Monotonix Music Festival

So, out of the four friends that I asked to come to Siren with me, only one ended up going. One genuinely couldn't go because of work, so let's take him out of the equation, but one gave flimsy excuses and another just didn't show up.

Now I'd like to rub into their faces how incredible a time it was.

Me and the one friend that could go endured the endless trains and subways to arrive just a few minutes late for the Japandroids set. Luckily, all we missed was a song from their EPs. The crowd was sparse and ineffectual, to my chagrin, but the band jumped around and kicked ass like they didn't care that no one else cared. They played Crazy/Forever to close, then seamlessly segued into Sovereignty. The set was filled with so much power and emotion that I didn't care that the punishing sun kept filling my eyelids with sweat. I love this band so much and I can't wait to see them again in Boston.

Frightened Rabbit was next, and they were a little less impressive. I do love the band, but their decision to open with their best song (Modern Leper) was questionable, given that the sound wasn't even fully checked yet. With the guitars almost completely drowning out the vocals, I could barely even hear the chorus. The balance of sound was fixed from there, though, but it was otherwise not noteworthy until my personal favorite Good Arms vs. Bad Arms and the closer Keep Yourself Warm.

After Frightened Rabbit, we met up with my friend's new friends from Brown, who were amiable but rather quiet, for the most part. All of us then headed off to the other stage, where we arrived just in time for A Place To Bury Strangers. They were loud, melodic, and made me want to stare at my shoes. In fact, it got so shoegazey at the end, that I started gazing at other people's shoes. Most were uninteresting, but there were a couple of donks and one interesting pair of checkered, hi-heeled sandals. All-in-all, APTBS fulfilled their goals, and left us satisfied with their performance.

We looked at the pamphlet after we couldn't remember what came next. The Ravonettes were about to start at the main stage, or we could stay here and see... Monotonix. We didn't know who they were, but the book said they put on one hell of a live show and that they come from Israel.

That was enough information for us, so we stayed to see Monotonix.
One and a half hours later, we were confident that we didn't just see Monotonix.
We fucking experienced Monotonix.
My friend, on the subway ride back to Penn said, and I quote: "Monotonix... FUCK." and "Did I just have rough sex for two hours or did I see Monotonix" and "They completely redefined the words 'hairy,' 'balls,' 'concert,' and 'fuck,' for me." and "FUCK."

I completely agree with all of her sentiments. I love Japandroids, but Monotonix blew the fucking heads off every other band that played at Siren. They came out clad in nothing but phosphorescent vests and short-shorts and started setting up their equipment right in front of the crowd. The guitarist played a solo as he sound checked. The drummer set up his instrument in the crowd, on top of a flashy green carpet. The singer came out last, the guitarist busted out an improvised riff, and then it all started.

Basically, you had to be there, but there was furious masturbation, crowd-surfing, flying beer, concussions, exposed genitals, Mexicans on acid, synchronized standing, moshing, Israeli folktales, and one very angry Chinese man.

After it was all over, I couldn't give two shits about Built to Spill. We stood there and heard them play, but we were far too tired after being tossed into the Monotonix blender. All we wanted to do was go home and go to sleep, so a half hour later, we did.

In the end, it was completely awesome. We came for Japandroids, we stayed for the Monotonix, and we left thinking "Monotonix was the fucking greatest thing we ever saw and probably ever will see." We then promised that we would take our poor friend who couldn't go because of work to the next Monotonix Experience that rolls by.

And to the two friends who didn't go based on petty excuses: see you in a few!

EDIT: if any of my reader would like some music by any of these artists (except for Monotonix since they dont have any recorded music except an obscure EP) then I'll gladly upload. Especially Japandroids. Their album is, in my opinion, the best of '09 so far.

Huh

So it turns out I'm actually more okay with that whole thing that I griped about before than I thought I was.

Oh, and Finds of the Last Few Weeks

My mind may have been too busy/constipated to make a new post in a while, but my ears haven't been too busy/constipated to listen to new music!

First is Fucked Up Friends by Tobacco. It came out a while ago, but it's wonderful, and it just came out in the UK so there. Awesome psychedelic solo project by the frontman of Black Moth Super Rainbow, where keyboard melodies replace guitars with trippy results. Side 8 is my favorite song, but they're all good. Also, Aeesop Rock raps on one of the tracks.

