It’s Silly Season

Written by Larry Kubin on July 4th, 2008 | Published in Leisure  |  2 Comments Comment On This

Queen

Ashley and I have been listening to a lot of Queen lately. Sure, they aren’t exactly new, but I haven’t listened to Queen in years (aside from the usual Karaoke performances of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and when they play “We Are the Champions” and “We Will Rock You” at sporting events). I downloaded their large greatest hits collection recently and found it strangely refreshing. I’m not even sure why I am mentioning any of this in a post since they are a well known band and most likely noone cares. Mainly I just wanted to post a Queen video because it fits with my currently silly mood.

Flight of the Conchords

We also rented the DVD for the television show Flight of the Conchords. It’s about a couple dudes from New Zealand who are in an unsuccessful band. They wander around and bust out into songs at random times. Like Queen, this show is not particularly new and is pretty silly. These guys have been cracking me up.

Update: The second disc wasn’t nearly as good as the first. Perhaps the show is already “jumping the shark”.

Come On Virginia

Written by Larry Kubin on July 1st, 2008 | Published in Music  |  1 Comment Comment On This

One of the coolest shows I’ve been to this year was The Coup. I just read that they were kicked out of a festival in Virginia for ::gasp:: cursing! Seriously? Brian, you have to put an end to this.

Norfolk, VA – A music performance at the Bayou Boogaloo & Cajun Food Festival by Boots Riley, the well-known front man for The Coup, ended abruptly with police charges of “abusive language.” Boots was charged with an obscure law even the police had difficulty finding; citing him with § 18.2-416. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-416. This law has never been applied to a performer. In this situation, Boots’ lyrics were only “provoking” a good time, as the vast majority of the people in attendance were dancing and visibly upset when the festival pulled the plug. The city is pressing forward with the charge – which the city is enforcing for the first time in 26 years. Since the incident on June 21st, numerous false reports have emerged, and Riley is looking to set the record straight.

Riley claims the charges were racially motivated as they are part of a backlash from the recent Afr’Am Festival in Norfolk in which Gospel and R&B performances generated “noise complaints,” despite the performers adhering to the same decibel parameters as all of Norfolk’s other festivals. The Afr’am fest has been the subject of controversy since. Both festivals occurred at Towne Point Park, an area where high-priced condos have recently been built and an impending $11.5 million makeover is in the works.

“City Officials claim that they are making the statement that profanity will not be tolerated,” says Boots Riley. “Obviously, since no one has been charged with this in 26 years, profanity IS tolerated. The statement they are making is that the culture and the people they feel I represent won’t be tolerated. I was already off stage; the man they asked to leave the stage was Trombone Shorty, another Black man who looks nothing like me. This happened at 10:00PM, and it was far from a ‘family’ atmosphere, most of the audience was intoxicated after drinking at the festival’s bar - ‘The Missing Kidney’. There was also a VIP section where free alcohol was distributed by the keg. Anyone who has been to a music festival on a Saturday night understands the scene. I did not leave the park afterward, as was claimed by FestEvents, the organizers of the Bayou Boogaloo Festival. I stayed and debated the validity of the charge with police and festival promoters. It is clear that this is part of a larger debate that has nothing to do with profanity, one that is being dealt with nationwide. That debate is about racism, gentrification and the ownership of public space.”

Come on, how can you not jam to this?

In other music related news, I will most likely be attending many of the following concerts:

Heiroglyphics Saturday July 19
Dizzee Rascal Monday July 21
Aesop Rock Friday July 25
Wolf Parade Friday July 25
Lollapalooza Aug 1-3
Gza Performing Liquid Swords Wednesday September 3
Toadies Wednesday September 3
Mogwai Friday September 12th
Cold War Kids Friday October 24

That’s right - I got a ukulele

Written by Larry Kubin on June 27th, 2008 | Published in Music  |  1 Comment Comment On This

So I was watching Beirut videos the other night on YouTube and decided to buy a ukulele. It just got delivered to my doorstep a little while ago. The first thing I did was look up the tab for Postcards From Italy. I was able to learn some ukulele chords pretty quickly. Here are the results. I’m not sure why I make all of those dumb faces while I play, but I can’t help it I swear. I look forward to learning how to play this thing. Now if I could only learn to sing…

Note: This is a crappy Washburn Oscar Schmidt uke that I got off of Amazon. It seems fine for learning, but it doesn’t stay in tune very well and it is made out of cheap materials. Once I learn how to play, I’ll probably spring for a better one.

