Coachella 2006 recap

Despite this year's headliners (sorry Dana), this years Coachella was once again fun as hell. Our crew all converged at our palatial Palm Springs rental home sometime around 3ish on Friday afternoon, but not before Scott and I walked into the backyard of someone else's home completely. I believe that Rachel and Dana actually jumped the fence to get into ours. We hit the pool, got some needed beverages and broke Scott's "Yacht Rock" cherry before heading over to my brothers rented house in order to celebrate Meredith's pre-Coachella Yacht Rock birthday bonanza. Turns out it was also Big Herms birthday, too. Here they are blowing out the cake.
It was a blast.



This is moments before Big Herms throws Mere around like a little rag doll.


At this point in the evening I was dubbed "drunkest dude at the party" and rightfully so


Saturday would prove to be a long day for me, but we started it off right with a dip in the pool and a lovely breakfast of bacon and eggs, fruit and mimosas with mango juice.

Dane got the horsey


Made it to the DKNY party next where we sipped pomegranate vodka drinks by the pool as we watched Nicole Ritchie (not actually an 11 year girl) eat a mini hamburger. Good for her!! Made it to the festival a little bit before 4:00 and we caught some of Wolfmother (the second best band with Wolf in their name at the festival, but more to come on that in a bit).



No one puts Rachel in the box, unless of course, Dana says so


After this we hit up some drinks and the mister in the VIP tent (bitches!!!!) and then caught bits and pieces of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and TV on the Radio (I didn't catch anything really exciting from either of these bands today). My Morning Jacket proved to be the first really great thing we saw at the festival. They opened up with "Anytime" and I think that everyone was pretty impressed with their set at the very manageable outdoor stage.



It was way too packed for Ladytron and it seemed as if I was the only one who wanted to see Devendra Banhart and we were beginning to all get separated anyway. We ended up watching Danny DeVito introduce the Eagles of Death Metal. Their brand of goofy cock-rock was just what we needed. They seemed to be having fun and so did we. So much fun, in fact, that we decided to go see Cat Power and get lost again. However, Mere and Neil shared a very special slow dance and Chan Marshall seemed to be having more fun than I've ever seen her have before."Yayyyyyy meds!!!"



Saturdays headliner turned out to be the dullest moment of the entire festival and even beat out Coldplay last year for the coveted "Worst Coachella Headliner EVER" award. We're talkin about Depeche Mode here people and it was a real snoozefest. I'm not going to get into it, but it was bad. Its not a good sign when people in Depeche Mode t-shirts start leaving early. We were also impressed/intrigued with the amount of overall gayness that was taking place in our section during their set. In fact, part of our crew tried to recreate some of that magic.

Lesbos in training


Day one seemed like a pretty inauspicious start but thankfully was saved by the highlight of the fest- Daft Punk in the dance tent. Opening up with "Robot Rock" I knew I was in for a treat and was not disappointed in the slightest. It was a full-on dance party as the two Frenchmen dressed in spacesuits and helmets were crushing it behind this sci-fi crazy visual set up. Everything sounded great and before we knew it the glowsticks were being busted out.

This guy was mesmerizing only himself


Dancing like pricks


Made it home exhausted and ready for sleep so we could get up and do it all over again.

Day two was an overall much fuller musical experience, but we wanted to start the day off right again. Dip in the pool where we tried to recreate a 1970's smoking advertisement.

Alive with pleasure


Breakfast today was chocolate chip pancakes, more eggs, more mimosas and some chips with delicious guacamole. We DKNY'd it again where we threw down some drinks by the pool and this time I even went in. Neil played soccer with Taryn Manning who almost knocked over a tray of tofu dogs and we danced around to the stylings of DJ Steve Aoki. Good times. Now to the fest. I met up with some old friends and we caught Phoenix who sounded great. Unfortunately, once again I missed the Magic Numbers in an ideal sunshine setting, but you can only fit in so much stuff. After this we tried to queue up for Wolf Parade aka "the only band at the festival that matters" according to an anonymous member of our crew. Turns out that despite the a long delay it was still one of the top highlights of the whole weekend.

I'm getting very excited for some strange reason, Randi's not so sure it will live up to Dana's expectations


Here's Mere trying to remain impartial






And its no surprise that they were Dana's #1 highlight overall. She writes:

1. Wolf Parade- duh- they were unreal. It was 5:30 and 110 degrees out- my bangs were matted down from sheer sweat and Rachel was about to puke (from everytime I raised my arms...jk). they had technical difficulties for about 25 mins which only made it worse. And then they started playing and suddenly it was like the hell tent turned into the Garden of Eden. I danced my face off- I literally thought my arms were go go gadgeting from their sockets to rub off Spencer and his keyboard. Anyways- when they played "I'll Believe in Anything"- I unintentionally was having a fist-pump off with the actress Busy Phillips(Freaks and Geeks, Dawson's Creek). She is now my fave actress EVA.

