Music for Unicorns

For My Mom

2006-01-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

Mom,
Here is a song for you. I just want you to know that I am praying for you. It is by Iron and Wine. The song is called Upward Over The Mountain

"So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten."

Click here to listen to the song: Upward Over The Mountain
Love,
Niki

My Summer Playlitst

2005-07-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

Unicorns and Flowers: Our Fantasy is The Sun

As we walk through the backyards of our neighbors we will gather the flowers along the way. The sun is so hot it urges us not to stay.

The Imperial Palace at Tangiers calls our names over the sea. As we journey toward that magical place, where we will soon be.

The roads are twisting and turning, both angry and mad, because the royal Empress feels that parallel lines are bad.

She forbids bad actions, bad manners, and bad thoughts.. We wander asunder, happy and lost.

The road widens our trail is set. We meet a mystic Unicorn, she becomes our companion, our fantastic pet.

Tally Ho! toward towers, crumbling and fat. Onward ever tarry, past Marlon Brando's Laundromat.

We have traveled so far and so wide, we can barely walk Our muscles are sore, and our bones are chalk.

Just when all is lost, a merchant appears, "Do you have any water, any food?" "Yes indeed, and I have telephone poles for sale 2."

After wandering away and quickly gathering our goods, we wandered lost, picking flowers in the woods

Until we came to a clearing, we thought it was a joke, But no! The Imperial palace of Tangiers, urges us happily upon a cloud of blue smoke...

The Way To Shake IT

2005-06-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

I have to drop a line to the band V. Velella. They are excellent electronic something or other. All I know is that when I play the song Telephone Poles For Sale 2, everyone dances at my club Crash Course. This is pretty notable because normally it takes some Blonde or Moving Units to make the crowd swoon. It sounds like LCD Soundsystem meets jazz-moog, if that makes any sense. All of their tracks are available on their website, which is amazing. Also, they have a plethora of songs to choose from, twenty or more. I think they are going places, if not, then your can call me a liar. Check them out!

Jennifer Gentle Is An Italian Witch

2005-05-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

I you don't know Jennifer Gentle, you should. As well as being a mystical Italian witch, she is also a magical Italian psyche-pop band. The group formed in 2000 and has since released six records, the most recent being Valende, on Sub Pop. I daresay, they are the only internationally recognized group out of Italy right now that is producing the special breed of fantasy pop we all love. My music consultant played me I Do Dream You a song from their most recent album, and I was in love, especially with the balloon solo in the middle of the song. I was fortunate enough to get an interview with one of the founding band members, Alessio, which you are about to read!

Who is Jennifer Gentle?

Alessio: A witch!

Why the name, Jennifer Gentle?

Alessio: We love esoteric atmosphere, we thought that a witch name would might work well, maybe she is guiding us from another world.

Where do you live?

Alessio: I live in Abano Terme, near Padova, a town in north-east of Italy. It is close to Venice. Marco lives in Padova.

When and how did Jennifer Gentle form?

Alessio: Marco broke with his previous band, Carcers. I was a Carcers fan since I booked a concert for them in my venue Plan 9. We started together, then we asked other guys to play with us but we have always been the core of the band. Now some people around us has changed and the last record was recorded just by me and Marco. On stage we are 5, I play drums, Marco guitar and voice, Isaacs or Paolo guitar, Liviano keyboards, Francesco bass.

What is your approach to creating music?

Alessio: Marco always experiments with his 4 track tape machine. His approach is very free, when he feels inspired he records a song which is developed together by trying different solution. We try to capture the right sound to create the best atmosphere for what we feel. Everything should sound natural and pure.

Do the lyrics or the instrumental music come first?

Alessio: Instrumental with the voice part, then Marco writes lyrics with attention of the sound of the words. Musicality of the lyrics it is our first aim.

I hear some 1960s British influence, (ie: the Kinks, Sid Barret), is that present in the music?

Alessio: Yes, sure, but we love also ‘50’s and ‘70’s music. Marco is more interested in ‘50’s than ‘60’s…

If you could live through any decade, what would that be?

Alessio: I choose ‘20’s-‘30’s, Marco ‘50’s. No Jennifer Gentle in this case

What records have you put out?

Alessio: Our first record is “I am you are” (2001). The second album is “Funny Creatures Lane” (2002). The same year we published a live album with Kawabata Makoto (Acid Mothers Temple) called “The Wrong Cage”. In 2003 a 2-cd reissue called “Ectoplasmic Garden Party” was published by the Australian label “Ectoplasmic Garden Party”. In 2005 “Valende” was out for Sub Pop Records.

Do you listen to Celine Dion?

Alessio: Should I?

What music do you listen to?

Alessio: Everything! Can, Amon Duul, Pink Floyd, Velvet Underground, Tom Waits, Miles Davis, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Cramps, violent Femmes, Television, Nico, Beatles, Rolling Stones……………………………………………………………

Are you involved in the music scene in your community on a local level?

Alessio: No.

Jennifer Gentle seems to be the new Italian Psyche poster child, along with international contemporaries like Acid Mother Temple, Six Organs of Admittance and Simon Finn. Is this label accurate?

Alessio: It could be for some side of Jennifer Gentle music but we are more interested in pop songs. We love both freak-out jam and stupid pop songs…

Are there other Psyche bands roaming the Italian forests?

Alessio: No.

Describe one of your recent performances:

Alessio: When we can play with our complete backline we have three different set. A total acoustic moment, a electro-acoustic moment and a total electric moment with a couple of freak-out jam. I think it is a good performance with different atmosphere.

How did you get involved with American Label, Sub Pop?

Alessio: As I told you before, we published a 2-cd anthology of our first 2 cd. Ectoplasmic Garden Party was well distributed in USA and a copy arrived in a Seattle music store and captured Dean attention. Dean is our A/R at Sub Pop. He wrote us to have more info about Jennifer Gentle and so we got in touch. After a bunch of e-mail, a meeting in Florence, some phone calling we signed for Sub Pop. We are very happy about that.

Do you plan on touring to the US anytime soon?

Alessio: Hey man! We toured since two weeks ago for one month and half in the USA…please, we need to stay with our family!!!

If you come here on tour, can my band Cosmic Star (Cosmic Star: http://www.cosmicstar.co.uk) play a show with you in San Francisco?

Alessio: We had a very good time there. We played at the Bottom of the Hill and by Amoeba Records. Usually the local band are chosen by the local promoter…however let’s keep in touch!

Do you have any magical words for your fans?

Alessio: Enjoy yourself!!!

Thanks!

Alessio: THANK YOU!!!

Listen to:I Do Dream You

Twinkling Sweets Party- Cosmic Star EP Release!

2005-05-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

Cosmic Star just released their first EP Twinkling Sweets Party It is available from the XIP webstore. Check out this avant pop/ disco-folk masterpiece full of charming songs and magical animals. Each CD features six little tunes and a hand drawn animal by yours truly. One of the stranger melodies, Blue Smoke has remnants of They Might Be Giants and French accordion music. The album is rife with strange enchanting instruments: auto-harp, melodica, accordion, keytar, xylophone, moog and much more! Expose yourself in the danger with this bizarre must awesome want! Buy it today!

The Best of the Worst: A Quarter Century of Music

2005-04-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

The new year, for some of us it starts on January first, for students it begins in the fall with school, and for others, it begins on the day you get a little older and a little less wise. My year is marked by a Catholic, Pagan, Communist holiday, May First, the day I was born. To commemorate the passing of a quarter of a century under my belt, I have chosen to provide you all with a little list of infamy. My list is about music that has struck a very out of tune chord within me, videos whose sole purpose is to make those watching them slightly uncomfortable yet utterly fascinated, and performance that walks the line between naive camp and sophisticated farce. The list starts here:

5. Fuck My Heart
This song wins for the over all best/worst lyrics ever written. Had it not been for the musical integrator, Grey Day and a little tip off by yours truly, this amazing rendition of one suicide girl's personal diary entry/song lyrics would have gone virtually un-noticed. I think some of the the most poignant lyrics are: "Fuck my heart. Fuck it apart with reality and truth" and "This garden is like a molested cunt in winter". The song Fuck My Heart smells like it sounds, Juicy.

4. America We Stand As One
This song is really bad, it's especially bad because it is utterly honest. I mean, its not one of those jokey things like the last song, oh no, it is ridiculously earnest, in fact the artist has a website devoted to the cause. And the cause is America We Stand As One. I think this may have been some kind of September 11th inspired patriotic crap, but in the best worst way. The America We Stand As One video features Dennis Madalone in all his patricotic glory. There are beaches turned to American flags, firemen holding American flags and children, lots of children and angels.

3. Crackpot
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse... Here comes Crackpot. This song is amazingly bad, and wonderfully current featured on this Toronto recording studio website as an example of their "Killer" recording. It reminds me of The Modern Lovers on crack (hence crackpot). Crackpot's website is a nightmare to navigate, and really ugly, kind of inline with the music. One of my favorite lines is: "Everything you say is wonderful. That is why you are so fuckable (not that I'd want to but...)" Yea, you get the picture.

