wednesday, april 30, 2003
hot tweedy action: randi and i went to see the minus 5 last night at bowery. scott mccaughey, who leads this supergroup of sorts, was very funny and charismatic, aided by a fuzzy hat and a bottle of maker's mark. quite a character. of course all of wilco was playing with him, along with some chicks playing violin and singing backup. i liked their set. tweedy smoked onstage--at one point, very amusingly, while singing. he also kept flubbing his guitar parts. after a short break, tweedy took over and they turned into "the minus fur," with jim o'rourke coming out to jam. and boy do i mean jam. i just do not like that loose fur stuff. they did play "not for the season" (or whatever they call it on the loose fur record), in which jeff tweedy looked like he was going to break down in desperate sobs right there, which is how i like him. it was a good show, but made me long for wilco.

the voice reviews "fever to tell."

unsatisfying interview with david foster wallace.

tuesday, april 29, 2003

modern dance is funny. we saw some crazy shit at the art party the other night. topless girls in crocheted bikinis singing 80s songs and writhing around on the floor, then removing the bikini bottoms for a spell. crazy. and jami spoke to a large crowd about her parents having sex. what a weird night.

reason #888 to hate gawker: this email, which mysteriously ended up in my inbox, asking for event listings to put in gawker's "to-do list":

If you have an event, please email me with "event" in the subject line (if you can remember). I will try to get it on there and get my pals some publicity. ALSO, feel free to email me about any event, even if you yourself aren't participating. I won't be able to get everything on there, and the #1 reason for that is that the event has to, on some level, appeal to rich people. No joke. But, what with all this blending of high and low culture that's been goin' on, who knows what will clear and what won't? So, send me your events!

it's free cone day; rejoice!

my reason for not updating the pita lately? i have been all about the friendster, which is pretty much sweeping the nation. i seriously love it. i will find my next boyfriend, and he will love fugazi just like i do! i just know it will happen!

beck blogs.

friday, april 25, 2003
so the hold steady last night? oh man. what a band. they just rule. i wish i'd taken pictures. they were so great, jami and i even briefly decided to fly to minneapolis to see the lifter puller reunion. you missed out. unless you were one of the many cool kids, including several obviously anorexic girls, in attendance. i actually stayed through most of palomar's set since i was being well entertained by jesse and michael. that band still sounds like a watered-down breeders to me. if i may: sesame street rock. dumb!

i am behind the times. i just learned that ween wrote a couple of jingles for pizza hut that were rejected. i cannot believe that pizza hut would reject a jingle that included the line "bitch, where'd the motherfuckin' cheese go?" they have a new album. not that i like ween, though i did just propose a road trip to see them in new jersey, i just thought you might like to know.

bob pollard answers the question "how has being in your 40s affected your groupie situation?" in this stuff magazine interview. so great. can you believe people actually want to hook up with bob pollard?! he also talks about his most recent weird project. that bob pollard. genius, i tell you!

uh, vote for your favorite indie-rock babe? the lack of karen o is curious. also, which of these chicks would actually pose for playboy?

cool rock posters. i want the brooklyn bridge oakley hall one.

creed fans sue because preachy singer was drunk or possibly high at concert.

thursday, april 24, 2003
fun with 311! a pretty hilarious investigation of the new city information line. extra points for using one of my biggest fears: that i will come home and my cat will be dead and i will not know what the fuck to do. not that she is close to death or anything.... but wait. TRASH PICKUP?! they want me to put xena out with the trash?!!!! just throw the coffee grinds on top?! unacceptable. holly suggested i pack her in a cooler and hop on the bus to new jersey so i can bury her in my parents' backyard. which is way too creepy but kind of fun to think about. i guess i'll just let the vet cremate her and put her in a cool box or something. i should never have returned that elf bowl!! back to ebay i go for a suitable urn. oh my god i am crazy.

tonight i'm going to see the hold steady at mercury lounge. you should too if humanly possible, because it will rock, i am sure. check out this mp3 if you don't believe me.

so did anyone else get that email about the blog show? i could be a reality-tv star! i kind of want to do it just so i can see what they come up with. and of course be famous. so who has a mini-DV cam and wants to film 12 minutes of my fun and varied life?

the dullest blog in the world. don't be scared. it is actually kind of hilarious.

friends in the newspaper: holly hangs a mirror; nate looks on fecklessly.

hmmm, is that really conor oberst getting kissed by winona?! say it ain't so!

here are a couple videos of new yeah yeah yeahs songs ("kiss kiss" and "blow hard") from their "secret" show at sin-e. thanks laura!

this guy is documenting everything in his house. [via the morning news]

wednesday, april 23, 2003
i forgot to bring in my copy of YHF so i could download those new wilco songs. and cormi just informed me that the "kamera" available is NOT the slowed-down, souped-up version on the YHF demos but an "even more rocking" one, so i have even more to look forward to.

kimberly caldwell hedges on the question of whether or not there is anything going on between clay and carmen. that little hussy will have to be voted off tonight...she sucked so bad last night. if you liked this posting you might also like this story about the latest batch of reality shows, which contains a very funny anecdote concerning people who do and do not love the olive garden. that masky show looks so creepy. i can't wait to tune in.

a definitive oral history: revealiing the white stripes.

word of the day: turkey-cock: "a strutting, pompous person." suggested usage: "that jack white is a bit of a turkey-cock, ain't he?"

koziol stuff is the cutest. i bought this loose cd holder in boston; now i want this caterpillar one.

oh good, the doorman strike was averted. god forbid upper east siders should have to open their own doors and take out their own garbage.

no shit the MTA had a surplus. that's why they're tiling over perfectly good tiles and renovating my perfectly good subway station, i suppose.

dial 311 for all your city-government inquiries. that's one in the "yay" column for bloomberg, i guess.

tuesday, april 22, 2003

spent the weekend in boston, yup yup. on easter eileen cooked up some fluffy eggs and roasted potatoes, not to mention bacon and "popovers" (where i come from we call them "yorkshire puddings"). then we colored easter eggs, with eileen promising a prize for the most offensive egg. an impromptu dance party broke out at 2 p.m., the flashdance soundtrack and hot hot heat getting equal time. fueled by multiple mimosas, we then took our to-go cups out for a walk. i don't know whose idea it was to distribute the eggs (bearing decidedly unchristian phrases) for the neighborhood children to find, but it was a brilliant one. my favorite rude egg said, "suck yr own butt." still cracks me up.

in keeping with our debauched easter, eileen and i saw some devil music later on that night in the form of the white stripes. those red-and-black pants were dumb but they sure did show off jack's package quite nicely, even from 20 rows back. think he stuffs? jack did a mocking, vegas-style no-guitar version of "pretty good looking" that was very, very bad. and whirlwind heat? oh my god, does it get any worse? but the rest of the show was good. even the ridiculous fist-pumping german metallica fans in front of us were pretty entertaining. we also saw ben kweller, who i'm beginning to think maybe, just maybe, needs to rediscover the "power" in "power pop," but who is of course still great. eileen got me this totally cute sha sha sleeveless t-shirt, too. wooh!

we also watched tracy p. run the marathon. or at least, we watched her run the one second it took for her to run by our spot on the curb. will ferrell beat her by a hair but she still did great with a time of 3:56:something. eileen and i fought tears at several moments while witnessing man's humanity to man (the accompanied blind runner; runners patting each other on the back; drunk frat boys in button-downs running onto the course to cheer on men with leg cramps). we also fought revulsion at the common sight of men with BLOODY NIPPLES. ew.

interview with the yeah yeah yeahs. [via soviet panda]

must. restrain. self.

terrorizing pigeons in bryant park. goofy.

thursday, april 17, 2003
i really doubt that anybody besides maybe jami or juli is as obsessed with oneida tour reports as i am, but if i may, allow me to restate that they rock. there are a couple more since last i checked; one is about the kindness of firemen. warms the heart. what i don't get is how those guys make any money on tour, with all the insane van repairs.

slate points out that bush is pretty condescending when it comes to non-americans. gosh, those iraqis are so talented!

i watched bernie mac for the first time last night (after using my roommate's vegetable steamer for the first time to cook broccoli: yum!). that show is damn funny! it really makes my ass itch that i never knew that!

also, she was gonna go sometime, but kimberly caldwell got totally robbed. carmen obviously should have been booted. poor kim didn't even get to sing solo after she got the boot, as all the rejects usually do. instead they all sang "proud to be an american" again. all right, we get it. you're proud. now shut up. also, clay, who has, i sadly admit, forsaken his trademark nerdy-cute modesty for a more smarmy, condescending attitude, was ALL OVER that slut carmen. who needs to see a good dermatologist, stat. that's my catty comment for the day. in other AI news, the perky punk girl is posing nude.

the cover of the upcoming gbv album, "earthquake glue," is hot.

wednesday, april 16, 2003
whee! a crew has been assembled to go to field day! i am most excited for radiohead and liz phair. we will be going for the first day only (the best lineup) and sleeping in the basement of cormi's uncle, who has promised to stock the fridge. who is smuggling in the illegal substances in their pants? i hope this will be a peaceful, nonannoying festival. good sign: you're allowed to bring in your own bottled water. general sale tickets go on sale tomorrow at 9 am.

WHY is no one bidding on my cute red slip-on coach shoes??? (fyi: the boots and the cd sold at highly satisfying prices.)

everyone's talking about it. want to read a little of it? here's an excerpt of "the devil wears prada." it ain't good, but i have to give props to ms. weisberger for getting it published. sure, she's dumb to think a job assisting anna wintour would've been anything other than enslavement. and there's no way she's ever writing for the new yorker on the basis of the talent displayed by that book, and she had to know that. you've got to respect the guts it takes to do it anyway. and get a shit job turned into something productive. did you know peter hedges, who wrote and adapted the excellent "what's eating gilbert grape," as well as the "about a boy" screeplay, is slated to direct the movie? i say good for her.

yes! jami calls gawker out on her stupidity.

werde explains how the RAVE act became law: basically by renaming it and attaching it to the amber alert bill. werde gets someone to say it turned into "an old-school christmas tree." such bullshit. shame on joe biden. here's a salon story about it, too.

hee: kelefa sanneh continues to discover that rock and roll is fun. in his latest offering, he also suggests that perhaps in a few years, the lead singer of hot hot heat will be singing "smooth, clever love songs, accompanied by an orchestra." okaaaay....

mclusky to record new album. wooh! also, modest mouse drummer quits.

monday, april 14, 2003

sony applies for a trademark on the phrase "shock and awe" for use as a video game. they've got more than a dozen applications for uses of the phrase. [via the morning news]

the logoed (but not ostentatiously so) coach sneakers were a little too big, so i'm selling them. take a look, ladies. the other items are also still available. what are you waiting for? also please do not say you are sick of my ebay shenanigans, because there are more to come.

kate betts reviews "the devil wears prada," the new book by anna wintour's ex-assistant. guess what? she didn't like it.

friday, april 11, 2003
this will come as a shock, but i have decided to return the gnome sugar bowl. this is for three reasons: a) it has a small discolored "scar" just underneath its nose, and considering the price, i think it should be perfect; b) it can fit approximately three tablespoons of sugar in it, half of which i would consume in my morning ritual of two cups of coffee; c) i obviously paid way too much for it. the seller was extremely nice about it, so all is well. the search continues.

werde delivers a postmortem on his experience with self-publishing a story about antiwar videos getting censored after mainstream media didn't want to publish it.

how are we going to identify saddam's body?

and now it's time for a little dish on bands i've seen recently:
hot hot heat: i like their album a lot. it's amazingly catchy. they were okay live, but as simon cowell might say, they need to raise their game. the lead singer is like the indie-rock rod stewart. (not a good thing.)
spoon: god, they rule. concert nirvana! interesting that while britt hates talking about "the agony of lafitte," they still play it. and it's still brilliant. also, britt looks like a preppier, blond version of nate farley. whose ears stick out. (a good thing.)
crooked fingers: so different from archers of loaf. the only thing that remains is eric bachmann's deep, raspy voice. his songs are slow but rich, deep, satisfying. and they rock out a little sometimes, too. love it.

there is a new fruitbats record?! i must have it.

wednesday, april 9, 2003
best picture yet of the fall of baghdadt: iraqi grandma whomps saddam with purple flip-flops.

okay! now it's time for a special edition of the pita i'll call Weird Items I Am Selling On Ebay. as i mentioned, they are all highly desirable items and you will all want to bid early and often on these items. first we have the super-rare sleepy heroes cd, which i purchased on ebay for the princely sum of eighty-something dollars over a year ago. this is rhett miller's pre-old 97s band, with murry on bass, and it is utter brilliance, i swear. if you are ready to take your rhett fanhood to the next level, this is the item for you. the next item is, i admit, extremely strange. i bought it in a fit of ... something. i don't know. possibly i was on drugs at the time. and suffering from post-9/11 confusion. uh, so anyway, how about some patriotic doc martens?? sometimes i really scare myself, but i just know these things would look great with jeans. bid now! bonus for clicking: you get to see my cat looking dubiously at the patriotic footwear.

also, the cds at half are going like gangbusters. get the good stuff before it's gone!

tuesday, april 8, 2003
today i finished my taxes. ugh. this is the first year i will have to pay instead of receiving a nice tasty refund. not fun! especially when i've had to buy a bunch of housewares (and, as you know, shoes) lately to replace holly's stuff.

i also put up a bunch more cds (and one book) for sale on half.com, since jewelboxes threaten to cut me every time i enter my room. the newest stuff is at the end of the list, so start your looking there. buy stuff! you'll also be seeing some fantastic big-ticket items on ebay maybe tomorrow...get your bidding finger ready, i just KNOW you are going to want these items.

yesterday it snowed like the proverbial banshee. ridiculous behavior from the weather gods. i mean seriously, who do i have to blow to get some spring around here?

georgia hubley of yo la tengo in a bathtub covered in baked beans. via largehearted boy.

bill werde talks on the radio about antiwar songs and stuff. scroll down to april 4, hour two, and fire up your realplayer to hear his expert opinions.

interview with britt daniel of spoon, a band that is on all the cool kids' schedules for tomorrow night in nyc. tonight the cool kids are going to see hot hot heat. this past weekend they saw the walkmen but were slightly disappointed at the lack of epic grandeur displayed at the october show. not to mention the sly disdain for the audience. bands, stop insulting your audiences! jeez!

swim bar sucks: finally, i would like to publicly declare the fact that i will never step foot in swim again. saturday night, eileen and i and some others went there. never again. those idiots had empty tables and large swaths of floor space and still felt the need to project an illusion of coolness by making 20 people wait in line outside for extended periods of time. total bullshit. after failing to convince the fat orange-shirted manager that they were obviously *not* at capacity as he claimed, i told him i was never coming back. he told me to "have fun." i urge you to withhold your business from this loathsome place. it was once cool. it is totally lame now.

thursday, april 3, 2003
so i "won" the elfin sugar bowl. "winning" in this case means getting the opportunity to pay $37, plus shipping, for a total of $44, for a SUGAR BOWL. this is why ebay is evil. and why i am ridiculous. but i have decided that this sugar bowl will follow me to my grave. people will fight over it when i am dead. it will be my prize possession. plus, it will make me happy to look at that little face every morning when i spoon too much sugar into my coffee. isn't that worth $44?

also: no more shoes! good god. i bought three pairs of shoes today, and two last week. four out of five were on sale (or, uh, on ebay and cheap), but still. spring fever is manifesting itself as a burning need for shoes. though i still need (need!) spring shirts and skirts and stuff.

and now i would like to give a hearty thanks to reader sara morrell, who sent me a most wondrous homemade present in the mail. it is a little apron (do not scoff; i cook sometimes, or at least, i spill stuff on myself), in a g'n'r-esque print: skulls and roses on a black background. it is divine. i have tied it to the refrigerator door to use as a dishtowel until such time as i decide to cook something. here is sara's cute note:

Catherine,

I made this apron for you to thank you for the radical public service you provide. The pita keeps us informed, and I appreciate that.

Thanks,
Sara Morrell
Tulsa, OK

thanks sara! jealous readers who wish to compete with sara's awesome gift are welcome to send their contributions, too.

wednesday, april 2, 2003
barbara wawa kisses julianne moore? thank you betsy for that frightening piece of news.

more oneida tour reports! you need to settle in, throw on some good music (maybe the kills?), and read 'em. you will be treated to lines like "I slept worrying about dead dogs and puke as the penis shape-shifters continued their endless tour." giovanni ribisi likes oneida; so should you!

after you're done there, if you are bored, you could call one of a million new york city payphones (yes! they still exist!) and hope colin farrell happens to be walking by and in a punchy mood.

for those of us who could give a crap about seven-inch records (hi!), there will be a cd coming out this fall featuring all of nine singles les savy fav has apparently been pumping out over the past couple years. yay! story also contains tour dates, and you should see them because they kinda slack on the touring thing.

tuesday, april 1, 2003
it's my girl eileen's birthday! wooh! everybody send her a funny and/or loud e-card.

the yyy's rocked my face off at the new sine last night. it was a secret show, which of course makes me ultracool. leigh ann and i were one of a few folks going nutso crazy with rock and roll fever, having both developed a serious addiction to "fever to tell." i can't believe i used to hate on this band.

meanwhile, i discovered that people are politely abiding by the smoking ban, except in the bathroom, where you will find a thick haze of smoke and a cluster of people crowding the sink. it's like high school all over again. i like it, though: this morning i smelled my hoodie and it did not reek of smoke! yay smoking ban!

i'm not werthe!! question: when is catwoman.pitas.com going to get in the gossips? we make fun of new york times writers too! where are our twenty thousand hits??

another american idol contestant ousted, this time for beating on his sister. he sucked anyway. nerdy-cute will take it all!

fox writer decides to "have a little fun" with its outdoor news zipper near rockefeller center.

radiohead album leaked to internet. i don't know what i think of it yet.

look how cute this gnome sugar bowl is! i must have it. ebay has been making me very happy lately. check out these awesome sneakers i snagged, the third in a series of red slip-ons to make my feet smell in the summer. this time designer belogoed: fancy!