Pin me up with the stars tonight

Dear Boys...

2009-04-29T00:20:26Z

Saturday night, at Bridge and Tunnel, Jan from Yo-Yo was running a distro and I picked up two Latterman LPs dirt cheap (finally!). Checking out the lyrics for songs on No Matter Where We Go...! and read this for the song "Dear Boys"(formatted for easier reading):

"Patriarchy - a set of institutions that reproduces male control over women's labor, sexuality and childbearing capacity. (i.e. religion, government, school, relationships, etc.) Misogyny - hatred of women and what they symbolise, commonly displayed through abuse or disgust brought about by fear.

*** This song is a message to boys and is relevant to all men or male-identified people, including the people in this band. ***

Sexism exists in all communities, punk rock being no exception. Because we all grew up in a patriarchal society, these fucked up ideas have been socialized and ingrained in us. Refusing to admit or believe they exist do[es] nothing but perpetuate the problem. If we as boys are serious about dealing with sexism, misogyny and sexual violence, we must challenge ourselves, our friends and confront the patriarchal systems that perpetuate this oppressive behaviour.

The socialized idea that boys must be dominating, violent and emotionally detached must be rejected and then redefined. Oppressive language that we often hear being used is inherent in out society, rarely questioned and ultimately reinforces a culture of violence against women. More importantly, it is imperative that we go beyond language and fully confront sexism and misogyny in our daily lives and experiences, acted out through coercion, manipulation, fear and intimidation. Relationships that we have seen and experienced first hand often revolve around the needs of men, rather than the mutual needs of both partners.

Punk rock shows have so often and continue to be male-dominated spaces; essentially dudes watching other dudes yell about their own dude problems. In acknowledging this problem, we must work with and in support of our women friends in order to make these spaces inclusive and safe, while adequately addressing the sexist behaviours that permit and facilitate the very oppression we should be fighting against.

We understand how difficult it can be to admit that you or your friends have fucked up or are still fucking up. As men, we have been working to create community-based responses along with groups to actively confront issues of patriarchy and male-dominance. In trying to deal with this, we ourselves have been confronted with criticism and concerns from women within our scene. Though we can't personally relate to their experiences, it is of utmost importance that we offer unconditional support and continue to help create dialogue while working cooperatively to smas the cycles of violence and patriarchy that are inherent in our lives. [I]t's important to find support from other boys in our communities and seek out information from outside resources. Ask your women friends about their viewpoints and expereinces and FUCKING LISTEN! Remember... It's not women's job to educate us, we must educate ourselves. We have to extend ourselves past our comfort levels to address our actions and places within the structure of power and the four of us are no exception. By not openly confronting and challenging these issues, we are perpetuating cycles of abuse. We need to recognise our male privilege and continue to find ways to reject our own shitty behaviour. Let's help build something better...

DISCLAIMER: Apologies are extended to queer folks, as this rant is especially hetero-centric. This is not meant to be exclusive, but to specifically address the fucked up patterns in heterosexual relationships that are put forth and perpetuated by patriarchy. We would like to acknowledge our use of the gender binary, which sucks. However, we found it easier to write this way because of our specific personal experiences A special thanks to the authors of 'Sexual Assault in Activist Communities: a special issues of the peak - volume 36.1' This extremely comprehensive zine was a huge help to us and it is totally recommended..."

Woah. Just... Woah. This is why I love(d) this band, this is why I love the scene (sometimes). This. This. THIS! Sometimes, it can be hard. Sometimes, it's people asking "are you with the band?" or boys punching, hitting, hair-pulling, strangling, generally being boorish, or how about those times where I used to go out and no one would talk? Those times where I was the sole (unaccompanied) woman in the room and just hung out on the fringes of the crowd?

There needs to be more boys who think like this. I'm lucky, I know a few. I know a good few. I love those few. Those few are my friends. They see me, a loud-mouthed, kinda crass, slightly awkward, stuttering record geek; and they love me too (at least I hope they do...).

Girls, lets make a pact - no more settling for second best. No more settling for being on the fringes, or putting up with stupid boys and their stupid actions. Let's call them out on it. Let's do it and let's do it right.

