Tuddd's Muddd

Yo peep this

    My buddy Sluggo/Sruggo/Loud and Fat/Coveredinhives/Unklefan007 has started a new blog... it's fucking hilarious.  Check that shit out here.

My 'hood

    I meant to post this a while ago but the harrowing whirlwind/stupefying torpor that is my life seems to have distracted me with boredom.  A couple weeks ago the New York Times Magazine did a feature on my neigborhood (I live pretty much in the middle of the map), dubbing a section of Broadway/adjacent to Broadway "BELT" (Below the Elevated Train).  Of course, I've never heard anyone that actually lives here describe the neighborhood as "BELT," but, uh, acronyms are fun I guess. (?)

    HERE'S THE ARTICLE/MAP.

    As far as the map goes, I've never been to numbers 2, 3, 4 and 6.

    #7, Frenchie's, is the gym I go to, which is frickin' great.  Although Frenchie himself may seem a bit hostile at first, he's a good dude.  The incredibly inexpensive membership and the location are the really big draws for me, although I also prefer the no-nonsense attitude that characterizes Frenchie's to the more yuppie-ish gym alternatives in the area.  Here's Frenchie's on MySpace... watch the videos to get a better feel of the place. 

    #5, Taco Santana, is an odd choice to represent the food of the area.  When it comes to taco/burrito places that can be found on the map/within a couple blocks of Broadway, Zocalo and Taco Bite are both much better IMNSMFHO.

    #1, Trophy Bar, is a decent place, although from my experience it's much more hoppin' on weeknights than weekends.  The article is right on about the back yard, which is awesome -- they were serving hot dogs last time I was there -- but I wasn't as impressed with the DJ as the writer of the article was.    

    But yeah, interesting l'il piece.  If I were more motivated, I'd fill in the gaps by adding my own local favorites, but that ain't happening. 

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NOW LISTENING:  Sian Alice Group - 59'59

Saw these guys on Monday with A Place to Bury Strangers, also saw them in February with The Big Sleep and Priestbird, and having liked what I'd seen I finally snagged the album off eMusic.  The music traverses the same territory as the live show: simple and pretty ("As the Morning Light"), stuff a bit darker ("Way Down to Heaven"), tracks that sound kind of like Mogwai ("Kirilov") and stuff that wouldn't sound out of place on the new Portishead album ("Contours").  Overall, this album shows off a style that's vaguely gothy post rock, and as in the live show, the vocals are stunning.  Is there some filler?  Sure, and they probably should have cut the album down to match their usual 40-45 minute set length, but for the most part I'm diggin' it.  If I were to guess approximately where this album would sit had I heard it in time to put it on my Best Albums of '08 (so far) list, I'd say it would be right around the top 20.  Good shit. 

Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Limburger

http://adage.com/songsforsoap/post?article_id=129865

Pretty obvious if you ask me

If they were going to try to make this look accidental, the pitcher should have just thrown the ball higher and the catcher could have made a fake stab at it. On the other hand, by throwing the ball lower, they pretty much ensured that the umpire would get hit. Pretty funny either way. GET 'IM!

Excuses, excuses

    Yeah, it's been awhile since I posted anything on this blog.  Over the last couple of weeks I *finally* moved off Long Island and into Brooklyn.  I'm pretty much all set up here except for lack of a consistent internet connection, so that sucks, at least for the time being.  Of course, this doesn't mean that I've stopped going to shows: since the last music related post I've seen Jay Reatard, The Kills, the incredible Pelican/Priestbird/The Austerity Program triple bill at Yuppie Northsix, Dead Child, Scout Niblett, and the No Age show at Bowery.  I intend to have something posted about all those shows, possibly an alphabetical list containing brief mini-reviews of each of the bands I saw over that period of time, or something of that nature.  As for now, I'm just psyched that I live close enough to literally all of my favorite venues that it's not going to be a seven hour round-trip nightmare if I just want to get out to see a show. 

Mike Ness tomorrow.  'Till later, Tuddd out.

I know I'm an asshole for wondering about this

There's a commercial for pick-up trucks in which former NFL great Howie Long is in the office of a wealthy man, who thanks him (Howie) for his counsel in recommending a pick-up truck.  The wealthy man (who looks creepily like a less-gay Paul Shaffer) asks, "how can I repay you?"  Bursting with a creepy combination of self-righteousness and unlikely generosity, Howie beams back at Wealthy Guy and responds, "no thanks necessary.  Let's get some lunch."  What a guy!

"Who the hell cares?" you say.  Well, it just so happens that when they first started showing the "original run" of this commercial in March during the NCAA Hoops Tournament, Howie's response was the following: "how 'bout lunch?"  Still flashin' that winning grin, still with that haircut that's so damn sharp you could set your watch to it, but at the same time decidedly more... opportunistic? 

So this means that somewhere along the food chain between the pick-up truck parent company and the advertising agency someone after the fact came to the conclusion that they didn't feel comfortable with Howie Long profiting (in the form of a meal; in this instance, lunch) from his which-truck-to-buy advice. That's kind of lame, no?  I mean, even commercial-world Howie Long's gotta eat somehow.  Sheesh.

Not sure what this means other than when I first saw the "original run" of that commercial in March, I was sitting next to my brother and the overwhelming insipidness caused him to emit a noise you'd expect someone to make if you were trying to use his nutsack to make s'mores.

Stay classy!

What's worse:

Mets fans booing Johan at his first home start

--or--

Phillies fans cheering when Reyes conked his head on Utley's knee, and booing when Reyes finally stood up

Apartment hunting

    So today I was looking at an apartment in Sunset Park... I was liking the place and I was getting a good vibe from the dude who was renting the room.  We went upstairs so I could check out the roof access, when I decided what the fuck, might as well ask.

    "So... what's your stance on... weed?"  I offered timidly.

    "Uh, you must not have noticed... I'm actually growing weed on the windowsill in the hallway downstairs..." was the response. 

Fair enough!

Rolling Stone concert review: Dinosaur Jr. at Rebel, 12-2-06

    Normally I wouldn't insert a link to someone else's concert review, but I just noticed that rollingstone.com reviewed the Dinosaur Jr. show that I saw on Saturday night at Rebel, and that they mention me getting hit in the head with one of Murph's sticks.  Check this shit out:

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2006/12/04/live-review-dinosaur-jr-make-our-ears-bleed-in-a-good-way/