01.11.06 more jokes about cocks

NP: "Nightfall (For Boris P.)"Songs Of Green Pheasant.
NP: "I Saw The Light Shining 'Round And Round"John Fahey.
NP: "Box Elder Mo"The Wedding Present.
NP: "A Little Lost"Arthur Russell.
NP: "Hawaiian Baby"The Spinanes.
NP: "Hawaiian Baby"Buffalo Tom.
NP: "Shotgun"Ida.
NP: "10 Gallon Ascot"Tapes N' Tapes.
NP: "Nude"Mi and L'au.
NR: Lots of articles about JT LeRoy. I have to admit that I always thought there was something inauthentic about the stories, and now it makes sense. They ARE inauthentic. Which means they are purely fiction and not at all autobiographical. Which is fine by me, but it does make sense. I always thought that he used similes making reference to something there's no chance someone is his situation would know. But ultimately what I don't like most about his books are the stories themselves. I've thought that the writing was strong at times, it was the stories that were lacking. Good writing is good writing. I don't really care by whom. I look forward to better writing, and better stories.



Attended three concerts in three days. It feels good, except I am feeling a little old and a lot disconnected.

Went to see The Detachment Kit and Tapes N' Tapes on Sunday at Pianos. The sound was AWFUL, so it's hard to make a proper judgement about Tapes N' Tapes. The drums in particular. It sounded as if there were almost some sort of gate on the bass drum, making it sound clipped and huge and wholly inappropriate. But, nonetheless, Tapes N' Tapes are just, simply, in the classic A&R words "not ready." They could be sometime down the line, but they're not now. The rhythm section is unoriginal and clearly just playing whatever the most straightforward interpretation of the song should be, probably (I'm guessing) just playing what the lead singer / guitarist is telling them. And then there's the keyboard / tambourine / mini-tuba(??) guy that's just completely extraneous. I'm guessing he's either the guy with the van, the guy with a basement they can practice in, or the guy with the cute girlfriend who can get lots of cute girls to come to their shows.

Which is all, I suppose a little harsh, but... It's what I feel. I still like the recorded version of the song above. And looking forward to hearing more in the future.

The Detachment Kit were fucking amazing, although they played mostly older (and rocking) songs, as they were playing with an old drummer after having only one practice with him that afternoon. It was great to see them, and made me think about those times when I listened to those songs ten times a day before the first album came out. And it seems (and is) a lifetime ago.

-------------

Then on Tuesday I went to go see two shows. First up was Mary McBride at Joe's Pub, and I must say she was amazing. It's not a universal rule, but it's still a fairly good signpost, especially at a place like Joe's Pub that regularly has five or six bands a night: When you capture the attention of the bartenders, you're doing something right. These people are pretty much trained to ignore and filter out every last bit of aural stimuli except that of their waitresses. When you manage to penetrate through that AND get them to say "they're fucking amazing", well... that's pretty impressive. Mary and her band pulled it off. They absolutely nailed it. You have to respect the pure and perfect tones of the qualified honky tonk NYC studio musician, and her guys were rock solid behind her, and Mary was strong and confidant and sang with a bit less artifice and gimmickry than last I saw her. And it was good.

-------------

And then it was time for a visit to Chris Newmyer's World, Circa 1992. Went to go see Ida, Stephen Malkmus, and Rebecca Gates at Knitting Factory.

Ida played a quiet plaintive set that was typical of their last ten years of existance, and which pretty much had none of the kinetic, swirling, and cathartic songwriting of their early three or four years. And thus it was kinda sleepy, if pleasant. I miss those classic shows of theirs. Upstairs at the Khyber Pass in Philly, at The Old Club at Swarthmore, that one show at The Fez where they played as a six piece with full piano arrangements of all the songs... Some of the best shows I've ever seen. And even the first couple of "Karla-era" shows, where they became more of a rock band... Those were great too. And this set at KF was nice, but lacking.

