More than a guest post this week… it’s a guest Mad Libs. All their idea. In case you needed another reason to fall in love with these guys 
:
Photo by Anthony Byrd
Dear (name of person) Jeffrey,
Before leaving on tour, we made sure to pack the (noun) banana in preparation for two-weeks on the road in (name of country) Kazakhstan. At our first show, we were fortunate to have (name of famous person) Andy Warhol as a support act. By the time we went on stage, the audience, at first, was (adjective) outrageous but by the end of the show they warmed up to us and became (adjective) sugary. We could tell we were off to a (adjective) shivery start, at that first night in (name of city) Kuala Lumpur. Little did we know, that night set the tone for a (adjective) crappy tour. The open road was in front of us, and we felt (an emotion) explosive about the days ahead. With the music blaring from the car’s (noun) sun flower, we took the highway and drove (number) 300,256 miles to the next (noun) corn stalk.
Courtney & Benjamin
FYI, Kaiser Cartel’s new ep, Rock Island, comes out 09/22. 3 tracks, including a Lucinda Williams cover! Awesome. Plus they’ll have songs featured in the first 2 episodes HBO’s of Bored To Death later this month. Busy bees.
xo
8/31/09 | Comments (2)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, Kaiser Cartel, KATE BRADLEY, LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, Lucinda Williams, OUTLANDOS MUSIC —
You know the drill… taking our cue from Seth Godin with the idea that what unites us is more than music — basically, if we share the same taste in music, we likely share the same taste in other stuff, as seemingly useless as it occasionally may be. Hence, this month’s compendium:
Stuff That’s Kept Me from Losing My Mind This Summer
1. Harry Potter Hangover
Seriously. It happens to me every summer. Another book comes out so I have to read all of the previous books again just to remember what the hell is going on. Same deal with the films. So in advance of the Half-Blood Prince’s release, it was the usual deal: start reading around midnight, can’t put the damn thing down til roughly 4 AM = bags under the eyes daily.
I don’t know who that kid is but I like it.
2. Air Rifle
Friggin cool. My parents pulled it out of the basement and it was love at first shot. That’s my dad (sporting silk boxers with silver dragons) getting in touch with his inner badass. Forgot to take one of me. I did good. Everyone should have one of these things. Yes, I’m still a Democrat.
3. You Don’t Know Jacques
OPI sucks me right in with their clever nail polish names. Le Collection de France in particular. Tickle Me France-y, I’m Fondue of You. Brilliant marketing. Paris in a bottle. Even at Nine dollars a pop, I’m sold. A newly obsessed with my feet.
4. Lettuce Seeds
Who knew. You can plant seeds at the end of the summer and stuff will still grow, ready for picking in fall. I’m slow to this punch people — new to gardening. The miracle of life. It’s the little things.
5. Wine Bottle Chandelier
Who, pray tell, doesn’t need one of these. Fucking genius. But that $399 price tag has me thinking I can make this. Going to sic the project on my dad. He doesn’t know that yet.
xo
8/24/09 | Comments (2)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, Harry Potter, IN SHORT, KATE BRADLEY, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Seth Godin —
Has summer even happened? Good Lord, it’s almost over and it feels, with the recent swelter-fest (at least in the East Coast) that it just started.
Lots of good stuff cranked at Outlandos HQ to keep us feeling somewhat cool, see below.
But first, petite favor to ask you kids. This will literally take you 2 seconds, it’s super easy and you don’t even have to give a rats tail about SxSW but… would you vote for us? 30 seconds of your life. It’s a BIG deal in our world and would mean so much! How could we ever do it without you? Seriously. Thanks zillions. If we get in, not only do I get a free badge (let me tell you, those suckers are expensive) but we get some handy-dandy publicity.
Help me, help me? Just click the 2 links below and then click the “thumbs up” next to each one:
The Value of Emotional Value (Interactive Version)
VOTE HERE
Doing It like Trent: DIY for the Little Guy
VOTE HERE
Now on to the fun stuff:
1. Contramano, Contramano
Buy
Argentinian chamber-punk. Go figure. It’s spectacular. Seriously, you need to own this record IMMEDIATELY. In case you missed it, they were featured on the Dose last week.
2. Roman Candle, Oh Tall Tree in the Ear
Buy
The Bees (US) are easily one of my favorite bands of all time. Unfortunately, for legal reasons, they had to change their name to The Silver Seas. They should have a new album out this year (yay!). In the meantime, Bees’ cofounder Jason Lehning has been keeping busy. Roman Candle is his latest project and everything you would expect from a Bee. Smart, fun, shades of the Dan.
3. Division Day, Visitation
Buy
Soooooo very Radiohead… not that there’s anything wrong with that. But there’s kind of a fresh twist. Really digging this one. Headphone listening for sure.
4. Passion Pit, Manners
Buy
Been loving this one for a while now, it’s dance music. Who knew. Fun fun fun. Featured on the Dose earlier this month.
