Bradley’s Almanac

Rocking the Routine

Posted on September 30, 2005 at 2:14 pm | No Comments

I’m not one of those bloggers who shares information about what I do for work. Regular readers know I only go so far as to whine about how busy things are here. You’ll never find me dishing details, ‘cuz it’s just not something I find all that appropriate, necessary, or frankly very interesting. Well, it might be interesting for me, but I know it sure wouldn’t be for you. I keep my online life and my cube-dwelling days as separate as possible…

So let me just say that yesterday was not like any other day here at the ol’ workplace. The building is still buzzing, it’s a little hard to focus, the times they are a-changin’. Or maybe they aren’t. Time will tell. My working world has suddenly shifted, and I’ll leave it at that.

Oh, a new personal pledge: Since the Almanac has never had what anyone could consider a ‘regular schedule’ for posts, except for the fact that new mp3s usually appear Monday-ish, I’ve decided to set myself a little goal.

Starting now, I’m sticking to at least two big posts per week: Music on Mondays, and a big ol’ collection of links and news on Thursdays. That’s just a minimum, though, so it certainly won’t prevent me from rambling whenever I dang well please. Mondays and Thursdays, though? Always. That’s the plan, anyway.

Alright, before the weekend hits, let’s do this thing…

Great show on tap for tomorrow night here in Boston, what with former Guided By Voices guitarist guy Doug Gillard playing at Cambridge’s Lizard Lounge as part of NEMO. I’m very psyched to hear him play songs from his excellent solo disc, ‘Salamander‘. Joining him in the lineup are the also-pretty-excellent Dirty On Purpose from NYC, along with Doveman, Celebrity Pilots, and Snowleopards.

The show is actually a donewaiting.com showcase, and I’m pretty into that ‘cuz I’ve been reading Robert Duffy’s site for quite awhile now. He’s started up his own label called Sunken Treasure, and their first release is by the afforementioned Celebrity Pilots. Mr. Duffy will be appeared at a Saturday afternoon NEMO panel as well called ‘Creating a Buzz’, so if you’re into that sort of thing, do go and check it out.

Kochalkaholic is a website dedicated to all things James-Kochalka-related; his music, his comics, his daily online diary strip, you name it. Two of my favorite people, Colin Clary & Jason Cooley, were interviewed by site-keeper Alan David Doane thanks to their frequent collaborations with James. For Colin’s interview, head here, and for Jason’s click this.

Speaking of Colin, one of his bands, The Smittens, just released their second disc ‘A Little Revolution’ on North of January records. I’ve got it, and it’s the exact opposite of a sophomore slump. Near perfect pop from five of the nicest people you could meet.

They’ll be playing this weekend as part of Popfest! New England 2005 out in Northampton, MA. I’m hoping that work doesn’t get in the way, so I can drive out there and catch not just them, but the brilliant Trembling Blue Stars, who will supposedly be playing their very last live show there. Bigtime bummer, that is.

Another fest I have a far less likely chance of attending: Record label 4AD’s 25th Anniversary celebration in London. What a lineup…

November 17th – TV On The Radio plus special guests (@ The Scala)
November 18th – Minotaur Shock & Magnetophone plus special guests (@ The Luminaire)
November 19th – The Breeders plus special guests (@ Blackheath Halls)
November 20th – The Breeders plus special guests (@ Blackheath Halls)
November 21th – Kristin Hersh performing the songs of Throwing Muses (@ The Scala)
November 22th – Kristin Hersh performing songs from Hips And Makers onwards (@ The Scala)
November 23th – The Mountain Goats plus special guests (@ Bush Hall)
November 24th – Celebration plus special guests (@ The Water Rats)
November 25th – Mojave 3 & Mark Kozelek (@ Conway Hall)
November 27th – Blonde Redhead & Johann Johannsson (@ The Scala)

I was lucky enough to attend 4AD’s ’13 Year Itch’, which was their 1993 13th anniversary party, and it was one of the best weeks of live music of my life. I can feel this new one pulling me over the ocean, and I might just start looking into airline fares…

The early 90s shoegazing scene gets a full-on tribute with the just-released ‘Never Lose That Feeling #1‘, a spiffy-looking collection of covers. Songs written by Ride, Curve, My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, Slowdive, Pale Saints, Ultra Vivid Scene, Moose, Spiritualized and more, covered by the likes of Andrew Kenny (from American Analog Set), Windermere, Amusement Parks On Fire, Air Formation, and Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa. Great songs selections, can’t wait to hear them all.

