Posted on March 15, 2002 at 2:15 pm | No Comments
I need to take a moment and sing the praises of Audio Learning Center. This new band just released what has quickly become my favorite album of the last year or two. It’s titled “Friendships Often Fade Away”, and it’s got ahold of me like nothing has for a very long time. I was lamenting my apathy towards new music recently… that I haven’t been really, really blown away by new stuff in the past couple years. Sure, there have been some great albums, but nothing that has really become part of me… like music used to in the late 80s / early 90s. I mean… a list of my ten, even 20, favorite albums doesn’t include anything released in the past five or so years. This album has changed that, and I knew it right away. I’ve connected with it, musically and lyrically… it’s awakened something in me that I thought had faded… an excitement for the new. So thank you, ALC.
their spiffy new website has just gone live, so give it a visit.Let’s take another moment to bid a sudden, shocking farewell to Other Music Cambridge. This cut-above-the-rest NYC-based record store made an attempt at branching out to the Boston area, opening a location in Harvard Square last year. Well, apparantly they gave up the fight against Newbury Comics and the like, which is a damn shame. I can count more than one occasion where they had something Newbury did not, and I always tried to funnel my cash their way when I could. According to Heath, they left a little note on the door that implied they retreated back to NYC because “people buy all their stuff online anyway” or some such thing. Yikes. Admittedly, that’s where a good portion of my new cd cash goes, but certainly not all of it. Looks like the rest is going to Newbury from now on. Back to the status quo.
Link check…
Smart Explorer Browser 6.0
An alternative to Internet Explorer. Multiple browsing windows (taking advantage of today’s larger monitors), and supposed control over those nasty pop-up windows. I’ll have to try it out.
Posted on March 14, 2002 at 12:21 pm | No Comments
Ah, a little ‘vermont visit’ breaks up the blogging. Yup, I headed north for work earlier this week… back to Bore-lington, and for some reason did not feel the pull of the posting.
It’s always strange going back up there… too many memories rush back… the good, the bad, the inbetween. Were it not for my family being up there, and some good friends holding down the fort, I’d feel completely unattached to the place.
This time I did more than reflect on the past… I freakin’ relived some of it. Spent a good hour in Kinko’s making posters for the also-rans show up there at Metronome next week. You can’t imagine how much time I’ve done in front of those copy machines… laying out, printing, folding, cutting… posters, handouts, cassette inserts, cd artwork… I practically used to live there when I was doing the band thing up north. It was very, very surreal to be doing it all over again, wandering around town, putting up flyers… seeing some of the same people. Hell, while I was standing in Kinko’s, I think I heard the same two hairy musicians from a couple of never-die hippy bands having the same exact converstation they did six years ago. And I really don’t think they’ve shaved or showered since.
So, next week, it’s back up to Burlington for a rock show. For that, I simply cannot wait…
Mark March 2002 down as a sad month… the month in which the brilliant band UNWOUND called it quits. One of my longtime faves. I’ll let the fine folks at record label Troubleman Unlimited speak for me. “Unwound was one of the most influential and vital bands of the 90’s, and their last record was a masterpiece. You just don’t know it yet. Unwound’s influence will live on for a long time to come, and they were everything a band should be: independent and non-compromising in every aspect.” I really couldn’t have said it better myself. I just figured they were one of those bands that would always be around, always changing… like Fugazi or Sonic Youth. Their albums were challenging and brilliant… and they refused to play shows that weren’t all ages. I was looking forward to seeing them live for the first time last fall, but unfortunately it was scheduled for mid-September. You can guess why they didn’t play. Goodbye, Unwound. Goodbye, great band.
Speaking of September, I finally got around to watching a tape of the 9/11 documentary from last weekend, and like pretty much anyone who watched, was amazed at how well done it was. I avoided it, fearing they’d pull a ‘stone phillips’ on it… cheesed up and overly-manipulative… but it was tasteful, dramatic, and genuinely touching.
Ed Matthews, who hangs on the Warren Ellis Forum, took this excellent shot of the new ‘Tribute of Light’ that’s been set up near the old WTC site…
A few links to satisfy your surfing needs for the day…
the new Middle East Nightclub website
Yup, the super-stale, no frills website for the Middle East in Cambridge, MA got a serious revamp last week… and it looks great.
71 sunbeam
I grabbed a couple mp3s from this band’s website and really liked ’em. They’re Boston-based, and putting out an e.p. soon.
Cat Hospital starring Frank the Cat
Awww… click on over there and check out a live webcam of Frank recovering from a nasty run-in with a car. He’s pretty damn cute, and getting better every day.
AJ’s VPinMAME Table Downloads
OoooooooOOOhhh… someone took the time to recreate classic pinball machines to play on your computer. Ain’t nuthin’ like the real thing, but since it’s impossible to find Cyclone anywhere any more, I’ll take what I can get.
A Skin Too Few – The Days of Nick Drake
I’d really like to see this documentary on Nick Drake. Guess I’ll have to hope it comes out on DVD…
PunkNet
PunkNet’s been around a long time, but it’s getting a bit of a restart with this nifty new design. Looking forward to frequent visits.
New Comic Book Release List
A handy-dandy way to find out what’s coming out each week. They’ll even send you emails to let you know what’s up. Makes it easy not to miss the good stuff.