Ezziriah’s Neighborhood

Apparently whatever happened yesterday with me being tired and sick and the tropical storm and the jackass worked some magic, because I have now officially lost 15 pounds.  So I'm happy.

Except I hope today is a lot less eventful because I'm still tired and sick (but there's no more jackass and one less pound).

I really will work on taking the high road and not get sucked into bitchy comment fights with people who are completely ridiculous.

Today, though, I'm sick and I've been up since 5 a.m. (thank you, Tropical Storm Hanna).  And I sent what is probably the bitchiest private message I have ever sent anyone, ever.

I should regret it, but I don't.

Jackass had it coming. :)

But that's the last comment I will ever say to that guy, and I hope you all hold me to that. 

I am better than that, even if he isn't.

 09/06/2008 18:42:42  ♥ written by vu ()

Here are a few non-indie rock album reviews for you. One of the nicest thing about W♥M is that we don't necessary serve a niche music genre, so we're often sent a huge variety of music genre. Below are some genre of music that I don't normally listen to - but all equally enjoyable: oldies, reggae, death metal, and Christian.

By the way, someone should do an article called "putting the pot in potpourri" and have a series of, er, grassy music.

OPM opmden.com ♥ myspace.com OPM - Family and Friends 1 comment California's OPM's Golden State of Mind was released in August, and features a diverse collaborations with Jim Perkins (acoustic folk), Pato Banton (reggae), Big B (rap/hip hop) and Jamie Allensworth (soul/funk). This album is mostly chill reggae, but with a small splash of rap - mostly through collaboration with Big B & Dirtball. This is also radio-reggae, so if you're looking for reggae dubs, you might want to look elsewhere - however fans of reggae should really enjoy the mix of rock, rap, reggae (and even punk!). This band first exploded on the reggae scene with their major label (Atlantic) debut 2000 album, Menace To Sobriety, mostly due to their popular skater song, "Heaven Is a Halfpipe". They left Atlantic and have been with Suburban Noize Records since 2004. The one clear song that I think is such a good song is "Family & Friends". There are two mixes on this album, the Saber mix seems to stress certain music riffs/beats, but the original mix I thought was just fine - if not better as is. I think mostly because you can hear the vocals more clearly on the original mix. It looks like they've been touring all summer long, and continuing: 15 Sep 2008 CROSSROADS Fresno, California 16 Sep 2008 FAT CAT Modesto, California 17 Sep 2008 FISHLIPS BAR AND GRILL Bakersfield, California 18 Sep 2008 JILLIANS Las Vegas, Nevada 20 Sep 2008 THE ROCK Tucson, Arizona 22 Sep 2008 HAILEY’S Denton, Texas 23 Sep 2008 EMO’S Austin, Texas 24 Sep 2008 THE ROCK BOTTOM San Antonio, Texas 26 Sep 2008 MERCY LOUNGE Nashville, Tennessee 27 Sep 2008 THE FIVE SPOT Atlanta, Georgia 28 Sep 2008 THE PARISH ROOM@ HOB New Orleans, Louisiana 29 Sep 2008 MARKET STREET PUB Gainesville, Florida 1 Oct 2008 JANNUS LANDING St. Petersburg, Florida 2 Oct 2008 CULTURE ROOM Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 3 Oct 2008 THE SOCIAL (TWO NIGHTS!) Orlando, Florida 4 Oct 2008 THE SOCIAL (TWO NIGHTS!) Orlando, Florida 5 Oct 2008 FREEBIRD’S Jacksonville, Florida 7 Oct 2008 THE MUSIC FARM Charleston, South Carolina 8 Oct 2008 THE NORVA Norfolk, Virginia 9 Oct 2008 RECHER THEATER Towson, Maryland 10 Oct 2008 JC DOBBS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 11 Oct 2008 HARPER’S FERRY Allston, Massachusetts 12 Oct 2008 WEBSTER UNDERGROUND Hartford, Connecticut 13 Oct 2008 HIGHLINE BALLROOM New York City, New York 15 Oct 2008 MOD CLUB Toronto, Ontario 16 Oct 2008 THE SHELTER (downstairs St. Andrews) Detroit, Michigan 17 Oct 2008 THE BASEMENT Columbus, Ohio 18 Oct 2008 REGGIE’S ROCK CLUB Chicago, Illinois 19 Oct 2008 PEABODY’S Cleveland, Ohio 21 Oct 2008 THE ANNEX Madison, Wisconsin 23 Oct 2008 STATION 4 Saint Paul, Minnesota 24 Oct 2008 RECORD BAR Kansas City, Missouri 25 Oct 2008 GOTHIC THEATER Denver, Colorado 26 Oct 2008 THE BELLY UP Aspen, Colorado 27 Oct 2008 AVALON THEATER Salt Lake City, Utah 28 Oct 2008 THE BIG EASY Boise, Idaho 29 Oct 2008 HAWTHORNE THEATER Portland, Oregon 30 Oct 2008 MEDIA CLUB Vancouver, British Columbia 1 Nov 2008 EL CORAZON Seattle, Washington 5 Nov 2008 THE HOUSE OF BLUES West Hollywood, California 6 Nov 2008 THE HOUSE OF BLUES San Diego, California 7 Nov 2008 THE PHOENIX THEATER Petaluma, California 8 Nov 2008 SENATOR THEATER Chico, California 9 Nov 2008 SLO VETS HALL San Lius Obispo, California PS, I never found out what OPM stands for. Is it for "Other People's Money"?

STEPHANIE iamstephanie.net ♥ myspace.com Stephanie - The Rain You probably don't know this, but I often get interested potential writers with interesting proposals for music angles. One of them included someone who wanted to write about Christian music, so I requested some of this genre of music from our PR people. When it came to actually producing reviews, that person was never heard from again.  I haven't gotten a Christian album in a while, but this one recently turned up: the self-titled album by the artist simply known as "Stephanie". Surely she must know that she's not the only musician called Stephanie? I had a heck of a hard time looking up her myspace/website. With the exception of the live recording of "Wake up Arise", all of these songs are studio-recorded and mixed. It sounds very clear and professional - including the live song. The closest "rock" song is the ironically named "Back to the Rock", featuring pianos and Céline Dion-style singing and wooing. I did enjoy her songs when it had more than a few instrument arrangement, like "The Rain", "Through Christ" (electric guitar!), and "Back to the Rock", as they seem to bring more of a full-music experience for me - at least for this album. I can understand the route to keep it simple (either with just pianos or acoustic guitar), because I felt they were trying to spotlight Stephanie's vocals. If you like vocals and minimal music, songs to check out are "Now I Know", "Bless Those Beside Me", and "Take Away". The overall feel of this album is that it's Christian pop music, at times inspirational. If you enjoy other Christian pop acts like Amy Grant, this should fit right in. After a few listen, you forget that it's even Christian, despite the obvious religious overtones. If you're in the Texas area and just generally like pop music, you should check her out: 14 Sep 2008 Word of Love Church Hurst, Texas 28 Sep 2008 Lighthouse Fellowship Church Ft.Worth, TX 24 Oct 2008 Seekers Coffee Shop Hurst, Texas

THE PONSONBY DC'S myspace.com/ponsonbydcs The Ponsonby DC's - Just Another Kick 1 comment This band doesn't have anything to do with death, sans for their gloomy "Death Doom and Destruction". This song is actually pretty good, sampling some speech from George Bush. This band have been around since 1984 (WTF!) and currently based out of Canterbury, New Zealand, according to their myspace. By 1986, this band was in top form with their self-titled album featured in Spin Magazine and all over the college radio airwaves. Their sixth and latest album is called That's What All The Girls Say, released this year. Just look at their cover art, featuring what looks like a "serious" Cubism style - yet showing a pop-art style of a boat captain to the right. Maybe I'm over analyzing it, but this has a very serious and a not-so-serious tone to it. This also reflects in their songs, some songs have modern social commentaries to them, like the "Death" song mentioned above to "Pluto's Not A Planet Anymore". Other songs ("Son of a Street Fighting Man", "Girls!") are just fun. Other trends I notice from this band is that they have a late 50s "oldies but goodies" feel to them. Check out "Little Baby You're Mine" and "Ponsonby Waltz", both are well worth a look if you love classic oldies songs - done by a modern band. PS, Gavin Buxton's NZ accent definitely shows up on "Just Another Kick" and "Son of a Street Fighting Man". I love it!

NETHERBIRD netherbird.com ♥ myspace.com Netherbird-Forever Mournful Since we already mentioned the life-inspiration songs of Stephanie, I thought it would be fun to balance it with a little bit of the Dark Side. Usually I reserve this sort of music for Dr Soup, as this is a death (read: Satan) metal band from Sweden. I was actually pretty impressed with the production on The Bone Collector, it doesn't sound too "cookie monster" but it's clear that their inspiration lies in death metal. Even though I think some of their songs sounds like operatic metal (especially on "Carcess Symphony"). I thought "Forever Mournful" was the stand-out track on this album - and I'll tell you why. You have Nephente's demonic/agonizing vocals (I'm not even sure what he's saying!!) with a counterpoint of a sweet, angelic voice (no idea who's singing as the promo copy I have doesn't have any liner notes). The song lends itself to an epic feel as its theme seem to flow right into "Adrift Towards Eternity" (with its sweet violins and thunderstorm soundclip). Speaking of epic, check out "Boulevard Black" - the very first song that Netherbird recorded. This is a fourteen minute, utilizing lots of guitar, bird sounds (crows?), pianos, and includes a semi-cheesy voice over that seems to sound like an old 80s horror movie. Even the reprise song have a feel of Phantom of the Opera with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre! The most surprising thing I found out is that Target.com is carrying their CD. Wow, right? Apparently there is a standard release and a collector's edition - as usual, I always suggest getting the deluxe version if you can swing it.

Links: www.weheartmusic.com news.weheartmusic.com wp.weheartmusic.com podcast.weheartmusic.com

Brad and I are in San Antonio this weekend. He has three speaking engagements and I tagged along for fun. His parents (Mimi and Poppy) are babysitting Kate while we're gone. We're so thankful for Kate to have two sets of grandparents that love her so much and shower her with incredible affection. I feel completely at ease leaving Kate in her grandparents' care which makes it possible to relax while I'm gone!

It's been wonderful to get away and spend time with just Brad! I like having him to myself :)  While he's been preparing for presentations or speaking, I've been walking around town and reading Twilight (started yesterday and I'm on page 350 tonight. Read it!).

In other news, now that I'm 18 weeks along, I've been feeling Baby Garlando move a LOT. She (I'm referring to the baby as "she" even though we're still not certain) seems to think it's fun to squish herself up into a ball on the right side of my stomach when I'm laying down. I find this amusing because the left side of my stomach gets pre-preggo flat while the right bulges out like I'm smuggling a large mango. Every time she does it, I say in my best Arnold voice, "Its not a tumor!! (Sigh... I've always had a strange sense of humor).

I remember the feeling of complete awe when Kate would punch, kick, knee, or jab me while I was pregnant. I'm appreciative it feels the same way this time around. It's humbling and blissful to have carry a child. Not to say that sometimes I don't feel miserable with back aches, puffiness, and hormonal surges. I can't wait to see who this sweet baby will be and what she'll look like. I'm excited to see Kate as a big sister. She's very protective of those close to her and very loyal.

Speaking of sisters, I get to go to Boston with mine next weekend!!! Look at me, the continental traveler :) Woo hoo. Okay, that's enough rambling for tonight.

Show us your last ticket stub.

U2 Aloha Stadium

LOL.  I just took that photo with Photo Booth!

My trip was booked for April and then the band canceled for sad family reasons.  I had never been to Hawaii before so I still went in April for 10 days as planned...5 days on Oahu and 5 days on GORGEOUS Maui!

Well, in July of 2006 U2 announced the rescheduled dates for the Vertigo Tour.  The new date for Aloha Stadium was 12/9/06.  I already had my concert ticket so I HAD to go back for the show right?!!!  I stayed on Oahu for 5 days for the show and then to BEAUTIFUL Kauai for 5 days!

Here are two photos from my seat and a review of the show!

Hmmmmm.....maybe they will return there on tour for the new album next year!!

Earlier tonight I got to chatting with a friend and listening to the new exciting news of her life.  The girl is madly in love with someone and I couldn't be happier for her.  There's nothing more exciting than new love.  All the excitement, the thrills, the feelings just flying about.  How its just you two and no one else in the world matters.  You know how it goes.  We all have gone through it.

Then life happens.  Life gets real and things change.  Been there, done that and with the last 2 relationships I have had, I don't miss very much of it at all.  Guess you wouldn't when they weren't the right ones for you.  There is a few things I miss about a relationship though and my friend opened that gate up for me tonight and got me thinking about it.

I miss someone being completely out of their mind for me.  I know crazy huh?  But it tells me that I do matter to them...That I am important and when they show they want to spend every moment with me.  Its the little things that I miss the most.  The little things are the things that mean the most to me.  I'm not a high maintence woman....more of a simple one and it doesn't take much to make me happy.  As my friend is going on and on, I am shaking my head, agreeing with her!  When I look back on past relationships, I'm not remembering the huge moments but the little things...

A couple days ago I go into work to find a single yellow carnation on my desk.  I have no idea where it came from..whom it came from and I didn't see anyone else with a carnation on their desk.  I am completely clueless.  But you know....that simple act made my day.  It could have been from anyone..but its the simple thought, such a little thing, that matters to me.

If we all look for the little things in life, I'm sure we would all be much happier people......

Of course, I can't leave you without a picture of Brianna!

B16

Lmaooooooo

Finished Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain.  It's the sequel to Heartsick, which I read in 24 hours last year while I was on vacation in Chicago.  This one was just as good.  Serial killers, brutality and the most disturbing love story ever.  I enjoyed it very much which makes me worry about myself.

I recommend both. :)  Read them when you have a lot of free time.

 09/05/2008 18:44:22  ♥ written by appples ()

Remote Control Frequencies-Escape Plan

Remote Control Frequencies

Ok I'm just going to start off by saying this sort of noisy, ambient, sample ridden cluster fuck of sound is so up my alley it's actually IN my alley. And to quote a famous new wave band, I just can't get enough. Remote Control Frequencies latest album Tempus is about 45 minutes of some of the coolest stuff I've heard in a while.  It's all fuzzy guitar, echoplex madness, swirling drones, manic organs and vocals that are just buried under all that sound. Throw in a healthy serving of what sound like samples from late night infomercials and you've got yourself one hell of a party. I would really be hard pressed to narrow this down to one genre so I'll go ahead and describe this best as ambient post shoe gaze hip-hop.

Remote Control Frequencies is a two man wrecking crew of awesomeness consisting of R-Rock handling the vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass, noise, digital signal treatments and other effects with long time collaborator LG handling the drums. there are a few guest appearances on the album by Player 1, PJ Sumroc, and Sharkula. Despite all the sonic madness there is still an underlying pop sensibility here that is very keen. The hushed vocals do a great job of not overpowering the true artistry of the music, and overall R-Rock and LG have done a splendid job of taking elements from a diverse selection of genres and creating an pastiche of musical styles. I would definitely suggest this album for fans of psychedelic music and pretty much everyone with an open mind about music.

You can find out more about Remote Control Frequencies by visiting their myspace page at www.myspace.com/rcf (although they claim to have lost the password so it might not be updated), or by going to their label's web site at www.tslos.com, and as always be sure to stay tuned to W♥M for the latest in independent music. Next week I'll be dusting off the old phonograph to bring you a few gems from my vinyl collection. Yay records!

Links: myspace.com/rcf