Best of 2007, Part I

Lists!

This week, middleCoast will be providing you, the reader, with staff member picks for the Best (and/or Worst) Lists of 2007.

We begin at the beginning:


JenniferToo's Top 10 Live Shows of 2007

10. Satellite Party :: August 3rd :: Lollapalooza / Grant Park, Chicago
Satellite Party, a.k.a. Jane's Addiction. So what if I happened to be standing within five feet of a hundred or so port-a-potties when I heard "Jane Says" live for the first time. It was still freakin' awesome. Just like Perry in his white suit. Out of this world.


09. Yeah Yeah Yeahs :: August 4th :: Lollapalooza / Grant Park, Chicago
Now it is entirely possible that Karen O did, in fact, eat her glove, but I'm not so sure. Regardless, this show was intense. How you could have so much energy in 95 degree heat wearing leather is beyond me. But these guys didn't show any signs of slowing down. And Karen O's voice was piercing. And I love the chicks that rock. We need more of 'em.


08. Silversun Pickups :: August 3rd :: Lollapalooza / Grant Park, Chicago
This was such an unassuming show. It was mid-afternoon on Day 1 at Lollapalooza. I was a big fan of their album, but knew nothing of the band. In fact, I was under the impression that the lead singer was a girl. The stage was one of the puny side stages that were brutally hot. AND we were looking right into the sun while standing on pavement. Not my ideal concert setting. But I was blown away nevertheless.

07. LCD Soundsystem :: September 28th :: Starlight Theater, Kansas City

So technically LCD Soundsystem and The Arcade Fire was one show. But they were so different and so amazing that they each deserve a mention. I had seen LCD Soundsystem just a few months prior at Lollapalooza. I remember the show being really upbeat and highly entertaining, but I don't remember much more. Okay, actually I remember thinking "that's the guy singing?" But I might have been a tad overwhelmed with good music. Regardless, I was excited when I heard they were opening for The Arcade Fire. The show ROCKED. I saw them at Starlight here in KC and I was a bit leery of seeing the show outdoors (granted, I know nothing about acoustics, but it seemed like the sound might dissipate as it traveled through...okay, whatever). But LCD Soundsystem had no trouble at all being heard clearly. And loudly.

06. Pearl Jam :: August 5th :: Lollapalooza / Grant Park, Chicago

Let me take you back a little: the year, 1992; the place, Lollapalooza, St. Louis, MO. I was 17 and in love with Eddie Vedder (even though he's about 6 inches shorter than me). They were just on the brink of becoming the huge success that they are today. Eddie was still performing acrobatic feats as they performed and I knew every single word to every single song. Jump to August 2007, once again Lollapalooza. Fifteen years later and these boys are still as hardcore as ever. Granted, the venue and the crowd size was a bit less ideal (seriously, claustrophobia was tapping me on the shoulder). But the show rocked just as hard. I sort of fell off the Pearl Jam bandwagon somewhere after Vitalogy, but it didn't take much to convert me. Then you add some fireworks and Dennis Rodman to the mix...

05. Daft Punk :: August 3rd :: Lollapalooza / Grant Park, Chicago
Do I really need to say anything here? I didn't think so.












04. The Flaming Lips :: September 12th :: Uptown Theater, Kansas City

This was my first indoor, small-venue Lips show. The show was at the Uptown Theater in KC. With its intricate carvings and surreal paintings it was a perfect setting. The show was an experience - it was uplifting, exhausting, exhilarating and dreamlike. And, come on: Wayne + Lasers + Mirrors + Balloons = Magic.

03. TV on the Radio :: March 17th :: VooDoo Lounge, Kansas City
I'm fairly certain I was the most excited person upstairs at the VooDoo Lounge. These guys are one of my favorite bands - I haven't heard a song I don't like. And their live show was fantastic. Their voices are honestly some of the most beautiful instruments I've ever heard. And, no lie, the guitarist's hand was blurry he was strumming so fast.














02. My Morning Jacket :: August 5th :: Lollapalooza / Grant Park, Chicago
I'd be okay if these guys were on the list every freakin' year. The purple suits were unexpected, but the jamming was not. I am constantly in awe of Jim James and his ability to be so raw and hard on one song, and then so beautiful and soft on another. And the Boys Choir? Come on.








01. Arcade Fire :: September 28th :: Starlight Theater, Kansas City
As I mentioned above, these guys played the outdoor venue along with LCD Soundsystem. When their set first started, I was a bit concerned. They didn't sound like much after LCD Soundsystem blasted us with "New York I Love You". But it didn't take long for them to impress me. The show was honestly hard for me to watch - I couldn't figure out who to focus on. Regine was beautiful, floating all over the stage playing every instrument while she sang like a lark (sorry, that's cheesy, but amazingly fitting). Win was so passionate and there is so much emotion in his voice. Then there's Will, who never stood still. He was playing the mic stand one minute and ripping a book to shreds the next. But the music was so so good. And with a closer like "Wake Up", these guys earned my number 1 spot.



When not blowing her children's college tuition on live shows, JenniferToo is entertaining us with the tales of Stinkerbell & Cindersmella.

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Next Big Thing Alert!

Spinning this week in middleCoast's Uptown offices is the first full-length album from MGMT, Oracular Spectacular. These dance-rockers hail from (surprise! surprise!) Brooklyn, NY, and are opening for fellow Brooklynites, Yeasayer, in Chicago February 8th at Schubas.

