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Calendar
(updated 04/16
/08)               Movie Reviews (updated 04/16/08)               Mouse! (updated 04/16/08)         

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          Music Reviews (updated 04/16/08)                                            Photo Journal (updated 04/16/08)          
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***April Sixteenth Two Thousand and Eight***

    

I updated pretty much everything there is to update up^^^ there...the calendar now reflects noteworthy shows here in
North Carolina, there are plenty of new cute photos of my cat, I finally posted my backlog of music reviews...yadda
yadda yadda. 

In other news...there is no other news.  Trying to find a job, get settled into the new apartment, contemplating getting
a dog...the usual shit. 


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"Right, I forgot, here in the States, you call it a *sausage* in the mouth."

Barzin - Leaving Time.  One of my very favorite bands of the last few years, just really beautiful shit.  This band should
be infinitely more popular.
Bonus: Let's Go Driving

Sloan - Chester The Molester.  Canadian pop music, fuck yeah!  I post so many goddamn Cannuck bands I should
just change the name of this website to "www.doginasweater,eh.com". 
Bonus: C'mon C'mon (We're Gonna Get It Started)
Bonus: Stand By Me, Yeah

The A-Sides - Everybody Knows the Way.  Non-Canadian pop music, fuck yeah!
Bonus: Greetings.

Little Jimmy & The Sparrows - Snoring.  All of these songs are classic "novelty" songs, but they are still pretty rad. 
Obviously everyone knows the last track, mostly from "The Blues Brothers". 
The Cameos - Wait Up
The Cellos - Rang Tang Ding Dong (I'm The Japanese Sandman)
The Chips - Rubber Biscuit





***March Thirty First Two Thousand and Eight***


Sorry for the hiatus...spending a couple of weeks driving across the country, and then trying to weed through all of the
photos will take it's toll.  But the end result is there are a ton of new photo journal entries from the cross-country trip if
you are interested.

In other news...


My good man Todd sent this along a while back and it made me laugh...it's him as a small child being frightened by
his older brother in a costume.  But let's be honest, that outfit would scare me today if I saw someone in it. 


Another reader submission, this time from family friend Spiderman...maybe it's time to have a website spinoff,
www.doginakayak.com?


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"
Maybe I'll pick up a box of dong bags so we can knock boots later."

Calla - A Sure Shot.  Their newer record was only okay, certainly not as good as the masterpiece "Televise".  Still, this
is a nice track.

Danava - By The Mark.  Epic rocker.  Now that I think about it, Nearly all of their songs are epic rockers.

John Wilkes Booze - See Through Sound.  They're no Nation of Ulysses/Make-up, but I guess it's the best we're going
to get these days.

Johnny Cash - Saturday Night In Hickman County.  Newsflash: Johnny Cash recorded a lot of really good songs.

Morrissey - The Never-Played Symphonies.  Another B-side from the Moz, and like I often say, his B-sides are light
years better than the "hits" from most other performers.

Pinebender - Get. Grasp. Have.  This is just dripping with Chicago mid-nineties post-rock-ishness.  Not that there is
anything wrong with that.

The Kingsbury Manx - Harness And Wheel.  Easily one of the best and most underrated mellow rock bands of the
last few years.
Bonus: What A Shame

The Ponys - Everyday Weapon.  Everyone knows about The Ponys at this point, at least as much as I do.  Good band,
catchy songs, and apparently a nice live show though I can't verify that. 
Bonus: I'm With You
Bonus: Small Talk





***February Twenty Second Two Thousand and Eight***




Uploaded a few crappy scans of photos taken with my "real" cameras while in cambodia...I've got some cross-processed color
snaps I need to scan and put here as well, but god knows when that will actually happen.

                   

              


A few other photos that were on one of those rolls - these were all taken at a show that happened inside of a bus parked down
at Jack London Square.  The headliner was Thrones, and he was awesome, but of course all my photos of him were terrible.
Instead here are a couple of photos of The Grey Daturas (first two photos) and Bobby Bruno (second two photos).

