For some people, unrequited love is the downside to the sentiment. But what about how bad it is when you like someone that you really wish you didn’t?
I’m in that boat right now. There’s someone that I wish I didn’t have feelings for, someone that I wish would be just another person to me. I waver between repulsion to ambivalence to fierce attraction. You try and distract yourself with other people and yet at the end of the day, there they are. It’s worse than having an albatross around your neck. Just when you think that you’re over them and that you can finally move on you’re right back where you started; doing the same bullshit that you were doing before that you swore you would never do.
I wish that this were a case of unrequited love because then, at least, things would be said and done. If they don’t like you back than that’s it. But when you have feelings for someone that you’d rather not, there’s always that nagging voice in the back of your head that you should push forward or back off.
Thankfully, there will be some space between us. So maybe I can finally move on…
Warpaint calls to mind early Blonde Redhead, Electrelane, and Dum Dum Girls. Their Psych-rock jam sessions build up slowly, loosely following a non-committal beat, as Emily Kokal and Theresa Wayman chant, in tandem, repetitive indecipherable lyrics. This L.A quartet will be touring with The XX in the fall. They have procured some very legit representation and will likely make a notable splash, However fleeting, in 2011. Their debut, “The Fool”, out in October, has the slow, steady melodic leanings which wear out slowly and have a greater chance of being replayed years after being purchased. Strip down and unpretentious, Warpaint summons the ear invitingly, a teasing smoky whisper in unison, caressing as it ebbs, and as it flows at times, tempestuous. Tribal drums, a baritone bass, pretty voices and dark sedated improvisations lead by a brilliant guitar= Warpaint. Warpaint- “Elephants” by Metagrime
President Barack Obama has scheduled his second back-to-school address to students nationwide on September 14, but the question is whether schools in more conservative states or regions will air it?
This is Obama’s second address to students. Although a seemingly innocuous pep talk delivered last year from a school in Arlington, Virginia, to remind students to work hard and achieve their goals, conservative sects of the country and some right-leaning school districts refused to air the live speech out of protests that it was designed to indoctrinate the youth.
Conservative commentators said his address was designed to push socialism or indoctrinate the youth into some new world order – even though the first President Bush gave a similar address in the early 90’s – but when it premiered last year, many school districts in Florida said no.
So was it a breach of the First Amendment? Do students, under the age of 18, have a right to hear their president in school? Or should the president only be broadcast if it pertains to a daily lesson?
These were the questions school districts wrangled with, and those which didn’t broadcast the speech promised it would be available in the school’s media center for consumption at a later date, but who knows how many teachers took out those materials later in the year.
The Associated Press reported that Obama is going to tell the students to “study hard, stay in school and take responsibility for their education.” Approximately three weeks separate the beginning of the academic year and the second live speech, and who knows how much publicity or accusations of pushing socialism will be shouted from the cable networks until September 14.
Dubrovnik is possibly the most popular tourist destination in Croatia, and with obvious reason. Despite being surrounded by more Americans than I had been in an entire year of living in Europe (Prague being the close second), the charm and beauty of Dubrovnik wasn’t dampened a bit. The essence of an old world Mediterranean port city exudes from the very cobblestones of the streets – the city somehow feels very mysterious and caught in time – as long as your eye doesn’t catch one of the many gigantic cruise liners anchored nearby.
Old Port (Gradska luka) By Night
Church Bells and Cloudy Skies
Hobbit Home (?) at the Base of Fort Lovrijenac
Night Lights
Lovely Back Street (Honestly, they all looked like this)
I don’t know how much Pomp trivia you are familiar with dear readers, but Pomp and Poster Boy just go together – like coffee and donuts or Palin-detractors and smart people. Our 5th issue features his face, cut-and-paste style on the cover, and a fun article where one of our writers followed him around on a night of subway ad mash-upping. We even had a party at 3rd Ward where Poster Boy brought cut out pieces of advertising for our audience to interact with themselves.
So, it was unpleasant, to say the least to hear of Henry Matyjewicz, one of the people strongly associated with this movement, getting jailed for some harmless bad-assery. And we were happy to hear he would be out on bail, but foggy on the details.
Recently we got some news about a book release party for the Poster Boy book, Art of War, and an event to help fund K.A.R.A.T.E (kids are rallying against the empire), the organization that’s helped Henry with his recent bout of legal issues.
The party will be taking place in 4 different locations around the globe, with proceeds going to help K.A.R.A.T.E and guest appearances by the Poster Boy collective themselves.
“Penny Sparkle” comes out September 14th on 4AD.
An air of 80’s nostalgia. Misery is still a butterfly, this time it seems to have flown to the decade of beta. Sadly the novelty of an elfin, diminutive singer is long gone thanks to the myriad of facsimiles Kazu Makino has spawned. Hard to judge the quality of the album based on the first single, but maybe falling off a horse is not conducive to the making of epic music. The days of Damaged Lemons seem gone, they I reckon, galloped away.
I just watched Milk yesterday for the first time. And yes, that was a damn good movie, but damn disturbing too. I didn’t realize how ridiculously hard it had been for gay people to get those first civil rights, how incredible that fight was.
This is because, I am an immigrant, daughter of immigrant parents from Bangladesh, and born in Dubai myself. This means we came to this country with certain expectations. Expectations like, freedom of religion, freedom of thought and speech, freedom of choice and opportunities. The three major world religions acknowledge that human beings have a right to free will, but countless countries and continents do not know that, or stand by that rule.
But America does.
That being said, this country’s history is riddled with moments of pure ignorance, where all the lofty ideals that founded this government are tossed in dirt and disrespected. Martin Luther King Jr., Harvey Milk, these people were killed because they tried to uphold the true ideals of what this country was founded on.
Right now, we’re definitely going through one of those moments in history. A time when an educated country is collectively pulling the wool over their eyes, convinced that Muslim =’s terrorist. Oh, and it’s not just happening coast-to-coast in America, the land of the free. It’s also happening in France (no hijabs allowed), and Switzerland, neutral to a fault, has banned minarets from being built.
So basically, countries where moderate Muslims are allowed to practice their religion are suddenly not so tolerant anymore. In fact, they are all taking offense at any signs of one of the major world religions practicing freely. Maybe if Muslims all went back to countries with stricter laws and more radicalism in the shadows, America, France and Switzerland will be safe? Maybe if Muslims were not allowed to practice their religion openly, but secretively, believing that their own governments that they have pledged loyalty to – through taking part in society, paying taxes and contributing financially – have now made them second-class citizens because of their belief, it will make these countries safer? Is that what they think?
Never mind the blatant terrorism that goes on here (Christian militia group anyone?) and how they are called anything but terrorists by the media and anyone else describing them. Is this because they’re not Muslim?
Thank God (I mean Praise Allah, of course) for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, for the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times, for Mayor Bloomberg and all the people out there who are actual patriots of this country and it’s ideals. Who know that one group of radicals does not equal the face of an entire religion comprised of over 1.57 billion people (ask PEW Research if you don’t believe me).
And it’s offensive that people need the term Moderate before the word Muslim to make it appropriate. No. If you’re Muslim you’re Muslim. Only the radicals are radicals, practicing a religion as if they expect no punishment, no responsibility for committing murder. In Islam, where you are accountable for all your actions, their rants makes no sense.
So I urge all Muslims to be open about practicing their religion, to pray in fast food restaurants, to talk about Allah during bible groups, to discuss why halal meat is what it is, and how it’s similar and different from kosher foods. Educate yourself on the role of women in Islam, women are not only allowed to have jobs, but to fight in war beside men counterparts. Do not listen to anyone tell you what Islam is, but find out the information on your own through various sites and people and books (you can even start here.) Be a freaking ambassador of your religion by truly practicing it, by being patient, generous, peaceful and disciplined. Show people through your good deeds and actions what Islam truly is. And be open about it. Be very very open, because soon we may not even be allowed that.
Shame on me for not having heard or heard of them a whole lot sooner. Who would have thought it’d take a rom-com starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long to alert my ears to the deliciousness that is The Boxer Rebellion? A friend invited me two Tuesdays ago to a private screening of Going the Distance (Warner Brothers), a raunchy-meets-sweet film about boy-meets-girl. Girl loves boy but girl leaves boy, yielding one of my personal favorite relationship circumstances: long distance, also known as the LDR. (Note the bitterness.)
TBR’s alternative indie talent is threaded throughout, enhancing the soundtrack and promoting plot development. (You’ll have to catch it in theaters come August 27th to know what I mean. And, know this, I wouldn’t plug a mediocre movie. It’s funny as fuck.) The UK-based foursome also appears in the film, performing live gigs (in New York and San Francisco, respectively) at intimate venues where our main man and leading lady continue to fall for each other. Three TBR songs are showcased in the film, “Spitting Fire,” “Evacuate,” and, gem among gems, “If You Run.” The latter contains the same dreamy aesthetic as The xx, layered guitar strings complimenting Nathan Nicholson’s soft-but-bold Tennessee twang. (Yes, he’s an American export.) It’s a song that stills you. Between the epically off-color remarks and quasi-steamy sex scenes, somehow this song sneaks in and all of a sudden your heart is sinking. Good, bad, whatever, it makes you feel. Nicholson’s dulcet croon carries us from timid beginning to badass, drum-dominated denouement in this five-minute mover. So obsessed, when I got home that night I immediately paid iTunes $1.29 to own it. That’s something. Seriously. Ask anyone who knows me.
About an hour following the film, TBR played a private show in 90-degree Manhattan heat. But it was beautiful. Their set was solid, ten-tracks strong, and included the three aforementioned numbers. Nicholson, on guitar, is disarmingly attractive. Bashful-like bassist Adam Harrison stood mostly still, strumming; lead guitarist (and Aussie) Todd Howe worked the limited space, shuffling and stomping his feet, bent nearly in half, curly hair forming a curtain around his face as he plucked the hell out of his instrument; and percussionist Piers Hewitt banged his heart out, his expression consistently akin to that of a pre-sneeze. They’ll be back in our neck of the woods at Bowery Ballroom on September 23rd and at Brooklyn’s Bell House September 25th. Don’t be a dummy and miss it.
It’s amazing how easily even the strongest of friendships can come undone. All it takes is a misunderstanding or one flip comment and before you know it, that person who you were saying you wanted to be in your wedding or who you thought you would be friends forever with is now your enemy.
I have two friends who used to be really close, but as of late all they do is trade snotty barbs and make rude comments to each other. I don’t know what exactly is happening to them, but it’s really sad to see what used to be a really close friendship basically turn to shit. Before their names used to be said together like it was one word but now whenever the whole group gets together we have to warn them that the other is going to be there because they can’t be in the same room. And what’s the worst is that I think that all of this started over a huge misunderstanding. It’s funny how you can tell your friend everything except for that they’re making you angry or that they’ve hurt your feelings. But I can’t really blame them. I know what it feels like to have a friendship crumble. I’m going through it now with one of my really good friends.
I’m not sure how things are going to play out between us and whether or not we’ll be able to fix things. And I don’t know if I really care to. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see…
Weekend is almost a verbatim remake of Joy Division. At first it rubbed me wrong, it’s not original, no. But then a new perspective divined itself before me, what if Ian Curtis came back and finished what he started through some 11th dimension portal? Weekend is just the conduit, the vesicle, Joy Division’s sonic Ouija Board. Maybe it’s not copying, they might just be continuing where Joy left off.
Coldwave, Shoegaze, Chillwave, a label is a label is a label.
“Youth Haunts” is short and it haunts more than its title. the drum palpitates like an angsty heart ablaze with the tortures of introspection, contrived apathy and sequacious disdain. Originality is one thing, but sometimes one trick ponies are all you need to access that ephemeral place, that moon on which Ian Curtis first stammered his flag. Weekend might not be conquerors, or explores of lands uncharted, they might be a reenactment but, if any band deserves a second act, a negation of the curtains, it’s Joy Division.
Their debut double-LP Sports will be released November 9, 2010 on Slumberland Records. you can download their Daytrotter session here:
