This week: Computer-to-life suckage and emotional glory holes.

Brain////




Heart////




Emotional life////

Who wants honey?

Freak out, give in. Doesn't matter what you believe in. Stay cool, and be somebody's fool this year. Because they know: Who is righteous, what is bold.
So I'm told.

Who wants honey?
As long as there's some money—
Who wants that honey?

Hipsters unite. Come align for the big fight to rock, for you. But beware, all those angels with their wings glued on. Because deep down, we are frightened and we're scared. If you don't stare.

Who wants honey?
As long as there's some money—
Who wants that honey?

Let me out.
Let me out.
Let me out.
Let me out.

Tell me all of your secrets. Cannot help but believe this—is true. Tell me all of your secrets. I know, I know, I know; I should have listened when I was told.

Who wants honey?
As long as there is some money—
Who wants that honey?

Let me out.
Let me out.
Let me out.
Let me out.

FOUND! Boyfriend Ryan Ross has been hiding out in...

his new band, The Young Veins. And from what I can tell, its not a step up from Panic! at the Disco (<---and they're back to the exclamation! point! after the punctuation's brief hiatus between 2008 and 2009, according to the most accurate source in modern news, Wikipedia.) It's like one step deeper into the luke warm wading pool of boring, wishy-washy Beatles-esque layered vocal pop. But hey, you take what you can get, you know? Like TYV first and only single proclaims, "Some people never change, they just stay the same." Stay cute, Ryan Ross. Because it's like I tell my best friend Rosita: God gives you one thing. You got "being pretty" as your one thing. So don't try too hard at singing or dancing, because chances are people will be offended and/or laugh at you. Got it, Ryan?

I had this journal once, with a built-in mirror in the cover. On the front it said "Hello Gorgeous," and when you opened it up, it said, "You Look Marvelous." I don't know why I thought of that, other than I think that's exactly what I said when I saw that picture of RR. Meow. Too bad P!ATD is still trying to make records without him. Because the band's one thing it was good at was being pretty, until he left the band.

Friday turn-ons: She wants love, and I still wanna fuck.

Baby, you be sweet.

A song from my teenagerhood that I still can't believe my prude self loved so much. Whatever they say about Catholic school girls is true.

And then there's always drugs, and of course, dancing::::

+++

John, I'm only dancing.

God Bless Cool Places.

I don't know why I thought about The Explosion today, but "God Bless The S.O.S" came to mind. I accidentally met this band at a bar (Streets of London, I think?) in 2002. My best friend Katherine and I could sniff out an out-of-state band from a mile away. We asked to join their table, and they ordered us champagne. We went to their show, and maybe caught them a time or two after when they came back through? I love the good feelings of random memories pulled from obscurity by coincidence. Or maybe it was just the modern convenience of my iTunes shuffle that brought them to mind.

Lately, though? This is more what I'm thinking::::

Virgin Subjectivity.

Creepy camera phone photo of my Virgin Mary Miscarriage costume from Titwrench's Ghouls Night Out Halloween party last night. More photos to come!

HALLOWEEN TITWRENCH STYLE!

TONIGHT! It's another TITWRENCH Presents EPIC DANCE PARTY! Come celebrate in (costume or not) the holiday with us at GLOB(3551 Brighton Blv.d, 35th & Brighton, a minute outside of Lodo, a few blocks from Tracks, IN YOUR VIRTUAL HOOD) with a dance party, bands, tarot readings, and more! Sliding scale donation for a night of radness! My band, Night of Joy will start the festivities around 11 and the thing goes until people stop dancing (which may not be until the sun comes up!) So come see me, learn about Titwrench 2010 and how you can participate, and celebrate HALLOWEEN WITH US!!!!

HAVE YOU HEARD? TITWRENCH PRESENTS:::This Thursday!

The first installment in our monthly showcase, the lovely organization/festival/conglomeration/collective of radical souls I'm deeply connected with known as TITWRENCH has put together a line-up of ridiculously talented acts for a perfect cozy evening at Meadowlark tomorrow, Thursday, October 29th. Here's a lil' bit about the line-up:

Dream Wagon
( Lindsay Thorson, the brainchild behind The Denver Show And Tell Project and last time I checked, a graceful member of Weed Diamond. Nimble fingers and a voice like origami paper. Thin, fragile, and beautiful!)

Last Eyes
My first lady, my favorite voice on the planet, the mother of my virtual children, Valerie Franz. Also 1/3 of my band, Night of Joy + part of Sacred Brain, and a member of Slight Harp. She's an old soul in the body of a wild child.-------->--------->

Emily Frembgen
Her performance at Titwrench brought me to tears. Like Emily's myspace proclaims, she's totally young girl blues. And I dig it, immensely.

Lelah
Sarina Simoom
I don't know a thing about these acts, but all the more reason to come down and check them out. What's better than hearing new music for the first time in a live capacity? Nothing, really.


So come down, enjoy some great music, and connect with a few new souls. If you haven't been to a Titwrench event before, we aim to create a safe, inviting, non-judgmental, totally open, totally friendly, totally loving environment for anyone and everyone to feel comfortable to express and be themselves, while connecting with other human beings a real level.

Female perceptions.

Rihanna's new album cover:




A more appropriate image—(designed by Sara T earlier this year):



+++

Nite Jewel in Paris!


+++

One of my favorite Lee Miller images:




I had a great conversation with my best friend Pantera last night, and she said something to the effect that some women are overly aware of their beauty, and the power it has with those they come in contact with. But a small percentage of girls she knows don't have a clue what their own beauty does in the physical world. As I writer, I often wonder what people think when they meet me in person; we tend to create a perceived image of someone in our minds based on what we know, and I wonder, do these things always match up? And when face meets name, do our feelings change about someone's work?




What are we without our faces?

Let's not pretend this is something that it's not.

Once upon a time, I had the really rad job of managing my friend Sarah Cass' photography business. The job took me from Victoria, B.C. to Austin, TX, for SXSW and the like and gave me the opportunity to hang out with some radical musicians (and meet people/idols like my dream man, Rob Zabrecky)and make some friends in the process. From the 3OH!3's inception, Cass was there. She took most of their early press photos, and after Nat and Sean were signed to Photo Finish, the label asked Cass to come to Washington, D.C. to shoot them for their upcoming album. (And I know I've written about this trip before, but) after paying 20 bucks each to take the smelly Chinatown bus from NYC to DC, we spent the weekend with the dudes, taking photos in flower beds, on the banks of the Potomac River, and in teepees on the Smithsonian's grounds. It was a fucking blast. I felt a little magic with one of them, as I'm sure all girls do, and we hung out a time or two after that, before they shot off to super stardom for all to see. Now I just dream about him on a regular basis.

But this is all just a preface to the release of their latest video, a re-make of the song "Starstrukk" which now comes with added Katy Perry. The Denver backlash began long ago, as with most bands/groups/joke rappers who make it our of this great box of a state, but I still like 3OH!3. Regardless of the boobies in this video, or the notion that they are both smitten with real-life girls, I still have love. A love that comes from deep down in my $12 skinny jeans from Forever 21. Don't tell The Gap.

3Oh!3 - New Music - More Music Videos

p.s.- Something I found when I was worming my way around the internet a few weeks ago, researching Relient K, Katy's...er...Katy Hudson's ex-bf's christian band. But you have to go to here watch it!

Heart and Soul.

Snagged from Sara T:::



Much love for SSION.

Culture and disconnection.

My shaman/massage therapist/therapist/wise woman/friend made an observation about my life that should have been obvious, but just wasn't to me. She said that whatever clutter is happening in your surrounding tangible world is a direct reflection of what's happening inside of your body, and vice-verse. I think creativity gets stopped up and corroded like this too. I feel constipated mentally, physically, and on my exterior.

To break the cycle and blockage, I employed a few radical notions, one of them being deleting my Facebook account. I theorized that not only was social networking a creative buzzkill—my status updates were taking the place of free-flowing thought patterns—but it was also influencing my taste to the point that I didn't even know what I liked anymore. Music, art, video, everything was being fed through what others were showing me. I love seeing what other artists are doing, but I also like having my own mind, free from the heaviest hands of influence. Sure, no one can live without the influence of others/things, I thought why not get back to a time when social networking and instantaneous, perceived closeness in communication didn't exist? Why not try to be connected to others in a real way? With conversation and physical presence? It's been an interesting in these first few days. I'm sure I will talk about it quite a bit.

In the mean time, if you wish to get a hold of me, I have a telephone, a twitter, an email address, and a physical body all perfectly capable of being accessible. Also, my band, Night Of Joy, can be found here and, I will be reporting on our progress, and the progress of Val and I's work with Titwrench quite often. We are in the process of putting together Night of Joy's first EP too. Here's a preview!

Some other things to think about///

The prettiest of Princesses.

Photo from tonight, snagged from/taken by my friend Lauren!

How I feel lately::::


One day, I will write about my love for L7. Because it's torrid, and deep, and dirty.





What someone said about our show tonight::::



I like that thought.

TONIGHT! NIGHT OF JOY AT TRANSLATIONS GALLERY!

We're playing a benefit tonight for my friend Vanessa's graduating class. We go on at 8pm sharp. Details below::::





Oh, and I think this is a permanent thing. I get Juggalo culture now. But I'm still pretending its Misfits-inspired:::

Currently meaning, not always saying.

Where is your mind?

I forgot to post this yesterday when I wrote it. Where is my mind? (LOLERZ)

(No Aggggggge)

For some reason, I got notification yesterday that No Age would be playing the Fillmore in Denver in November. Naturally, I peed my pants, but then I thought, why in the hell would that ever be happening? I consulted my local concert calendar guru Julio at Cause=Time, and discovered that its because No Age is opening for The fucking Pixies. Like a wet dream I've never had before, dude, two bands that mean so much to me from different parts of my life? This news was fucked in the best way possible.

But more importantly, why is it that the bands I've obsessed over the most over the last three years or so are always the ones I miss? I've missed No Age so many times. I missed HEALTH the first two times (plus an infinite number of times when I was in NYC, along with Vivian Girls and Crystal Castles), and almost feel like seeing them at Monolith (yuck) didn't even count. BOGUS CITY. I guess I'm just always on the lazy train. It's not that I'm late, I just can't seem to get off of the couch. Literally. And Sunday, I missed one of my favorite performers of all time, Karl Blau, and what was apparently the most mellow and epic tea party of all time with LAKE and Married in Berdichev at Rhino. To be fair, I was cuddled up with a secret sweetie in a transfixed state of ridiculous desire brought on by the previous night's Lust-Cats/Goochie Boiz induced mania/house show in Broulder, resulting in a 36 hour-straight accidental date with my possible soul mate.

And the night before? Well Friday, Night of Joy was playing our first show with our new drummer, Steve Matkin, who has single-handedly challenged us to get awesome. And we have. The show, which our friend Patrick Kelly from Old Radio put together, was written up here:

HoT cOnGrEsS, dUdEz

(My princess, Valerina.)



And if you don't have any of this in your life, you should get some:




WTF of the week:



Oh and one more thing:



I did a review of Radio 1190's Local Shakedown Vol. 3. You should pick up a copy of this radical double disc and support Colorado's good stuff. Much love to Katherine Peterson at Radio 1190 and Noah Van Sciver, both respected homies.

Things I currently have a problem with:

For starters, this image.





And for two, the fact that I can't stop listening to Vampire Weekend all of a sudden.

MAKE IT STOP.

Song mean a lot, when songs are bought: Paul Oakenfold's Tranceport

The album cover for Paul Oakenfold's Tranceport was burned into my memory upon a first glance. I remember seeing the CD case sitting on the entertainment center at my first boyfriend's apartment on Marion Street when I was barely 18. I'd been going to raves for a few years (my first was Eargasm in 95' or 96'?) and I knew what Trance was, sort of, but I hadn't gone any deeper into aligning myself with any sonic fashion, because really, I just liked to dance. The cover of this record is like a time machine when I look at it now——it's crisp pictorial of a seat belt partially out of focus with minimalist, sign-of-the-times slick and futuristic font dotting the perimeter still gives me the good shivers when I see it.

I don't even remember listening to Tranceport when I saw it initially, I just knew someone in my boyfriend's apartment was listening to Paul Oakenfold, and that made it cool, because they were all a bit older than me and super involved with the Denver rave scene. He and his roommates were DJs and ran a label called FXTC Records and hung out at Casa del Soul (one of the handful of raver record—clothing—lifestyle stores, along with my favorite, Together World, or Groovalistic, or Koochi Koochi), and I was in minor awe of all of it all, not quite understanding the culture, but totally romanced by the sound and look of "parties" and everything that came along with raves.

So, after spotting this token cool album, I went to Cheapo Discs and purchased it. What I found inside was 11 tracks of dreamy beats that never ended, anthemic vocals, and lots of expressive musical exhales that built up to more and more and more beats and beats and beats. Even now, when I listen to a track like "Enverate," I still wait for build-up after build-up as if the song is brand new to me. But really, the best part of this story is the fact that sitting next to Tranceport on that shoddy, over-sized entertainment center was a brick of hash, something else I knew absolutely nothing about.

Someone (Slacker & Original Vocal Mix) - Ascension



Strange thought: Around this time (early 1999), I also started working at a weird children's clothing store called Zutopia (it was a division of Gymboree, eventually sold off to Wet Seal) aimed at 10 to 14 year old kids. The interior of the store looked like a club—with sleek white furniture, tile floors that looked like real water and grass—and was lined with images of kids dressed like vacant baby raver prostitutes. The store played the track posted above from Tranceport, along with a Texas/Wu-Tang collaboration, Marilyn Manson's cover of "Golden Years", and some other strange shit. Needless to say, the store wasn't open very long.

I'm back.

I've been in anti-social hiding, avoiding shows, my friends, and all of the music I love. I think it's time to reappear.

October Inspirations:

And more, and more, and more:::
The sole reason I braved Monolith. HEALTH.

I had a recent mental realization that where I thought I fit in—with music and things really exciting and intriguing to me—wasn't a real space. The love I was feeling from the community I was seeing in my mind wasn't really there. I suddenly felt like an outsider, and decided to retreat to the safety of my room and practice space for a while to gather my thoughts and feelings about music and Denver. I lost a good friend to a new city, and everything just seemed to hit rock bottom. In this time, my own band, Night of Joy, underwent some changes too. But we also recorded and EP, got a hell of a lot better, and found our footing. With this time and all of this thinking, I discovered a group of bands circulating in the same uncertain and undefined space my own band is in, and I'm really exciting to be playing with them. I think it's with these bands that things will certainly change.

When you don't fit in or feel excluded, make your own space.

Bye bye, baby.

Today, while I am across the country in NYC, my friend and mentor Alex Archuleta packs his bags and heads for Los Angeles. While I am incredibly saddened by the loss of his smiling face in my daily life, I am so proud of him and excited for him to move on to this new time in his existence. If you know Alex, you understand this loss, as his creativity and talent have been behind countless shows and parties in Denver over the last half-decade. If you never met him, I hope one day you get a chance to. I have never met anyone so in touch with themselves like Alex is, and because he's so happy with being himself, you can't help but start to look at yourself a little differently. Alex is a unique soul who will no doubt make an impact on the larger world, if he hasn't already.

I interviewed him recently for my home, The Onion's A.V. Club, and I would love it if you would visit the site and make any comments you have there. Below is the full version of my interview, which includes a little history and a lot of memories for any of you involved in the Denver music scene in the last few years.

Alex, my son, my fellow Acid Kid and orchestra leader, I love you, baby.


Bree Davies: What was your first DJ gig in Denver?

Alex Archuleta: The first time I ever DJed was at a Denver Zine Library benefit at Garageland in 2003, maybe? What year was I 14? [Laughs.] It was a dance party with my friend Claudine Rousseau. I had never seen a turntable set-up prior to that night, and Claudine gave me the quickest crash course in being a dance party DJ ever. It was a definitely landmark in what was to come. [Laughs.] I played only records, and I have ever since. I don’t mean that in a pretentious way; my desire to DJ began with my crazy obsession with collecting records.

BD: What was most memorable about that set for you?

AA: My hands were shaking so badly I was dropping records on the floor…and Garageland’s floor wasn’t the best place to be dropping those kinds of things. [Laughs.] I would pick them up and try to play them, and you could hear all sorts of dirt and dust on the records! As with most shows at that venue, there was a lot of drunkenness happening, but the response was friendly and positive, and people danced. It all felt right; I felt like I was doing the right thing.

BD: So that was the beginning of your DJ career, technically-speaking?

AA: Yeah. Not to long after that benefit, I went to a night at The Climax called “Club Smash” run by two girls, Angeline Spencer and Adrienne Arrieta. I had so much fun and I felt like I could bring something to the table, so I them asked if I could DJ, and I ended up doing it monthly for a year. Club Smash is also where I met people like Shannon Kelly (Mr. Bomb Pop) and Wesley Wayne, DJs who would help me to get more connected with the scene. That night really jump-started my DJ “career.” [Laughs.]

Dino-Nite! was my first night that I started from the ground up. I asked Mike Zorman (of Frozen Body, Zombie Zombie, and The Ultra Boyz) to put it on with me, and while it only lasted a few months, it was awesome. Seve Vs. Evan played, as well as classic Denver bands like V8 Pussy, and it was one of the first events to happen at Rhinoceropolis. I tried to do it monthly, and while it was received well by the people who were there, I didn’t know enough about putting on shows to make it more successful. But it was fun while it lasted, and gave me the confidence to do my own thing.

BD: So why leave Denver now?

AA: I’ve been here my whole life. I’ve learned so much from the city, and I feel like I’m at this point where I can take that information and explore it further, and reach out to more people on the same level, minus any pretentiousness or negativity. My ideas have changed and evolved over time, but my underlying ethic has stayed the same: I want to create a safe space in which people can go and feel free to explore and get excited about the things that keep them going. The music I listen to is the thing that keeps me going, and I just want to share that.

BD: And why choose Los Angeles?

AA: A huge reason I’m drawn to LA is the sister-city relationship it has with Denver. So many people from the very awesome side of Denver have packed their bags and headed west, and succeeded. Josh Taylor and Amy Szychowski (who ran and lived in Monkey Mania and played in bands like Debaser, Rainbow Sugar, and Josh Taylor’s Friends Forever) were huge influences on me growing up. Now they are out in LA playing in new bands, Foot Village and Ground Unicorn Horn, putting out music on Not Not Fun records, and working with people like Justin Pearson (The Locust) and Brian Miller (Deathbomb Arc ). Josh and Amy shaped my adolescent years, and I could see their passion, through taking a space like Monkey Mania and creating a community of people from it that could really do anything. They welcomed people into their home to do whatever they wanted, based on an underlying understanding of respect for the space. It wasn’t the most glamorous space in downtown Denver, but it was definitely the fucking raddest. It’s that feeling that I hope incorporate when I open on my own venue one day.


Some other stuff you might know Alex from:

The Tripp Nasty Orchestra
Taped the Foxes (which later went on to be SLIGHT HARP)
Last Eyes
No Job

Suck it, Kanye. Lil' Wayne is mine.

Boo.

Kanye West sucks.

I’m aware that in a fairly pro-West world, a loaded statement like this leaves me in the minority. After all, it’s an easy cop-out to say something sucks, so what I should really say is this: I think Kanye West is a self-righteous and insincere jerk. (My blanket statement, by the way, is based solely on what the media and the Internet tells me; it’s common knowledge that whatever happens on TV is 100-percent real and everything written on the Internet is completely factual, right?)

I wasn’t always a West hater. In the summer of 2004, I enjoyed watching “Through The Wire” at least 12 times a day when MTV2 would accidentally broadcast on channel 99 of my cable-less TV. And while “Jesus Walks” should have been a raging-ego red flag, it wasn’t until Late Registration and the slickly catchy “Gold Digger” that I noticed the subtle but snarky nature of things to come. At this point, the producer/rapper/entrepreneur/teeth-whitening spokesman was everywhere, and a certifiable Kanye West landslide was in full swing. I began to feel that his once unique approach was just a sham, an intelligent cover allowing West to take over pop music like every other Patrón-doused self-enthusiast in the rap game. He felt like Jay-Z without the hard-knock persona, expelling collaborations with everyone from T-Pain to Adele, the shiny shit pile growing into an endless mountain of mega-hits that throbbed and thrashed all over the Billboard charts.

West’s involvement in everything from pushing vodka to Vuitton was like the great Puffy bombardment of the late ‘90s, when even the biggest Diddy supporters began to wince at his increasingly lackluster raps, cheap-looking clothing line, and, eventually, the mere sight of his beady little eyes. Now in 2009, West is king, and I feel crushed under the weight of what I perceive to be completely phony excitement by the general public.

So how can I just dislike West, when the airwaves are full of dudes trying to be just like him? It’s obvious that the mainstream hip-hop dominating American culture at the moment is built on being artificial; it’s based an unattainable materialism that promotes an extravagant party lifestyle impossible for its listeners ever to achieve. While hundreds of rappers subscribe to the music’s faux-reality, West seems the most overblown—like if you were to peel back the great West empire, you might find Parker Posey controlling the whole operation like a real-life Josie And The Pussycats.

But I digress: This was intended to be a correlative assay on the public personas of West and Lil Wayne, as a precursor to the latter’s show tonight, Aug. 20, at Fiddler’s Green. The idea was to look at West’s success propelled by false palpability and juxtapose it with Wayne’s lack of a larger mainstream appeal, based on what could be perceived as Wayne’s presentation of an “authentic self.” To prove Kanye’s ego was a hot-air balloon floating high above Wayne’s down-to-earth street credibility, I drew straight from the pinnacle of any rapper’s persona: his lyrics.

West’s “Stronger” surely exposes the self-assured chauvinist: “But I know that God put you in front of me / so how the hell could you front on me? / there's a thousand of yous / There's only one of me.” Comparatively, Wayne’s “Prostitute 2” describes that of a nurturer: “I wouldn’t care if you was a prostitute / and that you hit every man that you ever knew / see it wouldn't make a difference / if that was way before me and you girl / and you don’t ever have to worry about me long as you keep it real.”

Sha-wing.

What an little angel Wayne was, I thought. He really cares about prostitutes, er, I mean, his girlfriends and their well-beings. He may be a chain-swinging, golden-jawed gentleman who wipes his tattooed tears of joy with hundred-dollar bills, but he’s a good guy. He truly loves women, and is just looking for the right Mrs. Carter, so they can do the damn thing. Hell, he even wrote an acapella declaration of love called “Pussy Monster,” which describes how much he really loves women. But West, well, he’s just a self-righteous egoist who dresses like an old, rich golfer and acts like he invented neon shutter sunglasses and Pepsi. Wayne was my man, and I wasn’t buying West’s bullshit for a second.

However, looking further into Wayne’s catalog, the lyrical evidence I gathered against West crumbled. Sure, Wayne may sing the praises of a prostitute, but he also warns a lady not to get used to the lifestyle he provides (“Comfortable”). And sure, West might call a woman an opportunist (“Gold Digger”), but Wayne will put his woman out on the street and slave her (“Whip It”). And to ice my theory cold was the biggest trump card in any theory: reality.

Misleading yet believable perceptions aside, the facts are all there: In real life, Wayne has two children by two different women, and is awaiting the births of two more babies by two more women. West, no matter what a raging pig he seems to be, has handled his business accordingly, and has no children. Don’t get me wrong—there is nothing wrong with having kids, or even having kids with more than one person. But the math is simple: Wayne + two children + two more on the way = 4 kids, 2 angry women, some really bad PR, and one fat moral clean sweep of a win for West. Congrats, Kanye, you are less of a jerk than Lil Wayne.

But for the record, I still think you suck.

Why do I like this shit?

Correction: Why do I LOVE this shit?

Cute is What We Aim For has a horrible name, and this song and it's accompanying video are pretty atrocious...yet, I still dig them. WTF is wrong with me?

The Curse of Curves @ Yahoo! Video

Also, in heavy rotation at my second job (The Gap, hello) is Cobra Starship's "Good Girls Go Bad" featuring that equally ridiculous sexpot Leighton Meester. But, I wouldn't put this band in the shit pile with the Metro Stations, Forever The Sickest Kidses, and Boys Like Girls-like bands I think suck but still love, because it's obvious CS get their own joke...they know this kind of music can't be taken too seriously, no matter how deep and furrowed your lead singer's brow is. But they should know, the swoopier the hair, the better. I sure love that swoopy hair.

Give Me Some///White Girl Lust///I Want Some///White Girl Lust

My friends, White Girl Lust, have been working so hard for the last few months/year on their new shit, and BAM, here it is:::::



The Denver/San Fran DJ/Production duo make disco cool without that faux-Italian BS-- understanding that creating a nice beat with a diva hook doesn't have to come with an attitude. They dive deep into the idea that house music feels the best, all the time, packing bass drops with the most subtle synth lines and that feeling a good sonic rise gives a dance floor, right before the bottom drops out. WGL came through Denver a few months ago to play Beta, and then did a surprise set at an FM Magazine party, getting live with a remix of Stardust's "The Music Sounds Better With You" that I will never forget. Denver has a sick beat all it's own, and it feels so good when it's injected with a little West Coast ingenuity.

Also, "Back and Forth" made me think of another great video/jam I was hooked on 6 months ago, Lele's "Breakfast"::::



You know when you hear a song in a particular context, and from that point on, that image of what was happening or where you were in that very moment never goes away when you hear the track? This song has a wretched/awesome feeling attached to it for me, making it borderline orgasmic every time I hear it. No, no, no...YES.

Albums I remember: Rick James' Street Songs

Growing up, my parents were (and for the most part, still are) super liberal. They were those kind of parents who didn't believe in censoring children in terms of music and movies-- I remember seeing Blue Velvet when I was 7 and Eraserhead at probably 10 or 11-- exposing us to all kinds of things like drag queens and Billy idol records. This did not work for my personality. I didn't like things that make me uncomfortable or stretched outside of my little boundaries or for that matter, went against what my Catholic school told me was right. (Yes, my left-leaning, anti-religious parents sent me to Catholic school, but like good, attentive parents, it was mostly due to my needs and learning style. I think?)

Sex was one of those things Catholic school and my brain could not handle. Sex was something that was not appropriate for children to know about, even though my hippie, well-adjusted parents were the types to give you the whole story, and just the right kind of informed exposure (I had a very visually detailed book about childbirth given to me in preschool,) not allowing us to give our private parts nicknames, or shielding us to what sex and safe sex was about.

Enter Rick James' Street Songs.

I remember finding this record in my parent's collection and FREAKING OUT when I turned it over. What was going on? Was he a man? He had a mustache, but he also had weird hair and thigh-high red leather boots on, not to mention a cop was touching him inappropriately. He sort of looked like a girl, but he wasn't in drag. Drag was okay to me at age 5. But this image, I didn't get it. I just did not understand it. I did not like it. I may have understood that Divine was really a man, but I didn't get Rick James. He wasn't a man dressed as a woman; he wasn't gay (or from what I knew he wasn't,) and he really liked women. A lot.





I don't remember liking listening to that record at all, or even realizing that "Super Freak" was a pretty good song until, of course, MC Hammer brought it back and we heard it at the roller-skating rink on a weekly basis. But the impact of Street Songs album cover was unforgettable on my brain. Now as an adult, I am mildly more comfortable with the boundaries of sex being pushed. But not by much. I think sometimes, your 5-year-old self is a pretty telling indicator of your personality as a grown-up, no matter how much exposure we get or how much we learn. Rick James, thanks for making me feel icky at age 5. And at age 28, too.

Speaking of Divine, here's an excerpt of her talking about John's films and Mae West. So rad.

Free. Free Denver. Free Denver Love. Free Denver Love to be experienced...NOW.

Fucking shit. Denver. Seriously. You are ON IT right now. So, my imaginary bf and acquaintance Travis Egedy a.k.a Pictureplane released DARK RIFT this week (on LOVEPUMP UNITED, duh.) This album, it's unbelievable. I would say a lot about it, but well, you can go to my home, The Onion's A.V. Club Denver and read my review. But really? One of the COOLEST parts about this release? The fact that with his interview with FADER that went down this week, Pictureplane included a Denver mixtape for FREE DOWNLOAD. Yeah. Dude. GO THERE NOW AND SNATCH IT UP.



Speaking of free, and Denver, and good stuff, you can also head over to the Bocumast Records website and pick up the new Thundercade album, Free Radicalz...for FREEEEEEE. I don't know anything about Thundercade and I feel like an idiot because I should, but we learn new things everyday, right? I really like this album. It's kind of like, if radio rap got smart again, or was at least remixed properly and opened it's eyes a little. Or maybe just took a yoga class in outer space. Delicious.






Recently, I also started collecting records because I've decided to start DJing. I don't have turntables yet, though, so I'm using my limited knowledge and basic visual instincts (I like pretty images, pastel colors, and shiny stuff) to buy records that way. I bought a Barbie picture-disc a fews ago because, well, it was just so pretty. (See above.) I scored lots of dub records too. But on that note, while I pre-ordered this album on vinyl with all of the other cool buttons, and stickers and shit it came with it, I got the early pre-dowload of HEALTH's GET COLOR in my email today.



I have no words to describe how good GET COLOR sounds. It feels good. It's all grindy, and vibrational, and haunting, and repetitive in the the most sensational way possible. This band has blown the doors off of my mind and satisfied me aesthetically like no other band ever has. If I could wear HEALTH and smell like HEALTH and put HEALTH up in a scrunchie, I would. The album drops September 8th (also on Lovepump United, along with Pictureplane's release!) if you didn't pre-order it. Save your $$$. This is one of the best records of this year/lifetime.

I feel like that's all of the pretend boyfriend news I have right now. Oh, I guess I think I may have fallen in love in all reality last weekend, too, with a real dude. Actually, I know I did fall in love. But that's not music-related, and that's what this blog is for, right?:)


GET OUT THERE AND LOVE YOUR CITY, DENVER. IT'S BUBBLING WITH MUSIC AND GOODNESS AND WANTS YOU TO LOVE IT BACK.

xo b


p.s.- MUXTAPE is back? Sort of?

Sharing.

GET REAL::::::




GET INSPIRED/////

Larry Birdflu from Ryan McRyhew on Vimeo.

GET THIS::::::




GET PROUD OF DENVER!//////

DARK DARK DARK DARK DARK AWESOME

So, our good friend Tom Murphy shot some video from my band, Night of Joy's, first show in June of this year at Rhino. It's dark, but well, Valerie still sounds fucking incredible. Enjoy us, be our friends, come see us soon.

xo b

TITWRENCH 2009 GOING DOWN IN YOUR TOWN NOW

Dudez! Okay, so me and 9 other really fucking rad people (Alex Archuleta, Valerie Franz, Robin Edwards, Alex Edgeworth, Sarah Slater, Apryl Wheeler, Daralee Fallin, Piper Sartain, and Alex Locker) in Denver have spent the last few months putting together Titwrench, going on today- FRIDAY JULY 24th (@Rhino), SATURDAY JULY 25TH (@Blastomat), and SUNDAY JULY 26TH (@Glob)!

:::What is Titwrench?:::

a D.I.Y. // ALL AGES // LADY-CENTERED

EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC AND ARTS FEST!

happening in

DENVER COLORADO U.S.A.

((LOCAL // NATIONAL // INTERNATIONAL // AVANT-GARDE // PUNK // VISUAL // HARSH NOISE // INTERACTIVE // // DANCE // AMBIENT // PERFORMANCE ART // BASEMENT POP // PSYCHEDELIC // FOLK // WEIRDO // OTHER //

With the help of Denver's good vibers//friends//radically supportive community, we managed to raise a meager amount of money to bring bands out from as far away as Ontario to our great state for this 3-day festival of love, support, and sonic awareness. We had over 30 people volunteer to help us run the fest too, which is insane in itself. When Titwrench began as a concept, we couldn't have imagined so much love would come pouring out of Denver's good scene seekers-- and I couldn't be more excited to see Titwrench come to fruition in such an organic and good-feeling way.

And speaking of support, below are some links to articles by many of my friends in the Denver community, who talked with Sarah Slater, the organizer/curator/conceptualizer of Titwrench:::




Titwrench on Decider Denver

Titwrench in Westword

Titwrench on the DP's Get Real Denver

Titwrench in Lost at Sea

Titwrench via Cause=Time

Titwrench on 1190!


HERE IS EVERYTHING ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW, IN MANY READABLE FORMS:::

Line-up:::



More detailed line-up::


FRIDAY JULY 24th:
Rhinoceropolis // 3551 Brighton Blvd Denver CO 80216
doors at 8 // music at 9
*Food for sale by Burrito Amigo **Live screenprinting (Bring a shirt!)**

Burlesque by Juanita WoW throughout the evening
Performance art by Free Boutique
9:00 Boys Life
9:30 Via
10:00 Last Eyes
10:30 Poundland
11:00 Sybil Vane
11:30 Origami Hands
11:30 Yellow Elephant
12:00 Marlo Eggplant
12:40 Döersovit
1:30-DANCE DANCE DJS!

SATURDAY JULY 25th:
Blast-O-Mat // 2935 W 7th Avenue Denver CO 80204 Doors at 6 // Music at 7
*Food by Beet Box 6-10pm **Live Screenprinting (Bring a shirt/dress/whatever!)** 7:00 Lust Cats of the Gutters
7:30 Obake Ongaku
8:00 Burrow Owl
8:40 Zayante Spoils
9:10 Froghat & Sofaqueen
9:45 Milche de La Maquina
10:30 Joy Von Spain
11:00 Hell-Kite
11:30 Rusalka
11:45 Christina the Hun
12:15 Hot White
1:00 Christian Teenage Runaways
then DJS and DANCING!!!

SUNDAY JULY 26th:

Glob // 3553 Brighton Blvd Denver CO 80216 (next to Rhinoceropolis)

Doors at 5 // Music at 6
Food by Beet Box 6-10pm
Video by Hdot
6:00 Becci
6:45 Rachael Pollard
7:30 Emily Frembgen
8:00 Lady Parts
8:40 Bast
9:00 Night of Joy
9:45 Ashley Paul and Eli Keszler
10:30 Married in Berdichev
11:00 Becca Mhalek
11:30 Tit 4 Tat
12:00 Mutating Meltdown
++DANCE DANCE DJS!!!

///Prices///

1 DAY=$10 3 DAYS=$25

(1/2 PRICE w UMS PASS at Door)

((Senior/Student=$8 day w ID at Door))

Donate/Participate/Info: TITWRENCH@GMAIL . COM

Still curious about Titwrench? Here are some artists who will be participating in the festival!////

Brittany Gould (Married in Berdichev,) a friend/performer at the fest/curator of a companion art show for Titwrench::




A radical video by Christian Teenage Runaways:::



And Marlo Eggplant:::

LOVE TO ALL!
COME SEE WHAT TITWRENCH IS ALL ABOUT!
ALL ARE WELCOME and ENCOURAGED!

xo b

psst-- My band, Night of Joy, will be playing on Sunday night-- and we have a special cover song up our sleeves, especially for Titwrench!!!

Always old, I'll always feel this.

This blog is for music usually, but today is a crazy day for me, and I wanted to share my story publicly.

Three years ago today, on July 22, 2006, I quit drinking. I've spent the last three years getting better, getting happy, and getting real about my life and how I interact with and love those around me. It's been a fucking brutal and awesome experience, and I would say I wouldn't change it for the world, but that's definitely not true. Not being able to drink a Miller High Life and a shot of Patron after lunch sucks sometimes.

Coming out of alcoholism is kind of like learning how to be a person again. You have to re-prioritize how you live your life, how you deal with other people, and how other people deal with you, learning how to not be a shithead to someone and be able to pass it off by saying, Wow, man. I'm sorry. I was so shitfaced last night, I don't remember saying awful things to you, or leaving you somewhere unsafe, or putting you in a position you didn't want to be in.

As a sober person, you not only have no reason for such actions, you just have no excuse. It's sort of like living in reality when often those around you are living in a world where being fucked up is reality. And that was my reality for a long time, and I would never judge anyone else for being there; I just didn't like myself, and the false reality substance abuse creates is a much easier one to handle, and I understand that. But what's scarier than that false reality is how you feel when you can't put a champagne and orange juice band aid on a broken heart, or wear a gin and tonic mask to cover up a really terrible night of fighting with your boyfriend. You just have to deal.

My first year of sobriety was a mostly raw and alienating experience, as I tried to regain my footing in a world I had been drunk in for so many years. I'm not rebellious by nature, so drinking on the level I was at was not like me. But as a human, I was coping with stuff like my parents divorce, shitty boyfriends, and my own inadequacies in a way so many of us do; with abuse. I had a friend tell me recently that she relished in her own pain because it was the only thing on this planet that was truly hers and hers alone. When I drank, I had something unique to me; my problem was all mine, and I could facilitate my own pain and create drama and supposedly "wild and awesome" experiences with a six-pack and a water bottle full of Captain's and diet coke. It was like a recipe for fun without actually having any fun.

