Updatezors

Oh HEWWO!
I made a flickr account. You can see it here:
http://flickr.com/photos/bobbaloo5/

There you can see some photos I took of Bomb The Music Industry at the Asian Man Records tour stop in San Jose, June 6. What a tight show. I'll be posting video from the San Francisco and San Jose shows when I have some time. (I missed my radio show last week because I was at the San Francisco stop).

Which leads me to today: I'll be missing my radio show to see another show this week! Sooo... see you next week loyal fans! The online streaming is back online again at kscu.org.

Stupid stuff pt. 3,004,286,740

A few weeks ago there was a scare here in Japantown, as the firemen came and closed off 6th Street between Jackson and Taylor. It turns out there was a gas leak at the recently closed cuban restaurant. Now, with the demise of the restaurant there, that makes for three empty and decrepit buildings on 6th Street! The way I see it, either someone's going to come in and spend HELLZOF money to fix these places up, or the next earthquake is going to level them all. Hmm...



They've also been installing all these granite benches around Japantown commemorating all the historic buildings in the area with a little chiseled blurb. That's money well spent, eh...?



Also, I ventured up to the INVISIBLE BICYCLE mural in San Francisco, at the end of the alley on Quincy St. I highly suggest that everyone go check it out for themselves... AMAZING!

May 29, 2008

La Plebe - Plebe Por Vida
Molotov - Frijolero
The Night Marchers - In Dead Sleep (I Snore ZZZZ)
The Specials - Little Bitch
Bomb The Music Industry! - I Don't Love You Anymore
---
Lemuria - Buzz
Track Star - This Is Number Forty Two
Enon - Disposable Parts
Underground Railroad to Candyland - Yuppie Hip Hop Ad
The Briefs - Poor & Weird
Slow Gherkin - He's Gotta Go
Twinkle - The Candidate
---
The Queers - Teenage Bonehead
Hot Snakes - XOX
The Blue Hearts - Owaranai Uta
Spandecks - Paranoia
I Sing The Body Electric! - I Do
The Slackers - Please Decide
---
Billy Bragg - Mr. Love & Justice
Nate Kavanaugh & The Replacematts - Nightcap
Weezer - I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams
Guided By Voices - A Contest Featuring Human Beings
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Great Communicator
The Pharmacy - Five Five Five
Death Cab For Cutie - Cath...
---
Islands - Rough Gem
Frightened Rabbit - I Feel Better
Supergrass - Alright
Subtle - The Crow
---
Ben Kweller - Wasted & Ready
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Alison
The Shins - Kissing the Lipless
The Owls - Isaac Bashevis Singer
---
The Magnetic Fields - Three-Way
Andrew WK - Get Ready to Die
Dillinger Four - Open and Shut
Gunmoll - Less Than You Hoped For
Alkaline Trio - Help Me
---
Andrew Jackson Jihad - Let Us Get Murdered
Good Hustle - Pygar
Ging Nang Boyz - I Don't Wanna Die

May 22, 2008

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
---
The Weakerthans - Civil Twilight
Lemuria - Pants
Underground Railroad to Candyland - Over and O'er
Modest Mouse - Interstate
---
The Pharmacy - Five Five Five
The Hold Steady - Cattle and the Creeping Things
Mission of Burma - Ballad of Johnny Burma
The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
Frightened Rabbit - Who'd You Kill Now?
---
Slow Gherkin - Sally Boulevard
The Shins - So Says I
An Horse - Postcards
The Unicorns - Ghost Mountain
Death Cab For Cutie - Blacking Out the Friction
---
Mates of State - Help Help
Billy Bragg - Mr. Love & Justice
Thurston Moore - FRI/END
---
The New Trust - Wake Up, It's The Nineties
Alkaline Trio - Goodbye Forever
Boilermaker - Ladyfinger
---
At The Drive In - Rolodex Propaganda
Jawbox - FF=66
Avail - New #2
Crimpshrine - Trying Too Hard
Dillinger Four - doublewhiskeycokenoice
This Is My Fist! - You Sank My Battleship
Dinosaur Jr. - The Wagon
---
The Thermals - A Stare Like Yours
The Night Marchers - Panther In Crime
Hockey Night - Saturday Night Gallop
The HOLiDAYS - Friends
Imperial Teen - Butch
---
Scared of Chaka - Wanna Make It Happen
Silworm - Wet Firecracker
Helium - I'll Get You, I Mean It
Jawbreaker - The Boat Dreams From the Hill
---
Superchunk - Her Royal Fisticuffs
Screeching Weasel - My Brain Hurts
Weezer - Across the Sea

Frowning of a Lifetime

After posting up that lil' comic review a few days back, I just felt like I should hype up my boy BILL down in Lancaster, author of FROWNING OF A LIFETIME. He posts an online comics journal of sorts, and I really like how he captures the exciting moments in everyday life through his scatterbrained single panels masterpieces. Super good stuff, if I do say so myself.

This comic, below, was one that I thought was particularly goofy, and sort of unrepresentative of his normal stuff, but still very entertaining.

O HAI

Here's an amazing feature about a lolcat mural in San Francisco. GENIUS!!!

Also, peep this guy's awesome lolcat license plate!!! For those of you who know me, this license plate is the find of the millenium!!!

It's funny 'cause it's racist

Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed?

I've made it through three comics in the last couple weeks by the established and up and coming greats of the autobiographical comics genre.


The first of these is SunDogs (parhelion) by Adam Pasion. The series of short strips within is a daily journal covering 2 months of his life living in Nagoya, Japan. There's plenty of funny anecdotes about his family, work-related stress, and just about getting old! I think that this comic is his first in which the art and storytelling are consistently great. His old Tales From The Sharpie series has it's own dashed-off charm, of course, and The Trouble With Change and Cattlebro both present good stories but they always felt like they were missing a little development or something... I'm not sure exactly what, but, regardless, Sundogs definitely shows Adam hitting his stride. He also avoids the "Japan is so wacky" trap that lots of foreigners fall into when documenting their experiences there, while still portraying in an honest way how he gets by in a setting that isn't 100% familiar yet.

Rumor has it that Sundogs part two is on the way soon!!!
You can order it and many other comics directly from him at BIGUGLYROBOT.



Next up is Delayed Replays by Liz Prince. This is her second book published by Top Shelf productions, her first having been 2005's Will You Still Love Me If I Wet the Bed?. This one continues to collect her strips about life's funnier, sadder, weirder and more poignant[er] moments. I think that Prince has a great knack for capturing the spirit of a moment in just 3 frames, but that the storytelling over the course of the entire book suffers a bit from the lack of a consistent narrative. Certainly, each individual strip alone doesn't shy away from sensitive topics, but seemingly important things seem to slip through the cracks between strips. I also got a little annoyed by the sloppiness of the art, and the visible pencil marks that weren't completely erased. The style of the art itself is great, but I just wish it was a little bit more cleaned up, I guess.

Nitpicking aside, I enjoyed reading the book very much, and I look forward to seeing her next book in which my friend Dave will be prominently featured, as so:

You can read her comics for free on her LIVEJOURNAL or buy them from here at her WEBSITE. NICE!


Finally, I'd like to talk about the newest book from Jeffrey Brown, Cat Getting Out of a Bag and Other Observations. This one appeared out of nowhere to me, even though I'm a big Jeffrey Brown fan. Why was this book at the local Japanese book store instead of at the local comic shop? Regardless, I managed to find it, and it was NICE! This book departs a bit from Brown's usual autobiographical material to become more of a sort of fringe-autobiography featuring the cats in his life as he observes them. Most noticeably, I thought that this comic was a HUGE step up for Brown artistically. His art style remains simple and cute, but with so much more incredible, yet subtle, detail, especially since 90% of the comic is without dialogue. The cat observations are the same sort of thing that every cat lover notices, with a particularly touching introduction about how Brown became a cat owner as a child.

