holly jolly beachy holiday

we went to orlando right after christmas to visit tim's family, who were staying with his brother's wife's family. tim's brother is about to ship himself and his family off to africa where they will be missionaries. so we're trying to get as much time with them as possible before they cross the pond.

we got to go to dolly's dixie stampede and the beach and eat raw oysters (at least i did) all in the same day. wicked. i got a dolly key chain.

here are some more beach pics:

tim


our nephew watson and some feet


me


stephen (tim's bro) and tim

simply having a wonderful brit xmastime

just thought i'd share with some of y'all what xmastime is like in our house - brit-style. mum made the full works - yorkshire pudding, brussel sprouts, roast potatoes and parsnips, mince pies, christmas pudding. i did sticky toffee pudding, and grossly overestimated how much the four of us would eat so there was unfortunately a fair bit leftover which wouldn't keep.

here are some pics in case what i mentioned above is all greek to you.

brussel sprouts


parsnips


yorkshire pudding

and of course we had christmas crackers:


hence me in a paper hat. and here's tim in a paper hat too:


more pics later...

be on the cover of southeast performer with Y O U

i'm just gonna nick (no pun intended) what the band posted. as with everything Y O U, it's gonna be rad. i mean, i'm going and i wouldn't be going if it wasn't going to be rad.

SE PERFORMER COVER SHOOT - We need YOU to join us on the cover of this music magazine. This Sunday in the Piedmont Park meadow or lawn or whatever - you know, where Dave Matthews played. We're meeting at 3:30 and it should be quick and painless, we just need lots of extras. Be yourself?
Y O U

heads down and focus music

y'all, i'm trying for the life of me to concentrate on my editing but am getting hella distracted by the on-coming hols and what comes with it - holiday shopping. no to mention it's a crazy 70-something-degrees outside, and therefore i'd like to be out there. in december. freaky.

so, i've been trying to add to my list of "focus on work" music, most of which tends to be soothing and instrumental so as not to distract. like most of badly drawn boy's stuff on the about a boy soundtrack.

can anyone make any suggestions? give a girl a break.

cheers.

daily dose of cuteness

have you met tara? also known as tara-bara, tara-dactyl, tara-ist, tara firma, tara-byte... i could go on.

the crazy mutt fell into our lives august/september time. she was a surprise birthday present gone horribly wrong. my brother thought she'd be a great gift to my mum. but, seeing as tara has the same energy and crazy levels as keith moon - and the same tendency to knock things over, rip everything apart and destroy treasured possessions - and my mum gets very nervous and has never had a dog let alone a mad golden lab pup, they weren't a good match.

so one day i suggested we take tara for the day so mum could chill out. we already have two dogs and a big fenced-in yard so the pup could let off some steam.

we went to pick her up and mum asks if we don't mind having her overnight. which was fine. the next day mum says maybe it's best if tara doesn't come back. bless her.

she's definitely in a better place with us. still crazy but surely mellowing a lot. and here she is, in all her adorable puppy glory:



how can you say no to that? well, we do, often. especially when she's chewing on the sofa. tara, no. or chewing on shadow, our terrier mutt. tara, no. sigh.

get ur nails done wit kid sister and kanye

this video is wicked. get past the intro and it's pure gold (no pun on the label name, fool's gold). the break dancin' fingers are priceless.

wizards swear too

hurrah! a new potter puppet pal video! this might be the first since book 7 came out. and naturally it's cute and hilarious.



also, in other tech news, the bloody itunes widgets are on the blink again. argh!

itunes widgets are back!

true to the word of the nice itunes person who finally emailed me back after i sent a couple of angry notes about my widgets not working, the "purchases" and "favorites" widgets are back up and running. i'm wondering if the "purchases" widget is worth putting back up though, since it's getting a little crowded over there to the right with all the last.fm and project playlist widgets.

whaddy'all think?

x-factor vs dan le sac vs scroobius pip

i forgot how much i love these guys. this video (promo for the new xmas single "from god to man" available from their myspace page for freeee dec 24-31) is just hilarious.



for you americans, x-factor is (yet) another pop idol sort of thing in the uk.

to download the song, which features wicked ranting and radiohead samples go to dan le sac vs scroobius pip

best of lists

so it's that time of year again. here at performer we're all compiling our best ofs and getting ready to send them to the three corners of america (we have northeast and west coast performers too). though we're allowed to pick whatever region, label status or what have you for our picks (ie. i don't have to stick the the indie, se stuff that we feature in the mag), naturally most of my stuff is indie, se stuff. cos, basically, that's the best stuff out there right now.

