BURYING THE CITY OF YOUR BIRTH

Cleveland for the holidays:

- Too many strip malls/box stores inspire weird suffocation feelings.
- Going to shows at the Beachland Tavern and the Grog Shop.
- Seeing comic artist John G in town and getting a bunch of his new books.
- A lot more vacant houses than I remember.
- So much food.



MP3:

I can't believe I didn't know about this song to post for the election! It:
A) is by quality Cleveland band This Moment In Black History.
B) has a refrain that is just "Obama! Barack Obama!" repeated over and over.
C) is seriously good.

Get the other track off their new 7" (a great Gaunt cover) here.

• This Moment In Black History - Obama The Pres Is You

A band's place in myspace.

RED EYES AND RED SUITS

Merry Christmas, and all that.



MP3:

• Frightened Rabbit - It's Xmas So We'll Stop

A band's place in myspace.

LIVE, LOVE, LOSE, LEARN

(photos from some shows I saw recently: Css, Cerebral Ballzy and Ninjasonik at the New Museum, Dark Dark Dark at the Cake Shop and Union Pool)

Returning to Ohio for the holidays. It was blistering cold, with the wind cutting you so bad it hurt to keep your eyes open. Your breath came out so thick it was like a opaque fog for a minute. Smatterings of snow blew across ice-pocked terrain along the highway. We passed a Target with it's white parking lot lights blazing, not a single car or sign of life visible. Welcome home.



MP3:

• First Aid Kit - Blue Christmas

A band's place in myspace.

HANDCUFFS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

(photos from Santacon 2008 in NYC)

Santacon 2008 was bigger, drunker, and more frat-feeling than past years (if that's possible). This Santa/photographer had a rather unpleasant experience when his visit to Grand Central ended in handcuffs and a holding cell. Guess some NYPD don't like to have their photo taken while corralling Santas.

There are a ton of good shows happening this week, three of which I will highly recommend:

:::

Dark Dark Dark return to NYC

Tuesday, Dec. 16th at the Cake Shop in Manhattan with The Antlers and Kate Ferencz
$6

Friday, Dec. 19th at Union Pool in Brooklyn with Callers and The Loom
$?

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The New Museum is proud to present a hyperactive and sweaty party for December's Get Weird, featuring Ninjasonik and Cerebral Ballzy.

Ninjasonik's relentless beats and unstoppable swagger bring together the propulsive chant of Baltimore Club with the anything-for-a-beat scavenging of their friends Spank Rock and Diplo. Caught between the gritty charisma of Ol' Dirty Bastard and the sharp-edged provocation of GG Allin, the group rhymes about party-lurking, resisting haters, and creeping on art school girls. The single "Tight Pants" is a raw-throated anthem that'll have even the meekest wallflower screaming out the hook.

Cerebral Ballzy are the newest and brightest crew in the rough-knuckled lineage of New York Hardcore. Built upon the unshakable pillars of skateboarding and one-dollar Coors, their "concrete jungle punk" draws on the speed-obsessed brutality of Suicidal Tendencies and Bad Brains, creating an inescapably energetic event with every live show.

Thursday, December 18th
SHOW STARTS AT 7:30
tickets are $10 for general admission $8 for members

New Museum
235 Bowery
New York, NY 10002
212.219.1222

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MP3:

This Xmas song is a new this year, and pretty solid. Keep 'em comin' guys.

Also, I just finished my annual Xmas Mix. This year marks the fifth in a row. I'm surprised I can still find 24 holiday songs that don't suck, but thanks to tunes like the one below, it keeps happening. Follow the link to download the zip file, it even comes with custom cover art.

• The Hives & Cyndi Lauper - A Christmas Duel

• XMAS MIX '08 by Sucka Pants

A band's place in myspace.

THE FACE THAT LAUNCHED 1000 DOUBLE-TAKES

(photos from Art Basel in Miami: Zebra girls performing, Matt & Kim at Kill Your Idols, Go-go installation art, Caustic Christ and Annihilation Time at Kill Your Idols, full gallery here)

The first day I am back in Brooklyn I get stopped by cops while walking with a granny cart full of packages to the post office annex. After asking me the usual questions ("What's up?" "Whatcha got there?" "Where you headed?" "You live around here?") they let me go. I can't help but feel that if my answers has been in less-than-native-English I might have found myself a lot more heavily, um, scrutinized.

My friend Nick of Article Clothing just put out the first issue of his mix tape/magazine endeavor, aptly titled Article. It is limited to an edition of 1000 and comes in a double cassette tape case (remember those?). I have a photo + essay (check the cover) about one of my favorite parts of Australia in the issue. For more details see below.

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Article Magazine Issue #1 is here.

Issue 1 of Article Magazine comes in a double cassette case with work by Tod Seelie, Maxim Ryazansky, Shelly Mintz, Nicholas Chatfield-Taylor, Ed Zipco and Konstantin Sergeyev, Eric Wrenn, BJ Warshaw, Bill Hayden, Greg Hathaway, Darryl Nau, Cody Smith, Matthew Jensen, Moses Sandrof and Megan Plunkett.

Words by Jacob Septimus, Nicole Demby, Brigitte Grice, Griffin Creech and Ian O'Neil.

The music is curated by Joe Ahearn, Alex Heir, A.P. Smith, & Noah Venezia.

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MP3:

• Ramonas - Santa’s Got A GTO

A band's place in myspace.