So long and goodnight

It's been a helluva ride, but I'll be signing off as well. J and I have had so many adventures on the road seeing bands in St Louis and Chicago and each one was a thrill. I'll never forget all the good times we've shared as Judakris. Thanks to everyone for reading our little labor of love! And, a HUGE thank you to all of our favorite bands for giving us so much to live for...MCR, HIM, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Kings of Leon...-K

See Ya

This blog has been really about two things to me: a place to share my love of music, especially live, and a good friend to share that love of music with. For J it’s time for this time capsule to close. Thanks for reading! --J

Notesfromthepit.com

Just a quick post to let the reader know about my friend L's website called Notes From The Pit. L and I met in the photo pit of a HIM show in St. Louis and have been friends ever since. She photographs and interviews bands regularly and her latest interview with Aiden can be seen here. Take a look at her website. She's recently covered Chris Cornell, Silverstein and of course Aiden. She's got great links to rock news and of course Metal from Finland- yeah! Enjoy! -K

The Singer

If you’re a Morrissey fan and you can watch it in your region you may want to go youtube and search for Zane Lowe Morrissey Interview which ran on MTV last month. An aspect of the interview has been on my mind since I watched it. He was asked about his band writing music and why he doesn’t. Here are some of the quotes:

“I don’t want to be a musician. I was only ever interested in the singing voice. I think something extraordinary happens to people when they sing.”

He talks about at an early age being obsessed with any singer who stood there without an instrument and just their voice and explains that not all great singers have great voices. His top two great singers – Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley and what makes them great is that they are timeless.

“There’s a very strong sexual component in singing and most people don’t talk about it of course but there is something very sexual about the singing voice and it draws you in and it doesn’t mean you necessarily want to be physical with the person but the person’s pulling at your very being.”

I’ve always been a fan of the multi-tasker because I think there are a lot of singers that can’t pull off what Morrissey is describing, but when it’s done right, it’s amazing. If you want to see it done wrong, well, American Idol provides lots of examples each week. --J

My Springtime Guilty Pleasure

Can we say 80's retro? This song makes me want to put on a headband and do high-impact aerobics or run through an abandoned barn dancing a la Kevin Bacon in Footloose. If you dig it, check out Ladyhawke's Paris is Burning. It makes me think of Bananarama. --J

The Last Outlaw Poet: By Ethan Hawke

I would never have been intrigued by this article had my friend C not made me listen to a bunch of Kris Kristofferson following a concert he gave in St. Louis. She told me stories of loving his music for years and how life-changing it was to hear him tell his stories. Some of the stories are touched on in this article, which can be previewed online at RS.com. Ethan Hawke's profile is incredibly engaging, telling the story of a complex soul who suffered failures and successes, wrote some incredible songs, and got naked with Janis Joplin. What surprises me is that Kris didn't make it on the cover. Instead, they chose Lil Wayne, whose story is the antithesis of a complex musical hero: a one-dimensional personality who seems to do nothing throughout the interview but talk about how gangsta and awesome he is. Uch. Unbelievable how gullible the masses can be. -K

Love is a Musical Battlefield

So, G and I settled into a nice long Saturday evening of watching the channel Palladium. There were a number of musical programs playing that night, including the movie Coachella. It was the first time G had been exposed to Fischerspooner, The White Stripes, Arcade Fire, and Amy Winehouse (from another concert). He commented on how there was a musical side to me that he was just discovering; that as much as I was talking about these artists he realized how little exposure he's had to anything outside of what Northern Alabama allows you to hear. He started to tell me about seeing a Hasidic Jew rap/reggae his way around the stage opening for 311 a couple of years ago. He said that for a few moments he actually thought the name of the artist was Modest Yahoo. Then he shook it off and realized that had to be wrong. At first I sat in stunned silence until the laughter began to boil to the surface like a volcano erupting. Even he found this blunder hilarious. Of course, he's known for some time now that it's actually "Matisyahu", but I still like to bring it up because it makes me laugh. However, you don't really make fun of someone when he is a walking musical/lyrical wikipedia with a photographic memory without expecting some retaliation. When he does retaliate he launches into my version of the lyrics to Tush from ZZ Top: "I said lord take me downtown, I'm just looking for some touch."-K

4am Music Shopping

4am – what to do besides stress about what’s happening in the work part of my life? In the darkness of my living room, as I sat cross-legged on the world’s most uncomfortable sofa I remembered that my good buddy Mel had sent me an iTunes birthday gift so I went to the store and said to myself, pick out only things that you truly enjoy, songs you would sing along to in the car. Put aside pretension, concern about what others might think, just go for the sounds you love.

