THE HUMAN STROBE

One of my Cardiff friends is in town (that would be LeeG), so last night I invited him and his lovely girlfriend to join me and some friends at the Living Room on Ludlow for a free acoustic performance by Vince from Army of Me. Said group of friends (that would be Vince, Josh, Junior and DWall) went out for some crazy pizza afterwards and discussed the finer points of um... religion and remixes? Anyway. This morning DWall and I had the following conversation. Which I find worthy of blogging purely because I'm bored of counting down the days to my LA vacation.

DWall: you know what we didn't discuss last night?
Me: do tell
DWall: how fucking good was this past season of Law & Order?
Me: oh man i missed it all!
DWall: for real? the new cast is so good
Me: ive been really bad about tv. i just watch sports and a few select reality shows.
DWall: just the high brow shit. got it.
Me: hahahaha. ive caught a couple of episodes when theyre repeated but i wasnt particularly impressed with the cast. i miss the gritty new york steeze.
DWall: i like the two new detectives. i miss McCoy as the ADA, but - i think the writing and story lines are good again. whereas SVU has turned into "Law & Order: Retards on Patrol"
Me: hahahhaha
DWall: it really puts the special in special victims unit
Me: i miss the old detectives. and frankly i miss the crap film quality. i liked l&o as a new york show. gritty. ugly. etc. its too sleek now.
DWall: i hear you on the grit. i think SVU and CSI forced their hand in terms of the production value.
Me: yeah but i dont think that was a competition worth fighting. let them be the flashy ones.
DWall: and I think NY is also not as gritty as it was when the show was in it's first few seasons
Me: i know. but isnt tv for escapism? it was a better show when it felt dangerous and skeevy. and all the people had craggy faces and were not hot
DWall: i love watching them pre-cell phone. where they're always stopping to make calls on pay phones
Me: yeah! exactly! pre cell phone. and all the small characters looked wonky. now every criminal is hot.
DWall: or benjamin bratt whipping out his American Psycho cell phone
Me: hahahahahah
DWall: to the dismay of Briscoe
Me: man, briscoe really didnt know what to make of damn kids and their devices
DWall: or damn kids and their anything
Me: hahahhahahaha
DWall: he was always too busy reminiscing about betting on the ponies and drowning his sorrows in a fifth of Old Granddad
Me: HAHAHAHAHAHA. wasnt vodka his thing though? didnt he have vodka on the rocks the night bad hair died?
DWall: yeah. definitely a smirnoff man. but don't you ever speak ill of Jill Hennesey. just cos she stole her hair from jackie o's grave. not her fault.
Me: i loved her. but that HAIR. speaking of hair.... http://10.media.tumblr.com/dDbZF4lJrp4klxgi5atUoKMso1_500.jpg


Man, I love Law & Order. Bringing nerds together for nearly 20 years.

I DON'T LIKE IT IF IT DON'T GLEAM CLEAN

It's been a rare thing having new music to get excited about. Obviously I've gone on at (not-too-much) length about the Horrors and White Rabbits and Art Brut... not to mention my fully unbiased appreciation for that Ladyhawke record and the debut from Hatcham Social. And now this. I've been waiting for the green light to share this with everyone. And today I got it. Behold...

The newest offering from my boy Ian's L'Amour La Morgue project.

It's a remix of the song "Black Magic" by the Magic Wands, and, as the band themselves have said, should be the next James Bond theme song.

(Which was the perfect thing for them to say really, considering my hopes to see Duran Duran in Vegas next month).

(For those of you who don't know, Duran Duran is responsible for one of the best Bond themes of all time - "A View to a Kill").

(And Ian may as well be James Bond).

