Weeds 3.7 - "He Taught Me How to Drive By"

Ever since my friend told me about the show Weeds, I've been an addict. Isn't that the most appropriate terminology for a show centered around a drug dealing mom? Mary Louise Parker stars in one of the most unconventional dark comedies, where a picture perfect town isn't as ideal as everyone would like to make it seem. Together with an incredible supporting cast (I'll let them slide on this whole Mary-Kate Olsen thing), Weeds keeps Showtime up at the top, executing top-notch comedies and dramas that don't fit into the mold of network TV.

This season we've seen Nancy struggle, as usual, in some of her darker times—that scene where she jumps into the pool with the Thermals playing in the background was one of the greatest music in TV moments, on par with Six Feet Under's use of Radiohead while burning the contents of their house. In this episode especially, we got some great Andy/Doug/Dean lines, and Shane Botwin may be the greatest kid ever. And okay, MK wasn't totally annoying, although great writing helps any wannabe actor. It was sad to have our first episode without U-Turn, although that funeral scene was hilarious. It's so frustrating to watch Nancy. You want her to win, but you know each time she gets herself deeper into a problem, it makes for much better TV.

The most interesting part, however, about this episode was its theme songs. If you aren't aware, each episode has a different artist covering the track "Little Boxes." We've seen a slew of great indie artists take their turn, but this week was the first rap artist, the Individuals. I couldn't find an mp3 of the track, but you can watch the video below. Pretty cool, eh?

Come celebrate Pop Tarts Suck Toasted!

I'll do my best to refrain from being too gushy, but I have to say that I'm so excited for Saturday night when everyone will be out at Cake Shop to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the fantastic blog, Pop Tarts Suck Toasted. You may think I'm biased since I'm the girlfriend of said blogger, but I can clearly remember reading Pat's blog even before I had ever met him. For the past two years he's provided us with unique insight on bands that I know I would have never had heard of otherwise, complete with thoughtful opinions and pride in his taste and his home in Staten Island. Although I may disagree with this whole toasted thing, and some of the music may not be exactly my cup of tea, I always know that whatever he has to say is passionate and honest. You can't get that in a lot of blogs these days, so come out Saturday night for some wonderful bands and an even more wonderful blogger. Congrats love, I'm so proud of you! (Okay, that was a little gushy).

Six Feet Under | Sia - Breathe Me

I've been listening to Sia's brand spanking new album Some People Have Real Problems, out in January on Monkey Puzzle. It's quite a fun collection of tunes and one that is worth repeat listening. But it has brought me back to my first introduction of the quirky singer, who was made famous when her song "Breathe Me" appeared during the final scenes of the Six Feet Under series finale. A classic moment in TV/music history, and when I watched the video again, I had chills like the very first time. Six Feet Under was notorious for perfect placement of songs, and this was their grand farewell. Simply awesome.

Gossip Girl 1.2 - "The Wild Brunch"

I have only taken on one new network show this season, and Gossip Girl was one I just could not resist. Brought to us by OC creator Josh Schwartz and featuring music supervisor queen Alexandra Patsavas, there was no way this couldn't be the guilty pleasure of the year. After two episodes now, I'm officially hooked, but frankly a bit disappointed by the music selections. Hey Alex...too busy with your new label?

Last night's episode was not as eventful as the first, but we were still bombarded with bitch fights, love triangles, and some witty banter (although none will ever rival the Cohen's). In this "Upper East Side" world, I find myself flabbergasted by the lives of this high school students, although I wouldn't doubt that its too far from the truth (New York Mag tallies up just how real, on a weekly basis). I love cute-guy Dan the most, so I'll keep watching for him and his washed-up rockstar dad, and I'm sure as the episodes pile in I'll be deeply immersed in their lives. Nothing can ever rival The OC, though. And I think they know it.

The first episode of the series opened with Peter Bjorn & John's song...yeah, you know which one..."Young Folks" so I had hopes that maybe Patsavas had something more up her sleeves. The second episode wasn't much better, playing Rihanna's song "Shut Up And Drive" twice (yes, she has another song besides "Umbrella") as well as some Bravery, Rooney, and Ferraby Lionheart. I hope, nay pray, that we get some cooler covers or a bit more obscure tracks throughout the season, however I think their aim is to keep it a balance between top 40 hits and cheesy indie tracks. Rooney was one of the bands OC pushed into the limelight, so maybe this was just for nostalgia sake? Will we have Bait Shop-esque performances in our future? We'll have to wait and see.

