Big Hair, Big Shows, Big Time

Austin. SXSW. Always hours of pounding the pavement looking for some good music. There is always SO GODDAMN MUCH to see, that whatever I tell you about is simply the tip of the iceberg, as you know. But here's my lame attempt anyhoo:

The Pipettes: totally cute. The girl group thing absolutely did not fall flat live, which, frankly, surprised me. Good job ladies!

Greg Ashley & the Medicine Fuck Dream Road Show: One of those crazy "everyone does a little bit of everything" shows, where it gets a little twangy and gets a whole lot trippy, but is always beyond interesting.

Lily Allen: I think she can melt even the most jaded hipster with her drunken giggles... When she appeared onstage, she proclaimed she'd been drinking beer on the bus the entire day so she was kinda drunk, and that if she'd known the evening was presented by NME she wouldn't have done it. Then she giggled, and everything was ok. Her band was tight, horn section even tighter, and her vocals were spot on and even sassy than on record. Between songs she ragged on the NME, put some guy down for his "tiny penis," told everyone how sick of her single "Smile" she was, and did it dancing along anyway. She was quite a charming bitch, I have to say. I'd have drinks with her!

Honeycut: Bay Area supergroup featuring Bart Davenport and Etienne De Rocher playing bass and harmonizing had me dancing more than anyone else the whole week. It's like super electro funk, Bart's serious soul voice careening over the grooves and delivering all sorts of mayhem. Insanely good stuff. The only problem with the show was the SXSW official playing clockwatcher who kept shoving her cell phone into Bart's face so he could see they were a whole 2 minutes over limit (did no one tell her this was rock and roll???) during the massive "Impeach the President," and Honeycut returned the favor with fake ending after fake ending. Massive showmen - see them in your town!

The Mint Chicks: New wave punk nutjobs out of New Zealand, recalling early Devo (in their scary phase) and very early Talking Heads, but way more spazzy than that... just had the "angular" thing down. I think. There was lots of jumping around to be done. Melodically. Infectious, to be sure!

All Smiles: Caught a tiny bit of this pretty guitar jangly stuff from Jim Fairchild (formerly of Grandaddy) and I liked it. Coming on Dangerbird.

Margot & the Nuclear So & So's: Another one of those really, really exuberant shows were there are lots of people on stage having the time of their lives, playing all kinds of crazy instruments (along with some normal ones) and delivering heartfelt and fun indie pop. It was pretty sweltering in this tent, and we were all melting, but with smiles on our faces.

Booker T (sans MGs), Isaac Hayes, William Bell, Eddie Floyd (Stax 50th anniversary shindig):
Evidently I missed the intro with Isaac Hayes as it took 10 minutes to get everyone inside the building, but he came back later. Booker T got the party started, and just when my friend and I thought the evening was going to be all about the instrumentals, William Bell came on and gave us all his "Private Number." Then Eddie Floyd came on and got us all to 'Knock on Wood" while charming the ladies up front, many years his junior. Isaac returned, and the whole bunch of them did "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" with the audience taking care of the whistling part.

Joan As Police Woman: ...and now for something completely different... Joan Wasser of the Dambuilders, who also plays with Antony and the Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright and Tanya Donnely, did her own thing which was in turns soft and frightening or loud and crazed but always... pretty. Her motto is "Beauty is the new punk rock," and I think that suits her very well.

The Photo Atlas: "You'll feel like you're a 16 year old dance punk watching these guys," my friend warned. Well, kinda, but not really. They were too edgy for that. It was definitely groovy, and intense, and I'd almost want to say more like Girls VS Boys than the Faint... except that both of those bands are sexy and these guys were not. It's almost like they were intense and groovy because they had too much caffeine - but still fun!

Amy Winehouse: "Dude, I heard Pete Townsend was going to play with her tonight." "Where'd you hear that?" "Some guy on the phone at some restaurant." "That sounds like a good rumor to spread!" So we did. And he didn't play with her, but he did show up. So did Wayne Coyne. And so did the Dap-Kings, Sharon Jones backing band, but that was because they were doing double time as Winehouse's band as well. As for Amy? She was a tiny woman with gigantic hair only a serious drag queen can truly appreciate, and a booming voice that channels all the torch and sass available in the world in order to dish it right back out at you. "Back to Black" was the standout for me, and "You Know I'm No Good," but really - it was all great. (Good thing I caught her there as she cancelled the Spaceland gig I was going to see last Tuesday...)

The Black Lips: WOW! These guys were totally out of hand. Kinda like those 60's garage bands that just shouted alot, but were still obviously playing together, yet totally out of their heads. These guys were out of their minds, and balls out rocking. Howling mad. At one point, one of the singers, between lines, turned his head and puked. It happened so fast, we didn't even believe we'd seen it till we noticed just a bit of it drying on his chin. He was completely unfazed. Afterwards, he asked if anyone had any water and that was about it. I hear if a show is going well, he pees himself.

Amy Millan: "So last night, I drank many shots of tequila and stage dived. Just so you know where we are coming from today." The adorable singer from Stars and Broken Social Scene was highlighting her own collection of whiskey soaked tunes, which were just as pretty as anything those other bands have done. "Skinny Boy" alone is worth the price of admission.







Stars of Track & Field: I really do dig these guys live... Crunchy swirly noise intermixed with pretty, soft melodies... "Movies of Antarctica" gets me every time.



(Kevin from SOTAF with the stellar Jeff Klein, being sexy.)


Afterhours: The fact that I still don't have this album is stupid. These insanely rocking Italians are moody beasts, and seeing them live is a "wow" experience every time. The play to stadiums even if the room holds 40 people, they are truly rock and roll, and beautiful at the same time.

Buffalo Tom: I only got to see about 3 songs by these guys as the venue was crazy packed, but those three were good. Bill Janowitz is still Bill Janowitz. And I got to stand next to John Doe the whole time, which was beyond a bonus.

The M's: Friends of Wilco, unite! Chicago indie rockers with a little bit of twang and a little bit of psych to 'em.

You Am I: I saw them 2x in one day. They're from Australia! They don't get to come here that often! They totally rock! I now give people an Australian reference to this band as well - cross the Easybeats with the Saints, and you've got You Am I. And if you don't know any of those bands, then part of your rock'n'roll encyclopedia is missing. You Am I is simply one of the greatest rock bands to ever come out of Oz. Done.

Hoodoo Gurus: One of those 80's/early 90's new wavish guitar bands you forgot about, but you know their songs when you hear them... "I Want You Back," "Bittersweet," "What's My Scene," beautiful pop songs that were done with flair this evening - the crowd made the floor vibrate beneath us and the band was beyond happy to be there.

The Good The Bad & The Queen: Another band I saw twice... I didn't mean too, but I fell in love with Paul Simonon after the first show. This is an album that people either love or hate, it seems. I'm in the love category. For Damon Albarn's sequel to Parklife to rally work, showing the gloomy realities of today, he had to get someone from the Thatcherian era to help out, it seems... And it's a low key dubby affair, more like later Specials to me than either Clash or Blur stuff, but with beautiful hooks courtesy of Damon's voice and Paul's bass. Damon was "in character" the whole way - I'm pretty sure they did the album straight though - but Paul played like a panther prowling the stage with a machine gun. Mesmerizing. And they are both sexy as fuck. Really!


Drag the River: I had no idea that the guy from All was doing boozy country rock.

Cloud Cult: I couldn't really see these guys cuz the venue was tiny, but they rocked and made peculiar funky noises, and there were people painting while they were performing. So it was definitely interesting, from what I could see!

Terry Reid: A friend of mine got me into this British folkie who was a contemporary of the Beach Boys in their druggy years (or as he put it, "I went on the boat with Dennis, and lived!"). He had some truly beautiful borderline easy listening tunes back in the day, and he delivered them with quite a sense of humor and a bit more Van Morrison styling than I was expecting, but it was way cool.

Sharon Jones: I love the funk out of this woman. She really is the female James Brown.

The Beasts of Bourbon: This Australian supergroup (which means they are made up of people no one outside of Oz has ever heard of) is like an accessible Birthday Party to me... or Jesus Lizard... Very much a blues rock barroom band, but growling and mean and hilarious and in your face. I heard that back in Oz, they wowed the likes of Rollins and Iggy Pop with their ability to rock.

...and the Saints: An Australian band that made a dent in the punk rock scene with "(I'm) Stranded" back in '77, Chris Bailey ripped out buzzy guitars and pissy vocals which I never considered actually all that punk - it was just fast at the time so it got lumped in there. But they also did some good pop, and they played a fun fast set at the close of SXSW. It even had Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde jumping around barefoot and throwing devil signs.

And that's all. For now. Of COURSE I'll have more stories to tell you later!

Teaser Report

I just got back from SXSW. I think these are all the acts I saw:

The Pipettes, Greg Ashley & the Medicine Fuck Dream Road Show, Lily Allen, Honeycut, the Mint Chicks, Margot & the Nuclear So & So's, Booker T (sans MGs), Isaac Hayes, William Bell, Eddie Floyd (Stax 50th anniversary shindig), Joan As Police Woman, The Photo Atlas, Amy Winehouse, the Black Lips, Amy Millan, Stars of Track & Field, Afterhours, Buffalo Tom, The Ms, You Am I, Hoodoo Gurus, The Good The Bad & The Queen, Drag the River, Cloud Cult, Terry Reid, Sharon Jones, The Beasts of Bourbon and the Saints.

Not as many as last year, but I'm a little under the weather. And I had meetings.

Will tell some stories in the days to come...

Rock N Soul Little Radio

Here's the playlist for last night, where I got my girl groove on (with moments of hippiedom):

Little Radio 3/8/07

Disco 1 - The Mess Hall
Zodiac Killer's Son - The Time Flys
Great Northern Stomp - Otis Spann
Bim Bom - Astrud Gilberto
Ping Pong - Stereolab
Nowhere - Paula Frazier & Tarnation
Laughing - David Crosby
Heavenly Pop Hit - The Chills
The View From the People Wall - Mahogany
He Was Really Sayin' Something - The Velvelettes
Put Yourself in My Place - Jan Panter
Back to Black - Amy Winehouse
Reflections - The Supremes
I Can't Let Go - Evie Sands
Come See About Me - The Afghan Whigs
Wild Vanilla - Kristin Hersh
Headsfull - Amy Millan
Revolver - Isobell Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Faith to Arise - Terry Reid
Watch the Sunrise - Big Star
Just Ain't No Love - Barbara Acklin
Ooh Child - Dusty Springfield
Oh No Not My Baby - Maxine Brown
Llorando - Rebekah Del Rio
Too Tough To Die - Martina Topley Bird
We Fucked It All Up - Machine Gun Blues
Nature of the Experiment - Tokyo Police Club
My Boy Lollipop - Minnie Small
Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me - The Pipettes
Sophisticated Boom Boom - The Goodies
Indian Ropeman - Julie Driscoll w/ Brian Auger & the Trinity
The Rooster - OutKast
How Long Do I Have to Wait For You - Sharon Jones
Inner City Blues - Marvin Gaye
Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever - Delroy Wilson
Carry, Go, Bring, Come - Justin Hinds & the Dominoes

And next week, we're all off to Austin... see you there?

East Vs. West

Today on Little Radio, I had a special guest... My friend Tanya, visiting from Berlin, did some tag tam battle on the turntables with me and whipped out some fabulous new stuff as well as speaking sexily in German for any of the folks out there who have a thing for that.

So here's the playlist!

Little Radio 3/1/07

Somebody Led Me Away - Neko Case
Be For Real - Marlena Shaw
Blaulicht and Zwielicht - Element of Crime
Herculean - The Good The Bad and the Queen
Eternal Flame - Joan As Police Woman
I'm Fried - The Stooges
Good Not Great - Mission of Burma
I Can Only Give You Everything - MC5
The Resurrection Machine - Teledubgnosis
Shame For You - Lily Allen
Carnival - The Cardigans
Blessed Night - Howling Bells
B4 We Go Under - Barbara Manning
Burning - The Whitest Boy Alive
Publish My Love - Rogue Wave
Turbulence (Bis remix) - Arab Strap
Barracuda - Miho Satori
Alles Was Lebt Bewegt Sich - Barbara Morgenstern
You Ain't the Only Man (God Created) - Jeanie Reynolds
Crumbs Off the Table - Laura Lee
i'll Be your NETting - Belka and Strelka
Crystalline Green - Goldfrapp
Hungriges Herz - Mia.
Waking Up - Elastica
I Make Hamburgers - The Whitlams
Young Folks - Peter Bjorn & John
Mr. Grieves - TV on the Radio

Next week will totally be all American again. Kinda.

2/15/07 - Oz Playlist, Part Deux

More and more Australia music... the second and final solid shot. I must say, good show tonight! No technical glitches, the regular mild distractions from friends, tons of fantastic music. Thanks, Oz.

2/15/07 Little Radio Playlist
Oz - Part II

Stranded - The Saints
You Got Nothing I Want - Cold Chisel
Viva La Fever - Snowman
Disoc 1 - The Mess Hall
Misery Loves Company - The Devoted Few
Explain - Sarah Blasko
Lovely Time - Crayon Fields
This Time - The Drones
Future - Cut Copy
Kitty in the Middle - Presets
Pines - Death Mattel
Devil Song - The Red Sun Band
Kosciusko - Midnight Oil
Big Black Car - Mexico City
Afternoon - Big Low
I Don't Care - Youth Group
Life Styling - Muzzy Pep
I Want You Back - Hoodoo Gurus
Changin' the Weather - Kill Devil Hills
She Don't Do Dat - Spurs For Jesus
Chase the Dragon - Beasts of Bourbon
Get You Up - I Love Space
Sleepin' - Sun (remix by Hrvatski)
Looking for a Rabbit - Laura Imbruglia
Friday Heading North - Errol Jim
Casino Lights - Richmond Fontaine
Any Old Time - Tim Rogers & Tex Perkins
See Ya Home Tonight - The Pictures
Good Times - Inxs and Jimmy Barnes

And indeed, they were good times, mate...

Strange Angel

Obviously, I like music. And I am a HUGE fan of Kristin Hersh (formerly Throwing Muses, currently 50 Foot Wave, and always, full-on solo artist). Almost every time she releases a solo album, I'm in the midst of a personal crisis with a boy. Generally, it's the same two boys (only because I'm such a fan of long term relationships). The first time I met her was to do an interview at KALX, Berkeley about a decade ago, and I mentioned this in passing, jokingly. She responded, "Well, I guess I'm gonna have to just stop putting out records so you can have a love life!"

Of course, I couldn't let her do THAT... So here she is with a new record, and here I am with a new crisis. A bit different this time around though.

In the midst of my ongoing (but somehow getting used to it) crisis, which involves one extremely sick mom, I began to take stock. Not purposely - but you know, when shit hits the fan you sort of re-evaluate what's around you and how it can back you up. Mainly I'm talking about friends. I've always believed that Friends Are the Family You Create for Yourself. And I am lucky enough to have amazing friends, some I've known my whole life, some half my life, some just a few years... but they pretty much all fucking rule.

So when one of my friends chose this moment in time to go AWOL and subsequently unpleasant, well, it was a bummer.

Then I got my new Kristin Hersh CD back. I'd had it for a bit and listened... thought it was ok... lent it to a friend while I went traveling and wound up being away from home much longer than I thought. When I finally made it back, I was able to sit down and give a listen fully to "Learn to Live Like A Star." One song leapt out at me, because, well, I'd just felt that way a week before! Like exactly.

Of course, I'm over it now. The friend bit, that is. I am still fortunate to have great friends and they have never been so great as they are right now. But sometimes, someone bums you out and there ain't no fixing it. And right now, I sadly have much, much more important things to tend to than any additional drama, even if it means losing a friend for good.

But I really wish Ms. Hersh would stop singing it, because it seems like then I wind up living it, just for a moment.

Okay, I really don't wish that.

Kristin Hersh will be at Amoeba Hollywood this Saturday (2/17) at 2pm, and at Amoeba San Fransisco this Sunday (2/18) at 2pm, if you wanna catch her!

*******************************************

Wild Vanilla

Wild vanilla
Clean dreams downcast eyes
If you lived here you’d been home now and suicidal
That was one striking phone call boy,
Your voice at a fever pitch
And here I thought that you're just full of white noise, called to bitch

You messing with my head makes a terrible noise

Wild vanilla
Green eyes and greasy hair
Cross an ocean and you (vague and itchy) belong there
You are whizzing past my ears a
Shit scared domestic god
You make the gypsy in me horny for a flower garden

You messing with my head makes a terrible noise

Li'l Radio 2/8/07 - the fucked up Oz edition

So I had this great idea: for my triumphant return to the Little Radio cyber waves, why not play all the music I bought/received while in Australia? And a couple I already had? No brainer. Except that in my rush to leave the house and get to the station on time, I spilled everything out of my bag and onto my cat, who needed immediate apologies. A few important CDs slipped under the bed and the show was cut short.

Then there were the technical difficulties, like a fussy CD player and me forgetting to turn off the mic for a Guitar Hero interlude.

Welcome home! Here's the playlist for tonight:

Her Own Life - Tex Perkins
Surly - Laura Imbruglia
You Should See Her Now - Tim Rogers
The Black Tide - Snowman
The Weight of the Sea - Bluebottle Kiss
Are You the One - The Presets
Don't Even See Me - Dimmer
(untitled track) - I Love Space
What A Hell'uva Woman - Blue Ruin
Tryin' To Forget About You - The Kill Devil Hills
Would It Be So Strange - Crayon Fields
Good Times - Easybeats
This Is Your Last Chance to Be famous, My Love- The Mint Chicks
I Got You - Split Enz
Diversions - Betchadupa
Deanna (acoustic) - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
If You Never Leave - The Pictures
A Month of Sundays - The Church
Sleepin' - Sun
Estuary Bed - The Triffids
Thuggery - You Am I
Time Stands Still - Cut Copy

I may just do all Oz next week too... stay tuned!

Remember Me Like This

One week back in the States... one week of losing my lovely hard earned Sydney tan under the harsh hospital flourescents I've been subjected to since last Tuesday. When your mom is in the hospital, you go. Differences, grievances, difficulties aside to be dealt with later.

I knew my mom was sick the day I flew out. I found out that day... "Go," said Dad. "We'll just be doing tests, nothing much will change." Sadly, that wasn't true. Alot changed, and my mom was hospitalized the day after I returned.

My hometown, Encinitas, is alot like small towns in Australia. In fact, I've often told people that I think what I like so much about Australia is that it reminds me of the San Diego I grew up in. The beaches for sure. My parents' place is about 3 miles off the coast - we used to ride our bikes to the beach as kids. Grab some Mexican food for lunch, stay there all day...

The hospital is right by my high school, both of which have ocean views. It's colder here than it was in Sydney (well, it is summer down there) and a bit cloudy, but that Pacific sparkles just the same for me. It has always been a calming thing for me, my ocean, my private beach, my Encinitas.

Having the memories of my recent Sydney sensory overload crashing with my current surreal family beachfront drama is making one song stick in my head... It doesn't really have much to do with either, but it's there anyway. It's beautiful Van Morrison rip off by an Australian band, the Triffids, called "New Year's Greeting (The Country Widower)." When I was in Sydney in 1999, leaving on December 30th (I was determined to do the year 2000 with my friends back home in Cali), this was the last song I heard on the radio (Triple J, yum). It's on their last album, The Black Swan ('89), which is long out of print... I heard they were being reissued in the UK, but God knows... Singer/songwriter David McComb passed away after a car accident in 1999.

I have it on a tattered old mixed tape my ex-boyfriend Tim made for me to listen to the first time I traveled to Australia and New Zealand. If you can find it, give it a listen. It's beautiful. Thunderstorms and peace, moonlight and chaos, sort of how things seem to be right now...

New Year's Greeting (The Country Widower)

I got a little place to myself up on Stony Ridge
I got it made in the shade
Sleep in till the afternoon - leave my bed unmade...
No one breathing down my neck,
Black coffee in the shade
Whistle a little of whatever AM radio plays
As for letters and provisions -
Well, it's a long walk to the cornershop
It's January - it's a big decision
To either think of you, or not

And I'll send you a new year's kiss and I hope you will remember me like this...
I'll send you a new year's kiss...

I've got two good arms one bad leg,
One weekly social security check
I can make an honest dollar but I can't keep track of where it went
I got a good black dog, so I don't need a phone
He smells bad weather coming in his old dog bones
Don't need no eyewitness news, no 7/11
No eyewitness news, no 7/11
No southern fried chicken, no man from Prudential give me
Good times, easy terms, eyewitness news...

In the evening when the skyline is cut in two
By a figure closely resembling you
When matches won't light, and I'll double take
Wind shudders to a halt, and maiden roads are washed out
And all around, as far as the eye can see
And all around, as far as the eye can see
And all around, as far as the night can see
just the gaping mouths of you and me

(I'll send you a new year's kiss... I'll send you a new year's kiss...)

Well I hear you're riding a new horse in the sun
I hear you're riding a new horse in the sun
Sure hope those Sydney shoeshine boys don't take you for a run
I still want you back when it's all said and done

Let the sky roll back
Let the ground give way
The season's upside down
The wind has turned around
To either think of you
...or not

(ps: RIP Juli's mom)

Rockaway Beach

This weekend in Sydney was, well, sweltering. In many ways.