              


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"One morning, over at Elizabeth's beach house, she asked me if I'd rather go water-skiing or lay out. And I realized that
not only did I not want to answer THAT question, but I never wanted to answer another water-sports question, or see
any of these people again for the rest of my life."


I'm going with a double helping of music this time.  We'll call it a late valentine's day present or some such shit. 

Coconut Coolouts - (Please Don't Break Me Out Of) Party Jail.  Is this the best song ever written?  I'm not saying
itis, but it might be worth considering.

Great Lake Swimmers - Song For The Angels.  This group of troubadours is vastly underrated.  All three of their
records are fantastic if you like what my friend Greg calls "sad bastard music". 
Bonus: When It Flows

Hot Snakes - Hatchet Job.  Probably as opposite of "sad bastard music" as you can get.
Bonus: Plenty For All.

Ladyhawk - My Old Jacknife.  Yet more greatness from the "Black Mountain" collective.  What is it with Canadians
and them grouping together and forming multiple bands together?  I blame socialized healthcare.  And moose.
Bonus: The Dugout

The Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running.  Coincidence that the only two really good songs off of their second
album are both about cars?  I think not!
Bonus: No Cars Go

The Twilight Sad - Cold Days From The Birdhouse.  I've always been a sucker for Scottish bands where the
singer's accent is so strong that you can even hear it when they sing (see also Arab Strap).
Bonus: I'm Taking The Train Home

Beirut - Prenzlauerberg.  The squeezebox never sounded so good.

C Average - Dark Harbour/Green Mountain Airways/Illgagaard Forever.  An epic track from an epic band.  Yet
another rad band that Joe Preston had a hand in. 

Maximo Park - Our Velocity.  As far as NME-hyped bands go, these guys aren't half bad. 

Morrissey - Good Looking Man About Town.  These tracks are more b-sides from singles; this man releases
more awesome songs as b-sides than most folks would dream of putting out as their proper singles.
Bonus: Human Being

Reigning Sound - Drowning.  It took me a while to get won over by the album these tracks are from, "Too Much
Guitar" - the album wasn't instantly as catchy as their other releases, but once it grew on me I might actually consider
this their best outing.
Bonus: If You Can't Give Me Everything
Bonus: I'll Cry

The Sea & Cake - Coconut.  They're never going to release a record as good as "The Biz" again, I've come to
terms with it.  But they still pop out a great song every now and then.

The Tyde - Brock Landers.  Shiny California pop.  Who can complain? 
Bonus: County Line





***January Thirtieth Two Thousand and Eight***




We took a nice trip to Cambodia, a delayed honeymoon if you will.  See the "Photo Journal" link above for a boatload
of pictures.  I also took a bunch of snaps with my "real" cameras, those photos will follow later. 

Also: It looks like our resident grappler has returned from the dead!  Read below for a new installment of Turnbuckle
Talk.  It seems our boy nearly got himself mauled by a bear...I'm sure those years of boy scout training came in handy.

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Turnbuckle Talk with the American Starship Eagle


Picked up a Leinenkugel and thought that a keyboard would go well with it, so it is time to give all you little mouth
breathers an update on what your pal has been doing.   Communiqués have been sparse due to the recent holiday
season and an obnoxious tour that had me by the eyelashes: Tealeaf Terror 2007.  What the hell you ask – my exact
words to my manager, Lieutenant Leroy St. Clair.   The good Lieutenant put it like this, "My boy, do you like king
cobras and four-armed, horny elephants…if so, we're going on a trip that will milk your prostate."

 

Damn, if he was not right; it was nothing short of 36 weeks of riding God's index finger.  However, there was one blip
on the radar that I have got to share with my friends.   We were finishing up our last night in Darjeeling and the
Lieutenant tells me that the company wants me to help put this new guy over.  To which I answered, "Of course, the
Eagle will trade fisticuffs with any creature…including cripples."

 

Well, that was foolish.  I get in the ring and there it is – Bruce "The Daddy Bear" DeBeau.   Not only did he make me
feel like whiskey breath telling me to keep this "our little secret," but his little crony frightened the pudding out of me as
well.  That bastard was wormy, pasty and decked out in a pair of overalls that would have made Dexy's Midnight
Runners proud.  

 

As I am processing all of this, Bruce sashays over and locks me in an inverted-Russian bear hug, with a French tickler.  
Listen - try having a John Oates mustache standing between you and the belt, while getting squeezed through the
glory
hole of life.  I will stop just short of admitting it, but there was a brief moment when thoughts of a problem danced
around
my head.   However, like Momma said I could, I quickly sacked up, dropped a Ronnie Garvin fist of stone on his
ass and
followed it with the European gutter cutter…the kid holds serve.  



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"Pain or damage don't end the world. Or despair or fucking beatings. The world ends when you're dead. Until then, you
got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man... and give some back."


Not feeling really chatty about the downloads available this go around...just don't miss the Isis or Destroyer, all those
tracks are top tits.  And all the songs are quite good, I wouldn't ass around with uploading them otherwise.

Bobby Bare Jr. - I'll Be Around
Bonus: What Difference Does It Make

Destroyer - Holly Going Lightly
Bonus: Trembling Peacock.

Ezee Tiger - The Tiger Bounce

Frank Black - Fast Man
Bonus: In The Time Of My Ruin

Isis - Celestial (The Tower)
Bonus: Deconstructing Towers

Land Of Talk - BreaxxBaxx
Bonus: Speak To Me Bones





***January Eighth Two Thousand and Eight***




HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL SEVEN OF MY READERS!!!
Somehow the month of December didn't happen on this here retarded website.  I have no explanation other than
someone might have slipped me a mickey.  Also, I had to go to Los Angeles over xmas, so the city of Los Angeles
is probably to blame too.


Top Records of 2007!

Honestly, I wasn't too jazzed on most of the new releases I heard this year...the first few releases on the list got a lot of
airplay, but for the most part I was either unmoved or downright irritated with most of the new albums on the year.

1.   The National – Boxer
2.   Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
3.   Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times
4.   Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
5.   Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
6.   The Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
7.   Thee More Shallows - Book of Bad Breaks
8.   Why? - The Hollows EP
9.   The Makes Nice - This Time Tomorrow
10. The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters

Call these the "also rans"...

11. Boris w/ Michio Kurihara - Rainbow
12. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
13. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away

14. Patton Oswalt - Werewolves and Lollipops
15. Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus!
16. Calla - Strength in Numbers
17. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
18. Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
19. The Dreadful Yawns - Rest
20. Okkervil River - The Stage Names

21. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
22. Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone

23. Steven Wright - I Still Have A Pony
24. Liars - S/T
25. Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara

I know I normally post MP3s when I write one of these lists, but I'm just too damn lazy plus I've posted tracks by
most of these artists through the year already.  Some of the links might even still be active.



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"
You've got one religious maniac, one malignant dwarf, two near-idiots... and the rest I don't even wanna think about! "

Blonde Redhead - Misery (Wicked Version).  Their new album was a pretty big disappointment, but this track is
pretty boss.

Death Cab for Cutie - President of What.  Not to sound like one of "those" people, but Death Cab's first record
really was their best.
  Consider this the smoking gun.
Bonus: The Face That Launched 1000 Ships.

Johnny Thunders - (She's So) Untouchable.  I can't stop listening to this song.  I'm not one of those Johnny
Thunders fanatics, but this is one of the catchiest songs ever written.
Bonus: Great Big Kiss

Son Volt - The Picture.  After a number of mediocre sad bastard releases (both as Son Volt and solo), Jay Farrar
finally managed to recapture some of that magic from their first couple of releases. 
Bonus: The Search

The Jam - David Watts.  The two best songs from the best Jam record of all time, "All Mod Cons".  It don't get much
better than that. 
Bonus: Down in the Tube Station at Midnight

Voxtrot - Firecracker.  I have absolutely nothing interesting to say about this band that hasn't already been said by
about a thousand music bloggers.  Catchy songs, interesting band, good times.
Bonus: Kid Gloves






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