my buddy from high school, none other than mr matt gielen has made a full length coming of age flick called the graduates. (you can watch the trailer on the website)
from the looks of the trailer this is going to not only put matt and ryan on the map, but will help to shed some light on the general awesomeness of ocean city, warm gin, and the debauchery that was/is senior week.
matt - bravo mate cant wait to catch the whole thing
so this weekly blog entry has become an excuse for me to go through ivan the ipod listening to kick ass albums, scour the internet for artist info and material, and it has acted as a goal (one that i missed this week) for me to try and achieve every week. so whether you like it our not ... here comes this weeks MoManMu, on a tuesday.
i seriously tried to get this done last night but it was a fool hearted attempt ... so ladies and gentleman prepare yourself while i introduce to you ryan adams and his album 'heartbreaker'.
adams is an 'alternative country' singer songwriter that has this tender but rebellious persona that emanates through his music. 'heartbreaker' was his 1st solo album (note: i say solo, but he is joined on this album by members of his supporting band, the cardinals) released in 2000 after he left the alt-country uber band whiskeytown.
now you probably have been exposed to 'heartbreaker' already, you just dont know it. the album starts off in a sophomoric sense of good nature and fun with the studio banter leading straight into the college anthem 'to be young (is to be sad, is to be high)' which just has a rambunctious yet playful and insightful feeling to it and helps to highlight a young ryan adams. with an almost 180 degree rotation adams takes the listener through the soft guitar chords and the raspy voice image filled ballad that is 'my winding wheel'. its almost like these 2 songs act as a outline for the range that adams will take through the rest of the album.
after the 1st 2 tracks that act as a polarized picture of adams we are treated to the softer side of adams and we start understanding why the album is named heartbreaker when we listen to the tracks 'amy' and 'my sweet carolina' which has some of the most beautiful harmonizing out there with adams and none other than emmylou harris. the country aspect of adams' 'alternative country' genre really shines through during 'bartering lines', the folk based tune 'damn, sam(i love a woman that reins)', and the harmonica heavy song 'to be the one'. and later on the album the feet get to a tappin when adams' blues influence really shines bright during the dirty southern sounds of 'shakedown on 9th street'.
the real meat and potatoes of this album for me are 2 tracks towards the middle of the album. the 1st track is 'why do they leave' a song that is rife with abandonment, pain, loss, and a bit of self deprecation - themes that adams continually revisits. the staple adams tune of the album in my opinion however is 'come pick me up' (see youtube addition this week). this song has it all. longing, pain, a bit of self loathing/torture, but some how still comes across as gentle and hopeful. man this guy is freaking good!
i have only recently stumbled upon ryan adams about 3 years ago or so when he played with grateful dead bassist, phil lesh. but the more i get into adams the more i am convinced that he is plainly one of the best young singer/songwriters out there today. i also highly recommend his latest, 'easy tiger' (one of my top albums for 2007) as a companion to 'heartbreaker'.
Come Pick Me Up
when they call your name will you walk right up with a smile on your face or will you cower in fear in your favorite sweater with an old love letter you know you could
i wish you would come pick me up take me out fuck me up steal my records screw all my friends theyre all full of shit with a smile on your face and then do it again
i wish you would when youre walking downtown do you wish I was there do you wish it was me with the windows clear and the mannequins eyes
do they all look like mine you know you could i wish you would come pick me up take me out fuck me up steal my records screw all my friends behind my back with a smile on your face and then do it again
i wish you would i wish youd make up my bed so I could make up my mind try it for sleeping instead maybe youll rest sometime i wish I could
i cant write too much or for too long, because time this week is limited. school work is pilling up and i have a 15 page 'review essay' due for my international security class this thursday night. my essay will compare, analyze, and expand on the questions/issues in 2 articles focusing on the question of whether NATO should expand or retract. stimulating stuff. i am just having a hard time throwing myself a full 100% into it like i need to.
so let me recap the wonderful long weekend that i just had. friday morning started with a dawn memorial service celebrating anzac day downtown at 4:30am. there were 30,000+ people in attendance including my boy, kevin rudd. after a long nap and a coffee with my other buddy, archangelo (you read that correctly. he is my sundanese, italian educated, franciscan monk who is studying to become a doctor) it was time for dinner with some friends and a cut throat game of pictionary that was saturated with some tasty penfolds and lasted until 2 in the morning.
