New Tour Dates : Nightmare of You on a summer tour.

Man, so, Nightmare of You. I used to be so crazy about this band, but that's what happens when you get hold of a record you really really like and then it just winds up being ruined, unruined, reruined, and reclaimed in this weird, long, two-year emotional arc with a whole cast of characters and too many songs involved.

Um. Anyway. Enough about me. Last time I posted about them, they were in the midst of making some demos last summer for their upcoming sophomore effort, due out sometime this summer, none of which I particularly cared for (which is what maybe dampened my fire a little bit. A lot.). They've been up to some other stuff since then. Like...recording. And doing some touring on the east coast. And then doing a two-week tour of the UK in April. And now they're on the road with Alkaline Trio and Saves the Day.

They've also announced a summer headlining tour in the States, presumably in support of that upcoming record which I think I read drops on 21 June, but I can't tell you where I read that. Journalistic integrity, I has it! Dates below.

21 June - North Star - Philadelphia, PA
23 June - Mac’s Bar - Lansing, MI
24 June - Reggie’s Rock Club - Chicago, IL
30 June - The Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS
1 July - Marquis Theatre - Denver, CO
2 July - SHO - Salt Lake City, UT
5 July - Chop Suey - Seattle, WA
11 July - The Knitting Factory - W. Hollywood, CA
12 July - The Epicentre - San Diego, CA
13 July - Modified Art's - Pheonix, AZ
15 July - Rock Bottom - San Antonio, TX
18 July - The Door - Dallas, Texas
19 July - 516 Soundstage - Shreveport, LA
23 July - Crowbar - Tampa, FL
28 July - The Boot - Norfolk, VA
31 July - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY
1 August - The Crazy Donkey - Farmingdale, NY
2 August - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ

All dates are with Brian Bonz (currently supporting Kevin Devine on tour), Plushgun, and Ashua.

Look, Ma, I made a mixlist! : 9 boys, 10 songs.

Let me break it down: Girl loves music. Girl loves message in music. Who wrote music? Oh, it was Attractive Boy who can play the guitar/bass/drums/sax (umm...no, not keyboard, really sorry). Music = the musician who wrote it which is what girl loves.
So, girl loves musician.
-- http://wellobviously.blogspot.com

If you've been keeping track, you’ll remember that I don't do year-end lists. First off, the thought of compiling my top 10/20/50 tracks or albums is daunting. But more importantly, I feel I'm totally unqualified to do so. I don't pay enough attention to new releases and, frankly, who the hell cares what I think is the "best" of the year? Who the hell cares what half of the "blogosphere" thinks was the best of the year? It just seems like a lot of yammering, a narcissistic ploy to validate ourselves and post about the same 10/20/50 bands, just rearranged a little bit each time.*

Annnnnnnnnyway. My gripes aside. When it comes down to it, 2008 has been a weird year.

There was that whole "going back to school after a year and a half of being away" thing and then the "graduating from college" thing, as well as the various problems of trying to find a job - any sort of job - in a recession, trying to get on my own two feet, and the whopping amounts of nostalgia complicating all of that. Life changing and evolving and, quite often, coming full circle. So many things ending, which only opens up beginnings.

I'm not talking about any of that.

I'm talking about the boys. Because, let's face it, we are prone to defining large portions of our existence by our romantic engagements, entanglements, or lack thereof. We broke up a year ago, I was dating him at the time, the year so-and-so broke my heart and the time spent getting over that, the summer girl, the fall girl, the winter girl.

And so, when it comes to the romantic engagement and entanglements and lack thereof, 2008 has been a peculiar year. Often fun, sometimes upsetting, but generally peculiar.

I don't do “best of” lists. I won’t tell you which records or songs or artists were "great in '08." I won’t make a mix listing my favourite cuts from the year. Run to Pitchfork for that sort of thing. Instead, I'll give you a 10-track mix – nine for the boys, one for myself – to commemorate the who and what and where of my wandering heart in the past year. I feel like it's a better way to sum it up.

Obviously, since I'm posting this on the Internet, any number of these fellows can – and probably will – read this. Frankly, that’s not my concern. But for anonymity’s sake, I’ll change up the names and the order.

