An Indie Rock Alphabet book

I rarely click on web banners, but I just couldn't resist this one... and a wise click that turned out to be...
stolen from pastemagazine




One day, in my hypothetical dream life, I will write and lay-out storybooks before my husband and kids wake for their bacon-egg-tomato breakfast.

Seven Inch

see you all at the Balloon Derby 7" ep launch! it's bound to be a big one with strangeometry, dorothy records, and apple crumble records all coming together this one night. december 20... oh yeah, spla will be playing too... i need a new dress (hee!)

"you could either be successful or be us"

A big thank you to everyone who came to Belle & Sebastian night at Saguijo last thurs. It was great seeing Nina whom I haven't seen in ages. Plus my new co-workers Arden & Denise came and even brought friends with them. More pics from Connie & Jeff

Cuckoo

i'm immersing in belle & sebastian this week... especially this friggin complicated song, "I'm a Cuckoo"...





"Jesus told me, go after every coin
Like it was the last in the world
And protect the wayward child
But I'm a little lost sheep
I need my Bo peep
I know I need my Shepherd here tonight
Breaking off is misery
I see a wilderness for you and me
Punctuated by philosophy
And a wondering how things could've been
Id like to see you
But really I should stay away..."


We'll be doing something like 6 covers for Belle and Sebastian nite in October... I think I have a relationship with my band-- I need to make time for it, keep the sparks alive, commit to it and jeez with all these projects I got, the commitment part is really tested!

But really... I am a cuckoo, according to this week's horoscope at Shine

Leo (July 23rd-Aug. 22nd)
Oh, Leo, you're a fool for love. It's kind of cute when Meg Ryan does it, but on you, it just looks pathetic. Walk away from love before it walks all over you, leaving nothing but a set of muddy footprints. (Yes, it's true, we're a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll.)

artwork by AshleyG

Sonnet LVIII

I hope I could sneak this in... I haven't seen Sonnet LVIII perform in ages...

I hope they don't mind me reposting an entry from their myspace blog, I'm not sure who wrote it.

The Beauty Of The AM7 Chord

Remember those times we played our songs and everyone had blank stares? After a song, they would look at each other, say nothing and think "Should we clap?". It seemed like they didn't have any clue of what we were doing. Neither do we. To us though, it was all natural. Broken chords and all. To them, it was otherworldly. But it was fun looking at those bewitched or bothered or bewildered faces.

People called us snobs. Maybe we were. Maybe we knew there were only a few of us like-minded souls. Maybe we felt they wouldn't and/or couldn't interpret the language we spoke. Maybe they couldn't understand why we drown everything in reverb and delay effects. Maybe we knew something that they didn't know about.

We've met friends along the way. We've met people who were like us. And some of them knew our language. And it was the most exciting part of our lives. We shared the same taste in music, films, books, vintage clothing and eighties TV shows. We traded mixtapes and wishlists. We talked about how we felt about people who try to/ couldn't understand what we were into. But of course, our favorite discussions were about people who were "into it" because it sounded "cool". Maybe we really knew something that they didn't know about.

Sometimes we'd like to believe it's the beauty of the AM7 chord.

The Wentletraps

I heart The Wentletraps . Sisters Ria & Chary comprise this Pinoy indiepop duo. Acoustic guitar, great vocal harmonies, memorable songs.

Here's one of them:
Pure

The Divine Comedy

my most-played song this week...

"give me your love and i'll give you the perfect love song
with a divine beatles bassline and a big old beachboys sound
i'll match you pound for pound, like heavyweights in the final round,
we'll hold on to each other till we both fall down..."

a strangeometric-patterned dress on a strangeometry night

Great gig. Despite the rains, Strangeometry 11 was the best so far, can't wait for the 12th. Thanks to mastermind Alex Paita .

A cd compilation was made especially for that night, and were given to everyone who paid a ticket to get in. Will upload and post a link here upon getting their permission.

more pictures here

Strange Carousels & Summer Escapes

These are two all-Filipino indiepop mp3 compilations collated by online buddy Dale

Sunday Picnic Love Affair has a track on the Summer Escape compilation.

Download the albums through these links:
Summer Escape
(and another link)

Strange Carousels
(and yet another link)

According to Dale, a third volume is in the works, with a working title of Under The Covers, and is supposed to be an all-covers compilation. Ooh! Can't wait.