I've recently started working for Vans Shoes, which is a staple in Southern California. Everyone from cholos to bourgie white kids know about these shoes. It's preferred that we listen to KROQ music, or classic rock, as it's a reflection of the shoes. On any given day, you can walk into my store and hear the things like Social Distortion, Madness, Johnny Cash, The Pixies, Sonic Youth, Save Ferris, Bob Marley, and at one point, Avenged Sevenfold. The stockroom manager, Mark (his name has been changed to protect his ignorance) believes he knows punk rock, and what KROQ used to play. During the tent sale for Labor Day, I was kickin' it under the tent, listening to my iPod play "Missionary Man" by The Eurhythmics. Mark comes out and says "You're driving away the customers with this angry music." I'm floored, shocked and appalled.

"This is KROQ music," I replied.
"No it's not."
I think, "Am I talking to an idiot? Or has he only been listening to KROQ for the past 8 years?"
"Dude, they played this when it came out and during Flashback Lunch."

Yesterday, Mark cringed when he came back from lunch and the store manager, Pablo, and I were listening to "Sowing the Seeds of Love" by Tears for Fears off the iPod. Mark wants to change the song so badly and I tell him he can, once it's over. He doesn't hear that part, and proceeds to play "Scooby Snacks" by Fun Lovin' Criminals and tells us it's his new theme, to which I replied "This song is about robbing banks while tweakin'," which I don't think he got.
The day before, Pablo and I had some family come in to buy shoes for a girl. She didn't want any white shoes. I would've pegged her as a chola to be, transplanted from Echo Park and ready to call La Sad Girl, Mousie, or Whisper, about the new kicks she going to get. As her family was leaving, she saw the crib shoes we sell and said "When I get a baby brother, I'm gonna buy him nothing but Vans, because he's going to be punk rock, like is big sister, me." Too band her Nirvana t-shirt said other wise.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Dead Kennedys' classic "Too Drunk to Fuck" found its way into the repertoire of a Russian/American jazz combo based in Chicago?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Well, even though such thoughts have never run through your mind, you will be better off once you hear Schizowave's cover of the aforementioned piece.

You can still download new music from Ming & Ping right here.

Being a bit short on time and cash, I haven't been able to check out as much new music and I would like. I am keeping a running list in my head of things I really need to hear. Right now, Particles and Waves from Cranes is at the top of this list.
You may remember a post from over the summer tracing my hatred of Dinosaur Jr. back to the time the band opened up for the Cure at the Rose Bowl in 1992. That same show marked my introduction to Cranes. I had seen a few videos from the band on Request Video prior to the concert, but it wasn't until I heard them play against June heat late one Saturday afternoon that I fell for the band.
Particles and Waves is the band's seventh full-length, released last week in the U.S. and Canada through Manifesto Records. From the clips I have heard on the band's website, it is as good as any Cranes release could be, with Alison's voice still fragile after more than a decade, still mixing glee and heartache against fuzzy guitars and keyboards that sound more like the cheery-psyche stuff of college radio than the sleazy-cool club vibe.
Cranes are working on another new album, which will hopefully be released next year through Manifesto, at which point the band hopes to tour the U.S.

Dancing is a very serious to me. I tend to dance to songs I know. If it has a good beat, I'm tempted to stay on the dance floor. Here’s my list, in no particular order:

• "Come Into My World (Fischerspooner Remix)," Kylie Minogue (2003). I don’t know what it is about this song: the distorted vocals, the heavy synths sounding like guitars, or that sound that almost sounds like a Chihuahua bark, I rush to the dance floor. It's a hypnotic frenzy. I want to dance around like a crack addict. I want to bump and grind with my dance partner. It's almost sick. The way Warren Fischer remixed this makes Kylie sound desperate and sexy, like if she doesn't get some wang, she'll die.


• "Stormtroopers in Drag," Saint Etienne (1997). This doesn't sound very 1997. It sounds early naughts, but oh well. A cover of a song Paul Gardiner of Tubeway Army featuring Gary Numan on vocals. It's got the same kind of hypnotic frenzy the aforementioned song has. Sarah Cracknell alternates from her honey vocals to a serious, almost bitchy voice. The lyrics are over pretty fast, but there are about four and a half minutes of dance goodness.


• "I Can’t Wait," Nu Shooz (1986). I kind of remember this track when it was originally released. I love the bass line and synth voice that opens the song. Valerie Day's vocals seem innocent. She can't wait for this guy to come around. It's a cheesy pop song with a damn good beat, even though it's low BPM. This song always gets me moving. I'm glad I've rediscovered it. I’m also tempted to use this as my song when I get married.


• "Erotic City," Prince (1984). The b-side to "Let’s Go Crazy." I remember first hearing this at one of the few gay clubs in the Inland Empire and was enthralled with the dirtiness of the Purple One. Nothing beats grinding with your best girl on the dance floor. I was at a wedding recently and requested this little gem. Much to my shock the DJ told me that no one dances when he plays it. A damn shame! The funny thing was that little kids were dancing to this, not knowing Prince was looking for some booty.


• "Don’t Leave Me This Way," Thelma Houston (1977). Call me a purist, but Thelma Houston’s desperation in this disco class is awesome. The way her voice soars during the chorus drives me wild. I love how Thelma opens the song at a slow tempo humming the song and it build rather fast. My friend and I love to reenact this song when we dance to it. She almost went nuts when she heard it in a restaurant that happened to be playing KBIG during the lunch hour.


• "Into the Groove," Madonna (1985). I've always had a weakness for Madonna, but "Like A Virgin" is hard to dance to. I've heard this more often clubbing than any other of her older singles. I adore that this song is basically having a good time on the dance floor. The beats pulsate, there’s a funky little riff, and that infectious piano part that seems to be staple in most '80s dance hits. Something I'll always find funny is Ciccone Youth (read: Sonic Youth) did a cover/mash up of this without Madonna permission called "Into the Groovey," without changing the beat and only adding distorted guitar.


• "Disco 2000," Pulp (1995). I remember dancing to this at Bang before the boycott started. It brings back fond memories. I sometimes dance to this at Incahoots, pantomiming the chorus. The guitar riff is lifted right from "Gloria" by Laura Branigan and there are no real dance elements to this song, but for some weird reason, I love dancing to it.


• "Fools Gold," Stone Roses (1989). The beginning of the house/acid movement of Britain. I love the slap bass line. It's so uncharacteristic of British music. I don't think I know what the lyrics are about, I just know they mention Marquis de Sade and something about a mountain. Maybe that's why I love it so, I have no idea what it's about, and it's just a good dance song.


• "Danger! High Voltage!" Electric Six featuring Jack White (2003). Nothing beats the lyrical genius of "Fire in the disco/ Fire in the Taco Bell!" This track opens with a great guitar riff and it begins to build. I think it's about pyromania, but who cares? Jack White's falsetto adds so much to this song. I love to strut on the dance floor with my dance partner yelling “Fire in the disco!”


• "Crazy in Love," Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z (2003). I remember hearing this at a party and thinking you can't really dance to this. Then I remember dancing to it some time later. There’s something about being able to shake my ass to this song that's always fun. Not to mention, it’s a great song for some bumpin’ and grindin’ with your dance partner.

At this point, we all know that former Ride-man Andy Bell has been a full-fledged member of the self-proclaimed best band in the world for some time now, but do you ever what ever happened to Bell's pouty-lipped cohort, Mark Gardener?
Aside from cutting his hair in a fashion far inferior to the long-haired Oxford babe look of 1991, Gardener has been working on a solo album. According to his website, These Beautiful Ghosts is set for release on October 11, 2005. A limited edition advanced version of the album is available at Oxford Music. At the time of this post, there are 42 copies left. (Interesting, last week I checked the site and only five were left.)
In other news, Gardener wrote and sang a few songs for inclusion on the upcoming album from Rinocerose, entitled Schizophonic and set for a release from V2 on October 3, 2005 . (Note: That date is for a UK release. I'll post a US release date if I find it.)
Gardener is opening for post-shoegazers-turned-blues-rockers, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club on the current U.S. tour, which hits the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles on October 8, 2005.

While we're on the subject of Ride, read this article from the BBC.

The Sharp Ease will be playing the Smell on Wednesday 9/21 for a
Hurricane Katrina Relief Benefit
The Sharp Ease
Privy Seals vs. Toxic Loincloth
Plague of Dandelions
Minus RadioTerrors (members of Everlovely Lightningheart)
This show is also a CD release party for Minus Radio.
http://www.thesmell.org/
247 S. Main St./ Downtown LA/ in alley$5 All Ages

Geaux check 'em out! and support the cause.

I saw the Sharp Ease about 2 years ago, and they're one of the most rockin' girl bands ever. The drummer is tight and the lead singer has crazy ecstatic energy.

Last night, PDP-contributor-who-never-posts (yeah, I'm calling you guys out on it now), Juan S. threw one of his house parties. Over the past year or so, Juan's house parties have turned into a showcase spot of sorts for the South Bay bands. (For the record, I was supposed to post the directions on Friday, but forgot. Sorry.)
Anyhow, I was so tired after a week of twelve-hour workdays and nights spent trying to catch up on reading assignments and One Life to Live episodes that, after one drink, I started to doze off behind Kid C/Carlos' turntables. It was a weird sort of half-sleep where my eyes were glued shut, but my head was bobbing back and forth to a twenty-minute Can track. I mention this only as a preface to my admission that I have no notes on the bands last night and, therefore, cannot give you a thorough run down of the show. However, I am posting links to the band pages and humbly suggest that you check out some new music: whether it's straight-outta-1992 indie rock like Maxwell Demon, screamo a long the lines of Rock Goggle Fantasy or funky jam pop a la Vaudeville.