We were having a little talk, me and Alex, about how funny it is that of all the things that are possible in Second Life, one thing we really enjoy is having a club.  We could be winged creatures, out ransacking mythic lands. We could be gangters with bigass guns setting up hits and extorting $L from our neighbors (actually, maybe we should do that…). We could be part machine – in fact, in SL we actually *are* part machine. But what do we spend our time doing the most? Recreating a part of our history that we never got to live in the first place.

Alex and I have spent a lot of time playing in clubs in our indie-rock band. I have spent more hours in stench-riddled dives from Boston to Charleston, rocking out, drinking cheap beer and squatting to pee over nasty public toilets than I probably have in shopping malls. We often fantasized about owning our own club but never wanted to deal with all the alcoholics.  And it wasn’t conducive to being in a band either. So we never did, and came to terms with the fact that we never would.

Then came Second Life, which offered the chance to have a version of that experience without the drawbacks.  Here we managed to create some of the club atmosphere, share good music, meet digital people and make friends, without having to deal with the drawbacks of a real club. The other day Alex and I discussed this and said, “huh – that’s damned cool.” And it is.

I’ve been thinking a lot about “real” in Second Life and what that means. Last post talked about identity a bit, as that’s the blog topic ablaze in the SL Blogosphere.  Now I’m thinking about what it is we do. It is funny how sometimes we choose to emulate the physical world – we shop, we hang out, we hook up, we dance.  And even though those experiences in some ways pale by comparison to the real world experience, they are not without value.  Like when you can own a club and NEVER have to clean up some drunk’s vomit or blood, maybe it’s even better than the real thing.

So what’s your god damed dream, and how are you realizing it in SL?

There is a fine art to effective party crashing. If you fuck it up, you’ll probably be seen as any old griefer (discussion beyond that link over at Gwennyth Llewelen’s blog). Orbitted and banned faster than you can rezz your penis-party hat. 

But if you manage pull it off with style and taste, you can become the star the otherwise routine night at the club orbits around. Well, at our club anyway. Not everyone has the same idea of “good time” after all.

Let’s look at some exhibits. Try this one:

Meet Partygirl29082.  This avie knows how to eat a burger, and still leave room for flapjacks. We’re down with that.  She rezzed on the dancefloor sporting some fine baby back, complete with freckles. We’re still talking about freckled asses to this day.

How did we know this was a party crasher and not a griefer? Simple. First of all, she was funny. Partygirl23012371 cracked actual jokes and interacted with the crowd but didn’t attempt to make anyone feel like shit. That’s the mark of a party crasher, not a griefer.

Let’s go onto Partygirl9302o3oi2. Drunk Gramma.

Drunk Gramma crashed a private party last year and I remember her to this day because the minute she dropped in, the guests were just assholes to her. “Shoot it!” was heard from the wannabe poser crowd, not less than 5 times.  But Gramma didn’t do anything – she didn’t even talk! I call this party crash the “social commentary” party crash. Gramma just dropped in looking old and heavy, and got quite the reaction.  This kind of party crasher helps you thin your friends list real fast by letting you know who’s got a sense of humor and who’s just a farking idiot. They’ll show themselves when drunk Gramma arrives.

And finally, mob party crashing. Morrisey style!

Party crashing in groups, also known as flashmobbing,  is highly recommended, but moreso if you’re all sporting the same last name. If it’s “Morrisey,” and you love the Smiths, all the better. (And if that’s the case, don’t forget to join the -=Morrisey=- group for oh so special Morrisey flashmob notices). 

The effect here is to essentially bring a party to a party, and as long as the beer holds and the tunes crank and everyone tips the DJ, is usally a good deal all around. Unless you don’t like the Smiths. In which case, maybe griefing is for you afterall. Nah, just kidding.

So don’t be shy. Put on a beefy fresh or teeny bald avatar and get out there! And if you know where to get a freckled arse, please IM me inworld.

See ya on the night circuit!

Alex started his semester today. It’s his final semester of classes. WooT!

I’ve been sick so I’ve got nothing for posts. Sorry gang. I must have got it from Gorgeous Guen!