LET'S GET BUSY!!! She'll believe in anything if YOU believe in anything


Right after their set we ran to catch a bit of Bloc Party but it was a bloody zoo over at the Outdoor Stage. No matter, it was time to catch Gnarls Barkley and I couldn't have been more excited. Cee-Lo came out dressed as the Lion from the Wizard of Oz with Danger Mouse dressed as the Tin Man and various band members were dressed as witches and monkeys. I wasn't so sure how they were going to pull this off live but they sounded amazing. Cee-Lo introduced the band as "Mean 'Ol Lion and the Hearts" and they ran through a quick set of the majority of St. Elsewhere, most of which the audience already seemed to know and love. By the time they played "Smiley Faces" and "Crazy" there was a party going down in the Gobi Tent.



"Hooray for Gnarls Barkley!" says the crowd


Next up was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs who sounded fantastic and were commanding a huge audience over at the Main Stage despite the fact that the majority of concertgoers were slowly making their way over to see Madonna. Karen O is simply a great performer and she is not to be missed.




Next up was Madonna. She made us wait awhile then I called her "Primadonna" and realized that I make an awful lot of Dad jokes all the time. She played some new stuff. The ABBA tune sounded good and she looks amazing for a woman of almost 50. It was slam packed as expected and she had a lot of gay dancers. Is anyone surprised? It was a bit of a short set, we didn't get to hear any real old treats, but it was still cool to have seen her, I think. If she had played "Holiday" or something, I'm pretty sure there might have been a riot. Despite what some people were thinking Madonna's appearance didn't ruin the festival at all. She played some guitar, danced her ass off and just as soon it was over. After Madge we made the slow trek over to the main stage to see Massive Attack who sounded good. I had to sit because my legs were killing me. We got to discussing the power of Madonna's vagina and that it might actually have some sort of all-encompassing, all-seeing eye to it (you know cos shes so religious). We all had different takes on it. I thought that her pubes would be shaved to make a giant M.

Neil's impression of what Madonna's Vagin-eye might look like


We weren't quite finished dancing yet. We had a bit more energy reserved for the anomaly which is the Scissor Sisters. These guys were a total party and we saw some Swedes dancing so hard they literally looked like they were trying to jump into heaven. Catch me, Lord, catch me! Scissor Sisters, madonna, Depeche Mode- yes, this might have been the gay Coachella. During this set we saw some serious man on man action and at one point I was forced to yell, "Get a port-a-john!!!"





Here's our crew after a long and awesome weekend


Driving to the airport on Monday we had a nice treat as we saw Gil or was it Jeeves from Daft Punk drive off on his motorcycle.

Peace bitches!

Our Apologies

I know I know people- we're truly sorry- we had 8 people in a house who all want to put in their two cents about our now infamous trip to Coachella (or Chodecall as Jamal Tang calls it).
So to quench Merida's thirst, I'm gonna give you a lil something to chew on- we promise we will have our recap to you by tonight or tomorrow at the latest. There is just so much to say!

In the meantime- please enjoy this photo- care of Neil's crafty ass.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NUGGET!

Our lil'est TPM-er is 27 today! You'll always be our lil nugget, Mere!

The celebration actually started Tuesday night when we threw Mega a 7th Grade Style Pizza and Bowling Party, complete with 9 giggly girls and 1 poor dude. Wis-Cod pulled a "I haven't bowled in 8 years" before totes kicking all of our asses. She would have broken 100 if it weren't for a nagging stomach ache. What a jock! Sooo Bea Arthur.

The party continues tomorrow night in the desert, where TPM will be converging for a Coachella to remembah. As a special b-day present, we arranged for Mere's boo, Kanye West, to be added to the line up! Touch the sky, yall!

If you're in the Palm Springs area, please sail on in for a Yacht Rock Birthday Bonanza...



"The only thing that can penetrate our fortress of smoothitude is friendship!"

Yelp Rock, Can't Get Enough

I'm still humming B-Minor Stomp thanks to another jamtastic Sam Champ show last night at Bowery. No Cheadlebug and a lot of new songs that I didnt know the words to (Noah, hook me up with a lyric sheet next time) but regardless, I over-the-head clapped hard core. Not as much as I did on Friday night though, check out this sweaty, gyrating mess.

By the way, I'm super impressed with Sean Bones on keys, harmonica, guitar and bulge (nice Wranglers suckah!) and even more wowed by the really awesome woodwork he did on the SC "info center". Oh, Jack, do I even have to say it? Shave it buddy.
Opening for the Champ was TPM Recommended quartet, Cold War Kids, hailing out of the "new Montreal", Silverlake. At least thats what some stupid music magazine said. The few songs I had heard on myspace had me toe tapping fo' sho but their live show sold me. Apparently Pelligrino bottles are the new cow bell cause the multi-tasking guitarist jammed on one like I've never seen. The turrets-esque bassist made me slightly uneasy, jabbing the lead singer and almost colliding with the guitarist but as Dana explained, they're ability to make you feel nervous is what makes them so good. And here I was thinking it was the free breadsticks. Lookin forward to seeing them again with Tapes 'N Tapes on June 4. 'Cause I heart Yelp Rock. There, I said it. Wanna fight about it?
I know people love Two Gallants (as evidenced by the crowd surfing to what Mere deemed a slow jam) but the general consensus is they're a prepubescent White Stripes. Still, impressive for a duo, just a little bit too much for me on a Monday. Jay and Builder snuck out after song # 2 and Mere and I saw that as a good sign that it was time to fly....

Dudes, 3 days to Coachella and TPM's Yacht Rock Birthday Bonanza in honor of lil Miss Megadeath, invite coming soon for all you Indio-bound brothahs...

18666

You Know What They Say - - If The Hair Flips The Right Way

It's A Party!

Friday night was the doozy of a doozy- so much so that our weekend post will only consist of that evening. The ladies of TPM had so much fun, they were put out of commission for the rest of the weekend. It all began at Fontana's for a night of celebrating the boys of 186's bdays with three bands and DJ Jay Good Times. It ended with me in bed with two guys at 5a. Now that's what I call a good time!!!!!

End of the World impressed me for seeing them the first time, The Big Sleep nearly broke my arm off from the amount of fist pumping I was forced to do by the shear face-melting of their music, and Sam Champion played my fave show of theirs ever. Jay djed a killer set afterward which will now be labeled the Wolfmother listening party. But always thinking of me, he played a sufficient amount of Wolf Parade to satiate my thirst for awkward dance steps.

Below is a cross section of what went down in the sweaty moshpit we created during The Champs set- enjoy!

Bday boy #1, mid head swing, standing next to a gal who needs a bang trim. No idea who dude is in between us, but what's up man- you've been blogged!

Bday boy #2- Builder- mid yell... perhaps he's yelling out for the guys to cover a DOP song? Whoa my hair looks great in that photo. Courtesy of Ultra Hair Salon.

And bday boy #3, Kyle with his lady friend Dee. I'm pretty sure he's yelling out something that's making the band blush. It's his thing.
Noah and Jack of Sam Champion- they pulled out all the hits (Cheadle Bug, B Minor Stomp) and threw in some covers (Bad Moon Rising)
Sean and Ryan banging out the rock. Sean I promised to update earlier in the day for you from now on, but it's really hard to juggle doing that AND watching the Golden Girls.
After the band's set, Mere and Rach took to the stage for a little ass shakin. Hottt. Check out Mere's bra strap... hottter.
And a tiny cross section of the crowd- there's Merida lookin all sheepish- you've been blogged!

Anyways it was nothing but good times. Tonight we are heading over to Bowery Ballroom to check out TPM approved Cold War Kids, Sam Champion, and Two Gallants. Stop being jealous and get yer ass over there!

Which Geezer Are You?

TPM had one of our conference calls today on IM to discuss our impending excursion out to the dry heat and sprawling golf courses of Palm Springs, CA next week. During our heated conversation about whether or not we should combine boat shoes with feathered hair for the Yacht Rock themed party, we got to talking about which Golden Girl we would be. Here's our results:

Mere- she gets to be Sophia (lucky bitch!) based on the merits of her height. And Mere likes the zingers, which we all know that old bag was the queen of them.

Del- Blanche, because he's a slut and likes to wear flowy silk outfits.

Wiscod- Dorothy because i'm a giant with lesbian undertones like Bea Arthur. We can both assure you... we like the schlong. And boy am I good with those zingers. I learned them from my mother- Estelle Getty.

Rach- Rose... by default because she was the last to speak up. Rach is lovable and good hearted like Rose, but she ain't no dumbass.

Which of these fine ladies are you?

Also please check out Blue States Lose on Gawker today. Best line ever:
Do all these hipsters just want to be mimes deep down inside? Here’s Douchey McTwattlefuck doing his classic “On My Cell Phone!” routine.

Lock Yer Doors... there's a new posse in town

Wassss up. Mere and I are the first official members (and founders) of the UHB posse.

What is UHB, you ask?

UNEMPLOYED HOT BITCHES

Holllllllerrrr! If you meet all three qualification- we'll be taking applications tomorrow night at Fontana's - so get there early before our beer goggles take over. Although for some of you, it might be better to get there later for that exact reason.

The UHB posse likes to walk over bridges, go to Grimaldi's and get wasted off of cheap wine in the daytime, and watch the Golden Girls. If you don't like doing any of the three... don't bother.

Logo pending- stay tuned!

Del thought this was funny, so I said I'd post it for him. Please do not let this divert your attention from our need to get him here for Friday's party. Refer to post below.
Does anyone else think he looks like former Phantom Planet member Jacques Brautbar? I do! Reminds me of the time he said to me, and I quote, "Fuck off Dana!"

This'll Be A Doozey

Please help us raise the funds to bring Del from Texas to this party... it's what the boys of 186 would want for their bdays. Any and all donations are welcome, but if you can't, hopefully we'll still see you at this shitshow on Friday regardless.

