Bringin' the Rock

looks like the band is gonna be playing an electric open mic at Pharaoh's in Adams Morgan this thursday night. three to four songs, and our friends, The Strohs, will be hosting.

1817 Columbia Rd. NW
open mic starts at 9:00

Long Before There Was Stacy's Mom...


...there was Denise. she's kinda catchy, in an eighties sorta way. take a listen.

* "Denise" - Fountains of Wayne

For Those About To Rock...

thanks to some crafty Fins, you can now play air guitar for real!

"Using a computer to monitor the hand movements of a "player", the system adds riffs and licks to match frantic mid-air finger work. By responding instantly to a wide variety of gestures it promises to turn even the least musically gifted air guitarist to a virtual fret board virtuoso."

sweet.

thanks to stereogum for the tip

Would You Risk Death To Eat This?

i'm watching a National Geographic show on taboo foods. a licensed japanese chef is dissecting a puffer (fugu), removing the poisonous organs/sections. it's toxin is deadlier than cyanide. it's damn interesting.

The Breakout

damn, Prison Break is some effin' riveting television!

but now i have to wait until march for some effin' new episodes? what the hell is this? bullshit.

I Enjoy This Picture

A Young Loner...

who doesn't love Knight Rider! now download the theme you've always wanted!

* "Knight Rider Theme"

I Love This Yahoo News Headline

"EU May Suspend Nations With Secret Prisons"

ummmm.....if the EU knows about 'em, they're not secret, then are they?

Two-Pack

everybody's doing it. so what are you waiting for? it's Cyber-Monday, so start shopping online and get those gifts!

vacations are nice. but here's Anderson Cooper keepin' it real about the logistics of "taking a vacation."

Cry Me A River

"Terrell Owens' stature as a compelling athlete and outspoken public figure contributed meaningfully to the destructive power of his actions. Despite all attempts by the club to persuade him to modulate his posture and his posturing, he persisted in broadcasting his dissatisfaction and in stirring and stoking the growing attention and dissent around him. In so doing, he engaged in conduct that was manifestly detrimental to the club. Mr. Owens and his agent threatened a campaign of disruption and implemented it through repeated acts, large and small, of disrespect, dissent and insubordination, culminating with a well-publicized verbal assault on the team and on the quarterback. The Coach could properly conclude that, however excellent Owens' performance was on the field, his off-the-field conduct and demeanor were seriously devitalizing the organization. The grievance is denied.''

-- Arbitrator Richard I. Bloch, from his 31-page decision striking down the grievance brought by the NFLPA on behalf of Owens last week.

But It's New...

*new postsecret.com today

*and new December MP3s of the Month to the right. i highly recommend the Beatles/Beastie Boys mash-up "Pass The Word."

Narcissus

taking pictures using the mirror was a bit interesting:

in passing

come towards the light

Back To Jersey

cc and I are off to New Jersey for T-giving tomorrow morning. yeah, Jersey!!!

One For The Road

It’s a holiday weekend for most people, so I’ll post an mp3 today. It’s not turkey and stuffing, but here’s Angie Aparo’s “Hush.” Modern rock with incredible vocals, top-notch production, and a hook that'll stick in your head. Enjoy your turkey and football, kids.

IMP's Gettin' Props

the International Mixtape Project that i'm in is gettin' some press! see what it's all about...

BBC (text): http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A6643172

Radio New Zealand (audio interview): http://www.radionz.co.nz/nr/programmes/nights/20051122

and yes, that's IMP head honcho Ryan Goldman talkin' in the audio interview.

At Work Today...

Somebody left me a voicemail at work today, inquiring about back issues of our magazine. When I called the person back, the individual answered the phone, “the office of Yo-Yo Ma.”

I figured the person was just messing around, cus "Yo-Yo Ma" is so much fun to say (at least I find it so) - so of course I countered with an incredulous, “this is really the office of Yo-Yo Ma?” It turns out that it actually was, and they wanted a copy of the November issue that has a Yo-Yo profile.

So next time I need cello on a song, I know where to call!

Spin

cc, pete and i went to the awards ceremony for the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest sunday night at jammin java - the winners of the various categories played live, and it was a pretty cool time. i saw a bunch of acts i hadn't ever seen before, and i heard some quality material.

Susan Greenbaum was the big winner of the night, taking home the grand prize for the rocking "Spin Like A Top." she may only be 4'11", but she packs a big voice. definitely check out "Spin Like A Top" here on washingtonpost mp3.

