The Illustrious Top Five

Okay, I know. I am pretty damn horrible at keeping blogs updates. If you don't believe me, just look at Bar Flies Like the Wind. It's an embarrassment. So, with the hopes of breathing a little bit of life into this blog, I will currently give you the "Illustrious Top Five" which is a moderately frequently changing lists of bands I'd really like to see live. If you read the first post on this blog (which you can by scrolling down just a hair) you can assess that Explosions in the Sky is on the list. The Pixies were on the list, but I saw them back in November at the Fox. Motion City Soundtrack was briefly on the list, but fortunately I saw them in February at the Regency. I just saw Silversun Pickups at BFD the other day, and will be seeing them again at the Fox in August. A lot of bands have come and gone from the list, but there are still a handful of bands out there at the moment who I'd clear some calendar space for almost no matter what should they land somewhere in the Bay Area for a show that didn't cost a stupid amount of money.

My parameters are simply that in order to make the list, bands must still be together and active. Hiatus moments are okay, as long as there is still promise of the band continuing to tour and record. This means that bands reuniting could usurp some of these spots (Beulah, I'm looking in your direction), but as of the here-and-now, these are the active bands who could theoretically play a show that I'd be super-excited to see.

1) Pearl Jam - Yeah, go ahead. Judge me. You know you want to. Yeah, they're not the rollicking crazy showmen that they once were, but dammit, I've been trying to see this band since I was in like the eighth grade, and I have yet to make it happen. But someday I will, dammit.

2) Explosions in the Sky - In all fairness to me, they haven't really come anywhere near San Francisco since I got into them, and there are promises of a new album and ensuing tour coming next year. In the meantime I'll continue to barter my pinkie toe.

3) Interpol - An interesting choice, I know, but I have heard from numerous people that their live shows are supposed to be just fantastic. Plus, I am just a flat-out fan of their music, so I'd like to get the firsthand experience.

4) Death Cab for Cutie - I'm still kicking myself for missing them at the Greek Theater with Ra Ra Riot a few years back. Hopefully Ben Gibbard doesn't disappear in marital bliss with madame Zooey before I get a chance to catch these guys live. Plus, Chris Walla is awesome, and I'd love to see him do his thing firsthand.

5) Bloc Party - Nothing they will do will likely hold a candle to "Silent Alarm", and talk of some amount of discord in the band makes me nervous about this one, but I hold out hopes that I can see them before too long. And no, seeing Kele Okereke solo won't count.

Honorable mentions include Ra Ra Riot (see! I really could have killed two birds with one stone on that one), Arcade Fire, and The National.

Finally an Official First Post

Okay, so this blog has been sitting here unheeded, like a small child sent to its room for far too long. I feel guilty, being the parent who inadvertently tried to send the kid to bed with no dessert, but ended up neglecting my promise to come upstairs and tuck it in, so the poor thing is crying in bed. It's a tad melodramatic, but I think that might just have to be how it's gotta be, because at the moment I'm listening to Explosions in the Sky. For you who don't know them, go right now and find something to listen to. This is everything post-rock is supposed to be. They make compelling, epic music that is perfect both for putting on in the background when you need to do some work and want music without the hassle of those pesky lyrics all the time or for when you just want some music that makes every single thing you do seem immediately ten times more significant.

I'm not kidding. These guys absolutely float my boat in every which way imaginable. The only time I feel like I shouldn't be listening to them is when I've been listening to them nonstop for weeks and I have to remind myself that there is, in fact, other stuff out there to listen to from time to time.

Thing is, since I first discovered them a little while back (yeah, I was a little late to get the memo on these guys, fuck you, you probably didn't know them either), they haven't come to the greater Bay Area at all to play, and much as I love them, I don't think I can quite justify flying to like Portland to go see them the one time they happen to be on the Western seaboard at somewhere other than Coachella. I started thinking about this, and I wouldn't necessarily give my right nut to see them, because quite frankly that's a tad cliche and I'm also rather fond of ol' righty. No, not that. I wouldn't give up a finger either because guitaring would be a hell of a lot more difficult, and so would my beloved blogging (and work, and a whole mess of other stuff). So I thought about it, and I figured out what I would give up to see these guys live in an acceptible venue (read: not an ampitheater or multi-thousand capacity arena).

I would give my baby toe.

Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "jeez Bill, that's a little morose" but I think it may be true. Like I wouldn't blow off a toe for a radio competition to win tickets or anything. No no, I'm thinking more like, I get into an accident at work, and my cubicle wall comes crashing down on my foot. The doctors have to amputate my toe, and work says "how can we make this better for you?" I'd ask for Explosions in the Sky tickets. And for all of you who think I'm under-valuing the baby toe, I think you're wrong. I've thought this through. I know, it's essential for balance. But think about this: I'm on the bus, I stumble into a cute girl. She is upset because I've invaded her space, but I can explain "see, I lost my baby toe, AND I got to see Explosions in the Sky as a result of it." BOOM. Done. Not only have I eased the tension and have her feeling sorry for me, I've also expressed my superior taste in music. It's a win-win.

So, in short, go listen to this band. They rock. They're catchy. They're epic. Epic really and truly is the word that keeps popping into my head when I think about them. Let me know what you think. Hopefully this posting will be the first of many many more to come soon-ish.

Everyone Loves a Spinoff

What, pray tell, is my response to not having enough time to blog as much as I'd like on Bar Flies like the Wind? Start another blog! Of course!

I don't even make sense to myself some times. However, I feel guilty yammering on about music like every other posting over there, so I felt like if I dedicated a unique space to it, people could choose to ignore this spinoff or not. Hopefully in one month I'll be back to blogging BFLTW on the regular as well as this one. In the meantime, both of these will be sporadically updated as my time between thesis writing, work, and music allow. So basically like not at all.