the scenes of keri hilson in her underwear rolling around in a lush white bed are more than a bit gratuitous… but i can’t stop listening to this song. it may not be deep, poetic or metaphorical, and its message may be cheesy and borderline gloria gaynor ”i will survive’, but its reassuring to know relationships do sometimes go through breakups and they can painful. it seems like common sense, duh, or as REM said “everybody hurts… sometimes”. but its funny how alone and hurt breaking up can make you feel, when really its something that everyone goes/has gone through.
i’ve had this song on repeat ever since i saw the movie 500 Days of Summer. i believe it was the music of the opening credits, and as soon as I heard it, i knew i was going to like the movie. part of the reason i love semi-dramatic films, tv shows, reality shows (Laguna Beach, The Hills) is because they have soundtracks. whenever you’re just having an awful time, and you’re walking through your office or on the street with this numb feeling, i’ve always wanted some ‘nobody understands me’ song start playing. on Laguna Beach, whenever a revelation is revealed of someone getting dropped or screwed over, a song of ‘why does life hurt? why don’t people think of me” begins, and i LOVE that. short of me carrying around a boombox with an unlimited music selection, or suddenly breaking into song, it’d be wonderful and comforting and not creepy at all to have a sympathetic, understanding song begin playing. perhaps this is why people get iPods. i’m not a big fan of earplugs though – i don’t want to constantly be plugged in for when a ‘bad’ moment arises for me to say ‘oh, sweet disposition by temper trap would be great right now!’ but i digress. add this to the soundtrack of my life/songs for moments that make me want to become better than myself
this show is going to be amazing. afterparty for serious heavy hitters only – it’ll involve a rooftop and the sun coming up.
The Dance Party www.myspace.com/thedanceparty
“If you’ve never heard the Prince George’s County power pop quintet the Dance Party, you should know they didn’t pick their name to be ironic. They really do want people to dance and party, as evidenced by their wild shows… In other cities, such a hedonistic musical approach might seem passe, but in the earnest D.C. scene, their rowdiness has made them stand out.”
- Washington Post Express
Ra Ra Rasputin www.myspace.com/rararawks
“Local favorites Ra Ra Rasputin give the best of both worlds, a live act that reliably can get asses not only in the door, but shaking on the floor with their infectious dance punk.”
- DCist.com
Tigercity www.myspace.com/tigercity
“With echoes of the Bee Gees, Prince and Roxy Music, Tigercity’s funky, electro-driven indie-pop was born of a desire to avoid what [lead singer] Bill Gillim calls the ’scratchy post-punk guitar sound’ New York bands have been milking for the past few years. The group’s earliest tracks relied heavily on synthesizers and computerized beats, but their move to New York brought the addition of drummer Aynsley Powell and guitarist Andrew Brady, and with them a progressively refined combination of New Wave’s mechanized sheen and funk’s organic grooves.”
- Rolling Stone
Casper Bangs www.myspace.com/casperbangs
“Rob Pierangeli, formerly of local indie-pop standouts the Hard Tomorrows, is back with a new project, and thankfully, the same knack for hooks.”
- The Washington Post
the song is nowhere new, but i’ve had it on repeat and been dancing all over the place. it’s also made me give Spoon a second listen to -> they might be one of my new/”old b/c they haven’t come out with anything lately” bands. i didn’t buy too much into that little yellow rollie-pollie thing at first, but it does become cuter and cuter the more you watch.
Architectural Digest/Professional Subscription Services/ PO Box 37640/ Boone, IA 50037-4640
sent:
Mariah Carey Ft. Jay-Z: Heartbreaker video
reasoning:
just rediscovered the videos from Mariah Carey’s Rainbow and Butterfly albums. this Heartbreaker video seems to be ahead of its time – so many elements are tricks they pull today and it still seems fun and innovative. the animation in here is adorable, and i like that Carey incorporates a fun sense of humor into her videos – the ex-boyfriend being attacked by popcorn and unable to gain Bianca’s attention, and the movie theatre girls’ bathroom catfight are shot in a similar whimsical fashion to one of her more recent videos: Touch my Body. ah i love Mariah Carey, her stuff will always be good, i equate it to a michael jackson effect. put on thriller at any party and people love it. and genuinely so, not just for its possible kitsch or nostalgia factor but because it’s good.
one thing missing in DC’s city life is street art – musicians, performers, or physical pieces. someone told me it’s because getting a permit to perform is fairly difficult. DC has a reputation for being cold and dreary, a place just full of suits and Hill staffers, i know it makes me happy to hear an urhu playing as i’m exiting out of the metro.
with this mexico city example, why isn’t there something similar in DC? there isn’t the performance space? billboards generate ad revenue, leaving no area to post artists’ works? the book exchange is particularly interesting to me. the DC SmartBike program is slowly catching on, but it still has many skeptics. the logistics of a book program would seem even more complicated. but it’s been done! and according to this video – works well.
its sad to hear the reporter say that for some Mexicans, this is their only ‘exposure’ to ‘culture’ they can afford. if anything, perhaps they are already more ‘cultured’ because they have realized the importance of and made such art available to the general public.
coming back from taking the GREs earlier this afternoon, i wonder if i can blame my low score on my musical tastes. if you matched my itunes library to this chart, i should have gotten somewhere along the 1076 - 1236 range. ugh to the beethoven listeners scoring around a 1300. typical. perhaps the classical music nerd stereotype does hold true. though i also wouldn’t put too much weight on the graph finding that country music listeners usually scored lower, and hip-hop or r&b listeners even lower. if anything, those listening to Queen, Outkast and Lil’ Wayne should be to the right in Beethoven area because they are all genius!
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington/ PO Box 96140/ Washington DC 20090-6140
sent:
Daytrotter’s Vault: Ra Ra Riot article by Jonathan Eaton and Ra Ra Riot’s Can You Tell Video
reasoning:
maybe not be the deepest, but it sounds the sweetest and sometimes being the most direct and obvious is more profound. while there’s an ongoing “sister fair” or “sister there” debate (it’s “sister fair”), according to youtube, this song has helped to progress many crushes into relationships. aww, the days of mixed tapes to signify the beginning of a young love.
i was bummed all week over a stupid boy, lack of money, and lack of job issues, but DDW had come into town, and when he suggested a tex-mex for dinner, i knew things would be good. we started off happy hour at Solly’s and then DC9 – a place i’ve taken a fierce liking to lately – dance parties, good bar food, chill lighting & decor, schlitz in a can, plus lots of open bars offering Sparks or redbull vodkas. while we were sitting drinking our Magic Hat #9s, Tigercity’s van pulled up around 6 and they started unloading their equipment. whee! so excited, but of course i just played it cool drinking my beer and talking to the 2 guys at the bar who were going to the 9:30 club for jimmy eat world. J.E.W. makes me happily reminisce about jr high, but this night – these guys were paying much more money to go to the wrong place to see the wrong band.
poor but sexy started off the night, local DC band with a keyboard, synthesizer and adorable lead singer who robot dances across the stage. i was standing next to the stairs to the left of the stage, and tigercity had a booth right behind me, so everytime one of the band members needed to get back to their seat, they had to walk by me. i was definitely the short little asian girl standing in the way, but i was also the one who ‘accidentally’ got to bump into each of them. yes, tigercity makes me a little giddy groupie, are they that big of rockstars yet? they are in my heart. you can probably tell that the rest of this show review isn’t going to turn critical, or disgruntled, the tigercity lovefest is going to continue.
reasoning:
parties, good bar food, chill lighting & decor, schlitz in a can, plus lots of open bars offering Sparks or redbull vodkas. while we were sitting drinking our Magic Hat #9s, 
