So normally I would be discussing design today, but I really don’t feel up to it. As it were, I am still trying to get my head out of vacation mode. See, Mary and I spent a good hot week in Panama City Beach, FL soaking up the sun, salt, and chlorine. Good times (and relaxing to boot)! The week was shared with a Mr. and Mrs. Jones — of St. Louis fame –which bringing us back around to the point of this. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are quite the aficionados of loud and fast music, otherwise known as Punk and Hardcore in certain circles. This is one of the reasons why they started up I Hate Punkrock Records. So, while we were in FL, we heard a radio ad talking about this skate shop called Blender. The announcer was talking up all of the particular brands they sell including one To Die For Clothing (p.s. me and the missus are squares and aren’t up with what the kids are wearing these days). Needless to say, we had to go.

Less Posh

What we found at Blender was an amazing collection of Skate wear and accessories, awesome small run t-shirts for men and women, and a hand picked vintage wares. The owners of this independent were super nice, taking time to answer all of our questions and pointing out neat facts about the clothing we were shopping for. For only being in operation for 3 months, they already have a steady clientele and are possibly looking for more space. While they only had a couple of albums in stock, they are also seeking to expand their selection of underground music. There is always a need for alternatives to the mainstream, but many times inhabitants of small towns never have direct access to those alternatives. The folks at Blender know this and seem to be creating a community outlet based on this idea. If you are in Panama City (proper) stop by and buy some shit to help support this amazing independent resource. Items can also be purchased online and shipped wherever the heck you may be.

Schmack Clothing

Comments(1)

This weekend (as well as the last couple of weeks) I went on a CD buying spree. Here are three of note that I won’t be talking about: Aceyalone’s Grand Imperial, Avail’s Dixie (reissue) and Ghostface Killah’s Fishscale. All of these records are great, and worth picking up.

That bring us to Angels and Airwaves. AVA is the new project of former Blink-182 guitarist/singer Tom Delonge. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped about hearing their debut album We Don’t Need to Whisper. Unfortunately this was based solely on the “judging a book by its cover” mentality, as their website is chock full of Sci-Fi and WWII images. (On a side note, I’ve been attempting to meld these two interests of mine together for quite some time now. Check out my Scatter. Ah well, always the bridesmaid, never the bride–on graphic trends–it seems.) Bombs and fighters and nebulas, oh my! Be still my aching heart!

Umm…No, I was wrong. It seems to be nothing more than a self indulgent excuse to release a “serious” record. Serious in the way that it is, apparently, about trying to find love in a time and place of war. Ok, maybe if you are 15 years old. This would make sense seeing as how that was the base of Blink’s target demographic. Metaphorically speaking, the project came about during a time of turmoil when his Million album selling band was breaking up. Are we supposed to believe that this Pink Floyd/U2 inspired collection is supposed to be the manifestation of his Feelings of that time? He just wanted to fall in love with the music again, dammit! HMMM…Trite maybe? I won’t even begin to get into the obviousness of the bands Logo–like a brick to the face–AVA and Delonge’s Daughter’s name Ava. I mean, it’s totally cool that you want to honor your kid in such a way. And I guess he couldn’t use AAA considering it had already been taken by Against All Authority AND the Automobile Club.

Why am I whining about this? Simply because I was expecting the musical equivalent of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow or Brazil. Both of which seamlessly meld the styles of the pre/post WWII era with over the top science fiction/genre gusto. Oh well, no such luck.

On a lighter note, the Hype Machine is right. St. Elsewhere, by Gnarls Barkley, truly is deserving of the accolades currently being received. It is everything an album should be. Quirky, funky, and soulful with absolutely creative beats. I was skeptical at first, but quickly became hooked by the 1960’s styled bass line running along the backbone of the first single Crazy. The only comparison I can make is that Cee-Lo Green is the modern day equivalent of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (minus the 55-75 offspring of course).

Comments(0)