music

R.E.M. was the first band that I loved on my own, that I hadn't picked out of my parents' record collection. Watching them perform, I had a vivid memory of being in eighth grade and going to buy the tape of Out of Time at Al-bums record store in downtown Amherst, and being embarrassed because I didn't know if the band name was pronounced "rem" or "R-E-M". But I had fallen in love, and I had to have it. I read about them in Sassy, and thought Jane Pratt was sooo lucky for being best friends with Michael Stipe. All through high school, I had a giant black and white poster of the band hanging over the sloped ceiling over my bed, looking down on me while I slept. I fell asleep listening to Automatic for the People every night for years and years (and I would probably still be listening to it on nights when the bar downstairs is really loud, if I hadn't broken the cd player in my clock radio). New Adventures in Hi-Fi was one of the first two CDs I ever owned. A college boyfriend had access to a rolodex for someone fairly important, and swiped out the card with Michael Stipe's phone number and address on it, just for me. (I still have it somewhere in my parents' house, but I no longer remember what the address was.) So yeah, I like them.

It's been almost twenty years, and R.E.M. is still one of my favorite bands, but I had never been able to afford concert tickets when they toured. On Thursday night, Mandi and I went to see the Madison Square Garden show. Seeing them play was amazing. It was a fantastic, high energy show--they played close to two hours of tight, fast songs, and we had great seats (okay a little far away, but straight back from the stage). The sound was pretty good for such a huge venue, and they had a great opening act I plan to check out soon (The National). They played many old songs, including "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville", "Losing My Religion", "Orange Crush", "One I Love", and "Man on the Moon." It was amazing to hear "Ignoreland" in particular, since it's from Automatic and I've heard it thousands of times. It was also great--and perfect timing--for them to play "Leaving New York". The only thing that would have made the concert better was if they had played "Nightswimming" which is my all-time favorite R.E.M. song. Maybe next time.

I just spent ten minutes trying to open a new CD. First, I had to get off the toughest shrink wrap ever. Which was also taped. Once I got that off, there was a decorative cardboard enclosure. This was also taped and glued closed. After trying to open it neatly, I finally gave up and just ripped it open down the middle. Finally, the CD! Which is shrink wrapped again. Finally, there's that layer of tape that seals closed the actual case. Victory, at last, along with a large pile of wrapping materials. That CD was better protected than some supposeably childproof medication bottles I've seen.

On a more modern front, thanks to Ticketmaster, aka tool of the devil, I have two free songs on iTunes. Two whole songs! This will come as a shock, I know, but I have never actually bought a song off iTunes before. I am old school and either buy a CD or steal my friends' CDs. What should I buy? I am torn between buying something ironic that I haven't heard in 15 years but which would provide me with a burst of nostalgic joy--maybe Total Eclipse of the Heart, which is now in my head, or Nothing Compares 2 U--and something that I actually, you know, really like and want to hear all the time now. Ideas?

Speaking of Ticketmaster, the reason that I have two free songs is that I spent an absurd amount of money on "convenience" fees so that Dave and I can go see RADIOHEAD. No really, for the money we spent on the fees for two tickets we could have bought another 1.5 tickets, so I suppose the least they could do was give me a couple of free songs. Also, TM is evil because I got in right away and had fantastic front section seats, and then the system freaked out and kicked me out when I got to the credit card section and I lost those seats and ended up with seats pretty far away. I was sad. That said, I am still completely thrilled to be seeing them. Their last tour sold out the New York dates in less than a minute and I did not get to go. Dave and I saw them on the tour before that--for Hail to the Thief and it was not only the best stadium show I've ever seen (included in that illustrious and group are such diverse performers as Bob Dylan, the Indigo Girls, and Nine Inch Nails), it was one of the best shows I've ever seen, period. We're seeing them at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA in August, which will mean taking at least two days off work in the middle of the week to drive an hour outside of Boston--which will probably be more like a four hour trip considering the traffic--but oh it will be worth it. Most especially if they happen to play "Fake Plastic Trees" from The Bends or "House of Cards" or "All I Need" from In Rainbows. I am so looking forward to it.

My New Kit, originally uploaded by zannect.

I finally got my own kit. It's very exciting. Now all I need are some mesh heads so I can bang away at all hours without making any noise.

And, of course, I should mention my many thanks to my lovely roommate, who was willing to let me put a kit right in the middle of our apartment!

"In C" performance at Darmstadt, 11/29/07, originally uploaded by dubitable.

I have been MIA the past few weeks due to an annoying series of computer problems which has basically rendered me laptop-less. A terrifying state, let me tell you. Anyways, they are not quite resolved but at least I have backed up my recent data.

Thursday night I was lucky enough to see an amazing performance of Terry Riley's In C at Galapagos in Brooklyn, performed as part of the DARMSTADT "Classics of the Avant Garde" series. I have loved In C ever since I first heard it on WNYC's New Sounds show, late one night. I own a couple of recordings of it but this is the first time I've seen it live. The instruments included drums, guitar, base, a toy piano, a trombone, a sax, voices, and several laptops. Dave was one of the musicians, performing using SuperCollider on his laptop. That's him in the second row, staring intently at his screen.

It was definitely one of those events that makes me really happy I live here.

Also, the New York Times liked it. The reviewer called it "the most vital, audacious and energizing performance of the score I’ve ever heard."