Grumblings, Mumblings, and Musings

Drinking With Strangers: addendum

2011-11-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

Butch Walker -- "Cigarette Lighter Love Song"

When I try to explain exactly what this man's music means to me, I just want to show people this clip. This is from a show in 2003 at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse, between Walker's first and second albums. The place was packed with fans, and I was one of them. I will never forget this night as long as I live.
The energy is the place was amazing; and every time I listen to this version of the song (in addition to the DVD of the show, he released some of the audio from the show on a live compilation some years back) I get goosebumps whenever the audience swoops in and takes over the chorus that first time through.

Drinking With Strangers

2011-11-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

"If you've listened to FM radio any time in the last 15 years, you've probably heard a Butch Walker song -- though you probably didn't know it at the time. In 'Drinking With Strangers,' Walker recounts his days of being a Hair Metal nobody who became a Rock Star nobody who became a songwriter and producer working with Pink, Katy Perry, Tommy Lee, and some band named Weezer. Told with all of the candor, wit, and humor one would expect from one of the Greatest American Musicians No One Has Heard Of -- this memoir is the story of playing by your own rules and winning."

This was the brief little review I wrote to help sell some copies of this book at the book store where I work. And it's about as unbiased and un-hyperbolic I can get when talking about Butch Walker -- the dude's music has meant more to me over the years than I could ever attempt to describe. I discovered the Marvelous 3's breakthrough, Hey! Album, at a time when nearly every song was like a page out of my own life; and if one of the songs didn't speak to me at the time, it soon would. From then, I've followed his career pretty closely, and the man has yet to disappoint.
And it was much the same with this book. Though a lot of the Marvelous 3 and post-M3 stuff I knew about, it was nice to get to fill in all of the details. And it was nice to read about Walker's early days in hair metal band Southgang, as well as his transitional group Floyd's Funk Revival/the Floyds. (There isn't much out there from either of these bands other than some highly-marked-up shit on Ebay.)

I don't read much non-fiction -- and I especially don't read memoirs -- so I can't judge this book on the merits of such. But I can say, if you're a fan of the guy's music, you'll dig this book. If you don't know anything of Butch Walker, I'd still say give this one a shot. If nothing else, it will be a charming bedside read.

THINGS I LEARNED WHILE READING DRINKING WITH STRANGERS

~~ Butch is cousins with the former vocalist of Savatage/Trans Siberian Orchestra

~~ Rivers Cuomo was once in a hair metal band named Zoom, whose gimmick was wearing nothing but bath towels and roller skates

~~ Walker's hair metal band Southgang was one of two bands originally signed to an upstart Charisma Records. The other was a band named Jellyfish

~~ During his early days of becoming an in-demand record producer, Butch passed on the opportunity to produce the debut of an up-and-coming band named Creed

~~ Drinking with Strangers -- Butch Walker
~~ It's So Easy, and Other Lies -- Duff McKagen
~~ Things the Grandchildren Should Know -- Mark Oliver Everett
~~ Goodnight Jim Bob -- Jim Bob
~~ See a Little Light -- Bob Mould

Summer of 89, Winter of Rock Bio

2011-10-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

Just a few days ago, Butch Walker's book/"memoir" Drinking with Strangers hit the shelves. Being a huge fan of all things Walker puts his name on, I shouldn't have to say that I'm pretty excited about this. I'm a few pages into it right now, and it's everything I expected it to be. And that's such a good thing.

But one thing struck me while starting this book -- I have a number of "rock bio" type books (auto-bios, actually) on my shelves that I've yet to read (including the promo copy of Duff McKagan's story, which should make a nice counterpoint here); so, I'm making it a point to spend most of these coming winter months making my way through these books and hopefully writing about them here. But that last part remains to be seen.

My list, so far:

~~ Drinking with Strangers -- Butch Walker
~~ It's So Easy, and Other Lies -- Duff McKagen
~~ Things the Grandchildren Should Know -- Mark Oliver Everett
~~ Goodnight Jim Bob -- Jim Bob

Voodoo Zombie Blaxploitation

2011-10-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

Last night, the people (or person) behind the Grindhouse Film Festival series screened the relatively unknown blaxploitation-horror gem, Sugar Hill. Not being too well-versed in blaxploitation (just like most of Portland, it would seem, given how surprised Halstead was at the crowd that showed up), this movie was unknown to me. I'm aware of some of the other entries in the hybrid genre -- Blacula, Scream Blacula Scream, Dr Black and Mr Hyde -- but again, I've never seen any of them. But much like the kung-fu films I spent years blissfully ignoring during my years of near-constant VHS scouring, opting instead to make my way through the horror section of all the video rental stores in my area -- the Grindhouse series has been slowly exposing me to some great blaxploitation films; Sugar Hill being no exception.

Like so many films of that era, and especially those that fall under the "grindhouse" banner, Sugar Hill is not without its flaws -- in acting, in the plot, in its own logic; but also like so many of those grindhouse films, that's where a lot of the film's charm comes from. It's schlocky, it's silly, it's pandering, it's kinda stupid, but it's also entertaining and fun.

If you're a fan of some of the other genres that fall under the collective grindhouse umbrella, then I do recommend this one to you. Yes -- it falls short in some areas, but the voodoo approach to the (stale, even then) zombie movie is a nice change of pace.
If you're not a fan, you can probably skip this one. Overall, it's pretty basic fare.