For four of the songs, head to this myspace page, and for a review of the collection, hit up Drowned in Sound.

Bob Nanna (ex-Friction, Braid, Hey Mercedes) is playing out under the moniker The City on Film, and soon Redder Records will release his ‘American Diary‘, an EP derived from his many cross-country road trips. Redder was kind enough to send along an mp3 link to this track, ‘Pony’s Last Trick‘, so take a listen.

Also coming out soon on Redder is the debut disc from The Tiny Amps, titled ‘Trill & Swagger’. Judging by a preview track, I’m gonna love the thing. Check out the song ‘Dance on a Crowded Floor‘ for yourself right here. I can’t believe I’ve been missing their Boston area shows for so long, and I’m really gonna have to fix that.

As Jackie kindly mentioned in an earlier comment, Bell Orchestre and Clogs are coming to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in early November. There’s some member crossover in those bands between The Arcade Fire and The National, so the buzz buzz buzz will likely get loud, and tickets will definitely disappear. If you wanna go, get clickin’.

Speaking of The National, Vincent Moon has some video downloads available for their ‘Lit Up‘ and ‘Daughters of the Soho Riots‘, along with the Clogs ‘Lantern‘.

Want some more easy Sigur R�s downloads? Check out Sonic Plague for a clip of their appearance on the Late Late Show awhile back, along with mp3s from their 2001 gig at Boston’s Berklee Performance Center.

Glad to read more about the upcoming reissue of Explosions in the Sky’s first disc on Temporary Residence. Want want want. Go grab an mp3 from it, and read of their contribution to the Travels in Constants EP series while you’re there.

The new Supergrass album, ‘Road to Rouen‘, came out earlier this week, and you can listen to an album sampler here. I lost track of them for years, but they’ve certainly mellowed with age. Not sure what I think about that.. seems to be an entirely different band from the ‘Caught By The Fuzz‘ days, but I fully intend to give the new one a little time to sink in.

The first video off the disc is ‘St. Petersburg‘, and here’s a ton of links to various flavors of it: Windows Media 100 / Windows Media 300 / Realmedia 100 / Realmedia 300 / Quicktime 100 / Quicktime 300 / Quicktime 750

Attention Boston-area fans of funny-girl Sarah Silverman: She’s coming to town as part of the Boston Jewish Film Fest, screening her film ‘Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic’. It was directed by the uber-talented Liam Lynch (who is also directing the upcoming Tenacious D movie), and I’m just dyin’ to see it. Tickets will be available starting this Monday morning, October 3rd, and the festival takes place from November 2nd to the 13th.

I’ve got comic writer and novelist Greg Rucka on the brain lately after checking out his newly redesigned website and learning that his second Queen & Country hardcover, ‘Private Wars’, is coming out in October. I feel compelled to shake his hand when he comes to town this weekend as part of the first Wizard World Boston comic convention. I’d love to see a couple of my favorite artists, John Cassaday and David Mack, as well, but I’ve got to be in a very particular mood in order to tolerate the massive throng of fandom that’ll be gathered over in the Bayside Expo center. We’ll see if that mood hits me tomorrow.

Another comic-y bit of news: Carnivale (a damn good show that I’m still kinda bitter about losing) creator Daniel Knauf has been tapped to write Iron Man. His six-issue stint will begin in spring 2006. Now, it’s been over a decade since I’ve read a solo Iron Man book, but his involvement is enough to get me on board. Ink me intrigued.

Hey, if it does well, can someone get him to crank out a Carnivale continuation in comic form? How about a freakin’ novel? Hell, I’d even take a two-paragraph post on a messageboard, Mr. Knauf. I’ve gotta know what happened to Justin! The fantastic (but unplanned) finale of that show left us with the worst unanswered questions since “Where’s Annie?”. Painful.

Also painful? The one and only David Lynch will be in Boston tomorrow night, giving a talk entitled ‘CONSCIOUSNESS, CREATIVITY, and the BRAIN’, along with quantum physicist Dr. John Hagelin and neuroscientist Dr. Fred Travis. Now, that’s not painful, although it might hurt your brain. What smarts is that it’s Students Only, general public be damned. Curses!

The USA network has decided to bring back sci-fi series The 4400 for a third season. I’m glad to hear it, especially after the cliffhangin’ finale of season two, although I wouldn’t exactly have been crushed otherwise… while it’s certainly a solid show, you won’t catch me raving.

