Upend It

catch up, cats and kittens. don't get left behind.

[upendit-blog]

Cool Pioneer Valley Shows (March-May)

FOUND: a list someone made of some of the best shows coming up in and around yr neighborhood.

MARCH

friday 3/20: grape room, jobs, jellyfish brothers, ben katzman's degreaser, final frontiers @ john doe jr., greenfield friday 3/20: sebadoh, qui @ pearl street, northampton saturday 3/21: moon power, magik markers, grape room, special guest @ the 13th floor lounge, florence monday 3/23: noise nomads, schwarz, cameron brown @ the holler, northampton friday 3/27: deerhoof, perfect pussy, zula @ pearl street, northampton friday 3/27: bella's bartok, home body @ hinge, northampton friday 3/27: matt krefting, jen gelineau, chris carlton, bob fay, matt robidoux @ mystery train, amherst friday 3/27: annie blech, blunt fang, lunch cult, grape room @ saga, hampshire college friday 3/27: great smokey, orca age, wydyde @ the pencil factory, northampton saturday 3/28: spraynard, shakusky., yeehaw, guest house, osaka @ 250 natural resources road, umass monday 3/30: samuel boat, peter's window, flaming dragons, lauri mcnamara, hollow deck @ john doe jr., greenfield

APRIL thursday 4/2: tibibto (wright/margolis/seidel), david russell, stephanie marie germaine @ the brick house, turners falls thursday 4/2: time ghost, ora isa + more @ flywheel, easthampton thursday 4/2: ned rothenberg @ bezanson recital hall, umass-amherst friday 4/3: earth girls, building 7, the millers, laika's orbit @ i'm floored house, hadley friday 4/3: the blues (oakland), arkm foam, phurne @ john doe jr., greenfield sunday 4/5: blazing eye, urochromes, depths of reality, evil eye @ the pencil factory, northampton wednesday 4/8: the john spencer blues explosion @ the iron horse, northampton thursday 4/9: care (michigan), carinae, old pam, death savings flag @ the brick house, turners falls friday 4/10: derek rogers (tx), rob forman, tba @ the brick house, turners falls friday 4/10: protomartyr, the gotobeds @ the iron horse, northampton saturday 4/11: pioneer valley zinefest @ flywheel, easthampton saturday 4/11: painted faces, lutkie, egregoros, belltone suicide, dave seidel @ john doe jr., greenfield sunday 4/12: jeff zagers, sam gas can, noise nomads, grape room @ flywheel, easthampton wednesday 4/15: rob mazurek & black cube sp @ the parlor room, northampton thursday 4/16: freak vibe, cheri love, dangur, chemiplastica @ tba thursday 4/16: nels cline & julian lage @ the parlor room, northampton friday 4/17: guerilla toss, gold dime, curse purse, taxidermists @ john doe jr., greenfield saturday 4/18: desmadrados soldados de ventura (uk), byron coley/ted lee, tarp @ john doe jr., greenfield saturday 4/18: juliana hatfield 3 (original lineup) @ the iron horse, northampton wednesday 4/22: michael hurley, mv & ee @ flywheel, easthampton wednesday 4/22: footings, liv carrow, bunny's a swine, kindling @ john doe jr., greenfield saturday 4/25: bella's bartok, world inferno @ pearl street, northampton thursday 4/30: jason kao hwang @ bezanson recital hall, umass-amherst

MAY friday 5/1: arthur brooks ensemble V + tba @ john doe jr., greenfield saturday 5/2: toro y moi, of montreal @ pearl street, northampton monday 5/4: born (iceland), longings + tba @ flywheel, easthampton thursday 5/14: time ghost, sunk heaven, a snake in the garden, dunk tank @ john doe jr., greenfield monday 5/18: guillaume gargaud/phillipe gomez (fr), tom crean, rush awesome @ john doe jr., greenfield tuesday 5/19: save the date for an american primmo guitar champ @ the brick house, turners falls, ma friday 5/29: d.r.i. and like five other bands @ the waterfront tavern, holyoke saturday 5/30: the lentils, more tba @ the rendezvous, turners falls

[themediafix]

The truth about Title II and your cable bill.

Claims That Real Net Neutrality Would Result in New Internet Tax Skew the Math and Confuse the Law

Cable companies try to scare you about net neutrality in the least convincing way possible

[alltherecords-blog]

The packaging for this album is so pretty. I could stare at these liner notes all day. Especially when it’s a perfect almost summer Saturday and you just had your last day of school yesterday and the long beautiful lazy stretch of summer days lies ahead of you like the waters of Lake Huron-...

[upendit-blog]

Can We Keep the Internet Free?

The struggle to save the world's greatest communication network.

Check out my very first ever print article! It was an interesting challenge to write something so far in advance of its publication date. I am used to writing things that are often rendered outdated in a week's time. 

Its on the stands now and you can get it at places like Barnes & Noble and Whole Foods and stuff. Probably other places that are better, like local bookstores, too. Go there first if you are going. 

[upendit-blog]

Come on, Internet. Its been two days since the Super Bowl AND the last episode of GIRLS. I strongly feel this should have been in my newsfeed at least 25 times since then. 

[thejazzface]

Thing About 2013 - Bunny’s a Swine - “Calling Out”

Given that the members of Bunny’s a Swine are close friends of mine, this will not be a review of their outstanding record, “Calling Out.” I can’t do that. The partiality police wouldn’t let me hear the end of it. Instead, let’s say this is a bitter, self-righteous plea, a flailing missive about how everyone always misses the point, a stupid love letter, unearthed in the middle distance of the future, not regretted, but not entirely understood, a “you don’t understand me! Nobody understands me!” before slamming the door on Twitter, on Chris Ott, on well meaning DIY kids still growing into their slightly longer than regulation dorm room beds, on those who would have us all get so serious about the silly thing we call rock music.

Let’s pretend for a minute that the problem with music today isn’t the inability of musicians to make a living wage, or the fragmented landscape in which everyone chooses their soundtrack to the exclusion of anything foreign, or even the internet that dilutes our sound quality, extrudes poisonous comments, connects us all more closely, holding us deeper and deeper within our self selected communities - let’s pretend that the real problem is a lack of perspective. If everyone listened intently to Bunny’s a Swine, invested some time in them, we could kiss that at least the excuse of myopic self interest goodbye. In this variety of perfect world, we’d all understand each other a little better, learn to embrace the small things, recognize the big things, and say fuck it to the medium sized things that really pose the most danger of sucking away our precious time and energy. Our perspectives adjusted, we’d be able to put our moneys where our mouths are, our hearts a little bit closer to our minds in the grand scheme of emotional health, and our feet somewhat closer to the place where we live. I can envision a world where some guy in artist relations at Sony looks at some guy that pulls a salary from Matador who looks at some clueless musician trying to scrape together money to repair an amp who looks at the sound guy giving him the coldest shoulder ‘cause his amp is broken, and they’re all looking at each other with, if not compassion, then understanding at least, that yeah, there’s a system, and yeah, we’ve all got to look out for ourselves here, but we’re all complicit - what you do to the least of these, et cetera.

"Calling Out" contributes to the creation of this theoretical world where we all "get it" because "Calling Out" is a wise album, ableit one made by people foolish enough to call themselves Bunny’s a Swine and play a guitar that only has three strings on it. Fools though they may be, they’ve been at this long enough to have built a view that cuts pretty close to the heart of what most folks who make music or, hell, anyone that’s trying to live some sort of uncertain, non-geopolitical, non-financially-determined dream go through on a daily basis. Doubt, anger, tender sentiment, a longing for stability constantly at war with a fear of boredom, which, let’s face it, is probably just a fear of getting old and sick and having to endure another drive to the emergency room. I realize that sounds dour, and I apologize. Blame that on the fact that it’s nearly pitch black at 5 o’clock here in my living room rather than the music, because "Calling Out" is actually pretty bright in it’s outlook. "TV" and "South Carolina" even seem to present a possibility for a future where everything is fucked up but still ok, which I’m pretty sure is the best anyone is hoping for at this point. 

To actually talk about the music for a second, it does at least one thing worth mentioning - in a year when the revisionist history of 90s music made hopefully its final turn towards the school of thinking that has all the cool people listening to chimey, noisy, serpentine rock music, “Calling Out” manages to revisit some of these sounds, some of these feelings, without glorifying them or reveling in them. “Barnburner” is the best [insert 90s major label post indie rock band here] ripoff of the year, in the face of stiff competition, and “Greetings from the Bottom” is its antidote, a rallying cry for those left behind by the 20th Anniversary of Nevermind gold rush, those united by the polar forces of overdone nostalgia and underdone bank accounts. It also happens to have one of the best videos of the year, as far as meta-critique of rock and roll goes, and also as far as funny creative music videos go - an intersection that is certainly not a coincidence at a time when we could all use a laugh more meaningful than “we don’t have a word for the noises of certain animals.”

It’s tragic, really, that you haven’t heard this record (if you haven’t - I’m assuming you haven’t). Luckily, you have it in your power to overcome this tragedy almost immediately. It’s Bunny’s a Swine dot Bandcamp dot com, and it’s everything you’ll need this holiday season, as you gird yourself in anticipation of the long dark night that’s just beginning to fall. 

[upendit-blog]

Tomorrow's Rally Against Mass Surveillance will be epic. You can stream it live at http://rally.stopwatching.us. 

