SILK FLOWERS

UNABOMBER GARAGE SALE

2011-05-18T09:35:00.000-04:00

City Center Redeemer

2011-05-13T13:28:00.002-04:00

I used to work for this incredible old school record industry lifer, the kind of guy who was closer to a mob capo than an executive. There was no question he was involved in some dirty business, but he always walked away clean. His occasional stories about lawsuits in Texas and strongarming oldies stations used to leave me speechless in his office. He put out his first record when he was nineteen or twenty, the Soul Survivors “Expressway to Your Heart” and hasn’t strayed from the record business since.

He used to have this thing about sequencing LPs, he said you should put the best song first and the second best song last, and the rest didn’t really matter. He also said, playing live, you should reverse that, and save the best for last. Anyway, his energy was always so quietly menacing and untouchable that it didn’t even occur to me to contradict him, but even then I thought he was wrong. I always liked records that start a little slow and then rage for the last 2/3rds: Folk Roots New Routes, Purple Haze, Youth of America. What I like even better, though, is figuring out when artists use patterns. The best example of course is Metallica.

It basically broke my mind in eighth grade when my friend Matt explained that Justice, Master, and Ride the Lightning all follow the same basic pattern: rager up front, ballad halfway through, instrumental towards the end, and another rager as the finale. They didn’t quite figure it out at first, ending Ride the Lightning with “Call of Ktulu” instead of a beast like “Dyers Eve,” but it’s basically the same curve. For me, their dedication to this structure is strong evidence of the singular, destructive focus that made those three records so great.

The other example I always think of is Fred Thomas, who has been making records that peak in the middle since I met him in 1997. The red Lovesick LP, all the Saturday Looks Good To Me records, “Sink Like a Symphony”, they all hit super hard in the middle and then dissipate with this really thoughtful energy, that dawn/dusk transitional energy. Maybe one last burst towards the end (“Tiger’s Ghost” or “Ultimate Stars”). Part of the magic of seeing it happen again and again over the last fifteen years is the way that it kept me thinking forwards, instead of backwards. Not that there’s a storyline that runs from record to record, but the settling dust of a song like “When You Got To New York” would keep my eyes ahead on the next explosion of song instead of dwelling on the last one.

City Center’s new record, Redeemer, came out this week. The first Silk Flowers tour was with City Center, and we’ve played more shows with them than with any other band. When I first heard “Redeemer” I recognized a lot of the songs from these shows, and when it hit track 5, “Cookies,” I thought I recognized that familiar Fred Thomas pattern again. The first time I heard “Cookies” was at our record release show in 2009. It stood out to me then as a brilliant (in the sense of light), desperate and shaking song, i.e. the kind of song Fred would put at the center of an LP. I saw them a couple months later and it stood out to me so much I didn’t really catch the rest of their set. Which meant I didn’t consciously register “Teardrop Children.”

Toward the end of Redeemer there’s a song called “Soft Marauder” and that’s exactly what it is. A lot of rounded-off tones, almost underwater sounding, with that same dawn/dusk feeling I always want at this point in a record. When it ended, and the first notes of “Teardrop Children” began, I suddenly remembered the song with a sharpness that surprised me. By the halfway point of the song I felt insane, so stirred up and breathless. The song is now probably my favorite City Center song (maybe tied with “Young Diamond”) and the revelation of ending the record on this kind of note shocks me every time I listen to Redeemer. I’ve written here before about the concealed darkness in City Center songs, the direness lurking under the surface. For Redeemer, this all comes to the surface at the end, confrontational and comforting at the same time. It’s a weird new feeling, but I’m so happy for it, and excited to see what’s next in a totally new way.

Next Record Preview

2011-05-02T20:02:00.001-04:00

May 1, 2011

Open Bar Classics Mix

2011-04-26T16:48:00.003-04:00

Completely in love with this mix by Statik Selektah & Lord Sear of early 80s NYC jams. We get into a lot of stuff like this on tour drives, I think the Odyssey record (15th song in) has been a regular for at least the last few tours. Change you might remember from the mix we did for Friendship Bracelet but their song featured here has the added great surprise (for me anyway) of being the sample source for my single favorite Janet Jackson song "It's All For You" (seriously this song is the best). The other exciting moment like that for me was hearing Unlimited Touch's "Searching to Find the One" which was sampled by Bon Rock for the old school killer "Searching Rap" which obviously spelled out the relationship in the title. I didn't know.

Highest recommendation! Summertime!

2011-04-25T13:24:00.000-04:00

Untitled from ENDLESS FRIENDS on Vimeo.

Video by Rasi Delgado

THE ROAD WARRIOR

2011-04-25T11:52:00.004-04:00

I didn't know there are three (not two) Mad Max movies until this past weekend. After talking it over with a few other people, I found out that I wasn't the only one.

This picture reminds me of one of the times I went to see Code 13 and Felix Havoc proclaimed "If you see the ghetto bird in your neighborhood, SHOOT IT DOWN!" Then they played a song called "Armed to the Teeth"...

Pause step back look at my life as a whole

2011-04-21T01:28:00.005-04:00

It's a little tough to make out, but the red text along the back of this guy's sweatshirt reads "Queensbridge." Starting around my 18th birthday, no place on earth has captured my attention like Queensbridge. Six blocks of public housing edged along the East River, Queensbridge is America's largest housing project, the contested birthplace of rap music, and home to an unfathomable number of geniuses. I liked Nas pretty well, but it was Mobb Deep's The Infamous that brought QB to life for me, and for a few years there I could be counted on to buy any record with even the most tenuous connection to it. Any marginal rapper that could claim QB, I was in. Any guest verse by Nas, or Tragedy, or Mobb Deep's Prodigy or Havoc, I was in. I think the most ridiculous thing I bought during this time was the debut album by kiddie rapper A+, for Prodigy's verse on "Gusto." It's kind of crazy because I can't even remember how I spotted the guest appearance, like I must've just spent all my time flipping through rap CDs scanning the credits. It was worth it though, that period between The Infamous and Hell On Earth had some of Prodigy's craziest lyrics, and his assessment on "Gusto"--"It's like a bad dream, and I can't wake up/but at the same time I love it and I can't get enough"--was savage.

