3 posts tagged “the new pornographers”

This past week most certainly did not go as we had anticipated.  After several weeks of near-constant scrambling down at the lab, we thought on Monday we might actually be able to relax a little.  As it happened, this was our busiest week in a while and we didn't have any time even to manage the ol' blog.  On behalf of the entire staff of hotrod.vox.com, we apologize and offer an overdue and abbreviated glimpse of the week that could have been.

hotrod's birthday (observed):  Many, many thanks are due the organizer and attendees of our birthday festivities, which transpired Sunday evening.  Our official birthday is in September, but we didn't celebrate then.  We never do.  It usually takes people about six months to remember that they missed it.

challenged:  The New Pornographers played two sold out shows at the 9:30 Club this week.  We didn't attend either performance, but we did read with some glee the interview with Carl Newman in which he stated that DC is the best town for music but that despite that fact the New Pornos always play shitty shows here.  And that he's a hack.  Get your shit together, Post Express.  We already knew all that.

mum's the word:  Some losers at our college started a movement (of sorts) to paint their fingernails red on the first anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre as a way to honor the victims.  For the record, Virginia Tech's colors are orange and puce.  We suspect these guys were just looking for an excuse to wear nail polish.

holy shit:  The Pope seriously fucked up our morning commute.

hungry heart:  Danny Federici - multi-instrumentalist and original member of the E Street Band - died this week.  Rest in peace, and cue the video.

seven-inch:  Today is Record Store Day, so get out there and buy some CD's from somebody in your neighborhood.  Steve Jobs is killing music.  He's evil incarnate.  And we realize this item could have stood on its own now that we've got some time.  But fuck it, we're on a roll.

Coupla things....

First, as yinz will no doubt learn - we shit the bed royally in the Seventh Annual Karaoke to the Death VII.  The mere adjective "shameful" doesn't begin to apply to our performance, as it is too timid a modifier by magnitudes heretofore unknown.  We didn't notch just the worst/best performance by a defending champion ever, but are seriously in the running for worst/best performance of all time.  That kind of stigma is difficult to overcome.  We need a comeback.  And in a big way.

Second, as yinz no doubt already know - we've been harboring a grudge against the New Pornographers ever since they shit the bed royally with their their lackluster performance at Nightclub 9:30.  We haven't listened to them since.  But it's been close to three months now and we guess it's time to let bygones be bygones.  We mean, they still have two-and-a-half albums that are worth our time.

All of this is a long and tortured introduction to our latest sponsor here at hotrod.vox.com.  We mean to make things right with Dan and Neko and the gang while simultaneously inspiring us to be all that we can't be at KttD VIII.  And we daresay, we've been inspired.  We might spend the days prior to the big event on a bender, à la Neko.  Or take the stage while shoving a sandwich down our gullet, à la Dan.  Or we might just play the role of a dispassionate, lispy, ginger twit.  We are particularly well-suited for that part.

Oh, and that reminds us:  we might have made amends, but we never promised to try to like their latest turd.  We don't sell CD's back, as a rule, but we're not averse to giving them away.  So if anybody wants a free copy of the New Pornographers shittiest record, speak up.  It's yours - completely free of charge, including shipping.  Send us a private message.  Or mention it in the comments and we'll contact you.  Yes, seriously.

Well, that happened.  Even the divine Neko couldn't save this train wreck.  The mousy girl next to (by which I mean "between") us wearing the glasses and the frown was completely unaware of her surroundings, so any attempt at conversation for a while there was a bit like playing the telephone game.  I think Emma said Daby opined that Neko looked like she was just coming off a bender.  That seems about right.  And she - Neko - was still the high point of the show.  Disappointing.  Needless to say, I won't still be thinking about this one a week later.  Hell, I'm ready to start forgetting right now.

If you are - like I am - looking for a ginger who can actually, you know, bring the rock, I'd suggest Jenny Lewis.