Supermassive Blackhole on MTV2

Can someone tell me why Muse's Supermassive Blackhole is just now number 6 on MTV2's T-Minus Rock? I know that sometimes a single will get airplay overseas before it hits here, but is it just me or does this seem extremely post factum? -K

Courtney Love

This is hilarious. Courtney threatens to stop blogging... tmz.com -K

She Won't Let You Fly, But She Might Let You Sing

Until tonight I have avoided watching The Wall in a sober state. I now know why. The idea of escaping into a fantasy world to cope with reality and creating an emotional wall around you hits a little too close to home. Seeing it with a clear head tonight during an emotional time (I'm moving, J is moving) may not have been the best idea. It ruined me as a 13-year old hopped up on vodka and pain killers at her friend's house. I never wanted to see Bob Geldof take a razor to his body ever again. I also didn't want to see an angry sphincter judge getting ready to shit something abstract and grotesque on the protagonist. But anyway, tonight I found myself curled up with my cat experiencing the whole thing from beginning to end.
I have heard Roger Waters explain that concept behind The Wall was inspired by the excessive success the band saw after touring in support of Dark Side of the Moon. It was also autobiographical of his life. David Gilmour has criticized it as being a catalog of the people that Waters considers to have screwed up his life. Well, not everyone has a therapist or anti-depressants; some just write one of the most successful concept albums ever and subsequently a cult movie favorite. It may not be my favorite Floyd album as a whole, but Hey You and Comfortably Numb are never far from being stuck in my head. Frankly, Mother speaks to me like no song ever has, will or can.
I can see why the movie The Wall has enjoyed such cult success: you see a creative rock star grow increasingly isolated through success, eventually envisioning himself as a fascist dictator, and finally judging himself. It's out there, but it's a vision of a haunted rock star's hubris and ultimate self-destruction, fantasy and reality coming together via live action and creative animation. I can't believe it took me this long to understand. As a Floyd fan, it's about time I do. -K

New Foo Fighters Record in September

Dave and the boys have announced the tracklist for their upcoming record. One of the songs is titled, Cheer Up Boys (Your Makeup is Running). Can't wait to hear that one. --J

Kiss of Dawn

(video screenshot)
HIM's new video for Kiss of Dawn, a tune on the upcoming new album set to be released this September, popped up on You Tube for a while today. All I have to say is if this is a preview for the new album then September can't come quickly enough. Love the song, love the video, and damn sure love that Ville has finally cleaned up! Very reminiscent of And Love Said No. I would post it, but it's already been removed from the site due to a copyright claim by Warner Bros. I downloaded the video this morning, but I cannot for the life of me crack the code on their website. What the hell am I missing? -K

Live at the Levee and Insole Products

Despite the fact that Live on the Levee was going to be our last show together for while in the States, J and I found ourselves giggling about random shit. For example, when we arrived it was in the middle of Ben Jelen's set. He opened for Pete and had a habit of prefacing each song with a serious explanation of what it was about. When one particular song ended, before he could open his mouth to explain the next a typical St. Louis weisenheimer behind us yelled "EH WHAT'S THIS SONG ABOUT!?" I almost shot beer through my nose.

Ben Jelen's tunes weren't bad at all, though he seemed like an artist who tends to take himself kind of seriously. I don't think he's been extremely successful in the States, unfortunately. What's also unfortunate is that I keep thinking of Dr. Scholl's commercials when I hear his name. -K

The Joys of Live Television

This is just an add-on to J's post about Saturday night and the whole Arch situation. Channel 5, which is our local NBC affiliate, interrupted SNL to cover the "breaking news." While the camera zoomed in on the observatory section of the Arch, Channel 5 began to air a live cell phone conversation with someone else who was stuck. This conversation made the seemingly unnecessary interruption worth it. The "victim", who I guarantee was having a festive night, said (and I'm paraphrasing) "We're doing great. We're all taking pictures and having a blast. Hey, why are you guys cutting into SNL for this? It's Justin Timberlake tonight. I called a buddy of mine a few minutes ago and he wants to see Dick in a Box." Channel 5 immediately ended the conversation and cut to the news desk. I rewound it a few times just to hear it again and again. -K

P.S. If you haven't seen Justin's Dick in a Box...

Walk Me Out by the Water's Edge...