saturday - oh my gosh a cracking sunny day after 9 days of grey skies and rain was just what the doctor ordered. i finished an awesome book (everything is illuminated) and started an another promising novel (cloudstreet) while sipping a latte on the beach (dont judge me). but that only lasted until the late afternoon when i started my marathon sports watching at the pub. 530pm manly sea eagles vs. canterburry bulldogs ... eagles win 730pm #3 new south wales warrathas vs the #4 south african sharks ... 'tahs win 930pm english premier league chelsea 2 man united 1. great stuff and really fun to emerge yourself in the local pub/sport culture.
sunday - bit of a sleep in and the ultimate highlight was my man-date with glush. sipping coffees in newtown, sharing italian food - although i think my wild mushroom risotto was better than his fettuccini, buying books from the heady book shop, and catching a flick - gone baby gone*. thanks glush.
now back to reality and NATO. i will work tirelessly through the night to get monday's mandatory music column up late tonight.
take care
*movie was dark, tense, and pretty well made. note to ben afleck - let your little brother do all the acting from now on. also great cameo by michael k. williams (omar from the wire) although i was confused as to why he wasnt smoking newports, toting a sawed off shotgun, and eating honey nut cheerios.
so here we go again. it has been raining on and off here in sydney for the better part of 4 days, and i kind of like waking up in the pale grey of the morning bundled up under the covers with the rain tapping on my window and the soaked birds still faintly singing their morning song. the change in season has offically started. its an australian autumn. to keep the disposition sunny and cheerful i have decided to turn you all on to another wonder album from 2005 (as true fans of this blog will note the 1st installment of this column featured an album released in 2k5). today i want to talk about 'illinois' by singer/songwriter sufjan stevens.
in order to really understand the album i think it is important to try and understand a bit more about sufjan; (note: i still do not know how to phonetically pronounce his name) according to his bio sufjan is merely 32 years old and he lived a christian bohemian life while in new york studying writing and philosophy before bursting on to the indie music scene with his soft melodies and his ability to incorporate and play multiple instruments. now i dont know about you, but i think that this humble type of attitude and life is a better example and a better help for the christian faith than say, jerry falwell. but before i get sidetracked with my stance on organized religion vs a personal faith in god and a belief in the transcending power of love let me attempt to talk to you about this amazing album.
there is no doubt about it that 'illinois' is a compete album and should be treated as a complete work in totality rather than a disassembled collection of songs. there is a common theme of restoration via love and hope running through out the album which shine through the harmonious crescendos of the more uplifting tunes like 'chicago' and 'come on feel the illionoise'. there is also a general playful nature to this record. i mean the cover art is warm and inviting, the track list evokes a smile and a chuckle, and even the transition tracks like 'one last whoo-hoo', 'a short reprise for mary todd', and 'a conjunction of drones' are fun!
there is also an authentic element of depth that runs through this album, and the tunes 'john wayne gracy jr' and 'casmir pulaski day' really demostrate this idea. it is almost like the lyrics, the music, and the total composition lead to a cd thats of a quality that you dont find everyday. i would love to be able to scrutinize the thoughts, issues, and ideas expressed through this cd - but it is almost like an experience. i could tell you what it means for me but it would be different for you, and that would be very different for the next person, and for the next person, and so on. just do yourself a favor and download, buy, or burn the cd and give it a little more than an hour of your time. you wont be disappointed.
jacksonville - a rather fun tune from the album that also act as a personal favorite
I'm not afraid of the black man running He's got it right he's got a better life coming I don't care what the captain said I fold it right at the top of my head I lost my sight and the state packs in I follow my heart and it leads me right to Jackson
Oh Keller oh oh oh She gave us a medal she gave us a map Oh Canner Row, oh oh oh If seeing is right, then look where you're at
I'm not afraid of Nichol's Park I ride the train and I ride it after dark I'm not afraid to get it right I turn around and I give it one more try I said things that I meant to say The bandstand chairs and the Dewey Day parade I go out to the golden age The spirit is right and the spirit doesn't change
Oh Keller oh oh oh She gave us mirror she gave us a map Oh Canner Row, oh oh oh If seeing is right then look where you're at
Andrew Jackson, all I'm asking Show us the wheel and give us the wine Woohoo! Woohoo! Raise the banner, Jackson hammer Everyone goes to the capitol line Woohoo! woohoo! Colored preacher, nice to meet you! The spirit is here and the spirit is fine! Woohoo! Woohoo! Education, ask the nation You gave us our sight and the hearing is fine Woohoo! woohoo! Andrew Jackson all I'm asking Give us the wheel and give us the wine
so the 4th season of top chef has gotten underway, and i have been lucky enough to find the time to sneak in the 1st 3 episodes of the show in between lectures, reading articles, researching for papers, and toasting banana bread. im totally stoked for the new season but have some complaints i would like to lodge as well as some other observations from a top chef aficionado.
1st thing in the 1st show that i freaking loved to hate was the appearance and general fluffing of rocco dispirito. to me it seems like that guy is still working off his debt to nbc for the wasted millions of dollars that was the train wreck called 'the restaurant'. hes a clown and needs to go back to slanging pre-packaged bertolli frozen pasta dinners. hack.
2nd thing is this season seems to be pretty san fransisco heavy in terms of contestants. i think like 6 of them hail from sf. i know there is a lot going on in that town in terms of hip culinary sheet, but it seems that top chef gets stuck on a city for each season. in season one there was a heavy emphasis on california - la especially. season 2 had some serious new york representation as well as tons of people from vegas, and season three featured quite a few folks from the host city, miami. so what city is next?
3rd i think the talent pool is not what last season or season 2 produced. looks to me like they are drowning the talent in favor for more drama. save the drama for tnt and get us some peeps who can throw down in the kitchen.
4th after the rocco fluffing i like the fact that top chef then brings in top chefs like wylie dufresne (episode 2), rick bayliss (episode 3), and from the looks of the previews they have arguably the best chef in america, daniel boulud (episode 4) to act as judges. these are the guys who have made food what it is in america today.
5th i cant wait to see some lesbian domestic dispute happen over an over cooked piece of fish, or a sauce that is over seasoned, or any thing else that might land our love birds at the judges table. gone are the days when just an eccentric dave saying, 'youre not my bitch bitch'.
im a couple of episodes behind so no spoilers please! hope you all enjoy the show too and that it gets you to a whole foods to grab some tasty ingredients and get home to throwdown on your own quickfire
so this past weekend i ventured out for the 1st of what i hope turns into a once every couple of weeks activity of picking a dining 'hot spot' from the sydeney morning herald's good living section to go out and see another side of this inspiring city.
this week after little debate vietnamese came up, and we decided upon red lantern in the trendy but still hip restaurant mecca that is surry hills.
so lets dig in.
red lantern's atmosphere is awesome. oddly enough the whole exterior covered patio (where biff and i sat) was candle lit highlighted by, you guessed it red lanterns. we were hungry and had already spent the better part of an hour an half at his place catching up so formalities were at a minimum and the desire for viet beers were at a premium. what we ended up with was the crisp and malty flavors of 333 a beer hailing from saigon. tasty stuff and its bite helped to accent a lot of the acidic and spicy flavors that would ensue.
for entree (note: over here they call appetizers entrees and what we amercans would call entrees they call mains. maybe i should start a column on 'how to really speak australian: a professional students quest to learn a familiar but still foreign language', alas that will have to wait) we ordered: goi con little rice paper rolls stuffed with yamba prawns, pork, vermicelli, chives, perilla leaves, with a hoison sauce along side bo tai chanh which is leamon cured sirloin (raw meat cooked in the acid of lemon juice to make it tender as) served with a pile of bean shoots, saw leaf, basil, rice paddy herb, peanuts, and a fish sauce and chili sauce/dressing to go along with.
for mains we got the special kid goat hot pot which simply was tenderly roast goat served in a delicious broth studded with like 3 different types of asian mushrooms (i would try and say i knew them, but i had a couple 333 beers and lets face it i would be bullshitting), cabbage, and served with fresh lemon juice and white pepper to add a metallic and acidic flavor which worked - eat more goat. for our second main course we settled on the thit heo mam ruoc which was a very clean and simple dish of braised pork neck, shrimp paste, lemongrass, and chili. man oh man i could come close to eating a couple of kilos (2.2 lbs per kilo) worth of this. it was tender as could be since it was braised perfectly and i was very surprised to find that the powerful flavor of the shrimp paste only helped accent and really highlight the beautiful flavor of the undesirable cut of pork.