Oh and here's Maggie Gyllenhaal, John Cusack, and a bunch of other impressive famous people talking about why NSA spying is a huge problem. 

[sarabenincasa-deactivated201807]

That feeling when the White House press secretary retweets you and the conservative crazies come out to play

[bigfatfeminist]

New York City Launching Campaign to Improve Girls’ Self-Esteem

“I’m a girl. I’m funny, playful, daring, strong, curious, smart, brave, healthy, friendly and caring,” one ad, featuring DeVoray Wigfall, a robust, laughing 12-year-old from University Heights in the Bronx, says. The ads show girls of different races and sizes, some playing sports and one in a wheelchair. Each one ends with the campaign’s overall slogan: “I’m beautiful the way I am.”

[sparkamovement-blog-blog]

Yoooooo we helped design this campaign and we are so so proud of it! In addition to these ads, it also involves fitness classes at NYC parks, after school programs, & two new media education classes we co-developed with the Paley Center for Media: Girls, Body Image, and the Media, and A Brief History of Girls on Television. 

[100percentmen]

Confirmed speakers for the 2013 Siemer & Associates Silicon Beach Summit and ExCel London Consensus Science talk. 

[upendit-blog]

Oh cool! Dudes!

[upendit-blog]

Neil Young & My First Time

Listening to Neil Young for the first time. In order of experience. Lots of this will only make sense to my best friends. But that's what the Internet is for, right?

Harvest

Out on the Weekend: I love the way this was recorded. Is that why everyone is always so into Neil Young is they are an engineer/producer? 

Harvest: Meh. Okay. This song is fine. My mind is not blown, but its pleasant.

A Man Needs a Maid: Neil, seriously, and I'm not saying this as a feminist -- this is such a sad fuck song. As in: Neil is being a sad fuck. Also: I kind of love this song.

Heart of Gold: I wasn't joking. That was really good.

Are You Ready for the Country? This is legit. I'm not surprised I like this song because it reminds me a little bit of Ram.

Old Man: This sounds like it was on the Nirvana unplugged album but I know it wasn't. But all I hear is Kurt. I know that's reverse history. Until it got to the chorus. Who is the lady singing? I like her.

There's A World: This feels a little bit like a song that would be sung to Alice when she gets to Wonderland. Is that weird? That's weird. But its true. Or maybe the song they'd sing to Dorothy when she gets to Oz. Or maybe the song that Willy Wonka sings to everyone when they get to the factory. This song was missing from all those things.

Alabama: Good. This is a good song. Maybe this is the best song on the record? Yeah, I think it was the best song.

The Needle and the Damage Done: Yes. Just, YES. Also, I had heard this before.

Words [Between the Lines of Age]: I take back what I said about Alabama. This is the best song on the album. I don't think its a contest.

After the Goldrush

Tell Me Why: This is excellent.

After the Goldrush: Just stop.

Only Love Can Break Your Heart: This is the best album.

Southern Man: I know about this song because of the story. And its nice to hear it inside the context of an album because it just is so much better this way. Where is Neil from anyway? Also what depresses me: the thought of people trying to cover this song and probably almost all of them ruining it. However, I think everyone can cover Only Love Can Break Your Heart and it would be excellent.

Till the Morning Comes: Again with the McCartney Ram and Randy Newman vibe. Sorry if that makes people mad, but thats what I hear. I realize Neil might have beat them to it. I do like how short that song is! Pollard must have liked NY.

Oh, Lonesome Me: Good. Is this a Mail the Horse song? (*Note: this is not the first time I have had this thought...there are a lot of Neil songs so far that remind me of MtH)

Don't Let it Bring You Down: This sounds like what I thought Neil Young would sound like. Do people like this song a lot? Is that why it sounds familiar? Or is this just the archetype of a Neil song? This is my least favorite Neil song so far, but I bet I will end up regretting saying that in the future.

Birds: Is Neil actually Joni Mitchell and its really just like a Fight Club thing? This song is beautiful.

When You Dance You Can Really Love: This is okay.

I Believe In You: This is awesome.

Cripple Creek: I thought this was going to be that other annoying song with the same name, but its actually the song that Dustin and Emerson sing all the time except they say "Make way for the hamtown trolley!" I get it now!

Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

Cinnamon Girl: WTF. That is all. Actually no it isn't. The guitar sound is really nice on this.

Everybody Knows This is Nowhere: I know this song. I knew the last one too. I guess this is the album I knew without realizing it.

Round & Round: Okay. Sure.

Down By the River: This song is really legit. I didn’t even really notice that it was 9 minutes long. And I hate long songs.

The Losing End [When You’re On]: This is a good song.

Running Dry [Requiem for the Rockets]: This reminds me of a particular era of Dylan...Street Legal? Desire?

Cowgirl in the Sand: Everyone was right about this song in every way and I do feel like I’ve been missing out in life because I haven’t heard it until now. On the other hand: I am just getting into this song now! How fucking exciting is that for me?

Zuma

Don’t Cry No Tears: I think this could be a Guided By Voices song. I want to cover this one.

Danger Bird: Meh. Peter is trying to convince me to listen to a Gwar / Billy Ocean mashup. I am staying strong.

Pardon My Heart: Nice understated follow up to the epic, seeming endlessness of Danger Bird.

Lookin’ For a Love: Meh. Maybe I am just burning out. I’ve been listening to Neil for hours.

Barstool Blues: I take it back. This song. Yes.

Stupid Girl: Oh cool. A Shirley Manson cover. Jokes. This song is actually great.

Drive Back: Holy cowbell, batman.

Cortez the Killer: Slow burn. What makes it such a good one? I should be bored. I’m not bored. Is it the guitar tone holding my attention? Is it that the guitar solos just sound sad? I’ve heard of sad chords...but never really thought about sad solos. Its a bit more disappointing when the lyrics kick in.

Through My Sails: This song is fantastic.

On the Beach

Walk On: Donny said I would like this record. First song makes me think he was right.

See the Sky: Go Donny. I guess when you share endless details about your interest in Bob Dylan songs with an Amidon you can get some very tailored-to-your-taste results.

Revolution Blues: Guys, what happens if I like this album the best? Is this the song that Lee Ranaldo played at Thing in the Spring? * THIS SONG THIS SONG THIS SONG * THIS ALBUM * * YES * * (At this point I had to text both the Amidons to inquire about what happened if this was my favorite NY album and what Bob album it correlated to. It was a toss up between Highway 61 and JWH)

For the Turnstiles: Yes. This is my favorite NY album. This song is all the things I like about Beggar’s Banquet.

Vampire Blues: I am without doubt. That this is my favorite. It doesn’t mean that its the best, but it means that its my favorite.

On the Beach: This reminds me more of an ATG or Harvest song which is a nice reminder of how good those records were. Could it really only be a few hours since I was listening to them? I think this song is too long, though. Title track disappointment.

Motion Pictures (For Carrie): The second half of this record is a real departure from the first but I like this song a lot more than On the Beach. 

Ambulance Blues: … i don’t have anything substantive to say about how this song makes me feel because it just makes me feel things and i don’t want to talk about it anymore … this is an amazing album closer for this record.

Tonight’s the Night

I’ve ODed. I need to go back and appreciate some of these a bit more before going here.

[upendit-blog]

Just got a sneak peek of tonight's talk in Northampton with Bob McChesney and John Nichols and I think you should be there if you are in town because its really good stuff. 

[upendit-blog]

My band, Bunny's A Swine, debuted our new music video this week on Stereogum. Produced by the amazing Loroto Productions. Its kind of funny. We think. 

[upendit-blog]

My <3/H8 Relationship With the Cable Industry (or something)

I wrote this thing about the state of the messy modern video market in which you can learn all about how everyone is paying too much money for things they don't want...and how we could fix it. 

The Very Model of the Modern Messy Video Market

While I’ve spent a fair amount of my adult life critiquing the media, I am in fact a pretty big fan of television.

This means that I can quote lines verbatim from Tom Haverford and Leslie Knope, and still watch Saturday Night Live on a regular basis (goodbye, Fred and Bill).

Television is often dismissed as frivolous, but it remains an immensely powerful and pervasive medium. And while there is plenty of worthy criticism to lob at the 24-hour cable news networks, you can bet that they were the first place I turned to during the insane week following the Boston Marathon bombings.

But let’s face it: Things have changed. 

(Read more...)

[upendit-blog]

Great write up on Thing in the Spring in The Bomber Jacket.

READ THIS SHIT!

The thoughtfully curated festival brings local, national and international music to Peterborough, New Hampshire. Its schedule has been designed with musical diversity in mind, but does so without logistically and financially overwhelming attendees: no set times overlap and a weekend pass is only $50 (with individual events costing no more than $20). Gagne stresses the importance of the low price-point, saying, “I definitely come from a D.I.Y. background, playing and setting up tons of underground, all ages, and affordable shows over the past 20 years, so making it affordable was a necessity for me.”

[upendit-blog]

Phoenix Rising | Free Press

I wrote some stuff about The Media and the demise of the Boston Phoenix. Feelings alert. 

The death of the Boston Phoenix hit Free Press hard. As an organization working to protect independent media, we feel the loss of any publication or outlet. But this felt different.  Maybe it was because we had worked so closely with the paper

[upendit-blog]

Emperor X Live at The Dreamaway. Includes dogs running head first into amplifiers.