Friday, November 23, 2007

Bookhunter

I just finished reading Bookhunter by Jason Shiga, and it was ridiculously and enjoyably over the top. Without giving too much away, it's like a pulp action story about a detective and his team who are investigating the theft of a rare antique Bible. The artwork is deceptively simple, but actually does a great job of accentuating the moods of the characters and of the action sequences. There's a lot of technical jargon relating to book binding and the running of a library, which is so over the top considering the subject matter of this "gritty" crime story, that one can't help but find it absurdly entertaining.

If you want a taste of some Jason Shiga before checking out this book, check out his comic FLEEP.

Thanks to Biguglyadam for introducing me to Jason Shiga all those years ago.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

November 22, 2007

Special Thanksgiving show with guest host Mike Park!

The Ramones - The KKK Took My Baby Away
The Muffs - Oh Nina
The Mr. T Experience - My Stupid Life
J Church - The Heroic Trio
The HOLiDAYS - Your World
Digger - Feeling What I'm Thinking
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Japanther - $100 Cover
Toys That Kill - Control the Sun
Hot Snakes - Ben Gurion
The Fucking Ocean - Song for Anthony Soltero
The Thermals - Power Doesn't Run on Nothing
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The Hot Toddies - Sugar Daddy
Lemuria - Piranha
Dillinger Four - ¡¡Noble Stabbings!!
Crimpshrine - Summertime
Jawbreaker - Indictment
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The Clash - Guns on the Roof
Bomb The Music Industry! - I Don't Love You Anymore
Chris Murray - The Higher the Monkey Climb
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Ted Leo - The Unwanted Things
Television - See No Evil
Mike Watt - Against The 70's
The Skatalites - Golden Love
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Billy Bragg - A New England
The Sonics - Don't Believe In Christmas
Shonen Knife - Water Wine
Michelle Shocked - Anchorage
Andrew Jackson Jihad - People
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J Church - My Favorite Place
Operation Ivy - Here We Go Again
Elvis Costello - Big Boys
Harold Ray Live In Concert - Ain't Nothing But A House Party
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The Specials - Monkey Man
Superchunk - Her Royal Fisticuffs
Queers - Houston, We Have A Problem
Husker Du - Never Talking To You Again

Friday, November 16, 2007

NIIICE NIIICE NI NIIIIICENINCIENIONIIIIIIIICE

Holy moly.

I've been listening to lots of KNBR lately. Those of you who know me may or may not know that I love me some sports talk radio. I'm not super into sports, perhaps with the exception of baseball, but the local sports talk talent it unbelievable. Ralph Barbieri and Tom Tolbert are a great duo, nonstop laughs, really smart, and just all around lovable people. Bob Fitzgerald and Rod Brooks are likable enough, occasionally funny, and almost entertaining enough when not. At least they're more interesting than news-talk and top-40 radio.

The real king, though, is Gary Radnich. His show isn't so much sports talk, but rather a sports-related front for a middle-aged white guy to talk about hip-hop, getting down with the ladies, and all sorts of useless pop-culture trivia. When Gary is on a roll, it's especially great hearing him, first, groan when a caller wants to talk about trivial sports matter, and, second, immediately cut the caller off to resume talking about whatever random "good knowledge" he's dropping on the audience that day. Gary also surrounds himself with hilarious talent: Ray Woodson is his straight man, an equally knowledgeable pop culture aficionado; Tony Bruno, the most famous sports talk host nationwide, is Gary's only competition when it comes to obnoxious old white men with a knowledge of hip-hop; Dan Dibley, young goofy announcer whose son provides so many child-versions of Gary's rotation of catchphrases, including: "Good knowledge"; "You gots to get down"; "GOODBYE"; etc; (I don't really know how to use colons and semicolons); The various interns and producers, Mike, Thin Tim, and others also provide for good laughs as Gary's motley sidekicks.

Today, Gary and Tony were talking about Amy Winehouse. Tony was talking about her first date on tour which totally flopped and how she was booed savagely. Gary's first comment on her was that "I can't even look at her!" which I totally agreed with, because she looks totally disgusting. They also dissed her singing and songs, which I also agreed with. She certainly ain't no Sean Kingston!!!

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I recently saw a few good movies, here's a quick roundup:

Troll 2: Horrible. VERY funny.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance: Very funny, great use of dark comedy, until the end when it's totally dark without any comedy at all. Probably the most depressing of all of Park Chan Wook's revenge trilogy. This killed the mood for everyone on halloween, hooray for me suggesting we watch it! Bae Du-Na is hella cute in this.

The Host: Another great dark comedy from Korea. I think that the commentary and it's execution in the film was great. Bae Du-Na is not as cute in this, but still tight.

Milo & Otis: Cutest movie of all time? Probably. Bae Du-Na may be cute, but she has nothing to do with this ultra cute movie.

Going to see the new Joe Strummer documentary that comes out here tomorrow (not so new in other parts of the world, I know).

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On a side note, have you guys out there ever wanted to go up to a girl and totally platonically tell her how beautiful she may be? I wanna do this all time, but I don't wanna seem like a creep! Why are there so many pretty girls out there?