Their first music video is for the track, "Electric Feel", which doubles as an interactive music video allowing you to make your own version (download it here):



The whole album is only $7.99 on iTunes, by the way, and features my favorite song of the week:

Enjoy.

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Lists! The Top 11 Greatest Opening Lyrics from Great Debut Albums

For your convenience and enjoyment, we at middleCoast have here compiled a list of the Top 11 Greatest Opening Lyrics from some of the Greatest Debut Albums of all time. Why 11 you ask? Cuz we rawk like Spinal Tap, you dig?

Number 11
Artist: The Velvet Underground
Debut Album: The Velvet Underground & Nico
Year: 1967
Song: "Sunday Morning"
Opening Lyric: "Sunday Morning, praise the dawning / It's just a restless feeling by my side"
Reason for Greatness: Few audiences in the late 60s could comprehend what The Velvet Underground would mean to musicians and hipsters of the coming generations. "Sunday Morning" introduces The Underground into our collective consciousness with the dawning of a new morning, immediately followed by apprehension. While most people seem to find Sunday mornings easy (or else Lionel Richie's metaphor is completely unfounded), Lou Reed awakens restlessly and with a sense of paranoia disguised as dreamy pop. Perhaps it's this contradiction that put The Velvet Underground so far ahead of its time.

Number 10
Artist: Van Halen
Debut Album: Van Halen
Year: 1978
Song: "Runnin' With the Devil
Opening Lyric: "I live my life like there's no tomorrow"
Reason for Greatness: Clearly Van Halen were not terribly interested in their future, as this classic opening lyric exhibits. More precisely, they concentrated on pursuing all the decadence and pleasure the rock 'n roll lifestyle carried with it - ya know, like trying to keep pace with Satan and such. Eddie Van Halen decided it was time to melt everyone's face off, David Lee Roth decided that Rock needed a new party boy, and the rest of us decided that we liked Van Halen better when they didn't take themselves so damned seriously.

Number 9
Artist: The Byrds
Debut Album: Mr. Tambourine Man
Year: 1965
Song: "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Opening Lyric: "Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me, I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to"
Reason for Greatness: Since Bob Dylan didn't officially make our list, we worked the poet in here anyway via The Byrds' version of the classic, "Mr. Tambourine Man". An opening lyric that, quite possibly, every warm-blooded American over the age of fourteen can sing along to. The tumultuous 1960s kept many people in a continual state of flux, and the music of the time permeated every cultural and political event as the one constant. The Byrds characteristically represent the idea that it's worth the while to just sit and listen to at least one more song.

Number 8
Artist: Guns N' Roses
Debut Album: Appetite for Destruction
Year: 1987
Song: "Welcome to the Jungle"
Opening Lyric: "Welcome to the jungle"
Reason for Greatness: For any small town kid moving to the big city, "Welcome to the Jungle" is their theme song at some point in time. Simultaneously frightening and disturbing, the song is both a reason to stay away and a reason to move immediately to the constant stimuli of big city life. Add to that the wild animal-like behavior of GNR band members (we're looking in your direction, Axl), and the opening lyric of Appetite's opening track is truly appropriate.

Number 7
Artist: Pink Floyd
Debut Album: The Piper At the Gates of Dawn
Year: 1967
Song: "Astromy Domine"
Opening Lyric: "Lime and limpid green a second scene"
Reason for Greatness: Combining both the poetry and the drug-induced insanity that would embody the band, Syd Barrett's opening certainly sets the scene for what was to come. And what followed was one of the greatest psychedelic albums of all time. While Pink Floyd went on to find success in various reincarnations sans Barrett, we can still picture him floating through the soundless vacuum of space: the Little Prince bouncing from planet to planet.

Number 6
Artist: Beastie Boys
Debut Album: Licensed to Ill
Year: 1986
Song: "Rhymin & Stealin"
Opening Lyric: "Because mutiny on the bounty's what we're all about"
Reason for Greatness: For over 20 years now, the Beasties have maintained their Mutineer status - doing whatever they want whenever they want, taking orders from no one. Few artists have stayed so true to where they started while simultaneously evolving with the times. They took control of the ship from the word go, and the rest of us have been following in their wake ever since.

Number 5
Artist: The Stone Roses
Debut Album: The Stone Roses
Year: 1989
Song: "I Wanna Be Adored"
Opening Lyric: "I don't have to sell my soul / He's already in me"
Reason for Greatness: Owning up to the fact that rock 'n roll is the devil's music, Roses lead singer Ian Brown one-ups original rocker and bluesman Robert Johnson's pact with Lucifer by claiming that (from the very beginning) selling his soul isn't even necessary. Brown's arrogance became his calling card, and though The Stone Roses only released one other album as a cohesive band, this cocksure debut has become monumentally influential ever since.

Number 4
Artist: The Clash
Debut Album: The Clash
Year: 1977 (UK Release)
Song: "Janie Jones"
Opening Lyric: "He's in love with rock n' roll"
Reason for Greatness: Few bands transformed the rock n' roll genre like The Clash. The opening track of their eponymous debut tells the story of a young man who hates his boring job, and just wants to love his girlfriend, have a good time, and listen to rock n' roll. Times change, but they also stay the same. Thirty years later and a new generation relates and understands - and that is the definition of Classic.

Number 3
Artist: Jimi Hendrix Experience
Debut Album: Are You Experienced?
Year: 1967
Song: "Purple Haze"
Opening Lyric: "Purple haze all in my brain / Lately things just don't seem the same"
Reason for Greatness: The definitive psychedelic rock album from the 1960s, Are You Experienced? opens with a popular sentiment among hippies and squares alike. By 1967 the Vietnam War, along with it's accompanying draft and protests, had left the nation confused and scattered. While Jimi's mind-blowing guitar work gets most of the attention, his songwriting abilities set the framework to allow the feedback, distortion, and sonic blasts to take shape. "Purple Haze" remains one of the greatest songs of all time because of the electricity present in both the music and the lyrics.

Number 2
Artist: Joy Division
Debut Album: Unknown Pleasures
Year: 1979
Song: "Disorder"
Opening Lyric: "I've been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand"
Reason for Greatness: Unknown Pleasures contains such passion and energy, and such utter despair, it is only fitting that Ian Curtis starts out with a plea for help. A tortured soul, no doubt Curtis could've used a hand. Tortured or not, though, most of us happen to feel the same way. Such begins our connection to Joy Division, relating to some of the darker emotions they personify. Turns out that for us, Curtis and Joy Division are just the guides we've been looking for.

Number 1
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Debut Album: Led Zeppelin (I)
Year: 1969
Song: "Good Times Bad Times"
Opening Lyric: "In the days of my youth / I was told what it means to be a man"
Reason for Greatness: Led Zeppelin exploded onto the rock n' roll scene in 1969 and forever altered the face of music, leaving it burned and disfigured. Rock blatantly stole from the blues, and Led Zeppelin was possibly the greatest burglar of them all. Musically and lyrically, their entire catalog is imbued with the blues. What they built from that foundation, though, was like the first skyscraper - towering above the rest in brazen glory. Our introduction to Zeppelin appears at first (and was likely written) simply as a standard blues line. Looking back now through the lens of history, however, we see that this lyric encapsulates that epoch of change. What it meant to be a man in the late 1950s and early 1960s undoubtedly had very little to do with what its meaning became in the late '60s and 1970s, and through today. The power, spirit, sexuality, and raw energy incarnated by Led Zeppelin helped make this so. What kind of man do you want to be?

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Tryin' To Get A Nut

Is it just me, or has anyone else in Chicago noticed the rabid overpopulation of squirrels in this city? Actually, I never noticed it myself until recently adopting a dog, to whom squirrels are the equivalent of crack cocaine. She loses all self-control upon seeing one, and I'm afraid of letting her off of her leash in the park for fear that she'll run away, follow a squirrel down the rabbit-hole, and I'll find her in a year banging Rottweilers for another squirrel rock.

Now I grew up in the suburbs with a backyard full of trees, and therefore squirrels. I never thought much of it beyond my mom's complaints about her garden turning into a buffet line for the resident squirrels and rabbits. Then I moved to the city and started seeing rodents of the urban variety. (I'll save my disgust for pigeons, a.k.a. feathered rats, for another time and concentrate here on mammals.) My confusion is how a fluffy tale is the difference between getting an exterminator called on your ass and crazy park-dwellers feeding you out of their hand.

From my bus stop on Marine Drive, I can look across the street into Margate Park and with the naked eye see five different squirrels scampering around within 20 yards of each other, and another three hopping between branches within that same radius. Can you imagine the reaction of North Siders to the sight of eight brown rats in that same amount of space? Granted, there may actually be exponentially more rats in that same space that just happen to be out of sight, but you get my point.

So how many squirrels does it take before they are considered overpopulated? Until they are considered a nuisance, and recognized as the rodents that they are? When will we stand up and scream: Not in MY neighborhood, Squirrelheads!


Or maybe someone has a recommendation for how to break my dog's addiction and I can go back to my affection for the cuddly rats...

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THE WHITEST BOY ALIVE

"golden cage" by the whitest boy alive, erland oye is a genius and he is the lead here.
i get motion sickness easily but still love this video.
i mean, its pretty obvious why.

I love the internet

Well, I was aware of their outstanding artistic abilities, but I had no idea that elephants could also outshine me at pub games.



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Next Big Thing Alert!

Another bunch of New Yorkers are set to take a bite out of the indie music scene. The self-titled full length album will be dropping in January, but in the meantime check out the video for middleCoast's potential next big thing, Vampire Weekend, performing "Mansard Roof":




Enjoy.

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another $50 brunch...

Let's start from the end. I found out after I walked out of the door of Sepia that it was there first month for brunch. Fair enough.
And I probably am a little critical since I am in the restaurant industry.
That being said, there were a few too many glitches for me to want to spend $50 for two for brunch. This seems to be a common plight, though, with the dinner place that wants to cash in on brunch once a week.
The room is great. Comfortable, warm browns. A revamped almost seventies feel with a touch of Baroque flair. It is a bit formal for a casual brunch, but it worked. The side by side two top tables were large enough that I didn't feel like I had to eavesdrop on the next table, unless I wanted to. The serviceware was all quality and well chosen. (HGTV would be proud of the combination of old with the new.)
The physical menu is striking. Embossed paper with a custom cut edge.
They cover most of the bases for brunch: pancakes, French toast, omelette, benedict, egg white scramble. There were enough twists to make the menu interesting - short rib hash, Berkshire pork belly benedict, homemade jelly doughnuts. Yet for some reason nothing jumped out at me. Perhaps it was me though, since I didn't even indulge in one of their BACON bloody marys.
Service started off well, albeit as well a little formal for brunch. I have no problem putting a napkin on my own lap, thanks. The server stressed how everything, including the jam is housemade, striving to use locally grown ingredients. And then mentioned it again. Then later, a third time.

-Small tangent - Getting very tired of "local farms," "organic," "housemade" being thrown in my face at every turn. Do I support it? Absolutely. It is essential for quality food and for not destroying earth quite so rapidly. Do I want to have it mentioned to me several times while I'm dining. Nope. Just shut up and do it. Take a cue from Crust. You don't even realize you are eating an almost entirely organic pizza unless you had previous knowledge, or read the small print on the menu.

Meanwhile, back at Sepia, we ordered the $5 fresh O.J. and grapefruit juice. Served over ice. Weird. Good coffee. So far, we're doing OK. For entrees we went with the "souffled pancake," the short rib hash, and a side of duck fat potatoes. The server had to lengthily explain, after we ordered it that the pancake was like a dutch pancake or dutch baby. Call a spade a spade. He also seemed frazzled when I asked if my eggs for the hash could be over easy instead of scrambled. After debating for a second, he allowed me to order it that way.

The food comes. My eggs are scrambled. No problem, right? The server will be by to check on us soon. Hey, and where are the duck fat potatoes? It's fine, we'll do without. So we dig in. The hash is great. Nice Yukon gold potatoes, sweet and sour cipollini onions and plenty of nicely braised short rib. And the portion size is appropriate. Sepia seems to be one of the few midwest restaurants that understands that I don't need to eat for two. The dutch baby was also good, but it was stuck to the very cool Staub cast iron pan, so we had to wrestle with our breakfast. The much ballyhooed jam was good. Not great or overly noteworthy. And a little too sweet for us. I did also eavesdrop to hear the next table say "where's the mascarpone?" for their chocolate mascarpone french toast.

And...where is that server? We are down to just a few bites left of brunch, when the gentleman I assume is the GM comes around to refill coffee. At this point, the eggs are moot, the baby has been eaten, but we don't want to eat, or pay for, the nonexistent potatoes. So we mention something. No problem. The server comes by quickly thereafter refills our juices (nice!)and offers us doughnuts or shortcake and takes the blame. Still comes off with class. We decline the offer. We're sated and happy. But he goes ahead and sends us out doughnuts. Filled with the housemade, locally raised raspberry-pear jam that was also with the dutch baby.

At this point we are ready to go. I am as guilty of the next person of wanting brunch to be fast and efficient, while managing to be relaxing.

Then again... where is the server? We still have to wait over 10 minutes for our bill. Our $42 bill. Which is pretty fair for the quality and the location. I guess. Perhaps I'm just sick of spending more than I make in two hours on eggs and toast. I ask for the remaining apology doughnuts to be wrapped to go, and receive an almost snotty response. Sorry you got chewed out by the GM. Lucky we didn't mention the wrong eggs and the sticky baby.

While many of the kinks were obviously due to it being their first brunch, the remaining service issues left us griping. Laughing and griping, yes, but still griping about how an obviously sophisticated dinner place couldn't quite pull off brunch.

Music & Movies

This autumn has brought with it three films revolving around musical icons that we at middleCoast are actually excited to see. The first is a documentary chronicling the life of self-proclaimed Punk Rock Warlord, Joe Strummer, entitled "The Future Is Unwritten". Filmmaker Julien Temple guides us through the ups and downs of The Clash frontman with his deluge of raw footage spanning decades.

The other two films have cast actors to represent their stars in a more narrative format. There is much ado about Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There", however the Todd Haynes film actually features six different actors depicting Zimmy in different stages of his life.

Finally, "Control" is Anton Corbijn's biographical film showcasing Joy Division's Ian Curtis. Sam Riley has received rave reviews, as they say, for his portrait of the troubled songwriter. At the very least, the soundtrack should be worth our while.

With the hullabaloo surrounding Joy Division, Radiohead (fresh off their own revolution) recently performed middleCoast fave "Ceremony" on their live webcast:




Enjoy.

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One Year Later

Hope everyone does okay today...










































































Peace and love.

-JasonToo

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iTunes Is a Better Deejay Than Me

In a frustrating realization, iTunes - more specifically, the Shuffle function on my iPod - has proven to be a much better deejay than I am. I always thought I could put together a mean mix tape. I related closely to Nick Hornby's Rob Fleming in High Fidelity. Friends and family appeared visibly excited when I gave them my latest compilation. I thought I had the stuff of a solid radio man.

Then iTunes came along.

Initially, I disregarded the Shuffle function. I thought it comparable to buying a greatest hits collection - artists put together their albums in a very specific order, and who am I to ignore the track order in which albums are created. But then I acknowledged the abbreviated attention span that all members of my generation are trained to have in order to survive, and switched to the Shuffle function more often than not when the white headphones go in my ears.

