This Is Not A Show/This Is Not A Blog Post

This is not my beautiful wife...

I checked out the world premiere of the new R.E.M. live film last night. Entitled "This Is Not A Show," it is culled from 2007's working rehearsals/"experiment in terror" in which the band played new songs in front of a live audience to try to shake up the way they make records. Along with a slew of songs from the usually criminally underrepresented IRS years, the band took to the stage for 5 nights in Dublin to try out these new, sometimes half written tunes, which would become 2008's Accelerate. Vincent Moon was on hand to document the shows. And he was there last night, as was R.E.M.'s longtime manager Bertis Downs.

If you're familiar with the work that Vincent Moon has done for Arcade Fire or The National, or even R.E.M. you shouldn't expect anything drastically different here. Shot mostly in black and white, the film is noticeable more for what it obscures than what it shows. There are some gorgeous moments like "Drive" and an Accelerate outtake called "On The Fly," but too often Vincent Moon interrupts songs just as they're getting good, which is especially grating during the portions of the film devoted to the early material.

But the sound was incredible. If the forthcoming live record sounds as good as this material did during the film, then R.E.M. may have finally succeeded at getting their live sound down on tape. Which, with 39 songs made up of largely IRS material along Accelerate, would do wonders to remind people of what a vital band they once were, and for at least five nights in Dublin were again.

Drive - Live at the Olympia in Dublin

Catching up with Little Caesar's

I had Little Caesar's pizza last night for the first time in 15+ years. A new one opened up in my neighborhood, and with the hot air balloons, people in costumes on the street, and coupons for $5 large pizzas and crazy bread hitting my mailbox, I finally caved. Just a couple of years ago I was convinced that pizza restaurant was no more. Was I missing anything?

Now I used to love Little Caesar's. Okay love is too strong of a word, but I sure got a kick out of their advertising of the 80's and 90's (Cliff Freeman and Partners), which at least subliminally played a part in my getting into the industry. And the pizza was good too. Hell, you got two of them. Pizza! Pizza!

Their menu is a little strange these days. It's the (non-slice) pizza version of fast food and is dominated by their "Hot-N-Ready" pizzas, which they claim to get into your hands in 30 seconds. They seem to only come in two varieties, cheese and pepperoni, so I went with the cheese and presented my coupon for the free breadsticks. On the way home I kept thinking of the economics of it. A large cheese pizza plus breadsticks for something like $5.35? Pretty crazy. You can't even get a decent frozen pizza for that.

My enthusiasm changed after the first bite. It was hot with a pretty thick crust. A little shabby on the cheese, but I thought the sauce would make up for it. Instead I could hardly taste it, and the toppings seemed as bland as the crust. This was pizza at its most unadventurous, and so bereft of flavor that I'm hard pressed to think of anything to compare it to. Maybe I'll try Dominos next week.

The breadsticks were better. Parmesan and garlic provided some much needed seasoning, and besides the rubbery interior, these weren't half bad. They could pass for bar food, which really isn't saying much. The best part was the "thank you thank you" on the inside of the box. It was a nice nod to the past. It's just too bad that's all they remember.

Fortunately for us there's You Tube:

Confusion Fog (Norem Ipsum Mixtape #1)

Okay, summer is over. Or at least students and people who refuse to wear white after Labor Day will have you believe that. So it's time to get back to regular updates. But it's definitely not too late to go for a long drive with the windows down and the stereo cranked. Here's a mix I created for an online swap that's ripe for the occasion.

Comments are welcome and encouraged.

CONFUSION FOG ( <--- click here)

Please preserve this song order for maximum effect:

Rebels- Drive By Truckers

National Side- Romantica

Chinatown- Luna

Behind That Locked Door- Yim Yames

The Old Main Drag- The Pogues

Memphis Egypt- The Mekons

Magnet's Coil- Sebadoh

That Look You Gave That Guy- Eels

Motoraway- Guided By Voices

Confusion Fog- Meat Puppets

Black Sheep Boy- Scott Walker

Tally Ho- The Clean

I Wanna Destroy You- The Soft Boys

How You Like Me Now- The Heavy

Oh My Pregnant Head- The Flaming Lips

Dark Hand Of Contagion- The Minus Five

Big Day Coming- Yo La Tengo

Notes about the songs:

1. Rebels- Drive By Truckers

This was going to be a mellow autumn kind of mix, but I couldn't axe this version of Tom Petty's "Rebels" from it, and it ended up coloring the whole thing. I also wanted to include something from Patterson Hood's excellent new solo album, but you don't argue with songs that rock this hard. And I have a one song per artist/band rule too, which I don't usually bend.