What did I end up with?

Well, I bought the latest Joan as Police Woman record. I’ll review that in the future…

Some of my single selections:

Build Me Up Buttercup – The Foundations
Son of A Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield
I Will Survive – Cake
I Miss You – Blink-182 (makes me think of my nephews, and as much as I hate to admit it, I like the drums)
Fat Lip – Sum 41 (yes, I probably watch too much Kerrang! But the lyrics are hilarious)
Slave to Love – Bryan Ferry
Money Changes Everything – Cyndi Lauper
Baby, Now That I’ve Found You – Alison Krauss
No Myth – Michael Penn
Just Another Night – Mick Jagger (would he in 2009 be caught dead in a “hundred dollar hotel room”?)
No Rest for the Wicked – Cage the Elephant

This list has kept me going all week. Thanks Mel. --J

???

So, last night I had this dream that I was Charles Manson's therapist in jail. Why? He kept trying to physically corner me and I spent the whole dream trying not to show fear and hoping I wasn't going to become one of the Manson girls. In the background The Carpenters' song "Top of the World" kept playing quietly and peacefully. The dream sort of caused a strange funk this morning and now I'm not sure I could ever listen to that song and feel the same ever again. -K

Blacklist

I couldn't make it to our annual conference this year because I was sick all weekend. For those that know me they understand this was hard because missing conference is like missing the really big SENIOR class party. Even if you don't really enjoy every minute of it you still don't want to miss it.

Anyway, this year we were given a strict dress code: Black golf shirts and black pants. I was at once horrified at having to wear a "golf" shirt and thrilled since I love wearing black. In fact, a lot of people do, but it is SO not appropriate for a Users Conference. I'm not going to elaborate on my feelings on this, but what really pisses me off is that in addition to no coworkers having had a choice in this decision, our company logo is nowhere to be seen on the "golf" shirt. Really?

The point of this blog is my friend RB who was busy packing on Saturday (I know this because her Facebook status told me so) and we started emailing back and forth about the conference. She sent me this playlist she created in homage to our blackout cleverly titled "Blacklist". This is a great playlist so enjoy. -K

Blackout Muse
Black Swan Greg Dulli
Back To Black Amy Winehouse
Black Star Radiohead
Black Celebration Depeche Mode
Blacklisted Neko Case
Where Is My Mind? Frank Black
Six Sixty Six (live) Frank Black
Death's Black Train Gob Iron
Dolly The Blacks
Black Math The White Stripes
Black Swan Thom Yorke
Sweet Black Angel The Rolling Stones
Black Arrow, Bleeding Heart Whiskeytown
Black Tongue Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Paint It Black The Rolling Stones
Black Like Me Spoon
Howl Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Flowers Yo La Tengo
Black Boys On Mopeds Sinead O'Connor
I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You Black Kids
The Deepest Blues Are Black Foo Fighters
White Summer/Black Mountain Side Led Zeppelin
Black Dog Led Zeppelin
Unlovable The Smiths
Black Angel The Cult
Black Milk Massive Attack
Black Pete Yorn
Long Black Veil The Band
Black Mirror Arcade Fire
Black Wave / Bad Vibrations Arcade Fire
Lexus Joseph Arthur
Black Country Woman Led Zeppelin
Fade to Black Metallica
Black History Month (Josh Homme Remix) Death From Above 1979
Black Metal Valentine Califone
After the Ladder The Black Heart Procession
To Bring You Back The Black Heart Procession
Set you free The Black Keys
Hold me in your arms The Black Keys
Black Cat Ladytron
Black Hole She & Him
Black Out Pavement
Black Cloud Morrissey
Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud), Pt. 1 (Single Pt. 1) James Brown
Kerosene Big Black

Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

Who doesn't like a good story song? Ain't No Rest for the Wicked, it's my work day theme song. --J

Something To Look Forward To

At exactly 7pm this evening I was hitting an unresponsive ticket seller website, until surprisingly, success! --J

RIP Blender - J's Take

Back in 2002 I began to subscribe to Blender. I remember my brother S and I discussing the issue that turned him into a fan. Blender had this great regular bit called “The Greatest Songs Ever!” and he was sold when Train in Vain by The Clash was the focus in this section in the April/May 2002 issue. Most months I found myself turning to that section and thinking “Yes! I love that song!” to whatever was being covered and enjoying the back story.

In the past few years, I felt like the content no longer matched my taste, but there were always moments of brilliance. --J

Music Mag Blender Closes Down

Alpha Media Group closed Blender magazine today. The April issue of Blender out now with Kelly Clarkson on its cover will be its last. Sad sign of the times, for sure. -K

The British Music Experience

I spent Sunday afternoon touring the British Music Experience, a new exhibit at the O2 Arena in London. As I entered the exhibit, I was thinking quite a bit about a tour of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland a few years ago with my buddy RB and another co-worker. RB and I were in heaven, looking at Jim Morrison’s school report cards, U2’s record company rejection letters, etc. etc. Our co-worker was unimpressed, stating at the end of the experience that basically there were only two musical acts she would ever pay money to see, Jimmy Buffett and Bon Jovi. RB and I, who both hardcore lovers of music, had no response.

The British Music Experience is trying to do the same thing, but on a smaller scale and added technology. It felt a little all over the place though since I thought the purpose was to focus on all things British. But it kind of bled all over the place with Jimi Hendrix memorabilia, Kraftwerk singles in one of the jukeboxes, a sign in tribute of Dylan going electric, when they had plenty of good material that they could have just expanded on. Here are some thoughts:

Great Things
Seeing David Bowie’s costume from the Ashes to Ashes video (I’ve never done good things, I’ve never done bad things…)
Hearing Cliff Richards and other early Brit rockers talk about Elvis Presley’s influence
The Gibson Studio where I was able to record my very own drum track to Blur’s Song 2 and listen to it online when I got home
Huge UK graphic which lit up with musicians’ hometowns, video locations, important locations in musical history

A note on the Gibson studio – This was very cool because they had real Les Pauls out for people to play and record from with instructional videos, they had acoustic guitars, drums, keyboards, bass guitars, and even a voice recording studio. The drum kit was not the typical drum kit since it was designed for the user not to have to hit the drums hard to hear the drum sound in your headphones and the cymbals looked like they were made from some heavy plastic, all computerized I suppose. As I sat down at my drum kit taking the instructional video some woman brings her adult son over to the other drum kit in front of me and he sits down and he starts going crazy on the kit, hitting everything at full force. She’s smiling proudly as everyone turns around to look at him in annoyance.

Good Things
Adam Ant’s costumes
Beatles Fan Club Memorabilia
Britpop Display
Punk Display – needed way more coverage
But everything in the “good” category could have been expanded (except Adam Ant)

Unnecessary Things
Video Studio where you could record yourself doing dances like the Macarena or Disco from Saturday Night Fever

Missing Things
Maybe this is from an American perspective but they could have done more with the rise of video. I watched a lot of Brit acts in the 80s before MTV launched and there was an occasional video show launched from a Chicago television station. Bands like ABC, Talk Talk, Haircut 100, Nik Kershaw, etc. would have never been played on mainstream U.S. radio at this time, but the videos had me hooked. There was a slight mention of the New Romantics, but not as much as I would have expected.

I thought of K and our friend M because Suede, a band they both love, was prominent in their decade exhibit. I had never heard of them.