It's the real thing

Here's Jack White's Coca-Cola ad full of blaring horns and bah-ba-bahs. I just watched it and it looked/sounded pretty cool. Check it out here

R.I.P. June Pointer- we hardly knew ye

I recently realized that I am a Pointer Sisters fan. I will stand up in a crowded room and happily admit this, and I bet a lot of you out there are too but are afraid to come forth. It's ok, it can be our secret. When DJing last night I knew that I should be doing a lil tribute to June who passed away the other day, but what song would I play? The Neutron Dance? Automatic (which sounds a lot like Stevie Wonder)? A fantastic song that most of you know from childhood is "The Pinball Song" aka 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 made popular on Sesame Street, possibly the funkiest song to ever come from that fantastic program. Anyway, what most people don't know is that it was done by the Pointer Sisters. Couple other points of interest regarding this band is that they were one of the first concerts that I ever attended with my family somewhere in Miami Beach. The year was 1985 and I remember that a comedian opened up for them which was weird. I then saw them AGAIN a few months later as the opening act for WHAM! in Toronto. That's right, bitches, both George Michael AND Andrew Ridgley were in the hizzie. How many of you can say you went to a show like that before? And before you ask, yes they played Wham Rap.
That same year I remember having a housekeeper come over to our house and I distinctly remember her singing Pointer Sister lyrics but effing them up. As she went around the house she sang "I'm so exciting and I just can't hide it!" Of course, I thought this was hilarious and told my Dad about her botched lyrics and he just said: "well, maybe she is."

To be or not to be...

Unemployed.

Top 10 reasons not to work:

1. No longer a slave to an alarm clock.
2. You can beat the crowds at Trader Joes - but apparently you can't beat the obsession.
3. You can finally be one of those people that corporate america doesn't understand.
4. you can pretend to be a writer.
5. people expect you to be drunk every night.
6. you can totes cry in public.
7. you can ask for pity favors.
8. you are allowed to hate the "man".
9. all of the sudden you are the most sought after freelancer.
10. you are allowed to buy yourself expensive shoes.

top 10 reasons to work:

1. you get paid.
2. you have something to do every day.
3. it makes you seem important.
4. you have the ability to change the world - or at least throw good parties.
5. you are always on the list.
6. expense account.
7. it forces you to socialize.
8. swag
9. business trips.
10. you can legitimately say " do you know who i am" without looking like a total douchebag.

Meet Sue

Everyone meet Channel 4's Live at Five anchor, Sue.

She has a hive today. Why do I know this? Because she won't stop talking about it. It's under her eye, and she wants everyone to know that it's not because she was out late drinking.... right Sue, I'm sure you weren't kicking back Irish Car Bombs with your rival station's weatherman Sam Champion in Chelsea late nite...

WOLF PARADE...will you marry me?

Last night - mere, rach and I witnessed the best show of our lives (ok I know Rach loved it, and Mere was into it, but I may just be speaking for myself)

Wolf Parade played Webster Hall and I've never seen them tighter- they killed, absolutely murdered. The sound was amazing, the crowd in the front was energized and the band (spencer!) sounded incredible.

I'm Am My Father's Son/Fancy Claps Medley= FACE MELTING DANCE-ATHON
+
I'll Believe in Anything = FIST PUMPING DREAM
+
Jay getting me a handwritten set list = SWEETEST THING ANYONE HAS EVER DONE FOR ME

I'm still on cloud 9 from the show and the best part is that I get to do it all over tonight!

Sweet, thanks for the false alarm Brett.
Great...I'm still sick AND still anxious.

To Favre or Not To Favre...

It's late on friday night and I'm home with a cold... but it's not the coughing and snot that's keeping me up. No folks, my state's leader, savior and all around god, Brett Favre, is making his decision tomorrow at 8:30a ET on whether or not he will come back to play pro football ever again.

Here's a photo from last season - - I believe Favre had thrown his career high 29th interception. I took a photo of the tv ... we both were crying...:
Just for comparison, here's a photo of my mom (please note her cr8zy holiday nail polish) holding up the newspaper on Christmas Day just a year earlier:
Now, we all know what a terrible year it was last season for us Packer fans. 4-12. 4 & 12!!!!! My whole football loving life has evolved with Brett, and last season was his (and my) first losing season with the team...and it hurt real bad. But I firmly believe the man should come back - - give us one more year - - no holds barred - - no pressure to get back to the Superbowl. Just play like the Favre we all know and love (well sans Vicodin addiction and record breaking interceptions).

So when I wake up tomorrow, perhaps a few hours post announcement... please don't make Wiscod cry. That's all I ask.

How to be Unemployed - Part 2

As many of you know as of Monday I will be joining Dana in the unemployment line as ELLEgirl magazine will shut its doors tomorrow. After my initial wave of sadness and shock subsided (oh wait, Rach just witnessed me have a panic attack in Bryant Park) I started thinking of new career paths for myself and have come up with the following ideas:

1. Drive a SoBe bus around the country for a year
2. Work on the Mud Truck
3. Start a weed delivery service since Cartoon got busted
4. Become a bouncer
5. Operate the carousel in Central Park
6. Break Dance at Grand Central
7. Join an air band
8. Go to Cosmetology school
9. Become a professional drunk
10. Breed show dogs

If you could all vote for your favorite I would really appreciate it.

To add insult to injury I have to go to Daytona Beach tomorrow to work my last ever ELLEgirl event. Here is the email I just got from my client:

I have a pink tank top for you.

Can you wear a flowy skirt that day? We are all wearing flowy skirts.

Kill me now.

How to tell if your date is bored

sent to me by my Dad. Thanks, Dad!

I went to the Rangers babseball game the other day (thanks Garrison) when they whupped up on Boston. It turns out that the Red Sox have a player named Coco Crisp. What the eff? Are his parents just assholes? Up next, pinch hitting for Manny Mota: Boo Berry.

