Best This is Also What I Used to Do

Also, before taking photos of everything and everyone, Steady Mobbin' used to be full of stories of NY Celebrity encounters and goings on. And guess what? I've got a mildly decent bit of reportage to do this afternoon. Right by my place they're filming a movie called "Just My Luck." I found this out because my neighborhood is covered with signs like this one:



And do you know who is starring in Just My Luck? Lindsay Lohan. And here I present to you my world exclusive photographs of Lindsay Lohan in action . . . and by "in action" I mean sitting or standing, waiting to film her scene. I'm posting these as thumbnails so you can see her as big as possible. (After the page opens click on the image a second time to see it as big as possible.)



They were filming a scene where Lindsay sits down on a bench, a "cool" guy walks over to her, they talk (he squats, she sits), then they walk out of the park. Over and over again. I was standing by a Suburban that sat waiting to wisk Ms. Lohan off while I was taking these pictures. Had I all the time in the universe, I probably could have stuck around and gotten right up in her grill and gotten some good pictures of her . . . or maybe her bodyguard. But, for the record, we totally made eye contact. Also, I don't know how Lindsay's acting will be in this movie, but she was doing an excellent job of acting really cold when they took her parka off to film the scene and acting really, really cold after each scene as a handler ran over with her parka. It's like 50 degrees outside. Come on.

Completely unrelated, but I saw some New Balances in the Franz Ferdinand colors today. Click. You'll know which ones they are.

Best This is What I Used to Do

Back before I was posting nothing but photos for weeks on end, I used to fill Steady Mobbin' with actual thoughts and writings. Often these writings would be things I had written for the Law School Paper, and now, just like old times, I'm going to post some recent record "reviews" (really, can it truly be said I'm in a position to "review" anything?) of mine from the paper, just as they appeared when read about by five or six of my classmates last week.

A.R.E. Weapons, “The Wasteland Tapes”

As gigantic and international as New York is, A.R.E. Weapons strike me as being something like a local band, in the sense that whatever university you attended probably had it’s local band that was really popular around campus and not to well known anywhere else. While A.R.E. Weapons play the usual “make the cool kids dance” music (albeit a much darker variety than the sort played by the Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, !!!, etc. etc.) that’s so popular these days and they can sell out shows around the city’s smaller venues, world domination doesn’t appear to be on A.R.E. Weapons’ agenda and they seem content to remain a local sensation. Nowhere else is this more evident than with “The Wasteland Tapes”, the band’s latest self-produced, self-distributed album. The CD is available in the sort of slim case that comes with your box of 100 CD-Rs because, well, if I’m not mistaken, the CD is a CD-R with a homemade label glued on along with a homemade bit of cover art, and, in a truly back-to-basics move, the album doesn’t even feature a url for the band but instead has two “hotlines” printed on it that you can call for the latest A.R.E. Weapons news. The record itself consists of 11 party-friendly yet menacing electro-punk songs. While I don’t think anyone took Axl Rose too literally when he declared “You’re in the jungle baby, and you’re going to . . . DIE!” on “Welcome to the Jungle”, when the lead singer of A.R.E. Weapons (sorry, I don’t know his name and I’m not about to look it up) sings “Don’t fall off the box / You’re gonna die” on the track “Don’t Fall Off Tha Box” (sorry, the song names are a little ridiculous) I can’t help but think he might really mean it.

Various Artists, “The Rub Mixtape”

When I began writing for The Commentator, we were basically given one rule, and that was to “Not use any of the really bad swears.” When I received this instruction I was like, “Cool, I don’t think I’ll have a problem with that” but now I find myself wanting to review an album who’s real name is “It’s the (something-something) Remix”, but I’ll be calling it “The Rub Mixtape,” as it’s a mixtape (even if it is on CD) assembled by The Rub, a weekly hip-hop party in Brooklyn. The disc features some of progressive hip-hop’s most popular deejays, such as DJ Eleven, DJ Ayers, Nick Catchdubs, and Diplo from Hollertronix and is packed full of back to back brilliance, with vocals lifted from popular tracks by artists ranging from 50 Cent to Outkast to Jay-Z layered over an incredibly wide variety of background tracks. The result is consistently incredible, but standout moments include the Beatles mashed up against Kelis’ “Milkshake”, Outkast rapping “Bombs Over Baghdad” and “Roses” over Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out”, and, my personal favorite, Mobb Deep rapping over the Ghostbusters theme—seriously this one in particular is definitely one of the most amazing mash-ups I’ve ever heard. The Rub Mixtape is like a voyage through musical ingenuity, and an excellent advertisement for the club itself.

The Deadly Snakes, “Ode to Joy”

Released in 2003, this garage-rock work of art received next to no attention or praise in the year of records like the White Stripes’ “Elephant” and the Strokes’ “Room on Fire.” It’s a real shame, because “Ode to Joy”, and I do not mean to exaggerate one bit, is an absolute A+, 10 out of 10, Five Star, Two Thumbs Up Masterpiece worthy of a top position on any discriminating “Desert Island” records list. On “Ode to Joy”, the Deadly Snakes perform slightly psychedelic old-school garage rock that is so true to its original influences (I’d say that the record is full of nods to the 13th Floor Elevators, One Way Streets, Electric Prunes, and the Sonics, among others) that it’s fair to call “Ode to Joy” some of the best 60’s music released since the 60’s. Not that the record is just a well-executed bit of genre imitation, “Ode to Joy” is just so, so perfect that it seems much more like a long forgotten treasure from forty years ago that is finally seeing the light of day then the excellent bit of modern work that it is.

Kaiser Chiefs, “Employment”

Since the original British Invasion of the 60’s, it seems the United Kingdom has never run low on bands to ship over to the United States to stir us up with. From the Beatles and Rolling Stones to Blur and Oasis to Franz Ferdinand and the Futureheads , may I submit the Kaiser Chiefs for addition to the list? It would be easy to label the Chiefs, who have already sold out shows in Brooklyn and Manhattan and Newark (much like Franz Ferdinand and the Futureheads before them), as just another band that sounds like all those other bands, but that’s not such a bad thing, really. “Employment” is a consistently strong record that really makes you feel what a great time this band is to see live and the music, which sounds very much like Damon Alburn of Blur fronting a far less syncopated , yes far noisier, version of Franz Ferdinand, won’t disappoint you at all if you’re always falling for the latest band to have hopped across the pond.

For the Record, I'm absolutely serious about what I said about "Ode to Joy."

Get This It has just been announced that LCD Soundsystem is touring the United States with M.I.A. this summer, pretty hot, right? But it turns out one place that M.I.A. will not be appearing with the LCD crew is when they come through New York in June. This better be because she plans to headline her own show over here, or else I'm going to have to catch a bus to DC for their show at the 9:30 Club. Details? Click here, then click on the "Tour Dates" link.

Last Night I caught the Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt's 2005 Animation Show. It was a lot more twisted and a lot less funny than the 2003 edition, but still pretty good, I especially liked the shorts "Guard Dog", "Ward 13", and Hertzfeldt's "The Meaning of Life." I wish I hadn't seen "Fallen Art." Pan With Us was a real work of art, amazing.

Best Easter . . . Ever?

It's not usually the way of Steady Mobbin' to meddle in matters typically covered by the society pages or fashion columns but Easter was so hot this year, I'd never experienced anything like it. The whole week leading up to Easter everywhere I went (in other words, in the two places I have to go: church and school) all anyone was asking was "Where are you Eastering this year? Do you know any good Easter dinners?" You may think I'm making some joke, but I'm dead serious, Easter had so much buzz. People were going home to their families, families were coming out to people, big parties were being put together, small dinners were being organized, neighbors were gifting each other, Easter was just the it holiday, if you weren't celebrating Easter, you simply weren't celebrating.