the experience was awesome. it inspired me to eat more in sydney. it helped solidify my obsession/addiction with all foods asian. and more importantly it offered me an awesome time to catch up with a good friend, share some food, and talk about life together.
well its official, i have a reoccurring blog column. i love it. it forces me to stick to my guns and to hit you all over the head with some very very good music.
so in reality you should of spent all of last week listening to my morning jacket's album 'Z' and scratching yourself furiously through out the weekend mumbling to yourself, 'whats steve going to write about on monday?!?!'
if thats not the case then you should go see a professional for some help, there might be something wrong with you.
so if you live in reality here you go. this weeks MonManMu column features an album and a band for that matter that has helped formed the way our generation perceives rock and roll. today i want to talk to you about pearl jam and their 1998 platinum release, 'live on two legs'.
'live on two legs' was recorded during pearl jam's 2008 summer tour and acts as the quintessential album that provides an intimate insight into the inner workings of an energy efficient live performance by this ground shaking rock band. in other words there is pearl jam and then there is live pearl jam, and thanks to 'live on two legs' we all get to experience live pearl jam for 15 bucks.
the opening seconds of the album begin with the roar of the crowd synchronized with the opening cords of 'corduroy' which is simply a welcoming vocal warm up for eddie vedder who continues to passionately serenade the listener through rocking versions of 'given to fly' and 'hail hail'.
following the vedder heavy emotional opening the band enters into an eerie version of the single, 'daughter' off of their album 'vs.' complete with a haunting lyrical allusion to neil young's 'rocking in the free world' towards the end of the track. almost perfectly fitting comes the duo of the tranquil and loved filled 'untitled' flowing into (represented in the jam world by a simple ->) the fist pumping fury and anguish that fills 'many fast cars'.
with the album having gain a tremendous amount of steam at this point, the band reveals its roots in the ripped jeans, flannel pattern shirts, and long hair head banging of the grundge rock movement with 'go', 'red mosquito', and my personal favorite off of their album 'ten'; 'even flow'.
then the climax of the album takes place in 4 out of the 5 next tracks. it is almost like eddie vedder and the rest of the band invite the listener to crawl in, curl up, and get comfortably warmed in their musical blanket (personal note: these 4 tracks have actually gotten me through some difficult times - yeah a.) i am that sappy and b.) these songs are that good).
the set kicks off with 'off he goes' a tune about separation, lost friendships, longing, and connection. the vivid pictures painted in 'off he goes' are followed by the introspective track called 'nothingman'. the pain and heartache in this tune is made so clear through the vulnerability of vedder's voice. filling out the monumental set is the song who vedder has openly dedicated to, "the asshole who married my mother": 'better man'.
the set is completed however with the powerfully emotional track, 'black' (link to the lyrics ... read them) where eddie vedder lets his heart hang out there for everyone to see - showing how the combination of raw grundge, passion, and emotion coupled with the heavy guitar rifts and rock and roll drumming at its finest make pearl jam a definitive band and 'live on two legs' a mandatory cd.
Untitled i got a car, i've got some gas
oh let's get out of here
get out of here fast
everyone's confused
so i stay in my room
if i go i dont want
to go alone
i hope you get this message
or you're not home
i could be there in
10 minutes or so
i got my things
we make it up as we go along
with you i could never be alone
never be alone
MFC sliding... out of reverse into drive, this
wheel will be turning right, then straight
off in the sunset she'll ride
she can... remember a time denied, stood by
side of the road, spilled like wine, now
she's out on her own and line high
there's no leaving here
ask, I'm an ear
she's disappeared
they said... timing was everything, made him
want to be everywhere, there's a
lot to be said for nowhere
there's no leaving here
ask, I'm an ear
we've disappeared
there's no leaving here
ask, I'm an ear
fuck it, we'll disappear
and im in no way referring to the 'off season' with the upcoming draft or free agency acquisitions in th nfl, i am talking about the other passion of mine behind the redskins, none other than the sydney swans.
the swans are the local aussie rules football (afl) football team that has won my heart over ever since their breathtaking 1 point loss in the 2006 grand final.
the 'swannies' as i have affectionately dubbed them have started a strong 3-1 this season, domintating the much hated west coast eagles last night, but its not goal kicking highlights, amazing footwork, or meter high jumps that i want to steer you towards. rather i want to show you a video from last nights game that really shows you the 'grit', the 'true blue aussie', and the sheer 'badassness' of aussie rules football.
ladies and gentlemen: i give you mr barry hall (henschke, hamilton, and jb this is for you guys)
to help support my caffeine habit and to detract from my self imposed vision of being a worthless professional student who protests against the protesters, wears sweater vests, and tries to woo you co-eds - actually its more like scare them away ;) - i have joined the working world. i have obtained a 'casual' job (how to speak australian: casual job = part time job) . i am the new 'food prep man' at the local coffee shop.
so if you are in the area an looking for some toasted banana bread, a thai beef salad wrap, or a quiche loraine ... i got your hook up.
so i think what i'm going to do for all of you (well more for me, because i love thinking about music, searching through hundreds of youtube videos, and reading album reviews)is start a monday column where i give a little blurb on an album that i think is essential in my music collection and therefore should be essential for yours. yeah i think that highly of myself ;)
so to kick it off i want to present to all of you My Morning Jacket's 2005 smash hit entitled 'Z'. 'Z' was the 1st 'MMJ' cd that i bought back in early 2006. 2006 was a phenomenal musical year for me. it was my coming of age year. the groovy sounds of jam bands had become my staple and had developed into an almost exhausted resource. around the same time that i purchased 'Z', i purchased another album that helped in my personal music evolution (i wont give away the title or the band since it too will probably make the MonManMu column) and together these albums lifted off my proverbial jam band blinders and revealed the seemingly endless musical horizon a head of me.
there is a hypnotic element to the sounds of My Morning Jacket. this element shines through immediately in the opening track, 'wordless chorus'. its here that you are introduced to the band and their unique innovative style of rock and roll (call it what you'd like - to me its bread and butter rock n roll). the album continues and you start understanding the reggae influences the track 'off the record'. its a hybrid blend of beats and guitar that only they can pull off. for the harder rockers out there i would point you to 'anytime' and 'what a wonderful man' where the band presents the listener with a beauty infused edgey guitar heavy style.
but the one truly unique element of 'Z', and MMJ for that matter, that permeates through out the entire record is the voice of the bands front man, Jim James. his vocal range is unbelievable from a haunting growl to a the airy loftiness of a high pitched harmony, this man has got it all. dont believe me? give 'into the woods' or 'gideon' (youtube video below) a listen and then disagree. if that is not enough for you then i would recommend the bob dylan cover, 'going to acapulco', from the movie I'm Not There.
regardless if you run out and buy 'Z', or download it immediately, or not - that doesnt matter. the important thing is that you listen to new music. constantly.
this is an amazing clip from the Letterman show featuring MMJ and the Boston Symphony!
Gideon. What Have You Told Us At All? Make A Sound, Come Down Off The Wall. Religion - Should Appeal To The Hearts Of The Young. Who Are You? What Have You Become? You Animal. Come On. What Does This Remind You Of? Truly. Truly We Have Become. Hated And Feared For Something We Don't Want. Listen. Listen. Most Of Us Believe That This Is Wrong. You Animal. Come On. What Does This Remind You Of? What Does This Remind You Of? Animal. Come On.
started marshall frady's 'mlk:a life' earlier in the week. im really into it. not my 1st mlk bio, but its a fascinating view into the life of a truly amazing man. a man who was human like you and me. a man who had issues with his father, a man who was emotional as a kid, and a man who had serious prejudices. this man however decided to tackle his inner turmoil. to tap into a super natural love in order to rise above what others had accepted and to instill integrity in other humans. 100% an exceptional american
last night was the culmination of my fall music bender here in sydney and the setting could not of been scripted any better. i had to run through campus after my international security class to meet up with 'glush' (note: this is glush's 1st blog appearance, but he will be a reoccurring character on here so get to know him). i was weaving through packs of students trying to hand me communist newspapers, get me to protest, or take a pamphlet on how america has ruined the world. i was on cloud 9 after getting my 1st project back in class and receiving my 1st 'd' - d for distinction baby - so i burst through the packs of socialist yelling, 'out of my way hippies!'
made record time getting across campus, meeting 'glush', hopping in a cab, and jetting across town all the while speeding to modest mouse at luna park. now you could not of picked a more bizzare place to have a concert, but it seemed fitting that a trend setter and genre shattering band like modest mouse would perform under a ferris wheel behind harbor bridge amongst a carousel, funny mirrors, and clown paintings everywhere.
now i am not a huge modest mouse fan by any means at all. i wouldnt say that they ever have cracked my top 10 favorite bands list, but i have had good news for people who love bad news and we were dead before the ship even sank on 'ivan' the ipod for a while and i have always been surrounded by much more serious modest mouse fans through out college and even pretty recently, all of whom had legit music tastes, so i knew i was in for an awesome time!
i didnt know it was going to be as much fun as it was. wouldnt be able to do it justice being a novice compared to all the 'mouseheads' that were there last night, but i am going to give it a crack anyway.
it was a very 'we were dead' heavy show which made it possible for me to get down with the get down. the band came out firing and they welcomed sydney with an epic version of 'dashboard' that made me think i was on the phone for a second but in reality got the whole place straight up dancing. the place got grooving during a funky version of 'we got everything'. and as a side note - when the band says they've got everything down to a science they mean it! there were more instrument changes, more musical shifts, and more energy passed between members then i have ever witnessed. then something interesting happened when the band played 'fire it up' - i felt like and it smelled like i was back in greensboro, nc and it was 2003 and it phish's welcome back tour closer. i have never seen so many aussies 'fire it up' like that before. hillarious. the flow of the concert kept going and was perfect down to a science. further highlights were the crowd sing-a-long during 'float on' and a personal favorite of mine, 'the good times are killing me'
then came the encore. i went into the show looking to hear just one song and they didnt play it during the show, so i was hanging on for 'spitting venom' as an encore only to be disappointed at the 1st 2 encores but then almost hit the roof when that 1st note of 'spitting venom' dropped. i would suggest this song for anyone looking to get into the band or to see what modest mouse is all about. its a band in 8 minutes and 29 seconds. i was smiling, headbanging, jumping, sweating, high fiving everyone around me ... and i was tame by the crowd standards!
'spitting venom' was the prefect finish to a most extra-un-ordinary concert experience, and the perfect end to the 3 best concert weeks of my life.
its over. game over!
*my 1st attempt at a follow up piece to my '2/3rds of the way there' story from last week.
adams is an 'alternative country' singer songwriter that has this tender but rebellious persona that emanates through his music. 'heartbreaker' was his 1st solo album (note: i say solo, but he is joined on this album by members of his supporting band, the cardinals) released in 2000 after he left the alt-country uber band whiskeytown. 
the real meat and potatoes of this album for me are 2 tracks towards the middle of the album. the 1st track is 'why do they leave' a song that is rife with abandonment, pain, loss, and a bit of self deprecation - themes that adams continually revisits. the staple adams tune of the album in my opinion however is 'come pick me up' (see youtube addition this week). this song has it all. longing, pain, a bit of self loathing/torture, but some how still comes across as gentle and hopeful. man this guy is freaking good!
it is almost like eddie vedder and the rest of the band invite the listener to crawl in, curl up, and get comfortably warmed in their musical blanket (personal note: these 4 tracks have actually gotten me through some difficult times - yeah a.) i am that sappy and b.) these songs are that good). 
that permeates through out the entire record is the voice of the bands front man, Jim James. his vocal range is unbelievable from a haunting growl to a the airy loftiness of a high pitched harmony, this man has got it all. dont believe me? give 'into the woods' or 'gideon' (youtube video below) a listen and then disagree. if that is not enough for you then i would recommend the bob dylan cover, 'going to acapulco', from the movie I'm Not There.
all the while speeding to modest mouse at luna park. now you could not of picked a more bizzare place to have a concert, but it seemed fitting that a trend setter and genre shattering band like modest mouse would perform under a ferris wheel behind harbor bridge amongst a carousel, funny mirrors, and clown paintings everywhere. 
the 'mouseheads' that were there last night, but i am going to give it a crack anyway. 