Last year I realized I could get off the F train at the Queensbridge stop and walk 10 blocks to PS.1, which saved a couple of transfers. Even though the train lets you out at the edge of the projects, and 2010 is pretty different than 1995, I was basically trembling with excitement and anxiety when I got off the train. In the mid-90s I read every article about Queensbridge I could find, and they all included the same moment where the journalist realized he or she was being watched from the rooftops, by like Large Professor and Cormega, who wouldn't let the interview if the writer seemed shook walking through the projects. Passing through the station doors I had to check myself from looking up. I overloaded my brain with expectations and ghost hunting, imaging how many of my idols passed through the same space.

I guess a big part of it is realizing that I couldn't imagine a situation where I'd end up in a room with Mobb Deep. I definitely wasn't trying to sneak backstage at shows and even if I did what would I say? They just seem untouchable, like beyond a movie star or the Rolling Stones or anything I could imagine. So it was a strange magic to find myself at Powerhouse watching Prodigy tell stories about how sickle cell anemia turned him into an child who never smiled, or about his team blocking the exit of a club so Jay-Z couldn't leave without a confrontation. Stranger still to find myself in line with a copy of Prodigy's autobiography for a quick hello and autograph.

Another surprise was the appearance of Havoc, who sat at the table beside Prodigy and added his autograph to his partner's book. You couldn't get anything else signed so I guess that it was the best option. Prodigy told this intense story about doing an instore in Baltimore and rolling up to the spot to see a line of people outside in the cold waiting to buy the record, how the fans all looked like they had put on their best outfits and didn't look like much. And Prodigy got out of the car with three chains on, rings on all his fingers, feeling like a total jerk, rubbing his money in their faces. Wondering why they'd even want to give him money. And so he doesn't wear jewelry anymore, and had this nice hat/button down shirt combo. I couldn't think of anything to say but "thank you" and "it's an honor" and get my book and head out. And now I have this, and I can't stop looking at this document of a moment I thought would never happen:

TWO FOR ONE

2011-04-18T11:22:00.000-04:00

When I was 14 I used to listen to this college radio station in NJ that was mainly known for playing metal. One night they were giving away tickets to see The Ramones at the Roseland Ballroom in New York. When the time came, I called in and won. I couldn't believe it. That never happened to me. The DJ must have had a sobering moment because he had the sense to ask how old I was. When he told me I wasn't old enough to win I begin to scream as loud as possible to alert my older brother to "PICK-UP-THE-PHONE!!!" He was just old enough to win (18). We got to go. Frank Black opened and it turned out to be a really fun show. I grew to appreciate seeing The Ramones live. On our way back to the Port Authority I decided I was hungry. I went up to a street vendor and bought a kebob which came with a big piece of bread on top. My brother reminded me it was still passover. "Who cares?!" I replied....

Kendrick Lamar vs. Curren$y

2011-04-15T16:21:00.006-04:00

It's a close call, but "Michael Jordan" is a better song than "Scottie Pippen." I would like a mixtape with both songs, plus a new track called "Ron Harper" by Starlito and a Squadda B instrumental called "Luc Longley." Or Clams Casino. If Danny Brown doesn't hate Dennis Rodman for leaving the Pistons, he would be my pick for that song. Thanks!

NEW ENGLAND: THE FINAL DAYS...

2011-04-11T11:46:00.001-04:00

Northhampton

Providence

Killing time at the movies...

CANADA: THE RETURN.

2011-04-08T12:38:00.000-04:00

Peter's new sweater...

"HELP ME!"

MIDWEST

2011-04-04T12:26:00.000-04:00

CHICAGO

The shoe pictured in this sign made me curious about what kind of "experience" they're advertising...

DETROIT

2011-04-02T11:18:00.000-04:00

CALIFORNIA CONTINUED...

2011-03-30T13:34:00.000-04:00

Earn...

The next day we began recording for an ep on Captured Tracks...

Moog Liberation

That night at Randy's lodge...

Learn to cook as though your wife just left you.

IRVINE

Share cropping is an unfair system.

Vigilante Force with Jan Michael Vincent and Kris Kristofferson. Don't waste your time.

Convoy or White Line Fever are much better.

When you order from PPM direct, chances are this guy sat on your records...

On to the Heartland...

CALIFORNIA

2011-03-28T12:33:00.000-04:00

NORTH BY NORTHWEST...

2011-03-23T17:19:00.000-04:00

We began in Seattle, WA

Ethan Swan...

NBA Super Fan...

Vancouver, BC

Canadian graffiti...

The internet rental at this diner only offered newsgroups (internet joke)...

Peter suffers another defeat...

Portland, OR

Rene Hell...

Grouper remix

2011-03-03T14:50:00.001-05:00

Liz Harris made a remix for our song "Thin Air" last December during the eclipse. You can hear both the original and the remix HERE

Folk Roots, New Routes/Mockingjay Part II

2011-02-28T18:45:00.007-05:00

The Hunger Games trilogy does a great job of telling a story I already love. Running Man, Battle Royale, Discipline and Punish–all great examples. The spectacle of a single individual withstanding the exertion of state power in a public forum, and the way that the audience's sympathy with this individual reinforces state power, is an effective and revealing situation. I think it also has a relationship to some of the underlying themes of Silk Flowers, but that's a different conversation. I'm also very interested in the post-apocalypse, and in particular stories of what follows.

In The Hunger Games, the survivors of an unnamed catastrophic event rebuild society as an interdependent network of districts surrounding a capitol. Each district is responsible for a different segment of manufacturing or agriculture, with all the wealth feeding into the capitol. We know from history that this kind of feudal system is untenable, and a failed revolution 75 years prior to the book's setting stands as a reminder. In the wake of this insurrection, the capitol established the Hunger Games, a televised example of its absolute power.

Each year, each of the twelve districts must send two tributes–one boy and one girl–to a chaotic fight to the death. Chosen by lottery, these children are costumed, interviewed, and sent to an almost-guaranteed death, with the entire process broadcast live and witnessed by the entire nation. The lone survivor from each year is made a hero, with his or her district received extra food rations for a year. Every citizen watches a child from their district murdered by another child and is reminded of their own powerlessness. Except for the capitol, which is merely entertained.

The drama is obvious, with the horror of children fighting to the death and the frustration of this oppression pushing all but the most heartless readers to the book's violent end. I've seen a lot of copies of the book that look bent up, I can imagine most readers throttle their copies during conversations between 14 year olds swearing they'll never have children so that they don't have to suffer the injustice.

