Tim and Eric benefit for Haiti

Last night I was one of the lucky few to get into the "For Your Haiti" benefit that Tim, Eric and John C. Reilly were hosting - I was at the 10pm show.  I'm sure my boring recap won't do the evening justice, but I'll try.

On our chairs were forms to fill out if we wanted to make another donation.  For $100 donation, Dr. Steve Brule would leave a personalized outgoing message on your voicemail.  You know, for your health.

The show started with Tim and Eric setting the stage for what we were going to see: the first two episodes of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, two episodes of the Dr. Steve Brule spin-off "Check It Out!", a Q&A and an auction for dinner with Tim, Eric and John.

I'm not going to give away too much about the episodes except to say there were a lot of surprise guest stars, a lot of pubes and a lot of laughs.  Definitely don't miss the very first sketch of the first T&E show - I was in tears.

The Q&A with Tim, Eric and John was interesting, in that after two questions, no one seemed to have any questions.  I think a few people realized this, and not wanting the night to end, asked some fairly mundane questions about the process T&E go through writing the show.  The best part of the Q&A was that after the question was asked, Richard Dunn (of T&EASGJ!) would repeat the question to the guys, they would answer, and he would repeat the answer back to the audience.  And by "repeat" I mean paraphrase hilariously, often changing the question or answer into something completely different.  Best example - someone asked if there was a real person that Dr. Steve Brule was based on.  Richard Dunn repeated it (and I'm paraphrasing) as, "who inspires you?" to which John replied, "my parents, Jesus Christ..." 

Then came the auction for dinner with the three guys, which they described as sitting in a locked van outside In N Out for hours, passing around a piss cup.  They stopped the auction in the middle, chastising us for not going anywhere near as high as the auction at the 8pm show.  They probably got a couple hundred extra dollars out of that, and the dinner ended up going for $500 - quite a deal if you ask me, but too rich for my blood. 

Of course the best part of the evening was that all the money - the tickets, the auction, the voicemail - went to help with the disaster in Haiti through Partners in Health.  If anyone actually reads this, feel free to donate:

Partners in Health: www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti

this week at Amoeba

I had a rather epic trip to Amoeba this week, in that I eclipsed my previous high in spending.  I blame box sets.

Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP
Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne (the reissue)
Nirvana - Live at Reading (very disappointed this didn't come with an mp3 code, especially since it was about 30 bucks)
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home (ditto this - $22 and no mp3s?  Lame)
Elvis Costello - Trust (now I think I own all his very-good-to-excellent albums on vinyl)
Big Brother and the Holding Company - Cheaper Thrills (a live album)
Phil Collins - Face Value (Philip Bailey's Easy Lover 45 plus the Hangover put me on a Phil Collins kick)
Rolling Stones - Singles Collection (a box set of their Abcko stuff)
R.E.M. - Live at Olympia (what can I say?  I'm an REM completist.  Plus this is really good - much better than the REM - Live from a couple years ago...which of course I also have)
Hot Chip - Over and Over (a white sleeve 12" with different versions than the other ones I have)

Also bought some used Dylan and the Band jukebox 45s, the White Stripes "Hardest Button to Button" and At the Drive-In "One-Armed Scissor."  All in all, a successful trip.

Am I blind?

Last night I went to see the Hot Rats, which is 2 of the guys from Supergrass plus Nigel Godrich of Radiohead/Beck producing fame.  They play covers of Gang of Four, Kinks, Beastie Boys, Roxy Music - all over the map.  It was an entertaining show and a packed house.

Now I'm not much of a starf*cker but I did notice a couple of B- and C-level celebrities.  And then today I read this:

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/last-night/hot-rats-spaceland-radiohead-s/index.php

I have no idea how this happened.  Britt is a tall dude, and I know all the Radiohead guys by sight.  So how the hell did I miss this?  Spaceland can't hold more than about 150 people.

Time to get new glasses

from a bygone era

My parents recently found some old records of mine in the attic, so when I was home for the holidays I was pretty excited to see them.  And when I got back to my turntable to listen to them...well, it was an experience.  Here are some of the highlights* from the selection of 45s:

Gloria - Laura Branigan
This song I actually still enjoy.  The keyboards are very 80s, but her singing is impassioned

Stranger's Touch b/w Heart Attack - Olivia Newton John
I have no idea which is the A-side here, but I listened to Heart Attack and...well, yikes.  Maybe Stranger's Touch is the gem here, or maybe my 7-9 year old self just liked this stuff.  Hard to say

Eye in the Sky - The Alan Parsons Project
I would have to think everyone my age loved this song growing up, but I find it hard to listen to now.  Extremely cheesy lyrics and a voice that makes me want to punch somebody.  Curious to listen to the b-side, but not optimistic

Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne
Never been a fan, but this song holds up pretty well.  Plus it's from Fast Times at Ridgemont High (even says so on the cover), so that's worth something.  Interestingly, I saw Jackson Browne hanging outside the Largo after a show once.  I'm pretty sure my 7-9 year old self would have been excited

Maneater - Hall and Oates (or should I say Daryl Hall and John Oates)
I actually bought this a few years ago, though a cooler copy that has a sleeve.  This song was awesome then and is still awesome.  I've recently re-embraced a lot of 80s stuff that I thought was cheesy for a while, but now I really like (see also: Def Leppard)

Easy Lover - Philip Bailey with Phil Collins http://lala.com/zQ42I
Looking at this single, I had no idea what it was.  I remember having it and liking it, but I couldn't think of how the song went.  I was in for a pleasant surprise - I think this song holds up incredibly well.  These guys sound great together and the song even rocks quite a bit.  Holds up pretty well, and definitely the gem of this collection.

Still have a few to discuss, but I haven't had a chance to listen to them yet.  So another post hopefully to come.

* (mostly lowlights)

Favorites Songs of 2009

I feel like I'm always catching up on my music - still have way too much stuff from 2009 that I haven't listened to.  So these are the ten best songs I heard in 2009 from 2009 (more or less)

1. Two Weeks - Grizzly Bear
2. Knotty Pine - David Byrne/Dirty Projectors
3. My Body's a Zombie for You - Dead Man's Bones
4. Rainwater Cassette Exchange - Deerhunter
5. Psychic City - YACHT
6. Prima Donna - Cass McCombs
7. Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
8. Stillness Is the Move - Solange
9. Norway - Beach House
10. Elephants - Warpaint

I love the DP version of "Stillness" but what Solange did is just awesome.  Really shows what a great song it is.  And the Beach House song is technically on their 2010 album, but the song was available (legally) in 2009.

Favorite Records of 2009

These are the best records I heard in 2009.  I'm sure this list will change, as there are a number of records I didn't hear or didn't get a chance to spend much time with.  But as of today, here's my list:

1. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
2. Cass McCombs - Catacombs
3. Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy
4. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
5. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
6. Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange
7. Flaming Lips - Embryonic
8. Real Estate - Real Estate
9. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
10. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains

Records that might make the list that I only recently heard or didn't spend enough time with:
Them Crooked Vultures, Blackroc, The Clientele, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Yo La Tengo

Songs of 2009 coming soon