....more
May 26th, 2005
A quick one because I'm being kidnapped by my co-workers and taken to Belmont Park to see some horsies run around the track in a few minutes. I've never been to a horse race before, and I don't know whether to be excited or drunk.
I've got a f-load of work to do, and since I plan to catch Rilo Kiley tonight and tomorrow night (obvs.) at Webster Hall, it looks like I'll be spending my Holiday weekend chained to my computer. I guess that's FINE. My twink just started working at Astor Place Starbucks, and even though I've resigned myself to not get him fired by talking to him every three seconds, I still feel like I'm being social--which I like--even if I'm sitting in a corner by myself. ....more
May 25th, 2005
Some people think Shaquille O'Neal will make a great undercover police officer. I'm not sure what cover he'll fit under, but Mazda must make something in camouflage.
It's time for the requisite weekly abdominal update!
I know you've all been on the edge of your Pilates balls wondering if I'm as ripped as Usher yet, and the answer is no, not yet. But I think I know why!
...more
May 24th, 2005
This one's for the girls.
Guess who got pshnickered with her freshman RA this weekend?
3 p.m. I put on the Shins "Girl Inform Me" and GUESS what my itunes chose for me next? "WUTHERING HEIGHTS!!!" Still not over that song, in case you were wondering. ......more
May 23rd, 2005
We here at mk.com really heart you, pitchfork, but weren't you like, 2 weeks late on this?
I just realized something totally wacky. I mentioned how I think Matt Chamberlain's drumming on Fiona's Extraordinary Machine is his best work Tori's From the Choirgirl Hotel and then in the next breath gushed about how "Not About Love" is the best song on EM. Even though I retract neither of these assertions, it's funny "NAL" is one of the three tracks on EM WITHOUT drums. When the Pawn only had one song sans stickings ("Love Ridden"), yet it feels like a more subdued record--am I wrong? I guess nutty strings add a lot to an album's taste.
So what do we think of the new Rilo Kiley tour poster?
It's totally going to clash with my fire engine red Wilco poster from Radio City last Oct., but I really don't care. Our living space needs more oooooomph.
And what do we think of Miss Jenny Lewis?
Mark my words: she and her band will blow up bigger than bubble-yum this fall when they open for Coldplay and Warner re-releases More Adventurous. You won't be able to drive to the grocery store without hearing "Portions for Foxes" or "It's a Hit" on three different radio stations. Go see them now before they play places with mezzanines.
Speaking of Rilo Kiley, I've heard they have the most annoying fans in the (indie-sounding) buisness. I've also heard this of Ryan Adams. Anyone wanna take a side and email me your argument? molly.knight@gmail.com......more
May 22nd, 2005
Shout-out to my favorite (living) drummer in the whole world, Matt Chamberlain and all his great work on Extraordinary Machine. It's not looking like he'll ever be able to add that album to his official discography, which is unfortunate because it's his best stick-work since From the Choirgirl Hotel--of the stuff I've heard, obvs.
M.C, if you're reading this, give Epic a call and ask them to release your work to the world. I doubt they have a grudge against your happy ass.
May 21st, 2005
Update: Fiona Poll Closed at 8:57 ET. Here's what you chose (in order of extraordinariness):
Not About Love 31 votes
Oh Well 16 votes
Better Version of Me 13 votes
Extraordinary Machine 11 votes
Get Him Back 10 votes
Red Red Red 4 votes
Please Please Please 3 votes
Window 3 votes
Oh Sailor 3 votes
Waltz 2 votes
(Ed: I have NO idea where "Used to Love Him" falls on this list because I accidentally deleted the results, but I think it was somewhere toward the top).
If you liked that poll, you're gonna LOVE the new one.
May 20th, 2005
Since you are connected to my dad, Steve Knight, by two degrees-- don't even think about having a wedding reception.
Someone. Please. Take. Wuthering. Heights. Out. Of. My. ITunes.....more
May 19th, 2005
Can't the Catholic church afford Lizzy Grubman to clean up its image?
The last sentence of this article makes the Baby Jesus weep.
New York's great and all, but I really, really miss California. Specifically, driving around in my car listening to music. It's pretty much impossible to ever be bored when you've got CDs and some wheels. Whenever I'd start to get a little itchy-or need some kind of pick-me-up-I'd just hop in good ole' Lucky (and before her, Lucy, and before her, the HPMobile) and drive to the coast with the windows open and my speakers heaving on Volume 30, happy as a crackerjack. I imagine it's the same high one gets from cocaine or speed or learning the barking dog next-door fell down a well....more
May 18th, 2005
I dont know WTF this is, but I can't stop watching it:
Llama Song
Do you wanna know what the best thing in the whole world is to help a hang-over? Beatles records. All of them. That is, until you realize that your work is meaningless because every album you're assigned to review isn't fit to shampoo the Fab Four's nappy hair, and then you want to quit your job and spend your days in Strawberry Fields smoking and playing the sitar just for kicks. ...more
May 17th, 2005
OK. I just saw yet another track list for a mixed CD with Radiohead's "Just" on it. Can we all just put this argument to rest and agree that it's Radiohead's best song period? I know I know I know: "Paranoid F-ing Android." I know. But I think the people like "Just," just a little bit more. It's STILL popping up on mixes, naysayas, ten years later!...... more
May 16th, 2005
Why didn't anyone tell me how DREADFUL the Cardigans' Long Before Daylight is?!? The other two Cardigans records I have are SO good. It would figure this one would be at least kind of good, but no. What happened to Nina Persson? She got tired of being hot so she dyed her hair brown and started writing boring songs about ex-boyfriends. I swear to Dreamworks, she is is clumsier at writing about love than I am! How can that be?! .....more
May 15th, 2005
Come on. You know you want to download this:
Britney Spears- Chaotic
Not sure if it will be the theme song for her upcoming trainwreck set to pepsi commercials reality show of the same name, but still worth the prev......more
May 14th, 2005
Well, I went to the Mets day game today vs. the Cardinals so I'm already a bit pshnickered. I forgot my camera, unfortch., and I spent the 8th inning looking for nachos, so, of course, i missed the part where the game was decided. The Mets lost, making the home team's record when I'm in attendance 0 and 4.
May 13th, 2005
Choice excerpts from the Weezer Make Believe time-line style press release that landed on my desk today:
Spring 1993- After a year of slogging through the clubs of L.A., Weezer makes a fresh commitment to stop sucking and get signed to a record label. Confidence soars to new slightly less low lows, and they do get signed, in June to Geffen Records, when their tape is discovered by an A&R man on a desk of a colleague who had already passed on the band.
5/10/94- Blue Album released. The first week sales of 600 copies prompt careful tallying of everyone's friends and extended families. Only 550 people are accounted for, prompting an intensive nationwide search for the remaining 50 people. The record sells less in subsequent weeks as relatives can only buy so many copies.......more
May 12th, 2005
Is anyone reading this from North Dakota? I have this theory the place doesn't really exist. E-mail me. molly.knight@gmail.com. I want to profile you for mk.com. Seriously.
Do not, under any circumstances, allow either of the people shown below to serve you alcoholic beverages in a public setting. They may look innocent, but they're out to make a fool of you and then write about it. They go by the names of "Janowitz" and "Knight" and they are not to be trusted.
(from my guest bartending gig last Friday night where, as you can see, I clearly drank Neil under the table).
I know this is one for the Duh column, but Frank Black's new album, Honeycomb, is amazing. Attention fans of Dylan, Wilco, and Rilo Kiley: get thee to Best Buy on July 19th when this sucker is released. It's stunning...and it's just the only good thing coming out in July not from someone named Missy or Kanye.
I finally finished all my reviews and now I need to go eat something and put my hair in a braid. I hope I don't run into any of you on the street today. I sort of resemble a sick cat. With coffee breath. Yikes.
May 11th, 2005
Two things before I sprint toward the finish line of the "Review Ten Albums in 24 hours" race which by the end of the night will undoubtedly be re-named the "Sucking Wind Tour '05":
1.If you're a guy, and you go over to a girl's house, and you drink of her two liter bottle of coca-cola: when you screw the cap back on the bottle try to remember that the girl who will want to drink of that bottle tomorrow has hands half your size and can't bench press the remote control. Don't screw it on too tightly! She probably gave you flat coke anyway, but she's not gonna know that and feel stupid about it if she can't open the friggin' bottle because you were trying to impress her with your brute strength! (Oh, on that note: whenever you think of doing ANYTHING to impress a girl--like getting your eyebrows plucked or talking loudly on your cell phone on a street corner--DON'T BOTHER! We pretty much know if we like you before you even notice us. Honest.)
2.Over the weekend, my roommate Allie and I learned we have a ghost in our apartment. Allie was afraid of all the noise he--it's definitely a he--was making at first, but then she warmed to the idea of having a friendly ghost around to watch over the place. I named him Jeff, after her favorite singer--and mk.com resident heart-throb-- Jeff Tweedy, and I say hello to him when I come home from work, and goodnight to him before I hit the sack. You probably think I'm nuts, but I'd like to keep him happy. The only thing worse than having a living enemy is having a dead enemy.
