Tonight I wanna house you

So the new computer's here and that means I might be able to actually get a handle on my music collection. It also means that I can finally do screencaps and that I will (eventually) return to the canon of queer cinema. I know, you're totally stoked. Me, too. I'm finally going to clear my work computer of things like MixMeister and I'll start doing more picture stuff. I swear.

So I just spent a lot of money on Beatport. The least I can do is offer up some tracks for review purposes. As always, these tracks are not to be distributed and are for reviewing purposes only. They will remain on the site for a short time.

I would love to hear your takes on them, so feel free to comment.

First up is Chin Chin on Dialect records. I wasn't familiar with Chin Chin at all. I found the tracks because Chicken Lips remixes Appetite. Anyway, I was more fond of the original mix. The xylophone in the middle makes me think of a dance sequence from Love Boat or Fantasy Island. Another track on the EP is You Can't Hold Her which is more a tip of the hat to mid-70's soul with its horns. Really nice releases and a reminder that house music can be sexy and tongue-in-cheek all in one fell swoop.

So those two tracks are a bit of a departure from the sounds I've been ingesting lately. Much more on-par w/ my typical tastes is Ritch & Collins track on Get Physical, Fortuna. I really like the rave-y synth that comes in around 2:50. And I like the sorta bouncy (breathy?) bassline. All four releases on this EP are stellar.

What's that? You want all 4? Greedy bastards. Fine!

Pumkin (Original Mix) - Ritch & Collins

Waldorf - Ritch & Collins

Motion 12 - Ritch & Collins

Perhaps one of the strongest releases I've heard in a while comes from Tom Mangan on Souvenir. My Mysterious Ex-Teacher and the b-side, Texas are wonderfully constructed and expertly executed. If the real Texas were even marginally as beautiful as this track, chances are 7 days would not have been enough.

I got tons more, too, but I'm not gonna blow my wad all in one post. I'll stretch it out. (Oh, and in case you're paying attention, there's now a Box widget in the sidebar which contains all the tracks.)

So, in music news of a totally different vein, the Tony nominations were announced on Monday.

I'm sure you know that Grey Gardens, the documentary you know and love, has been made into a musical starring the amazingly talented Christine Ebersole.

Check her out singing "Revolutionary Costume". Tell me she's not channeling Little Edie.

Spent

Its funny how a week in Texas can feel like a year. It was hot. I slept inverted on the bed so that my head was directly under the fan. I tossed and turned like I haven't since I was an adolescent--I was in the room the room that was once mine, but now had the bed frame from my grandmother's house not my waterbed. The Billabong charcoal drawing that adorned the southfacing wall (a remnant from the times when my brother slept in the room) has been painted over, a lovely shade of green. My Catwoman poster has been replaced with some antique baptism gown or baby doll gown. Its luminesence in the night makes me think of the ghost of a dead child.
Beads of sweat materialize to dampen my pillow moments later because, and I think I've mentioned this, it was hot.
I drank a lot but only got drunk when I added tequila to my Bud Light (a trick my brother and his friend use at Jimmy Buffett concerts).
If there had been cigarettes around, I would have smoked them. Well, maybe.
This weekend also brought sad news about my mom's sister. She may have cancer of the pancreas. I saw my mother sob like I haven't in since--well, since the times when I made her cry. So I promised her that I would pray for my aunt. I promised my aunt that I would pray for her.
Those are lies that I still tell. I think coming out as an atheist to my family would be much more difficult than coming out as a homo was.
My family's lives feel like willful ignorance. They feel like Texas.
I also had dinner with three people I was in choir with in high school--1 guy and 2 girls. I slept with the guy on a regular basis. We never kissed. Seeing him again was bizarre. He looks just like his father, but acts just the same as when I knew him. He burst into some of the songs we sang in choir. All three of them remembered things of which I had no recollection.
He likes Buffy and Battlestar Galactica, and he's getting married for the second time in July. See? Experimentation during adolescence is completely normal--and I'm glad I had someone to practice on.
I told him that I was ordained and could perform his wedding ceremony.
All three of my dinner companions gave me a look like I was a little bit heretical.
My allergies were out of control. On the way to the airport this morning, I sneezed more than I have in the past year here in Seattle. The plane was delayed two hours because we needed a part. We weren't allowed to de-plane until 45 minutes later. Old women were complaining and children were crying. It was hot.
I am spent.