So as I came to terms with the fact that when stuff sucked I couldn't hide behind a 40, I started to get insecure. Really, really insecure. About my appearance, my feelings, people's perceptions of me, my writing, and virtually any action I made or anything that came out of my mouth. I started to see the world around me like I never had before; there were dozens of people I had alienated or made feel bad because I was in a drunken state of superficial reality, and now all I wanted to do was be their friend. But humans are stubborn people, and I lost a few along the way. Luckily, I was able to repair a lot of friendships and build new ones with people I had previously bad-mouthed for no reason whatsoever. Some experiences were gone forever; I had lost jobs, lost my band, and lost a lot of time to alcohol, and that was hard to cope with. But I persevered, and a lot of the time, it felt really good. It felt like I was 13 again, discovering music and art and the bass guitar. I finished college, made new friends, and spent a lot of time with myself or inside with friends. I wasn't as social, but I also wasn't an out of control animal.

At the beginning of this strange trip, I also became hyper-aware of what I was putting into my body. I stopped taking anything, be it aspirin for a headache or cold meds for the usual winter flu. I realized how important my body was, and how I only get one, and I started obsessively treating it with respect. Maybe too rigid of a respect, but with all things in my life, there is no middle ground; as an addict, you operate in extremes only.

The second year of sobriety, I moved to New York and discovered a whole life outside of the one I had been living, and I think if I hadn't been sober, I wouldn't have made it through those ten months of NYC-Life boot camp. I started learning how to channel my creativity with out pain to spark it; I became obsessed with new bands, and desired to be a part of some musical circles I had been to intimidated to enter in my previous state. As much as sobriety has made me insecure, it also has made me fearless; I may not be able to take my clothes off in front of a boy, but I can now walk into any venue and play music in front of people and while scared shitless, still do it and feel good about it. On the healthy body trip, I became obsessed with working out; I've always been a gym rat, but New York amplified it, and took it to an almost dangerous level. It was in New York that I also realized I have had binge-eating disorder for most of my life. (I'm still learning to cope with it, as food isn't something that can be eliminated like alcohol or cigarettes, which I also smoked for 12 years and quit a month after I quit drinking.)

When I got back from NYC, I was ready. I was ready to put all of what I learned to use. I started writing obsessively, creating my own "internships" of sorts with local publications, and cranking out as many articles as I could. the extremes of situations transcends substances and behaviors as an addict; you just do what you want to a level that is never good enough for you, but that's also what keeps you going. I went to over 100 shows in the past year, wrote for 5 or 6 different publications, put on parties, started several new bands, and begun working on a music festival that will actually be coming to fruition this weekend. Also when I was back in Denver, I really started working on friendships. My goal became, and still is, to connect every single I person I know with every single person I know. I realized what a gift it was to have friends, and what an even bigger gift it was to introduce people to each other and hopefully help them create new, lasting, and wonderful connections. (And I re-posted a blog about my first two years of sober-ness on my Myspace if we are friends.)

So now at this third year mark, I think I am finally learning how to balance some things with out making everything an obsessive situation. I have sought out some spiritual healing and guidance, and recently went through a spiritual process where I had some bad feelings and a bad connection spiritually removed from my body. So, if you run into me and I'm babbling on and on about a vision I had or an energy-charged experience I underwent, I'm sorry. I am feeling life so strongly right now, it's often a euphoric experience for me. Also, when I got sober, I lost a lot of my cynicality, in effect changing my personality as a whole. (And definitely making it a weird experience for some of my friends.) But I'm not terribly sad about this; cynicality was a really great way for me to hide from reality, and I just don't have to do that anymore.

I feel too good not to share what I know. And that brings me to here, July 22, 2009, as a sober person and a month and a half before my 29th birthday. This is it. And here I am. A sober, crazy, happy person full of love and experiences I want to share with the world. I am an open book that will tell you anything, and I want you to feel comfortable telling me anything. I want to listen and support and help you along your way, whatever that journey is, and I will never, ever judge you or your choices. We are all humans, and that makes us prone to error. But errors are what make life interesting. I am only one person with limited knowledge of the world, but I am more than willing to learn and grow with you. I don't hate people, let alone without reason anymore, and I don't like drama. Sure, I'm dramatic by nature, but as my friend, you know that. And if we aren't friends, we should be. If I haven't sought you out and introduced myself to you, please approach me. I would like to get to know you.

I'm sure I will edit this a million times because there is so much I want to say, but if you read this and take anything from it, make it this: your life is in your hands. Happiness is at the tips of your fingers. You are one person, but there is only one of you, and you have the ability to do anything you want in the world.

Whatever you do, just be fucking real about it.

xo b

!!!BOYFRIEND ALERT!!!!!BOYFRIEND ALERT!!!!BOYFRIEND ALERT!!!!

Uh, so Pictureplane has gotten some much-deserved press lately, and here it is.....


Pitchfork says "a huge, glittery, lurching groove, basically commanding you to fall into line behind it."

+++plus+++

Stereogum says "It may very well be the dance record of the summer for people who aren't used to dancing."



::::hi hi hi hi::::








p.s.- On the Lovepump tip (lolz), I ordered my HEALTH Fall 2009 Get Color goody pack last week. Thank god. It comes out the day before my birthday, September 8th! YESSSSSSSSSSSS


::::swoon swoon swoon swoon::::::