Oh, I've been neglecting this space, I know. Nothing earth-shattering to report, to be sure, but a few notes of interest:
- Watching the snow fall outside here, I can't help but think about how much I'd rather be in Silver Lake tonight, watching a killer trio of sets from Castledoor, the Deadly Syndrome and the Airborne Toxic Event, as the latter finishes out its monthlong residency there. Amazingly (and deservedly), the Airborne Toxic Event's "Sometime Around Midnight" is now the No. 2 most-requested song on L.A.'s KROQ. They're unsigned. That's outstanding. Listen, if you haven't.
- Speaking of exciting music, this'll be the first time in six years I will pass on the desert party that is Coachella. I'll miss the sunsets and the scene, and the midnight pool parties, but I won't miss this year's headliners. I think it's a good year to make my first visit to South by Southwest, don't you? Won't you come join me?
- Camel is encouraging me to quit smoking, by discontinuing my beloved Turkish Jades. Boo. Boo, Camel!
- No hard news yet on the job front, but some things are cooking, and in all likelihood, I'll be relocating from these Northern California parts sooner rather than later. Stay tuned.
SACRAMENTO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - In about an hour, I'll get on a plane bound for Las Vegas (well, actually, bound for San Francisco, where I'll then board a plane bound for Vegas), for Kevin's 30th birthday festivities. (You may know it was WendtFest or @vegas30. The cops may know it as That Night Those Losers Went to Jail or perhaps Just Another Day that Ends in "Y.")
Updates here aren't likely to be popping up during the trip, but the tweets will be flying from all involved. Good time to join up with the Twitter if you haven't already.
Nothing like going to Vegas when you're unemployed, that's what I always say!
The way I see it, I spent half the year preparing to move to Bangkok, moving to Bangkok, living and working in Bangkok, preparing to move back home and moving back home.
That left precious little time to discover thrilling new sounds. That's sad. And so, for the first time in many years, I didn't feel like I could really compile any sort of Top Ten/Twenty/Four Hundred Thirty Seven list of new music. I can't imagine many of you were waiting with baited breath for that, anyway, but in lieu of it, I present you a random list of musicness. It is thus:
BEST LIVE SET: Klaxons at Coachella. Hands down, the most electrifying 45 minutes since seeing the Libertines in the very same tent, pre-Doherty-breakdown. Saw Klaxons again in San Francisco and Chicago, but nothing compared to the first time. Isn't that always the case?
WORST CROWD: Hipster San Franciscans at the Hold Steady's Slims show. How on earth a thousand or so people could ruin a head-bobbing, foot-stomping good time with Brooklyn's finest (well, second finest; TV on the Radio can't be topped), I still don't know. But they did. WAKE. UP. SAN. FRANCISCO. Seriously.
BEST RECORD I HEARD, WHICH DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN IT'S THE BEST RECORD OF THE YEAR: The Weakerthans' "Reunion Tour." Outstanding, from start to finish. If you don't have it yet, what are you waiting for?
BEST ALBUM WHICH UNFORTUNATELY WASN'T REALLY AN ALBUM: The Airborne Toxic Event's three-song EP (video above for "Does This Mean You're Moving On?"). Eagerly awaiting the full-length this year, which seems to be trickling out slowly on the band's MySpace page. Listen there, buy at iTunes, and await just as eagerly once you're through.
OTHER GREAT L.A. BAND WITHOUT A FULL-LENGTH: The Little Ones. Album out April 15 (Tax Day!). Touring with Nada Surf in March (Coming to your town! Probably!). Pop in the most perfect sense. Check it.
GREATEST SOURCE FOR MUSIC NEWS: Pitchfork makes my head hurt. NME is no more reliable than News of the World. Know the best source for good (mostly) indie rock news? Kevin Bronson's LA Times blog, Buzz Bands. I've never come across a music critic anywhere whose taste I trust this much. If you're not getting the daily feed, you're missing out.
MOST INTERESTING STORY THAT COULD HAVE BEEN: In the months leading up to Coachella, I was thisclose to roping Michael Cera and Clark Duke to spending part of one of the festival days with me, talking music, which I'd have then turned into some Merc live-bloggage. This was pre-Clark and Michael, pre-Superbad, pre-Juno... pre-Cera hugeness. Alas, scheduling conflicts. That would have been one helluva day, though, yes?
SADDEST FAREWELL: Deathray hadn't played a show in more than a year, and the last time I saw them (at the Makeout Room in San Francisco), they were a disaster. But neither of those things made the we're-calling-it-quits announcement any less painful. My very best concert and music memories started with Deathray, the greatest band that wasn't. If you see either album or the EP in your neighborhood used-record bin, do yourself a favor and pick it up. You can't have too much greatness.
