The MataBlog is edited by Matador Records’ co-moaner Gerard Cosloy and individual entries are the work of whoever’s name is next to them. If you enjoyed something in the MataBlog, thank you very much! If there was something you found particularly troubling, please be advised that a) maybe you should read it again and b) the contents of this blog do not necessarily represent the opinions of Matador Records, Beggars Group, the combined staff of either company, nor the Matador artist roster. Opinions are like friends — hardly anyone has one worth listening to.
Yo La Tengo just completed their annual Hanukkah residency at Maxwell's ; for the full scoop on the amazing cavalcade of stars & surprises unveiled during this year's edition, Ira's daily diary of said event will make you feel like, well, a very unlucky person if you didn't attend one or more of the performances.
Much as I hate to poke fun at the brave men and women who constitute our nation's armed forces, Max Impact --- a self-described combination of "today's hip-hop, pop and urban sounds-and everything in between" --- might be the first entry in a genre I like to call, "Bands That Can Form The Basis For A Future Earles & Jensen Phone Call". From the M.I. bio (link swiped from Wired)
Max Impact answers the call to motivate and inspire the newest generation of professional Airmen. To achieve maximum results Max Impact stays on the leading edge of the ever-changing pop music scene while projecting the highest standards of Air Force professionalism. Optimal delivery is the name of Max Impact's game when it comes to serving its audience. With innovative style and boundless energy, Max Impact commands the stage encouraging every Airman to embrace the spirit and join the fun.
Chan and the DDB will be hitting the stage of Harlem's historic Apollo Theatre on February 6 and 7, and tickets go on sale today. In addition, Ms. Marshall and friends will visit Washington DC's 930 Club on February 8 (tickets) .
The promotional video for The Unsane's "Body Bomb" from the album 'Total Destruction' seemed, at the time, like a rather pricey (ie. more than $10) way of making a clip guaranteed to receive zero MTV play, the fine efforts of Chris, Pete, Vinnie and director Richard Kern aside.
History, however, has a funny way of sorting things out. Thanks to the patronage of Mike Judge's Beavis & Butthead, the "Body Bomb" video ended up being seen by a wider audience than the occasionally "120 Minutes" spin might've garnered. And more importantly, the clip's explosive subject matter guaranteed the star turn from Cop Shoot Cop's Jack Natz would forever place Kern's former Black Snakes bandmate on a Do Not Fly list.
At this time of year we often get sentimental and review the contents of old archive folders. I found this letter in there from an Edna Johnson. Back in the pre-internet days, stuff like this got circulated from office to office via photocopier and fax. Miss u, pre-internet.
I can't stop thinking about the goose daube I made last spring, especially 'cause I have several calves' legs left in the freezer. Since Jonah from Fucked Up asked me to scan the "recipe" so he could use it to impress some girl, I decided I should let all of you have the benefit of the scan as well. It's not so much a recipe as a way of life, like most of Richard Olney's food writing. This is from the volume 'Poultry' in the Time/Life 'The Good Cook' series. Click on the images for readable versions.
Kinda scared/confused... wondering what 2k9 will bring... h8 u Carles for writing the most perceptive metablog on "alt" culture on the internets. Worth reading for his views on TV On The Radio alone. Take that, P4K!
This has got to be the easiest recipe ever - if you have a good Italian butcher nearby. Ottomanelli's in the West Village sells braciole at $5.99 a pound. It's flank steak (or other cheap cuts) pounded, stuffed, rolled and tied with string. The stuffing is up to you or your butcher. Ottomanelli uses tiny chunks of garlic, flat parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper. No breadcrumbs or cheese in this braciole! Brown it in a hot pan with olive oil, then braise it. We used San Marzano tomatoes, chopped up in their juice, and extended with water, plus some freshly grated nutmeg, and a mixture of freshly cracked black peppercorns and allspice berries, and some 2006 Rully. This particular mixture was maybe a bit too much on the sweet side - next time we will go heavier on the tomatoes.
