EIGHT MILLION STORIES - DECEMBER

Check out December's On the Beat column in which I expose Christmas music for what it really is.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

TODAY'S TALE OF UNCHECKED EGO

I Am King, the cologne.

Alternate titles for this post:

"Ew"
"Gross me out the door"
If I could have put that finger-down-the throat gesture and accompanying sound effect into words that would have been appropriate, too.

LUNCH TIME POLL

WOW

I must direct you now to NYC funnyman Dave Hill's website for this story of an after-band-practice stabbing in Italy.

BTW - He's hosting New Pornographer A.C. Newman on his talk show style comedy show tonight (12/18) at the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre. His show is called the Dave Hill Explosion and I can tell you from first hand experience that it's hilarious. Do it!

LUNCH TIME POLL

GOING TO SEE THIS GUY TONIGHT

And, this guy:

RECORDING/MIXING

Here's an update on our upcoming 7" recording. It's on the up and up. Really.

We recorded 3 songs at the very cool Cowboy Technical Services with Tim Hatfield at the helm. We walked out with some rough mixes that were almost usable right off the bat. Amazing. Not us, them. We have since re-done some vocals, added some guitar, re-amped some bass and now we're ready to mix. Alex Newport is on board to mix and we're really excited that he's boarded this crazy ship called Bel Air. I'm excited to act as cruise director of this crazy ship called Bel Air. I'm going to start calling Jeff Isaac because he is clearly the bartender on this crazy ship called Bel Air. Anyhoozers, you can check out Alex's sweet list of credits on his fancy wikipedia page. Not listed there is one of his latest - the new O'Death record - Broken Hymns, Limbs and Skin. Go check it out - then come back and have a pina colada with me on the Lido Deck.

CHICKA CHICKA YEAH!

Bel Air just got a little review on The Deli NYC.

It's on the front page now.

CURRENT OBSESSION

Do you like beautiful and sad songs that make you want to go write in your diary and cry a little into your pillow? Do you enjoy lumberjack-style men? Have you heard of Richard Buckner? If you answered "yes" to the first two questions and "no" to the third then you should immediately get into the Buck (my current obsession). You can start with this cool youtube video:



If you answered "yes" to all three questions then I already know you will LOVE this video - and I commend you on your good taste. If you answered "no" to all three questions then I must ask what's wrong with you? If you answered "yes" to only one and three then, fair enough, we can't all love the lumberjack type, but I would like to commend you on your music tastes. Enjoy!

RADIOHEAD ON THE ROAD TO GRAMMY DOMINATION

I'm not a big fan of the Grammys but this year I have someone to root for. Radiohead's In Rainbows snagged 7 nominations. Pretty cool!

They are up against the fabulous Robert Plant/Alison Krauss albumRaising Sand in the Album of the Year Category. It's not often that I'm a fan of two albums in that category. Even Pitchfork called this year's Grammy nominations "surprisingly relevant".

Here is the list of Radiohead related nominations:

* Album of the Year
* Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for the song "House of Cards"
* Best Rock Song for "House of Cards"
* Best Alternative Music Album (they're up against Evil Urges. Ha! As if!)
* Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package
* Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical (Nigel Godrich)
* Best Short Form Music Video - "House of Cards" directed by James Frost


And, Jonny Greenwood is up for:

* Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media for There Will be Blood

The Grammys aren't until February 8th but you can check this out while you wait. It's the nominated video for "House of Cards":

GORGEOUS PRACTICE SPACE

The soap is almost gone but somehow I don't think many people are using it...

BEL AIR UPDATE

We're busy preparing for our recording session on Saturday at the famed Cowboy Technical Services studio. Here are the boys after a grueling practice sesh this week:



We'll be recording 3 songs - 2 of which will soon be released on a vinyl 7". The third song will go towards our new album.

ON SECOND THOUGHT. . .

TOTALLY WORTH YOUR TIME

WE'RE BACK!!

Sorry about the long absence. I had to take a break from the blogosphere. It's like how people take a month off of drinking once a year so that they can come back a refreshed and better-than-ever drunk. I promise to be a better-than-ever blogger. Consider it an early New Year's Resolution.

Here's some stuff that happened:

We got a write up from Tris McCall

My November On the Beat column