Black Flag

I think most music fans of a certain age at least know of Black Flag and their place in the American punk/dyi scene. Acording to my itunes i've listened to "Rise Above" five times and "T.V. Party" twice since i switched to my new computer in mid January so to me they are still plenty relevant. They were a great musical force but you know that, I want to look at pictures.

The band and Henry Rollins in particular photographed really well. I suppose it was simply a mesh of the intensity of the performances and the iffy lighting of the punk clubs but whatever it is it looks great.

I know all of these are from the Rollins Black Flag years and extend into his solo career but my brain can't really diffrentiate the two.

Yea, the back tattoo, who didn't want that on them at some point?

He stays in shape.

Ahh the long haired period.

It made this look even more shocking. Gotta love the classic Vans.

How many sit ups do you think that took?

Short shorts are so punk rock.

The beard just doesn't seem right, but the squinty eye is perfect.

Iconic shot.

Henry is feelin it.

Black and white is really the way to go with these guys.

You've gotta appreciate the fact that he's still singing. I really hope he slapped that bald kid on the top of the head.

Another batch of films

51. Bourne Identity (2002) “Matt Damon is Jason Bourne” Nice tagline guys. This is one of my favorite movies and part of it takes place in Paris.
52. Garden State (2004) Balls, this is a good movie. The tone of it is so right on.
53. The Thing (1982) “Man is The Warmest Place to Hide.” John Carpenter knows how to do horror.
54. There’s Something About Mary (1998) “Everyone’s talking about Mary” I can’t believe this movie is that old; it is still hilarious.
55. The Man With the Screaming Brain (2005) “He’s losing their minds” Bruce Campbell rocks, this was a funny but obviously low budget film.

56. Rock N Rolla (2008) “ A story of sex, thugs and rock n roll” The best Guy Richie film in a long time, the tag line really sums it up.
57. Fan Boys (2008) “Never tell them the odds” This was a fairly ridiculous comedy but that’s how I like them. The whole nerd thing is a subject close to my heart.
58. Style Wars (1983) Probably the most famous movie about graffiti ever made. It’s really cool and the shots of NYC in the 70’s and 80’s is pretty bizarre.
59. Push (2009) “One push can change everything” Not a bad sci fi action film.

60. Pitch Black (2000) “Fight evil with evil” Say what you will about him but Vin Diesel does this type of film pretty well. I liked this but like I’ve said I’m a softy for sci fi and action mixed together.
61. Last of the Living (2008) “ Those damned dead just won’t die” Pretty standard low budget zombie film.
62. The Devil’s Tomb (2009) “An evil entombed for 200 years…until now” Cuba Gooding Jr. has an oscar right? What’s he doing in a clunker like this?
63. Platoon (1986) “The first casualty of war is innocence” Classic, such a great movie. I’ve seen this several times and it’s still powerful.
64. Mask of the Ninja (2008) “Masked by vengeance” It’s good to see ninja films making a comeback, that having been said this was not the greatest thing ever made.

65. Step Brothers (2008) “They grow up fast” I watched this more than any other movie last year. That doesn’t count the times I would just watch 20 minutes or so as a little pick me up. In all honesty I probably watched it 20 times and half the things I type on facebook come from this film. “It’s the fucking Catalina wine mixer!”
66. Zack and Miri make a Porno (2008) “What would you do to get out of debt?” I know this was a box office disappointment for director Kevin Smith but I loved it.
67. Grandma’s Boy (2006) “Sex, drugs, nakedness rude language… and proud of it.” Sweet baby Jesus this is a funny film, all those guys from the Adam Sandler films that you don’t know the names of are in this. I would highly recommend this even if it weren’t hilarious just so you could see a monkey driving a jeep.
68. Terminator Salvation (2009) “The end begins” I really liked this, I think Bales did a good job as John Connor and the dude playing the terminator nailed it.

