Playlist: Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Liev Tuk / Rom Sue Sue "Dance Soul Soul"
Thom Yorke / All For The Best
Flying Lotus feat. Thom Yorke / And The World Laughs With You
Goldfrapp / Head First
Delorean / It's All Ours
Janelle Monae feat. Big Boi / Tightrope
Gorillaz feat. Lou Reed / Some Kind Of Nature
Kate Bush / Sat In Your Lap
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti / Can't Hear My Eyes
CocoRosie / The Moon Asked The Crow
Jonsi / Grow Till Tall
Gil Scott-Heron / Me And The Devil [NYC orchestral version]
Black Keys / Unknown Brother
Sleepy Sun / Wild Machines
Neverever / Young And Dumb
Flaming Lips & Stardeath and White Dwarfs / Breathe
The Like / He's Not A Boy
22-20s / Latest Heartbreak
Dave Clark Five / I Know You
Art Museums / Oh Modern Girls
Adam Green / Breaking Locks
Harlem / Faces
Animal Collective / Fireworks
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse feat. James Mercer / Insane Lullaby
Sleigh Bells / Crown On The Ground
New Pornographers / Moves
The Sea-Ders / Undecidedly
Cibo Matto / Spoon
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings / Give It Back
Wolf Parade / What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had To Go This Way)
Gaslight Anthem / American Slang
Born Ruffians / Oh Man
Damien Jurado / Cloudy Shoes
Pavement / Heaven Is A Truck
Band Of Horses / Laredo
Foals / Miami
Blitzen Trapper / Love And Hate
Little Dragon / Constant Surprises
The Walkmen / We've Been Had
Low / Transmission [Joy Division cover]
Hunters & Collectors / Is There Anybody In There
Admiral Radley / The Thread
Fierce Creatures / Satan Is A Vampire

No ifs, ands or butts

Cigarette butts pile up in a makeshift ashtray next to the technology building at Fresno City College. According to the campus smoking and drug abuse policy, "In order to provide a healthier climate for teaching, learning and study, smoking is prohibited in all campus buildings. Additionally, tobacco products are not sold on campus." No more than four feet away, a sign on the fence reads, "No smoking in this area." Shot 23 June 2010.

Playlist: Tuesday, June 22, 2010

David Byrne / Don't Fence Me In [Cole Porter cover]
Ozomatli / Are You Ready
Admiral Radley / Ghosts Of Syllables
Earlimart / Answers & Questions
Panty Lions / Dedication
Grandaddy / Pre-Merced
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse feat. Julian Casablancas / Little Girl
Jesus & Mary Chain / God Help Me
Archie Bronson Outfit / Wild Strawberries
Flying Lotus feat. Thom Yorke / And The World Laughs With You
Devo / Fresh
Tame Impala / Alter Ego
Tokyo Police Club / Bambi
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti / Fright Night
Joanna Newsom / Good Intentions Paving Co.
Trumpet Solo / Hard Working Economy
Coliseum feat. Bonnie "Prince" Billy / Skeleton Smile
Scout Niblett / Duke Of Anxiety
Black Keys / Never Gonna Give You Up
Sleigh Bells / Kids
M.I.A. feat. Jay-Z / XXXO
Head Like A Kite / Director's Cut
Slug & Murs / Henrietta Longbottom
u-Ziq / The Hwicci Song
Flaming Lips / Worm Mountain
White Rabbits / Percussion Gun
Sloan / People Think They Know Me
Akron/Family / River
Carolina Chocolate Drops / Trouble In Your Mind
Big Pig / Hungry Town
Band Of Horses / Compliments
Blitzen Trapper / Below The Hurricane
Dead Weather / Blue Blood Blues
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings / The Game Gets Old
New Pornographers / Crash Years
Dum Dum Girls / Bhang Bhang, I'm A Burnout
Rafter / Animal Feelings
Thomas Dolby / She Blinded Me With Science
Delorean / Stay Close
Pains Of Being Pure At Heart / Say No To Love
Wheels Of Fortune / Give It All Back
Foals / Total Life Forever
Neverever / Young And Dumb
She & Him / Lingering Still
Harlem / Spray Paint
Male Bonding / Year's Not Long

Fierce Creatures live tracks

In a shameless attempt to attract more page views to my little blog, I am posting three live tracks from the Fresno art-pop band Fierce Creatures here for downloading, courtesy 90.7 KFSR. They have a pretty loyal local following for being such a new band and that's sure to be stoked by the release party for their debut EP, I Mostri Feroci, on July 6 at The Captive, a new Tower District venue run by Johnny Quiroz and his hard-working Love The Captive promotions crew. I recently had the band live and unplugged in the studio on my Evening Eclectic show and they were a real treat. RIYL Arcade Fire, hand claps, sunny afternoons.

Fierce Creatures - Phantom Athletes [Live on 90.7 KFSR]

Fierce Creatures - The Great White [Live on 90.7 KFSR]

Fierce Creatures - The Brut and the Beast [Live on 90.7 KFSR]

Note for hardcore FC fans: If you tried listening/downloading these before on KFSR.org and they didn't work, you might have to empty your browser's cache before trying to listen/download to these. The previous files have now been replaced.

An afternoon with my brother

I've always kind of wanted a brother, someone to talk to about dude stuff. I already have a little sister who is a schoolteacher in Las Vegas. But she and I don't talk much. So when Eric Parker came along a few years ago, I got my wish. Not only does the guy wash windows (above), write a great blog (here), and regularly rub elbows with literary greats (here and here) but he has also has been just about the best brother I could have asked for.


Eric grew up in Clovis, lived in San Diego, and got both his BA in English and his MFA in creative writing here at Fresno State. He currently lives in San Diego where he blogs and is working on a book project. Ever since I met him in 2004, Eric and I have talked about doing some daytime tours of the little towns that surround Fresno. Even though both of us have lived in the central San Joaquin Valley off and on for most of our lives, there are so many people and places right under our noses here that we want to check out and immerse ourselves in--a la Gay Talese or Susan Orlean, two of our favorite writers--just to see what we find.


Eric was in town this past week or so doing research for his book. We had a couple chances to get together for meals and to catch up. This past Tuesday afternoon, Eric and I went on a quickie tour of spots in Minkler, Reedley, Dinuba, Kingsburg, and Selma. Our first stop was the Minkler Cash Store on Highway 180 northeast of Sanger. We bellied up to the bar and visited with the owner, Mary, whose mother Sylvia knows my dad from his days as a truck driver at the former Central Valley Ready-Mix, and a local, Jeffrey, who was playing the piano when we got there. Mary said she remembered me from when I was a kid. We had a great visit with them and loved the organized clutter of the store.


Next stop was Uncle Harry's restaurant on G Street in Reedley. This is not the Uncle Harry's that most people know as a bagel shop. This is the Uncle Harry's of Harry Horasanian, a longtime restaurateur and a friend of my mother's family for generations. His Armenian food is well known by folks all over the valley and even my vegetarian brother Eric went animal style with the turkey kabob sandwich during our visit. He said when you're going local, you've got to do what the locals do. I'm pretty sure he didn't regret it.


We motored into Dinuba to visit my parents next. Eric snapped this shot of me and my mom before we left. But mostly, Eric and I hung out in the garage with my dad, playing billiards and ping pong. The results? Well, my dad did a lot of shit talking and beat everyone in billiards. But no one could touch me in ping pong. Eric held his own in both and he even shared a can of Olympia with my dad. I've never been a beer drinker and I think my dad has sometimes wished I was. But two out of three dudes (67%) kicking back an Oly on a hot summer day worked better for us than one out of two (50%).


We rounded out the tour with a stop at the Sun Maid raisin plant just outside of Kingsburg and a quick drive down Golden State Boulevard through Selma, past the famous Wilkins Drive-In, on our way back. The Sun Maid plant was a little disappointing because only the gift shop is now open to the public. No tours inside like back in the old days. But at least there were free samples, good conversation, and a few photo opps for two brothers who made time to take their own little tour of a couple places that had always been there.