The trilogy follows Katniss Everdeen, who reviewers like pitting against Bella Swan (of Twilight) because of her similar indecisiveness and because Everdeen is so empowered where Swan isn't. My favorite thing about Katniss, or the quality that made me really take her side, is her love of singing. For Katniss, singing is a part of life, a limitless vehicle for expression. In the rural countryside of the post-apocalypse, there is no pop music, and Katniss's repertoire is built of the songs her dad sings, and reliant on her ability to memorize. I assume if I only heard a few dozen songs in my life I would know them all, and often romanticize the idea of how precious music could be in such circumstances.

One of the key scenes in The Hunger Games is when Katniss sings to mourn a fallen friend on the battlefield. In a setting where everyone is an enemy and death is everywhere, the act is supremely revolutionary. Katniss completely breaks the spectacle of violence by arresting its storyline and insisting that the dead girl's humanity be recognized.

But the part I really love is in the third book, Mockingjay, when Katniss is inspired to sing "The Hanging Tree." The song betrays a deep debt to a few different Child Ballads, especially "Hangman" and to a lesser degree "Sweet William and Lady Margaret." In the song, a woman is spoken to by an admirer, who asks her to meet him at the hanging tree:

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where the strung up a man they say murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree"

Of course it's creepy that he says "in the hanging tree" instead of "at the hanging tree" but the song gets a lot creepier. By the third verse, his plea grows scarier: "Are you, are you/coming to the tree/Where I told you to run,so we'd both be free" and by the final verse it's, "Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me."

When she finishes singing, Katniss recalls singing the song as a small child, making rope necklaces with her toddler sister out of scrap rope. When discovered by her mother, the necklaces were snatched away and the song banned from the household.

She goes on to unpack the meaning of the song, how her loss of innocence through the Hunger Games taught her the song's meaning. I naively listened to the Clash's London Calling for years before realizing how many of the songs were about heroin addiction. By the time I figured it out it was too late, and many of my friends had fallen victim to the drug in a way that made the record unwelcome in my life. It's an intense experience growing into art.

So going back to the first part of this post, I am really interested in the idea of the reverence that certain songs command and the necessity of reconsidering this reverence with each generation. When Katniss first learned the song from her father, he sang it with a hopelessness that comes from subjugation, and perhaps acknowledging the guilt of bringing a child into a world where that child may end up murdered on TV. When Katniss revisits the song throughout the escalation of Mockingjay, she uses it as a lens for examining sacrifice and survival. The song isn't less potent, it's potent in a different way.

Perhaps the most interesting outcome of this reconsidering process is the number of home-recorded versions of "The Hanging Tree" that have appeared on youtube. Without any guide as to the tone of the song, let alone a melody, over a dozen singers have posted versions of the song online. My favorite is posted above, but I like the possibility of this song carrying on a new life in this way more than I could ever like one specific version.

2011-02-27T23:38:00.002-05:00

I think Fact and Fiction is the perfect name for this group because while the song is good, the video is unreal....

Folk Roots, New Routes/Mockingjay

2011-02-21T10:29:00.004-05:00

This week, 4 Men With Beards reissued one of my favorite records of all time: Folk Roots, New Routes by Shirley Collins and Davy Graham. Originally released in 1964 by Decca, it's my favorite thing either of them have ever done. I think it's easy to be disappointed by such collaborations, but the collision of Collins' reverence for tradition and Graham's polyglot explorations into jazz and pop alongside British folk rubs out their individual flaws and completely surpasses even their most brilliant solo recordings.

While Shirley Collins sings with absolute reverence, her bell-clear voice slicing through each arrangement, Davy Graham's guitar is borderline delinquent, stumbling and wandering where it pleases. It's magic that he trusted her to hold each song in place as he skipped in circles round her, and incredible that the label didn't insist on a full band or string arrangements behind them.

There used to be one thing that annoyed me about the record–the opening track. "Nottamun Town" is a great song, and they play it well, but the fact that they play it at all made me uneasy. The song is a dark one, twisting each verse to some bad luck or violence. There's a good discussion at Remembering the Old Songs which concludes that "the last verse wipes any smirk off your face":

Sat down on a hard, hot, cold frozen stone,
Ten thousand stood around me, yet I was alone.
Took my hat in my hand for to keep my head warm,
Ten thousand got drownded that never was born.

In the liner notes of Folk Roots, New Routes, Collins mentions that she learned "Nottamun Town" from Jean Ritchie's Folk Songs of the Southern Appalachians, which accentuated my discomfort. In Ritchie's songbook, she introduces the song with a discussion of the gravity of the song:

"This song was not, as I remember, ever sung lightly about the house, not even by us girls over the dishpan, but was saved for summer evenings on our long front porch after supper. We knew from the words that it was supposed to be a funny song, but somehow the tune of it was so sadly beautiful, so somehow eerie, that we never felt like laughing whenever we sang it."

I cannot stop thinking about this idea. That songs can have a specific place and time isn't something I had to learn from a book, but acknowledging that a child singing a song can be aware of when it's appropriate or not, even if she's surrounded by her siblings and even if the song is 300 years old, really blows my mind. And so the idea of Shirley Collins and Davy Graham exploring "new routes" through it (or Bob Dylan lifting the melody like no big deal) seemed to me to lack the necessary respect, the weight that even an eight year old felt when singing it. Especially with Graham wandering around the melody and stuttering through its notes like he's doing warm up exercises. But in the seven years since I first had that thought I've listened to Folk Roots, New Routes a couple hundred times, tattooed lyrics from one of the songs over my heart, and been reminded by a dozen unrelated events that reverence can take many forms and that it's completely appropriate for each generation to define what this means.

Which brings me to Suzanne Collins' 1,000,000+ selling book Mockingjay. Which I read in 9 hours, broken up just long enough to cry a half-dozen times. But this already went longer than I intended, so expect a part 2 in a few days.

2011-02-18T10:26:00.002-05:00

Big Al...

Clinical Piss...

Arp...

R.A.A.L...

RECOGNIZE LUV

2011-02-14T11:22:00.001-05:00

Happy Valentines Day. Love is still denied...