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AHHHH! I know there's more I wanted to write about, but it's 2:30 AM practically and my brain is fried.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

November 15, 2007

Calling All Monsters - We Are: Special Forces
Toys That Kill - Blanket
Hundreds and Thousands - Ned Kelly
The New Trust - Wake Up, It's the Nineties
The Fucking Ocean - Literacy Test
Ging Nang Boyz - I Don't Wanna Die
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Bomb The Music Industry! - Jobs Schmobs
Operation Ivy - Bombshell
Dillinger Four - file under "ADULT URBAN CONTEMPORARY"
Japanther - River Phoenix
Mega City Four - Things I Never Said
Cobra Skulls - The Cobra and the Man-Whore
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Les Savy Fav - The Equestrian
Bear Claw - Short but Sweet
Dinosaur Jr. - Kracked
Fugazi - Ex Spectator
Rx Bandits - To Our Unborn Daughters
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Andrew Jackson Jihad - Bad Bad Things
Common Rider - Classics of Love
Deerhoof - Run Over Speed Light
The Unicorns - Innoculate Innocuous
The Blue Hearts - Chernobyl
Husker Du - Private Plane
Bracket - Warren's Song Pt. 9
The Hot Toddies - Sugar Daddy
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Dethklok - Bloodrocuted
Hepcat - Nigel
The Toasters - I'm Running Right Through The World
Fishbone - Party At Ground Zero
Skankin Pickle - Fights
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The Talking Heads - This Must Be the Place
Ted Leo - Come Baby Come
Superdrag - Sucked Out
Weakerthans - Civil Twilight
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Slow Gherkin - Salsipuedes
Twinkle - Teen Anguish



Background Music:
Mono - Finlandia
Madlib - Indian Hump

Thursday, November 08, 2007

November 8, 2007

Short Round - The Alcohol Talking
Bomb The Music Industry! - Bike Test 1 2 3
The Vandals - I Know, Huh?
J-Church - Overconfident
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Jawbox - Mirrorful
Going Steady - Kakenukete Seishun
Alkaline Trio - Goodbye Forever
Crimpshrine - Pretty Mess
Japanther - River Phoenix
Toys That Kill - Safe and Warm
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Hundreds and Thousands - The Pros and Cons
Les Savy Fav - Kiss Kiss Is Getting Old
Sparta Locals - Hotaru
Touch Committee - Blue Glass
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Calling All Monsters - Conventions of Wizards\
Turbo Fruits - Know Too Much
The Unicorns - Tuff Ghost
The Hot Toddies - Sugar Daddy
Bomb Bassetts - Total Destruction To Your Mind
Lemuria - Little Silver Children
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Jawbreaker - The Boat Dreams From the Hill
The Weakerthans - Watermark
Track Star - These Horses Carry Blood
Wheat - Courting Ed Templeton
The Cherry Tempo - Treble Is High
Andrew Jackson Jihad - People
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The Specials - A Message To You Rudy
Operation Ivy - Bankshot
Stephen Malkmus - Phantasies
The Promise Ring - Happiness Is All the Rage
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Portastatic - Sour Shores
Guided by Voices - The Best of Jill Hives
Magnetic Fields - No One Will Ever Love You
Archers of Loaf - Floating Friends
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Belle & Sebastian - I'm A Cuckoo
Going Steady - Wakamonotachi

Here's the article I mentioned about Lance Hahn:
http://www.metroactive.com/metro/11.07.07/music-hahn-0745.html

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Join, or Die... with a vengeance

In case you don't know, the Join, Or Die collective of musicians from Santa Cruz, CA are pretty much the best thing ever. They've slowed down their activity as of late, but my formative years as a music fan would've been meaningless had Slow Gherkin, The Huxtables, Good Night and others not been a part of it. In fact, I think Slow Gherkin is the most underrated band of all time, even among fans of the ska niche in which they were abandoned by the world at large.

Having said all this, what the heck is up with this: http://jod.no-place.com/
News Flash! You aren't Join, Or Die! The Mae Shi may be the bees knees to greasy-haired, thrift store robbing, Xiu Xiu zealots worldwide, but by 2003 (when their phony JOD was established) the real JOD had already been around and experienced its peak! Heck, Xiu Xiu could've told them that!

Poseurs! The whole lot of 'em!


P.S. I just watched a youtube video of that band Midori, whose singer blurs out her eyes in all their promotional material... WHAT A BUNCH OF F@$*ING GARBAGE!!! Pure marketing b.s.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

November 1, 2007

Small Brown Bike - Like a Future With No Friend
Crimpshrine - Wake Up
Hot Snakes - Ben Gurion
Pteradon - Urban Pirate Style
Derangements - In the Car
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Bomb The Music Industry - 493 Ruth
Calling All Monsters - Lake Wave (So Many)
Ging Nang Boyz - I Don't Wanna Die
Les Savy Fav - Raging in the Plague Age
Brainiac - Martian Dance Invasion
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Drive Like Jehu - Human Interest
Fugazi - Epic Problem
Jawbreaker - Donatello
Rx Bandits - Crushing Destroyer
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Gunmoll - Less Than You Hoped For
Husker Du - The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill
DESA - Voltaire's Fable
Bleach03 - Not Peter
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Andrew Jackson Jihad - People
Why? - Women Eye No
Wheat - I Had Angels Watching Over Me
The Advantage - Goonies 2
Bomb The Music Industry! - Get Warmer
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Japanther - Vagabond
Toys That Kill - Bomb Sniffin Dogs
Supergrass - Caught by the Fuzz
The Hot Toddies - Sugar Daddy
Sambomaster - Sono Nukumori ni You ga Aru
Mr. T Experience - I Don't Need You Now
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The Weakerthans - Night Windows
Mega City Four - Twenty One Again
Alkaline Trio - Clavicle
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Cap'n Jazz - Basil's Kite
Slow Gherkin - Tap Dancing
Eastern Youth - Itsudemo koko ni iru


Tonight's Background Music:
Madlib - Indian Deli
Mono - Little Boy (1945-Future)

Look What Came In The Mail



After a few weeks of impatiently waiting, Shiina Ringo's "Mayonaka wa Junketsu" 12" and the two new Mu-Stars mix CDs have arrived!!! I was pleasantly surprised to see that the 12" was actually brand-new, still sealed, even though the site had it listed and priced as used. WOOHOO!!!




Look at what DIDN'T come in the mail: