some girls wander by mistake.

this was so awesome. can't wait to see it again.

my boyfriend's new single/video! i somehow missed this release during all my travels. lupercalia is out in 2 weeks! totally smitten.



Patrick Wolf - The City (Richard X Remix) - thepopsucker.blogspot.com by the Pop Sucker

title: shut up little man! an audio misadventure
director/screenwriter: matthew bate
category: world cinema documentary competition
rating: 4 out of 5


what happens when two punk stoners move from the midwest to the west coast, only to find themselves neighbors to a loud, drunken, brawling pair of old men? why, audio recordings, of course!

audio: "You Always Giggle Falsely" (NSFW)

eddie and mitch left wisconsin in the mid-80s, dreaming of a life in bohemian san francisco. the two friends found a low-rent apartment off haight street, but discovered quickly that life on the other side of their paper-thin apartment walls was tumultuous, loud, but accidentally funny. what was the nature of the relationship between these two angry, drunk men? why did they choose to live together? what were they always fighting about, and what was with that giant stuffed bunny rabbit on the couch? eddie and mitch began recording the men--identified as raymond (a homophobic ex-military violent alcoholic) and peter (a flamboyant gay man)--through their daily vodka-fueled but altercations, and continued doing so for 18 months. the resulting tapes chronicled a bizarre and unlikely pairing.

what started out as a tiny foray into the underground cassette tape market exploded around san francisco and beyond, as demand for the audio recordings (dubbed "shut up little man," a favorite line of peter's) increased. in the days before the internet, the raymond and peter chronicles went viral, catching the attention of tape collectors, comic book artists, playwrights, producers, and even filmmakers. during its heyday, "shut up little man" was in negotiation for a film deal by three different parties; was on stage as a play; was the feature of multiple comic books; was being traded by tape collectors all over the united states (and beyond). it's hard not to be impressed.

the film does several interesting things, aside from the obviously fascinating character sketch of raymond and peter (as well as eddie and mitch). it explores and asks important questions about privacy and exploitation, as well as questions regarding the boundaries of what is "art." it also contrasts our digital era by showing a time where instantaneousness did not exist, and yet society found entertainment (or obsession) in similar content as we do today (i.e., christian bale's freakout). director/screenwriter matthew bate (from australia) documents eddie and mitch's story--a voyeur to voyeurs, effectively--to softly pose these questions to the audience.

for those curious about raymond and peter, their legacy lives on the shut up little man website (audio recordings, pictures, and stories). a short film (titled shut yer dirty little mouth, starring glen shadix) was also released. and then there's these (NSFW):

anticon | pdx

anticon was yesterday. i met the mayor. still one more santacon to go. the end.

i recently acquired a terrific series that aired on the BBC called synth britannia. since watching it, i've been obsessively listening to a lot of early synth and new wave. the collection of videos is tremendous, but here are two of the performances that most impressed me.

eurythmics "love is a stranger." annie looks incredible here (that dress!) and brings both craziness and depth to a song, i'll admit, i've never been crazy about. now this track is a staple when i DJ.



and the human league's "the path of least resistance" (1979!). anyone who thinks "don't you want me" is the only notable thing this band did needs some schoolin'. i recently acquired a remaster of the incredible travelogue album, and have been listening to it nonstop for about week now. this song will rock your world: look at all those machines!



bonus track: mp3 download of the human league covering gary glitter's "rock n' roll" and iggy pop's "nightclubbing" (in one glorious song!). courtesy fatberris.com.

this show is, um, amazing. it's available on netflix instant watch, and i am in love.

it's difficult to explain, but whenever i'm Dressing Up lady-style, i often identify more strongly with drag than i do just being an aretha franklin-style Natural Woman. so it is that i'm totally smitten with fauxnique, a san francisco performance artist and biologically-gendered female drag queen. fauxnique made history by being the first woman to ever win the miss trannyshack pageant. from fauxnique's website: "her practice of feminism celebrates glamorous women as masters of artifice, and her intimacy with both the oppressive and empowering effects of feminine tropes allows her to create a zone of play, from which she makes her particular critique." yesssss.

here is faunxique in all her glory:


and here's an incredible video that is part drag make-up tutorial, and part performance art. fauxnique provides the vocals by listing out her favorite shades of lipstick. mama want.