LTD. FORM RECORD RELEASE PARTY

2011-02-01T15:05:00.002-05:00

Silk Flowers
Soft Circle
Mazing Vids
Images
Mudboy

Friday, February 4th
8pm at Shea Stadium

FROZEN MOMENTS NITE JEWEL REMIX

2011-01-14T18:30:00.001-05:00

by silkflowers

we're saying goodbye we're waving our hands

2011-01-14T12:48:00.001-05:00

R.I.P. Trish Keenan

Eyebrows + Beards

2011-01-10T15:10:00.013-05:00

Last month I paid $100 for the opportunity to watch NBA games live on the computer for the rest of the regular season. I got the less expensive "Choice" membership, so I don't get to watch every game, just games where the seven teams I chose play. At first I thought it would be cool if it worked like itunes, where only the seven teams I picked got paid, but then one of my teams is the L.A. Clippers and I would be ashamed if I gave any money to Donald Sterling. Anyway, watching 10-15 games a week (they let you watch the old ones whenever you want) has given me a lot of time to consider the various physical choices that players make these days. Tattoos are pretty hard to see in the rush of the game, and surprisingly poorly documented on the internet (can anyone tell me what the backwards text on Wilson Chandler's left shoulder reads?). But you get a lot of time to consider facial hair and grooming. I've started to shape my loyalties to these choices, which I understand is entirely inappropriate. Having yelled at the computer about this for the past several weeks I'm ready to reveal my rankings for the 2010-11 season:

Worst Eyebrows in the NBA

3. Jarrett Jack
I think my dislike of Jarrett Jack stems from his time on the Blazers when I lived in Portland. I could grow to like his eyebrows if he considered changing his mustache.

2. Carlos Boozer

I was totally ready to start backing the Bulls this year until they got Boozer from Utah. Now I hate Derrick Rose because of him.

1. Tony Parker

Just the worst. It doesn't help that he uses his eyebrows so expressively, as he does here in dialogue with a ref. The rumors about him coming to the Knicks last summer gave me nightmares!

Best Beards in the NBA

3. Dorell Wright

Viewed head on, there's not much special about this one. But from the side? Magic! The transition to his fade is really smart, and the sharpest I've seen. Baron Davis ran this for awhile but his headband covered it, making a brilliant decision pointless.

2. James Hardin

The Thunder are pretty much the easiest team in the NBA to like. Throughout high school, Seattle was my #1 team, I wore a green Sonics hat to school every day that probably clashed with all of my clothes. When they relocated to Oklahoma City, I vowed to hate them forever. Watching them play these days, even when I pick at that scab by watching videos of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton lament that there's no longer a stadium to hang their jerseys in, I can't help but love them. Russell Westbrook gets most of the credit, but Harden's pioneer beard gets the rest of it. Extra credit for always having a tight haircut. Contrast!

1. Ronny Turiaf

Objectively, a great beard, but gets the most points for being such an excellent expression of Turiaf's personality. Unquestionably the best celebrator in the league, and a very funny weirdo. I have to say this screengrab doesn't really do it much justice, but you should check out the video it came from, he really lets you see every angle.

Snow day

2010-12-28T12:40:00.010-05:00

The highlight of yesterday was staring out the windows at the desolate icy streets of New York. I don't know how the city was so unprepared for the snowstorm, and maybe other neighborhoods were better cleared, but there was so much snow downtown that it looked like Omega Man. Cars and roads and sidewalks were buried, leaving no way for people to get around. Occasional brave souls stumbled and slid, following the rough tracks left by a rare delivery truck, but for the most part you could pretend it was after the end of the world. It got me thinking about the way that an expanse of snow can make the landscape feel so much more desolate, the vastness that ice creates. I'm pretty sure that people who work in the arctic can go crazy from the unbroken horizon the same way that sailors do.

This desolation has been used to great effect by filmmakers. The suburban loneliness in Let The Right One In definitely benefits from its snowy setting, the same way that the Hoth scenes in Empire Strikes Back let you know how far the rebels will go to hide out. Pretty much the only good thing about Quintet is the setting, with the limitless winter telling a much better story than the script. Below are four snow day picks with enough storms and snow to convince you there's no one left on earth.

1. The Last Winter

This movie rules! Starring both underdog quarterback Matt Saracen and Tami Taylor (coach's wife) from Friday Night Lights, it tells the story of an Alaskan drilling operation that is quickly unraveling due to bad weather, damaged psyches, and something much worse! Their arctic isolation is inescapable, and its hostility nicely mirrors the tangible danger surrounding them. Will scare you without grossout.

2. The Thaw

But if you want grossout... The Thaw is one of those "Ghost House Underground" DVDs that I think make most people skeptical. Low-budget horror is dangerous territory. The Thaw has the added gray area of Val Kilmer, who stars as a scientist doing research in the unforgiving north. The melting ice caps reveal a wealth of specimens, one of which could turn the tide of humanity, leaving Kilmer with a difficult decision. Better than expected, and blood looks really good on snow.

3. Eight Below

Tearjerker! Eight sled dogs are abandoned at an Alaskan fort after an emergency evacuation. It's too dangerous for their human friends to return and rescue them until after the winter, so the dogs much survive the cold and ice for 5 months on their own. After the first few minutes there aren't any people in it at all, just the dogs fighting killer whales and eating reindeer and stuff. Insanely dramatic, a good one to watch on your own. If it meant the world would be like this forever, I'd be totally okay with a new ice age.

4. The Thing

No movie takes better advantage of a winter setting to build fear than The Thing. John Carpenter's study of the claustrophobia of hiding indoors vs. the vulnerability of the snowy wilderness is so powerful the alien is almost incidental. But then the alien rules too and it's like a WIN WIN WIN scenario. I love the story that this movie came out a week after E.T., providing the most ghastly, brutal counterpoint to a family favorite. The best!

2010 ECLIPSE WITH BONUS FEATURE.

2010-12-21T13:56:00.000-05:00

I woke up in the middle of the night to catch a glimpse of this. The solstice made the moon appear red. Wow, space...

DON VAN VLIET

2010-12-20T12:18:00.000-05:00

When I was in the 5th grade my interest in heavy metal was starting to wane. I began listening to classic rock radio and soon found a record store in the neighboring town that carried vinyl. Around that time I visited my aunt who lived in Queens. One evening while flipping through the channels on her tv, I settled on watching an old episode of Saturday Night Live featuring musical guest Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. The next few minutes would have a lasting impact on me and the way I thought about music. After that weekend I returned to the record store to ask if they had heard of this man and his band. I ended up buying a copy of Trout Mask Replica and like most people, forced myself to believe I liked this music. Later, in my late teens I bought a copy of Safe As Milk and it took months or maybe a year until it went out of regular rotation.

SMALL FORTUNE: PETER'S HOUSE MUSIC REMIX

2010-12-15T23:15:00.002-05:00

Peter made a phreshhh remix of Small Fortune. The original will be on our new record.

