Tag Archive for 'sikamor rooney'

Happy Blogoversary!

Published on May 15, 2009 in Blogging. 4 Comments Tags: Adele, Blog, Blogging, brett favre, brooklyn, Byte, coldplay, commuters, Dooce, Friends, gaslight anthem, george carlin, katy perry, kings of leon, leslie hall, mamba, Moment, moment in time, morning benders, motivation, music, music byte, nablopomo, natalie portman, November, obama, Rachael, Rachael Yamagata, rolling stone, romantic moment, sikamor rooney, snl, target, yamagata.

My blog is officially one year old! I can’t believe a whole year has already gone by!! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was sitting next to Dooce in a Brooklyn bar, visualizing what my first post was going to say. Except that it wasn’t yesterday it was a whole year ago and I feel like that person sitting in that bar is a million miles away. I feel like I’ve learned so much in the last year, much of which I can attribute to writing somewhat regularly on this blog. I know I haven’t kept up with it as much as I should have or probably could have, but it’s been cathartic and therapeutic to have this outlet to turn to when the mood strikes. I’m incredibly proud of myself for having stuck with it for this long, and the simple fact that I’ve made it through one whole year just provides enormous motivation to keep on trucking. I’m excited for what the next year of Mambabyte will bring, and I hope that those of you that have come this far with me will continue on this crazy ride. I promise not to disappoint.

With that corny shit out of the way, can you believe what a year this has been? It was the year of Obama, we said goodbye to the great George Carlin, I actually participated in NaBloPoMo, and I got laid off! What I haven’t told you about yet is how I had to cram for one of the hardest tests I’ve ever taken in only three weeks (and I still don’t know whether or not I’ve passed), I was accepted into the Masters program for my dream job, I moved into a beautiful new apartment with two of my closest girlfriends, I’ve reconnected with some of my old friends that I’ve missed terribly and didn’t think I would ever see again, and have started to learn that when you begin to surround yourself with positive people, things, and ideas, positive things start to come your way much more easily than you ever could have imagined. I’m feeling more myself than I have in a really long time, and I know that it is only the beginning of what’s to come for me.

I’ve been celebrating this first blogoversary by browsing through the past year’s archives. I was interested in getting an update on all of the artist’s I’ve featured in my Music Bytes:

• The Morning Benders: “Talking Through Tin Cans” has been released for a little over a year now, and the band is still touring like crazy and even made an appearance at this year’s SXSW.
• Coldplay: Duh.
• Katy Perry: Well now she’s lasted a lot longer than I originally gave her credit for, and while her songs are getting really annoying and I think she sucks live, I’m pleasantly surprised she’s considered “headliner” material.
• Adele: Go girl! Adele’s since won two Grammy Awards, for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Love her!
• Gaslight Anthem: They just seem to be snowballing into bigger and better things, opening for both Bruce Springsteen AND Dave Matthews this year. Holy!
• Sikamor Rooney: They’re still doing their thing and could use some more exposure, so go check them out again and give them a chance!
• Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head: I can’t get enough of these guys, HA! They were featured on Perez Hilton and they’ll be the supporting act for Lily Allen’s North American tour this year. So much fun!
• Rachael Yamagata: Those who love her, love her dearly.
• Leslie Hall: Since this wasn’t technically a music byte, I don’t technically have an update, but it’s still hilarious so go take a look and enjoy a chuckle on me.
• Kings of Leon: Ahhhh, by far my favorite music byte and favorite band of the whole year. They’re just huge. I almost had a heart attack when they arrived on the cover of a recent Rolling Stone issue. I can’t say enough.
• Zee Avi: Her album still won’t be released for another four days, but if you were lucky enough to check her out at SXSW, I’m sure you’ll agree it won’t be long before we hear much more about her.

Make sure to send me any ideas for Music Bytes you might have! I sure as hell can’t keep up with everything, what do you think I look like?

In pure Mamba style, I’ve decided to end this Happy One Year Post by listing my top eight posts of the year. Because I love the number 8. So I picked 8 posts. Out of 71. I don’t think 71 is a lot at all, so I made sure to write that here so next year I can make sure the number is much higher. Anyway, enjoy.

• My Most Romantic Moment
• A Moment in Time: The Best Worst Date
• Why Brett Favre Will Never See My Tits
• The Shoes Don’t Help
• Commuters Are Fucking Crazy
• Justin Should Be A Regular on SNL
• Saturn Has Returned With a Can of Whoop Ass
• Advice: Don’t Try This At Home

Now I’m going to drink right out of the bottle pour myself a glass of wine and congratulate myself on one year of blogging. Thanks to all you fuckers who’ve stuck with me. Air cheers!

Music Byte: Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head

Published on October 14, 2008 in Music Bytes. 1 Comment Tags: album, apartment, bedford ave, beer, Blog, Blogging, chick, comic relief, crazy person, crowd, debut, drink, drinking beers, embarrasment, emergence, favorite songs, fear, full length, gay blades, good music, lead singer, lounge, mercury, Moment, music, music byte, natalie portman, neon clothing, pleasure, record release party, release parties, review, rooney, seattle, sikamor, sikamor rooney, synth bass, tour dates, village voice, williamsburg, youtube video.

Yep, you read that right, folks. That is the actual name of an actual group. Not only do they have a quirky name but they also have a really cool, quirky sound. You may remember way back when I told you I had the pleasure of seeing these guys perform at Sikamor Rooney’s record release party. And while it may have been a night intended for Sikamor Rooney, it was clear that these guys stole the show.

I have to admit that when the five of them took the stage I was a bit skeptical, but it could have been because I was practically blinded by the amount of neon clothing I saw them all wearing. They hail from Seattle, and even though they claimed it was their first time ever in NYC, I could’ve sworn that they walked right off Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg. As soon as they started playing, the crowd went wild and it was nearly impossible for me to stand still. I was overwhelmed with the need to dance my ass off, and jump up and down screaming for a band I’d heard about forty seconds of. As I looked around me I noticed that I wasn’t the only one; everyone was into it. I remember feeling relieved that there were a lot of other people making total fools of themselves. It was FUN.

Here’s one of my favorite songs of the night, “Sophisticated Side Ponytail.” I feel the need to point out that the girl, Clare England, is not the lead singer of the group. But her emergence from behind the synth bass was super refreshing and a healthy dose of comic relief:

I agree with the Village Voice that there really is only so much of these guys you can take, as I learned the hard way by listening to the entire album on repeat for three days after seeing them. However, I think they’d be good to have in your pocket in case you ever need to liven up a boring party or you want to dance around your apartment should you be so inspired. Of course, if you have the opportunity to see them perform live you will not be disappointed.

Their debut full-length is titled “Glistening Pleasure“. They say it’s “because it glistens and is very pleasurable,” but I like it because it reminds me of an old friend of mine who always pronounced words that started with “l” like “gl.” It makes the play on words that much funnier to me.

To become friends with Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head you can go to Facebook or MySpace. To read their blog, go here. If you want a little background on them you can go here. Unfortunately they don’t divulge how they came up with that awesome name, so if anyone has any theories or insight, please post them in the comments.

Music Byte: Sikamor Rooney

Published on September 10, 2008 in Music Bytes. 0 Comments Tags: album, bar, beer, Blog, Blogging, couple songs, damn link, decent sound quality, drink, Friends, fun stuff, lounge, mercury, mercury lounge, music, music byte, new friends, new music, ps thanks, record release party, release parties, review, rooney, sikamor, sikamor rooney, tour dates, youtube video, youtube videos.

Seeing as I haven’t been successful at posting a new Music Byte every week, I’ve decided to drop “Of The Week” from the title. There’s certainly no reason to be misleading, and to be honest it’s a little too much pressure for me right now to make sure I post something completely new and exciting every week. For now, let’s just say I’ll post a Music Byte when I find something worth posting it for. That works.

You may remember I told you I attended the release party for Sikamor Rooney’s self-titled record at the Mercury Lounge. If you don’t, just scroll down a bit and I’ll remind you. Anyway, I showed up a little late, thinking I had some time before the band of the hour started their set, assuming they would be the final band to play. Well, I was wrong. They played first. Is it customary for bands who are having record release parties to play first? Everyone knows people show up late to everything, shouldn’t that band play last? Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Because of all of this, however, I only was able to listen to a couple songs of their set, kicking myself the entire time for not getting my ass in gear a little sooner. Fortunately, I know people, and was able to get my hands on a CD. Good thing, too, because I’ve been having a lot of fun with these guys.

To have a listen go here. There were no YouTube videos that had decent sound quality, so you’re going to have to not be lazy about this and just click the damn link. You’ll have fun, I promise.

PS – Thanks to the sis and her super-cute-but-WAY-too-young-for-me-friend! I had a blast!

Tag Archive for 'sikamor rooney'

Happy Blogoversary!

Music Byte: Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head

Music Byte: Sikamor Rooney

Subscribe! It’s good for the planet!

Me. Mamba.

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Chapters

Don’t Blame Me!