "top 8" as a concept, ideas of sharing community and celebrating friendship are mostly positive but sometimes make me uneasy. I think my favorites are always the weird ones where the profile owner makes fake profiles so that he/she can have some concept delivered through this space, like their band name spelled out (Glass Candy circa 2005) or a photograph clipped up and gridded (Reggie from Abe Vigoda circa 2004). I also like funny ones. I wanted to do one once for another band where all the top 8 were related to Smashing Pumpkins, like it could be them and Zwan and Billy Corgan solo and the other guitar player's solo project (James Iha something?) and I bet the bass player has a fan page and maybe a tribute to the dead guy. Then the headline could be "The world is a vampire" and people would think we're crazy.

Earlier today I was listening to Teenage Panzerkorps on myspace, they are pretty amazing. I didn't know. So I had this idea to make friends with them, and then make friends with Teenage Head (one of Aviram's all time favorites) and put them in our top 8 with dear heart Cali Dewitt whose label/blog/myspace is called Teenage Teardrops and then it could be all teenage stuff. Hilarious, right? And then I got thinking about the song "Teenage Kicks", which I'm not that big a fan of, but the Undertones rule most of the time. And so I watched a million videos but I liked this one the best, because I like the wind so much. You should watch it and then watch this one right after it, I think it might make you carsick.

FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN

Celeb sighting: Richard Hell was at the post office while I was mailing out 7" orders.

A slice of heaven

Band outing at the Knick game. Thanks to the genorosity of this man. Harry Smith. "I'm not only a nut club president, I'm also a client."



The Rabbit, The Count, The Robe, and The Englishman.



"Ethan, what did you think of the game?"

completely inappropriate lyrics

we listened to Tones on Tail when we were on tour, and talked a lot about how the first side of "Pop" is so amazing but the second side is kind of a drag. Anyway, for me, one of the best parts of the record is the drumming, and maybe even more than that the way that the drums sound? They have this way that they boom but then don't resonate, they sound huge like a kettle drum but the sounds are all succinct, they don't ring out at all. It's a weird state, but really amazing. I kept thinking about it and remembered that this song has a similar drum sound, totally consistent throughout the song, like he plays the same beat regardless of the changes in the rest of the song. So rad! I think sometimes we try similar things in Silk Flowers. Anyway, if he weren't singing about seeing pictures of girls topless, I would totally call this one of my favorite songs ever.

"FUCK PROP 8 IN THE FACE"

Fred Thomas: Heart throb.

Our gracious hostess and first class human being, Heather. Sorry boys, she's taken.

This year's bird. Fit for a king.

Fred and I had a wishbone face off.



On this day we were both winners. FINALLY!


Emerson in the playboy mansion.


After our lovely feast, we went to see MILK, which is the best Gus Van Zandt film in years. I can't remember the last time I cried at a movie but, I cried at this one. While It's awful that Harvey Milk was killed, I cried tears of frustration, not sadness. In the same election that we voted for our first black president, California, (a "blue" state) voted yes on prop 8, forbidding gays to be legally married in their state. No group's struggle should take precedence over the next. If our society is to move forward, then we take that step together. And yes, I am aware that I may be preaching to the choir.

Happy Family

Volume one may have broken ground for it's time but, it pales in the light of volume two.