Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Holiday rundown
Okay peoples, I know I owe all y'all an update. The last week and a half has been absurdly busy, and the blog has been one of the casualties. Here's the rundown.
I'll start with the Friday before last. It's a weird but cool thing to DJ your own office party. The whole thing was a blur, but by all accounts the tunes were well received. The playlist for the gig won't be posted for a few reasons, not the least of which is the fact that my writing became unintelligible after a certain point. That hadn't happened in a while.
The Goldhawk's annual staff Xmas party was a goof and a half. The karaoke love was in full effect. They couldn't keep me away from the mic. I rocked The Strokes, The Killers, Elvis' "Suspicious Minds," Eddy Grant, and pitched in on group efforts on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town." Everything from Andy Williams to Afroman got a turn on the sing-along playlist, and the results were often spectacular. The cliché "a good time was had by all" applies.
My 3rd Annual Xmas Party on Christmas Eve Eve was fun. I played four hours of Christmas music, stretching the boundaries of what constitutes "holiday" music by including The Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys, Papas Fritas, and Depeche Mode. The train-wreck segues were in full effect. Of the three times I've done this, I think I'm happiest with this year's playlist.
It was great to see family over the holidays. Christmas shopping was a bitch and two thirds, but in the end it all worked out, and I think everyone was pretty stoked about their gifts. As was I...Santa brought me an Altec Lansing InMotion mini speaker system for my iPod and an HP digital camera—my first digital camera other than the crappy one on my phone, and the fruits of this new camera will surely begin to populate this blog and website soon. I also hauled in two David Cross comedy CDs, and a slew o' DVDs: Mr. Show season one, Live Aid, Dylan's Don't Look Back, Bowie's Ziggy Stardust movie, The Last Waltz, and All In The Family season one. I believe the tally is 24 and a half hours of DVD viewing, not counting special features. Netflix, schmetflix.
Yesterday, I hung out on the air with Pat Pierson on WRSU for Pat's end-of-04 show. It's always a trip to go down to my old college stomping grounds in New Brunswick, N.J. This was my second time in the Hub City this year, as I had joined two intrepid friends for a day and a night of Rutgersesque revelry back in May of this year. I knew the town would be dead with the vast majority of students out of town for the winter recess, but I wasn't prepared for just how dead it would be. I walked around in the near vicinity of the campus for nearly an hour before the radio show started at noon, and I saw maybe seven or eight students.
The expanded four-hour show was a gem. Live in-studio performances by Sleep Station and AJ & Matt Azzarto were great, and quite cool to watch from close range. There were call-ins from My Chemical Romance and The Star Spangles, as well as some of Pat's other DJ friends, like Jerry Rubino of The Hawk, Mike Marrone of XM, Chris Carter, and WRSU's own Sean Carolan. I rapped on-air with Pat a couple times about the best albums of 2004. I'll take full credit for the Rilo Kiley, Crayon Rosary, and Killers songs that were played. I took some pics, but I have to resolve some technical difficulties before I can post them here. You can hear Pat's show live every Tuesday from noon to 2 p.m. eastern time.
Up next is New Year's at The Goldhawk. Party like a rock star and hear me spin for the last time in the 04. For $70, you get four hours of open bar from 9:30 to 1:30, buffet dinner, the obligatory champagne toast, noisemakers and all that crap, and the best rock and/or roll this side of Regis Philbin. I'm biased, but I think it's a good deal. Call the club at 201-420-7989 for ticket info and tell them I sent ya.