5. David Mead, Almost and Always
Buy
He’s always wonderful. Not my favorite of his catalog but still worth it. And just a sweetheart of a guy with a crazy-lovely voice. It might take a little while to grow on you, more complex than you think on the first listen.
xo
8/17/09 | Comments (4)Tags: Contramano, CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, David Mead, Division Day, KATE BRADLEY, NOW PLAYING, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Passion Pit, Radiohead, Roman Candle, The Bee Gees, The Silver Seas —
Revenge of the Nerds, Better off Dead, Risky Business… to say we simply “watched” them would be an understatement. We practically wore the strip out on the Betamax, memorizing every scene, every line, every song. From Booger to Fronch fries to Swamp, these films became heroic keystones, handily defining us as proud children of the 80s — perhaps in the same way that Zeppelin or the Beatles were iconic backdrops to my parents’ upbringing. The Hughes’ films of course being mandatory. Ferris Bueller, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles; we lived them. My friend Elliott Hurst said it best, calling John “My Generation’s J.D. Salinger,” and reminding us that, in a way, John’s death last week was mortally wounding. RIP.
xo
8/10/09 | Comments (0)Tags: Better off Dead, CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, Elliot Hurst, KATE BRADLEY, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Revenge of the Nerds, Risky Business, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club —
A timely, August-related guest post this week from legendary CBGB’s engineer (among other endeavors) and friend, Robin Danar. FYI, Robin’s recent record, Altered States is pretty freakin’ unbelievable, a collaboration featuring up-and-coming indie artists you likely know (Rachel Yamagata, Pete Yorn, etc.). You should own it. More about Robin here.
Take it away, Robin:
Dear Hilly–
Well, it’s been over 2 years since I’ve seen you and I think about you a lot so I figured I’d check in. I’m writing from Cali…..won’t be in NY ’til around Xmas.
I’m actually still in touch with many of our old friends and associates via email and networks. It’s fun to see that the deep impact you and CBGB’s had on us in the 70’s and 80’s still exists today. I just saw the virtual tour that BG helped put together just before the club closed (http://www.bravadousa.com/cbgb/pano/pano.html) which was a pretty wild flashback. Every so often I’ll put on Patti’s closing show that was on satellite radio and yeah I listen loud!
Anyway, I owe a lot to you for helping this producer/artist find a direction. Since August 28 will always be a date I remember, I thought I’d send a copy of this NY Times blog I wrote a year ago. I look at it as a fun story with happy memories (August 28, 2008 makes one year since Hilly passed away):
I was the sound guy at CB’s for years in the 70s and 80s. It was an amazing time and every so often I get sidetracked from what I’m supposed to be doing and end up spending hours looking at books, listening to music or just scanning the web and remembering. There are great books, amazing photos, YouTube videos and some classic stories, many of which are quite true and some that are, uh…… “lost in translation??”
I was lucky to be in NY for several months in 2007 and spent a bunch of time with Hilly before he went back into the hospital. He was tired. The chemo was quite a workout but I caught him on some “good” days and he was a bit slower but still moving along. He was never a speed demon anyway. Besides just hanging out, catching up or sitting and talking about nothing in particular, I got to see what I hope will some day be a book in a museum gift shop.
CB’s had closed and most of it was at that time in storage while its future was being discussed. Yes, Hilly loved Vegas and he was into moving there but he wanted CB’s “as was.” Could Vegas handle that? Moving and storing things like that involve documentation for shipping purposes and one day we looked through a huge book of what I compare to baby photos. Talk about flashbacks. If you know anything about that club’s history, you’ve probably heard about the bathrooms, the walls, the graffiti, the back alley, and heard terms like “what a dive.” We were known (thank you) for some kick-ass sound but the look was kind of…… simple.
But for some strange reason, everything looked absolutely beautiful. It wasn’t the Parthenon or the Roman Coliseum but it was somehow gorgeous. I think during the time I was working there, a lot of bands from all over the world felt that way when they first walked in the front door. Whether there to play or there to watch, I saw many people actually marvel at the “beauty.”
I was mesmerized by everything in Hilly’s book, no matter what it was. I recently heard that when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its New York annex a couple of weeks ago, onstage with Mayor Bloomberg, Clive Davis, and Billy Joel, was the phone booth from CBGB’s. I can officially declare that phone booth as a major part of New York rock history. Not only who used it but what went down in that booth. Some of it involved things to remember and much of it I’d rather forget. I didn’t see the news conference but I bet it looked awesome.
Baby photos aren’t for everybody. I’ll often smile politely when trapped into “sharing” with a new parent/friend. But one time, when I was on tour with Laurie Anderson, I remember Lou Reed coming up to me with his “Robin, check this out!” His book documented his new gear setup. Guitars, racks, and pedal boards that he was quite proud of. He knew I’d get it and I must admit that it looked quite cool.
To me, so did Hilly’s book. My bet is that some day they’ll display the phone booth, the pinball machine and maybe even a toilet. But the book had it all and I wish they’d just give it a big room somewhere to show it off.
No matter what though, I’m really glad I got to sit there with Hilly and look through it. I’ll always remember him with a big smile on his face.
xox
rd
Tags: Billy Joel, CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, KATE BRADLEY, Laurie Anderson, LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, Lou Reed, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Pete Yorn, Rachel Yamagata, Robin Danar —
