Hello London – There you are. You’re right there.

I was really tired after I walked down this road, but it was SO worth it.


I brought over some gifts for my hosts. Its not everyday you get your own room for 5 days for free in one of the world’s most expensive cities.


Here is what $300 in pounds looks like.


There is Jamie Oliver on tele, during prime time.


Here is the lovely person I came to visit. I miss this girl.

Time for a Silk Cut – more pictures to come…

new stokes video and IM

Fay and I went to a Strokes party last feb. We met David Cross there. I was trying to play cool and not let on that I knew who he was. Well, Fay ratted me out and David Cross called me an asshole. Then Julian proceeded to ask 'how did I find myself there' my only response being 'look dude, I am going to drink your beer and play your video games, uh ok?'

The new Stokes video had David Crtoss in it, so I had to IM Fay about it. Here's how the conversation went.

faycat: >^^<
Josef: omg new stroes video
juicebox
david cross
faycat: juicebox?
Josef: y
faycat: whazzat?
Josef: u c yey?
its like they documented our party!
faycat: i don't understand what you're saying!
Josef: winamp
faycat: oh! ok
Josef: go watch the video
faycat: ok, in a few minutes
Josef: david cross and the strokes
hes in the vid
faycat: ah
Josef: ps
theres puking in it
faycat: uh oh
i don't know if i can do it then
Josef: ok
no worries
faycat: about when does it happen, so i'm prepared, i can look away

Loretta Lynn on Google

I am the only person to have Loretta Lynn video footage on Google.

Hope the inna net cops don't bust me.

Going back to my country roots. Saw a special press screener of 'Walk the Line' last Friday. Given that its 2005 and this was made by Fox, it was ok, but no 'Coal Miner's Daughter.'

Going to see Willie Nelson and Ryan Adams tonight (membership has it's privileges). I also have tickets to see Jeff Tweedy solo Friday, but it's two hours upstate, and I don't have a car. Aaron's trying to figure it out. I don't have the time or energy to do an involved bus/train thing like we did for Loretta in CT. So why did I buy these tickets then? It was a mistake, I was so excited to have scored the tickets, I didn’t check that they were for Kingston and NOT NYC. I bought tickets to see Jeff Tweedy at the library a while back I also missed. oh well, there was always that News Years Eve show I made.

London Calling/I'm so bored with the USA

Next Tuesday.

London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared - and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard,you boys and girls
London calling, now don't LECTURE us
Phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust
London calling, see we ain't got no swing
'Cept for the reign of that truncheon thing

Yankee soldier
He wanna shoot some skag
He met it in Cambodia
But now he can't afford a bag

The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin
Engines stop running, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning - I live by the river

Yankee dollar talk
To the dictators of the world
In fact it's giving orders
An' they can't afford to miss a word

I'm so bored with the U...S...A...
But what can I do?

London calling to the imitation zone
Forget it, brother, you can go at it alone
London calling to the zombies of death
Quit holding out - and draw another breath
London calling - and I don't wanna shout
But while we were talking I saw you NODDING out
London calling, see we ain't got no high
Except for that one with the yellowy eyes

The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning - I, I live by the river

Yankee detectives
Are always on the TV
'Cos killers in America
Work seven days a week

Now get this
London calling, yes, I was there, too
An' you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!
London calling at the top of the dial
And after all this, won't you give me a smile?
London Calling

Move up Starsky
For the C.I.A.
Suck on Kojak
For the USA

I never felt so much ALIVE ALIVE ALIVE ALIVE

Never mind the stars and stripes
Let's print the Watergate Tapes
I'll salute the New Wave
And I hope nobody escapes

I'm so bored with the U...S...A...
But what can I do?

10 Web moments that changed the world

In celebration of the Webby’s 10th Year, they’ve taken a look back at 10 Web moments that changed the world. I was directly involved with number 7 and 8 . #1 hit a lot of us.

The irony of this list is I was working PR for the Webbies when I met the Napster guys, and that eventually led to me working there.

Of course I had to blog about this!

Someone else made my face for Halloween

That's OK, mine looked way better. I still don't have any pictures from that night. Hopefully some will surface soon. Prob show up on Myspace if they do.

I am listening to the new Film School, and its really good.

I hate the The Decemberists

They suck and I wish they would go away.

Goonies.

Were are they now?

