The Useless Critic 2.0

Looking for some good old-fashioned garage rock? I've got you today! Meet the NYC-based band Native Sun, which remind me a lot of the Velvet Underground meets the Jonathan Richman & the Roadrunners with just a touch of The Strokes and Sonic Youth. Honestly? It's very refreshing to me right now. Not saying modern rock stinks (it doesn't; there are always good gems like Royal Otis) but garage rock has a special spot in my heart. Listen to the single "Adam" below: Their debut LP drops September 19th, the same day as "A BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL JOURNEY" which I already have a ticket to see because apparently my mid-life crisis is being a fangirl!

Enjoy it kids. It's a bit of a depressing mix, but I can't mask how I feel right now. I haven't been this sad since my Sylvia Plath Winter wherein I didn't leave the bed for a while. I had a breakthrough, and then that evaporated. I will have another breakthrough soon, I think. I hope. I feel very alone and lost, and very doubtful of myself. However, I've been blessed to have good friends. The holidays are right around the corner, but I can't say I am happy about that. Even Halloween's not doing much for me. Hence the lack of seasonal pathos displayed here. I discovered I may have ADHD , which explains a lot for me i.e. why I live such an undomesticated lifestyle. I wish I had realized this sooner, because it makes me at least feel better that I'm not some hapless, selfish, disorganized slob and there is actually hope I can live a normal existence soon. Like, as in "Not get distracted easily," "Not lose everything, "Be able to cle...

I really do not want to leave my bed, but this is making me tear up a little: I think this was Lou's favorite Velvet Underground song? I've always thought it was a gorgeous song and definitely one of the better love songs out there. Because when you are in love, you simply do not see these things the person you're in love with hates in themselves. And these kids are precious. Have a good week friends and readers! 

We lost a legend today.

I PRESENT TO YOU NICO, Andy Warhol's muse, German person, fashion model, Jackson Browne lovah (aren't we all), member of the Velvet Underground, etc. this beautiful bitch had one sad life. RIP. also! Yelle and Lykke Li are touring. not together, though. sadly. but! this means that we can expect new material from both of them. yay! and their tours are very limited as of right now but we should just get on our knees and pray that changes. if you live in cities like New York City or Stockholm (sigh) you are in luck. in Erie news, the Marjorie trial continues. yesterday she had an outburst in court and was like DO I LOOK LIKE A MAN to the jury. I don't know how she wanted people to answer that. but you know she is like Botticelli's Venus come to life and all. I am going to try and score a Yelle interview. peace for the night, darlings.

In high school, a lot of my friends were obsessed with Beck. And I liked Beck, in passing. But I never got that into him. Sea Change is a fantastic record, don't get me wrong. Something just kept me an elbow away from becoming a true Beck fan. Gradually, though, that's been shifting in the other direction. The more I think about it, the more respect I have for this Scientologist! First of all, his career. EXTENSIVE. think back to "Loser!" WHAT: He's gone onto work with the likes of Danger Mouse and Serge Gainsbourg. and, you know, like Madonna or David Bowie, he's constantly evolving. He's trying to keep things interesting. Not sure if I really care for his latter stuff, but at least he's giving it a shot. Anyway, he has this record club that consists of him and various guests doing covers of notable tracks/albums, such as the Velvet Underground's banana album (haha). Well, he just put out a rip of him doing "New Sensation" by INXS !!!! ...

Last week, when I caught Vivian Girls (! good show) at the Warhol (AMAZING, intimate venue) in Pittsburgh, I was introduced to the noisy rock of a band called the Beets (and no, not these guys , what an oddly detailed article). at first I was pissed off because I didn't feel like sitting through an opening act, much less an opening act I knew nothing about and didn't even realize would be there. changed my mind soon after these three young guys took the stage- and, seriously, they're a cute group, you just want to take them home and make them soup and possibly get them high- and started screaming their bloody heads off about wearing black and the Devil. very shoegazey with hints of bands like No Age and Times New Viking. with a small touch of '50s rock flavor! and, because Vivian Girls were equally as noisy, a perfect precursor. I was saddened to learn, after the show, they have no ALBUMS out that aren't on vinyl. I am not cool enough to own a turntable. The Warhol ...