Important - remove the braciole when they are done! You want them just moist in the center. Then cook down the tomato sauce, now flavored by the meat, to about half, and drizzle over the braciole. Chris Lombardi serves spaghetti as well. Fantastic with more of the Rully ('En Guesnes' 2006 from Vincent Dureiul-Janthial).
(Note: this is an Italian-American dish, pronounced "brazh-ol" from Sicilian dialect. Singular is braciola. In Italy this would be called involtini and probably prepared differently.)
Remember the glory days of summer? Sitting in front of your computer, patiently refreshing your browser, praying aloud for privilege of shelling out your lawn mowing money for every 7" in the Jay Reatard singles series. You dreamt of righteous music (or ebay gold).
We know a lot of you weren't able to successfully assemble the full set, but now you have one more chance. Enter our Jay Reatard 7" contest to get the whole series AND a signed copy of the Jay Reatard/Beck split 7". This time, no infuriating checkout debacles or delayed shipping. Just click on the banner below and enter your email. We will randomly select one winner on Monday, January 5th.
Yet another shining example of bringing together fine music and comedy. A.C. Newman joined (far left) Dave Hill, host of the Dave Hill Explosion, Carl Arnheiter (in elf hat), and Brett Gelman (as many New Yorkers know as "Little Bit o'Luck" which can't be easy when he's at the deli) as special musical guest at the Upright Citizen's Brigade theater last night. Carl sang "Get Guilty" and "Drink to Me, Babe, Then" and then gets interviewed about his Canadianness, the burning question being Triumph or Rush, and which of Carl's two bands brings him most pleasure. This is all after the audience gets assaulted by party poppers, flying chocolates, a midget wrestling Dave with nunchucks, and a song and dance by Mr. Hill. It was certainly a night of holiday cheer and man love.
Matter of fact, the whole show was so good, Rhapsody is making it available to own.
Starting on December 23rd, those people who purchase MS'08 from the Rhapsody MP3 store will also get an audio download of the ENTIRE SHOW FOR FREE. And I'm telling you, it sounds unbelievable.
Stop by Rhapsody Rock's video page (http://rhapsodyextras.com/rrnyc/) now to see more videos from the show (including performances from Mission of Burma, King Khan & BBQ and the Duchess & the Duke), and download the album and the live jams on the 23rd because you have to have it, just for you, just forever. I’m not kidding, it’s that good.
I'm sorry about the above headline but it scanned better (barely) than "Don't Call Her Countess Grishnackh". From 3news.co.nz (thanks to Mark Ohe for the link) :
Italian news reports say the singer of a heavy metal band and her brother stabbed the band's guitarist dozens of times, apparently because he wasn't playing well.
The Genoa-based newspaper Il Secolo XIX is reporting that the 19-year-old Soul Cry singer, Cristina Balzano, and her 16-year-old brother have been arrested on charges of attempted murder.
The newspaper is quoting the victim, identified only as A.D., as saying from hospital that he was attacked late Saturday after a rehearsal with the band "Soul Cry." He said band members had been criticizing his playing but that he never expected to be physically hurt.
Not to make light of what sounds like a near-tragedy, but how many past or present bandmates of C.C. DeVille read the above item and nodded their heads in empathy?
From the first time your cool older sister brought home a copy of If You're Feeling Sinister during Winter break from Haverford, you have wanted to design artwork for a Belle And Sebastian album.
You've worked hard at it... Aping that monochromatic vibe for mixtapes.... Copped the twee girl clutching some Kafka on flyers for your weekly DJ night.... you work hard. You're never lazy about it.
And now is not the time to let the laziness set in.
We are giving you the once in a lifetime chance to design the front cover image for a limited edition of The BBC Sessions that will be sold in stores nationwide. That's right, an actual commercial edition of a Belle album (in nostalgic compact disc format) will feature your creative work if the band so deems it worthy.
Photo by PAOLO PROSERPIO at the Milan show last week.