I can be active with the activists or sleep in with the sleepers...

I know what I want. And it isn't a goddamn boys club.

BONERBONERBONERBONERBONER

2009-04-23T23:37:10Z

THIS FUCKING SATURDAY, I'LL BE IN THE SAME ROOM AS PAT SCHRAMM.

LOL

2009-04-12T12:52:28Z

GERARD, WHY YOU NO RAISE UR HAND? HMMMM?

not long now

2009-03-08T20:11:19Z

Opening night is closing in with frightening speed. I'm racing to get my labels finished. We're heading to Calum's place on Friday to pick up a bunch of objects, complete some forms and see the finished art. I'm excited and scared, nervous and energise... Everything is coming together, but we still have a lot to do. Getting images printed up really soon, I compiled them all on a USB drive on Friday evening then hid it in my sock drawer so I wouldn't lose it. This whole thing is stressing me and I'm filled with nervous adrenaline... HELP!

I think I'll be okay, Neil and Chelsea are the greatest people to work with. I have such love for the entire group, though... The other group have power struggles, arguments, unfair work distribution and bullying. We have nights where we address invites and share dinner, wine-tastings, coffee meetings, parties and joke-riddled emails. We have in-jokes. We even have a fucking gang sign that we have been known to flash up at each other from opposite sides of Market St.

We're awesome. And we know it.

people fucking disgust me

2009-03-06T17:06:56Z

There's a whole shitstorm going on over at:
http://askheychris.livejournal.com/243339.html

Basically, he posted a "funny" video that he made of a dude getting stabbed in the face and a bunch of people (myself included) called him out on it and said that it was wrong that he thought it entertaining.

Look at all the little sheep defending their shepherd. This is fucking awful. I don't get it, I really, really don't. Apparently it's ok to stand by and watch someone get hurt, to film it, to laugh your ass off, to post it online and share the "funny" with the world.

It's not.

Condoning violence in this manner (yes, it is condoning it if you're saying LOOK AT HOW FUNNY THIS IS) is not cool. I'm not saying go in and break up the fight, I know I wouldn't. Knives are fucking scary and they hurt people. But don't stand around like a fucking cunt, filming it, laughing about it, finding it amusing - someone is in pain, someone is suffering, someone is getting stabbed. I fail to see the funny.

If you truly believe it's not your place to get involved in a fight, then it's not your place to film it either.

Got that?

Are you here for the music? Are you here to be seen? Are you here for the scene? What scene?!

2008-08-20T09:22:10Z

There's a protest going on across the road from work. Tempted to go out and walk the line with them, but I'm just gonna sit here with my shoes off, eating vegan brownies, listening to LaGrecia and doing the bare minimum of work.

The last of my wisdom teeth erupted last night, only its not entirely on the gum, part of it is I guess "stuck" in the skin that connects the top and lower jaw. Painful doesn't even begin to describe it.
Insult to injury, my mp3 player is completely dead, but thankfully under warranty, so I can (hopefully) get a new one for free. Thank god. However, until then, I'm stuck with either my tape player (once I find it) or a cd player. brb 1997.

Ordered two copies of Alkaline Trio's selftitled record last night, then realised there's no way it'll arrive before I move. So fucked. I'm going to have to come home to collect records. God, I'm so retarded. Hopefully I at least get my B&T and Gaslight LPs before I move. I'll need something to listen to while I unpack. I could just put on None More Black or something, but I don't want to totally scare my new roomies.

Fuck. Imma have roomies. Wow. They're all gonna hate me. Awesome.

SOMEONE PLEASE

2008-08-06T14:48:32Z

RIP THE AUDIO FROM THIS AND UPLOAD IT SOMEWHERE FOR ME. I'LL GIVE YOU MANY HUGS AND KISSES

BRB MELTING. ♥

I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO

2008-07-12T10:08:41Z

Fuck you, Matt Canino.

"Shorebirds broke up. It was just time for it to not be a band anymore. However, we are still releasing the LP, which is now all finished up. It will be available as soon as it is done being pressed and such."

HOW IS THIS FAIR? God, it's like Latterman all over again. BRB BEING SUPER DEPRESSED WITH LINT.

Seriously, Canino, get your shit together. I don't know what your problem is. Your music is amazing, why can't you be?

robotic_monkey @ 2008-07-12T02:17:00

2008-07-12T01:18:45Z

hey so you cats should all join churchofbatman because I said so, motherlickers!

Seriously, it's fun and there'll be cookies! I swear! If by cookies, I mean LOLPUNX. Shut up! join it!

do thiiiiiiiiis!

2008-07-10T17:57:33Z

SINGTOME!

click it, motherlickers!

LOOK AT ME!

2008-06-04T20:23:20Z

I love making posters.

40 years and nothing's changed...

2008-04-04T22:07:06Z

RIP Martin Luther King, Jr.

robotic_monkey @ 2008-03-28T20:34:00

2008-03-29T00:35:28Z

things

2008-03-11T15:53:25Z

I'm re-setting all my charts on last.fm just because.

Suggestions as to what I should play to start over?

HOLY FUCK!

2008-03-06T14:41:40Z

TEENAGE BOTTLEROCKET W/THE COPYRIGHTS, BALTIMORE, MD APRIL 5TH

DUDE! I'm totally in Maryland then... I CAN TOTALLY GO.

IMMA GO! IMMA GO GO GO!!!!!!!!!

*does the happy dance*

Ok, I really have to go and work on my dissertation now. Seriously. Ok, one more happy dance... FUCK YEAH!

MIKE PARK/SUNDOWNER, TAKE TWO

2008-03-03T00:29:59Z

http://mikeparkmusic.com/blog.php?id=1090

hahaha. I'm such a nerd, even Mike knows it.

EDIT: I'm so nerdy, I found the last one too...
http://mikeparkmusic.com/blog.php?id=781&subNav=1

this is totally what I'm gonna talk about when I'm old, living in a nursing home and pissing my pants everytime I cough. These are my favourite memories...

STALKAGE!

MIKE PARK/SUNDOWNER ABERDEEN/EDINBURGH.

2008-03-02T00:36:24Z

What can I say about the last two days? I don't even know where to begin. Sometimes, things happen to me and my friends, and I have to stop, smile and think "fucking hell, this is really my life. I am so fucking lucky.". Right now is one of those moments. I don't even know how to start telling you guys how happy I am. 48 hours spent in the company of three of the coolest guys I've ever met, 24 hours of which were in my home town, surrounded by all of my friends.

So yeah, Mike Park. Sundowner. They played the Tunnels in Aberdeen on Thursday night, and afterwards, Mike, Chris McCaughan (Sundowner, guitarist/vocalist of the Lawrence Arms, only the greatest band ever!) and their amazing friend/photographer/travel companion Hiro Tanaka crashed at my house. It was AWESOME. I went to ASDA with Chris. It was so surreal. We started talking about Wal*Mart and how you can buy guns in supermarkets in America. Then we got onto the 2nd Amendment and politics... Whilst buying CD-R's from ASDA at 1am. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Surreal. I also told him about how one time, Pepe and me got tanked and went to Tesco at 2am and bought superglue so we could change a sign from "BEWARE OF DOG" to "BEWARE OF GOD" but all we achieved was glueing Pepe's glove to it. He laughed a lot at that, and when Chris laughs, it's sort of contagious.

But the gig, oh the gig! Sundowner! Chris Mc-fuckin-Caughan. Boatless Booze Cruise. War Is Noise. Jackson Underground! FAINTLY FALLING ASHES!!!! Fuck aye.
Mike Park! BLUE MARBLE! Hardcore pictures! Shout outs and bro hugs! Home-made cds with uber cute artwork! My only regret is that there was no pyramid this time. Mike liked the pyramid last time.

The last thing I remember about that night is taking a photo of Chris sleeping (he passed out first, sleeping like a baby before I'd even managed to clean my teeth) and making Hiro wear my I ♥ Dick t shirt.