Was just sent this awesome video from youtube. It's Devo live on "Fridays" doing "Girl U Want" and "Gates of Steel". Peep it here

How To Be Unemployed...by WiscoD

Ahhh the life of an unemployed woman. It's good, reallll good.
So as to not make our dear readers too jealous, I'm just going to give you a tiny snippet of my past two days.

Yesterday I woke up at 1030ish, leisurely walked over to kinkos (my new spizzzot), stopped by my fave bar/cafe Lotus Lounge to eat a bagel and listen to the smooth music of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, and make my way uptown for an interview.

After the interview I made my way even further uptown to get a physical while my ass still has health insurance. You'll be glad to know I'm extremely healthy. But unfortunately my lucky streak ran out when I was mysteriously pulled into Bergdorf Goodman's and accidentally bought a pair of shoes. I had an episode of thinking I still work hard for my money.

Anways- last night I was lucky enough to see the imcomparable Eddie Argos and his band Art Brut at the Bowery Ballroom. My good spirits continued with drinking actual spirits... one too many of them I might add. I think at one point I tried to become friendly with David Cross (he was celebrating his birthday) only to be completely shut down. Oh well. I continued to chew off anyone's ear that seemed remotely interested in my ramblings ('sup Catherine from The Pierces - - we both got the boot from the same company). After shamelessly trying to flirt with the barback, I headed home at 2a. Come to think of it, people tell me my flirting style is more like the cold shoulder, so sorry if that's how I came off.

Moving on to 1130a this morning- yes that's when I woke up- and it was snowing!!!!! WTF!!!! Rachel pointed out that there was a green cloud. One of her coworkers suggested it was a sign that katie holmes was having her spawn of l ron hubbard and nature was rebelling. check it out- freaky deaky!

At 3p, I headed to South Street Seaport to see the Bodies Exhibition. My review is somewhere between meh and wow. I had to keep my stomach from spewing out its contents by trying not to think that the cadavers (that were out in the open) were real people. But they are, or at least were. Anyways, it was fascinating to say the least.

And now I'm home, looking forward to a couple more days of hitting the museums and the bars without a care in the world. Oh shit- I gotta get a job!

And Rach wants everyone to know that the third rule of Gremlins is:
Keep them out of sunlight! (answer courtesy of Wikipedia)

NATIONAL CHOMPS!

For those of you who "don't keep track of sports," last night, my beloved Florida Gators took a bite out of UCLA and won their first-ever basketball national championship! To many, last night's game was a real snoozefest. But me and my Gainesville crew were freakin out, dancing, kicking, peeing a lil and enjoying every single dunk-a-licious second of it! Most Outstanding Player Joakim Noah - pretty much the freakiest looking baller to play the game - is now a hero of the Gator Nation and a potential first round draft pick. He rebounded, blocked shots, hit free throws and blew seductive kisses at the UCLA cheerleaders. Basically, sending the Bruins a message: "Not only are we gonna make you look like jackasses, we're gonna eff your cheerleaders tonight too!"

Thanks to everyone who sent me a congratulatory texts and e-mails, I totes take all the credit for the win! When the hell do I get my ring?

Some More ShapBites
The Gators also broke the team record for blocks in a game, with 10. … Nine of the Gators' 14 second-half baskets were dunks. … The Gators' 15-point margin of victory was the largest ever by a lower-seeded team in a championship game... Seventeen-year-old high school senior Jason McElwain, from Greece, N.Y., was courtside at the game, cheering and chomping for Gators. McElwain, a 5-foot-6 manager with autism, became famous almost instantly when he connected on six 3-pointers in the last four minutes of a February game. Only 5 more months till football kicks off...

Oh What A Night... to pass out at a stranger's apt

Saturday night was one of those nights where you just look back and smile. No harm, no foul, just grand old times.

The evening began late night - - Mere was at the Flaming Lips and Rach was watching her Gators advance to the championship game. So when we all convened at Juanitas (which was celebrating its last night in existence) everyone was in a good mood. Except me... lil miss cranky pants. Luckily two free margaritas later I was having the time of my life. Altho the second 'rita wasn't so much a mixed drink as it was pure tequila. Mere made the smart decision of asking for a tequila floater on top of her already strong drink, because she was convinced by Niki that there was no alcohol in it. Good plan.
Anywho after the crowd got nice and rowdy, we made our way out to Greenpoint for DTL's bday party - - I managed to stuff one more 'rita into my purse for the cab ride over. His party was in full motion when we got there. It was so packed that the apt was a literal steam room which led to a sweaty crockpot of good looking hipsters.
Here's the birthday boy cutting the cake. mmm cake.
Now this is where things get a bit fuzzy- I know we went to the party- I know I talked to a lot of people and I know they had the most delish cake ever. And I know Mere had to be taken home due to her (always fun) drunken antics. Rach reminded me that all night I was calling Mere "little nugget" and she was not taking it to well.

Anyways- Rach and I ended up over at Matt from The Comas apt with Noah. I slept on the bed while a full on jam session went down. Check out Rach on the guitar... and then the trumpet. Weeeeee!

Here's Rach's attempt at being arty. It's my sleeping face as seen through Noah's fro.
And here's a first... apparantly my chatter makes people pass out. Check out Matt's roommate on the left.

Matt played us the new Comas record... and I'm sure it was great, but I can't remember. All in all I learned that: tequila + beer + delish cake + daylight savings time = massive hangover.

Day five of watching The View. But in my defense- Ray Romano was on and I heart him. But their discussion about the morals of porno and their preacher guest sent me over the edge.

thankfully I missed Passions today because of some very important phone calls.
I'm on the up and up folks- sayonara The View bitches!

Why Did I Watch the WB???

For some reason the previews for the new WB show, Bedford Diaries, intrigued me (I'll admit it - the Augustana theme song was the hook - got nothing but love for you Dana!) so I decided to tune in last night. All I have to say is that it is a terrible, terrible, terrible version of Felicity. The characters are beyond annoying and the plot lines are moving at warp speeed - there is a student/teacher affair, suicidal student, overtly sexual virgin, struggle between the school paper and the student government, break-up, and alcoholic all covered in the first episode. Hello, quality not quantity you silly WB execs! I do not plan on tuning in again and I could go into a much more in-depth rant but I have a feeling I was the only person who watched the show. I will, however, list the reasons that Felicity was an excellent show:

1. Ben - hot, atheletic, angst ridden - done and done!
2. One of the first shows to tell you what music was heard during the episode.
3. Helped me bond with my sorority sisters - we used to watch in my room in the house every week and get teary eyed - obvs this was before I turned punk as fuck and de-activated.
4. Javier - what a wonderful, caring boss and friend.
5. Meghan - the nightmarish roommate who turned out to be a Wasp - go figure
6. The hair controversy - when Felicity cut her hair ratings dropped like the network had never seen - talk about pop culture power.
7. Pretty good depiction of college minus the fact that almost every week something absurdly traumatic happened.

On another note Rachel "ain't too proud to beg" Shapiro needs a ticket to Editors tonight cause those people at Epic (not you Lisa :) took away Dana's plus one.

Traumarrhea

Last night I went to the most delicious restaurant for dins - - courtesy of one Jamal Tang (yes, I'll still milking the 'I just got laid off' line) - - only to have the experience ruined by one trip to the bathroom.

If you have a weak stomach, much like my own, please do not read on.

As I stood waiting for the women's bathroom to open up, I noticed a strange smell coming from the men's bathroom which was vacant. So instead of breaking the rules and using the gents, I held out for the much cleaner women's room. Boy did I make a mistake.

The lady before me, not much younger than me, crept out with a sheepish look on her face. That was my first tip something was up. As I entered the bathroom, a smell overtook me that was beyond unpleasant. This person dropped the doodie bomb of the century. I held my breath, forgetting you were supposed to breathe through your mouth and not your nose in a situation like this. And I'm very stubborn, this bitch's foul ass was not going to deter me from doing my business. The bathroom was tiny, and dark, and suffocating...

and then I gave in. Yes, ladies and gents, yours truely was so overcome by the smell, that she puked in the sink. And it was painful- I think my stomach made it up to my throat.
I was still gagging on my way to the subway, and waking up this morning, the queasiness hasn't left me.

moral of the story- use the men's bathroom if the woman before you shat her brains out. done and done.

Suck On These, Star!

Has anyone ever sat down and watched The View? I mean really, really watched it?

For some reason, now that I have no job, I've been watching this nightmare of a show. Not sure why, it's like my tv is locked on it from 11-12p. So please, if you have any other suggestions for tv watching (yeah I know, I should be outside enjoying the weather, blah blah blah), please pass them on.

anyways, I don't really need to go into why I hate that vagina fest, but they've got a hold on me. Today's guest was Sharon Stone and I immediately had the urge to see Basic Instinct 2. Why on earth would I ever do that.... I'm guessing was mesmerized by Barbara Walter's fishnet stockings or Meredith Viera's overt sexual advances on all guests (male and female).

And I believe I heard the comment today - powerful women scare men away. I'm gonna go ahead and turn back the feminist clock to, say, 50 years ago. whatevs I'm not even a feminist!

And am I the only one who thinks Star Jones looks like an alien? sup? I can't even begin with my hatred for her.

Dr. Phil's Test - I scored a 46

ANYONE ELSE BORED????

Below is Dr Phil's test. (Dr. Phil scored 55; he did this test on Oprah -
she got a 38.) Some folks pay a lot of money to find this stuff out!

Read on, this is very interesting!

Don't be overly sensitive! The following is pretty accurate and it only
takes 2 minutes. Take this test for yourself and send it to your friends.

The person who sent it placed their score in the e-mail subject box.
Please do the same before forwarding to your friends (send it back to the
person who Sent it to you.) Don't peek, but begin the test as you scroll
down and answer.

Answers are for who you are now...... not who you were in the past.
Have pen or pencil and paper ready. This is a real test given by the Human
Relations Dept. at many of the major corporations today. It helps them get better insight concerning their employees and prospective employees.

It's only 10 Simple questions, so...grab a pencil and paper,
keeping track of your letter answers to each question.

Make sure to change the subject of the e-mail to read YOUR total.
When you are finished, forward this to friends/family, and
also send it to the person who sent this to you. Make sure to put YOUR
score in the subject box.

Ready! ??

Begin...

1. When do you feel your best?
a) in the morning
b) during the afternoon &and early evening
c) late at night

2. You usually walk...
a) fairly fast, with long steps
b) fairly fast, with little steps
c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face
d) less fast, head down
e) very slowly

3. When talking to people you..
a) stand with your arms folded
b) have your hands clasped
c) have one or both your hands on your hips
d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking
e) play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair

4. When relaxing, you sit with..
a) your knees bent with! your legs neatly side by side
b) your legs crossed
c) your legs stretched out or straight
d) one leg curled under you

5. When something really amuses you, you react with...
a) big appreciated laugh
b) a laugh, but not a loud one
c) a quiet chuckle
d) a sheepish smile

6. When you go to a party or social gathering you...
a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

7. You're working very hard, concentrating hard, and you're interrupted......
a) welcome the break
b) feel extremely irritated
c) vary between these two extremes

8. Which of the following colors do you like most?
a) Red or orange
b) black
c) yellow or light blue
d) green
e) dark blue or purple
f) white
g) brown or gray

9. When you are in bed at night, in those last f ew moments before going to
sleep you are..
a) stretched out on your back
b) stretched out face down on your stomach
c) on your side, slightly curled
d) with your head on one arm
e) with your head under the covers

10. You often dream that you are..
a) falling
b) fighting or struggling
c) searching for something! or somebody
d) flying or floating
e) you usually have dreamless sleep
f) your dreams are always pleasant

POINTS:
1. (a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6
2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1
3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6
4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1
5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2
6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2
7. (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4
8 . (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1
9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1
10. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1

Now add up the total number of points.

OVER 60 POINTS:
Others see you as someone they should "handle with care."
You're seen as vain, self-centered, and who is
extremely dominant. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like
you, but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved
with you.

51 TO 60 POINTS:
Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather
impulsive personality; a natural leader, who's quick to make decisions,
though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and
adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes
chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company
because of the excitement! You radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS:
Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing,
practical, and always interesti ng; someone who's constantly in the center
of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their
head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 TO 40 POINTS:
Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful practical. They see you as clever,
gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends
too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends
you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return.
Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS:
Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you very cautious,
extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then,
usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by you careful nature.


UNDER 21 POINTS:
People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions & who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist. Some people think you're boring.
Only those who know you well, know that you aren't.

Random Facts

Here are a few intersting things that happened this weekend:

1. While enjoying a delightful dinner at Gnocco on Friday night a guy walked in with a garbage bag full of what appeared to be giant glow in the dark koosh balls. It isn't unusual to have people try to sell you flowers or lighters during dinner but this was a first. We obviously had to buy one and spent the rest of the night pretending we were at Crobar while in fact we were at Drop Off Service in the east village. Props to that place for having a killer juke box and props to my friends for getting overly excited every single time one of their songs came on.

2. A couple of my raver buddies (read: they go to Crobar once a month) downloaded the techno version of the Brokeback Mountain theme song onto my computer. Everyone should listen to it at least once.

3. The two mice that had been inhabiting the garbage can in my kitchen for the past week seem to have relocated. I kind of miss them doing back flips off the fridge when I would come home at night.

4. I got falsely accused of stealing a bottle of vodka from a liquor store in Brooklyn.

5. I went to Union Pool for the first time and now my coat smells like a camp fire and I think I pulled a muscle while showing off my cheerleading routine. It was either the herkie or the splits that really got me.

6. I waited in line for 20 minutes just to get into Trader Joes yesterday and then had to wait for at least 30 minutes in order to check out. It was out of control but I'm glad they finally opened one in the city.

I GOT LAID

OFF!

I bet you've been sitting at your comp wondering... hey where's WiscoD? Well folks she just emerged from the dark corners of her room, stretched out from the fetal position, and wiped the snot off her face.... I'm back!

After returning from a fun filled sxsw this week- I learned that I've lost my job.

But don't pity me... I'm at one of those cute little cafes...and it's the middle of the day! Turns out this is where all the hot guys hang and they like to play Wolf Parade. I'm in severance heaven. I also get to be the chick you see working away on her computer, but what the hell is she doing... shouldn't she be at the offices??? The answer is: NO! there's life after your first job (that lasted 4 years), and I'm just learning that.

Anywho- just wanted to get that off my chest. Now, being the unemployed of the four of us, you'll be hearing a lot more from me. aren't you excited? I'm going to join a yoga gym. I'm so excited!

Ok, this post is lame. Thanks for listening!

The 3 rules of Gremlins: according to Rach

1. Don't feed 'em
2. Don't get 'em wet.
3. Don't fuck with 'em.

SXSW '06 Recap- Part 2

OK, so I stopped writing after I saw Morrissey. After that we headed back to 6th street and caught Carl Barat's Dirty Pretty Things who sounded good and not unlike the Libertines. However, we waited forever for them to go on. I ran into Carl at the Arctic Monkeys show the next night and our conversation went like this:
Me: "I really enjoyed your show last night, you guys sounded really good."
Carl: "It was rubbish."
Me: "The only problem was that you guys started really late."
Carl: "That's not my fault."
Me: "I didn't say it was."



Popped across the street to catch the tail end of Dr. Dog who might have tied the record for playing the most shows this festival with Tapes 'N Tapes. If you didn't even accidentally see either one of these bands this week you weren't really there.



By now it was late night and we headed to the DKNY party where the Secret Machines were playing. This point of the evening was sort of a blur to me, but I do remember at one point my pants fell down. All I know was that I was really tired walking into it, but the party somehow re-energized me. Everyone was in a good mood and wasted. Look at these guys.



Also the party was a haven for random celeb sightings. We saw Luke Wilson and his brother, Futureman. Also, walking into the party I saw the dude who I thought might have been the giant from "Big Fish" but he just turned out to be some cool random local musician who was unbelievably tall.

"Let's stand fattest to skinniest and show our nipples."




Rumors that the Beastie Boys might be playing this party turned out to be false but in my drunken stupor, I really enjoyed the Diamond Smugglers, a Neil Diamond cover band who were funny as hell.

FRIDAY, MARCH 17

Woke up late, at about noon and checked out a bit of Flatstock at the convention center. Every gig poster artist from across the country seemed to be at this thing and it was amazing and overwhelming at the same time. I finally settled on this really cool Yo La Tengo poster. We ate somewhere where I can't recall right now and headed over to Pok-e-Jo's for the Merge/Subpop showcase. I missed the Brunettes, who's CD I really like but was able to catch a bit of Eugene Mirman followed by A Band of Horses who were good, but had some problems with the PA. Essex Green was up next- nice 'n poppy, but I was too distracted by running into old school friends and the free beer line to really pay that close attention. Britt Daniel came up afterwards to do a short, but sweet four song acoustic set. I will watch this guy play anytime he is around. Scored a cab over to Stubbs right in time to catch the Charlatans with a bunch of drunken British hooligans and some chicks that looked like they had stepped out of a Darkness video. The guys were great and tore through a couple new songs before treating us to "Weirdo," "One to Another," and "The Only One I Know."

The Charlatans


"Dude, he was totally beat after that Voxtrot set"




Next stop was over to Beauty Bar to see Nada Surf who were wonderful as always. We had a nice crew in the house and it was time for some bro-in down.



Food over at Angie's was a treat then we made our move over to catch singer-songwriter, Bill Ricchini, who played a nice set and even let my brother make a special request. His new album sounds like its worth checking out. Made a move to catch Apollo Sunshine in a really cool room at Habana Calle 6 (get the Cuban sandwich) and everyone seemed to really enjoy their brand of music. It's like they can't quite decide which genre they fit into so they keep it interesting by not sticking to one sound. There was talk of a Jane's Addiction set at Music Hall and with Perry Farrell in town it could have been possible. I got on the horn to my boy who denied such rumors but said if we hurried there was no line at La Zona Rosa to catch the Arctic Monkeys. We took his advice and despite an obnoxious start, I really enjoyed their show. I thought they sounded great and "Fake Tales of San Francisco" has to be one of my new favorite songs. A solid day overall.

SATURDAY MARCH 18

Random highlights:

Crazy right-wingers telling us we're all going to hell. Thanks buddy, we already know.


Sam Champion: Top of the Pops!


Art Brut: Top of the Pops!


King of France: Top of the Pops!


Rach with Romeo from the Magic Numbers: he promised me that he wouldn't eat her




We ran around a bit and saw Jose Gonzalez and the Joggers and a bit of Foreign Born before heading to more late night parties. Seeing Gang of Four on the roof of a parking garage at midnight was easily a top moment of the weekend for me. I had so much tequilla coursing through my body that I was in danger of hurling myself off the roof which would have been a shame 'cos they sounded awesome. At one point in my spazzing out, I managed to jump up and land on Har Mar Superstar's foot. He howled in pain. I apologized and went back to jamming out. I was too far gone at that point to really care. Late night we made it to the Vice party in the middle of nowhere to catch Wolfmother who rocked my fuckin socks off.

Thank you SXSW.

SXSW recap later tonight

Workin on very very little sleep right now and all of my pictures are on my computer at home. It was a crazy week and there's lots to go over, so check back in a little while.

TPM's Version of Overheard in NY

Overheard at Augustana's SOLD OUT Knitting Factory show last night:

Drunk girl in front row screaming to lead singer Dan:
You want to come over for a party after the show?
Dan: Everyone, party after the show at this girl's apt!
Drunk girl screams back to Dan: no, the party's in my pants!

HOLLER!

TPM SXSW GIVEAWAY

We love the name of our blog. And we know you do too.

But we are holding a contest for our FIRST EVER TICKET GIVEAWAY to the Deisel-U-Music event at this year's SXSW put on by our good friends over at Diesel, Plus One, Loose Record and Tokion Magazine.

So here's the contest- rename our blog- but it has to be in the form of:
_____ . . . _____ . . . _____

Best answer in the comments section by tomorrow at 5p ET wins! Sorry to those not attending this year's sxsw... loser.

The show itself is going to be insane- Editors, Voxtrot, The Boy Least Likely To, Spinto Band, and Film School. Editors alone are worth fighting to get in.

You can also visit www.diesel-u-music.com to learn about the amazing competition where
three bands are getting the opportunity to go to London and play at an NME covered/Channel Four televised awards show. Bands sign up on the Diesel-U-Music website.