SmallFortune PHMremix by silkflowers

SANTA'S MAIL BAG

2010-12-05T20:54:00.003-05:00

Richard Dawkins reads his holiday mail.

1990, again

2010-12-03T10:59:00.004-05:00

In 1990, a lawyer sued the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), claiming that a $15,000 grant given to the artist David Wojnarowicz for the exhibition "Tongues of Flame" displayed "open and notorious hostility toward religion." Much of the work in the exhibition demonstrated outrage at the silence of the government and religious right and their inaction regarding the AIDS crisis. I don't want to get into "the open and notorious hostility" toward victims of AIDS or gay people in general, in particular during the first decade of the crisis, but I do think it's worth remembering that in 1990 it was illegal for HIV positive people to travel to the US, Reagan was advising mandatory HIV testing and quarantine, and nearly half the American population believed that "AIDS might be God's punishment for immoral sexual behavior."
In the past 20 years, it's important to note that a lot of progress has been made regarding HIV/AIDS (for example, as of 2007, only a quarter of the American population believes that AIDS is God's punishment), so it's a bitter surprise to hear that David Wojnarowicz's video "Fire in My Belly" (1987) has been pulled from the current exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian in Washington D.C. The reason? The Catholic League has complained that the video was "designed to insult and inflict injury and assault the sensibilities of Christians."
Blake Golpnik wrote an excellent summary and response to this action for the Washington Post. I haven't yet seen any organized response to the censorship, although I have written an email to the National Portrait Gallery Director Martin Sullivan. As of 2009, an estimated 35 million people are living with HIV, and nearly a quarter of HIV/AIDS care is provided by Catholic ministries. A lot of progress has been made since Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell's hate mongering (at least with regards to AIDS)--hopefully this bullying is a misstep, rather than a indicator of things to come.

PS Former Ghosts was amazing last night!

2010-11-23T01:10:00.002-05:00

New single, Band of Color, off our new record on PPM, Ltd. Form. Out February 8th.

THE COURSE OF EMPIRE

2010-11-22T00:05:00.002-05:00

GUILTY PLEASURES: WE'VE ALL GOT 'EM

2010-11-09T11:48:00.001-05:00

JUDGE- Like You

I think I'd have to consult NASA to get an accurate idea of how many times I listened to this song in my adolescents. The thing I find most appealing about it is that, unlike most other straight edge hardcore songs, there's not a lot of blame here. He's seeing something he dislikes in himself in someone else. That's pretty honest. Especially in their world.

Judge is an interesting band to me because they were older and came around after the hey day of New York hardcore. Mike Judge (the singer) was playing in bands during the early 80's and this band didn't really fully form until 1989ish. Plus, you just don't see a lot of guys with beards and dew rags in that scene in general. He was trying to do something more personal and emotive but, they split up when their shows became so violent that they felt their audience was really missing the point.

Fun Fact: Mike Judge was from a neighboring town where I grew up in NJ. He worked at this arcade that was converted from a church (there's a cemetery across the street) where kids from school used to have their birthday parties!

GREAT WHITE NORTH

2010-10-18T00:19:00.000-04:00

CANADIAN WEEKEND

10/21/10 North Hampton, MA Elevens

10/22/10 Montreal, QC Interstice

10/23/10 Toronto, ON Shop Under Parts & Labor

10/24/10 Hamtramck, MI 7 Brothers

Silk Flowers remix "Rosary" by Dream Boat

2010-10-04T13:03:00.001-04:00

We recently remixed the song "Rosary" by Providence, Rhode Island's Dream Boat. The original appears on the LP "Visions", just released by the Prague homies, AMDISCS. The remix you can hear below:

Dream Boat - 11 Rosary (Silk Flowers Remix) - Visions - 2010 (AMDD023) by AMDISCS

WIERD WEDNESDAY

2010-09-28T19:45:00.000-04:00

September 29th, 11:30 pm. Wierd night at Home Sweet Home. 131 Chrystie Street.

PETS NEED JOBS

2010-09-13T07:15:00.000-04:00

Times are tough. And I don't think it would be too much to ask of our pets to contribute a little more to the house hold. There are plaenty of careers out there for those dogs and cat's willing to work.

2010-08-26T19:35:00.001-04:00

Our 100th show

2010-08-25T15:33:00.001-04:00

MNDR and SILK FLOWERS at MERCURY LOUNGE
seriously an early show so get there by 7pm! Home before dark!

CONSTRUCTION TIME AGAIN

2010-08-24T15:30:00.000-04:00

Back to work on the new LP with the help of Amanda and Emmett.

Supporting cast:

Oberheim Xpander and Tron notebook.

Dave Smith Voyager.

Yamaha 246 XY keyboard.

When asked for production references, I said I'd like it to sound like Sly and Robbie backing Emmanuel Lewis.

So expressive...

Room with a view.

Here's a preview:

Emmett's hard work started to take it's toll. Time for a break!

SFSGS SUBMISSION

2010-08-20T20:51:00.000-04:00

This photo was submitted by our good friend from Belfast, Neil Brogan. It is an abstract interpretation of the society's initials. Neil plays in a band called Girls Names alongside our other mate Cathel. If you are interested in submitting sea glass finds, email ramtownusa@gmail.com.

SFSGS: THE SHORES OF THE EMERALD COAST

2010-08-17T14:01:00.000-04:00

PASS! THE! ROCK!

2010-08-17T13:14:00.000-04:00

Question: How do you pass the time between arriving to a show and the time doors open?

Answer: PASS! THE! ROCK!

First, find a rock. The flatter the better.

Next, place the rock on top of your foot and pass it to the person next to you without using yours hands or letting it fall on the ground.

Like so.

SUCCESS!

IRELAND: NORTH & SOUTH

2010-08-12T20:19:00.000-04:00

DUBLIN

After the show we went to a bar that had the original sign from Thin Lizzy's live show...

...and watched this man eat his drinking glass!

BELFAST

Patrick Kelleher kicks off the last show ever at The Menagerie.

LATE NIGHT

On the way home I noticed this John Maus graffiti. Pretty strange...

THE MORNING AFTER

UNITED KINGDOM

2010-08-09T12:42:00.000-04:00

LONDON

Upset The Rhythm TV #3: Silk Flowers from Charles Chintzer Lai on Vimeo.

MANCHESTER

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

BARCELONA

2010-08-06T13:12:00.000-04:00

Fuck Prop 8 in the Face

2010-08-04T17:49:00.000-04:00

Great news today from California:

CONCLUSION

Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. Because California has no interest in discriminating against gay men and lesbians, and because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis,the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.