2. I Wanna Love You Tender
See the picture above of all the smiling Finnish people with D&A shirts? That is a still from I Wanna Love You Tender. This video was released 1978 is by some obscure Finnish band, Danny and Armi, the video is bad in the best way. I am totally certain that the dancers in the video are giving it their all, and they make the video what it is: RAD! The casual and often off beat dancers, in matching white sweaters with D&A and Burgundy bell bottoms, rival any high school dance team. They use some crazy peel off lines that reveal the disco singers Danny and Armi (who later ride off into space in a 1950s car). I think that since the video was made Armi has died, but Danny is still doing music according to his website. he has some upcoming shows... in Finland.

1. Apache Boy
By far, the best worst video is Apache Boy. This video is not a joke, not at all. It features a goober singer in tribal tassels and three dancing "native girls" who are really some kind of bad white jazz dancers in halter tops. The drummer is straight out of Spinal Tap performing in front of a mini tipi that could maybe hold a small dog. Surprisingly, however, the song is really catchy- actually it was originally a Ventures song. Rock out to this #1 best-worst hit!

Politics OH! Politics

2005-04-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

I know this is a music journal, but I was angry and alarmed at the activities and Police brutality which occured here in Santa Cruz last night. I work at UCSC campus and was a student here for five years. The students on campus are protesting increasing tuition coupled with the fireing of faculty and staff, while top level administrators get pay raises and bonuses... I have never seen anything like the images I have seen today on this video of the protest authored by my friend an co worker Marty Shulman. I have no words to explain how I feel, the only song I can think of is I Luv The Valley OH, by xiu xiu.

Euromotion Dance Revealed

2005-04-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

After a few months of tenuous waiting, I am bringing you a full interview with the magic love eurobeat, discopunk, excessively futuristic and German band, EUROMOTION! Plus, I have an exclusive video from a recent Santa Cruz show, from the XIP website! Here goes:

"Sorry this took so long. The band has been so busy I had to do the
interview myself" -Svendle (Svendle is Euromotion's Computer Mouse)

When did Euromotion form?

Euromotion was created when Skeeter met Uter and Fritz in Dance Church
in 3012. They liked to dance and make the jam that was the cause of
dance.

On What planet/galaxy?

It was here on Earth, in the Milky Way. It is a common misconception
that Euromotion is aliens. Alien music is much more difficult to dance to.

Who is in the band?

At different times it is different people. Some the core members are: ,
Skeeter (singer), Uter (bass pumper), Antonio (bass pumper, percussion),
Fritz (guitar), Otto (keyboard), Tahgette (Keyboard), Zutrina (Drums)

Why did your mom name you Svendle?

I did not have a mom, I am a computer mouse. Skeeter made up my name
because he liked the sound of it. I don't love it but it's better then
no name.

Do you help compose the songs?

Sometimes. Usually I am in charge of making the band behave and get to
their shows on time.

What inspires you to make the Danse Music?

Antonio says: "It is good for people to have fun time." Skeeter says"
Dancing is a good time, and many people don't know how to do it."

Is it frustrating to use our ancient synthesizers when you're used to
using synthesizers of the future?

We like to sound of ancient 2005 technology, but it is frustrating
because they break when it gets wild on the dance floor and then there is
no music.

How many times have fans tried to rip your clothes?

This happens many times when people keep there emotions of love inside and
then they hear Euromotion and they cannot contain themselves. We don't
mind, but we feel bad that the feeling is held inside for all the rest of
the time.

Have you played any intergalactic dance parties?

We play some good ones in the Intergalactic Dance Exposition of 5456.
Alien dance move are difficult to feel the emotions, because sometimes
it is just a slug slithering about. But all dance is beautiful, so it
was still a jam.

What is your relationship to Santa Cruz?

It is a fun place to visit, especially we love 2005. Our 2005 contact is
from Santa Cruz, so we like to play there and stay at his mom's house.

Who writes the songs?

We all get together and have a dance party with no music and then the
song comes to us. We are not sure how it works.

What are the new dance moves you are working on?

We are always working on new dance moves. We show them on our next visit.

What do they look like?

Antonio is exploring the many possibilities of the pelvic thrust, while
Skeeter has been studying Kung Fu for inspiration. Tahgette likes to do
the "Bumper".

Why are they so cool?

Because they are free. They are the union of jams and life, and an
expression of good times.

What do you use to fill the black hole inside?

I like to have adventures and find the ladies.

Do you have a girl/boyfriend?

No, Skeeter and Uter always take the girls. It is because that I am a
computer mouse, and they are handsome superstars.

Will you play a show with my band Cosmic Star(www.cosmicstar.co.uk)?

Yes

Will you play a party at my house?

Yes

Describe your best outfit.

I don't wear any clothes, I am a computer mouse.

Any words of inspiration for super fans in 2005?

It is a pleasant surprise that anyone is listening to Euromotion as
early as 2005. Keep dancing, and the future is a beautiful miracle.

I leave you with two of my favorite Euromotion songs:

Dance Move Burglar

Lost in Time and Space.

All of their songs are available for download on the EUROMOTION! website in mediocre mp3 form!

New Wave Dyke, the one I like!

2005-04-11T09:41:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across a little gem of a CD at the Alternative Press Expo this weekend in San Francisco. Althought this show mainly features printed zines and indie comics, sometimes there are CDs for sale. Fortunately I purchased New Wave Dyke, who released a cryptic twelve song CD that was just called "Songs". New Wave Dyke is made up of one Ian D. Piirtola, or so says my CD cover. According to his website, he is a design student at the University of Hotlanta (Atlanta?), and he only ownes two Paul Mcartney album and one SPARKS album. I am really glad about the Sparks connection, because I wrote about them last week and that makes this eerie... My favoriate song from the CD is Happy Birthday, Maria which is also available for downoad from his website. It is a little discopunk ballad with some high pictched "Make-Upesque" vocals. The instrumentation seems pretty basic except for a some synth and space sounnds at the beginning. Unfortunately, the song is a little too short for my tastes at 1:44 minutes. However the sound quality is low-fi enough to dance to on cassette. You can purchase the album from New Wave Dyke by emailing him (I think it costs $2.00). He released a five song EP called "You Ruin My Trip Again and I'll Ruin Your Face" but, that was not the one I purchased.

New Wave Dyke also has a song on the exciting Teenbeat tribute album, Relax Brother, Relax: A Twentieth Anniversary Tribute to Teenbeat Records [MMM025] This album is available for download in .flac of mp3. There are a number of excellent songs on the album, a little layered indie anti-loveballad I like is Yo, Yo, Yo {Originally by +/-} performed by Scrabbel. The song is simple asnd sweet, in the vein of yo la tengo and the Microphones. They are a local, SF band, which formed in 1999 after the band members went to see Sonic Youth, Looper, Sleater Kinney, The Boredoms and others at what I assume was a show I attended - "This Ain't No Picnic" in LA. Thier website has a few mp3s to listen to, I recommend checking them out!

I've Got Angst In My Pants!

2005-03-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

Among all the new wave rock hits like "Whip It" or "Burning Down the House" there is a hole, where the band Sparks has been erased from popular culture memory. I am here to remind said culture of the importance of the Electro-Disco-New-Wave wonder. He band was started by two fashion catalog model brothers from LA, Ron and Russell Mael, in 1971. They originally played under the name Halfnelson and were discovered by quirky pop musician and producer, Todd Rundgren early in their career. Throughout many music transformations from art rock, to disco to New Wave, Sparks is a truly prolific and amusing band.

They released a UK hit album, Kimono My House in 1974, in the realm of English glam rock. Their electro disco song hit like "# 1 Song in Heaven" is a notable tune, which imagines the moment after death when the song is playing on every radio in heaven (kind of morbid, ha?) but I must say, my favorite Sparks so far is the 1982 album "Angst in My Pants", which features songs like Sherlock Holmes, My Moustache and Mickey Mouse. Absurd and sexual lyrics make the songs way worth listening to.

"Fog matters to you and me, but it can't touch Sherlock Holmes
Dogs bark and he knows their breed
And knows where they went last night
Knows their masters too
Oh baby, hold me tight
Just pretend I'm Sherlock Holmes"

However the most current song, that fits right into our current little post punk revival, is Angst in My Pants. I could dance to this song all day, but everyone knows I've got angst in my pants...

Our Bones Were Chalk

2005-03-16T16:33:00.000-08:00

Imagining dust and ashes of someone gone is similar to the music I hear from Robot Ate me. It is like sad drum machines and intimate vocals, maybe some accordions. The vocals are clear yet the sounds are sometimes muted. This band falls along the lines of avant pop, electronic pop and something I found at a thrift store, like a little sad knitted doll in colors like an old 70s photograph. It sounds like a strange grey day where skeletons have picnics on the ashes of their former lives.

With that introduction, Here is a little track, Our Bones Were Chalk, that seems to emanate the ashes of sound. Another slightly faster tune,On Vacation from the album On Vacation, seems like a cross between Neutral Milk Hotel and Postal Service. I must confess the former track from the 2002 release, They Ate Themselves suits my melancholy fancy more than the newer number, but I suppose we can't all stay sad forever..

This band is coming to San Francisco (and alot of other US locations) on a tour. Check out the SF show: 3/23 San Francisco, CA - Makeoutroom
It is next week, but I can't make it.. Their website has all the tour dates listed.

GO see them and report back!

Muisc For Unicorns is Changing Locations!!!

2005-03-07T10:26:00.000-08:00

This webpage will now be viewable on
www.unicornrock.com

Yes, we now have our own Domain. Moving up in the world.

Please make the changes to your links!!
Tell friends!
-the management

Who is Cricket Engine?

2005-03-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

Cricket Engine, a magical ride through samples and glitch, is an important Bay Area electronic musical creature. Fortunately I managed to connect with Sean from CE and bring you, the reader, a fully illustrated (by the band) Interview! Each image following the question is meant to point to the locus of truth within Sean's responses.

What is your full name?
Sean Patrick Maylone Maylone Maylone

Why Cricket Engine? (as a name)
"Damp Mammoth" was the runner up.

Who is in Cricket Engine?
Left head to right heads: seth pereira, cody dingle, ian hill, scott scheu , sean maylone

Where did Cricket Engine form?
Pretty much the epicenter was a town called Cool, California, I'm not making that up you jealous motherfuckers, it's where we are from.

Who writes the songs?
The two, big purple arms we all share.

What inspires you to make the Music?
Everything beautiful and absurd in the world, Frank Stallone.

Have you played any dance parties?
Archibishop Anglebreak says: "Hells yes."

Are you using laptops or synthesizers to make the music?
Yeah, all that shit.

Do you use samples in the music?
Intergalactic prospector says: "Darn tootin' there is!"

What bands are making music right now, that inspires you?
It's hard to answer on behalf of everyone, but I think a good run through would be Plaid, Broken Social Scene, Do Make Say Think, and Ratatat.

How would you classify CE?
We kinda go all over the buffet table, electronica is a pretty safe term to use around these parts though.

If CE were a food, what food would it be?
A neon banana assualted by dark wolves.

Tell me about the venue in the abandoned mine.
If I say too much, an 18,000 year old curse will send a mummy to kick the shit out of me until I look like a thrift store Mr.Potatoehead.

What about the D&D Side project you were working on?
It's called D & DJ, right now it's just a look in my eye but if I find enough talent I'm going to make the greatest Dungeons and Dragons gangster rap album ever.

Is CE planning on releasing on a label soon?
We are pushing some numbers and label representatives around.

Are there any up coming shows we we should know about?
No, we post all our shit on our website and our myspace site whenever we set it up though.

Will Cricket Engine do a photo shoot that I set up?
If we are allowed to photoshop in any of our members too busy to make it, then it's a deal

What words of inspiration do you have for the fans out there?
...(see picture)

Feel the Power! Feel the Beat!

2005-02-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

Once again, my foreign music agent has given me a very valuable record, Disco Club by Balck Devil. Black Devil is the best electro disco this side of 1978. It was produced back then in a suburb of Paris, by Out Records all on low-fi synths and tape loops. Joachim Sherylee and Junior Claristidge created this amazing disco hit in a time that knew no digital reverb. It has a dirty sound and some rather spaced out vocals, that are near inaudible, but it is way worth a listen. The album version have was put together by Rephlex records after it favor with the creme de la creme of the electronic scene (Richard D. James anyone?). Ride along to this album selection: No Regrets if you want ride, dance if you want to dance.

Cosmic Star Superfun Power 2005!!!

2005-02-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

Fortunately everyone's favoriate electro duo, Cosmic Star is bringing you an amazing new website! Be stunned, amazed and confused. Hear new tracks and enjoy the art and life of this fascinating band out of Digbeth, UK.

Fun With French: The Forgotten Female 70s

2005-02-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

When I think of 70s rock music, I think of disco, psyche rock, and men with long hair and flared pants standing in some natural setting and looking like hippie-celts or legendary warriors living in the realms of the unreal. The Rolling Stones capture this image perfectly on the cover of the Hot Rocks 1964-1971 album. (See Figure 1.) Please note the stick-like sword one band member holds, and the leather tunics, leather 'peasant" boots, and general Celtic castle-like location.

This masculine construction of Classical, tolkienesque imagery does not allow much room for the women in rock who would be better left in high towers singing elvish love ballads than rocking out in the company of warrior-men. Consider Marianne Faithful the supposed muse and live-in girlfriend of Mick Jagger, who gave up her own burgeoning musical career to take a back seat to his ego (*remember her hit song "As Tears Go By").

However, there were a number of lesser known female musicians who abandoned the role of the nymph-muse and managed to perform and produce innovative and powerful music along side the masculine musical champions of the 70s. Pictured above, is French art rocker Lizzy Mercier Descloux with her close friend and collaborator Patti Smith. Lizzy moved from Paris to New York in 1975 and joined the flourishing art and music scene. Her credits include a collection of poems and photographs, "Desiderata", prefaced and illustrated by her friend Patti Smith, with contributions by Richard Hell, acting in Amos Poe's "Blank Generation," and releasing album "Press Color" recorded in New York, on ZE Records. She went on to release a second album "Mambo Nassau" and record a few songs for CBS. I recently discovered Lizzy thanks to my foreign music agent and I am surprised that I had never heard her work before. Her songs sound similar in rhythmic quality to 70s girl punk group The Slits. The most interesting song on the album is Tumour. This strange rendition of the musical standard "Fever" hits the spot with the opening lyrics: "Ohh I think I am getting a tumour. Ohh I feel a tumour coming on!" and the refrain, "I got a tumour when you kiss me, tumour when you hold me tight."

Much like Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Cathrine Ribeiro was a prolific artist and actress. She started her acting career acting in Spaghetti Western, Buffalo Bill followed by Jean Luc Godard's 1967 film 'Les Carabiniers'. In 1966 she recorded two singles for Barclay, covering Bob Dylan's 'It's All Over Baby Blue'and in 1969 released her first LP, "Catherine Ribeiro + 2 Bis. 2Bis changed thier name to Alpes and recorded the album I own, "Ame Debout" (Upright Soul) as Cathrine Ribeiro and Alpes. Ame Debout is an amalgamation of progressive rock, folk, improvisation, and traditional French singing, in the vein of Edith Piaf. I would agree with Rolf Semprebon that Cathrine sounds like Nico at times, but more melodic and ghostly. The song Aria Populaire is a beautiful journey of sound which uses no words, the kind of music to fly to.

Found Art: Toad.

2005-01-24T01:46:00.000-08:00

Found By Niki Selken

Psyche Is The New Black: Interview with Simon Finn

2005-01-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

The classic Japanese Noh Theater Performer and Theorist, Zeami, describes the central principle of the Noh drama is "yugen" ("mystery," "depth," "darkness," "beauty," "elegance"), the intimation of a concealed truth, what Zeami Motokiyo defines as "Hana," the art of the flower of mystery. Music, like Noh, relies upon the element of mystery and surprise to create magic. The most provocative performance is that which conceals beauty, and has a hidden flower blooming at its core.

I was both surprised and impressed by the performance Simon Finn gave last Thursday, which struck a cord of the unreal, the unexpected, the beautiful; Simon reinvented and reinvigorated the songs he had not touched for 34 years. His songs were both old and new, some written in the late 1960s, some written over the last six months. Upon arriving at the venue, I spotted simon instantly. He was sitting at the bar drinking a small glass of something dark, which I later discovered was red wine (Simon's preferred performance anxiety remedy). After building up confidence enough to speak to him, I asked Simon a few questions before his performance. He seemed like the kind of man who had spent his life doing what he needed to do, his skin was shining, and I could not believe it had been over thirty years since his last musical performance. He informed me that he was brought back into the realm of music by something so far from the hippie-psych past he emerged from, it's laughable. He was returned to music via Google.

Simon's friend had introduced him to the internet search engine, when he discovered a 2002 review of his limited release album, Pass The Distance, and said "If you want to be found, there are people looking for you." Shortly after that, Simon was connected with David Tibet, of Durtro Records and began the quest of finding the recording reels from decades before. Simon traveled from his Canadian home to England where he managed to hunt down his former producer, who had some of the reels in his garden shed and the others in his mother's closet. Eventually, Pass the Distance was rereleased by Durtro in 2004. That was all the info I gleaned from Mr. Finn before he began to take photos of the band performing on stage, The Skygreen Leopards This group formed in 2001, the duo of Donovan Quinn & Glenn Donaldson now joined by Duchess Christine Boepple playing a strange breed of folk-psych music with guitar, percussion, ankle bells & train-whistle. They were preceded by Whysp, a band who play some pub-psyche-folk to sing to. Whysp is the brain child of Josh Alper and Hugh Holden, Santa Cruz favorites (of The Lowdown) who are playing with a band of bards in the merriest of musical modes.

Moreover, after the performances had finished and Mr. Finn had played my request of Hiawatha, with a sensitive tenacity, I asked him a few more questions about his past. In the 1960s he arrived in London, with thirty pounds, which he quickly spent. He then started playing shows at The Marquee opening for Al Stuart, for about one pound per night. Eventually he got a job which afforded him a bedsit in London. He played the song "Big White Car" for producer Vik Keary, who liked it, and started to pay Simon about 12 pounds per week. Soon after Simon released Pass the Distance on Mushroom records.

Then Simon told me about some of the new songs he had played which are yet to be released. One of the tracks which struck a deep resonance within met was about Eros (the Greek God of love) driving a man around in a fast car toward the future. I asked him why the main character of the song was shot with the arrow of love, but never found the other person hit with the arrow? Where was his true love? Was it the mermaid whom he found solace with in the song? Simon informed me that it was a song about unrequited love and that the mermaid in the song was just the person who "makes you feel better," not a true love. Another new song speaks a close friend and mentor, who contracted Alzheimer's disease, and quickly deteriorated. However, the impetus for the song seemed so far from the delivery and lyrics, that I would have never guessed it's inspiration. "That song is about memory" Simon told me, with a serious stare. As he shared his secrets with me I felt young and sheepish, because I was not seeing the root of the metaphors of the lyrics, which seemed to be a bit more veiled and sophisticated then his older songs. In that way, I feel like his work has developed into something reflective of thirty added years of experience. It seems, however, that his gift remains somewhat the same, it is that which allows us to touch on the pain that is deep, by providing us the light and imagination to see through it. I look forward to hearing his new album, which is recorded, but Simon is currently working on the cover for it. He hopes it will be released by April 2005.

Psyche Show In San Francisco

2005-01-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let you all know that on Jan 12th Simon Finn will be playing at the Make Out Room, with Whysp and Skygreen Leopards Skyband. Both Whysp and Simon Finn are on my A list, and I hear that the other artist is good too. There will be a show Sunday night in Santa Cruz at the Warehouse with Whysp, Birchville Cat Motel (drone experimentalist from New Zealand), Lakes, and one more band from SF that will include this guy Glenn who is
playing in the Skygreen Leopards. I hear there may be a fancy liquid light show at that one. Email me for more info on either of these shows. I highly recommend going to see Simon Finn, he is quite a historical honey if you know what I mean!

*niki

The Politics of Dat

2005-01-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

It is time to write about one of the most important experimental electronic bands I have come across since I first heard Aphex Twin. I was given the gift of Dat Politics by my friend and musical companion, Matt Sesman, who managed to collect the most obscure electronic and experimental music throughout most of college. I believe his musical programming was somehow genetic, because his brother Drew Daniel is the artistic voice behind San Francisco experimental band, Matmos. I am not sure, but I believe that Matt received the Dat Politics CD, Plugs and Plus, because Matmos performed on the track "Pass Our Class." Either way, Matt exposed me to one of my favorite electronic songs of all time, "Pie." This track inspired me to create a new dance genre, space dance. I think it was the glitchy electro-pop which opened a new door to my experimental choreography perceptions. The music is like a strange amusement park of sounds made on synthesizers and toys, but the mixing of the tracks is as sophisticated as mainstream pop music. Their songs will lead you into electric light parades of sound, and then drop you off in a robotic spaghetti western film soundtrack. In many ways, this laptop quartet from the small town of Lille, in Northern France is making music that defies any categorization and that is the most exciting thing about them.

Their newest release, Go Pets Go is the most accessible yet. However, they still maintain a healthy amount of "play mind" and creative cacophony. The track Bees're Bees is bouncy, vocal, and more melodic than many of the tracks off of Plugs and Plus ( and far less edgy than any of the tracks on Trackto Flirt). It seems like an off beat summer day song, something about birds and bees and innocence and love. Let me know what you think of it. Let me know if it gets stuck in your head, like any good children's' song.

My Year In Sound: From Rejection to Success

2004-12-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

Musical Attempt # 1: DJing

I thought that I would end the year with a little article on my own musical adventure over the past year. I started by DJing at a local club, Crash Course. This club is an indie, punk, electro, brit pop, and pretty much whatever the DJ feels like kinda place. I got the gig by telling the guy who was running the night, James, that I thought that the club had gone down hill since the last club DJ left.. Which was kind of rude, but I was just being honest. I offered to help out and although I had only ever DJed once before, he let me try. After a few attempts at spinning, I managed to convince him that I knew how to DJ. I also managed to convince myself, and I began to DJ at another club at the same venue, The Box. This is a very gothic club, with a fixed crowd and two dance floors. I managed to hold my own there for a while, but like all good things it had to end. I was booted from the booth for playing too much indie, or emo, or not wearing enough black, either way, this experience was the dark underside to my first attempt at DJing.

Musical Attempt # 2: Joining A Band

I began my exploration in Whysp, a band who sounded like a cross between an old Irish pub band, The Incredible String Band, and Sid Barret. They were a hometown favorite of mine, and when my friend Jeff Manson moved to Mexico, the orchestrator of the group, Josh Alper (of The Lowdown) agreed to let me play with them. I felt a little awkward in the group, because it seemed like some type of Tolken-esque adventure team of hardy lads and I was well, a girl. The songs were great, if you like psychedelic pub ballads. My favorite was Seedling which speaks of happily laughing plants and animals and floating people. I love the endearingly out of key "la, la, la" part and the harpsichord that flows throughout the track (both of which I got to perform, when I was in the band). Another epic ballad, Travels of Youth, has some of the "best" lyrics like "a promise of love to a maiden as fair as a dove" and "and the sun will rise a fair maiden," both of which I felt kind of funny singing for their obviously hokey (vaguely sexist) content. But the ridiculously long adventure ballad about getting trolls high and drinking mead in taverns won me over, and I found room in my heart for the song. My life in Whysp was cut short however, due to the longing the boys had for their former keyboard/melodica player and so I was cast out! I was set to travel the winding road alone, adventuring and searching for a new band of ruddy bards (with only 15 hit points left, and a small concealed dagger! )

Musical Attempt # 3: Starting A Band

When I thought all was over and I was never going to find any musical partners of like mind, I stumbled upon a little CD by The Magistrates. They turned out to have some pretty neat electro pop tracks. One of the motivating forces behind the band, Gabriel Gilder, and I began a musical affair, in no time we started talking about doing our own breed of music. Unlike my previous engagement, this collaboration makes room for theatrics, mistakes, bizarre costumes, and perfectionism masked by amateurism. I have no pretense of psychedelic mysticism which seems so popular these days with artists like Devendra Banhart, 6 Organs of Admittance, and Little WIngs to name a few. But I do feel like music is magical and magic is funny. Our collaborative work is called Cosmic Star and our first musical venture is a track inspired by the song poems I wrote of earlier. We actually wrote and recorded the song in one day, with the help of Robert Syrett. It is sort of strange, disjunct, and comical, just the way it ought to be. So, now I leave you with the virgin recording of Honest and Hard I wish everyone a magic filled new year. More to come!

Music To . . . BLOW YOUR LIFE!

2004-12-14T15:51:00.000-08:00

This is my first venture into the magical realm of J-Pop music ( I guess most of you know, that means Japanese pop). My exploration was fostered by a recent trip to Japan town in San Francisco, where i managed to stumble upon a book and cd blowout sale. My coconspirator and music consultant, Gabriel Gilder and I picked up four cds, between two and four dollars. These CDs were chosen according to a variety of factors, cover art, misuse of the english language, and price. There were two stand out albums in the bundle. High Blow Your Life by an artist that Google translates from Japanese as Electricity Bee Maquis. It is an amazing album, chock full of bizarre English phrasing and lyrics. Moreover, it had a genius packaging, including little paper inserts for each song on the album. The image above is from the song Ride on Five which is my favorite song on the album. The chorus lyrics are "Free Ride, Ride on Five," and given the image on the paper insert, I am not sure I want to know what they are singing about. The insane keyboard action, psychotic synthesizers and a strange solo at the end with some type of horn instrument make it hard to pin down the genre of this band. It is some combination of Space Jazz, Techno, and Disco; not your average Dance Dance Revolution song. In fact, I can't imagine this being played in a club anywhere, ever.

The second Japan Town find is an album by hiro:n called Mangosutana. Hiro:n seems to be a very cute female Japanese pop star. I am only guessing she is a star, because Warner Music produced her album. It is definately far more moderate and mainstream than High Blow Your Life. It sounds like Japanese lounge on some songs and Japanese Jackson Five on others. The greatest song on the album,Tokyo City, is sort of a disco ballad. The secret key to this song is the surprise Japan-rap toward the end of the track, which ends in the lyrics "monkey on the door." Listen for yourself, let me know what you think.

Money to the Max

2004-12-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

I just added a new feature to the page. This feature enables me to spend the time it takes to find and purchase the music you need to hear. So if you like the site and its contents, support the Power of the Music for Unicorns. If you send a CD sized donation, provide your address, and I will make you an extra special limited edition Magical Mix CD!
*niki

Song Poems: Money + Music = Weird

2004-12-03T10:40:00.000-08:00

The life of a song poem is generally short. While major pop songs enter chart listings and affect the consciousness of the culture, sometimes for decades, a song poem is more like a brief firefly of a song existing only for the time it takes the songwriter to pay the composer. Then the song poem is shipped off to the songwriter and fades into relative obscurity.

Song Poems begin as an add in the back of a magazine, this add is placed by a composer and recording studio, who is looking to lure in a "poet" who might be willing to pay between $200-$400 to have their song produced. The add above is one of many which have sunk into the back of magazines and comics since the mid 1960s. The main target for such an advertisement is a person who fancies them-self to be a song writer, but may not have the access, money, or (lets face it) talent to achieve a career as a songwriter. The American Song-Poem Music Archive has a number of great articles about the history of the song poems, although their archive of the poems seems to be somewhat unreliable (ie: broken links). Another valuable resource is the recent documentary funded by PBS, Off The Charts: The Song-Poem Story However, I am going to provide you with a little taste of a few of my favorite song poems.

