[...music...]
a log of cd's purchased + shows attended + other stuff.
we were exploding anyway

a few weeks ago, i found out from a series of mp3 blogs that 65daysofstatic have new material this year. i didn't even bother downloading the mutliple leaks, since i knew i'd be getting it.

two weeks ago, when randomly browsing stuff on the internet, i found out from the band's blog that the first pressing is a deluxe edition. according to the blog: "hard cover, booklet full of extra artwork, won’t get reprinted once it’s gone. there are no extra songs on it. how many albums have their carefully structured flow ruined by badly-placed bonus tracks? loads." haha, i like their humour.

anyway, i'm always a sucker for deluxe editions, so i ordered the album online. the gbp-cad exchange rate is pretty good these days. even including the shipping, it wasn't too expensive.

on friday, the album arrived in the mail:



yeah, the packaging is pretty nice; bound like a hardcover book.

and they are streaming the whole album now:
http://www.myspace.com/65propaganda

i really like it. it is one of my favourites of this year, so far.

~~~

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trans-continental hustle

earlier this week, i got the new gogol bordello album "trans-continental hustle".



i was listening on repeat for a few days. it's good, but feels a bit flat. i mean, it sounds like a re-hash of their old material.

for example, my favourite track from the new album is "my companjera" [youtube]. it reminds me so much of "wonderlust king" [youtube] from the previous album.

also, on this new album, there is too much repetition, like the way he sings the same line more than a dozen times within the same song.

overall, on its own, it is a good album. but knowing they've done better before, i'd say this album is not amazing or anything.

~~~

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gogol bordello + devotchka @ metropolis

ayoye, i've fallen behind on my blogging. this entry will be brief.

on april 18, i went to the gogol bordello show with roxanne and fil. devotchka was one of the openers. this was the line-up we'd been dreaming of. we got our tickets on the day they went on sale, more than two months before the show.

we got a spot in the front, right at the barrier. the first opener was jesse malin & the st. marks social. it was typical rock, with hints of folk/punk, i guess. they had a couple of catchy songs.



the next openers were devotchka. i'd been wanting to see them play ever since roxanne introduced their music to me, via a mix cd, some years ago. their live show was really good. the singer had an old-fashion microphone. for one of their songs, they had an aerial silk performer. so cool!







they played my favourite song "how it ends" so i was happy. i tried to steathily capture a video before the security dude stepped into my camera's field of view, ruining the shot as he gave me the bad eye...



devotchka setlist:
basso profundo
venus in furs
the clockwise witness
head honcho
i cried like a silly boy
vengo (manya)
we're leaving
how it ends
poland
international
the enemy guns

finally, gogol bordello were on stage. i managed to snap a few pictures before it got too crazy.







and oh my, it was pretty crazy. it was so packed. the whole time, there was someone on my back; in any other context, it would have been some form of sexual harrassment. for most of the time, i was thinking "i'm getting too old for this...". i spent more energy trying to push people off my back than trying to enjoy the music.

i only recognized the few songs from "underdog world strike", such as "not a crime" and "start wearing purple". i guess most of the set were songs from the new album.

there are some videos on youtube.

~~~

cd purchases: i got the devotchka albums that i was missing, "supermelodrama" and "una volta".

hearing damage: yeah, my ears were ringing. my arms and knees were also bruised from being constantly pushed against the metal barrier. ugh; i'm too old for this shit.

~~~

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