Burned By The Sun........

Hello,

If anyone's looking at my defunct blog at this time of year, I can only assume they're looking for the Coachella Rumors list. The blog may be dead, but the list lives on here.

Just so you won't be too disappointed, I shall warn you it is a rather pithy list so far. The only confirmations that appear in print are Depeche Mode, Amadou & Mariam, The Duke Spirit, Paul Oakenfold, and Coldcut. It seems that people are really, really trying to keep their mouths shut this year. I checked a bunch of booking agency sites, nothing. Pollstar is mum. Artists don't even seem to be talking (except two). We may actually have to *gasp* wait for the lineup to be announced. But if you know something I don't, feel free to email me at burnedbysun AT hotmail.com

A Lengthy Explanation of Why This Site Has Utterly Sucked Since, Like, January
I meant to post the Coachella stuff. I really did. But I had three papers or so to finish, and then I had pack up the entire contents of my shitty apartment so I could go home for the summer. And after that I had to actually drive back to Michigan. During the drive, I noticed that if every few miles you see a billboard for a fireworks store, you're in Indiana. If there are signs on fence posts along the highway urging you to repent, you're probably in Nebraska. If you are seeing Adult Superstores, shit, you could be anywhere. Seriously, there was at least one in every state I drove through. It's the one thing that ties our nation together. I find that hilarious.

Anyway, all that previous whining doesn't entirely explain it the lack of Coachella stuff or the lack of quality (or even an attempt at quality), I know, but now I have my good computer (with all my Coachella pictures on it), but it has no internet connection. So I guess the Coachella stuff's out.

I haven't been posting too often because there's nothing to post. That last semester damn near gave me a nervous breakdown with all the reading and papers I had to write. And with all that work I had no life whatsoever and therefore nothing worth writing about. Also, I got pretty burned out on just linking to and commenting on music news. I wanted to do something else, but I had no idea what. I'm still not really sure what to do with this site. But right now, I'm leaning towards writing some longer stuff, like my stupid rants, or maybe longer reviews of shows that I think would be fun to write about (just because a show is good doesn't necessarily mean it would be fun to write about. At least not in my case. Trouble is, you never know when these shows are gonna be). I didn't really want the site to devolve into a journal, or some account of my day-to day life, but now I'm considering that too.


People, I DO NOT Hate Jimmy Page
To change the topic completely, I checked my email today for the first time in months. Not surprisingly, there were more comments on my "Eric Crapton" a.k.a. "You Are Not Jimmy Page" rant. That thing has gotten me more emails than anything else I've ever written. And the emails can be divided into two categories: people who loved it and relate their own stories about some asshole hack guitarist who terrorized them in school, and people who yell at me for hating Jimmy Page and/ or saying Hendirx is the best guitarist ever.

I just wanted to set the record straight: I do NOT hate Jimmy Page. I don't say anything bad about him in the entire rant. The point of the title, "You Are Not Jimmy Page" is that those crappy guitarists think they're as cool as Jimmy Page, but they're not. I actually like Led Zeppelin, although I think "Stairway To Heaven" is one of the most overrated songs of all time. And the fact that everybody attempts to play this song, whether they can play well or not, is just irritating. Music stores have that "No Stairway" sign for a reason. Even if I liked the song I'd be sick of it from hearing people attempting to play it all the time. And they can never play the whole thing...just that damn lick at the beginning. But I digress. What I was going to say was that just because I'm sick of one song doesn't mean I think Zeppelin's entire catalog is crap. And just because I don't think that the ability to play guitar with a violin bow makes somebody the guitar god of the universe does not mean that I don't think Jimmy Page is pretty cool.

As for the Hendrix being the greatest guitarist ever, that is my opinion. The entire rant is an opinion. My site is a place where I, believe it or not, express my opinions. I know that just because Hendrix is my favorite guitarist doesn't mean he is the greatest of all time in both aesthetic value and technical skill and whatever weird criteria people grade music on. Many people throw the names of guitarists like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Eric Johnson in my face, to name a few. Well, no shit, those guys are good, and are probably all better guitarists in a technical sense. But Hendrix is my favorite. He just is. Sue me.