One of the earliest and most successful recording artists for song poems was Rodd Keith, a very prolific artist, who made his living and his legacy off the lyrics of nameless Americans. One of the early and great Keith recordings is The Hump Dance It has some very risque intonations for a 1960s non pop ballad. I wonder what exactly the songwriter meant by hump? Was this song a very early precursor to the Humpty Hump?

Maybe all the song poems are simple directions of our nation's consciousness, working like little CV radios which pick up the broadcasts from larger stations. A later song I am particularly fond of is Jimmy Carter Says Yes recorded by Gene Marshal. This song has a patriotic country feel, but it is decidedly left wing and outdated. I love it for all those reasons. I am particularly fond of the first-person speech uttered by Gene Marshall speaking as Jimmy Carter. He promises to run the government "without sin or any corruption" and "stand tall like old glory, faithful to the Republic." I listened to this song on election day, dreaming of the year before my birth, 1979, the last year of Jimmy's rein in office.

Finally, I am moving into the present moment of song poems. I have to admit, that the songs being written by Caglar Juan Singletary are my favorite hands down. Calgar is a featured writer on the PBS documentary, who listed his song influences as: Jesus, Martial Arts, Ladies, and Science Fiction. His song, Non-Violent Taekwondo Troopers may seem a bit incomprehensible at first, but after about five listenings you may discern a very intricate science fiction plot involving Pricilla Presley, Kung-Fu, Jesus Christ, and a animatronic bicicle named Angelaria. I can not fully describe what is happening in this masterful piece of music, but please listen with care, it might blow your mind.

The Many Ways To Experience The Unicorn

2004-11-16T11:14:00.000-08:00

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Keep it real, and let me know how I am doing.
*niki

The Girls Have Got It!

2004-11-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

I think it is time to write about a lady or two. I have to give a shout out to my friends to the north, the Canadian pop group, Pony Up. The formed New Years Eve, 2002 and have not stopped since. The group has a low-fi sounds of keyboards and vocals, simple drum lines and nostalgia. I can't quite explain why I like this track, Marlon Brando's Laundromat so much. I think it is the doubled vocals and lyrics about rollerskates and laundromats. Either way, I believe that this group is going to be making a mark on the indie pop scene. I know they just toured this coast, and I missed the show... but think they will be back.

Their sound is reminiscent of girl groups from the early 90s likeBelly and That Dog. these bands were essential to my musical make up in high school. They represent a time when female indie pop/rock groups were getting air play, with out succuming to makeover mania. They made sweet, sad, sometimes hard songs that allowed me to feel that I could face the world as myself. I guess they were role models for me. One of my favoriate That Dog songs was He's Kissing Christian, a song about a gay friend coming out. It was an anthem for me, as my best friend in middle shcool was gay. But it is also a great pop song, that I can still listen to today.

And so I say,
thank you ladies for making me feel less silent.

Unicorn Power WILL Prevail!

2004-11-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

Angeleria 2004- Our Trip To Reno

2004-11-05T17:25:00.000-08:00

Interview: Toby Goodshank (Moldy peaches, Unicornsounds, and tri-lambs)

2004-11-02T09:39:00.001-08:00

What is your full name?
My full name is Tobias Goodshank

What Does your mother call you?
She calls me Toby.

Where do you live?
In Bushwick, Brooklyn NY

Are there good restaurants there?
There aren't really any good restaurants in my area, lotsa warehouses though. It's pretty undeveloped, so far. Kind of a Mad Max vibe.

What was the first record/tape you ever owned?
The first record i ever owned was Disney's Mousercise. Then years later i had Michael Jackson's Thriller and Run-DMC's Raising Hell on cassette.

When did you start making music? Why?
I started writing songs my sophomore year of high school. I was inspired to after hearing my schoolmate Eric "Big" Johnson sing. he used to make up songs after school, just sing his ass off. He was loud. And soulful. I was inspired by lotsa bands and stuff, but knowing someone who made up their own songs was mindblowing. Also, my friends the Meyer family were a giant influence. I started making music because above all, i wanted to sing. All the time. And because i had ideas and feelings that i couldn't (and am still unable to) express in any other way. I wanted to see if others could relate to me.

How did you get involved with the Moldy Peaches?
Just through being in NYC and having mutual friends. I attended Purchase College with Jack Dishel and Steven Mertens. I met Strictly Beats, Adam and Kimya through our friend Seth of the band Dufus, who I also went to school with. We were friends before i was in the band, and i'm still very much a fan of the music! At one point, they needed a guitar player and they asked me to join the band.

Who started the band?
Kimya Dawson and Adam Green started the band.

What is your role in the band?
I play acoustic guitar in the band.

Were you on tour with the strokes?
I was asked to join the band after they toured the U.S. with the Strokes, but I got to play six shows with them.

How was that?
It was excellent. I dig touring, i love playing in the Moldy Peaches and I love my friends in the band. The first three Strokes shows I saw made me a fan of their songs, and they're good people.

Do people recognize you in public and ask for your autograph?
I'm rarely recognised in public, cuz i'm not famous at all. At shows, though, if i'm asked, I'll sign anything. That shit is flattering!

Is that weird?
If that were to start being recognised all the time, I'm not sure that i could handle it. I like my privacy.

Who writes the lyrics for the band?
Adam and Kimya wrote all of the lyrics for the band.

Why are they so Funny?
I don't know.

What are your feelings on the Anti Folk movement?
I like the antifolk movement! There's a lot of great things happening! Anti Folk Online

How would you characterize the music scene in New York?
I don't feel that there's a scene here, fer real. just a lot of people trying to do they're best and to be heard. Some are friends w/ one another, but not so much a unified group... I could be very wrong.

How do you decide what to wear for a show?
I just wear whatever i want. It's usually last-minute and i don't really prepare for a show by spending lotsa time deciding what to wear. i used to dress up quite a bit, but i got tired of it.

How did you start your record label, Unicornsounds?
One night, summer '02, I was sitting with my friends Alex Fedorov, Adam Winner, and Tristan Schwartzman. Tristan had made a cassette tape of improvised music when he had studied in France two years before. I told him that i wished that someone would release it on a record label, because I thought it was amazing. Then i realised i should just make it happen. I decided that night to do it.

Is it hard/expensive to print records?
No, there are inexpensive ways of doing things. Buy CDs that are on sale. burn 'em at home. it's fun!

What about distribution?
Distribution is something i am still learning about. right now my distribution is limited to on-line sales. i have lots of good role models to learn from. Hiero Emperium Records, home to the rap crew Hieroglyphics and Souls of Mischief and my hero Del the Funky Homosapien are totally independent, and have great distribution. www.hieroglyphics.com You probly know that already, being out in Cali. There are many other artists that are doing it all themselves.

Do you and your sister argue?
My sister and I argue only just a little bit, and usually right before we play a shoe, cuz we're too tense. We fought all the time until we were in our late teens.

How do you write songs in Double Deuce?
When a Double Deuce song is written (which is infrequently, at this point) usually i pick up a guitar and my sister and I just start singing stuff. We remember the parts that we're fond of and discard the rest. Are most recent number involves dual-guitar action.

Why is your other band called tri-lambs?
We call ourselves the Tri-Lambs after the benevolent fraternity in the film Revenge of the Nerds. The Nerd fraternity was called Lamda Lamda Lamda. Cuz we're nerds, too! Plus there's a trinity of us for audiences n listeners to contend w/. There's somethin special about that number, be it holy or otherwise.

Who are the baby skins?
The Baby Skins are a band comprised of my sister, Angela, and our friend Crystal. They have a beautiful new album coming out soon at www.olivejuicemusic.com ifn anyone's interested. It's called, "For a Boy with a Fractious Skull."

Why is that name so creepy?
The Baby Skins took their name from this substance that the performer Paleface had on stage with him. He was feeling under the weather, and had a jar of what was probably chicken broth n huge noodles. But it was a weird lookin, and had a uriney colour, n Kimya joked w/ us that it looked like baby skins a-floatin.

If I recorded an album, how would I get on Unicornsounds label?
Right now i'm not signing anyone, due to being broke. but i'll take a demo, our address is on the website!

If I came to new york, say in one month, would you and your sister take
me and my sister to a show?
Absolutely!

What words of inspiration do you have for the unicorns out there?
please be y'allselves.

Unicorn Power to Defeat Bush

2004-10-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

I know this is not Music related, but this is an important issue for all publications and artists.
My friend Lisa and I are leaving this Friday to drive to Reno, Nevada (a major swing state) to make sure that the Democrats in that state get out and vote! I am giving up celebration of my favoriate holiday, Halloween, to try and ensure Democracy for the coming year. Please help me!

I just found out yesterday that we have a reservation with the organization planning this action, and I need your support to make this a reality! Donate $5-20 to our unexpected trip, to help pay for food and gas and ensure that Bush is not Re- Elected! Please click on the Unicorn to make a donation and get your name added to the list!
Thank you.
*niki

List of Donors
Felisa Ihly
Suzie Selken
Gabriel Gilder
Bruce Horn and Robin Witmore
Ariel Morgenstern
Linda Garfield
Lea Scarpelli
Daniel Silverman
Tom Beckner
Philip Johnston
Jo Plante
Indre Vida Viskontas
Adam Bristol

And The Winner Is....

2004-10-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

Megan
Jason Martin
Daniel Silverman

These are the real winners of the Break My Heart and Step on it Twice Contest.