You can order the book from the publisher, CHRONICLE BOOKS, or check out his OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun

I'd like to see Mike Huckabee when he gets a gun held to his face.

CNN reports...

May 15, 2008

Television - Marquee Moon
---
The Weakerthans - Night Windows
Andrew Jackson Jihad - People II: The Reckoning
Track Star - Lifestyles...
Silver Jews - Pan-American Blues
---
Cub - Your Bed
Underground Railroad to Candyland - Square Ball
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Sons of Cain
Mission of Burma - Academy Fight Song
---
Slow Gherkin - Salsipuedes
Frightened Rabbit - Fast Blood
Built to Spill - Sidewalk
Thurston Moore - FRI/END
The Pharmacy - Adieu Adieu
---
Hi-Standard - My First Kiss
Alkaline Trio - She Took Him To the Lake
Silkworm - Wet Firecracker
Husker Du - Chartered Trips
---
Sleater Kinney - Burn, Don't Freeze
Creeper Lagoon - Empty Ships
Pavement - Gold Soundz
Jawbreaker - West Bay Invitational
---
Guided By Voices - The Closets of Henry
The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour
The Unicorns - Ready to Die
Cat Power - Ramblin' (Wo)man
---
The Aquabats - My Skateboard!
Skankin' Pickle - Thick Ass Stout
Bad Manners - Lip Up Fatty
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Unwanted Things
The Slackers - Mommy
---
Billy Bragg - I Almost Killed You
Pinhead Gunpowder - 2nd Street
Operation Ivy - Jaded
Crimpshrine - Pretty Mess
Armchair Martian - John Wayne

Your DMX News Leader

CNN reports on DMX's latest work of genius: getting himself arrested for cruelty to animals! This comes two days after he was arrested for speeding and driving recklessly! Genius!

Video Recap

SUP!!!!
As some of you loyal listeners (or rather, real-life friends actively engaged in online stalking with me) may have heard, I saw the band GOOD HUSTLE in downtown San Jo last weekend. Here's a video of the show that I took:


Also, here's a commercial that my dad appeared in, for a clinic that I ended up patronizing! Hooray!


A regular Univision superstar, no?

May 8, 2008

June of 44 - Arms Over Arteries
The Sea and Cake - Four Corners
The Big Sleep - Bad Blood
---
Mission of Burma - This Is Not A Photograph
The Pharmacy - Tropical Yeti
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Hopscotch Willie
Chris Walla - Sing Again
---
Kind of Like Spitting - Free advice
The Promise Ring - Skips A Beat (Over You)
Silkworm - (I hope u) don't survive
The Hold Steady - You Can Make Him Like You
Seam - Petty Thievery
---
Billy Bragg - Sing Their Souls Back Home
Jonathan Richman - When We Refuse to Suffer
Going Steady - The Bridge
Cat Power - I Believe In You
---
J Mascis + The Fog - Same Day
Touch Committee - Blue Glass
Calling All Monsters - Wholesale Retail\
Supergrass - Caught By The Fuzz
---
Andrew Jackson Jihad - Jesus Saves
Good Hustle - Dance Like You Mean It
The Slackers - Axes
Underground Railroad To Candyland - Over and O'er
Go!Go!7188 - Ukifune
---
Shuri Eiko - AH SO!
Slow Gherkin - Get Some More
Weezer - Getchoo
Rival Schools - My Echo
Judy and Mary - Over Drive
---
The Silver Jews - People
Ted Leo - Six Months In A Leaky Boat
---
Guided By Voices - Cheyenne
Skankin' Pickle - Special Brew


Tonight's Background Music
Gorilla Seven - The Gorilla Seven's Theme

Jesse Michaels

Punknews reported that Jesse Michaels would be doing some solo shows in LA in August, which led to me finding this blog post that he had written about it.

I've always really admired Jesse, not just for being in Operation Ivy, but also for being so dang modest about it! This guy was the principle force behind the single best punk album, in my opinion, and he's still awkward and nervous about playing his own music. This is in contrast to so many great musicians who start to believe their own hype and pump out a bunch of garbage, ruining their own legacy in the process.

I Choose You!

At Full House Fu's behest, I succumbed and made a MUXTAPE. I decided to exclusively put hip-hop songs on it, for no discernable reason. I have nothing else insightful to say.

May 1, 2008

Good Hustle - Stegosaur-hus
The Unicorns - Sea Ghost
Twinkle - On My Table
Track Star - The One We Play
Frightened Rabbit - Old Old Fashioned
---
Underground Railroad to Candyland - Body of the Bird
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Cold Son
Billy Bragg - I Almost Killed You
Andrew Jackson Jihad - Rejoice
Ben Kweller - How It Should Be (Sha Sha)
---
Silkworm - Wet Firecracker
Chisel - Your Star Is Killing Me
The Weakerthans - Wellington's Wednesdays
The Hold Steady - Stevie Nix
---
The Cherry Tempo - Treble Is High
Built To Spill - Big Dipper
Cat Power - Aretha, Sing One for Me
The Minutemen - This Ain't No Picnic
The Mae Shi - Young Marks
Bruce Lee Band - Go Feet Go
The Specials - Little Bitch
The Siren Six! - Frame Up
The Toasters - Talk Is Cheap
---
Japanther - Pleased to Meet You
Islands - Where There's A Will There's A Whalebone
The Skyflakes - Meathead
Mr. T Experience - Hellof Dumb
Matt Pond PA - The Crush
Mu330 - Baby Rats
---
Calling All Monsters - Lake Wave (So Many)
Hot Snakes - Audit In Progress
Pteradon - Urban Pirate Style
Ging Nang Boyz - Mesubuta
---
Good Hustle - Pygar
I Sing The Body Electric! - I Do
The Blue Hearts - Chernobyl
---
Toys That Kill - Moon=Ghettobird

RECAP

January
Farewell to Jon!


February
Potluck/Katamari Damacy at my house.


March
SXSW in Austin. I saw the Constantines, Why? and Son Ambulance, all for free! The real fun, though, was seeing lots of old friends and getting away from the daily grind. What wasn't fun was an 8-hour delay in Houston due to a wacky snowstorm in Dallas. NOTTO NAISU!



Later that month, our G's from Portland, Neckties Make Me Nervous, came through San Jo to rock. Nice guys, good looking guys.



April
Got to see Alkaline Trio and American Steel for free, and eat novelty sized mini-corn dogs courtesy of some lame company sponsoring the show.


Was invited to watch the movie DARKON with the PNP phamily, and got to watch a tight video of Holly SKYDIVING!!!! So tight!


Paid $35 to see the Oakland A's and get ALL YOU CAN EAT hot dogs, nachos, ice cream bars, popcorn and soda. I will never do it again.

April 24, 2008

Andrew WK - Not Going To Bed
Pixies - Allison
My Korean Friends - Turtle Tax
Judy and Mary - Chameleon Lumi
The Underground Railroad to Candyland - Yuppie Hip-Hop Ad
---
Mike Park - Don't Sit Next to me Just Because I'm Asian
Billy Bragg - Mr. Love & Justice
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Hopscotch Willie
---
Korea Girl - Atomic Skies
Superchunk - From the Curve
Maritime - Calm
Superdrag - Bloody Hell
Chris Walla - Geometry &C
---
Screeching Weasel - The Science of Myth
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Me & Mia
The Unicorns - Emasculate the Masculine
The Pharmacy - Black Ice Cream
Magnapop - Merry
The Promise Ring - Happiness is All the Rage
---
Pain - In A Band
Mission of Burma - Academy Fight Song
Gunmoll - Less Than You Hoped For
We Versus the Shark - I Am a Fantastic Battle
Lifter Puller - Manpark
---
The Rum Diary - Killed by the Cowboy President
Les Savy Fav - The Sweat Descends
---
Los Rudiments - The Doctor
Skankin' Pickle - Fakin' Jamaican
The Specials - Monkey Man
Blindspot - Burly Man
Gogol Bordello - Start Wearing Purple
The Blue Hearts - Linda Linda