69. This is England (2006) “Run with the crowd, stand alone, you decide” Crazy film, but really why would a bunch of skinheads take in a little kid like that?
70. Spring breakdown (2009) “Payback’s a beach” This had some funny moments but was overall pretty predictable.

Another bunch of movies

31. Frost/Nixon(2008) “400 million people were waiting for the truth” I thought this was going to be really lame but it wasn’t.
32. Punisher War Zone (2008) “Vengeance has a name” I will watch any movie based on a comic book.

33. Fast Friday (2009) This is so good I could barely watch it all before going for a ride.
34. Yes Man (2008) “One word can change everything”
35. Sliding Doors (1998) “There are two side to every story. Helen is about to live both of them… at the same time. Romance was never this much fun.”
36. Dreadheads I will never grow dreadlocks, I was on the fence before but now, no way.
37. Friday (1995) “a lot can happen between Thursday and Sunday” Smokey!
38. Minority Report (2005) “What would you do if you were accused of a murder, you hadn’t committed…yet”
39. Mash Another awesome bike movie.
40. Friday After Next (2002) “When last Friday was just another day.” They smoke a lot of weed in this movie.
41. Walk Hard (2007) “Life made him tough. Love made him strong. Music made him hard.” So funny, after Step Brothers I’ll watch Thomas C Reilly in anything.
42. Enemy of the State (1998) “It's not paranoia if they're really after you.” Man Lisa Bonet is hot. This is a great, kinda creepy, action movie and it’s got jack black in it, bonus!
43. Valkyrie (2008) “Many saw evil. They dared to stop it.” Ehh, not that good.

44. The Golden Compass (2007) "It is the Alethiometer. It tells the truth. As for how to read it, you'll have to learn by yourself." Bad ass polar bears, do I need to go on?
45. Green Street Hooligans II (2009) “Fight for Respect” Not as good as the original but still a pretty good film.
46. Let the Right One in (2008) “Eli is 12 years old. She's been 12 for over 200 years and, she just moved in next door” A very cool horror film, it’s in Russian or something so prepare to read.
47. Police Academy II (1985) “Watch out! They've got to clean up the worst crime district in the world. But that's no problem. They're the worst police force in the universe.” After all these years it still holds up.
48. I Heart Huckabees (2004) “An existential comedy.” Good stuff.

49. 30 Days of Night (2007) “They’re coming” I love this movie, the whole idea behind it is brilliant. The vampire’s are terrifying.
50. Van Helsing (2004) “The one name they all fear” I have a soft spot for decently done CGI monsters.

Vintage Levi's Reissue

Apparently there is a whole culture of folks that love vintage Levi's products. To cater to this group Levi's has a whole limited edition line based on pieces from their archives. Somehow I was completely unaware of this line. Caliroots has several pieces from the line on sale right now which is great because this stuff is not cheap. Above is the Donkey Wool coat, nice and simple styling and constructed with high quality materials.

These jeans are based on a pair from the 1870's. Check out how relaxed the fit is, nothing like the prevelant style today but soooo classic looking. The cinch back and one hip pocket look really cool. This model is part of the Oldest oldest pack and have been aged and stained.

This pair is based on the first 501's from the 1890's.

More Movie Watching

11. Just Buried (2007) Nice and morbidly funny.
12. Quantum of Solace (2008) I like a good action movie.
13. Lucky Number Slevin (2006) “Wrong time, wrong place, wrong number” Great movie, whatshisface is a good actor.

14. Dragon Wars (2007) “They’ve made our world their battleground” Just read the title.
15. Contract Killers (2008) “Trust is such a fragile thing” I don’t remember this movie, that’s not a good review is it?
16. Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) “Life isn’t measured in minutes but in moments” I sat through this whole thing and the baby doesn’t talk?!

17. Bullitt (1968) Steve McQueen, a mustang, a turtleneck, soooo cool. I’m not even going to get into the greatness of the car chase.
18. In the Electric Mist (2009) Good film, I feel like I should say atmosphere at some point because this has got it in spades.
19. Against the Dark (2009) “He lives by the sword, they will die by it” Steven Seagal in all of his cheese filled glory. I feel like I shouldn’t recommend this but it’s Steven Seagal.
20. The good, the bad, the weird (2008) Mostly the weird.

21. Defiance (2008) “Freedom begins with an act of defiance” This movie was amazing. I’ve since read that Daniel Craig’s leather jacket isn’t period correct.
22. Revolutionary Road (2008) Heavy.
23. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) “In Detroit a cop learns to take the heat. In LA he learns to keep his cool.” Classic Eddie Murphy i.e. when he was funny.
24. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) Did I mention that I like action movies? I also like vampires and werewolves. Trifecta!!
25. Halloween(2007) “Evil has a destiny” Pretty good for a remake, most of those old horror movies don’t hold up so this is probably a good thing.
26. Thick as Thieves (2009) “Never Trust a Thief” Not a bad film.
27. Milk(2008) “His life changed history, his courage changed lives” Pretty awesome.

28. V for Vendetta(2005) “Remember, remember the 5th of November, the gun powder treason and plot. I know of no reason why the gun powder treason should ever be forgot” This movie rocks and it’s good to know that Natalie Portman looks sexy with a shaved head.
29. Dead Set (2008) This is a great movie/miniseries, zombies and reality t.v. combined.
30. The Darjeeling Limited(2007) I wasn’t blown away but maybe my expectations were too high.

Movie watching

I like keeping pointless lists, because of this I know that i watched 119 movies in 2009. I should qualify that by saying that I watched 119 different movies this year, lord knows I watched Step Brothers and The hangover at least 10 times each. In the spirit of oversharing, which is what a blog is all about, here they are. I included the official tagline(if they had one) for each one and a sentence or two on my thoughts.
1. Twilight (2008) “When you can live forever what do you live for?” Meh, pretty much the same reaction I had to the book.
2. Lock Stock and 2 smoking barrels”(1998) “A disgrace to criminals everywhere” Guy Richie at his best.
3. Starship Troopers III: Marauders (2008) “You know what to do, get in there and kill ‘em all” Strictly unthinking action. The alien bugs are cool looking.
4. Eagle Eye (2008) “If you want to live you will obey” I was impressed.
5. Baby Mama (2008) “Would you put your eggs in this basket?” Pretty funny, nothing too memorable.

6. Pet Cemetery (1989) “ Sometimes dead is better”. Is this the best Stephen King novel -turned- movie? Damn that’s a creepy cat.
7. Without A Paddle: Nature’s Calling (2009) "Three guys, one chance, no plan” Not the funniest thing ever but boobs are always nice.
8. Idle Hands (1999) “ The touching story of a boy and his right hand” Sheer awesomeness.
9. Alien Raiders (2008) A well done low budget film.

10. Taken (2008) “They took his daughter, he’ll take their lives” I still can’t get over the fact that Paris shows up in lots of films and when it does I can usually tell where in the city the action is taking place. This movie was amazing but will put you off ever letting your daughter out of your sight. Liam Neeson is a bad ass.

Marcellus Wallace

Good lord that's funny. Taken from The Oatmeal, a hilariously excellent site.

French size

I just bought this amazingly comfortable organic cotton shirt by Nike and Parra, a sweet dutch artist who has had a couple of shows here in Paris since we've been here. Without question the shirt is all kinds of rad but it's the size that i want to comment on.

I brought two nike t-shirts with me from the states, they are both size large and fit perfectly. My new Parra shirt is a size XL(they were out of Large and it was on sale) and it fits tight. Often time a shirt will have a few different sizes listed US, UK and Euro, all different but the US size is always the largest. Do we do it to make ourselves(as Americans) feel better? I'm sure if I told a Parisian I wore a Large they would look at me like I was crazy since a Large is really a medium to us. I'm gonna have to be more careful with my shirt purchases.

Wolfmother Bataclan Show

Jeremy and I caught the almighty Wolfmother at our neighborhood music venue La Bataclan on monday night. I caught a Wolfmother show in Oklahoma about three years ago so I knew we were in for a full on rock show but I really had no idea.

Alright, you watched the above video, now imagine that times 100. The energy level at the Paris gig was off the charts. They kicked off the show with Dimension and ended the encore with Joker and the Thief and rocked the entire time in between. Andrew, the singer/guitarist, mentioned several times that this was the best show of the tour and twice said that they should play Paris every three months.

French crowds still surprise me, this show saw all the elements of a midwest rock show; lots of leather jackets, mosh pits and crowd surfers. I guess i'm all ways expecting the crowds here to be quiet and fairly reserved like the Montreal audiences.

Sigourney Weaver Flashback

This is how Sigourney Weaver looks in my head. I caught her on SNL last week(when did SNL get funny again?) and she did a great job but I was a little surprised that she didn't look just like this plus some clothes. It was cool to see her still looking great but she is still Ripley in my heart and mind.

Vic remembered

NPR has a great piece on Fresh Air with the interview they did with Vic Chesnutt just a few weeks before he took his life and a second part with three of his closest friends sharing their rememberences of him. Michael Stipe, Guy Piccotto and Jem Cohen all have really heartwarming things to say. It makes me think I should get out and make more friends and do more awesome things so I can field at least three people to say nice things about me when I die.

Thanks to Phil I was lucky enough to see Vic Chesnutt on his second to last tour with Elf Power here in Paris. It was a pretty amazing performance and although I wasn't much of a fan going in for the simple fact that I had never really listened to him, I came out a convert.

Star Wars Sugar

Yes, a storm trooper sugar skull tattoo.

Best Albums of 2009

The year is done with so it's time for my best of list, here's the run down in no particular order.



The XX -"xx". This is a great collection of chilled out songs heavy on electronic instruments and couldn't be concerned vocals.

Stand out track - Has got to be "Basic Space". I had this song stuck in my head for weeks partly due to the fact that I listened to the song several times a day.


Eels - "Hombre Lobo". What an amazing album, beautiful light songs and gas soaked barn burners stand side by side. That voice seems to fit perfectly into a wide variety of styles on this loosly themed album. Major bonus points for the majestic beard.

Stand out track - "The look you give that guy" is as good as it gets.

Regina Spektor - "Far". Another great, quirky piano driven album by the lovely Regina Spektor. I wish the Ben Folds track she sang on "You Don't Know Me" was on here so I can talk about how much I love it.

Stand out track - "Laughing With". Sad, serious, funny what more does this song need? Ok maybe a keytar would be cool.

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. I love me some French indie dance pop. This album is just fun.

Stand out track - "Lisztomania" no, "1901" it's a tough call.

The Flaming Lips - "Embryonic". This album is weirder and more challenging then any of the last four by one of my favorite bands in the world and that's saying something. I can't help but wonder how jammy they will get with these tracks in concert.

Stand out Track - I couldn't possibly pick a favorite.

The Maccabees - Wall of Arms. A great British indie band who to my ears made the best Arcade Fire album not made by the Arcade Fire.

Stand out track - "Kiss and Resolve" is by far my favorite, it's got that rousing feeling that got me into music in the first place.

Harlem Shakes - "Technicolor Health". It seems that i've gotten into easily accessible indie dance rock in my old age regardless this band does it right. Sadly they've broken up so enjoy this one.

Stand out track - "Nothing but Change Part II" but "Sunlight" is a close second.

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm. The boys are back and they sound great. J. Mascis is a criminaly overlooked guitarist.

Stand out track - "Over it". Mascis has such a distinctive guitar sound and it just jumps out at you on this track. I wish someone would apologize to me with a song this awesome, no wonder they got back together.

The Dead Weather - "Horehound". Somedays you just need a great straight forward rock record.

Stand out track - "I cut like a buffalo", "Treat me like your mother" i had to go with two for this album although "I cut like a Buffalo" might be my song of 2009.

Dan Auerbach - "Keep It Hid". Great blues songs that I assume didn't quite fit into the Black Keys groove. Dan has a great blues voice and his guitar chops are stellar but we knew that from the Black Keys, what we didn't know was that he could do nice and easy so well.

Stand out track - "Whispered Words", "When the night comes" again two songs that are too good to choose between.

The Cribs - "Ignore the Ignorant". Another great British indie rock group, this year the Cribs officially added Johnny Marr to the group and you can hear his fingerprints on this album. The Cribs come from the sharp guitar school of rockers and they've managed to keep that sound and their sense of humor intact.

Stand out track - "Cheat on Me" I like it when they scream.

Blakroc - "Blakroc". Damon Dash, The Black Keys and a bunch or rappers team up for this album. The Keys provide the music and some back up vocals, Damon Dash produces and the Rappers do their thing it sounds crazy but it really does work.

Stand out track - "Dollaz & Sense" love that guitar lick.

Built to Spill - "There is no Enemy". How many great albums is that in a row? Another band with a guitar sound you can pick out in a second. Overall this album is a little less driven then the last one but not in a bad way, the music stretches out and breaths a little more.

Stand out track - "Life's a Dream". I know, i usually go for the more driving BTS songs but this one flows so smoothly and Doug gets into his guitar thing a little at the end.

Beirut - "March of the Zapotec/Holland". This is technically an Ep but I'm going with it. The back story is well known, half of this is tracks Zac did with musicians from south of the border and the other half has a more electronic bend to it. I prefer the Holland side but it's all good.

Stand out track - "My night with a Prostitute from Marseille". This could be my song of 2009 based on the number of plays it got. I think it also made it onto every mix cd i've done since it came out.

Animal Collective - "Merriweather Post Pavillion". I'm at a loss as to how to describe Animal Collective's sound, you can dance to it, it's electronic and repetitive but still organic. I do know that this is the most accessiable album they've ever made as far as i'm concerned. Bonus points for allowing Alien Workshop to use two of their songs.

Stand out track - "My Girls" is uplifting and you can get down to it.

Honorable mentions:

There were several albums this year that I really liked and even more that I know i'd love if I had time to listen to them a little more.

Iron & Wine - "Around the Well". Excellent album but all old stuff, great old stuff.

Isis - "Wavering Radiant". Very hardcore.

Pearl Jam - "Backspacer". Yes! This album rocks.

The Mars Volta - "Octahedron". Songs short enough to put on a mix cd.

Fanfarlo - "Reservoir". The singer sounds just like David Byrne and I really like David Byrne.
Woodhands - "Heart Attack" This didn't come out in 2009 but i've listened to it a lot in 2009.
Hockey - "Mind Chaos" More British dance rock.

Lisa Hannigan - "Sea Sew". Maybe getting kicked out of Damian Rice's thing was for the best.
Weezer - "Raditude" I like it, I won't apologize.

Scot's Bird

Another amazing piece. Check out it and more at Loser Goes 1st.

Sexy cycles

Look at this, this bike shop is right up the street from me. She does not work there.

Phoenix

Phoenix - Lizstomania / One time too many - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

La Blogotheque is at it again, filming bands on the streets of Paris. This time around it's with a band I really like, Phoenix, and the filming took place around the Eiffel Tower. They filmed three of my favorite songs 1901, Lizstomania/ One time too many and Long Distance Call. If you have a few minutes check out the Blogotheque site for a ton of great music. One of the Beirut, videos was shot right up the road and the Herman Dune stuff was done half a block away from my Apartment, you can even see my bakery in the clip.

NIN Auction

I'm sure everyone has already heard that Nine Inch Nails is no more but did you know that they are selling off all of their touring equipment? Check out the auction here.