Very fortunately for me I was invited to attend Easter dinner at Erin and Rebekah (and Natalie and Amber's) Place, which I first visited on Presidents' Day Eve (scroll down). According to some, I was even the Guest of Honor at the occasion. Our meal of ham, funeral potatoes, asparagus, fancy salad, beans, and rolls was prepared and served with love and care and, from what I saw, everyone had a grand time . . . especially when watching Sunday Night's new episode of Arrested Development, which was especially hilarious. Also, as Guest of Honor, I felt it my duty to contribute something to the evening, so I read David Sedaris' short essay "Jesus Shaves", a favorite (and relatively reverent, if you switch out all the swears) Easter-related tale. (To hear Mr. Sedaris read it himself, click here, beware, there are probably some swears.)

Just like the last time I was over (see link above), there were a lot more people over than this photo would have you believe. But, still, look how much fun Erin, Lisa, Rebekah, and Stephen are having. (Sorry dude, I'm just guessing you're "Stephen" and not "Steven").



After the party, down at the subway station, we've got Erin's sister, Liesel, Ashley, and Amber.



Now, is it just me, or have we seen Amber's outfit somewhere else before? (As originally posted about on President's Day, scroll way down.)

I discovered that a camera left unattended will yield playful trickery and Easter-Hat misappropriation.



Very bunny Erin, very bunny.

Sorry about that. I couldn't resist.

Best Friday Night in a Week

Friday night was excellent. I'm still getting over it. For starters, I had dinner with Laura and Patricia at Benny's Burritos on Greenwich Ave. It was great to hang out with the girls and tell stories and stuff. Also, I've finally decided that Benny's is only barely enjoyable. Whenever I eat there, I need a lot of positive reinforcement to believe that I like it. Like, if the person across from me is all "Oh, I love Benny's!" I'm likely to say "Yeah, Benny's is great!" But if the people I'm with aren't flipping out over the food, I'll pobably pause and think "Do I even like this stuff?" Whatever I may say about the place, I bet I eat there again in less than a month, because it is close by and they aren't stingy with the beans.



After dinner I went down to the Bowery Ballroom to see the Kaiser Chiefs with Amber. As the Kaiser Chiefs are one of the latest "bands of the moment", the show had been sold out for weeks. Amber had had her ticket for a long, long time, but I had no ticket and they were going for $50 or more (much more) on craigslist. I wanted to go to the show, and I wanted to not pay more than $20 to get in. And you know what? It turns out that it's very easy to get into sold out shows at the Bowery. After the show has been going for a while (I arrived during the second opening band's set) you just go up to the guy at the door and say, "Hey, can I get in?" and he'll say "Wait over there." Then you stand to the side for ten minutes or so, and then the door guy says "All right, you can go in" and then you go in, pay $15 for your ticket, and rock out. Just like that.

Anyway, regarding the Kaiser Chiefs. They've got a lot of buzz going on around them and, strangely enough, they really are a great band and their new record, Employment, is something else. Pitchfork gave it a really bad score, so check out their review if you want to read some real nonsense--the critic pretty much says "this is a rather good album, but the band is enthusiastic the whole way through, so I'm giving them a 6.7." What? Anyway, I didn't have to listen to Employment all the way through before I was sold on this latest band to invade our shores from England and their live set did not disappoint. There was so much jumping and whatnot going on onstage and the crowd just ate it up and had a great time. And even though Ricky, band's the lead singer, had torn a ligament in his foot or something like that (he took to the stage with a cane) he still pulled off all sorts of rock star leaps and even dove into the crowd during "I Predict a Riot", the band's "break-out single."

These are my Kaiser Chiefs photos, without words.