Wanna go to Prague?

Hotel Josef Come over baby.

Funny things I am saying today

"IS HE ON A HELICOPTER?"

"well motherfucker's got it going on"

"plus, it's october"

"world series of love baby"

"you guys are idiots"

"lake tahoe"

"please don't take my picture"

"and it lasted all day"

NP

I got sent/picked up some pretty intense and crazy records in the past 2 weeks. I can’t stop listening to these:

Antony and the Johnsons
Castanets
Deer Hoof

I am going to see Antony and the Johnsons at Carnegie Hall on Thursday. The guy has a pretty interesting story with a soulful/sad voice. He also tends to dress as a woman.

Deerhoof reminds me of some of the craziest music I used to listen to living in SF. This is something like their 4th album, and I had never really paid attention before now. Great record.
I think the Castanets are a better Devendra Banhart. They are on Sufjan Stevens’ label, so there must be some association there.

Speaking of Mr. Stevens, Kimz and I went to see him play an intimate show at Symphony Space. The theater was the size of a small indie movie theater. Sufjan had rearranged his songs with an orchestra. The show was a bit awkward, cuase the band is used to playing in clubs, with more rock instruments. Craig was as awesome as ever.

Let's give em something to blog about.

Or nothing at all really.

Mark and Katie have been in town, so I've spent some QT with them. I lived with Katie in LA for about 4 months. They kind of put me in touch with a number of good people when I got here to NYC. So seeing them brings it all back home cause they left about 2 months after I got here. They are now trying to convince me to move back to LA. Not sure about that, anytime soon.

And I hate hearing people eat in the office.

Best week ever

-Rollercoaster
-Chili Cheese Dog
-Beer
-Whitestripes/The Shins/Brenden Benson
-More beer
-kimz
-Freemans
-Gus the Dog!
-Goodbye Taura
-Marvs the cat!
-Bob Dylan
-The Hotel Chelsea
-Death Cab with free vodka!

Wolf Parade. First listen. Stream of consciousness review.

We got the record here. 3 songs in – I don’t hear the power like I heard for those other bloc party/arcade fire releases of yore. And this dude does this david brine impression. Did the talking heads take over for the gang of four for new bands to rip off from? If I hear one more talking heads vocal rip off bands I think I am just going to stop listening.

This sounds kinda french kicky to me. It also seems like this is the type of band you need to see live to get. So I’ll hold off until I see them on Oct. 28 before declaring a sufjan stevens level obsession or writing them off.

But what I really can’t stop thinking about is the shins/white stripes/brenden benson show I saw at Coney Island on Sat. night. All 3 bands sounded better than I had ever heard them sound before. Our section was insane and alive. That was the best day I’ve had since I moved to NYC.

Rita...why oh why...

Houston Residents Scrambling Out of City; Interstates at standstill for 100 miles...


My family was stuck in this (and may still be for all I know). Except my sister, my stubborn sister. She's staying. God bless Robyn.

Goodbye to MK

I don't usually cover lame celeb stuff on this blog, as there are enough of those already.

That being said, I found this picture online. It's a full building projected image of a goodbye to MK. It's funny because I walk past this intersection everyday (on the days I make it home). I've highlighted 13th St. and the red arrow points towards my apartment. (so come and get me stalkers).

Pants did something funny on Myspace

I can't stop laughing!

Actually get a human

Need to get a hold of a human customer service rep and don’t want to sift through menu after menu? Let this guide help you

Jandek in New York.

I did not see Jandek when he was in town, and I really don’t care.

Labor Day = > Austin

I went to Austin for Labor Day on a whim at the suggestion of Ali and Nate.


The night before I left, whooped it up with Melz, her bf and Sean. All three had once lived in Austin. Melz and I went to college in Austin together.


Ah, Austin:


I stayed with Doo Koo. It was like the summer of 2002 all over again, except we both have kind of grown up.

I think I had 4 days of BBQ, with one of the meals at Stubbs

with the Bells of Joy

Ali got her sister to come out from DC too.





Ah, Austin.

Alex Chilton has been found

Not to marginalize this tragedy, it just seems the Big Star leader's whereabouts have been the talk of many a blog. Thought I'd post this to get it out there and indexed.

Alex Chilton has been found

To that point, I live in NYC and have been in Austin all weekend. My 5 or so LA. friends' families are all ok (thank GOD!). My family in Houston sent food to the Astrodome. My sister worked at the Dome all weekend.