the list is streaming courtesy of project playlist - though it should be noted that they didn't have everything on my list (namely the fandabbydosy dance awesomeness of judi chicago), so here's my list:

janelle monae
the coathangers
y-o-u
black kids
arcade fire
judi chicago
young knives
warm in the wake
the avett brothers (added! how could i forget??)
dan le sac vs scroobius pip (added!)
magic apron (just added)
through the sparks (just added)


this list is bound to be edited, as many of the folks i was going to mention had releases last year... so here are my late '06 mentions, since i didn't do a list last year:

lady sovereign
lily allen
jarvis cocker
joan as a police woman
cold war kids
peter, bjorn and john
bombadil


oh and what i'm excited about in the new year:

the selmanaires
y-o-u (again!)
the wombats

shows, shows, shows

my goodness there are so many shows this week. i'm hoping to go to all of the below:

weds 28: band together with morning state, the pendletons, dj preston craig
the earl


thurs 29: lord don't slow me down (oasis movie)
the brewhouse

bowie tribute with the julia dream
the 10 high

fri 30: stomp and stammer birthday party with the black lips, the selmanaires, deerhunter, snowden
the variety playhouse


fri 30: clipd beaks, judi chicago, gold painted nails, the coathangers
lenny's


sat 1: janelle monáe, deep cotton, trial by fire, dj yum yums & filipino colada
lenny's


so much to choose from. hope to see y'all out and about.
fandabbydosy!

at last fm

have finally joined the music-networking thingy known as last fm. you can check me - and what i'm grooving to - out here theleila on last.fm. right now it looks like i'm loving on the selmanaires, black kids and judi chicago. natch. i'll have a little widget up here too in a sec, since the itunes one has gone kaput. what's up with that, anyone?

black kids at big trouble in little five points/performer presents

i know i posted this before, but i feel that it needs posting again, since the show is this week. huzzah! it's three wicked acts guaranteed to have you boogying all night long.



it's free for christ's sake. be there.

bizarre rickman

for some strange reason, possibly in anticipation of his role in tim burton's new film adaptation of the musical sweeny todd, i had a dream last night that i was watching the tony's and they were doing guys and dolls and all of a sudden there's alan rickman doing "luck be a lady" or something similar. weird.

so i'm thinking, in my dream, oh i've got to go rent that. only to be disappointed when i realize that it would have been a stage version since it was the tony's, and there won't be a video, dvd, etc.

again, weird.

talking of bollucks...

our lovely german shepherd is finally undergoing the dreaded de-nadding operation. he'll come back a little less of a man than he was before, but he's still the big dog to us. we don't get to see him until the end of the day, so i'm a little worried - keep him in your thoughts, we love him lots.



isn't he pretty?

file under utter bollucks

or bollocks. whatever version you prefer.

from nme.com:

Elvis Costello never to play 'England' again

Singer says Glastonbury performance put him off playing homeland
2 hours ago

Elvis Costello has indicated that he will never play in England again.

The singer-songwriter who was born in Paddington, London, but who now lives in New York, has said he is not bothered if he plays in the land of his birth ever again.

"I don't care if I ever play in England again," he declared, sighting his appearance at Glastonbury in 2005 as the reason he would not play a rock show in the country again.

Describing the festival set as "fucking dreadful", he said: "That gig made up my mind that I wouldn't come back. I don't get along with it. We lost touch. It's 25 years since I lived there. I don't dig it, they don't dig me."

Costello, however, said he did like the country's music scene, but just felt he was no longer connected to it.

"A lot of good bands still come out of England, but I just don't feel a part of it," he told Mojo. "British music fans don't have the same attitude to age as they do in America, where young people come to check out, say, Willie Nelson. They feel some connection with him and find a role for that music in their lives."


what a moody bastard.

h-ween party

i'm nicking meg's subject line as well as her pics for this post. if you missed the annual regan-porter h-ween party - with heavy representing from the crafts of meg and amanda - then you, my friend, are lame. and not my friend.






for some buggary reason, though when i open the pics using iphoto or preview and rotated them and saved them then reopened them they were the right way round, the blog program doesn't want to show them that way. suggestions? will try and figure it out.

anyway, scott is the robot, amanda is medusa, meg is the greek godness, chris is the goblin king (bowie) from the labyrinth and i, naturally, am liza from cabaret.

