Been a while.

I'll get back to posting regularly soon. A lot has gone on since October. I have a new job and have been booking shows a little more actively than I had in the past months. The Alabama Crimson Tide won their 13th National Championship. Went to see Neil Young last night at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. It was incredible. Here is the set list:

2010-05-29, Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Solo

My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue) / Tell Me Why / Helpless / You Never Call / Peaceful Valley / Love And War / Down By The River / Hitchhiker / Ohio / Sign Of Love / Leia / After The Gold Rush / I Believe In You / Rumblin' / Cortez The Killer / Cinnamon Girl // Walk With Me

Sunny Day Real Estate in ATL

Last night I was lucky enough to see the reunited original lineup of Sunny Day Real Estate play at Center Stage in Atlanta. This tour was announced several months ago, and at the time, I was very excited and had planned to buy tickets the minute they went on sale. Things didn't work out as planned, because the onsale date was in the middle of my move to Birmingham. The move caused me to forget all about the tour until a few days ago. The show was sold out, but my friend Brian and I were able to score two tickets via Craigslist at a slightly over face value price. My money is very tight right now, but this was something I could justify spending for. The show was every bit worth the money and the CL hassle. The band played as if they had never broken up or even stopped practicing. I don't think there was one note missed all night. It was seriously incredible. Here are some pictures along with the full set list:

SDRE, Center Stage in Atlanta, GA 10/3/09:

1. Friday
2. Seven
3. Shadows
4. Song About An Angel
5. Grendel
6. Guitar and Video Games
7. Iscarabaid
8. Theo B
9. (New Song)
10. 5/4
11. Sometimes

Encore:
12. In Circles
13. 48
14. J'Nuh

The Search presses on...

- The Alabama Crimson Tide are now 4-0 after a victory against Arkansas yesterday. I attended the game with my dad, and we had a great time watching the Tide roll. We have been playing well so far. Greg McElroy continues to be impressive and play like a true leader. Our running game was consistently shut down yesterday, which is a huge worry, but we were able to make up for it with strong defense and some huge, varied plays on the offensive side. I hate that we will potentially lose Hightower for quite some time, as he is an integral part of the team. There are some true tests coming up against Kentucky and Ole Miss on the road, followed by what will be a more than interesting homecoming game in Tuscaloosa against Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks. I am excited about the upcoming weeks, but I am preparing for at least one nailbiter out of the three, and I think every other Bama fan should do the same.

Bama vs. Florida International pregame:





Bama vs. North Texas:




My favorite images from the season so far (via RBR):








- In relation to my last blog post: The NY Times has a great piece up on the last days of Jim Carroll. If you're interested, check it out here.

- In relation to my well being: The job search in Birmingham has been difficult so far. My plan this week is to try and meet with one or more temp agencies. Hopefully I can do a better job of balancing temp work and my career search than I did over the past couple of years.

- In relation to writing: I need to do more of it. Lots more.

Playlist as of late:
Polar Bear Club - "Chasing Hamburg"
The Smiths - All
Morrissey - "Southpaw Grammar" and "Maladjusted" Remasters
The Jesus & Mary Chain - "Complete Peel Sessions"

Jim Carroll: 1950-2009

"I just want to be pure..."

After reading the unfortunate news of Jim Carroll's passing a couple of days ago, I started to think about my love for his book "The Basketball Diaries." I had no knowledge of Carroll's work before the aforementioned book was adapted for film in 1995, featuring soon to be megastar Leonardo DiCaprio playing the role of Carroll. I was 13 years old when the film reached the rental stores, and couldn't have been more intrigued by the scenario: a kid my age playing sports, going wild on the streets of New York, getting into all kinds of mischief, trying drugs, sleeping with girls, and keeping a journal recounting all of it. It was a glimpse into a world that was completely alien to me, complete with a soundtrack that featured Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

I watched the film quite a few times, but my interest in it waned after I finally bought a copy of the book. It was so much more vivid than the film, and I was completely blown away by Carroll's straight-to-the-point style of writing. I felt as if I were reading letters sent to me by a friend who wanted me to know all of the exciting details he could never share with his parents and family. By the end of the book, I was concerned for that friend's well being; fearing that he would soon get into a brawl too violent to recover from, or take more drugs than he could handle, too young to learn any sort of lesson from his experiences. Thankfully, I was learning lessons from every page of Carroll's book. Learning of Kurt Cobain's drug abuse and eventual suicide (about a year, give or take, before the BD film was released) at my young age was a mortal wound to any later curiosity I'd have about drugs, but looking back, there's no denying that "The Basketball Diaries" served as a nail in its coffin. Many have and probably will continue to argue that works of this nature, be they music, literature, or film encourage young people to mimic the activities depicted in them. I'll continue to argue for the contrary. This book was a vital influence on what I consider to be some of the most positive decisions I have ever made...more so than any D.A.R.E. program lecture or "Just Say No!" button ever could have.

In addition to "The Basketball Diaries", I also read a collection of Carroll's poetry a couple of years later entitled "Fear Of Dreaming." That was all I could get my hands on in those days prior to every book you can imagine being a click away from arriving at your doorstep. Perhaps the only positive thing about the death of such an artist is that his work will hopefully be more widely recognized and available after the fact. I know I've got some catching up to do.

Images from the past few weeks in Birmingham

(they were driving an '84.....sheep dog)

(one of the walls in the hallway)


(kevin eating brownie topped pizza)




Free Chicken Quest:

A time I hope we'll remember:

Mineral - The Non-Album Tracks

I have no intentions of turning this into a music uploads blog, but I just put this little compilation together that I feel needs to be shared as much as possible.

Mineral - The Non-Album Tracks

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3GF2PY1L

Here is a compilation of Mineral material that is not on either of the full lengths. To my knowledge, all of this material is long out of print.

1. February (From February/M.D. 7")
2. M.D. (Same as track 1)
3. Sadder Star (from The First Crush Compilation)
4. Rubber Legs (from And Don't Forget To Breathe '97 Compilation)
5. Love My Way (Psychedelic Furs Cover, from the "&Serenading 7")
6. Crazy (as written by Willie Nelson, from the split 7" with Jimmy Eat World and Sense Field)

Enjoy. If anyone here knows of any other Mineral recordings please let me know. I'll expand on this if need be.

Information on the band from Wikipedia:

Mineral was a prominent mid-90's indie-rock band originally from Houston, Texas, but soon relocated to Austin following their formation. All four members of Mineral were signed to Interscope Records on individual contracts. Its former members have since moved on to other musical projects including The Gloria Record, Pop Unknown, and Zookeeper.

Mineral's music is characterized by its iterated soft/loud structure, overlaid with melodic, off-key vocals and ethereal guitar-based instrumental bridges. Many of their songs adhere to the formulas and now ubiquitous stylistic conventions associated with "emo" pioneers Sunny Day Real Estate (SDRE). Despite their similarities to SDRE, Mineral emerged at the same time as that group and added their own less intense, more brooding flavor to the then-emerging "Midwest" sound.^{[citation needed]} Mineral's subtle balance between angst-ridden kinetics and wistful underpinnings, in conjunction with their intelligent lyrics, have heavily influenced many bands of the late 1990s and 2000s.

Juxtaposition.