Hair.

Got haircut. Look like retard. Ego shaken. My head smells like chemicals.

Happy New Year.

Winter Plans.

Things to do before winter break is over:

(1) pay my fucking tuition on jan. 3
(2) see Tropicalia exhibit
(3) go to Guggenheim to see Spanish art exhibit
(4) Pan's Labyrinth
(5) read
(6) there's a Buñuel marathon happening at the NYPL (Donnell Center) in January that I really want to go to
(7) fix the fucking tabs on my fucking music--just when you think you're done, you go on a downloading binge and find you have 200 new tags to fix
(8) get a haircut

Tell me if you want to come along for (2), (3), (4), or (6).

Life is Unfair.

Okay, so the grandpa on Everybody Loves Raymond, and the dude who made the Flintstones and now James Brown? WHAT? Fidel Castro still alive?! WHAT?!?!

Bummer.

Merry Christmas, I guess? Hope you're all doing well.


Aw, look at Bowie and Bing Crosby. How cute.

One Dolla, One Dolla.

School's out... for winter!

The second-best thing that happened to me today was going to the Lincoln Center Tower Records on its last day and buying like 11 for $13. I got Test-Icicles and a So Solid Crew album, and also the solo album of Hector Buitrago and one of the dudes from Café Tacuba, which is weird because I don't own any Aterciopelados or Tacuba album, but what the hey right?? They were both a dollar, so whatevs.

Oh shit, so Maria bought me a Sandman book, The Kindly Ones, which is the really really crazy book that sometimes makes me want to stab myself in the uterus so that I'll never have a baby. I'm so excited to read it, it's got a fucking amazing story arc.

The best thing that happened to me today was finding out that the Charlie Rose Show has a YouTube account. All the clips are short but I don't care!! I love him!

A couple more things!

Los Prisioneros are a cool band!!! Look at this goofy-ass video!!



And damn, they ain't bad lookin', neither.

But Soda Stereo were ever cooler!!! Check out that crazy terrible hair!!! GUSTAVO CERATI SIRE MY CHILDREN POR FAVOR KTHXBY.

Sick!

Oh jesus, my TA for this class I had added me on facebook. My stomach really hurts just thinking about it. I don't care if you're a student too, that's not punk rock. Especially if you spent most of the semester macking on all the long island hoochies wearing Ugggggs and Juicy sweat pants. Oh, and he's greasy. He's just... you know, that kind of greasy guy who goes to real people's clubs and buys really expensive bottles to impress girls who are still in their teens and then drop roofies in their drinks. I mean I'm not saying he has, but he sure looks like that kind of guy. IHU TA dude! You're disgusting and stop looking at my f-book profile!

On another note, I really really want to sleep with Gustavo Cerati! Just thought I'd let you know!!

+/-

+ On Saturday I went to Boogie-Down Nicole's house... in the Bronx. It was very nice. Man, her guitar is so pretty. We looked at old NMEs. Favorite front cover headline: "STROKES WRITE 14TH SONG". Holy crap, remember when they only had 13 songs? I do. "Ze Newie" 4EVA! We watched a lot of Top Chef. It was really fun! I wish I had cable at home.

- OH MY FUKCING GOD WHO THE FUCK SOLD MY EMAIL ADDRESS TIO THIS GHETTO ASS LAEBL HOLY SHIT I WANT OUT. FUCK THAT Ugh I hate fucking publicists putting me on every fucking mailing list on earth. I don't care if Snow Patrol has been played on Grey's Anatomy, okay? I don't care who the fuck Earl Greyhound are. I don't care if you're sponsoring some "hot party" with free Sparks. I DON'T GIVE A SHIT.

Okay, sorry. Off to finish my work. Two more papers to go.

Favorites Songs 2006.

I'm not gonna post these songs because they're probably all over Hype Machine anyway. Unless someone asks, I'd be more than happy to.

"Back to the 101" by Albert Hammond, Jr.
"Danca da ventuinha" by Bonde do Role.
"You Are Not My Boyfriend" by Britta Persson.
"Alala" by CSS.
"Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above (Spank Rock Remix)" by CSS.
"Sex-O-Matic" by Edu K ft. Deize Tigrona.
"Rock Stepper" by Excepter. (ZOMGWTF THIS SOUNDS LIKE A REAL SONG WITH LIKE STRUCTURE AND SHIT? SELLOUTZ! LOL AM I RITE)
"The Champ" by Ghostface Killah.
"Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley.
"Knife" by Grizzly Bear.
"Boy From School" by Hot Chip.
"Cuando hablamos" by Javiera Mena.
"Micael" by Juana Molina.
That Justice vs Simian song.
"My Love" by Justin Timberlake -> PROBABLY MY #1.
"Bossy" by Kelis.
"Una línea de luz" by Kinky.
"Ven aquí" by Los Bunkers.
"Kick, Push" by Lupe Fiasco.
"Friend of the Night" by Mogwai.
"No Hay Igual" by Nelly Furtado.
"Achete-moi" by Omnikrom.
"SOS" by Rihanna.
"Wolf Like Me" by TV on the Radio.
"This is Love" by Utada Hikaru.

Favorite Albums 2006.

Fine, here's my list, usual suspects, no one cares about it really, already regret the order, etc, etc, etc.

15. Los Bunkers - Vida de Perros (US release 2006)

The sticker said "For Fans of The Strokes, Oasis, and Franz Ferdinand." Accurate as hell. See? Why can't American bands do that? All they write is that they were influenced by fucking Radiohead. YEAH YOU TWAT. YOU AND THREE MILLION OTHER SHITTY BANDS WERE INFLUENCED BY FUCKING RADIOHEAD.



14. Jeffrey & Jack Lewis - City & Eastern Songs (US release 2006)

This album is totally worth it just for this crazy song about Will Oldham. The punchline is amazing. I bow down to Jeffrey and his brother.



13. Various artists - Big Apple Rappin'

THROW YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR
PARTY HARD LIKE YOU JUST DON'T CARE



12. Cat Power - The Greatest

For those of you who like sad Chan, fuck you. Those who like happy Chan chilling with old Memphis musicians, ILU. Still waiting for her hip-hop debut though.



11. Juana Molina - Son

You know, I didn't really like her when I met her, but this album is hypnotic with all those loops, and songs like "Micael" sound like creepy lullabies.



10. The Blood Brothers - Young Machetes

Okay, this is a backhanded compliment, but The Black Parade? Totally should have sounded like Young muthafuckin' Machetes. High-pitched, over-the-top vocals, abrasive guitars, amazingly fun.



09. Javiera Mena - Esquemas Juveniles

At first I wasn't sure what to make of her, I heard another soft-voiced, cute singer-songwriter this year I liked, and I wasn't sure if I was going through a phase. BTW, the other singer is Britta Persson, who was just reviewed on Stylus with an A-, which is ridic because I would really give it a solid B. Javiera Mena's debut is so much stronger and has this quirky electropop thing going for her. It's definitely grown on me the more I listen to it, too, which is always a good thing.



08. Marisa Monte - Infinito Particular (US release
2006)

I think Marisa Monte has one of the most distinctly beautiful voices I've heard in pop music. Apparently, she studied opera when she was younger. In the US, Infinito Particular was released simultaneously with Monte's Universo ao meu Redor, which I didn't care for as much as I did for this album. But still, she's a stunning singer and her compositions in this album really play up her voice.



07. Asobi Seksu - Citrus

You guys probably aren't aware of this, because Asobi Seksu had really shit distribution with their first album so no one heard it, but the band used to have a different rhythm section, and when I found out about this I was like, "Well, that's it, Asobi Seksu are over." Except this album happened and I was impressed by how pop-y and lovely it was.



06. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House

I don't know what to say that hasn't been said. This album is beautiful, that's all.



05. The Knife - Silent Shout

Sometimes I find singer girl's voice really annoying, but when you take the music into account, it totally works. I love how moody and dark the songs sound, and there's some real standouts, like that song with that video that was marginally based on Black Hole. Good shit!



04. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood

Last year, I remember listening to Buck 65's "Blood of a Young Wolf," in which my one true love Rich Terfry namechecks several awesome ladies within the same line: "I'm talking Amelia Earhart, Neko Case, Frida Kahlo..." I was like, "How the hell do you put a pop singer in the same fucking sentence as Earhart and Kahlo?" In 2006 I got to know Case's work better, and now I know that Mr. 65 was right. Neko Case is brilliant.



03. Various artists - Tropicália

I guess it's sorta like when people think of New York City in '75 or even the late '60s and they think everyone was so damn cool and talented and loved each other and were BFFs. That's how it feels when I listen to this shit.



02. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

Wow! A Brooklyn band that doesn't fucking piss me off!!



01. Liars - Drum's Not Dead

!!!

If You're Bored...

Here are my favorite vids of 2006. I feel like DoCopenhagen left a lot to be desired on their list. Most I've already posted. But here they are, all together in their full YouTube glory. Enjoy, or not.

Favorite Videos 2006

(25) OK Go - That treadmill video.


(24) The Rapture - WAYUH


(23) Supersystem - White Light/White Light


(22) The Gossip - Listen Up!