DSC_5633

2011-08-16T01:47:00.001-07:00

DSC_5633, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

No Dust Here

2011-08-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

Last night was the opening for No Dust Here, a group art show I'm taking part in. For the show, a number of artists were given old record albums and asked to reinterpret the cover(s) however they saw fit, using whatever medium they wanted. As usual, my medium was photography. Here are side-by-side comparisons of the source material (album cover) and my final submitted image:

The show runs throughout the month of August, at the Basil Hallward gallery on the third floor of Powell's City of Books. If you can, go check out it. There's some really amazing work in the show.

overlooked, underrated pt 2

2011-08-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

A few more entries in my favorite overlooked albums list

Morrissey -- Kill Uncle
After Southpaw Grammar, this album probably receives the most ire and criticism of Moz's solo attempts. I've never understood why. I think it's a damn solid album, full of gems and career highlights. In fact, I've listened to this one so much that my CD has tiny holes worn through the top side, making it unlistenable now. Thankfully I was able to rip it into iTunes before that happened.

Morrissey -- Maladjusted
This one isn't spat upon so much as it's simply ignored by most. And unfairly so.
All in all, this album was probably the last good album the man recorded (he's still making records that follow this same blueprint, yet those have been received unwarranted praise from all corners, while this one is continually forgotten -- even the recent resequenced reissue didn't do much to improve it's general legacy).

more to come...

overlooked, underrated

2011-08-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

Recently, PopMatters posted an article on "10 albums that supposedly suck, but don't" -- which got me thinking of my own list of personal favorite albums that are often looked down upon or ignored by long-time fans. Sometimes, a band will branch out and try a new sound, or find itself drifting into some different territory. Some times, this change is awful. Other times, it's just new and different; and after time, it comes to stand out as something to give a second (or third or fourth) chance.

Here are a few of my favorites, in no real order.

Twisted Sister -- Love is for Suckers
Originally conceived as a solo vehicle for Dee Snider, this is a huge departure for a Twisted Sister record and often receives a lot of unfair criticism. It was never meant to be a proper "metal" album, and so it can't really be criticized for not meeting any kinds of "metal" standards. It was meant to be a more pop-oriented, more radio-friendly device to launch Snider as a solo artist. Depending on whose story you hear/believe, one side or the other -- Snider or Atlantic records -- was a bit weary of releasing it as a solo record and demanded it be released as a Twisted Sister record. The album itself had been recorded with a series of studio musicians (Kip Winger among them), but the other members of Twisted Sister received credit on the album. So, in the end, fans were given a "Twisted Sister" album that had not been recorded by the band proper, so sounded a far sight different than expected. It was also a Pop album disguised as a Metal album -- never a good thing.
And unfortunately, the backlash the band received, in addition to conflicts within the band itself, was too much. And an album that most of them had nothing to do with was to be their swansong.

If you can put aside any notions that this is supposed to be a "metal" album, I think you'll find a pretty strong (not perfect), utterly enjoyable pop album.

GWAR -- Carnival of Chaos
I once read a review that described this album as the "thinking man's GWAR album," and I kinda have to agree. After setting the world on fire with Scumdogs of the Universe, watching it burn with American Must Be Destroyed, and then feeding it to the World Maggot with This Toilet Earth, there wasn't much left for them to do. So, they brought about the end of times with Ragnarok and reveled in it all with Carnival of Chaos.
They tried some new things, tried some new sounds, and (unfortunately) set the stage for their near-demise. While certainly not a flawless album, it's certainly one that deserves more attention than it currently receives; as well as a higher rank among the GWAR echelon.

Misfits -- American Psycho
Yes. We all know that the Michal Graves era of the Misfits could not hold a candle to the (classic, legendary) Glenn Danzig era of the Misfits. Such an argument is ridiculous, cliche, and should not still be happening in 2011.
That said -- if you're able to take this (first) reincarnation of the band on its own terms and its own merits, you'll find a really solid horror-themed pop-punk band who released two solid albums. The first one -- American Psycho -- is the stronger of the two, and definitely worth a re-appraisal if you happened to be one of the ones who initially cast it off.

....more to come....

Wuving the Oaf

2011-07-29T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Wunderful Ed Luce -- creator of the Wuvable Oaf comics -- was recently interviewed over on the Accidental Bear blog. You should definitely go read it.

Also, Luce will be at Floating World Comics on August 4th, premiering the latest issue of Wuvable Oaf, as well as exhibiting a selection of art work.

*Hint Hint* His show would make the perfect prelude, or follow-up, to the No Dust Here show which will be at the Basil Hallward gallery at Powell's Books starting August 4th -- a show that I will have a few pieces in. *Hint Hint*

No Dust Here

2011-07-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

I've recently posted some information on No Dust Here -- an upcoming group art show/project I'll be taking part in during August -- over on my photography blog.

Black Moon

2011-07-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the glory that is Janus Films and their continually outstanding Criterion Collection...um, collection -- I've recently been turned on to the staggeringly beautiful weirdness that is Louis Malle's Black Moon. An English-dialogue French Surrealist revision of Alice in Wonderland that concerns itself with ambiance and atmosphere, rather than any actual plot. Bitchy fat unicorns, brother/sister make up parties, an elderly matron whose best friend is a rat and who breast feeds from her daughter -- it's an incomprehensible, indescribable fever dream that follows dream logic from start to finish. While it's not a film that will connect with everyone, it's definitely a film that will leave its mark with all who give it a chance.

7 inches...

2011-05-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

I've recently started moving my vinyl collection into the digital realm; it's been far easier than initially thought, and it's also reacquainted me with some long lost friends and long lost gems.

So, I thought I'd share these wonders with anyone who happened to be interested:

I've started tossing them up on a new blog: 7 Inches of Ecstasy

For now, I'm focusing mostly on my 7" and "45" records, but I'm sure I'll throw in an occasional 10" or 12" long player for variety.

Come on over and join the party!

I Was There

2011-04-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

I've recently started another blog, over in the Tumblr universe. It's nothing but scans of all the various concert/movie/event tickets I've held onto over the years.

It can be found at:

http://ticket-taker.tumblr.com

Come on over!