almost impossible?

sometimes rolling stone shocks me and does something rad. take their almost-impossible rock'n'roll quiz and see how well you did - i got a whopping 39/58, which i was pretty chuffed with, since a lot of those seriously stumped me.

comment with your own scores below!

remember, remember the fifth of november

what with all the crazy fire restrictions in my neighborhood, we won't be able to properly celebrate guy fawkes night tonight. but here's a nice pic anyway.



american's may be confused by this weird effigy, so click here to have the history explained. it's all about catholics. really.

speaking of paste...

if you haven't subscribed, you pretty much can't beat this. thank the lovely radiohead for giving the paste folks the inspiration.

pay what you want for paste!

oh and this offer is only available for a short while so hop on it!

paste rocks guitar hero

this is so rad...





thanks to tim's lovely bro stephen for sending us the pics.

no annuals tonight

just a quick note for those planning to go to the manchester orchestra show tonight. headliners annuals have canceled, being stuck in europe. bummer.

get your band heard on bbc 6

there's no way to be smart and clever in this subject header without seeming daft, so i'm just telling it like it is. bbc 6 music, the music geek's radio station, which i therefore naturally love, has a new show with tom robinson that will be featuring only unsigned acts. there's a link here where you can let them know about your band or your fave unsigned band that they should play. i've already gone ahead and gushed to them about janelle monáe, and am getting ready to think up a smart quip about the coathangers. rock on bbc.

stop lord waldemart!

the kids at the harry potter alliance and a bunch of super-awesome wizard rock bands put this together to mark the one year anniversary of their first lord waldemart flick. watch and sign up to stop the evil lord waldemart!

first one:


second one:


funny... and true. well, a true parallel.

sign the petition and check out more info here

november performer presents is gonna be rad

along with our super-cool mates at pop death squad we bring you big trouble in little five points.

it's rock 'n' roll and it's free. you gotta be there.

cover stories

the lovely rock pop gallery has a new blog - well, a weekly column - detailing the stories of various cover art projects. music dorks - check out the website here

a-maizing maze

i had one of the loveliest southern-fall-tradition times this saturday with my various atlanta mag mates. we drove god-knows how far north (past dahlonaga!) to get to this wicked corn maze (maize maze... haha). then we had some dodgy country cooking (conclusion: good fried chicken. bad creamed corn. very scary blackened steak) and went on a wicked hayride under a stunning starry sky - so lovely.
oh and the country restaurant listed the yams as "candid." not candied.

customer: oooh yams
yams: quite frankly, that haircut doesn't suit you
customer: wow that's harsh
yams: i'm just being honest. i am candid you know

hopefully there'll be some pics from my mates later.

pumped for pumpkins

super-awesome time at kimberly's pumpkin carving party last night. check out the fruits of my labour... you might see a theme here.







that's right - it's a homestar runner cast of pumpkins!

it's gonna be a wizard rockin' christmas

and speaking of geeky music-related stuff, the leaky cauldron just announced that they'll be selling a holiday album with songs from wizard rock bands like harry and the potters, the hermionie crookshanks experience, the parselmouths and my personal fave, the remus lupins (sigh). proceeds go to book aid international "to aid in their effort to install libraries in the places in the world that need them most." how awesome is that?? click on the leaky cauldron link above and order now folks!

singin' website

ok this is pretty much the best way to waste time since myspace came along - and to be honest it's far more entertaining. the folks at the chris moyles show on bbc radio 1 opened my eyes to the wonder of this site, let them sing it for you, which does what it says.

basically type in anything in the box that pops up (allow pop-ups from the page) and click the play button, and yeah, it sings it for you, using bits and pieces of songs from folks like prince and chris isaac. awesome. hours of endless entertainment! let me know what hilarious stuff you got it to say.

brilliant people and their brilliant blogs

thanks to nme.com and mediabistro's fishbowl la, i now have two more blogs to obsessively check when i'm supposed to be working.

first to be added was kanye west's blog, which is choc-full of his ramblings on fashion and design, he tastes for which are impeccable (is that sentence even gramatically correct?). and while the stuff he muses about are way out of my price range ($3000 for a box of three ties? whu?) i can still appreciate the man's style.

next on the blogging block is the frankly insanely lovable stephen fry. i really do think this man is a certifiable genius - in both comedic and philosophical circles. he's put out some brilliant books, was part of the legendary cambridge footlights and has been a part of many a great cinematic/televised venture (comedic and dramatic). lately i was shocked to see him playing opposite ex-angel in bones, while that same hour his ex-comedy parter hug laurie was hobbling about on another channel. weird.

anyway, check them both out.

theleila hearts y-o-u

and all of you too...

but this is specifically regarding the funky, soulful, rocking, wonderful lads in atlanta's own y-o-u who yet again blew my mind at last night's southeast performer atlantis showcase at the star bar. though my feet were aching, my throat was hurting and my eyes were stinging (crappy deadline!), i couldn't leave until i'd seen the band close out with my personal fave, moviekiss. the video, in all its lite brite glory, is below.

an aew-some performer presents

the end of the year of the deer?

according to reports on pitchfork - which i got from wired's listening post - guitarist colin mee is leaving atlanta's indie act deerhunter. apparently he's a bit fed up with singer bradford cox's crazy blogging style - too much writing about the band's poo (literally), not enough making music, says mee.

check out the pitchfork post for more info.

fun ways to waste a friday

listmania!

amy winehousemartins

i think the subject header of this blog is my fave out of the brilliant unlikely band hybrids that the nme came up with this afternoon. hilarious stuff... continued below.

"A Friday afternoon in the NME office, post-fish and chips in the canteen, tends to result in nonsensical conversations.

Today, we were so amused at ourselves we decided to write a blog about it. Kicking off with an offhand comment about ‘Dinosaur Jr Senior’, we started yelling unlikely band hybrids back and forward at one another.

continued...

Here's a Top Ten of the best.

They are:

1. Leo Slayer – Curly-haired Seventies pop crooner-turned reality TV contestant gets a thrash metal makeover.

2. U2 Unlimited – Irish rockers take cartoon techno direction. Results hilarious.

3. Mama Crass – Honey-voiced harmonic anarcho-punk fusion ended by “ham sandwich” mishap.

4. Kool & The Gang Of Four - Fun-loving funksters get Marxist on our asses.

5. Razorlighthouse Family – The ultimate in AOR entertainment. Bare chests almost certainly involved.

6. Kate Nashville Pussy – Kooky songstress pens tunes about fighting and drinking riddled with vulgar terminology.

7. Radioheadouken! – Just because we love the idea of Thom Yorke in slightly more flamboyant stage gear.

8. Dirty Pretty Wings – Paul McCartney and Carl Barat recover from the loss of their errant writing partners, with mixed results.

9. Kanye Westlife – The world’s foremost rapper records some classic standards yer mum would love. In a rubbish white suit, and sporting a really crap haircut.

10. REM People – Alternative rock giants get into handbag house.

Bubbling under…Amy Winehousemartins, Coheed & Cambrian Wilson, Iggy Pop Will Eat Itself, Macca-Bee Gees, Clap Your Hands Say…Yeah Yeah Yeahs!"

click here for more brilliant examples, including some great comments like nirvanarama. endless hilarity.

thursday night raw

last night i made my first endeavors into the world of sushi. hubbie tim had bought me the whole kit and kaboodle last year for my birthday, and almost a year on i still hadn't got the nerve to dive into the raw flesh of salmon, tuna and all the rest. but last night hubbie brought home some lovely sushi-grade fish from the north dekalb farmers market - lovely food, shame about the service - so there was no choice but to get stuck in as it were. check out the fruits of my magic fingers!

hilly kristal rip

i'm not sure how i felt about cbgb. but there's no denying that without the club and it's owner/founder hilly kristal many seminal punk/new wave/great bands wouldn't have had a place to cut their teeth, make mistakes and get a first - possibly dreadful - show. i've heard some - like the lovely jeff from stomp and stammer - berate the club for it's open door policy on all bands, giving most everyone a chance to get on that stage and show their stuff. obviously this made for a lot of crap, but i think it was a great thing, to think of it as your duty to give all those struggling bands a chance when they're just starting out. sure they might be shit now. but where else could they figure out their limits and get some audience feedback ... and probably their beer bottles too.
and with all the ny clubs closing to make way for ridiculous real estate prices, it's definitely worth taking a moment to remember the lovely hilly kristal and cbgb.

perfection, thine name is janelle

saturday night was a religious experience, to say the least. not only did i get to check out a fine set by attractive eighties women at the new fatback studios (where they were recording their first record with a live crowd in all its sweaty, drunken glory), but i also got to witness the wonder that is janelle monáe.

