OK, so here’s my crazy news: A few weeks ago I submitted an entry for Billboard Magazine’s “Mobile Beat” contest. It was one of those moments where I said to myself “Wouldn’t it be funny if I applied for this?” And then I did. Hey, I just went through the ordeal of applying to grad school, so was capable of handling the eventual rejection that would come my way. And Billboard had every right to turn me down — I’m published, etc blah blah blah.

But I guess there was no clause stating someone with experience couldn’t participate, so now here I am… a finalist in the Billboard/LG “Mobile Beat” competition. Over the course of the summer I’ll get to cover live music events and live blog ‘em. Gee, this sounds awfully familiar. Cynicism aside, I am psyched about this. It’ll give me the opportunity to write and expose my “talents” to a larger audience, for better or worse.

Now here’s the catch: this thing is a contest and relies on audience participation, like American Idol. (I mean really, if I wanted to blog unpaid and unnoticed I’d post here more often. Hiooooo!) So check out my posts and comment on them because it will help me win a chance to cover some large awards event from the red carpet. Lord knows I’ve been itching to don a satiny evening gown these days. Can you imagine me chatting it up with Kelly Clarkson while wearing that get-up? (Feel free to insert your own rock star fantasy here.) Exactly.

Time for the weekend and very soon I’ll be able to make an announcement about some stuff I’m working on. In the meantime…

The hot news is that the Magik Markers are due with a record soon. Is this press release an elaborate prank or for serious?

jeff: oh I was just laughing at this press release for the new Magik Markers record
akbar: nice what does it say?
jeff: I’ll give you some choice passages:
jeff: With a mix of blues simplicity, an almost Sonny Sharrock wailing and a janky Americana punk reminiscent of Pat Place and Roky Erickson, Ambrogio avoids preciousness like a rash.
jeff: With Peter Nolan, we finally hear what Lou Reed would have sounded like had he sallied with the drums instead of getting seduced by the easy praise of front man status. Like Rasheed Ali squeezed into the Teutonic leather pants of Faust, Nolan drums like there are hell hounds at his heels but he just can’t be bothered.
akbar: “Ambrogio avoids preciousness like a rash”
akbar: um
jeff: Nolan is easy to underestimate, but finally, here is high fidelity record of the strange soul of one of America’s most natural and quizzical musical minds.
jeff: the soul of his mind?
akbar: isnt that what mm are about — hot girl making noise?
jeff: haha totally
jeff: On BOSS, a tent rises right out of the empty plain and we are thrust into a full blown revival show with no audience and no lights; it is just Elisa preaching, Pete blowing Gabriel’s horn, and the mad wind of the prarie blowing all around.
akbar: who the eff wrote this shit?
jeff: some total loser, and/or Thurston
jeff: When confronted with an example of magnificence in nature, such as a waterfall, Jane Goodall reported that the chimpanzees she observed were captivated, as if in awe of the beauty of the world. On BOSS, the Magik Markers have tried to capture the chimps’ awe.
akbar: …
jeff: Mixing a gentle vulnerability with a winded egomania, the Markers have always had a musical tunnel vision; BOSS is that vision made manifest.
jeff: winded egomania is the first thing I’ve agreed with
akbar: you’re killing me — stop

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spoon - finer feelings - ga ga ga ga ga - N
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gang gang dance - track #2 - god’s money
fiery furnaces - single again - ep
rocky votolato - streetlights - makers
casiotone for the painfully alone - blue corolla - twinkle echo
————————-
chip willis & double exposure - i’m gonna gitcha - eccenstric soul: the prix label - N - C
falfurrias - vuelo - bicycle rodeo - C
mountain high - co-op smoo-op - 7″
pelican - dead between the walls - city of echoes - N
ciccone youth - burnin’ up - 7″
betty davis - don’t call her no tramp - they say i’m different
————————-
mike wexler - cipher - sun wheel - N
archie bronson outfit - dart for my sweetheart - 7″
famous explorers - boy detectives - messthetics #103 - N - C
the vss - indian-sick - 21:51
part chimp - seedsy - cup - N
moving targets - away from me - …away from me 7″
the saints - lost and found - eternally yours
————————-
jennifer gentle - electric princess - the midnight room - N
samara lubelski - goodbye sweetness - magic eye singles gold 7″ - C
noise addict - i wish i was him - 7″
zumpano - let’s fight - goin’ through changes
the kinks - tired of wating - kinda kinks
autoclave - summer - lever 7″ - C
————————-
seefeel - climactic phase no. 3 - quique - N

