Dabysan in Hammersmith Palais

Lamest Ways to Discover Music: Volume Two

A few months ago, I made a shameful admission. At the time, my new favorite band was Matt and Kim, a band I had discovered by way of a television commercial for Bacardi Rum. I posited that this was surely the lamest manner in which I had ever discovered a band that I liked. I was pretty low about it at the time, but this weekend, I sunk far, far lower.

I was minding my own business, enjoying a virtual stroll through my Vox neighborhood when I stumbled on a Thanksgiving post by Laurie. In it she remarked that the tin-eared Capn' Crunch had turned her on to a band called Metric. Hoping to find something new to ridicule, I fired up the old YouTubes to sneer at Cappy's recommendation. And sneer I did...for about 30 seconds until the hook cut in and damnit all to hell if they aren't really good. I'm not big on the whole Broken Social Scene, uh, scene, but this was different: poppier, sharper, more engaging. After searching in vain for a song I didn't like, I put in an Amazon order for their latest effort, Fantasies.

Help I'm Alive by Metric

This is a new low for me. I don't feel good about it. Now that I've crossed this line, I'm not sure what's next. Before you know it, I'll be eating cheese stakes steaks (it has already begun - ed.) and beating up innocent tourists. Pray for me.

Danke(s)

A couple years ago, I began a highly original annual feature here on Dabysan in Hammersmith Palais listing the many things that I'm thankful for on, uh, Thanksgiving. This year, I've got more to be thankful for than ever before, so here, in no particular order, is what I'm giving thanks for today.

- My beautiful wife
- My amazing family
- My awesome friends
- My smelly, ornery, deaf, lump-ridden dog
- Jim Webb, the crippled, pugilistic guppy who refused to die...until just now. R.I.P. Jim Webb.
- Football (actually, football has been one of the few dark spots on an otherwise amazing year).
- My job
- Video games
- Mexico
- Sunshine
- Cold weather runs
- Yoga
- Top Chef
- The Toy Dolls and Madness (the 1980s are currently in heavy rotation in my iPod)
- World travel
- My wedding present
- True Blood
- New coffee maker
- Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee
- Hotrod's Thanksgiving chili
- CarrieNation's Thanksgiving ginger cake
- Dabysan's Thanksgiving indolence
- The beach
 

Viva Luna de Miel!

Well I could have stood for that to be a lot longer. If it weren't for a certain deranged pug waiting for us at home, I think Carrienation and I might have extended our stay until our bank account ran dry. I realize I'm not going to find a lot of sympathy for this sentiment, but I'm not sure nine days in paradise was quite enough.

Our destination was a beach resort in Tulum, Mexico, a resort area about two hours drive away from Cancun that caters to smug bohemian types. Most of the resorts along the beach make their own electricity with wind turbines and encourage conservation in various ways. The result is a beautifully preserved, thinly populated stretch of beach with no jet skis, no jorts and very few drunken college students.

Our main activities consisted of:

1) Sitting on said beach, and

2) Bailing on the many sight-seeing opportunities people warmly suggested for us.

We really meant to get to Chichen Itza -- the most famous Mayan ruin -- and to the Sia Kian Biosphere just down the road, and to the cenotes (fresh water underground caves) that the area is famous for. But we kept waiting for a bad weather day to do those things, and it just never came. Sad, really. We did get to the Mayan ruins at Tulum (because we could get there by bicycle and they had iguanas) so that's something.

Proof we left the beach

These are the ruins at Tulum. See if you can find the Iguanas in the picture.

Where I be at

I think I averaged about six hours a day on these chairs. I'm really good at it.

Thank god for shutter speed

I held this for like an hour.

My lovely bride

CarrieNation is a little more graceful.

I blog therefore I am

I have to say, I can't recommend this whole honeymoon thing highly enough. I don't know if its the tropical air, or the warm, blue sea, or the not having looked at work e-mail in more than a week or (most likely) the fact that I've have so much unhurried, uninterrupted time with the lovely CarrieNation, but I feel like a million dollars. That said, I really can't see spending any more time talking about it while I'm here, so I'll tell you all about it when I get back to the blustery Eastern Seaboard. 

Dazed But Not Confused

Well that wedding business was a heck of a lot of fun. I think if you had asked either CarrieNation or me for wedding advice in the week leading up to the event, the word "elopement" would have been liberally interspersed throughout our respective comments. All the planning and worrying and last-minute-crisis averting is quite stressful, but in the end it is all totally worth it. It's like going to the best party ever, with all the people you care about, your favorite music and delicious food, accompanied by the person you love the most in the world.

The weekend passed by in a lovely blur, and before we knew it, CarrieNation and I were off to our honeymoon in beautiful Mex....oh wait, that's not what happened. What happened is that we both went back to our jobs to do our Very Important Work for a couple days. And if it was mildly surreal going back into the office after such a momentous weekend, I guess we handled it okay.

Tomorrow morning, earlier than I'd care to think about, we'll strike off to the so-called Mayan Riviera for some much needed rest and relaxation.

I'll have some more thoughts (and pictures!) when I get back, but in the meantime here's some things I though I'd mention:

- Hotrod's toast: In a word: Awesome. Some wedding guests called it the best ever. I can't wait to get my grubby paws on the video so I can check out again.

- Wearing a wedding ring:  Awesome, but weird. I'm constantly aware of it.

- The 104p52w challenge: I'll admit it, it's going to be touch and go. I'm all set for this week, but where I'm going is awfully disconnected. Wish me luck. 

Smooth Wedding Jams

Greetings Voxosphere! So I got hitched this weekend and it went great. There's a whole lot to discuss, including, but not limited to, Hotrod's awesome toast, our tremendous friends and the delicious food that was as much of a surprise to us as it was to our guests.

But all of that will have to wait. I'm still in recovery mode from a wild weekend, and for now all I really have energy to do is post the playlist(s), per M-----l's request.

This is going to be longish, so I apologize in advance if you're trying to scroll down into my deep archives.

Ceremony

Light and Day/ Reach for Sun    3:23    The Polyphonic Spree      (CarrieNation's entrance)   
We Just Won't Be Defeated    2:47    The Go Team    (our triumphant exit)

Reception

You Are Invited            4:52            The Dismemberment Plan

Pressure Drop            2:59            Toots & the Maytals           

Fight Test            4:14            The Flaming Lips           

Beautiful Child            4:17            Rufus Wainright

Here Comes Your Man            3:22            Pixies           

Don't Let's Start            2:36            They Might Be Giants Might Be Giants           

You Spin Me 'Round (Like a Record)            3:19            Dead or Alive

Word Up            4:17            Cameo           

Rock With You            3:41            Michael Jackson

Let's Stay Together            3:18            Al Green

That Teenage Feeling            2:45            Neko Case

Bizarre Love Triangle            6:42            New Order           

Our Lips Are Sealed            2:50            The Go-Gos                                                

Hand in Glove            3:14            The Smiths                       

Lean on Me            4:21            Bill Withers           

Paper Planes            3:27            M.I.A.            

Little Red Corvette            4:57            Prince            1999                                               

I Want You Back            2:58            The Jackson 5

The Way You Look Tonight            3:22            Frank Sinatra           

Tenderness            3:38            General Public           

Our House            3:22            Madness                                               

Golden Lady            5:00            Stevie Wonder           

Let's Get It On (Single Version)            4:01            Marvin Gaye                                   

Atomic            4:42            Blondie           

Oh L'Amour            3:07            Erasure

Let's Dance            4:12            David Bowie                                               

Sir Duke             3:54            Stevie Wonder                                   

Punk Rock Girl            2:38            The Dead Milkmen           

Ladyflash            4:18            The Go Team                                               

Poker Face            3:57            Lady GaGa           

The Rubberband Man            3:37            The Spinners           

O-o-h Child            3:15            The Five Stairsteps           

Pass the Dutchie            3:20            Musical Youth           

White Lines            4:29            Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five           

Beyond the Sea            2:54            Bobby Darin           

It's A Shame            3:11            The Spinners           

Ballad Of A Comeback Kid            3:51            The New Pornographers           

Hoover Dam            5:28            Sugar           

Blue Monday            7:26            New Order           

Lay All Your Love On Me            4:36            Abba                                               

September            3:35            Earth, Wind & Fire           

Can't Get Enough of Your Love Babe            3:50            Barry White           

Think            2:19            Aretha Franklin           

Come on Eileen            4:13            Dexy's Midnight Runners           

Girlfriend            3:40            Matthew Sweet           

Take Your Mama            4:32            Scissor Sisters           

Oh Girl            3:36            The Chi-Lites                       

If You Don't Know Me By Now            3:26            Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes           

Bang a Gong (Get It On)            4:28            T. Rex            Electric Warrior

Surrender            4:12            Cheap Trick           

Under Pressure            3:58            David Bowie & Queen           

My Girls            5:45            Animal Collective

Peek-a-Boo            3:11            Siouxsie and the Banshees                       

(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais    4:01    The Clash    (Big Finish)

These were on the list, but didn't make it on in time.