Here are the chords and lyrics, in case you want to learn too:

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Long Time No See

Written by Larry Kubin on June 25th, 2008 | Published in Austin  |  1 Comment Comment On This

I noticed it had been a while since I updated this site. Lately business has been accelerating and I have been spending more time just living than writing about it. I went ahead and knocked out a few posts tonight to start “catching up”. I still have a lot of cool adventures to write about if I ever get the chance, and I also have many more photos and videos, but these will have to wait.

Aside from the usual trips, concerts, and business stuff, I have been actively trading stocks lately and have been doing quite well at it. I have been swing trading breakouts and price patterns using technical analysis/charts. I plan to refine these methods with further practice. Wish me luck.

Mike, Louis, and I have been playing basketball every Tuesday and Thursday, and we now have another group of people who are playing so we have regular 3-on-3 games now. I am dominating them on the boards thanks to my impressive hops and superior reflexes.

Ashley has a fancy title now and can put the letters CCC-SLP behind her name if she so chooses. This means she is now “making that cheddar”. She also received her Vital Stim certification this past weekend, making her an expert on swallowing (I’m serious).

I had a birthday recently and am officially older. To celebrate, I ate an unlimited number of steaks with the gang at Fogo de Chao. Thanks to Louis for taking a picture of me pigging out.


Speaking of getting older, George Carlin died. Below is a quote I recently came across which is attributed to him:

“I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, start out dead and get it out of the way. Then you wake up in an old age home feeling better every day.. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, then, when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day. You work 40 years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement.

You drink alcohol, you party, you’re generally promiscuous and you get ready for High School. You go to primary school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a baby, then, you spend your last 9 months floating peacefully with luxuries like central heating, spa, room service on tap, larger quarters everyday, and finally you finish off as an orgasm.”

Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Schedules

Written by Larry Kubin on June 24th, 2008 | Published in Music, Trips Comment On This

It’s time for some more music festivals. Ashley and I are headed to Chicago for vacation at the end of July and will be attending Lollapalooza in Grant Park. The schedule grids for both Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza have now been posted. I still have a couple of conflicts to resolve, but I almost have the perfect schedules created. Behold:

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Friday

12:15 - 01:15 Black Lips
02:15 - 03:15 Yeasayer
03:15 - 04:15 Duffy
04:15 - 05:15 Black Keys
05:15 - 06:15 Cat Power
06:15 - 07:15 Bloc Party
08:00 - End Radiohead

Saturday

1:30 - 2:30 Dr. Dog
3:30 - 4:30 DeVotchKa
4:30 - 5:30 Explosions in the Sky
5:30 - 6:30 Jamie Lidell
6:30 - 7:30 Lupe Fiasco or Broken Social Scene
7:30 - 8:30 Toadies
8:30 - End Rage Against the Machine

Sunday

1:15 - 2:15 The Weakerthans
3:30 - 4:30 Black Kids
4:15 - 5:15 Iron and Wine
5:00 - 6:00 Saul Williams
6:15 - 7:15 Gnarls Barkley
7:15 - 8:15 The National
8:15 - 9:45 Nine Inch Nails
8:30 - End Kanye West

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Friday

1:30 - 2:30 What Made Milwaukee Famous
2:30 - 3:30 Vampire Weekend
3:30 - 4:30 CSS
4:30 - 5:30 Gogol Bordello
5:30 - 6:30 Hot Chip
6:30 - 7:30 N.E.R.D
7:30 - 8:15 The Swell Season
8:15 - 9:30 The Mars Volta
9:30 - End Manu Chao

Saturday

3:30 - 4:30 Man Man
4:30 - 5:30 Erykah Badu
5:30 - 6:30 Del the Funky Homosapien
6:30 - 7:30 John Fogerty
7:30 - 8:15 The Black Keys
8:15 - 9:30 Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
9:30 - End Beck

Sunday

1:50 - 2:30 Adele
3:30 - 4:30 Stars
4:30 - 5:30 Neko Case
5:30 - 6:30 Okkervil River
6:30 - 7:45 Raconteurs
7:30 - 8:30 Band of Horses
8:30 - End Foo Fighters

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