Dream Date

Class Actress - Let Me Take You Out

Elizabeth Harper's voice is pure made-of-spun-glass magic.

Journal of Ardency comes out February 9 on Terrible Records [buy]

Download "Careful What You Say" at RCRDLBL

image: Lauren Weinstein

Feeling Blank Again

When I heard that Jay Reatard —a preternaturally talented and prolific songwriter that I regret never seeing live — had died last week, my immediate reaction was that it wasn’t surprising. In one regard that's fair enough: When his touring band quit last October it suggested behavior that was erratic at best, and with song titles like “It Ain’t Gonna Save Me” and “Death is Forming” — not to mention their lyrics — I had always assumed that he was as cripplingly depressed as he was talented. On its face the Elliot Smith Formula is pretty straightforward.

But then, Elliott Smith’s death was never officially ruled a suicide and there are rumors that Jay’s death is currently being investigated as a possible homicide. Experimentation with drugs may be sensation seeking as opposed to addiction and an artist’s tendency to explore dark subject matter doesn’t mean they need to be kept away from sharp objects; they may just be less afraid to think about certain things than most people are. Most people are afraid a lot of the time and it governs not only many of their actions but how they react to what the people around them do as well. Thinking about my initial response to Jay’s death brought me back to when I first fully absorbed that fact, which happens to also be the time in which I listened to Jay Reatard the most.

It's All Too Beautiful

Avatar: It's like living in a Lisa Frank sticker set!

Avatar: Wait, no I think I saw those tribespeople on a rave flyer in 1994.

Avatar: That army was NOT the way the National Guard trailer ad portrayed things.

Avatar: Ugh, don't you hate it when people become EXACTLY like the person they're dating? Like matching hairstyles and everything?

Avatar: Careful! If your life is super empty you might experience crushing depression about how non-Pandoralike everything is all the time.

Small Faces - Itchycoo Park

Mixed Bag, Twentyteen Edition

Haaay. Long time no post. I was on vacation, and then I got a new job, and I've been going through this weird phase where I only listen to the same 10 songs all the time. Would it be too oversharey to say I also listen to these songs under the covers with headphones on when I get early-morning insomnia, which is often? I find it oddly satisfying, like I'm stealing time (I am stealing time, from myself, valuable sleep time).

ANYWAY. Fellow Chi bloggers Boy Kings sent over their latest intallment of BKTV featuring a live performance from local dance-rock band Gemini Club. Do you think the girls in this —who are depicted as the inconsequential eye candy for the old boy's club— are their girlfriends or just incredibly amenable friends? "French each other! Now french that guy!" As a former AV nerd I appreciate how nicely done these videos are from a production standpoint. I also like what I've heard from Gemini Club and the lead singer looks like the petri dish child of one of my exes and Logan Huntzberger, which I'm pretty into.

Speaking of videos: I can't believe I had never seen the commercial for Booty Pop before this weekend. Apparently the people watching Saturday afternoon repeats of "The Outer Limits" are the target demographic for buttcheek inserts, i.e. me. You know, it's becoming increasingly clear that I should be an inventor. I bet this person is making thousands of hundreds of dollars and it probably all started with two shoulder pads + some really tight underwear + a dream.

Only slightly more gross than Booty Pop is my discovery via Videogum that someone in the world calls himself a "swagger coach" and may get paid actual money by Justin Bieber('s creepy stage parents, probably). From what I can gather he is like a combination of the two Jays from ATNM except for guys.

And finally — look how many different kinds of Kit Kats you can get in Japan! No seriously look how many, and this is just the tip of the iceberg apparently. I want a wasabi one so bad.