New ATP documentary helps you relive parts of my life you never wanted to know happened

Great news for anyone who received a drunken phone call from me at December 2007's All Tomorrow's Parties! ATP is set to release a concert film chock-full of footage from recent acts, including perhaps the very same Portishead set where BETH GIBBONS TOUCHED MY HAND. Not once, but twice!, did this happen. (Side note: many people also know my infamous "I was hugged by Beth Gibbons" story. But not EVERYBODY knows it, and therefore I proudly present to the internet this gem of information: I was hugged by Beth Gibbons. At her solo show at St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theatre in 2003. WOW. That was a long time ago. Gettin' old. YIKES.) Other acts featured on the DVD include Iggy and the Stooges, Battles, Sonic Youth, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Belle And Sebastian, Patti Smith, Animal Collective, Mogwai, Slint, Grizzly Bear, Grinderman, The Gossip, Daniel Johnston and The Boredoms. Warp Films is putting the thing out on September 23, which is just after my birthday, but I'm okay with that as long as you tell me on or before my birthday that you're buying me this and are just waiting for it to come out so that you can give it to me.


The film is an assemblage of cell phone video, camcorder, and Super 8 footage from fans, musicians, and proper filmmakers. Assembled by director Jonathan Caouette and cinematographer Vincent Moon, all these different quality-level shots should give you a pretty solid idea of what it was like to be experiencing ATP from the underfed and overpartied eyes of ME. Seriously, I can still recall the horrifying taste of those well-intentioned but revolting pineapple shots. Absolutely one of the Top 3 Worst Drinks in My Personal Life History. (The others being anything with SoCo in it that I drank at the last SXSW and the unholy potato liquor/Mountain Dew cocktail created by my friend and fellow SXSW/ATP attendee, Cian. A dubious honor, to be sure!)

Incredible Suicide Covers EPs/ Marriage Proposal

Instead of writing cover letters for jobs, I am doing this. This is what you do to me, music blog that people read off and on, and that I neglect for months at a time when I have a shitty job I hate. But seriously, I am so excited about this new Suicide tribute concept that I would way rather be writing a bunch of mumbo jumbo about how ECSTATIC I am that HTRK is on one than typing another letter about how I am dynamic, and am a team player. (Although I am both! Give me a job, please!!!)

These tribute EPs are going to be the best EPs ever, possibly, because of all the totally beyond A-list artists doing covers of one of earth’s most stone-cold awesome bands, Suicide. Check out this list of contributors, most of whom I absolutely freakin’ LOVE, some of whom I kinda like, and some of whom I deeeeefinitely “LIKE” like (you know who you are):
Liars, the Horrors, the Boss, Lydia Lunch, Spiritualized, HTRK, Grinderman, Sunn O))) (with Pansonic), Primal Scream, Klaxons, Peaches, Vincent Gallo, Julian Cope, Effi Briest, Xvectors, No Bra, S.C.U.M., Nik Void, and Justin K. Broadrick associate Stephen Burroughs.

(Note: There are several people on this list that I will marry right now. And I am not the marryin’ kind. So boys, please act fast. I will take the first one of you that emails me at this blog’s new email address, Alison.dfcc@gmail.com. Seriously.)

The idea behind these limited release digital or 10”EPS (depending on what you like)—available on Mute Records imprint Blast First (Petite)—is that one established act will be paired with a less established act and a Suicide live track, all in celebration of Alan Vega’s 70th birthday. (Who knew?) There’s going to be one released every month for a year, starting July 28th. This means a lot of my income will be going to Blast First (Petite.) Which is funny because I don’t have any income. (See above. Do not worry, boy from that list who asks to marry me first, I won’t ask you to support me. I live off coffee and vodka.)


Here’s what the EPs look like so far. Also available now is the Suicide ultrafan collection called Suicide Live: 1977-1978. Sorry if that’s not the exact title, my computer is being wacky. It's really expensive and it's alllll live shows.


EP #1: (July 28)

01 Bruce Springsteen: "Dream Baby Dream"
02 Suicide: "Midnight Special" (live)
03 Shilpa Ray: "Mr. Ray"

EP #2: (August 25)

01 The Horrors: "Shadazz"
02 Suicide: "Radiation"
03 Nik Void: "Rocket U.S.A."

EP #3: September 29)

01 Peaches: "Johnny"
02 Suicide: "Johnny" (live 1978)
03 S.C.U.M.: "Wild in Blue"

New Grinderman LP totally being thought about

There's no solid release date. There's no actual recordings. YET. But there is the idea that it will be released in early 2009.

Nick Cave told XFM that "when we go in to make the next Grinderman record we don't want it to sound like the last Bad Seeds record or the Grinderman record before and we're forced to find something new. But that's always been the way!" The NME is reporting that the new theoretical album will "feature a totally different sound" than either the previous Grinderman LP or Cave's most recent outing with the Bad Seeds, Dig, Lazarus, Dig! The NME does not go on to state whether that "totally different sound" will lean more towards free jazz or gypsy punk.

PS--I finally bought my tickets to the September Nick Cave show in Chicago. And I STILL do not have a date. Just think, it could be you!!!!

Nick Cave/Grinderman dates I need someone to accompany me to

Perhaps you have been looking for the perfect excuse to go with me to a Nick Cave show. Well, here's your chance!!! They're a long way off, and frankly I don't know where I'll be by autumn, but one thing is certain; I want to see Nick Cave, you want to see Nick Cave with ME and I sent out a really awesome MySpace bulletin about it that nobody really, definitely committed to. And that's bullshit.

If you do go to see Nick Cave with me (probably not in the Grinderman form, as I don't think I'll be able to afford to go over to Europe for awhile SINCE I AM THE SOLE WORKING AMERICAN ADULT NOT RECEIVING A BUSH BUCKS ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE, thanks a lot grad school), you will not only get to experience a magical evening of music and song that you will never forget, you will also get to meet my future cat that I have not gotten yet but which will come from the (New York?) humane society and be named Exene. (If it is a black cat, that is. If it is not a black cat I will not name it Exene.)

Nick Cave:

06-03 Zagreb, Croatia - IN Music Festival
06-04 Belgrade, Serbia - Arena
06-06 Salonika, Greece - Moni Lazariston
06-07 Athens, Greece - Lycabetus Theatre
09-16 San Diego, CA - 4th & B
09-17 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl *
09-20 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
09-22 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
09-23 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
09-26 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
09-29 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
10-01 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus
10-02 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
10-04 New York, NY - WaMu Theater at MSG
10-05 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

* with Cat Power, Spiritualized

Grinderman dates:

07-04 Roskilde, Denmark - Roskilde Festival
07-05 Belfort, France - Eurockeennes
07-06 Werchter, Belgium - Rock Werchter
07-18 Barcelona, Spain - Summercase Festival
07-19 Madrid, Spain - Summercase Festival
07-20 Suffolk, England - Latitude
08-06 Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
08-08 Göteborg, Sweden - Way Out West
08-30 Inverary, Scotland - Connect Festival
08-31 Stradbally, Ireland - Electric Picnic