Blog: Disco:Very 2005

Just attended the first screening of The House I Live In , a searing expose by Eugene Jarecki on America's so-called War on Drugs and its extreme effects on various racial and socioeconomic communities. There's probably more to this documentary than that, but I had been huffing goofballs all afternoon so the entire film is a haze. I have a vague recollection that it has a happy ending.

For the rest of the week, I will be writing you from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival . There is probably something more to say about this right now, but I'm too busy just hoping my cojones don't fall off from the cold. If that happens, please don't mock me at least until I'm able to mock myself.

The last day of every year always yields many dull and predictable events: nutter religious figures predicting the end times, over-zealous bargain hunters digging through bins of Christmas decorations slashed half-off, etc, etc. Sadly, this little blog is no better. Once again, I announce my sub-meager annual end-of-the-year CD compilation pulling together my favorite songs from the past 12 months. This 2CD set (cleverly entitled Disco:Very 2011 ) has 40 tracks of toe-tapping, head-slapping beauty guaranteed to make you dance around the house. To get your free copy of this one-time-only [...]

Some Random Thoughts Upon Viewing Fucked Up Playing David Comes to Life in Its Entirety . It's understandable that the lead vocalist Damian Abraham would remove his shirt during the first song--the room appears to be packed with slithery writhing bodies--but then why is drummer Jonah Falco wearing long sleeves? Does a drummer not work up a sweat? Does a drummer not bleed if you prick his skin? What does the string quartet [...]

Monopoly Queen - Monopoly Queen 7" (7" 45 on Sub Pop Records, 1994) A one-off single composed and produced seemingly in a few hours by Lisa Crystal Carver (known to her parents as Lisa Suckdog ) and quickly pressed by Sub Pop back when they were still flush with Nirvana cash. The A-side is a duet between art-prankster Boyd Rice and Mary Ellen Carver (known to her children as [...]

I'll watch this dreck so you don't have to. 0:01 This landscape looks not unlike the Occupy Wall Street protest going on outside my office window right now. 0:03 Damn space aliens and their aggressive take-over-the-Earth rampages! 0:06 The two warring factions don't look all that dissimilar. Question: are the creators of this commercial imparting a deeper meaning? 0:11 Answer: The Kia has arrived so apparently not. 0:15 I [...]

The dirty diapers at Pitchfork went and gave Lulu , the debut collaboration between Elder Statesman Lou Reed and mosh mascots Metallica , their lowest available rating , and from the uproar one finds all over the music webisphere , Pitchfork is not alone in their disgust. Indie purists, please. Calm the fuck down. If there's one thing we've learned about Saint Lou over the years, it's that he's never [...]

• Lou Reed & Metallica - Dragon

September 22, 2011 Disco:Very, Athens, GA Yesterday's surprising announcement by classic-rockers R.E.M. that, after 31 years of success, they will be calling it quits, led many in the music industry to mark the passing of an era. But not so for the iconic dancers in the famous music video for "Stand" , who are now ready to take the spotlight for themselves."Our group has been practicing day and night for the last 23 years, preparing for this very moment, and [...]

Hmmm. Yeah, I remember the first time I watched Liquid Sky ...

My pre-concert rituals are exacting and precise. The morning of the show, I greet the Sun God with some naked Iyengar Yoga while drinking Ashwagandha Tea , which combats stress and restores serenity. I dress myself in a pair of flowing Nomad Eco Pants (which I bought to wear at Burning Man five years ago) and a dark blue Onno brand organic bamboo tee . Right before bicycling my way to the concert, I smoke a heapful of Salvia for the spirit/flesh rejuvenation I will [...]

By Disco:Very Published: September 8, 2011 The Portland, Oregon indie band Jared Mees and The Grown Children have been found dead, local authorities say, due to poisoning from repeated doses of quirkiness. Their compositions often consisted of mostly wacky, non-rock instruments (trumpet, plastic egg maracas, a girl percussionist who also sings backup while using hand signals to act out the lyrics, a band member's dog howling in unison on one of the songs, etc) as well as unending amounts of wordless ba-da-ba-da-ba-da choruses. The quirk factor which so [...]

I have an idea how Sony Pictures Classics can market their forthcoming Holocaust survival flick In Darkness : "It's Schindler's List ...filmed in tunnel vision!" George Clooney is here in person, apparently. This caused several people to riot, burn down dozens of theaters and march through the streets with Ken Burns ' head impaled on a pitchfork. This year's Guest Director (and one of my musical heros) Caetano Veloso is signing autographs today, and [...]

[Sung to the tune of Seance by Furze.] I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I wi-i-i-i-illlllll be-e-e-e-e-e-e-e a-a-a-a-awa-a-a-a-a-ay fo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-rrrrrr a we-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-k a-a-ate-e-e-ndi-i-i-i-innng The Telluride Film Festival I-i-i-i-ffff I-I-I-I-I-I-I do-o-o-o-o-n-n-n-n-n-nt re-e-e-e-e-etu-u-u-u-unnn, it w-i-i-i-i-lllll be-e-e-e-e be-e-e-e-eca-a-a-use I joi-oi-oi-oinnned The Demonic Order in the Eternal Fascist's Hall.

Thelonius Monster - The Boldness of Style EP (12" EP on Relativity Records, 1987) Although they were often simply thought of as the West Coast version of The Replacements , the Los Angeles sextet Thelonius Monster never quite reached the ramshackle pinnacles of their Minneapolis counterpart (read: they didn't drink as much). This 3-track EP contains the college rock/funk single Walk on Water (produced by Flea , fittingly) from their [...]

There once was a Lee named Amos His faux-folk schtick made him famous His concert in our town Made us all scowl and frown His songs are shit--can you blame us? Calexico was dullish backing band Main ingredient: music quite bland Slow beats and strum-a, strum-a Makes for show of total bumm-a Can't this type of stuff be banned? At times, band numbered thirteen Including pointless tambourine Too many musicians Urges one to petition To replace them all with machines Drummer looked like senior citizen Makes for pathetic depiction His balding grey head Made [...]

Alix Dobkin - xxAlix (LP on Ladyslipper Records, 1980) Now that we have a Lesbian President, can we finally allow ourselves to have a laugh over this awesome aural relic ? This is Camp of the highest order, every track dripping with irony-free earnest fist-in-the-air political fury (and all of it, remarkably, still available for purchase on cassette ). How can you not love an album who lists the name of a key musician as River Lightwomoon and [...]

Carmaig de Forest - I Shall Be Released LP (Good Foot Records, 1987) Mixing the bone-dry wit of Woody Allen , the rejected romantic disillusionment of early Elvis Costello and the scrappy political passions of Billy Bragg (if he was brave enough to play ukelele), the debut effort from punk/folk troubadour Carmaig de Forest should have been a much bigger hit than it actually was. One could say the stripped-down rawk arrangements could be attributed to the record's producer [...]

Los Jilguerillos del Naranjo - Los Jilguerillos del Naranjo LP (Canon Records, Unknown Year) My shaky comprehension of even the most simplistic Spanish does not keep me away from an old-fashioned stripped-to-the-basics Norteño hoedown. Forget all the hyped-up techno-electro schlock you hear from today's Conjunto acts. This shit is the bomb--even more so since the "O" in the charming Canon Records label resembles one. I know absolutely nothing about this [...]

The Texas Instruments - The Texas Instruments LP (Rabid Cat Records, 1987) It's almost quaint to listen to the debut self-titled album by Austin's The Texas Instruments and remember how, for some of us, this hybrid of souped-up post-hardcore and politicized country punk was going to somehow eradicate all the backwards governing during the years of The Gipper . Now we have Michelle Bachman as a front runner for the 2012 election and the loonies are strategizing to run the asylum. Oh well. [...]

To those who are suckers for those moments when a band uses a noteworthy sample for a moderately interesting twee-pop song, be sure to check out Your Own Religion by TV Girl , which employs sections of Yama Yama by The Yamasukis . That is all.

• TV Girl - Your Own Religion