Soldier Girl [UK Single Version]            2:23            The Polyphonic Spree           

Blister in the Sun            2:26            Violent Femmes            Vilolent Femmes                        

Letter From An Occupant            3:46            The New Pornographers           

She Bangs The Drum            3:45            The Stone Roses           

Sheila Take a Bow            2:42            The Smiths            Louder Than Bombs            Rock/Pop

Genius of Love            5:34            Tom Tom Club                                   

Grandma's Hands            2:02            Bill Withers

Tired of Being Alone            2:43            Al Green

Hold It Now, Hit It            3:26            The Beastie Boys

Me Myself and I             3:44            De La Soul            Three Feet High and Rising                        She Moves In Her Own Way            2:50            The Kooks

Lovefool             3:16            The Cardigans                                                           

 

Bells, Wedding

The title of this post is the subject line of an e-mail that delinquent Voxer and all around good egg Jason P set me and CarrieNation to congratulate us on our impending nuptials (I'm glad I can stop struggling to spell that word after this weekend).

Because my blog has mostly been a vehicle for hurling insults, bickering over music and perpetuating my decade-long (and counting!) War Over Nothing with Hotrod, I sometimes struggle to find the appropriate tone to discuss serious matters...such as, say, the most important -- and best -- decision I've ever made. Or, for example, one of the biggest days of my life.

But that day is fast upon us, and it seems appropriate that I say something about it from my small public platform in the hinterlands of the blogosphere.

Over the past few days I've been a bit of a nervous wreck. Although CarrieNation has done the lion's share of the planning and work for the big event, I've done enough to know how many balls we have in the air (catering, music, venue, clothes, etc.) and every day I'm worried about a new variable. The phalanx of relatives and friends descending on our fair city for the event also has me rattled, as does the prospect of being responsible for all of them having a good time.

What doesn't worry me -- even a little -- is the prospect of being married to CarrieNation. In fact, I'll let my dear readers in on a little secret: because our officiant isn't a member of a church recognized by our great commonwealth (fake Internet ministers rule) we went ahead and made it official with an officer of the court on Monday. To me, the notion that I will spend the rest of my life with CarrieNation is as natural as the notion that I'll continue to breathe air, eat breakfast and listen to the Clash for the rest of my life. To imagine any other scenario is what would scare me.

So that's it. Wish us luck on this wedding business. Cross your fingers that all of our assorted vendors show up, my Grandmother doesn't cuff my ears when she hears some of the more profane tracks on the wedding mix, and Hotrod stays sober long enough to make a coherent toast. The marriage is the easy part.

Rock-vember? Nov-androll? Whatever, here's the Toy Dolls

There are a few bands that always put me in a good mood. The Toy Dolls is (are?) one of them. Happy Punk-vember!

Toy Dolls - Dig that groove baby

Korea is Weird - A Photo Diary

I'm a little salty at Korea right now, as I can think of nobody better to blame for the three hours of sleep I got last night, but all things considered, it was an interesting trip, and I'm glad I got to see it. Onto the pictures!

They have the technology

My hotel, the Lotte Hotel Seoul, is apparently a joint Japanese-Korean concern that caters to Japanese visitors. Hence the spiffy toilets.

It comes wiht instructions

Looks like I misspelled "with". I blame jet lag.

Don't press the smiley button

I realize I took a lot of photos of toilets, but honestly, the "palaces" were kind of boring.

Korean Mac store

It's like a Mac store, but it's called "Frisbee"... I guess if you're going to use a random English word in Korea, there's no reason for it to make sense.

If you can tell me what's happening here - you win a prize

I realize this is sideways. It's my first foray into iPhone video. It's still worth watching for five seconds. I promise.