Saturday was just a nice stroll through Newtown, which reminds me alot of Berkeley. Little cinema playing the indie films, a couple nice record shops, thrift stores (didn't find anything good though), boutiques, and about a million Thai restaurants. And cafes. The main drag, King Street, goes on for a while and there were plenty of folks milling about. Hipster couples, lesbians that look like 12 year old boys, babies with Ramones t-shirts on - you know.

Saturday night though... Well, that was some trouble. Probably because I was hanging out with my other friend Nick, an absolute wild man who knows anyone in any band in this country (I'm convinced). We started out at the Hopetoun Hotel, which had a room perhaps the size of the Silverlake Lounge crammed packed with people. (Keep in mind it had been nearly 100 degrees this day.) We checked out a band called Belles Will Ring, who were pretty amazing. Anyone who is a fan of that current wave of dreamy popsters who have a touch of 60's to them (think Rogue Wave or Fruit Bats) would dig this band, and they tossed in a little shoegaze as well. Fantastic.

They were followed by Dappled Cities Fly. This was a band a friend had emailed me about earlier... "Since you're in Australia, Mo, see if this band is playing." Then Nick mentioned, the same day, that they were playing. "You know, they recorded in LA - with someone from Grandaddy." "Really?" I said. "Was it at New Monkey Studios, perhaps?" It was. My friends own that studio. Formerly Elliott Smith's studio. Go figure.

So the band was fun - they came in with giant balloons and proceeded to nerdrock hard with occasional new wave keyboards. (I kept thinking of the Shins, although that isn't totally right.) I wasn't as into them as the other band, but they were still fun. To be fair, though, by this point the entire party I was with was well under the influence of drinks and a few mind altering substances, so we left and went to Vegas.

Vegas is a "secret" club (I stopped into it the night of the Twilight Singers show, but couldn't stay) which is tucked away within a totally gross dance club. I guess you have to wind your way through the Euro trash to get to the cool kids? Regardless, we went there with a guy named Bo who it turns out was in a band of note whose name I've completely forgotten at the moment. Damn drugs! We were joined by his bandmate Nick (everyone is named Nick here!) for a while. I was introduced to the DJ - a sweet young thing named Owen - who was doing mostly garage rock and actually had my Mummies request. This means that when it was played, I got up and yelled a bit.

Once the "influences" wore off, I was wiped out and wandered home. The next day was a beach day, my last full day in Australia...

I took the bus to the Waverly Cemetary - one of my favorite places in Sydney just because it's so beautiful. An old, and old school, cemetary, stacked with marble angels and crosses, on a beach cliffside. Since it was a gorgeous day, the blue sky and the blue sea behind these bleached white memorials just wowed me. Like last time.

Then a short walk to some other beaches before landing at Tamarama (which I hear is nicknamed Glamarama), a beautiful and sundrenched beach. Today I actually took a swim. I couldn't tell you how - perhaps it was just that hot - because the water was fucking freezing. I'd been cooling off in the water on previous beach trips, but today it seemed positively arctic. (At a lifeguard tower, they had noted: "air temp: 97 degrees. water temp: 57 degrees. Can't remember it ever being that cold!" So there you go.)

After Tamarama, it was a walk along the cliffs to Bondi, where hung out and read for a while before meeting with my other friend Nick for dinner. This Nick I've known since about 1994, a silly and vibrant person with, truly, a heart of gold. Talya couldn't join us, but we had some great quality time before saying goodbye. We even drove around and tried to find a place to view Comet McNaught, a comet in the Southern Hemisphere visible to the naked eye (thanks for the info, Dad!). I'd been thwarted by tall buildings and city lights all week, this evening it was a hazy sky and no stars were visible...

And that's it. I'm on my way home. The whole time I've been here, I've had one song running through my head... The Church's "A Month of Sundays." The tone of it is so beautiful, the sound of it reminds me of this place. Find it online and give it a listen if you can.

Bye, Sydney...

A Month of Sundays

Badmans woman with that look in her eye
You stop to wonder as she passes by
Something inside you is never the same
Something outside you is always to blame
Follow her home where she lives with some friends
They have some good things to add to the blend
The games expanded, invaded the place
Youre the only one whos forgotten his face

Youre saying no no no I must be on my way
But it really has been a pleasant night
And you go so slow hope they'll ask you to stay
And indifference gives you a fright

Walking outside you come to a door
You go inside and you wonder what for
At least its good to be out of the wind
You turn around and the clocks all begin
Just like the winter your memory thaws
Just like the ocean your memory pours
So many pieces to match or to find
So many doubts to have in one mind

It's hard to see how the tables have turned
It's hard to see how the people have learned
It's hard to watch the past drizzling past
It's hard to watch them picking the cast
And it stacks up badly that it never makes sense
You sense that sensation is whos paying the rent
And she beckons to you with her fingers and lies
She says: cant you slice the price of your paradise...

Only A Nobody Walks in L.A.

On thing I really enjoy about my vacations is that I do lots of walking. Lots. Like miles and miles every day. Yesterday turned into one of those days.

I started out by taking to ferry to Watson's Bay, which was a beautiful little fishing inlet over a 100 years old. I had intended to wander up to Lady Bay, an "exclusive gay nudist" beach. Although Talya and I are neither "exclusive" or "gay," we opted to try the "nudist" bit. But there was no bus service to the beach, and the walk would have taken an hour, and we already had a hike planned, and then had to depart from a different ferry...

So no nudie action. We did make it to Shark Beach though for more average topless stuff.

We also went to Vaucluse House, which is just an old mansion in a rich suburb overlooking the beach. Beautiful grounds with a creek and everything. There was some sort of fashion shoot going on, and as we walked past along the trail, a guy from the shoot made sure to let us know "We're doing a shoot here, so don't get in the way."

My immediate response was, "Please. I'm from L.A."

What I found most interesting about the history of the family that lived in Vaucluse House was that, although they were rich, they were outcast by "Sydney Society" because they came from poor origins. Unmarried convict parents, that sort of thing. Rose from the depths to become monetarily successful, had a great family life, but rejected by society. What I find ridiculous about this is that the majority of white folks on this continent sprang from the same roots - it was founded mainly by England's rejects: convicts and the like. There wasn't a whole lot of "noble" blood here to begin with.

So anyway...

The hours long trek back to Rose Bay took us along clifftops and through bushland with massive spiders and all sorts of crawly things we heard but didn't see. I escaped with only 2 mosquito bites.

I get teased for walking in LA, but walking is a pretty awesome thing. You see all kinds of little things you would miss otherwise. And in a place like Australia, you better be paying attention or something can bite you on the ass. Literally. With lots of venom. I was lucky it was just a li'l ole mozzy.

Thank You For the Music

I did three things of note today. Touched a koala, bought shitload of records, and got drunk at the Annandale Hotel.

I went to the zoo. I know, I know, SO touristy, but I fuckin' like the zoo. Especially when you're in a country filled with freaky animals (only New Zealand can top it for the pure freak factor). I walked right up to a wallaby for a pic; it absolutely did not care. But the best is that if you pay a little extra, you can get right up in with the koalas. Now, they are pretty much stoned out of their minds all the time on eucalyptus, so they don't even notice you're there. But the one I stood next to woke up when I got there, and started scratching himself, like THERE, when I sidled up to him. Such a boy! But very soft. Kinda like my cat.

After the zoo, I went to the amazing Red Eye Records for some shopping. I essentially spent the equivalent of my rent there. (I'm only joking a little.) A nice guy named Matt helped me out. I showed him what I was getting that I already knew, and he added on. Only bands from Oz & a couple NZ ones I had to catch up on. As we talked a bit, he was incredibly impressed that I A) had worked info at Amoeba ("the best record store in the world, I'm told!") and B) had DJed at KALX for a decade. Made me very proud of my alma maters (or however you spell that).

Then, on to the Annandale with my friend Nick. The Annandale is a bit like Spaceland - sort of the up-and-coming spot for bands breaking through, cool new stuff, etc. Here were the cute hipster boys! Bonus. We had a couple schooners of New (pints of Toohney's, I think) and I got drunk. I also was enthralled by Gareth Liddiard and Mike Noga, of the band the Drones, who were absolutely amazing. Very intense - I guess as a band they rock pretty hard, so I was seeing an acoustic performance which was unusual for them on all accounts. I felt pretty lucky. Headlining was Loene Carmen, who was magical in her own right. Sort of an Aussie cross between Hope Sandoval and Bjork, with dreamy (but not reverby) guitar. Wonderful.

Music was what brought me to Australia the first time around, and I'm glad it's as great as I remembered...

Black Hole Sun

Something happened to me yesterday that has never happened to me before. I got a sunburn.

This is really quite shocking. I know that Australia is the place where the ozone hole resides, and I took extra care to SPF up (even though I have a nice natural pigment that usually withstands that whole burning thing), but I guess I forgot yesterday when I went for my walk around the harbor and now I have a lovely burn that traces my tank top.

So much for the topless sunbathing effect from Bondi.

Regardless, I hopped back on the ole cancer horse and took the ferry to lovely Manly Beach today, where I wandered to the far, far end of the beach. Away from screaming children and men in speedos (this beach was a bit more touristy than Bondi). There were a couple surfers and a few other gals going topless, so I again joined in. Kinda. Had to sort of cover that burn. I'm going to have all sorts of confusing lines when I get back.

The ferry ride back was wonderful (thanks in part to some home made ice cream I'd picked up along the way), but the best thing about it was the fact that I had two lovely old ladies to eavesdrop on. They had obviously been friends for ages. They were talking about art and culture and architecture and men. At one point, Old Swedish lady pointed at a restaurant next to the Opera House and said, "I had a nice lunch there with a man - but I've always wondered what dinner would be like." Old English friend said, "Why didn't you two have dinner?" "Well, he was 80 years old and won't go out at night anymore."

This made me chuckle a bit, and they caught me. Old Swedish lady said, "We take what we can get!" and we all laughed. I said, " Are you kidding? I don't even get lunch!" They liked that. It turned out they had been friends for 60 years, having met on family vacations in England, and stayed close all these years. Swedish lady lives in Sydney now, and English lady visits her every summer. When they got off the ferry, they were giggling about something... It was just so nice, to see old friends like that. It made me feel especially lucky to have as many friends as I do, whom I've known forever. And hope to keep knowing.

And maybe one day we'll take some exotic vacations together and giggle about men. (I'm looking at you, Rachael.)

After I cleaned up, I ate the fanciest and tastiest dinner I've ever had in my whole life, got hit on hardcore by a nerdy Italian man, and checked out the sky because my Dad wants me to get a picture of this comet that's just come into Sydney's skyline. I didn't see it tonight, but I've got a few more days to find it...