For Ben:
Saturday Looks Good To Me – “Girl Of Mine”
The endless comparisons are not made with malicious intent. But nor are they meaningless.

For Christopher:
Looker – “Spit For Your Shine”
[link]
You can’t just be mine.

For Ethan:
Bowling For Soup - “Ohio (Come Back to Texas”
Too obvious? Let’s call it “very bad timing.”

For Eddie:
Scamper – “Wait Wait”
[link]
Darling, it’s been a long time coming. I still miss seeing your plates.

For Phillip:
Vampire Weekend – “Walcott”
Hey, remember that time we sat around listening to VW? Did I every say “thank you” for that weekend? If I didn’t, thank you. Please move back – the city suits you so well.

For Scott:
Salt ‘n Pepa – “Let’s Talk About Sex”
Oh, come on, you love it. Here’s to late summer nights. How boring they would have been otherwise…!

For Andy:
Bishop Allen – “The Monitor” (album version)
I’ll settle for one of the wisest things I’ve heard this year: “You’d think I’d understand that a rock ‘n roll band doesn’t mean a blessed thing.” Anything else would be too easy.

For John:
Nightmare of You – “I Want To Be Buried In Your Backyard” (album version)
You are not the understated demo; you are the sweeping, cinematic album version. It took a year of losing and regaining a record to figure that out. I no longer feel this song, but it’s still yours. Thanks for all your patience.

For Cary:
She & Him – “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
How do you deal with an island sitting between two people? Here’s to 2009 and all that it may bring.

The Long Blondes – “Guilt”
This is mine. I declared it mine circa March. It’s not that I’ve got or ever had boys lined up around the block; it’s just that, well, when one showed up, another five that I’d known longer followed suit. A wonderful and wonderfully heart-wrenching year.

And guilt has nothing to do with it.


Note: Half of these songs are in .mp3, the others are .m4a. I don't feel like wrestling with iTunes right now. Ignore the last five seconds of "The Monitor," too.

*(Quoting Heart On A Stick on this: "If you have Weaponize in your year's Top Ten you're immediately a more interesting person than anyone Number-Wunning Fleet Foxes, because at worst it suggests that you're blindly loyal to something other than the release schedule/leak pipeline.” Specific album references aside, I couldn’t agree more with the principles behind the statement.)

MySpace It : New NoY stuff.

Blender Theatre, NYC


We have been hesitant to post demos and had to discuss the risks of plaguing you with demoitis. When these songs get recorded for real in an actual recording studio with the proper gear and instruments and production tricks we want to hear it is inevitable that we will see the "I liked the demo version better" all over the place because you kids are too cool for school and heard it before everyone else. Well good for you. We don't care anymore. The song "I Think I'm Getting Older" was recorded in my small brooklyn bedroom (along with 6 others so far) with the exception of the drums which we tracked down the street. I have very minimal gear and even less recording/mixing skills so it is what it is. Like I said, if we are still feeling good about these songs when the time comes we plan to record them properly. For now you are going to have to settle for the demo just don't get too comfy. Let us know what you think. If this seems like a good idea perhaps we'll put a new one up each week. No promises. We have about 6-7 more demos just about finished and about another half dozen songs almost ready to record. For those of you in NYC who are 21+ or have a solid fake ID we'll see you Thursday.

Emphasis mine. They have a point. And I like that they're frank about it.

You can hear "I Think I'm Getting Older" on their 'Space.

Nightmare of You will be playing Rehab (formerly Club Midway) on Thursday, 24th July, with Saints and Lovers.

Monday Morning Mux: Just a good ol' shuffle.

So maybe you did or didn't notice the last Mux I had up, some self-pitying thing based on The Beatles' "Misery" and a Motion City Soundtrack song. Blah blah. Time for a new mux!

This one is yet another modified shuffle that my iPod just shot out the other day, as I was riding back and forth between my old high school and visiting old friends. No theme, and none of the songs have anything to do with that, but that's the soundtrack I got. And it works.

1) "Tropical-Iceland" - The Fiery Furnaces
2) "Skag Trendy" - The View
While everyone was listening to the Fratellis, I was listening to the View.
3) "Hang Them All" - Tapes 'n Tapes
I saw TnT at Siren '06 and was underwhelmed, but this new track is great.
4) "Stuntman" - Kasabian
5) "Conflitos Urbanos" - AfroReggae
AfroReggae is a group in Rio de Janeiro that seeks to change children's lives through music. They were the subject of the excellent documentary Favela Rising.
6) "Decent Days and Night" - The Futureheads
7) "Koka Kola" - The Clash
8) "I Don't Want To Dance Anymore" - Nightmare of You
9) "Bingo" - M.I.A.
10) "This Means War" - We Are Scientists
11) "Butterfly Nets" - Bishop Allen
Favourite BA song? Probably.
12) "Track 3" - Panda Bear

New Tour Dates : We Are Scientists! Plus NoY wants you to see them, too.

New news from the Sci-Cave:

We're going to tour our home country, Some United States of America, finally this summer. If you live there or nearby, please reference these tour dates: The American U.S. America Tour.

Um, finally?? Dates are as follows:

1 July - Glasshouse - Pomona, CA
2 July - The Casbah - San Diego, CA
3 July - El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
5 July - The Blue Lamp - Sacramento, CA
6 July - The Independent - San Francisco, CA
8 July - Berbati’s Pan - Portland, OR
9 July - Neumo's - Seattle, WA
29 July - Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, PA
30 July - Middle East [down] - Cambridge, MA
31 July - Music Hall of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
1 August - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
2 August - Black Cat - Washington, DC
3 August - The Basement - Columbus, OH
4 August - Magic Stick - Detroit, MI
5 August - The Music Mill - Indianapolis, IN
6 August - The High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI
7 August - Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN
8 August - The Abbey - Chicago, IL
10 August - Southgate House - Newport, KY

Excited? Very.

...

In other, not-very-related news, Nightmare of You has kicked off the second half of their spring US tour, having played at the Middle East last night. (Which I missed. I'll see them in June, though.)

Look, they've put all their dates on a convenient poster, so I don't have to type them out for you:



Mmhmm, mmhmm.

We Are Scientists - "Chick Lit"

The Days Go Oh-So Slow.

Continuing with those playlists that I've been making for the past two years or so.

Fall 2006 has finally been posted over here.

Tracklisting:
1) "The Days Go Oh So Slow" - Nightmare of You
2) "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" - Kaiser Chiefs
3) "Empire" - Kasabian
4) "Mama's Room" - Under the Influence of Giants
5) "When You Were Young" - The Killers
6) "Storm in a Teacup" - Milburn
7) "Blankest Year" - Nada Surf
9) "Procrastinating" - Stellar Kart
9) "Why Am I Always Right?" - Nightmare of You
10) "Still Take You Home" - Arctic Monkeys
11) "Yr Mangled Heart" - The Gossip
12) "Textbook" - We Are Scientists
13) "Expo '86" - Death Cab For Cutie
14) "Looks, Looks, Looks" - Sparks
15) "Tell Me Baby" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
16) "Timorous Me" - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
17) "Lust a Prima Vista" - The Spill Canvas
18) "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers
19) "All These Things That I've Done" - The Killers
20) "That August Feeling" - Absent

Go read me expound on heartache, life in France, the month of August, and too many Killers songs. Warning! It's pretty emo.

Summer 2006 is still up over here. You should read that first if you haven't.


(Also warning : it's that nose-to-the-grindstone part of the semester, so while I have loads to write about, posting may be spotty for the next few weeks or so. I mean, not that it isn't spotty already. Also, I'll try to get a new muxtape up for Monday.)

Nightmare of You kicks off US tour tonight; also, them vs. Bishop Allen in May. (aka the Up-Down Problem.)

This is my sole decent shot from that entire concert in Framingham.

So apparently those few northeast dates last month were just a warm-up for the lads of NoY. Starting tonight, they let loose on the nation as a whole.



(Okay, that thinger says that they're starting tomorrow night, but rest assured, they are, in fact, playing Asbury Park, NJ tonight.)

There are way more dates for May and June up on their 'Space, including 17 April at UMass Lowell, 15 May at the Middle East up (Cambridge), and 14 June at the Blender Theatre (NYC).

