Citizen Dick

James Petralli (White Denim) covers Stevie Wonder, Ween, White Stripes

dicks@citizendick.org — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 01:03:07 +0000

I'm currently finishing up a project for an online graduate-level course on creativity. While the center of the course is focused on pedagogy, the overriding idea is that creative minds are uniquely designed to take known materials (and their associations) and whip them all into something most folks could never imagine possible. If I [...]

Bowerbirds announce new tour dates – Coming to Cleveland.

dicks@citizendick.org — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:43:48 +0000

It's been a little bit since we've posted any sort of concert updates on this here blog. It's also been a couple of years since we first met Phil Moore and Beth Tacular of Bowerbirds, when they crooned a stellar set opening up for Megafaun at Beachland Tavern. For those that have followed along [...]

I’m waking up, too…..

dicks@citizendick.org — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 02:01:09 +0000

I'm beginning to wake up, as well. This song is helping….

Bloggers hibernate too.

dicks@citizendick.org — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:38:57 +0000

We've been in a cave for the last three months. This is not a metaphor. Kevin and I ate a bunch of fatty foods, wandered into the woods, found an abandoned cave littered with empty PBR cans, and curled up for a quarter-year long sojourn. We shared the space with a performance art collective and [...]

Ho, ho, ho(metapes holiday record)

dicks@citizendick.org — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:31:24 +0000

It's nice to be able to accomplish three things at once. Here's what we're getting done here: 1.) Reminding you that home is where the tapes is and that charity is good. The nice people at Hometapes are offering a massive holiday album for free over at their Band Camp. It's one of those "pay [...]

Merry Lazy Saturday, darling. Happy New Year too.

dicks@citizendick.org — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 01:28:47 +0000

(Editor's note: (addressing "the reader," as an abstract concept) We've been together awhile, you and I. We get together less frequently than we used to, but we still catch up from time to time, pop in on each other, talk about our kids. You know what I like. I'm still working to understand what you [...]

Been a Long Time Since I Lazy Saturday.

dicks@citizendick.org — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 01:30:10 +0000

(Editor's Note: (Shuffling through the grocery store, bathrobe half open, staring at the milk jugs, trying to find one with a late date, I see the Internet. We haven't seen each other since high school. It's awkward.) Me: Hey there, Internet. Been a minute. How you doing? How're the kids? Internet: Fuck yourself. Me: [...]

Show Review – Jeff Mangum – Asbury Park, New Jersey 10/3/2011

dicks@citizendick.org — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 02:51:01 +0000

Editor's Note: There are no pictures of Mangum's performance in this concert review, for two reasons. First, the helpful concert staff threatened confiscation of cell phones or cameras if any shots were taken. Secondly, as I'll hopefully assert in this review, pictures from this show would do an excellent job of watering down the [...]

Megafaun – September 27 – Beachland Tavern

dicks@citizendick.org — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:53:36 +0000

Four songs into Megafaun's set at the Beachland last Tuesday, drummer Joe Westerlund climbed out from behind his kit, grabbed an acoustic guitar and stepped off the stage. The rest of Megafaun (now, with the addition of a full time bassist, a quartet) followed. They asked the crowd to get in a little closer; it [...]

Time (in a Pink Floydian sense)

dicks@citizendick.org — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:38:57 +0000

I feel old. This video certainly doesn't help. We're going to see Megafaun at the Beachland next Tuesday. We're pretty sure that the next time they come to town, it will be to a superlarge ampitheater; this band is on the cusp of explosion. The new record is awesome. There will be a time in [...]

It’s fun to imagine the name of a hypothetical third sibling’s band.

dicks@citizendick.org — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 01:07:29 +0000

It has been a minute since we last spoke. School started up for Kevin and me, which has thrown a monkeywrench in our blogosphere involvement. I'm still pursuing an advanced degree and am still someone's parent. All those things are huge time suckers. To be perfectly honest, I've listened to this more in the last [...]

“We Always Want People To Dance” – The Diamond Doves, Brooklyn Bowl, 8/19/2011

dicks@citizendick.org — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:28:11 +0000

Editor's Note: This is the first official guest post by blogger, music-writer pal, Joy Wagner. Her Brooklyn home-base provides a good perspective from our Eastern Citizen Dick Campus, as Citizen James has been MIA, illegally hunting rhinos in the Asian Steppe. I have been in the depths of another school-year onset, and have been MIA [...]

The continuing saga of My Morning Jacket and their role in the sad demise of the Blue Dinosaur.

dicks@citizendick.org — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:19:36 +0000

(Editor's note: I've been out of the loop for a good while. A primary reason is the recent (successful) defense of my dissertation proposal. That shit is a huge time sink. A secondary reason (although, in reality, it's of primary importance) is my continuing role as a parent. Both of these endeavors eat up free [...]

Dick Approved – Rose Polenzani – Living in a Country

dicks@citizendick.org — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:00:06 +0000

Rose Polenzani has been floating around the interwebs for awhile now, producing two previous LPs from 2004 through 2008. Her forthcoming LP, The Rabbit, will hit the shelves on August 23, and you can pre-order it by going to her bandcamp page. All of the business aside, this track is absolutely gorgeous. Polenzani's sultry crooning [...]

MP3 Premiere – The White Space – Stay

dicks@citizendick.org — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:45:53 +0000

The White Space is a London duo that is a work in progress, according to their website. Their debut album, The Crescent Wave was written and recorded with the two founding members, Rob Vandeven and Dave Farrow; Farrow brought a backing track to Vandeven and that melting of the minds inspired this particular track, "Stay." [...]

Dick Approved – Deptford Goth – No Man

dicks@citizendick.org — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:05:02 +0000

Merok Records is releasing the debut, four-song EP Youth II by Deptford Goth on October 17th. "No Man" is the free offering, and it's going to rock your world. Deptford Goth is the work of solo Londoner Daniel Woolhouse, and the name is appropriate – imagine traditional British stylings given a gothic, off-kilter makeover and [...]

CD Singles Club – Flashlights – Choking

dicks@citizendick.org — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:45:52 +0000

Titusville act, Flashlights, is set to hit the ground running with their debut album, I'm Not Alone, which will be released in September through Norse Korea Tapes, the concert promotion group-turned small label. "Choking" is a loud and frenzied candy-apple red power pop jam that hit my email inbox blazing with swagger. Seriously. This stuff [...]

CD Singles Club – A.A. Bondy – The Heart is Willing

dicks@citizendick.org — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:00:21 +0000

Continuing in my tardiness and late-to-the-game postings, I am finally getting to the Bondy track. Actually, this hit the interwebs just before I left for vacation, and I wore the proverbial grooves off the digital file with repeat plays. A.A. Bondy, perhaps, is one of our country's 1) best lyrical songwriters, and 2) most underrated [...]

Dick Approved – Gold Beach – Diving Bell

dicks@citizendick.org — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 14:20:59 +0000

"Diving Bell" is my new favorite song. I say this monthly, of course, but I'm full throttle on this one. An opus-like recording process sits behind Gold Beach's upcoming release, Habibti, which hits the shelves officially on September 6th. The boon for you, friends, is that this track has enough ear nutrition to fill you [...]

Megafaun offers second to the masses – State/Meant

dicks@citizendick.org — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 13:01:35 +0000

Leaving no stone unturned, I'm a day late in getting this new Megafaun track up on the blog. We've got fifteen RSS feeds all tied into everything Megafaun related. Phil has a kid. We hear about it. Brad gets a new throwback Laker's jersey, we're on it. That's a tad creepy really, and not at [...]

Vacation is a bitch to come back from – New Casiokids, Hella, M83 Remix

dicks@citizendick.org — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:00:22 +0000

Give me a little leeway as I go backwards and net all the butterflies from last week. These three tracks have been fueling my yard work and cleaning duties this morning. First is Dan Alcala's remix of M83's behemoth track, "Midnight City." This version hushes things down a bit and turns down the blasting synth [...]

I caught a ghost on camera, and I want you to fucking acknowledge it.

dicks@citizendick.org — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:07:18 +0000

This isn't super music related, except for the fact that I'll post three ghost-related tracks at the bottom of this intriguing nugget of visual creepiness. While in NYC, the girlfriend and I hopped on the subway over to Chelsea to check out the High Line on the west side. It's a gorgeous park, really, with [...]

Tardy Live Review – Jones Street Station – Bowery Ballroom – 8/4/2011

dicks@citizendick.org — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:33:14 +0000

In one of the more unexpected and spur-of-the-moment excursions of my ten days in NYC was getting the opportunity to stop into Bowery Ballroom to catch Jones Street Station, who's all set to release their fourth LP to, hopefully, the NYC masses and beyond. As I mentioned in a previous post, the band has hybridized [...]

Last Minute Cleveland Show Alert – Sofa City Sweetheart tonight at Wilbert’s

dicks@citizendick.org — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:52:13 +0000

I know next to nothing about Sofa City Sweetheart, except that there is an incredibly strong John Lennon vibe parading around the tracks up at their website. I also received a twitter message from Cleveland Rock Photographer extraordinaire, Mara Robinson, about their show tonight at Wilbert's. This is one y'all should roll out to see [...]

Jones Street Station – Bowery Ballroom tonight (8/4)…..

dicks@citizendick.org — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:54:41 +0000

Day six of my NYC vacation is going to be a good one. While I had originally intended the week to be sort of a break from all things blog oriented, I suppose it was only a matter of time before I headed out to to shows. The lady and I have been all over [...]

Emerging from the dissertation cave, smelling the freshness.

dicks@citizendick.org — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 01:54:45 +0000

(Editor's Note: I submitted my dissertation proposal on Sunday. I defend it on Tuesday. I have not checked my internet-based music blog electronic mail for something like a week; I've been deep in the EBP literature, tweaking and polishing the proposal. Spiked in a fancy rhetorical twist courtesy of Steve Forness at the twelfth hour. [...]

Album Review – Case Studies (Jesse Lortz) – The World is Just a Shape to Fill the Night

dicks@citizendick.org — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:30:53 +0000

First, I'll go on record as someone who has eagerly devoured all past material of The Dutchess & The Duke. Since 2009's Pitchfork Festival, I've been closely following all material, and this all sort of swan dived after a fairly drunken (while still endearing) show the duo put on in Cleveland. It didn't surprise me [...]

Album Review (b/w of a dice game) – Boston Spaceships – Let it Beard

dicks@citizendick.org — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:30:29 +0000

Editor's Note: Let me keep my fantasy for a minute. My fantasy is this. I keep thinking that every Robert Pollard review that begins mentioning how he's prolific and makes tons of albums in a short span of time, is probably pissing my man off a little. In my own little world, I like to [...]

CD Singles Club – Prince Rama – Rest in Peace

dicks@citizendick.org — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:45:09 +0000

Editor's Note: By the time you read this, I am on an eastbound train, headed for New York City for nine days of city dwelling. I'll be visiting Citizen James who, rest assured, does exist. We promise. All of this to say that my blog coverage may be a bit spotty at best over the [...]

Cleveland Concert Reminder: Craft Spells/Gardens & Villa @HappyDogCLE – Wednesday

dicks@citizendick.org — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:11:52 +0000

I rolled into Happy Dog a few days ago and ate to my heart's content, but left a touch bummed because there were no scheduled shows that evening. This post serves as a friendly reminder that one of the best summer shows rolling through town this month is going down tomorrow night (Weds.) at the, [...]