And once the show let out, did the night end? No, not even. Next thing I knew, I was more or less dancing in the East Village at Rififi's Britpop Night (where I took this dark photo of debatable artistic worth). Had I my way right now, I would be the world's greatest Britpop dancer--or someone hanging out in the Britpop DJ booth. (geeze, how many times am I going to say "Britpop"?) And then, after the dancing, was the night over? No, because we ducked into the Beauty Bar on 14th so I could see what it was all about and compare it to the Hollywood one (dig back in the posts a bit if you don't already know about my trip to the Hollywood Beauty Bar). The verdict: Bigger. Drunker. More glam. Not as many Hollywood girls. Less chill, more rock. And the dj played the Beach Boys. Then, after hangin' at the Beauty Bar, was Friday night over? Yes. Then Friday night was over, and it was plenty late.

While I'm at it, let's get Saturday taken care of. Slept in. Felt tired. Studied. Went to Sound Fix in Williamsburg, walked over to Dumont, straight up could not believe how tasty their risoto was. Caught Melinda and Melinda with Rebeckah and Amber--it is possible that on a a day without photographs I will discuss Melinda and Melinda in some relative depth, but for now let me say that it's fairly good, but I think most people in the audience would have been pretty satisfied if the whole movie had taken the Will Farrell comedy-angle. When you've got a movie that is half one story and half another, sometimes you're left feeling like you've only got half a movie.

Here's a nice enough little article on the Kaiser Chiefs that ran in Sunday's NY Times. Click.

Whoah While writing this post last night I got offered a ticket to the Kaiser Chiefs' show at Maxwell's in Hoboken tonight. We'll have to see what happens there, the family is in town, I might be supposed to be eating with them, and maybe I shouldn't rock on a school night? At least I was up at 7 am to get my study on today, maybe I've earned the show?

Finally No, I don't mean "finally, we've all been waiting so long" but "finally, this is the final item", check out the trailer for Kiera Knightley's new bounty hunter movie, Domino. Does it look cool? Yes. Click.

Best Catching Up If I Can

I'd really like to get all caught up on content here if I could, because I want to be writing about music that I bought and concerts that I went to and how great Easter was and how my family is in town now, but first I have to give Cindy Ferguson her due.

While I was on my vacation Cindy Ferguson decided to come to New York City to celebrate her Dirty Thirty (am I allowed to say that?). Lucky for me, I was able to catch the tail-end of her visit, starting off with her birthday celebration at Peep. It is now occurring to me that we didn't sing Happy Birthday to her. Oops.

The Birthday Girl Woman



The Revellers



The next afternoon Cindy and I lunched at Cafe Habana (not pictured), went to Built by Wendy (not pictured), tried to get into the Earth Room (not pictured), chilled in a furniture store (not pictured), and walked through the West Village (mostly not pictured).

But Cindy did take this cool picture of me (don't know what's up with my hands, though.)



Cindy had her first Magnolia Cupcake (not pictured) and then we sat by the river and tried out my new Maritime Sundial.



Or should I say fundial?



And then Cindy had to go back to Seattle. It's worth noting that it sounds like Cindy's Wedding Invitation business is blowing up, she's got a book deal and stores are going to start carrying her stuff. Crazy. Who knew people could do what they wanted to and make money at it?

It's actually sort of impossible to link to every website that Cindy is involved in. Because there's this one too.

Best Vacation Done Gone

This is it. My final Grandma Tour 2005 post. Hard to believe this day has finally arrived.

Something I failed to mention earlier is that Matt is quite proud of the mulching he has been doing around his house.



Earlier I mentioned that I had eaten plates of Mexican food with Annie. The original purpose of that meeting, before Mexican food became involved, was to return books long ago lent to one another (like 10 months previous, more or less). At the end of our Mexican meeting, we exchanged compact discs. Here's a photo taken shortly after we returned each other's CDs, just a few days later. Annie and I really improved our lending, returning, and matching while I was in Utah.



Sunday afternoon Grandma made spaghetti for Andrew and me. I thought it'd be great to take a picture of her drinking from one of her famous smiley cups (they're famous to me, at least) and as I was preparing this shot Grandma said to Andrew, "Brigham is always taking the darnedest pictures with that camera!" So I learned my lesson, Grandma is just putting up with me.