Very unhappily, 15 May is also when Bishop Allen will be headlining the Middle East down, meaning a decision as to which band will be seen will have to be made, as I'm not spending the evening running between the two stages. Luckily (for me, anyway), BA is playing the Iron Horse in NoHo the day before, so one of their shows is guaranteed sometime in my near future.

Bishop Allen's May tour dates:

14 May 2008 Iron Horse Northampton, MA
15 May 2008 Middle East Cambridge, MA
16 May 2008 Music Hall of Williamsburg Brooklyn, NYC
17 May 2008 Bennington Sunfest Bennington, VT
18 May 2008 Black Cat Washington, DC
21 May 2008 Debaser Malmo, SE
22 May 2008 Mono Oslo, SE
24 May 2008 Kleine Freiheit Osnabruck, DE
25 May 2008 Gleis 22 Munster, DE
27 May 2008 Werkstatt Koln, DE
28 May 2008 Vera Groningen, NL
29 May 2008 Tivoli Utretch, NL
30 May 2008 Primavera Barcelona, ES

Nightmare of You - "I Was Never A Normal Boy"
Bishop Allen - "Like Castanets" (album version)

ETA: A friend has informed me that when two headlining bands are playing the Middle East on the same night and one has to decide which show to go to, it is called the "Up-Down Problem" - at least, this is what friend's friend calls it, and I have decided that this is a good name, and that we shall use it henceforth. (Also I suppose that this works for any venue that has more than one stage. You could very much wind up with the Up-Down Problem at, say, Pearl St. or Knitting Factory.)

That is all for now.

For those interested in maybe learning a little too much about me,

I've gone and started posting some old playlists from my junior year over at my LJ.

Since May '06, I've been making 20-track playlists for each season, and they all mean quite a bit to me. I'll eventually start posting them here, but because the first few are very stuck in the past, those will be posted over there instead.

So if you're interested in finding out maybe too much about me and/or hearing what summer 2006 sounded like, feel free to stroll on over here.

Tracklist, if you're interested:

1) "Barcelona" - Scamper
2) "Sometimes The Sun" - The Lashes
3) "My Name Is Trouble" - Nightmare of You
4) "Fidelity" – Regina Spektor
5) "Because It’s Not Love" - The Pipettes
6) "Half Light" - Athlete
7) "Out of Range" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
8) "Chasing Cars" - Snow Patrol
9) "Oh Lately It’s So Quiet" - OK Go
10) "Here It Goes Again" - OK Go
11) "Modern Swinger" - The Pink Spiders
12) "Mirror Kisses" - The Cribs
13) "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" - We Are Scientists
14) "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley
15) "Start Wearing Purple" - Gogol Bordello
16) "Happier" - Guster
17) "You Got Me" - VHS or Beta
18) "It’s Not The Fall That Hurts" - The Caesars
19) "Jetsetter" - Morningwood
20) "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have" - Panic! At The Disco

And updates soon, I promise promise promise.

Are you ready for this kids?

Let's exorcise some of our demons, shall we?



Here are the rest of the dates (sort of super-small, sorry. Oh, wow, that was an abuse of alliteration.):




I've had "I Want To Be Buried In Your Backyard" stuck in my head all. damn. day. Just sayin'.

New Song/MySpace it/New Tour Dates: Nightmare of You in the northeast again FINALLY.

I just moved into my new room at school this morning, and classes don't start 'til Monday, so you can probably expect some updates over the next few days as I wile away the last of my eight-month vacation from school.

But while we're still on that only-posting-about-the-same-three-bands-I-always-post-about kick, Nightmare of You announced that they're going to announce "a handful of shows for late February and early March in the Northeast." The only confirmed date so far is 13/3 at The Crazy Donkey on Long Island, which doesn't help me out much, but insider-y sources (ie, Rachel messaging Brandon Reilly) have unconfirmed reports of a Philly show the day before that and another possible show in Framingham, MA. (Though they could always play in NoHo and save me the three-hour bus ride. Please? Guys?)

More details when...well, when I have more details, I suppose.

