in brief: green, left of center politics; reading; travel; writing short stories; cuddling while watching movies, staring at the sea; horseback riding; yoga; hiking; biking along the ocean; practicing my Spanish conversation skills; photography and MUSIC!
sarcastic s.o.b.s who like words. alternatively, people who have similar tastes in music and who like going to live shows. there's nothing like it.
rubbin' elbows: and who says rock stars aren't real people? my fellow alfredians, check out drummer jOe boyle (AU class of '98)!
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the laundry list (in no particular order): the cure, coldplay, portishead, radiohead, sigur ros, belle and sebastian, yo la tengo, the smiths, the flaming lips, the clash, dandy warhols, beck, cake, godspeed you black emperor, luna, interpol, modest mouse, ozomatli, the strokes, the white stripes, the velvet underground, weezer, yeah yeah yeahs, the beatles, chuck berry, johnny cash, violent femmes, moby, u2, michael jackson (when he was black), elvis (before he sucked), mana, six parts seven, tracy chapman, the bangles, depeche mode, ocean colour scene, john lennon, the pixies, green day, wilco, death cab for cutie, the killers, spoon, pinback, tori amos, the postal service, the shins, ani difranco, norah jones, brian jonestown massacre, the beta band, the doors, jimi hendrix, muse, the decemberists, iron and wine, new order, spoon, regina spektor, keane (this cheesy Brit pop band has really grown on me), lilys, cocteau twins, the hives, the wonder stuff (though i only know the old-school stuff), kasey chambers (took me ages to find her cds in the record store - she's in the country section!), the lightning seeds (remind me a bit of morrissey), chris koza (i've been listening to "patterns" non-stop since i saw him play in monterey!)
recently seen: la curiosa festival: the cure, interpol, mogwai, the rapture; the pixies; six parts seven (check them out if you don't know them; they're awesome!), ween; wilco; sigur ros (perhaps the BEST show i've EVER seen!); tegan and sara opening for cake; death cab for cutie at the warfield; fiona apple opening for coldplay; mates of state and spoon opening for death cab for cutie at berkeley's greek theater (killer show!!); the new lou reeds opening for pere ubu at cleveland's the beachland ballroom (fun times), the decemberists at sf's warfield theater (absolutely AMAZING show!!); lucero aboard the temptress on the rocks off concert series (some ridiculous fun!); monterey bay reggaefest at the monterey fairgrounds: various artists (8/31-9/2); the shins at berkeley's the greek (10/5); chris koza at monterey live (10/17); lucero at sf's slim's (10/19); monterey music summit at the monterey fairgrounds: g. love and the special sauce, cake (10/20), ozomatli and brandi carlile (10/21); pinback at sf's bimbo's 365 club (10/26); lucero at brooklyn's the music hall of williamsburg (11/3); the twilight, the dreadful yawns & cobra verde at the beachland ballroom (11/21)
favorite photos from past shows:
we had a fantastic view for the Death Cab show!
one of my best shots from the Decemberists 4/26 show:
did i mention that i had floor tickets?
the 6//22 Rocks Off concert in NYC aka the Lucero booze cruise was absolutely fantastic! Small venues are amazing!
Caught in the act: Lucero's Brian Venable (guitar) gives me the finger!
I had to fight to keep from being pushed into the band. Nothing like being up close and personal.
Ben Nichols (above & below)
Lucero's bassist John Stubblefield
my favorite photo from the Pinback show:
Imagery from the Monterey Music Summit:
Brandi Carlile (above and below)
Cake:
Ozomatli:
upcoming shows: Since the Decemberists canceled their tour, who knows? :(
cds recently purchased: pinback: blue screen life, summer in abaddon; clap your hands say yeah; spoon: gimme fiction; sufjan stevens: the avalanche, illinois; snow patrol: eyes open; the decemberists: picaresque (a bday gift from doug!); yo la tengo: i am not afraid of you and i will beat your ass (another bday gift from doug - THANKS!); the decemberists: the crane wife, castaways and cutouts, her majesty the decemberists; iron and wine: woman king; spoon: kill the moonlight; regina spektor: soviet kitsch, begin to hope (her latest); shins: wincing the night away (their latest); clap your hands say yeah: some loud thunder (their latest); wilco: sky blue sky (their latest); modest mouse: we were dead before the ship even sank (their latest); spoon: ga ga ga (their latest); the lilys: everything wrong is imaginary; cocteau twins: heaven or las vegas; iron and wine: our endless numbered days; keane: hopes and fears; the hives: veni vidi vicious; kasey chambers: the captain, barricades and brickwalls, carnival; snow patrol: final straw, songs for polarbears, when it's over we still have to clear up; iron and wine: the shepherd's dog (their latest); pinback: autumn of the seraphs (their latest); g. love and the special sauce (title album); morrissey: your arsenal; keane: under the iron sea; chris koza: exit pesce, patterns; the lighting seeds: like you do...best of the lightning seeds; sigur ros: heima (their latest!); the dreadful yawns: rest, pretend ep
i really need to get the new sigur ros dvd! (release date of 12/4)
i hope you don't mind, but i feel the need to proclaim my love for SF's Amobea Records .