HERE INSIDE I LIKE METAL


I have been wearing the fuck out of my "Sleep Now in the Fire" playlist. I originally put it together as a going-to-sleep aid (hence the name), but eventually, it became the soundtrack to my October stint of London living. And now, coming off the high of NIN/JA mania, it's pretty much all I can listen to (though, I will say, it doesn't sound quite as perfect as it did on those hungover autumn days, despite the fact that current NY weather is doing its best to mimic the UK mood). It's basically With Teeth abbreviated and amplified:

"Dawn of the Dead" - Does It Offend You, Yeah?
"Sunspots" - NIN
"Love is Not Enough" - NIN
"All the Love in the World" - NIN
"Beside You in Time" - NIN
"Right Where it Belongs" - NIN
"The Four of Us are Dying" - NIN
"Cry Little Sister" - Gerard McMann
"No Shelter" - RATM
"Sleep Now in the Fire" - RATM
"Testify" - RATM
"Guerrilla Radio" - RATM
"Calm like a Bomb" - RATM

I can't stress enough how much I love With Teeth. I think I made the Rubins nuts over the weekend, threatening to kick some Trent ass each time Ilan unveiled the setlist. The two shows that I saw included one song off the album - "The Hand that Feeds," which, while awesome, is hardly my favorite. Of course, T. Rez decides to throw in "Right Where it Belongs," aka my RINGTONE (oh man, I'm a nerd), last night, when I was slipping in and out of consciousness in my living room. (No really, I was like, sleep texting - Aaron IMed "guess what song they're playing right now" and my response was... "where?" Ovv).

The shows were absolutely amazing anyway - I always knew Ilan was an incredible drummer having seen him with the 'Prophets all those times, but watching him play shit like "Wish" and "March of the Pigs" took it to a whole other level. I was in awe. Other things that had me in awe: sitting next to Debbie Harry and Chris Stein in catering at PNC and standing onstage behind Daisy of Love at Jones Beach. I am ashamed that those two experiences are in the same category.

Anyway, after the excitement of last week (five nights of Art Brut followed by these two NIN/JA gigs), this week feels like a bust. I'm tired. I'm bored.

Speaking to me right now... words of wisdom from Jane's (pictured above):

I chip away
'Cause I'm not ok
So I
I chip away
Poked a hole right into myself
And inside I found someone
Who said I was ok
Still I don't feel easy

As an addendum:

Wow, look at the difference 15 years makes:





The power is most definitely still there... its just the danger thats gone.

And for one last fuck in hell:

A DARK BLACK PAST IS MY MOST VALUED POSSESSION


(photo above by my buddy Guy Eppel)

So far so good. Have managed to get through two of the five Art Brut nights without falling over and without being late to work. I think we've collectively matured to the point where I can announce an early exit (early being say... 2 am), and the guys are quick to follow (not literally). Maybe we relish being able to greet each other each night without the cloud of hangover that used to permeate our friendships. Maybe it's just that vice is expensive (fucking hell, who knew drinks were so expensive at Mercury Lounge! Or anywhere else for that matter! Plus Jasper informed me that the cigarettes he bought last night set him back 11 bones! And I thought my xanax fund was exorbitant... jeez...). Whatever the case, I think we've set a good pace and I'm actually not dreading the rest of this week the way I thought I would.

Team Rubin, aka Aaron and Ilan, arrive in NYC tomorrow which kicks off the NIN weekend of joy. Cannot fuckin' wait. Apart from the fact that it's been nearly a year since Ilan and I have shared a backstage debate (or ten), extra bonus hilarity points for my plus one on Sunday - an old buddy from high school. Nothing says "reunion success" like trying to integrate one's childhood with a life side-o-stage.

L'Amour La Morgue is getting better all the time. Ian's version of "Death" by White Lies is getting an official release at the end of the month which I'm not even remotely surprised by considering I wept with joy upon first hearing it. As much as I want to kick his ass a lot, I am so fuckin proud of him.

And finally (for now), I don't know if Kim and Davo read this anymore, but if they can take a break from celebrating their feckin amazing news of joy, I beseech them to rally their London friends (and anyone else that may happen upon this blog whilst in London) to attend this gig:


Chief is beautiful. Both musically and facially. And while I'll probably be flogged for mentioning this, every time I've gone to see them in New York an Olsen twin has been in attendance. So you never know who may turn up in Kilburn. Could be... like... I dunno, Posh Spice?