i know lots of people are all, “fuck septa, yo. id rather ride my bike or walk, anyway” but here’s something you dont realize: everyone is full of shit. i know for a fact y’all are lazy motherfuckers. try walking 5 blocks with a group of friends and someone, if not all, will start whining about the distance. back when i was booking shows at doc watsons, i was under the false assumption people wouldnt consider it a long walk from the khyber and maybe would try to jump between shows. ill admit it: i was deluded.

consider ourselves lucky the strike only pertains to city transit and the taxi association didnt decide to strike as well. then, we’d seriously be screwed.

perhaps im not your average philadelphian, but i do use mass transit. one of the reasons i moved out to west philly was the availabilty of many transit options. several trolley and bus lines were within walking distance of home, as well as the el. and a few of them ran 24 hours, so i knew i didnt have to always ride/walk somewhere [which, let's face it, i hate riding once it gets cold]. there was a special kind of joy in knowing that i could take the 42 out to old city and have it pick me up right in front of the khyber.

even though im a member of philly car share, id rather not rely on it as my only means of getting around. its cheap to use but can really add up if when not paying attention.

last time city transit went on strike, it was not fun. i hope they resolve things soon.

sometimes it may not seem like it on here but im pretty much down with 99.5% of music. that final .5% is reserved for my 100% hatred of michael mcdonald’s voice. oh man, that dudes voice makes me want to commit suicide. [in a twist of irony, ive come to discover, after the fact, that a few men i've dated are fans of michael mcdonald. now i understand why we never lasted!]

what im about to say is gonna blow your mind: yacht rock, which is a mockumentary of the whole smooth music phenomena of the 80s and features the aforementioned mcdonald in a leading role, is my new favorite “television show” of the moment. here’s a great summary of the entire thing.

on a “local” note, i seriously enjoy how hall & oates are portrayed as bullies and have some of the best lines in the first couple episodes.

apparently YR#5 airs today and will be available for online viewing within a couple days. can’t hardly wait.

» Another sign of Pitchfork’s misguided nature:

Mazarin are supporting their third album, We’re Already There, released this summer on I & Ear Records. (Editor’s note: It’s the best Philly indie rock album of the year. Sorry Dr. Dog and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.)

My rebuttal:

A) Just because CYHSY has one member who lives here does not make them a Philadelphia band. If a Philly band had a member who lived in NYC and then claimed to be a NYC band, there’d be a shitstorm — gangs would form, street wars would take place, etc. And we don’t consider Superchunk a Philly band because Jon Wurster grew up here. Nor do we consider Marah a NC band because their drummer Jon Wurster lives in NC.

My point to this ridiculousness is: it wouldn’t be acceptable.

B) Duh, The Spinto Band’s Nice and Nicely Done, A Sides’ Hello, Hello and B.C. Camplight’s Hide, Run Away are the best three local releases of the year. (thanks to jon for reminding me about the a sides)

C) Just wait until you hear the Plain Parade compilation. It may possibly trump both of the records mentioned in talking point B. Hail Social make Mazarin sound good.

» Does anyone have sleeping pills? I haven’t been able to get more than 4 hours of sleep for the last week. I’m edgy, but not in my usual edgy-but-kind-of-amusing-and-hilarious sort of way. It’s really not fun.

The Capitol Years “Farther On” (Vetiver cover)
I’m not sure what blows my mind more: the fact that Vetiver is Andy from the Raymond Brake (one of my personal favorite indie rock bands of the 90s) or that the Capitol Years are covering Vetiver. But the group has a knack for doing things completely left-field and that’s what keeps reeling me in. If you like strummy folk thats not overly showy but could perfectly accompany a quiet fall afternoon, this one’s for you. (Visit the Capitol Years here. )

Buried Beds “Empty Rooms”
Buried Beds are one of those bands that sound completely elegant and refined thanks to all those strings, slow tempos and quietness. But you can hear a faint crack in Eliza Hardy’s clarion voice and instantly you know these are songs that are teetering on the edge, without that restraint there could be some serious shit-losing going on. Meltdown or not, it’s a captivating listen regardless. (Visit Buried Beds here.)

adios!