In what feels like their 400th show of the year, Fucked Up will once again be hitting London tonight with the final show of 2008 for the band, and for Matador UK.
Here's the details : WED DEC 17 UNDERWORLD LONDON 8PM ALL AGES (14+)
FUCKED UP THE KING BLUES LETS WRESTLE
Tonight will be a Christmas Party of sorts, with tinsel and party hats. There'll also be a charity give away tonight of some of the remaining Royal Swan 7"s from the 12hr show. Money donated for a copy will be going to selected London-based charities.
And we didn't tell you, but if you happen to be in the Shoreditch area of town at around 12.30am tonight, there's a distinct chance you might catch an additional FU show at the Old Blue Last. But you didn't hear it from me.
(work crews feverishly prepare for the announcement of just what we've been watching and eating in 2008)
Every December I send out a rambling, somewhat desperate electronic message to the Matador artist roster (well, most of 'em) along w/ label staff and our Beggars' colleagues, begging for their favorite people/places/things/records/memories from the year about to conclude. We've got our longest list of best-of's so far, though keep in mind, if Gabe and Dave's submissions were edited, we'd be back to our mid '90's brevity all over again. Read 'em and weep, after the jump - G.C.
Jonah Falco, Fucked Up
Top Ten times I wished I was dead on tour this year:
10 - Zurich: Band mates spread false rumours on the internet about my other band breaking up right before a 2.5 week tour of the UK. Rash of confused emails from every promoter arrives, wine spills all over my brand new shirt. The stain is in the shape of Lake Eerie. 9 - Glasgow: I send our driver to the wrong airport to pick us up and as a result we have to sneak into T in the Park festival and almost miss our set. Walked into Rage Against the Machine's backstage area but no one would play me at Ping Pong. 8 - Anytown: Damian tucks his penis between his legs to make a Mangina while facing the drums, but it pops out like springy snakes in a fake can of Cashews and I drop my sticks in the middle of "Crusades." 7 - New York City: Hour 6 and onward at the 12 hour gig. My joints are all the size of grapefruits from playing so long....my hands still haven't recovered. Playing a show the next night and having a bouncer advise me to "Do Well" because his friends "The Hell's Angels" were there. 6 - Buffalo: We actually found a portion of Buffalo that didn't look like the scene in Dresden from the film version of Slaughterhouse 5, but ate Chinese Food that was about the equivalent taste to a condom filled with mealworms. 5 - Playing a house show, I get hit in the face with a firm object and start to bleed. I look at my snare and it's a sneaker, I look up and some rotten faced, scabby bastard is smiling at me giving the finger. 4 - Madrid: Developing a cold, bloated, and sitting backstage eating pieces of Salami, Sandy says "look behind you" and there are 5 cockroaches descending on me like the tarantulas in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" 3 - Basque Country: Playing with the Adolescents and shouting "WHERE ARE THE ADOLESCENTS????" at the dinner table as they all quietly dined RIGHT BESIDE ME. Casey Royer threw me into a black hole later. 2 - Philadephia: Invited to do a DJ set, I basically drag the whole band to some shit bar in downtown Philly, play some songs, drink lots, and get REALLY into it, dancing etc...A few weeks later I find out the entire band had been calling me "Carlton" since. 1 - Over the past year: Ben pukes blood, Sandy gets a kidney stone, Mike gets a lightbulb in the face, Josh nearly dies from getting dosed with Crack, Damian nearly bleeds to death in Calgary.......I lie in wait.
Andrew Earles’ personal highlights of 2008…in no order.
