Remember a while back when I got flowers. They were the best gift I’ve received all year. They lasted a long time too, a little over three weeks. But now there gone so I’m glad I took some pictures of them to show you. Plus, now the one who sent them to me can see why I thought they were so spectacular.
I work downtown, on the 35th floor of a taller building. We just got an alarm to move away from exterior windows and toward the interior of the building due to tornadoes. I’ve been working here for seven years and have never heard such a warning. Crazy weather. Good thing I’m sitting here protected by my high walled cube.
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Ok, so. I Am The world Trade Center. Well, I’m not. But they are. Yeah, they know it’s an unusual name for a band. And yes, they had chosen the name long before the World Trade Center was attacked by terrorists. This link explains how they came up with such an unusual band name. Well, It’s not really a band either. It’s Amy Dykes and Dan Geller and a computer. I guess that might qualify as a band. I don’t know anymore. But I do know they make some incredible music. I’m not the biggest dance music fan but I love nearly everything IATWTC has made. That’s why I have put them up on KHUBS Radio today. They have a poppy, retro, electronic sound (which isn’t surprising considering they cover the like of bands such as New Order, The Human League, Berlin, and Blondie among others) that has that contemporary dance floor feel, but isn’t kitschy. Most of all it’s fun. It almost forces you to dance. If you’re not dancing to this you’re a robot. Scratch that, even robots are dancing to IATWTC. I’ve talked about IATWTC a few times around here and got the pleasure to hang around and drink beers with Amy & Dan the last time they were in Denver. They are turbo smart, and 100 different kinds of great. Mostly the friendly and humble kind of great. They have been through the ringer lately though. The two have recently broken up and have gotten back together again (kind of), they’ve had label problems, controversy surrounding their name, and last month Amy was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease. You can send her a get well card to Amy Dykes PO BOX 829 Athens, GA 30603. I’m wishing you the speediest of recoveries Amy. Get well soon.
This episode of KHUBS radio contains the entire first I Am The World Trade Center album called “Out Of The Loop” which accounts for songs 1-14. Song 15 is the 15th song on the very hard to find Japanese release of Out Of The Loop and is one of my favorites. Song 16 is cover a The Promise Ring song that was released by Kindercore on a 7″ from their singles club. Song 17 is actually the Brittle Stars song Four Words that has been remixed by I Am The World Trade Center. And don’t forget to buy their new album “The Cover Up”, it gets released June 29th. Enjoy.
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Just got back from another baseball game this afternoon. I love getting the afternoon off of work (paid) to go eat hot dogs and drink beer. No really, I loooove it. The tickets were free, given to me by the boss, so I grabbed my assistant and we had a ditch day. A cold, wet, ditch day. The weatherman on the jumbotron said it was 42 degrees. And I rained nearly the entire game (in fact it snowed last night, I can’t believe its mid-May and it still snowed! see those clouds on the horizon in the picture below?). But a ditch day is a ditch day, no matter the weather. Oh, and incase you’re wondering, the Rockies won this time.
Art At Your Park at Eban G. Fine Park, Boulder
On Saturday Pandy and me headed up to Boulder. We went to “Art In Your Park”. A friend of ours puts together an “art in your park” event in various parks around Colorado about once a month during the summer time. He has gotten a couple grants and a bunch of permits to help bring creative outlets and artistic awareness into the public. We pack up easels, water soluble non-toxic paints (cause little kids and dogs at parks tend to spill and drink a fair amount of paint), colored pencils, markers, crayons, painting boards, tons of good quality paper, cleaning supplies, a couple of signs, and all kinds of art supplies. We then haul it out to a local park. At the park, anyone who happens be wandering through and feels the need to get a little creative is free to do so. For free! Paint as many paintings you want, of whatever you want. All creativity is welcomed, and it’s a great way to expose kids and their parents alike to art and painting. Most parks bring in lots of families with variety of income levels, race, and other demographics. It’s fun seeing everyone have a good time. Nobody has walked away from Art In your Park without a smile. Boulder was no exception and the day was a real success (the last art in the park I attended was a bit of a flop due to weather) and lasted for about six hours. And really, not much can top a whole day of lazing around a park, taking in the sun, and relaxing – paintbrush or not.