April 10, 2008

Underground Railroad to Candyland - Square Ball
American Steel - Maria
Andrew Jackson Jihad - People
---
Enon - Salty
Bangs - Sweet Revenge
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - Bag of Hammers
Track Star - Something To Do
Bomb The Music Industry! - 493 Ruth
---
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Cold Son
Eastern Youth - The World Shatters and Resonates in My Ears
764-Hero - Impossible Waste
Maritime - Guns of Navarone
---
Jawbreaker - West Bay Invitational
Touch My Rash - Some Things Never Change
Tuesday - So Awake
Five Iron Frenzy - Blue Comb '78
The Weakerthans - Diagnosis
Weezer - I Just Threw Out the Love of my Dreams
---
The Pharmacy - Tropical Yeti
Belle and Sebastian - Is It Wicked Not to Care
Chris Walla - Sing Again
Why? - Sanddollars
Beulah - Gravity's Bringing Us Down
---
Velocity Girl - Audrey's Eyes
Sebadoh - I Smell A Rat
Against Me! - Cliche Guevara
Common Rider - Midnight Passenger
The Odd Numbers - High Alert
---
The Mumlers - Hush
Gogol Bordello - Avenue B
Go!Go!7188 - Otona no Kusuri
Touch Committee - Blue Glass
Duvall - All In Your Hands
---
Carlton & The Shoes - Give Me Lil' More

Background Music
Young MC - Know How
Masta Ace - Jeep Ass Gutter (Instrumental)

April 3, 2008

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - Yes, So On and So On
Sebadoh - Rebound
The HOLiDAYS - Your World
Ted Leo / Pharmacists - Biomusicology
---
The Nice Boys - All Our Good Times
Underground Railroad to Candyland - Don't Expect for me to Sleep
Maritime - Hand Over Hannover
---
The Odd Numbers - High Alert
Selby Tigers - Pee Wee Hockey
The Weakerthans - Greatest Hits Collection
Jawbreaker - Fine Day
The Get Up Kids - Red Letter Day
Meneguar - Hands Off
---
Chris Walla - Everyone Needs A Home
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
Hockey Night - Princess Starcrystal
The Unicorns - Ghost Mountain
The Mumlers - Dice in a Drawer
---
Sunny Day Real Estate - 47
Boilermaker - Iris
Touch Committee - Blue Glass
---
Touch My Rash - Slit Our Wrists
The Queers - Tangerine
Toys That Kill - 31 Year Old Daydream
Groovie Ghoulies - Bring Her Back
---
Soapland Momiyama - Chocolate wa Meiji
Minor Threat - Steppin' Stone
Sicko - My Tribute to the Misfits (aka: Your Sister is a Werewolf Tonight)
Lawrence Arms - On With The Show
(lots of noise and garbage whilst I'm a lame DJ)
---
Shiina Ringo - Soretsu
Track Star - These Horses Carry Blood

The Best Political Discussion Ever

DMX. Click that isht! Excerpt below:

Are you following the presidential race?
Not at all.

You’re not? You know there’s a Black guy running, Barack Obama and then there’s Hillary Clinton.
His name is Barack?!

Barack Obama, yeah.
Barack?!

Barack.
What the fuck is a Barack?! Barack Obama. Where he from, Africa?

Yeah, his dad is from Kenya.
Barack Obama?

Yeah.
What the fuck?! That ain’t no fuckin’ name, yo. That ain’t that nigga’s name. You can’t be serious. Barack Obama. Get the fuck outta here.

You’re telling me you haven’t heard about him before.
I ain’t really paying much attention.

I mean, it’s pretty big if a Black…
Wow, Barack! The nigga’s name is Barack. Barack? Nigga named Barack Obama. What the fuck, man?! Is he serious? That ain’t his fuckin’ name. Ima tell this nigga when I see him, “Stop that bullshit. Stop that bullshit” [laughs] “That ain’t your fuckin’ name.” Your momma ain’t name you no damn Barack.

In case you need more DMX in your life, here's something to convince you otherwise:

Kuronotorigaa

Q: What do the classic NES and three measly dollars in common?

A: Both share the same monetary value according to Savers, on Bascom and San Carlos in San Jose.

So what exactly does this ill-phrased intro question mean??? I got a working NES for $3 at motherloving Savers last night, fools!!!

So, last night, in the middle of the busiest weekend of my life, I took a little bit of time out to play some Super Mario 3... NIIIIIICE!!!

I also got this disgusting phone shaped like a tennis shoe... NIIIIIIICE?

March 20, 2008

The Misfits - Teenagers From Mars
Ribzy - Invasion
Agent Orange - No Such Thing
DESA - Voltaire's Fable
Husker Du - Something I Learned Today
The Blue Hearts - Shonen no Uta
---
The Queers - Next Stop Rehab
Toys That Kill - Illegitimate
Ging Nang Boyz - Mesu Buta
I Need Sleep - Pervert Like Herbert
---
Against Me! - Slurring the Rhythms
At The Drive In - Rolodex Propaganda
Fugazi - Margin Walker
Hot Snakes - Hatchet Job
Pending Disappointment - This Administration
---
British Sea Power - No Lucifer
Pixies - Break My Body
Maritime - Hand Over Hannover
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Gardenia
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - Beat (Health, Life, and Fire)
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - We Can't Help You
---
The Ramones - The KKK Took My Baby Away
The Muffs - On and On
The Mr. T Experience - Love Is Dead
NOFX - Lori Meyers
Old 97s - Four Leaf Clover
---
Alkaline Trio - For Your Lungs Only
Avail - Fifth Wheel
Pteradon - Urban Pirate Style
Die!Die!Die! - Britomourt Sunset
Afrirampo - Akankonomamakaesanai
Calling All Monsters - Wholesale Retail
The Big Sleep - Undying Love
---
Modest Mouse - Night on the Sun
Sparta Locals - Violence Summer
Chris Walla - Geometry &C
---
Cap'n Jazz - Little League

Japantown = Chinatown?

In further Japantown news, excavation has begun on the site of the recently demolished yard on 6th Street. Apparently it was once the site of San Jose's Chinatown, and, according to this article, remnants of Chinatown have already been found.

Also, not only is there the aforementioned plan to develop some mixed residential/commercial spaces on the lot vacated by the yard, but there's also a proposal to build more retirement homes across the street, in the parking lot adjacent to Fuji Towers, another retirement home.

Things are heating up in Japantown! (stay tuned for some photos...maybe... if I stop being lazy)


P.S. I won't be doing my show this week, I'll be in Austin at SXSW! WOOHOO! Sayonara SUCKERS!

March 6, 2008

The Wunder Years - Superbowl Sunday
Superchunk - Nu Bruises
Fifteen - Situations
The Blockheads - Any Way I Tell You
The Odd Numbers - High Alert
---
Touch My Rash - Sexless Existence
Molotov - Queremos Pastel
Toys That Kill - Control The Sun
The Thermals - Time to Lose
This Is My Fist - A History of Rats
---
Husker Du - Reoccurring Dreams
Boilermaker - Norman
---
Belle and Sebastian - Jonathan David
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - Beat (Health, Life and Fire)
Cass Mccombs - Pregnant Pause
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Cold Son
Beulah - My Side of the City
The Mumlers - My Side of the City
---
Betty's Love Child - Harumi
Stiff Little Fingers - Piccadilly / Circus
Scared of Chaka - Wanna Make It Happen
Pinhead Gunpowder - Crazy Horse
The Bomb Bassets - Take A Trip
---
Going Steady - Holiday
The Queers - Girl About Town
Dillinger Four - Shotgun Confessional
---
Silkworm - The Third
November Trial - Dust Factory
Modest Mouse - All Nite Diner
Crimpshrine - Pretty Mess
---
Polysics - My Sharona


Tonight's Background Music
Blockhead - Coloring Book
Ruckus Robotics - Never Play With Scratches
Sixtoo - Track 4

The Battle of Tastings

Peace In The Middle East

I suppose it's impossible to forget, but it sure is hard to remember the joys of one's wandering childhood imagination sometimes. I remember how I would correlate things in my mind all the time, even if they really didn't have any relation aside from the same word or name. For example, Blossom Hill Road with Blossom the TV show, or this kid James Phelan at Hoover Middle School with Phelan Avenue. I can't remember any better, non-street-related examples, but I think it's super cool how a child's mind is constantly working, soaking things in, and trying to figure out what these things are all about!

I also remember brainstorming how awesome random concepts would be, like having a fighting video game that pitted the fighters from every franchise against each other. It would've been a big mashup of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Samurai Shodown, Eternal Champions, Clayfighter, etc. I would make lists of who would be in the game, and think about how Ryu would fare against Larcen from Eternal Champions (I'm probably the only person who remembers this game*).

The reason I bring this all up is that I had one of these moments today. As I was driving, for no reason at all, I thought that it would be totally cool if the USA and Mexico merged into a super giant country. When kids think of this sort of stuff, they don't think of the repercussions of stuff like this, just the concept alone is enough for them. And, seriously, isn't that a totally sweet concept?!?!

Then again, after reading stuff like this, I'm not sure it would be so great, at least not in the way this guy thinks it is:

The 8% or so of predominantly Spanish-descended Mexicans are the ones our government will need to approach, as they’re the ones with the real power in that country and those whose throats will be slit first if a popular socialist revolution does take place in Mexico. They are internationally invested, educated, and savvy. The frank yet grim appeal should be: Throw in with us now and prosper together, or see your children and grandchildren butchered, as usually happens when the “oppressed masses have their day”.

Maybe I'm reading too far into it, but this guy sounds like he just wants to annex Mexico so he can exploit the cheap immigrant labor force without having to admit that he likes illegal immigrants doing all the labor now. American Whitie + Mexican Whitie = Universal Brownie oppression? NOT NICE!

Anyway, I hope to have more moments like this again, where I can let my mind wander without having my everday worries and rational thought take over.


*When I was in 8th grade, we were tasked with writing short stories in my English class. Mine was some sort of Robotech ripoff, and it was really lame! I used to love writing in middle school, but I was so bad! YEEESH. Anyway, we were able to read the stories that our classmates had written, and I was amused to see that one guy had totally plagiarized one of the character bios from Eternal Champions for his stort story. In fact, the bio may or may not have read as follows:

Jonathan Blade, a former police officer from the year 2030 who was dismissed, due to a very short temper. He is a master in Kenpo karate. He then became a bounty hunter back in his home country Syria, and was in deep pursuit of a mad scientist, who threatened to destroy the human race with a lethal virus. Although he came close to killing the scientist on several occasions, he was only ordered to capture, and bring the scientist to justice. Finally trapping the scientist in an alley, he attempted to retrieve the virus. They were suddenly hit with a stream of bullets, causing the scientist to drop the vial, containing the virus. Blade's last memory involved shards of broken glass. It is clear that he was set up and killed by his own government.

I think that this might just be a paraphrased version of the bio on wikipedia's site, but you get the idea. Coincidentally, that kid was one of the two kids who introduced me to anime in middle school. The other kid was the one who lent me Akira and Macross Plus to watch, and told me that they sold manga at Yaohan supermarket (now Mitsuwa). Check back for an oft-brainstormed blog about anime, coming soon!

TODAY'S JAM: Colossal - The 1/5 Compromise

February 28, 2008

Just A Fire - Graduation
Sugarhill Downtown Orchestra - Shin Shin Shin
Rx Bandits - To Our Unborn Daughters
---
The Cherry Tempo - Cue The Light Brigade
Maritime - For Science Fiction
The Weakerthans - Aside
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - Geography
Silkworm - Waiting on a Train
---
Superdrag - Slot Machine / Phaser
Track Star - No Big Deal
Sambomaster - Sono Nukumori ni you ga aru
Robert Pollard - Our Gaze
---
Cass Mccombs - Pregnant Pause
Good Night - Brights
Fruit Bats - Canyon Girl
---
Son Ambulance - An Instant Birth
The Whitsundays - I Want It All
Ging Nang Boyz - Seishun Jidai
---
Underground Railroad to Candyland - Over and O'er
The Odd Numbers - Apeman
Screeching Weasel - My Brain Hurts
The Blue Hearts - Mirai wa Bokura no Te no Naka
The Lawrence Arms - Quincentuple Your Money
Jawbreaker - Chesterfield King
---
Andrew Jackson Jihad - Let Us Get Murdered
Mr. T Experience - I Don't Need You Now
Mu330 - 32 cents
Supergrass - Mansize Rooster
Polyics - I My Me Mine
---
Sparta Locals - Hotaru
Cap'n Jazz - Little League

It's time for recess

February 21, 2008

Dillinger Four - ¡¡NOBLE STABBINGS!!
Alkaline Trio - For Your Lungs Only
Going Steady - Kakenukete Seishun
Superchunk - Her Royal Fisticuffs
Against Me - Cliche Guevara
---
Polysics - XCT
Operation Ivy - The Crowd
Crimpshrine - Summertime
Weezer - The Good Life
Smoking Popes - Gotta Know Right Now
Jawbreaker - Do You Still Hate Me?
---
Jets To Brazil - You're The One That I Want
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - Swimming Pools
Husker Du - Chartered Trips
Boilermaker - Sunset Ridge
Unwound - Look A Ghost
Just A Fire - Hot Export
---
Go!Go!7188 - Ukifune
J-Church - No Jazz
Pixies - The Holiday Song
Modest Mouse - Trailer Trash
---
The Odd Numbers - High Alert
Track Star - This Is Number Forty Two
Unicorns - Tuff Ghost
Archers of Loaf - Web In Front
---
Enon - Pleasure & Privilege
Ultras - Magic Wand
Fruity - Cinderella Boy
Frank Black - Thalassocracy
Touch My Rash - Wasting Life
Dr. Frank - She Turned Out To Be Crazy
---
Maritime - Guns of Navarone
Billy Bragg - A New England
Band of Horses - Islands on the Coast
The Mae Shi - Lamb & Lion
---
The Weakerthans - Left & Leaving (live)
Colossal - Human Jackson

Batman: Gotham Knight Trailer

Japantown

Having worked in San Jose's Japantown for over 3 years now, I've seen the area change so much. When I first started working here, my shop was getting steady foot traffic, holiday-time was out of control busy, and I quickly assumed that this was the norm. Well, it was the norm up until that point, but things went downhill fast! Our busy days now are like our normal days were back then. The internet has made consumers more savvy (or lazy), trendy shops like Maido in Santana Row draw away our casual customers, and, in general, there are FEW areas in San Jose conducive to leisurely walking and windowshopping. Certainly, Japantown's mere 2 blocks don't contain enough draw to bring out that many walkers and shoppers.

Soon enough, Dobashi, a decades-old family run market, closed. 2 storefronts across the street from Bamboo 7 remained empty for months on end. And, as usual, the old Nishioka Bros. building (pictured above) remained condemned and subject to repeated vandalism.

There was a ray of hope when it was announced that Nijiya, a small Japanese market chain, would be moving into the old Dobashi location. Nijiya has, in fact, done quite well for itself, but the extra foot traffic the rest of the neighborhood received last only a few weeks, and now all of the Nijiya-goers seem to make a beeline for Nijiya and don't wander the rest of J-town's 2 blocks.

It was announced last month that Soko Hardware would be closing down. It was sad to see another one of the old neighborhood staples close up, but the sad fact is that they can't compete with the big chain stores. These comments on yelp about Soko's poor selection don't necessarily reflect Soko's actually poor selection, as much as they do the fact that isn't financially feasible for a mom 'n' pop shop to compete with the big boys anymore.


Now the old city maintenance yard on 6th street has been demolished, and rumor has it that it's going to be replaced with a large housing development (13 stories or something?). I really hope that it's some sort of mixed residential/commercial space, because that would bring a lot of great foot traffic to the area.

PINHEAD GUNPOWDER!

My G's over at SILVER SPROCKET went to the Pinhead Gunpowder show at 924 Gilman on Sunday! NIIIIIIIIICE!

You can read all about it HERE.

February 14, 2007

Screeching Weasel - The Science of Myth
Toys That Kill - Safe & Warm
Hot Snakes - LAX
Scared of Chaka - Japan
Shonen Knife - Watchin' Girl
Slow Gherkin - He's Gotta Go
The Odd Numbers - High Alert
---
Touch My Rash - Single By Choice
Dillinger 4 - Fuzzy Pink Hand-Cuffs
Alkaline Trio - Goodbye Forever
Hot Water Music - The Bitter End
Jimmy Eat World - A Praise of Chorus
Going Steady - My Soulful Heartbeat Makes Me Sing My Soul Music
---
The Aquabats - Red Sweater
Los Rudiments - Pounce!
Polysics - My Sharona
Babyshambles - You Talk
Buck 65 - Lipstick
---
Coconut Coolouts - 32 Wives
Archers of Loaf - Web in Front
Folk Implosion - Cold Night
Track Star - The One We Play
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - Travel
Jawbreaker - Do You Still Hate Me?
J-Church - Never Happy
Selby Tigers - Pee Wee Hockey
The Advantage - Castlevania III: Boss Music/Willow: Village/Megaman II: Bubble Man
---
Band of Horses - Islands on the Coast
The Unicorns - Ready to Die
Skankin' Pickle - Thick Ass Stout
Just A Fire - Graduation
Toots & The Maytals - Pressure Drop
Justin Hines - The Higher the Monkey Climbs
Pizzicato Five - Such A Beautiful Girl Like You
Bonnie Prince Billy - Kelly
---
7 Seconds - 99 Red Balloons
Pinhead Gunpowder - 2nd Street
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Timorous Me
Pizzicato Five - Goodbye Baby & Amen

GAH!!!

Thinking about it, I've decided that this blog is total garbage! Aside from the playlists, I rarely post anything of any worth. Everything I write is just a blurb about things that I'm sure have been covered with more depth elsewhere. Maintaining a blog loosely centered around pop-culture is pointless when I'm too busy/apathetic to even take in any of said pop-culture! This blog is just one of many endeavours splitting my time and coming out half-assed.

Having said all this, I'm not planning on scrapping this blog at all, but I really want to write more about the things that I think about and see everyday. I want to write about the goofy, smiling lady with her mouth agape at the gas station, and how happy she looked. I want to write about the stern old man who comes in to my work once a week and surveys the videos on the shelves with little interest, and how unconformtable it made me when he kept punching his leg arhythmically today. I want to write about the big open field on Branham Lane that has remained through my 20 years in San Jose while every other patch of open space and farmland has been developed into a strip mall or apartment complex. I want to write about the city maintenance yard in Japantown that was torn down last week, and how I can now see the cargo trains pass by through the space it once occupied.

I can't offer you any tidbits of worth when it comes to pop-culture, but I can offer you a glimpse into my boring life in San Jose. And, even if it's boring, I think it's really sweet in a way, and that there's great things about everyday life here.

Rambeaux

I read another article that quoted Stallone again talking about how much he loved human growth hormone. While it may make you feel young again, good sir, you look like your face is made out of clay now, dude!!!

Anyway, action movies are fun to a certain point, until the 'roided up protagonist takes it into real life too much...

February 7, 2008

Underground Railroad to Candyland - Yuppie Hip Hop Ad
Derangements - In the Car
Fugazi - Epic Problem
Alkaline Trio - A Message From Kathlene
The Weakerthans - Watermark
---
Cap'n Jazz - Basil's Kite
Eastern Youth - Bura Bura Bushi
Cass McCombs - Pregnant Pause
---
Polysics - I My Me Mine
My Korean Friends - Turtle Tax
The Thermals - A Passing Feeling
Robert Pollard - Here Comes Garcia
---
Track Star - Pretty Close To Nothing
Maritime - Calm
Stephen Malkmus - Mama
Band of Horses - Islands on the Coast
---
Modest Mouse - All Nite Diner
Unicorns - I Don't Wanna Die
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - Swimming Pools
Saturday Looks Good to Me - Money in the Afterlife
Ging Nang Boyz - I Don't Wanna Die
The Dismemberment Plan - Girl O'Clock
---
The Buzzcocks - Harmony In My Head
Green Day - Jar
Afrirampo - Afrirampo
Mega City Four - Start
---
Jawbreaker - Shield Your Eyes
Supergrass - I'd To Like To Know
Babyshambles - You Talk
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Great Communicator
The Minutemen - #1 Hit Song
---
Built To Spill - Some
Sambomaster - Sekai wa Sore wo Ai to Yobundaze


Tonight's Background Music:
Blockhead - Trailer Love
Blockhead - Cheer Up You're Not Dead Yet
Your Song Is Good - Shortcake

January 31, 2008

Just A Fire - Hot Export
Touch Committee - Hey, Stay Hungry
Blew - What's Going On?
Jawbreaker - The Boat Dreams From The Hill
---
The Minutemen - Viet Nam
Fugazi - Margin Walker
Frank Black - Thalassocracy
Vacant Churches - Vacant Church
Chotto Ghetto - You Don't Care
Nuts & Milk - Can't Do Anything
Ging Nang Boyz - Nippon Hakkyou
---
Polysics - Peach Pie on the Beach
Cleveland Bound Death Sentence - Rumble Seats and Running Boards
The Aquabats - Sequence Erase / Giant Robot Birdhead
---
Robert Pollard - Hero Blows the Revolution
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Cycles
Mega City Four - Start
Lawrence Arms - 100 Resolutions
The Cherry Tempo - Japanimation
Babyshambles - You Talk
Built To Spill - Big Dipper
Gogol Bordello - My Strange Uncles From Abroad
---
The Exploding Hearts - Thorns in Roses
Television - Marquee Moon
Sparta Locals - Ougon Wave
---
Belle & Sebastian - Mayfly
Cass McCombs - Pregnant Pause
Ice Palace - Hubris
Pavement - Gold Soundz
---
The Weakerthans - The Reasons
Sambomaster - Utsukushiki Ningen no Hibi
Mu330 - Xmas Card
Green Day - 2000 Light Years Away
Pixies - Here Comes Your Man

Tonights Background Music
Blockhead - Grape Nuts & Chalk Sauce
Blockhead - Duke of Hazzard
Blockhead - Squirmy Worm

RAMBO

I had the pleasure of seeing Rambo last night, and also of seeing a cute girl curl into the fetal position from watching the copious and brutal violence. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes this sort of stuff. You know what you're gonna get, and Stallone delivers it to you.

Here's an awesome story about Rambo himself:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080126/ap_on_en_mo/people_stallone_hgh_5

Animedar

My animedar is telling me that this movie, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo, will be cool, even if this trailer looks kinda lame:

http://media.dvd.ign.com/articles/847/847424/vids_1.html



In other news, Further Confusion 2008 has hit San Jose!
http://www.furtherconfusion.org/fc2008/

I hope to see none of you there, BUT, I do hope to swing by to admire the spectacle. Wish me luck.

Harder Better Faster Stronger (is that how it goes?)

The new politically aware THISSONGISGOOD would like to present the best political ads I have ever seen:









On a slightly related note, what's the deal with political apathy? LAME!!!

Perdoname!

Queridos amigos,
I won't be on the air as usual this week because my band has got a show. Soooo, listen to that Lemuria webcast I pointed out below. WORD. I'll be back the next week though to start off the new Winter quarter with a bang.