(More tomorrow, like what the new banner's all about.)

Like a prom dress

Well, I know things haven't been too exciting on ye olde blogge lately, and I apologize for that. Hopefully now that I have a computer at home again, I'll have time to blog more. You know, when this whole thing started, blogging at work was really easy. These days, I hardly have time for it at work.

I'm one week smoke free. Friday and Saturday nights were tough, but overall, it hasn't been as difficult this time around. My willpower and resolve are much stronger for some reason. I have this mindset of, I can't have a cigarette because if I have one I'll be smoking again. I really don't want to ruin the momentum that I've gained.

Anyway, I'm off to the scorched piece of earth known as Texas. My dad's turning 70. I really can't believe that. I'll get to see the nieces and nephews which is great.

So, I'm gonna leave you with "Turkey Lurkey Time" from the musical Promises, Promises. This clip is actually from the movie "Camp" which is cute, and you should check it out if you get a chance. Please watch it at least five times in a row. I hope it gets stuck in your head for as long as its been stuck in mine. Damn you Burt Bacharach!!!

Counting

4 more episodes of Veronica Mars left. (Chances of it getting picked up are VERY slim.)
13 hours without a cigarette.
2 days until my new computer arrives.
1 week until I leave for Texas.

May all your wishes come true

Happy birthday to a great guy!



Please do not use the baler.

Style council

Congrats to Paul for finally getting props from The Stranger!!

He's a supa-phly dresser and a wikkid-rad dancer. He was one of the first house headz I befriended in this town.

Watch men -or- lazy blogging

-or- what Phil and Jeremy pass back and forth to each other in the middle of the night (along with sweet nothings).

Zach Snyder (director of 300) talks about his take on Watchmen

2Xist runway show

and, for Bill, is this the commercial you remember?

We started dancin' and love put us into a groove

I know I gush about house music a lot. There's just nothing else like it. You don't stand around and wait for a song to finish, then politely applaud. You dance. You drink. You socialize. The music is certainly the centerpiece, but the party is nearly as important.
DJ Heather brought it (as was expected) to Neumo's. The sound there wasn't as stellar as the set up for when Green Velvet played there, but it was decent. I couldn't trainspot any of the tracks she dropped, but was quite pleased with a lack of vocals--at least, if there were vocals, they were filtered and stretched into noise. Her sound has moved away from what I consider to be a traditional Chicago sound, but it is still ass-heavy. A couple time I would even say that she tipped the scales into the 'bangin' category--deep bass drums at around 130bpm gave way to thwackier kicks at around 138bpm.
Her skills behind the deck are legendary, and even though Phil couldn't tell the difference between Heather and opener Carlos Mendoza, the afficianados out there could hear when the pro got behind the 1's and 2's. (Plus, Mendoza, of Lawnchar Generals fame has too many tracks w/ Latin horns--yuck!)
So, that being said, I still wasn't blown away. I was happy to see a lot of the old crew out--and I was happy to see the faces of the new guard, as well, but something was missing. Maybe I wasn't drunk enough (ha!).

So, this year, I've seen DJ Heather and Booka Shade--two acts I have nothing but love for--but I still haven't reached a high watermark. There hasn't been a set like Morgan Geist or, heck, even Swayzak to blow my mind.

Tonight is Jon Tejada. I'm a huge fan of what I know of him, but tonight will be the first time seeing him live. The only downside is the show is 18+. Yuck! I hate kids!

Tomorrow was supposed to be Luke Vibert, but [a]pendics.shuffle will be replacing him. More importantly, hometown heroes Jacob London are opening. And best news of all? The show is only $5!!!

Oh, and congratulations to Donte on his new column in The Stranger-- Bug in the Bassbin. Great first column, Donte! I'm really happy that someone so knowledgable is taking over from that old, stuck-up Jew Dave Segal (and your column title is WAY cooler than his was).

Movies You Should See -- Pin

Pin (1988) -- dir. Sandor Stern, Canada

I guess this needs a disclaimer: This film is not of the highest caliber as far as production values go. It is not a great film, but it is a film with great ideas executed ably. In fact, I may only like this film because my expectations for it were so low.

Pin is the story of Leon and Ursula, a brother and sister whose parents die in a car accident. The mother was a fanatically clean person and the father was distant, focused more on his career as a pediatrician. The father uses ventriloquy and a life-sized doll named Pin to tell his patients about what's happening in their bodies. He also uses Pin to explain things to his children. This causes Leon to form an unhealthy fixation on the inanimate object, and when the parents die, Pin is his last connection to his father.
Ursula does her best to raise her brother, but his burgeoning psychoses strain their relationship. Her suitors are focal points of his jealousy and rage and eventually a showdown has to occur.
David Hewlett of Stargate Atlantis stars as Leon. Terry O'Quinn from The X-Files plays the father. Sandor Stern, the writer/director does a great job with voice over and touching all the psychological bases. Make time in your busy movie schedule for Pin--I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Goes well with:
Psycho
When a Stranger Calls

Molson

Butter tarts

Shoo shoe, the sent down word

I've noticed a lot of people type "shoe in" instead of "shoo in." I wonder if these people think the song goes "Shoe fly, don't bother me." What do you figure a shoe fly would look like? Something like this, I'd imagine.

Do you think a bite from a shoe fly would hurt more than that of a deer fly?

Maybe you could scare it off. You know, maybe you could say, like, "Shoo," or something.

While you're pondering these homonyms, might I recommend watching Xiu Xiu The Sent Down Girl and listening to Xiu Xiu's remix album while browsing the selection at Shoefly?

Remembering Saturday mornings

Between the Doublemint, Mountain Dew, and Oozinator, its no wonder I'm a homo.

Strictly for the hardcore

So, Movies You Should See will return next Monday, I swear. The post is almost ready and I'm sure I could have finished it yesterday, but I took the day off.
I needed some recovery time after this weekend's concerts.
If you didn't get a chance to see "That 80's Show" you can check out the preview here.
I'm pretty easy to pick out in the second act songs. I'm the only one w/o a white shirt on. I didn't have time to go home and get my gear. So, the bearded guy in the second row is me.
The shows were a success. A co-worker brought his daughter to the Saturday afternoon performance and they had a great time. Lynnie, Joyce, Joy Sue, Risa, Keith, and Phil all came on Sunday. They all said they had a great time, and I have no reason to believe otherwise.

Oh, you want to know about San Francisco.
Ok.
I hadn't been to SF in about eleven years, but I remembered the basic layout of the city. I was surprised how much it reminded me of Seattle (climate, layout, etc.). What Seattle desperately needs that SF does quite well is mass-transit. From the Oakland airport into the city was a breeze and once we were in the city, the MUNI worked well for getting us out to the 'hoods.
But we weren't in SF for sight-seeing. We were they there for, um, sound-hearing.
Booka Shade's set at the Mezzanine was great. It wasn't really the high-water mark of the year that I was anticipating it to be, but the boys knocked it out for sure. [If anyone knows what that last track they played was, please let me know!] My friend Matthew (not to be confused with roommate Matthew) moved out to SF about 6 mos. ago. He was kind enough to do some hand-holding to get us to the club and to show us a lovely time.
The only halfway salvagable picture from the cheap-o disposable I purchased is below. It features Mr. Matthew and myself in my fabulous hotel room.
Of course I ran into Seattlites in San Fran. Of course, I ran into them at H&M. Of course, they were both homos. One I knew from the chorus, the other from clubbing.
Small freakin' world.













Now its time for what you've all been waiting for.

That's right, OKDJ vol. 10 is ready to go.

OKDJ vol. 10

The Light You Will See (Trentemoller's Deep Dub Mix) - Trentemoller
Mayann - David K
Let Me Dance - Martin Landsky
Work in Progress - Darko Esser
Lucky Bastard - DJ T
Reach (Little More Mix) - Lil Mo Yin Yang
Seconds (Moonbeam remix) - Minilogue
Cardiology (Isolee remix) - Recloose
Want 2 Need 2 (Switch main mix) - Sharon Phillips
Higher State Of Consciousness (Dirty South & TV Rock Remix) - Josh Wink
Enter The Fear Who Will Be Slaughtered Next? - Jori Hulkkonen
Make Em Shake It (Stanton Warriors remix) - Wahoo
Mucky Star - Elektrochemie
Moan - Trentemoller

I think I did a pretty good job for the tenth installment. It has a lot of rave-y sounds courtesy of Strictly Rhythm. It opens with a deep house sounding dub by Trentemoller and ends with his gorgeous newest release on Poker Flat. Because this is the 10th one, I thought it only appropriate that the song that started my obsession be included. That would be Josh Wink's 'Higher State of Consciousness.' That track along with Moby's 'Go,' and the Bucketheads '(These Sounds) Fall Into My Mind' were the first tracks that really made me sit up and give notice to dance music.
It all been downhill since.

DJ Heather this Saturday. I can't wait.

This weekend

Yeah. I know, I haven't told you about the trip to SF, yet. Eat me. I'll get around to it. I've been wikkid hella krazee busy. Mostly with this

I swear I'll get around to the usual after this hectic time ends (four hours of sleep yesterday and probably four today).

Tuesdays with bloggy

I figure since realms are generally down on Tuesdays for patches, I can spend some time with ye olde blogge. Wow, between a Monday post about movies (who knows how long that will last) and a regular Tuesday post, you'd think I'd found some sort of routine or structure. Let me assure you, nothing could be farther from the truth. Nah, I think its just the spring time thing.

But enough about me, let's talk about me.

Last weekend was the debaucherous choir retreat. You can check out some pics here (WARNING: pics toward the end of the slideshow could be considered NSFW--but I assure you it was all harmless). Fort Worden was a great setting. I wish there had been more sunshine. It finally made an appearance on Sunday for the ferry ride home. Being out on the peninsula reminded me how much of this state I haven't seen and how I need to go on another outing with Earl and Bucko.

So, in other news, it is with a heavy heart that I relay news of Copacetique's going out of business sale. Janice is closing the doors and moving to New York to work at Fred Flare (check out how adorable she looks on their home page). I am very happy for her new job, but this is the end of an era in so many ways. It seems like just yesterday that she and Mike unpacked their belongings from the long move from Austin. We haven't seen each other a lot over the past year (I really haven't seen a lot of anyone), and I regret not spending more time with them.
Along with Copacetique, its zine-sister Copacetic, which was at one time in print and for which I was an on-again-off-again contributor, is also gone. I think the first issue came out in 1994. The first author Janice reviewed for it, Francesca Lia Block, later cited Copacetic in her non-fiction book Zine Scene.

I feel like I'm writing an obiutuary. I'll miss you Janice. Even though we should have spent much more time together, I really, really cherished each moment we had together. Whether it was walking down Market to Golden Gardens or going to shows like Ivy and Tahiti 80 and Belle & Sebastian (our first Seattle show together, then a year later with The Decemberists opening). It was nice knowing that you were close by. It was nice hearing your giggle behind Cheryl's show. I'll be in New York soon, I promise.

Next, though, I'm going to San Francisco. I'm going to see Booka Shade and hopefully an old friend.

After that is the choir concert. Phil's going on Sunday. When are you going?

Movies You Should See -- Songs from the Second Floor

Songs from the Second Floor - dir. Roy Andersson, 2000 (Sweden)

I didn't see this movie until about two years ago, but I'm glad it made its way into my Netflix queue. Based on the poetry of Cesar Vallejo, Andersson's film beautifully and precisely translates the language of poetry to the screen. Like Greenaway and Jarman, Andersson constructs tableaus to tackle the heady ideas of Vallejo. The static camera serves the material well. What is the film about, though?
Well, that's harder to pin down. "Blessed is he who sits down," is repeated throughout the film and the stillness implied by resting permeates nearly every scene. Annoyance at the trappings of modernity and the individual's sacrifice to them also plays a huge role. Of course, the military, religion and the creative process are addressed, as well. These are all ideas that good poets effortlessly reference, but until this film, filmmakers have never been able to capture. In one scene, a man clings to his boss' ankle as his boss drags him across the floor. In another, a salesman is throwing away crucifixes and talking about how he invested his life savings in a loser. The scene below borders the absurd, but absurdity follows no logic and holds no truth. This scene, in its dark (almost pitch) humor illuminates and condemns ritual. Its funny and surreal and, in its own peculiar way, poignant and moving.
Definitely make it a point to see this film. Its images will stay with you long after the movie ends.

Goes well with -
L'age D'or
Un Chien Andalou
Swedish Fish
Anderssons

Up and coming

Ahhhh, that's the sound of me letting out a sigh of relief that the musically sparse winter months are over. With spring comes the promise of some good shows. So get your pencils ready to mark some dates.

First and foremost is the Booka Shade show all the way down in San Francisco. Matt and I will be hitting up the city for a good ass-shaking, and while we're there, we'll catch up with my old bud Matty (who goes by Matthew now). The trip is to commemorate Matt's 28th birthday which was on February 20th. I know that it will be a better show than Sander Kleinenberg in Vancouver.

Anyway, you're not going to San Francisco, and you want to know where you can shake it 'round these parts.

March 27th - Ratatat @ Neumo's

March 30th - Mark Farina @ Neumo's (Mark's last 3 sets in Seattle have sucked huge donkey dick, but I'll still probably show)

April 7th - DJ Heather w/ The Lawnchair Generals @ Neumo's

April 13th - John Tejada w/ Lusine and Jerry Abstract @ Chop Suey

April 14th - Luke Vibert + Jacob London @ Re-Bar

April 21st - Junior Boys -- I'm not sure if they're at Neumo's or the Chop cuz they're listed on both

April 25th - SoulWax feat. 2 Many DJs

May 13th - Peter, Bjorn, & John @ Neumo's

The ones in bold are the ones I will not miss. (I'll even be rolling into work late & drunk on the night of the 25th.) As for the PB&J show on May 13th, I hope to make it, but I'm scheduled to be in Texas for my dad's 70th birthday. I'll be attempting to fly standby on that day, cuz I really want to see them.

Hope to see you out!

Humor me

While I found yesterday's NBC affiliate/Krispy Kreme debacle immensely amusing, what I've found even more amusinger is the thread that followed the post about the event at UWeekly.com--check it here.

And, in case you're not feeling extra clicky today, and you don't know what Krispy Kreme/NBC affiliate debacle to which I am referring, here ya go (hint: look at the copy at the lower right of the KK logo):

Movies You Should See -- Crazed Fruit

In an effort to give this blog some much need structure, I'm going to try to make my Monday posts about films. Not just any films, mind you, but FILMS. You know, the ones that have informed our sociopolitical discourse'n'shit. The ones that have inspired countless knock-offs and contributed to the language of cinema.

Yeah, that's right, important films.

The first film on my list is Crazed Fruit directed by Ko Nakahira and based on Shintaro Ishihara's novel. The film was released in 1956 and was shot in only 17 days. It tells the story of two brothers who fall in love with the same girl. Sure, the story seems age-old, but the way in which it is told somehow manages to be fresh, even by today's standards.

Natuhisa and Haruji are priveleged Japanese adolescents whose ennui leads them to the beach. There they meet the mysterious Eri. There's some really beautiful cinematography in this early section of the film. Most of it is shot on the beach, and this is perhaps how this film and others like it became known as taiyozoku ("sun tribe") films. These films are marked by youth, post-war disillusionment, and rebellion. Think of it as a Japanese Rebel without a Cause (it was released a year after Rebel).

Truffaut saw and loved the film. In fact, you can pull many, many references between Crazed Fruit and Jules and Jim. Pulling even further down through the annals of cinema, you can find nods to Crazed Fruit in Kids, The Doom Generation, Badlands, and a fistful of others. However, the film is not perfect--it is interesting but not perfect.

Criterion released this film last year and I got it for Matt for his birthday. We haven't sat down to watch it yet, but the bonus materials (commentary, at least) are supposed to be top-notch with some Japanese film scholar taking you through how the film came to be and what its lasting influence is.

There's some more history around the film regarding the author and the star (brothers). You can read more from the wikipedia link above. I guess the elder became a statesman and eventually penned a biography of his (now deceased) brother. Interesting.

Goes well with:

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Jules and Jim by Francois Truffaut

A Hundred Years of Japanese Film by Donald Richie

Sapporo

Boredom

Sorry.

Just not feeling it.

Even though I want to rail against the Seattle Sonics/Storm owners for contributing money to ridiculous causes.

Even though I want to tell you to watch The Sarah Silverman Program cuz A) its funny and B) the gay couple played by Brian Posehn and Steve Agee are perhaps the most fully formed gay dudes on TV--barely surpassing Satan on South Park.

Even though I could tell you about my amazing massage on Monday. No, it wasn't that kind of massage (although he did touch my balls, and I did sport a little wood).

Even though I could tell you about my upcoming plans: 300 on Friday, choir retreat next weekend, San Francisco the weekend after that, That 80's Concert the week after that, then off to see my dad for his 70th bday.

I'm just not feeling bloggish. Sorry.

Thick dreams

I didn't take Tylenol PM this morning when I got home from work. Sleep came quickly and easily even though I napped on the 40-or-so minute bus ride home from work. When I take the PM, I often wake to damp sheets or at least a moist pillowcase. There's something about it that makes me sweat in my sleep; also, my mouth hangs open and saliva runs in rivulets from pillowcase to top sheet. It sounds disgusting, and it is. Taking Tylenol PM also increases the need for laundering my 1000TC Egyptian cotton sheets. So I didn't take it this morning.
I wish I had.
I woke up around 6pm. That's early in my world. Its about two hours earlier than usual. My dreams were still crawling around in my head. There was a man holding a ferret with near-transluscent skin. He had on black leather gloves. He inserted two of his fingers into the squirming mammal's mouth and slowly forced them down its throat. His gloved fingers were visible through the struggling animal's skin. He must be wearing the gloves so he doesn't feel the ferret bites, I thought. I was so angry at that man. I was close enough to him to see fine details like the gold thread stitching on his gloves, but I was so far away that even if I ran at him he could get away. So I dream screamed at him. It was near-primal and completely silent.
The fact that I couldn't make sound only angered me more, and it was around that time that I woke up.
So that dream sat on my shoulders. Made my back hurt more. Made me edgy and gave me that feeling that there was something I had to do. Or something that I started that I needed to finish.
Like all of my dreams, I know its source. I know the ferret that demands some clinician/mafioso to probe it while it squirms. I know that my screams have been largely silent. Most of all, I know that I will do my best to ignore my subconscious mind until these squirmy feelings go away.