it's educational!

Last night we saw the Pixies at Hammerstein Ballroom. TV on the Radio opened but because of stupid long lines we missed a good chunk of their set. TVOTR sounded very good; I think that they have the sound to fill large venues (more so than a lot of the currently popular "indie" bands) but I'm not sure that enough people will "get" them.

It was fun seeing the Pixies. There was a lot of anticipation in seeing them actually play and it was a good show but not amazing. I think the band has taken some strategic shortcuts (mix the vocals low, don't pause between songs) to minimize mishaps. I don't remember the Pixies being so midtempo, and on listening to some studio tracks this morning I'm convinced they slowed down some songs. I blame the drummer. (To his credit, he seems like a nice guy.) Still this show was a lot of fun, and worth dealing with the Hammerstein.

There is an article in the NY Times about "freak folk"

I have never seen Adem previously grouped in with Devendra and Joanna Newsom. I think the Adem record is a lot more listenable than the other records, too. (Listen to a couple of Adem songs here.) Although I think Nino Rojo is pretty good.

I am glad that that creep Kerik isn't getting a cabinet level position.

American companies help the Chinese goverment watch what everyone in China looks at on the Web. See pages 18-25 of the PDF File of this article.

The trailer of Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is online. (came across this via backwardscity which had a snarky comment about the need for a remake. I guess someone has a crush on Gene Wilder.)