Shortly thereafter, I quit making mix tapes. As it turns out iPod's Shuffle function is much more equipped to string along 10-15 tracks in an order that becomes much more entertaining and cohesive than I am. As a matter of fact, here are two playlists; see if you can tell which one was created by John Richards, DJ Extraordinaire at KEXP, and which is from my iTunes Shuffle:

1) Radiohead - "Subterranean Homesick Alien"
2) Wilco - "Radio Cure"
3) The Who - "My Wife"
4) The Hold Steady - "Stuck Between Stations"
5) The Flaming Lips - "The Spiderbite Song"
6) The Rapture - "Whoo! Alright, Yeah... Uh Huh"
7) Gorillaz - "Tomorrow Comes Today"

1) Iron & Wine - "The Devil Never Sleeps"
2) Yeaysayer - "Red Cave"
3) The Kinks - "Waterloo Sunset"
4) Arthur & Yu - "Afterglow"
5) The Breeders - "Drivin' on 9"
6) UNKLE - "Restless"
7) The The - "Dogs of Lust"

(Answer: Setlist 1 = iTunes Shuffle; Setlist 2 = John in the Morning)

Who's to say that Setlist 2 is any better than Setlist 1? And yet John gets paid to put together Setlist 2.

Keep in mind, now, I firmly believe that iTunes' abilities to Shuffle songs into a quality mix only works if you do not skip songs. I'm convinced that the information that iTunes has to work with - genre, play count, year released, length of song, let alone scientific data such as sound frequency - is used to orchestrate an educated mix. Skipping songs doesn't allow for that process to take place in time, so if you're going to try this at home, please be patient.

Now you may be saying, "wait a tick, iTunes doesn't intentionally sequence similar songs together to create a good mix, you silly dolt." I say maybe it does, though. Maybe the programmers at Apple have purposely programmed it to do so. Or maybe not. Maybe it's proof that computer programs can LEARN.

Or maybe it's just that all of the music that I put onto my iPod is music I like and will sound good together regardless of the order. But that theory would defeat the whole purpose of this blog posting, so we'll just ignore that...

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I'm Not Old; I'm Classic

Well it's finally happened. I remember being a teenager and wondering when, exactly, the day would come. Now it's official. They played R.E.M.'s "Orange Crush" on classic rock radio. I shouldn't be all that surprised, I suppose. The song is about 20 years old, having been released on Green in 1988. But still...

Fifteen years old and I'm driving around with my restricted driver's license issued by the state of Kansas, listening to 101 The Fox, being educated on the greatness of bands like The Who and The Stones and Zeppelin, and simultaneously questioning the "classic-ness" of Foreigner and Bad Company and (despite the home-state correlation) Kansas. And I distinctly recall wondering which bands on Alternative Rock 105.9 The Laser (pre-Clear Channel ownership) would one day be considered Classic Rock. It all has to shift at some point, right? I don't know what happens to The Oldies, but eventually The Who and The Stones and Zeppelin will be The Oldies, just as R.E.M. has become Classic.

So here you go, a little Classic Rock playlist for you for the coming years:

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Upon Watching the Thriller Video Again: An Over-Analysis

So today is Halloween, and invariably BET just aired the classic music video for Michael Jackson's Thriller. I probably haven't seen this video in close to a decade (or at least, I haven't given it any real thought in that amount of time), and several things became evident during my latest viewing.

First of all, one must blatantly disregard the King of Pop's recent...shall we say...run-ins with the law, or else the video takes on an even creepier atmosphere.

Secondly, the surface level elements really stand the test of time, as they say. The classic horror film elements still work - it's friggin' scary. Being attacked by the undead (choreographed-dancing aside) is a highly unpleasant scenario, and the makers of the video truly do good work in costuming and make-up. Michael's zombie look is frightening, no doubt. However, if I were to pick between which I'd rather come across in a dark alley, I'd opt for Zombie Mike over his current incarnation:



Oh, and the song just so happens to be awesome. Let's not forget that. Granted, it's essentially a musical version of a horror movie. Not really sure which came first - the song or the video. But there is no denying it's inherent awesomeness. And honestly, the best videos ever made feature a Jackson (well, specifically Michael or Janet) leading a troupe of similarly dressed dancers in a mind-blowing routine. As proof, I offer this clip (full version here):




And from his sister (strangely, almost as disturbing a video):



Now that we have that out of the way, let's get a closer inspection of the Thriller video and breakdown the plot:

1) Michael and Girlfriend are presumably on a date, driving through a forest when the car seemingly runs out of gas. Girlfriend inevitably assumes Michael has planned this in order for them to be all alone together (keeping in mind, audiences in 1983 still believed Jackson to be a warm-blooded, hetero American male). Michael and Girlfriend start off on foot through the woods. Michael stops Girlfriend mid-stride to ask her to "be my girl", offering up a ring. He proceeds to tell her he's "not like other guys" (stop snickering). The light of the full moon then appears, and transforms Michael into a rather cat-like werewolf, and he begins chasing Girlfriend through the wilderness. Just as Werewolf-Michael is about to strike helpless Girlfriend, enter Twist #1:

2) Cut to: Michael and Girlfriend presumably on a date, watching a movie called "Thriller" featuring Michael and Girlfriend in the scene described above. Girlfriend is clearly scared of the movie, gripping onto Michael while he munches away on his popcorn, entertained by the flick. Neither acknowledges that either a) the two of them were the stars of the film they are watching; or b) they look remarkably similar to the actors portraying Michael and Girlfriend in the film they are watching. Whether due to the content of the movie or the thought of Option B, Girlfriend is too frightened to watch any further and gets up to leave the theater, with a frustrated Michael following behind her.

3) Cue the music. The familiar electric bassline sets the pace for Michael and Girlfriend to walk through the eerie streets of Random Urban City, USA. Michael taunts Girlfriend through song as they walk, which she apparently enjoys.

4) The couple passes a cemetery, and suddenly Vincent Price is heard narrating some Edgar Allen Poe-like tale that wakes the dead. Grizzly ghouls from every tomb climb up from their six feet under slumber, and before long Michael and Girlfriend are surrounded by zombies circling in on them. Poor Girlfriend looks from undead face to undead face, and then enters Twist #2:

5) Michael is also a zombie. Girlfriend doesn't even scream at this realization, perhaps not that surprised, and Michael commences to lead the fellow zombies through the greatest dance routine caught on celluloid. About halfway through, Zombie Mike turns back into Michael to finish singing the last refrain of the song. We don't even see Girlfriend for a good two minutes and ten seconds.

6) We then catch up to Girlfriend running into the standard horror-film scary-house, where Michael (transformed back into Zombie Mike) and company chase after her, busting through the windows and walls and floorboards and doors to get at her. She screams again and again, and just as Zombie Mike reaches out to get her, she opens her eyes to discover Twist #3:

7) She's in a normal home - possibly Michael's - and Michael is asking her "What's the problem?" Oh nothing, I guess. Everything's fine. It must've just been a bad dream. Or was it?

8) Twist #4: The finale - as Michael and Girlfriend head out the door arm-in-arm, Michael turns back to the camera to reveal his scary eyes (which are not the Zombie Mike eyes, but rather the original Werewolf-Michael eyes), and the picture freezes on his face as we hear Vincent Price's maniacal laughter take us to the credits.

Now, I'd never given all these gimmicky twists much thought (and most likely you're not supposed to), but there's something about Twist #4 that grabbed my attention. As Twist #3 unfolds, I just assume that Girlfriend has wicked-crazy nightmares, or maybe she's schizophrenic. But why does Michael flash us his werewolf eyes? Why doesn't he reveal the Zombie Mike look instead?

So what the hell is really going on here? Looking to the lyrics only disturbs me for modern-day reasons ("This Is Thriller, Thriller Night / 'Cause I Can Thrill You More Than Any Ghost Would Dare To Try" - how prophetic). So here's what I can figure: Girlfriend did, in fact, dream up the whole zombie sequence in some sort of schizophrenic nightmare. There were never actually any zombies. However, the movie they were watching - Thriller - was actually a flashback to Michael's father and Girlfriend's aunt, who dated briefly. This explains the obvious similarities in appearances between the two pairs. Now if you recall, Werewolf-ism is hereditary (see: Teen Wolf), so 1983-Michael - as far as 1983-Girlfriend knows upon Twist #3 - is a normal human. The final Twist is to reveal that he has inherited his father's gift/curse, and after the credits roll and the audience goes away, he's going to murder/rape/eat 1983-Girlfriend, just as his father murdered/raped/ate the aunt in the 1950s.

So basically both the 1950s and 1980s were remarkably similar in two ways: 1) they were both repressed and conservative; and 2) totally fucked up.


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Horrible Red Eye Front Page Pun o' the Day!

Introducing a new segment on middleCoast today - The Horrible Red Eye Front Page Pun o' the Day. Fellow Chicagoans are all aware of the free Tribune rag, Red Eye, a drek-filled tabloid presenting itself under the guise of "journalism". Though we're quite certain that the editors at Red Eye must have all failed journalism classes, as they regularly break simple rules of the trade, and usually on the front page at that. The most blatant disregard for intelligent writing are the front page headlines, presented more often than not as puns. Genius.

Yesterday's front page headline read: "America's Next Top Bottle" - a reference to the Nalgene bottle featured in the cover photo accompanying an article about the environmental effects of bottled water. Yes, yes, brilliant - take a serious and topical news story and draw people in by way of a reality TV show produced by the poor man's Oprah, Tyra Banks. Clever You.

So today's Horrible Red Eye Front Page Pun o' the Day:


(Don't forget the hard-hitting news on pages 7 & 16 as well.)

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Naming the Band (A How-To Guide)

While there are truly some fresh and creative band names out there, some of you struggle mightily with the all-important task of naming your band (we're looking in your general direction, Puddle of Mudd / Mudhoney). No worries, though, as we at middleCoast are here to help. Just follow one or more of these simple guidelines and you'll be opening for Mudhoney in no time.


Rule #1. "Definite Article + Plural Noun"

See: The Beatles, The Kinks, The Strokes, The Shins, The Roots

How-To: This one's by far the easiest for all you stoner rockers out there too lazy to get creative. Simply look around the room, pick out an object, and make it plural. For example, some band names to be made from mC offfices: The Chairs, The Steps, The Speakers, The Mugs, The Mints. Get it?

Warnings:
1) Be sure to utilize Google to make sure other stoner rockers haven't already come up with your new band name.
2) Make sure you're in the right room before using this trick, as The Bongs, The Ashtrays, and The Shitstains do not make for high quality band names.

Variations:
1) "Definite Article + Adjective + Plural Noun"
Taking Rule #1 to the next logical step so as to appear literate/less-stoned, add an adjective (that part of speech which describes a noun). Simple colors usually do the trick, as do any of the following words: Dirty, Flaming, or Heavy.
2) "Definite Article + Plural Noun-That-Doesn't-End-In-An-S"
See: The Who, The National, The Knife (for intermediate and advanced Rockers only).


Rule #2. "Flip & Point Method"

See: Pixies, Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Fall, Modest Mouse, Steely Dan

How To: Another relatively easy method for picking your band name is to simply open a book, flip to a random page, and blindly point to a spot on the page; then combine the combination of words already there into a tantalizing band name. Beat writers work especially well for this, as do religious works of fiction, such as The Bible.

Proof: We will now randomly flip through opening pages of our favorite pieces of literature to come up with 5 brilliant band names....
1) "Other Levels of Madness", from page 4 of On The Road
2) "Uniformed Dwarf", from page 6 of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
3) "The Korova Milkbar", from page 1 of A Clockwork Orange
4) "Blood Heat", from page 5 of A Brave New World
5) "The Accident Will", from page 2 of Slaughterhouse Five

Yes, it's just that simple.


Rule #3. "The Obscure-Pop-Culture-Reference"

See: At the Drive-In, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Futureheads, Fujiya & Miyagi, Radiohead

How To: Perhaps your band has a major influence, or at least an aspiration of an influence. Use this influence and steal obscure references at will. Similar to the Flip & Point Method, but here we assume that you have at least some passing interest in the piece of culture to which you're referring. It makes little difference, really, if the reference is to something high-brow (Radiohead is a reference to the Talking Heads song; BMRC a reference to the Marlon Brando biker gang in The Wild One) or to something low-brow (At the Drive-In take their name from the classic Poison song, Talk Dirty To Me; and yes - the Miyagi in Fujiya & Miyagi does in fact refer to the late great Pat Morita character). So think of your favorite band, song, or movie and pick out a really random portion of it that no one will catch until they're researching your backstory on Wikipedia for an overwrought blog posting.


So there you have it - if you can't come up with a killer band name now then you should just hang up the axe and go back to listening to your Puddle of Mudd CD. So good luck, and keep rawking.

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Membership Has Its Privileges

We at middleCoast are HUGE fans of KEXP, and have been donating to the listener-run radio station online for several years now. For the second year in a row, Chicago won the contest for highest-donating-city, so once again they brought the party to the Windy City. Last night was the members-only donor party at the Darkroom on Chicago Ave, and we had the esteemed privilege of finally meeting in person John Richards and Cheryl Waters, deejays extraordinaire. We were very geeked out to be speaking directly with two of the coolest cats in the biz, and they were both extremely kind. A strange thing to meet someone with whom you feel you know quite well, listening to their voices every day for the last couple of years, and know that they have no clue who you are. While we would've welcomed the chance to talk shop with these experts, we shared our gratitude and went back to our free 312 bottles. Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Airiel, and Mason Proper each took the stage later in the night as part of the free Equalizer show.

Thanks again to John & Cheryl for bringing the party to the middleCoast, and for continually bringing great new music into our world.

And here's a taste of what they've recently turned us on to - the hilarious grooves of Flight of the Conchords, Business Time:



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Top 5 Band Names (of Actual Bands Playing in Chicago Soon)

5. Captured! By Robots - @ The Note, 10/27

4. Scary Kids Scaring Kids - @ House of Blues, 10/21

3. Genghis Tron - @ Subterranean, 10/6

2. This Is Me Smiling - @ Shubas, 10/10

1. Dirty On Purpose - @ Empty Bottle, 10/5

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The Monkeysphere

Another brilliant essay from the boys over at Cracked.com:

What Is The Monkeysphere?

You'll never look at yourself or the world around you (or monkeys) the same.

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Cause I'm Mellow Like Jell-O Cool Like Lemonade

So as it turns out, The Beastie Boys are still that fucking cool. Forty years old and they still turn it in and turn it out. Also fucking cool is Dan Notter (props on mC!!!) for coming through with the ticket to the Northerly Island show in Chicago, which is a great outdoor venue. So on a cool September night under a near-full moon, The Beasties cruised through the array of punk, funk, rhyme, and rock that comprises their repertoire. Thanks, Dan!

A personal favorite:



Enjoy things.

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Top 5 Albums of Right-Now-At-This-Very-Moment

Wilco, Sky Blue Sky
Jeff Tweedy and company set out to make a beautiful record, and they've done just that.
Hi-lites: "Either Way", "What Light"





Blonde Redhead, 23
This one's been spinning in mC offices for awhile now, but we just can't get enough. Luscious tunes that are simultaneously crisp and sonic, analgesic and alarming.
Hi-lites: "Spring And By Summer Fall", "Heroine"




The New Pornographers, Challengers Somehow recalling the bittersweet symphonies of Pet Sounds, the latest release from Neko and the boys slows the anthems down a bit for a more mature sound that still keeps the fists pumping.
Hi-Lites: "My Rights Versus Yours", "Unguided"




The National, Boxer
The songwriting brilliance and developed melodies from these Brooklynites manifest themselves on their newest release. The National sit right next to The Arcade Fire, making believers out of us all that Music is a religion.
Hi-Lites: "Apartment Story", "Guest Room"




Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
The world would be a better place if everyone from Texas were as cool as these guys. The most recent release from Spoon is some of the best chill-out rock ever made.
Hi-Lites: "The Ghost of You Lingers", "Don't Make Me a Target"

I Get It Now

I finally purchased and listened to The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds all the way through. I get it now.

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Next Big Thing Alert!

Spinning in our North Michigan Avenue offices this week is a band out of Brooklyn called Yeasayer. We're jumping on the bandwagon early with these guys - everyone should take note, as they damn well may be the next big thing:

If you're in the Chicago area, they'll be rocking Schubas September 20th.

Enjoy.

-jT

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Lists! Top 10 Musicians/Artists/Bands I'll Regrettably Never Get to See Perform Live (& Will Have to Settle for YouTube)

We at middleCoast are big music nerds, and can't get enough of the live shows. Regrettably, there are a number of musicians and bands that we'll never have the chance to see live. Some of these artists have passed away, and some have just passed their prime to the point that they are no longer worth the ticket price (see: Rolling Stones). Fortunately or unfortunately, we have YouTube to tease us with what once was...

Here are the Top 10:

10. Elliott Smith
Probably safe to assume that you could never be sure what kind of show you were going to get at a live performance, but certainly the word "emotional" would be involved. Not many performers are able to create the kind of atmosphere Smith could:


9. The Clash
One of the most influential bands ever, we're seriously pissed off that we'll never get to see The Clash perform live. Obviously "London Calling" would be the highlight (and, combined with whiskey, makes us want to break things and revolt against all things institutional), but here's a rarity that displays why a whole live set would've been amazing:


8. Queen
Like a Wagnerian opera in Vienna, Queen live at Wembley defines a classic performance. Freddie Mercury had one of the top five greatest rock vocals of all time (a whole other future blog), and this happens to be one of the top five greatest songs from the 80s (a second blog-to-be):


7. Bob Dylan
Maybe a better poet than performer, Zimmy still helped lead a revolution. As he so eloquently put it himself, Bob Dylan WAS the 60s. To see him perform live in those days would've been special:


6. Talking Heads
With no reunion in sight, looks like we missed our chance at seeing these cats freak out on stage:


5. Pixies
I guess technically back together and performing, it's just not the same as when the drug-addled rockers were still drug-addled and rocking in the 80s:


4. Black Sabbath
Ozzy before he turned into...well...whatever-the-hell he's turned into plus face-melters equals RAWK:


3. Led Zeppelin
Possibly the greatest rock vocalist, greatest drummer, and greatest guitarist all in the same ass-kicking rock band. They'd be number one on this list if it weren't for the top two:


2. The Beatles
I mean, come on - it's the fucking Beatles:


1. The Who
Without a doubt the greatest rock vocalist, greatest drummer, and greatest song writer ever to take the stage together. Here's a double-dose:




Thanks, YouTube!

-jT

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This'll wake your ass up

Anyone who's ever seen Goodfellas (and if you haven't seen Goodfellas, go punch yourself) will recognize this Nilsson track. We at middleCoast, however, have recently stumbled upon an LCD Soundsystem remake of the classic, and if it doesn't get you going in the morning then you need to lay off the crack pipe:

LCD Soundsystem -- Jump Into the Fire, mp3

Enjoy.

-jToo

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Lazy Posting - Saturday Morning Roundup, Pt 2

Nothing clever or insightful to add to the blogosphere today, so I'll leave you with this video - Kidd Video, to be precise. I have only vague, possibly repressed memories of this early 80s Saturday Morning show. So whether you're old enough to remember this, or just appreciate neon, here goes:



I wish someone would take me to the Flipside...

-jToo

In Lieu of Actual Music Television...

Lately I can't get enough of of these guys going by the moniker, dan le sac VS scroobius pip. I'm mesmerized by the lyrical schizophrenia - or maybe it's just that this guy hates EVERYBODY. Either way, I'm a fan. Check out "Thou Shalt Always Kill" -




Less entertaining of a video, but equally tantalizing lyrically, is "A Letter from God" (this isn't necessarily religious, by the way) -




And if you're like me, now you just want to hear the original version of "Planet Telex" (don't think a music video was ever made, but this'll do) -




Enjoy things.

-jToo

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Happy Anniversary, MiddleCoast!

Well, well, well, loyal mC reader(s) - tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the very first middleCoast blog. Hard to believe it's been a whole year. Thanks to all who have contributed; and thanks to all that semi-regularly check back to see if our lazy asses have posted anything recently; and thanks to all those that have stumbled upon middleCoast because your Google search for Jayce & the Wheeled Warriors brought you here. We appreciate and love you all.

For year two, we pledge that we will post a minimum of twice per week - twice per week! That practically quadruples your mC intake! Which is very, very healthy! (Note: the editors of middleCoast make no claims towards promising any amount of quality in our posts, but then again, quality has never been the point of anything that starts http://www et cetera...)

And, of course, the Spirit of Schrowe shall permeate throughout all of our dabblings into the Minutiae of the Everyday. Gone but not forgotten, to say the least.

Peace.

-mC

Some Lolla Pics

A little collage from Lollapalooza 2007...

I'm a Lollapaloozer, Again

Well, once again three days of Lollapalooza has rocked my socks off, melted my face, and left me dazed and confused. So before the brain cells burn out or fade away, the final lineup:

Friday -
Bang Bang Bang
The Polyphonic Spree
Electric Six
MIA
Silversun Pickups
Blonde Redhead
Satellite Party (aka Jane's Addiction, aka Porno for Pyros)
LCD Soundsystem
Daft Punk

Saturday -
Tapes 'n Tapes
Stephen Marley
The Roots
The Hold Steady
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Spoon
Muse

Sunday -
The Black Angels
Lupe Fiasco
Kings of Leon
Peter Bjorn & John (unfortunately the speakers blew after only three songs)
!!!
My Morning Jacket
TV on the Radio
Pearl Jam

Dang.

Will post more when brain recovers. Also have pictures...

Enjoy your rock bubble...