OK. My personal life is getting weirder and weirder by the nanofuckingsecond, but here’s some stuff you should know:

» If you listen to Her Jazz over the internet, tomorrow you will be out of luck, as WPRB plans to observe the Internet Radio Day of Silence. This event was organized to draw attention to an impending royalty rate increase that, if implemented, may lead to the virtual shutdown of this country’s Internet radio industry. To see a list of participating stations, learn more about why this is happening and more check out the site above or Save Net Radio.

» That said, you can still tune in through the good old FM signal — I’ll be giving away tickets to the Fiery Furnaces at the North Star Bar.

» Friday night I watched Parts & Labor rock the fuck out to a crowd of 300+ at a crumbling warehouse in Bushwick. Matt & Kim, whom I’m not so into, were pretty great.

» Saturday I saw S-S-S-S-Spectres, Ex Models and Ghostface (Who! Was! Taking! Requests?!) — not on the same bill, of course. But you could imagine it that way, since they played on opposite sides of the East River.

» And Sunday I made my inner 15 year old pleased as punch thanks to Superchunk’s show at McCarren Park.

Really, how many times have I used “Strange Things Afoot at the Circle K” on here? One too many, but there’s a lot going on right now — and hopefully soon enough I can share some news about it with you. Rest assured, it’s really good, hilarious even. In the meantime you’ve got your weekly dose of me on WPRB every Tuesday. Will update with playlists later on, I think.

spoon - dont you evah - ga ga ga ga ga
————————–
team dresch - she’s amazing - personal best
minutemen - jesus & tequila - double nickels on the dime
glenn mercer - here and gone - wheels in motion - N
ex models - pink noise - zoo psychology
parts & labor - unexplosions - mapmaker - N
superchunk - misfits & mistakes - 7″ - N
————————–
woofing cookies - plain truth - horse gum tortilla shoes
trumans water - sad sailor story - our scars like badges 7″
marvin gaye - dont mess with mister “t” - trouble man sndtrk
mikami kan - the scarlet rug - international sad hits volume 1 - N - C
the long blondes - weekend without makeup - someone to drive you home - N
jonathan richman - the world is showing its hand - not so much to be loved as to love
a band of bees - love in the harbour - octopus - N
————————–
the most secret method - inch - most secret method / dusters split 10″
the mice - bye bye kittykat - for almost ever scooter - R
big dipper - making plans for bison - every band has a shonen knife who loves them - C
yoko ono - walking on thin ice (w/ jason pierce of spiritualized) - yes i’m a witch - N - C
love child - i love you - love child plays moondog 7″
lubos fiser - the letter - valerie and her week of wonders - N
william bell - it’s happening all over - the soul of a bell
martha & the vandellas - jimmy mack - hitsville usa volume 3 - C
————————–
jennifer gentle - take my hand - the midnight room
the zincs - finished in this business - black pompadour - N
the thrushes - heartbeats - sun come undone - N
artanker convoy - the happy minotaur - cozy endings - N
pissed officers - hints from heloise - save the ants 10″
the red krayola - micro-chips & fish - singles: 1968-2002
————————–
artanker convoy - open up - cozy endings - N

» Looks like my hometown has landed in the NYT again; glad to know that while dads are assholing it up in the garage, our local theater is shutting down (kinda sorta). Am I the only Metuchenite (expat or otherwise) that finds all the development — or should I say, razing everything that makes the Brainy Boro so unique — troubling? I haven’t been this bummed since Irma’s Bag burned down, or when Captain Video committed suicide. (I’m aware the latter is not specific to Metuchen, but come on, we were all pretty bummed about that.)