(21) Albert Hammond, Jr. - 101



(20) TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me



(19) Julieta Venegas - Limón y Sal



(18) Arctic Monkeys - Leave Before the Lights Come On



(17) Cobra Starship - Snakes on a Plane



(16) Thom Yorke - Harrowdown Hill



(15) Calle 13 - La Jirafa



(14) CSS - Alala (the bitch fight version)



(13) The Thermals - A Pillar of Salt



(12) Utada Hikaru - Keep Tryin'



(11) Justice vs Simian - We Are Your Friends or Never Be Alone or Whatever The Fuck It's Called ;)



(10) Arctic Monkeys - When the Sun Goes Down



(9) Gnarls Barkley - Crazy



(8) Mostro - Moha Moha



(7) Vaquero - Sunshine



(6) The Knife - Silent Shout



(5) Minus the Bear - Pachuca Sunrise



(4) Hot Chip - Boy From School



(3) Zoé - No Me Destruyas Más



(2) Mogwai - Friend of the Night



(1) The Mountain Goats - Woke Up New

Damn, I Hate Shakira.

How come she gets to be biffles with Gustavo Cerati AND Gabriel García Márquez? Fucking lucky bitch. That's even cooler than the Strokes chillin' with Kurt Vonnegut. I can't believe it. Do they know how fortunate these people are?!?! Grrr.

ANOTHER UNRELATED NOTE: I think Barbara Walters is gonna pick Stephen Colbert for most fascinating person of 2006 or whatever. Y/N?

Past My Bedtime.

Well. That's fucking embarrassing. This entire time, I had no idea that Gustavo Cerati played in Shakira's last albums. Which makes sense why there was a video on YouTube of her singing "De música ligera" back when she was still a brunette. I wish YouTube was working so I could show you what the fuck I'm talking about. Not that you'd care, but still. Also, I keep thinking I have a crush on Gustavo Cerati (old as he may be, lol), but then I see pictures of him and I'm like, "Uhhh nasty hair". I know, I know, I'm shallow. His voice is so hot though.

It doesn't matter anyway, it feels like I get a crush on every guy I see. I watched Saved twice in the last few days, and I have decided that Patrick Fugit as a Jesus-Lovin' Sk8r Boy is sort of what I'm looking for in a significant other. Le sigh.

Changes.

Holy shit y'all. Augusto Pinochet died. Perfect day to die, too. End of an era. Goodby you fucker. But thanks for helping Chile become one of the most economically sound countries in Latin America. It just blows that you killed so many people to accomplish what you wanted.

On a related note, I HATE THE MORNING NEWS. STOP IT. STOP TALKING ABOUT WHAT PET GROOMING PRODUCTS CAN DOUBLE AS HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS AND HOW TO DEAL WITH MENOPAUSE AND HOW TO TALK TO YOUR BOSS ABOUT GETTING A FUCKING PROMOTION. I DON'T CARE. IT'S NOT NEWS. It's absolutely pathetic that I only found out about Pinochet's death until I got to work and went online to read BLOGS (while I worked, of course!).

Okay, discuss!

Here's Los Bunkers:



This is a cover of an Inti-Illimani song, "La exiliada del sur," which is based by a poem by Violeta Parra, who's like the godmother of protest folk music in Chile.



This is the best song Los Bunkers have ever written, and it's a protest song of their own. I've probably posted this video already, but if I did, I didn't know the story behind it. It's called "Miño" after a man who lost a relative to asbestos poisoning; the company Miño's relative worked for profited a lot during Pinochet's dictatorship. Well, to protest the preferential treatment that this big company got, and how little shit they gave over his relative, Miño burned himself. To death.

Thanks.

Dear Boogie-Down Nicole, Gabs, Maria, Notorious Angela, and Rrrachel,

Thanks for the party, and thank you very very much for the gifts. I appreciate it. Damn, that food was good, right?

Love,
Elizabeth U.

Why I Like Calle 13, and Other Matters.

(1) I tend to have a rockist (or at worst, a popist) attitude about music, which leaves out a lot of musical genres that are worth hearing. Looking at the list I made this year, I felt disappointed that it was so monochromatic. I feel bad that I didn't give a chance to albums by Ghostface Killah or Clipse or Lupe Fiasco, all of them hip-hop artists who released albums many people enjoyed. I didn't even listen to the J Dilla, or the Plan B (the British dude, not the reggaetonero), or the Kelis, or the Calle 13. Part of the problem is that I never was a big hip-hop fan and I feel like I should know more about it before I starty saying "this is good, this is bad." But I'm just mad at myself that I didn't even try. How am I gonna learn if I don't even try?

