Siren Music Fest - NOT dead. Whee!

So, it may or may not be apparent here, but I'm not a big fan of outdoor, all-day music festivals. I know a lot of people love them, but I don't care for standing around in a crowd, in the middle of summer, in the heat, all day, waiting for bands to play. Take All Points West, for instance - it's rather close to home, and this year's line-up is good, with a lot of bands I'd like to see, but not good enough to warrant standing in the heat and shelling out all that money for tickets when I could see all the same bands play in New York during the rest of the year and not have to wait through twenty other acts first.*

Anyway, rant over. Point is, Siren Fest is really the only outdoor, all-day festival I've bothered to attend over the past few years, due to proximity and the fact that it's free. I'm okay with standing around with a bunch of sweaty hipsters for a day when it's free.

That was a long segue into my main point : after Astroland closed down last year, I heard people say "It's over" and others say "It's not." Moot point now - Village Voice has just announced this year's initial line-up :

BUILT TO SPILL
THE RAVEONETTES
FRIGHTENED RABBIT
GRAND DUCHY
MONOTONIX
MICACHU & THE SHAPES

It'll be held on 18th July, running from noon 'til about 9 pm at - you guessed it - Coney Island.

And it's still free.


*Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that they've started a big festival in the tri-state area for those who are interested in such things. But, again, I personally am not, unless my jaw drops at the line-up. As for fests like Coachella and Bonnaroo, etc., funds and timing often stand in the way.

I will bring you stories and bleary-eyed photos like a regular tourist.

Today was the first day I ventured into the city in a good two weeks, at least. It feels like so much more than that.

Normally, I just stick to the streets of SoHo, where I work, and, occasionally, the Lower East Side, when I'm catching a show at Piano's. Today, I ventured uptown, to Times Square. I rarely visit that part of town anymore. It's the first time I've been in Times Square nearly a year.

Turns out that Athlete's Tourist, with its piano-driven, soulfully-voiced, oftentimes-quiet brand of indie rock, makes a pretty perfect soundtrack for wandering the streets of midtown on a balmy, spring-like evening in January. (Except, maybe, "Half Light," which feels more like the long summer nights of August 2006.)

"If I Found Out" was I came out of the subway at W. 40th and Broadway.

Like I'm eleven again
I was the highest kid in the world
I reached a point with no end
Just looking out so I can take it all in
And all I needed was this one to get me back on my way
It wasn't long before I realised there was no time to waste
There was soul all around me
Everybody let go
It wasn't long before we realised
There was no time to waste

Crazily enough, I ran into a college friend of mine, right there, as I walked down the street. We only walked together for about a block, but it was good to see a familiar face in such a big place, like two worlds colliding out of nowhere. That's not the first time that's happened to me in New York.

"Street Map" came on as I wandered past the theatres of W. 44th St.

I would like someone to make a map
Mark my home and draw some lines that match
All of the reasons why
It can be like you said
One day it's gonna happen
I don't know when
I'll be on your street
But I know one day it's gonna happen
You're gonna be swept of your feet

I remembered something really important right then- that I really I really, truly love New York. I'd forgotten about that in my love for Paris, I think. New York certainly isn't a hometown, not in the way Paris feels, but I love it. I thought about the possibility of moving to the city over the summer, maybe the fall, for who knows how long, and why not? I suddenly wanted to call up my friend and say, "Hey, let's get an apartment. You, and me, and the city." We'd probably drive each other crazy. It might be totally worth it.

And when will I be on your street? On what day will I be stalking the footsteps to your door? In what city? And who are you, anyway?

And then I was standing there, in the bright lights of the Square, looking up, looking at the people around me, looking quite like a regular tourist myself, and how many times have I been here already? "Twenty Four Hours" came on.

People rushing left to right
There's pretty faces left to right
I'm just frozen staring into space
Faster than the speed of light
I'm holding on, I'm holding tight
Cause stars are gonna crash into this place...
We're closing in,
We've still got twenty four hours

And it hit me. This is the ending of an era, isn't it? I'm more or less glad to see 2007 go. It was a hard year in so many ways, even if it was an experience I don't necessarily regret having lived through. But if 2007, with its heartbreak and life-changes, is gone, that means 2008 has roared in, bringing with its beginning a string of ends. The last show, the last semester, the last of college, the last chance for whatever it is you want to happen before that, and then what? Then where? New York? Maybe. Life after May is just a big question mark.

And its caught wide screen so we don't miss a thing

We've still got twenty-four hours. We've still got now. Take in this moment. There will, invariably, be better ones; there will, invariably, be worse. But never never this moment, now, again.

Back on the subway, "I Love" quietly came on amidst the press of humanity on a train.

Summer's long gone out
Sun comes up like it's been about a year
But I don't mind if we drink again my friend, 'cause
There is so much left to say...
We'd be ok if we had
Answers to questions and rhymes and in reasons
Should leave it to me to be all the four seasons...
You see, I love everybody here

I think I love everybody here.


"If I Found Out"
"Street Map"
"Twenty Four Hours"
"I Love"
You can check out Athlete's 'Space here.

Another Nail For My Heartbreaker

I've been sorta' kinda' listening to the Spill Canvas lately. Sort of, kind of. For a long time, the only song of theirs that I had was "Lust a Prima Vista," which I listened to a bunch during my Junior year, because it was sent to me by...well, we'll get into that another time. I recently downloaded the rest of their three records, but only really listened to them in a "I'm-putting-this-on-as-background-music-I'll-give-it-a-better-listen-later" sort of way.

Today, the song title "All Hail The Heartbreaker" (from their first records, Sunsets and Car Crashes) caught my eye and I looked up the lyrics. And then listened to it. And I'm slightly torn.

Of course, it's one of those "I've-Never-Loved-Like-This-Look-What-You-Did-To-Me-You-Bitch/Bastard" sort of things. And the first half of the song is dreadful in the same manner. Take the second verse, for instance:

I had the notion that you'd make me forget the world
But your undecisive mind shows me that
You are "just another girl"
I had the feeling that those looks you gave me were real
What if I ripped your heart apart at the seams
Maybe then you'd know how I feel

Or this:

I will sleep another day
I don't really need to anyway
What's the point when my dreams are infected
With words you used to say

Hmm. I was writing stuff like that during my last major break-up. When I was 18. And still in high school. (Also, "undecisive"? What is that??)

And yet, pieces are okay. The refrain is heartfelt:

So tonight I'll sit and pick apart your pictures
And overanalyze your words
....
It's taking everything in me
Just to forget your sweater so far

And then, the second half of the song seems to redeem itself, at least lyrically:

So don't go worrying about me
It's not like I think about you constantly
So maybe I do, but that shouldn't affect
Your life anymore
...
I'll let you get the best of me
Because there's nothing else that I do well
I'll be the giver and you'll be the taker
I guess that's how this one's gonna go I'll be the giver and you'll be the taker
You've got me down on my knees and I proclaim:
All hail the heartbreaker

Because I've felt like that. Because we've all felt like that.

But unfortunately, the presentation, which could have saved the whole thing, just falls short. It starts out in an acoustic, Dahsboard Confessional vein, and yet...no. I can't stand the delay in "I've never fallen so.......hard." The end, which should be the strongest part of the whole song, just falls flat for me, with a complete lack of catharsis. Even the parts that I like just sound like predictable acoustic-emo-punk...crap. (Quick, Katy, more labels!)

I really want to like this song. I want to take it in and feel it and use the lyrics and make it mine. Or maybe what I really want to do is just to rewrite the damn thing so it sounds better.


A few artists down from The Spill Canvas, though, we have Squeeze, and one of my favourite songs ever, "Another Nail In My Heart."

I had excuses, those little boy lies
Then she computed by watching my eyes
And told me firmly
She couldn't stand it, I'm bad on the heart
She dropped her makeup and I found the bar
Now it concerns me
I've had a bad time
Now love has resigned
I've been such a fool
I've loved and good-byed
So here in the bar
The piano man's found
Another nail for my heart
And here in the bar
The piano man's found
Another nail for my heart

It's heartbreak, and yet, so completely different, both lyrically and musically. Loves it.

I don't know. You tell me what to think.



PS: COMATOSE IS AN ADJECTIVE, NOT A NOUN, FUCKWITS.

Sorry. Had to get that out.

Versus found; mind blown.

Sometime during my first year of college (we call it "first year" where I'm from, not "freshman year," because we like to fight the patriarchy), my friend Erica introduced me to a website where one could search out bands and download free mp3s. Sounds sort of like, well...a lot of sites, and I can't remember its name for the life of me. Maybe that's because I only ever downloaded songs from two bands from the site before I forgot about it.

Anyway, one of said two bands was called Versus, and their song "I Love the WB" became my theme song for November 2005, even though, looking back on it, the song didn't really reflect my life at the time all that well. (And for the record, I can't really stand the WB.) I also thought "Eskimo" was fun. I knew both were on a record called Hurrah. And I could never find out more. Any further searches into this band proved utterly fruitless, so I more or less gave up.

Apparently, I just wasn't searching hard enough. Today, I came across this post on Brooklyn Vegan:

1990s indie faves Versus reunited for their second show since breaking up in 2001. This wasn't the start of a reformation, however -- this was a 40th birthday present for former Teenbeat labelmate Matthew Datesman, who has logged time playing drums for various bands on that influential Arlington, VA label, including True Love Always, Aden, and currently Flin Flon. Teenbeat prez and Flin Flon singer Mark Robinson (who still looks like he's 25) was one of the 50 or in attendence, most of whom were super-psyched to be seeing Versus. (via Sound Bites)

1990s indie faves? You mean I'm not the only person in the world who knew about this band?? You mean they weren't some obscure act that made one record and then disappeared off the face of the earth??? Well, how about that. (In fact, speaking of records, check out that discography.)

So let's hear it for rediscovery, shall we? Maybe next time I'll try a little harder before giving up.



(In the interest of full disclosure, the other band was Tullycraft, whom I'd also believed to have fallen off the face of the planet, only to rediscover them this summer when I read about Popfest! New England for the first time. Life's odd like that.)

Interesting reads.

FluxBlog: It's Too Bad That Your Music Doesn't Matter

Idolator: An Idolator Real Talk Special Report: The Black Kids Hype Must Be Stopped

(This is more in reaction to the comments made than the actual essays themselves.)

Hmmm so makes me wonder if I, as the bedroom blogger, am contributing to this problem. Am I just trying to hype up bands that I like? Admittedly, one of my goals is to share songs and artists that I enjoy and try to get more people to pay attention to them. Although I don't really have a problem with saying that I don't like a particular band.

Am I "untrustworthy" because I openly admit that I blog about what I like? I suppose you could look at it that way. I'm not a music critic, and I know that. I may try to write something critical; but I'm not truly a music critic. So I guess you'd have to take what I write with a grain of salt and know that it's coming from my personal tastes, and not necessarily from an objective, neutral source. Although what I mean when I say "I write about what I like" is less of "I write about bands that I like" and more of "I stick to genres of music that I like," and the hell with trying to find "the next big thing." The hype machines post music from their "bands to watch," but if I'm not taken in by the song in the first 30 seconds, to hell with it. I know what I like, what I think sounds good, so even if every other blogger is screaming "OMG AMAZING," why bother? If I don't like it, I don't like it, period. Then again, like I said, does that mean, by sticking to the music I do like, I'm just contributing to this over-positive hype? Hmm.

In any case, it's true that the music blogosphere's pacing is ridiculous. Nobody could possibly keep up with it, with what's "hot right now" and stay happy with what they're doing. I'm feeling overwhelmed by my own iTunes library right now, because I've got so much crap on there that I've downloaded from I-have-no-idea-where and how much of it is good and how much of it should I just delete? But I don't usually take the time to shift through my library because I'm too busy listening to the music that I enjoy, stuff that I'm already familiar with and love usually because I took the time to discover it on my own and at my own pace. Honestly, now that I think about it, I don't think there's a single band or artist that I've fell in love with grace à a blog, but some of my favourite artists are the ones I've stumbled on myself or that a friend shared with me.

And I don't care for the "I got there first. I knew about them before you did. Away with you, teenyboppers."- or worse, the "I got there first, I knew about them first, and now that they're popular, they're not awesome anymore"- attitude that you find everywhere in pop culture, basically, although it's probably felt the most acutely in the realm of music. Although I am totally guilty feeling that way. (That's right, bitches, I was listening to these guys way before they got on their effing treadmills. YouTube success, pssh. Whatevs.) (Okay. Maybe not the greatest example. But it's the only one I really have. :S)

In the end, I don't want to be a "taste maker." Or do I? I'm not quite sure.

Anyway. /ramblings