1. Reading, or finally reading, Brock Yates’ Cannonball! The World’s Greatest Outlaw Road Race, Josh Alan Friedman’s Tales of Times Square, When Sex Was Dirty, and Tell The Truth Until They Bleed, various writers’ The Best American Crime Reporting 2008, James Lee Burke’s The Neon Rain and Jesus Out To Sea, current and back issues of the excellent Stop Smiling magazine, various writers’ A Prisoner of Memory, various writers’ The Blue Religion, Bill Buford’s Among the Thugs, Robert S. McNamara’s In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, Joe Carducci’s Enter Naomi: SST, L.A. and All That…, Mirielle Silcoff’s Urban Animals: A Comic Field Guide, Jim Harrison’s A Good Day to Die, James Crumley’s The Last Good Kiss and Dancing Bear, Thomas Berger’s Who is Teddy Villanova, Don Herron’s Willeford, and Bill Pronzini’s Gun in Cheek: An Affectionate Guide to the Worst in Crime Fiction. 2. Boris “Smile” (the 2LP version…stateside, Southern Lord).
3. Torche “Meanderthal” (Hydra Head) 4. Geisha “Die Verbrechen der Liebe” (Crucial Blast) 5. Ian Christie’s Bazillion Points book publishing imprint. 6. TAD: Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears – A no-bullshit look at what happened to four guys who were not overly eccentric, psychotic, schizophrenic…this films distance from the uninspired, wallowing, contrived and unending parade of documentaries about musical “outsiders”…probably one big reason I dug it so much. 7. Metallica “…And Justice for All” (half-speed masters, 45 RPM, 4x12” reissue box set…Warner Bros.) - My ears are closed to the resounding protests of the misguided masses, for THIS is the best Metallica album. 8. Finding my once-lost copy of The Embarrassment’s 2 CD compilation “Heyday: 1979 – 1983” (Bar No…well, eBay or Amazon) 9. Making some serious headway with on my collection of Charles Willeford titles (a financially-backhanded thanks to alibris.com and eBay) 10. Surviving a particularly brutal and terrifying bout of appendicitis. 11. Pyramids s/t (Hydra Head) 12. The Crucial Blast label. 13. The 3 CD Big Dipper anthology (Merge) 14. The release of “Earles and Jensen Present…Just Farr A Laugh Vol. 1 & 2 (The Greatest Prank Calls Ever!)” 15. My new (for 2008) Schwinn “Trail Way” dual-purpose/hybrid MULTISPEED bicycle. 16. Neil Hamburger “Sings Country Winners” (Drag City) 17. My sincere and deep enjoyment of the following movies and TV shows: Shooter, There Will Be Blood, UKM: The Ultimate Killing Machine, Role Models, Dan Aykroyd Unplugged on UFO’s, Season 5 of The Wire, UFO Files, MonsterQuest, the hilarious Burn Notice, and The Strangers (a simple and mostly non-violent horror film that scared and troubled me to the core…this is the way it should be done). I’m forgetting so many…. 18. Becoming a hermit or at least cutting the social activity by about 75%
Ben Cook, Fucked Up
1. Hooking up with the little guy from Set Your Goals in San Fran, and not telling anyone. 2. Being so close to Beyonce @ BBC I could smell her. 3. Asking the singer of Hercules & Love Affair to go on a rollercoaster with me in Holland. I love you. Call me ? 4. Copenhagen 5. Scootie/D.T.F 6. Mariah E=Mc2 7. Newcastle, Where's my leather jacket? Eff you. 8. Stephen Ireland 9. Smoking Crack in Barcelona 10. Valentina
Thurston Moore, the sonik-youth
1. Eight Miles High (Das Wilde Leben) - German movie about Uschi Obermaier, super 60s Rolling Stones groupie who was a commune radical in Berlin. 2. Let the Right One in (Låt den rätte komma in) - Norwegian movie about a 12 yr old boy who is bullied and meets a friend - a 12 yr old vampire girl. Sweet and sticky. 3. The Savage Detectives - Robert Bolano - fiction book. 18 year old Mexico City poet dude falls in with weirdo literary gang who call themselves the Visceral Realists. Funny, strange, sexy - kickass book - looking forward to his next one (Bolano's dead) - just came out, titled: 2666 4. Noise Nomads - solo noise dude runs the Bonescraper cassette label and is killer artist. His performances are surreal disconnections of true noise physicality. A lot of heart. 5. Uneven Universe - duo from Michigan using saxophones and junk sound. Dan “Dude” Dlugosielski and Hellfire Holly. Dan runs the ExciteBike (EXBX) label. Both are also in Cardboard Sax with Wolf Eyes' John Olson. Check it:
Rock City Sixteen - Lunette Noires Nuits Blanches 7" (Cigarette Music) Box Elders - "Hole In My Head" 7" (Grotto) V/A - Messthetics Greatest Hiss, Vol. 1 (Hyped 2 Death)
live : AH Kraken, Beerland, Austin TX Marked Men finale / Wax Museums / Bad Sports, Rubber Gloves, Denton, TX The Notwist, ULU, London, Black Time, Hi-Tone, Memphis Tyvek / The Homosexuals, The Crofoot, Detroit Los Llamarada, Spiros, Austin, Dikes Of Holland, everywhere, everytime, Austin Awesome Color, Mohawk, Austin Wire, Irving Plaza, NYC Witch Hats, Santos Party Haus/ Cake Shop, NYC Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, James Dolan's Party Barn, NYC Fucked Up w/ special guest John Rzeznik performing the latter's cover of "Mommi, I'm A Misfit", Bowery, NYC (5am approx. everyone had gone home. Including Fucked Up) Total Abuse, not often enough, Austin
non music : The Guardian setting David Mitchell and Russell Brand loose on the sports pages, Hai KY (e. oltorf st., Austin, TX), "Pineapple Express" and the continued ascent of Gary Cole, election night 11/04/08, Austin's taco trailer population explosion,, "Peep Show" season 6, "The Best Show On WFMU", Derek Erdman.
Bad stuff : Mets bullpen, Mets relievers, the guys who pitch for the Mets after the starters leave the game. Mets closers, set up men, mop up men, their families and friends. Prop 8. Twitter/F-book pests. Not necessarily in that order.
I consider myself a pretty hardcore Syd Barrett fan, but I was astounded to find that high-quality demos of pre-Piper at the Gates of Dawn material exist — from 1965, no less. The above slideshow is more or less irrelevant but the song, "Lucy Leave," is fantastic. It features fifth Floyd member Bob Klose, who is responsible for the twangy guitar bits. It's no Dog Police, but it's still worth your time.
Lunch is the unjustly neglected meal. (Not so in Denmark.) It's my favorite meal of the day, and here I am posting endlessly about dinners I've made.
The best lunches are simple and cold. This one is composed of Mestemacher whole rye bread, Boars Head swiss from the deli, and Irish mustard from our own Fiona. Other choice cold items could be added to it from the fridge: pickles, anchovies, salami etc. But basically it's perfect, especially if washed down with beer or cider.
With all due respect to the likes of Darling Cruel, Joey Welz and whoever directed Mick Jagger's "Let's Work", there are music videos that commit themselves to memory so profoundly, nothing sort of joining the Moonies (or a frontal lobotomy) is required to banish their dubious charms from one's headspace. Today, we have two such contenders for the crown of Sickest Music Video Of All Time.
Challenger B, offered by Megan Metzger of NY, NY, is the semi-legendary Complete. Feel free to make your own suggestions, but it's gonna take some doing to top either of these.
The MataBlog is edited by Matador Records’ co-moaner Gerard Cosloy and individual entries are the work of whoever’s name is next to them. If you enjoyed something in the MataBlog, thank you very much! If there was something you found particularly troubling, please be advised that a) maybe you should read it again and b) the contents of this blog do not necessarily represent the opinions of Matador Records, Beggars Group, the combined staff of either company, nor the Matador artist roster. Opinions are like friends — hardly anyone has one worth listening to.
From the first time your cool older sister brought home a copy of If You're Feeling Sinister during Winter break from Haverford, you have wanted to design artwork for a Belle And Sebastian album.