The best, best, best part of the display was saved for the end and I am glad it was a slow Sunday because the girl that was working this display ushered me in alone. It was a montage of concert footage that wrapped around the viewer from front on both sides, with great crowd scenes from festivals and then musical acts through the decades became almost holographic. So here I was standing like I was part of the crowd watching Jimmy Page and Robert Plant perform Whole Lotta Love, and then it switched to Oasis, and then it switched to vintage Elton John, and on and on. When it ended the girl who worked the display asked me what I thought and I told her that I was glad it ended on the live music experience. She said, “Yes, and because you were by yourself it was like they were all performing for you!” It really came close to catching that live music euphoria. I wanted to watch it again and again. --J

You Don't Look At Their Faces, And You Don't Ask Their Name

Yesterday, G and I went over to a married couple's house to hang out and grill (ok, the wife and I have a fascination with Twilight and the dvd came out yesterday so we wanted to watch all the special features). At some point in the evening, the wife mentioned that they had both heard Tina Turner's Private Dancer Friday night while out celebrating her birthday. One day later on Sunday morning they both couldn't get the song out of their heads. So, the husband started doing his best Tina impersonation which then prompted me to do my best drag queen Tina, which then got him to do HIS best drag Tina. From there it just snowballed. What cracked me up was that the husband focused on making his voice all scratchy with a rapid vibrato...my strength was focusing on the facial expression. It was like we had developed weapons based on Tina Turner characteristics. This continued as we walked out to the car to go home, mind you, haha. -K

Sold Out!

These posters can be seen throughout London. I was at the O2 Arena today and there were no advertisements at the Arena, just a sign to say that all 50 shows were completely sold out. Why Michael Jackson is doing these concerts is on everyone's mind. Here's an interesting article. --J

Morrissey - Years of Refusal

Morrissey has a strange pull on people. His fans seem to either want to worship him or rub up against him or maybe both. K and I witnessed the man in person a few years back documented here and here and I found him incredibly charming. Morrissey in many ways represents England to me and that night, unbeknown to those I was there with, I had been offered a position in the UK and I was struggling with the decision. While I stood there watching him moved by the music, I was also grappling with a personal issue.

Here I am two years later, walking in the countryside in England listening to the man's new record on my iPod. I am certainly coming at this record from a different place. I can't say I adore the record from front to back but there are some wonderful Morrissey moments here. My favorite is "All You Need is Me". It's got a driving beat and the classic sardonic lyrics. My favorite Morrissey song is "The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get" off Vauxhall and I. That lyric "Beware I bear more grudges than lonely high court judges" sung in such a gentle voice makes me laugh every time. There are moments like that on this record. If you are a fan in the least, you won't be disappointed. And P.S. great album cover! --J

Umbrella Academy Gets Ready to Hit Big Screen

Thank you J for sending this link to me from NME online. Apprently, Gerard Way's comic Umbrella Academy is getting prepped for a screen adaptation! -K

Astro Zombies

I've been on a musical sabbatical lately and I'm sorry for letting J down to carry this blog on her own. Sometimes I go through this dark age with my music where I get sick of everything and have to cleanse myself of all the noise. I've also been out of pocket for another reason, but I'll reveal that soon enough... ANYWAY, today I've been thinking about My Chemical Romance a lot and reminiscing of the times when I braved the heat of St. Louis just to see these newly famous kids from Jersey play to thousands at Warped. I've also been thinking back to when I would feel less than stellar I could put in Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and feel incredibly empowered. That's what I'm needing now and that's why I'm thinking about MCR. HIM may be home, but MCR makes me feel alive again.

Back in 2005 I got a copy of MCR's cover of the Misfits' Astro Zombies and loved it. I'm not sure how I lost it on my iPod, but I think it had something to do with a crashed laptop and a lost iTunes library that had to be rebuilt. There was a also a wonderful version of All I Want for Christmas is You from MCR, but that was lost as well. Anyway, I just found it again on iTunes and I'm so happy! Here's a youtube clip of this short but sweet, punk rock song recorded back when MCR were still a hungry band wanting to change the world. -K

"What would K be doing in 2010" courtesy of 1993

So, thanks to Facebook I've been able to connect to all of my high school friends in Germany and beyond. One of my old classmates from Mannheim, R, posted a scan of an article that our school newspaper published in which satirical futures were created for the senior class. Here's what mine read:

Quit her job for the National Enquirer, moved to London, and became the agent for the band "Queen Junior." Although successful, she still sells Indian jewelry on Piccadilly Circus.

