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the new paul westerberg album, 49:00 is available as a single download for 49¢:

And we have lift-off: Download 49:00 from Amazon MP3

It’s one MP3 file, with a whole mess of songs, so even though it’s only one download, you’re getting plenty of songs. Some things to note: In order to get the album for $0.49 (rather than the whopping price of $0.89), you need to use the link I posted above and:

• Click on the “Buy MP3 album with 1-Click” button
• Download Amazon’s MP3 Downloader (takes 1 minute)
• Proceed with purchase

Because of the way it’s entered in the system ($0.89 for the ’song’ and $0.49 for the ‘album’), if you don’t do it this way, you will be charged $0.89 (which is also a massive bargin).

Good news: Non-US fans can now download the ‘album’ here (and US fans who for some reason can’t/don’t want to use Amazon).

i can’t seem to find a track listing or liner notes on his webpage but i’m sure they’ll surface soon if they haven’t already. on first listen, i’m pleasantly surprised with the quality of the recording and material; i was a little worried that it would be 49 minutes of half-baked, low-fi songs (although there are a few bee thousand-ish moments here and there for fans of the latter) but so far they display the wit and hookiness typical of PW and well worth the download.

housekeeping note: this is my first post using scribefire. i’d been looking for something i could use to x-post into my blog, myspace & LJ. we’ll see how the results go!

you can’t mess with griffin. taken by kristin k. 10/07/07

Mark Griffin, 35 years old of West Hartford CT, died Monday June 2 surrounded by family and friends. He grew up in Sayreville, NJ.

He attended Sayreville HS (1991) and the Joe Kubert School (1997). Working as an illustrator, he also created his own comics: “The Kersaders” about kid superheroes, and his unfinished personal work, “Karma Shmarma”, documenting his battle with cancer. Mark played bass in several rock bands and enjoyed traveling and cooking with his wife.

Survived by his devoted wife of 8 years, Jennifer, and his mother, Susan, and predeceased by his step-father William Dorman. Also an extended family of relatives and friends. Mark had a generous soul and touched the lives of all who knew him.

Memorial services will be at Rezem Funeral Home, 457 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick, Thursday June 5 from 5 PM - 8 PM. Funeral on Friday June 6 at 10 AM. If you would prefer to make a donation in Mark’s name in lieu of sending flowers, Jen Griffin suggests The Marrow Foundation at www.marrow.org or The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.

i don’t think it’s fully sunk in that you’re gone and i don’t know if i ever want it to. there are so many things i’ll miss about you, from breakfasts at your house to driving aimlessly in search of apple fritters to sharing new comics to that absurd near all-night session of adventures of lolo 2. remember that night you, me & aaron were on the way home from st. mark’s after helping phil move? i was enthusiastically telling you guys about a scene in JLA when we pulled up next to that silver SUV - “professor stephen hawking!”, aaron points to the car and our mouths dropped - i don’t think anyone but us believes that actually happened.

sometimes i feel like i don’t deserve to hurt as much as our other friends that have known you since childhood and high school but over the past six years you and jen have shown me new measures of strength, love and courage that had a profound effect on me. every time you were diagnosed you never succumbed to bitterness, cynicism or self-pity. you let all of us in instead of shutting us out. that’s the type of person you are and it made your inevitable recoveries that much more joyous and inspirational. the running joke was “who gets cancer four times?”"someone who can BEAT cancer four times”.

one of my favorite all-time memories, months after mark had beaten cancer for the second time:

sleep well, my friend, i’ll miss you every day of my life.

this would be my third show at JB’s in as many weeks, following the constantines show below and having to leave early during buried beds/american music club. i’d kind of been run down from packing all day and thought about staying in but i’ve been a big fan of EPDM for a while now and a full US tour wasn’t going to happen again any time soon, so why not. i missed anna ternheim, expecting to get there in time for lykke li’s set but instead EPDM was just getting under way. looks like they switched the set order, either due to the newfound buzz surrounding lykke li or maybe they were just alternating headliners during the tour.

i wasn’t sure if i would like a set from this tour, since i saw from the valley to the stars’ downbeat version of baroque pop as a step down from the last self-titled album. but
a sign of a great performance is if they make you like songs that you didn’t like before and EPDM succeeded in bringing the sleepier, more deliberate mood from FTVTTS to life. the band is really tasteful, bringing a smoky, jazzy, nightclub kind of feel to the songs and sarah assbring’s voice is better in person than you would think. lykke li came out a couple of times to sing too. highlights included “glory to the world”, “i can’t talk about it” and “somebody’s baby”. i was disappointed that they did a solo version of “god knows” and omitted “party” from the setlist entirely but they made up for it with an almost-rocking full-band version of “shake it off” and my favorite song of the night, a cover of robert wyatt’s cover of chic’s “at last i am free”. lykke li started her set immediately after and while i’m not as familiar with her music, it was still a fun, dancey and charming set that featured assbring staying onstage for vocals. all in all, the night’s show made me want to move to sweden.

set list (thanks infotaupe!):

how did we forget
glory to the world
i can’t talk about it
you can’t steal a gift
god knows
do not despair
somebody’s baby
inner island
shake it off
someday i’ll understand
at last i am free

“constantines make music for people who like rock. everyone else can go listen to vampire weekend.” - peter botham, the news journal

i woke up on my couch early sunday evening in a complete panic, thinking that i had slept through that night’s constantines show. i threw on a shirt, jumped into my car and arrived at johnny brenda’s with only about um… an hour+ to spare. oakley hall was surprisingly good as a four piece with a set that rocked a lot more than previous listens would have predicted.

i vividly remember the first time i heard constantines a few years ago, driving back from lunch in the heat of summer with my intern, listening to a live performance on jon solomon’s show. the first song we heard was “young lions” and i was hooked. putting punk energy into songs that are anthemic and blue collar while also being literate, sincere and devoid of cheesy sloganeering (”working full time” could easily be a thinking man’s “taking care of business”) is what made me love this band, and that was before i even saw them live tonight.

the room completely filled up by the time the constantines took the stage, jumping into “hotline operator” and my hands were already sore after “working full time”. they played a lot from the new album, which is pretty amazing upon my first couple of listens. they played more from the first album and tournament of hearts (”justice” and “lizaveta” at that volume and energy levels were a revelation to me) than shine a light but nevertheless, the set was, to steal a superlative from my younger cousins, totally badass. i can’t help but feel like moron whenever i use that word but whatever. maria made a good point in mentioning that steve’s songs provide a counterbalance to the band when they approach springsteen-levels of earthiness and earnestness - “shower of stones”, which is a serviceable track on kensington heights, is just an explosion live and a great dynamic contrast to almost songs:ohia-ish songs like “time can be overcome”. to top it off, they ended their set with a riffingly faithful and yes, badass cover of AC/DC’s “thunderstruck” aka “the AC/DC song that people who don’t even like AC/DC love”.

set list (i think this is closer than i usually am):

hotline operator
working full-time
justice
young offenders
hard feelings
million star hotel
young lions
arizona
shower of stones
trans canada
thieves
time can be overcome
brother run them down
lizaveta
thunderstruck

photo by chriszak under creative commons’ attribution 2.0 generic license.

nicole & i went to see LSF at the fillmore at the TLA (or is it TLA at the fillmore?). it had been a while since my last visit, which was well before it becoming a live nation venue and quite possibly could have been the last LSF show i saw in 2001-2. despite having seen some amazing shows there, i’ve always hated the sloped floor and sound and stayed away accordingly. when i entered, it was predictably cheesier with y-rock banners hanging everywhere and a wall of photos from famous shows at EFC/LN venues. i saw kristin thompson walk in after us, i should have introduced myself. oh well.

LSF shows are always going to be remembered for tim harrington’s antics and he was as menacing and frenzied as ever. off the top of my head, these are some of the ones i can recall:

- coming out in a ruby-colored spandex top that covered his face, breaking a mic stand during the first song
- pulling as much mic cable as he could and going through the crowd, all the way to the back and up the steps to the balcony, taunting people with every step
- going into the crowd several times, both planned and by accident
- taking off his shirt and holding the microphone between his man-boobs
- holding the microphone between the rolls of his stomach
- introducing “what would wolves do” by conjuring the image of a zombie werewolf ben franklin emerging from the liberty bell
- coming out for the encore in what was meant to be a 14th century aristocrat costume but instead saying he was dressed as stevie nicks

what gets lost in the craziness is (and i’m as guilty of this as anyone) is what a powerful and yes, musicianly band LSF is in person. seth jabor’s quick but still in the right tempo delay guitar sound still kills and harrison haynes will always be one of my all time favorite drummers, attacking the new and old songs with equal energy. the set was shorter than i thought it would be at just about an hour including an encore of “raging in the plague age” and an extended version of “who rocks the party”. they played a lot of the new album, a couple of older songs and only one song from go forth. my favorites were probably my favorite songs from the records: “reprobate’s resumé”, “we’ve got boxes” and “plague age” stood out to me.

while LSF’s performance was great, it was an unevenly mixed crowd that gave the show an odd vibe. the TLA was maybe 3/4 to capacity, full but nowhere near packed with a lot of people in the bar/balcony area. a lot of moshers(?) in the front, a lot of people responding to harrington’s taunts with nervous laughter or looks of amusement. i can’t help but feel that the venue had a lot to do with the oddness of this show. the curmudgeon in me would chalk it up to tourists in attendance and kids not really “getting” this band but i don’t know. what is the proper reaction anymore? is there one? probably not.

this is what i remember of the set list, i’m sure i missed a song or two:

the equestrian
patty lee
the year before the year 2000
reprobate’s resumé
we’ve got boxes
what would wolves do?
slugs in the shrubs
rome
the sweat descends
raging in the plague age
who rocks the party

site was down yesterday due to an ipowerweb update/move and when it came back, all of my posts were in reverse order. an upgrade to WP 2.5 sorted everything out but the .zip download is missing the wp-admin and wp-includes directories. the .tar file had everything though. i’ve been increasingly annoyed with ipowerweb and the poor implementation of their upgrades over the past few months; when my renewal comes up in june i’ll probably consider switching to another host.

update: site is running pretty well as of late, although i deleted a bunch of comments by mistake. whoops!

“go hiking more” is one of my current goals on 43 things and i’ve been doing a pretty good job of following through on it this year. most of my waking moments are spent in a sea of overstimuli and there’s something very appealing to me about going to a place where it’s actually quiet and i can get away from IM, 60fps videogames and my ipod trying to drown out server hum.

since january i’ve taken three hikes out of 50 hikes in new jersey (i did another from the book, mount tammany, twice last year). the first was with kevin & kristin at cattus island. very easy and relaxing walk, nice views of the marsh and bays. it’s probably be much better in the spring but it was worthwhile anyway and i’d like to go back once everything’s in bloom and the animals are back. we took the blue trail loop to the white trail that takes you up the beach, backtracked and then rejoined the blue trail back to the cooper environmental center, which was surprisingly a lot of fun.

last month beth & i checked out cheesequake state park. it was super muddy, which hindered our progress but there was a nice variety in elevation, vegetation and terrain. we took the yellow trail once around and then went on part of the red trail before looping back. the red trail goes a bit deeper into the park so it will be good to check out again on a drier, warmer day. one strange point of interest was a pile of fur or hair or something on top of a discarded section of deck:

if someone can explain this to me, i’d be super grateful!

monday i drove over to the carranza memorial, located in wharton state park. the pink trail, also known as the batona trail takes you from the memorial all the way to apple pie hill, where a 205 ft high fire tower is located that supposedly from which you can see both philadelphia and atlantic city on a clear day. i didn’t make it. it was desolate and completely eerie as i parked my car in an abandoned campground to make my way to the trail. the carranza memorial is three miles into the state forest and there was literally no one else around for miles. like i said, i enjoy the solitude and quiet of hiking alone but this was a bit ridiculous. i’ve read enough urban legends about the jersey devil and pineys to know better than to push my luck. i went about a mile down the trail before my paranoia got the best of me and took me back to my car.