I doubt anyone will ever see this new post, or would even care at this point. I haven't updated in the last two months or so because I have seriously had no life (at least I got to read a few decent books out of the deal), but I did go to Coachella over the weekend. And I want to write about it, and show everyone my stupid pictures like I always do. But I have a paper due by 5pm. It's worth a quarter of my grade. And I am just starting it now.

But I will just say that the Arcade Fire aren't as good as everyone says they are... they're better.

I Suck
It's been nearly a month since I've updated. I feel bad. I'm a shitty blogger. But I'm an okay english student, and that's what has to matter right now. I am currently enrolled in four literature classes, two of which are upper division (it's not a good idea to change your major three times, because what happens is you have to squish all your essential classes into your last three semesters). I have like, 600 pages to read this weekend (out of Paine's Common Sense, Upton Sinclair's Oil!, and Sherman Alexie's Reservation Blues) and a paper due Tuesday (on Common Sense). And a concert (Secret Machines) to go to Monday night.

I've literally done nothing but read, write papers, and go to the occasional show for this past month. Here are some highlights of that:

Scissor Sisters at the Wiltern, Jan 31: If you get a chance to see these guys, go. It's a wacky good time, and you'll never see so many people dance at a show (and dress in drag and wear feather boas!). It was fun until they did their cover of "Comfortably Numb". At that time, two (not just one...two!) disco balls dropped from the ceiling and things went from fun to awesome (the song sounded amazing. I attempted to dance, even though I can't). For the final number, "Music Is the Victim" the band was rocking out and dancing with some guy hula hooping and a drag queen named Candyass, who at the end of the song draped a gay pride flag over the lead singer's neck like he won the gay olympics or something. It was great.

Jonathan Richman at King King, Feb 11: I had never seen him before, and I never would have guessed that someone just singing and playing a classical guitar with drums could put on such a great show. I think the best/funniest thing about him is that he provides his own running commentary on his performance (usually in a funny voice). During a song he'll make comments like, "Oh, this is the spooky guitar part", (after playing a chorus over and over) "This song is so overdue", "This isn't even a song! It's just dancing!" (he does a lot of dancing). He did this extended version of "Let Her Go Into the Darkness" (one of the songs he did for the movie There's Something About Mary) where he imitated this guy calling his ex-girlfriend to try to get her back, and then he imitated the girlfriend yelling at him and calling him a controlling bastard. And then he took the narrator role again and said, "I knew he was gonna do that. I told him not to." He then went on to do the same argument in three different languages. It was one of the funniest things I've ever heard in my life.


Some of the better books I've read for class:

Books About L.A.:

The Bus, by Steve Abee
Whether or not you'll like this book depends on how you feel about stuff like beat poetry and stream-of-consciousness writing. Basically, this guy takes the Santa Monica Boulevard bus all the way out to Santa Monica to pick up his car. Along the way, he comments on the surroundings, the people he sees, and tells about his own memories about the streets he passes, and ponders his own place in today's society. It's hard to explain, but I really liked it. And it's a good look at the real L.A., the place where people live, as opposed to the stuff you see in movies.

Twilight, by Anna Deavere Smith
I was very young and lived in Michigan at the time of the L.A. riots in 1992, so I knew absolutely nothing about it. Until I read this book. The author went out and interviewed something like 400 people about what they thought about the riots, where they were and what they did at the time. About 40 of those made it into the book. So basically you have 40 very different perspectives (everybody from South Central gang members to Korean shopkeepers whose stores were looted to Beverly Hills TV executives) on the riots and racial issues in Los Angeles. A fascinating read.

Other Stuff

Genesis, by Eduardo Galeano
So Christopher Columbus landed in the new world, killed a few Indians, sent some gold and food exports back, people started coming to the new world to settle and then it grew into what it is today. That's pretty much what's taught in history class. Galeano's book also looks at the history of the Americas, but in a radically different way. The book opens with the creation myths of different native peoples before Columbus' arrival, and then after the arrival, history is told through a series of fragments (most a half a page or less) from the perspectives of different people. It looks at the monarchs of Europe to the rulers of the Aztecs and Incas, the captains of the ships that sailed after Columbus, the natives who became slaves, and the monks who tried to help those natives. And tons more.

The poetry of Langston Hughes
It's great stuff. And some of the poems would make killer blues lyrics.

So, I booked my campsite at Lake Cahuilla (because the cheapest hotel in Indio, the Motel 6, was all sold out, but I kind of prefer camping because camping means you can eat s'mores) and I bought my Coachella tickets today (there's a presale on Ticketbastard until Sunday, password= GOBI). The lineup hasn't been announced yet, that's supposed to happen on Jan. 31, but I have faith it will kick ass. There was a bunch of stuff added to the list this morning. Wolf Eyes and the Killers are the new confirmations. I thought it was funny how in the NME article the singer of the Killers was complaining about how hot it was last year (and it wasn't 113 degrees, it was 103), yet during the set he refused to remove his blazer.

Other Stuff

-You can download the new Hot Hot Heat single here.

-So... I watched the second night of the American Idol auditions. I don't watch the rest of the season, just the audition episodes. My favorite people are the deluded souls who believe they are the greatest singers in the world, and are amazed and offended when the judges say they suck (which, in fact, they do). The St. Louis auditions raised an important ethical question: Is it better to tell someone with no talent that they can sing and avoid hurting their feelings, or tell them the truth so they don't make asses of themselves later in life? 'Cause it seems like the worst singers who auditioned were there because their families encouraged them. On a brighter note, I thought that one girl who grew up on the farm actually had a good voice. Not a stereotypical, dime-a-dozen diva voice (I fucking hate those! I'd seriously rather listen to William Hung...), but a pretty, almost country-ish voice. She'll probably be voted off immediately in favor of someone who can hit really high notes but has no expression or feeling in their voice.

News and Stuff
-Blame the Computers! The Guardian has an article about Hit Song Science, a computer program used to predict hits. Now if only the music went through a second computer, one that determines which songs are actually good.

-Sensitivity Goes Off the Deep End: If I heard the band name 50 Foot Wave, I wouldn't think of the recent tsunamis at all. I'm not being sarcastic; I'm serious. So it's dumb that Kristin Hersh's new band, who sent out the promo copies of their first album a week before disaster struck, is being scrutinized for the name.

-The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are slated to return to the studio in March to record the follow up to Fever to Tell, which should be out this fall. Supposedly they will be taking a different direction on this album. Sounds cool. More here.

-Speaking of new albums, the title of the new Flaming Lips album will be At War With the Mystics, and Wayne Coyne has said he wants Cat Power to guest on the album.

-The Good News: A previously uncirculated tape of a teenage Bob Dylan singing folk songs in a Minneapolis apartment has been donated to a museum. The Bad News: You have to go to Minnesota to hear it, and making copies isn't allowed.

-The Guardian has more on that Ian Curtis biopic. Turns out Curtis' widow and Tony Wilson will be executive producers, and the director will be Anton Corbijn, who took some of the most famous photographs of the band. It also says that rumors of Jude Law playing Curtis have been ruled out.

-There's a new Teen Girl Squad cartoon. This one involves a battle of the bands.

Another Coachella Confirmation
Thanks to an email I received earlier, I was led to this link, which shows a promo sticker for the group M83 (scroll down a little) that reveals they will be at Coachella.

News and Stuff

- Brit Award Nominees Are Out. I'm always amazed that European awards shows have at least some good nominees while our awards shows.... never mind.

- Pitchfork's got the Secret Machines' tour itenerary up. I definitely recommend seeing them. For their LA show Autolux and Moving Units are supposed to be the openers, which should be cool, since I've heard a lot of good things (especially about Autolux's live show. Shit, my friend has been telling me of the wonders of their live show since I first came here... in 2002. I've never had a chance to see them.).

- Oh, speaking of shows, I just saw an ad in the LA Weekly that Hot Hot Heat are gonna be at the Roxy on Feb. 25. Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning. And Interpol are going to be at the Grand Olympic (weird, rock shows are hardly ever held there) on Feb. 19; tickets for that go on sale Saturday at 10am (and will probably sell out fast).

- This has nothing to do with music, it's just an insane and nonsensical paper about Oedipus. If I was a teacher, I'd be tempted to give the person an A, just for creativity and hilarity, and hell, I know I'd never have the guts to turn in something like this.