obviate media.

Who the fuck writes a musical about cats?

I'm gonna have a bunch of people dress up as obnoxious, ferile, whiny, alley felines, and where EXTREMELY tight spandex clothing. I'll make millions.....

That son of a bitch. And the morons who thought it was a work of art. Weber, if you weren't stoned or drunk or in a coma when you wrote that piece of shit, expect a Grade-A-Wyslotsky-Assbeating (FDA approved!) within the next ten years.

Dick.

Posted by Andy Dubbya at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments

I just activated weekly archiving. So after a week, all articles from that week will automatically group themselves in a subsection. They can be viewed by clicking on the toolbar to the right, at the bottom (after this week, it should return to the top.)

Thanks, and enjoy!

Posted by Brendan at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

Learn how to use the pencil, so you can learn how to write. Write a paper to learn how to edit. Edit so you can perfect everything. Once you can perfect everything, you're where we want you.

Oh wait, here's a pen. There's no eraser, so you can't erase. How do you edit? Figure it out, we just made the damn pen. We don't know everything.

Did you figure out that pen? Well, we've got this typewriter now. Got it? Here's a plasma tv here's a new remote control here's a video game system here's a laptop here's a cd player here's an mp3 player your fucking ipod.

Downloaded too much -- out of disc space.

Posted by Matt at 3:07 AM | Permalink | Comments

We all know this.

"Oh god. This band has sold out. They are media whores. Why did they have to becomes so mainstream. Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah."

It's true. Many bands make the choice to get paid for what they love to do.

Is this a problem?

Weezer recently released Make Believe. The album is decent, though nowhere near Pinkerton or "Blue Album" quality. The one, EXTREMELY apparent problem with it is "Beverly Hills". The constant, Joan Jett guitar riff, boring lyrics, and whiny backups make any true fan fear the future. Anybody who fell in love with Weezer 12 years ago knows what they are capable of, but also knows that, "hey, they've been around for twelve years, and they still throw one hell of a live show."

Ok. Here's the big "anti-radio" schpeil. Artists + radio airtime x Clear Channel = shitty music.

That's not true. We all know it. Jimmy Eat World. A band that I have thought I hated everytime they release an album. Over time, I've realized that they are a great band, but the radio plays the hell out of their singles and makes me want to burn (literally) every album they have ever pressed. Chicago's own Q101 changed their format last year to the, "on shuffle" (probably referencing iPod) style. They now play "everything alternative".

Personally, I think this is a great idea. I don't have to listen to three hours of Nickelback, Godsmack, Finger 11, Cold, and repetitive Sublime singles just to get to one song I really enjoy hearing. Or even sort of enjoy hearing. The only serious problem with it is new releases. Death Cab For Cutie released their new album, and Q101 picked up "Soul Meets Body" as a single. After hearing that riff and tambourine at the beginning, I never want to listen to their music again. Depeche Mode also gets tons of airtime, and it makes me feel like I'm in a low budget 80's movie.

Finally, the "scene" kids.

I'm not talking about what I know as emo kids, I'm talking about all of the kids (and they ARE kids) who flock to the shows that I want to see, and act like they've been there since the dawn of time. Big bang. Scene kids. The ska scene used to be my kind of place. Everybody dancing around, having a goodtime. And then slowly, middle school kids filtered in, adopting the long shorts, baggy shirts style I used to know and love. They began to ease me out of the pits, and out of the scene.

I go to the shows now, watch the young ones running around, hating "the system", and I miss the days of my two-tone/rudeboy ska kid youth. There are also the people who you will offhandedly mention a band to, and then BAM! You have created the biggest fan ever. I know a kid who found out about the Lawrence Arms. He now listens to 5 bands. The Lawrence Arms, Alkaline Trio, Jets to Brazil, The Falcon, and The Smoking Popes. Smoking Popes don't fit into the mix, I just told him about them, and he now owns EVERY piece of Popes history.

There. I have ranted and raved. Elvis Costello would agree. I'm sure John Cusack would too.

Posted by Andy Dubbya at 12:42 AM | Permalink | Comments

the title is a partial reference to "that thing you do".

music is a general anesthesia.

listening to music, letting it flow through you, completely puts your mind and body at ease.

stoners have it right.

listen to the jams, sway with the rhythm, and just enjoy life.

beethoven has that effect on me.

not singing it. listening to beethoven. you can feel he's putting himself into the music. it is raw, powerful emotion. watch "beethoven lives upstairs" or "immortal beloved", and you will cry when you hear his music. (the last line makes me sound like a bitch. refer to the myspace blog entry from february 24 to cancel the bitch out)

buddy guy has the same effect. listening to his soul, pouring it into the music we know as blues. his simple guitar and chicago streets voice make any bad experience a little bit better. listening to buddy guy is like having him there saying,

"yeah man. i know EXACTLY what you're sayin."

then he'd probably buy us a beer.

listen to some music. forget about petty problems like a girl that makes you crazy, or a test you're gonna fuck up. for the most part, we're teenagers/early twenties (here's to you, brendan). we don't have anything to really drag us down. let a musician take the worries from you. you'll be better off.


-andy dubbya

Posted by Andy Dubbya at 12:29 AM | Permalink | Comments

I wrote this in Creative Writing my senior year of high school. I'd largely forgotten about it until Matt told me had kept a copy of it. It was part of some exercise in focusing in on one particular moment.. One fluid motion or something like that. I don't remember the title. Anyways. After reading it two years after the fact, I realize it's garbage, but see if you can figure out what I'm talking about.

I tend to write pretty lighthearted poems, so don't think too hard.

Comment with your answers.

The Beginning of the End

my eyes open up
like they've never been used before
darkness blankets the room
as a heavy sigh escapes me

images come back into focus
the buzzsaw cuts through my ears
sounding the death knell
of my colorful dreams

the sound cuts through the air
like a siren in a storm
or a monster in the dark
with an angry roar

in defiance of the beast
i bring my hand down
smothering it
silencing its screams

Posted by Brendan at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

Actually, this really was going to be a top five list of my favorite Doors songs, but when searching for some Doors pictures on Google images, I came across this startling photograph.

It's Evan at Père Lachaise paying his respects to his idol, the Lizard King! Seriously! Look at those authentic French people! To paraphrase ol' Jim, 'Love Him Madly', don't ya buddy?

Posted by Brendan at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

I haven't been vibing on albums the past couple of days, so that's why there hasn't been a 'great albums' update. There's a few I'm shifting in between every couple of days, but the words just aren't coming. So I'm going to take this post and instead talk about a playlist-size collection of songs to write about.

1. Thief, You've Taken All That Was Me - Weezer (Bootleg, The Kitchen Tape, 1992)

This song is from Weezer's now-legendary "Kitchen Tape" demo recorded in 1992. Some of the songs on the demo would go on to be recorded for 1994's Weezer. It's an interesting glimpse into Weezer's songwriting process during their formative year. I'm actually surprised that this song didn't make it onto an album at some point. There are the early-Weez jangling acoustic guitars as well as the characteristic Cuomo guitar solo in the midpoint of the song.. maybe the only thing that the song lacks is a definable 'catchy' chorus. For some reason, the production sounds especially 'epic' (for the lack of a better term) for a bootlegged recording.

2. Teach Me Sweetheart - The Fiery Furnaces (Bitter Tea, 2006)

Man, does this band piss a lot of people off. I wasn't too wild about 2004's Blueberry Boat and found 2005's Rehearsing My Choir alternately charming and an experiment in music appreciation. (Note to Matt and Eleanor: The idea of having your grandma sing on your album seemed like a good idea, but actually doing it was another thing...)

Anyways, the duo seems to be getting back on track with "Teach Me Sweetheart". It's full of goofy swirling sounds, and of course, organ, and thankfully, no grandma. But what really carries this song is Eleanor Friedberger's sweet plea of "I'm alone/teach me sweetheart" before Matt comes in and totally plays some bizzaro organ riff. I dig it.

3. Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye (Midnight Love, 1982)

I don't know what it is about this song. Is it Marvin's smooth lyrics? Could be. Maybe that killer porn-guitar riff? Possibly. Or what about the classic 'BAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYBEEEEEEEEEEEEEE' line? I don't know. I can't escape it. Just put it on and groove..or do dirty things. Your choice.

4. Walking The Cow - Daniel Johnston (Hi, How Are You?, 1983)

The minute I heard this I was blown away. In fact, I'm not going to type any more about it. Just watch this trailer and then download the song. It will make so much more sense than I could ever write down.

5. These Days - Nico (Chelsea Girl, 1967)

"These days/I seem to think about/how all the changes came about my way.."

Complete rainy day music. Nico sounds like such a mope on this track. It's really easy to relate to if you're just kind of sitting around one day with nothing to do or no forseeable plans coming up. It's my 'figure out something to do and get off your ass' song.

6. Your Song - Elton John (Elton John, 1970)

Painfully cliched, I know, but I just keep playing it repeatedly. It's a sad little ballad with big strings, and somehow manages to work as both something to listen to when you're down and out, or when you're feeling really good. Songs like this just aren't written anymore. It's kind of sad when you think about it. Oh well. Maybe one day. Again, I will state that Elton's output until Captain Fantastic is amazing. No room for discussion.

7. The E Street Shuffle - Bruce Springsteen (The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, 1973)

Young Springsteen is the best Springsteen. Pre Born to Run, the man just sounds reckless. It's absolutely wonderful. His music was messy, spastic, and he was fitting more words in one verse than humanly possible. It's a complete rush, and even though the music was recorded well over thirty years ago, it feels like you're there. The E Street Shuffle is a perfect representation of this. It's wild, funky, and you sort of feel like you're missing out on a big party or something.

The song starts with the horn section warming up, and then Bruce's guitar and then enters an incredible bassline to compliment the Stevie Wonder-style keyboards. The call and response 'woah's' in the chorus are what make this track..and the band shouting for god knows what reason. So good. It's definately one to crank up in the summertime with the windows down.

8. Reason To Believe - Tim Hardin (Tim Hardin 1, 1966)

I thought this was a Rod Stewart song for years - until about last week. Hardin, a largely forgotten folk singer from the 60's who stopped recording in 1973, died in 1980 of a heroin overdose. It's a shame, because the melody is absolutely beautiful. Instead of being some overblown raspy-ass radio single by Stewart, the song is a sweet folky meditation with just an acoustic guitar and gentle strings to carry it along. Just as you're swept up by the track, suddenly, it's over, ending just exactly at the 2:00 mark.

9. I Can't Get Next To You - The Temptations (Puzzle People, 1969)

Elizabethtown is the only reason why I even know this song. It's Drew Baylor's ringtone. Anyways, this song is pretty ridiculous, obviously funky, and I CANNOT get over the verse (I can turn the grey sky to blue/I can make it rain whenever I want it to/I can build a castle from a single grain of sand/I can make a ship sail on dry land). So cheesy, but so worth the 2:55 of my life.

10. What Is Life - George Harrison (All Things Must Pass, 1970)

George Harrison at his best before Jeff Lynne came in and crapped all over his music (and his life, probably). The percussion and chorus are huge on this song, obviously benefitting from producer Phil "I'm crazy and hold people at gunpoint/kill them" Spector's famed 'Wall of Sound' production. The song is probably Harrison's best attempt at replicating American soul music.

Posted by Brendan at 4:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

Are you a music asshole?

(Editor's Note: Matt was intoxicated at the time of this post. Please forgive him.)

Posted by Matt at 4:45 AM | Permalink | Comments

so, play practice....


this is gonna be tough.

day 6 has officially finished.

day 7, we dance!

my face feels like a cheap wool blanket.

i'm gonna go finish the first season of house.


i just bought rent.

Posted by Andy Dubbya at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

i just got to school.
senior year is a blast.

i recommend it to everybody.

clarissa and i are going to talk after rehearsal today.

we'll see how that goes.

i spent my entire weekend with brendan. it was kind of....

i dunno. it was fun. narm.

i'm gonna get going and work on my paper. Jmaie Wood died in 1813. He served in the revolutionary war, and was governor of virginia. good for him. i'm proud.

well, im seriously going to work on my paper. we've got alot to get done.

