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SCR BLOG:
Rockin' yo shit.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
The official Space City Rock Blog, featuring news on local Houston musical happenings and occurances, random venting about various things, and fervent ravings on the wonders of music, art, film, and anything else.
E-mail news, info, death threats, etc., to "gaijin" at "spacecityrock dot com"
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Gotta Sell Some Records... [5/30/2007 12:55:00 AM]:
Been attempting to clear out the office and am having to part with a stack of 80 or so 7-inches (plus a few LPs), so I figured I'd post 'em here & see if anybody wanted 'em. I'm asking $30 or OBO for the whole lot.
The first bunch are newer and in better shape; the second bunch I got for cheap at a junk shop on Bolivar, so they're pretty ragged (still playable, though). The list's below -- email me at gaijin at spacecityrock dot com if you're interested...
Agent Orange - "V.M.Live presents Agent Orange 4/26/96, Fireside Bowl - Chicago, IL" (V.M.L.)
Labels: Admin Stuff, Musical Crap gaijin || Link || E-mail || 5 comments
The Rundown (5/29-6/7) [5/29/2007 05:20:00 PM]:
Back again is the incredible... I'm about to have to finish stuff up here and move on to the casa, so this may get cut a bit short. There's a ton of cool shows coming up, though, so here goes:
Tues., May 29:
Broken Teeth/Whorehound/Brian's Johnson @ Rudyard's
The Places/Graustark/Maidenstorm/Ralph White @ Super Happy Fun Land
The Scattered Pages @ Brasil
Hatebreed/God Forbid/Evergreen Terrace/Terror/The Acacia Strain/After the Burial @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
Bring Back The Guns/Target Market/Something Fierce @ The Proletariat (happy hour show)
Keith Rowe/Loren Connors @ The Rothko Chapel
The Flamin' Hellcats @ The Cellar
theAUDITION/New Atlantic/The Graduate @ Java Jazz Coffeehouse (Spring)
Sage Francis/Buck 65/Alias/Buddy Wakefield @ Warehouse Live Labels: Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 2 comments
Ah, Dammit. This Makes Me Even More Depressed Than I Already Was... [5/29/2007 04:20:00 PM]:
I guess it had to happen eventually, but it still breaks my heart -- in the wake of the quasi-empowered Democrats' roll-over-play-dead strategy when it comes to dealing with the White House, peace mom Cindy Sheehan's decided to pack it in. Fuck. Granted, she wasn't the only person out there trying to stop this stupid, stupid, horrific war, but she'd definitely become one of the leading lights. She didn't take crap from anybody, the President included, and that puts her a few miles above most Congresspeople, in my book. Sad to see you go, Ms. Sheehan...Labels: Political Stuff, Random Rambling gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
A New Featured Band + New Reviews, Just for You... [5/26/2007 11:07:00 PM]:
Yep, new stuff up on the site, just in time for the end of May. Ch-ch-check it out...
New Featured Band: The Scattered PAGES Reviews: Arthur Yoria; Land Of Talk; The Little Heroes; The Horrors; Sedalia; Sine Qua Non; Mick Sterling; & Tammany Hall Machine. More to come. (No, really.) Labels: Featured Bands, Reviews gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Last-Minute: The Western Civ Tonight @ Jet Lounge [5/25/2007 04:20:00 PM]:
Damn, gotta make this quick... I only found out about it late yesterday, but one of my favorite damn local bands of all time (since fairly recently, admittedly), The Western Civilization, is playing tonight The Jet Lounge (1515 Pease; I'd thought it was at that new place, Boondocks, but apparently not...). Never been there myself, but it looks like it'll be a good show -- in addition to the Western Civ kids, the headliners'll be L.A.X., who I don't know, and then Rory and the Artificial Heart, who are ex-Slow Learner and supposed to be very, very cool...Labels: Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Holy Shit! Pt. 2: Pain Teens [5/24/2007 05:06:00 PM]:
Yeah, you read that right. According to unnamed-yet-credible sources (okay, it was Kurt of SoundEx, over on the Hands Up! board), this coming October 12th and 13th will see a once-in-a-lifetime Axiom "reunion weekend", dragging back together bands from those heady days of Helltown industrial noise-rock. Apparently the former Axiom proprietor, J.R. Delgado, is bringing a bunch of folks back out of obscurity/retirement, including the much-loved Pain Teens. Folks, the PTs were one of the first bands I ever heard of here in Houston, back when I was a wee country-bumpkin freshman just in to the big city, and they were, uh, eye-opening, to say the least. Folks who know me will know that I'm not generally big on the noisier end of the musical spectrum, it's true, but I've got miles and miles of respect for Bliss Blood, Scott Ayers, & crew -- they did exactly what they wanted to do, radio play and mass acceptance be damned, and it was awesome to see.
Oh, and while the Pain Teens are only confirmed act as yet (per Kurt), rumor has it that other acts will include Cave Reverend and Sugar Shack (who blow all that "garage-rock" junk you find swirling around out there out of the water; "Go! Space City" is still one of the best "Houston songs" ever). Mark yr calendars... Labels: H-Town News, Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Holy Shit! Pt. 1: Guilloteens [5/24/2007 04:25:00 PM]:
Damn, damn, damn. Y'know, I just knew it was too good to last; when Brian McManus moved off to Philly, I'd pretty much figured that, hey, that would be that for H-town's own Fatal Flying Guilloteens, aka "The Joke Band That Not Only Wouldn't Die, But Kept Getting Stronger as the Days Went By." They'd had their fair share of lineup changes, sure, but really, McManus always seemed like he was the, well, guts of the band, so to speak. Roy and Mike and John would hammer away in damn-near-perfect time, which was (and is) awesome, but it was Brian's skronking, squealing, halfway-to-crazy guitars that threw off a lot of the band's sparks. Plus, for being a relatively nice guy, he always kinda felt unpredictable, like dealing with my wife's shitty little dachshund -- he's a cute little guy, sure, but he's also blind and batshit crazy, so when you reach down to pet him your odds of getting a friendly lick or a gaping flesh would in your hand are about even. So yes, Brian's like my dog. Kind of.
Anyway, getting back on track... I was fairly relieved to hear that Mr. Filthy McNasty himself would be staying in the band, despite being Pennsylvania-bound. And the last time I caught the band, they were in fine, fine form, definitely. But alas, it was not to be -- according to the Press, after tonight's show with Matt and Kim and O Pioneers!!! up at The Mink, His McNastiness will be gone for good, a Guilloteen in memory only. And he swears that this time it's the real deal. Crap, crap, crap. If any of the FFG crew reads this, I'd like to beg and plead with you a moment to please keep it together; don't let this kill the band, alright? McManus certainly can't be replaced, but please-please-please try to keep on truckin', okay? While we'll miss Brian, some of us folks out here are desperately looking forward to Quantum Fucking (the band's upcoming release on Frenchkiss Recs), even still... As for Brian, he'll always remain in our hearts, not least of which for attacking yours truly with a guitar waaaaay back when at The Oven. Ah, what fun. Labels: H-Town News, Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
This Weekend @ Rudz: Arthur Yoria + The Riverboat Gamblers [5/19/2007 12:19:00 AM]:
Just wanted to mention what all's going on this weekend at Rudz, 'cause it sounds pretty damn tempting. Apparently Camel's sponsoring two nights' worth of shows up in the Montrose -- kind of a switch from their past Meridian deals -- both featuring some great bands, some local and some not.
First up, tonight (Sat., May 19th, to be precise) is local pop-rocker and SCR friend Arthur Yoria's release party for his new CD, Handshake Smiles -- I've heard bits & pieces so far, and it's good, really good, and somewhat of a departure from his more "suave"-sounding stuff in the past. What I've heard sounds much rawer and more "rock," which is a very cool thing. Also playing are the ever-excellent, '70s pop-tinged Spain Colored Orange and good local guys Southern Backtones, as well as Concrete Rose Cabaret (who are, I'm told, a cabaret act) and a band I've never heard of called Quiet Company. This one's gonna be good; I'm planning on being there, assuming the smoke doesn't drive me away. Then, on Sunday, May 20th, Rudz has "Camel Night #2" with The Riverboat Gamblers, who're cool in a rock-but-not-punk kinda way, plus several local folks: the darn good Kimonos, freakin' incredible punk rockers Something Fierce, and hard-edged Social D-esque punks Hell City Kings. Even if the Gamblers aren't your thing, go check out the hometown bands; it'll be well worth it, honest. Now, the down side to these shows is that, well, they're sponsored by Camel. Which means that Rudz upstairs could be even more smoky than it normally is (see here for one possible scenario). And you can't just buy tickets, but instead have to wheedle them either out of a Camel rep roaming the bars somewhere or out of one of the people who're actually playing the show. If you can deal w/that and the inevitable smoke, though, it's going to be a cool couple of days at Rudyard's... Labels: Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Lucero Tonight! @ Last Concert Cafe (Maybe?) [5/18/2007 03:24:00 PM]:
Holy crap -- can't believe I didn't hear about this sooner, but ah, well, that's how it goes... One of the coolest, rawest, beer-drinkin-est country-rock bands currently out there today, Lucero, will reportedly be playing tonight (Fri., May 18) over at the Last Concert Cafe on the bleak northern edge of Downtown. Houston Calling/Envy scribe/editor David Cobb got me interested in these Memphis-dwelling folks, and having heard quite a bit of their music, I'm always blown away. "I Can Get Us Out of Here Tonight," in particular, is badass, as are "The War" and "Nobody's Darlings". Think Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, that sorta thing. Check out the tracks they've got up online, either on their main Website (above) or their MySpace page.
Big, big, big caveat: okay, so the Last Concert calendar lists these guys as playing, but neither of their Websites have any shows listed 'til 5/20, when they're apparently in Orlando. Hrm. If they're there, I'd highly recommend going, but you'd be safest calling ahead to the LCC to check... Labels: Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Nerdsaling & Junksaling [5/18/2007 03:11:00 PM]:
Yep, for those of you who just can't get enough crap with which to fill your empty, empty lives (kidding! kidding, I swear; we love you, man...), it's looking like garage sale time. First -- and somewhat more impressively -- there's the 2nd Annual Nerd Flea Market & Swap Meet, taking place Saturday, May 19th (i.e., tomorrow) at 7AM on the dot up at Domy Books on Westheimer. I dig it just because the characters in the poster for the festivities are arguing Battlestar Galactica vs. Stargate (ANSWER: depends which Stargate you mean; the movie blows, but the humor and characterization in both Stargate: SG-1 and Atlantis is great...kids, you're both right), but it sounds like a good time. How can you hate on a bunch of geeks getting together to geek out over sci-fi figurines? Plus, the Austin Sketch Squad will be on hand to meet-and-greet and sell art. Ogle the gobs and gobs of toys, comics, art crap, collectibles, and whatever else it is nerds like, and heck, maybe buy some of it.
On the more low-key end of things, you can meander on up to the Last Concert Cafe on Sunday, May 20th and check out the stuff Kid Red lays out to sell -- he's apparently paring down his belongings to the minimum so he can move to Barcelona and play for change on street corners. He says there'll be computer cables, a TV, some clothes, an iron, music gear, and a bunch of other random crap. Oh, and folks will be playing music nearby. I dunno if it costs anything to get in, but it'll start around 1:30PM. Labels: Arty Shit, Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
This Is My Day... [5/17/2007 09:48:00 PM]:
Went to work, spent most of the morning working on a handful of teeny-tiny little problems; watched out my 17th-floor window as the power substation at 59 & Buffalo Speedway blew sky-high; frantically ate dinner and played with my little girl a while; then watched out the window as a gigantic funeral full of gang kids roared into the funeral home behind us, with the cops hiding surreptitiously on another street because, uh, the funeral's for a kid they shot in the back this past Saturday. Now, I get why people are pissed -- thief or not, shooting him in the back was pretty damn bad -- but why the fuck do they have to take it out on the people who live in my neighborhood, who've got nothing to do with it? My wife's now looking for property in Stafford, dammit.Labels: Random Rambling gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Crass, I Know... [5/16/2007 01:18:00 AM]:
...but an evil, petty little part of me desperately wants to sing "ding-dong, the Witch is dead -- which old witch? The Wicked Witch!" as I dance gaily around the house. Like I said, crass, but what the hell -- the man did a lot of evil, awful things in his time on the planet.
And of course, when I step back and realize that the next several weeks of media coverage will pretty much posthumously elevate him to sainthood, a la Reagan, my cheery mood evaporates. There's something very dangerous about the American mentality of "they're dead, so you've got to say only nice things about them!", if you ask me... Labels: Political Stuff, Random Rambling gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
The Rundown (5/15-5/27) [5/15/2007 11:12:00 PM]:
Yep, missed a few days there, sadly -- with Mother's Day and all this weekend, it couldn't be helped. Only so much you can do with the Parental Units are in town. Anyway, there's plenty going on the next week or three; here goes:
Wed., May 16:
Cali Agents/Mic Skills/DJ Remix @ The Mink
Brian Vander Ark @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Gaelic Storm/The Blaggards @ Fitzgerald's You Ain't Plugged In, featuring Morgue City, Donkey Punch, & Jalambo Chispa @ The Meridian This one wins for Neatest Idea of Late -- get a handful of really damn loud, sorta metal bands and make 'em play acoustic & show their softer side. Sure, Nirvana blew the idea all to hell a long time ago, but what the heck, it could still be fun.
Ms. Rosa's B-Day Bash, featuring PLF, Dead Roses, The Sporatics, & The Dimes @ The Southmore House (9PM; $5)
Honky Tonk and Hot Rod Music Festival, featuring Jesse Dayton, Hayes Carll, The Weary Boys, Texas Sapphires, & more @ The Continental Club
Tody Castillo @ The Continental Club
Clandestine @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Tower of Power/Three Fantastic @ The Meridian
Program/The Fucking Transmissions/The Last Gasp @ Notsuoh
Free Radicals @ The Artery
Down for the Count/Before...There Was Rosalyn/As the Cancer Spreads/The Letting Go Process/Tomorrow's Too Late/The Last Place You Look/The Second String Rivals/The Lion of Wall-Street/Margot/The Western Civilization/Shattered Souls/Heroes Are Ghosts/Lunara/Tamerlane/Heptic Skeptic/Hollywood Black/Thorn vs. Side/While You Were Gone/The Hanks/The City Drive/The A Game/Barely Blind/Great American Actors/The American Masquerade @ Strawberry Park (Pasadena)
Labels: Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Last-Minute Pit er Pat Review/Show [5/15/2007 05:11:00 PM]:
Got another new review up today (courtesy of Austin correspondent Justin Crane -- hey, Justin); this one's for the new-ish Pit er Pat album, Pyramids. It's intriguing stuff, in a Chicago post-rock kind of way (which, yes, makes sense, seeing as they're on Thrill Jockey). If you're into that sort of thing, you can check 'em out tonight, Tues., May 15th, at DiverseWorks, along with Priestbird (née Tarantula A.D.) and locals Balaclavas, who I've heard are pretty good/entertaining. The show starts at 8PM, it's all ages, and the cover's $8. I'd thought the Pegstar folks were doing the show, but I can't find it on their site, so I've got no clue on that part... (Chris Ryan's got a good writeup on 'em over on the Hands Up board, btw.)Labels: Reviews, Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Technical Difficulties [5/14/2007 03:49:00 PM]:
Actually, that title's not quite right -- it should really read, "Dumbass Forgot to Update the Latest Version Before Uploading." Argh. The astute will note that the reviews for Alex Delivery, Kris Racer, etc., are now mysteriously missing from the site; that's because I overwrote 'em like an idiot. Look for them to be fixed as of this evening; sorry for the stupidity...Labels: Admin Stuff gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
New Featured Bands + New Reviews + Shows This Weekend! [5/12/2007 01:16:00 PM]:
Gonna make this quick -- off to watch big Scotsmen/wannabe Scotsmen throw hammers & such and eat hard-boiled eggs that've been rolled in sausage and deep fried. Just so you know, though, today's update includes two bands playing this weekend: Alex Delivery does a psychedelic freakout thing tonight at The Proletariat (with Frog Eyes), and pop-punker-gone-acoustic Kris Racer will be up at Notsuoh tomorrow night rockin' on the Elliott Smith tip. Both will be real good, we swear...
New Featured Bands: Something Fierce; Co-Pilot Reviews: Alex Delivery; Kris Racer; Hello Stranger; Alice Despard; Omar and the Howlers; & Sur la mer. More very, very soon... Labels: Featured Bands, Reviews, Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Och, Laddie -- More Festivals, Ye Say? Nae, How Can It Be? [5/12/2007 01:37:00 AM]:
It's late, I reek of smoke, and my ears are ringing like somebody switched the TV to static and then cranked it all the way up, but what the fuck, I've gotta mention a couple of upcoming things in the realm of musical festivalness. It's gonna take me a while to come down from tonight's The Western Civilization/Explorers/The Church of Philadelphia show, so y'know.
(Oh, and in order: freakin' great, and more "rock" than expected, despite monitor problems / decent, but I sure wish they'd left out the Postal Service cover, 'cause their originals worked better / and holy fucking crap, what the hell was that? I think I just got saved, brothers'n sisters...) First off, tomorrow (er, today) and Sunday, May 12th and 13th, is the sadly-underpromoted (as far as I can tell, anyway) Houston Highland Games & Celtic Festival, over at the Houston Farm & Ranch Club next to Bear Creek Park -- pretty much at I-10 West and Hwy 6, if the map's anywhere near accurate. The festival runs from daybreak 'til dark (7AM-8PM), and involves nonstop Scottish/Celtic-y things each day, from good Celtic music (locals Jiggernaut are playing, for one, and they're pretty good, as I recall) to drumming and dance competitions to shortbread-baking contests to sheepdogs demonstrating how they herd sheep to genealogy workshops(!) to, yes, burly men in kilts throwing telephone pole-sized logs throught the air. My folks are in town from S.A. and are dragging me, the wife, and the midget, and I think it'll be a good time. $12 for adults, less for kids. The bands playing (just for completeness' sake) include the aforementioned Jiggernaut, Celtaire String Band, David Sparks, Kelly Stewart, Searson, Sia Beaton, Rover's Return, NeedFire, Hugh Morrison & Friends, Dave Hutton & the Celtic Chorus of Houston (there is such a thing?), Ed Miller, Comhlan Oganta, Cliff Wigington, Cor Gaeilge, and probably several others I'm missing. Check the schedule for details. A little further off in the distance (although not much) is the bound-to-be-badass Feel Good Hits of the Summer Fest, put together by Gilbert of Spain Colored Orange and promoted by Ryan over at The Skyline Network, a.k.a. "The Website We Wish We Were Current/Plugged in to Local Gossip Enough to Be." It'll be Saturday, June 9th down at the good ol' Proletariat, and it'll feature a ridiculous number of good, good, good local bands, including Spain Colored Orange, Paris Falls, The Kimonos, Tody Castillo, The Western Civilization (woo!), The Watermarks, Arthur Yoria, Bright Men of Learning, Dizzy Pilot, & Program, plus prob'ly a bunch more. It's gonna be cool, honest... Labels: H-Town News, Pseudo-Reviews, Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Get Spaced Out, Tonight: Caspian/Loren Dent/Antarctica Starts Here [5/10/2007 04:28:00 PM]:
This is gonna be a good one, trust me -- tonight at The Proletariat promises to be an (early) evening of bliss-the-fuck-out spacerock/ambient wonder. Headliners Caspian are damn good, at least going by the songs on their MySpace page; they're all majestic, distant guitars, thundering drums, and thick layers of fuzz, like a dirtier, less "Texan" Explosions in the Sky. Middle "band" (I think it's just one guy) Loren Dent takes a step further down the instro-rock scale towards out-and-out ambience, foregoing the guitar theatrics for washes of noise, delicate pianos, and ethereal melodies, and his disc, Empires and Milk, comes off like a slightly less cinematic Ulrich Schnauss. Opening the whole thing, though, is the best band of the evening, H-town's own Antarctica Starts Here, who combine some beautiful shoegazery guitars and head-nodding rhythms with vocalist Jenna's gorgeous voice.
The whole shebang starts early-early-early, at 6PM, which I know doesn't give you much time, but seriously, make the effort to get there early for ASH; it'll be well worth it. Find a chair, lean back, and drift off on the waves of MBV-esque guitar and sweet melodies... Labels: Pseudo-Reviews, Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
A Couple of Cool Things to Watch [5/10/2007 04:13:00 PM]:
Just a little time-wastage for the workday...
Of course, there's always the now-infamous Will Ferrell "landlord" video, just in case somebody, somewhere out in the world hasn't seen it yet. Enjoy... Labels: Cool Web Junk, Things To See gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
The Rundown (5/4-5/11) [5/04/2007 05:10:00 PM]:
Dang. Gonna have to make this one (relatively) brief, 'cause I'm just about outta here for the day -- still recovering from this godawful sinus thing that's been kicking my ass all week, so I'm a homebody for the evening, sadly. I'm planning to kick back with the wife and watch either The Prestige or The Believer, whichever wins the coin toss.
But hell, just 'cause I'm couch-bound doesn't mean you should be. There's an assload of good stuff going on tonight & the rest of the next week or so...
Fri., May 4:
E Muzeki @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Mono/World End Girlfriend/Grails/Ceeplus Bad Knives/Dunnock @ The Mink
The Wiggins/Hearts of Animals/Wols/Panda 84/The Pixel Panda @ The White Swan
The Clorox Girls/Something Fierce/O Pioneers!!!/The Monocles @ The Proletariat (6PM)
The Defenestration Unit @ Brasil
The Flamin' Hellcats/Amplified Heat @ The White Swan
Matinee Local Band Showcase, featuring Curbside Project, Darwin's Finches, Somnambulists, Devin Dildine, & more @ Super Happy Fun Land
Awesome Color/Satin Hooks/Graustark @ Rudyard's
Gwen Stefani/Akon/Lady Sovereign @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Mute Math/Somebody Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin/The Cinematics @ The Meridian
Arthur Yoria @ The Corkscrew
Wed., May 9:
Thurs., May 10:
The Gougers @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
The Mockingbyrds @ The Continental Club
Pontiak/The Neptones/EE:Environmental Encroachment @ Super Happy Fun Land
Labels: H-Town News, Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Nominatin' Time [5/03/2007 03:49:00 PM]:
Man, it's getting so that this is my favorite part of the year, H-town music-wise -- the Houston Press Music Awards are coming up. The festival itself is still a little ways off (here's me crossing my fingers that it's actually on while I'm in town and not gallivanting around Michigan or Sweden in the next few months), but it's already time to start nominating people you like to get the coveted brass guitar pick (or whatever the hell the award actually is; I've never seen one). Go here to do some nominatin', and then chill for a while 'til the actual voting starts.
The funny part about this year's Awards, by the way, is that I've literally got no clue who'll win what. As testified to recently, there're a ton of amazingly good bands currently plying their trade in this town, so who's gonna walk home with the prize is anybody's guess. Will it be Jana Hunter? (Quite possibly.) Arthur Yoria? (Heck, yeah.) The Western Civilization? (Damn, I hope so.) Guess we'll just have to wait & see... Labels: H-Town News, Musical Crap, Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Video Game Warfare, Dissected [5/03/2007 02:06:00 PM]:
As somebody who's played more than his fair share of video games (albeit not lately) and a nerdly number of strategy-based board games involving warfare of various kinds (ah, Conquest of the Empire; good times, good times...), I find the intersection of real-life war and gaming pretty fascinating. A bit morbid, sure, and I don't actually like war, but I dunno, there's something about putting yourself in the role that's addictive. I'm guessing this is mostly A Guy Thing, by the way, although I could be wrong.
Beyond that, I'm fascinated by war in general throughout history -- I'm reading Warriors of God right now, which is a very illuminating parallel look at Third Crusade leaders Richard the Lionhearted and Saladin (never realized Richard was gay 'til now...), and it goes into quite a bit of detail as to their strategic wins and mishaps, as well as the political situation of the region. Of course, whenever I throw out some random tidbit of useless information from this book or a similar one I'm reading that I happen to find incredibly interesting (did you know that Genghis Khan outlawed torture in his empire and instituted a system of protection for diplomats?), my wife just rolls her eyes and shudders. So, again, A Guy Thing. Given the above, it makes perfect sense that tonight's lecture up at Domy Books, "War and Video Games", sounds pretty damn enticing to me. The good folks at Domy -- being the video game geeks they are -- are bringing author Ed Halter in to talk about his book From Sun Tzu to Xbox: War and Video Games, which supposedly covers the whole spectrum of war-related games, from Army propaganda-ware to Muslim(!) videogames. Anyway, the lecture's tonight, Thurs., May 3rd @ 8:30PM up at Domy (1709 Westheimer), and it is free, free, free. Should be interesting... Labels: Things To Do, Things To Read gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
Interview Insanity with The Western Civilization + The OhSees Live + New Reviews [5/03/2007 02:04:00 AM]:
Yeah, I'm pretty happy with this one -- I interviewed The Western Civilization, one of my current super-duper-duper favorite bands of the crew who dwell in and around this fair city, a short while back, and we've finally got it online. It's a hell of a lot harder than you'd think to transcribe a rambling, free-form conversation with seven other people, seriously...
Anyway, I think it worked nicely, and if you haven't heard the band yet, you really need to A). check out the songs up on MySpace, B). snag a copy of Letters of Resignation, and/or C). make plans to go see 'em play on May 11th @ Walter's with Explorers and The Church of Philadelphia. I'm gonna be there if I can, honest. Speaking of shows, we've got some new reviews up, too, including one of the newest from The OhSees (Coachwhips/Pink & Brown side deal). It made my two-day headache a hell of a lot worse, but it was still pretty intriguing at points, and the band sounded like they'd be something else live. They're playing tonight, May 3rd @ Super Happy Fun Land (not sure who with, sorry), so go see for yourself. And hey, check out the other reviews while you're at it... Interview: The Western Civilization. Reviews: 1997; The Brokedowns; H-town's own Program; Nicole Atkins; The Barbarellatones; Ted Leo and the Pharmacists; Low; & Thee OhSees. Labels: Interviews, Pseudo-Reviews, Reviews, Things To Do gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments
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