favorites, both new and old: eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, amores perros, pi, requiem for a dream, office space, high fidelity, molly ringwald movies, breakfast at tiffany's, lord of the rings, amelie, run lola run, footloose, bowling for columbine, metropolis, trainspotting, spellbound, american spendor, orgasmo, lost in translation, 21 grams, this is spinal tap, cold comfort farm, star trek the undiscovered country, star trek generations, star wars, out of africa, reality bites, the heathers, the holy grail, wallace and grommit, chicken run, say anything, bend it like beckham, a clockwork orange, one flew over the cuckoo's, nest, adaptation, motorcyle diaries, the terminal, donnie darko, the incredibles, walk the line, boondock saints, shopgirl, toy story, charade, crash, harry potter (who would have thought?), a scanner darkly, little miss sunshine
recently seen: little miss sunshine (hilarious!), quinceanera, layercake, our brand is crisis (an insider's view of bolivian elections), the illusionist (a brilliant film!), the science of sleep, jackass 2, borat, stranger than fiction, brokeback mountain (out of curiosity i watched it on DVD; it was ok); children of men (the bogus ending pretty much ruined it for me); night at the museum, capote, dreamgirls, the pursuit of happyness, superman returns, clerks II, letter from iwo jima, catch and release, running with scissors, the last kiss, totsi, the departed, you me and dupree, music and lyrics, the transformers, the simpsons (fantastic), the darjeeling limited, 1408, hairspray (on my way to NYC), before the devil knows you're dead (a disturbing film that was uncomfortable to watch)
recently purchased: the terminal, wallace and gromit: curse of the were-rabbit, the incredibles, i nearly bought this is spinal tap (does that count?)
on my "to see" list: snakes on a plane, the new harry potter (yeah, i know), the bourne series (haven't seen a single one), sicko
I can't wait to see Heima!
the boob tube: i don't watch much tv. but, when i do, it's the simpsons, family guy, american dad, re-runs of that 70s show, house md, scrubs, gilmore girls, sex and the city, six feet under, the l word, studio 60, west wing (!!)
since they canceled studio 60 and i've fallen off the house wagon (they put episodes online now anyway, though i've only managed to successfully watch a couple), i've been working my way through the west wing from the beginning. this will take me a while. i'm now on season four of seven.
books: the little prince, stupid white men, the horse called pete (sentimental attachment - was my dad's as a kid), the fountainhead, the great gatsby, a clockwork orange, cannery row, a sand county almanac, the sun also rises, the dubliners, a prayer for owen meany, tuesdays with morrie, a civil action, one flew over the cuckoo's nest, catcher in the rye, zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, rites of passage, oranges aren't the only fruit, the professor's house, about a boy, high fidelity
plays: nearly all shakespeare, but especially: othello, hamlet, and a midsummer night's dream; arthur miller's death of a salesman; brian friel's translations
authors: willa cather, thomas hardy (both his poetry and novels), ernest hemingway, nick hornby, shakespeare, steinbeck, bukowski
books i've recently read: he's just not that into you, avoiding prison and other noble vacation goals, as it was in the beginning (written by one of my econ profs), steve martin's shopgirl and the pleasure of my company, charles bukowski's the post office (my first bukowski novel), mitch albom's new book for one more day, nick hornby's a long way down, david sedaris' dress your family in corduroy and denim, augusten burroughs' running with scissors, ian frazier's gone to new york (i really loved this book!)
books i'm reading now (that aren't thesis-related): since a person, who shall remain nameless, kifed my copy of bukowski's The Captain Is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship , i've been reading malcolm gladwell's the tipping point and am currently reading bill bryson's the life and times of the thunderbolt kid
books recently purchased: mitch albom's new book, "for one more day"; malcolm gladwell's "the tipping point" (it came highly recommended); nick hornby's "a long way down"; and the lonely planet's guide to peru; david sedaris' "dress your family in corduroy and denim", i just picked up a copy of josh kurlantzcik's "charm offensive: how china's soft power is transforming the world" and am making my way through it
my cat? she's pretty damned amazing. i aspire to be as healthy and fit as my 93 year-old grandparents