September 2005

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Lists exist so I can complain

Because my boyfriend and I live 1100 miles apart, we talk on the phone a good 12 hours a week. Because we're dorks, we have lots of conversations like this one.

L: I got the new Spin today.
K: What's on the cover?
L: "20 Greatest Innovators of the Last 20 Years" Wanna guess who made it?
K: Sure.
L: Okay. Go.
K: Beck.
L: Good one, just a sec... [flipping through pages]... uhh... wait, hang on... hmm... he must be in here somewhere... umm... Whoa. Beck is not on this list.

Now I like Spin and many people associated with it, and I'm accustomed to their sometimes half-assed lists. (Remember a couple years ago when they published the 40 Most Influential Artists and left out the Pixies? Insanity.) But look at who did make the Innovators list. Krist Novoselic? Noel Gallagher? Brandon Flowers??? If you know who Brandon Flowers is, well, hello Spin reader! Why else would you be able to identify the lead singer of the Killers? I read the interview for some insight into why he's so innovative but all I got out of it was 1) He doesn't like people who make money selling Killers' crap on eBay. 2) He likes David Bowie a lot. 3) He didn't start that feud with the Bravery. So here's my list of people who didn't make Spin's, despite being more innovative than Brandon fuckin' Flowers. (Spin threw in a few non-musicians so I did, too.)

1. Beck
2. Spike Jonze
3. Kathleen Hanna
4. The Flaming Lips
5. Run-D.M.C.
6. Karen O
7. Prince
8. Liz Phair
9. Dr. Dre
10. Radiohead
11. Wes Anderson
12. De La Soul
13. Trent Reznor
14. Danger Mouse
15. Madonna
16. Sonic Youth
17. Jon Stewart
18. Mary Ellis-Bunim & Jonathan Murray
19. Missy Elliott
20. U2

Posted by Lindsey Thomas at September 29, 2005 5:06 PM

 

So very, very tired

Everybody's talkin' 'bout the MMAs so here's my two cents: they were more fun in St. Cloud. Traveling together by bus, everyone giddy and obnoxious on the way there, drunk and obnoxious on the way back-it really created a sense of camaraderie. Plus, people couldn't leave halfway through (the size of the audience that stuck around for Mint Condition last night was pathetic). Of course, it would've helped if the show had kept on schedule and ended an hour earlier. But I don't remember watching the clock in St. Cloud. Everyone was too busy dancing.

There were some great moments though, like watching Conrad accept his lifetime achievement award. STNNNG were amazing from the moment they exploded over Lori Barbero's introduction. They blew away a lot of people who never would have seen them otherwise. Also excellent: Nachito Herrera, Mint Condition, and Kid Dakota.

And, oh yeah, City Pages won the Print Media award. Again. Honestly, why do they pit a newspaper that's been around for two and a half decades and has a distribution of 130,000 against websites and zines (how do websites become "Print Media" anyway)? Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying they don't deserve to be in the same category as us. But they do deserve a fair chance. Why not hand out two awards for music coverage? One for Strib vs. Pi Press vs. CP vs. Pulse. And one for HowWasTheShow vs. MisplacedMusic vs. Rift. If there's no change in the ballots next year, I'm starting a "Don't vote for City Pages" campaign.

p.s. I took pictures but my computer at work doesn't have a USB port. Stupid outdated PCs... I'll take care of them at home but in the meantime, check out David's.

Posted by Lindsey Thomas at September 22, 2005 4:34 PM

 

I'll let you lick the lollipop

My blog's been transferred to Movable Type, meaning there's no longer anything saving you from my blurry, poorly lit concert photography. More to come...

Just got back from CMJ in New York and it really is the frustrating pain in the ass everyone says it is. I was mainly there to follow a few locals but the best non-Twin Cities show I saw was Amadou & Mariam, a blind Malian couple (currently living in France), who play jubilant Afro-pop. The Hiro Ballroom looked like an airplane hangar strewn with dozens of Japanese paper lanterns and Amadou & Mariam played beneath the head of a Chinese dragon puppet. A multicultural event, indeed.

Also, I love this store. The website doesn't do its non-stop-Technicolor-birthday-party decor justice. The place is frickin' huge and its crammed not only with candy, but with other stuff that only looks or smells like candy. And where else can you lay down a couple grand and walk away with a jewel-encrusted Pez dispenser? As I sat there, tackling a $10 Cheesecake Fantasy sundae and pitying the poor counter girls who have to listen to "Lollipop" and "I Want Candy" all day, the overhead soundtrack grew stranger. "Brown Sugar?" "Tootsee Roll?" by the 69 Boyz? I kept hoping for "Sugar Walls" but it never came.

Posted by Lindsey Thomas at September 19, 2005 4:13 PM

 

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