Stephen Malkmus came up and said "I didn't prepare for this. Anybody have any requests?" After the collective jaws of two hundred pavement dorks hit the floor, everybody started yelling out titles. Stephen proceeded to play a bumbling, shuffling, amateur, and COMPLETELY endearing set of his songs. He shrugged his way through "Box Elder", he bungled his way through "Shoot The Singer", played the guitar solos in "Frontwards" by singing "nearnee nearnee nearnee nur neer neeeeeeeeeer...", and ended with a completely botch version of "Gold Sounds." Along the way he was funny, depricating, charming, and likable. A nice reminder that a great song is a great song, and no matter what that comes to the surface. It was nice to see him having fun and not taking anything too seriously.

And then Rebecca Gates stepped up. Promptly broke a G-string, made some jokes, played some lovely songs, and did a version of Arthur Russell's "A Little Lost." She then picked up the acoustic guitar, sat on the edge of the stage, got the people in attendance to sit on the floor, and performed "Entire" and "Hawaiian Baby" without microphone or amp. The age-old question still resonates: "Did you give up punk for lent?" Amazing.



01.06.06 soulcrushing boredom

NP: nuthin'.
NR: nuthin'.



Ahhh... It's really not soulcrushing boredom. But I am at work, and bored. And I don't have my ipod or the new issue of The New Yorker because it just didn't ever show up. Blah Blah Blah.




oh, those dirty senior citizens.



01.05.06 MILF or NILF?

NP: nuthin'.
NR: "The Cowards" by Josef Skvorecky and "The Baphomet" by Pierre Klossowski. I honestly don't think I know what the hell is going on in "The Baphomet." I hope it'll sort itself out. Just started "The Cowards". I keep forgetting I bought three Skvorecky books in Canada. "The Engineer Of Human Souls" is one of my favorite books I've ever picked up for no reason other than I liked the title, the cover, the author's name, whatever. I bought it on a whim and loved it. I'm hoping these others I've bought are even half as good.



A favorite game of mine is playing "MILF or NILF?" Walking around the East Village (especially around Tompkins Square Park) and seeing a cute female with a toddler or a baby carriage. It's especially a good game in winter when people are bundled up and wearing hats and gloves. Not as many tell-tale signs of age. Is she a Mom-I'd-Like-To-Fuck or a Nanny-I'd-Like-To-Fuck? It's becoming increasingly harder in this current East Village.

To be honest, there's probably supposed to be a third category, which is Aunt-I'd-Like-To-Fuck, but I can't figure out how to pronounce "AILF".



01.03.06 "You think because you don't menstruate you don't have original sin?"

NP: "Everything Reminds Me"Le Chevre.
NP: "Come On Train"Don Thomas.
NP: "Traffic"Chad VanGaalen.
NP: "L.A. Tool & Die"Spouse.
NP: "Joker"Spouse.
NP: "Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold"Townes Van Zandt.
NP: "(They Long To Be) Close To You"Isaac Hayes.
NR: I guess I'm about to start "The Baphomet" by Pierre Klossowski. Finally finished "Baudolino" by Umberto Eco, and the new New Yorker didn't arrive today for some reason.



Quote from the other night:

C: "I'm going to burn in hell."
K: "I'll be right there next you."
C: "If you're right there next to me, I'll KNOW I'm in hell."

I think I'm the funniest person I know. That's true. I mean... It's true that I think that, and it's TRUE.

-----------

Played a 5 hour session of 1-2 No Limit at BBBB last night. It was a long downhill slide followed by a couple of large (and occasionally stupid) hands, and ended it with me cashing out up $200 (was down $750 at one point) and considering the night a success.

Five hands in particular got me all my money. The losses were never big, I never really misplayed anything or got any bad beats. I had KQ top two pair get rivered by a flush, and I paid the guy off, but it was only $73 into a $225 pot, and I misplayed an AK in early position and paid off a straight on the river when I should have popped the flop or the turn and taken the hand down.

But here's a quick rundown of the last two hours:

-----------
HAND #1
-----------

I limp with 97offsuit. Someone on the button raises to $15. It comes back to me with 3 callers, I decide to call for the hell of it. The flop comes:

Check, check, check, button bets $30. One guy folds, next guy calls, I call. The turn:

Check, check, button bets $65. Next guy hesitates for a good long while. Eventually calls. He's an aggressive player. I don't know what to think. I think he's on the flush draw. I call. The river:

First guy checks. I check. The button thinks about it for a while and checks. Turns over 64spades. Next guy turns over J5spades. I turn over a pair of sevens and take down the $340 pot.

-----------
HAND #2
-----------

I'm in the big blind with 10Jdiamonds. Under The Gun raises to $25, and gets 3 callers. I'm last to act, and I call the $25. $125 in the pot. The flop:

I come out betting $50. The raiser calls. Next guy raises to $150, other two players fold. I call. Original raiser folds. We can all tell he has an overpair (he later says he has Aces. I believe him.). The turn:

I check. Other guy goes all-in for $173. I call. The river:

He turns over K7diamonds... King High. He was open-ended and missed, but didn't have a pair. I turn over a pair of 10s and take down the huge pot. Guy with Aces goes a little crazy, but we all assure him he made the right laydown. I'm glad he made it.

-----------
HAND #3
-----------

I get AA in early position. I raise to $17, get 4 callers, three behind me and one of the blinds. The flop.

Not the scariest flop, but on this table somebody could have called a raise with A2 or 66. I bet $80. First guy folds, next guy (the same raiser as in the previous hand, and a notoriously loose aggressive player) raises to $180. Other two guys fold. I call. I seriously consider folding right there, but I decide to see one more card. The turn:

I check. I basically surrender the hand to Glen. He checks. I begin to think he doesn't have the 2, but I'm still scared. The river:

I figure I'm winning, but I still check. He checks, and turns over 69diamonds. He says "I put you on AK". My AA holds.

-----------
HAND #4
-----------

The most nerveracking hand of the night. I get JJ on the button. There's one limper on the straddle, then Jay raises to $22. It folds to me. I raise to $65. Jay calls. Heads up to the flop:

He checks. I think I'm ahead. I bet $75. A bit of an underbet, but I'm a little scared. He has $2000 in front of him, I have $1100. We are the two biggest stacks on the table. He calls. The turn:

He checks. I don't know what to think of his call on the flop. I know I have to bet and not give him a free card, but if I bet the pot, he could put me all-in and I'd have to fold. So I decide to bet $125. A more proper bet would have been about $200 or $225. He hesitates but calls. I really think he has QQ now. The river:

He checks. I check. I just couldn't bet again. Everybody looks at me like I'm a pussy, but... I really convinced myself that he was going to make a crying call with the best hand. He says he had AKhearts, and it would make sense, although I think he's a really aggressive player and would have raised me on the flop. But he says that since I was another big stack, he didn't want to risk me putting him all-in.

-----------
HAND #5
-----------

Definitely the stupidest hand of the night. I limp on the button with 23offsuit. One of the blinds raises to $17. I call, for no real logical reason. 4 players; the flop comes:

Now... I'm pretty damn positive I'm really very far ahead. First guy bets $35, next guy calls. Next guy folds. I raise to $150. I'm hoping to take it down right there. Original raiser / bettor thinks about it for a while and calls. Next guy says "send me home" and goes all-in for $170 total. I call, other guy calls. We kinda make eye contact with one another and give each other the "check it down" nod / gesture. The turn:

He checks, I check. The river:

He checks, I check. I say "two pair", they both say it's good, and I turn over the 23 and everybody looks at me like I'm insane. It's a feeling I get used to when I sit at the table long enough.

The first guy had A9. The all-in guy had 45. If I had known what they had both had, I wouldn't have been as scared. But I was just happy with taking down a $400 profit hand if i win, and only losing $170 if I lost. I should have put A9 all-in on the turn, but I doubt if he would have called anyway. I just looked up the odds:

on the flop:
23 - 57%
A9 - 17%
45 - 26%

turn
23 - 71%
A9 - 12%
45 - 17%

heads up on turn it's
23 - 82%
A9 - 18%

-----------

I play out the half hour and cash out up $200 relieved.



12.29.05 only prime numbers are funny

NP: "Wipe Me I'm Lucky"The Clean.
NP: "Wishbone"Architecture In Helsinki.
NP: "Everyday Feels Like"Of Montreal.
NP: "Tips For Teens"Sparks.
NP: "They Removed All Traces That Anything Had Ever Happened Here"Hood.
NP: "Take It Easy"The Eagles.
NP: "Hungry Freaks, Daddy"Frank Zappa.
NR: The New Yorker. One more page and I'm completely caught up!



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