I don't know who Queen Junior is, but I imagine it was the spin-off of Queen, a band I had had a lifelong obsession with. During the horrible grunge phase, I completely rebelled by being into glam artists like Suede, classic Queen, and Bowie. And, just like today, I still have a fascination with celebrity gossip. I can't help but read that blurb and think "gosh, I haven't really changed at all". Actually, I'm kind of proud of that little blurb...satire or no. -K

Entitlement Indeed!

I thought this was a funny news item. Miley Cyrus went on a radio show after the Grammys to share with the listening audience that Radiohead wouldn't meet her at the Grammys. Here's a link to the actual radio interview. NME posted this side of the story on their website. --J

The Honey and the Vinegar

Here’s my take on some of the top records of 2008, a bit late I know!

TV on the Radio’s new record, Dear Science topped many a critic’s list at the end of last year and I have to agree. My favorite track after many a listen remains the first on the record, Halfway Home.

On the other hand, I borrowed a copy of Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut to see what all the fuss was about. I hate this record. I couldn’t even give it a few listens through. I never thought harmonies would be so grating, but this is just not my thing.

Lately the iPod has been wandering back to the old favorites. --J

Lux Interior

My friend D, who writes for Black&White in Birmingham, AL, just sent me his article on the passing of The Cramps' Lux Interior. I was not a fan of The Cramps, but D can make me interested in just about any artist he writes about. Enjoy -K

Humility a No-Show at the Brit Awards 2009

Due to a busy week I just got around to watching the Brit Awards last night. More than one artist started their acceptance speech with “Finally!” Hahahaha

With the Grammys fresh on my mind, U2 starting the show singing Get on Your Boots was a bit anti-climatic as was Coldplay’s performance. Is anyone else scared of Bono’s Herman Munster shoes? --J

Living Things Release New Album

Are they listening to judakris??? Regular readers may remember our shambolic trip to the Creepy Crawl for their gig a few summers ago, which in the end remains one of my fave judakris nights out despite their strange behavior. You can read our reviews here and here. The new song isn't bad. The look and sound are very retro. I noticed even though St. Louis is mentioned a number of times in their on-line bio, they don't have a St. Louis gig date scheduled. Probably a good thing. --J

The Killers - Video for Spaceman

Spaceman is my favorite track of the new record and I was hoping for a perfomance video. I just saw the new video and my first impression is that it is one part Velvet Goldmine, one part Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, and one part American football. --J

The Only Choice for Half-Time Show

As we ride the high from the Inauguration I was pleased to see that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band had been selected as the Half-Time Show performer for the Super Bowl. No so-called "amazing" collaborations were on the schedule. They brought an authentic American stadium rock show to an All-American evening.

We watched it live at 1:00am this morning. That and the amazing Steelers touchdown was worth how tired I feel today. --J

Lily Allen - New Track

The clever girl and UK tabloid favorite has released her first single from her new record. I must admit, I love it. You can check it out on her website. It's called The Fear. --J

P.S. I'm also attaching her version of Britney's Womanizer.

Helldone 2008

Well, it’s the beginning of January 2009 which means that New Year’s Eve was celebrated all around the world. This Eve I found myself once again in beautiful Helsinki, Finland to attend Helldone, the annual three-night music festival that ends with HIM performing to their hometown at Tavastia at midnight on December 31. I went last year for my first time and for some reason just had to experience the Finnish winter one more time. I’m so glad I did and that I hadn’t burned any contacts with HIM’s people over the year because they provided me with photo access once again and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to try out a new camera. What follows is not exactly the type of book that I wrote last year. To be honest, I spent most nights drunk and happy, meeting locals and even getting caught up on world events while sharing a light with someone in the smoking area. My tripmate Jess and I spent most days sleeping, recovering, and then foraging for food before cleaning up to start another night out. It seemed appropriately “Finnish” in a way and for the first time I felt my age. Sigh. Anyway, let’s get down to why I was there in the first place...
Helldone 2008 marked the tenth anniversary of HIM’s New Year’s Eve show at Tavastia club, the tradition that began the Helldone Festival. This year was the fourth official year of the festival and unlike last year, per the fans’ request, it featured only Finnish bands. It also included 3 additional performances at Nosturi in Helsinki and then in the towns of Oulu and Tampere. The neighboring “chill-out” club next door to Tavastia, Semifinal, featured drummer Jussi69 from The 69 Eyes spinning records.
The lineup included:
HIM
KYPCK
45 Degree Woman
Stam1na
Diablo
Godsplague
The 69 Eyes
Negative
Sara
At Tavastia, I was very interested in seeing Negative, lead by striking blonde lead singer Jonne Aaron, who performed to an adoring crowd, because they are a total throwback to the Sunset Strip glam rock scene from 1986. I wish I knew more about these guys, but I can name one song that I recognized from the setlist: “Won’t Let Go”, off the 4th and latest album “Karma Killer”.
Introduced by Bam Margera and wife Missy, along with a spacy Andy McCoy from Hanoi Rocks, The 69 Eyes did not disappoint. This quintet formed back in the early ‘90s in the clubs of Helsinki and while gothic, are anything but gloomy. Their influences include Guns ‘N Roses, The Misfits, and Sisters of Mercy which made me very excited to get to see them. There’s a whole lotta look going on with this band and they always seem on the precipice of taking themselves a bit seriously, but they were a blast live. In terms of Finnish rock, these guys could be considered titans.
On New Year’s Eve, HIM sounded perfect onstage and changed up their setlist a little bit to include some old favorites like "When Love and Death Embrace" and their cover of "Rebel Yell". There were a lot of classic setlist songs like "Your Sweet 666", "The Sacrament", and "Funeral of Hearts". They didn’t play "Vampire Heart", much to my disappointment. However, Ville looked like he’d had some good rest and even more so than last year seemed to enjoy the performance. The crowd loved every minute of the New Year’s celebration, though Ville did have to dodge being hit by a banana thrown by an audience member at some point. In reaction, Ville simply shook his head and scolded the person in his strangely sedate way. He seemed to speak more Finnish than I remember from last year, though he did take a few minutes to promote his father’s sex shop in the Kallio district in English.
At the Nosturi show, a Finnish woman said to me in a vitriolic tone after I asked what Finland thinks of HIM “I think HIM is an ok band and Ville is sexy, but I don’t understand the fuss. I don’t get how “this band” has suddenly become responsible for putting Finland on the map.” I was extremely entertained by this because her boyfriend held nothing but pride for HIM and what they’ve done for Finland. In fact, he loved them so much that at one point he fell to his knees and sang HIM lyrics to her while she responded with indifference and walked away. In a purely platonic, friendship sort of way I think J and I have had a very similar type of exchange! Happy New Year everybody! UNBELIEVABLE-K

The Undertones - Teenage Kicks

Forget that it’s 2009 and let’s get in the way-back machine to 1978. Here’s my song of the day, Teenage Kicks by The Undertones. While this Irish band never made an impression in the U.S. mainstream, do a search for Teenage Kicks on youtube and you'll see that they did make an impression on many American musicians. --J

Happy New Year from J

I’m not at all speaking for K, but I’ve been thinking quite a bit about whether I have anything to say on this blog anymore. When we started out writing, we were living in the same city and seeing lots of live shows. Sharing our experience at those live shows was the basis for the blog. We have since both relocated to other places, and while London is right on my doorstep with more music opportunities than I could hope for, my primary responsibilities, like bringin home the bacon, have made it more and more difficult to take advantage of them. Isn’t it just the way when one most needs an outlet, there’s no time for that outlet?

Anyway, I feel the need to re-state my mission here since the live music slant will probably once again be less and less of what I write about in 2009. And when it does, I fear as it was this year, it won’t be much variety but instead a true favorite. My love of music hasn’t changed so I’ll continue to post record reviews and the like. If you’re interested, keep reading. Thanks and Happy New Year! --J