this is a warning to all of you! if for some reason someone comes to your door asking you to take part in some kind of survey about home allergens and the like, say no and calmly shut the door. my wife made the mistake of saying yes and was proceeded to have the bait and switch pulled on her by a kirby vacuum salesmen. i was sleeping and at about 5 pm i heard vacuuming and then male voices which kind of alarmed me but not really. when the vacuuming didnt seem to have an end in sight, i got up to see what the fuck was going on. long and short, they wanted to sell me this vacuum for $1945! by the time the left, 4 hours later, the price was down “only” $1100, we could put down $300 and our payments would only be like $80 a month for 24 months!? if i half a nut, i would have thrown him out as soon as i saw what was going on, but i am way too damn nice. i love at end of his hard sell he started the guilt trip saying that he wouldnt let a baby crawl on our floor with the vacuum we are using. so, dont say i didnt warn you.

friends of captains dead, hallelujah the hills are offering up a free download of their prepare to qualify ep, which i can attest is pretty freakin awesome. here be a couple of tracks, click here for the whole deal.

nurses 5 float past

let it wave

hallelujah the hills site

for my friends in the uk, on april 24 my favorite record of 2007, the everybodyfield’s nothing is okay is being released in your neck of the woods. i cannot recommend the sheer beauty and brilliance of this record enough. even if you’re not going to listen to all of the tracks, at least listen to “leaving today.” me thinks you shall be deeply rewarded.

leaving today

aeroplane

everything is okay

dont turn around

lonely anywhere

the everybodyfields site / myspace

as you may or may not know, or actually care for that matter, i am a sucker for the hook and harmonies. knowing this, it should come as no surprise to learn that when i popped in boston boys, the rationales’ the going is gone ep, my ears were like puddy in their hands. fronted by singer/songwriter dave mirabella, the rationales are made up of some of the finest musicians that side of the mason dixon, and their the going is gone was recorded at the famed q division studio with producer ed valauskas (the gentlemen, gravel Pit, graham parker, juliana hatfield). the ep is a cool mix of big star and kinks like poppiness and wilco and the jayhawks inspired rootsy jingle jangle. check em out!

no guarantees

on the vine

the rationales myspace

my path to the lemonheads all started with juliana hatfield, who i thought, at the time, was the most gorgeous creature mine eyes had ever happened upon. she’s still strikingly beautiful, that goes without saying, but my school boy dreams have since waned. i was a huge blake babies fan and when i read that she was going to be working with some guy, and purported boyfriend, evan dando, i was on board with whatever she was putting her name on. what became of this union was the lemonheads classic 92 release, its a shame about ray. by the end of my third listen i was like juliana, who? my only problem with its a shame about ray is that its too damn short, coming in under a half an hour. i suppose thats part of its charm and dando is a master of the 3 minute get in and get out pop song. so, really what am i bitchin bout? in my book, ray ranks in the top 5 records of the nineties, and is definitely in my top 20 of all times. it’s just a wonderful pop record about a boy, chicks, drugs, hopes and dreams.

i have been lucky enough to get my hands on a copy of the recently re-released rhino records collectors edition of its a shame about ray an am going to give it away to one lucky person. here’s a wee bit about the collection…

The 10 bonus tracks feature “Shaky Ground,” which was originally released as the B-side to “My Drug Buddy.” The remaining nine songs are unreleased demos that Dando recorded in 1991, including early renditions of album tracks “Confetti,” “Rockin Stroll” and “Hannah & Gabi,” plus “Bit Part,” which includes vocals from Hatfield.

The DVD contains 45 minutes of videos and live performances that were previously released only on VHS as Two Weeks In Australia. The disc features videos for several songs from IT’S A SHAME ABOUT RAY, including the title track, the breakout single “Mrs. Robinson,” “My Drug Buddy” and more. Also included is a video for “Being Around,” a song that would appear a year later on the follow-up to RAY and “Half The Time” from the Lemonheads’ Atlantic debut, Lovey. A trio of live performances include “Alison’s Starting To Happen,” “Ride With Me” from Lovey and “It’s About Time” from 1993’s Come On Feel The Lemonheads. The DVD also features candid commentary by Dando recalling the band’s wild Australian antics.

all you gotta to do to win is leave a comment, i was going to make up some elaborate challenge, but got lazy.

i love offering shows that i actually attended. today’s the lemonheads playing at the taste of chicago on the 4th of july in 92. its the xrt radio broadcast.

Continue reading ‘i love my drug buddy’