Sensitive Shreddin'

Hey gang-- guess what time it is. It's time for ol' Ben to get down on his knees and give some '90s indie-rocker the proverbial blow-j. Look out!

So -- who are the lucky bastards this time? I'll tell you.

As we all know, the good people at All Tomorrow's Parties (ATP) have been slaying us with not just reunions but performances of classic albums in their entirety. The Melvins did Houdini, we all know about Mudhoney doing Supperfuzz and recently they got Polvo to get back together to destroy the living daylights out of us. But why stop there? It was recently announced that ATP will be taking their festival to New York where Polvo, some other band who hasn't played in a while and, dudes of all dudes, Built to Spill, are going to throw down. But Built to Spill aren't just playing -- they'll be performing a certain little record called Perfect From Now On. If you're not aware of that album's power, you are either deaf or unborn. If you are aware, well, then you have a pulse.

Unfortunately, you have to be a Roc-A-Fella to afford tickets to that festival but fortunately Doug Martsch and his team of bros will be taking this on the road and you know that Talihan and I will be seeing them at Terminal 5 in September. What's that? Who's opening? Oh you know, just some little nobodies. What're their names again? Oh yeah -- Dinosaur Jr. and fucking Meat Puppets! Are you kidding me? That show is gonna be a damn monster. I feel like I heard that Meat Puppets will be performing II in its entirety. Either way, I will be put down.

But Built to Spill are definitely the biggest draw for me. The first time I saw them was on the second stage at Lollapalooza and all I really remember is that my friend Rami got, like, a migraine or something. The second time I saw them I had not only just gotten a haircut, but I also had all four wisdom teeth taken out days before and my cheeks were waaaayyy swollen. It made the top of my head look really small and the bottom look really big. What does all this mean? I guess I'm a little nervous about this show. But you know what? Fuck it! It's time to knock back some microbrews and get into a little good ol' beard-rock. Did I just write "ol'" for the second time in this post? You're damn right I did. Come on dudes -- let's kick it in the sun!

Mainlining That Local H

Hey, I'm Lucia, and I'm famous...okay, maybe not. So there's this song that pops back into my head every once in awhile. I was sitting at my computer on Sunday and I googled some of the lyrics I could remember, and then this came back into my life:

Not only does that video rule because the majority of it is just the dude cranking out some power chords with just his drummer in the background (who needs a band?) but because then I found out not only does Local H still tour, but they were scheduled to play Luna Lounge - three blocks from my house - that night! Course, I didn't go, because who gives a shit about Local H, but still.

-Lucia

If That's What They Call Normal Then I'd Rather be (Un)sane*

The other night I ended up at my buddy Dan's House. We drank some beers and burned one down on his porch, which is soon to be adorned with dart boards (this dude is kinda my idol) and there was some awful smell in his fridge. But that's neither here nor there.

So at first we were watching some cooking show where some Asian dude was carrying around some kind of mini- pterodactyl fish. I guess he was gonna cook it up. Shit was weird. So then we somehow switched to Jackass 2 with the mute on. My initial reaction is to find those dudes kinda entertaining. I mean, I like to watch shit burn or get smashed or whatever -- I'm a grown ass baby like everyone else in my generation. And let's face it -- mean-spiritedness is funny. But sometimes I just get furious at those dudes. That one dude Bam? I can't help but think "C'mon bro. Those are your parents. They gave birth to you. Give them a fucking break, fuckface." Not very punk rock but then watching it kinda turned me on, maxed me out. But at the time I'm kinda like, "You dudes are kinda the definition of lameness," which is to say I'm entertained but I hate myself for it

Speaking of Skateboards, remember how sick Unsane was? I don't have them anymore but I bet a bazillion dollars that these records stand the test of time ... plus the dude had an AK 47 tattooed to his fore arm ... bff .... big fucking balls


Apparently they have a creepy fanbase based on this video

*If you get the reference in the title then you were a ska fan and you ought to be ashamed of yourself.

Night Marchers Last Week

So moti, danny, and I went to see the ol night marchers last week ... felton flaked cause somebody was marrying someone else or polvo reunited or sumin.

I started out super stoaked about it but then i copped the record...and shit was kinda yawncity ... it wasn't bad just not stupendous. But shit my main man john reis know how to rock a crowd ...so i was still a little amped.

What I wasn't too amped about was opening bands ... i'll be frank ... i'm that dickhead ... honestly if i haven't heard of your band i aint coming ... i guess it would be nice and it would be a way of experiencing new things,and I could go in with an open mind, etc. ... but that aint really my style ... i prefer to hide my feeling beneath indifference, sarcasm, and humor ... wait did i just say that out loud ... moving on ...

So we got some beers at the bar around the corner ...it used to be a normal bar, but now is fancy beer spot full of duders (not the good kind).

We get there and shit is packed. So much so that we could even get into the room of the show. But we manage to squeeze in and get a bit closer ... the crowd wasn't too stoaked ...but john ries looked like a million and half dollars ... so I told him he looked fantstic ... i think he appreciated it ...i wish more people told me i look fan-fucking-tastic ... cause lord knows that's a fact ... my second question "wait, weren't you in jawbox?" ... didn't go over quite as well ... there were some boos ... and my homie Gar called me "bagged meat" ...which sorta turned me on ... i don't know if that's weird ... but hey it's the truth so I gotta admit it ...at least thats what karen hill taught me

The crowd was kind blah ...except for a couple brohams in the front ... this salty balty audience was way more siked:

Kermit is sad

I feel like for me to comment on this in any way whatsoever would just subract, rather than add, value to this nug:



The dude who made these deserves the noble peace prize or a bazillion dollars or sumin ...




Shit like this proves to me I've wasted my life ...cause I wasn;t making cover songs in a kermit voice

Uh, Pretty Damn Tough

I'm feeling pretty nostalgic for alternative rock today, dudes. I'm sitting here in Carrboro, North Carolina where the sun is shining bright and the sky is as blue as a Redd Foxx bit. I got into town on Friday and within hours I was watching Superchunk rip it up for Barack Obama. Cold brews, a little old school indie rock and getting fired up? Yes please. Then this band Arcade Fire stepped up and got epic like Les Miserables. It was truly a great day and definitely got me thinking about a little decade I like to refer to as the 90s. You know what? I'm always nostalgic for the 90s. Screw it!

Anyway, so I was shooting it with ol' Talihan today and we start talking about our favorite topic -- female musicians -- and a certain lady named P.J. Harvey came up. The only record of hers I really got into was Rid of Me but holy shit pile was that a fucking juggernaut. It was one of those records that I was way too dumb to appreciate when it came out and then years later I threw on and was like, "Damn." Seriously -- that's exactly what I was like.

Anyway, here's a little gem I found:



This is a really interesting video because it's from 1993. Apparently that was the last year it was acceptable for people to wear sunglasses on stage (except for Mick Collins). Also, that drummer gets pretty weird on those backup vocals. I'm into it.

Banal Bar

So last night ... me and danny decided to leave the apartment building we both live in to head out for some beers. Cause sometimes you just need a break from the mom being wildly abusive to her child, the rabid dog that lives upstairs, and the dude next door who makes horrendous music.

So we went to the local bar to pod ...but it was just weird and lame in there so we bounced. Dudes in there were stoaked on hockey and over charging. So we left to go check some new spot ... that turned out to be extra yuppied out.

So we ended up at some extra park slope bar... which kinda blew chunks. I noticed in the background, as I watched people play connect four and just generally lull each other to sleep, that the record playing was Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Which made me realize that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a record made for boring people. Now don't get me wrong I actually really liked that record...but if it is being played you are basically in a boring place with boring people (otherwise known as park slope)

I promise you if you know a really boring person, they have this record. Not only do they have it, it is prominently displaced, cause they think it speaks to some deepness about them. Like "me and Jeff Tweedy have been through a lot but luckily we found this authentic country music to help us make it through."

P.S. the guy's name is Jeff Tweedy ...unacceptable.

Appros of absolutely nothing this video for damaged goods is kinda hundred dollar biller ... fuck, Jon King puts it down on the dance floor

That being said, i like this song a lot: