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June 30, 2005
Presenting...
Our intern Le Tigre cover band:
LE LIGER
Posted by houch at 04:24 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
June 29, 2005
Check fact
Fine, Drew. You win. I'm in no state to post, though. However, I did just have a dinner discussion that involved Hacksaw Jim Duggan, the Millionaire Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, American Gladiators and nerf balls. I was at the Paste Office until 1 AM last evening. Probably later tonight. Alas, back to the fact checking I must go.
Posted by houch at 01:16 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 23, 2005
The Internment Camp
Gentle readers,
If you'd like to read more about my life as a intern here at the Paste World Headquarters in Decatur, GA. You might like to check out our unofficial intern blog...
Posted by houch at 03:06 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 18, 2005
Pasting
So, here's my first official Paste piece.
Posted by houch at 12:57 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
June 17, 2005
Triumph Visits Jacko Supporters
Amazing.
Posted by houch at 04:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 16, 2005
Deathly
So, another Paste office experience.
"Who wants to go see Aimee Mann play a private show at 1 PM this afternoon?"
Me.
EDIT: I was implying that I would get to go. However, they cut us down to only two spots. Alas, my spot was revoked. Oh, rock gods, why do you humor me so?
Posted by houch at 03:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 13, 2005
Woo Bonnaroo
On Friday morning, I came here to the Paste Magazine headquarters, as per usual. The higherups came into the lounge - also known as our office - and said we need two people to go to Bonnaroo right now.
Begrudgingly, I agreed. I mean, free tickets, free hotel room, free food. What a terrible opportunity.
Anyway, a thousand jambands later, I'm still trying to get the hippie juice off me. But in the meantime, I saw some good shows - Brazilian Girls, John Prine, Iron & Wine and Modest Mouse, among them. But My Morning Jacket topped them all.
Yes, those are mascot puppets. And that's Dr. Frederick Von Guggenheim conducting. Best show of the weekend. But I got back last night after 4 AM, even writing in complete sentences hurts. So, I will go.
Oh yes, I bought tickets to see Modest Mouse here tonight, so we are pretty much having a two-night stand now. I may even convert to Scientology for my new lover.
Posted by houch at 09:47 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
June 08, 2005
Living in the 90s
So, Rhino has announced a 7-cd box set of the 90s. I know a lot of times people claim certain CDs are the soundtracks of their lives. Well, these songs are the soundtrack of my life. I was, and in some senses still am, a child of the 90s. This tracklisting is pretty much the 7-cd mix CD I would have made in 9th grade.
Sure, there ares some notable exclusions: Harvey Danger, Prodigy, a few Green Day songs, The Verve, Coolio and Bone Thugs'n'Harmony.
But, honestly, I can't express to you how excited I am to see that song by Primitive Radio Gods. It can't be forgotten. Same goes for the Sneaker Pimps and Tag Team.
>>Disc One:
01 "U Can't Touch This" - MC Hammer
02 "Nothing Compares 2 U" - Sinead O'Connor
03 "No Myth" - Michael Penn
04 "Ladies First" - Queen Latifah (feat. Monie Love)
05 "Ball and Chain" - Social Distortion
06 "Birdhouse in Your Soul" - They Might Be Giants
07 "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" - Mother Love Bone
08 "Here's Where the Story Ends" - The Sundays
09 "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" - C & C Music Factory
10 "Groove Is in the Heart" - Deee-Lite
11 "Right Here Right Now" - Jesus Jones
12 "New Jack Hustler (Nino's Theme)" - Ice-T
13 "I Touch Myself" - Divinyls
14 "Unbelievable" - EMF
15 "Hard To Handle" - The Black Crowes
16 "O.P.P." - Naughty By Nature
17 "Walking in Memphis" - Marc Cohn
18 "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye to Yesterday" - Boyz II Men
>>Disc Two: 01 "Silent Lucidity" - Queensryche
02 "Into the Drink" - Mudhoney
03 "Girlfriend" - Matthew Sweet
04 "I'm Too Sexy" - Right Said Fred
05 "Calling All Angels" - Jane Siberry (with k.d. lang)
06 "Only Shallow" - My Bloody Valentine
07 "It's a Shame About Ray" - The Lemonheads
08 "Baby Got Back" - Sir Mix-A-Lot
09 "They Want EFX" - DAS EFX
10 "Jump" - Kris Kross
11 "Walk" - Pantera
12 "N.W.O." - Ministry
13 "Shitlist" - L7
14 "Absynthe" - The Gits
15 "Coattail Rider" - Supersuckers
16 "Runaway Train" - Soul Asylum
17 "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" - Spin Doctors
18 "Dizz Knee Land" - dada
19 "Nearly Lost You" - Screaming Trees
>>Disc Three:
01 "Under the Bridge" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
02 "Unsung" - Helmet
03 "Jump Around" - House Of Pain
04 "Free Your Mind" - En Vogue
05 "Rump Shaker" - Wreckx-N-Effect
06 "Informer" - Snow
07 "Connected" - Stereo MCs
08 "Detachable Penis" - King Missile
09 "Freak Me" - Silk
10 "Ordinary World" - Duran Duran
11 "If I Can't Change Your Mind" - Sugar
12 "Three Little Pigs" - Green Jelly
13 "Start Choppin" - Dinosaur Jr.
