These Days I Barely Get By; I Don't Even Try

I've been meaning to write a state of the union address.

What a mess.

To start.

That's about all there really is to say, right?

I just got home from seeing a Beck show and for a second I forgot that the economy is in an absolute toilet. Not just here, but in England and across Europe.

I think it was at the first chord of 'The Golden Age' that I put aside my dance moves and really started to ponder everything going on. Aside from the usual complaint that I don't have insurance, I'm now thinking about people rolling around in dustbowls soon enough. I'm not talking about the Richard Fulds of the world who managed to put away approx 20 MILLION before the collapse. I'm not talking about the gentleman in the top hat cruising down 7th Ave in his ROLLS ROYCE as I was making my way to the poor girl's transport to get to the Beck show on 175th St. and Broadway.

I'm talking about all the people who got laid off and are now wondering what the fudge to do next when no one is spending and no one is hiring. Oof. Let's discuss a friend of mine who was recently laid off and is now pregnant. I'm sure she wouldn't want me to go in detail. She'd prolly shoot me if she knew I'd clicked 'publish post' on this one, but it's on my mind.

I won't even get into the election. My last two votes were a sham. Stolen. I don't have much faith in the next set of events. I might move. I really have nothing keeping me in any one place these days. I know I said that last time, but when there's some slimey hoe forcing her daughter to have a baby and trying to take my right to choose when and how to have my own, I will fucking leave.

Have you brushed up on your Maureen Dowd these days? If you're anything like moi, I will say you have. If not, keep posted to nytimes.com for her updates. She more than adequately and justly gives the play-by-play on that feminist disaster.

Here's the link to her latest posts in any case: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/maureendowd/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=maureen%20dowd&st=cse

To conclude, (and thereby back to Beck), can't I go back to the days when I was hanging around listening to 'Loser' or 'Where It's At?' or even 'Devil's Haircut?' I'd give anything for those bygone days.

Damon Albarn Loves Black People!

What?
It's true!
See for yourself:



I love pretty much anything Damon Albarn does. He's the master of music proliferation. His latest project is a speakerbox for Honest Jon's record label based in London, but of course, much more worldly. It includes work from artists he met during his trips to Africa. I was able to check him out on a whim at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in mid July.

http://www.honestjons.com/shop.php

Here's an article that describes the project better:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/jul/08/popandrock.culture

Check it out!

Isaac Hayes, Tom Petty, and Stevie Wonder!

Summer has officially began. You can tell because I've seen so many wonderful acts in such a short amount of time.

In one week I saw Isaac Hayes in Prospect Park, Tom Petty at MSG and Stevie Wonder at Jones Beach Theatre.

I've wanted to see Tom Petty since I was in high school. His songs are so timeless. I don't think I've ever met anyone with a negative feeling about his music. He's better than Springsteen in my book. Yeah, I said that.
I wish he had played 'Yer So Bad' though. It's definitely been one I've listened to a lot lately. He closed with 'Running Down a Dream' and 'American Girl.' Can't really complain. Oh! He also did 'Don't Come Around Here No More.' So great live!

Moving on to another great, I saw Stevie Wonder the next night at Jones Beach Theatre. It had been raining like a mother right before start of the show. In fact, they delayed start time so it wouldn't be so heinous for the performers and viewers. Jones Beach is an outdoor arena after all. All the good graces of the music gods aligned so that after about 30 mins of torrential downpours, Stevie was able to play a full set uninterrupted by mother nature. Not gonna lie, it was a little weird to see him live. It was like meeting Harry Potter or Kermit the Frog. So surreal and magical. He played 'Ribbon in the Sky.' Amazing. I think I teared a smidge on that one.
I can't take all the preparation work for these concerts though. The Other M coordinated all the purchases and logistics. SPANKS!