Take A Walk on the Wild Side

Today involved lots and lots of walking. And looking at prehistoric birds, amazing panoramas, and loads of water. Even more than at the beach yesterday.

I met my friend Talya at Circular Quay, which is pretty much the main transport hub in Sydney and right next to the Opera House. And the Opera House is truly a beautiful thing, up close and personal. The tiles have a lovely shimmer... I've been in love with it since the first time I saw it. We went to walk to Harbor Bridge. Now, there's a walk you can do in teams, tied together with ropes, which takes you over the top of the thing for the best view ever. You pay for this view by handing over a pile of cash and all of your fears. We kept our fears and our money and went up the 200 stairs to the museum bit which had just as lovely a view, without potential deadly results.

Then we went to the botanical gardens where the fruit bats were stretching in their palm trees and the giant black headed bald crane like things were trying to steal our sandwiches. Don't even get me started on the giant cockatoos, the bastards. But it was beautiful, just trudging along the harbor.

We also took a ferry to Luna Park, where Talya then confessed she wouldn't ride any rollercoasters with me. Why is it so hard to find a rollercoaster buddy these days? Sigh...

A trip to the Sydney tower was next for more touristy views, to be capped by the OzTrek. It was mandatory. It was drek. A very low rent version of a Disneyland "Soaring Over California" thing, except with more whiplash and a corny narrator. But kinda fun anyway.

Then a stop in the Strand, a gorgeous mall built in 18-something or other filled with Australian designer clothes that would have looked great on us if we had loads of cash. So where are my rich Aussie hunky men?

I know, I keep adding qualifications. But you know what? I still have one hell of a tan.

Let the Sunshine In

Yesterday was totally all about the beach. Beach beach beach. Bondi Beach, to be exact. The place where The Oils (Midnight Oil) got their start. A former working man's beach which was most recently the sight of the Olympic volleyball tournaments.

After a bit of confusion trying to meet Nick & Talya (it's both glorious to be without a cellphone and annoying, but there are payphones everywhere), I wound up doing a little bit of beach shopping (more dresses - I'm becoming a complete dress queen) and I just went to the water.

Bondi Beach is a glorious swath of light sand, surrounded by wedges of stone and tidepools that would make my Dad drool. On one end were the children and the dogs, on the other were the surfers, and inbetween were the common folk like myself.

I chose the surfer side.

I spent the day reading topless. Oh yes, you can do the topless thing here! Fortunately, I was all one color anyway so it wasn't like I was suddenly flashing anything too blinding. And I was surrounded by other girls for the wandering surfers to check out as well. I felt a little naughty, but it was far too fun.

I was reading "Lords of Chaos," that book about the Norweigan death metal scene where the guys in the "Black Circle" go about burning churches and killing strangers because they know that is how to truly be "evil." It's a fascinating read. After a couple hours on the beach I had noticed a group of crazy Asian dudes, all older - like in their 60's - wandering the beach and asking groups of girls if they could take pictures. One of them meandered over to me... thankfully, I was lying on my stomach at this point so he couldn't get the full frontal.

He squatted alongside me and smiled. "Yes?" I said. He pointed at himself and said, "I am from Korea." I pointed at myself and said, "California." (I tend to respond with "California" if anyone asks me where I'm from. I like that better than the United States.) He said, "I am from South Korea." I responded, "I am from Los Angeles." He looked at me wistfully and said, "Can you speak Korean?" I answered, "I can speak no Korean at all, sorry." (I've been mistaken for alot of things, but Korean ain't one of them. He looked very sad for a minute, then leaned over and put his hands on my book. It happened to be open to a picture of Dead from the group Mayhem after blowing his brains out (said brain sitting on the floor and the walls covered in blood). He sort of caressed the book and I lamely said, "Um, it's about heavy metal?" Then he sadly walked away.

At the end of my day I had some fish and chips on the seaside and convinced the hunky guy behind the counter to take a break and sit with me for a minute. He was funny, said he wasn't going to give me my food unless I gave him a smile and I said, "In that case, you're stuck sitting with me, because my laugh is better than the smile." Sold! Good one, huh? But I left him and his pooka shell necklace at Bondi, and went back to my place in CBD (downtown) for a wash before heading out for a walk in nighttime Sydney.

Lost in Wonderamaland

I'm in Sydney, Australia. The weather is beautiful - it's the summer I missed in '06. I've already done lots of wandering, found myself in a secret "rock and roll" club, seen my friends the Twilight Singers perform a terrific show, caught a movie, done some shopping, seen some friends... and only have scant minutes here before I head off to the gorgeous Bondi Beach for a day of lazing under the ozone hole. Still distracted by troubles at home, but there's nothing like crashing waves on sandy shores at shark infested beaches to help you think less of that...

Greg said on Saturday night that I was already talking like an Australian. I tried to tell him that I always seem to pick up mannerisms like that and he goes, "Mo, I get it. You're a myna bird. I just get to bust your balls for it." So when I get back, if I'm still saying things like, "I'll ring you up so we can go for a bite and perhaps a bit of a drink, that would be fantastic," just think it's cute before it wears off.

Oh, and this computer won't let me check my own profile because evidently there are naughty words there, so if you are commenting... it'll be news to me for another week or so.

I already don't want to come home. Can't I just play on the beach with some hunky Aussie guy who just wants a little pash & dash? Well, that remains to be seen... ;)

So, armed with the hottest bikini I've ever had, an adorable sundress and unlaced Keds (flats, people - I'm actually wearing flats), I'm off to the beach. I hope y'all don't hate me too much.

XO

Myna

Lucky Number 7

The 7" Special, part 2
Dang, I gots me some cool 7"s!

Little Radio Playlist 12/21/06
First Day of Winter Edition

7"inches only (who wants less?)

That's Rock and Roll - Shaun Cassidy
Hideaway - Comet Gain
I Second That Emotion - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
Prove It - Betty Everett
Raspberry Beret - Prince
Bad Ninja - Rocket From the Crypt
Stronger Than Dirt - The Mummies
Stepping Stone - The Monkees
Pop Music - M
Sweat - Shizuo
Sara Smile - Hall & Oates
Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
What Goes Up - The Clientele
Talking Loud & Clear - O.M.D.
Cup to the Wall - Satisfact
Press Play & Record - Lois
Operator - Actionslacks
I Want You Back - Hoodoo Gurus
I Wanna Be With You - The Raspberries
The Man Who Sold the World - David Bowie
I'm Ready - Twilight Singers (Lo Fidelity Allstars Mix)
You Ain't the Only Man (God Created) - Jeanie reynolds
Jackie Blue - Ozark Mountain Daredevils
Hello Hello Hi - From Bubblegum to Sky
Here Kitty Kitty - Lunchbox
(a little bit of "Feed the World" from those Band-Aid people)
Late Bar - Duran Duran
I Feel Love - Donna Summer
Kids In America - Kim Wilde
Driver's Seat - Sniff N the Tears
Red Eye to Nashville - Brillantines
Breathless - X
I'll Catch You When You Fall - Betty Lavette
Plus de Liasons - Tindersticks
Careless Memories - Duran Duran

Next week will be that "Top Ten" type stuff, I promise...

We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off

Li'l Radio 12/7/06 - the naked edition

No, I wasn't naked, but there was a photo shoot going on in the warehouse that night and other people were naked. And cold. Very, very cold. Poor girls! (If I could remember the name of the dude taking the pictures, I'd provide the link for you... but all I remember was that he had a bunch of Morrissey tattoos.)

Little Radio Playlist

Bear Up Bison - Shonen Knife
You Can't Hurry Love - The Concretes
A View of the City From A Plane - Oranger
Eddie's Gun - The Kooks (live @ Abbey Road)
Sons & Daughters - The Decemberists
Faith to Arise - Terry Reid
Rockin' Chair - The Band
Hospital Beds - Cold War Kids
New Orlans - Elvis Presley
Hip Hug Her - Booker T & the MGs
I'm A Good Woman - Cold Blood
Valley of the Afro Temple - Eccentric Afros
Hong Kong Garden - Siouxsie & the Banshees
More Is More - Komeda
If You Want Me To Stay - Sly & the Family Stone
Exotic Talk - RJD2
Sweet Talk - Spank Rock
Shake Your Rump - Beastie Boys
Shut Up & Sit Down - The Sultans
Motorcycle - Love & Rockets
Visible Cow - Barkmarket
99 Problems - Jay-Z
Maniac Blues - Bellrays
Polar Bear - Ride
The Lure Would Prove Too Much - Twilight Singers
Red Guitar - David Sylvian
Do It Again - Steely Dan
How Do I Let A Good Man Down - Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
Grapefruit Moon - Tom Waits
Weary Memory - Iron & Wine
Falling In Love Again - Marlene Dietrich

Baby It's Cold Outside

It's getting brisk in LA... for the moment. Tonight's show was done with nippy fingertips, but lots o' love.

Little Radio Playlist 11/30/06

Satin Chic - Goldfrapp
Lighthouse Girl - Blue Ruin
The Ship Song - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Furnace Room Lullaby - Neko Case
Nowhere Again - Secret Machines
The Cutter - Echo & the Bunnymen
Sex Beat - The Gun Club
Praise Is Poison - The Clean Prophets
Anyone Who Had A Heart - Dusty Springfield
Ivo - Cocteau Twins
America's Boy - Broadcast
Shadow - Bailterspace
Show Buisiness - Howlin Rain
Sweet Thing - Van Morrison
Head Home - Midlake
Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
I Bleed (acoustic) - Pixies
Mr. Grieves - TV on the Radio
Close To Tears - Actionslacks
Remake/Remodel - Roxy Music
Valentine - Lois
Skidmarks on My Heart - Go Gos
Someday Someway - Marshall Crenshaw
As Does the Sun - Look Blue Go Purple
Half Blast - Throwing Muses
Special - Mew
Tears - Chameleons
Don't Change - Inxs
Moon River - Afghan Whigs

...till next week!

New Time, Same Bat Channel

NOW! From 8-10 pm PST every Thursday...