I was lucky enough to go to Nawlins (as I call it) 3 times in 1999. It really is one of the best places in the world, and this hurricane breaks my fucking heart. Fuck.

I've asked what I can really do to those I know who are doing. I've been told to give dough. Luckily, I work for a huge corp that is matching employee funds and I gave what I could.

God bless those who have lost everything.

I love Austin

I am here now. It feels good. Have had so much meat and sun I am in shock. I will have pictures up soon.

I feel a bit guilty for being on vacation so close to tragedy. I love my sister who is doing extra hours working at the Astrodome. She's just moved in with her long term boyfriend, and I am just so happy/proud of her.

I heard from the nieces a few days ago as I sent them Hillary Duff cds and dvds. The 5 yr old loves her.

This trip has really let me know my age, and it feels kind of nice.

Most of my friends, all here on my desk top

The phenom that is IM. I am here, in my cube, working away. Funny that I have these boxes, that tell people I am here, just ready to chat. Some people I call, see, e-mail all the time. Others who live far away, places I've lived, places I've never been. People I drop in from time to time, people I never talk to, just hang there on my screen. Old bosses, but no ex loves. Insane to really think there all these people I know, who I can just chat away with, like I am at the bar at any momement during my work day. Too bad I can't drink and smoke at the desk.

Google Earth – how cool.

Everyone should check out Google Earth. It’s amazingly super rad.

Here’s a satellite picture of my apt in NYC. The red circle is my patio.


Here’s a satellite picture of my childhood home. The red circle is my house.

Just wait until Google buys a Satellite

Information anywhere all of the time.
Opt in Big Brother/1984.

This will signal GAME OVER

I love houses on top of buildings.

This is the house on my block

Yea! I'm Now Hot

Playgirl Magazine says so!

Slow Gin Fizz

I happened to notice that Loretta Lynn was going to be playing the Mohegan Sun Casino in CT. I also found out that you take a bus from china town for $10 BUCKS, so I talked Aaron into coming with me.


Aaron came over on Friday night and we played some Texas Hold ‘em to get ready for the big trip.



We got to the casino and were handed $20 in vouchers to gamble with and $15 for food. We blew both vouchers on the Wheel of Fortune. I made $50. We then went for some drinks.




The $15 put to good use on crappy salads.




So this was a free show, and people started lining up at noon. We made friends with these casino freaks, and they let us get in the front of the line with them at 3:30. We sat there for 3 hours waiting to get seated. It paid off, as we were 15 ft from the stage, maybe 20 from Loretta.

These pictures are either blurry or dark. So much for knowing how to use a digital camera.











The low light of the show is when Loretta brought out one of her cheese ball back up singers (full on with a long blonde perm and leather pants) to do Jack White’s part on ‘Portland, Ore.’ I have video footage of about 2 minutes of this if anyone wants to see.


After the show, Aaron and I got lost trying to find the exit. We missed our ‘assigned’ bus back, so we had to push our way through a stand by line, but thankfully got home. While we were waiting to get on our bus, Loretta’s bus pulled up next to us.

San Francisco hasn’t changed that much…

Check out these pictures from Vertigo - the Hitchcock classic compared with the same locations in 2003. Besides a random Starbucks here and there and the cars on the street a lot of the city looks the same.

M.I.A. in Central Park

Screwed and Chopped? Chopped and Screwed?

Paul Wall, a white rapper from Houston, who is about to blow up has this to say:

That religion's sacrament has been illegally obtained cough syrup (or "sizzyrup"). We're not talking Robitussin but the codeine-laced variety intended for patients with lung cancer. Wall says that screw music evokes the feeling of being stoned on syrup, the same way a pot smoker might get a buzz off a regular cigarette. If you're a "drink man," you go to the syrup dealer, who delivers it in prescription bottles or mini baby bottles. "People mix it with Snapple or Hawaiian Punch," Wall says. "Whatever you prefer. We use Sprite, but I started trying root beer for something different. Or Sunkist. We don't like the new Sprite ReMix, the Aruba Jam."

