Tagged by Mark, and he decrees:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to.

Yay! I love this kind of stuff.

1) 'Tengo la Voz' by Nortec Collective

I bought The Tijuana Sessions, Volume 3 years ago on a recommendation by one of my favorite musicians, David J, and then promptly lent it out to a friend who lived out of town -- without uploading it to iTunes first. I just got it back, and this is the first song on the album. Reminds me of summertime!



2) 'Hold the Line' by Toto

I recently bet a friend a burrito that this song was by Foreigner.

Le sigh.



3) 'Oh Yoko!' by John Lennon

Three things:

a) People always want Trevor and me to dress as John and Yoko for Halloween.

b) I really like Yoko Ono.

c) Trevor has put this on many a mix for me over the years.

You can really tell how much John loves her in this song. I was in Trevor's workplace yesterday and he played this song -- which is one of the reasons why I can tell he loves me.



4) 'Buzz Saw' by Xiu Xiu

The first song on an album I'll be buried with, I never paid much attention to 'Buzz Saw' because in comparison to the rest of The Air Force it seemed so simple and unassuming. But I've been revisiting this album lately and this song is a perfect introduction to the impending maelstrom -- simple honesty and controlled angst punctuated with jarring percussion and just the slightest little noise.

Live it's phenomenal, but watching it on Gootube can't do it justice. Just buy the album already!



5) 'Don't Stop Believing' by Journey

I've been hearing this song a lot lately in the ironic hipster bars I seem to frequent, and I'll just say it: I loved Journey when it wasn't cool to do so, I love them now that it is, and I will love them when they are again yanked from the jukebox in favor of Lawrence Welk and gluing pubes to your face or whatever ironic cool thing the kids think of next.



6) 'Harper Lewis' by Russian Circles

When I got Russian Circles' new album, Station, a few weeks ago, I listened to it incessantly. They're on my mind; this defines them for me.



7) 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake

When the weather warms, it means getting outside and taking roadtrips. This also means I actually remember to grab the face of my car stereo so there are tunes. Inevitably, this means Trevor (un)intentionally garbles the lyrics to many songs that end up on the mixes we make for said road trips. It always comes back to that "twister" that was born to walk alone.



Since I have some readers who don't have blogs, rather than tag 7 bloggers only, I tag Jack, T-Zone (what's rocking your socks in Asia?), The Stresstaster, and...YOU! Non-bloggers, please let my universe and Google know what's rocking your world by posting in the comments.

Caralee McElroy and Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu, Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, April 12, 2008

I love Xiu Xiu so much and have written so extensively about them here that I'm almost spent when it comes to pimping them. Dear readers, trust -- they are mind-blowing multi-instrumentalists who create unreal tapestries of sound, with lyrics so brutal and honest you won't know what to do with yourself.

Bonuses: watching Ches Smith hit the skins will make you cry. Caralee McElroy is the nicest person you'll ever meet. Jamie Stewart gargles with beer.

Their show was $12. What are you waiting for?

Just got the the new Xiu Xiu.

Yet again I understand why Xiu Xiu shows have a gaggle of eager Jamie Stewart groupies standing at attention, rapt, at the foot of the stage. The man lays his heart bare, disregarding the fact that it resembles the scene of a high speed multiple car wreck where all the occupants are ejected to varying degrees upon impact. We can't look away, even though we want to throw up. Meanwhile, the multiple mangled car stereos are all still cranking out their last dirges, punctuating clanging metal, sputtering hoses, or episodes of eerie silence -- creating a cacophonous yet strangely melodic soundtrack to the carnage.

There is the magic.

Every adjective that I have used in the past to describe this band and their work is the same for this album as well. And yet each new album is completely unique. You know the action movies where someone is caught in a room with a ticking time bomb? And the camera pans to their frantic eyes while they watch the clock? Women as Lovers listens like what I imagine it feels like to personally watch those last few seconds before the zero...ticks...off...

Love of beauty is Taste; the creation of beauty is Art

Ralph Waldo Emerson

(I totally stole that line from the cover of the lovely March issue of Vanity Fair. But I merely have Taste, you know?)

Welcome welcome 2008!
