REMEDIES

Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates their due process and equal protection rights and that they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8. California is able to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it has already issued 18,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples and has not suffered any demonstrated harm as a result, see FF 64-66; moreover, California officials have chosen not to defend Proposition 8 in these proceedings.

Because Proposition 8 is unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, the court orders entry of judgment permanently enjoining its enforcement; prohibiting the official defendants from applying or enforcing Proposition 8 and directing the official defendants that all persons under their control or supervision shall not apply or enforce Proposition 8. The clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment without bond in favor of plaintiffs and plaintiff-intervenors and against defendants anddefendant-intervenors pursuant to FRCP 58.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

MILANO

2010-08-03T12:48:00.000-04:00

Intelligent Life: Not likely...

Having a satellite dish is now as old fashioned as hanging your laundry to dry.

PRAGUE (not exactly but, somewhere outside)

2010-07-30T10:00:00.000-04:00

BERLIN

2010-07-28T16:31:00.000-04:00

This used to be a train station.

People in Berlin are religious about dance music.

The following day we went to see a Bruce Nauman retrospective. When I was 13 I saw a retrospective of his at the MOMA. It had a massive impact on me.

2010-07-13T11:04:00.000-04:00

Europe

2010-07-12T15:42:00.000-04:00

Friday, 16 July:
Berlin, Germany at Bang Bang Club with Ben Butler & Mousepad
Saturday, 17 July:
Kutna Hora, Czech Republic at Creepy Teepee Festival
Sunday, 18 July:
Milan, Italy at Ligera with DJ sets by Black Radio and Modz Wayne
Monday, 19 July:
Barcelona, Spain at Heliogabal with Espanya
Tuesday, 20 July:
London, England at CAMP Basement with Tearist and Gentle Friendly
Wednesday, 21 July:
Manchester, England at Deaf Institute with Waiters and No Womb
Thursday, 22 July:
Glasgow, Scotland at 13th Note with Waiters, Tangles, and No Womb
Friday, 23 July:
Dublin, Ireland at Block T with Twinkranes
Saturday, 24 July:
Belfast, Northern Ireland at The Menagerie with Patrick Kelleher

HEATWAVE

2010-07-10T10:22:00.000-04:00

Progress report

2010-06-03T14:07:00.001-04:00

Last month we began recording our 2nd LP, with the help of Amanda Warner and Emmett Farley. Amanda (AKA MNDR) just posted some images from our tracking sessions, you can check them out on her BLOG

Corpsekisser "Cry Laughing"

2010-05-25T14:53:00.000-04:00

(photo via Shayla Hason)

The first time the three members of Silk Flowers interacted musically was August 10, 2006 in Portland Oregon, when No Age, Soiled Mattress & the Springs, Burrito Pillow, and Corpsekisser played together at Foodhole. Peter and Aviram were in Soiled Mattress, along with eternal genius Matthew Thurber, and Corpsekisser was/is Heather and I.

I am very excited to announce that Fred Thomas' Life Like Records has just released the Corpsekisser LP. Fred also just posted a really sweet and I think accurate description of the record:

Corpsekisser encapsulates the mindset of the troubled child that doesn't want to feel better. You can hear parts of the so sick you feel euphoric sounds of early 90's Siltbreeze while the male/female tandem vocals and too-hazy-to-be-brutal recording calls to mind "Twin Infinitives" era Trux.

The record is limited to 200 copies and comes with a very informative insert. Also here is a music video:

More information and ordering details HERE.

2010-05-15T13:12:00.000-04:00

Peter and I's old band mate Matthew Thurber just released a split cassette of our respective solo projects, Peter's House Music (Peter) and Dim Diamond (myself, Aviram). You can order one for yourself here.

MYSTERIES REVEALED IN TIME

2010-05-15T12:48:00.000-04:00

SATURDAY NIGHT

2010-05-12T17:29:00.001-04:00

Saturday, May 15th @ SILENT BARN

:: Eric Copeland
:::: Tarek Atoui
::::::: Silk Flowers
::::::::: Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe

This is our last show until July....

IN THE AIR TONIGHT

2010-05-09T20:55:00.000-04:00

Awhile ago I was thinking about getting a different drum machine. One of the ones I was interested in getting was those prefabricated pattern ones like the Rhythm Ace by Ace Tone or one of the CR models from Roland. Which has been used by everyone from John Foxx to Blondie to Phil Collins even. It led me to this video. Which made me think of how often this song has been used as comedic fodder. No doubt his demonstration has comedic value in it's own right. I think maybe two more toms could have been used in there. He's giving Neil Peart a run for his money.

Boy/Girl

2010-04-27T12:34:00.000-04:00

Last year when we played in Copenhagen we got to see Iceage and it was one of the best things I saw on that tour. I recently interviewed them for Maximum Rocknroll, it's in the new issue. Anyway, writing about this Danish band got me thinking about other Danish bands, my favorite of which is Sort Sol. I lost their second record, "Dagger and Guitar" a few years ago (actually I've lost two copies of that record in my life), so I spent some time on the internet trying to track down the songs so I could hear them again. During that process, I stumbled upon this music video for "Boy/Girl." It's perfect. Lydia Lunch is so amazing when she sounds bored, but Steen Jørgensen beats her at that game by chewing gum the whole time. It's like a boredom competition, like the part where Lunch tosses her hair and then Jørgensen tosses his hair. Also he looked a bit like Pieter Schoolwerth which made me happy.

This:

the rain is gone/the pain is gone

2010-04-20T10:51:00.000-04:00

I have an uneasy memory of getting in a fistfight with this kid at the soccer fields behind the middle school. We were both young so there weren't too many punches, but a lot of grappling and flailing. I remember knocking the kid's head against the nearby playground equipment, which seems really scary now. He pulled out a lot of my hair, a thing I didn't find out until the silent car ride home when it starting falling out in clumps, which I gathered together in awe of how much had come out.

The thing that taints the memory the most was that my dad witnessed the fight. It happened during my sister's soccer game, my opponent was an older brother of one of the other girls on her team (or the opposing team, I guess). My dad was the coach of my sister's team, so he couldn't break away from the game to stop us or express his dissatisfaction. But he was not proud of me, and that car ride home with the growing pile of hair was really a bad trip.