More Lemuria News

This was posted in a myspace bulletin by Lemuria:

Thursday January 24th
@ WBNY Studio in the Union of Buff State.
Music starts at 9:30 but get there by 9 because they lock the door at some point. Or you can listen to it on the radio. 91.3FM.
Or for those of you not in Buffalo, you can listen to the show here:
http://www.buffalostate.edu/wbny/webradio/

For all the loyal This Song Is Good listeners out there, I'll forgive you if you listen to this instead. I'm even scheming as to how I can record this and still do my own show at the same time...

January 17, 2008

Track Star - These Horses Carry Blood
Neutral Milk Hotel - The King of Carrot Flowers part 1
Neutral Milk Hotel - The King of Carrot Flowers part 2
Why? - Early Whitney
Pavement - Shady Lane (krossfader)
---
Toys That Kill - Mr. Hubbard's Dead
Jawbreaker - Ache
Ted Leo/Pharmacists - Biomusicology
Weezer - El Scorcho
---
Robert Pollard - Shadow Port
Ice Palace - The Same Seat
Screeching Weasel - The Science of Myth
---
Sebadoh - Ocean
Push To Talk - Problems
Death Cab for Cutie - Styrofoam Plates
Saturday Looks Good To Me - Make A Plan
June of 44 - Does Your Heart Beat Slower
Les Savy Fav - One Way Widow
---
Joanna Newson - En Gallop
Coco Rosie - Japan
Nigo - Kung Fu Fightin'
Cat Power - Lived in Bars
Joanna Newsom - Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie
Pizzicato Five - Such a Beautiful Girl Like You
---
Lemuria - The Origamists
The Constantines - Young Lions
HOLiDAYS - Your World
---
Stephen Malkmus - Discretion Grove
Polysics - XCT

I'm A Homer pt. 2

Lemuria's new album Get Better is out! SO GOOD!!!! This will likely be in my tops of 2008 list to be made in a long time from now, when this post will be irrelevant!!!






Does anybody even read this?

The Eye of the Beholder

The girl who sits next to me in class is from Kenya, and I asked her about the tumult I'd been hearing about out there. To break it down fairly quickly, a guy named Mwai Kibaki was elected president, in an election that foreign election observers believe may have been rigged. Opposition leader Raila Odinga refuses to admit defeat, and there've been demonstrations and all sorts of violence as a result. Much of this violence could be attributed to the crackdown that Kibaki instituted to ensure that his election wasn't questioned. Did I mention that Kibaki and Odinga belong to different tribes, who up until recently were able to coexist peacefully, but are now pitted against each other?

The girl in my class belongs to Kibaki's tribe, and even though we're learning in this political science class about questioning information and filtering through the spin, she was unwavering in her support for Kibaki. She told me that she was shocked to see the news reports here about Kenya, because her family back home was telling her things totally differently. I asked her about the television and media blackout instituted by Kibaki, thought by some to be a way of squelching any opposition or questioning of the election's validity (it sure seems shady to me!), and she said that he only did that to stop Odinga from rabblerousing and inciting violence via the airwaves. She said that it's working, so it's a good thing. Who to believe?

If the articles I've been reading are to be believed, both sides have partaken in their fair share of senseless violence, but you wouldn't have heard that from this girl. Maybe I shouldn't believe everything I read, but maybe she shouldn't believe everything she hears. It's hard to say. Politics is so depressing!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080117/ap_on_re_af/kenya_election
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7194744.stm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080117/ts_afp/kenyavoteunrest_080117085602

January 3, 2008

Man or Astroman? - Theme from Eeviac
Go!Go!7188 - Ukifune
Just A Fire - Source of the Sound
Fugazi - Public Witness Program
Mission of Burma - Outlaw
---
Dinosaur Jr. - The Wagon
Weezer - No Other One
June of 44 - Steamer
Track Star - This is Number Forty Two
---
Billy Bragg - A New England
Toys That Kill - I Hate Karma
Jawbreaker - Ache
Guided by Voices - Why Did You Land?
The Junior Panthers - No Turning Back
---
Pavement - Rattled by the Rush
Chisel - What About Blighty?
The Odd Numbers - Something New
Feist - Gatekeeper
Cake - Frank Sinatra
---
Drive Like Jehu - Here Come the Rome Plows
The Fucking Ocean - Multiply!
Tempo No Tempo - Repetition
The Unicorns - Innoculate Innocuous
Texas is the Reason - The Magic Bullet Theory
Mary Timony - Summer's Fawn
---
Unwound - Unauthorized Autobiography
Dillinger Four - Hand Made Hard Times Handed Back
Crimpshrine - Safely Wasting Away
Bomb The Music Industry! - I'm Terrorfied
Operation Ivy - The Crowd
Supergrass - Caught by the Fuzz
Superchunk - Invitation
---
Hi-Standard - Growing Up
Bangs - Into You
Going Steady - Kakenukete Seishun

December 20, 2007

The Slackers - Henderson Swamp
Urban Blight - Escape From Reality
The Siren 6! - This Can't Be What You Meant
---
Alkaline Trio - Goodbye Forever
Andrew Jackson Jihad - Deep Dark Basement
Dillinger Four - #51 Dick Butkus
Four Tomorrow - Better Walk A Little Faster
---
Sebadoh - Rebound
Push To Talk - Talk Is Cheap
Touch Committee - Gold Coast
Going Steady - Kakenukete Seishun
Superchunk - On The Mouth
The Queers - She's A Cretin
---
J-Church - Cool Guitar Girl
Superdrag - Feeling Like I Do
Seaweed - Losing Skin
Naked Raygun - Home of the Brave
Toys That Kill - All I Care About Is Me, My Rum, and You
Operation Ivy - Gonna Find You
Bigrig - Expansive Heart
Les Savy Fav - Rodeo
The Spandecks - Paranoia
---
Calling All Monsters - Lake Wave/So Many
Ging Nang Boyz - I Don't Wanna Die
Blotto - The Guitar Has Been Drinking (Not Me)
Gunmoll - Less Than You Hoped For
Mr. T Experience - You're The Only One
Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945
---
Pizzicato Five - A New Song
April March & The Makers - Try to Cry
The Thermals - Our Trip
The Buzzcocks - What Do I Get?
---
Cap'n Jazz - Little League
The Pixies - Broken Face
Andrew Jackson Jihad - Hate & Kill

I'm A Homer

Recently I discovered the wonderful record that is Just A Fire's "Light Up". How did I miss this gem over the last few years?!?! I tried to describe it to someone, and ended up saying that it was like a dubby mix of The Clash and Jawbox. As awful as that may sound, it doesn't! Hooray for awkward sentence structure. This is yet another non-ska record that has been overlooked by the world thanks to being a part of the Asian Man Records roster.

Speaking of, I saw the Andrew Jackson Jihad record in the ska section of Streetlight Records yesterday. Great work there guys! Andrew Jackson Jihad are on tour now, tonight in Santa Cruz, and tomorrow in San Jose, a show that I'm organizing. GO! I'm sure if you read this blog, you probably already know about this show anyway, but if you don't, here:


In summation, most of my favorite records from 2007 were Asian Man releases, Bomb The Music Industry's "Get Warmer" and AJJ's "People Who Can Eat People Are the Luckiest People in the World" actually having been released year, and Just A Fire's "Light Up", which I finally discovered this year. Woohoo!

