New Obsession #2: the Long Blondes

As seems to be the case more and more these days, I was a bit late to the Long Blondes' party. By the time I stumbled upon them, thanks to a Pandora-fueled whim, they had already called it quits, with members moving on to other projects. Regardless, the two LPs they produced in their time are pretty stellar; the first one, Someone to Drive You Home, has been in near-exclusive rotation in my car for weeks now. The follow-up, Couples, is pretty great, too -- but it took a little while to grow on me.

New Obsession #1: the Blue Hearts

This past weekend, I watched the film Linda Linda Linda -- a wonderful, pretty recent Japanese film about a group of high school girls who decide to start a band, to perform at their school's summer festival. Since their former band is no longer, and they don't have time to write any original material, the girls decide that their band will perform covers of another Japanese band: the Blue Hearts.
There's a bit more to it than that (reconciling friendships, overcoming language/communication problems with music [the singer of the girls' band being a recently transplanted Korean], etc.), but that's a different entry all together. For now, let's focus on the music...

As mentioned, the girls' band is a Blue Hearts cover band, which means that the music of the Blue Hearts is present throughout -- from the title of the movie (referencing the ubiquitous single, "Linda Linda), to the finale of the girls' performance. I found the music to be interesting and catchy and fun, so I dug a bit into the story of the Blue Hearts (not to mention, dug around bit torrent and ended up with a wealth of material that would probably cost me around $40/disc to wrangle up physically).

Seen as the Japanese equivalents to the Ramones, the Clash, and the Sex Pistols, the Blue Hearts were pretty notorious in their day, and their legacy seems to remain a notorious one. Spitting into the camera during a televised performance (and subsequently getting banned from television for a year), using the taboo/unutterable word for "insane," being a full-formed independent rock band thriving amidst a pop-idol-centric Japanese music industry. They were one of a kind, it seems.

on the horizon

The 2010 PDX Pop Now! festival is happening this weekend -- a free, all-ages, three-day gathering of a myriad of Portland bands, all at Rotture, alternating between the inside stage and an outside stage.

This year's line-up is kind of insane...sooooooo many great acts. For free!
If nothing else, be sure to catch Tu Fawning on Friday, the Joggers (!!!) on Saturday, and Atriarch on Sunday. There are plenty more bands worth your time and attention, but those three are my sure-fire recommendations.

And while I don't support the all-ages scene as much as I should, supporting the scene is something I am very passionate about. There are kids who need it. I was one of those kids at one time. So come out, support the all-ages scene. (For some reason, it really struggles in Portland.)

But more importantly, come out and support the bands. Portland is creating some amazing music right now, and this is a great chance to hear it for free.

...

I just won an Ebay auction for a Polaroid One-Step 600 camera with a few packs of film.
And now, I want to have a really sleazy, (black-bars-over-the-eyes style) Motel Room photo shoot. But doubt I could find anyone willing to be the model.

FELS Portland

Some friends of mine are down from Seattle this weekend, and with them also came their weekly Friday Evening Libations Society. They've been doing this for months now in Seattle, but I believe this is the first time it's made it down to PDX.
Eight or nine of us took over the barstools at Thatch Tiki Bar on NE Broadway, partaking in some wonderful rum drinks ($5 Mai Tais during Happy Hour) and amusing the bar staff. A wonderful time with wonderful people at a pretty great place -- I hope to make it back to Thatch soon, and can hopefully make it to the next FELS Portland stop.




image courtesy of Stephen B.

Disappear here

My interview with Bret Easton Ellis has been posted on the Powell's website.

IMG_1556

IMG_1556, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Another one from the vaults.

Portland self orbit

Portland self orbit, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

One from the vaults; taken at the now defunct Club Portland.




This is one of my favorite self portraits.