Stumptown 2011

2011-04-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the 2011 Stumptown Comics Fest. Again, I volunteered for a few hours during the festival in exchange for free entry. Saturday, I spent my time chatting and catching up with friends, sported my Vic Boone hoodie to try and raise awareness for an awesome upcoming new comics series, bought a lot of shit, and had my sketchbook filled in a little.
Sunday was my work day, so I didn't do much other than say my farewells before heading into my real job.

Here are some of the sketches now filling up my book:

a Wuvable Oaf sketch from the wonderful Ed Luce

a sketch from Julia Wertz, formerly of Fart Party

a Spacetrawler-related sketch from Christopher Baldwin

SAILOR MOON, as sketched by Katie Shanahan

from Erika Moen, half of the Bucko team

Hellboy, as "sketched" by Vinny Navarrete

a top-notch top-knot from Sarah Olekysk

a Sex Wizard from Carolyn Main's Sex Wizards

Appreciation: 'Opus'

2011-04-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

For the second outing of my Theatre Appreciation class, we went to see Michael Hollinger's play Opus performed by Portland Center Stage. I've been to a few PCS performances, but not many of their contemporary productions -- I've seen them perform King Lear, The Importance of Being Earnest, the obligatory production of A Christmas Carol; but the only modern/contemporary production I've seen from them was The Pillowman, which was merely OK. And therein lies my problem with most contemporary theater productions -- I find them only to OK, usually I find them to be incredibly pedestrian and predictable.
Case in point, Hollinger's Opus. While it wasn't a bad play (it was competent enough and the actor's all had their chops), it certainly wasn't an interesting piece, nor was it as provocative as it thought itself to be.
It was very much a "white people's problems" story ("Do I join the nice small quartet or do I take the audition for the Pittsburgh symphony?"; "If we perform at the White House, do we really have to play 'Hail to the Chief?'"; "We're gay professional orchestral musicians, yet we're still in the closet!"), like one long, highly produced, live episode of Friends. And had I come in with a check list of everything I'd expect to be in a modern/contemporary play, about modern/contemporary "problems," I would have checked off every single plot point on that list.
I find myself having the same issues with most of other contemporary forms of art, but that's another post for another day.

Appreciation: 'The Adding Machine'

2011-04-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

This semester, I'm taking a Theater Appreciation class, wherein we will be taking in numerous productions throughout the Portland area. The first one of these was Theater Vertigo's production of Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine -- an American Expressionist piece from the 1920s.
It is the story of Mr Zero, a downtrodden, faceless, nameless man who, on the day of his twenty-fifth anniversary with his company, is told that he will be replaced by an adding machine -- a piece of machinery that not only will make his manual job obsolete, but that "can be operated by a high school girl" for less pay. Zero's reaction is to murder his boss. He is then tried, convicted, and sentenced to death.
In the play's second act, Rice skews the audiences expectations for Zero's redemption -- showing his fate to be anything but redemptional.

Expressionism is defined as a movement that "present[s] the world in an utterly subjective perspective, radically distorting it for emotional effect, to evoke moods or ideas." And this where Theater Vertigo's production really shined. The set was incredibly minimal, with only the most basic props used, and the makeup was stellar: masks and half-masks used to wonderful effect, helping to stretch a small company of actors into a much larger number of unique individual roles.

The story itself also hit a little close to home for me -- my employer having recently laid off nearly 10% of its unionized work force. Fortunately(?), I was not one amongst that number, but more than a few friends and co-workers were. So, seeing such a play as The Adding Machine with those lay-offs still in mind added another layer to the experience.

The Adding Machine runs 4/8/11-5/7/11, Thursday/Friday/Saturday only, with Thursday nights being pay-what-you-can. And, it's at Theater Theatre on SE Belmont -- a fantastic establishment for smaller local theater productions.
If you're able, I highly recommend this one.

Obits

2011-03-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Also, it seems a new Obits record has slipped in under the radar.
And it's a good one -- it doesn't cover much new ground since the first one, but the band sounds tighter and more confident as a whole.

some quick reviews

2011-03-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I rented Wes Craven's last offering -- My Soul to Take Take.
What could have been a pretty decent teen slasher film turned out to be little more than Wes Craven trying to remake Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street, by way of Virginia Woolf's The Waves -- a group of teenagers connected through a superfluous "other;" in this case, it's a Freddy Krueger-like mass murderer (the Riverton Ripper) with multiple personalities. The main characters of the story were all born on the night the Ripper supposedly died, and are believed throughout the community to each be an embodiment of one of the Ripper's various personalities.
It starts off interesting and with potential, but loses steam halfway through and then gives up completely by the end, leaving some gigantic plot holes in its wake.

I followed that one up with the Bava/Argento production, Demons.
I don't know why I got it into my head to check this one out; I'd attempted to watch it on numerous occasions, but always gave up about 20 minutes into it. But this time, I stuck it out and kept with it -- and I'm glad I did. While it does move at a slower-than-glacial pace at the beginning, it really picks up after a while and becomes a pretty damn fun, gory mess of a classic. And it even has a killer soundtrack to go along with it.
I recently found out there is a sequel to this one, so I'll probably pick that one up soon.

final

2011-03-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

This is "rough" edit of my final project for my Final Cut Pro / video editing class. We were to edit together a montage, choosing one of four sets of criteria.

Mine is a montage that attempts to tell a story.
It is based on Peter Walsh's dream sequence from Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway. The narration is of the dream sequence, but read from a Russian translation of the text.
I may tweak a few of the cut points throughout the piece, but otherwise it is a done deal, and one that I am happy with the outcome.

Jay

2011-03-03T17:49:00.001-08:00

Jay a video by G C Lee on Flickr.

Rubber

2011-02-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

Last night, I headed to the "After Dark" series of the Portland International Film Festival to catch Rubber -- an English-language French film about an abandoned tire who, after becoming sentient, discovers that he has telekinetic abilities: so, he (his name is Robert) travels the country side making various animals and people's heads explode. It's also structured in such away that allows it to be incredibly contained and self-referential.
It's cute, "meta-," and "artsy" but thankfully stays just this side of entertaining so as not to be too cloy.

