Polvo's Triumphant Return as a Warren Zevon Cover Band & Many Other Assorted Music Opinions

King Khan and BBQ Show - Invisible Girl, 2009
Jack Oblivian - So Low, 1991-1998
Dirty garagey goodness. I like the last King Khan and the Shrines album as well as the last King Kahn and BBQ Show album more than this latest one but it is still worth a listen. Still there are no Shake Real Lows or even anything close to that on here. Need more Jack Oblivian though!





Julian Casablancas - Phrazes for the Young, 2009
Dullsville.

The Birds - The Collectors' Guide to Rare British Birds
The Gants - Roadrunner! The Best of the Gants
The Monks - Black Monk Time, 1966
Burned the Birds and The Gants from Hot Tub Eric three summers ago and finally got around to listening to them now. Great stuff. This reissue of the Monks LP made me fall in love all over again.



The Clean - Mister Pop, 2009
Some great pop songs, some really mellowly melodic instrumentals, all quite pleasant and nice. Great album title. Now that MJ is dead maybe The Clean can move up in the pop rankings from mister?

Polvo - In Prism, 2009
Saw them in D.C. with Jamie last spring at the beginning of their reunion tour. Was a bit unimpressed. But they have definitely gotten their shit together at this point. F the Pixies! F Pavement! If you are going to reunite, put out something new! This album fits in quite nicely amongst the rest of their stuff. It's like they never went away. Welcome back Polvo!

And is it just me or this song from their new album

very similar to this song from Warren Zevon?

A clearer version of the Polvo song can be heard here. The song's name is Pedlar.


Thao - Know Better and Learn Faster, 2009
A big disappointment after her first album which I really liked. There's really nothing memorable here.

Built to Spill - There is No Enemy, 2009
Okay but not nearly as good as the last one. Too many long slow jamz for me.

Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs, 2009
Pleasant enough but not as good as the last one.

The Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come, 2009
As a big John Darnielle fan for 13 years, I've become increasingly less interested in his output. And this new album bored me more than any previous one yet. Sigh.

John Doe and the Sadies - Country Club, 2009
I really like this album. Mostly covers, all country, all good. One of my favorite albums of last fall.



Red Sticker Collection: Now All Digital
Zumpano - Look What the Rookie Did, 1995 & Goin' Through Changes, 1996

I think these albums fell into the abyss of me graduating from college and not having access to the college radio station. No matter. I got to enjoy the hell out of listening to them now.

Guided by Voices - Universal Truths and Cycles, 2002 & Earthquake Glue, 2003
I listened to these when they were first out and didn't really give them much of a chance. Upon further review, my original opinion stands - some very very very good songs and then a lot of kind of dull ones. Still the half of each album that is good make these albums worth listening to.

Park Slope Oldsters Talk Tough

Recently, I was coming back from the Y with the boys.

At 6th St. and 5th Ave, an older gentleman was crossing the street. He had the signal to do so. As he was crossing, a black SUV was making a left turn a little to close to the man.

He held up his fist and yelled, "Get off your damn cell phone and pay attention to what you are doing!"

He finished crossing the street right as I was at the corner. He looked at me for some corroboration. I said, "It's too bad a cop isn't here to give her a ticket."

He looked at me and without missing a beat said, "Who cares about a ticket? I wish I had a 9mm. I would have taken it out and gone Pop Pop. Two right into her windshield. That would have taken care of her."

He then went on. "Damn cell phones. No one pays attention to what they are doing anymore. No one! A couple of years ago, a woman almost hit me because she was on her phone. F***ing bitch! I wanted to punch her in the face. I chased all the way to 8th ave and yelled at her to pay attention!"

The guy didn't even notice I was with two babies. He was just happy to spout off his anger. I started inching away.

He went on, "I wouldn't be able to chase her now though. My legs are going on me. God damn ..."

I wished him well and headed home.

Don't Mess With My Family

Huey is in Memphis Recording a New Album

Thank you Hot Tub Eric for letting me know about this.

He and the News are recording a Stax Tribute album at Ardent Studios. I can't wait to hear what Otis song they cover.

This will be their first album since 2001's Plan B that my dad described as a stone groove in front of Hot Tub Eric and thus a moniker was created.

I love the gut that Huey is working on. The man don't care. Huey!
Eric says that he's been spotted at the Lamplighter but I'd be even more excited if he'd been spotted at Buttermaker's Lounge.

Hail to Stone Groove

Fight for ol' Silver Spring!

He bought this for my mom to stay warm while watching TV. He claims that he's never worn it himself for that purpose but he was very excited to put it on so I could take a picture. I picture him wearing this every Sunday for football watching. Oh Stone Groove.

A Year of Selected Facebook Status Updates

Recently on Facebook, people have been creating collages of some of their status updates from 2009. I decided to make one as well because I'm a sucker for retrospectives.


I liked it so much that I made two more.

Happy New Year!