Hey - You can email me requests and I'll check them and everything. (Note that I didn't say I'd actually PLAY them... Well, you never know.) Try it: mo@littleradio.com

Little Radio Playlist 11-16-06

5:15 - The Who
Wildcat - Ratatat
Oliver Square - Cadence Weapon
Reeling - PJ Harvey
Necessary Spinning - Translator
Shake Some Action - The Flamin' Groovies
Ah La La - The Takeover UK
When My Baby's Beside Me - Big Star
Baby You're A Rich Man - Beatles
Sugar Sugar - The Archies
Feeling of Gaze - Twilight Singers
Plainsong - The Cure
Tonight - TV On The Radio
Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
Love Makes A Woman - Barbara Acklin
Dreaming - Blondie
Fire Engines - Aislers Set
Long Live Love - Sandy Shaw
Sugar - You Am I
Cinnamon Girl - Neil Young
Vamos - Pixies
Right On - Ray Barretto
Indian Ropeman - Julie Driscoll with Brian Auger & the Trinity
Standing in the Way of Control - The Gossip (LeTigre remix)
Your Revolution - DJ Vadim w/ Sarah Jones
Woman of the Ghetto - Ohyllis Dillon
Dollar - Rocket From the Crypt
My Boy Lollipop - Millie Small
Strength - Comet Gain
No Depression - Uncle Tupelo

Get Into the Groove

Because of the goddamn traffic issue, the good people at Little Radio are letting me DJ from 8-10. Glory glory!

So, here is the last Thursday 6-8 show I'll be doing for some time...

Little Radio Playlist 11-9-06

Rumble - You Am I
I Like It - Ike & Tina Turner
Flashback - The Twilight Singers
You're No Good - Linda Ronstadt
Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth
Tango - Throwing Muses
Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
Drain Cosmetics - Serena Maneesh
Laughing - David Crosby
St. Augustine - Band of Horses
Rags & Old Iron - Oscar Brown Jr.
Poor Girl - X
Wouldn't It Be Nice - Beach Boys
Wraith Pinned to the Mist & Other Games - Of Montreal
Death Prayer in Heaven's Gate - Howlin' Rain
Across the Great Divide - The Band
She's A Burglar - Howard Tate
Mercy Mercy Mercy - Marlena Shaw
After It All - Cat Power
Love Me or Hate Me - Lady Sovereign (Missy Elliott remix)
Touch Me - Spank Rock
Meeting Paris Hilton - CSS
Waterloo - Abba
Set Out Running - Neko Case
Saint John - Cold War Kids
I'm A Good Woman - Cold Blood
Lover & A Friend - Eddie Bo & Inez Cheatham
That's the Way It's Gotta Be - The Poets
The Lure Would Prove Too Much - Twilight Singers

And that's all she wrote. Check ya next Thursday at 8pm!

The "Traffic Made Me Do It" Show

I didn't think it was possible, but traffic is getting worse in LA. Last week, it took me nearly 3 hours to get home from work - a 12 mile commute. Today, it took me almost 2 t go the 9 miles necessary to get to Little Radio downtown. I had visions of using my truck to knock other cars out of my way. I put my head in my hands and cried. I had a big shot of Jameson's on ice when I got to the studios.

Then things were a little better.

Little Radio Playlist 10/19/06

Watch the Sunrise - Big Star
Queen of the Surface Streets - DeVotchka
The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen
Submarine Bells - The Chills
The Paris Match - Style Council
Listen Up - The Gossip
Loud Pipes - Ratatat
The Lonely Ones - The Takeover UK
Ever Thought of Coming Back - Kelley Stoltz
Busby Berkeley Dreams - The Magnetic Fields
This Flight Tonight - Joni Mitchell
Shakin' Sugar - Jay Bennett & Edward Burch
Hang Me Out to Dry - Cold War Kids
This Old Heart of Mine - Delroy Wilson
Leave It In the Hands of Love - Phylliss Dillon
After It All - Cat Power
You - Rogue Wave
Gone - Golden Smog
Anthrax - Gang of Four
In Every Dream Home a Heartache - Roxy Music
Run Rabbit Run - Twilight Singers
The Man With the Child In His Eyes - Kate Bush
I Left My Heart All Over the Place - Tim Rogers & the Twin Set
White Daisy Passing - Rocky Votolato
Margarita - Sleepy Brown ft. Big Boi & Pharrell
Natural Man - Lou Rawls
Foxy Girls in Oakland - Rodger Collins
Right On - Ray Barretto
If You Want Me To Stay - Sly & the Family Stone
Beyond Belief - Elvis Costello
Celluloid Heroes - The Kinks
The Lure Would Prove Too Much - Twilight Singers (I really DO love this song!)

Also...

This show was a bit of a birthday present for Warren, who lives in Berlin so didn't hear it anyway. But Happy Birthday!

The Lure Would Prove Too Much

Today I was able to completely dork out on my new favorite Twilight Singers song EVER. Really. It's dreamy and beautiful and makes me cry, and I could not tell you why. It's from their new EP, A Stitch in Time. Get it from iTunes; yu won't be sorry. You'll swoon. Really.

Little Radio Playlist 10/12/06

The Lure Would Prove Too Much - Twilight Singers
A Method - TV On the Radio
Radio Waves - OMD
Don't Save Us From the Flames - M83
When You Sleep - My Bloody Valentine
Hand Me Downs - Soul Position
I Know He'll Be Back Someday - Jeanie Reynolds
Hush - Deep Purple
Mt. Pleasant - Tuscadero
Photograph - Def Leppard
Matineed - The Corn Sisters
He Stopped Loving Her Today - George Jones
To Cry About - Mary Margaret O'Hara
Next Time - JOhnnie Taylor
Ladt Don't Tek No - Latyrx
Jewels & Bullets - You Am I
Green Eyes - Husker Du
She Speeds - Straightjacket Fits
Crash & Burn - The Snowmen
Paranoid - Black Sabbath
Git Back - Sugar Pie Desanto
Heaven's In the Back Seat of My Cadillac - Hot Chocolate
Buick Mackane - T. Rex
Mania - Throwing Muses
Little Lover's So Polite - Silversun Pickups
California - Low
Skyway - Replacements
Still Be Around - Uncle Tupelo
Marmalade - Geraldine Fibbers
The Lure Would Prove Too Much

Really, the best Twilight Singers song ever. And they're hitting the road again on th 24th - go see them!!!

Drive My Car

Today, the Little Radio show was delayed about 20 minutes because it took me an hour and 20 minutes to get from the westside of LA to downtown LA. This is maybe 11 miles. Sigh.

So here goes...

Little Radio Playlist
10/5/06

Breathless - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Lives of Crime - Fruit Bats
A Month of Sundays - The Church
My God Insane - Edith Frost
I Wish I Was the Moon - Neko Case
Things Got to Get Better - Lyn Collins
I'ma Man - The Spencer davis Group
Wicked Annabella - The Kinks
Striped White Jets - Guided By Voices
Supahero - Aceyalone
Frosted Flake - Redd Kross
I'm Down - The Beatles
Baby Please Don't Go - Them
Taste the Last Girl - Sons & Daughters
Alec Eiffel - Pixies
Fall At Your Feet - Magnet
The Bitterest Pill - The Jam
Your Ex-Lover Is Dead - Stars
Girl Don't Come - Sandie Shaw
Legal Man - Belle & Sebastian
I Don't Care - Teenage Fanclub
Undecided - Ella Fitzgerald
I Second That Emotion - Japan
Just Another High - Roxy Music
Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me - Nina Simone
Domani - Twilight Singers
You Got the Love - Rufus (& Chaka Khan)
True Love Pt. 2 - X

Till next week...

Yowza Yowza Yowza

Little Radio Playlist 9/28/06

Feelin' a bit groovy for this show...

Papau New Guinea - Future Sound of London
Tito's Way - The Juan Maclean
Lickout - The Hip Joints
What'd I Say - Parts 1 & 2
Terror - The Rakes
Transmission - Joy Division
The Mask feat. Ghostface - Danger Doom
You're Thing Ain't No Good Without My Thing - Marie "Queenie" Lyons
Twine Time - Alvin Cash & the Crawlers
Right On - Ray Barretto
Do It Right - The Three Tops feat. Phyllis Dillon
Pnoy Express - The Pioneers
Nite Klub - The Specials
She Bangs the Drums - The Stone Roses
Uptown Again - The Afghan Whigs
Feel Good Hit of the Summer - Queens of the Stone Age
Dynastie Crisis - Faust 72
A Minha Menina - Os Mutantes
Kamasutra - Vampyros Lesbos soundtrack
Golden Years - David Bowie
Tobago - Nature Boy
I Love A Man in a Uniform - Gang of Four
Editions of You - Roxy Music
Reflections - The Supremes
A Lover's Concerto - The Toys
How Do You Let A Good Man Down - Sharon Jones
Liberation Conversation - Marlena Shaw
Carry On - Jean Knight
Bold Soul Sister - Ike & Tina Turner
Sing A Simple Song - Sly & the Family Stone

Get down, my friends...

Sweet Mary Jane

2 weekends ago, after I got back from a horrid trip to Dallas (it wasn't totally Dallas' fault), I went to see an awesome show. Neko Case (swoon!), Ryan Adams (double swoon!) and Willie Nelson (whoa nelly!). It was at the Hollywood Bowl, a swanky outdoor affair in the hills.

Neko Case was amazing. I went by myself, and was sitting in a pack of older folks. Like their late 50's, early 60's. They had no clue who Neko Case was. One fellow said to me, "You like her?" "Oh," I replied, "I LOVE her." "Well, she's different." I never get that. She's about as country as country gets to me, except for the fact that she also kinda sounds like a soul singer. I suppose that's different. By the end of her set, my benchmates were won over, and busted out the pot brownies.

Good thing they did, because as soon as she ended, the stage rotated around to present a totally yoked out Ryan Adams (in hip worn thin Batman tee) and his band. They immediately kicked into "Cold Roses" and then pretty much did songs just like it for the next hour. He was doing his best Neil Young/ Grateful Dead possible. You know, the first time I went to a Dead show, I fell asleep. The second time, I was smarter about it and took shrooms. There was no such relief this evening... I even got bored thinking about how hot Mr. Adams looked. (Has he been doing yoga for like, 8 hours a day or something? Wow.) Anyway, he broke it up a little with an injection of "Shakedown on 9th Street," which made me realized how sleepy I'd gotten. I guess I should just be glad he showed up and played anything, right?

And then, Mr. Willie Nelson.

Honestly, I couldn't tell you what he did because I was on a contact high. I remember "Always On My Mind," "On the Road Again," "Whiskey River," "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," "Me & Paul," and "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" (LOVE that one!). I remember he let his sister Bobbie do a piano jam, and he let his mega hot sons do a rippin' blues number. And Willie's pants were pulled up to his nipples and his bandana kept the braids in check. That band was having a good ole time, for sure.

How good a time they were having was verified by the police today, as Willie and his band got busted for pot and 'shrooms on the bus. I just love that a 73 year old got nailed with 1 1/2 pounds of pot, AND 'shrooms! Of course, the whole band claimed the drugs, so everyone got a misdemeanor.

And after the cops left, they had to figure out where to score more weed. Dude!

Stalker Tendencies

I finally made it back to Little Radio.