The next morning was a blur of breakfast, kitchen banter, Hiro taking photos of Chris in the shower, running to catch the train, finger moustaches and DEVO on the way to Edinburgh and then getting soaked like crazy once we arrived in E-burgh. Pepe and I split from the guys for the day, hanging out with Pepe's friend Neil and his girlfriend, Cat. It was fun, we made pasta, lots of pasta, and I dried my socks with a hairdryer.

The gig that night was at Henry's Cellar Bar, which is the tiniest place I've been in a long time. It reminded me so much of Drake's Bar (RIP) which was one of my earliest hangouts. It was a good show. The opening band, Leopold Scotch (I think that was their name?) were sound, considering it was their first gig. I didnt much enjoy Taking Chase. Pepe summed them up as "tight, but shite". Sundowner next, and pretty much the same set, except he threw in "Fireflies" upon request from the crowd. It was amazing, just like before. I spent the whole set with a huge grin on my face, and it didn't fade as Mike took to the stage. Again, another solid set from Mike. This time, he played "I'm in Love With a Girl Named Spike", just for me. Which was really nice of him. He's so awesome, I really loved hanging out with him.

The end of the night was really sad. I hate saying goodbye. But I made a new friend, a boy named Joey, who seems really cool. At least I know if/when I get into St Andrews for my postgrad, I'll have friends there. He seemed really impressed that I play violin and I got a tin whistle too, and when he heard that, he was uber stoked. It'll be good to have someone to hang out/jam with when I'm down there. It makes the prospect of moving much, much less scary. I hope he'll keep in touch, we did swap contact deets, so it should be ok.

Walking back to Neil's flat, I was so sad. I somehow don't think I managed to sum up to Chris, Mike and Hiro just how much I enjoy their company. I hope they come back soon, I really, really do.

photos here: http://flickr.com/photos/83537888@N00/page2/
but really, this is the best.

I am TEH UBER CREEP!

HENRY ROLLINS

2008-02-04T14:51:01Z

I want this man to adopt me please. I met him on Saturday night, it was amazing, he gave me all sorts of cool advice for things to do while in D.C. (6 weeks, 5 days to go!) and he sort of stared intently at me while he dispensed his words of wisdom. It was a bit intense. He's like a punk rock drill sargeant. I sort of love him. In a way that... I'm still a little in awe of him.

~~Pictures coming soon.~~ See picture below. Words cannot describe how happy Saturday night made me. Really.

And that expression on my face? Pure geeker joy.

things

2008-01-19T23:29:41Z

- tickets for henry rollins = love.

- exam on tuesday = nicht so gut.

- washington in less than 9 weeks.

- dissertation needs to be done by then. I have one page of notes. go team.

- 4 canvases to be sketched, painted and fixed/framed for emma by february.

someone tell me how to do all this please?

hold on to your friends

2007-12-01T10:48:26Z

I realised just last night that when I met the two people who know me best I made it really hard for them to even learn my name.
Why is everything I do so goddamn awkward? Why can't I just accept that sometimes people want to get to know me. It seems I just can't let them.

This time next year, I'll be living in a different town. I really need to sort this out before I'm gone from everyone I care about.

WTF?

2007-10-21T17:59:41Z

Dumbledore is gay.

huh.

never get to know

2007-10-03T22:27:41Z

this is the best song I've ever heard.

http://download.yousendit.com/E463E78B1D129B59

listen to it and listen to the emotion. this is real.

ten things

2007-09-29T15:01:20Z

name ten things you wanna do before you die and then go do them.
name ten places you really wanna be before you die and then go to them
name ten books you wanna read before you die and then go read them
name ten songs you wanna hear again before you die, get all of your friends together and scream them

because right now all you have is time, time, time yeah,
but someday that time will run out.
that's the only thing you can be absolutely certain about.

think of all the things that are wrong with your life and then fix them
think of all the things that you love about your life, be thankful you are blessed with them
think of all the things that hold you back and realize that you don't need them
think of all the mistakes you have made in your life, make sure that you never repeat them

because right now all you have is time time time yeah,
but someday that time will run out.
that's the only thing you can be absolutely certain about.

name ten thousand reasons why you never wanna die, go and tell someone who might've forgotten
try to list the endless reasons why it's good to be alive, and then just smile for a while about them

soon the sun will rise and another day will come
soon enough the sun will set, another day will be gone

and right now all you have is time time time yeah,
but someday that time will run out.
that's the only thing you can be absolutely certain about.