I will be mailing out cds this week..

Runners up (or by default winners)
Joseph Maristella
Shakina Nayfack

Moldy peaches, Black Eyes, and Overbites: My Worst is Their Best

2004-10-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have always tried to avoid schoolyard fights that lead to black eyes, my braces and headgear, which I wore to correct my overbite, and well.. moldy peaches. These have been the stuff that bad childhood memories were made of. But as I am growing up, I realize that maybe all of these things are not so bad after all. Maybe I should welcome some music which defies the sickly sweet nature of pop, and the delicate softness of folk. And I am going to face my demons, in music and in life.

As a child, my favoriate book was James and the Giant Peach. I can only imagine what would come of a peach that size, were it to, um, rot. I don't believe it would be good. I have been convinced though, that the band The Moldy Peaches is in fact not really rotten, but somehow in defiance of that which is too perfect, pretentious and sweet. Supported in their rise to success by some in the family connections with the band The Strokes, The Moldy Peaches has made significant progress in American and especially European charts over the past few years. I can best describe their sound as AFNY or, anti-folk new york. anti-folk is to folk what no wave is to new wave; it is a retaliation. Anti folk is a movement of bands out of the beat cafes which would not accept them, and into the clubs that saw the potential of energetic and sometimes abrasive music. One song that particularly strikes my fancy is Jorge Regula, a song with a strange off key trumpet, and a sing along verse. It is like a campfire song for downtrodden 20 somethings, who are living in cities, who would rather not see the future.

The Black Eyes are a bit of a mystery to me. I am not sure where they live, or why they exist, but they do, and I am glad about it. Their song Deformative Has a discopunk feel, in line with bands like the Rapture and the Moving Units. the vocals are something like the Taking Heads versus Le Tigre in a mighty duel. Deformative is not the type of song your mother would like, it grates on your soul, and moves you to action. A perfect dorm dance party song. It makes me wish I had given Marchelle Miles two black eyes in the 7th grade, when she deserved them instead of being chased through park all the way home, but at least now I can dance my revenge.

It could be The Overbites that will wreck social havoc upon our youth, or maybe just play stange happy songs to annoy the grumpy majority. And so they will challange the music scene of New york. I would watch out, because Snap Rabbit and Dee Cup are out to change the face of the boring Pysche scene. These two ladies are jamming with fancy xilaphones, bells, and tamborines. they have some neat rythmic harmonies and a lo-fi sound that compares to both forementioned bands. I especailly like The Long Ride For the magical harmonies.

Yea.. I guess my childhood bad memories aren't so bad, now that I have some positive outlook on past pain. Thanks bands.

Break My Heart And Step On It Twice: A Contest

2004-10-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

This is a serious contest for any participant who wants to recieve an amazing mix mix cd. The following short story is comprised of song titles and lyrics from the mix cd, Break My Heart And Step On It Twice The song titles are underlined, and in sequencial order of the mix cd. Send me a list of tracks and the artist who sings them, and I will send you Break My Heart And Step On It Twice as a prize. Remember to include your mailing address in the email. Just click on the picture above to send me the mail. (Incomplete lists are OK, this is basically a chance for you to hear new music, so take it! )

Chaper 1: Nonesense
I don't like your company, so sick of you. Don't want to be your friend no more, leave me alone. Or maybe, you be you and I'll be me, close but independently. Perhaps, some velvet morning when I'm straight, you will open up your gate and we can talk about the remnants of Percy Bass and Irma. I hear she waits by the window, vaguely looking down at her socks for the calendar that hung itself... But I really wonder does she kiss your eyelids in the morning when you start to raise your head; does she walk around all day at school with her feet inside your shoes looking down every few steps to pretend she is with you? I know we're both sorry that you always seemed to lose the spark when you were only half undressed, but at least when you shake the dog's howl.

Chapter3: All your Women Things
I know I will miss all your hardness, all your softness, and your mercy. But I prithee send me back my heart, because this plane is definitely crashing and I have shit luck. I know we shall overcome if the machine wool can clean the mess. However, I am falling out of love (with you), because I was horse, you were mean and we designed drum machines. I want you to know that I love the valley OH! (It's the heart and the both of you made it, and I won't rest until I break it) I tried to make it work, you in a coat tailed skirt, and me in a suit, well it just wasn't me. Take your hands off me, I don't belong to you, take a look at my face for the last time, let's just say hello and wave goodbye.

Chapter 5: Who loves you now?
I ask myself: does anybody love you, do you think that anybody is in love with you? And as the reality sets in, I head down to the place where lovers go to cry their troubles away, lonesome town, where the broken hearts stay. There I will make my "tons confession", amidst a sea of doubt. Now I play the "Shouting in a Bucket Blues" on my stereo, on repeat. I sing, "sometimes I get to drunk, and feel so god damned low. I have no place to go, no one to turn to."

Chapter 8: Sea Shore and Horizon
Now I see the trees are thinning, my eyes see the sea shore there. Shimmering, the sea is pretty, shimmer salty air. Now I see a world beginning, but I will always remember, forever.

The Psychedelic Manifestation of Simon Finn

2004-10-07T13:36:00.000-07:00

Simon Finn is a fascinating musical genius from an era where a musician "could eat for three days on a pound." His one and only release to date is an album called "Pass the Distance" originaly released on Mushroom Records in 1969. Some legal action and drama surrounding the cover of his album caused it to be held from the market, and so it became a scarce commodity. But as the law of supply and demand requires, someone (ie Durtro Records)rescued it from relative obscurity and pretentious collectors mark ups and is beginning to resell it to us, in 2004. Thank god Durtro rereleased his record, because It fills the gap which Syd Barrett and Jefferson Airplane left. Although no where as prolific as Mr. Barrett, Mr. Finn manages to capture some energy of the sea at it's stormiest and Jesus as his most feminine. I can't call this pastoral pop, I can't call it rock, maybe it is some strange breed of folk. But his track Jerusalem, has become something which helps me understand the love some may have had for Jesus, before the Christian right existed. It fills me with a Bacchic frenzy of passion and organs and lust. I feel like this man captures the real spirit of 1969, the year of Dionysus. "DId he imagine at that moment 200 million hypocrites would praise his name? And were he now to come down, those hypocrites would crucify him again. And through the sweating crowds, tears streaming down my face, and I am going insane!"
He manages to fuse the body and blood and abjection of sound as he falls into a incoherant cry for retribution, like a man possessed.

A more recent movement of Psychedelic music has overtaken the little wooden corners of the indie scene. One such artist live(ed) (and may still live) in my very own town, Santa Cruz, CA his name is Ben Chasny aka Six Organs of Admittance. I ran into his music, via a close friend who shopped at streetlight records Prog Rock section. Ben , who managed that section, befriended her as she was the only girl who ever shopped there (at least that was our guess). I suppose due to his new found success, this strange man, who used to trip out on guitar, his feel barely touching the floor as he sat on a folding chair at our little local rock shows, is on to bigger and better things. I did manage, however to capture one of his limited release tracks, unfortunately, I have no idea as to the title of the track.. but here is the track. Enjoy your trip.

REUTERS: PACIFIST COUNTRY INVADES IMPERIALIST USA!

2004-09-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

So we've all heard the buzz about so-called swedish bands and their new rock antics, meandering across the atlantic with their hooks, and their sass, and their rock guitars. One might listen, stop, and wonder...is that english they are singing in? Yes it is. Cultural imperialism is a two timing tramp (non gendered of course) and thus, english is needed for the propagation of sweet tunes from the worlds second largest music exporter (Sweden) to the worlds first largest (USA)... From the (international) Noise Conspiracy to Ceasar's (Palace) and now, The Sounds
... but their accents are cute, and so are their clothes, so we can call them our own, right? Hmm... and their politics speak to that rebel in all of us, which happens to be commonplace over there...

But as we stare at the MTV screen, we miss something...

I had the pleasure of appearing in a music video (... go to "olikheter" and then find the link for the video called "kvar på film"... then you figure it out). My time across the pond, in the land of blonde has served me well, but a bit of my time has been in front of a tele, where one in scandinavia can engange in swedish television culture, and a little music/pop culture channel called ZTV. On this channel one might encounter some pop music videos, and since this is a scandinavian channel, most of these videos will have bands that sing in swedish. You see, Sweden is a self conscious country, and as much as they hate to see their Socialist Democracy get crapped on by American Capitalism, they hate to see their sweet indie pop get crapped on by American language, english. So they saved it from themselves, but I am going to let you in. SO PAY ATTENTION!

There is a little revolution happening. Something thats not too exciting, but it makes me happy like a boy in a field. Sarcasism is rampant in this well-to-do middle class society the size of California with the population of LA, and the bands in Sweden share this characteristic with the rest of their land. So a band called Raymond&Maria put out a record and wrote a ditty called "Ingen vill veta var du köpt din tröja." YES their name is a Belle and Sebastian parody, and Yes the title of the song is translated to mean "Noone wants to know where you bought your jumper." (a jumper is a sweater-like shirt, kind of like a woman's cartigan)... their mean little song berrates a poor girl to the tune of two tall blonde pixie-voices in harmony and the 16 strings of their three equally attractive male counterparts. The song is so cheery that one that speaks swedish can hardly believe that the chorus of the song reads: "Noone will mourn when you die, noone will miss that what you do, noone wants to know where you bought that jumper..."