Already sorta started with a bang -- as I ran down the steps of the YMCA in downtown Oakland on the eve of 2008, an impeccably dressed older gentleman stopped in his tracks and remarked how much I look like Cher. Yep, 2008 is definitely attempting to bring it.

Soooo, on that note, let's take a look back on 2007 for the moment, shall we?

First off, a big shout out to Rod at b(oot)log for: 1) posting the best Canadian Pride bootleg site around, and 2) hosting contests for CDs and other schwag -- that people actually win! Just got the Buck 65 CD that I won in the mail. Cheers Rod!

Onward...I like lists. And I really like tops-for-the-year lists. But because of my status as out of touch in 2007, or maybe my shame for past list-making (or is that curmudgeonly respect?), I have decided to go a little light this year. But a list shall go on!

1) Shows

Xiu Xiu, April 22, 2007 at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco, hands down. Best. Show. Ever. Ever ever. My long and rambling review may help you see why.

2) Reads

Most of what I read in 2007 was released pre-2007, so heaven help me, the landslide winner is Ken Follett's World Without End. I ate that book alive.

3) Records

Hmmmm. I didn't pick up a whole hell of a lot of new! right! now! in 2007, but Grinderman's self-titled debut album (but can you call it a debut, really?) got a lot of rotation, as did Kanye's decadently addictive single and video and British/Sri Lankan artist M.I.A's second album, Kala.

Check the sociopolitics and amazing use of samples that make up my favorite M.I.A. song, 'Paper Planes' (from Kala):



4) Films

Nothing absolutely made me hyperventilate, but as far as blockbusters go, Summer '07 was good to me: I liked The Bourne Ultimatum, Rescue Dawn and Stardust. The recently released film version of Philip Pullman's book The Golden Compass was a surprise winner for me too. Still want to see La Vie En Rose, Eastern Promises (mmmm, Russian mobster-muscle Viggo), and No Country For Old Men. But I think my local video store creating a whole section for The Criterion Collection is probably my best film related news all year.

5) Tee-Vee

I don't have a TV, but for what it's worth Dexter almost makes me want to buy one, and Project Runway gets my ass to the gym and on a cardio machine with an idiot box. Love these two shows.

6) Weird News

I got a lot of mileage out of hater Larry Craig's meltdown, as did a lot of late night talk show hosts...

Senator Larry Craig is now saying that his constitutional rights were violated when he was arrested in an airport's men's room. Craig was furious. He said, 'When I got to a men's room, I do the violating. --Conan O'Brien

...but I think there are weirder things.

Early looking forward tos for 2008: the talented Mr. Stich's portrait of Lenny Kravitz for Vibe magazine (hopefully this will be the first of many illustrations!), another trip to Japan (?), meeting a good online friend from London in the flesh in February, my honey finishing school, The Dark Knight (and Christian Bale in black rubber once again), and a possible move into a house with yard, and therefore, more BBQs and parties. Whee!

Bring it, 2008. Bring it, indeed.

New from the mind-blowing Xiu Xiu on January 29th: Women as Lovers. Can't wait. Looks like preorders are out of stock, but to whet your appetite you can still get a download of one of the songs here.

Look at me
Nothing bad is ever going
to happen to you again
Although you're a solid pile of hate
You're still pretty like a cake
Pulling out a bat at the Kill Me Court
Slaps me that I can't handle you
But yes, no, yes, no, yes,
Tell me how to live!



('Boy Soprano' at Common Grounds in Gainesville, Florida 10.5.2006. Haha, check the Bauhaus logo on Jamie's guitar.)

Okay, as promised, a full report on the beyond incredible Xiu Xiu show at Bottom of the Hill on 4.22.2007. BTW, didn’t get a chance to hit the second show tonight, but that’s okay. Last night was magnificent.

And alright, a little disclaimer for my review: mere words seem inadequate and affected when the show was anything but; however, I’m here to try to make it work!

First though, a quick rundown of our glorious evening leading up to the show. Mentioning this because Trevor planned our pre-show festivities, and he made it one of the most PERFECT evenings I’ve had in a long while. He's the best!

Trevor and I found parking at 6 o’clock at Jones and Geary. Anyone here in the Bay knows that itself is pretty unbelievable. We were two wee blocks from our watering hole of choice to start this evening, Bourbon and Branch.