December 13, 2007

Skankin Pickle - Rotten Banana Legs
Mu330 - Ireland
Los Rudiments - Too Late
Potshot - Since Yesterday
Rancid - Daly City Train
---
Good Night - Brights
Your Song Is Good - Shortcake pt. 4
Rx Bandits - Apparition
The Advantage - Ducktails
---
The Minutemen - The Glory of Man
Eastern Youth - Bura Bura Bushi
Ted Leo - Little Girl in Bloom
Les Savy Fav - Kiss Kiss Is Getting Old
Billy Bragg - The Saturday Boy
---
Andrew Jackson Jihad - Let Us Get Murdered
Andrew Jackson Jihad - Love My Children
The Weakerthans - Sun in an Empty Room
Nate Kavanaugh & The Replacematts - This Whole World
The Hold Steady - You Can Make Him Like You
Lemuria - Rough Draft
Jawbreaker - Jinx Removing
Mega City Four - Twenty One Again
---
Going Steady - Wakamonotachi
Fugazi - Bed for the Scraping
Pteradon - Broadway
Fatal Flying Guilloteens - Hello, Boss!!!
Bear Claw - Stubborn Agenda
Just A Fire - Graduation
---
Guided by Voices - A Contest Featuring Human Beings
The Cherry Tempo - City of Squares
Judy and Mary - Over Drive

The type of sound that these young'uns don't know!

December 6, 2007

Sugarhill Downtown Orchestra - Home Made Song
Slow Gherkin - Shed Some Skin
Fishbone - Ugly
The Specials - Gangsters
---
Supergrass - Caught by the Fuzz
The Buzzcocks - Harmony in my Head
Stout City Rockers - Common Man
Toys That Kill - Bill Buckner
The Misfits - Some Kinda Hate
The Libertines - Last Post on the Bugle
The Unicorns - Les Os
---
The Ramones - Sheena is a Punk Rocker
Green Day - 2000 Light Years Away
Busy Signals - Look the Other Way
Japanther - Challenge
The Thermals - Out of the Old and Thin
Ging Nang Boyz - I Don't Wanna Die
---
Les Savy Fav - What Would Wolves Do?
Hot Hot Heat - Bandages
The Minutemen - Anchor
We Versus the Shark - We Versus the Inevitability of Death
Sparta Locals - Hotaru
Enon - Pleasure and Privilege
---
Touch Committee - Blue Glass
Just A Fire - The Source of the Sound
Boilermaker - Hill
Pteradon - Urban Pirate Style
Jawbox - His Only Trade
Andrew WK - It's Time to Party
---
The Lawrence Arms - 100 Resolutions
Leatherface - Dead Industrial Atmosphere
Bear Claw - Short but Sweet
The Honor System - Muffled by Concrete
Drive Like Jehu - Golden Brown
Eastern Youth - Freedom
---
Sakerock - 2A3l (this title might show up as garbled japanese until I fix it)
My Korean Friends - A Story Like the Wind
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Come Baby Come

Schwachan

I had the pleasure of seeing "Pumping Iron" last night, the bodybuilding movie featuring Arnold Schwarznegger and Lou Ferrigno among others. The direction and soundtrack were executed perfectly to emphasize how meaningless bodybuilding is. The movie also shows pretty clearly how disgusting of a person Arnold Schwarznegger really is.

For further proof, watch this amazing Youtube clip:

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.

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
---
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
---
The Hot Toddies - Sugar Daddy
Lemuria - Piranha
Dillinger Four - ¡¡Noble Stabbings!!
Crimpshrine - Summertime
Jawbreaker - Indictment
---
The Clash - Guns on the Roof
Bomb The Music Industry! - I Don't Love You Anymore
Chris Murray - The Higher the Monkey Climb
---
Ted Leo - The Unwanted Things
Television - See No Evil
Mike Watt - Against The 70's
The Skatalites - Golden Love
---
Billy Bragg - A New England
The Sonics - Don't Believe In Christmas
Shonen Knife - Water Wine
Michelle Shocked - Anchorage
Andrew Jackson Jihad - People
---
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
---
The Specials - Monkey Man
Superchunk - Her Royal Fisticuffs
Queers - Houston, We Have A Problem
Husker Du - Never Talking To You Again

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!!!

----------------

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).

-----------

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?

------------

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

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
---
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
---
Les Savy Fav - The Equestrian
Bear Claw - Short but Sweet
Dinosaur Jr. - Kracked
Fugazi - Ex Spectator
Rx Bandits - To Our Unborn Daughters
---
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
---
Dethklok - Bloodrocuted
Hepcat - Nigel
The Toasters - I'm Running Right Through The World
Fishbone - Party At Ground Zero
Skankin Pickle - Fights
---
The Talking Heads - This Must Be the Place
Ted Leo - Come Baby Come
Superdrag - Sucked Out
Weakerthans - Civil Twilight
---
Slow Gherkin - Salsipuedes
Twinkle - Teen Anguish



Background Music:
Mono - Finlandia
Madlib - Indian Hump

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
---
Jawbox - Mirrorful
Going Steady - Kakenukete Seishun
Alkaline Trio - Goodbye Forever
Crimpshrine - Pretty Mess
Japanther - River Phoenix
Toys That Kill - Safe and Warm
---
Hundreds and Thousands - The Pros and Cons
Les Savy Fav - Kiss Kiss Is Getting Old
Sparta Locals - Hotaru
Touch Committee - Blue Glass
---
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
---
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
---
The Specials - A Message To You Rudy
Operation Ivy - Bankshot
Stephen Malkmus - Phantasies
The Promise Ring - Happiness Is All the Rage
---
Portastatic - Sour Shores
Guided by Voices - The Best of Jill Hives
Magnetic Fields - No One Will Ever Love You
Archers of Loaf - Floating Friends
---
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

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.

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
---
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
---
Drive Like Jehu - Human Interest
Fugazi - Epic Problem
Jawbreaker - Donatello
Rx Bandits - Crushing Destroyer
---
Gunmoll - Less Than You Hoped For
Husker Du - The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill
DESA - Voltaire's Fable
Bleach03 - Not Peter
---
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
---
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
---
The Weakerthans - Night Windows
Mega City Four - Twenty One Again
Alkaline Trio - Clavicle
---
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:

October 25, 2007

BREAKfAST - Jason Adams
Ging Nang Boyz - Inu Ningen
Spandecks - Paranoia
Track Star - Payback
---
Andrew WK - Not Going To Bed
Bomb The Music Industry! - I Don't Love You Anymore
The Aquabats - Chemical Bomb
Andrew Jackson Jihad - People
The Weakerthans - Utilities
Sean Na Na - Help Me Up the Hill
The Hot Toddies - Sugar Daddy
Feist - Somewhere Down The Road
---
Weezer - No Other One
Pinback - Subbing for Eden
Wheat - Round in the Corners
---
Why? - Dream On Cortelyou
Pavement - Newark Wilder
Sparta Locals - Pogo
Elvis Costello - Little Triggers
The New Pornographers - All The Things That Go To Make Heaven and Earth
The Dismemberment Plan - Girl O'Clock
The Unicorns - I Don't Wanna Die
Ging Nang Boyz - I Don't Wanna Die
Deerhoof - Dinner For Two
---
Eastern Youth - Freedom
Drive Like Jehu - Golden Brown
Discount - Sleeping Motor Boy
Toys That Kill - Runnin' The Front
The Blue Hearts - Chernobyl
---
Television - Elevation
Rx Bandits - 1980/One Million Miles an Hour, Fast Asleep
Derangements - Tsunagare Kairo
Cleveland Bound Death Sentence - Rumble Seats and Running Boards
Green Day - Jar
---
Dr. Frank - She Turned Out to be Crazy
The Buzzcocks - Lipstick
Lemuria - Little Silver Children
Supergrass - Caught By The Fuzz

October 18, 2007

Feist - Somewhere Down the Road
Ted Leo - Ghosts
Sean Na Na - Hairspray
The Shins - Kissing the Lipless
---
Polysics - Black Out Fall Out
Enon - Disposable Parts
Why? - A Little Titanic
Bumps - Baby Johann
BREAKfAST - Breakfast? Eat Rice
The Minutemen - Viet Nam
No Age - Sun Spots
Dinosaur Jr. - Little Fury Things
---
Liars - Plaster Casts of Everything
Afghan Whigs - What Jail is Like
Pavement - Summer Babe
Silkworm - The Operative
---
Calling All Monsters - Baby Bear
Superchunk - Her Royal Fisticuffs
The Libertines - Time for Heroes
Archers of Loaf - Web in Front
Four Tomorrow - Better Walk A Little Faster
Kind of Like Spitting - Born Beautiful
Eastern Youth - Tokyo Clear Zero Degrees Celsius
Dirty Little Secret - Three Way Sex
---
Supergrass - Cheapskate
Chisel - 8 A.M. All Day
Ging Nang Boyz - I Don't Wanna Die
The New Pornographers - Failsafe
---
The Slackers - Wasted Days
The Weakerthans - Civil Twilight
The Cherry Tempo - Wake Up! Gertrude Stein
Hockey Night - Princess Starcrystal
Lemuria - Little Silver Children
---
Bomb The Music Industry! - Unlimited Breadsticks, Soup and Salad Days
Sambomaster - Utsukushiki Ningen no Hibi
J-Church - Overconfident
Cap'n Jazz - Take On Me

Tonight's background music:
Howard Hello - Lazy
Mono - Yearning

GONZ

Two good friends call him their favorite skater. MARK GONZALEZ!!!



