July 2005

Now the whole world knows. City Center is over.

Filed under: Imported

Posted by Lindsey Thomas at July 20, 2005 2:37 PM

Break it down

Filed under: Imported

More info is coming (in the form of an arts feature on Brother & Sister) but in the meantime, here are some Rock 'n' Roll Summer Camp stats.

Venues: 6
Bands: 11
Duration: 8 1/2 hours
High temperature: 97 degrees
Indoor venues with air conditioning: 0
Shoes that started melting in Robot Love's parking lot: at least 2 (mine)
Water balloons thrown (measured in laundry baskets): 4
Injuries: 1 (from a two-biker collision on the Greenway-nothing serious)
Roller skating guitarists: 2
Bands bizarrely focused on Native American genocide: 1
Bikini-clad girls onstage with Faggot: 2
Children under 12 who joined Best Friends Forever's dance party: 5

Posted by Lindsey Thomas at July 19, 2005 5:33 PM

Web Exclusive!

Filed under: Imported

Due to some editorial mishap, my review of Weezer's Make Believe finally sees the light of day... two months after I wrote it. Enjoy.

And in case you missed my post on Culture To Go, I'm bursting with bug juice-induced excitement over Brother and Sister's Rock n Roll Summer Camp, which happens this Saturday. Read about their mad, mad, mad, mad record-release show here or here.

Posted by Lindsey Thomas at July 13, 2005 2:13 PM

Let's Hear It for Awareness!

Filed under: Imported

I'd say I'm sorry for the lack of posts but who would I be kidding? I do have an excuse though; I was visiting Keith in Philadelphia. On the 2nd we walked over to Live 8 but the closest we got was nine blocks from the stage. So we sprawled out in the grass and let Linkin Park and Jay-Z serenade us. I was looking forward to Will Smith, Destiny's Child, and Stevie Wonder. Hell, even Dave Matthews would've been mildly entertaining (and resparked our ongoing DMB vs. John Mayer debate. Mayer's a hack, Keith.) Unfortunately we hit a bad patch in the line-up: Sarah McLachlan and Josh Groban, Def Leppard, Rob Thomas, Keith Urban. And I'm convinced that Jars of Clay grabbed some Mentos and snuck onstage disguised as roadies. But it was all for a good cause. Hunger has been eradicated, right? Right? As Keith put it, "We've raised so much awareness about hunger in Africa, the next Live Aid will have to raise awareness about obesity in Africa."

The next day we were checking out a bookstore when Rufus Wainwright popped in and asked if we served cappuccinos. We said, "No, this is a bookstore. And we don't work here." He was in town for the 4th of July concert featuring such great American artists as Elton John and Bryan Adams. Yeah, I don't get it either. Otherwise, Independence Day in Philly was eerily quiet. A few families in fanny packs milled around the Liberty Bell but that's about it. It seems everyone scurried to the shore to escape Live 8.

Speaking of awareness, I'm trying to cut down on my indie rock snobbery by raising self-awareness of music that normal people listen to. In Philadelphia, this involved several hours spent on Keith's couch watching MTV (highly educational for someone who doesn't have cable). In Minneapolis, it means making a point of listening to B96. Over a month's worth of mornings, they've only managed to play "Pon De Replay," "Just a Lil Bit," and "Hollaback Girl"--about fifty bajillion times each. Doesn't Top 40 imply that there are at least 40 songs?

More blogging this week. I swear.

Posted by Lindsey Thomas at July 11, 2005 4:23 PM

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