Dood. The PC demo for Call of Duty 2 is out. I loves me some WWII first person shooter action, and this one is supposed to raise the bar. Perfectly timed for the weekend, it is.

One of my fave Boston authors, Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, the Kenzie & Gennaro novels, etc), is currently teaching down at his Florida alma mater, St. Petersburg’s Eckerd College, and this article reveals that he’s written a play called ‘Coronado’ that will be performed down there in April. Also shared is a little bit of info on his next novel, which I’m eagerly awaiting. The relevant bit…

Lehane continues to write while teaching.

For the time being, he has retired the quirky detective duo, Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, who are the protagonists in several of his novels.

He is at work on an epic novel, centering on the 1919 Boston police strike but containing a national sweep. It might be the first of a trilogy or perhaps a four-book series, he said.

And it’s tough going.

“Absolutely brutal,” he said. “I’m earning my paycheck on this one.”

It’s working title?

Lehane doesn’t reveal such things.

“One of my superstitions,” he said.

Sounds great, can’t wait. In other Lehane news, this new interview with A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olsen ends with this exciting tid-bit…

“…the next thing I�m doing after [a project called Monster] is directing an adaptation of a Dennis Lehane short story called Until Gwen .”

I’ve read that short story, and it’s killer. Good news all around. Oh, and A History of Violence was amazing, by the way. All those four-star reviews don’t lie.

Another of my favorite Boston fiction writers, Robert B. Parker, has a new Spenser hardcover called ‘School Days‘ out this week, and he’s making a few east coast appearances to do a little reading and signing. Check here to see if he’s going to be near you.

I can’t seem to get off the subject of my favorite fiction. Here’s a fantastic Time Magazine interview that teams up Joss Whedon and Neil Gaiman to mark today’s release of Whedon’s Firefly film, Serenity, and Gaiman’s own Mirrormask movie (as well as Neil’s new novel, Anansi Boys, which will debut at #1 on the NYTimes bestseller list). I’ll be seeing both movies this weekend, although I did already catch a preview of Serenity a few months back. It’s excellent, and more than worth your hard earned dollars. I’ll be doing my part to pump up the box office totals so we end up with a sequel, and I feel lucky to be in one of the few cities that gets Mirrormask on its first weekend, so I’ll be at the Kendall sometime, at least when I’m not watching the Red Sox fight the Yanks for the division. Good times.

Oh, and for more Whedony goodness, here’s a little interview with Mr. Sunnydale in Boston’s own Weekly Dig.

I’ve finally updated the blogroll in the right hand column over there, expanding my ‘music, mostly’ links list by adding some more of my favorite places. I’ve been so dependent on my rss reader that I sometimes forget that thing is over there. You’ll probably notice that I actually added a ‘previous posts’ lists as well. Only took me a few years.

A great big thankyouthankyouthankyou to the kind surfers who have donated towards the Making Strides Breast Cancer Walk that Amie and I are doing in a couple weeks. You already helped me blow away my initial modest goal, so I’ve raised it slightly higher. If anyone else out there wants to pledge online, it’d be most appreciated by not just me, but the rest of Team Genevieve.

As promised, on Monday I’ll be posting AminA’s set from the Boston Opera House a couple weeks back, when they opened for Sigur Ros. Sounds great, looking forward to sharing it. Until then…

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  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
    Thursday, March 28th
    Thus Love
    Native Sun
    Robber Robber
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, March 28th
    Arlo Parks
    Chloe George
    @ the Royale

    Friday, March 29th
    Grouplove
    Bully
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, March 29th
    The Rolling Stones
    @ Gillette

    Saturday, March 30th
    Ex-Hyena (release show!)
    The Shallows
    CMB (Casey Desmond/Jimmy Rossi Jr.)
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, March 30th
    Guster
    Fruit Bats
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Saturday, March 30th
    The Cavedogs
    @ the Burren Back Room

    Monday, April 1st
    Adam Ant
    The English Beat
    @ the Wilbur

    Friday, April 5th
    Joe Pernice (solo)
    @ a Boston living room

    Friday, April 5th
    Richard Thompson
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Saturday, April 6th
    Choo Choo La Rouge
    Lupo Citta
    The Bret Tobias Set
    Jay Walsh
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Saturday, April 6th
    Land Of Talk
    @ Rockwood Music Hall

    Saturday, April 6th
    Destroyer (solo)
    Lightning Dust
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Saturday, April 6th
    Choo Choo La Rouge
    Lupo Citta
    The Bret Tobias Set
    Jay Walsh (of the Douglas Fir)
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Saturday, April 6th
    Colin Hay (Men at Work)
    @ the Wilbur

    Monday, April 8th
    Swami & the Bed of Nails
    (John Reis of Hot Snakes/RFTC/etc)
    The Freqs
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Tuesday, April 9th
    Moron's Morons
    Andy California
    Adult Learners
    G. Gordon Gritty
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, April 11th
    Trash Sun
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, April 11th
    Hotline TNT
    Cicada
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Saturday, April 13th
    Dead Gowns
    Kathy Snax
    Hannah Mohan
    Audrey & Karina
    @ the Loft, Somerville

    Saturday, April 13th
    DARK SPRING BOSTON FEST
    with Korine, House of Harm,
    Widow Rings, Allie Frost,
    Hemlock for Socrates,
    Midnight Psychic, the
    Spearmint Sea, and more
    @ the Middle East

    Sunday, April 14th
    Woods
    Avey Tare
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, April 15th
    Matthew Sweet
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, April 17th
    Metz
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Wednesday, April 17th
    Real Estate
    Marina Allen
    @ the Royale

    Friday, April 19th
    Quattracenta
    Thalia Zedek Band
    Rip Room
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Friday, April 19th
    Drop Nineteens
    Greg Mendez
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, April 20th Doc Hopper
    "Aloha" LP 30th anniversary with
    Shades Apart,
    Matt Charrette & the Truer Sound,
    and The Keeper Class
    @ O'Brien's

    Wednesday, April 24th
    Teen Suicide
    awakebutstillinbed
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, April 26th
    Waxahatchee
    Good Morning
    @ the Orpheum

    Friday & Saturday
    April 26th & 27th
    The Town & the City Festival
    @ various venues in Lowell, MA

    Saturday, April 27th
    Kal Marks
    Grocer
    Bedroom Eyes
    Main Era
    @ O'Brien's

    Saturday, April 27th
    Belle and Sebastian
    The Weather Station
    @ the Orpheum

    Sunday, April 28th
    Yot Club
    Boyscott
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Tuesday, April 30th
    Adult Learners
    Perfectly Lethal
    Over Ends
    Free with food donation
    @ Notch Brewing Brighton

    Tuesday, April 30th
    Teenage Fanclub
    @ the Paradise

    Wednesday, May 1st
    Ty Segall
    @ the Royale

    Thursday, May 2nd
    Outer World
    @ Deep Cuts

    Thursday, May 2nd
    The Decemberists
    Ratboys
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, May 3rd
    Ra Ra Riot
    @ the Royale

    Saturday, May 4th
    Slothrust
    Weakened Friends
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, May 4th
    Lisa Bastoni
    & Sean Staples
    @ the Rec Room, Belmont

    Saturday, May 4th
    The Lights Out
    Gretchen Shae & The Middle 8
    Brian K & The Parkway
    @ Faces Brewing

    Sunday, May 5th
    Sheer Mag
    Pile
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Sunday, May 5th
    CSS
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, May 6th
    Cloud Nothings
    Hurry
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Tuesday, May 7th
    Bad Religion
    Social Distortion
    (playing "Mommy's Little Monster")
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Wednesday, May 8th
    Todd Rundgren
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, May 8th
    Chastity Belt
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, May 9th
    Cheekface
    Yungatita
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Friday, May 10th
    Hot Water Music
    30 Year Anniversary Tour
    with Quicksand
    & Off With Their Heads
    @ the Royale

    Friday, May 10th
    Sarah Shook & the Disarmers
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Saturday, May 11th
    Bradley's Almanac (that's me) presents...
    SAVAK
    SAMUEL s.c.
    HEY I'M OUTSIDE
    PLAZA
    8pm @ O'Brien's

    Saturday, May 11th
    Ride
    @ Big Night Live

    Saturday, May 11th
    Hallelujah the Hills
    Colleen Green
    Mallcops
    @ Deep Cuts

    Sunday, May 12th
    Sunny Day Real Estate
    @ Big Night Live

    Monday, May 13th
    High On Fire
    Zeta
    High Command
    @ the Middle East
    Monday & Tuesday
    May 13th & May 14th
    Mannequin Pussy
    Soul Glo
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, May 14th
    Swans
    @ the Paradise