Matt came over to hang out on Sunday afternoon too. It was the perfect time for the big Andrew vs. Matt Footrace they had been talking about for so long. Here we can see some pre-race stretching.







Here they're setting up the course for the big race (retrieving a stick was a portion of the exhilarating competition.)



So, now you'd expect pictures of the actual race, right? Well, I made a video of the race with my camera, which I have since accidentally erased, like a genius. But I do have post-race photos. Andrew won. But just barely. Check out this good sportsmanship.



Andrew walks it off.



This is the thing to do, after a race.



Andrew had to head back to Logan so he could wake up early and go bake bread. We took this photo, and Matt said "Uhm, let's take another one, but with your eyes opened wider."



I believe he was talking to me, but Andrew followed Matt's directions as well.



Here's Benny, Grandma's dog. You wouldn't believe the stuff Grandma says about him.



Saying goodbye. Whether or not she thinks my photos are the darnedest, I had a great time with Grandma and can't wait to see her again.



I've been told I look very George Michael (Bluth) in that photo. I can't say I disagree.

Best Saturday Dining Dream Come True

On Saturday afternoon Andrew finally came down from the mountains. As there are no malls in New York, and there are 1000 malls in the Greater Great Salt Lake Area, I thought it'd be fun to visit a mall, like, say, the Fashion Place Mall in Murray, UT.

First off, check out these sick rims we saw in the parking lot. For a few minutes I had this idea to make a website called "westvalleyrims.com" that would be nothing but photos of cars with sick rims in the West Valley area. But, you know how ideas are, sometimes they stop being interesting after a few minutes.



First we visited the food court ("The Picnic Place"). Look at how freaked out by the mall people I am!



At American Eagle they had a t-shirt that said "What Happens on Spring Break Stays on Spring Break." (which sort of is the opposite of the motto of my spring break right now) You aren't allowed to take photos inside of the American Eagle.



Here's a little stand that sells fake hair for girls. Since it's really classy, it's named "SoHo." Ah, New York, I just can't escape you . . . not even in Murray.



We took a break and had a seat at Nordstrom and what do you know? Out of nowhere appears Jessica Taggart. Look how happy to see me she is! Why can't you be this happy to see me? (Once again, another magical Spring Break Chance Encounter)



Now we're getting down to business. As I planned the Utah portion of my Grandma Vacation, I thought back to the last time I visited Utah, and how I was able to visit each of my friends for about 10 minutes before running off to visit the next friend. In order to get the most quality time with the most quality people, I decided that I'd have to invite all my friends to a really fantastic place at a really fantastic time. And that's why I emailed everyone in the universe and asked them to meet me at the Sugarhouse Sizzler at 3:30 PM on Saturday.



When Andrew and I got there, Mary and Jared were already waiting for us and planning their meals!




One amazing thing that I learned at the Sizzler: Jim Burch has been going there all his life and he always gets the Malibu Chicken!



Mrs. Heather Burch, however, loves watermelon. Or some other red fruit. Whatever.




Jared enjoying a little bit of his all-you-can-eat shrimp excitement



Andrew and Matt



Mary and Jared



Mary and Me



Matt and Me



Andrew and Matt



Me and Cheesey Bread!



Mitch(!!) and Cheesey Bread!



Jim in Jared's shades.



Everyone (except Mitch). You can't tell it from the photo, but we were all there for over two and a half hours. (Ahem. No, we were not standing in front of the Sizzler for two and a half hours, I mean that's how long we were hanging out in the restaurant)



Andrew and Matt, the Salt Lake So-Solid Subaru Crew.



Success. Full success. Thanks to all of those who came out, all of those who RSVP'd that they couldn't come out, and all of those who have since apologized for not being able to come out, and best wishes to all of those who ignored my email. You might be finding yourself alone at a Sizzler someday. Naw, I'm just playin'.

Honestly, I think I just have one more Utah post and vacation will finally be done, just in time to be ready for my family's impending Manhattan Spring Vacation.