The stylish and sassy little girls of Raymond&Maria rival the style and sass of Sahara Hot Nights, but in some expressionless whimsy of flourishing acoustic guitars with orchestral embellishments, rather than the 4/4 boom boom of the 5 piece drum kit, and the howl of Gibson SGs and distortion pedals. So while your TV is tuned into the american-rip-off swedish showcase of the same bands born and reborn but with akwardly tall new band members, me, and some other on-the-in folks will sit back and listen to the noo-indiepop invasion thanks to high speed modems and swedish-origin website movie clips... I hear its huge in Sweden, but then again, so is Socialism.

* Mike Lewinski

INTERVIEW : Schneider TM aka Dirk Dresselhaus

2004-09-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

At last, my first excellent interview! The interview was arranged via some funny email exchanges. However, I think that Mr. Dirk is quite a cool fellow, and I was really impressed that he actually wrote back. I was also suprised by the pretty old school methods with which his music is produced. No laptops here.

N: so here are some important questions:
Where were your born:
S: i was born in bielefeld, west germany.

N: How old are you:
S: 34

N: WHere do you live now:
S: in berlin.

N: and can you remember what color your duvet cover is?
S: sorry, what is duvet?

N: When dealing with electronic music live, what do you use, analog
equipment or just a laptop?
S: we are 3 persons playing live, michael beckett aka kptmichigan, christian obermaier aka mek obaam & me. we play different kinds of samplers/sequencers, drummachines, effects, midi-drums, guitars, rattles, harmonicas and so on...it looks a bit like on a fleamarket. no laptops.

N: Who directed the reality check video?
S: the director's name is uwe flade & the special effects were done by 2 guys called industriesauger.

N: Why is it so cool?
S: probably because of the humor and the spirit.

N: how do you attempt to construct/present yourself as a character, and what purpose does that serve in your music?
S: i don't construct myself as a character, at least not more than everybody else does...it's just me making music and being there.i just try to take myself not too serious to keep flexible and at the same time being honest....i don't like bullshit.

N: Why did you choose to cover the Morissey song?
S: it's a the smiths – song that meant a lot to kptmichigan & me when we were teenagers...feeling lost and living through hard family-situations...teenage-angst kinda style. we thought it would be good & funny to cover that song in this certain kind of way, cause the electronic music-scene back then was not so open minded like it is today. we wanted to take a piss of the fundamental electronic-world on one side, and the ‘overromanced' indie-pop-scene on the other.

N: Has he heard your cover?
S: i don't know, but johnny marr really likes it from what i heard.

N: What kind of shoes are you wearing?
S: different kind of shoes...summershoes and wintershoes.

N: What is your astrological sign?
S: virgo

N: How do you make that little computer voice featured in many of your hit songs?
S: it is my own voice sent through different effects like voice-transformer and stuff...on my next album there will be more unprocessed vocals.

N: What name does your mother call you?
S: dirk

N: Any pets?
S: i used to live with a cat called misi. we were best friends. she was hunting chickens, fish, rats, rabbits, birds, flys, her tail....

N: What are your influences, musically?
S: oh, there are too many to get a point, but my favourite rock band still is the velvet underground....i learned so much by listening to them. now i'm a lot into dub and old african stuff like from ghana or pygmies music....and, yes, my friends from pan sonic !
sun ra......

N: what goes through your head when you pick out outfits for a show?
S: it has to be functional & good looking. the outfit for our last tour-period was white lapcoats, nurse-or scientists-style. very compfortable to wear and useful as an extension of the vodeo-screen behind us...

N: what was the first cassette tape you bought?
S: trio, live im frühjahr 1982.

N: What is your favorite musical mode, Ionian, Locrian, Aeolian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, or Mixolydian?
S: sorry, i've no idea about those kind of things. what does it mean ?

N: Do you have a girlfriend?
S: maybe...

N: Is there anything inspirational you can share with your fans?
S: the most inspiring thing is to play in front of people who want to see and hear a good live-show.
as a musician you feel very much how the spirit of an audience is and if it's inspiring us, we can give it back even more and that again might be even more inspiring for the audience....in short: communication is the most inspirational thing to share. but it doesn't necessarily have to be words...the vibrations make it clear anyway.

N: Thanks for your time!
S: thank you & good luck,
s.

2004-09-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

another moment of found art

Schneider TM

2004-09-17T17:09:00.001-07:00

I want to be electronic.
I want to live in an electronic universe with little sparking trees made of polymers and lights.
Birds with vocoded voices and fish swimming seas of 0's and 1's.

I am going to take a Reality Check on this world and move into the alternate universe of electric landscapes.
What can I say about this music? I feel like it's strange mosaic completion speaks for itself. Listen to the song above, and it should (if all your receptors are functional) transport you to another universe, another green world.

I first fell for this strange german because of a rought trade compilation
Rough Trade Shops: Electronic 01. I heard a cover of Morissey's song "there is a light that never goes out." but this version was, well it was better than the original! Morissey should have thought to use a strange electronic voice, instead of his own when he wrote the song... But since he didn't this man did, and I am glad. so glad.

Important Questions By Max Newman

2004-09-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

why am I my father?
Why can't i sleep?
Why don't I like my body?
Why am I not in love?
why am I still a virgin?
Why can't I be happy?
Why can't I relax my jaw?
Why do I feel so lonely?
Why do i play songs over and over?
Why do I want to be famous?
Why can't I figure out who I am?
Why does my neck hurt?
Why don't I have any confidence?
Why don't I have summer plans?
Why do I think so much?
Why am I obsessed with tall buildings?
Wh did I choose boston?
Why am I unhappy?
Why can't I get a car?
Why do i always mess up auditions?
why does nobody treat me right?
Why am i afraid of certain people?
Why cant I go to Japan?
Why not?
why didn't things go well with ani?
why does nobody keep gifs I give?
why don't I care about school?
Why am I learning disabled?
why is Heart so good?
why can't I do everything I want to?
why does everyone else get to decide?
why han't anyone emailed me?
why can't I sleep?
Why do I always love the wrong people?
Why do i appologize so much?
Why didn't pamela teach me to spell?
why do i keep forgetting things?
Why do I never feel original?
why cant my dream girl find me?
why am I afraid?
Why cant I stay within the lines?
why can't I ride a bike everywhere?
why haven't I shown this to anyone?
Why can't we make art?
Why can't Boston get fresh fruit?
why wont it get warmer?
Why are unicorns as important as they are?

The Unicorns

2004-09-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

I thought is was just about time to give credit to the only known Unicorn titled band in indie music, the Canadian pop group, The Unicorns. This band has a penchant for dark lyrics and up beat melodies. This is foreshadowed by the title of their recent album, "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We Are Gone." This little collection features some superbly gothic lyrics:
"I want to die today, and make love with you in your grave."
frankly I believe that this band really understands the darker side of magic and the value of impermanence. These are not the usual pink, glittery, smiling, Lisa-Frank Unicorns. The Unicorns I have been listening to are going to eat us all. My favorite track, Les Os Is a marvelous example of the strange mix of quirky lyrics and organized noise, reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel. Although the NMH is a bit more somber and emotional, I feel like the combinations of spacey sounds and earthy textures links the two bands. Also NMH has lyrics which enfold you like strange memories of flying fish..
"And your mom would stick a fork right into daddy's shoulder
And your dad would throw the garbage all across the floor
As we would lay and learn what each other's bodies were for"
Both enact images of love and violence. I like that, because, well I do.

Born Under a Phone Star

2004-08-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

The day I was born, Blondie's song "Call Me" was the no.1 hit in both England and the US. I feel that that fact has colored my taste in music, fashion, and technology. I have a serious infatuation with pop ballads that include some technical lingo and or communication topics. I like bands that reassign meaning to technology which might otherwise go ignored. Why think of phones as sterile? Computers are people too... OK, OK I know that her song Call Me is about a relationship, and not a phone, but I am trying to draw some cosmic links between the content of my blog, and the song of my birth. Or something.

The Units of Measure are A'Moving

To carry on with this technological theme, I am presenting you with the best new "I am referencing the talking heads band" to appear on the scene since The Rapture. I think that this band really embraces the punk slash no wave elements of sound, while remaining somewhat disaffected (which is always scientific). Never-mind that they always use disco drums and distorted vocals, the mood they create is catchy and raw, it takes up the gap that the ever growing corporate movement of bands like Interpoland The Rapture are leaving. Interpol was once a darker edgy band and their latest single, "Evil" sounds like well.. it sounds kinda like surf pop. And the Rapture, bless their hearts, are putting out songs like "Sister Saviour" which is gay club music... Nothing against house music, I love the electro slash disco punk vibe, but sometimes you just want to listen to a dirty little rock ballad.

That is where The Moving Units come in and provide me with songs like Between Us and Them. I can't but help imagining myself Rocking Out hard when i hear this song and every other song on their four song EP. I mean FOR REAL, check them out!

