Five Surefire Cures for Hangover and Heartache

Loud laughs from my cubicle

These are a couple of the funniest things I've read this week:

David Nedelle of Pitchfork's news staff gets in the following in his post on Vegoose:

Tickets for these shows will be limited and details and lineup info will be announced soon. But since it's going to be Halloween, we really, really hope Gwar is playing.

And

And as the saying goes, "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas", so needless to say, eternal gratitude goes out to anyone going to Vegoose who can "happen" Dave Matthews enough to "stay" him there permanently. Ah, dare to dream.

Meanwhile, at PopMatters, Zeth Lundy gets in this dig at The Cat Empire:

This Melbourne sextet, which inexplicably got actual Cuban musicians and producer Jerry Boys to work on its new CD Two Shoes, describes itself as a "jazz-soul-hip-hop-Cuban-reggae-gypsy amalgamation". I think "piss in a Mountain Dew bottle" will do just fine.

Walking to the store ever since

Pitchfork has a great interview up with David Berman of The Silver Jews. Tanglewood Numbers is going to rule the fall, folks. Get on board while the getting is easy. And then you can scoff at all the latecomers come October. "Silver Jews? Humpf! That's so last summer."

My favorite part of the interview was this:

I had seen a picture of Cassie in Melody Maker. She was playing bass with M somewhere in Europe. I really got a heavy feeling looking at the picture. There's probably a German word for it. A couple months later I saw her at a crowded party in Louisville. I walked up to her with no fear and said, "Hi, Cassie." She was on her way to buy some more beer for the party. She asked me if I wanted to walk to the store with her. We've been walking to the store ever since.

Uncontrollably cute.

This interview also reveals that David Berman has had quite a history with substance abuse. As has just about every other icon I admire. Including Raymond Carver who I was recently drawn to on account of Palaxy Tracks claiming their new record was inspired by his work.

I found a book of his poetry titled A New Path To The Waterfall at the local used bookstore and almost cried upon reading the very first poem I happened upon. Which was this one:

HUMMINGBIRD
for Tess

Suppose I say summer,
write the word "hummingbird,"
put it in an envelope,
take it down the hill
to the box. When you open
my letter you will recall
those days and how much,
just how much, I love you.

-Raymond Carver

Just as moving was the dedication to the book which simply read "Tess. Tess. Tess. Tess". The omission of that final period just kills me.

That story from Berman and these insights into Carver's relationship with his wife have established a new standard for what I want from love.

But I'd settle for any given girl at a concert.

Gladly.

Pitchfork Strikes Back

So I've already called your attention to this site, but here in this review for Tom Vek's We Have Sound, Sam Ubl of Pitchfork strikes out at their snarking of otherwise earnest enthusiasm.

Sam also calls attention to this article in the New York Times. The condescending tone the Times takes to Pitchfork and the bands involved with their Intonation Music Festival really pisses me off. Here's the most offending passage:

But it was hard not to think about what was missing, namely the swagger and ambition and hunger of musicians ready to take over the world, or at least the country.

To which, I must say "fuck that" and "fuck you". The Intonation Festival was a triumph for the bands that played there and also for the site that helped make it happen. Pitchfork has always been a fierce advocate for independent music and that scene has arrived at its heyday in part because of their efforts and the work of other sites of similar mindset. I don't think Pitchfork ever thought they'd be capable of pulling off something like they did that weekend when they first started. And I don't think any of the bands that attended would have ever thought they'd be playing to that size of a crowd. But together they made it happen. And on those couple days there in Chicago, they did take over the world.

I also took offense to this comment by the Times:

The Go! Team (8.7) somehow thrilled the audience with a supremely irritating set; imagine a British indie-pop version of the Black-Eyed Peas.

The Go! Team is not irritating; they are intolerably awesome. By which I mean to say that they put on one of the best shows of 2005. They brought more energy and outright fun to the stage than anyone else I've seen all year. You owe it to yourself to see them. Dates here.

Uncotrollably awesome

Tsunami Bomb and I come from the same area of Northern California, so I figure interviewing them one on one should be easy since we've all shopped in the same mall.

Jodie Janella Horn kicks ass. Read her account of a woman who's old enough to know better attending (and enjoying) Warped Tour anyhow.