» Chicago Reader takes a look (really, just a look) at what happened when one of their local radio stations played a leak of the new White Stripes album. It’s really tough to be a radio station in the age of Hype Machine, but there’s no reason radio should mimic HM just to retain and please listeners. (Additionally, if bloggers are causing 100+ years of radio broadcasting to unravel with leaked albums, I have strong feeling there’s a lot more at issue, and it’s being grossly ignored.) One glance at the photograph of the music director and you just sort know he’s the kind of guy that will do just about anything to prove to humanity en masse that he’s a cool dude — even if it means going against what radio stands for to play leaked mp3’s with shitty bitrates. Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to what I mean with “what radio stands for”, BTW. Also love how this article paints the radio industry as this doe-eyed creature incapable of any wrongdoing. What, did everyone forget about payola?

» On that note: Leaks. Oh man, it’s been leakier than Holland during the rainy season [?] these days. Here is what I think about the new Spoon album: I’m loving the Springsteen-eqsue horns of “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb” (made even more glorious as I was cruising over the bridge towards Brigantine Beach this weekend), the low end of “Don’t You Evah”, and how “Finer Feelings” makes me think of “Cut Yr Hair”. But that’s it, folks. I’m finding I skip through the other songs to get to these three, and this is a major bummer in my book. I think this is the first record of theirs I haven’t thoroughly liked.

On the other hand, the new Bishop Allen is solid — even though many of these songs found their way onto the series of EPs, which the group released every month throughout 2006. It’s been quite sometime since BA released a full-length (what ever became of Clementine, the supposedly in-the-can follow-up?) but doing those EPs and letting the listeners in on the creative process/growth more than likely benefited them. I guess what I’m trying to say is that maybe Spoon could have thrown out an mp3 or two in the time between records — even groups like Parts & Labor mess around between releases (see: Escapers series; another one is on the way I hear). Sometimes mistakes/detours/etc are more interesting than trying to get it right all the time, every time.

» I’ve been listening to the Long Blondes a lot lately and the nasty, calculated lyrics won’t let me go. Someone please recommend me some “mean” albums to keep this theme alive!

I had the worst time trying to talk on this show. Heather was my special guest! I remember that we talked about the cancellation of Veronica Mars and Knocked Up.

6/12/07

constantines - dirty business - slaying since 1996 - N
————————-
king kong ding dong - heya - s/t
prowler - uh huh yeah - comunizzle
blues control - boiled peanuts - s/t - N
voxtrot - firecracker - s/t - N
tk webb - wet eyed morn - phantom parade
————————-
s.f. seals - still - 7″
wreckless eric - (i’d go the) whole wide world - big smash
jay mitchell & the mitchellites - i am the man for you baby - eccentric soul: grand bahama goombay - N
nelson sargento, jorge zagia & quincas do cavaco - partido alto de padeirinho - this is samba
linus - driven thing - driven thing
part chimp - crash the high octave - cup - N
————————-
meg baird - do what you gotta do - dear companion - N
mary weiss (w/ the reigning sound) - tell me what you want me to do - dangerous game - N
tickled pink - reach out (and give me your hand) - texas funk: hard texas funk 1968-1975
glas menagerie - natasha - crude pa vol 2
sofa - with it - 7″
hot snakes - this mystic decade - audit in progress
marnie stern - every single line means something - in advance of the broken arm - N
————————-
parts & labor - the gold we’re digging - mapmaker - N
kinski - point that thing somewhere else - s/t ep
the vertebrats - left in the dark - revert 7″
youth in asia - invertebrate - crash course in cleveland life
codeine - something new - tom 7″
————————-
hermeto paschoal - jay in the rose garden - the free music of hermeto paschoal

Not much to say about this show, then again I don’t really remember it. Must have been fun, so tune in this week.

