2 posts tagged “x”

Listening
Since I bought my Coachella tickets, I've been listening non-stop to many of the artists who will be performing at Coachella. This week I realized I had enough of all those artists -- at least, for now. I now have a better idea of whom I want to see, as well as whom I can skip, at Coachella. Holy Fuck is definitely my must-see band of Coachella 2008.

And now back to your regular listening!

Last fall I made a conscious decision to stop listening to old music and pay more attention to new music and new artists. Some new music I really like now is:

1. Falling Off the Lavender Bridge - Lightspeed Champion
Lightspeed Champion is ex-Test Icicle Devonte Hynes. He's best summed up as a quirky, pop singer. His lyrics and song titles reflect a sense of humor (e.g., "Everyone I Know Is Listening to Crunk," "I Could Have Done This Myself").  It's refreshingly different.

2. Oh, This Old Thing? - Sleeping in the Aviary
I'm a huge fan of garage punk. Always have been, always will be. This album was recommended to me.  I was digging it for a solid week before I investigated any details of the band. To my great surprise, I learned that they're from Madison!  They have a gig coming up at The Annex, which I'm going to try to make.

 

It figures that the year I decide to leave Wisconsin for New York City, Madison becomes the new breeding ground for great bands!

3. Get Awkward - Be Your Own Pet
BYOP is another punk band that I like. I love their raw energy and untamed spirit. I'm praying that they'll be added to the Coachella line-up.

Writing/Editing
I'm currently finishing up editing an accounting book. BIG YAWN! The worst part of it is editing the math, which I totally suck at. I'm counting on the author to double-check his own math. (Get it? "Counting...math." *slaps knee*) I told the author that I need my fingers free to do math. Joke, but no joke.

I created a new feature for my Beastie Boys blog, Mic to Mic. It's a tumblelog. What the heck is a tumblelog, you ask? The creator of the tumblelog, Tumblr.com, explains it:

To make a simple analogy: If blogs are journals, tumblelogs are scrapbooks.

You can also look at tumblelogs as slightly more structured blogs that make it easier, faster, and more fun to post and share stuff you find or create. Blogs are great, but they can be a lot of work. And they're really built to handle longer-form text posts. Tumblelogs, on the other hand, let you easily and quickly post and share anything you find or create.

It's nice because I have it set up as a button on the blog. I intend for it to be an excursion from the blog when not much is happening with the band. The blog focuses on the Beastie Boys now; the tumblelog (titled "Wall to Wall," which is the companion lyric to "Mic to Mic") is a collection of stuff, past and present.

I also created a personal tumblelog at bboysgirl.tumblr.com/. I haven't done much with it.
 
Finally, I created a Selfportrait.net page for myself recently. Selfportrait.net is an artist networking site. I intend to use it as an online portfolio of my work. I think it will be particularly useful when I move to NYC and start networking with writing peers.

I spent literally two minutes creating a profile, so look at someone else's page to get a good idea what the site is about. I can see a lot of my friends who blog and/or do photography digging the site. 

Although I'm reluctant to build YET ANOTHER networking page because it's another thing to manage and waste time on, I think it's important to experiment with what's out there. 

Reading
My favorite reading of late has been KnowTheMusicBiz.com. I discovered this site because John Doe (X), who I am a HUGE fan of, is now writing a column for the site, titled WWJDD? (What Would John Doe Do?). I will soon be seeing John and his bandmates in X on their 31st Anniversary Tour. They're playing the Barrymore Theatre in Madison on March 21. I'm going to the show with my sisters, who are also X fanatics, and my friend Krista, whom I took to a John Doe solo gig last year.

Watching
My sister loaned me her dvd set of the first season of "Veronica Mars." I had never seen the show before. I just finished watching the season one finale.  I quite enjoyed the series. I might look for the subsequent seasons on dvd -- although everyone I've talked to about the show has said season one was the best.

Consuming

The weekend before Valentine's Day, my sisters, Krista, and I went to the Valentine Craftacular at the High Noon Saloon. The Valentine Craftacular is a craft fair created by "alternative types" -- you know, girls with tattoos and lip rings -- so it was a lot of unique handcrafted art and clothing. I purchased four items.

1. A handmade skirt:

I wanted something to make me feel pretty again. Winter clothing has made me feel like a big blob.

2. A handmade purse:

Funky pattern. Had to have it.

3. A knitted cap:

I liked the texture, color, and ornament.

4. A bracelet:

I used to read Richard Scarry books to my son when he was little, which is why I was drawn to the bracelet. It makes me think of my beautiful baby boy.

Wishing
I'm wishing to get healthy again. I fell on the ice a few weeks ago and did something bad to my foot. I had x-rays done, but they couldn't see any breaks in the bone. I'm going to have a bone scan this week. My foot feels as though someone has dropped a bowling ball on it. Not good.

1. Attending the Beastie Boys concert in Las Vegas, Nevada, and having songs dedicated to me (October)
2. Introducing my Japanese friend Hirorin to Bono in Tokyo (December)
3. Attending the Gimme Shelter benefit concert in New York with Ruth (October)
4. Attending the U.S. premiere of "Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!" at the Sundance Film Festival with Barb (January)
5. Meeting and spending time with Celeste in Buenos Aires (October)
6. Attending the VH1 Hip Hop Honors in New York (October)
7. Touring with U2 in Japan (November & December)
8. Celebrating my 40th birthday in New York City with my friend Krista (May)
9. Attending the South by Southwest Music and Film Conference in Austin, Texas, and partying with Morningwood [the band] there (March)
10. Attending the Henry Rollins Band and X concert in Milwaukee (August)
11. Introducing my friend Jenny to the Beastie Boys at the etnies GvR skateboarding festival the day after her birthday (October)
12. Taking my friend Paul to his first strip club in Las Vegas (October)