The next time I went to one of my sister's games I sat in the car for the duration. I'm not sure if I was in trouble, and not allowed to attend, or if I just was being petulant and wanted to sit in the car. Earlier that week I had seen the video for "Take it Personal" on BET and had managed to get the cassingle for the song, I think from my friend Wayne. I sat in the car for the hour or so of the game and just rewound the tape over and over listening to the song. I remember being really struck at the emotion in the song, I felt like Guru made himself really vulnerable. It felt very close in spirit to most of what I was listening to at that time--Rollins Band, Nine Inch Nails, Green Day--but had a much different effect. In a lot of ways, this relatability was what pulled me out of this first stage of abject, tortured angst, and got me listening to a lot less guitar-based heartsick laments.

Guru was sick for the last few months, and his coma got me talking to a few friends about how much or how little we've listened to Gang Starr in the past few years. The answer was mostly not much. But there's no denying how important Gang Starr was to my adolescent life, and wether or not I even hear his voice on a song like "Mass Appeal" I have to say it was his attitude that brought me to their music in the first place. Rest in Peace....

2010-04-15T18:01:00.001-04:00

PHILADELPHIA, PA

EAST HAMPTON, MA

PROVIDENCE, RI

Neighbors:

Rich Porter turns 40.

"What is the meaning of life?"

Later we crammed the squiggly tube into a tiny walk in closet along with about 17-20 people. Claustrophobic? You bet!

All just to surprise this man.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Tidal Wave cake.

Rave pants.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

2010-04-14T13:14:00.001-04:00

On the last day of our trip out west Peter and I took a ride to the desert with Jenna and Cali. We visited the Integratron, a new age sound dome built in the 50's by a man who claimed he had contact with aliens. Then, we headed to Palm Springs, a safe haven oasis for the geriatric and gay citizens of California.

Jenna made a little friend here. She's like a dog whisperer.

I think Peter went temporarily blind after trying these on.

Camouflage.

MALCOLM MCLAREN

2010-04-08T23:31:00.000-04:00

Somehow our little forum here has become an obits page for our dead teen idols. If a handful of Malcolm Mclaren's project's didn't exist, I would not be as interested in playing today.

where saxophones turn into hangliders

2010-04-07T17:36:00.000-04:00

the second best record I got on our weekend tour was the first Needles 7". The best record I got on our weekend tour was PIMANIA "The Music of Mel Croucher and Automata U.K. Ltd." released by our Easthampton hosts, Feeding Tube Records. PIMANIA was a text-based game that worked with the home video game system ZX Spectrum. Instead of floppy discs or cartridges, the ZX Spectrum ran off cassette tapes. The PIMANIA cassette had the game information on the A-side of the tape and a series of songs to accompany the game on the B-side. This LP collects these songs, all of which are insane. There are a lot of white British blues gestures, also a lot of toyish synths. The lyrics are not entirely appropriate and sung by a variety of amateur sounding voices. It is not the richest palette, but the songs are consistantly engaging and the weirdness unbalances it nicely. Also the record itself is really beautifully packaged, with a lot of additional information and artwork that contextualizes the game and the songs. Although I never knew about PIMANIA before (and until this morning when I did some research, I was fairly certain it was a hoax), I'm really glad this record exists.

Sunday

2010-04-02T13:24:00.001-04:00

2010-03-28T22:00:00.000-04:00

SILK FLOWERS/INFINITE BODY NORTH EAST SHOWS

3/31 Philadelphia, PA Space 1026

4/2 East Hampton, MA Feeding Tube Records

4/3 Providence, RI Building 16

4/4 Brooklyn, NY Death By Audio

Also, Silk Flowers is playing on 3/29 in Baltimore at Golden West Cafe with Male Bonding. And Infinite Body is playing In New York on 4/1 at the New Museum with Mick Barr.

Friday

2010-03-23T16:04:00.001-04:00

Friday March 26th at Public Assembly:

Coconuts (Record Release Party)
Endless Boogie
Silk Flowers
Amen Dunes

Alex Chilton RIP

2010-03-18T07:16:00.000-04:00

In 1974 when Big Star released their third record called 3rd, or as fans
refer to it, Sister Lovers, this song caused great

confusion and controversy.

The issue being: if you spell the word holocaust with a capitol H

are you referring to what happened during World War II or the song

by Big Star?

2010-03-11T22:37:00.002-05:00

I haven't played by myself in about 7 years. But, this sunday afternoon I will break my silence at the cake shop. Where else?!

2010-03-11T22:37:00.001-05:00

The Story of Moses and the Snake from Peter Schuette on Vimeo.

IRONY IS DEAD (NO PROBABLY NOT)

2010-03-11T07:01:00.000-05:00

No doubt it is sad when any human passes through their time on earth. But, I find it rather interesting in the case of celebrities since, they come to represent so much of our culture at large. Their passing more or less symbolizes something more. Cory Haim had been almost completely cemented in the late 80's. About two decades ago now. Where does someone like that find their place in our culture today? Only a few of his contemporaries have managed to transcend that time into now.

In 1987 the release of The Lost Boys managed to completely eclipse Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow's own teen vampire film). In addition to her Oscar wins, perhaps she's finally gotten her revenge. Maybe Cory should've just gotten bitten, then he'd live forever...

Kathryn Bigelow

2010-03-10T14:58:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow for winning all the Academy Awards. Hopefully people will check out her earlier films, like Near Dark and The Loveless, and hopefully this means Wild Palms will go back into print on DVD finally. Here are some reviews courtesy of dear heart Jamal Duval and ANP Quarterly:

Mix

2010-03-05T10:52:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone

the team at No Conclusion just posted our new mix and you can download it HERE

Bonus track: they also posted Peter's recent collaboration with Psychobuildings, check it out

Thursday

2010-03-02T18:44:00.001-05:00

SILK FLOWERS
PRINCE RAMA
BLISSED OUT
TOTAL SLACKER

Thursday March 4, 8PM
at Market Hotel
Brooklyn New York
All Ages

PETER'S HOUSE MUSIC TAPE OUT NOW!

2010-03-01T20:46:00.000-05:00

Get it here.

1-800-MICE IV OUT NOW!

2010-02-28T21:58:00.001-05:00

SFSGS: BIG ADVENTURES IN BIG SUR.

2010-02-23T15:31:00.000-05:00

PACIFIC BEACH, SAN FRANSISCO, CA

The sea was angry that day.

BIG SUR: THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT.

Off we went through the rough terrain in search of sea glass.

