This is an asbestos-free workzone, however.

A major reorg of this sucker is in the works. I think it's too schizophrenic as it is, veering between politics and music and my own life. My goal is to make it easier for people to read about what they're interested in...

After a couple of halfhearted attempts, I finally made it to the Attic last night to hang out with Gone Postal, who was spinning soft, melodic 60s pop for a surprisingly busy crowd.

GP and I have many mutual friends. He's been spinning all over the place and I kept missing him, mostly because I suck. A friendly chap, that GP.

It was a nice night, though I had to stumble drunkenly home in a mist that was worse than actual rain. Still, I could be in Minnesota...

Protest your asses off, please.

'Cuz we can't really do it here anymore.

With some glee, I report that the culture wars in Noe Valley continued over the weekend. Found today posted on the Real Foods storefront were two new flyers, both amusing:

"MY DOG WAS STUDENT OF THE MONTH AT THE LOCAL NOE VALLEY PUBLIC SCHOOL."

and

"The Real Axis of Evil
BARBARA BOXER
NANCY PELOSI
HILLARY CLITLER"

Commentary to come.

Another boring Saturday night for me.

The culture wars are alive and kickin' in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, where I live. The saga began with the sudden closing of the local Real Foods store on the main 24th Street drag. The ostensible reason for the closing was an urgent need for sudden renovation; the real reason, according to many, was the push for unionization by Real Foods workers, who were let go the night before Labor Day weekend with no advance notice. (The workers apparently have a blog now, if you're interested.)

Hijinx ensued. Posters and photocopies of news clippings began to decorate the windows of the shop. Over the next couple of weeks, the storefront began to serve as a de facto community billboard for Noe Valleyans: next to critical articles from the Chron and the weeklies appeared ads for massages and flats for rent.

Local conservatives were apparently unhappy at this spontaneous outpouring of anti-corporate opinion. Recently a series of very amusing flyers have appeared on the Real Foods storefront. All of the flyers criticize "liberalism" in some way: opposing the resumption of relations with Cuba, deriding the liberal quest for socialism, etc.

To the credit of the community, it seems that these flyers have not generally been ripped down in anger, even though they are quite ridiculous. (Really? Liberals coddle Castro? Like, um, the liberals in Congress? You want serious coddling of dictators? Check out Bush's relationship with Uzbekistan -- yikes.)

I'll do my best in the future to get the text of these flyers for your continuing amusement.

Here he helpfully outlines a losing strategy for the Dems. Very helpful, David.

As others have pointed out, this is part of a GOP-advanced meme suggesting that "attack-politics" on the left must stop. The Neiwert article I cite below is a stunning rejoinder. Those needing more should read this fantastic Molly Ivins piece from Alternet.

Victoria Shoe and I arrived a little late.

Missed Ex-Boyfriends, unfortunately. Bitesize, a girl-girl-boy three-piece, seemed incompetent initially, but seriously rallied. Nice angular pop-punk with some great fuzzy guitar drones.

Upon V's urging, and under the influence of multiple drinks, I went up to dance by myself in front of the band. No one else was dancing. It was a good time. It reminded me a little of the Slide incident; more information about this will be revealed at a future time.

20 Minute Loop were great -- they reminded me of the pre-Sub Pop Shins. Lots of melody, complex songwriting, and judicious use of some tiny vintage keyboard they had perched in front of the female singer.

I can't say enough about boy-girl harmonies. They're pretty. And if you don't believe me, you should pick up the Joy Zipper record. Another review is here.

As for Victoria, she spotted an old flame at the show and I was abandoned. If it's not one thing, it's the other, y'know?

I may stay in tonight. I'm not sure.

Tonight I'm going to see 20 Minute Loop with Bitesize and Ex-Boyfriends opening.

I'll make sure everyone gets a full report.

RIP Kindercore.

Kindercore and Telegraph's parent company, IDEA, was under pressure from Central National Bank (its primary creditor) to cut overhead and consolidate operations...

Isn't it kind of weird that Kindercore had a "parent company" with a real, live bank as a creditor? I thought it was just another flailing, maxed-out-credit-cards indie label.

I don't really have that much Kindercore stuff, but I did buy this album yesterday on Telegraph.

Speaking of Sasha Bell, I don't know if all of these fantastic Brooklyn artists are linked to what-was-formerly the Elephant 6 collective. I think a fair argument can be made, however, that the Ladybug Transistor/Essex Green/Sixth Great Lake/Sasha Bell Brooklyn scene (is it a collective yet?) has put out consistently great work. Better, I think, than the largely overrated E6 stuff.

Changes have been made to the look of the blog. I think it's sufficient for now.

This piece from David Neiwert on the fascist leanings of the GOP is the scariest thing I've read all day. Here's an excerpt:

"As Buzzflash recently observed, talk like this is part of an increasing trend in conservative rhetoric: Pat Robertson wishing to "nuke" the State Department, Bill O'Reilly saying Peter Arnett should be shot, Coulter wishing Tim McVeigh had set off his bomb at the New York Times Building, John Derbyshire wishing for Chelsea Clinton's demise. Unsurprisingly, the same kind of talk is now heard on the "street" level, and it often pops up on talk radio. As we learned in Oklahoma City, eventually this kind of "hot talk" translates into all-too-real tragedy.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that conservatives are less and less inclined to rely on "intellectual" or political exchanges, and are turning more to an eliminationist strategy that seeks to demonize liberals and make them social outcasts -- and concomitantly, acceptable targets for violence because of the "damage" they cause the nation through their ostensible treason.

Already, this eliminationism is manifesting itself in the nation's military, where anyone deemed insufficiently supportive of the Bush administration is likely to face recrimination. The most prominent example of this is the way Sgt. Robert Ferriol, a former Marine Corps intelligence analyst, was drummed out of his job recently for daring to dissent from the party line. Many more soldiers are quietly reporting that they are simply keeping their views completely under wraps, since the consequences are becoming plain for them."

(Thanks to Eschaton)

I'm still working on the format of this baby. It's ugly as it is.