2004-08-17T10:19:00.000-07:00

Pastoral Pop Makes a Comeback

I think you all should give this band Electrelane a serious listen. They are playing at Cafe' du Nord on Sept 20th 2004, next month. I am interested in sharing this song Gone Under Sea which is a great example of modern pastoral pop with an electro vibe. The earlier incarnations of such music included bands like Forest. The band was producing music from 1969-1970 with members Martin Welham, Derek Allenby, and Hadrian Welham. Their music is sort of renissance, fantasy, chamber pop. Although it is more acoustic hippi and less electric, I think it does mark some of the roots of current pastoral popish bands like Electrelane and Belle and Sebastian.

Electrelane, with the track Gone Under Sea and the chorus of "Ave Marias" as well as the choral hymns on The Valleys takes the non secular approach to secular music. They manage to infuse mystery and reverence into delicate and moving music. Brighton, England's Electrelane formed in 1998, eventually comprising guitarist Mia Clarke, bassist Rachel Dalley, drummer Emma Gaze, and keyboardist/guitarist Verity Susman. My, how I love the English!

2004-08-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

Seems like a week since I last wrote a little review.. Oh, It was. .. Well I would like all of you to take a minute to listen to the newly posted Dat Politics track. Bees 're Bees . This band is an amazing mix of Glitch and Kitsch and samples. Choppy and silly. This is a little sample of their new album, go pets go. I especially enjoy some of their collaborations with Matmos on the Plugs and Plus album. I myself have choreographed more than one space dance routine to a dat politics song with children and adults. I consider them to be at the forefront of the avant electro pop scene. Here are some photos of one of my Space Dances . Yes and Yes.

The Band Moving Units is playing at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz see their tour schedule. This band has some awesome discopunk tracks like "Available" . They are reminiscent of older no wave bands like talking heads and newer bands like the rapture.. Check them out!

2004-08-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I saw Miss Kitten at the Mezzenine in SF. She blew all the other gents out of the water who played before her. I mean, Matthew Dear was good, but laptops don't compare to the two turntables and a microphone all at the same time. And Mr. Dear was only singing and playing the occasional piano riff, Miss K was scratching, mixing and singing all at the same time. She definately rocked the house! I was really inspired because I have never seen a woman DJ with such finesse, she was the best. Her new albun I Com is pretty good too. And she is the one who produced most of the music for it, she is truely coming into her own. If she hits your city, check her out (esp all those ladies out there, she will get you moving!).

2004-07-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

This is a mighty fine chilled out DNTEL song which should inspire you to love and feelings of joy : Anywhere Anyone
Here is a hot song by Tree wave! a neat electro pop band:
May Banners

Tonight I am going to Miss Kitten! ROCK!

2004-07-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

I am on the guest list to go see Deerhoof and !!! at the Great american music hall in SF. The Show starts at 9pm, you should go!
I am going with jovino.. I think it will be excellent.
Also, if you like Deerhoof or might like to hear their music go here
this is a database of some of their songs.. check it
and drop me line already, my DJ set is going to rock tomorrow!

2004-07-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

I had alot of fun doing a pirate scavenger hunt for niffer's birthday.
I am having fun in my life and hopefully going to deerhoof and !!! tomorrow.
I hope someone reads this. I hope you all like music. I am Djing here :

Let me know if you want to hear any music, email me!

2004-05-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

missed butoh, wrote this
Thesis?
Oscar Wilde was a gay homosexual. He was the emblum of queer. What does Salome’s dance have to do with this man and his life? What does his play have to do with Maude Allen and her dance performance? The point is that there was a web of deceit built around gendered dance performance at this time. It functioned at once to entertain the people of the community, showcase the exotic and erotic, perpetrate desire, and harbor madness. By madness I mean the hysteric… The women, who is caught between her lived reality riddled with misogyny and suppression of desire as well as the imagined reality of action. The realm of the body, which manifested the internal, unspoken truths of desire, fear, anger, sex and violence. Salome perfectly crystallizes all of these themes, but more than that, the act of dance within the play is a mimetic gesture, perfectly suited to transpose these truths into the third reality of the stage. This dance functioned as the missing link for the female body to inhabit a third reality, which provided ample space to express and act according to deep provocations. As most women’s thoughts and feelings were being ignored and silenced an equal number of women’s bodies were being showcased and fetishized. The Dance of the Seven Veils becomes a forum or form in which the intersection of the impulses of women to manifest in action on the body. The vehicle of this manifestation was, of course, wrapped in spectacle. And it was the spectacle which masked the resistance seated at the core of the performance.
The third reality of the body in performance exists in a limnal space. It fills a separate time, which lies outside the quotidian world. Victor Turner describes the limnal space as that which lies betwixt and between, or a threshold. The body in performance is necessarily occupying this space, which is designated as separate from the everyday world in which women were not allowed to act and express themselves freely. Moreover, Turner believes that this performative realm lies within the subjunctive mood, so it provides us with the chance to see into the future and project possibility of change. In the story of Salome, a young “hysteric” woman forces a king to act on her behalf. She uses her body in performance to perpetrate and execution of a male prophet even the king can not kill. Salome presents the possibility of complete overthrow of patriarchal order, but only through the use of the female body in performance, through dance. Because of these circumstances surrounding performance, the performance of women throughout history has been met with mixed fear, loathing, and desire. It is all of these emotions and vibrations which create the spectacle of the hysteric. And it is the body of the hysteric, on stage, in performance, which structured the response of audiences of Wilde’s Salome and Maude Allen and allowed them to simultaneously fear and desire the female body and the feminine reality, which was generally ignored. The work of these performances was to enact and present physicic and corporeal truths of suffering denied by the quotidian world.

2004-05-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

BIRTHDAY PARTY 2004
i had a crazy saturday!
i felt like it lasted forever and more people kept coming and coming to my house. All the time. I was a bit overwhelmed and i stil haven't slept, it is 9am....
I am not sure how to begin to understand the thought that i am 24. I am not sure what i should be doing, and i think that i should be famous or in school or something. but at least i am somewhat happy with all of my life things. I am not sure why i am here, and not sure where i am going. but friends are super cool.

last night we did cray space dance and a dance off, which was excellent. Then we looked at homestarrunner, which erin is on. And then we went in the hot tub. I think lets see, i saw almost all of my sc friends and some of my valley and oakland friends. It was the greatest.

oh yea, then there was the seance that sorta didn't work. And then there was one that did. The ghost said give jaky my cami, and i think it meant her camisol(ie dreass) because then she can appear with her, or maybe in her? I am not sure. All i know is that it was a fun party and i have not slept. oh yea.

we also had a pinata stuffed with taco bell sauce and candy. it was funny. and stupid.

2004-05-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

ok night life night life.
my life is strife cause of night life night life

i stay up too late.

i am tired
please people come to my birthday

2004-05-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

THE BEST THINGS OCCUR BENEITH A FULL MOON

I had a rockus Butoh class last night with Hiroko Tamano, who is really insane and energetic. My 3 best butoh friends went with me and made it all the better. We decided to go for a post class drink, but i got kicked out of the bar for not having aan ID as it was stolen on Sat. So i walked dejected out of the bar and called my mom on my cell phone, and told her i was happy, even though everything seemed like crap.

I was upset because my friend was upset, and i felt responsible. I always do that. He had a bad day, and was in a bad mood, and wouldn't talk about it, so I felt bad, shut out. And concerned... As class started, I knew that the infantile voice and instructions of our last teacher were only a slightly traumatic dream. This teacher had guts and energy, she knew butoh and knew how to feel the transfomatioon and how to transmit the haha, the flower.
She shared bits of wisdom like "the universe only gives problems to us, if we are ready to solve them"
The class seemed to never end, and as the time went by, I wondered if it was past 10pm, when we should have left. A woman lept from her seated position and went to close the classroom doors which were open to a very sketchy street in downtown oakland... She yelled out "STOP!" at a man who ran down the street with a bag from one of the students.( I though, great... not again, I just got my bag stolen for a second time. I don't even have enything left for them to steal...)
We were all riled up, and i checked my phone for time, to discover that it was 10:58... one hour later than class should have ended. Our space case teacher had left the door open and wolfgang, the german student, lost his id and visa, and kept us all one hour late. So I did what anyone would do. I called 911. Filed a report, made a joke to everyone about how I was robbed on sat. I drove home feeling high on the moon, which was full...

2004-05-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

COACHELLA slash MY 24th BIRTHDAY

I went to coachella and sat through the 100+ heat and paid 2 dollars per bottle of water, and sweated to see some music. What makes this even better is that it was my birthday. I turned 24 in the presence of Beck, The Sounds, The Pixies, and seas of indie rockers. And best of all, with my friend Max.
We were hot and disgusted with the anorexic rock fashion, but enamored with the music. I think the biggest problem was that I had ADHD and couldn't stay at one show for long enough to be at the show. I hopped from one to the next watching 2 or 3 songs from some important musician to the next. and only for the Pixies was the whole park in agreement, and everyone seemed to sigh (yes) together as they played. I think we all agreed upon the real royalty of this rock, this era, and radiohead, isn't it.

After that show, I was rummaging through my bagg to spend even more money on water when I realized that my wallet was missing. Yep... I lost my wallet at the disco, on y birthday, and so i perish. Well actually I just drove back to Shakina's house and fell asleep.

The next Day I went to Knotts Berry Farm and had brunch with family, I missed my mom, and wore a matching shirt with Max and baretts. We were the best. Al things seemed ok.

2004-04-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

check out my lifestyle pictures at

niki's pictures

2004-04-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is the first day of the new day!!!