Today is the release day of the new album "Release the Stars" by Rufus Wainwright. This is his fifth album. Rufus comes from one of those crazy music families just full of crazy talent. It kind of makes me a little jealous. His dad is the great Loudon Wainwright III and his mom is Kate McGarrical. His sister, Martha, is also a musician. His first self titled album came out in 1998. I have to admit that I first got into Rufus when I found out that he was gay. Even today, very few musicians actually admit to being gay. Especially when starting out in the music business. It took Elton John like 50 years to come out. I felt it was my duty to support him and I was intrigued. But I actually ended up liking his debut album "Rufus Wainwright" quite a bit. Some might find him a bit dramatic but he really does have  a stunning voice.




Although you will have a hard time noticing it, Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys is the executive producer. When I first heard about Neil being involved, I was expecting a very different album. I was sort of expecting a mix of Erasure and Liberace. However, nothing could be farther away from what the album actually turned out to be. It is still a very Rufus album. The album also features Richard Thompson. The Thompson and Wainwright families are often intertwined.  Teddy Thompson, the son of Richard and Linda Thompson, is a good friend and often plays live with Rufus. His new album is brilliant. He really is a great songwriter. He manages to capture a tragic feeling in all his songs even if they seem to be at first happy little ballads. His signature voice carries you through the album and brings you into his little Rufus world. Its hard not to notice his love of the showtunes and the opera. He for sure likes the drama. However, its not done in a mocking way or even a kitschy way. Rufus plays his own piano on most of the songs. Sometimes you might even feel you are at a piano bar listening to your favorite song. But a really good piano bar that you would keep coming back to. He has his own unique style but also manages to create an album that even your grandma might like. Just as long as she doesn't look to deep into the lyrics.

So I am a big fan of the roller derby. And I am so excited there are roller derby leagues popping up all over the country. I have been to the B.ay A.rea. D.erby Girls events out here in the bay area a couple of times. They have had some bad news lately. They lost their old place where they had the events and are on a search for a new venue. I have heard that they will be having it at the Cow Palace soon! They are having a fundraiser soon so check our their website.


We were looking for something else fun to do in Denver and happened to find a flyer for the derby girls at  Wax Trax. The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls were playing against the Salt Lake City team. It was the 5280 Fight Club vs. Salt City Derby Girls. We were staying with my boyfriends sister in Denver. And we knew her and her husband were gonna love some roller derby. I only wish we would have brought their daughter who is almost two. She is for sure a roller girl in the making. So of course, we had to go to the roller derby. I wanted to know if the kids in Denver were as crazy for roller derby as they are out here in the bay area. They had a really nice venue for their derby in Denver in the Stapleton area. It made me a little jealous for the ladies back here. It was very similar to the bay area derby. It was a rowdy crowded event. Just a little less rowdy and a little less crowded. Possibly the only improvement over the bay area was that you could hear the announcers. But I don't know if this was because they had a better sound system or if there was less people yelling.

I just got back from my trip to Denver! We went and saw Morrissey on Wednesday night and stayed through the weekend. For some reason I thought it was going to be cold. I always think that places that snow during the winter remain cold through the rest of the year. But I was wrong. I know it was only like 85 degrees, but it was totally hot. I kind of like to complain about the weather. But Denver was nicer than I thought it would be. The show was in the hipper part of downtown. One of those neighborhoods where hipster meets homeless. Just as I'm sure the people of Dallas don't really live like the cast of the TV show "Dallas," the town of Denver was not much like "Dynasty." However, it was a very comfortable city. Even though I kind of freak out when I am not near the ocean, I did feel surprisingly calm. We had a chance to spend some time in Denver and even made it over to Wax Trax Records to do some shopping.

The show was at the Fillmore. I was expecting it to be like the Fillmore in San Francisco. It was not. It was a good size venue. A big stage with the feel of a high school basketball stadium. There was seating along the sides and a VIP balcony. My friend Erika hooked us up with some tickets so we actually got to be in the VIP section! So when we got there we went upstairs and the usher ladies told us we actually had our names printed out marking seats for us. The Fillmore was actually really comfortable and casual. I often get stressed out in big venues. But the staff was really nice and even though it was crowded, I didn't feel crowded. It kind of felt like home. He has taken Kristeen Young with him on tour. I was not really into her at the Pasadena show. But I actually started to like her at this show. It is just her on keyboards and a drummer. She is for sure a unique lady and kind of intense.

So if you thought the Patrick Wolf album cover from last week was ridiculous, you are gonna love the cover of the new Bjork album "Volta." It has already grown on me and I have now decided that I love it. However, I can't think of anyone else who could pull off an album cover like this. There is nobody quite like Bjork. Love her or hate her, she is one unique lady. "Volta" is her sixth full length album. She launched her very successful solo career after leaving her Icelandic group "The Sugarcubes." Those Sugarcubes albums sure are great fun. I have some great memories attached to those old albums. But I have to say, the dude singer in the band always kind of annoyed me, and I was not sad when she started her solo career.

I was not a huge fan of Bjork's last album "Medulla." But she has for sure won me back with this new one. I had been a big fan for years but had maybe overdosed a bit on Bjork. But I am ready again. She won me over with her performance on Saturday Night Live a couple of weeks ago. And Scarlet Johansen was actually funny! I have now also had a chance to listen to the album. Its actually really good. While I am not in love with the single "Earth Intruders" as much as maybe she would like me to be. The album as a whole is great. The album not only features a ten piece Icelandic female brass section, but also Antony (Antony & the Johnsons), Timbaland, Chris Corsano, and Brian Chippendale (Lightning Bolt). Did you hear that what I said. Antony is on the album! This is reason enough to pick it up. Bjork and Antony are a really good match. It just makes sense that they would work together. Seriously, fans of Bjork will not be disappointed. And even old fans who have not necessarily loved her the last couple years, might find themselves liking Bjork again. Bjork has the amazing ability to experiment with all these different instruments and sound manipulations and somehow make it accessible. She makes brilliant pop albums but there is always something weird there. Something to make it more interesting than your normal pop album.  I am going to see her live in a couple weeks. I can't wait to hear the album live and see those amazing sets and costumes and all those 50 or so people on stage. It's gonna be awesome!

Explosions in the Sky have seriously got to be one of the best bands ever. If you like that instrumental indie rock kind of thing. I can't get enough of these guys. They have just put out their most recent album a couple months ago, and like the rest of their albums it has the possibility of changing your life. Or maybe it will just make the act of getting through your life a little better. Explosions in the Sky are great at creating a soundtrack for what goes on in your head. They seem to be able to somehow capture that feeling. Explosions also have that amazing ability to make you feel intensely sad and happy at the same time.

The Explosions in the Sky have four real albums. The first being "How Strange, Innocence" originally released in 2000. This album was reissued by Temporary Residence recently. This was followed by "Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forverver" in 2001. Next was "The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place" in 2003. This year they gave us "All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone." They also did a mail order album ep thing "The Rescue" which you can buy from them at their shows. Also, in 2004, they did the soundtrack to the movie "Friday Night Lights." Friday Night Lights is now a TV show that I don't watch. I've heard good things about it, but it just doesn't fit into my schedule. I have heard that soundtrack, and it is of course, amazing. All of these albums are put out by the amazing label "Temporary Residence Limited." In addition to the Explosions albums, they also put out albums by Eluvium, Tarentel, By the End of Tonight, The Grails, and Rob Crow.