Mermaids tears down below.

We had to cross some dangerous waters.

Is that Hamlet holding Yorick's skull?!... no, It's just Peter with a rock.

DAY II: PFIFER BEACH

I like to think of this photo in terms of a chocolate covered pretzel. Where the sweet water of the river meets the salt water of the ocean.

The sea was angry that day too.

This is a nice example of wind/water erosion.

Madonna Inn

SEATTLE, WA

2010-02-18T11:23:00.001-05:00

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIESSSSS...

PORTLAND, OR

2010-02-15T10:37:00.000-05:00

Someone REALLY hates lot lizards but, apparently loves dachshunds. Everyone's gotta make a living, ya know...

SAN FRANCISCO AND BEYOND...

2010-02-12T16:31:00.000-05:00

Caravans: an unlikely controversy.

We left that night to start our drive to Portland... 7 hours later...

These majestic landscapes were accompanied by John Joseph reading "Evolution Of A Cromagnon". Highly recommended.

"Why are there so many songs about rainbows?..."

LOS ANGELEEEZZZ

2010-02-09T19:21:00.000-05:00

To kick off our tour, Ethan and I went to see Martial Canterel at Wierd the night (morning) we left.

Only a few hours later we were pumping iron on Venice Beach.

The Original car wash from the movie!

Part Time Punks radio show.

TREASURES OF THE KXLU ARCHIVE:

Later on at The Smell:

If you ever see these people in an alley way run towards them, not away.

1-800-HOT-MALE

Tearist, tearing it up.

Bronze playing to a packed house.

Carve out the face of my god.

TAYLOHRRRR...

Jimmy Dean: America's favorite breakfast sausage.

This is the last thing we saw before heading to San Francisco. I'll take it as a good sign.

SUNDAY NIGHT

2010-01-26T19:36:00.000-05:00

SATURDAY NIGHT

2010-01-26T19:31:00.000-05:00

FRIDAY NIGHT

2010-01-26T19:03:00.001-05:00

THURSDAY NIGHT

2010-01-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

Revisit childhood indeed! Flyer by Michael "Cali" Dewitt.

2010-01-25T17:35:00.000-05:00

THIS WEEK: WEST COAST TOUR WITH BRONZE

1/28 LA

The Smell w/ Tearist, Bronze, and Abe Vigoda

1/29 SF

Amnesia w/ Tearist, Bronze

1/30 Portland

The Wail w/ Pete Swanson, Silver Interior, and Bronze

1/31 Seattle

The Black Lodge w/ Flexions, Bronze

2010-01-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

We've compiled all of the flyers from our first year into a zine. And It comes with a cassette of a live set and a medley of unreleased demos. Edition of 100. If you would like a copy, paypal $12 US $15 outside US to ramtownusa@gmail.com.

"Silk Flowers began in Autumn, 2008, bringing togeter Peter and Aviram of Soiled Mattress and the Springs and Ethan of Car Clutch. During their first year, the band released 2 7"s, an LP on Post Present Medium, a 12" EP on Captured Tracks, and played over 50 shows. For many of these shows, in collaboration with designer Jamil Azim, Aviram created posters; colorful, spooky, unique posters. This full color, 8 1/2" x 11" zine presents the first year of these posters, each reproduced on its own page. In addition, the zine includes an original, 11" x 17" poster from Silk Flowers west coast tour. The accompanying cassette presents exclusive recordings from this first year. The A side presents the full recording of Silk Flowers record release show, from July 2009, recorded professionally by Dan Hewitt. The B side is a 22 minute motorik collage, carefully culled from the bands massive library of practice space recordings. Edited together into a seamless whole, these snippets are transformed from nascent song ideas to a cohesive, hypnotic whole. Edition of 100." -Fusetron

Kate McGarrigle R.I.P.

2010-01-19T14:04:00.000-05:00

This is maybe the first music I remember hearing in my life, along with Simon & Garfunkel I guess. I think this song is so beautifully sad I've never been able to listen to it in my life without crying, but today it has a different weight.

FRIDAY

2010-01-14T09:19:00.000-05:00

Break My Stride Part II

2010-01-10T08:54:00.000-05:00

"There is something proud and exalted about him, but also something incomprehensible and almost inhuman. Why in the world do all thee people, copyists and calculators, indeed even girls in the bloom of youth, go through the selfsame entryway into the selfsame building just in order to scribble away, try out pens, calculate and wave their arms about, study and blow their noses, sharpen pencils and carry papers about in their hands? Do they do so out of pleasure or under duress, and are they conscious of performing some sensible fruitful activity?"

-Robert Walser, The Tanners p. 65

Ante Up

2010-01-04T12:02:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Did you look at all the top ten lists of the decade? Did M.O.P.'s "Ante Up" win every single one? I hope so. To prove the eternal relevance of that song, please watch the following two videos that I was encouraged to watch in the last couple days, the first on December 31st and the second on January 1st. Thank you Fred, thank you Nate....

2009-12-26T22:06:00.000-05:00

GUILTY PLEASURES: WE'VE ALL GOT 'EM

2009-12-15T22:08:00.000-05:00

This week I was served a harsh dose of reality that millions of others face each day: working at a soul crushing job. I was reminded of the daily fear and anxiety of younger days that I have since shed. When reason and logic become a rare commodity, it is then that we find it wherever we can. When I heard this on the radio on my way to work, I felt it so strongly, I knew everything was gonna be OK... Admittedly, watching this clip made me feel even more guilty about this song.

New Demo

2009-12-15T17:20:00.000-05:00

"In Your Memory"

2009-12-09T11:50:00.000-05:00

Visual genius Tara Sinn made a video for the song "In Your Memory" from our new EP. You can watch it now courtesy of The FADER. Also you can download the song from the friends at Impose.

Emerson's Best of 2009

2009-12-07T14:02:00.000-05:00

It's time that everyone posts their year-end best of lists. Summer of 2009 was the first year that Emerson lived with air conditioning, and it made a huge difference in his habits. Without the sluggish months of suffering heat, he had a lot more time to cruise around the house and check things out.

This led to his LP resurgence of 2009:

After 12 months of sorting through the records, these are his top picks for 2009:

1-A.L. Lloyd, Anne Briggs and Frankie Armstrong - The Bird in the Bush

2-Eyehategod - In the Name of Suffering

3-Burial - Untrue

4-The Outsiders - C.Q.

5-H.G. Wells - War of the Worlds (honorable mention)

More best of lists coming soon!