Return

2011-02-03T21:52:00.000-08:00

...and I'm back.

These days, my spare time is more and more infrequent. And that means things such as blog posts become more and more infrequent as well.
But, to catch up --

-- I spent some time in Alabama, celebrating Christmas with my family. I try to make it down that way once a year to visit and see my niece and nephews.

-- I returned to some *ridiculous* roommate drama, causing me to move out a few weeks earlier than planned. But things have a way of working out, and I'm now sharing a place in SE Portland with a friend of mine.

-- I'm on about halfway through my third term of school. It's currently kicking my ass, but forcing me to be creative. So it works out well.

And speaking of such things, here is my first project from mt Video Production/Editing (Final Cut Pro) class. I did not film the footage used; I simply had to edit a batch of footage together to tell a story somewhere between 45 seconds and two minutes in length.

And that's all the high points I can think of.
More to come soon, I hope.

Rocket(te) Man

2010-12-22T17:38:00.000-08:00

This evening, I leave Portland for a week in Mobile, Alabama; this is the first time in six years that I have been able to visit my family for Christmas. Working retail, I'm not afforded a lot of options, so if I want a nice holiday, I'm usually stuck with Thanksgiving.
But, this year I gave Christmas time a shot.

I fly from Portland to San Francisco to Houston to Pensacola, Florida.
My mom's picking me up in Pensacola, then we're on the road to Mobile.

tumbling down

2010-12-22T00:04:00.000-08:00

Last week, I had a customer tell one of my co-workers that he "just [was] not a fan of Gary's."

As a response, I have started up a Tumblr "blog," simply call Not A Fan.

2010-12-17T16:43:00.001-08:00

, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

2010-12-17T16:41:00.001-08:00

, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

2010-12-17T15:13:00.001-08:00

, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

My 2010

2010-12-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

My Top 10 Albums of 2010 (in alphabetical order):

Allo Darlin'
A wonderful album by a wonderful band that proves what I've been trying to tell people all along -- when done right, twee pop can make your heart melt and your knees buckle. A beautiful voice, a ukulele, and wonderful, bittersweet lyrics combine to form one of most adept guilty pleasures to come along in quite some time.

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Broken Social Scene -- Forgiveness Rock Record
After a bit of a break, releasing a series of "solo records" that weren't really solo records, BSS return to form with a full-on, family band album that's filled to the brim with everything that makes Broken Social Scene a great band. Given how bloated their self-titled third album was, this album could easily have been a blown-out, over-produced mess. But, with the exception of one or two tracks, Forgiveness Rock Record clips along, leaving this listener wanting just a bit more.
Good thing they also released the limited-run companion EP, Lo-fi for the Dividing Nights -- a collection of mostly instrumental pieces that probably would have slowed the proper album down.

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Diamond Rings -- Special Affections
If you can imagine an alternate reality where Ian Curtis didn't hang himself, but instead went on to become a pop star. That's the reality that Diamond Rings seems to live in: minimal instrumentation, a captivating (sometimes baritone) voice, and lyrics that can cut right to the quick.
Plus -- rainbow eye makeup!

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Explode Into Colors -- Quilts
Explode Into Colors, R.I.P.
It's not quite clear why these ladies called it quits, but the Portland music scene is certainly worse off for it.

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The Fall -- Your Future Our Clutter
There's really nothing to say about this one -- by now, you're either a fan of the Fall or you're not. Unless you've never heard them. And if that's the case, you could certainly pick a worse album to start with. This one finds Mark Smith more fired up than previous albums, but like most of the recent Fall records, it's not reinventing the wheel.

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Hunx & His Punx -- Gay Singles
The lone male in Gravy Train! sets out on his own to record a series of tributes to the girl groups of the 1960s. This collection is nothing but fun. Flamboyant, queeny fun.

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Liars -- Sisterworld
A new Liars album is always a cause to celebrate -- especially when that album finds them moving away from the straight-forward, Jesus-and-Mary-Chain-apeing of their self-titled release, and back towards the arty, Einstürzende Neubauten influenced sound of previous records.

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Scissor Sisters -- Night Work
For some reason, I resisted picking up this album for some time. And, to my surprise, any worries I had about the record were unfounded. While fun in its own right, Ta-Dah seemed like the 'Sisters were kinda going through the motions: it re-covered a lot of the same ground as their first record, only overproduced and more self-aware. Night Work, however, finds the band a bit more sure of itself and attempting to move forward -- out of the rollicking disco of the 70s, into the rollicking synth-pop of the 80s. It's a transitional album, but one that comes across stronger than most transitional albums out there.

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Butch Walker & the Black Widows -- I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart
As with Liars above, a new Butch Walker is always a cause to celebrate. Sadly, most out there are completely unaware of his genius. Before, it might have been easy to understand how he could be so criminally overlooked -- he started out in hair metal, then shifted to "funk"-pop, then to glam-infused power pop, then on to a solo career in which he has covered over-produced stadium rock, 70s AM radio rock, full-on Bowie/Bolan glam, ELO/Tom Petty-style "roots" rock, and with this latest album, he's now tackled Americana. He's currently at his most appealing for the majority of music listeners, even the casual ones.
Words cannot express my love for this man. If you don't know his work -- do yourself a favor and check him out.

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Watain -- Lawless Darkness
Given all of the old Darkthrone albums I picked up this year, I kinda felt obligated to throw some black metal on to this list. Thankfully, Watain released a killer black metal album!
Problem solved.

Strange Powers

2010-12-11T23:18:00.000-08:00

This evening, I caught the Stephin Merritt/Magnetic Fields documentary, Strange Powers at the Hollywood Theatre. It left out quite a bit of the band's story -- cutting out most between the first album and 69 Love Songs -- but above all else, it was a fun, competent document of a misunderstood modern genius.

No time

2010-11-15T22:35:00.001-08:00

No time, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

This is my most popular image on Flickr at the moment.

Jay can't hold it

2010-11-15T22:29:00.001-08:00

Jay can't hold it, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

A few weeks ago, my friend Matt and his partner (husband? [they're Canadian...they can do such things]) Jason were in town for a visit.

My other friend Jay and I met up with them for brunch, and a brief walkabout of the city. I was able to snap a few photos during that time.

2010-11-15T08:26:00.001-08:00

, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

This weekend I had a photography workshop with the fantastic Susan Bein. I've uploaded a lot of the original images, and a few 'Shopped images.

Hopefully, once school backs off, I'll be able to work on more of the photos.

at Beaterville

2010-11-12T23:31:00.001-08:00

at Beaterville, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Hot Shit!

2010-10-24T23:01:00.000-07:00

Last night's Pond/Quasi show was easily one of the highlights of the year. It's always a treat to see Quasi -- one of the rare bands that never disappoints live -- and a Pond reunion added to that, all to help say good-bye to Portland venue Satyricon, made for a truly wonderful night.

The night started in a line about 50 people deep, outside, in the pouring rain.
Once inside, M99 kicked the night off with an OK, if a tad over-long, set of typical 90s post-feminist white-trash grunge.

After that was Pond, pulling off one of the most under-the-radar rock band reunions I think I've ever been a part of. They brought in the largest crowd of the night, with people packing the club from wall to wall -- old fans, new fans, scenesters of yore, folks out for the nostalgia trip, and people like myself who never got a chance to see them perform during their initial reign.
The songs have aged quite well (the "grunge" sound was very much of its time, but there have been a few bands whose output can stand on its own), even if the guys in the band were struggling a bit. With a band that hadn't been on stage in nearly a decade, who was performing with only three practices recently under their belt, perfection isn't expected. And with all of the excitement and energy of the crowd, the warts and flubs were easily overlooked in exchange for the rare opportunity of seeing these guys on stage together once again.

After Pond, Quasi took the stage to close the evening.
Going into it, I had kinda hoped that, in honor of their early days playing 2-3 nights weekly at the Satyricon of legend, it would be a throwback show of sorts -- Sam and Janet reverting back to the keys-and-drums duo they once were and playing a ton of old shit. I got about half of that one.
Quasi is officially now a trio, and that's how they played their set. A few newer tracks, but mostly material pulled from far back in the past. Lots of fun, and even a few surprises. I was sad that they didn't play "It's Raining" (especially given the night's weather, but more appropriately my own mood these past few weeks), however they certainly made up for it by closing the night with a cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," complete with the electric piano filling in for the guitar.

lolslater

2010-10-06T00:34:00.000-07:00

If you go down to Battery Park right now, there is a 90% chance you will see Elizabeth Berkley in this costume, selling pictures of the World Trade Center to tourists.

Seriously -- lolslater.tumblr.com is the best snarky, esoteric blog you're (more than likely) not following.

Then again...I spent years of my life watching two hours of back-to-back reruns of Saved by the Bell, five days a week, every week; not to mention any weekends, and/or prime-time specials. So, I might have a bit more invested in this one.

Central Park

2010-09-26T22:46:00.001-07:00

Central Park, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

some cross-processing, too

ICE

2010-09-26T22:43:00.001-07:00

ICE, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

2010-09-26T22:42:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Brooklyn Bridge

2010-09-26T22:41:00.001-07:00

Brooklyn Bridge, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

cute couple

2010-09-26T22:40:00.001-07:00

cute couple, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

7 7 7

2010-09-26T22:39:00.001-07:00

7 7 7, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

My rolls of film from NYC have been developed and are making their way up on to my Flickr page.

Central Park

2010-09-14T22:21:00.001-07:00

Central Park, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

cloudy

2010-09-14T00:20:00.001-07:00

cloudy, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

2010-09-14T00:18:00.001-07:00

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Brooklyn Museum

2010-09-14T00:17:00.001-07:00

Brooklyn Museum, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Brooklyn Bridge

2010-09-14T00:15:00.001-07:00

Brooklyn Bridge, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

alla dat

2010-09-12T20:37:00.001-07:00

alla dat, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Flushing Meadows

2010-09-12T20:28:00.001-07:00

Flushing Meadows, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Free Soap

2010-09-12T20:24:00.001-07:00

Free Soap, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

The first batch of photos from NYC are up on my Flickr page.

NYC: Day 3 / Back Home

2010-09-11T19:39:00.001-07:00

Woke up later since no one had to be at work.

Rode the train to 5th Ave., saw the current Macintosh holy land, went to FAO Schwartz.

Walked through Central Park to Columbus Circle.

Parted ways with Jeni who had a production to prepare for.

Walked through more of Central Park.

Took the train way out.

Attended The Forge's Sinner to Winner production/fundraiser (Jeni is a member of the Forge)

Late night food at Manhattan Diner, interrupted by Richard Belzer's dog -- followed quickly by Richard Belzer.

Back to Queens.

Sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today it's my trip back home.
Started on the E train, then on to NJ Transit Bus 107, missed my stop, transferred to Bus 34, to Newark (NJ) Airport, to Phoenix airport, and soon to be on to Portland.

It's been a wonderful time spent with some fantastic people that I had not see in far too long.

Pictures will hopefully be coming soon.

NYC: Day 2

2010-09-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

Saw Renata and Jeni to work.

Rode the train out to Brooklyn.

Walked around, snapped some photos.

Hung out at the Brooklyn Museum for a while: later-period Andy Warhol exhibition, promised Mitch Epstein photography that was not to be found, and, um, the guy who won Bravo's Work of Art(?!?)

Spent a few hours at Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

Walked around Brooklyn some more.

Met back up Renata and Jeni after work.

Rode back into Manhattan.

Walked all over, had a fantastic vegan dinner, followed by outstanding vegan ice cream (they're vegan, I'll eat almost anything).

Came back to Queens, exhausted.

NYC: Day 1

2010-09-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

Made it into JFK airport later than scheduled (delayed flight out of San Fran) last night.

Met up with Renata and Jeni.

Had dinner at a 24-hour place near their apartment in Forest Grove, Queens.

~~~~~~~~

Saw them both off to work.

Hopped the subway for a few blocks to a credit union I could bank at.

Took photos of the neighborhood.

Rode out to Flushing Meadows park.

Crowds of people headed to the U.S. Open.

Took photos in the park.

Rode back.

Met Renata and Jeni after work.

Hanging out for a bit before heading back out.

Also a multi-hour stroll around Union Square, then Times Square & surrounding area.

Tomorrow: Manhattan?

PDX to SFO to NYC

2010-09-07T06:42:00.001-07:00

I'm up way too early this morning, sitting at PDX airport, waiting for my flight to SFO, then on to NYC to spend a few days with some great friends that I haven't seen in far too long. It feels a bit weird -- I think this is the first time since my 2006 Canada/Europe month-long blow out(!) that I've traveled anywhere other than to Alabama to see family/friends.
It will be nice to get out of Portland for a few days.
It will be nice have new subjects to photograph.

happened / happening

2010-09-06T00:22:00.001-07:00

Friday night was 2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift -- the Portland stop on Everything is Terrible's Quest for the Magick Crystal Tour. As an experience, it was nearly indescribable; even if you're a fan of EIT's niche schtick. It was two hours of mind-melting found (VHS) footage blended together into dada oblivion. Or something like this...

Complete with stripping motivational speakers, alien overlords, and an altar of Jerry Maguire VHS cassettes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tomorrow (Monday) night, photographer/Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner will be at Powell's, along with Zachary Lipez and Stacy Wakefield, to present the new collaboration, Please Take Me Off the Guest List.
Zinner's photographs, Lipez 's essays, Wakefield's book design.

Zinner is a fantastic photographer, so it's worth checking out for the photos alone. But Lipez's essays are pretty great too; and short, so they're easy reads.

a few of Zinner's photos, not necessarily from the aforementioned book

rejoice

2010-08-24T01:02:00.001-07:00

"In the 1960s, I worked at Time-Life when everyone seemed to be named Astor or Auchincloss."

"...We had to have cool pick-up lines. We were all amphetamine thin with long dirty hair and hip huggers and funny black boots that zipped up the side and denim cowboy shirts with pearlescent pressure-pop buttons..."

Until today, it somehow escaped my notice that from as far back as 2003, Edmund White has been submitting short pieces to Seattle's alt-weekly, The Stranger (five have been archived on the website; I wouldn't be surprised if there are/were more). The topics range from the mundane (reactions to Obama winning the presidency) to the maddening (the stupification of the modern gay man), with the latest two quite bawdy ("My Night Getting Peed On" should make it to the title of something soon).

With White's current output rather rare and sporadic now that he's in his twilight, anything new(ish) is a cause for celebration.

new blog

2010-08-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have started up a new blog dealing strictly with photography.
Most of it will be my own, but I do plan on showcasing others as well.

It can be found at http://livingthroughthelens.blogspot.com/

2010-08-05T11:08:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

2010-08-05T11:07:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Results from my recent class on studio lighting.

Free Music Lives

2010-08-05T10:59:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

New Obsession #2: the Long Blondes

2010-07-29T00:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-27T22:47:00.000-07:00

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.

...

2010-07-17T10:09:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

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

IMG_1556

2010-07-07T23:12:00.001-07:00

IMG_1556, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Another one from the vaults.

Portland self orbit

2010-07-06T22:19:00.001-07:00

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.

BEE + GCL = BFF

2010-06-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

In less than six hours, I will be sitting down to interview Bret Easton Ellis.

It will be my first ever interview, and will eventually find its way to the Powell's Books blog where it will be read by thousands (if not millions) of people worldwide.

I'm only a tad nervous.

Hobbes

2010-06-26T23:03:00.001-07:00

Kitteh, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

I found out today that my mom had to have my cat put down on Thursday. The past few months he had been dealing with kidney problems/failure, so it was only a matter of time.

He will be missed.

Stumptown 2010

2010-06-18T09:50:00.001-07:00

Ed Luce, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

I finally got my sketchbook from this year's Stumptown Comics Fest scanned in.

The rest of the sketches can be found here.

2010-06-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

A late-night detour to Everyday Music last night ended up with:

Rich Kids -- Ghosts of Princes in Towers
Right now, this is my favorite of the myriad bands that rose from the ashes of the Sex Pistols. Later, some members went on to form Ultravox.

Prince & the New Power Generation -- (the Love Symbol album)
What else is there to say -- it's Prince.
Though, I think I somehow ended up with the edited version of the album... :o(

Man...or Astro-Man? -- Your Weight on the Moon
I've been re-obsessed with these Alabama boys recently.
Sci-fi surf-rock at its best!

Twilight -- (self-titled)
Black Metal supergroup on Southern Lord records!
\m/ \m/

Plus a handful of 7" records.

S + G wedding

2010-06-15T11:16:00.001-07:00

S + G wedding, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

S + G wedding

2010-06-14T14:49:00.001-07:00

S + G wedding, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

S + G wedding

2010-06-14T14:33:00.001-07:00

S + G wedding, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

A few weeks ago I had my first "professional" photography gig for a co-worker's wedding. After all my fretting over what may/may not happen, I have to say I pulled off some pretty damn good shots (IMO).