If you have not been to Bourbon and Branch, you must go. Modeled after a Prohibition speakeasy and housed in a nondescript corner space with an unmarked door and a sign outside advertising “The Anti-Saloon League,” reservations, a password, and decorum are required. I thought it might be a bit pretentious, but I was so wrong. Classy and low-key, B&B gets big points for the low-lighting, linen cocktail napkins, red flocked velvet walls, ability to speak in a soft voice and still be heard, cordial and professional service, and the completely black bathroom with gothic trappings and cloth towels. And the drinks were sublime. I had the Pomegranate Ginger, with lime and Belvedere vodka. Each note of the drink came through crystal, with a zingy ginger finish. My honey had “The Revolver” – Bulliett Bourbon, Tia Maria, and orange bitters. Too sweet for him, he said, but still well-crafted.

After walking around looking for a decent and reasonable place to eat, we ended up at the counter in Bang San Thai for a grand feast of pumpkin and beef curry and Pad Gra Pow. Our bellies filled with scrumptiousity after drinks, we were off to Xiu Xiu.

Yay, parked right in front! The place was packed with greasy kids in skinny jeans, and Jamie Stewart groupies, which was to be expected. But there were also a lot of us over-30s, which was a nice surprise. Also nice was a very attentive, pleasant staff, and seeing our friend from college who we hadn’t seen for 5 or 6 years.

We missed almost all of Katie Eastburn’s set, so no commentary there. But we caught all of Montreal’s Sunset Rubdown. Led by the amazing Spencer Krug on keyboard, their music was full of angsty Smiths-like lyrics and intensity, but with a juxtaposition of jarring guitar and noise, classic piano, and quiet little flourishes like the use of a vibrating and beeping pager (or stopwatch?) on a hi-hat. Good enough to buy the CD.

So, then, Xiu Xiu. They took an immense amount of time to hook up their equipment and soundcheck each piece until it was perfect. Trevor commented facetiously that this could be part of the performance and that we might never know – and they did launch straight into the set without much of a pause after completion. But their music lends itself to complex soundscapes, so there must be meticulous precision involved. It was appreciated.

You ever wonder what it would be like to watch a living breathing blood pumping animal be turned inside-out? Or, more plainly (and less gross), have you ever looked inside your own body when you’ve cut yourself – blood, adipose tissue, meat, bone? The horror and the pain, but the fascination, the thrall, and the beauty too, of what makes us alive? That is Jamie Stewart onstage.

Not to be dramatic, but I’ve heard stories about him. Brilliant, haunted, manic, intense, perfectionist -- but also silly, friendly, and a nice guy. I think it’s probably all true. Watching him perform, it’s like watching a private moment of realization, suffering, or devastation, unfolding like the audience isn’t even there. Both Trevor and I thought, “Ian Curtis” (I can’t believe I said it!) only more heat, less cold.

He’d been having problems with his guitar, and he threw it down and busted its neck after an earth-shattering ‘Boy Soprano’ where I thought he’d have a fit or explode from the effort of creating a near cacophony of violent longing from his usually breathy voice.















Because Xiu Xiu’s music is a symphonic barrage, I was really intrigued to see how they translated that intensity live. That private anguish in all its rawness inside your head I talked about earlier? That seemingly perfectionist sound that at the same time lends itself to improvisation? Now add myriad tiny single tones and notes -- the most singular, small, normally inaudible bit of bell jangle or brush of the drumstick on skins -- transformed into the most complex of sound webs. That is how they did it. Both Caralee McElroy on flute (wow that’s flute in Boy Soprano!), accordion, and samples, and Ches Smith on percussion seemed to play like they were tracking numerous forking paths along a wall of scenic sound.

I was on the far side of the stage away from Caralee, so I didn’t get to watch her too much. But I will never forget Ches Smith’s drumming. Watching him play made me wish I’d taken up drums instead of bass. Like a drumming savant, that man. Completely one with the music, though maybe I’m placing too much on him, and he was thinking about biscuits and gravy or his cat while he was drumming, but damn that shit was complex yet seemingly unstructured and flexible. Easily one of the best drummers I’ve ever seen live.

You must go see this band live if you get the opportunity. Exhilarating and visceral and worth the ticket price just to watch Ches Smith hit the skins. Ches Smith, Trevor and I both want to have your babies.