Over the past week or two KHUBS Radio has been playing Carissa’s Wierd’s first album, Ugly But Honest 1996-1999, in its entirety. This week I’ll be playing their second album You Should Be At Home Here. And you should, because Carissa’s Wierd once again soothes us with their incredible blend of voluble lyrics and heartbreaking music. This album has much the same sound as the first. Some say better. The violin and accordion are slightly more pronounced and the sound quality is a little better. Their subtle grandeur shows through in multiples during this entire album. The song titles alone are poetry (i.e. “The Color That Your Eyes Changed With The Color Of Your Hair” and “The Ghost Of A Dead Hummingbird Flying Around The Room”). This is music that grows on you like your favorite t-shirt, it gets softer and more pleasing with wear.
After emailing with Ben Bridwell (drummer) and Matthew Brooke (guitar, vocals) this week about what I’m doing here at KHUBS Radio I have also discovered that these guys are a couple of the most amiable and likable people on the planet. They’re self-deprecating in the most endearing way possible. Go buy their record at SadRobot Records now. In the mean time. Enjoy.
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Back in my LoFi days I stumbled upon Carissa’s Wierd (yes, “weird” is supposed to be misspelled, I’m not sure why, maybe just to trick people) and am glad I did. Carissa’s Wierd is a rainy day band that has fit my mood perfectly over the last week or two. I missed their last show in Denver this past summer, which sucks, because I was aware they were playing but I wasn’t aware of their (very well publicized) break up – I wouldn’t get the chance to see them live again.
Carissa’s Wierd can be described as LoFi, orchestral, folky, pop. Their songs are slight and filigreed. I can relate to them in the way that they don’t command your attention as much as wait for you to notice them. Jenn Ghetto and Matthew Brooke’s boy/girl vocals once again sucker me in with their understated resonance. Musically the blend of acoustic and electric guitars combined with violin, piano, drums, bass, and occasional accordion all blend together into a breathtaking, intoxicating mess. But it’s best if you listen for yourself of course.
Carissa’s Wierd split up in July of 2003 leaving behind three LPs. Their latest album “Songs About Leaving” was released by Sad Robot Records and can be easily purchased from them. However, their first two releases, Ugly But Honest 1996-1999 and You Should Be At Home Here were released on the now defunct Brown Records. Sad Robot has announced reissues of these two albums last year but they have failed to materialize. This is where KHUBS Radio comes to the rescue. Since I started hubs radio, each episode I have provided you with at least a couple of songs that are out of print, rare, or hard to find. For the next week or so I’ll be playing entire Ugly But Honest 1996-1999 album, after that I’ll play the entire You Should Be At Home Here, And then I’ll play a live set. I’ll announce it here each time I change it. I kick off our session the way Carissa’s Wierd kicked off all they’re live shows – with a tune called Heather Rhodes. Enjoy!
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I should start by pointing out that Rebbecca Ray was only 16 years old when she began writing Pure, and it shows. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Because the novel is about adolescence, Rebbecca Ray’s age while writing the novel keeps her closer to the subject matter. At the same time, her age often shows in her unpolished writing via some shallow characterization and a very poor ending. Pure is an admirable first effort for such a young writer and a decent cotton candy read but it is by no means a fantastic or important novel. I may have found this book more interesting than most due having enjoyed other, better novels with similar themes involving female adolescence.