monáe played sugar hill for the official cd release party for metropolis: suite i of iv. and i'm telling you, if you haven't seen her yet - you should. everyone who sees this girl goes mad about her - even my homebody hubbie, who i dragged off of the couch and out to the show at midnight. she performs like no other, with a captivating voice, serious dance moves, electric personality, boundless energy and a killer sense of style. like a love child of judy garland and james brown brought up on talking heads and michael jackson, there's no way she won't be a star.

do yourself a favor, get her record, see her live, have the experience and be converted. all worship at the church of monáe - hallelujah!

omnivore-liscious!

i've totally found my new favorite blog, courtesy of atlanta's creative loafing.

omnivore atlanta has all the latest and greatest from atlanta's food, dining, grocery etc scene. with the myriad of restaurants opening and small markets popping up, i'm going to be on this site every day. mmmmm. food.

the greatest band who never rocked

is that a smart title? i don't think so. there's a better one out there somewhere... suggestions?

anyway, i nicked this post from decatur cd's blog, who nicked it from earvolution.

anyhoo, the post is about the top ten band's who never exisited - and with my faves the rutles, school of rock, spinal tap and the blues brothers getting a nice mention, it's got to be the most fun rock 'n' roll blog post of the week.

ten best bands that never existed

cheesy blur man

blur's geeky, sweetheart of a bassist alex james has started making cheese. for real. check out the podcast on the guardian's website:
the cheese diaries

too bloody hot

ok, if the queen of soul has deemed this city too hot for her performance at the montreux jazz festival, then there's obviously something seriously wrong with the weather and we should all be able to cancel our own appearances for anywhere. ie. no work.

from the press release:
“Ms. Franklin released a statement to the media this morning citing high Atlanta temperatures for the cancellation of her show and that her performance would be rescheduled. Unfortunately, this show was part of the Labor Day Weekend Montreux Jazz Festival and we are unable to offer a rescheduling. Prior to this announcement, the Office of Cultural Affairs had secured an alternate indoor venue in case the heat became a real issue. Ms. Franklin’s agent was notified of the alternative yesterday and the offer was verbally declined. Without our consent or written confirmation of a final cancellation, a press release was issued by Ms. Franklin’s team to the Atlanta media this morning. It is truly unfortunate that this situation was handled in this manner. Ms. Franklin would have been a highlight to the festival and we are truly disappointed in this turn of events,” explains City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs Director, Camille Russell Love.

bloody leaves falling like it's autumn, branches giving up and falling on my house. 103 heat index! what the hell?!

forty years young

so this september isn't just a big birthday month for yours truly (the big 2-5. scary) - it's also bbc 1's 40th anniversary. to celebrate they are doing what brit's do best (see nme, the official chart, etc etc) - putting out a covers album!

with a different artist covering a number one song from each year bbc 1 has been around, this record is bound to be a wicked schmorgasbord of music, from robbie williams to the klaxons, groove armada to razorlight. nice.

the track listing is as follows:

1967 – Flowers In The Rain (The Move) covered by The Kaiser Chiefs
1968 – All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix Experience) covered by The Fratellis
1969 – Cupid (Johnny Nash) covered by Amy Winehouse
1970 – Lola (The Kinks) covered by Robbie Williams
1971 – Your Song (Elton John) covered by The Streets
1972 – Betcha By Golly Wow (The Stylistics) covered by Sugababes
1973 – You’re So Vain (Carly Simon) covered by The Feeling
1974 – Band On The Run (Wings) covered by Foo Fighters
1975 – Love Is The Drug (Roxy Music) covered by Kylie
1976 – Let’s Stick Together (Bryan Ferry) covered by KT Tunstall
1977 – Sound & Vision (David Bowie) covered by Franz Ferdinand
1978 – Teenage Kicks (The Undertones) covered by The Raconteurs
1979 – Can’t Stand Losing You (The Police) covered by Mika
1980 – Too Much Too Young (The Specials) covered by Kasabian
1981 – Under Pressure (Queen & David Bowie) covered by Keane
1982 – Town Called Malice (The Jam) covered by McFly
1983 – Come Back And Stay (Paul Young) covered by James Morrison
1984 – Careless Whisper (George Michael) covered by The Gossip
1985 – The Power Of Love (Huey Lewis & The News) covered by Pigeon Detectives
1986 – Don’t Get Me Wrong (The Pretenders) covered by Lilly Allen
1987 – You Sexy Thing (Hot Chocolate) covered by Stereophonics
1988 – Fast Car (Tracy Chapman) covered by Mutya Buena
1989 – Lullaby (the Cure) covered by Editors
1990 – Englishman In New York (Sting) covered by Razorlight
1991 – Crazy For You (Madonna) covered by Groove Armada
1992 – It Must Be Love (Madness) covered by Paolo Nutini
1993 – All That She Wants (Ace Of Base) covered by The Kooks
1994 – You’re All I Need To Get By (Mary J Blige) covered by Mark Ronson
1995 – Stillness In Time (Jamiroquai) covered by Calvin Harris
1996 – No Diggity (Blackstreet) covered by Klaxons
1997 – Love Fool (The Cardigans) covered by Just Jack
1998 – Ray Of Light (Madonna) covered by Natasha Bedingfield
1999 – Drinking in LA (Bran Van 3000) covered by The Twang
2000 – The Great Beyond (REM) covered by The Fray
2001 – Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus) covered by Girls Aloud
2002 – Like I Love You (Justin Timberlake) covered by Maximo Park
2003 – Don’t Look Back Into The Sun (The Libertines) covered by The View
2004 – Toxic (Britney Spears) covered by Hard-Fi
2005 – Father & Son (Yusuf & Ronan Keating) covered by The Enemy
2006 – Steady As She Goes (The Raconteurs) covered by Corinne Bailey Rae