Rihanna - Shut Up And Drive

Rooney - When Did Your Heart Go Missing

Ferraby Lionheart - The Ballad Of Gus And Sam

Heroes 2.1 - "Four Months Later..."

So I finally got around to watching the first episode of the second season of Heroes, and only one thing really annoyed me. Where the hell was Sylar? Now, some people think I'm weird for having a really huge crush on him, but you'll have to accept it. He may be evil, but he's also quite lovable if you give him a chance. Remember that episode with his mom? Was real cute...of course, before he killed her.

Last year, Heroes was all the hype, so they have a lot to live up to in this season. I must admit this episode was a tad bit slow, but I have no doubts that things will start to pick up again. Frankly, it was just nice hearing the voice-overs and seeing my man Hiro smile again. I sure did miss them over the summer.

We didn't learn a lot, nor were many things wrapped up, as the (SPOILER ALERT) episode picked up four months after the explosion. Looks like Nathan is alive (at least, we think thats him) and he's got a beard and is a drunk now. Awesome. Claire's back with HRG trying to live a normal life and forget that she's not only a cheerleader, but one that can never get hurt. Love interest was introduced (yawn), and that silly dog was back again. Mohinder is making some deals with HRG, trying to get into the "program" or whatever that is trying to stop the Heroes. That may be one of the more important story lines to come, I think.

What else? Cop guy is taking care of Molly now, obviously not doing a very good job. She keeps drawing all these scary faces. Sylar, maybe? Or someone more evil. Oooh. We were introduced to two new characters, the girl kills people, but we don't really know how. Not too thrilled by them yet. And Hiro is back in the 1600s with his hero, who turns out to be a white guy. I hope Hiro comes back to present time soon. That whole story line isn't my cup of tea.

It was a lot of separate story lines in this episode, and frankly, a bit hard to keep track. I'd rather have them focus a bit more in episodes to come so things can actually happen. Mama Patrelli and Papa Hiro are apparently going to be killed, but we have no idea why. Someone came up to Papa Hiro at the end (Mama Patrelli?) but we didn't get to see his/her face. Hmmm. But of course the most exciting part came at the end where we got a glimpse of hottie Peter Patrelli who now no longer has his emo hair cut, but is handcuffed in what was supposed to be a storage cart for iPods. How did his hair get short? How did he get there? Who is handcuffing him? Interesting. Very interesting.

Can't say I was too disappointed by the lack of Nikki in this episode, but we better see Sylar soon. Please. Pretty please with a psycho on top?

(No music really plays in Heroes besides their score. So here's a cool preview of what's to come this season. I'm pumped!)

(Photos from Heroestheseries.com)

How I Met Your Mother 3.1 - "Wait For It..."

I'm never ashamed to admit that I love Mandy Moore, so hearing that she was going to guest star in one of my favorite current sitcoms, How I Met Your Mother, was fantastic news. A bit of a side note, but one day I was perusing the TV and ended up watching an Oxygen special on Miss Moore and it made me love her even, well, more. She's making smart decisions about how she's going about her life and I can admire that. Look at the other pop stars of her time and where they are. Mmhmm.

Anyways, the third season's premiere of HIMYM wasn't the best episode, but when it comes to this show, there never really is a dull moment. Like Heroes we have a character growing a beard, but Ted shortly shaves it off, as a metaphor for his "moving on" from Robyn. Barney was, like usual, hilarious, and when Ted meets Mandy in a bar, the drunker they get the better the jokes. Miss Moore played a tattooed bad girl (totally unbelievable, of course) but it was still charming as ever. Enrique Inglesias also guest starred, but he's not as cool.

Interesting to see where this season will go, now that we have a married couple, a broken up couple, and well...Barney. Below is the song off of Mandy's Wild Hope they played about 9 seconds of at the end of the episode. And check her out in one of the scenes, also below.

Mandy Moore - Nothing That You Are

Photo and video courtesy of CBS

Rescue Me | Von Bondies - C'mon C'mon

So I was talking to my friend Wes yesterday and came to the conclusion that I may not be a total music expert, but when it comes to TV and music as a combination, I may have a few things to say. And even though I hardly get to write up the shows I'm going to these days (PS - Beirut last night was frickin awesome), I always seem to have time to catch up on my favorite shows...and there are a lot of them. (Thank you DVR!)

So I'm going to attempt to focus this blog a bit about recaps on my shows (sorry if they will be a day late, i.e. I haven't watched last night's Heroes yet), and give some fun insight on the music and bands used in the show. Of course, I'll still be posting some regular blog posts here and there, because you know I have those 5-6 bands that I obsess about on a regular basis.

On Saturday, Pat and I decided to skip Les Savy Fav (don't shoot us) and instead got caught up in the first season of Rescue Me. Pat has been watching the show pretty religiously since the beginning but this was my first real exposure to the life of a couple firefighters in New York post-9/11. Starring Denis Leary, the raunchy escapades of a couple of guys actually turns out to be pretty realistic, portraying New York post the attacks in an honest and unforgiving light. Of course, there's tons of drama in the way, but Leary really holds his own as an Irish man (with a small butt) who can't get past the deaths of his cousin and the fires of his past.

Music-wise, I'm still behind (only mid-second season now) so everything is a bit behind, but I have to give the show credit for picking the most appropriate theme song to attach to the show. The Von Bondie's "C'mon C'mon" wouldn't have been the most obvious choice, but after listening to the lyrics, matched to the opening scenes, it's perfect. Just take a look at the lyrics:

On another day c'mon c'mon
With these ropes tied tight can we do no wrong
Now we grieve 'cause now it's gone
Things were good when we were young

With my teeth bite down I can see the blood
Of a thousand men who have come and gone
Now we grieve 'cause now it's gone
Things were good when we were young

Is it safe to say? (c'mon c'mon)
Was it right to leave? (c'mon c'mon)
Will I ever learn? (c'mon c'mon)
(c'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon)

I applaud the network, show, and music supervisors for the daring choice, and daring to take a show that could have been far too deep in its own nationalization to realize the true after-effects of a national tragedy. No one is perfect, no situation simple and Rescue Me doesn't apologize for that fact. I can't wait to catch up to the rest of the seasons.

Check out the opening scenes of the show and feel free to download the track below. Rescue Me just wrapped up its fourth season, airing Wednesday nights at 10 on FX.

The Von Bondies - Cmon Cmon

somewhere down the road...

I fulfilled my New York dream yesterday when I saw Ethan Hawke walking down the street, and then later into the same cafe I happened to be sitting in only moments later. For the past five years I have had this actor in the back of my mind, hoping, wishing one day I'd see him in the flesh. My first two years in New York I used to carry around a copy of his novel, The Hottest State so that in the chance I might run into him, I'd have something to start our conversation with. I did not have the book with me today. In fact, I was wearing my glasses, hair uncombed, old t-shirt with me instead. We locked eyes as he crossed over 9th avenue, and I couldn't help but follow him for a block. His pant leg was haphazardly tucked into his shoe, smoking a cigarette, just like anyone walking the streets of New York. I followed him for a block before he turned into an apartment building, turned around and walked to the cafe to get a drink. It was only a matter of minutes later when he walked into the same cafe to get a cup of coffee to go. I pretended I didn't see the lady he was with, no. I just peaked over my iced latte with a very large grin across my face. We didn't have the perfect conversation I have envisioned for all these years, no. We didn't speak a word. I managed not to take a stalker-esque photo or ask for his autograph. I think, as silly as this sounds, that we may meet again.

I wouldn't normally write such a crazy post like this (lies), but I had meant to write something about his film The Hottest State that I saw weeks and weeks ago at a preview screening. If you hadn't guessed, I'm quite a big fan of Mr. Hawke's work to date—from his acting to directing and yes, even his books. I've read them both, more than once, and while they may not be the most beautifully written prose my eyes have come across, the stories were engaging and genuine, so much so that I'm sure that they are based more than just lightly on his own experiences. And so I was excited to see the film, based on his novel, written and directed by him. I was sure it was going to be a heartfelt film, and I left feeling emotionally upset, it the best way, of course.

Like his novel, the film wasn't perfect. Most of the time I was squirming in my seat, dying for a cigarette, and maybe an intermission so I could breathe. It's a simple story of love that can't go right, a swift romance that doesn't let reality enter until its too late, and everything crashes down in front of their faces. The acting was perhaps too real at times, as I sat in the theater like a fly on the wall, wishing that I could get out of their as soon as possible because their fights and disagreements were too real for my liking. When I first walked out, I was uneasy. But as time has passed, I applauded Mr. Hawke for his effort. He didn't sugar coat what relationships are like. They are hard. Obviously, he knows this first hand. And although the critics panned his attempt, I found it thought provoking and intense. Intense is definitely the right word.

Ethan Hawke has always been a fan of music, of all genres. He handpicked the artists for the Hottest State, taking on singer/songwriter Jesse Harris on to help him out and appear in the film. I pseudo-stole a copy of the soundtrack after the film, and have found myself returning to it to remind myself of the film. It's a great collection of some indie greats and wonderfully scene-stealing scores.

Maybe I'll tell him all this, next time I see him.

Fesit - Somewhere Down The Road

Willie Nelson - Always Seem To Get Things Wrong

oh did the fortune teller say...

Like Laura Burhenn of Georgie James says, "it's been a long week."

I'm always happy to see a Friday, and probably because my little Jukeboxers (my new name for Jukebox The Ghost) have been occupying Pianos for the past three weeks. It's been a fun run, but sadly all good things must come to an end, so come celebrate tonight with me. I'm so proud of these boys, they really have perfected their live show and every one feels it in that cramped room. It's a joy to watch them each week, and I'll be sad to see them leave New York. Sigh. They'll be back for CMJ though.

I tried to come up with something creative for this blog, but of course I'm left sitting here scrambling my brain. Perhaps I've wiped out all creativity, or perhaps so many other bloggers are doing bigger and better things and it's almost not worth the try. Or maybe writing all day has taken its toll. Or perhaps there's just not any music that is making me ga-ga these days. All the artists I'm usually listening to, I've been listening to for a long time. It's been a while since a band has really taken me over. I await patiently. Please?

But like always, I'll find some fun indie pop to keep me occupied until some cute band of boys comes my way. I've been really digging Georgie James and Kate Nash lately, so much so that I've made it a new priority of mine to learn each word to each of their songs so late at night I can pretend I'm them. Or maybe for karaoke. Take your choice. I'm really excited to see Kate Nash next week at Joe's Pub. Her album isn't perfection, but I like her spunk. It's a bit too cheesy for my liking (imagine that), but I think she's got more in her. The Lily Allen comparison may be lazy, sure, I think she's more a British Regina Spektor, on her way. Plus, I like the dresses she wears.

The first Georgie James song I heard was "Long Week," the inspiration of this post. I was convinced it was a cover, because I immediately knew the words but can't seem to find anything online proving that fact. So then I found the rest of the album and was in completely heaven - a flawless album that’s both insightful and inviting, and jeez, I can't gush enough.

Happy Friday everyone. Tomorrow I'm off to avoid being squashed at Les Savy Fav while my boyfriend is sure to go crazy. And oddly, I'm pretty excited.

Oh yeah, I'm also obsessed with Kanye West. More on that another time though.

Georgie James - Long Week

Kate Nash - Foundations

The Diggs | Careen

I ran into Tim from The Diggs this summer at McCarren Pool and I remember how excited he was about the new album the band had been working on. Ever since I first heard the Diggs and then subsequently had one of my favorite interviews ever (jeez, that must have been over two years ago now), it's been a complete infatuation. Their second album, ctrl-alt-del will be out early next year, and I'm here to offer you the first track, "Careen." I've heard this songs a few times live, but not nearly enough as it deserves. Translation: repeat.

The Diggs - Careen

little boxes

I'm loving Showtime lately, even more so then (gasp) HBO. Shows like Weeds, Dexter, and Californication are my new obsessions and I start to panic after one episode knowing that its a full week before the next. I might, as I've heard, become too attached to things.

My good friend Toby Louie (you may remember him from the Birdmonster video) has entered the Showtime contest where one videographer will create a music video for the theme song "Little Boxes." Toby did a fantastic job, and used up and coming artist Emily Eddy to beautifully sing the tune. Go here to watch the video and leave him awesome comments so he can win!

Division Day | Enjoy The Silence

So I'm starting to remember how much I love Divison Day. Not that I ever really forgot, but for a band that is on the other side of the US and has only come to New York City ONCE, it's hard to keep the love alive. No worries, they seem to have taken over my mailbox with friendly emails and crazy covers, one of which I felt the need to post for the masses. See, they signed to Eenie Meenie not too long ago and the label will be re-releasing the fabulouso Beartrap Island on October 2. But in order to keep interest of die-hard fans, the band has been releasing covers on a weekly basis, and this week is none other than Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence." I'm not sure why I've played this 100 times in a row. It could be the song. It could be the band. I think it's both.

The band will finally come back to New York in October, playing a residency at Union Hall and some fun showcases during CMJ. Check out their website for more info and click here to find the rest of the covers! (I think there's also some sort of contest with a map to Beartrap Island, but I was never very geographically inclined.)

Division Day - Enjoy The Silence

the band marches on....

New York is hard.

I live the typical cliché in an overpriced, undersized apartment where I leave every morning to work the job I love but will never amount to the money I spend each time I step outside. I wonder how long I can keep up with this lifestyle, whether all the bands will meld into one indie rock category, night after night in the same three venues, ears ringing throughout the next morning. Whether I'll wake up one day and realize that maybe I should have majored in math instead of journalism, and that my conscious was right all along. Will I be chasing after bands when I'm 40? Maybe by then, I'll actually understand this thing called music.

I hate to sound disgruntled. But sometimes it's just easier to write it out, a practice I've become familiar with even when I didn't know I was familiar with it, back in the day. Memories of embarrassing journals flood my mind, and yet the most productive period of my life was living by myself in Brooklyn. Restless nights spent at my desk, staring out to the subway stop across the street, smoking packs of cigarettes and drinking far too much. But I would write. Pages upon pages of nonsense that once in a while turned into a piece I'd want to actually read when I awoke the next morning, hazy and confused. I can't do that anymore, I've either grown out of that phase or just cant smoke inside my apartment anymore. Perhaps both.

So I sit here searching for a song that will make me understand everything. I'm sipping wine and sneaking out for cigs here and there. Flipping through artists both old and new, waiting for the moment that the light bulb turns on and I'll be able to move onto something that doesn't swell inside my head. And there it is. Right in my face all along. The Tim Williams album has become my go-to of the moment and somehow Tim gets it. Or maybe he gets me. Or himself. Who knows, but somehow it allows me be at peace. At least for a couple minutes.

Tim Williams - Tape Your Head

Jukebox The Ghost | Ariel

Jukebox The Ghost have continued to impress me each time I see them play, even on a weekly basis, taking over Pianos this month for a residency. Each Friday it is packed with eager fans who aren't afraid to sing along and do a little dance. The three boys are out in preparation of their upcoming debut. This song, I believe is not on the album, but it was premiered at the first night of their residency. Oh, and I really like it, too.

Wakey!Wakey! | Fading Like The Fourth

Like Jukebox, Wakey!Wakey! has taken on his own residency, but at the comfy and snazzy venue Rockwood Music Hall just around the corner. Every Thursday the New York native has wowed the crowd, playing a ton of new songs, some that he had just finished that day. There's one new song that I immediate fell for, a Lower East Side love tune that Mike feels may be too personal, but could be one of the most heartfelt and geniune songs I've heard in a very long time. The video below is not of that song, but I felt the need to mention it. Hopefully I'll get an MP3 or video of it soon. The song below is "Fading Like The Fourth" off of Wakey!'s upcoming album that will be out really really soon (or so they tell me).

i was never a normal girl

Friday was the perfect pick-me-up I needed, a night where three of my favorite bands played, catching up with friends, and all around having a fabulous time. I danced like a weirdo during Jukebox, shouted out requests during Wakey!Wakey! and spent most of A Brief Smile's set going wow with Seth. I left Pianos in a very big smile (all those gin & tonics didn't hurt), and relieved because life has been super busy lately.

As you can imagine, things are starting to get crazy leading up to this year's CMJ, and it's only going to get even more nuts as the time draws near. I'll be able to announce a couple things I've been working on, outside or work, for that week which I'm so excited about. It's going to be a great great week.

I'm finally settled and happy to call my new place home. The weather has changed drastically in the week, with fall creeping in as each day passes. The first cold day (which was yesterday), I always switch from curly hair to straight and it was very strange yesterday to see how long my hair has gotten. May sound weird and you probably don't care, but it's the longest I've ever had my hair in my entire life. Strange, I've missed having one of those "firsts." It's been a while.

As far as new music, I'm finally having a chance to check out a lot of albums I've kept meaning to. I'm loving (in no particular order): Tim Williams, Octopus Project, Kanye West, Le Loup, Kate Nash, Rilo Kiley, Beirut, and Nightmare of You. I'd like to go into more detail on all, but I must be honest -- I'm a bit wiped out. This weekend was far from relaxing, and to be frank -- when you spend all week writing about music its the last thing you want to do on your free time.

But that's not to mean I will continue to neglect you, so here I am spewing my nonsense all over the place. I've caught up on a lot of TV lately. Have you seen Californication yet? I'm loving David Duchovny all over again.

Until next time.

VOTE FOR CASEY!!!

no more lies

Now that I'm moved in and finally settled, I feel as though I can breathe, and by breathe I mean write about something other than my daily music news daytime job. See, I've sort of half-heartedly decided that this blog is going to be of an output of daily (er, weekly) thoughts, and then have music play a part in there somehow. Frankly, I guess most of my thoughts have something to do with music anyways. It's a large part of my life, and even if it isn't the forefront of my mind, it's always a soundtrack in the back.

I heard from an acquaintance last week that I hadn't heard from in some time. When I first started this whole adventure, there was a handful of bands that I really latched on to, thinking most, if not all, would make it and I'd be able to be there with them along the way. I had all these hopes of Almost Famous like experience--a chick on the road with a crazy rock band, living the life and learning about life along the way. Anyways, this band and I saw differences about what "success" was, and as time went on, we both went our separate ways. There was no bad blood, of course. I can't keep those sorts of things on my conscious.

So turns out this band had some good news, and yet when I heard the news I wasn't surprised nor pleased. Partly, it came at a time where I was still juggling a million things at work, but also because so much time had gone and so many things had changed. I had changed. I've seen a number of bands I know go on to bigger and better things, and not to disservice those bands by any means, it's just sort of happened. And this band changed, and unfortunately not for the better in my opinion. There are still a number of bands left in New York that are still going after an image these days. I'm learning more and more each day how this industry works. There's a dark side. And I'm trying my best not to be part of it.

So I've sort of grown up, I guess you can say. I was 19 when I started this whole magazine/blogging adventure and now I'm making a living reporting about a scene that I hardly knew existed a few years before that. I learn a lot. I make a lot of mistakes. But somewhere in all of that there are these few surprises that help remind you that it's worth it, there's still something good out there.

The point of all this is that there is a band that I heard at the very beginning of it all, that I still believe in. And so it goes...

A Brief Smile has, I guess, grown up alongside me. Not much younger than I am, and still sticking with it, this band has been a constant for me, I can't even count how many times I've seen them live. Their latest effort, Now We All Have Horns in a way exemplifies every thing I've said above. This band has, for a lack of a better word, matured. They've found their sound. It's almost hard to put into words what that sounds like, but if you could put to music a certain "comfort" or "acknowledgment" Now We All Have Horns is it.

The band wrote, played, recorded, and produced every aspect of the album. Listening to it now is one of those a-ha moments, knowing all along they had this in them. Songs like "Vicious" and "Big Sky" had become live favorites for some time now, but hearing "Ladies And Gentlemen," "Tairs In The Cloth" or the instrumental noisiness of "red Giant 1406" and "Blue Star 2587" shows just how far both of us have come. I am a pop-music baby, a former teenybopper, who would not "get" this music, let alone listen to it on repeat. But I can find the talent and the heart in this. It's them. The long instrumental introductions, the wailing guitars, the cold-shoulder lyrics, and those grand ideas. And me? Well, after learning what "shoegaze" music actually meant, I've become quite fond of it.

And with that, the evolution of a band is heard through tiny speakers in a half-empty apartment. I listen to Now We All Have Horns with a certain sigh of relief. There's hope yet. And so much more time for even more discovery.

Check out their new website at www.abriefsmile.com. Upcoming shows include a slot during Jukebox The Ghost's residency at Pianos on September 14, followed by their record release party at Midway on October 4.

With that said, here's some exclusive premieres of tracks off A Brief Smile's new album Now We All Have Horns.

A Brief Smile - Never Have The Time

A Brief Smile - Ladies And Gentlemen

A Brief Smile - Vicious

tonight! underrated presents The Lisps and Square Wave Punch for Cross Pol!

I'm so sorry. I haven't crawled under a rock and forgotten about you, just been in between apartments and now that I'm finally settled, I want to return to writing here as much as I can. I was thinking about how much time I used to give to this blog and the magazine, as I was walking to work, and it was a funny feeling seeing how much life can change in only a matter of a few months. I now walk past the Chelsea Hotel every day, and I can't help feeling very nostalgic and yet hopeful about how the city, people, and even me will see things come and go, for better or for worse. I'm babbling again, perhaps because I've gotten more than enough sleep this weekend. I really missed my bed.

OK, time to celebrate tonight though. Seriously, come out to Pianos. I want to see all your faces!

My plea:

"Come all ye crazy animals to Pianos this Tuesday night for the weekly Cross Pollination. Underrated has been quiet lately, but we're back with a vengeance teaming up with our good buddies to present an awesome night of music....featuring THE LISPS and Sean from SQUARE WAVE PUNCH.

It will be awesome.

And free.

Tonight. 8 pm. Be there."

Sound good?