I have been playing around with this Flock web browser. It lets me do some cool blogging tricks like blog from the browser (as opposed to the Wordpress dashboard) and drop/drag images or text in from anywhere. Flock calls itself a social web browser. What the hell does that mean? Whatever, I am not terribly web 2.0 social these days but I do like the flickr feature that displays new media from my contacts in a media bar over the browser window. It’s a little cluttered but fun.

Anyways, we had fun at ye olde Clockwork last night. dj kEtcHup spun a mix of old and new rock gems, and then EsteHulk turned the funk up to 11 in honor of MLK day.

It was all fun and games until somebody broke out the suitcase nuke. Then it was fun, games, slagging on the Monte Cristo and gagging on virtual toxic flames.

Does Monday get any better than this?

Stay tuned for another Mandelbrot Set podcast, stat.

Blogged with Flock

Are you ready?

ARE YOU READY?

Yo yo yo! Ho ho ho!

We don’t mean to brag;
We don’t mean to boast,
But Christmas Eve’s
Gonna rock the most.

Let’s party, let’s party, let’s party.

Hey now. Get your fine foxy self down to Clockwork (SLurl Topgol 230, 138, 55) this Monday for the hippinest, happenest Christmas Eve music extravaganza and motherfuckin’ party funkdown this side of the Crab Nebula!

From 6-8 pm SL time, dj keTchUp takes you on a trip into the exploding super-nova blindness of your own musical consciousness with n(e)xT. (That means he plays new music, you n00bs.)

and then from from 8-9 pm or so, dj Esteban will hit you so hard with the funk connection, your whole family will get a groove on.

Plus: Morriseys, no doubt.

Damn.

Okay, this started a couple of weeks ago when this charming man, Wrath, the biggest Morrissey/Smiths freak that ever was, noticed that “Morrisey” was an available SL last name. Someone pointed out that it would be funny if we had a Smiths/Morrissey night at Clockwork and all came with alts with the last name “Morrisey.” Well, hang the dj, that’s a brilliant idea. (And yes, we understand it’s not exactly the spelling of Moz’ last name. Leave the second S off for sorrow. Or something.) We laughed about it and agreed we should. But, as we have brilliant ideas all the time (ha!), we didn’t immediately pursue it.

But last night we started talking about it again and began thinking of first names to go with “Morrisey.” Myg disappeared and then, faster than a hairdresser on fire, this ugly n00b “Myg Morrisey” tp’d into the club. It was on. Soon there was “More,” “KillUncle,” “JellyBean,” “HawksRock,” “Jillian,” and “Suedehead” Morrisey. By the end of the night we had “Sable,” “Nene,” “Piccadilly,” and “Zo.” It won’t stop there.

Morriseys are against rules. They are anarchic, friendly, and weird.

Morriseys generally travel in packs. Though there are no rules, Morriseys feel more comfortable in the company of other Morriseys. A lone Morrisey is a vulnerable target, and we don’t want to feel more vulnerable than we already do. Also, traveling in packs is a moveable feast, a transient Morrisey mob. While out traveling in packs, Morriseys will be noticed. Don’t panic. Stick together. Ask the people if they like The Smiths or Morrissey. When they say “yes” jubilance ensues. Encourage them to change their last name to Morrisey immediately.

What will come of this? I wouldn’t say, no. But you can bet there will be events, probably parties, sets, and Morrisey Mobs. Eventually, we will outnumber the Lindens. Get your Morrisey now. How soon is now? Today. Join the group -=Morrisey=-. Await instructions.

Update/Morriseys news:
My SLife with the Thrill Kill Morrisey Cult
Wrath Paine in Night of a Thousand Morriseys

That’s for starters. For seconds, here’s a stupid picture of me and Alex from Sunday’s SL Blogmeet, hosted by JellyBean Madison and HawksRock Gunawan! Not in the SL Bloggers group? Why the hell not? We have parties, with themes even! IM Mygdala March or Zoe Connolly for an invite.

And third, but not lastly or leastly, yes, the Tuesday post is coming, although late. Maybe you were hoping to catch Burgess’s (n)eXt set podcast today at work, but due to circumstances – let’s just call them circumstances – the post is coming late. So it’ll be here soon in all it’s indie glory.

The sun was either coming up or going down when I got this shot of Tiana last week, but I couldn’t tell you what time of day it was because the week was packed with the debut of three new djs at the club. First on Tuesday, JellyBean Madison’s ska set killed and everyone lost their minds skankin’. Check it out her podcast here. On Friday, Callie Carr, one of SL’s premiere rock DJs ratcheted up the intensity with two heavy hours. Then last night, Clockwork saw the debut of DJ Xax, who generated a lot of buzz with her set of ultranow electronica, it’s clear she’s destined to become one of the hottest IDM/electronic djs around. Lucky for us, all three of these dj’s will be right here in Topgol to give you the hippest soundtrack for your Second Life. Okay, did I hype that up enough? I’m pretty excited, obviously.

-=Clockwork=-
Schedule for week of 20-26 August 2007

Monday 20 August, 6-7 p.m. SL time
DJ keTchUp spins freestyle. Old school punk to electronica, if you want to party on a Monday but want to hear more than just the new music and funk hours, get out early and shake it.

Monday 20 August, 7-8 p.m. SL time
(n)eXt with DJ keTchUp
New music Mondays with the latest indie rock, glitchiest idm, electroclash, blog rock, postrock soundscapes, and digital tweaking.

Monday 20 August, 8-9 p.m. SL time
Esteban makes the mothership connection with the funky Anti-Monday mix.

Tuesday 21 August, 6-8 p.m. SL time
Skankin’ Tuesdays w/JellyBean
um, ska (duh), and some punk, because what’s one without the other?

Wednesday 22 August, 8-10 p.m. SL time
DesertWolf brings you a rock soundscape that will make you think the weekend came early.

Thursday 23 August
DJ keTchUp will be on the road, so no IDM this week.

Friday 24 August, 4-6 p.m. SL time
DJ Callie Carr gets heavy on you.

Sunday 26 August, 6-9 p.m. SL time
DJ Xax layers the evening with mid-tempo electronica. (She’s on vacation earlier this week, so this slot may or may not happen. Watch this space for details.)

Also, Myg and I’ll will be on vacation Thursday, 23 August, through Monday, 3 September, so the schedule may vary somewhat, especially on Mondays and Thursdays.

October made it out last week and kept me company. We had an excellent convo about her circuit bending exploits and the x0xb0x she built.

I’ll be spinning glitchy electronica and ephemera again tonight from 7-8 p.m. SL time at Clockwork in Topgol (225, 143, 54). The past couple of weeks have been great (DesertWolf brought the noise again last night to a growing fan base of hard rockin’ avatars) and the roster of DJs is expanding and more slots are getting filled in the schedule. Tomorrow from 4-6 p.m. SL time, Callie Carr will make her Friday debut spinning a range of danceable rock tracks. Stay tuned for details about other additions and special events.

Click the arrow to stream. Right click and “save link as” to download.
DJ keTchUp spins in the beer locker at Clockwork

Track listing and download/purchase links after the jump.Here’s the track listing:

Final – “”"”"”"” (from Two) | 8:04
download from eMusic

Hrvatski – Gemini (Early) (from Swarm and Dither) | 3:16
download from eMusic

Bola – Papnwea (from Gnayse) | 7:23
buy from Insound

Apparat – Not a Number (from Walls) | 3:59
download from eMusic
buy from Insound

Twine – Touched (from Recorder) | 5:45
download from eMusic

Autechre – Drone (from Peel Session) | 10:48
buy from Insound

Capitol K – Jump Off The Box (from Sounds of the Empire) | 4:38

Gustavo Santaolalla – Can Things Be Better? (from 21 Grams soundtrack) | 1:19
buy from Insound

Lusine ICL – freak (from the freak 12″) | 7:12
download from eMusic

Eats Tapes – NOS (from Dos Mutantes) | 4:16
download from eMusic
buy from Insound

O9 – Terminal Red (from Church of the Ghetto PC) | 3:36

Ms. John Soda – A Million Times (from Notes and the Like) | 4:11
download from eMusic

dinee and Veyron are making the mothership connection during Esteban’s set last night, and I’m either shakin’ it or scratchin’ it there in the left background.

Here’s last night’s set, without the skipping and dropouts that were provided courtesy of some evil harddrive/network confluencies. Click the arrow to stream or right click and “save link as” to download:

(n)eXt podcast from 13 August 2007

Trans Am – First Words (4:14)
Bloc Party – Waiting for the 7.18 (4:15)
Raising the Fawn – Gwendolyn (4:28)
Goodbooks – Alice (3:38)
The Mary Timony Band – Sharpshooter (3:00)
White Rabbits – The Plot (3:31)
The Enemy – Had Enough (2:40)
Tokyo Police Club – Cut Cut Paste (1:46)
Pinback – From Nothing to Nowhere (3:27)
Stars – Bitches in Tokyo (2:50)
Art Brut – Nag Nag Nag Nag (3:03)
Revolution Mother – Come On (2:10)
Idiot Pilot – Elephant (3:45)
Rilo Kiley – The Moneymaker (2:52)
God Love You For a Liar – The Guest (4:30)
Okkervil River – No Key No Plan (3:00)
The National – Apartment Story (3:34)
The Real Tuesday Weld – Last Words (4:54)

And some good photos of the action from Esteban’s Flickr stream.

Discussion and links–including new purchase and download options–after the jump.

This week we’re bringing you an added feature, links to help support these cool artists whose tracks you’re enjoying and giving a tiny little kickback to M is for Myg. First off, if you like these songs, please support the bands. The best way to do that is to click the link for the band’s web site, find out when they’re playing near you, and then go see them live. In terms of percentages, bands make the most from live performance. Second, if you like the tracks and want to keep hearing them, considering downloading them from eMusic or buying the compact disc from Insound! eMusic gives you 25 free downloads just to try them out, and has great monthly subscription rates if you decide to continue (about US$0.30 per track). And unlike iTunes, there is no DRM on the mp3s, so you can store them and play them where and when you wish. Myg and I have been eMusic members for a couple of years and love it. Insound has one of the best catalogs online and gives artists a better cut of the sales than places like Amazon. So if you just gotta have the physical disc (or like me, you want your mp3s to be at a higher bit-rate than 128), think about ordering from Insound! And yes, we’re affiliates of these places, so when you sign up or buy a cd, the love gets shared all around.

Trans Am – First Words (from Sex Change)
download it at eMusic
buy it at insound!
At this point, these guys are second only to Kraftwerk in terms of krautrock, imho. Somewhat derivative, but if you want to keep the mood going, playing this back-to-back with Europe Endless, Trans Europe Express, or Tour de France is an easy immaculate segue.

Bloc Party – Waiting for the 7.18 (from A Weekend in the Country)
buy it at insound!
Great build in this song. I’m not digging the sophomore album as much as their first release, but it’s still worth having, and it may be one of those things that just grows on me the more I listen to it. I’m a diehard Spoon fanatic and their records always take several spins for me to get pumped about. Then I can’t figure out why it missed it the first time. I hope this is one of those.

Raising the Fawn – Gwendolyn (from The North Sea)
download from eMusic
buy it at insound!
Okay, one of a couple of release mistakes this week. This is from 2004. Sue me, I wasn’t paying attention. Still worth listening, and they have a 2007 release as well. Another guy with a great headvoice. A groovy track that sounds like a cup of coffee on the way to the beach or the lake Saturday morning with your friends and the dog. Yorke meets Stipe with a horn section for the breakdown.

Goodbooks – Alice (from Control)
Nice use of the classic disco beat in the chorus, engaging vocals. I’m listening for more.

The Mary Timony Band – Sharpshooter (from The Shapes We Make)
download from eMusic
buy it at insound!

You may remember Mary T. from Helium. It was all about her anyway, so why come up with an exciting name for the new band when you’ve still got the voice?

White Rabbits – The Plot (from Fort Nightly)
download it from eMusic
buy it at insound!
This may be the one Wrath is humming all week (try to not join in with that: “So, whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh!”) The dude in the song may not be impressed, but I am.

The Enemy – Had Enough
This reminds me of something else, maybe another of their songs, maybe The Killers, or maybe something else entirely from the 1970s. I’m guessing these boys know their pop history. Bay City Rollers anyone? I mean that in the best way, of course.

Tokyo Police Club – Cut Cut Paste (from Smith)
download from eMusic
buy it at insound!
Silly beginning that breaks into something musically engaging. They get my vote for best band name of the moment. They’re getting a nice push from fans and critics alike, at the moment.

Pinback – From Nothing to Nowhere (from Autumn of the Seraphs)
buy it at insound!
My favorite Pinback track yet. Echoes of Sebadoh in here, but tighter and more rhythmically upbeat in that quintessential Pinback manner.

Stars – Bitches in Tokyo (from In Our Bedroom After the War)
buy it at insound!
I admit it, I got suckered by the song name, but the track sounds good too.

Art Brut – Nag Nag Nag Nag
pre-order it at insound!
Art Brut are alternately irritating and enticing. This track keeps mostly on the enticing end of the scale with just enough grate to make it stand out.

Revolution Mother – Come On (from Glory Bound)
This band rocks without apologies. Crack open a beer, hunker down in your leather jacket, and punch it out. Sounds like a Friday night in a basement bar—my kinda place.

Idiot Pilot – Elephant (from Wolves)
Great guitar sounds. Definite Failure west-coast indie prog influences here, but that’s a good thing in my book. These guys are on Reprise and carry an unfortunate band name; let’s hope it’s not prescient about their career guidance and they ride that elephant all the way.

Rilo Kiley – The Moneymaker (from Under the Blacklight)
pre-order it at insound!
Oh yeah. I am so there. How does she make retro sound like now?

God Love You For a Liar – The Guest (from How Much Is Enough)
Another great male voice. I’ve played them two weeks in a row, they must be doing something right. Chorus: “I let the guest come/now make him go”

Okkervil River – No Key No Plan
buy it at insound! (this is not the version that has this song, bummer)
download it at emusic (they have the “definitive edition” with the extra tracks, plus you can just get the single track)
Okay, I made an error on this one. This song is not a 2007 release. It’s a 2005 release only available on the “definitive edition” of their album Black Sheep Boy, which may be why I hadn’t heard it. Nevertheless, a band to watch and the latest album – The Stage Names – has a big buzz around it.

The National – Apartment Story (from Boxer)
buy it from insound!
Whattaymean you don’t have this album yet? Oh you do? Okay, good.

The Real Tuesday Weld – Last Words (from The London Book of the Dead)
I couldn’t resist. And it’s a good pop song. Enjoy. Wrath is going to be humming this synth line all week.

Clockwork is proud to announce the arrival of one of SL’s hottest DJ personalities, JellyBean Madison, to bring you the ska on Tuesdays nights. Here’s an idea of what she’ll be spinning: first-third generation SKA, rockabilly (i.e The Cramps, Stray Cats, Reverend Horton Heat) & a touch of punk (i.e Pennywise, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I). Her favorite SKA bands are: No Doubt, Mustard Plug, Sublime, Madness, Catch 22, Streetlight Manifesto, Mad Caddies, Skeletones, The Specials, The Lambrettas, etc. So break out your porkpie hats, dark shades, tight skirts and skinny ties and tp your ass over to Mainline Philly’s favorite hang, Topgol (225, 143, 54), this Tuesday and giver her a nice big mahalo with the rest of the rudies.

The club’s schedule is filling up nicely, and here’s what the week holds in store for you:

Monday 6-7 p.m. SL time
DJ keTchUp spins freestyle – old school punk to IDM, if you want to party on a Monday but want to hear tracks that are more familia, get out early before the new music starts.

Monday 7-8 p.m. SL time
(n)eXt with DJ keTchUp
New music Mondays with the latest indie rock, glitchiest idm, electroclash, blog rock, postrock soundscapes, and digital tweaking.

Monday 8-9 p.m. SL time
Esteban gets down wit da boogie
shake it for an hour with the Anti-Monday mix

Tuesday 6-8 p.m. SL time
Skankin’ Tuesdays w/JellyBean
um, ska (duh), and some punk, because what’s one without the other?

Wednesday 8-10 p.m. SL time
DesertWolf brings you a rock soundscape that will make you think the weekend came early.

Thursday 7-8 p.m. SL time
DJ keTchUp spins IDM, downtempo, chill, and other esoteric electronica, and probably sticks around a little longer and cuts loose with some heavier club tracks.