Checked out the Download Festival yesterday at the Shoreline Amphitheatre.

Yes, that Shoreline Amphitheatre, home of the $11 peepee beer, expensive parking, bad sound, and nasty food. The one that I repeatedly say I will never attend a show at again -- every time I go to a show there. But free tickets, so c'mon!

Anyway, we showed up late, trading M83 for some fro-yo loving at Fraiche in Palo Alto. Organic, with only three ingredients, and oh my, was it good! We then hit the Whole Foods there to use the facilities, and got a taste of what it's like to live in tony Palo Alto. So fancy! Full trays of berries, mozzarella and tomato salad, cut fruit, and sausages were set out for shoppers to graze as they shopped. Nothing like the apparently ghetto Whole Foods in Oakland and Berkeley, except for the high prices!

Since we really wanted to see Gang of Four and Jesus and Mary Chain, we really could have spent more time chilling in yuppie heaven, because otherwise the festival was just alright -- though Trevor did win a 250 GB hard drive in a promotion there. Super sweet!

We spent most of the time before the aforementioned shows hanging out by the side stage, eating our own packed lunch and bemoaning the state of all the youngsters -- just as it should be.















Though it was quite cool to see the families who came to the show. Mom and Dad for Gang of Four, kids for whatever they were there to see.

This was my first time seeing Gang of Four, and they were over the top fantastic. Incredible energy from the entire band. 53 year-old Jon King both prowled and sprung around the stage, and his movements were so smooth that Trevor remarked that he thinks he must do martial arts. Andy Gill's perfect guitar work (while also working a natty suit) was awesome to see live. And they completely owned their old material, blowing away the teens that stuck around to see them. Damaged Goods had everyone up and dancing.















But you know me: I kept thinking sadly of another influential reunited band, the once-mighty Bauhaus, and in direct contrast to Gang of Four what I see as Bauhaus' purposeful inability to own their greatest work anymore, as evidenced by commentary by band members and the dismal Summer 2006 shows in Europe. This contributed to my feeling that they thought they needed to make new work to feel relevant -- which is fine if you're owning that too and not just recycling rejects from various side projects to make an abomination like Go Away White.

Anyway, that kind of negativity really affects the audience, and there was none of that at Gang of Four. Pure, masterful fun. I was very impressed.

So, after Gang of Four vaporized off the stage...















...it was time for Jesus and Mary Chain.















I hadn't seen Jesus and Mary Chain since 1992, so it was nice to check out the reunited band and hear some old favorites. Famous in the past for being temperamental, drugged out, and indifferent to their audience, the brothers Reid kept the indifference but rolled out a very placid show. Comatose, almost. In fact, it seems the only way they could find to stoke the audience's ire was by downtuning William Reid's guitar to the point of nonexistence, so that the signature brassy guitar bits evident in songs like Head On and Happy When It Rains were rendered null. We left before the set was over.

I can't blame them though. I wouldn't want to follow Gang of Four.

In the old days there was luxury but no market. Today there is all market and no luxury. -- Karl Lagerfeld

Excellent interview with Karl Lagerfeld in the March 2008 issue of Prestige Hong Kong.

He is so entertaining -- not many people can be so arrogant and yet so charming. How can Karl say he is "too superficial" to be bothered to comment on certain things, that he "reads 10 books at a time" and hates charity, and that he will only go places via private jet because he "cannot go on airlines because people stare at me, you have to be touched by people" and be taken seriously? Is it because we are obsessed with -- and love to hate -- arrogance, vanity, wealth, celebrity, and the social hierarchy we all create with those things?

Sure. But I think people listen to him mostly because he's honest, and extremely articulate when he's not just pared down to misanthropic soundbites, and that is respectable. He is outrageous, but if more people were as honest as I think he is, our world would be something else entirely. Our species might die out, but at least we'd all be owning it.

This interview gave me a newfound respect for Lagerfeld. He's made it in a world where you are only the sum of what other people think of you. And whether or not his cutting persona and misanthropy are a result of being in the fashion field, whether or not in the end one thinks he's just a superficial and mean bitch, some of the things he says are refreshing to read, because I really do think he means what he says. That honesty in his line of work is rare.

Haha, but speaking of misanthropic soundbites, you must check out this bit summarizing from the article what Karl can really do without in this life. Fat people. Children. The Smell of Cooking. Love. He's certainly a piece of work.

Oh people, get over yourselves.

The parents also say that the "Juno" line also plays on racist Asian stereotypes in an unacceptable way.

"Could you have made that joke with any other minority?" Scott says. "I don't think so. You'd catch hell."

No, you can't make that joke with any other "minority" (nicely charged word choice there, but sorry to inform you: the issue is China's policies, and native Chinese and their children, not Chinese-Americans) because there is a grain of truth in the line they reference. And racist Asian stereotypes? Where?

I feel silly having to point out that it seems many parents who are complaining sought out China as a place to adopt children because of truths this line references; mainly, the proliferation of available children in China because of their policies and culture, and the relative ease at the time at which one could adopt. Issues, anyone? Nevermind also that this line is said by a smart-alecky teenager who is pregnant. Bitch please, this is why it's funny and also meaningful to the storyline.