2. National Side- Romantica

The Current, the Minneapolis/St Paul musical arm of public radio, likes to play this song a lot. Or they did. Great song by a local band. I saw them last winter at the Red Stag Supper Club and they were pretty damn good.

3. Chinatown- Luna

I make excuses to include Luna songs on compilations. They have some great albums, but for me it's the singles that matter most.

4. Behind That Locked Door- Yim Yames

I loved early My Morning Jacket, and I suppose this is the closest we're going to get to that sound. Recorded right after George Harrison died in 2001, this song is true to the original while featuring that classic My Morning Jacket sound, even if it's quite stripped down here.

5. The Old Main Drag- The Pogues

Maybe it was that picture of Shane McGowan's new teeth that got me curious about The Pogues again. Or maybe it's just because Rum, Sodomy and The Lash is one of those albums that needs to be pulled out of the closet once in a while, and particularly this song.

6. Memphis Egypt- The Mekons

Rock and Roll. I'll take this one over Led Zeppelin's at this point. Crank this one up. Great band with a wide range of records, but "Rock and Roll" remains my favorite.

7. Magnet's Coil- Sebadoh

Dinosaur Jr are great and everything, but worth putting Sebadoh on hold except for the occasional nostalgic tour? I think not.

8. That Look You Gave That Guy- Eels

Jesus, who hasn't felt this? And it always seems to happen right after you've broken up with your girl.

9. Motoraway- Guided By Voices

Rock and roll doesn't get much better than these guys at their peak. And for me, this is the song that started it all. Heard the song on a CMJ sampler on a Saturday morning when it came in the mail, bought the album that afternoon, and saw the band at the Uptown in Minneapolis that same evening. Just a day before I hadn't heard a note.

10. Confusion Fog- Meat Puppets

I saw these guys do a set at the Electric Fetus this summer, and rather than play 2-3 songs off of their new album and an oldie or two, they pretty much treated us to almost an hours worth of music. This was one of them. And it's been stuck in my head ever since.

11. Black Sheep Boy- I watched an excellent documentary on Scott Walker (30th Century Boy) a couple months ago, and since then his albums have opened up for me in ways they didn't before. This song is one of my favorites from Scott 2.

12. Tally Ho- The Clean

I saw them open up for Yo La Tengo a few years back. They were great. Fantastic rock band from New Zealand that's never really gone away. Their two-disc anthology is worth checking out if you like this early single that put them on the map.

13. I Wanna Destroy You- The Soft Boys

I've always loved the shit out of Robyn Hitchcock. One of the ideas I had for this music exchange was a 80's alternative underground mix called "12 for the Gipper," and this song was going to kick it off. Supposedly written about Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.

14. How You Like Me Now- The Heavy

A late addition. I heard this on The Current a few days ago and knew I had to squeeze this in somewhere on my mix.

15. Oh, My Pregnant Head- The Flaming Lips

I pulled out Transmission From The Satellite Heart last week and it pretty much blew me away. I've always loved that album, but sometimes I forget to play it. Every song on there is great, but "labia in the sunlight" just felt good to hear while driving around on a late summer's day.

16. Dark Hand Of Contagion- The Minus Five

I met Scott McCaughey when he was in town with Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3. I asked him about the Minus Five and he told me about a really mellow record of theirs that was coming out this summer and almost seemed to apologize for it. "I like mellow," I said. "I do too" he replied. Then we had a good cry while fellow Venus 3 member Peter Buck broke out his acoustic guitar and played "Everybody Hurts." The record is still sinking its hooks in, but I liked this song right away.

17. Big Day Coming- Yo La Tengo

I should really have included a song from their excellent new album, Popular Songs, which is the best Yo La Tengo album in some time. But you don't argue with "Big Day Coming" when it rears its head to be considered for a closing song.

If you are the copyright holder to any of these songs and object to their use here, please contact me and they will be removed immediately.