.....segue to anorexic girls!
The first rule of Mary-Kate Olsen club is you don't talk about Mary-Kate Olsen club. ....more
May 10th, 2005
Enough updates today to make your head spin. But first, my email is molly.knight@gmail.com for those who were asking.
I've been (pathetically) looking to replace my copy of Tori Amos' From The Choirgirl Hotel for the last three years. I know, I know. It's one of my favorites, but, unfortch., I am LAZY. So anyway, I told Greg over at Academy Records on 18th Street (where I go every day on my lunch break* to geek out) to be on the lookout for a used copy. When I went over there a few minutes ago, he proudly pulled one out from behind the register. The cd on top of the stack right below it caught my eye: THE DEVLINS, in all caps. For the unobvs. the Devlins opened for Amos on the tour supporting Choirgirl. Someone is so TOTALLY messing with my nostalgia noodle.
*denotes zero to seven minutes in length........more
May 9th, 2005
A is for Apple
Anyone else notice Fiona's Extraordinary vocabulary? (If you still don't have the new album, for chrissakes e-mail me).
sten·to·ri·an ( P ) Pronunciation Key (stn-tôr-n, -tr-) adj.
(def.) Extremely loud: a stentorian voice. See Synonyms at loud.
Usage: A voice once stentorian is now again weak and muffled
(from "Oh Well.")
Ru·bi·con ( P ) Pronunciation Key (rb-kn) n.
(def.) A limit that when passed or exceeded permits of no return and typically results in irrevocable commitment.
Usage: The nickel dropped when I was on/My way beyond the rubicon
(from "Better Version of Me.")
fol·de·rol ( P ) Pronunciation Key (fld-rl) also fal·de·ral (fld-rl) n.
(def.) 1.Foolishness; nonsense.
(def.) 2.A trifle; a gewgaw.
Usage: Oooh, after all the folderol and hauling over coals stops
What did I learn?
(from "Better Version of Me.")
par·a·mour ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pr-mr) n.
(def.) A lover, especially one in an adulterous relationship.
Usage: Took the agenda from the place in my bed
Made a merry paramour of me
(from "Oh Sailor.")
May 8th, 2005
Scary Dan's review, the sequel.
tonight was a veeeeeeeeeery different animal than last night. like someone elses pet. i just wasn't warming to the opening songs. your freakishly accurate prediction for space dog got me going though. fun fun fun! her organ was fucked. i was waiting for her to pun on organ, what with the whole sensuality thing she's so big on...is it wrong to be disappointed that a crude joke is apparently above her?........more
May 7th, 2005
I'm looking at a review written by a non-American of Tori Amos' show last night in Sydney, and though I haven't yet secured permission to post it in its entirety, this is my favorite bit:
"I have a copy of the setlist, and it was played as is written. I think the main concern just now is that the setlist didn't have a town or date on it, so kids, that may be THE Australian setlist."
Don't blame me: I voted for Kerry.
Scary Dan destroys the notion that Australian Toriphiles lack the ability to assess her concerts without OMG-ing all over the page, with this cheeky, decidedly global review of last night's show:...... more
May 6th, 2005
Georgia teen suspended from school for 10 days for taking cell phone call from mother serving in Iraq during lunch-time.
Thanks, Georgia. I needed a lesson in Red State Patriotism.
*Update* Wow. I am floored by all the guestbook entries from Red-Staters. I am humbled by those of you who identify yourselves as Conservatives not flaming me; I am nowhere near as politically tolerant. But I've been to every state mentioned, and though I might not bleed red I've enjoyed the view.
If you're in NYC and you're bored or it's your last night on Earth or whatever, come down to Newgate Bar & Grill on LaGuardia between Bleecker and Third. I'll be guest bartending--which basically means I'll be drinking and DJing--with my friend Neil 'til 4 a.m. Though my tolerance is low these days, I'll TRY to match you shot for shot, as long as it's not jagr. Then you're on your own, Mr. Death Wish.
Do you live in Alabama? Mississippi? Indiana? South Carolina? Idaho? Wyoming? Alaska? Arkansas? Kansas? New Mexico? North Dakota? South Dakota? If so, get thee to my guestbook and talk about your favorite musicians/bands/TV shows/shoes/celebrities/vices etc. I don't know many Red-Staters; let's bridge the gap here, people.
Also: ScaryDan from Sydney, Adam from Gosford, Matt "It's my first show" Page, and Richard King of Scots, I expect a FULL report. And that does NOT mean reading what you have to say in some fruity yahoogroup or live journal post. I want UN-CC'D EMAILS, bitches. On a related note: will Tori Amos' Australian shows be a sausage fest?
May 5th, 2005
After owning it for 18 months, I JUST figured out my cell phone has the capability to play songs as ring tones (I'm a vibrate girl--get your mind out of the gutter). I downloaded my first song, The Beatles "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," over a pile of chips and guacamole at lunch. My friend Adrian--coincidentally the biggest Beatles fan I know-- called me one minute after I set it. A horrendous, muzak-y interpretation of the chorus blasted through the 14th St. Chipotle with enough intensity to draw a few stares from hipster types and their lunch dates. I was a bit bummed I paid $1.99 for the chorus and not the first verse, but I am told I have no control over these things.
I am more bummed that I can buy ringtones inspired by The so-corporately-hawked-we-make-The Killers-look-like-D.I.Y. Zutons and NOT The Pretenders. "Back on the Chain Gang" was my first choice.
Wow! It's 05/05/05! AND it's a holiday! If I were in 2nd or 5th or 12th grade right now, this is precisely when I'd con my teacher into heads-up-Seven-Up or baked treats or group sing-a-longs in espanol. So if you've got the chance to do slack off today, let me be the first to live vicariously through you.
More Tori Amos stuff. I miss 1998. Badly.
My favorite 'Cornflake Girl,' from Anaheim 98
Precious Things- Toronto 98
Cooling (w/Brambles bridge) Toronto 98
Precious Things- Frankfurt GER 98
May 4th, 2005
Risky Business
"My publicist made me give it up to Tom Cruise and all I got was this $101 bill for Valtrex."
(I took down the unfortunate pictures of Katie Holmes because the poor girl should be able to go somewhere on the Internerd and not them.
I know yesterday I posted some mp3's of Tori Amos' "Bliss" and "Juarez" but then I went home and found this old bootlegg from KROQ Acoustic XMAS '99 with the best performances of BOTH songs I've ever heard. (Bite me, Seattle). Because I was moving in to college while she was in CA on that tour, I missed her tour with Alanis so this was the only show I could attend.
I was sitting on the 4th level of the Anaheim Pond in the midst of a section of obnoxious 14-year old Blink 182 fans who I threatened to throw coca-cola on if they talked smack during Tori's performance. I needn't have worried. When she came out and began "Smells Like Teen Spirit" everyone in the arena shut the f-- up and stayed silent throughout her performance. I've never seen an artist command the room like that. She went on between Powerman5000 (metal band fronted by Rob Zombie's nephew) and Beck. No matter. You could hear a pin drop.
She was out of her mind that night-grieving yet another miscarriage according to her autobiography Piece by Piece. She might not even have known it would be her last performance before becoming a mother- her baby girl came into the world nine months later.
Tori Amos- Smells Like Teen Sprit (KROQ99)
Tori Amos- Bliss(KROQ99)
Tori Amos-Juarez(KROQ99)
And because there is no reason to hate this song when Jon Evans is not involved:
Tori Amos- Lust(KROQ99)
May 3rd, 2005
So I am interviewing the guys from New Order next week. Anyone have any questions they'd like answered? Email me at molly.knight@gmail.com and I'll try my best.
I know I keep harping this to death, but I swear to jeebus the Arcade Fire is the best thing to happen to music since Napster.....more
May 2nd 2005
BREAKING:
There I was, peacefully ready to slit my wrists during the 5 minute PSA at the end of "7th Heaven" about not being too proud to take food stamps when I received a text that read, "A female piano player opening for tori? Oh look! A pig flew past my window!"
Confuzzled, I fast-fingered it to thedent.com and became the 589,543,543,000 person to learn that Imogen Heap (and the Ditty Bops) will open for Tori Amos at Jones Beach and PNC Bank Center this August. Wait--I couldn't have read that correctly. A girl, a piano, and an amphitheatre? (Luckily I have a lot of practice spelling that word since I went to the same show over and over again all those different summer shows in 2003.)
The pros? Cheap tickets, sun, and an atmosphere totally conducive to drinking. The cons? Cheap people, too much sun, and an atmosphere totally conducive to drinking....more
May 1st 2005
Last night Q and Not U showed every one else I've ever seen up by playing for an hour and a half without stopping. I swear they sound more and more like Prince every time I see them. Lead singer Chris once told me they are like the gateway drug to punk rock, and I now understand what he means. If you've got some time and an open mind, download Q and Not U-"Wonderful People"