With Infinity Broadcasting’s WYSP/Philadelphia shifting to Free-FM today, a new line-up for the station was unveiled immediately following The Howard Stern Show, kicking-off its new programming with well-known Philadelphia radio personality Paul Barsky. David Lee Roth is set to make his debut on WYSP on Tuesday, January 3, 2006, replacing Stern, who will disappear from the station’s airwaves on Friday, December 16.

perhaps what leaves WMMR as the only “alternative” station in philly is their VIP card?

» Stylus has apparently been swiping my grocery store receipts from the trash, ’cause really, how would they have known this:

“Comfort eaters must understand Jeff Lynne’s approach to music better than anybody else. It’s those occasions when you’ve already bought a pint tub of Ben and Jerry’s, and then just squirt half a bottle of strawberry syrup and throw some toasted almonds on top, just because you can. It’s about taking what you enjoy, and just ramming as much extra on top of it until you’re bloatedly content, but stopping before you become sick. Lynne turned over-production into such an art form if he’d have produced “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” it probably would have resulted in Snoop flowing over 27 different varieties of timpani and the entire Vienna State Orchestra.”

» Nitsuh breaks down indie pop, awesomely.

» NEA head honcho Dana Gioia reads at work.

Age 30

AccomplishmentsSite Manager for Insound.com; Director of Speciality Marketing for Plexifilm; Publisher of Sound Collector and Arthur Magazine.

Throwing around the term “visionary” is a precarious feat, implying someone’s ideas exist in an imaginary (and often unreachable) state, but Laris Kreslins is sorta like that. Long before I worked alongside him as an intern at Insound, I read his influential ‘zine Sound Collector voraciously, where No Neck Blues Band, P.G. Six, ESG and other bands co-existed beside more mainstream indie favorites like the American Analog Set. If this sounds like an impractical musical utopia, well, because that’s another part of the visionary definition.

Even though Sound Collector is no more, Laris continues to rewrite the musical mosaic with Arthur (www.arthurmag.com), which he publishes with Jay Babock. For the uninitiated: combine the heady excitement of 60’s-era Rolling Stone predecessor Crawdaddy! with the hottest and out-there sounds of today, all penned by a rotating cast of writers, rockers and cartoonists (Byron Coley, Thurston Moore, Douglas Rushkoff, Ben Katchor and so on). Because this is utopia, word counts don’t count and rather than act as a publicists play thing, Arthur is about whatever the hell the writers feel like writing about.

Even in its paper and ink form, utopia still feels distant, which explains why Laris and co. are bringing it into this dimension with ArthurFest, happening Labor Day weekend (September 4 – 5) in Los Angeles. The small park holds roughly 2,500 and with the tentative lineup (Sonic Youth, Yoko Ono, Sleater-Kinney, Merzbow, Spoon, Comets On Fire, Magik Markers, Cat Power and much, much more) looks like a music fan’s collection has exploded, it’s bound to be a dream come true.

What were your first musical experiences?

Taping Adam and the Ants tapes through my brother’s door with my Fisher Price tape recorder, as he had locked his door and was blasting his tape collection; maybe getting a Talking Heads tape from my baby sitter. Going to see Jesus and Mary Chain and New Order the same week when I was in 4th grade. Listening to Abba and Boney M at a way too early age.

How did you get involved in publishing?

My friend and I started a ‘zine in high school called D. That pretty much started it all. It was a music review/interview pub with a healthy dose of randomness. We used my godmother’s photocopier to print them all.

What experiences lead to the creation of Arthur? How did you hook up with Jay?

Jay had written for Sound Collector; I wanted him to write for Audio Review but he was working on developing Arthur. When Audio Review #2 came out I contacted him again and said, “Any luck with ARTHUR? He said not yet. I said, “I’ll publish it.” So we partnered up and gave it a try. It was blind faith. We only met face to face only nine months later.