Next is Tiny Sun by Bad Daughter. I'm gonna quote the original post that I got this from, since they described it better than I could:

:I know a lot of people probably look at my whole thing with Mandarin-language music and the bands I'm constantly splurging about and go "oh yeah look it's another indie band cribbing the western indie formula. cool, how exciting." That's probably a valid assessment of certain bands, but Bad Daughter's second and final album is not just good among Taiwanese indie pop, it's hands down one of the best indie pop records I've ever heard. Every song on this album is pretty much perfectly constructed, the sentimentality is never laid on too thick, and despite some of the tracks being relatively long for pop songs, they never overstay their welcome. There hasn't been an indie pop record this good out of Taiwan since it was released in 2003 and unfortunately this was Bad Daughter's final record before disbanding in 2006. So listen to it because it is amazing ok.

Then is Meanderthal by Torche, an awesome melodic sludge band from Georgia. They're metal, but they're reeeeeeeaaally awesome and accessible and they're playing the 26th and I really want to see them but I have no one to go with :(

Lastly is Skywriter by DatA. Now, I know a lot of my reader like DatA, so here's what I assume is his newest album. Haven't listened to it, but I know you'd want it, so here it is :)

Am I making one continuous mistake?

Oddly, it turns out that when I don't have much time to think, I make the most poignant personal discoveries. The title is a bit misleading, as it's mostly just a reference to Pictures for Sad Children (read it if you haven't, it's phenomenal), but I have been musing about mistakes a lot and, well, turns out I make a lot of it.

Of course, to err is only human. But I make a lot of them. And not even material mistakes, like making a typo or knocking over a lamp. I've been trusting wrong people, making incorrect judgment calls, acting irrational and out of character, and accidentally choosing the greater of two evils. Does my unnatural penchant for erroneous behavior make me superhuman, then?

For now I'm going to leave that rhetorical and muse about a connected subject. One of my most worrisome mistakes is my social perspective towards leaving for college. My biggest problem, I realized yesterday, is that I put my current friends up on a pedestal. Many of my high school friends, I feel, are irreplaceable. With each of my friends, I've had a unique experience getting to know them, which gave them a sense of individual greatness, in my mind. With this mindset, I've had three best friends at once, and it's allowed me to enjoy the company of friends more than the average bear. However, it's also prepping me up for what could be a cataclysmic downfall as I go to college.

This mindset has made me virtually unable to deal with loss. Case in point: Cornell. I went there for three weeks, and made a few friends, but believe me, I missed them much much MUCH more than I should have for only having known them for three weeks. I can only imagine what's going to happen when I'm faced with the prospect of missing people I've known for twelve years.

So yeah, in retrospect, it's been a pretty big mistake to keep this mindset. Very recently, I've more of less lost two friends that I both considered unique and incredible, and a few others are quickly drifting away, as well. Something needs to change, but I don't know what. I could alter my philosophy, but what the hell is the point of having friends if you can't appreciate them?

Basically, I don't know what to do.

C'est la vie.

Eels - Hombre Lobo

Get it while it's "hot."

Detention? Moar liek REtention!

Which is moar liek "reTARDED!" So there, a two-degree burn!

Yeah, straight-A student, haven't gotten in trouble since first grade, when all of a sud- actually, let me tell you the first grade story first (pun slightly intended).

So there I was in the first grade. Okay, you got that? Yeah, little sweater and all. Anyway, we had to do a crossword or a word search or some shit for homework and I was like "Yo Miss G, fuck that noise, I ain't doing shit," so she gave me detention. During detention, there was nothing to do, and this kid Vinny (who would grow up to be extremely gay and extremely Guido) was there too, struggling how to read. Naturally, I spent the next 30 minutes teaching him how to read.

Anyway, I got detention again. From the teacher who I more or less curse out every day? Nah, from the one who people tell me I will probably be like in 20 years. The situation was vague, uneasy, and full of dead rabbits, so I won't get into details (if you're reading this blog you already know the story anyway. sup ryan.)

To make up for my pubescent high school tormented ramblings, here's Elvis Costello's new album. Dunno if it's good, but it's Elvis Costello, and I've rehosted it on effort-free mediafire for your convenience. Your welcome.

Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane

Find of the Last Week: C.I.A.

C.I.A.: Cocaine is Awesome. It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal. Cocaine. Is. Awesome.

Download C.I.A. by American Sneakers