wednesday, july 31, 2002

things that happened at the marah show last night, the finale of their weekly residency at the mercury lounge:
¥ we did not see bruuuuce there as it was rumored he might be. however, there was a ryan adams sighting. he's short and looks goofy but has clear skin and a fun smile. the fashion was also goofy but in a cool way.
¥ the tall, skinny jordan catalano-esque bartender bought me a drink! jordan catalano loves me! (however, word is that there is something wrong with him. he might be stupid, we hear. still, general jordan catalano-ness would more than make up for this slight flaw, we hope.)
¥ marah played. there were maybe a couple too many bongos onstage (drummer broke his hand, and there were some cryptic references to the overall well-being of the band), but it was still a fine, spirited performance. still, i should have worked my apparently highly effective feminine wiles on the soundman and made him turn up the vocals.
¥ tamar made me take pictures of her with both serge and dave. she reports that dave (the lead singer) is very gracious and cool, and that he is thinking about moving to brooklyn.

ooh, and it's leanne's birthday! we love her, yes we do, and she will be a rock star someday, oh someday.

d-plan video for "time bomb." quite fun! coming soon to mtv2? link via missy, who also reports that desoto records is closing.

i think this is funny even if you have no idea what the book is about: "i have written a bad book," ben marcus's self-deprecating-to-the-extreme self-review. actually makes me want to get back into the book, which i admit i abandoned a little while ago.

tuesday, july 30, 2002
so...how have you been?

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friday, july 26, 2002
today there will be links i've been saving up. lo, and there were links:

tonight is the opening of the wilco documentary, and i've got tickets! woo! rah!

speaking of movies, terry gilliam is still trying to make don quixote. there's a documentary about the disastrous last attempt he made coming out next month. [via the morning news]

awww, isn't that sweet. the strokes nominated gbv to win the shortlist, america's answer to england's mercury prize. it's supposed to honor the most "adventurous and creative" album of the year. last year sigur ros won. you can check out what the judges (including beck) have nominated so far. seems albert and nick have some work to do.

did you know paul westerberg is on tour? stereo/mono (especially mono) is one of my favorites so far this year. pete and i are going to the bowery ballroom show next month. oh baby, that is going to rock.

and finally, hilarity.

thursday, july 25, 2002, 2:04 a.m.
suffice it to say weird things are happening in the world of catherine's pita. welcome new readers! to all the old faithful: please bear with us. it's going to take a few days to get adjusted.

tuesday, july 23, 2002
oh my GOD, check out this rhett miller cover art. what's that in his right cheek, anyway? marbles? some chew?? ridiculous.

kids, you have two more tuesdays to catch marah at the mercury lounge. i believe i will be going for the third time this month tonight. i realize that is out of control, but for the price of a martini you have something fun to do on an otherwise unremarkable tuesday evening. did i mention the band members are extremely cute? here are their top ten lists (mine for conversation topics, ladies). cute lead singer likes sahara hot nights just like rolling stone does.

the good thing about having lost your beautiful directv and being reduced to network tv is you watch more movies. last night i rented the princess and the warrior. tom tykwer is definitely a Filmmaker. this one is the slow, thoughtful counterpart to "run lola run"; intense and strangely compelling despite bits of ridiculousness.

the fields and feta wrap is the greatest sandwich ever. that and a frozen mocha blast and a borrowed copy of The Face magazine = perfect lunch hour. check out this hilarious quote from nick valensi aka Jailbait Stroke:

"we're really privileged in that we're all well-traveled and, you know, fucking cultured. we've got fucking table manners, you know. i'd like to think that we're all fucking classy guys, you know, like sort of fucking gentlemen, and not some fucking crass american rock band."

monday, july 22, 2002

so sirenfest was pretty fun this year. of course it was also overcrowded, hot, the sound sucked, and there's no way you can ever get close enough to see, much less take pictures. but quite a few good bands rocked the house anyway. plus i rode the cyclone, goaded leigh ann into a game of "shoot the freak" (who really should be lacking some appendages or something...he's just a dude, nothing freakish about him at all!), and took gleeful advantage of the lack of open container laws. good times, good times (as they say).

friday, july 19, 2002
don't forget: sirenfest is tomorrow!

i think i forgot to mention that gbv is making up the cancelled shows in just a few short weeks. august 9, me and the boys meet at last.

well, i'm off to stan's sports bar for some low-quality brew before the big game. we are in the cheap seats so i'm expecting some serious misbehavior to go down. go yanks!

thursday, july 18, 2002
saw the vines and ok go (for free! yay capitol records!) last night at the bowery. ok go were good and smiley and cute and poppy. as an added bonus, the lead singer is practically the second coming of rhett, in terms of appearance. the vines were, as cormi declares, okay. they were pretty rockin' when they were not blissing out a la the doves, or whomever. note to vines: less swirling wash-of-guitars, more howling/riffs. thanks. but hey! you can listen to five songs on their site, and you can buy the album for only $5.99 (!) at best buy. it's good stuff.

how interesting: john chabalko in a reflection shot. i always knew he was secretly dying to be a photoblogger.

i don't get this trial. the so-called 20th hijacker tries to plead guilty and the judge decides to wait a week to see if he's changed his mind? uhmmmmm....

wednesday, july 17, 2002

the meltdown came and went, and we are all still alive. some highlights:
¥ my infamous punch. no one ever believes that beer is good in punch until they try it.
¥ both sets by the band, introduced as Captain Obvious and His Hot Wing Society. also, the near-breakup of terminal lunchbox as a result of "unprofessional" divergence from the setlist was pretty funny too. i really should've sung on "where is my mind," but i wimped out.
¥ the t-shirts! so cool.
¥ "frat guy," performed by brat x. it is truly amazing that brad jennings remembered all the lyrics to a rap he performed approximately six years ago. "why are frat guys so effin' pathetic?" i think the meatheads who were showing me the "right" way to pump the keg left soon after that, once they had had their muscles squeezed enough times by leanne.
¥ ken.butt's dad, aka kenn.butt/dad~shirtless.
¥ cormi stopping all conversation early in the party by bellowing, "I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!"
¥ pete's mohawk.

in sum, it was great to see all the old review heads and hang out with various central pennsylvania dwellers. i am already planning the Fallout.

the next big thing was supposed to be meeting gbv. extremely sad to say, the mother of a band member died, so they cancelled yesterday's show and the guided by bob brewery tour. you can't really complain in the face of such tragedy. we were pretty bummed though. they're trying to reschedule for sometime in august. despite this crushing blow, i managed to come up with some entertaining options for leanne. we saw swearing at motorists (um, bring your drummer next time, please?) and marah (cuter and cuter), and bought some cd's and some shoes and some rings, and ate a lot of food and stuff. what else can you do?

friday, july 12, 2002
holy shit leanne won the contest! BEERS WITH BOB! we are out of our minds with joy!!!

how long till the meltdown? oh baby. when i return on wednesday, i will have loads of absolutely fan-fucking-tastic photos, of the meltdown of course, but also of me with my favorite band. i plan to flirt shamelessly with nate and tim, and i hope to make bob laugh. i suppose i will make an ass of myself at some point. i cannot WAIT!

thursday, july 11, 2002
i have been so productive lately. i did my personal filing (why does everybody get so confused when i mention this?), made a couple of (not especially well-mixed) mix tapes, and finally got off my ass and wrote 75 words on mclusky, who you need to know about. really.

sometimes you forget that there can be such gorgeous weather days in nyc. today is one of them. and today, currently in the sky somewhere over the middle states, arrives miss leanne milway of crazy knee fame for one of her semiregular East Coast Jaunts. after the last one, she went home and had to promptly check into the hospital with some sort of serious bodily emergency. we are hoping the meltdown doesn't kill her. tee minus two days, now.

why have i not heard about the contest yet?? i may have to crash it.

see, i talk about politics sometimes, dad: pilots with guns?! what are they smoking in the house of representatives??

wednesday, july 10, 2002
my dad has complained that the pita these days is "all about music." dad will now tune out, because last night new roommate tamar took me to see one of her favorite bands, marah. that's maRAH, accent on second syllable. they've got a monthlong tuesday residency at the mercury lounge, and they are highly entertaining. the singer charms with his sexy head-swagger, loose style, and adidas shelltops; his brother the guitarist with his vest and his touching tale of seeing a welsh rainbow over a hill of sheep with his band, his best and only friends; the bassist with his extremely beck-like robotic moves and herkies (leigh ann taught me that word). a high-energy, fun band, with lots of musical styles. they ended with "love train." go see them if you can. also, one of their albums has the awesome title of "let's cut the crap and hook up later on tonight." tamar recommends "kids in philly," however.

it's kind of an obnoxious review, but i have to say i agree with the essential sentiment behind it: the new sonic youth is boring. i'm glad someone else finally said it. every review i've seen has been basically unmitigated gushing.

update: a couple of on-the-ball dfw fans have told me wallace is moving to california for a teaching position. perhaps i should follow my dream?

tuesday, july 9, 2002
jon stewart , my man, is creating a late-night cnn show for overseas audiences only. we get to keep him in all his unfiltered comedy central glory. that is, those of us that still have cable tv.

the other night i had a dream about david foster wallace. i can't remember it at all except i know there were issues between us. what if dfw is my soulmate and i can't get him because he's famous and, like, lives in illinois? o sad life....

which strokes are the coolest strokes? dis of nick hilariously true. via the modern age, of course.

today is making me laughing crazy. in between bouts of insanity, i've been looking at the spiffy new beck site. new album, new tour dates, and a mighty good faq.

monday, july 8, 2002

scenes from new jersey, where i witnessed the horrifying and fascinating spectacle of emus mating. in addition to the kayaking, the tanning, the safari-ing, and of course the eating, there was a major shopping spree at target. man, that hurt. today i am wearing my supercool "hawaii" tank top, and i am asking for your help. you see, i want to collect t-shirts for all of the states. i've already got new jersey and hawaii, so just 48 to go. this is where you, my adoring readers, come in. especially if you live in an oddball state, i want you to find me a cute t-shirt and/or tank top with your state's name on it. no big beefy hanes numbers, unless the shirt is really cool. think goes-with-skirts. fun sayings are good (saw some kid with "new jersey: only the strong survive" recently); embroidered or otherwise cheesy logoes are not. e-mail me if you find something, and i will be grateful forever. extra gushing if you dig up "girl sized" t-shirts.

awesome new beer garden in carroll gardens, y'all.

it seems to be in fashion among those in the know to make sly references to the Meltdown. what can i say, i'm quaking in my flip-flops.

wednesday, july 3, 2002
who wants to buy me steve-o videos? there is a feature on steve-o, the best (and best-hung) member of jackass, in the new spin. also, he's going to be on cribs! and touring with some sort of "stage show"! (by the way, i love steve-o.) earlier, when i was telling leigh ann about some of steve-o's infamous tricks (like eating and vomiting a live goldfish; piercing his buttcheeks together), she loudly informed me that she was "eating." i giggled maniacally. that's the thing about steve-o: you are either repulsed or giddy with admiration.

totally forgot to write about jay bennett, didn't i? i saw him and his bald friend last friday night at the mercury lounge, and unlike last time, he completely won me over. he sounded excellent backed by a full band (members of centro-matic) and sang great, rollicking rock tunes that reminded me of early wilco (and that is meant as a huge compliment, in case there's any doubt). he also kept the bitterness on the funny side and played for more than two hours. i definitely got my ten bucks' worth. (will johnson, it must be said, though he has a beautiful voice, well, i just wanted to take him aside and give him a little pep talk. "it's friday night," i would have said. "don't you think you should be a little less melancholy? i know you know how to rock. please do so.")

for the fourth of july weekend i will be returning to the homeland. there are plans to go kayaking (!) on the delaware, see a parade that dad assures me is a perfect slice of small-town americana (or something like that), eat grilled steaks, work on my tan, see some movies, and possibly get snuck into the tom petty concert on a beer truck. very, very excited to get out of the hot city.

tuesday, july 2, 2002

i installed my AC last night and woke up chilly enough to have to huddle under the comforter: ahhhhhhh yes. this is the way to be. new york is butt-ass hot right now, in case you were wondering. my only question: if the cooling unit in question is probably 10 to 15 years old, dating back to the house i grew up in, is that bad?

you can listen to the new flaming lips album on their site. volume control somewhat nonexistent, however.

did you enter the contest yet? well, did you??

seven-dollar cigarettes! that is just bordering on abuse. all the same, i'm damn glad i don't smoke. you guys should revolt. update: apparently the dirty smokers are ahead of me: way to go, guys!

in other evil-mayor news, we now are sending plastic and glass to the landfill instead of recycling. anyone who has ever visited my apartment and seen the sarcastic warning signs scribbled on colored construction paper and stapled above the green bins knows that i am a freak about recycling. what will i do with my tuesday evenings now??

isaac brock spent five nights in the pokey last week.