the rabbits of the night

i wish i could post here more often, but we have yet to find a computer desk, and currently the laptop is shoved in a corner on an end table. the end result of this positioning is that if i'm here for more than a couple minutes at a time, hunched over and sort of leaning in at the same time, the backs of my legs and my shoulders start going numb. but i'll get back to it once everything is all unpacked, put away, thrown out and sold. oh, and bring on the snow.

it's my last night in my house. no nostalgia tonight, only cardboard boxes and dust. i'll keep this short, because i've got a crap load of stuff to do tonight....i guess i could sum this up with a send off straight from the mouth of the immortal homer j. simpson......"so long stink-town..."

i can't really pretend to be unbiased when it comes to this show, given the fact that it was co-created by marti noxon, of "buffy the vampire slayer" fame (a show with which i'm completely obsessed). but they seem to have something good going here, and i can only hope they don't get cancelled just when they're hitting their stride. admittedly, it's poorly acted in some of the smaller roles. but the leads are great. christina, the "daughter of darkness" (that's right...her daddy is the devil himself....at least i think so), comes off sweet and innocent in one scene... in the next she's shredding the skin of a dog with her mind, and throwing icy stares the likes of which i've never seen. and you have to enjoy grant show as boyd, because he's clearly having more fun in this role than anyone on tv right now. anyhow, i'll keep supporting this.... check it out if you get a chance....there won't be a new episode for three weeks, but you can see the series premiere encore in two (so you can "see how it all started")....and if you have no interest in the show whatsoever, do yourself a favor and at least watch the first ten minutes of an episode to hear the creepy theme music...that's some vintage danny elfman.

we went to boston this past wednesday, to that mecca of rock, the paradise, to see asobi seksu. i think we were among the first five people at the show, so with nothing to do other than wait around, i began telling kristin about some of the better shows i'd seen at the paradise....kristin hersh, my first superchunk show, and that legendary, late 90's afghan whigs show....and no sooner were the words "greg dulli writes some really creepy lyrics" out of my mouth, and the sound guy starts playing "debonair". very cool. a couple songs later, he breaks out "landmine spring" by quicksand, and it became apparent that the soundguy was "the man". anyhow, the first band on was emergency music, and i'll say i wasn't impressed, and leave it at that (this is a family website). but asobi seksu were great, if not the loudest band i've seen in a long time. the bassist came off a little smarmy...maybe it was the foot-pedal activated strobe light (no, really), or just the smug look of contempt he wore on his face, but he just had that "too cool for school" thing going on, and it kind of jumped out at me. but they sounded really great, and i'm curious to see where they'll end up in the future...hopefully they won't be opening shows at the paradise for much longer (the good north and the information were playing, but i didn't stick around for either). anyway, it was a good week for rock. the dresden dolls, asobi seksu, and i learned how to play some songs by the police. you'll be proud, ghost of gordon sumner.

the truth is stranger than fiction category. this is one of those stories that just sounds like bullshit, no matter how many times i tell people it's the truth. but one of my two best friends from my younger days (i haven't spoken to this kid in over 15 years), has advanced through the first two rounds of this year's "american idol". weird, huh? he was always known for his singing ability, just as i was known as a force to be reckoned with when it came to nintendo (so we've both followed through with our dreams....must have been something in the water). anyway, his name is sean mcneil, and he's a big, bald guy with a goatee. so if you happen to "stumble" across "american idol" while searching for "american chopper", root for the guy.

we saw the dresden dolls at lupo's last night....so when did that club undergo the major overhaul? it's completely unrecognizable.....it's now known as "diesel", and all rock shows must end before 10:30, when they usher in the fine folks who dance the night away in cages... no, really, there are cages. anyhow, regina spektor opened up, and she was great. her first song, she played with her left hand on the keyboard, while her right was busy pounding a wooden chair with a drumstick...hard. really hard. i've been playing the drums since i was 13, and i can honestly say, i'm unfamiliar with the rhythms this girl was playing. wacky, wacky shit. but a good time, and someone i'd be interested in hearing some more of in the future. and the dresden dolls, they tore the fucking roof off that place. they just came out swinging, and it was great. and if anyone had any doubt about just how much metal the drummer grew up on, he's added a double bass drum pedal to his set, and the results are fantastic. also, he was confessing to the crowd how much he loved metallica as a kid (and especially the cock-rock posings of kirk hammett during his solos), and he also informed the crowd that they plan on covering "fade to black"..all amanda would say on the subject was that it had "been discussed"... "coin operated boy" was the standout, and not just because it's their current single, and therefore the reason a lot people were in that room. they just fucked with it so much, you couldn't help but smile. the part where everything's slowing down ("i.... want....a..."), one of those breaks had to be 20 or 30 seconds, and they're managing to hit those accents without so much as a glance in the opposite direction. good stuff. and brian....that was far and away the best live drumming i've seen this side of a jawbox show. anyway, we made it in and out of providence, and only got lost once. i try to justify the fact that i've been to lupo's at least 10 times in my life, and still don't know how to get there...all i can say is, providence is bad. very, very bad.

the people who, after completing a lengthy transaction in the drive through lane of the bank, refuse to pull forward until all their money is put away properly, and all receipts are filed neatly.

could everyone just shut the fuck up about this now?

here, in no real particular order, are 10 movies that in one way or another, scared the life out of me, or disturbed me in some unshakable fashion...
1. carnival of souls
2. pet semetary
3. fire in the sky
4. eraserhead
5. black christmas
6. open water
7. the grudge
8. the blair witch project
9. requiem for a dream
10. el topo (it took me two weeks just to get through this one...thanks bill.)

so it's official. i'm in an 80's cover band. i think once upon a time, i swore i'd never be in a cover band. so am i selling out? maybe. do i care? no, not really. i haven't been in an active band in quite a few years, so i think the idea of "selling out" is a bit silly. maybe i'm just being defensive. but ultimately, if i get to play some songs by the clash, the cure, the cars, and some other great bands that start with "c", and maybe make enough money to pay the cable bill, then i say bring on the beer mamas. so hopefully i'll see some of you out in the bars of cape cod. i'll be the guy playing the drums way too loud while you try to eat your spicy tuna roll.