Paul Baribeau is amazing. I love him and I love this song. And now, I get really emo...

(in no particular order)
ten things I want to do before I die...

10 - travel, see as much of this damn world as possible.
9 - learn guitar, write songs and sing them... simple, right?
8 - graduate uni (both my MA Hist. and MA Museum Stud.)
7 - love. really, truly love.
6 - watch Blake grow up into a man.
5 - live in London, New York and Chicago.
6 - do the LTJ Gainesville tour. With Pepe.
5 - go to Paul and Pepe's wedding. Cry with happiness all the way through.
4 - drunken trampoline party (there's got to be at least one frivolous one, right?)
3 - publish my poetry/short stories somewhere, anywhere.
2 - put out records, of my own or my friends. records, records, records.
1 - see a performance at the Globe Theatre.

ten places I want to be before I die... (super specific)

10 - a busy intersection in Tokyo.
9 - a temple in Tibet.
8 - riding the el in Chicago.
7 - the nervous in the alley alley.
6 - the locked crypt in Greyfriars cemetary, Edinburgh, at midnight.
5 - right beside the Pyramids at Giza.
4 - East Village, NY, NY.
3 - the Hollywood Hills, right at sunset, beside the HOLLYWOOD sign.
2 - The Parthanon.
1 - The Colluseum.

ten books I want to read before I die...

10 - On The Road by Jack Kerouac (already halfway through)
9 - the Malleus Maleficarum (will have read this by the end of the year, hopefully)
8 - the entire Harry Potter series, read aloud, bit by bit, each night to my nephew.
7 - Dharma Punx by Noah Levine
6 - The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
5 - All Quiet on the Western Front by E M Remarque
4 - Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
3 - The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie
2 - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
1 - The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

and my ten songs...

10 - Against Me! - T. S. R.
9 - Alkaline Trio - Radio
8 - Less Than Jake - Last Train
7 - Mike Park - Blue Marble
6 - Jawbreaker - Save Your Generation
5 - The Smiths - Ask
4 - The Cure - Just Like Heaven
3 - My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words
2 - Fall Out Boy - Honorable Mention
1 - Punchline - Play

Just so you know, I will be working my way through this list because right now, all you have is time, time, time, yeah but one day that time will run out... that's the only thing you can be absolutely certain about...

i hate these songs

2007-08-09T13:26:15Z

i hate the words that the singer is singing to me.

i hate this melody.

i hate this stupid fucking drumbeat.

meme from Meemee

2007-04-24T13:25:02Z

pandagore chose three interests and three icons, and I have to explain them...

lego:
I've played with this stuff since I was a kid. Hell, I still do, it's amazing. I love it. I have a massive box of it at home in my cupboard. It's the greatest toy ever invented. I really, really want the Harry Potter lego. Yeah, I know I'm lame. You don't have to tell me.

the number 37:
Ok, so when I got the newest Punchline album, 37 Everywhere, I read their explanation of why they had called it that. Pretty soon, I started to see the number 37 around in my day to day life. It always tends to make it's presence known when something important happens. Every time I see my boy, whether we've planned to meet or not, I see 37's constantly. It's become my lucky number.

pez:
I collect them. Surely you've seen the pic? Anyway, I have a rediculous amount and the collection just keeps on going. They're cool to look at and really fun, plus it's cheaper than most other collections. I only spend about £1 on each one!

Icons:

Because Gerard Way is a sexy bitch. Obv.

Anthony Raneri's backside. I've seen it so many times in person and it's just as peachy. I took the photo for that icon stealthily when they played Aberdeen last year...

Greatest. Doll. Ever. I didn't make this icon D: it was made by xcarex