Anything/Red Wine

Last Thur - I see Sarah on my block. I have a bottle of red. She mentions that Red Red Wine was written by Neil Diamond.
Fri - I go to her club and I ask her to play Dramarama's Anything. She does.
Skip to last night (after a weird night, finally hook up w/ Fay for drinks at Black and White). No David Cross, no Strokes. Thank God.
I'm Not Your Stepping Stone by the Monkees (and written by Neil Diamond) comes on, and in the middle of the song I notice that a part of sounds like the yelling part in Anything (by Dramarama).
We go over to 119 by Irving Plaza after Black and White , and Dramarama comes on thier soundsystem followed by Neil Diamond. What's it all mean?

If I wrote song lyrics...

Here is one, for the digital lovin' emo kids. Please feel free to use this in one of your songs:

'You would be so much easier to forget, if there was no such thing as the Internet'

Nothing to say today

9th day of suga free...feeling better...

bagels are the devil. Give them up now if you can.

The best 5 rock records, according to me.

A real High Fidelity moment. As much as making lists are lame, they are fun too.

Built to Spill ‘Perfect From Now On’
I could’ve have said ‘Keep it Like a Secret,’ but I went with this one instead. The lyrics, song structures, guitar tones, all amazing. This is for when your heart meets brain (a kind of nasty place to be).

Iggy and the Stooges ‘Raw Power’
Sex, drugs, destruction. This is full on raw living. No heart, no brain.

Wilco ‘Yankee Foxtrot Hotel’
So introspective yet somehow psychedelic. All heart inside the brain. For most people, almost too much.

Neutral Milk Hotel ‘In the Aeroplane Over the Sea’
Pure raw emotion. Living on the outside of relative sanity. This record connects with so many people. Almost too many.

T.Rex “Electric Warrior.”
Sexy, simple yet still complicated. I was watching ‘Born to Boogie’ w/ Miss Alia the other night, and we both came to the conclusion that Marc Bolan did it all when it comes to rock. Jimmy Page and Slash both crib from Bolan’s style sheets. And while he did an amazing job with the whole pop image thing, he actually had great songs to back his shit up.

I don't have anything to write today.

I just got out of an all day meeting. So I leave you with this pretty picture.

Oliva Tremor Control and marzipan.

Yes, the rumors are true, and yes Faycat and I had our 2nd Jeff Mangum sighting.

Faycat came over for a carb free dinner. Bubbly water just doesn't beat a bottle of red, BUT bubbly water does more to insure I will leave the house than a nap inducing bottle of red. I tried making this carb free desert (what the f?) of skim ricotta, almond extract and cinnamon. We each had about two bites (after the blackened chicken and grilled asparagus I did pull off) and decided uh, thanks but no thanks. Let's hit to road and get our Elephant 6 on.

The opening band with an old British dude screaming at the audience, just totally wasted our standing around waiting for the headliners to come on energy. I wasn't sure I was going to make it.

But there we were, close the front, as the 10 piece OTC tweaked their instruments so that they would sound just right.

It was cool enough to see OTC, leaders of the Elephant 6 movement, in their reunited psychedelic southern sloppiness. One totally hears some of Brain Wilson’s worst trips blended with the beauty of the Thirteenth Floor Elevators. Given my history with other E6 bands, most notably Beulah and Dressy Bessy, I was happy to see the god fathers of it all last night.

About 5 songs in, out walks Jeff Mangum. I’ve said it once on this blog, and I will say it again, he made one of the best records of all time.

Overwhelmed by the crowd, and not into the songs I was heard, I decided to break the rules and go downstairs for a glass of wine. Sitting at the bar, alone, I look up and see Ira and Georgia, just hanging out at the Bowery Ballroom. Good times.

Shawn says I need to update this everyday to get an active readership

So I will try.

I am trying to kick sugar as part of this program for my current project. Something to goal set against. Something to have control of. Something to track progress on that actually means something to me and only me.

Supposedly (according to this book I have) we are addicted to sugar. Everything has some type of refined carb (= sugar) in it. Bagel for breakfast = sugar. Sandwich or pizza for lunch = sugar. Mash potatoes with dinner = sugar.

I started to monitor my sugar/carb intake 5 days ago. The program says to go sugar free for 2 weeks to kick the sugar addiction. So that means no carbs, no booze, no fruit and then after 2 weeks, they can be reintroduced. As for booze, only red wine in moderation.

I'd give myself a B for my efforts thus far. I am really dizzy and in turn cranky. Hopefully this will pass after 2-3 more days.