Nonogirl Radio

Year of the Freed Pig

Sebadoh is back! And I finally got to see them doing all those great songs off of Sebadoh III, Bubble and Scrape, and Smash Your Head!

I yelped at the first guitar notes when they did "Brand New Love." And they even did a song back from 1984!

But the crowd sucked. Few people danced. I wish I saw them back when a pit would have started.

Still it was a good send off to Hawaii. A nice memory of the soundtrack to my urban life as I head out to the warm tropics with roosters crowing.

What's Up in the Attic

My friend Bernice wrote this piece for the New York Times! It's a very vivid piece about personal belongings to a jazz great, Maxine Sullivan. Through the printed word, Bernice evokes smells, and sounds, touch, and memory.

James Brown 5/3/33–12/25/06

What is it about holidays and losing our celebrities?!

I think heavens just got a little more funky.

Voodoo Glow Skulls

I went to another old school punk show last night and it didn't disappoint. Although I only recognized a few choice Voodoo Glow Skull songs, the newer ones used just the same formula that I know and love. It just inhibited my crowd participation.

I love me some nerd core with their glasses and floods but with the brawn to say an intimidating "fuck you!" if you dare to make fun of them.

I guess the boys used their Epitaph money well. They've got a VGS banner to hang, a VGS painted bass, and even had a roadie who handed out water bottles and towels!

Miya Masaoka

This morning, I was pleasantly surprised to hear Miya Masaoka's name mentioned on Morning Edition, They totally butchered the pronunciation, but when they described the work as being produced by a "laser koto," I knew it had to be our San Francisco new music experimenter.

Yes, the woman who performed with bugs on her! And a musician who was part of my first documentary, Kihakuno Vibrations, on Japanese American musicians.

Buy It, Burn It, Trash It

I have never really become one with my ipod. I never got down how to shuffle and don't have the time to make playlists. But with my expanding podcast subscriptions and a 240 miles of driving this weekend, we finally bonded.

I've been listening to Weekend America and Radio Lab via podcast, but one new show in particular is what tipped me over: Sound Opinions out of Chicago.

These guys liken themselves to the Car Talk guys, but talk about popular music rather than automobiles. And since I stopped reading the sf_indie list, this seems like a great way for me to stay in the know. They've also got a great review system: Buy it, burn it, or trash it! They also do a great job of integrating their site with their audio. Check out their show notes for the show that I listened to today.

Samiam 2006

  samiam set #4 
  Originally uploaded by mattfall.

I feel like I can link up my Bay Area history with Samiam:

• I fell in love with rock and roll through bands like Samiam, Jawbreaker, and OpIvy while going to school at UC Santa Cruz
• I met Srini at a Samiam (BOTH) show in '95 or '96. I knew him from hist sticker project, Unamerican; he knew me through my zine, Static
• Several years later, we saw Samiam at BOTH and Srini yelled out, "I met my girlfriend at your show here years ago, and now we're getting married!"
• By 2000, we had broken up, but were both up in Portland for NXNW. Samiam came out of hiding and played an AWESOME show
• Later that year, I did my first independently produced radio piece on Samiam when they returned to play BOTH

And that brings me up to today: now a full-blown radio producer, single, and nostalgic for this music that gets the kids to mosh up against each other at the front of the stage.

The kids totally loved the opener, Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music). It was just him and his guitar but with that scratchy voice and working class lyrics, he truly is a punk rock Bruce Springsteen. I watched voyeuristically as I flashed back to first seeing them play at the 17th and Capp warehouse ages ago.

Back then, I went to shows sober. The music was my intoxicant. But this night, I was so wasted, I sobered up at the back of the club with the help of friends. If they had played "Don't Break Me," I woulda pulled it together and staged dive to the front!

Loud Quiet Loud

Documenting their triumphant return to the stage after more than ten years apart, loudQUIETloud proves that influential Boston band The Pixies are still amazing performers, but remain unable to communicate with each other offstage. An exhilarating concert film and a fascinating portrait of the inner workings of a great but troubled band.

--from here

Yeah, what he said.

But really, the film didn't disappoint. The audience in the theater sang along to the songs (which I think they allowed to be played all the way through) and I was smiling, reliving the shows.

There's good editing, great pacing, and it captures the painful behind the scenes with visual poetry.

Touch and Go makes 25

Re-united Seam, originally uploaded by nonogirl.

This rock weekend in Chicago was amazing!

Tim and Sue Anne were the most generous hosts, sharing their home, their pets, their car, and their Chicago secrets.

Touch and Go bands showered Cory Rusk with love (see Todd from Shellac give Cory a flower) as bands reformed to put on rockin' performances like these by Seam (1, 2, 3).

Three days of rockin', playing with pets, playing Guitar Hero, and feeling not so old as bands I listened to growing up rocked out, sometimes in new bands (like Erik from A Minor Forest, now in Pinback!!!).

Now I'm feeling like I should extend my October trip to Chicago.

Chicago

I'm off to Chicago for the Touch and Go 25th Anniversary, with a line-up that includes a reunited Seam, a reunited Big Black, Shellac, and others!

But in another part of Chicago, Elvira Arellano is making a bold challenge against the current immigration laws by seeking refuge in a United Methodist Church rather than relilnquish to deportation and depart from her 7 year old son.

Lynette Kalsnes produces a wonderful piece for  News and Notes on how the African American community has responded.