Our unnamed narrator is a 14-year-old girl who is struggling desperately to find her place. She’s struggling to feel anything at all, really. The story begins with what appears to be a relatively normal British kid with problems the typical problems of peer acceptance, minor family problems, and just wanting to grow up. As the story moves forward we find that our main characters life is more complicated and not nearly as normal as we first expected. The narrators emotional ambiguity and sad apathy seem tip prove the helplessness of adolescence. The uncertainty of how to judge what is happening to her seems to the most poignant and truthful theme in the novel and that also of our teenage years that provide so many new experiences. As thing in her life become more complicated, problems with her parents escalate. When her overbearing father and ineffectual mother fall further apart, their 14-year-old daughter begins dating a man over twice her age. She allows, then craves abusive relationships and before long her feelings of self-loathing become self-destructive: hurt becomes love, repulsion becomes sexy, and pain is part of fitting in.
This novel harbors very little joy and it’s not sensational or sentimental. But being along similar veins of Perks Of Being A Wall Flower and Kids, this book is interesting in that it is both fascinating and upsetting to look at how growing up has changed for the modern child. You wince for the girl in this book, but you also relate; remembering what it was like, having been in that cool basement, on that lumpy couch, wondering if they actually like you back or are just fumbling toward an incomprehensible and obscure maturity too.
The I Am The World Trade Center show last night was really enjoyable. The opening bands were the local The Very Hush Hush who were just ok. Nothing special really and they only played like 3 songs. The other opener was Paper Lions, they were pretty good, great rhythm (bass and drums) section. They sounded a bit like The Clash to me. You can listen to their entire album at there website if you’re interested. I Am The World Trade Center played a great set. They claimed the altitude here pooped them out but they danced through the entire night. They did a partial cover of Berlin’s “Metro”, a great cover of the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” (a song near and dear to my heart – the album isn’t released yet but you can listen to it here) and for the encore they did a cover of New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” at my screamed out request. I got to the lounge early hoping that it might actually start at a decent time. Unfortunately there was two opening bands and they didn’t even get on stage till 11:30. This, combined with hanging out with Dan and Amy and drinking beer all night. They are super smart (Dan’s an engineer and Amy is getting her masters in costume history and teaches at the University of Georgia) and a fun couple to be around and I was glad I got a chance to meet them. It was a fun night over all. I just can’t handle going out till 2:30 a.m. on weeknights anymore. I’m exhausted.
I can’t remember how I stumbled upon Hammers Of Misfortune, but I sure am glad I did. As far as purely creative metal goes, these guys (and gals) got it. I’m not quite sure how to define them – black metal, heavy goth, prog rock, theatrical fantasy, dark opera, celtic metal. Really, they are a little bit of all of these mixed and played in a way that creates a genre of its own. Mostly they are just pure unadulterated metal. These are incredibly talented musicians that buck convention and create a sound that is fresh and exciting in the world of metal. The band consists of five members: John Cobbett (also of Ludicra), Chewy Marzolo, Mike Scalzi, Jamie Myers (ex-Like Flies on Flesh, South Mouth), Sigrid Sheie (ex-Menstrual Tramps). Jamie and Sigrid are not only incredibly hot, they also provide instrumental prowess and the female vocals which really round out their sound. Plus, we all know I’m a sucker for female voice. Fans of exclusively polished and commercial melodic metal should avoid this like the plague. This shit is the real deal and KHUBS radio has some for you. The first six songs are currently out of print. They off of Hammer Of Misfortune’s first album, “The Bastard”, a concept album in which a different member in the band sings each character. The next two songs are from H.O.M.’s most recent album called “The August Engine”. Before they were called Hammers Of Misfortune, they were called Unholy Cadaver. Unholy Cadaver released one three-song album called “Demo #1”, the song “Unsheathe The Sword Of Blasphemy” is off of that album, which I believe is no longer in print as well. The last song is an extremely really hard to find one; it’s a song called “Galactic Police” by Thunderchimp, which was the seed for Unholy Cadaver which then became Hammers Of Misfortune. Anyway, screw the history lesson and go listen to the music. Enjoy.