Also, they have a new cover of Cheap Trick's "On Top of the World" up on their 'Space with which I'm not 100% taken, but yay for new stuff and yay for Cheap Trick.


(I also want to share with you that, midway through this post, I decided to go make a cup of tea 'cause man, is my throat sore, and then I found a dead ant in my tea kettle. Yech. Yeah, it's been a while since I was living as a full-on college student...)

Brandon and Joe of NOY to play acoustic set this Thursday.

Remember when I was whining a few days ago about how NOY is playing across the pond, but not playing in their own damn hometown? Well, I spoke too soon, and simultaneously managed to curse myself.

This Thursday, 6 December, Brandon Reilly and Joe McCaffrey are playing an acoustic set at Union Hall in Brooklyn.

And guess what? I have work 'til 11 on Thursday. Grr. One day! One day I will make it to one of their shows.

Show details:

Union Hall
702 Union St
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718-638-4400

Age: 21+
Doors: 8pm
Nightmare of You: 8:45pm - 9:20pm
Air Thieves: 9:30pm
Army of Me: 10:30pm

Tickets: $10

For the Europeans, you lucky ducks.

The Atlantic Ocean is presenting itself as a problem yet again.

See, around this time last year, I was being sad and whiney* and sending out emo MySpace bulletins because I was in Paris and totally not enjoying myself and was actually pretty miserable because I wanted to be home and the boy I liked was in another country and that band that I really like opened for that other band that I really like AGAIN** and then there was some pretty cool stuff that went down in the Valley, but that wasn't 'til May, but you get the gist of it. I wasn't happy and I wanted out.

Now that I'm back home in the States, I really want to be back in Paris. As much as last year was a complete and utter mess, I'd like to be back. Part of this is because I'm stuck at home in Jersey, and while I do go into the city quite often, it's not quite the same experience. I'm bored with the 'burbs. Basically. Abuse of alliteration.

The other part is because all the fucking cool stuff is going on in Europe! First off, those damn Brits are getting Nightmare of You back for three dates in December.



Yes, I like NOY. No, I can't listen to half of their songs because they make me cry. (Compulsively! Compulsively, I may add.) But really, NYC is their hometown, do you think they could at least step up and do a few shows there first?

(Okay, they did. In October. I was IN THE HOSPITAL. Not my fault. Also, yes, this is sort of old news for those of us who have had NOY in their top 8 for...a while. Shush.)


Right around the same time in Paris, however, is It's Festival is going down at the Fleche d'Or, and my French darlings Stuck In The Sound are headlining this year.



That means three days of the Toy Boys playing and DJing at la Fleche. Mofos never played at la Fleche when I was in Paris.

If you're going to be ANYWHERE near Paris during those three dates, GO. TO. THESE. SHOWS. Do I need to remind y'all of what a good time was had at their show at La Maroquinerie? Also, La Fleche is tinier than La Maroq, AND it's free.


Vous me faites mal, tous, vous savez ca?



*It's nice to see that my location has not impeded my ability to be whiney.
**All right, I made it ONE WHOLE POST without mentioning OK Go. I suck. I'm sorry.

New song: Nightmare of You, "You Don't Have To Tell Me I Was A Terrible Man"

Not sure if this is actually new or an old b-side or what, but NoY (as we refer to them in these parts) have posted a song I've never heard before, "You Don't Have To Tell Me I Was A Terrible Man," on their purevolume page.

It's typical NoY. Think "Why Am I Always Right?" mixed with "I Was Never A Normal Boy." But, man. I'd hate to be the one about whom the song was written:

You don't have to tell me
I was a terrible man
I'm already quite aware
Yet, so glad to finally
Have you out of my hair
And now you're gone,
You're finally gone

Ouch. Well. I'm sure that hits home.

Upcoming shows:
2 November 2007 Lamberton Hall, Lehigh Uni. Bethelehem, PA*
13 December 2007 Colchester Arts Center Colchester, England
14 December 2007 Carling Academy Islington London, England
15 December 2007 Carling Academy Birmingham Birmingham, England
All dates with Circuits and Leaving Isaac's Shop EXCEPT
* with The King Left and Edison Glass