Legends of Urbia

snopes.com has got a list of the 25 Hottest Urban Legends. my personal favorite is #5. Crocodile vs. Bungee Jumper.

Sunday MP3

if Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre had been hillbillies, it's very likely "Gin & Juice" might have sounded something like this...

* "Gin & Juice" - The Gourds

instead of this...

* "Gin & Juice" - Snoop Dogg

Weekend's Pix

it's a blues driver pedal, dammit!


stuff on table in front of window

Hunka Hunka Love

just saying the word "elvis impersonator" usually makes me giggle. but i actually saw one w/ cc last night. the guy wasn't bad - good pipes, but he coulda given us a little more pelvis action, if you know what i'm sayin. and here's an mp3 of the real Elvis, just to make me feel less dirty from seeing an impersonator...

* "Suspicious Minds" - Elvis Presley

First Things First


pete and i went to the Blue Room studio Saturday afternoon so he could learn some new words and lay down some wicked solo work on one of our new tunes, "Turned Down." anyway, the song's not mixed and mastered yet, but you can see what pete looks like when he's playing above...

Kevorkian Pardon?

as reported on yahoo:

Jack Kevorkian's attorney is asking Michigan's governor and parole board for a third time to pardon the 77-year-old assisted-suicide advocate or commute his sentence. Kevorkian is eligible for parole in 2007, but attorney Mayer Morganroth says he might not live that long. Kevorkian suffers from a number of ailments, including high blood pressure, arthritis, cataracts, osteoporosis and Hepatitis C, he said.

What?

hearing loss is growing more common with today's Ipod generation, and they may not realize it until it's too late. this is a good article in rollingstone.com that also discusses the infrequently-mentioned hearing loss that also affects professional musicians.

Torturing Me Softly

here's a little excerpt from a very interesting article on the evolution of CIA torture techniques...

Months later, the agency began a program to explore "avenues to the control of human behavior." During the next decade and a half, CIA experts honed the use of "chemical and biological materials capable of producing human behavioral and physiological changes" according to a retrospective CIA catalog written in 1963. And thus soft torture in the United States was born.

Where?

i just posted here.

Hey, Bert!

this is rather freaky. really. freaky.

How Indie Are You?

Information Leafblower's got this year's edition of THE TOP 40 BANDS IN AMERICA TODAY here - that's right baby, in ALL CAPS! a select panel of music/mp3 bloggers was given the responsibility of voting for this - it's a pretty interesting read. and you might learn a little something...

Scrubs

we're back! well, sort of. Scrubs - The Complete Second Season is now out on DVD - grab yours while it's hot.

and this little update from http://scrubs.mopnt.com :
Scrubs in January? November? (October 18th is shot...) A few e-mails have been coming in to direct us to TV.com's Scrubs page, where the first episode of Season Five, "My Intern's Eyes," is listed to return on Sunday, January 1st. With NBC, anything is possible, but Sunday would still be a very unlikely night for comedy (unless they've decided to give FOX's animation block a run for its money). So, unless that's the case, and unless the network has decided to put all of its midseason replacements on one night (also highly unlikely), chances are that TV.com's info (which is held in a database, and therefore probably not null-value-friendly) is just a placeholder. Especially since the second episode, "My Rite of Passage," is also listed with a January 1 date, along with many other midseason replacement series listed at the site. And though Bill Lawrence's first video blog entry at IGN.com has him talking about Scrubs returning in the first few weeks of November, we sadly have our doubts: An October 18th return Bill predicted a month or two ago never panned out, and NBC also has no signs of Scrubs on its schedule for the next couple of weeks. We hope that a prediction of Scrubs' return will one day come true, but at the moment none of the bubbling rumors look very promising. Stay sane, Scrubbers, and keep your ears to the ground for further news.

A Shotgun Wedding, Of Sorts

a woman in California says she still plans to marry the man who shot her in the groin and then held her hostage in his family’s garage for six days. too bad her soon-to-be husband is gonna be spending the next 20 years in prison for shooting her in June 2002.

“I love Christian today as deeply as I loved him before this awful thing happened to us,” the woman wrote in a victim impact statement. “We are soul mates.”

romantic, right?

Big Brother Is Watching You

somebody's watching you

That's A Lot Of Kiznash

a poster for the classic 1920s German film "metropolis" was just sold for a world record $690K! it's a pretty damn cool poster, and you're lookin' at it for free right now.

Brew For You

what beers really taste like! these reviews are rather...humorous. and they're funny every time.