Lipstique (featuring Fauxnique) from Kia Simon on Vimeo.

rufus wainwright with special guest martha wainwright
august 25, 2010
the paramount theatre, seattle washington

i haven't written a concert review in a long time, but i don't think i've seen a performance worth documenting, recalling, and sharing as much this one in even longer. martha wainwright opened for her brother, playing an acoustic set and awkwardly charming the audience with her poise, her over-sharing, and her stunning voice. i surprised myself by knowing nearly half her set (after nearly 4 years of not listening to her). she sang several edith piaf songs, fresh from completing an album of lesser-known piaf songs. her finale was dedicated to her mother (who had just passed away earlier this way from a rare form of cancer), and she expressed the desire to perform it without any accompanyment, which meant neither her guitar nor any microphones. what followed was a gut-wrenching rendition of piafs "la vie en rose," which haunted the performance hall. unexpectedly, i cried, and i certainly wasn't the only one.

rufus' first act was billed as a complete "song cycle," performed without interruption (read: applause) until the end of the piece, after rufus had walked off stage. his entrance (and exit) recalled images of pandora's box perhaps even a wedding procession, as he slowly marched to the piano, a long black cloak trailing behind him. during the song cycle (which was his new album all days are nights: songs for lulu in it's entirety) a film was projected behind him, and with each changing screen and song, you understood the significance of every second of silence. his exit somber and deliberate--a figure walking towards the white light--and then the roar of a standing ovation.

it is so strange how applause, when taken away, feels as though the audience has lost their voice, rendered mute and unable to participate. it seemed that every clap thereafter, once they were allowed, felt all the more intense, expressive, responsive.

the second act, rufus said, was intended to be the "happy part." he came out decked to the nines in some sort of gaudy red-orange pantsuit sort of thing, accentuated by the red footlights and background lights. i remember hearing "beauty mark, "cigarettes & chocolate milk," "poses," "the art teacher," "matinee idol," "grey gardens," "memphis skyline" and "little sister." for leonard cohen's "hallelujah," he brought martha back on stage (a fantastic live version similar to the performance is here), and it was incredible. by the end of the song both rufus and martha were crying, but as the show progressed, rufus was simply unable to regain composure: rushing through songs, having to blow his nose and apologize for sounding terrible, even remarking "people say i have a nasal-y voice but this is ridiculous!" nearing the end of the set, rufus mentioned that it had been an emotional night for them both, being both the last night of the tour together, as well as realizing how the two of them singing together was their mother's "favorite thing." if he hadn't wept yet, he was certainly about to do it then, and ultimately again as he closed with his mother, kate mcgarrigle's "walking song." readers, after that night i still haven't gotten through his (or her) rendition of this song without a tear.

the show was epic and moving in ways i did not anticipate. i walked all the way from the paramount up through capitol hill and to fraxl's house feeling so heavy and sad, a feeling that perhaps hasn't entirely left me. unlike so much of my youth, these days i spend so much time listening to music that excites me, impresses me, or makes me want to dance, that i have forgotten the catharsis that can come from music that moves you out of raw emotion. this show, re-ignited that flame for me, and i am so grateful for that opportunity, that intimacy.

(at 0:13, 1:17, 2:22. a shock of red, a coat of purple.)

tonight's my 3rd annual bowie vs. prince ride. and this time it's serious. tomorrow is star trek vs. star wars. i could fall in love with this city all over again just thinking about it.

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so busy. it's non-stop through the end of the month, but i miss you all. tell me something.