Jay

2010-06-11T22:24:00.001-07:00

Jay, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Unattended Children

2010-06-11T22:09:00.001-07:00

Unattended Children, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

3 from Ozu

2010-06-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

Next month, NW Film Center is screening three films from master of Japanese cinema, Ozu Yasujiro.

LATE SRING -- Friday, 7/9/10, 7pm

EARLY SUMMER -- Saturday, 7/10/10, 6pm

TOKYO STORY -- Saturday, 7/10/10, 8:30pm

Or, if you have the constitution, they are screening a triple feature of these on Sunday, 7/11/10 -- LATE SPRING @ 2pm, EARLY SUMMER @ 4:30pm, and TOKYO STORY @ 7pm.

If you're in Portland and have never seen an Ozu film, you owe it to yourself to at least check out TOKYO STORY.

123448527

2010-06-06T12:52:00.001-07:00

123448527, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

This is another result (I received two for some reason) from David Horvitz's latest photo project.

Says Horvitz:

Hello!

I have just left Xiu Xiu in Frankfurt, and I am writing this in Amsterdam.

Here are photo/photos from the recent Xiu Xiu European tour.

The special tag for these photos are:

123448527

Jamie from Xiu Xiu made that number up.

As of today there are no images when you search for this.

If you upload these photos to the internet (blog, tumblr, facebook, flickr, etc...) please tag the photo with that number. You can also title the photo with the number, put it in the description, and even rename the photo to: 123448527.jpg.

Just to make it clear, what I am trying to do is to make the photo that you upload end up in search results. Whether it is a search in Flickr or more broadly in Google. People can search for it, and find all the photos of the tour, and also, find themselves on your blog. The tag becomes a web of interconnecting different personal sites.

Also:

I am deleting my copy of the photo. I'll also delete the email too later, so that I have no copy of it. You will have the only copy, and you will have the power/responsibility of the photos future. You are granted all rights to it. You can copyright it to yourself. You can print it, distribute it, etc... It is yours.

123448527

2010-06-06T12:50:00.001-07:00

123448527, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

This is my result from David Horvitz's latest photo project.

Says Horvitz:

Hello!

I have just left Xiu Xiu in Frankfurt, and I am writing this in Amsterdam.

Here are photo/photos from the recent Xiu Xiu European tour.

The special tag for these photos are:

123448527

Jamie from Xiu Xiu made that number up.

As of today there are no images when you search for this.

If you upload these photos to the internet (blog, tumblr, facebook, flickr, etc...) please tag the photo with that number. You can also title the photo with the number, put it in the description, and even rename the photo to: 123448527.jpg.

Just to make it clear, what I am trying to do is to make the photo that you upload end up in search results. Whether it is a search in Flickr or more broadly in Google. People can search for it, and find all the photos of the tour, and also, find themselves on your blog. The tag becomes a web of interconnecting different personal sites.

Also:

I am deleting my copy of the photo. I'll also delete the email too later, so that I have no copy of it. You will have the only copy, and you will have the power/responsibility of the photos future. You are granted all rights to it. You can copyright it to yourself. You can print it, distribute it, etc... It is yours.

Jandek + Thurston Moore

2010-05-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

Four days later and my brain is still trying to process this..."performance." And for those not familiar with Jandek's sound/output, I don't really know if description would be relevant or not.

After a very brief introduction, the lights went down and the stars of the evening entered from a door, stage right. They took to sparse, perhaps "minimalist," stage set~up consisting of a small stack of three amps and a stool, mirrored on the polar ends. Leisurely guitar set up, and it was on.
On one end of the stage, Jandek proceeded to play his usual, questionably~tuned metronomic style; and on the other end, Thurston Moore proceeded to make as much noise with his guitar (and various implements) as possible. No vocals. No structure. Just 90 minutes of barely contained chaos, by way of aimless guitar improvisation.
By normal standards, they technically played only three songs; but each of those "songs" were nearly thirty minutes in length.

And, like all of his other live performances, this one was officially recorded and will probably see an official Corwood release in the future.

an experience

2010-04-29T12:09:00.001-07:00

an experience, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

I wonder if they'll let me sell ironing board grilled cheese sandwiches in the lobby.

front page

2010-04-29T10:15:00.001-07:00

front page, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Top: News story regarding a recent accident involving a city bus running over a group of pedestrians, killing two of them.

Bottom: A picture.

Stay classy, Oregonian.

I wasn't there, either

2010-04-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Last night, the Jackpot Records film festival screened the documentary You Weren’t There: A History of Chicago Punk, 1977-1984. As the subtitle states, it is indeed a history of the Chicago Punk scene from it's small beginnings as a weekly record party inside a failing gay bar, to its inevitable surge and fractioning: the old guard giving way to the kids giving way to the then~rising hardcore scene giving way to the suburban embracing and co~opting of the "punk" image, etc.
Watching it last night brought back a lot of my own memories of being a teenager during the death rattle of the Mobile, Alabama scene. The scene that had existed just a few years before ~~ with local heroes the Vomit Spots in their prime, and which saw then young, upstart bands such as Southern Culture on the Skids and L7 passing through town ~~ was long gone. Few local bands were starting up, so a lot of the stuff that was going on was from bands on the road. Biloxi, MS's the Grumpies, Montevallo, AL's Nowhere Squares, even San Francisco's !!! passed through town in their infancy (when they were still being billed as "former members of the Popesmashers and the Yah Mos"). Granted, it was a fun time, but watching the documentary last night made me long for those days when scenes weren't so "scene" oriented: when you didn't have to have a mohawk or a spiked leather jacket to exist, when a multi~act bill wasn't just slight variations on the same sound/theme/approach, when people were still eager to experiment rather than emulate. And granted, I haven't explored much in the way of Portland's "punk"/DIY music scene, but what little I've heard coming out of it all sounds like the stuff I was listening to 15 years ago.
And while it seems that Mobile, AL's scene is experiencing a bit of new life, I'd be surprised if it wasn't just more of the same.

SCF 2010

2010-04-27T09:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was my first experience with the annual Stumptown Comics Fest. The past few years, I've been slowly rediscovering my love for comics, as well as trying to catch up on the nearly~15 years I haven't been reading them. Back then, like most kids and teenagers of my day, I went into the shops with blinders on: I only wanted books from the big, major companies: Marvel, DC, Image, etc. Indie comics were rarely, if ever, on my radar. But with age ~~ and with living in Portland, one of the most comics~saturated cities in the country ~~ has come an interest/admiration/respect for all of the artists making their way through whatever independent and subversive channels they can find. And while Stumptown doesn't ignore the big players in the industry (Marvel wunderkind Brian Michael Bendis usually shows up every year; and this year featured guests Paul Pope and Kurt Busiek among many others), its main focus and goal is to bring attention (and hopefully, some much~needed cashflow) to the folks out on the fringes: the self~published, often handbound, creations from the people that most comics readers wouldn't know about if it weren't for such events as the Stumptown Comics Fest.

I started my day with a volunteer shift. Over the past year or so, I've learned that volunteering at events of interest is the way to go: you usually only have to give a minimal amount of time, and in return you get complete, free access to the event. So, for Stumptown, I ended up working the first three hours of the festival: keeping lines in order, checking handstamps at the door to the panel discussions, etc. Pretty easy.
Then afterwards, I was able to make my way around the room, meeting the likes of the wonderful Ed Luce, Liz Prince, Kate Beaton, Hope Larson, and many, many others. I came away with a stack of amazing comics from some highly talented people, a sketchbook with some equally amazing sketches (hope to get those scanned soon), and ridiculous amount of free stuff (most of promotional, but featuring some incredible artwork nonetheless).

Indeed, it was a wonerful experience that I hope to be a part of again next year.

Waitin' for the bus...

2010-04-25T13:01:00.001-07:00

Waitin' for the bus..., originally uploaded by G C Lee.

NOM!

2010-04-23T18:32:00.001-07:00

NOM!, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

strawberries, waffle, various types of cream :: from the Waffle Window, behind Bread & Ink Cafe, SE Hawthorne, Portland

Waffle and Records

2010-04-23T18:31:00.001-07:00

Waffle and Records, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Whipped cream, chocolate sauce, bananananananananas, nutella, waffle :: from the Waffle Window, behind Bread & Ink Cafe, SE Hawthorne, Portland.

Records by Dub Narcotic Sound System, Noisecandy, & Pond :: from Fabulous Jackpot! Records, SE Hawthorne, Portland.

2010-04-23T18:29:00.001-07:00

, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

rabbit

2010-04-23T18:28:00.001-07:00

rabbit, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

woohoo!

2010-04-22T00:49:00.001-07:00

I just received my volunteer confirmation email regarding this weekend's Stumptown Comics Festival. I'll be working a few hours on Saturday, and will hopefully have a grand time. Ed Luce, Liz Prince, Hope Larson, Kate Beaton, Craig Thompson, Paul Pope, that one girl who left the first incarnation of Xiu Xiu in order to start Little Otsu press...etc.

04-12-10_1348.jpg

2010-04-12T23:48:00.001-07:00

04-12-10_1348.jpg, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

another angle, showing the back legs and tail

04-12-10_1347.jpg

2010-04-12T23:47:00.001-07:00

04-12-10_1347.jpg, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

a third kitty; this one will be sent to my nephew this month

04-12-10_1346.jpg

2010-04-12T23:45:00.001-07:00

04-12-10_1346.jpg, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

finally put a nose on the dog I've been working on; he'll be sent off to my nephew this month

Barbara Probst

2010-04-08T00:24:00.000-07:00

I am currently madly in love with this woman's photography.

dinosaur

2010-03-31T13:43:00.001-07:00

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

there's a metaphor to be found here, somewhere

doggerel

2010-03-31T13:42:00.001-07:00

Multimedia message, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

he needs a nose

Don't ask me if this line is about you

2010-03-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night -- 3/24/10 -- Vadim and I headed out to Holocene for the much-anticipated Xiu Xiu show. It was originally billed as a three band show, but somewhere along they added a fourth band to the bill; which made for three exceedingly longer exercises in patience and one incredible set.

Operative
M'eh.

Pearly Gate Music
Double M'eh.

tUnE-yArDs
Ultra M'eh.

Xiu Xiu
I've seen this band 8-9 times by now (every time Jamie Stewart [with or without Xiu Xiu] has come through town since I've moved here), and each time it's been a completely different experience, usually due to an ever-changing line-up. And this night's show was no exception. With Caralee McElroy out and Angela Seo in, Xiu Xiu has adopted a slightly colder, slightly minimalist electronic noise sound. Korg synth, beat programming via Nintendo DS, knobs, switches, whistles, gongs, cymbals, and guitar. Everything you've come to expect from the group, with some elements gone but with new ones to take their place(s).
My only real issue with their set was the brevity. For the headlining band, they may have played 60-75 minutes; and given the wealth of material they have to pull from, that ain't a very long time.

The set list from the night (thanks internet!):
B D Box (? not a title I recognize, so it may be a new one -- but I recognize some of the lyrics, however I've yet to find from where)
Apistat Commander
Grey Death
Dear God, I Hate Myself
Muppet Face
Gayle Lynn (amazing version of this one)
I Luv the Valley
Falkland Rd.
Poe Poe
Guantanamo Canto
Chocolate Makes You Happy
This Too Shall Pass Away (For Freddy)
Boy Soprano

too bad they didn't play this one

push

2010-03-28T01:36:00.001-07:00

push, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

secrets don't make friends

2010-03-28T01:35:00.001-07:00

secrets don't make friends, originally uploaded by G C Lee.

Mark

2010-03-28T01:14:00.001-07:00

Mark, originally uploaded by G C Lee.