Stop projecting your issues around your own whiteness/privilege/guilt and the adoption of your Chinese child from parents who probably couldn't take care of her and/or wanted a better life for her, and stop making your child a victim. Your kid will be happier for it.

Oh great.

San Francisco Targets Artery-Clogging Trans Fats

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to begin a City Hall push to get artery-clogging trans fats out of the food served in San Francisco restaurants.

With the approval of the city's leading restaurateurs' association, the board voted unanimously to institute a voluntary program in which restaurants that pledge to cook without trans fats will receive a decal that can be displayed to let customers know their food is being prepared without partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

The legislation's author, Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, said the next step is to make the ban mandatory. (emphasis mine)

I was totally behind the ban on styrofoam, as well as the ban on petroleum-based shopping bags. I recognize the logic in having to force people to do the right thing for the planet because it's here for everyone, and also because there are a hell of a lot of selfish and smug good for nothings in the Bay Area -- SF in particular -- who will not walk the walk when it really comes down to it.

I hate trans fats and find it disconcerting when they are used when there are better alternatives out there. I don't even mind the voluntary decal -- I think that's great. But c'mon! A mandatory ban? Education is fine, but after that people should be responsible for their own individual health. If someone still eats a donut after being told it will make them fat and clog their arteries (like I do*) well, that's their choice.

*only when I can't find The People's Donut. So good.

Hey San Francisco Board of Supervisors: isn't there a path of potholes on Duboce or a homeless crack addict robbing a tourist or someone defecating in the Civic Center BART station that needs attending to?

I've just gotten through listening to a leaked copy of Bauhaus' new album slated for March release, Go Away White.















Y'all ready for this?

First impression: There really isn't anything of the old Bauhaus. Which is not so much a diss, as it is a "to be expected" part of the experience. And while I also fully expected it to be a dud, I also really wanted to give it a shot. I'm a fangirl -- what can I say? But I suppose fangirls and fanboys are the harshest of critics, so for better or for worse, take it or leave it...

It's awful.

And you aren't going to believe this, but as much as I love to be right, that statement makes me truly sad, because I really, really wanted to be wrong.

I do understand why it's being touted as "stripped down." There are no inventive, broken glass and razors guitar assaults from Daniel Ash here, no fresh or ferocious drumming from Kevin Haskins, nor fierce or elegantly disquieting bass from David J. This isn't old Bauhaus, for sure, and that IS the big, fat, glaring problem. But not for reasons of sentimentality or old fogey-ness that you might think a fan of the old stuff would be carrying on about.

The problem with Go Away White in a nutshell is that the songs lack passion and intensity, and sound half-hearted, uninspired. No one is owning it. Some symptoms: the lyrics set their sights on something greater but are repetitive, pedestrian, and unsatisfying. Peter Murphy's voice has aged well, but punctuating songs with a bellow doesn't make his smaller range less apparent nor does it make mediocre songs sound more edgy. Backing lyrics are identical in their death-rattle drone on quite a few songs. Dreadful, boring instrumentation throughout. Instruments sometimes mixed so low and flat that only Peter's voice comes out clear. But that's okay, because there's really not a lot there: I would not be surprised if the drums, bass, and guitar were lifted from practice riffs out of a textbook.

So, what is this leading up to?

This is so bad. The album really hits home for me that David, Kevin, and Daniel have become merely Peter Murphy's backing band. I'm not kidding. I cannot believe this album was a collaborative effort, unless it was compromised to death.

The songs 'Undone,' "Saved,' and 'Zikir' -- among others -- sound suspiciously like rejects from a post-Deep Peter Murphy album: safe, pseudo-spiritual tunes for the adult contemporary set. 'International Bullet-Proof Talent' sounds amateurish, like musical weekend warriors jamming together in a garage for the first time and not quite hitting it. 'Black Stone Heart' has a bit of interest in it, with its mash-up of different sounds and styles, but still comes off insincere. The album is decidedly not avant garde, brutal, stark, potent...or memorable. While I didn't expect In the Flat Field I did expect some ingenuity, some spark, some life. Some Bauhaus.

Rabid Peter Murphy fans will probably like this album. But for fans of the Bau, don't bother except to complete your archive (looks like collectors will be able to get it in limited edition white vinyl). This is very much a vehicle for Murphy, and a disappointing one at that. But even so, the responsibility for this unimaginative and spiritless outing lies with all four members. Sad.

The October 2007, 50th anniversary issue of Gentleman's Quarterly (US version) features 50 of the most stylish men of the past 50 years. There is a different man on each of ten covers -- men who, of the 50 listed, purportedly represent the ultimate in manly style. The cover I bought?























Wow! Now I know why my mother swooned.

Other notables on the covers include Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, and JFK. I daresay the effortless Sir Michael Caine should have replaced the media-hyped and stylist-created Tom Brady as a cover boy, but at least Caine's in the top 50.

And I must also note that this phenomenal shot of Paul Newman more than makes up for the inclusion of Pete Doherty *shudder* in the top 50.

Doherty always reminds me of white bread left out in the rain -- soggy, bloated, torn and disheveled from being thrown out on the cobblestone to be pock-marked then rejected by flying rats -- decidedly not stylish. Though I suppose he does own his look, which I maintain is the true measure of style.

Gah, sometimes I loathe paradox.