JUANES, Es Por Ti

Friday night, V and I went to see our fave Latin artist, Juanes, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. We first saw him on his Mi Sangre tour in 2005 at Madison Square Garden in New York. For those of you who don't know, Juanes is from Colombia and is the recipient of 12 (TWELVE!) Latin American Grammys. He's a political motivator and good spirit in the vein of Bono. His music is inspiring and earnest. I'll be shallow for a moment and also mention that I find him incredibly attractive. This was the closest I've been to a singer in a stadium setting. I pretty much screamed throughout the entire show. NV and I sang every song.

I love seeing him in concert because he's so upbeat and really commands the stage. He runs around to every corner and engages the audience at every turn. He also is an expert at pillow talking the ladies in the audience. It's quite incredible. From the pics, you can tell he's having such a good time working it. Here's a pic of his telling us about how lovely women are:

HP Pavilion, May 16, 2008. San Jose, CA.
A Dios Le Pido
No Creo en el Jamas
Mala Gente
Clase de Amor
La Noche
Un Dia Normal
Fotografia
Gotas de Agua Dulce
Bandera de Manos
Bailala
Suenos
Para Tu Amor
Me Enamora
La Paga
La Vida...Es Un Ratico
Minas Piedras
Es Por Ti
La Camisa Negra

ENCORE:
Dificil
Tres
Nada Valgo Sin Tu Amor
? (rats, I didn't know the last song!)

Also, let me just say he has the sweetest lyrics. Lately, I've been listening to Un Dia Normal a lot lately. Mostly for this phrase:
No importa en donde estes yo desde aquí te besaré en mis sueños
Mi sangre arderá por ti hasta que se pierda por tu cuerpo
En un día como hoy caminaré más despacio
En un día como hoy defenderé mi verdad
En un día como hoy te amarraré con mis brazos

Happiness More or Less

I must start this most special birthday week with a post thanking my darling cohabitant V for taking me to see The Verve. Like I mentioned before, it was ten years in the making. Mr. Ashcroft cut his hair. Hate to be so superficial, but that's the first thing I noticed. Then of course, the incredible vocals and amazing sound caught my attention for the next hour and a half they played.

I found myself singing unabashedly to 'Lucky Man.' Every single line. As if I had a good voice. At the top of my lungs. All of a sudden the song had so much more meaning.

Happiness More or less It's just a change in me Something in my liberty Oh, my, my Happiness Coming and going I watch you look at me Watch my fever growing I know just where I am But how many corners do I have to turn? How many times do I have to learn All the love I have is in my mind? But I'm a lucky man With fire in my hands Happiness Something in my own place I'm stood here naked Smiling, I feel no disgrace With who I am Happiness Coming and going I watch you look at me Watch my fever growing I know just who I am But how many corners do I have to turn? How many times do I have to learn All the love I have is in my mind? I hope you understand I hope you understand Gotta love that'll never die Happiness More or less It's just a change in me Something in my liberty Happiness Coming and going I watch you look at me Watch my fever growing I know Oh, my, my Oh, my, my Oh, my, my Oh, my, my Gotta love that'll never die Gotta love that'll never die No, no I'm a lucky man It's just a change in me Something in my liberty It's just a change in me Something in my liberty It's just a change in me Something in my liberty Oh, my, my Oh, my, my It's just a change in me Something in my liberty Oh, my, my Oh, my, my

Stinson Beach, April 27th, 2008

A wise friend told me recently that this week, when I turn old, I will know everything. I'll be excited to know what I'm supposed to do for work for the rest of my life. I'm excited to know the places I will travel and the people I will meet along the way. I can't wait to know that every decision will be 100% correct for me and no one else.

I'm excited to be your omniscient narrator...

A Good Concert Week

Don't Forget: Musicians are Sexy Beasts, Too!

In honor of a lovely week of concerts, I can't help but nominate three sexy beasts of the music industry for today's batch of sexy animals.

Mary J

I will proudly confess that at the tender age of 10, I was the owner of a cassette tape of 'What's the 411?' It was the first time I heard the genius that was The Notorious BIG aka Biggie Smalls aka Christopher Wallace. Mary asked me to "Reminisce" on the love we had, and I thought back to my cabbage patch dolls, Corey Haim, and that kid I hugged in kindergarten. 'Real Love,' 'Sweet Thing,' 'You Remind Me.' That album alone reads like R&Bs Greatest Hits of the '90s. Her followup album, 'My Life' was the first CD I bought. She is undoubtedly the Queen of R&B. It was a pleasure to see her live last night in Oakland as part of her Heart of the City tour with Jay-Z. She did all her hits, along with some new ones. Though the picture is from afar, I would have rocked out just as hard if I was in the first row. That's what a professional musician does best. Gets you off your ass and clap your hands with a bunch of people you don't know. That's the power of music. Proud Mary keep on burning.

Jay-z, Hova, Jigga Man, 8th Wonder, Brooklyn's Finest

I am a New Yorker. My borough is the Bronx. It's definitely with a twinge of irony that I end up seeing two of New York's finest during my self-imposed exile in California. Jay-Z, Brooklyn's Finest. What can I say about Jay-Z? He was as common to my upbringing as taking trains, taking an elevator to my apartment door, and eating at pizzerias. My older brother is a music connoisseur so I grew up staring at posters of not only Kiss, Guns-N-Roses, and Poison, but Big Daddy Kane and Eric B and Rakim. By the time Jay-Z came around, I was well aware of his predecessors as well as his contemporaries. Fast forward almost 12 years and Jay remains to hold it down without having gotten killed or changing his image. AND he married one of the most successful woman in pop music. I don't know my highlight from the show. He has so many hits which he performed: Big Pimpin, Encore, Dirt Off Your Shoulders, 99 Problems, Hard Knock Life, Show Me What Ya Got, Can I Get A..., Excuse Me Miss, Change Clothes. Jeez, I could go on, but I have another Sexy Animal to discuss.

Richard Ashcroft

So many haters of this next artist. They can go piss off. (You know who you are!) Richard Ashcroft is the quintessential British artist. He remains the successful frontman of the wildly popular, The Verve, and has a well-established solo career. During the mid-90s I was lucky to take part of the Brit Pop revolution that occurred in England, if albeit from across the pond. I steadily read Q, NME, and MOJO. I was young and preferred Oasis to Blur. I wanted to see Pulp and the Doves and most of all, The Verve. My shithead high school boyfriend ruined that for me. By the time the Verve came round to Hammerstein ballroom, we'd broken up and he asserted he would be taking his new girlfriend to the concert. Sick after having been broken up with for the first time in my life on my 16th birthday and reeling from being played at such a tender age, I resolved not to attend the show. Oh how life repairs all ills when one is owed. Ten years later (yeah I realize I'm getting fucking old), I am going to see The Verve tomorrow with my bestest pal and roomie, V. Not gonna lie, I'll probably cry at least once during the show. The Verve, for me, isn't that one song everyone knows from the Cruel Intentions Soundtrack. It's about British music, the 90s, one of the best British albums of the '90s.
So tomorrow I will be, hearing some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah. Let the melody shine. Let it cleanse my mind. I feel free now.

Coachella, why you do me that way?

Jack. Johnson. Headliner?
Over it. Thank god they added Princey. I hope he wear his purple onesie!

Maybe I'm spoiled from last year's incredible lineup of Bjork, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE(!).

True, this gives me an excuse to save money and invest my airfare and ticket fee to the wedding I'm part of in July. That's not the point. Who is Jack Johnson and why in god's name is he headlining every major summer tour this year from Coachella to Bannaroo? Who are his people?

Even Lollapalooza managed to pull a better lineup this year than Coachella. True, all of the non-headlining bands are just amazing as previous years. Fatboy Slim, Mark Ronson, Hot Chip, Vampire Weekend, M.I.A., and Animal Collective are not chump change by any means. Alls I'm sayin' is if they hadn't added Prince last minute, this year's lineup would have been a sham! A sham!