9/14/2006

Whiskey River - Willie Nelson
You Should See Her Now - Tim Rogers
Breathless - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Death & the Maiden - The Verlaines
Ahead - Wire
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross
Hard to Handle - Patti Drew
Seven Days - The Apollas
Watcha Gonna Do About It - The Small Faces
Your Mama Won't Like Me - Suzi Quatro
Ethyl My Love - The Muffs
Already Gone - The Eagles
What Am I Doing Hangin' Round - The Monkees
Too Far Gone - The Feelies
Charles - Scrawl
What Would the Community Think - Cat Power
Heavy Heart - You Am I
The Applecross Wing Commander - You Am I
Ordinary - You Am I
Arse Kicking Lady From the Northwest - Tim Rogers & the Twin Set
Who Takes Who Home - You Am I
I've Just Seen A Face - The Beatles
I Hope This Makes It Easier For You - Actionslacks
Decatur St. - Twilight Singers
Crumbs Off The Table - Laura Lee
Something I've Got To Tell You - The Honeycombs
Crimson & Clover - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
I Wish I Was the Moon - Neko Case
A Man Like Me - Beulah
Movies of Antarctica - Stars of Track and Field
Ocean Rain - Echo & the Bunnymen

As you can see, I wound up doing a bit of a You Am I thing. You Am I are a brilliant rock band from Australia, playing at Spaceland in LA on October 22nd, and the Bottom of the Hill in SF on the 23rd. Then the Twilight Singers are playing SF's Great American on the 24th and LA's House of Blues the 25th. (If you were a good stalker, you'd know where to find me each of those nights.)

You see, on August 30th, I got to see Tim Rogers & Tex Perkins play at Tangiers in Los Feliz just a not-so-quick walk from my house. Who the fuck are they? (You may ask...) Tim Rogers fronts one of Australia's best bands, you Am I. I mean, they play freakin' stadiums and shit (well, maybe not that huge, but pretty damn huge) over in Oz, and here they play bitty clubs. Tex Perkins fronts the Beasts of Bourbon. Not as huge as You Am I, but still notable for sure.

Anyway, the two of them released a record together called T N T (clever on sooo many levels, boys), partially silly and partially heartbreaking, and all around good. Then they played these little venues around the States. I was there with maybe 40 other people, and talked to Tim afterwards and took the dorky pic that didn't turn out but was still glad to do so. He was terribly nice.

Thing is, You Am I hasn't played California since about 1998 or so. I can't remember the exact date, but it was a long time ago. And they'll be here twice. And I'm going.

It just so happens that my other current favorite band (and friends... Isn't it lucky when you like your friends' band?)will be starting their current leg of the Powder Burns tour the very next night in SF... The Twilight Singers. Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan (hmmm, the Gutter Twins and T N T... are all my favorite bands getting all "we are family" and shit on me?) will awe the crowds again all over the frikkin' world for 7 weeks.

Guess we have some rock shows to attend, right?

Pussy Magnet

There's just something about my apartment that draws all sorts of random cats to it. Inevitably, they try to move in. It isn't just my place, but the other 3 apartments have experienced this phenonmenon as well. Gigi, a frisky neighbor's cat, would often hang out with the dog downstairs after having flirted her way through everyone's else's vacinity. The cat next door can often be found on our steps, and a black & orange calico is in the habit of storming my front door when I get home.

Last Saturday night/Sunday morning, I dragged myself home with a migraine after a DJ gig at about 3:30 in the morning and somehow got to sleep soon after. But a little "Mew! Mew!" woke me up about 6am. I shut my windows, wanting to have no part of whatever cute kitten was in distress outside, because if a cute kitten was in distress outside, it was gonna wind up in my apartment before long. But it turned out it was already in my apartment, sorta. It was on the landing outside my hallway in my laundry room. Luckily for me, it had a collar, name and phone number... so not completely lost.

She was a little black and white short hair, prone to purring, named Anita. I picked her up and said, "Listen, I'm really tired, so I need you to be quiet so I can get some sleep. We'll hang later." She was quiet. The next afternoon, my neighbor called: "Is that your cat on the landing?" She was still there, and very happy to see me. And she stayed there till about Tuesday afternoon.My roommate and I probably played with her more than our cats appreciated. We also made her a little bed and left her some food and water. She was a fun little thing. I had called her owner's number, but got a "memory full" message, so I figured they must be on vacation or something.

After talking with the neighbors, it turned out the cat had been crashing in the building for about a week. Buncha softy cat people, we are...

This Friday night as I was getting out of my car, a woman approached me and asked me if I had seen a little black & white cat. I said, "Anita?" She said, "Yes! I've been looking for her all night; she got out last night." "You mean she got out a week ago." The woman said, "I've been housesitting and, well, you know how cats get out." "No, I haven't seen her, but if I do I'll bring her by."

Saturday morning rolled around and my parents were in town. The Sunset Junction Street Fair was just kicking off for the weekend, so we decided to check it out. We were heading towards Sunset and I was telling them about Anita when there she was, running straight for me, all "Mew! Mew!" and everything.

So I picked her up and walked her over to her house. As I did, a family in a Volvo drove up. The dad got out and said, "You doing a little catnapping?" "Well, not unless it's necessary," I replied. I told him how I was just bringing her home because I'd heard she had escaped again. "Oh, well, we're housesitting, and we hoped to have her back before they got home."

"You're housesitting?" My mom said. "Yes," replied the man. "Well, you're doing a horrible job." "What?" he said. "This cat could have been hit by a car or eaten by coyotes and it's not even yours. Are they actually paying you for this? Because I wouldn't!" Then my mom did an old lady style "harumph" noise which caused this guy to go completely red. I handed him Anita and said, "Maybe you'd better keep an eye on her till the real owners get back." He didn' answer, but we also haven't seen Anita again.

I guess the moral of this story is keep your cats locked up when in Silverlake, or they will wind up at my house. And you'll run the risk of getting bitched out by my mom. Trust me, that sucks.

Seven Inch Special

This show was all about seven inches of hard black vinyl. Go:

Little Radio Playlist 8/17/06

Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - Marvin Gaye
Whenever You're On My Mind - Marshall Crenshaw
No Matter What - Badfinger
Human Fly - The Cramps
Kiasu - Celia Mancini
The Crying Room - The Ghost Club
Theme From mantrap - ABC
Let Me Down Easy - Betty Lavette
Gambler's Game - The Nightcaps
Bim Bam Baby - The Useless Playboys
Raleigh - Arcwelder
Gaskrankinstation - Headless Chickens
Dirty Laundry - Don Henley
Girls - Inspector Double Negative & the Equal Positives
Pocket Calculator - Kraftwerk
Ain't No Easy Way - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Tupelo - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Wicked - Twilight Singers
Every Little Bit Hurts - Brenda Holloway
Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley
Web In Front - Archers of Loaf
Stereo - Pavement
Going Down to Liverpool - The Bangles
Hideaway - Comet Gain
Love Plus One - Haircut 100
Tar Moochers - Throwing Muses
Golden Brown - The Stranglers
Here Comes Everybody - Autolux
The Light Pours Out of Me - Magazine
Boychucker - Rocket From the Crypt
Lazy Line Painter Jane - Belle & Sebastian

Name That Tune

Zee playlist (and there is only a tiny bit of French):

Little Radio A Go Go: 8/10/2006

Interstate 5 - The Wedding Present
Wooden Floor - David Kilgore
Lily & Parrots - Sun Kil Moon
Mainstreet Crush - The Takeover U.K.
Ballroom Blitz - The Sweet
Black Cat - Broadcast
Sacre Frances - Dimitri From Paris
Put Yourself in My Place - Jan Panter
He's A Mover - Nikki & the Corvettes
Glycerine Queen - Suzi Quatro
Annie's Gone - Redd Kross
Mommy's Little Monster - Social Distortion
Collapse / Ultra Mega - Mr. Lif
Ego Trippin' - Nikki Giovanni
Everybody Wants You - Billy Squier
Born In 69 - Rocket From the Crypt
You Ain't Woman Enough - Loretta Lynn
Poor Ellen Smith - Kristin Hersh
Wet Blanket - The Chills
When My Baby's Beside Me - Big Star
Inside of Me - The Starlight Mints
Summoning of the Muse - Dead Can Dance
In My Room - Yaz
Telephone Operator - Pete Shelley
Don't Bring Me Down - ELO
Milez Iz Ded - Afghan Whigs
Crowd Pleaser - Lion Fever
Persephone - Cocteau Twins
Confusion Boats - John Vanderslice
Do the Whirlwind - Architecture in Helsinki
Answering Machine - The Replacements

Ashes to Ashes

The BFF wanted me to point out the most valuable of all Star Wars collectibles out there right now, and I have to agree... It's quite special.



-In case you can't read the fine print: OWEN LARS AND AUNT BERU (CHARRED)

Let the Music Play

I've been laggin', this shoulda been here a couple days ago. But, well, I've been dealing with my totaled car. GRRRRRRR!!!

You wanna know what I played? Well, here is what I played:

Starry Eyes - The Records
Everybody - Lunchbox
The Way She Goes - Henry's Dress
Cruiser's Creek - The Fall
Manipulation - The Black Angels
Crystalator - Dimmer
Requiem - Killing Joke
Already Yours - Curve
Teen Angst - M83
Cheaper to Keep Her - Johnnie Taylor
Anti Love Song - Betty Davis
The Horror - RJD2
Nothing Really - Nameless & Faceless
Details of the War - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Don't Let Your Love Grow Away - Cold War Kids
Far Side of Crazy - Wall of Voodoo
Somewhere In Texas - The Raveonettes
Urban Struggle - The Vandals
Voices Inside (Everything is Everything) - Donny Hathaway
Homies - Savoir Faire
Clyde - The Twilight Singers
The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
How Do You Let A Good Man Down - Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings
I Call It Trouble - Barbara Acklin
Pretty Ugly - 50 Foot Wave
I Got A Woman - Elvis Presley
I Wanna See Your Face Again - Uni & Her Ukelele
These Parts - Lois Maffeo & Brendan Canty
Horizon - Let's Active
Cuerpos Harah Amor Extrano - Gris Gris


Little Radio Playlist 7/27/2006

Remember, I'm on LittleRadio.com every Thursday from 6-8pm, PST. Tune in, say hi, etc...

Welcome to My Nightmare

Hit and run. Just like my men.



I was actually getting something out of the car from behind the seat when some loser hit the door less than a foot away from me. Yay! Well, I've been thinking about getting a new car for a long time, but man - did I LOVE my ride.

Totally totaled. R.I.P.

And thanks to my pals who were way more flipped out about this than I was because I am VERY slow to react... Warren for being calm, Rachael for helping beyond the call of duty, Iiad for the silver lining, Greg for lotsa laughing, Steve for the mutual bitchfest, and Tracy for putting together that rat bastard's busted headlight so we could figure out it was a Toyota!

Twinkle Twinkle

Little Radio - The Mellow Show 7/20/2006

I've not gotten enough sleep this week... to much action out there to participate in! So today was kinda mellow. Except for when it wasn't. Here goes:

Long Hot Summer - The Style Council
L.A. Girls - Bart Davenport
I Will - The Beatles
Long Time Coming - The Delays
Strasbourg - The Rakes
Try A Little Sunshine - Factory
Start - Throwing Muses
Chorale Luck - Serena-Maneesh
We're Leaving - DeVotchka
Deanna (acoustic) - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Carmelita - Linda Ronstadt
The False Husband - Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Worried Mind - Johnny Dowd
Vapour Trail - Ride
Flutterby - Helen Stellar
Runaways - XTC
Come In Out of the Rain - Engineers
Projects - Bailter Space
Jamie - Girls Vs. Boys
Hot Child In the City - Nick Gilder
Make Me Yours - Phyllis Dillon
Oh No Not My Baby - Maxine Brown
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case
Halah - Mazzy Star
Tonight - Ornament
Wild About You Baby - Elmore James
Could We - Cat Power
Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me - Nina Simone
Do the Beng Beng - Derrick Morgan
Ed Is Dead (acoustic) - Pixies
Psychedilic Pucho - Pucho & the Latin Soul Brothers

Dance With Me

Today was in my car for almost 4 hours, and I drove it maybe 40 miles. That's disgusting. Needless to say, I started my show late - I'm sorry! But it was a blast. I had this loose theme of "Music I Like To Dance to That Other People Probably Wouldn't Completely Get." Here goes:

Little Radio Playlist 7/13/2006

Cold Black Preach - Barry Adamson
Kick In The Eye - Bauhaus
I Broke My Saw - Love Tractor
Safety In Numbers - The Rondelles
I'm Down - The Beatles
I'll Take You There - The Staples Singers
Sexy Results - Death From Above 1979
Start - The Jam
Too Nice To Talk To - The English Beat
I'm Ready - Twilight Singers (the Lo-Fidelity Allstars remix)
Sweet Talk - Spank Rock
Ladyflash - The Go! Team
TP's Shing A Ling - Tito Puente
The Frog - The Village Callers
Our Hospitality - Komeda
Stay With Me - The Faces
Editions of You - Roxy Music
New Toy - Lene Lovich
Chantilly Lace - Bip Bopper
Rumble - You Am I
I Can't Dance With You - The Small Faces
Spoon - Cibo Matto
Natural Man - Lou Rawls
Hey Deannie - Shaun Cassidy
Open Your Eyes - The Nazz
I Know There's Something Going on - Frida
I Can't Dance to That Music You're Playing - Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
Diamond Shine - The Clean

Thanks for listening!

Filthy Gorgeous

Absolutely not. Here is a dirty story...

A few months back, I was hit on by a stripper. A male stripper dancing in a gay club. And he called me and sent me text messages and picture messages of his flexy bad self. I try not to repeat myself too often here, but this was a hilarious (bordering on annoying) situation that has never happened before and will probably never happen again, so here are the bullet points:

- The club was called Rimjob.
- The stripper was wearing undies and a cowboy hat.
- He chewed gum like the little coke whore he most likely was.
- He would leave me detailed messages about his various workouts, and actually used the phrase "crack my abs," twice.
- He would general use the term "sexy lady" in every other sentence when speaking to my voice mail.
- He worked exclusively in gay bars.

Why did I give him my number? Because it was funny. Because my gay friends were adamant that I do so - because it was funny. And, well, he's pretty hot. Dirty, but hot. (For the original posts, click here for Part One, and here for Part Two.)

These are the questions I wanted to ask him:

1. Are you gay?
2. Okay then, you must be bi...
3. Do you keep pictures of yourself on your phone to just send out to all the phone numbers you've collected at your various gigs?
4. Who takes these pictures of you?
5. What do you want to be: model or actor?
6. Why do you go-go dance at all these gay places if you aren't totally gay?
7. Are you a total gigolo or what?
8. How many drugs do you take?

I now know the answer to Number 7.

YES!

While my best friend was casually surfing gay porn sites the other night, he came across this:

Treat Yourself To a Great Time .. Im an all American boy nextdoor type
Highschool wrestler..Looking for Someone whos into Bodyworship Or
appreciating a Very Masculine Man...... Do you love giving head until I
blow
a hot load ...I'm your man.... Do you feel like a Naughty boy? Do you
need
to be spanked? I'll Spank that ass..! I'll be your DADDY. Dont mind
delivering water sports...Not a recipient. Very sweet and down to earth
small town boy. Pefer Calls to E-mail. No Calls before 10 am.......
Sexy as
fuck ..You won't be dissappointed.....Flash

Really! And there were pictures! Including one he sent me! We loved that, because at the time, we were wondering who could have taken the picture. He obviously didn't do it, and it was in his cell phone. Does he keep a stock pile to send out to potential "clients?" That's what we jokingly thought at the time, and it turns out it's true. He charges $275 for what I could've had for free. Unless he thought I was a Sugar Mama. Ha!

So here's the pic for you all to enjoy. Bon appetit.

Oh, by the way, he's a Top.

Birthday Blog

I know, I neglect you and then I ask for things. I can be a brat sometimes, I guess.

It's my birthday month. Despite the fact that I didn't want to do anything, I find that there are quite a few little celebratory things going on. Last Sunday, one of my best friends let us have a little "Cancers rule!" pool party at his beautiful home under the Hollywood sign. Last night, my ex-husband took me to see Belle & Sebastian at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. For the first time ever, I did not doze off at a B&S show! I'll write more on that later. There are still dinners and parties to be had - July is a great month.

So if any of my pals want to get me a present, here are some ideas:

CDs:
BRMC - Howl
Cadence Weapon - Breaking Kayfabe
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Cat Power - The Greatest
v/a - No New York
Neil Diamond - a greatest hits - I don't want it live, and it MUST have "Cherry Cherry," "Cracklin' Rosie," and "Kentucky Woman" on it.
v/a - Soul Jazz Records presents Tropicalia
The Twilight Singers - Blackberry Belle ON VINYL... gatefold and everything!
Go! Team - Ladyflash 12"
Hot Chip - Over & Over 12"

Books:
Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies
The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band
Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground

DVDs -
Six Feet Under (any and all of them)

And thank you very much, in advance.

The British Invasion

Little Radio Playlist 6/29/2006 - Scott Ford edition!

Today on Little radio, I had a Very Special Guest. His name is Scott Ford, and he's this English guy who plays bass with the Twilight Singers. He does lots of other things too, like get tattoos, do awesome web design, take great photos and make out with his hot girlfriend, but today, we just focused on the music thing. Scott ambled in with his favorite songs on a CD, so we popped it into the player, and off we went! After a few technical glitches, we were smooth sailing. Here's what we played:

Live With Me - Twilight Singers w/Mark Lanegan (Live, Massive Attack cover)
Bonnie Brae - Twilight Singers
Redemption Song - Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer
Bring It Back - Mates of State
Permanent Solution - Pleasure Club
Hyperballad - Bjork (live)
Velouria - Pixies
Eton Rifles - The Jam
Hide & Seek - Imogen Heap
Sublime - Twilight Singers (w/Joe Arthur, unreleased track)
Suzanne - Jeff Klein
Hit the City - Mark Lanegan (w/ PJ Harvey)
? (Scott couldn't remember) - Afterhours
Obsession (?) - John Frusciante
Pussywillow - Greg Dulli
Hurt - Johnny Cash
Since You Been Gone - Rainbow
Let It Be - Nick Cave
Neat Neat Neat - The Damned
Poison - Rancid
New England - Billy Bragg
Some Cities - The Doves
Destination Diamond - Diamond Nights
Czar - Frank Black
(?) - Gadjits
We Are Not the Losers Anymore - Actionslacks
Sister Surround - Soundtrack to Our Lives
God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

Thanks for tuning in!

Totally true

Totally stole this from my BFF... Thanks Steve!

Overheard at lunch today:

Cool Guy In The Know: "I can't wait to see "Idyllwild"

Dumb Girl He's Banging: "What's that?"

Cool Guy: "The Outkast movie."

Dumb Girl: "What's it about?"

Cool Guy: "Prohibition..."

Dumb Girl: "OH!...You mean civil rights!..awesome!"

Cool Guy: -blank stare-


I almost spit out my koo koo roo... (that's chicken, for all you non-LA peeps)

Isn't LA awesome?

My Big Fat Gay Weekend

I’m a total fag hag. Have I ever mentioned this? Well, I am. But not as much as I used to be. (Hell, my mom’s a fag hag too. These things run in the family, it seems.) I used to be at gay clubs every weekend, but now I have more gay friends who like to see bands and stuff. Essentially, I don’t find myself in the clubs so much.

Last weekend was Pride LA, however, when all the gays gather in one 6 block area of roped off street in West Hollywood. But that’s not where we start this… I wasn’t at Pride on Saturday night, when bands like Animotion (oh my, yes! Animotion!) and the Bangles were tearin’ it up.

I was at a warehouse in what I like to call “the rotten food district” of downtown LA. Peaches was playing. It was a private party to showcase her new band, because…well… she never had a band before. Now she’s on that Bauhaus / Nine Inch Nails tour, and decided she should have a band. And they ROCKED! Samantha Maloney on drums (she’s played with Hole AND Motley Crue and was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen with sticks), JD from Le Tigre, and that Radio chick who has played with every hot indie lesbian group ever, and I can’t think of the name of a single one.

Anyway, it was crazy fun. Tons of gay boys crammed up against the stage yelling stuff like “shake yer dix shake yer tits” and “come diddle my skittle” and such. Girls were headbanging girls. I think half the actresses from “The L Word” were there. By the end of the show (after a couple costume changes) she was wearing a black cape with a hot pink “XXX” emblazoned across the back. Hmmm… what else is in the teaches of Peaches? All… right.

The next day was Pride, and BOY, was it boring!

My friends were entertaining. There were three stages… the one for all the pretty circuit boys to dance at (which we started to refer to as Waxlandia) which was blaring the mindless house music, one that featured the worst live music ever collected in one place, and one that was, essentially, the gay Mexican cowboy stage. Drag queens done up like Celia Cruz and singing Madonna to line dancing crowds dominated this scene, and it kinda ruled.

By the time Bow Wow Wow was creaking out a tragic version of “These Boots Are Made for Walking,” I decided to cab it home. I had a real show to get to… Spank Rock at Spaceland.