Her Jazz 6/5/07 on WPRB 103.3FM

spoon - the underdog - ga ga ga ga ga - N

Awesome Shows You Should Totally Attend This Week (Or so I think)
clockcleaner - early man - frogrammer 7″ - N
the long blondes - lust in the movies - someone to drive you home
bloc party - hunting for witches - a weekend in the city - N
electrelane - between the wolf and the dog - no shouts, no calls - N
guided by voices - game of pricks - human amusements at hourly rates - C
charalambides - can you count the stars? - historic 6th ward

blues control - boiled peanuts - s/t - N
hovercraft - thixtropic - s/t 10″
mountain high - life coach - s/t ep - N
professor murder - champion - …rides the subway - N
seam - rafael - are you driving me crazy?
sam & dave - you dont know like i know - complete stax singles volume 5 - C

eddie ray - wait a minute - eccentric soul: the prix label
special agents of her majestys secret cervix - veil - skitchhead split - C
heavenly - trophy girlfriend - operation heavenly
creeping weeds - i wanted to live (die) - we are part of dream we’re having - N
volt - alles neu - s/t - N
can - father cannot yell - monster movie

the last town chorus - boat - wire waltz - N
the sea and cake - crossing line - everybody - N
kenny smith & the loveliters - go for yourself - cold heat: heavy funk rarities 1968074 volume 1 - C
mavis staples - 99 1/2 - we’ll never turn back - N
lovechild - diane - okay?
the cakekitchen - walking on glass - world of sand
noise addict - phone remedy - def 10″

prurient - outdoorsman/indestructible - pleasure ground - N

Action-packed weekend here at the Her Jazz compound.

» What/where/when/whaaaaa did Buried Beds become so loud? Friday night’s show was probably the most rock I’ve seen of them. The band following them were so fucking awful. Do you ever get that way, where a band is so awful — I mean, like embarrasingly awful — you can’t even keep yourself in the stage area? Yeah, that happened to me.

» I really like when there’s a bunch of good shows in town, you can just pick and choose what you want to see, like dim sum. Additionally I’m thinking of titling Saturday as “The Night Where I Only Watched 1.5 Songs Per Band”, and no, I don’t need flashy graphics that look like a nu-rave flyer to suss out the statistical data. Simple math, brah — I saw a little bit of Black Moth Super Rainbow’s vocoded stoner rave rock, Fuck the Facts brutal grind and Electrelane’s energetic take on krautrock. Funny though, how the Electrelane show was packed to the gills with douchebags — in the short time I was there, I had beer spilled on me twice. You’d think the grindcore show would have been more problematic, but maaaan, was the crowd totally chill there.

» Caught Knocked Up this weekend as well. I have to say, there’s been a slew of somewhat decent films being totally ruined by completely shitty trailers and marketing plans (Georgia Rule, Knocked Up, etc). DAEREST HOLLYWOOD, if ur reading this, take noet. Anyway, KU was good, a subtle but scathing critique of the baby/marriage-obsessed culture/feedback loop that gets crammed down our throats. The fight scene between Rogen’s and Heigl’s characters, where a totally hormonal about-to-burst Heigl struggles to find her ground against Rogen’s immature comebacks (honed after hours of stoned, drunken arguments, no doubt) really rubbed me the wrong way. Out of his pack of loser friends he’s the most responsible and has the best chance of getting his shit together, somehow the script leaves the audience rooting for Rogen, which is kinda fucked.

» Annoying photography gripe #4,573,947,598,347: Blaming bad images on equipment. I’ve seen amazing images shot on disposable cameras, I’ve seen stunning work produced by 18×24 Deardorffs — so it’s not so much about the equipment. Technique is crucial. My own equipment is so barebones it’s downright laughable, but I understand the limitations of my various cameras, and in the words of the almighty Tim Gunn, I try to “make it work”. I wont lie — I’d be perfectly happy with a Leica M8 or maybe one of those crazy digital backs for my 500C (maybe then I will use it more than once ever five years). Maybe I should pull a SF/J and beg the internet to buy me new equipment? I promise to never photograph a rusty door for as long as I live.

» Inspired by Idolator’s Barbara Manning post on Friday, here’s one more track of hers, from the old Live at Dave’s Garage 7″ series:

S.F. Seals, “Back Again” (From Live At Dave’s Garage Vol. 5)