After a day of selling my life away and dickering with old women on the price of board games, I was in need of a refreshing beverage and some live music. My brother S had strongly recommended that I go see Junior Brown who was playing here last night, but I have been feeling the need lately to do things unique to St. Louis as much as possible before I leave. The Live on the Levee music series was happening last and we have never gone, so I asked K if she wanted to go down and see Pete Yorn. I usually don’t like going to events with such huge crowds, but since I have a soft spot in my heart for Pete and his magnificent head of hair, I was willing to go check it out.

The humidity broke this weekend so the night air was perfect. The stage was situated right in front of the Mississippi River so the performers faced the large staircase that led to the Gateway Arch. It really is a perfect setting for a summer concert.

I was going to title this post “St. Louis Likes Free Things” but thought instead to use some lyrics to a PY song. The reason I say that St Louis likes free things is because I was shocked at the number of people that had come out for the event. As I climbed the top of the stairs to take some pics of the stage below, there were people passed out on blankets on the grass under the arch oblivious of what was going on below, and lots of people my dad’s age, who wouldn’t be coming to The Pageant to see this same show if it had a ticket price. The crowd was enormous.

Pete put on an excellent show. He said it was their first night of their tour and he was happy to be in St. Louis and loved his view from the stage. He ran through a lot of songs from all three albums but leaned closely to his first. As usual, he also peppered in some covers like Warren Zevon’s Splendid Isolation and The Smith’s There is a Light that Never Goes Out.

After he performed, we sat on the Arch steps and watched fireworks accompanied by tunes of local celebrities like Chuck Berry and who could forget---Head East! We sang along and then called it a night.

When I got home later that night, I had Harrah’s Lucky Break on as I wrote some posts for the blog. If you live in St. Louis and you have not seen this show, you have got to see it. It’s a karaoke contest hosted locally at Harrah’s casino and it’s a trainwreck. They cut into the programming to report that due to a power outage there were 200 people stuck in the Gateway Arch. We were right there and had no idea. When the reporter on the television was talking to a guy that was stuck at the top, she asked him how they were doing and he said, “We ain’t doing anything. There ain’t no fireworks to watch now”. I felt bad laughing having been up in that thing and thinking about the panic attack that I would be having if it were me, but you just never know how redneck someone is going to say on live television. --J

Next Chapter Please

In just a few weeks, I will be moving to England. It’s a new opportunity and a new adventure that brings with it some very mixed emotions. The content of this blog will obviously change with K and me in different places, but we plan to continue writing. I am excited to learn more about the UK music scene and to see for myself these wild Brit concert crowds. Now if we disagree on music we can simply blame it on the ocean between us. Keep reading. When I told M in Houston that I was moving, his first response was, "What an exciting time to be in the UK, with the Spice Girls Reunion and all!" Enough said, hahaha. --J

My Favorite Summer Song

My friend S is way into Spoon these days so I thought I would check them out. I’m now obsessed with some of the songs on their new record. My absolute favorite You Got Yr Cherry Bomb is my pick for summer single. It’s been on repeat every time I get in my car. I also really like The Underdog. People probably fall into two categories when they listen to music; they either focus in on the lyrics or the instrumentation. No surprise probably, I’m a lyrics person. I have no idea what the lyrics of these songs are because I am totally taken in by the melody. Check em out. --J

I Like You When You’re Weird, Jack

I finally got my hands on a copy of Icky Thump, and like all White Stripes records, there are songs that I will probably never listen to again, and some that I love. Jack White is best at his weirdest because he is willing to go in directions that no one else will go.

During my first few listens, my two faves are Conquest and Rag and Bone. Conquest is a cover and a brave one indeed, made to be sung by someone with probably more range, but Jack makes it his own. Rag and Bone is by far my favorite because it reminds me of a Tennessee Williams play. It’s very Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I LOVE it! --J

This Is Just...Uch.

So, did Ratt have a lead singer named Jizzy Pearl for a while? Are you kidding me with that name?

When I shared this piece of info with a friend his response was "don't laugh at Ratt." -K

This Town Fleurs Me

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? I had stayed away from the city I considered my second home in college for about 10 years until last weekend when I flew down for a law library conference. I tried to walk the 12 blocks to the French Quarter as much as I could without melting from the humidity and noticed that it was so much cleaner, didn't smell as bad, and sadly, was more sedate than it had been a decade ago. As I crawled through the streets of the Quarter, I was not surprised to feel just as much love for it as before. I happily consumed the thick air, I enjoyed the people's hospitality (although I still didn't venture out alone after dark), I couldn't get enough of the food, I enjoyed the Cajun music down at Mulate's where I ate every night, and my eyes couldn't get enough of the aesthetic. That city has always made me feel alive. Whether or not it's a place I would want to live forever or just visit as often as possible, New Orleans has always been a "somewhere else" in my heart.

Here are a few things that made me chuckle while there.

• In New Orleans, there are FEMA t-shirts everywhere that have "Fix Everything My Ass" written beneath the logo. I find this hilarious. What I also find hilarious is the fact that FEMA can be used as part of a pick-up attempt. This happened to me in the hotel lobby. I was waiting for my co-worker and a stranger approached me and actually tried to impress me by saying he worked for FEMA and that if I wasn't doing anything for dinner he would be interested. OKaaaay.
• I had on a thin white t-shirt one afternoon I was in the Quarter and as I passed by Coyote Ugly a couple of guys started cat calling me. When I caught a glimpse of what I looked like in a window, I noticed that all the moisture had made me look like I was in a wet t-shirt contest. Great.
• I walked into a local art gallery on Royal Street and ended up in the tiny rear courtyard looking at paintings with a giant wolf spider and a cockroach the size of my razor phone crawling around me. Maybe they were part of the security. I can't lie; I was a little freaked out.
• People that think they're vampires still hang around in the Quarter. Bless their hearts.

I stayed at a lovely hotel in the warehouse district just across the street from the largest Convention Center I've ever seen and, unbeknownst to me, right next to a concert venue called The Sugar Mill. Tuesday night, after I had tied up all my loose ends for work and collapsed on my couch underneath 15-20 foot ceiling, I heard a bassline off in the distance. It was like when a car passes by with the bass turned up way too high only it didn't quit. I looked out of my window and noticed that the building across from me called The Sugar Mill had a bunch of kids dressed in black hanging out in front. I put my walking shoes on and headed out to check out what was happening.

Let me backtrack a little bit. Earlier that day I had read that Ville Valo had recently come to New Orleans, though how recent I don't know. Apparently, he had walked into a local artist's gallery and was so impressed with his work that he asked to use a painting for the cover of the next HIM album. So, imagine my fear as I noticed a number of heartagram t-shirts in the crowd. And, as a car cut me off heading into the parking garage, I spied a heartagram sticker on it and my heart sank. Could it be that HIM was performing right under my nose? Oh, the humanity! After launching a full-scale inquiry, I found out it was actually Killswitch Engage playing a gig with opening act Coheed and Cambria. I've read that KE's lead singer is a HIM fan so I'm guessing that this explains the heartagram presence. Let me just believe this, anyway.

When I walked away I passed a young couple making their way in the opposite direction. The boy was obviously a fan. When the girlfriend, dressed too preppy for the occasion, realized where they were going she asked, "that nasty place is where we're going?" I had to smile. If he hasn't already he will be making this "date" up to her soon.

So, I missed out on a night of guitar noodling and hanging out with fellow HIM fans, but I had a few days of bliss in the Crescent City. -K

Beyonce Burns St. Louis --- Alive!

Beyonce was here in St. Louis on Sunday with opening act Robin Thicke, and the following review was posted on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website. The review says blah, blah, blah, and then describes a pyrotechnics malfunction. Since no one was seriously hurt this really made me laugh. Imagine spending hundreds of dollars on front row seats to see Queen B and then getting sprayed by sparks. I immediately had to contact my Beyonce-lovin pal M in Houston and he had already heard about it, even knowing the sexual orientation of one of the victims and pointed me to this post on Perez Hilton’s website. You have to watch the video from the local St. Louis news. The victim could care less about his injuries, he got to meet Beyonce! Looks like she did some quick damage control because as M says, you don’t want to alienate the gays, mkay? --J

An Evening with Chuck

Thursday night K and I met a few other friends at the Mad Art Gallery to spend an evening with Chuck Klosterman, one of our favorite writers. We were not disappointed. I drank a bit too much and laughed a bit too loud, and when it came time to get my book signed, I stood there stone-faced with nothing to say. If you are a pop culture junkie (as we are) and he comes to a town near you, don't miss it. Thanks Chuck! --J

7-7-07

I feel like I shouldn't be making negative comments on the performances of Live Earth because it wasn't about the performer at all. It was really about spreading awareness. I have already started making notes as to what I can do locally to help out, but after HOURS of tv watching I couldn't help but get annoyed, get entertained, and often totally enjoy the hell out of watching a thousand and one broadcasts of performances! So here are some thoughts…

Firstly, the most hilarious performance was Snoop Dogg in Hamburg only because I have never seen so many white people arm pumping at one time.

Having to sit through performances by snoozers like John Legend and Corinne Bailey Rae, Metallica was a most welcome performance. Let's face it, Metallica was made to to be big and loud and Wembley provided them with the perfect playground. When I heard the opening of Nothing Else Matters I stopped everything I was doing and sat glued to the television. Metallica blew Wembley's collective face off and the men in the crowd responded by head banging and wearing a "thank you god" look on their faces. James Hetfield told the crowd, "make some noize if you give a shit" They did.

Roger Waters performed a few songs from Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall while an inflatable pig hovered over the crowd in Giants Stadium with Save our Sausage graffiti'ed on its side. David Gilmour was not there.

Kasabian was underwhelming, but as usual looked as though they were quite proud of themselves.

Next to Metallica, I think Foo Fighters were the most energetic.

Leave it to Billy Corrigan to use the opportunity to promote his new album during his performance. OK, we all saw ya. You can sit down now.

RHCP were good, but I wish that Anthony Kiedis would figure out what he's doing with that hair.

Black Eyed Peas were just as annoying as they usually are.

Alicia Keys looked and sounded stunning. She was the only thing that made Keith Urban's Give Me Shelter stand out.

Bon Jovi has just become a performing machine, haven't they? It really bugs me because I can remember seeing them in Giants Stadium back in 1989 and they were on the verge of burning out, but hadn't just yet. Now it's like it's their civil duty to keep the band going and perform.

Katie Melua. Who is she? I love her song Nine Million Bicycles. Beautiful.

Did anyone catch the Antarctic explorers performing on top of the mountains? It was a great song but I can't for the life of me remember their name or the name of the song.

Anyway, it was an amazing broadcast and I took from it a lot of ideas for changing my own wasteful lifestyle because of it. -K

Hello, I'm Irrelevant

I could seriously go on and on about this performance but I'll keep it short. I wish I could have found a picture of Madonna from her Live Earth set playing guitar. It looks as natural as say, God I can't even think of a witty comparison. Let's just say it's retarded. I wonder if there were two sound guys in the back debating if they should risk losing their jobs by not plugging her in. --J

Gabba Gabba Hey: The Ramones on This Day in 1976

Happy July 4th America! On the very day of the U.S. bicentennial, the Ramones kick off their first British tour at London’s Roundhouse, lighting a fire under the nascent punk movement by inspiring groups like the Sex Pistols, the Buzzcocks and the Clash. It is a seminal moment in punk-rock history. (www.rockhall.com)
-K

Sting Rockin the Skinny Jeans

Now that I have your attention, there will be no more talk of Sting’s physique. H got me ridiculously expensive tickets to see The Police for my birthday this year and he accompanied me to the show Monday night. I was so excited to see that St. Louis had gotten a date so early in the tour. I was afraid that it would be planned for the second leg of the tour and the band would have stopped speaking to each other by the time those dates rolled around and the dates would be cancelled.

Probably because of the price of the tickets I was a little annoyed when I heard that the opening band was going to be Sting’s son’s band, Fiction Plane. Heard of them? Didn’t think so. One of the things that I have always enjoyed about going to an arena show like U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or The Rolling Stones is that they always pick an up and comer to open the show. Well, this was just a little too up and coming for me. I was telling H on Saturday about this so as we ran errands he came up with witty one liners to describe how screwed we were going to be having to sit through this opening set. While they seemed like capable musicians, the music just didn't do anything for me. After their set, H's only response was, "Yeah we just got stung".

If any of The Police still have kids going to college, I can assure you that all of the tuition was probably paid with the amount of merch being purchased in St. Louis alone. It was insane. I guess when the crowd for a show is older with more disposable income, that’s what happens.

The stage was elegant as well as simple. They opened with one of my favorites, Message in a Bottle. I had read an interview with Stewart Copeland in the newspaper on Sunday and he talked about re-working some of their old hits for this tour and he mentioned that Don’t Stand So Close To Me was not working out well and they might have to kick it off the setlist. We definitely agreed with that. It was H's least favorite in the set. My least favorite was probably Roxanne because I love that song and this version had a jam session in the middle that just didn't work. It is always a surprise when a song that you never really liked gets re-worked for a live show and you walk away with a different impression. That’s what happened with Wrapped Around Your Finger. My two favorites were also on the setlist; King of Pain and Can’t Stand Losing You and so those were the highlights for me.

While the tiny club is always exciting because you can get up close and personal with the band, I forget how moving an arena rock show can be. Do we ever come together with other human beings like that in the digital age? At the end of the night our ears were ringing, not because of the volume of the music, but because of the volume of the screaming all around us. It was moving seeing a packed arena bathed in red lights during Roxanne as clichéd as that might sound. The energy in the arena was powerful. Watching the people around me I could tell that some of them were thinking, "Oh my God, I never thought I would get to see them live". I was thinking that too. --J

A Moment of Reality

Sunday morning A. and I watched the beginning of The Concert for Diana broadcast from Wembley Stadium. Elton John opened the show with a beautiful rendition of Your Song. After that the two young Princes introduced their mother's favorite band, Duran Duran, also my favorite in my early teens, A. scrunched up her face and said, "Who's that?" I explained to her how John Taylor, pictured here in his young androgynous beauty, was the love of my life. When they moved in for a close up of John, she said, "Ewwwww, didn't he play the Green Goblin in Spiderman?" Seeing his wrinkle resemblance to Willem Dafoe made me realize that my former idol, as I, have aged. I had to laugh. --J

Icky Thump

I went to the store Sunday to buy The White Stripes' latest and was told by the sales clerk that they had sold out. I then came home and decided to download it from iTunes and got a message that I could not download it at this time. What's the deal? Third time is a charm. --J

K's List of Hidden Tracks

In J's review of the RHCP's concert she mentions that she and I are Andy Gibb fans. This is true. Despite our love for modern music and trying our best to stay with the flow, there is a catalog of songs that lies deep down, suppressed in our heart of hearts. There are songs from childhood or our teenage years that over the years we've come to understand can't really be brought out and played in front of people without some kind of warning or explanation. There are songs that J and I are even nervous to bring out in front of each other in the solitude of our cars on a road trip. Tonight, I thought I would identify some (not all) of the filigree of singles that quietly and peacefully live in various places on my iPod.
This list is in no way meant to be ironic. Judge me, if you must, but let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I know all of you have a list like this! -K

The Best of Times - Styx
Love Walks In - Van Halen (Hagar)
Why Can't This Be Love - Van Halen (Hagar)
I'm Free - Kenny Loggins
No Matter What - Badfinger
Follow You, Follow Me - Genesis
Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne
Baby What a Big Surprise - Chicago
Stand Back - Stevie Nicks
The Things We Do For Love - 10cc
If - Bread
Time - The Alan Parsons Project
Time is Time - Andy Gibb
Do That to Me One More Time - Captain and Tennille
I Want to Know What Love Is - Foreigner
East Bound and Down - Jerry Reed
No More Lonely Nights - Paul McCartney and Wings
Magic - Pilot *
Dirty Work - Steely Dan
Both Sides Now - Judy Collins
Here You Come Again - Dolly Parton
Fooled Around and Fell In Love - Elvin Bishop
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - Joan Baez
I Don't Know How to Love Him - Yvonne Elliman
Baby Come Back - Player
Biggest Part of Me - Ambrosia
Magnet and Steel - Walter Egan
Love Grows - Edison Lighthouse
Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford
Slow Ride - Foghat
Count On Me - Jefferson Starship
Sweet Home Alabama -Lynyrd Skynyrd

* when J wrote the post about the baseball players batting songs, one of our coworkers and I started emailing each other some ideas. My first idea, in all seriousness, was this song. His response was "I'm going to give you a few minutes to think about that one."