"I'm Innocent!"

BEST OF 2007

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:37:20 GMT

This is my top picks for 2007:

Best Albums:

1. M.I.A. - Kala
This album makes me feel totally pumped whenever I listen to it. Every time is like the first time. Every track is the bomb track. Every beat is truly original. Every sound is surprising and vivid. It's the most incredibly visual experience that modern sound-technology can create. M.I.A. is the new queen of pop.

2. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
I fell in love with the songs when I saw some early Youtube live videos, before the record came out. I was doubtful that the album (produced by Flood) could recreate what she was doing on stage with just a piano and delayed vocals. But I couldn't have been more blind-sided by this perfect, dark and lovely little opus. It's Neil Young meets Diamanda Galas. And it's PJ's best, even though it's totally different.
"White Chalk" is the best song of the year.

3. Panda Bear - Person Pitch
The solo album by Panda Bear was actually better than the full Animal Collective album. Not by much, but I had to give more props to the true innovation that is contained on this dub-pop masterpiece. Like Kala, this is distinctly visual music for your mind's eye.

4. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
8 albums in, and these bros show no sign of collapsing under the weight of their genius. And in fact they propel themselves beyond the hype and land (yet again) somewhere in the future, sending us this technicolored pop festival via audio time machine. Still the best band in the world, still the best music to take drugs to. The e.p. "Water Curses" is next, due April.

5. Zdrastvootie - |||
My friends are all geniuses! This album is a feast of dark, fleshy emotion. Sexy, terrifying, and organic. Bravo, dudes. And thanks for the LP.

6. Frog Eyes - Tears Of The Valedictorian
An early-year favorite of mine, my enthusiasm has since given way to the other records that dominated the latter-half of the year. But I haven't forgotten the inspired caucophany that this band made on their best album since The Bloody Hand. And that ending is fuckin' epic.

7. Gang Gang Dance - Retina Riddim & RAWWAR
Retina Riddim's one-track sound collage didn't make much sense at first, but subsequent listens have revealed one brilliantly new way to make dance music after another. The movie version is pretty dope as well. RAWWAR, on the other hand, seizes your attention the very first time. It's their most immediately rewarding and intriguing sound to date. And it's pointing this unique band in a totally new direction that I can't wait to hear more of.

8. (tie:) Mammatus - The Coast Explodes & Misty Mountain - 2
YEAHH!! I love my friends so much. Coast Explodes is GODHEAD. The heaviest shit on the planet. And Nicky's Misty Mountain project just gets better and better and better.

9. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
Trance-techno made from tiny fragments of other people's songs. A great idea done perfectly well. Akin to Person Pitch in that respect, but in a completely different mood. Lovely headphone journeys.

10.Radiohead - In Rainbows
Their chillaxed new sound is REALLY not what I expected to hear on this album, but a very welcome surprise. Thom Yorke's voice is so beautiful, and the sound-effects-layering by Jonny Greenwood is a triumph of production.

Other good stuff: Angels Of Light - We Are Him, Wildlife - Six, Denney Joints - Slowdance, Sigur Ros - Hvarf, Amy Winehouse - Back To Black, Daft Punk - Alive 2007, Spoon - GaGaGaGaGa, Beirut - The Flying Club Cup, Neil Young - Live At Massey Hall 1971, Selda - Selda, Grizzly Bear - Friend, The Broads - Joyful Noise, Holy Shit - Stranded At Two Harbors

Best Musical Discovery of 2007:

Razor X Productions - Killing Sound
This also gets me totally pumped. And violent.

Best Films:

1. Black Book - dir. Paul Verhoeven
Better than Hitchcock.

2. Rescue Dawn - dir. Werner Herzog
Better than Apocalypse Now.

3. No Country For Old Men - dir. Joel and Ethan Coen
Violence, money, god, and death in Texas.

4. There Will Be Blood - dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
Violence, death, god, and money... in California.

5. The Diving Bell & The Butterfly - dir. Julian Schnabel
Inspirational (but not corny.)

Best Actress:

Carice Van Houten (Black Book)

Best Actor:

Christian Bale (Rescue Dawn)

Best Directors:

Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country)

Bonefish!

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:41:18 GMT

the new animal collective video:

peacebone

strawberry jam in 2 weeks!

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 21:51:05 GMT

Right now I'm house-sitting at gabe's apartment while he's away at Comic-Con. I've been staying here ever since I got back from tour a couple weeks ago. I don't really have anything to do, besides sit around and listen to music and go out on walks. Pretty boring.

The tour was incredible. SO MANY good shows. In fact, the golden ratio was 29 good/great/amazing shows and only 1 bad show (in Mobile, Alabama). A few shows were poorly attended but still so much fun. And being on tour with wildlife was the best idea ever. Those dudes are the straightest, coolest bros I've ever met. Despite some emotional issues they have between each other, they couldn't have been any sweeter to hang around with and play shows with. They have lots of awesome friends all over the country and they know how to have (and make) a good time. They're also the best band. Definitely the best tour ever. Photos should be coming soon from michelle (who went with us for half of it). Seriously accrued some of the tightest memories in the last month and a half.

There is a band that is quickly becoming my all-time most-hated music ever, and that band is THE MOUNTAIN GOATS. Worse than michael franti, worse than ani difranco, worse than CREED!! This band is the absolute lowest of the low. I've known of their existence for quite a while and I hated them from the very first note, but now they're becoming UNGAINLY popular in my circle of "friends" and over-played at work. First off we have a male ani difranco for a singer, but worse. Nasal, unartistic bleating disguised as "singing." By far the SINGLE MOST ANNOYING SINGER IN ANY BAND EVER. It's not even really the BADNESS of his voice that's so annoying (but it is REALLY bad), it's more the ATTITUDE he sings with that makes me want to slap him with every word that comes farting out of his face-hole. it's all like "Listen to me.. I'm sin-cere, and honest, and everything I say is quirky and honest and sincere.. and quirky.. and cute.. because I love you.." Secondly, the lyrics are the most banal, stream-of-lameness bullshit I've ever heard. Basically think of the Ani comparison again, but this time without the semi-redeeming "socially conscious" outlook she has. Just lame, quasi-romantic word vomit without the slightest sense of rhythm or melody. It's hard to describe the badness of the lyrics. It's just a bunch of boring, uninspired observational shit mashed together with out any rhyme or reason. "I was sitting in my house, looking at the table, when I noticed that the table was made of wood, so I walked over and placed my hand on the table, and I realized... that I love you.." Place those elements atop the most M.O.R., unenergetic acoustic pop, stack the songs end-to-end-to-end on albums that seem to go on for eternity, and you have the perfect recipe for TROY'S MOST HATED BAND EVER!

FUCK THE MOUNTAIN GOATS!!!!! FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't believe they're on 4AD records. BLAHHHHH!!!

for a sample of their shitiness, if you can bare it, see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bSdRizGYb0

and if you actually like this band and want to tell me how much you like them in a comment, prepare to get flamed out like you've never been flamed before. I'm just warning you now. My ire for them is unabatable and REAL. I would like to kill them. THey represent the WORST in ALL MUSIC from ALL GENRES.

strawberry jam

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 01:42:07 GMT

i love the animal collective

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 22:59:35 GMT

read this.

It's a wonder more fights don't break out here in the library computer area, what with the sketchy sign-up system they've devised. I could have sworn this thuggy over here was about to bash in that old guy's head with his skateboard for not putting a "Computer in Use. Will be right back" sign over his keyboard. sketch.

I'm stoked about Joanna's birthday party tonight. I've got to get my sailor outfit together!

Sat, 31 Mar 2007 01:09:50 GMT

Tragic Mountain

My Halloween costume last year...

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 19:07:36 GMT

P. Nafers

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 00:27:49 GMT

Sometimes when you prove a point, all that you end up with is frustration.

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 11:54:41 GMT

The jive charmers who turn out the dive bombers!

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 20:23:54 GMT

Children of Men is a fantastic and unsettling science fiction movie. It's like a great Steven Spielberg film; intense, enchanting, and brutally personal, but without all the predictable and cloying sentimental hogwash that he would have put into every other scene. Highly recommended and worth every penny of your admission price. See it!!

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 00:12:25 GMT

-visualize world peace-

-visualize whirled peas-

The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 07:43:37 GMT

Shades of White

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 21:47:28 GMT

Tonight I'm taking a (paid) flight to L.a. so I can go rock out with this band called White. They're a bunch of cool, gay older rock dudes from west holllywood and we met them through our show with Kid Congo Powers (at the Attic). They came up to me after I played with New Thrill and they asked me "do you want to be in our band?" Apparently they were really impressed. Then I saw them play and I was totally swept off my feet. The most classic of classy old-school punk rock and roll. It was exactly what I've always wanted to play, but never had a chance since I'Ve been in this arty-farty gothic retard-rock band. I had to say yes. They're big followers of the Gun Club (hence the Kid connection) and close friends with lots of famous rock idols (especially stephin merritt [magnetic fields] and david pajo [slint]). It's not only a big oppurtunity for myself, but also a great chance to finally get the Parade into the ears of some more influential people. I can't believe I will probably meet Stephin Merritt in the next few days. OH MY GOD!!

so yeah, I'm going there tonight. I'm kind of nervous. We're going to be practicing really hard for the first two days, then New Thrill Parade is driving down for 2 shows opening for White. The first is at Mr. T's bowling alley (on Figueroa) on the 29th. And the second is at a West Hollywood house party on new Year's Eve. I think I'm only going to sit in with White for one of the shows. It's a really big moment, and I'm nervous that I'm either not going to be good enough or that I'm not going to enjoy it and I've wasted these people's time and money. I highly doubt either of these scenarios coming true, but it is still a very big moment for me and I have to play my cards just right. Wish me luck.

-T

yabba-dabba-do

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 01:19:09 GMT

Kate Bush is the Ed Wood of music videos.

CHECK THIS SHITE OUT!

P.B.

Tue, 05 Dec 2006 17:53:11 GMT

"Carrots"

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 20:30:06 GMT

Updating from my parent's house in Cloverdale, CA. The day is cloudy but I think the sun is coming.

My visit is in tandem with my uncle (my dad's twin), Frank's, visit to California for their shared birthday.

Not much to report. It's a lot quieter here now that Beau and Cowboy have passed on. Only having one dog here is nice.

After 5 and a half years of working at the Food Bin, I'm finally the Produce Manager. But it's only for a month while Taylor is away making money trimming weed. I'll be carrying the full responsibility of the produce department, making $13/hour, and working very long (and early) days. But it's only for a month. Then I go back to my normal, less-responsibility positions. It's a nice feeling though.

I rented a car to drive up here but they were out of standards, so Enterprise gave me a truck. Like a big fucking Ram 1500 4x4 beheamoth, like the one Kristin had. I felt like running over small children when I was driving here. :-P

I think we're going to drive in the truck tonight and find somewhere to eat in Ukiah. It's nice seeing Frank. He's such a kind man.

My parents have a really nice new iMac with the fastest internet connection I've ever seen and I'm hella jealous. AND they have a scanner!

they found her tu-tu...

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 03:57:40 GMT

ouch

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 06:56:47 GMT

So this morning I woke up at about 11:20 am and, as I normally do, went directly to the bathroom. I sat down for number 2, and picked up one of the magazines we have in the rack and started reading. I probably wasn't sitting on the throne for more than 5 or 6 minutes, but still it was slightly longer than needed. I must have not yet woken up fully, or I was dehydrated from the night before, or all the blood was cut off to my legs for too long, but anyway, when I stood up I immediately felt light-headed and weak. My face became numb and my eyes became star-spangled and blurred. It came over me fast and uncontrollable, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up, as though out of a long dream, with my head on the side of the toilet bowl and my legs folded under me like a rag doll. At first I didn't realize what had actually happened, my first thought was that I had passed out while vomiting. But I didn't see any puke, only poop. Then I felt how much my right temple hurt, and that my neck and ankles felt violently twisted. I finally remembered what I had just been doing. I had fainted when I stood up from the toilet and fell face first right into the toilet seat with all my weight. The impact from the hit to my head must have knocked me further unconcious, and I was probably sitting on the bathroom floor, motionless, for a couple minutes. When I got up again I felt all the pain and blood rushing to my head. The first hour of pain was almost unbearable. Now my forehead has a giant welt (two combined welts, actually) and it hurts to eat anything or talk (I've barely eaten anything all day). And my neck feels completely whiplashed, like I narrowly missed paralysis. Just like in fucking "Million Dollar baby." God, I am so accident prone! So now my neck is fucking injured again and I'll probably have to take off work again. FUCK THIS! Fuck that stupid toilet. My life is pain.

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 22:42:48 GMT

see the descent before it leaves theatres. (but that may be too late)

and when you do see it, stare into the cave rocks as the lights go by them.
that's where it's really scary.

best horror film since blair witch project

scabs and rashes

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 10:15:14 GMT

We just recieved our cd's in the mail today. We got them from Yes, Seth's friend (her name is Yes), from his house. They look great (the art is fucking gorgeous, but it's a little-teeny-tiny bit too blurry for the logo on the front cover...) and it sounds really really good mastered. I'm so happy and proud you can only imagine. I've been waiting for this moment... for all of my life...

bytheway. Tour is going really really good. Surprisingly good. Shockingly good, and most of the shows have been well-attended, well-played, and well-timed. We're selling merch at a pretty good pace, the people who've never seen us are reacting with an enthusiasm I never expected, and in between it's been nothing but good friends and happy times all day long. This heat wave is getting super-fierce, and I think it's only gonna get worse. It's hard to bear. The nights don't come fast enough. We play boise, idaho in two days. That show will also be great (I predict).

We sold two cd's tonight. One to Hart, and one to Kurt. Get high and listen to our jams, world!! THE TAKEOVER BEGINS NOW!!!!!!!!!!

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 22:40:34 GMT

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 03:14:35 GMT

My new favorite movie of 2005 is "The Exorcism of Emily Rose"
I often put horror movies at (or near) the top of my list, and this true-life shocker was the most skillfully affecting, masterfully-played, and smartly written one I've seen since "The Others" in 2001. Like that graceful ghost story, "Emily Rose" is all about the horror of forced perspectives. Even better than the original "Exorcist," we effectively experience and view demonic possession through the eyes of the innocent young thing (female, of course) as it happens. From the first, agonizing night when an invisible menace rapes and enters Emily in her dorm room, to the haunting final, elegaic encounter with the invisible Virgin Mary, we can only see what she sees, and we can only feel the twisted evil she feels inside her. The unbridled (and supremely terrifying) success of these flashback sequences lies almost entirely within the amazing physical performance of Jennifer Carpenter, an unknown face, but one I will ABSOLUTELY never forget. The horrific, body-mangling contortions and unearthly shrieks & incantations that fill her scenes are done almost completely without computer alterations (and when there are, they're used subtly and effectively), and the effect is ghastly, and totally fucking SATANIC. The editing and auditory pitch of these scenes verges on the absurd, but never are we left to wonder if this girl is actually possessed. Emily Rose is a real girl, and there is a real evil inside her. Whether this "evil" is the responsibility of doctors or priests is pondered in the present day court-room scenes with Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson, and it's this framing story which expands the intense visceral realm of the movie into the universal moral quandry of modern religion. I couldn't help but think out loud "This is a great fucking idea for a movie" while I was watching it, and I was continually intrigued and entranced by the unfolding events of the trial. Sure the structure of a "court-room movie" is stale and by-the-numbers these days, but the writing is crisp and without pretense, and Linney, Wilkinson, Agdashloo, and Campbell Scott all play their stock roles with fire and realness. I loved the scene where the invisible menace seems to enter Linney's apartment, scare the crap out of her, and then she has to go to sleep with the horrible thought that something else is in the room with her, but there's nothing she can do about it.

I highly reccomend this movie to all people interested in real-life, satanic evil. It's something I'm very into right now and this movie had more truly DEATH FUCKING METAL moments than any 100 music videos on Headbanger's Ball. I can't wait to see this movie again during the Halloween season, as I cannot think of a better visualization of incarnate devilry and twisted, religious horror. AMAZING MOVIE.

AND JENNIFER CARPENTER WAS ROBBED OF A SUPPORTING ACTRESS OSCAR. How could she have not even gotten a nomination?? If this isn't the very DEFINITION of tour-de-force, what the fuck IS?

I HATE THE ACADEMY. OLD FUCKERS WITH PACE-MAKERS.

Ne W thri LL P arade

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 17:55:59 GMT

Ahem...

Ladies and Gentlemen,

the debut of our first full-length album, "Universal Shame," is at hand.

This is the cover:

this is where you can pre-order it:

http://www.lbrecs.com/buy.php

The cd should be available in stores soon after we get back from tour, which is August 17th.

I am very excited about this.

love and patience,

Troy

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 02:23:00 GMT

I couldn't go to the Neko Case show on saturday because of an NTP gig in Soquel. It was a really fun night and a fucking cool place for a show, but I missed seeing a great concert. I hate it that this always happens to me in this town. The only time a musician I actually plan on seeing comes here, and I have a show the same night. It happened with Richie Havens, too, and he was also playing at the Rio.

I even planned on going with my Food Bin friend, Rene. It bummed her out when I told her I couldn't go. She still went, of course. When I saw her today, she told me how phenomenal it was. The best part is that she bought me a green tour t-shirt and got it SIGNED by Neko! INCREDIBLE! That's like the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me.

THANK YOU, RENE.
I LOVE YOU!

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 22:41:58 GMT

GOICOLEA