Solid State

Activists/Dictators still rock. Hard. Harder than before, even. Of course, I was in the basement of 1/2 Lounge for most of their set, but they kicked my ass nonetheless.

End transmission.

I just realized that, due to our dying kitty situation, we missed the Melvins show. Damn! That was the night we put her down, so we completely forgot to rock. Please let me know how it was (lookin' at you, Mr. J. Cooley) 'cause I so wanted to go. I've seen them a few times, but not with the new four-piece lineup.

For today's fun, have a look at Iggy Pop's tour rider, courtesy The Smoking Gun.

Thanks sooooo much for all of your nice comments. I never wanted this blog to become kitty doom central, but I needed an outlet. Regularly scheduled programming will resume shortly.

Also, you'll be pleased to hear that the other boy, Brando, got a clean bill o' health.

Just a quick post today; I'm woefully behind in work.

Natascha the cat was put down yesterday. She had feline leukemia. We're OK with her passing; it is a relief that she is no longer suffering. But now we have to worry about our other cat, as the virus is contagious. We take him in for testing today.

Thanks to everyone for the gracious notes of support; we couldn't have imagined going through this again, and every little bit helped.

Soon we'll get back to blabbing about music, I promise. And I'm shooting for another podcast next week.

Spent the weekend "leaf-peeping" with Brooke's folks as our 1 year, 3 month-old cat Natascha was dying in the closet. Today at 3 p.m. we'll likely make the choice to put her down.

My back is totally is busted, so walking Shelburne Farms on Saturday was a treat. The leaves did look pretty sexy, though.

Fun: Before work, I caught the video for Eddie Murphy's sole '80s hit, "Party all the Time" on VH1 Classic. Everyone's favorite crack smokin' funk monster Rick James produced the tune, and also appeared in the video. It's awesome in many ways. Check it out.

Our pals Carrigan just got a good review for Young Men Never Die at Metal Storm.

The weird thing is, Carrigan are about as far from metal as a band can get. But any press, as it's said, is good press.

PS: The cat goes to a super high-level-specialty-internal-medicine vet tomorrow at 11 a.m. We're not expecting good news, but it'll be nice to know when and why we have to let her go.

To forget one’s purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.

It's about damn time.

Thx, Candleblog!

I remember Holden from Pretty & Nice when he was just a lad. He'd shuffle into Pure Pop and try to get me to listen to lame bands like Braniac. Actually, that group was pretty decent — as far as nerdy indie-punk/electro goes, anyway.

Now Holden is all growed up and kicking ass. P&N are about to release their debut full-length, Pink & Blue. I think it's really quite good.

It puts a smile on my sourpuss face.

Made it out to Higher Ground last night. Saw most of the stuff happening in the big room; Zac Clark and headliners Gomez.

Thoughts: Zac is really poppy. I wonder what will happen when he gets older and that boyishly adenoidal singing style is no longer appropriate? It was a solidly played set, but a little on the schmaltzy side. That's one man's opinion, anyway.

Gomez sound very good live, but bore me to death. They're dipping further into the American jam bag than ever before; maybe they should just renounce the UK and move here. I hear they've got one of Phish's managers behind 'em now, so it could all come together nicely.

After that, I checked out a little bit of the Static Age show next door. By the time I made it over, the opening bands were done, so no report there.

There weren't many attendees, and this surprised me. Especiallyconsidering it was an all-ages, CD release party for a nationally knownband. Maybe the kids are into skiffle these days.

SA were OK at best. Those dudes (and gal) need to lay off the flanger pedals for a while. Their tunes lose a lot of punch and clarity with all the effects gunking 'em up. That sound worked for The Cure on Disintegration, 'cause the music is slower and more subdued. But when you're strumming big chords behind disco-punk beats, things can get rather muddy.

Let's all just move on from the '80s now, shall we? I mean, until you can cover XTC or Tears for Fears note-for-note, you haven't fully absorbed the lessons of that fucked-up little decade. And why do people resurrect the pseudo-goth stuff all the time? Why is no one clamoring for Billy Ocean? Or Taylor Dayne?

Ah, forget it. I've asked these silly questions before.

I'm currenly sequencing the tunes for my next podcast. I don't wanna give anything away, but it should be a treat. Or maybe a trick....

Our cat doesn't have cancer; it's a bone infection. This is good news. Still, the vets say it'll be tough to knock out, because antibiotics are more readily absorbed into blood and tissue than bone. Treatment may take a several months. Meanwhile, she's groggy and none too pleased at the situation.

On to my ailments. Currently, my lower back is completely screwed up. A friend of mine zapped me with his Reiki mojo, but results were limited. Maybe I'll sacrifice some tofu to the Great Old Ones.

I'm gonna try to hit the Gomez show at Higher Ground tonight (opener Zac Clark is reportedly playing with Daryl Rabidoux and Mike Portman of Strangeways Studios) but it all depends on whether I can stand up for more than 10 minutes at a time.

I'd say I was cursed, if I weren't so happy. Generally speaking, that is.

Lastly, those wily fellas in Farm have posted some new rough mixes from their ongoing drunkfest recording session. Check it out.