PS: I wish I had gotten into skating when I was younger! C'est la vie.

Social Distortion SUCKS!!!

San Jo's very own Jason Adams:

I Will Never Be Able To Do This

THAT'S INCREDIBLE

Hoosier Love?

I got the scoop on a special Mu330 show going on tonight in Santa Cruz as part of their singer Dan Potthast's wedding celebrations. The bride and groom's relatives and friends gathered at the P Street house, and Mu330 played all the hits!!!... until the cops came and told them to cut the noise. It was a special night and I'm glad I could be a part of it, now I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

October 11, 2007

Bomb The Music Industry! - Jobs Schmobs
Pteradon - Broadway
Rx Bandits - To Our Unborn Daughters
Pixies - Rock Music
---
Rocket From The Crypt - Made For You
Voodoo Glow Skulls - Fire in the Dancehall
Andrew WK - I Want To See You Go Wild
Toys That Kill - Blanket
Baby Guts - Cringe
BREAKfAST - Breakfast? Eat Rice
---
No Age - My Life's Alright Without You
The Coathangers - Parcheezzi
Coco - The End
The Minutemen - Viet Nam
Sparta Locals - Gap
---
Feist - Somewhere Down The Road
Twinkle - The Candidate
Mu330 - Favorite Show
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Where Have All the Rudeboys Gone?
The New Pornographers - Mutiny, I Promise You
Slow Gherkin - Salsipuedes
Sean Na Na - The Hunter
The Weakerthans - Relative Surplus Value
---
The Muffs - I Need A Face
Pavement - Cut Your Hair
I Sing The Body Electric! - Lemon Wedge
Superdrag - Bloody Hell
Ging Nang Boyz - I Don't Wanna Die
---
The Advantage - Bubble Bobble / Bubble Bobble-Shark Skeleton
Polysics - I My Me Mine
The Aquabats - Canis Lupus
My Korean Friends - Turtle Tax
The Cherry Tempo - Japanimation
---
Chris Murray - Switchblade to Soul
Track Star - Payback
Bomb The Music Industry! - Get Warmer
Sugarhill Downtown Orchestra - Home Made Song


Tonight's background music:
Hepcat - Tommy's Song
Mono - Finlandia

YEAH!

Super Monkeys

Courtesy of JJ, the weirdest song/video combo since that Crispin Glover video:

Mailbox

New in the mail:
Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
Black Summer #3 by Warren Ellis
The Boys GN #1 by Garth Ennis

Comic nerdism.

Boy! I wish I wrote about anything other than pop culture.

October 4, 2007

Breakfast - True Do Me
Minor Threat - Screaming At A Wall
Toys That Kill - Activate
NOFX - Leave It Alone
Union 13 - Sobre Vivir
---
Operation Ivy - Missionary
Fifteen - No Tion
Going Steady - Kakenukete Seishun
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Living With The Living
---
Man or Astroman? - Theme from Eeviac
Sleater Kinney - Not What You Want
Dinosaur Jr. - Kracked
Track Star - Cities on Cities
Silkworm - Scrawl
Sparta Locals - Ougon Wave
---
Feist - Somewhere Down the Road
Sean Na Na - Help Me Up The Hill
I Sing The Body Electric - I Do
John Vanderslice - Time To Go
---
Husker Du - If I Told you
Mega City Four - Twenty One Again
Crimpshrine - Summertime
Bomb The Music Industry! - 493 Ruth
Elvis Costello & The Attractions - What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding
---
The New Pornographers - All the Things That Go To Make Heaven and Earth
The Specials - Monkey Man
April March and Los Cincos - Theme for the Lime Cafe
Manu Chao - Mi Vida
---
Why? - Miss Ohio's Nameless
Slow Gherkin - Snakes
The Unicorns - Tuff Ghost
---
The Slackers - Henderson Swamp
I Need Sleep - Natural Disasters
Fishbone - Party At Ground Zero
---
The Weakerthans - Plea from a cat named Virtute
The Weakerthans - Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure


Hooray for more on-air mistakes! I RULE!

September 27, 2007

I'm back!!! I'm also not as prepared as I wish I was for today. I gotta start playing new stuff, as in stuff that I don't always play every week. OR MAYBE I WON'T!!!

Hepcat - I Can't Wait
Bomb The Music Industry - I Don't Love You Anymore
Fishbone - Ugly
Chisel - The Dog In Me
---
Ging Nang Boyz - I Don't Wanna Die
Mega City Four - Miles Apart
Pinback - From Nothing to Nowhere
Track Star - This Is Number Forty Two
---
Sean Na Na - Hairspray
The New Pornographers - My Rights Versus Yours
The Constantines - Young Lions
Husker Du - Makes No Sense At All
Toys That Kill - Moon = Ghettobird
---
Minutemen - Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs
Rx Bandits - And the Battle Begun
Bad Brains - Pure Love
Buzzcocks - Orgasm Addict
Clorox Girls - Boys Girls
Afrirampo - Afrirampo
---
Sicko - Hipster Boyfriend
Anti45 - 18 Years Gone
---
Smoking Popes - Pretty Pathetic
John Vanderslice - Time To Go
My Korean Friends - An Apology
Lemuria - Home
---
Weezer - Tired of Sex
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Dial Up
Racetrack - Sharpest Pencils
---
Andrew Jackson Jihad - People
Jawbreaker - Shield Your Eyes
Calling All Monsters - Sometimes I Wish You Weren't Dead
Cap'n Jazz - Little League
Knapsack - Skip the Details

I'M BACK

Dear loyal readers and listeners (ELVIS?), THIS SONG IS GOOD is BACK! KSCU 103.3, Thursday nights, 7-9 PM.

I really want to play some tight new stuff for all of you, in particular the rad new Bomb The Music Industry, Andrew Jackson Jihad, and Ging Nang Boyz records. Tune in tomorrow night please!!! If you don't live in the area you can check out www.kscu.org for an online stream.

Whazzzzzap

No one cares, but here I am on the road, and here is what is keeping me occupied:

Final Fantasy VI on Game Boy
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Cachorros by Mario Vargas Llosa
The Prince by Machiavelli
Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta
Andrew Jackson Jihad/Ghost Mice split

I also was able to view a live action version of The Fly, aka Mistah Feshbach.

WEIRDOS

Boy oh boy, have I had some creepy moments in my life, but even at my worst I have never been nearly as awesome (I mean DESPICABLE) as these guys. So, without further ado, on with the wacked out reviewers on YELP:

David A.

edit :I changed my score.Not a friendly place anymore.Good looking- Nazi cashier's unfriendly attitude finally drove me away.

I WONDER WHY???????? If this guy is 1/100th as creepy in real life as he is here...

Mike H.
This guy isn't so much creepy, as just a creep.

Boy, it's a slow day at work.

In other news, I won't be doing my show for the remainder of the quarter. Hopefully I'll be back in late September or October though. I'll try to keep this badboy updated with stuff of note, so keep checking back!