since i was already out there, i stopped at the tabernacle town hall and picked up a map of the area. i found out that i was only minutes from route 72 and brendan t. byrne (formerly lebanon) state forest. 50 hikes had an 8+ mile route mapped out but i decided to go out on my own, using the red trail (3.3 miles) to pakim pond and then hopping on the bartona trail (3.5 miles) back to another fire tower, considerably smaller than the one on apple pie hill. the thing i liked was that there were actually cars in the parking lot. hey, i was just happy there was a parking lot!

the red trail is wide and pretty well paved in spots. while it occasionally breaks the spell of being close to nature, it also makes for very fast and easy moving. i was able to get to pakim pond in less than an hour, including breaks. the scenery and pine barren specific plant life was interesting but again, at this time of year very little is in bloom. taking the bartona trail back offered a bit more in terms of terrain as the path narrows considerably over wooden planks, slightly muddy ground and several up and down sections. around the three mile mark, you will cross over a paved road. at the next paved road (about a quarter mile later), you can make a right to get back to the parking lot. at nearly seven miles, it’s a bit strenuous but easy footing, relative solitude and the thick forest make it worthwhile.

the movies i’ve seen over the past few months have included the oscar-winning (there will be blood & no country for old men, both sprawling and excellent), raspberry-worthy (cloverfield & jumper nearly halved my IQ after viewing) and downright confounding (with a huge battle scene involving armored bears, gypsies, flying witches and sam elliott standing alongside a giant rabbit, the golden compass was easily the most bizarre film i’ve seen in recent memory). however, none of them were as over the top ridiculous, crazy and hilarious as doomsday. i’d been looking forward to this since i first heard of it - neil marshall’s the descent was one of my favorite movies of 2006 - and while the lack of critical screenings made me a bit wary, it was the wildest movie i’ve seen since planet terror and maybe the best 100mph mashup of b-movie homages i’ve seen since kill bill. think escape from new york + 28 days later + the road warrior + resident evil + army of darkness + highlander(!) and a couple of other movies and you’ll get somewhat of an idea, but it’s just insane. if you’re into the genre and understand the concept of putting one’s tongue firmly in their cheek, it’s highly recommended.

“aquaman, you cannot marry a woman without gills! you are from different worlds! (sees neutron bomb) oh, i’ve wasted my life…”

- last week, aaron sent me the first look at the costumes from the upcoming watchmen film. i guess they’re OK. certain comics lend themselves to film, but watchmen definitely isn’t one of them. this is what happens when 30+ year old fanboys are in charge; they all have the same touchstones (mostly whatever frank miller, alan moore and neil gaiman have crapped out over the past twenty years) - dark knight returns, watchmen and to a lesser degree sandman & maus. the idea is that watchmen was such an important comic that it demands to be made into film. no, it doesn’t!

there is a great line in brian k. vaughan’s the escapist(s) where the main character turns down an offer to see a double feature of ghost world and american splendor: “nah, i hate adaptations. comics should be an end unto themselves and not glorified screenplays…” it sounds kind of hypocritical with the Y the last man movie being made but at the end of the day it’s always going to be $$$, $$$, $$$.

- shafik, aaron and i went to see jumper a few weeks ago (it was either that or go with the girls to 80s night at the breakfast club) and there was one line that completely annoyed me. hayden christiansen’s character asks, “you read marvel team up?” to a rogue jumper whose help he’s trying to enlist. david goyer, please STFU. the success of comic book films doesn’t validate comics, it just shows yet again that hollywood is out of ideas and has found an easy stream of properties and licensing with a built-in fanbase to strip mine.

- on a related note, i realize that a lot of people will disagree with me but i don’t buy into the academic analysis of comics at all. at best, yes, they can be high art that moves you but mostly they’re simply fun, nerdy stories with cool illustrations and at worst, they’re the most base outlet for adolescent power fantasies. the same nerds that write papers over the fascist milieu that is home to the dark knight returns or the deconstruction of superheroes in watchmen didn’t buy it for those reasons, they bought them because they want to geek out over batman fighting superman and see what insanity alan moore would put his characters through next. let’s be real about it.