What separates Arthur from other magazines?

Longer articles, a wide distribution network; our varied mix of music, film and politics. We come out on time.

How does the collaboration process work between you and Jay, especially since you reside on opposite coasts?

It’s a total separation of church and state. We have very definitive job descriptions. I handle the business, management, etc. He helms the editorial.

Arthur’s distribution model is based around volunteers who select where to place copies. What was it that caused you to arrive at this method of distribution? How do you think it works in comparison to others?

It’s pretty simple − through my experiences doing Sound Collector I knew dealing with magazine distributors was tough, and not always an exact science. I spent too much time chasing invoices and thought doing a free publication would eliminate that aspect and also give us a chance to reach a lot more people, a lot quicker. And it worked, thanks to our over 80 distributors, contributors and supporters.

The Tylenol “Ouch!” CD (that was included with an issue of the magazine) caused a stir amongst the music community. What are your feelings on the situation? Why do you think audiences react so strongly to the issue of sponsorship?

My only reaction is that advertising is advertising. Marketing is marketing. That’s what the project was. Its goal was to market Tylenol, and they used independent musicians as a vehicle. It has its pluses and minuses − maybe both bands gained a larger audience. Who knows? I’m pro-sponsorship, especially if the sponsorship does not interfere with the art. Now that arts funding is being cut left and right, sponsorship is becoming more important. It’s not the ideal situation, I wish artists would be paid what they’re worth, but that’s not the reality.

How did the Arthurfest come about? What do you think the experience will be like?

We’ve wanted to do a festival for a while but the costs were just too prohibitive. But then Spaceland came on board to help organize the event and support us. I’m less involved on the booking side. That was handled by Jay, Spaceland and Angela Means from Eclipse Booking. I think it will be amazing, historic even.

What new things are you excited about? How do you go about finding them?

I love the Nethers and the Magik Markers. I go to a lot of record stores, search blogs, get tons of mail. Talk to a lot of people − talking to friends usually leads to most discoveries.

You’ve started the site movetophilly.com. Why do you think people should move here? What’s Philly got that others don’t?

It’s affordable − great culture, rich history, diverse urban landscape. There are a lot of resources here to do great things; you just have to know how to navigate the city. Movetophilly.com might be that map. Currently we’re offering customized tours.

Man Man “Tear of Octopus” (Adam Sparkles Remix)

Making Time conspirator / electroclashacidrainsparklemotion good guy Adam Sparkles reconstructs Beefheart’n'Blue turban enthusiasts Man Man into a hypnotic but bouncy club banger. [thats what the kids call them these days, right?] Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper reinterpretation without injecting some sharp bursts of shrieks here and there. Fits in perfectly with the rest of your Disco Not Disco collection. (Learn more about Man Man here.)

Click on the image to read the published version of the article; what follows is my unedited version.

On the eve of Intonation, Chicago’s music community suffered a loss – the untimely deaths of three local musicians, including Silkworm drummer Michael Dahlquist. Setting foot onto the dusty fields of Union Park and the surrounding blighted environs was not unlike probing an open wound; a move that risked greater damage.

Long before I set foot on a plane I had my doubts whether Pitchfork, one of the largest music websites on the internet, could pull off a music festival of this magnitude, especially since it lacked some of the scene’s current heavy hitters (few of whom were scheduled to play the competing Siren Festival in New York City). What resulted were moments bigger than music; Intonation was an event many of us won’t forget anytime soon.

Pitchfork pulled out all the stops to entice music fans willing to take the leap of faith – not only were passes unbelievably cheap (twenty-two dollars for a two-day pass), attendees were treated to concession stands with food and beverage at – get this – reasonable prices. Items needed to combat the oppressive Chicago weather, such as water, were kept to the user-friendly cost of one dollar.