14 "The Devil's Chasing Me" - The Reverend Horton Heat
15 "Gone to the Moon" - Fastbacks
16 "My Name Is Mud" - Primus
17 "What's Up" - 4 Non Blondes
>>Disc Four:
01 "Thunder Kiss '65" - White Zombie
02 "Whoomp! (There It Is)" - Tag Team
03 "Broken Hearted Savior" - Big Head Todd and the Monsters
04 "Trust Me" - Guru with N'Dea Davenport
05 "Here Comes" - Velocity Girl
06 "Gepetto" - Belly
07 "Eye to Eye" - The Muffs
08 "Gentlemen" - Afghan Whigs
09 "Leafy Incline" - Tad
10 "Dream All Day" - The Posies
11 "Hey Jealousy" - Gin Blossoms
12 "My Sister" - The Juliana Hatfield Three
13 "Whatta Man" - Salt-N-Pepa
14 "Back & Forth" - Aaliyah
15 "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)" - Me'Shell Ndegéocello
16 "Freedom of '76" - Ween
17 "Cut Your Hair" - Pavement
18 "God" - Tori Amos
19 "MMM MMM MMM MMM" - Crash Test Dummies
20 "Possession" - Sarah McLachlan
>>Disc Five:
01 "Shine" - Collective Soul
02 "Far Behind" - Candlebox
03 "You Gotta Be" - Des'ree
04 "Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon" - Urge Overkill
05 "She Don't Use Jelly" - The Flaming Lips
06 "m.i.a." - 7 Year Bitch
07 "21st Century (Digital Boy)" - Bad Religion
08 "Sugar Free Jazz" - Soul Coughing
09 "Mockingbirds" - Grant Lee Buffalo
10 "What's the Frequency Kenneth?" - R.E.M.
11 "Revolve" - Melvins
12 "Buddy Holly" - Weezer
13 "Here and Now" - Letters to Cleo
14 "Good" - Better Than Ezra
15 "Run-Around" - Blues Traveler
16 "I'll Be There for You" (Theme From "Friends") - The Rembrandts
17 "Tomorrow" - Silverchair
18 "Not a Pretty Girl" - Ani DiFranco
19 "Carnival" - Natalie Merchant
>>Disc Six:
01 "Wonderwall" - Oasis
02 "Birthday Cake" - Cibo Matto
03 "Cumbersome" - Seven Mary Three
04 "One of Us" - Joan Osborne
05 "Caught by the Fuzz" - Supergrass
06 "Sweet 69" - Babes In Toyland
07 "Breakfast at Tiffany's" - Deep Blue Something
08 "Photograph" - The Verve Pipe
09 "In the Meantime" - Spacehog
10 "Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check" - Busta Rhymes (Feat. Rampage the Last Boy Scout)
11 "Who Will Save Your Soul" - Jewel
12 "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand" - Primitive Radio Gods
13 "Cybele's Reverie" - Stereolab
14 "Capri Pants" - Bikini Kill
15 "What I Got" - Sublime
16 "Kung Fu" - Ash
17 "Virtual Insanity" - Jamiroquai
18 "Naked Eye" - Luscious Jackson
19 "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" - Wilco
>>Disc Seven:
01 "itszoweezee (hot)" - De La Soul
02 "LoveFool" - The Cardigans
03 "Radiation Vibe" - Fountains Of Wayne
04 "The Impression That I Get" - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
05 "Turn It On" - Sleater-Kinney
06 "Bitch" - Meredith Brooks
07 "MMMBop" - Hanson
08 "Brian Wilson" (live) - Barenaked Ladies
09 "Brick" - Ben Folds Five
10 "Sex and Candy" - Marcy Playground
11 "Walking on the Sun" - Smash Mouth
12 "Tubthumping" - Chumbawamba
13 "6 Underground" - Sneaker Pimps
14 "Lullaby" - Shawn Mullins
15 "Slide" - Goo Goo Dolls
16 "Kiss Me" - Sixpence None the Richer
17 "Steal My Sunshine" - LEN
18 "What It's Like" - Everlast
19 "Natural Blues" - Moby
Posted by houch at 12:19 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 06, 2005
Bobos in Paradise?