The set was opened by Low Budget from Hollertronix, and immediately made me and my friend hyper. How awesome is that? My tired, jaded ass got up to dance. Now, I’m always one to dance at shows, but this was practically REAL dancing. It was an excellent warmup for the main act, who tore it up, real nasty electronica hip hop style. Does that make sense?

Spank Rock has lots of lyrics like ‘tap that ass” and “funky ass titties” and “hump back tramp” and stuff. So I supposed my weekend was filled with squelchy electronic beats and raunchy lowest common denominator lyrics. But so what? It was fun. It had a good beat and you could dance to it. A lot.

Afterwards, my friend and I were outside talking to some other folks when someone noticed Dave Chapelle was standing by the side walk. Turns out that his best friend, Mos Def, was also nearby. I actually got to meet Mos about a month ago, and he was a sweetheart and just the nicest guy, so I decided to say hi.
Luckily, he remembered who the hell I was , and was again, the nicest guy. We talked about Spank Rock, who he had been talking to when I approached, and was so excited about the show he was sort of hopping around. Then he said, “You know, I meant to tell you when I was at your office, but you have amazing teeth.” This made me laugh out loud, because my fangs (they are in the wrong place so I can sometimes look a bit like a vampire) are a tricky subject in my household, but most people don’t even notice. Except Mos Def, and he thinks they are amazing.

Sigh.

And that was the weekend of June 10th – 11th. It is now officially summer, so let’s see what else comes up…

Hey Mr. (Ms.) DJ...

Today was nice and fun and scary all at the same time. How? Oh, you know!

Little Radio Playlist 6/15/2006

Nothing Natural - Lush
Panic Attack At Breakfast - Hellen Stellar
Colourblind - The Clouds
Soul Soldier - Throwing Muses
Beautiful Things - The 3Ds
Ghosts - Lewis Taylor
Nightporter - Japan
Japanese Queen - Tigarah
Sunshine (remix) - Nicolette
Johnny Barleycorn - Frank Black
Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys
Ever Thought of Coming Back - Kelley Stoltz
And I'm Thinking - The Sneetches
I Wanna Be With You - The Raspberries
Doctor Funk - Smiley introducing Karen Taylor
Girls - Inspector Double Negative & the Equal Positives
Sharks - Cadence Weapon
Fuck the Pain Away - Peaches
Leaving For Good - Moving Picture Show
Masoko Tanga - The Police
Tom Drunk - U Roy
I Know He'll Be Back Someday - Jeanie Reynolds
One Hundred Years - The Cure
I'm Ready - The Twilight Singers
Trouble - Elliott Smith
Portland is Leaving - Rocky Votolato
Cactus Cat - Look Blue Go Purple
Love Me Like You - The Magic Numbers

Next week I'll be in NYC, so if you tune in, you may hear a repeat of a show I did in 2004. Yowza!

Cat Power

To all the non-believers...

WEST MILFORD, N.J. - A black bear picked the wrong yard for a jaunt, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree — twice.

Jack, a 15-pound orange and white cat, keeps a close vigil on his property, often chasing small animals, but his owners and neighbors say his latest escapade was surprising.

"We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty,' never knowing he'd go after a bear," owner Donna Dickey told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Friday's editions.

Neighbor Suzanne Giovanetti first spotted Jack's accomplishment after her husband saw a bear climb a tree on the edge of their northern New Jersey property on Sunday. Giovanetti thought Jack was simply looking up at the bear, but soon realized the much larger animal was afraid of the hissing cat.

After about 15 minutes, the bear descended and tried to run away, but Jack chased it up another tree.



Now, THAT'S a cat!

Ladykiller

So the deal is... Many years ago I dated this guy. We had a good time, and some troubles, like all couples do. Regardless, it ended badly, VERY badly. As time went by, we slowly got to be friends again as I forgave him for the ghastly wrongs he did. However, recent actions have caused me to retract said friendship and proclaim him a "Total Fucking Scumbag."

So this show was the special "My Ex Boyfriend Rik Sanchez Is A Total Fucking Scumbag" edition. And boy, did it feel good. Sorry to anyone who was offended... but boy, I kinda deserved this.

Little Radio Playlist 6/8/2006 "Fucking Scumbag" edition

Outside of Town - The Geraldine Fibbers
There Goes My Gun - The Pixies
Running With the Devil - Van Halen
Early Today (and Later That Night) - Greg Dulli
Drop Dead - Siouxsie & the Banshees
Negative Creep - Nirvana
Coney Island Whitefish (Scumbag!) - Joan Jett
Stone Cold Dead in the Market - Ella Fitzgerald
Just Go Away - Blondie
Stutter - Elastica
Acid in My Heart - Sleepy Jackson
Epitaph For My Heart - The Magnetic Fields
Shake the Disease - Depeche Mode
Boys Keep Swinging - David Bowie
Nasty - Janet Jackson
Listen Up - The Gossip
Deceptacon - Le Tigre
Pearls At Swine - The Lovedolls
Gutless - Hole
Snake - PJ Harvey
Rid of Me - PJ Harvey
Momma's Boy - Sonic Youth w/Nancy Sinatra
Anthrax - Gang of 4
You Give Love A Bad Name - Bon Jovi
Smoke Rings - The Shocker
Given the Dog A Bone - ACDC
Close Your Eyes - Kristin Hersh
6'1 - Liz Phair
Johnny Hit & Run Pauline - X
Touch Me I'm Sick - Mudhoney
Die Die My Darling - The Misfits

Next week will be all sweetness and roses again, I swear.

Away From the Waves

It was last Saturday, the first Saturday in June, and it was really crazy hot. One of those dry Los Angeles one-hundred-degrees-in-the-shade hot. The sky was piercingly blue, because it hadn't quite been hot enough for it to be brown, and it was just rainy recently, so things were still a bit... clean. No June gloom yet.

I was leaving Los Feliz, having finished up with some errands (more like shopping and fondling kittens for far too long - they were sooooo cute!) and was cruising down Hillhurst to Sunset. I was, of course, listening to Powder Burns by the Twilight Singers, which has hardly left my car stereo since March. Majestic. "Underneath the Waves" came on as I made that left onto Sunset, and the sundown absolutely blazed in through my rear window. It was that "brightest before the dark" thing, when sunglasses aren't really all that much help. "Underneath the Waves" is not my number one song on the album, but at that particular moment, it was the only song that could even possibly have worked, especially as I cruised back up my street and towards my place. It was like there was nothing else except for that light and that song.

It would have been sooooooo much better if my sunroof wasn't busted, because then everyone else would have heard it too. But that's something I keep meaning to fix.

In the meantime, go get that album.

The Bitterest Pill

Sadly, this is something that I, and too many other women I know, have had to deal with in our short lifespans - the threat of cervical cancer. So this is welcome news (and something that has been coming down the pike for a few years now):

If the Food and Drug Administration rules as expected on a new vaccine next month, cancer of the cervix could be prevented by a vaccine. Last week, an F.D.A. advisory board unanimously endorsed the vaccine, which protects against infection with human papillomavirus or HPV.

There have been only a few times in my life as a physician when I've been able to say (at least to myself), "This is truly big news." My colleagues are saying the same thing. But they are also asking how this promising new treatment will be made available to women and girls worldwide.

In the 30 years since I saw my patient, HPV has been demonstrated to be the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world and the cause of almost all cervical cancers.

(Read the entire article here.)

There is also a vaccine against herpes, which has already been proven to work in women, but not men. So what? If the girls can't catch it. the guys can't spread it. It goes extinct. Same with HPV.

So what is the hesitation with these vaccines? Number one: cost. If all girls are vaccinated around the age of 12, hopefully before they become sexually active, it will cost between $300 and $500 for each girl. And there are a lot of girls in this country.

And the second problem is... Promiscuity. What? Huh? Well, all those super hardcore Christian types are arguing that if girls get this vaccine at such a young age, it will lead them down the road to ruin because they will think they are invincible. I'm not kidding. The future health of our world's women, and the potential eradication of not one, BUT TWO diseases... ONE OF WHICH IS CANCER... is being held back due to morality issues stemming from the conservatives.

I really can't say anything more about it. I just wish this vaccine was around when I was younger, so that my sister and myself, and countless other friends, did not have to go through the fear, pain, and medical procedures brought on by chasing off this cancer in its early stages. Because we got lucky.

If we had been around 30 years earlier, we would have died. Just a thought.

I Am What I Play

My return to Little Radio! Thanks to Jimmy and Dave and the crew for inviting me back... it was A BLAST! It was also the first time I hit the freeways of LA smack at 5pm, going from Bundy on the I-10 east to downtown LA. Um... yuck. I was sort of driving by Braille... My car is small, and I was constantly surrounded by Fed Ex trucks, SUVs and moving vans, which meant I could hardly ever see anything in front of me. Good thing I know the buildings cuz I couldn't see any freeways signs. Lovely.

So here's what I played!

Little Radio Playlist 6/1/2006
















Strawberry Letter # 23 - The Brothers Johnson
Supahero - Aceyalone
Born Into the World - Supersystem
Retreat (Phones remix) - The Rakes
Hex - Neko Case
Driver's Seat - Sniff 'n' the Tears
Everywhere That I'm Not - Translator
Lives of Crime - Fruit Bats
I Don't Care - Teenage Fanclub
Freedom Park - Marah
I Hear a Symphony - The Supremes
Now Dig This! - The CReeps
Mr. Kicks - Oscar Brown Jr.
The Mating Game - Bitter Sweet
Dialing A Prayer - Straightjacket Fits
Powder Burns - Twilight Singers
Hand Me Downs - Soul Position
Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth
Stax (Strings) - Madlib
Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammy Terrell
I Could Be Cruel - The Slender Means
Martha My Dear - The Beatles
Wraith Pinned to the Mist & Other Games - Of Montreal
A Minha Meinina - Os Mutantes
It Ain't What You Do It's the Way That You Do It - Fun Boy Three w/ Bananarama
Don't Save Us From the Flames - M83
Selina's Melodie Fountain - Serena-Maneesh
Good Times - The Easybeats

Every Thursday from 6-8pm, PST. Swing by and give it a listen!

For the Price of A Cup of Tea

Over a week ago, Hollywood lost one of its characters... Jeffry was a bartender at the Burgundy Room, one of my DJ haunts. He suddenly fell very ill and died over a very short period. When one suddenly falls ill in this country and has no health insurance, that generally equates to really insane hospital bills for the family... and this case is no different. The Dragonfly will also be donating a portion of their bar take to Jeffry's family to help pay that cost, so head on down and have a drink! For Jeffry!

The Dragonfly, tonight, around 9ish, in Hollywood. Be there and be square.

(ps: I promise not to leave you all again for over a month, ok?)