I just saw my favorite NYC band last night. It was at Lit Lounge, so it seemed like there were lots of people there. I'm always in front, so every show I see seems pretty full.

Anyways, the point is they were awesome. It was everything I want to hear at a show. Driving beats, dynamic arrangements, melodic, clanging guitars, busy bass lines and a singer with an impeccable melodic sense. They even did some guitarmonies. It was so satisfying. It was guiltily 90s sounding and I loved it. Best show I've seen all year*. I swayed and smiled the whole time.

Check Golden City out:
http://www.myspace.com/therealgoldencity
Then you can see me at their next show.

Maybe I've been watching too many Monk episodes, but as I watched the show, I actually concocted a plan of killing Jim and every other second guitar player who joined Golden City. That way, when nobody else would join, I could step up and be in the band. But then Monk would catch me and it would be all over, so I opted against that plan. Just kidding Jim ;)

* Including the Ginger shows, but excluding some moments from those shows and excluding the WiLDHEARTS show I will see in Sept.

50,000, 000 Elvis Fans Can Be Wrong.

Elvis Presley had a greatest hits collection called 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong. There is a prevailing attitude that sales and popularity are unquestionable, inalienable and incontestable factors to the merit of a particular act. I say, no way. I say that at least for some of those outside the 50,000,000, 50, 000, 000 Elvis Fans CAN be Wrong.

Now, I have often been accused of championing the underdog or runner-up, simply for the pleasure of being contrarian. Pretentious? Contentious? Mais NON! I earnestly cling to the belief that I am true to my own muse when it comes to the music i like. I try not to let trendiness and popular or critical opinion filter my assessment in any way. I think this sometimes leads to unpopular opinions, but I also hold many popular opinions Of these popular opinions, I find that they are a mix of hip and square, alike. I know I come off as a snob and it's tempting to lump me in with the know-it-alls and the indier-than-thou types. I also know that sometimes I may judge an uber-popular band more harshly than an unpopular band. I still feel like I follow my bliss more than anything else when forming an opinion on some song or band.

So, I feel that if you, dear reader, are reading my blog, you should bear in mind that I believe 50, 000, 000 Elvis Fans CAN Be Wrong. If you are prompted to reply to something I write that strikes you as incendiary, and i encourage you to do so, please leave out the but-they-have-so-many-fans logic. It is not tendered here.

Why am I doing this?

My most coveted of potential rewards from rock stardom was never the girls. It was always the power to pontificate about music and have it be considered, nay accepted, by all of my fans. Like when The Minutemen told me to listen to Blue Öyster Cult, and I did, or when Teenage Fanclub introduced me to Gene Clark and we clicked. So with my dreams of rock stardom behind me, I step into the blogosphere with much lower expectations of followship, but at least with the platform to pontificate.

I often burden my friends with my musical musings. Many of them tell me I should rock critic, because I talk about it so much. To this I always say that I hate most rock criticism. It always sounds so self conscious or self righteous, that I can't bear to read it. Music is an extremely personal experience, so people criticizing it always find themselves on a slippery slope. I believe there are no absolutes in music. Only personal preference. So, for eveything I write on this site, the phrase "In my opinion" must be assumed. I will try not to be self conscious or self righteous and keep it all on a personal level, so that I am telling people not that I am right, but that this is how I feel.