Pimp My Ride

nice paint job, eh?

The Garden State

help New Jersey find a new slogan!!!

Rock

cc and i went and saw All-American Rejects last night at the 9:30 Club. those kids really put on a high-energy show. the place was sold out with teenagers - luckily we were upstairs, cus the downstairs was a sea of crowdsurfing and moshing, which was kind of cool to watch from above. even AAR's lead singer went for a stage dive. anyway, AAR's stuff was damn catchy and rocking, and even the opener, Rooney, was pleasantly good.

Loewy

here's a neat little piece on Raymond Loewy, "the father of industrial design." using his MAYA motto (most advanced, yet acceptable) he brought style to company logos, locomotives, automobiles, and more.

check his stuff here

Funky Sunday

it's sunday, so time for some music for you. in keeping with my Beatles-themed weekend, Indoor Fireworks has a slammin' Beastie Boys/The Beatles mash-up. check it on IF's blog here.

and here's a funky little Matt Wertz tune, "Like Last Time." it's got some bounce. i picked up his EP today & tomorrow for a buck at Tunes this weekend.

Pix

the last tomatoes of the season

The Faux

so i went and saw the Beatles tribute band, The Fab Faux this weekend. very cool. it's made up of some high-quality musicians (a few guys from late-night show bands) playing Beatles songs as they're arranged on the albums. as a big Beatles fan, it's quite nice to hear some good Beatles live...props to my dad for suggesting it.

Beatle-y

i'm heading back to NJ this weekend w/ CC, and we're going to see The Fab Faux, a Beatles tribute band, with my dad. i'm quite curious to see what it'll be like...

You Posted Where?

i just posted here. go check it. and yes, there's mp3s involved.

Liver & Clipper

chi-town without foie-gras! say it ain't so! a proposed ban on foie gras has divided Chicago's fine restaurants and stirred a two-pronged debate: whether it is humane to force-feed geese and ducks to plump up their livers, and whether politicians should be telling diners what they can and cannot eat.

and on a totally unrelated note, Joe DiMaggio's 1936 New York Yankees home uniform will hit the auction block at Sotheby's New York on December 10. Both the jersey and pants of the pinstriped No. 9 uniform will be auctioned. i'll make sure to place my bid.

Can You Resist?

i just couldn't resist a KISS posting. they're releasing a double-disc concert DVD, "Rock the Nation Live!" on December 13th. perfect gift for the holidays, eh?

Is It Lupus?

go learn about lupus here.

Gen Y

the 'me' generation comes to work...in flip flops.

This Weekend's Pix

it's small

so did YOU watch the What's Happening!! marathon?

where's Michael Schofield when I need him!

Sunday Is For MP3s

i'm really liking my new Ben Lee CD, "Awake Is The New Sleep." this shimmering, melodic acoustipop goes down oh-so-easy.

* "Gamble Everything For Love" - Ben Lee

Simon & Funky

for all of you Simon & Garfunkel fans out there, jefitoblog's got some live mp3s from an acoustic November 1969 show. i'm not the hugest fan of S&G, but it's pretty cool nonetheless. that's harmony, baby!

and Everybody Cares has got some pretty crazy mp3 covers up on his blog. you don't hear people covering Billie Jean that often, now do you?

Luka Loves You

my good readers, rejoice!!!!!! season four of ER is coming out on DVD December 20th! though for all you luka-lovers, i don't believe LLLLLLLLUKA comes into the show until seaon five or later. oh well, sucks for y'all.

Because Moby Likes It?

golly, these post titles that end in question marks are such fun! and i'm also never one to underutilize the exclamation point! anyway, amazon.com has a neat little feature where they have the music recommendations and favorites of current musicians. it's kind of interesting. check it.

Hallelujah

i know there's a bunch of people who love leonard cohen's "hallelujah." Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands has a cool post w/ all sorts of cover versions of the song. i'm partial to the Rufus version myself.

Butchie Rocked

damn, big perm, Butch Walker rocked the joint last night at Black Cat! great stage presence, strong vox, and a kick-ass performance. me, christine and pete had a most triumphant time. unfortunately, my pix didn't come out too well...but you can look at these two.

You Posted Where?

check out my post on metromusicscene.com here. and yeah, there's mp3s involved.

Six Points Is Coming

Six Points Music Festival is coming the the DC/Metro area near you. check it out.

Get Spike Jonze On Yo'self

go here and cut and clip yourself a music video. it's pretty cool, even though it's run by Old Spice.