a few of us went be-bopping around the boroughs in search of a wedding dress for holly on saturday. best parts: holly getting stuck in a too-small dress (above) and getting really retarded with the veils. and we went to target. twice. we actually went to target, bought stuff, tried on wedding gowns, and then returned to target to buy more stuff. i had not believed this target could be as good as suburban target, but indeed it is. among the stuff i bought was a fantabulous tankini and some perfecto white wedges. it's T-minus 11 days till the big caribbean vacation in which holly will finally turn 30 and i'll probably sunburn my boobs. we're getting really excited. i simply cannot wait to escape cold, dready nyc and lie flat on my back on warm sand.

i wish i could have made it to the best crazy-city-activity thing since santacon was a boy: the idiotarod. i watched and took pictures last year, but alas, i had wedding dresses to judge. pics at rion, bluejake, citying, flickr, jami, and the funniest at alexis robie.

mediabistro has a new blog by the original gawker, elizabeth spiers. a cursory glance makes it clear this is going to focus on actual media issues, and therefore not really compete with gawker at all, despite this silly article in the times about the "rivalry."

hilarious resignation letter.

police have charged a 19-year-old with that murder that happened a few blocks from my apartment. the fiance still baffles me: he walked away from his girlfriend while their group was being hassled, instead of grabbing her and making sure she was safe. he also made comments like "it's probably the first robbery he'd ever done...he wasn't good at it." and then he went on good morning america the next morning! after his beloved was killed! um. okay. a totally separate issue is how this story would not be receiving all the attention if woman killed were not a "beautiful actress." the post headlines "beauty slain," and even the times gets in on the action: "..a crushed tube of 'silver sand' shaded lipstick lay in the snow." ugh.

and, uh, i hate to be flippant, but denis keane ought to be shot.

you can stream the new low album. i saw them live a few months ago and was sorta blown away.

very interesting story about the recording of fiona apple's shelved album, which has been done since may 2003. free fiona! [via stereogum]

horrible weatherman. so bad you would think it's a college broadcast, but the dude looks way too old. hilarious. i love how he keeps hopping in and out of the frame and muttering under his breath.

so i decided the other night while watching 24 that part of what makes kiefer so hot is his crow's-feet. look at this pic: aren't those wrinkles just adorable? i am so serious. i must be getting old if wrinkles are becoming attractive. and then i walked into the bathroom and that's when i noticed that i have some of those "fine lines" we're always writing about in my line of work. cue meltdown. where my botox at? (just kidding...sorta. apparently strivectin, a stretch-mark-reducing cream, is the latest thing.)

cool pics of the hold steady last week, from kathryn yu.

Primus was like the Tupperware of the 90's. Millions of people woke up one morning and thought, "Hey... why the fuck do I own all this shit?" Admit it... you owned some Primus records. At least one. How millions of kids everywhere were tricked into liking some goofball hippies playing splash cymbals and 6 string fretless bass is a modern miracle only the cure for cancer could rival. Apparently there's a few thousand people out there who haven't snapped out of it cuz these guys still tour.

finally, i would like to publicly state that i don't give a shit that paul giamawhatsis got "robbed." that movie is so overpraised it's ridickulous. i really don't get why everyone messed their undies over that one. i was operating at a low to medium level of interest the entire movie and kept wondering when it was going to be over. the only truly great part was where he dumped the spit-bucket of wine all over himself. if they had died upon crashing themselves into that tree that would have been fine with me. anyway, the only thing that makes me happy about the oscar noms is that kate winslet got the nod. she rules.

more exciting than any of that is this: the pita in women's wear daily, the leading fashion-industry newspaper, in a story about the explosion of stylish iPod cases. page 15. my boss just declared that mine is clearly the best on the page, so it must be true.

more exciting than any of that is this: the pita in women's wear daily, the leading fashion-industry newspaper, in a story about the explosion of stylish iPod cases. my boss just declared that mine is clearly the best on the page, so it must be true.

the hold steady delivered an assload of rock the other night at the mercury lounge. lots of new jams, one of which had me making my "oh my god, i'm really scared at how good that was" face to randi. it was her first show and so i asked randi what she thought. she spake: "i was fully rocked. they really were so great. his stage presence freaked me out a bit, but i think in a good way. almost like he was possessed by the rock with all those weird jitters and off-rhythm moves." i love the weird jitters, of course. and so does this blogger, who witnessed the madness for the first time, too. the new york times is now a fan, too. the best news of all was that they finally had t-shirts for sale! i can now proudly claim myself a member of "the hold steady crew" -- as if that wasn't obvious before....

l.e.s. heads, take note: kebab house II is awesome. this place opened up a few months ago on rivington and orchard, and i was distrustful of it, with its large neon sign and absurdly bright interior. i am still distrustful of the leering guy behind the counter, but i've been in there twice this week and plan to go back tonight. i had the chicken shish sandwich the other night and it rocked my world with its big chunks of juicy chicken and huge, plump, also-juicy mushrooms. the falafel wrap earlier in the week was pretty awesome too. tonight, i might try the lamb. seriously: so good!

so sleater-kinney are going to blow the roof of off the merc on march 2 and 3, and i have tickets. it's sold out, of course. i almost feel like having a contest to choose the most deservin person as my date...this show is going to rock harder than most. and yet people i've talked to seem to be all, "yeah i like them...not a huge fan though." wtf?

i love cormi's train wreck of an interview with tonya harding, who boxed a man in a delaware bar. cormi took pics; seems she is kinda fat now. cormi also reports the news that kings of leon don't look like 70s assholes anymore.

in ugly-cute animal news, i submit: wombat 1. wombat 2. echidna 1. echidna 2. thank you kurt.

on the rare occasions when i read the i love music board, i find the posters to be mostly a bunch of insufferable, pretentious twats. however, maybe i should revisit, because i do quite enjoy this list of their top 50 albums of the year. good stuff.

my world-travelling friend tricia is no longer living in hong kong; now she's somewhere in romania. behold her new site, euromania.

i'm going to try to take some new pictures of white stuff this weekend. it's gonna be good...i hope. have a good weekend.....

did you know sound enters the ear canal not only through the ear but also through the bones of the face and skull? i'm fascinated by the fact that roger miller got tinnitus 20 years ago and could identify the notes appearing in his head, and now wears shooting-range headphones on stage and is separated from the drummer by a pink plexiglas partition. the dude just HAS to rock! i went home with my ears ringing, totally happy.

our band could be your life is excellent, by the way. anyone who likes rock music should read it. even if you know nothing about the bands, their stories are totally fascinating. it explains the independent spirit that these bands lived by, before "indie" was a genre. it makes me wish i was going to shows back then, sorta. i mean riots NEVER break out after shows these days! apparently they did all the time back then. the closest we came to punk-rock behavior on saturday night was some guy who was heckling the shit out of ill-chosen opening band, the quiet, folky (snoozeworthy) damon and naomi. at first i was annoyed at the rudeness, but then the dude's persistence and blatant honesty ("I'M BORED!", "STOP!") was just hilarious and made their set entertaining.

oh, and the seconds were first. they were doing their thing, walking that line between punkish awesomeness and williamsburg pretension, when i looked to my left and saw this old, disheveled dude watching their set, grinning like a fiend and looking totally fucking tickled, and i realized it was roger miller. i smiled at him. i'm not sure what the point is other than that old punk guys make me happy. this is one of the longest concert "reviews" ever on the pita, huh? note to the seconds: lose the singing.

here's an interview with michael azerrad, author of the book. he talks about how he likes bands to be challenging, which i appreciate. there's too much slick-ass modern-rock masquerading as cool music these days. i'm psyched to go see death from above 1979 next week even though i think they might not be as tough to get into as i originally thought. like with oneida, it's worth it sometimes to push through the discomfort to find the greatness. you can stream their album at the vice site. i'm listening to it right now and it's fucking awesome, people.

top four albums of 2004 that really hit my musical g-spot
1. the hold steady, almost killed me
2. les savy fav, inches
3. franz ferdinand, s/t
4. old 97s, drag it up

10 albums of 2004 i definitely wouldn't kick out of bed
modest mouse, good news for people who love bad news
mclusky, the difference between you and me is that i'm not on fire
hidden cameras, mississagua goddamn
gbv, half smiles of the decomposed
loretta lynn, van lear rose
thermals, fuckin' a
elliott smith, from a basement on the hill
ted leo, shake the sheets
interpol, antics
rilo kiley, more adventurous

album that i suspect would talk too much in bed, tell me it loves me, and probably cry
the arcade fire, funeral

the 2004 album equivalent of doing a gotti son
the killers, hot fuss

2004 albums i would make leave when we were done, so disgusted was i with their performance
wilco, a ghost is born
radio 4, the stealing of a nation
liars, they were wrong, so we drowned

the 2004 equivalent of taking a cute boy home only to find that he's, like, a hermaphrodite or something
joanna newsom's oeuvre

we fooled around but never actually made it to the bedroom
tv on the radio, desperate youth, bloodthirsty babes
ac newman, the slow wonder

i made him wait a looooong time before giving it up, and then it was good
travis morrison, travistan

dripping wet with sex-iest album of 2004
eagles of death metal, peace love death metal

the 2004 equivalent of hooking up with your ex, the one you will always love
sonic youth, sonic nurse

pity-fuck album of the year
r.e.m., around the sun

best gay sex album of 2004
scissor sisters, s/t

best quickies of 2004
wolf parade, both eps
mellowdrone, go get 'em tiger

2004 album that most closely approximates fucking a schizophrenic
fiery furnaces, blueberry boat

song and band i would go all lorena bobbitt on if i could
u2, vertigo

still on my "to do" list
kid dakota
rogue wave
green day
rio baile funk
death from above 1979
the delays
bearsuit
moonbabies
the mice
destroyer
lali puna

any more? come on, i showed you mine.

so that new pitchfork redesign looks spiffy, huh? a little busy though. once i found the news section i saw that those of us left bereft by the breakup of mclusky can take comfort in the news that they will be issuing a 2-cd set of singles and rarities.

i love stylus magazine's top 40 worst albums of 2004. via coolfer, who has a fun list of the top 10 most blogged about artists, a list that gets some funny (and mean) comments in the, uh, comments.

so moby's new album is called "hotel," and the cover art is a photo of the back of his bald head as he stares out at that fantastic view from a corner window at the hotel on rivington. it's a pretty cool photo, i think. on his journal he explains why "hotel" (something vom-worthy about how they represent the human condition -- dude, just say you like hotels). according to his label, the sample-free album will be "accompanied by 'hotel ambient,' a beautiful and atmospheric collection of instrumentals that will relex even the most neurotic insomniac." i.e. snoozefest. enjoy!

i was weirdly fascinated and also frightened by this article about the people who listen in on your customer-service calls.

you can see scully's ribs. as if that wasn't enough, something horrible is happening to her face.

i hate to sound like a broken record, folks, but i'm on a roll. more cool-as-shit ipod cozies, handmade by moi, up for sale at the shop. i know you are just going to go wild for the "emo boy" and "emo girl" varieties.

oh, and did you catch my amateur fashion criticism yesterday on gawker? did you like how i worked the word COZY in there? it's all subliminable, people.

peeps, i've got super-brand-spankin' new ipod cozies up for sale at the shop. they've got sequins! and i've finally got them for MINI ipods, too. all your whining did the trick.

mclusky says "fuck this band" for real. shame. i saw them play once and the lead singer screamed into the mic intermittently for a good five minutes to warm up before they started playing. just like mclusky, it was startling, funny, and awesome. they really rock(ed) something fierce. don't believe me? download these, off last year's "the difference between you and me is that i'm not on fire":

::: Mclusky, "Withough MSG I'm Nothing" :::

::: Mclusky, "Falco Vs. The Young Canoeist" :::

also, fluxblog has a mclusky single i hadn't heard up for download.

if i was having a little parent-teacher conference with the following blog's mom, i'd say it has a lot of potential: promocopy, wherein a bored music writer aims to skewer music publicists. a little highlighting would go a long way, anonymous. no one wants to read reams and reams of that shit for no apparent reason.

the luna lounge is closing down and that's kinda sad. the reporter's use of the phrase "generation x clubgoers" to describe its patrons? kinda retarded.

the hold steady are playing the mercury lounge january 19th. i'm hoping my heart stops. and it might. they're wrapping up work on a new album, which is exciting, and they added franz from world inferno, who has played with them live, on piano and keys. awesomeness.

kurt bitches about fresh direct and the hotel on rivington; lockhart steele's eyes roll back in his head.

i can't believe i made it through this whole new york times story about the proposed subway photography ban and its effect on art without reading the word "bloggers." hooray!

nude as the news does a eulogy for gbv. love the list of top 100 gbv songs, with little explanations for each. though the exclusion of "my son cool" is unforgivable. unforgivable, i tell you! they have all sorts of other nuggets for you to chew on, too. nice.

this occupied a good portion of my day today, as it contained a highly addictive mix of frightening, cute, and alienesque: pictures of hairless sphinx cats. my favorites are gollum and the black one with no eyes. i think i actually want one.

but i'm really going to miss gbv! they played for four hours and i loved every second. some less-hardy souls in my group complained of "sore feet" and "not needing to hear 18 more songs" but i would have stayed in that beautiful club for four more hours. as luck would have it, there is pretty good video available of four songs. the last one they played was "don't stop now," so if you're only going to download one (and they're big), get that one. if you drench yourself in beer and surround yourself with friends, it'll almost be like being there.

snormipants has fun pics, and i'm sure leanne and randi will get around to posting theirs sometime in the next couple of months. john, the only real photographer among us, when he has a "scanning day" (i.e. never).

in the immortal words of bob pollard, "and that's the electrifying conclusion!"

*weeps*