(2) I don't really like hip-hop artists who sound like hip-hop artists. ("Say what?") Like that's one reason I listen to The Streets or Buck 65 more than anything, it's like they're talking to me more than they're spitting out rhymes. I haven't heard his entire album, but this is the reason I like Calle 13. He's called a reggaetón artist, but he doesn't sound anything like it to me. Like the two singles I've heard by him use interesting "instrumentation" for hip-hop music (I quote that word because I'm sure the sound was created by some man-made process in the studio...). If the rest of his album sounds like every other damn reggaetón album out right now (aggro delivery + dirty lyrics + THAT REALLY ANNOYING BEAT), then I give him many props for choosing such unusual singles. And he's one of those talkin'-not-rappin' kinds of dudes. I mean obvs he does rhyme, but what the hell, rhyming "Coldplay" with "Green Day" doesn't call for Puerto Rican Poet Laureate of the Year, or even this month, y'know. Do I make any sense? I'm not sure.

At the same time, his singles, especially "Atrevete-te-te" are fucking catchy. And the rappero seems really charming but not in an arrogant sort of way ('sup Daddy Yankee). Of course, Calle 13 has been around for like a year, and there's a lot that could go wrong, either musically or in terms of public persona ('sup Kanye). But let's not dwell on how everything might go wrong, and let's enjoy what Calle 13 is doing well right now.

I dunno, maybe I have a warped sense of this artist because I'm not in PR having to hear his songs all the time. I wonder what Julissa has to say about this? I remember she was like, "Bitch, please!" when I said I liked "Gasolina".

"La Jirafa"


(3) On an unrelated note, I'm incredibly mad that Buju fucking Banton got nominated for a Grammy. I haven't heard this album so I dunno if it's good. Ugh. I understand that saying something in a song and meaning it is two separate things. I mean, sometimes you just have to love the music even though you hate the artist ('sup M.I.A.). The problem is, THIS IS THE FUCKING GRAMMYS. They have no concept of "art" or whatever, so it doesn't matter whether his album was good or not. I mean, the Black-Eyed Peas got nominated for "My Humps", so that really cancels out any other nomination for an artist I might actually like ('sup Thom Yorke). Why the fuck did Buju Banton get a nomination???

Loose.

a - I admit I gave two whole stars to the Gwen Stefani album.
b - I got an A- on my Les Savy Fav paper (!).
c - There's this book I like called We Owe You Nothing, which is an anthology of interviews from Punk Planet. This is how I learned about, erm, Porcell. I really picked it up because the cover picture is of Bikini Kill. Anyway, I was finally ready to buy this book about a month ago when I realized I couldn't find it anywhere. I went online and found it was out of print. I was so fucking pissed at myself! BUUUUUT. Today I found out that they're publishing a new edition in April with new interviews!!! I'm very excited. I will definitely buy it this time around.
d - I submitted my Year-End List to TMT. I think it'll be published Dec. 20? So you can find out then what my #1 is. Some really great guesses, though, especially Christina Fairy's. ;) Even if no one guesses correctly, I'll probably buy a gift to whoever gets closest to the top of my list, haha. Good luck, y'all.

Here's a Hint.

WHAT THE FUCK MAN! WHY DID I DECIDE TO REVIEW THE NEW GWEN STEFANI? WHY DID I ACTUALLY GIVE IT A FAIR LISTEN? OMAGOSH Y'ALL I'M ABOUT TO DIE.

DEMENTORS > GWEN STEFANI.

No seriously, guess.

Contest, sort of.

Oh yeah, I went back to the school paper again for the first time in months, which is hilarious because it was the last meeting of the semester. We got cookies, though, that was exciting. Editor asked us our favorite albums this year, Kareem said Fiery Furnaces, which made me lol cos I had no idea they'd even released anything. I said _____, which made my editor raise his eyebrows in approval. I don't know why, to me it's a very easy choice. Anyway, guess what my #1 album of 2006 was, and I'll buy you a nice gift. Or something.

:)

mi mamá y mi papá me compraron una guitarra. fender squier, azul. ¡¡lo compraron en costco!! jajajaja. pues me lo compraron pa' mi cumpleaños. lo irónico, claro, es que no es mi cumple.

aquí está un video por vaquero que se llama "sunshine" que descubrí hoy. es muy divertido y me da risa:

Damn Hair.

Gabs told me to think about my head shape if I get my hair cut, which was a valid point, so I was thinking about people who have my head shape, and I couldn't think of anyone except Kirsten Dunst. Well, after googling "haircuts round face" I remembered Christina Ricci's head is pretty round, too, but I've never really liked any of her hairstyles I don't think. I did like that hairstyle that Kirsten Dunst got and later Maggie Gyllenhaal got because Kirsten got it and they're all like BFFs and shit. I'm only writing about this because I told my parents I want my hair like Kirsten Dunst just now, and I feel very goofy and like a sucker for pop culture/celebrity. Plus, not a celebrity I adore or anything, though I agree she has her moments. Man, if I get that haircut I'm gonna look terrible. I can feel it.