Need your weeds wacked? I'm your man.

I am the proud owner of a Toro 12" electric trimmer which I picked up for $29.99 at Home Depot.

It works pretty well and I finished weeding the backyard on Monday. If you need your weeds wacked, I'm your man.

On Tuesday morning, I hit the Cowtown Flea Market yesterday and got some cool stuff:

-Bush Tetras - "Rituals" 12" - $0.25
-Root Boy Slim & the Sex Change Band LP - $0.25
-Iggy Pop's book on 2.13.61 - $1.00
-St. Ives medicated apricot scrub - $2.00
-Bad Religion - "No Control" CD - $3.00
-Pharcyde - "Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde" - $3.00

Then I watched "Mystic River" which I thought was OK, but I'm not sure if it deserved all the hype it received.

I was watching "Amores Perros" the other day and was really getting into it. 25 minutes into the film, the DVD started skipping. I had borrowed it from the library and when I looked at the disc, I saw that it was all scratched up.

It's so easy to handle a DVD or a CD. Just handle it by the edges and don't touch the surface. Yet, so many people manage to get scratches on DVDs and touch the playing surface. Well, I rented it again, from a store, so hopefully I can get the entire way through.

I also rented "City Lights" by Charles Chaplin, which I can't wait to watch. His films are so amazing.

I was having a pretty good day yesterday when all of a sudden I got a nasty sinus headache. I ended up going to bed at 5:00 in the afternoon and sleeping the whole night through.

Government Issue First Demo 7" out now

Spontaneous Combustion has released Government Issue's "First Demo" 7" in an inital pressing of 500. Mailorder customers can still get the limited edition yellow vinyl version (only 100 made), but not for long.

The label is also releasing a one-time only, limited edition pressing of 400 copies of The Cheifs' "Blue" 7".

Tuesday MP3 action

I was stoked that one of my favorite music news and MP3 sites, Kingblind, had a link to my site recently.

I highly recommend Kingblind because they always have music news first and often have good MP3 recommendations.

And now, here are some MP3 recommendations of my own:

A Girl Called Eddy
A Girl Called Eddy's style is in the vein of Aimee Mann and other sophisticated female singers such as Tracey Thorn and Beth Orton.

Grandiose and baroque pop that will appeal to hip chicks and their nerdy boyfriends. Her self-titled album comes out later this year on Anti.

MP3: A Girl Called Eddy - "People Used To Dream About The Future"
MP3: A Girl Called Eddy - "Golden"

Clorox Girls
Clorox Girls' debut album clocks in under 18 minutes, but that's because the band knows less is more.

To-the-point, catchy punk ditties that have some of that late '70s mid-tempo punk action with the hooks of say ... the Buzzcocks or the Boys. Insanely good stuff. On Smart Guy Records.

MP3:Clorox Girls - "The One"
MP3:Clorox Girls - "Stuck in a Hole"
MP3:Clorox Girls - "Vietnam"

Saturday afternoon blah blah

Woke up this morning. Went to work and listened to some of Sound Opinions.

Then I left work and drove home. The commute is an hour each way. My CD player started skipping. Oh no. I listened to some of Anil Ki Awaaz's show on WPRB. Anil plays the latest Indian music, some of which is good stuff.

When I couldn't pick up WPRB anymore I switched over to WKDU and was stoked to hear some really cool punk and garage music. I even called the DJ to tell him he was doing a good job.

Came home and took a nap. I woke up about a half hour ago and saw that my order from Know Crap Mailorder arrived.

I'm listening to VEE DEE's album, "Furthur," on Criminal IQ Records. VEE DEE plays no-frills punk rock and roll and reminds me of the kind of punk Touch & Go used to put out. Here's an MP3 from the album:

MP3: VEE DEE - "Flashes of Her"

I also got a 7" by Suburban Reptiles who were one of New Zealand's very first punk bands.

Then I got a cool e-mail from my friend Mike Lenert who is an archaeologist or something like that. He digs up old fossils, inidian spearheads and fossilized dinosaur turds then writes reports about them and their historical significance.

At least that's what I think he does. I would get bored in a field in about 15 minutes. Digging for rocks and old artifacts seems like it would be boring. I guess that's why I'm a writer/editor, although that too is boring in its own way.

And that brings me up to right now. Not sure what I'll do the rest of the day. Hopefully go out to eat at Tijuana Taco Shop or India Palace.

Too many damn websites

I'm sitting here on friday night just going through a bunch of sites to find some new and interesting blogs, MP3s and the like. There's so much stuff out there!

Sound Opinions is the world's only rock 'n' roll talk show, hosted by Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot ... My friend Andy recommended I check out Pirate Cat Radio which broadcasts out of San Francisco. I'll be checking it out over the weekend ... same goes for KUSF which is another San Francisco radio you might have heard about.

I'm not sure if I like or hate Everything because the website is like shopping at Amoeba Music because it's easy to get lost if you don't know what you're looking for ... The Beat Surrender looks like a cool UK music site. I enjoy foreign music sites because they offer such a different perspective than what is going on musically in the USA ... Soviet Panda has some live music reviews and rock news from Pete who lives in Chicago and goes to school in Minneapolis.

Tiral looks like my kind of site. Just an ecclectic mish-mash of interesting stuff dealing with offbeat culture ... Parallax View has just way too many links to sift through in one sitting. Will be coming back to that one ... Also think The Big Ticket has some cool MP3 action worth investigating ... Fluxblog also has many MP3 links ... as does Scissorkick who has video clips as well as a load of well-selected MP3s.

Nick Drake revisited

In celebration of the release of "Made to Love Magic" by Nick Drake, phillyburbs.com is re-running my column, "Nick Drake: Born to make magic."

You may already know Nick Drake's music. But if you don't know Nick Drake's music, now is the time. It doesn't matter what kind of music you prefer. Every person should have the opportunity to discover the magic of Nick Drake's complex yet incredibly warm guitar strum and aching but always-lovely voice (...more)

The Briefs "Poor and Weird" major label EP

In 2001, The Briefs released a promotional only, three-song CD EP on a major label.

The songs were re-recorded versions of tracks found on the band's awesome debut album, "Hit After Hit," on Dirtnap Records.

The band and major label parted ways shortly thereafter without a proper release ever being issued. Here are the songs:

MP3: 1. Poor and Weird
MP3: 2. Where Did He Go?
MP3: 3. Sylvia

These tracks are available on the Briefs CD "Singles Only" which you can buy from indie-merch.com

The Briefs new album, "Sex Objects," comes out on June 29 on BYO Records, who has posted an MP3 from the album.
MP3: The Briefs - Orange Alert

Tell Congress to renew the Assault Weapons Ban

The NRA wants to put illegal military style rapid-fire assault weapons, including AK-47s and Uzis, back on our streets. Tell President Bush no way is this going to happen. The Assault Weapons Ban must be renewed. In this day and age, why would anyone want to put these killing machines back on our streets? (...more)

Sign this petition and tell President Bush and Congress that Americans want sane gun laws.

Stuff I'm reading now

Since I finished the Motley Crue book, I am getting a chance to read some of the other books I have bought recently...



I enjoyed Ben Snakepit's "Snakepit Anthology III" which chronicles Ben's everyday life. In a nutshell, Ben goes to work, goes and sees a band and then hooks up with a cute chick or gets drunk and/or stoned with his friends. While its repetitive at times, overall Ben's comics are enjoyable and amusing.

Read more about Ben Snakepit and his comics, or you can go to Microcosm Publishing and pick up a copy of "Snakepit Anthology III" for yourself.



I started reading "Ruining it For Everybody" by Jim Knipfel.

So far it's pretty good with Knipfel recounting his college days as an anything-goes misanthrope who goes about pissing off everyone on the entire campus.

I finished reading a book by Motley Crue

I'm sure that my grade school reading teacher would be proud that I'm still a reader.

I just finished reading, "The Dirt," by Motley Crue. I hate the band and their music is atrocious, but I have to hand it to them - they wrote an entertaining book. Well, at least 2/3 of a great book.

So here's my Motley Crue book report.

The members of Motley Crue got together in L.A. in the early '80s after playing in miscellaneous bands.

1. They had sex with lots of women.
2. They took lots of drugs.
3. They drank lots and lots of alcohol.
4. They fought with each other all the time.

Then Vince Neil killed his friend while drunk driving. Later Tommy Lee ended up in prison for six months for beating his wife, Pamela Anderson. Nikki Sixx overdosed and nearly died.

Perhaps the most interesting member of Motley Crue is Mick Mars. Mars remained out of the spotlight due to his grotesque ugliness, but he still managed to get his fair share of babes.

Towards the last 1/3 of the book, the narrative of over-the-top partying and bickering between band members takes back seat to Vince Neil's moralizing and Tommy Lee's pathetic love letters from jail to Pamela Anderson and his even more pathetic transformation into a rapper.

Overall I would give this book a solid B. It is funny, pathetic and amusing all at once.