Many times, people who are not from L.A. will see the bubble-gum pink clad, heavily photoshopped blonde on the billboards across town and ask "Who is Angelyne and what does she do?" Sometimes she shows up at clubs armed with a bevy of buff men and once she cut me off on the 101 in her Pepto pink Corvette. Other than that, though, I don't know what she does. However, last night, I was watching VH1 Classic and caught this video from The Breakfast Club, a band best known for once featuring a certain superstar in her pre-fame days, and noticed a cameo from the one and only Angelyne.

Dear Friends in NYC,

I saw a post on Blisscent and thought of you. Mahogany and friends are playing an improvised set tomorrow night at Cake Shop. The band's latest work, Memory Column, will be remixed live. I ran to listen to my copy of the debut, The Dream of a Modern Day, but could not find it. I felt my heart race until I realized that I was looking under the wrong letter on my record shelves. So now, I will go listen to Mahogany in my room on the other side of the country and wish that I could bliss out to tomorrow night's set. If you do attend, please give me the details.

Yours,
Liz in LA

Back in 1999, I took my new boyfriend, Kid C., to see Sleater Kinney at The Roxy.
"I think I'm the only guy here," he whispered.
It was the reversal of our previous excursions to grindcore shows, when I would turn to him and ask, "Am I the only girl here?"
I have seen Sleater Kinney a few times before and, just as with shows involving Bratmobile, Le Tigre and others, I was always a bit disappointed to notice that the crowd consisted almost exclusively of women. Maybe it means something in terms of empowering us to start our own bands, but I always saw it as the result of guys automatically ignoring the contributions of girls. Gender should not be a genre, but it often is. Have you ever noticed that bands featuring women are often referred to by gender before style of music (as if anyone has ever referred to Oasis as "boy rock")? Have you noticed that women are automatically compared to other women in record reviews, whether or not the comparison makes sense? If you play a guitar, you're like Chrissie. Sing poetry in a growl? Then you're just like Patti. If you're music is a bit less angry, well, then you're just like Kate.
That said, the first thing I noticed at last night's show at the Henry Fonda was that the crowd was mixed evenly between male and female fans. In addition, the guys in attendence were not just the sort of creepy geeks with girl band fetishes that we might be used to seeing at such shows (want to know what I'm talking about, go see The Donnas or The Iron Maidens live and you'll meet lots of those guys). It was the sort of crowd one would find at any other major rock show. At last, it feels like the walls around the girl ghetto are starting to crumble.
But enough with my quasi-feminist ramblings. Mary Timony, accompanied by Devin Ocampo on drums, opened the night. Although I've been a fan of Timony since high school, when I first heard Helium on a Kill Rock Stars compilation, this was the first time I saw her live. I remember thinking that there was something eerie about her voice when I first heard her, something in her phrasing mixed with the huskiness of her voice that made her records sound better during a blackout. That vocal quality translates well into the live setting. With just a guitar and a drum, Timony and Ocampo were able to create a very large, heavy sound, sort of like listening to classic rock radio with bass players and cries of "baby, baby, baby." Timony played like a guitar god as well, jumping around the stage with her hair flying in her face.
I have yet to purchase a copy of The Woods, so last night's show marked the first time I heard most of Sleater Kinney's new songs. The major difference between the new work is that the songs, at least in a live setting, are lengthier, complete with mile-long bridges that make me think of Tony Iommi and blacklight posters. This made for a striking contrast when paired with the older tunes ("One More Hour," "Get Up," "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone," "You're No Rock'n'Roll Fun," and "Dig Me Out"). Sleater Kinney's style of performance seems to have evolved over the years as well. I don't recall witnessing such a dramatic difference between Carrie and Corin's stage presence. Corin seemed pretty tame last night. She did the occasional Sleater Kinney bounce (which PDP-contributor Estelle and I tried to perfect when we would do Sleater Kinney impersonations back in college), but, for the most part, she stood fairly still and oftentimes played with her back to the crowd. Carrie, on the other hand, was wild onstage. She swiveled her hips, kicked her leg high up in the air and made come here motions with her hand in true rock star fashion.
The biggest surprise of the concert came midway through the encore.
"Melissa," I whispered. "That's Danzig, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is."
Corin sang lead on the band's version of "Mother," which was heavy without the metal. That song will always remind me of high school in the suburbs back in 1994, when Danzig blared from every aging car in the school parking lot, and so it seemed a bit strange, but ultimately exciting, to hear it coming from people who were already in college and releasing 7" singles when the song was released. They moved from "Mother" into "Dig Me Out" without pausing. At this point, the crowd danced so maniacally that I thought surely folks would collapse when the final song ended. After all, this was a rock show.

I download music. Much of it (most of it) is legal, like promo mp3s from artist sites and occasionally the free iTunes songs with winning Pepsi bottle caps. The only mp3s I have paid for were the Data Panik (formerly bis) songs that were released on a limited 7" that would have cost a fortune to ship from Scotland.
Illegal mp3s, well, I download those too, but they have to lie in a politically grey area. My criteria for downloading these are as follows:

1. The release is out of print domestically, or otherwise impossible to find. The Pop Group's "Y" and Killer Pussy's "Bikini Wax" are examples of this.


2. I already own the release on vinyl, and don't want to go through the tedium of recording it onto my hard drive.


3. The release has different songs on each format. Say I buy Alcachofa on vinyl, I'm not about to buy it again on CD for one or two different songs.


4. I bought the album as an expensive import, and it gets re-released domestically with extra songs that I don't feel are worth $13 by themselves.


5. My hard copy of the release gets damaged. Downloading is like backing up your files in this sense.

In the first case, if the album sees a reissue, I'll most likely purchase it. I would like to support these bands, but the unavailability of their work prevents me from doing so. #2 is no different from taping your records to play in the car, so I see nothing wrong with that. #3 is a case of the artist getting their just desserts. I'll support you up to a certain point, but I won't let you take advantage of me. #4 I have the most trouble with ethically, as my downloading the bonus songs prevents the domestic label from getting a return on their investment. But then, If I didn't buy the import in the first place, would they even be able to justify releasing the album here? I'm the reason they saw a market for the album to begin with. #5 is no different from making a backup, only a retroactive one. Seems perfectly legit to me.
On the other hand, if the RIAA were really so uptight about artists not getting paid for every person who hears a given release, wouldn't they try to fight the sale of used CDs? The only people making money on those are the sellers, not the artists, and every store (even the large chains and online retailers) sells them. I'm sure used purchases cut into sales of new releases just as much as mp3s do...

The battle between RIAA and the ever-growing community of downloaders continues, according to Rolling Stone.
I don't use peer-to-peer software, but it has nothing to do with the RIAA. I buy music because I cannot actually download slabs of vinyl and because I believe in helping put a few bucks in the pocket of artists I like. But regardless of those facts, I think that was the RIAA is doing is absolute crap. What bothers me more, though, is that in seemingly all reports on downloading, writers neglect to mention a few issues.
First of all, in the late-1990s, when file sharing software began to surface, the major labels were too busy consolidating to worry about things like utilizing new technology for markerting purposes or even developing artists. Think about the pre-fabricated turds that hog up airwaves as of this day and ask yourself (as you probably already have), why am I paying $17 for a cd with one good song?
Rolling Stone notes that prior to the lawsuits, the RIAA ran ad campaigns on the great sin of downloading featuring Britney Spears. Doesn't that show how out of touch the recording industry is? Britney Spears is a girl with more money than sense. She possesses the incredible power of celebrity, which, at her young age, gives her the opportunity to make real contributions to the world. Despite this, she lives her life like it's an episode of Jerry Springer. Why should anyone listen to her?
And then there is Metallica, whose members whine about downloaders taking away potential earnings when the band hasn't made a good album since the 1980s and still manages to sell platinum. Again, why should anyone care? If you want to make us care enough to buy the music, show us struggling bands who need the sales in order to recoup the advance and continue with a second album.
So the men in ties go ahead and sue the parents of downloaders thinking that will solve the problem, but more people join Kazaa, Soulseek, et. al. and everyone asks why. Downloading isn't a matter of stealing music at this point. Downloading has become a form of protesting an industry who uses bully tactics to attempt to stop a system that it spawned by releasing pile after pile of overpriced shit. The record industry fucked up and now it's ordinary people, some barely teenagers, who are paying the price.
This is not to say that I am pro-downloading. The technology serves it's purpose, particularly for bands who have yet to hit the big time. Musicians reading this may agree that sites like My Space, where bands can post MP3s, have been helpful in gathering new fans. However, I believe in the tangible quality of musical releases. It isn't just the songs that make an album, it's the artwork and the lyric sheets and the limited edition inserts. This aspect is lost with downloading.
In some respects, it also seems like part of the fan/artist relationship dies with downloading. It is now too easy to get new music. By the time a band makes it into the "One To Watch" section of any music magazine, hipsters around the world have already tired of the songs and moved on to something else. Artists become played out by the time an album is released. We are now in this constant race to find what's cool before the rest of our friends find it and that makes it incredibly difficult to latch on to an artist. What happens then when you meet the artist in question months later? Do you say, "I was a really big fan of yours six months ago. I downloaded all your songs. Then I thought they were played out, so I deleted them from my hardrive?"

The Knitting Factory Los Angeles 5-28-05


Stereo Total put on a great show no matter what, but after having a look around the crowd at the Knitting Factory there was one element missing that had me asking "Has the sub-scene of freaky-electronic music fans gone away?" Have they turned to freak folk, or do they listen to Ariel Pink now? Either way they were not there for this sold out Stereo Total show. Maybe it was The Gossip that kept them away. I'm not sure, but lets start out and give blame where blame is probably due, Hawnay Troof. Performing fast yelling hip hop as a one man band, with no instruments or equipment visible on stage was interesting for maybe half of one song, but a whole set was too much. As I mentioned, if you're into yelling or really fast hip-hop definitely check out Hawnay Troof sometime.

This was also my first time seeing The Gossip, who were a lot better live than I had ever imagined they would be. Singer Beth Ditto has some of the most authentic disco vocals I've heard recorded or live in years. Her Voice is the real star of the show, the music seems to function as a dance punk coat hanger for the belted Studio 54 stylings that make The Gossip one of the most loved live bands playing today. I can't say I've been moved to join their fan club yet, but if they opened again I'd definitely arrive in time to catch their set.

Stereo Total on the other hand are genius! They are to me what performance is all about. It may not come across on their albums that they have some of the greatest dance songs ever written, but live they will level you with some of the toughest beats and coolest electronic music you'll ever hear. Every time I've seen them they consistently impress me, with a stage show so eccentric and unpretentious that you can't help but go along with whatever they ask you to do. Even without the fashion students, or whatever they were, showing up to support in homemade outfits, seeing Stereo Total is one of the most unique experiences you'll ever have.

Sam Pfannkuche of the band Imperative Reaction recently started this website to help his brother, who was badly beaten on the Los Angeles MTA a few weeks ago. He is currently in the process of organizing a show to benefit National Center for Victims of Crime, as well as to assist Josh in his medical bills. Please read his story and, if you have the means, try to help in whatever way possible.

At out last Discourse party, guest DJ Jeppe/Senior gave me a copy of Junior Senior's latest single. "Itch U Can't Skratch" just may be the song that will get me through another blistering hot California summer. It has the sort of cut'n'paste feel of artists like The Go Team and The Avalanches and a keyboard sweep in the beginning that reminds me of Madonna's "Lucky Star." The 7" is limited edition, but you can find copies through the band's label, Crunchy Frog Recordings. I'll be bringing my copy with me to Carbon tonight, so hopefully, I'll be able to play it.

• We got over nine hundred unique visitors last month, which pretty much blows our old statistics away. It's a great start.. keep the word out, and we'll see if we can get even more people over here. :D


• The most popular search terms that lead people to this little site include:
  -"Anthony S Robinson"
  -"idiot pilot lyrics"
  -"Houston Bernard"
  
  but also...
  -"inland empire harry potter clubs"
  -"ipod dancing people"
  -"who would dance for jabba"
  
  What the hell is wrong with you people? And why aren't you posting more? ;)


• The People present Discourse, this June 26th. It's "altered 80s" night this month, and if you're sick of the same old junk at every other 80s club, this may be just what you're looking for. Mark your calendars.
  
• As usual, if you have something you just HAVE to contribute, send us a note!
  

In case you have not heard, Gorillaz are doing this virtual North America tour right now. Basically, they recorded a bunch of live sets that will be played on various radio station websites across the country for the next few weeks. A recent Billboard article lists the tour schedule. There seems to be no set time for the online performances. Just go to the websites on the specified dates and you can listen through a live stream.
I checked out today's performance for X 103.9 in Riverside. The set was short, maybe a half-hour, and featured De La Soul on "Clint Eastwood." I only know the last part because it was stated. There are no visuals here. I really wished that there was some sort of animation to accompany the set but, oh well, it's free.

just when i felt such total despair upon realizing that music for the major part of this century sucks (pheewww thank god it's been a short part at that), along came MY little RED TOE!
Read about the KXLU fundrazor show on Liz's previous post, at which we fell in love with them. Imagine, the best melodic riffs of all your favorite songs, minus the crapy lyrics and stupid narcissistic 8 minute guitar rant, and you will find the bliss that is the aforementioned band. and by the way they're only like quasi in that it's a girl drummer and male guitarist. this drummer can actually keep a rhythmic beat without even trying. Gooooo Toe!

(This post is inspired by recent musings on Tiny Lucky Genius)

There are reasons as to why many of us ladies like clubs like Rage, where we know the boys are checking out everything but our cleavage. Those reasons can be found in "Wait (The Whisper Song)."
I'm twenty-eight now. I started clubbing at eighteen, DJing a year later. I've heard "The Whisper Song" in every language and form one might imagine. I've seen it pantomimed on dancefloors and lurking in parking garages. It gets old.
There was the tourist who said to me in broken English, "How about you give me ride to hotel and we fuck?"
"Excuse me?"
"You give me ride. We fuck."
Apparently, the four girls who slapped him prior did not make the message clear. My friend dragged me to the car before I could bestow slap number five on him, but not before I had the chance to tell him that he could go fuck himself.
Then there was the night that one fellow felt the need to stick his hand up my skirt as I danced. I was not dancing with him. I was not even dancing by him. He just walked up and tried to get his hand in the cookie jar.
I kicked him without thinking. I'm sure that Malcolm Gladwell has something to say about that.
"What did you do that for? I was just playing."
"Just playing. You don't 'just play' by sticking the hand up the skirt of someone you don't know."
And then there was the guy who came up to the DJ booth during one of my gigs. I didn't realize he was there until I stepped on him.
"Hey, I was just trying to look up your skirt."
"What?!"
"I'll give you money for it."
He shoved a sweaty single dollar bill in my hand. Not only was the dude a pervert, but a cheap one at that. I threw the bill at him, yelled at him to get out and he just stood there sort of menacing but probably too drunk to do anything. I grew up in the big city, very little scares me. However, in that booth, with no exit in sight outside of the window that was eight feet above the stage, I felt nervous. For every step back I took, he moved one forward. I could smell inferior gin mixed with Drakkar Noir. He was fartooclose. I pushed him and, for the first time, had to call security over the microphone. As security dragged him out, all he could say was that he was "just playing."
So for all the guys who go to the clubs for a piece of ass, who think that we're out for the same, know this: Those rancid nothings you whisper in our ears are not playful and definitely not seductive. Talk dirty to me and my insults will slice you and half. Touch me and I will defend myself. Some might think that kicking and slapping is no answer, but my fifteen minutes of pacifism passed long ago. I'm not at that club to be an accessory to the porno in your head and I'm not there to educate you on how to treat a woman right. If you never learned to mind your manners before, you probably won't learn it now and I would rather be on the dancefloor with my friends.

Not too long ago, Balthazar Monsoon and I pondered what the hell ever happened to Catherine Wheel. After all, it looks like the website has not been updated in years.
Shortly thereafter, I saw a post on Blisscent (an incredibly active indie mailing list and a great source for gossip) that linked to a recent interview with singer/guitarist Rob Dickinson from San Diego's FM 94/9 (as far as commercial stations go, this may be the best I've heard). Technically, Catherine Wheel has not split, but they have been inactive ("parked" as he says) for the past few years. During the interview, in which he also guest DJs, Dickinson plays three tracks from his upcoming solo effort. Fresh Wine for the Horses is due out in September from Sanctuary Records, which is, oddly enough, the same label that released his cousin Bruce Dickinson's solo album two weeks ago. This interview was archived courtesy of The Catherine Wheel Live Archive, which is an incredible source for CW fans.
Cool Blisscent Poster also tipped me off to Jimmy Chamberlain's album. Dickinson sings on "Life Begins Again," which you can listen to on the live stream.

I've been hoping for killer dance remix of Bratmobile's "Bitch Theme" for years. I may never get that. In the meantime, though, Bratmobile's Alison Wolfe has a new project, Partyline, and a new 6-song E.P., Girls With Glasses, out now on Retard Disco. You can listen to clips over here. The trio will play The Smell in Los Angeles in August, apparently with Mika Miko.
(Original Source: Retard Disco newsletter)

More from the People Who Still Make Good Music Files:

Saint Etienne has a new video for "Side Streets," which you can watch over here. My firewall goes batty when I try to watch it, so tell me what you think.
(Original Source: Saint Etienne newsletter)

Mark Gardener, formerly of Ride (whose records I still listen to repeatedly) is playing with Goldrush (UK) and September Gurls (LA) at The Derby in Los Feliz this Thursday (6/9/05). Tami and Johnny Sleeper will be providing pre-recorded musical interludes throughout the night. Cover is $7. I think I need to go to this.
(Original Source: Clifton)

I'll be mixing together dance records on Wednesday night at Carbon as part of the She Rocks!!! edition of What the DJ Wants. Here are the details.
What the DJ Wants @ Carbon
9300 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA
21+, Free

Many moons ago, PDP-contributor Estelle and I were roommates and DJs at a little station in L.A. called KXLU, which you can catch by tuning into 88.9 F.M. in Los Angeles, unless, of course, you are in one of those areas where KGOD or whatever it's called is bleeding through the frequency. We don't really have much to do with the station anymore, unless we are filling in for someone or shifting our critical ears towards the intricacies of a proper airbreak. But we do, usually, go to the fundraiser shows whenever they occur just to show some love.
Hence, Estelle and I spent our Saturday night at the Knitting Factory. I brought along Brother John and Estelle was joined by Friend Jen. We paid $15 (which we think is a bit steep, but we won't get into that). We saw some bands. Here are the notes:
Halloween Swim Team: Brother John and I showed up a good hour before Estelle, since she managed to get lost. (You know I can't resist to bring that up.) Halloween Swim Team was nearly finished with the set by the time we arrived. I've seen this band quite a few times (and played with them once) and really enjoy the synth-punk-hardcore thing. However, it seemed like there were sound problems tonight. This became obvious after a series of "Oh, shit, I think the bass is going to go out!" trembles. During the last song, the drum kit collapsed and I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. Since the drummer kept playing, though, I'm inclined to think that it was intentional. Either that or he's a real trooper.
Child Pornography: (Ed. Note: There is no link because I really did not want to have to Google that name.) We only saw about two songs. On any other night, I might have liked it, but I just was not feeling the screams on this particular evening. As I told Brother John, "I think I'm getting old, I like to understand the lyrics now."
My Little Red Toe: I last saw My Little Red Toe in Nicholas' (half of the duo) backyard in Burbank four years ago. I think it was MLRT's first show. I was impressed at how this band has grown over the years. Despite the fact that it is just one guitar and one drum kit, Nicholas and Susan created a full sound.
"They kind of remind me of Quasi," Estelle remarked.
What is interesting is how they will work into a crescendo, so that you think that they will embark upon an eight minute post-rock journey, and then just stop. It's like Mogwai for people like us with cable television attention spans. Estelle and I have hope in this act. How can two young people who, as teenagers, covered a Los Cincos song in a Valley garage not be up to wonderful things.?
Year Future: Despite the fact that the drummer had a temperature of 104, Year Future played one of those rock sets that some would describe in rock terms like "blistering" and "ferocious" and other things that invoke either fire or animal-like qualities. The drummer seems like a pretty crazy guy, since he was playing with a fever and drumming with his elbows on occasion, but we think the bassist stole this show. Year Future Bassist wore a scarf tied around his neck and, according to Brother John, looked like Patrick Swayze. The guy had a stage presence similar to Angus Young in pretty much every AC/DC video, running around his corner of the stage (and sometimes beyond those parameters) like a madman for the entire set.
Pigeon John: Estelle and Friend Jen said they were over the set after the first few songs, but Brother John and I really dug Pigeon John's performance. It was hip-hop free from product placements and filled instead with lots of nerdy-guy-with-girl-problem rhymes. I was taken by Pigeon John's dance moves while Brother John was taken by the four-eyed blonde girl dancing next to his seat. We both agreed, though, that Dude Who Feels Need to Mosh to Hip-Hop really needed a time out.
As an added note, Pigeon John's records are out on Basement Records, which is also one of the last remaining independent record stores in the Valley.
Her Space Holiday: We wondered what exactly it was that the guys from Her Space Holiday were swigging from bottles seconds before the show (wine and tequila, maybe?). Mysterious liquids make shows more exciting, but we think that Her Space Holiday would have wowed us regardless of what was in the bottles.
"His voice reminds me of that band, oh, what's the name? The band that Shamus was really into," Estelle said of Marc Bianchi before singing a few lines from a song that another former KXLU DJ and friend of ours loved a few years back.
Three songs and chunks of pulled hair later, Estelle screamed, "Tullycraft!"
The set was far more energetic than we had imagined, with the duo kicking out one indie rock disco jam after another. Estelle and Friend Jen left midway through the set, but Brother John and I stayed until the very end, when Marc closed with a speech on a "strange day" and appreciating the people you love and hooking up and stuff like that before playing an R&B love song that everyone but I knew.