What Day One desperately needed was some compelling live acts. A good portion of the day was plagued by a few bands lacking stage presence or the ability to keep a crowd of approximately 15,000 sweaty and sunburned indie rockers interested. Local radio station WLUW, renegade department “store” DEPARTment, publicity firm Biz 3 and the Chicago Children’s Museum provided spaces where folks could entertain themselves otherwise when the bands weren’t doing it for them. You could buy records, clothes, make art projects out of discarded LPs or dance along to the sweet beats of DJs like Diplo, El-P, Will Oldham, James McNew (of Yo La Tengo) and assorted folks.

But for those who watched the bands, there were certainly many treats: A.C. Newman’s ace cover of the Tall Dwarf’s “All my Hollowness to You”, not to mention his accidental “jazz” rendition of “On The Table” from The Slow Wonder (he played it a full step out of tune!); Broken Social Scene’s condemnation of NYC cops and overall amazing, feel-good set (a major improvement from their train wreck Philly show days earlier); the dust rising up from the audience during the sets of Death From Above 1979 and Go! Team, the latter who symbolically tore down the fence to invite children from the surrounding West Loop neighborhood to dance with the band on stage.

Strangely enough, it took a post-festival show at the Empty Bottle featuring Oxford Collapse and The Constantines to give Intonation the kick in the ass it desperately needed. Whether it was playing crowd favorites such as “Young Offenders” or songs off their forthcoming Sub Pop release Tournament of Hearts, the audience clung onto every note the Cons created as if their lives depended on it.

Starting off with Thunderbirds Are Now!, Day Two was filled with moments that will be talked about long afterward. Dungen not only hit our sweet spot for stoned minstrelsy, they filled the thirst of countless kids by tossing out bottle after bottle of water into the audience; Andrew Bird, Xiu Xiu and Deerhoof electrified audiences by redefining our expectations of live performances; and if your ass wasn’t shaking along to Out Hud’s, you were feeling a bit left out; The Hold Steady preached the gospel of sports and heavy metal between songs; The Wrens came out of the gates with fury unseen, throwing their instruments up into the air and inviting members of the crowd to become a makeshift rhythm section; Les Savy Fav came out of hibernation and amped up the audiences to the point that the press/V.I.P. area had to be cleared out for fear that the crowds might literally knock down the gates. And when he wasn’t inciting a near-riot, LSF’s Tim Harrington stripped down to his skivvies, put together a makeshift waterslide and slid through the crowd. The Decemberists classy closing performance acted as the perfect balance to Les Savy Fav’s whirlwind, heat and flash stage tactics and left the homeward-bound audiences humming on the crowded El platforms.

Intonation proved to be the perfect vessel of catharsis for the sadness that opened the festival; by the time I exited Union Park, I sensed a difference in my fellow showgoers – complete strangers connecting with each other, sharing their personal highlights and all undoubtedly excited to come back again next summer.

King Britt & Sister Gertrude Morgan, “Let’s Make A Record”

Yesterday morning as I was waking up from The World’s Least Restful Sleep Ever that involved totes tossing, mucho nightmares (Rory Gilmore as a flesh eating monster?!) and other discomforts, I heard unsettling, mysterious sounds emanating from my alarm clock. I thought that perhaps in my attempts to sleep peacefully, I whacked the radio dial to another station. But no, I was still tuned to WHYY and yes, it was Radio Times that I was listening to. The approach to remixing Sister Gertrude Morgan’s original material is similar to what one would find on any of the Verve: Remixed CDs, and whether you like Moby or not, there’s no mistaking the similarities to him in King Britt’s interpretation of “Let’s Make A Record” — the bass line weaves its way in between the punctuated tambourine of the original and the saxaphones that lace the work pay homage to Medium Medium — there’s no mistaking the otherworldly quality created here. (Purchase “King Britt Presents Sister Gertrude Morgan here)

If you’d like to learn more about Sister Gertrude Morgan, and I hope you do because she’s fascinating, visit the Rope A Dope website. You can listen to the “Radio Times” interview with King Britt here