phew. should be availble in the uk some time in september. same month as my birthday... hint hint.

CORRECTION: the record will actually come out october 1, according to the nme.

heathly dose of madness

just thought i should make a note of my night of judging at open mic madness last night. entropy was definitely the highlight of my night. their funky goodness and smart moves cheered me up no end - i highly recommend catching them live if you have the chance, no matter what kind of music you're into. seriously. wicked stuff.

in other last-night news, i'm feeling so knackered - i can't quite manage to shake the smoky, jack-and-coke, eardrum-shaking feeling. will be napping before picking up the hubbie from the airport that's for sure. lots of chilling tonight so i'm ready to rock 'n' roll tomorrow night at the star bar's big trouble in little 5 points. i mean, c'mon - the judies, the empties and de novo dahl, for free! good stuff.

a word to all pr, managers, bands etc

ok, first off, much love to all your folks working hard in the independent music world. whether you're a band doing your own promotions, or if you're a pr person pushing that act you know will be loved by anyone who just gives them a chance, or if you're the manager that takes on everything and won't sleep until you know the band are paid, back on the bus, ready for the next city. y'all deserve mad props.

but there's been something that's been driving me slowly up the peeling-paint walls in my dismal office.

it's lack of research. i know y'all have this thing called the internet right at your fingertips. so when you hear that pause on the other end of my office line after you ask for my email address, even though it's listed clearly in the magazine, on our website and on our myspace page (which also gives specific instructions for those wanting to be featured in the mag)... well, just know i'm trying my darndest to keep calm, polite and nice because believe me, we want your music and know that you really are working your butt off because you believe in this music and want us to believe in it too.

and i appreciate that.

just keep in mind the next time you call up a music ed, and ask for their email address or where to post a cd to - other folks might not be as cheerful and patient as yours truly. give it a google first.

rip tony wilson

i wanted to use the subject header "leader of the fac" but someone beat me to it.

for those of you who don't know, anthony wilson was debatably the man responsible for the madchester scene that rose up north in the late 80s and early 90s. he formed the factory label, signed joy division, founded the hacienda with new order and discovered the happy mondays. for starters.

he has been described as a git, tosser, wanker, cunt, and also as a visionary, champion for indie music, hero, music mogul... the list goes on. at least he was never boring.

if you haven't seen the semi-biopic (some call it utter bullshit, some call it the truth) 24 hour party people, rent it. now.

dancing queen

not sure if it was only british girls who loved this book, but i am super-excited about the news that not only is the bbc doing a new production of ballet shoes, the fab book by noel streatfield, but it'll be starring harry potter actors emma watson (hermionie), richard griffiths (uncle vernon) and robert hardy (fudge). great stuff!

bonnie prince booty

ahaha. hahahah. bwahahahahhahahahahah!



thanks to cable & tweed for bringing it to my attention.

great bath balls of fire!

or should that be great bath balls of bubbles? not sure about that one...

anyway, as if i couldn't be more excited with the new stores we're getting in atlanta - h&m, zara... and now my fave, lovely-smelling beauty product store lush is planning on making a splash into atlanta's proverbial bathtub this fall (same month as my birthday actually... hint hint).

and to top it off, my excitement at the news brought to me by my good mate and atlanta magazine fashion ed amanda brown got a mention in her blog shop girl. coolness.

bath bombs for everyone!

we're all mad here

i think all the cool open mic madness subject lines have been taken.

anyway, i've been asked to judge one of the nights at smith's olde bar's open mic madness next week - tuesday, hurrah! it'll be rad, as it always is, and other atlanta music biz lovelies like paste's caren and confessions of a music addict's leah will be there throughout the week. so you can't not go really.

stop by, have a beer, say hello. and rock out.

poker-faced steve

we all know how awesome steve albini is. if you don't, please check out any number of fantastic pieces of work her helped craft by bands such as the breeders, the stooges, mogwai, nirvana, pj harvey and the man's own favorite, jesus lizard. then you'll know.

anyhoo, so our new news ed in boston was helping me decipher the plethora of equipment in some studio, and was giving me some forums where lovely engineering geeky types talk about their favorite recording toys. and on a side note he pointed out this - of all things - poker forum, where mr. albini had strangely introduced himself and opened the floor to questions about his recording history. random, mad, bizarre and inspiring. check it out...
albini!

this simpsons avatar is made for walking

following in the footsteps of caren explains it all...

completely cained

it almost sounds too humorous to be true. but this man isn't one to fuck around.
the deadpan british actor sir michael caine will be releasing a chill-out compilation full of his own favorite mellow tracks handpicked from his own library. and he's calling it cained
apparently, according to gigwise, caine says he has made "thousands of tapes" compiled of such music.
i'm trying for the life of me to come up with a cool michael caine quote to match this story... any ideas?

poor deerhunter lads

i read this on nme's site of all places. watch out for yourselves, kids.

bradford cox posted this on deerhunter's myspace blog...

"We got a friendly homecoming surprise last night in Atlanta when Lockett and I got robbed at gunpoint after our show at Lenny's last night. We literally had just walked off the stage and I was pretty wasted.

"I heard a commotion behind us but like I said I was pretty out of it. I just opened the door to the car and collapsed in the passenger seat. Then I heard all this yelling and I hear this loud metallic banging on the window and look up and there is a gun in my face and a guy yelling "get the fuck out the car man" I stumbled out and see the other guy has Lockett with his arms spread on the roof of his car and is patting him down.

"Lockett was begging them to leave me alone. The guy put his gun up to my temple and said, 'Give me EVERYTHING motherfucker I ain't fucking with you.' I just mumbled something and he put his hands in my pants and took everything I had. My cellphone, my wallet (empty except for credit/bank cards which Kristin immediately cancelled, and about 450 dollars in cash I had for my rent.) They also got all of Lockett's money. They even took my fucking Camel Ultralights and Orange Bic. All I can say is that I'm glad we are not dead."

just glad you guys are safe and sound. hope they find the cunts who robbed you!

the best in cheap'n'trendy

at last! [repost from the lovely shopgirl at atlanta magazine]...

"Well, it’s official: H&M finally signed its lease with Atlantic Station and is set to open there next spring. I’m imagining IKEA-like crowds and wondering if I just won’t wait for it all to die down before I go . . . but the temptation may be too great. Will you be able to resist?

H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) is long known for cheap chic styles and its collaborations with designers such as Stella McCartney, Madonna, and as of this fall, Roberto Cavalli. With shops in 28 countries, it’s crazy, in my opinion, that H&M is just now hitting Atlanta."

hurrah for the onslaught of cute, affordable rags - i'll be first in line!

those ladies of leisure

these chicks rock. seriously, the coathangers are the most fun you can have at any atlanta show, clothes on or off. and they are our (southeast performer) august cover! since the issue is hitting the streets today, i'm putting up the cover on this here blog before it graces the southeast performer website or myspace page.

so please check out the girls whenever you can - on their myspace page or even better, live at our very own performer presents show, august 31 at the drunken unicorn.

nuci's space benefit - sunday july 29

just a quick word for you athens folks...

nuci's space is holding an event - the wyburn street fair - to raise money for their cause (see below). there'll be food, arts+crafts and, of course, music from athens bands like dark meat, ginger envelope, sleepy horses, dead confederate, mother jackson and more.

check nuci.org for more details.

"Nuçi’s Space is a non-profit health and music resource center in Athens, GA. The aim of the organization is to prevent suicide by providing obstacle free treatment for musicians suffering from depression and other such disorders as well as to assist in the emotional, physical and professional well-being of musicians."

spawn of outkast, future of atlanta music

if you haven't heard janelle monae yet, you'd best get to listenin'!

taking off where gnarls barkley and outkast just left off, her wicked sexed-up-by-prince, funkified-by-parliament, futurefied-by-daft-punk, retrofied-by-james-brown tunes are going to soon be stuff of atlanta music legend. i'm so all a-bout-it-bout-it.

janelle monae

now get that shit on your stereo.

what a jackson hole!

well i'm here in the astonishingly beautiful jackson hole, wyoming - last outpost of the wild west apparently. while there are the usual tacky t-shirt stores and motels, we're staying in a little resort "village" (used here in that odd, posh way that only rich ski folk can use) far away from the "hustle and bustle" (used here in that ironic, dry way that only british people can use) of jackson hole itself. ours is a quaint little - almost authentic - german lodge called alpenhof. everything is pine and stenciled and they have a fondue special for dinner! i'm in!


everything smells different up here. it's almost like bavaria - crisp, clean and thin. absolutely glorious and nothing like atlanta's sticky, stinky, smoggy air. the land just goes on for miles and miles - so open and free of strip malls, wallmarts and the rest of it... with the exception of jackson hole's alpine-styled dairy queen and western laundromats, which are more amusing than irritating since they don't take up too much square footage, thank god.


so while tim goes off to watch depressing indie flicks, i'll be happily trekking along the paths of the national parks, steering clear of the skiers and mid-western families trailing along whiney kids and bad pants. hurrah for the great wide open!

A-E-W-some!

yesterday I had my first foray into the role of art director at my super-crazy-awesome photo shoot for attractive eighties women - who i still find myself calling awesome eighties women. not that they aren't attractive, but their awesomeness transcends any other adjective in the dictionary. keep a look out on their web page for all the hilarious shots from the cereal isle at kroger. i'll have some up soon myself.
cheers.

guilty pleasures, indie-rock style

hipsters the concretes and jim o'rourke covering take that and the spice girls? am i in heaven? thanks to the good people at engine room recordings, i will be. out august 28, the album entitled guilt by association will see all sorts of indie kids rocking out to that love that dare not speak its name: the cheesy pop track. from paula abdul to journey, shania twain to cher. the full tracklisting is below:

1. Petra Haden: "Don't Stop Believin'" (Journey)
2. Devendra Banhart: "Don't Look Back In Anger" (Oasis)
3. Mark Mulcahy: "From This Moment On" (Shania Twain)
4. Luna: "Straight Up" (Paula Abdul)
5. The Concretes: "Back For Good" (Take That)
6. Jim O'Rourke: "Viva Forever" (Spice Girls)
7. Goat: "Sugar We're Going Down" (Fall Out Boy)
8. Will Oldham/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy" "Can't Take That Away" (Mariah Carey)
9. Woody Jackson Orchestra featuring Money Mark: Love's Theme (Love Unlimited Orchestra)
10. Porter Block: "Breaking Free" (High School Musical)
11. Mooney Suzuki: "Just Like Jesse James" (Cher)
12. Geoff Farina: "Two Tickets To Paradise" (Eddie Money)
13. Casey Shea: "Chop Suey" (System of a Down)
14. Superchunk: "Say My Name" (Destiny's Child)
15. Mike Watt: "Burning For You" (Blue Oyster Cult)

See www.myspace.com/guiltbyassociation for more details.

tomorrow never knows

it's been a minute since i've had a full-time job. yet at long last salvation has come: starting tomorrow i'll be editor at that brilliant regional rag for musician types, southeast performer. and i have to say, with all the freedoms i've appreciated whilst freelancing - the writing in pajamas, the sleeping in, the multi-tasking with house duties, the chatting with our menagerie of animals (4 in all) - i won't miss it an ounce.

waiting on checks that never come on time, not hearing back from pitches, having nothing to do one day and three articles due the next - nope, i'm done and done.

so hopefully this blog will be able to showcase some of my fave local and regional acts, as well as serving as somewhere for me to kvetch about the plethora of things which piss me off... and the list is growing. top of the list today: bass rattling my windows. just not needed mate. i like a good booty shaking as much as the next girl who probably has more rhythm than me, but unless that car is parked inside my living room, turn your bloody stereo down!

'nuff for today. i'm off to cook some dinner.