March 2003

Dysrhythmia: My favorite Philadelphia band; missed the first half of their set. LickGoldenSky: Screamy hardcore not unlike other screamy hardcore. Hot Cross: shrieking metal/melodic hardcore hybrid, a la Drowningman. Burnt by the Sun: What Pantera might have sounded like if they ever got into Black Flag. Singer sounds exactly like Phil Anselmo, but does not appear to be a redneck.

I saw Lost in La Mancha last night, a documentary account of visionary filmmaker Terry Gilliam’s ill-fated first stab at realizing his decade-old script for The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. La Mancha is at once comical and devastating, since it is clear that if Gilliam’s Quixote is ever finished, it will be an astounding picture, but the production is plagued by every problem imaginable (and unimaginable). From a creative perspective, this must be the… See more →

After spending hours reading the program guide from cover to cover, I have compiled this list of screenings and events I’m going to try to get to at this year’s Philadelphia Film Festival. I’ve worked out a schedule which—on top of the regular 40 hour work week—would be physically possible, but it’s improbable that I’ll actually make it to everything. It should be noted that there were a lot of other films I wanted to… See more →

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I have purchased my first tube of moustache wax and commenced my self-education on using it for styling the old soup strainer, which is beginning to reach the desired Bill the Butcher proportions (or as close as I’m gonna come, anyway). My hope is to keep it out of my mouth when I’m eating, and, more importantly, to eventually gain membership in the Handlebar… See more →

I was chastised by e-mail this morning for having remained mostly silent on the topic of the war on Iraq. Be assured, in the unlikely event I am transformed into a political pundit, I will gladly let fly with a multitude of uninformed opinions right here on this site. Until then, though, check out how HOT I am.

Lightning Bolt’s Wonderful Rainbow refuses to detach itself from my playlist, and has come dangerously close to bullying the rest of the playlist’s discs into silence. I very much like the other music currently in rotation—such as Isis’s Oceanic and Aereogramme’s Sleep and Release—but have thus far permitted Wonderful Rainbow its thoughtless self-indulgence because it is so damn good that its wild cries for attention simply cannot be ignored. The album is no less… See more →

History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.
—Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain, aka Kurt D. Vonnegut, Jr.

Interpol and The Raveonettes played the Troc last night. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the feedback-drenched Raveonettes, who sounded kind of like a garage-y Jesus & Mary Chain. I think I shall purchase their record. Interpol turned in another stoic performance devoid of spectacle, which is not to say I did not enjoy it. I admit my attention wandered at times (I often wondered, for example, how bored the superfluous keyboard player must be… See more →

Interpol and The Raveonettes played the Troc last night. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the feedback-drenched Raveonettes, who sounded kind of like a garage-y Jesus & Mary Chain. I think I shall purchase their record. Interpol turned in another stoic performance devoid of spectacle, which is not to say I did not enjoy it. I admit my attention wandered at times (I often wondered, for example, how bored the superfluous keyboard player must be… See more →

I waited in line for an hour last night in 20º weather to see Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the first of what is supposed to be many R5 shows at the Starlight Ballroom on 9th St.

The Black Dice opened up. Apparently they decided at some point to take a very different direction from the crazy noisecore stuff I’ve heard. Samplers and effects pedals and loops, oh my! There are lots of people out there… See more →

I have accepted a job in the design department at TLA Video. After nearly fifteen months of unemployment, getting paid to get out of the house will be lovely. And since I got the offer while in the midst of—and will be starting immediately following—a short-notice freelance gig, my excess of free time has vanished very suddenly, forcing me to adjust on the fly. I think this will be a good thing too. Since my… See more →