Alright, kids, here’s the deal. It all comes back to Love You Long Time. This whole indie obsession with the last two decades comes back and is glorified in LYLT. The tight pants, the subtle interest in hip-hop culture, the Teenage Mutant Ninja 80’s References; the whole current wave of hipster throwback all point directly to Love You Long Time.

So here’s the breakdown: MC Oz (vocals, keys, occasional guitar), $ally Kat (keytar, vocals), Chains (bass) and Dr. Liam (drums & sequencer) throw down a fantastic selection of party time hip-hop and feel good synth-pop, then sprinkle it generously with a commanding stage show: lots of dancing (break and otherwise), some freestyling, a big ol’ boombox, riding on shoulders, and frontflip 180s off a stack of speakers. It’s the best feeling party time always, deal?

I had to tell you that. It’s important to know.

Last night, when I got home from work, MySpasm informed me that Kilby Court would be hosting Seattle’s Say Hi and local alt.country kids Atherton. Since our last Say Hi show, Dave has fallen deeply in love with the group, so we made an unscheduled trip down to Kilby.

I enjoyed it more than I did last time, knowing some of the songs helps. Also, where the last show featured a full band, this time it was just Eric Elbogen (who is essentially Say Hi) and drummer Westin Glass, with prerecorded bass & keys. The two had great chemistry on stage, discussing various things between songs (including how much more Eric tends to talk when they’re in Salt Lake), mocking Westin when he hurt his teeth trying to drum with a stick in his mouth, answering questions from the crowd (”My band are in this box. They’re…embodied. In this box. With the funny robot joke on it.”), and, of course, explaining that they don’t like leaving the stage and acting surprised when they’re called out for another song, preferring to simply say this and then play the last two songs. Last night we were lucky enough to get three more songs, including a solo (no pre-recorded accompaniment) “Let’s Talk About Spaceships” and “Yeah, I’m In Love with an Android.” The latter being a song that Eric doesn’t generally play, but makes a special case for Corey, who’s a regular at Say Hi’s Kilby shows. I”m really glad of it, too, as it’s my favourite Say Hi song.

In fact, it’s one of the songs I’ve included for your Mp3 enjoyment. The other Say Hi song, “As Smart As Geek Is Chic Right Now” is the closer on 2005’s Ferocious Mopes. It’s an odd little story to end an album, my favourite part is how disturbed Dave gets by it.

The other Mp3, “Various Kitchen Utensils” by Skybox, we heard on the way out. The beginning was so enchanting that I determined to share the song with alla ya’ll. Mission accomplished!

Say Hi on MySpazz |  Say Hi Official

Go on & buy an album

 Say Hi to Your Mom - Yeah, I'm In Love with an Android: Play in Popup | Download
 Say Hi To Your Mom - As Smart as Geek is Chic Right Now [1:04m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Skybox - Various Kitchen Utensils [2:47m]: Play in Popup | Download (179)

Not a lot of text today. Beautiful day outside. Maybe tomorrow we can go to the beach, and I will frolick in the sun with my happymaker.

Songs I’m Digging:

 God's Country - Ani DiFranco: Play in Popup | Download
 Anyone Else But You - Moldy Peaches [1:57m]: Play in Popup | Download (1873)
 Napoleon - Ani DiFranco [4:38m]: Play in Popup | Download

Yesterday I reorganized and neatened my categories for this site. I am a very organized person, sometimes, and then sometimes, I’m very scatterbrained. Anyways! Sheesh.

Comedy is something I don’t think we’ve posted often, except in the form of Flight of the Conchords (those smart lads, making funny songs).

The reason I’m writing about Mitch Hedburg is because he is my favorite comedian EVER. He’s also dead, which always makes me sad. I once thought he was a member of the infamous 27 Club, but have since discovered he actually died in 2005, at the age of 37. The most known reason for his death is a drug overdose. He didn’t lie about doing drugs, he was pretty open about it. To quote, “…this is gonna blow my cover, but, I love the Fedex Guy, because he’s a drug dealer and he don’t even know it. And he’s always on time.” The actual cause of his death was a mix of cocaine and heroin.

Not only was this guy my favorite comedian, he is easily the favorite comedian of thousands of other people. He has a following, and very quotable punchlines and jokes. I actually met a good friend of mine because of Mitch. We sat outside on a patio at a bar, and my boyfriend said something in a Mitch-like tone, which caused him to ask, “Have you guys ever heard of Mitch Hedburg?” To which we loudly responded, “YES!” The next hour was spent thinking of favorite Mitch jokes and cracking ourselves up in the process. A couple of people have asked how this friend of mine and I met, and I always say, “Mitch brought us together. All together.” Which is entirely true.

While I like other comedians quite well (love Lewis Black and his pissed-off, political dialogue), Mitch has been around since me and my boyfriend first met, which we listened to Mitch All Together in his garage late at night, to which we laughed until we cried.

Unfortunately for Mitch, his career attained real success after his death, morbidly typical of most great artists. While this isn’t good in terms of Mitch’s career, it is good for spreading the word and spreading the love of an awesome comedian.

This post is a bit sadder in tone than intended, but I think people more sorely miss those who make us laugh, than make us bop our heads to good grooves. Laughter is the next best thing to loving someone anyway.

For the initiated, some of my favorite Mitch quote (of which are endless):

• What the fuck, is a SESAME?
• Fuck, I thought I looked like that rock.
• What’s your name? “Bob.” GET THE FUCK AWAY!
• Totally = All Encompassingly
• I got so much tartar, I don’t have to dip my fishsticks in SHIT!

I could go on, but check him out yourself. He released two CD’s, Mitch All Together and Strategic Grill Locations. He’s also sometimes shown on Comedy Central and occasionally you can hear on Sirius Satellite Radio’s comedy channels.

If anyone else knows of more comedy to check out, let us know in the comments.

P.S. Only have these tracks available in M4a format, so if you want mp3, you’re going to have to convert. Sorry!

• • • • • • • •

Mitch Hedberg Official Website

Buy Mitch All Together | Strategic Grill Locations

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 Houses - Mitch Hedberg (from Mitch All Together) [2:21m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Three Easy Payments - Mitch Hedburg (from Mitch All Together) [2:06m]: Play in Popup | Download

Yup, he did. This isn’t terribly big news to me, but to other rasta-type dread lovers, it very well could be. He cut off his dreads, had for several years, got sick of them (understandably) and is now sporting a short cut. I love him and the guys either way. Just so you know….

John Butler Trio

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 Your Friend Tracy - John Butler Trio (from Marking Time OST) [1:36m]: Play in Popup | Download

When I was at Langerado I had to stop by the official merchandise tent for the second time on Sunday, to pick up another program, since I had lost mine. In the tent it was quite busy, so I asked a girl standing in line to grab me a program, but she grabbed a copy of a mag instead. I did get my program, and left the tent with both. The magazine was called REAX, a music magazine, that was to my suprise, based out of Tampa. Like, South Tampa. Not only did they have awesome coverage of local events, venues, and artists, but they had a good view on the outer music world as well, focusing on bigger artists, such as the ones at Langerado. This was the edition being offered for free in the tent. The magazine itself is free, and is distributed in certain businesses around Florida, and to find out where you can pick one up, check out this page.

Definitely got a solid feel for it, and the website is nicely done, too. Looking forward to checking out their upcoming editions. A suggestion I have currently is to try and expand your distribution to the panhandle of Florida, also, because the music scene there kicks a bit, especially with the help from Captain Obvious.

REAX Magazine

 John Butler Trio - Daniella [4:18m]: Play in Popup | Download