DON'T BOMB SYRIA! We MEAN IT This Time!

We are not seriously going to do this again.

I want to see the "undeniable" evidence Obama's peeps keep talking about, that the Syrian government is indeed responsible for the gruesome chemical attacks on thousands of its own people last week. Because so far, I ain't seen shit. There is, on the other hand, some alarming evidence to the contrary. 

Really though, fuck if I know. I am a proficient rock historian and a snappy dresser, not an expert on the aesthetics of WMDs. Also, there are no English translations on these videos.

But I can smell bullshit, like when the US government is lying through its teeth to evoke an emotional response from us in order to carry out its selfish, fruitless agendas. Feeling a strong sense of déjà vu here. It doesn't take expertise to know that the UN Security Council has not completed its investigation into the attacks and that a hasty bombing on the Syrian people would be the wrong fucking move. "More death to stop death!" I am so sick of this twisted logic. 

Here's a really insightful interview with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on the current situation and his thoughts on Western intervention. He asserts that the Syrian Army had no role in the horrifying chemical attacks and that it's a "politicized" and emotional accusation, not one which is based on fact or evidence, and that if the Western powers (i.e. 'Merrica) choose to intervene for their own self-centered interests, they will regret it. Now I don't know how deep the rabbit hole goes on this guy, but I don't like the sound of that!

So there's that. Again, I repeat: I don't know anything for sure because this is complicated and messy, but I want the truth, and we Americans deserve to know if our government plans to drag us into yet another insidious war. Until we know what's going on I have absolutely no interest in blindly getting behind the bombs.

WTF moment, for funsies: The US government condemns terrorism when it doesn't suit their interests and supports it when it does. A couple years ago we were fighting Al-Qaeda in Iraq and now we and our allies are funding them in Syria. Tricksy corrupted governmentses.

I'm going back to blogging about music now; this shit is exhausting.

Speaking of, to feed the conspiratorial and heavy metal-loving aspects of myself, I'm going to see Muse for the first time next Tuesday! I have my own interpretation of this song which I think serves the purpose of this post, but either way this video is fucking killer and you should know it:

QUICK QUIZ! Where's Syria?

xx

iTunes, I'm Breaking Up With You. Amazon Cloud Player, Gimme Some Sugar

MY LIFE IS FOREVER CHANGED. Shortly after its 10th anniversary I am now officially filing my divorce papers from the emotionally abusive clutches of iTunes. I've met a younger, smarter, more smokin' hot digital music player. His name is Amazon Cloud*.

I know, I realize I'm a little behind on this. That's been happening to me a lot lately. But everyone's gotta start somewhere, and for me it started--oh gee--I guess 10-15 years ago when Napster, Limewire, Kazza and the other old school pirating programs were all the rage but consequently getting shut down. Of course those sites had their problems, but because I was an early fan of pirating and still support the movement (oh RELAX, two or three Cease and Desist letters later, I'm essentially retired from the game), I wasn't super fond of iTunes, this big man on campus who in the wake of the chaos came flouncing in, demanding everybody's lunch money and giving tons of wedgies.

Well, in all honesty, as a 15 or 16-year-old at the time, I probably didn't think much of these issues, but I do know that it took me a long time to get on board with iTunes which, okay, I know full well has been a galvanizing force in music culture and one which many people obviously enjoy. But I also think it's an exclusive, at times confusing and monopolistic program with cumbersome processes.

When I discovered the Amazon Cloud Player just a month or so ago, I breathed a sigh of relief. Finally another big program to counter the vise grip iTunes has had on the industry's balls. I downloaded the app to my phone and immediately enjoyed the ease at which I can buy an album from Amazon and have it already there on my universally-accessible cloud player, which I then have the option to download automatically to my phone and/or computer so I can play it even when I don't have internet access. It's all so organized and pretty and easy to use. Ahhhh young love. 

Not that iTunes doesn't have a similar feature now, but it still requires all that goddamn syncing and dragging bullshit that never seems to go smoothly for me, and I even have an iPhone. I'm pretty sure iTunes is still not compatible with Android. Also, I recently experienced the death of a computer, resulting in the loss of all my music. I'm actually not too upset by that because a lot of it was pirated anyway (I did try to keep the pirating to big name artists/bands that are no longer touring and/or alive), and I'm happy to have the incentive now to buy it all back and make a fresh start (everyone loves a nice tale of redemption). But if I had bought and lost that whole week's worth of music, I would be PISSED. Then again, I could be totally missing something here about the Cloud capabilities of iTunes, but at the core of it, I just don't care enough. I know there is another way.

One thing I am curious to explore is how easy and practical it is to transfer music not purchased from Amazon into the app (phone and PC). Amazon Cloud Player allows for up to 250 non-Amazon songs in your playlist (~20 albums) as well as an unlimited number of Amazon-purchased songs. That should do**.

*Really hot name for an actual human.

**Keeping in mind I will continue to support independent record stores as well as experiment with alternative music sources like Bandcamp.

This is me right now, like Freddie Mercury bodysurfing over a bunch of tripped out people in leotards:

xx

That NSYNC Reunion Was Some Bullshit...Bitch

This began as a single tweet. Then I realized I needed more room to breathe, so I moved to Facebook status. But fuck it, I'm now dedicating a whole blog post to this atrocity because I'm so mad about it. But I'll keep it short because really, none of this matters.

The *highly anticipated NSYNC "reunion" performance at the VMAs tonight turned out to be all of two minutes out of Justin Timberlake's 17-minute Superbowl performance-style medley (I think he was receiving some kind of early middle-age Lifetime Achievement award? No? Then...what?). 

The four former members of NSYNC appeared in one camp of JT's multi-stage festival performance in what was at first a sort of heavenly light to join Justin for part of his song "Girlfriend," and the scraps of the remaining minute was left to the group's 2000 hit "Bye Bye Bye." This turned out to be just a dance breakdown and one chorus of the song, during which they did a lot of sumo squats in too-tight suits and distracting stage lighting. When Justin had had enough of that he literally sent them underground so he could continue being the famous one.

Don't get me wrong, I think Justin Timberlake is swell. I love The 20/20 Experience. I'm glad he exists. But I also loved the best boy band ever (yeah, NSYNC!) so WTF was this awful experience about and why are so many people into it? This was an enormous waste of time, and my nostalgic tween heart of the late '90s can't take it. I just want to do this to whoever came up with this stupid, cruel idea.

Highlight: At the very end poor JC took his "baby baby baAabehhhh" moment, for which he will no doubt pay dearly.  

*Actually, I didn't know anything about this until it was happening. VMA tweets kept getting mixed in with Breaking Bad ones.  

Depeche Mode Begins North American Tour, Releases New Video

THEY'VE ARRIVED! Depeche Mode are finally in the States, preparing for their first show of the North American tour tonight at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Detroit.

Coinciding with the kickoff is the release of an official video for Should Be Higher, which I imagine is their third single after Heaven and Soothe My Soul. Shot by longtime visual collaborator Anton Corbijn, the video is a live performance from one of their recent European shows. I want to say Berlin, but I don't know, that's probably bullshit; don't quote me.

 

The band is in top form. Compare this video to, say, one of their earliest pre-tour promo performances, and they're worlds apart. It's obvious that they've found their groove on this one. And there's frontman Dave, like an ancient Tantrika come to sweep us all into the stratosphere of bliss. Or a sexy Whirling Dervish.

Enjoy the show, Detroit! 

xx

Shit Yeah I'm Going to the Austin City Limits Festival!

I was raised in a little town called Austin, but it's in a really lame part of Minnesota, and I've never seen the vastly more popular Texas capital. That will change mid-October when I attend the second weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

For a while now I've known Depeche Mode was a headliner, but I didn't think much of it considering my impending life-changing experience with them next month (NEXT MONTH!). Of course when I actually looked at the ACL lineup I saw that it includes other heady names: The Cure, Atoms for Peace, Muse, Grimes, Neko Case, Electric Guest, Lionel Richie. So I gleefully bought a ticket and trusted everything would work out.

I see Dawes also has a slot (should I try to get backstage? think they'll remember me?). Other acts I don't know as well but am curious about seeing live: Queens of the Stone Age, HAIM, Shovels & Rope, The Black Angels, Wilco, The National.

Of course, as festivals always do, many of these bands are cruelly scheduled at the same time. For example, I'm going to have to choose between the bulk of Depeche Mode and Muse's headlining sets, and it's no secret who I will likely end up choosing. Saturday night should be easy, as I'll definitely check out Grimes in the early evening and then have a casual couple hours before the full and unadulterated Cure set (good thing I don't give a shit about Kings of Leon). Bummer, Sunday I will miss the one and only Lionel Richie, but Atoms for Peace will more than make up for it.

Now I've been thinking a lot about Muse, and it's interesting to me that I have not completely given them my heart & soul because I really seem to dig them. If ya like a bit of trivia, their 2004 Glastonbury performance was voted the Best Ever Act to appear at the legendary British festival, above such weighty names as Radiohead, Paul McCartney, Davie Bowie, and Stevie Wonder. (Watch that show with me here!) The Glastonbury crowd still has a hard on for them too, as in another recent poll they are the most anticipated potential act for next year, even after their last appearance there in 2010! BLIMEY! So to ease the tension of largely missing them in Austin, I may just attend their Charlotte show on September 3rd. 

Also: here's an Austin blogger who's given me a bit of insight into the high percentage of local bands gracing the festival stages this year. Shitchya!

I haven't been to a big festival in--come to think of it I haven't been to a festival of this size ever. And yes, I'm going alone, but I rather like it that way. Once I figure out my plane tickets and hotel, my only other question will be what will I wear?? Don't fret, I'll share my outfit choices for both the ACL Fest and Sept 12 DM show when the times come!

xx

Goodbye Europe, Welcome to My World!

The first European leg of the Delta Machine Tour is now over, marked by the July 29 show in Minsk. By now the band is settling into their three-week break before picking back up in Detroit on August 22.

As an American fan waiting impatiently for their arrival, I've enjoyed living vicariously through my European counterparts these past three months. I've followed the rhythm of the setlists and celebrated some amazing moments, but I'm cautious to delve too deeply as I want it to be fresh when I see them in September.

But I will delve balls deep into the setlist. Ohh yes. The bulk of it has remained solid with most of the variation revolving around Martin's lead numbers, my favorites being Only When I Lose Myself, Home, and (Martin-sung versions of) When the Body Speaks and Higher Love. Shake the Disease and Judas were also fucking great surprises, though they are still holding out on perhaps the most beloved MLG song ever, The Things You Said. Of course a drawback to their playing it would be audiences simply dying a sweet death then and there, and I can see how some people might frown upon such a thing.

So what should we expect for the American tour? I've already gone into great detail about how much I'd like to see rarer songs, but first things first. There is as yet no Sounds of the Universe representation, which I find a bit strange considering it's their second to most recent album. I'd dig it if they switched out the beaten-to-death Policy of Truth for Wrong, or perhaps Come Back.

Also, two enthusiastic thumbs up to Black Celebration and Precious, but I'll take Stripped over A Question of Time and Behind the Wheel over Barrel of a Gun any day. (Better yet: It's No Good or Freestate.) 

I suspect they will swap Delta track Secret to the End for Broken, especially considering the recent sharing of the in-studio version on Facebook. The rest of the hard-hitting Delta songs will likely remain.

And what about Just Can't Get Enough? Their breakthrough 1981 hit made a resurgence on this tour, and while there have been some spellbinding performances of this classic, I don't think diehard fans are as attached to it as some others. I would replace JCGE with another beloved song from the early days, like--I don't know--Blasphemous Rumours, Everything Counts, or The (Motherfuckin) Sun and the Rainfall, if they really want to turn some heads. Again with the rare songs obsession! I know! But really, I am now imagining a beefed up 2013 live version of that song, like Dominatrix's remix + real live DM, and I'm all DEAR GOD.

What do you think of the tour so far? What are you most looking forward to or hoping for on the next leg of it?

p.s. Zoinks! Did I mention I'm going to the Austin City Limits Festival in October? You'll hear more about that next time.