    Wednesday, May 15th
    Wussy (duo show)
    @ an Allston living room

    Thursday, May 16th
    Helmet
    Cro-Mags
    @ the Middle East Downstairs

    Thursday, Friday, & Saturday
    May 16th, 17th, & 18th
    Jukebox the Ghost
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, May 17th
    Lenny Kaye & Friends
    "A 50th Anniversary Celebration of
    Nuggets!: Classic Garage Rock Songs"
    featuring Jon Wurster, Bill Janovitz,
    Ted Leo, Josh Kantor, David Minehan,
    James Mastro, Ed Valauskas, Hugo Burnham,
    Clint Conley, Tanya Donelly, Duke Levine,
    Barrence Whitfield, Tony Goddess, Willie
    Alexander, and more to come
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Friday, May 17th
    Special Sapphic Pride Show
    Ruby Grove
    Galaxy Cake
    Miss Geo
    Linnea's Garden
    @ the Loft, Somerville

    Friday, May 17th
    Neil Young & Crazy Horse
    @ the Xfinity Center

    Friday, May 17th
    Buck Meek (of Big Thief)
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Saturday, May 18th
    Eldridge Rodriguez
    @ Sonia

    Saturday, May 18th
    The Messthetics
    James Brandon Lewis
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Monday, May 20th
    Echo & the Bunnymen
    @ the House of Blues

    Tuesday, May 21st
    Another Michael
    Tenci
    @ the Rockwell

    Tuesday, May 28th
    Shannon & the Clams
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, May 28th
    Brookline Booksmith presents...
    Kathleen Hanna
    "Rebel Girl" book tour
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, May. 29th
    The Antlers &
    Okkervil River
    (solo & together tour)
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Wednesday, May 29th
    The Alarm
    Jay Aston's Gene Love Jezebel
    Belouis Some
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Wednesday, May 29th
    Madness
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, May 30th
    Camera Obscura
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, May 30th
    Nation Of Language
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, June 4th
    Melt-Banana
    The Flying Luttenbachers
    babyaby_explores
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, June 4th
    Joe Jackson
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, June 5th
    Andy Summers (The Police)
    @ Cary Hall, Lexington

    Thursday, June 6th
    Jason Narducy & Alison Chesley
    duo/reunion show
    @ Q Division Studios, Cambridge

    Thursday, June 6th
    Reverend Horton Heat
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, June 7th
    Joe Pera
    @ the Wilbur

    Monday, June 10th
    Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade) @ Brighton Music Hall

    Monday, June 10th
    Bleachers
    Samia
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, June 13th
    Jon Langford & the Bright Shiners
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Thursday, June 13th
    Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties
    Future Teens
    Maura Weaver
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Friday, June 14th
    Dylan Earl
    Tiger Saw
    Audrey & Karina
    & one more artist tba
    @ the Loft, Somerville

    Sunday, June 16th
    Pixies
    Modest Mouse
    Cat Power
    @ Xfinity Center

    Wednesday, June 19th
    Future Islands
    @ Roadrunner

    Thursday, June 20th
    Roger Daltrey
    KT Tunstall
    @ the Pavilion

    Friday, June 21st
    The Church
    The Afghan Whigs
    Ed Harcourt
    @ the Royale

    Friday, June 21st
    Blushing
    Airiel
    Bodywash
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, June 22nd
    Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
    playing "Shake The Sheets"
    with guests
    Ekko Astral
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, June 22nd
    Guided By Voices
    The Moles
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, June 25th
    Jon Anderson (of Yes)
    playing “Yes Epics, Classics, and More”
    @ the Shubert Theatre

    Tuesday, June 25th
    Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
    Courtney Marie Andrews
    @ Roadrunner

    Wednesday, June 26th
    Blue Oyster Cult
    @ the Lynn Auditorium

    Friday, June 28th
    Dry Cleaning
    @ the Paradise

    Friday, June 28th
    A Day To Remember
    The Story So Far
    Four Year Strong
    Pain of Truth
    @ Suffolk Downs

    Friday, June 28th
    Janet Jackson
    Nelly
    @ TD Garden

    Saturday, June 29th
    Buffalo Tom
    @ Boarding House Park, Lowell

    Sunday, June 30th
    Les Savy Fav
    @ Somerville Armory