So, after an overnight coach ride to the curb of Gatwick Airport, a transatlantic flight that replayed Groundhog Day three times (hopefully I wasn't the only person to catch the irony in that), and four devilish days in Mississippi, I have arrived here in Atlanta.
The Paste Headquarters are cramped to a certain coolness. I'm staying with a friend who graciously offered the extra bedroom in his parents house for my summer (free) accomodation. I may be incorrect in presuming this, but I will presume anyway. This home bears way too much resemblance to the sitcom notion of homes that at least 10 different people just waltz into on any particular day. I never believed it actually existed. I thought Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers homestead on TGIF's "Step by Step" was a manifestion of the collective American familial psychosis, a figment in falsity. However, my experience thus far tells me that these type of things actually exist. Having been here 48 hours, each time I have descended the stairs from my upstairs roost, someone I have never seen nor met before is standing in the kitchen. My friend's mother told me that about twenty people have keys to their home. This generosity both warms and chills me. I am delighted by their kindness, but have to prepare myself to live in the physical reality of what up until now has an only been a filmic representation for me.
However, what is even more chilling than that is my daily commute to work. The drive is a solid 25 miles through parkway, freeway and motorway. Nevertheless, those 25 miles mark a continental divide in cultural attitudes. Paste is located in Decatur, sometimes dubbed the Berkeley of the south. It's a hotbed of gentrification and the new urbanism, also only a stone's throw away from Little Five Points, the bohemian center of Atlanta.
Conversely, my friend's house is located, well, technically in Alpharetta, though I suppose it's closer in proximity to Duluth and Roswell. Essentially, this neighborhood resides in a North Atlanta netherworld. To get from the highway to this neighborhood, it's a mere three miles. However, as I realized on a drive just a short while ago, that requires passing by two golf courses. (The number is three if you count what is incidentally a first for me - a gated golf course. I'm not entirely certain if it's a private club or someone's front yard. Neither would surprise me.) Also, every neighborhood in this vicinity must be required to have a name vaguely remniscent of some rural idyll - for example, RiverPines or River Farm on the Chattahoochee - not forgetting my own, The Falls.
The nearby supermarket has one of the lamest selections of organic foods I've encountered. The Oxford, MS Kroger shames this variety. And for all its delusions of bohemia, Oxford is not exactly a bastion of progressive living. Driving around Atlanta still feels awkward for me, not because I haven't driven in five months, but because these people will so willingly just pack up and commute 30 miles for a stroll through Eddie Bauer or Bed Bath and Beyond.
Maybe this acute feeling when driving has driven me (puntastic!) to another realization. Atlanta, as well as American, pedestrians are little more than pariah. On the first count, there's hardly sidewalks anywhere. So, any city outing that involves walking must be preceded by a few prayers to patron saint of adventure travel Daniel Boone. Secondly, pedestrians just look so out of place. In some sense, pedestrians have become the bare genitals of American public spaces. Our reaction to their alienation is little different than that of when we accidentally open the door on someone using the toilet. I'm not going to shy away from the obvious: Pedestrians are the penises and vaginas of American society.
Honestly, though, for me there's are few things more depressing than the lone pedestrian walking down some grassy curb next to the next great American tribute to the shopping center. I respect the trailblazer, but bemoan the fact that walking in 21st-century America is as rugged as the Oregon Trail was.
I realize this isn't just Atlanta. America has largely become a suburban cesspool. Perhaps I can write this off to culture shock. For the past five months, I've been living on a campus dorm that was a ten-minute walk from a supermarket, coffee shop, pharmacy, bar, video rental store, cinema, Thai, Chinese, Indian, and pub cuisine. Hell, I could even walk to McDonald's if I wanted to.
You must not realize how good you had it until it's all gone. Emigration, please.
Posted by houch at 01:38 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 01, 2005
Transatlanticism
Well, I survived the journey back Stateside. Yet, I can't seem to shake all of Britain. Tonight I stopped at the gas station to get the most un-British of drinks, one of those bottled Starbucks frappucinos. After I purchased it, and pulled out of the station, I realized that I was driving on the left side of the road. I quickly had to correct myself.
In other news, Phil Spector, uh, looking good in court:
Where's the wall of sound when you reall need it, Phil?
Posted by houch at 06:41 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack