revelations of a music snob

regarding:

* new STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS record - i couldn't say it much better than Tiny Mixtape's Ed Comentale:

"Ultimately, Mirror Traffic doesn’t quite recapture the shaggy
grandeur of Wowee Zowee, and, perhaps to its detriment, it abandons the proggy
jam-band bliss of Real Emotional Trash."

it's still a pretty great freaking record, though. you just need to skip tracks 1 and 3.

* bass guitar - SPECTOR2112 is my new favourite youtube guy. if you look at the selection of stuff he plays, it's like he grew up with me...or at least down the street from me...except, he has the Rush, Frente and BN Ladies songs (so i guess that means he actually was up the street from JaHe! ahahahahahaaahahaha ). :(



* taylor swift - made the following observations in no particular order:
- LA crowds kinda suk, even at arena shows: the entire audience sang along to every song, loudly. but, hardly anyone applauded or hooted in between songs. in fact, some pauses in the show were downright silent. AlSto sez it's cos everyone was busy texting or otherwise doing something else to occupy their attention-deficited minds.
- fathers seated next to a person other than his daughter on one side are oblivious when their ample backsides begin to slide over to occupy part of the other person's seat for more than one song.
- i can recognise a justin bieber song in less than four notes.
- justin bieber can dance pretty well even when he's half-a$$ing it.
- t. swift's backup dancers dance better than justin bieber.
- her guitar players are the type of guys i don't like, meaning too much hairspray and too many Les Paul guitars for their age. and they can play so-so.

(click for more photos, but not of the guitar players!)

- t.s. puts on a decent show, she really does! and i'm talking about the entire production, not just her. the sets are beautiful, and she does the quick-change thing that would put most people, including Chinese opera singers, to shame.
- it's funny cos a bunch of people asked if she really couldn't sing or uses autotune live. i was watching her closely. there was a slight lag between the stage and video screen. i think there might be a little backing track action happening, but what do i know?
- even if one doesn't think one knows t.s.' repertoire, one does. it may also be because a lot of her songs sound the same...but still, they're tolerable and written well.
- t.s. prefers audio technica handheld mics and she holds it in her right hand. always. i think she plays Taylor guitars, too, but that is a little on the nose.

who knew one could score points with the kids (my friend ScoTe's daughter, EmTe) and some coworkers (who are parents) simultaneously?!!!??

that IS what Prince played that night!!?...

Edit this setlist | More Prince setlists

these are the songs Prince played at the forum on the final night of his 21-show residency in Los Angeles...i was lucky to attend with BriKa (and thanks also for the setlist link!) and AlSto.

MUSIC: coachella part 2

MARK RONSON played nearly an entire set of some amazing music. god his horn section is so tight...and there is nothing like the sound of live horns in a stage setting like that!

Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs sang on 'Oh My God' and KENNA, of course, sounded fantastic and got the crowd going with his version of 'Just'. turns out there the biggest surprise of the evening, for me ('twouldn't have been a surprise if i lived on the coachella forum cos they've been talking about this for weeks now...), was the Charlatans' TIM BURGESS' guest appearance for the 'Only One I Know'. he looks like he wears a wig now. kinda creepy. i'll look online for some video or something. i'll also try to post the setlist once i get it scanned.

sasha and digweed really sounded amazing, and the crowd was really really into it. unfortunately our tired butts only half-danced, half-sat during their set.

we suck. we didn't stay for prince. SO TIRED. and today, i'm sore.

Band of Horses @ Glass House in Pomona

i REALLY like Band of Horses. if you know me, you know they're my most recent favourite. if you're still not convinced, let me tell you, they're the only record i've played at work which has caught the interest of my (totally disparate in terms of taste, age, lifestyle, etc.) co-workers... i'm talking, they came into my office at separate times and asked me who i was playing.

it was a f(*&ing brilliant show.

and, it sounded as if their tour was coming to an end...for north america, anyway, cos if you check their website, they're on their way to europe for the next couple of months. it was weird cos the entire crowd was completely silent during and after each song. god, i HATE l.a. crowds! the keyboardist called us the "most well-behaved audience" but that's such crap. if l.a. people are SO into music, then how come no one sings a goddamn word aloud like they do in britain, and no one screams during the songs like they do in japan, and no one makes a little noise like they do in every other part of the country???!

many thank yous to the nice sound guy who gave me the set list.

kenna @ the grove

we went to see KENNA at the grove in anaheim (not to be mistaken for the grove in l.a.). i love the tours he gets to open for, cos there is no perfect fit for this guy, and that's why i love his music so much. the SWR crowd was weird, like jaded morrissey fans or mexigoths from vice magazine or something...

kenna was fantastic, even though he played only six songs or so in 40 minutes. and, we got to meet him briefly at the merch stand after the show. such a nice guy. listen to his record! you WON'T be disappointed, unless you're a total jerk.