Posted by Andy Dubbya at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

i just wrote the best paper i have ever written. it is about a noodle traveling through the digestive system. i loved it.

think, dicktracy, as a noodle.

yeah.

Posted by Andy Dubbya at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments

Under orders from Mr. Hilliard, I am posting.

At LSU, I spend time going over notecards for SAI, updating my iPod, cuddling with toy tigers, and waiting for my hair to dry.
Also, I am listening to Fiona Apple. She is amazing, in case you haven't heard, as is Colossal and old school band literature.

Fiona Apple - On The Bound (4.99 MB, m4a)
Colossal - Work In Prague (5.77 MB, mp3)

Posted by Anonymous at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments

my ears are ringing. i just saw koolaid kids, from here on after, and bensin at clearwater. all of them had great shows.

kool aid kids, kudos. kudos.

i havent been to local shows in so long. freshman/sophomore year, i was a two-tone, rudeboy ska kid.

now i dress like a fuckin GAP model. minus the, you know, fitness.

dman. i have come a long way. we all have. 4 fuckin years.

i'm gonna end this one with a quote. it's got soul, and it's from one of my alltime, favorite movies. see if you can guess the flick.

"we skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor. I was feelin' kinda seasick, but the crowd called out for more."
story of my life.





-andrew michael payton wyslotsky, still rockin

Posted by Andy Dubbya at 10:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

I know a kid. This kid likes music. We all like music... that's why you're reading this, right? Well, if you like music then you should know about a little music festival they call Bonnaroo. The kid I was talking about earlier has. He told me that he's "pumped to see Bright Eyes and Death Cab." Now, I see nothing wrong with that. Conor Oberst has got some great lyrics and I dig Gibbard's voice... But my problem was that he's paying over two hundred dollars and the only bands he can't miss are Bright Eyes and Death Cab. I asked him who else he wanted to see and he told me his only real priorities were Bright Eyes and Death Cab.... maybe Steel Train. Okay... so we've got Radiohead, Devendra Banhart, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, Beck, Bela Fleck, Buddy Guy, Robert Randolph, Les Claypool, Medeski Martin & Wood, Stephen Malkmus, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and on and on and on.... but all this guy paid his money for are two bands?

This is the same guy who when I showed him Belle & Sebastian, immediately bought a poster. Bob Dylan is brought up in conversation, buys another poster. Someone talks about how amazing Sigur Ros is, buys another poster. I talk to him about these artists when I see all his new posters and he doesn't know what to even say.

So we've got a wall of names that we don't know. We've got a wall full of names that we never rushed back home to read about, hear about, blast out. We've never seen their faces. Why are they on the fucking wall? Why are their names regurgitated out when someone asks "what do you listen to?"

Answer truthfully. Nobody likes a liar. Liking bad music is a forgiveable offense. Pretending that you like a band because it's hip to like that band... just pisses me off.

Sorry for the angry rant, but I'm an angry person.

Posted by Matt at 1:15 AM | Permalink | Comments

In honor of Tyler Lalleman's 19th Birthday, obviate media is featuring a collection of his photographs. Please enjoy. You are strongly encouraged to comment.

what needs to be, 2005

beauty from above, 2005

quiet bridge, 2005

glowing in space, 2005

?, 2005

gilmour's pride, 2005

jeff, 2005

when sand and h2o say hello, 2005

sunset, 2005

sperm or fireworks?, 2005

floating by, 2005

Posted by Brendan at 1:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

Getting a good response to Ashley's "Layla" piece. She wanted me to pass along some contact information for you all.

Ashley Pflaumer
e-mail: infinities@gmail.com
AIM: itisntpretty
blog: http://infinities.typepad.com

Posted by Brendan at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet (2002)

Big. Dumb. Rock.

That's the best way to describe Andrew W.K.'s classic 2002 debut, I Get Wet. What makes this album so spectacular is the fact that it refuses to take itself seriously. Andrew and his band assembled an absolutely fun collection of rave-ups that go right for the jugular.

They don't let up even once over the twelve tracks on the album. It's that ferocious.

If you're looking for soul or heart, it's not here. Just complete insanity... and a man armed with a keyboard and thousands of dollars of unnecessary production.

That's what's part of it's genius.. and the fact that it's creator is a mammoth of a man who runs around screaming at the top of his lungs and giving everyone in sight a hug when he meets them. Andrew's a special guy, from what I hear. If you don't beleive me, he's a panelist on some VH1 show. Check it out.

Three of the songs on the album include the word "party". I think that says enough about this album. Just find it. Even if you have to steal it. When you do, turn it to eleven... and enjoy the madness.

Andrew W.K. - I Get Wet (3.15 MB, m4a)

Posted by Brendan at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments

Ashley writes:

I remember driving to my aunt Karen's house thirty miles north and my dad popping in his Eric Clapton cassette tape. I remember when "Layla" came on, a song that I'd heard millions of times before thanks to him, but it suddenly meant something. Something about that guitar, that piano, those lyrics: "You got me on my knees, Layla, beggin' darlin' please, Layla." He sang along, my dad did, and you could tell he really felt it, really fucking felt it, when he was singing along, because it didn't even feel like he was driving, we were just coasting and floating and for some reason I understood that there was a terrible and beautiful and powerful and intense adult world that I knew nothing about. The fact was that that was the first time I ever realized that there was a world outside of my Beach Boys tapes.

And my parents had always had problems, you know, I always knew it. And I knew that my father had something so complicated about him that didn't allow him to love people right.

Over lunch two years ago, a good friend and I were talking about it. "Yeah," she said, "The woman he wrote that about was this chick Pattie Boyd, she was married to George Harrison. So, Eric Clapton met her when they were still married and fell in love with her and wrote it for her." "Wow," I remember saying, "That's amazing. I wish someone would write a song like that for me." She laughed a little and said, "Well, don't get too excited about it, because Eric Clapton and Pattie Boyd ended up getting married and then he got so fucked up on drugs and shit, and he had an affair, and left her."

And don't get me wrong, as far as I know my dad never had an affair, but something about that resonated with me.

I remember my dad looking over at me and saying that one day, "Now that's a real song, you know? A real fuckin' song. Don't make songs like that anymore." And then he took a drag off his cigarette and looked off into the distance ahead of us, in his own world. I remember him raising a hand to my mother, I remember him raising both of his hands to me.

I remember the amount of toys on Christmas multiplying exponentially based on how many bruises I had.

I remember the flowers he left for my mother after he called her a cunt and she stopped talking to him.

And I remember that one year, after he finally left, when I discovered his old box of cassette tapes in the attic and I put on "Layla" and I decided never to become that, never to become Layla.

Posted by Brendan at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

An old friend of mine contacted me tonight (I'll refer to this friend as 'him' or 'he' to keep you in suspense, haha). It was nice to finally hear from him again, seeing how life was going for him. He's a person that I could sit and talk to for hours about what new bands we like, what producers/production styles we're into lately - so on and so forth. It's nice to have a friend like that, so you don't feel like such a nerd when you're sitting with your friends listening to some song and going "I don't like how slick that sounds" and then get weird looks.

Anyways, what I've learned about this guy is that he has the impeccable ability to articulate himself when talking about music. That's why it didn't suprise me when he told me he was producing. He likes many different types of music, but it seems his passion is in hip-hop.

Posted by Brendan at 1:03 AM | Permalink | Comments

Paul McCartney - McCartney (1970)

Sir Paul's life's work has ranged from extraordinary (The Beatles) to decent (Wings) and to downright awful ("Freedom", anyone??)

In the past ten years, he's sort of had a career renaissance, releasing four albums to high critical acclaim. His latest, Chaos and Creation In The Backyard, is an exceptional piece for someone of his age. While many artists of his age were getting their kicks recording the same standards over and over again - McCartney was in the studio with one of the most respected producers of the decade, Nigel Godrich (of Radiohead fame), creating a no-frills rock record that deserved to be on many top ten lists last year.

What was special about Chaos was the fact that McCartney basically played every instrument on the record by himself. It was something he hadn't done in almost 35 years - which brings us to today's pick, 1970's McCartney.

Recorded mostly at his farm on a portable four track recorder at the end of 1969 to early 1970, during the dissolution of the Beatles, McCartney crafted an album that was not expected to come off the heels of one of the bandmembers of the most popular bands of all time.

Compared to the bombast and complexity of Beatles recordings, the simple, delicate and organic songs that fill this album are shocking.

Whether it's the love ditty to his wife "That Lovely Linda" or the throwaway "Valentines Day" to the Beatles outtakes "Teddy Boy" and "Junk" (they were demoed...see Anthology 3 for early versions), or the science experiment of "Kreen-Akore", Sir Paul put together a collection of songs that didn't take themselves too seriously - but certainly weren't a parody either.

The centerpiece of this album is "Maybe I'm Amazed", a ballad that ranks among one of McCartney's finest moments. I still try to figure out how he made a song that powerful and uplifting on a four track recorder.

Anyways, it's definately an album to check out. You'll be doing yourself a favor - especially if you're tired of hearing "Yesterday" every time he's on TV. I know I am.

Paul McCartney - That Would Be Something (2.48 MB, m4a)

Posted by Brendan at 9:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

For the past month, I've been struggling to write this review on the Strokes latest album, First Impressions of Earth, with varying degrees of success. Sometimes I get a sentence in, sometimes a paragraph or two, - or the time I got lucky and wrote a six page epic in my physical journal that really turned out to be horseshit.

After several failed attempts, I've realized it's not my incompetence that I can't write the review - it's just that I don't really have a strong opinion on the album at all. At best, it's got few good songs that should be able to beef up a Strokes Best Of collection a couple years down the road, but doesn't compare to the band's first two classic records. My favorite albums have always been the ones that have maintained what I like to call the "one sound, one place" dynamic. All of the material sounds like it's been recorded in the same session (rarely, if ever anymore) and contains a distinctiveness that isn't found anywhere else in the band's catalog.

I've decided that I need an outlet to tell people about all these fantastic ALBUMS I've been listening to lately. I just feel I'm finding so many and that people can't keep up with me. (This is an obvious sign I have way too much time on my hands and it's really time to get a job.)

So, with each update, I'm going to write about one and why someone should listen to it. Simple enough?


Joni Mitchell - The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975)

Until last weekend, I didn't even know that this album existed. I liked both Blue (1971) and Court and Spark (1974), but I didn't really explore any of her albums outside of those two. Another music blog tipped me off to this one so I immediately went about getting a copy.

It's very different from the other Joni Mitchell music I've heard. The instrumentation is much more eclectic - ever so slightly more vibrant than the usual guitar accompaniment on her earlier records. There's also a very noticable and welcome jazz influence throughout the record. Mitchell also evolves in her songwriting technique, transitioning from straight-ahead confessionals to more elaborately and intricately worded narratives.

The Summer of Hissing Lawns is definately a record you should have in your collection if you don't already. It's unlike anything else I've ever heard, and in this day and age of downloading song by song instead of by album - it's going to be rare to find something like this come along again.

Posted by Brendan at 3:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

So, former/current Blink 182 guitarist (depends on how you look at the 'hiatus') Tom DeLonge's new project, Angels & Airwaves first song has leaked on the internet. I've heard that was on purevolume a few days ago, but was taken down shortly after. Despite that, I was able to hunt it down for your listening pleasure on obviate.

I was blown away. He wasn't kidding when he said he was aiming to make something that would "change the face of music" (not a direct quote, but you get the idea. It may not be quite that, but if this song provides any clues, it's sure going to be a hell of a lot of fun.

The band's influences are incredibly obvious, but it's also refreshing to hear the sonic grandeur of U2 and dually paying homage to The Cure at the same time.

I've been playing it all day long. Hope you enjoy it.

Without further ad0...

Angels & Airwaves - The Adventure (6.50 MB)

Posted by Brendan at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

Obviate wasn't working out as a site on it's own, so I thought it'd be best to bring to to blogger. This way, people can contribute their own content when they want to. Blah Blah Blah.

You know what I mean.

Anywho. Enjoy.

Posted by Brendan at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments