Monthly Archives: December 2006

wrap it up b


Posted by avoque

It’s the end of the year, a lot of shit has happened and I don’t get to talk to everyone nearly enough. So it’s time for me to start making some best and worst of lists. We’ll start with the worst (of course).

Worst shows I went to in 2006 (in no particular order)

  • 120 Days – @ Sin-E, CMJ 11/2/06 – (ref) – These guys force the ultimate question: can you still like a band when you think the members are a bunch of douches? No matter what the answer to that question is, there is no doubt that their show totally blew, but I have a thing for bands that rip of the Revenge of the Nerds Lamda Lamda Lamda carnival performance song. No one rocks it like goose.
  • TV on the Radio – ACL, 9/16/06 – I’m not sure what happened to my ACL post, but fuck did these guys suck. Easily the most disappointing show I saw this year, simply because I was so excited about seeing them. Their album is fantastic, but jesus they sounded horrible live at ACL.
  • Ween – ACL, 9/17/06 – I didn’t have high hopes for Ween, but they still managed to disappoint.
  • The Shins – Stubb’s, 9/15/06 – I should probably cut the Shins a break because I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got to their night show. Something about drinking in the hot sun all day that will take the life out of you. Who knew?
  • Siren Music Festival – Village Voice event at Coney Island – some music blogger stated that people should prepare themselves for the torture that is Siren Music Festival and damn if he wasn’t right. The festival was terrible. The setup was bad, the sound was horrible, the weather didn’t cooperate. The good part is that the lineup is awesome and it’s free. I think that’s how so many people get suckered into going every year. I don’t plan on making that mistake again. And I’m a sucker for free. It was that bad.

Now someone will likely remind me that I blabbered on about a show (not on this list) that totally sucked. Don’t get me wrong, I hate most everything, but these are the standouts. Exceptionally bad. Yeah.

Edit: I completely forgot to mention another CMJ show that totally blew:

  • Gang Gang Dance – @ Webster Hall, CMJ 11/2/2006 – My head is starting to hurt just thinking about that girl and the fucking delay on her vocals. Painful. Like the background music in a B horror movie. Played backwards. Sung by Wing. Ouch.

The most wonderful time of the year


Posted by avoque

I just read this article over at CNN. For those of you that are too lazy to follow the link, here’s the highlights:

  • Many radio stations go all-Christmas music after Thanksgiving

  • Ratings go up, choice is welcomed by listeners

If there’s one thing I hate about Christmas, it’s the music. Seriously, I would rather spend a month in awkward family situations than listen to Christmas music. And it makes me sick to my stomach that ratings actually go up when radio stations change to an all-Christmas music format. Are you fucking kidding me?

This has to be a goddamn joke. People really want to hear Christmas music? I just assumed that the department stores here used it to keep homeless people away. Apparently it has two benefits. The editor of some radio trade publication (owned by Clear Channel, of course) said, “Christmas music, for most people, puts a smile on your face. Even if you resist for a while, you can’t hold out forever.” I think it’s more likely that people just give in. Even Manuel Noriega could only take so much Def Leppard before he started growing out his hair.

But you already knew all of this. The real disturbing news was this: “…the earliest station made the switch in October before trick or treaters made the rounds.” This is completely out of control. We can’t let Christmas invade the best holiday of the year. So do your part. Stop shopping at stores with Christmas music. Smack your parents around until they understand how stupid Christmas music is. And if you have to, kill some people to make your point. I’ll do my part by forgoing Christmas altogether.

In non-Christmas music related news, check out Kat‘s post on the Blip Music Festival that I mentioned before. She pretty much said everything that I thought about the show, with the exception of mentioning that we got kick-ass buttons from The Onion columnists including, Jim Anchower, Smoove B, and Jean Teasdale. I’m a sucker for free stuff.