LIL WIZ NEWZ

you guys i am so bad at keeping up this blog!! i wanna say that i haven't been posting as much because i've been busy with school and my totally awesome band, but the fact is that i've just been lazy and uninspired.

i do wanna tell you guys a couple of things though.

first, i was featured in SFWeekly's HEY DJ Q+A seriez last week. Read my interview here and try not to feel too embarassed for me.

Also, I put up a new episode of my crummy podcast, which you can listen to here.

ALSO! Advance warning!!! MY BDAY IS COMING UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, don't be a dick and come to this show, which I'm making my bday show so I can guilt people into coming.

Excuse My Beauty

Excuse My Beauty - watch more funny videos

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I think everyone should aspire the most ravishingly beautiful creaure they can possibly be. With the help of the Mary Kay Virtual Makeover application, I've taken the liberty of giving some of my friends ultimate makeovers. I can only hope that you guys take the changes I've made here to heart! Look how amazing you can all look with just a few minor tweaks.

First up is yours truly. I'll be taking a trip to Claire's Boutique tomorrow to purchase some of these special sparkly accessories.



Michael looks like a beauty queen with his new highlights.



I gave Baldur a soft daytime look with a sideswept pony and a full bang.



Here's a dapper evening look for Bertie, inspired by Club ID circa 2005.



I played up Brooke's wonderful full lips and gave her some funky blonde highlights.



Chris looks great with his blonde spiral perm!



Cimi could really benefit from some burgundy chunking.



Colin looks extra sultry with flowing blonde hair and a veil.



Here I envisioned what Hellyn will look like in 50 years.



Next up is Jesse "Majickal Sparklebeard" Johansen



Jessica came out looking like a dollar store imitation of Gwenyth Paltrow.



I gave Kelli a dramatic 60's prom queen look.



I call this LetiLook (tm) "Tangerine Dream".



Neela. No comment.



Patty's getting married later this summer, so here's a beautiful bridal look.



I gave Rahel a playful goth look.



Rion's soft updo is sure to get him many dates.



Sarah's looking ghetto fab and flirty!



Why so coy, Matthew? You look fantastic!



Erin even did her own makeover!! C'est magnifique!!



Ok guys now get to work!!!!

My Top 50 Songs Evs

In no particular order, inspired by Radiorhythm. Click on the blue linxx to listen! Duh!!

1. Orange Juice - Rip It Up
2. New Order - Temptation (7" Version)
3. Spunky Onions - How I Lost My Virginity
4. The Lines - Nerve Pylon
5. The Necessaries - More Real
6. The Nerves - Gimme Some Time
7. REM - Time After Time
8. Joy Division - Disorder
9. Can - I'm Hiding My Nightingale
10. Cocteau Twins - Wax And Wane
11. Siouxie And The Banshees - Israel
12. The Fall - The Classical
13. Josef K - Chance Meeting
14. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Thankfully Living In Yorkshire It Doesn't Apply
15. Eddie And The Hotrods - Do Anything You Wanna Do
16. Paul McCartney - Ram On
17. Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon
18. The Clean - Anything Could Happen
19. Look Blue Go Purple - Grace
20. The Particles - Apricot's Dream
21. My Bloody Valentine - Cigarette In Your Bed22. Smog - Hit The Ground Running
23. Will Oldham - Rider
24. Red House Painters - Grace Cathedral Park
25. OMD - So In Love
26. Lora Logic - Rat Alley
27. Liliput - Might Is Right
28. Brian Eno - I'll Come Running
29. Caetano Veloso + Gal Costa - Baby
30. Novos Baianos - Preta Pretinha
31. The Records - Starry Eyes
32. Love - Andmoreagain
33. Talking Heads - Seen And Not Seen
34. The Durutti Column - Tomorrow
35. Section 25 - Reflection
36. Psychic TV - The Orchids
37. Stockholm Monsters - Fairy Tales
38. The Wake - Crush The Flowers
39. Television Personalities - Three Wishes
40. The Go-Betweens - Unkind And Unwise
41. Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - Sunshower
42. Echo And The Bunnymen - Seven Seas
43. Scott Walker - Duchess
44. Aztec Camera - We Could Send Letters
45. The Chills - Kaleidoscope World
46. The Laughing Apple - Wouldn't You?
47. The Zombies - This Will Be Our Year
48. The Left Banke - I've Got Something On My Mind
49. Felt - Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow
50. Silver Apples - Seagreen Serenade

Honorable mention!

St. Christopher - All Of A Tremble
James - Hymn From A Village
14 Iced Bears - Cut
Close Lobsters - Just Too Bloody Stupid

Cringe List, Part Two

Party Like A Rockstar (thanks Matthew Davis for reminding me. Jerk.)

Using the words "decadent" or "sinful" to describe food. ie, brownies so rich and decadent you'd never know they're Weight Watchers!!!!!!!!!

DEBAUCHERY. This one kills me. There was a club here in SF a few years ago whose tagline was DANCEFLOOR DEBAUCHERY. I'm sorry, but getting wasted, doing a bunch of coke in a bathroom stall and making out with a stranger does not make you fucking Caligula.

Ending a sentence with ",yo."

Tweet. I know I'm gonna get shit for this one, but it just sounds stupid and I still can't bring myself to say it. I will continue to sound out of touch and continue to use "twitter" as a verb. Twitter that!

Using the word "sexy" to describe inanimate objects, i.e. a "sexy car" or "sexy building." Creepy. (Sexy robots are ok though.)



"Spinning" in a dj sense. When people ask me what kind of music I "spin," it makes me cringe. Other "beatmasters" I've talked to have echoed this sentiment. Maybe you can use this word if you're "spinning" deep house or some shit, but don't try to apply it to my fruity indiepop records. It just makes me feel embarrassed.

Overuse of FAIL, WIN or FTW.

"W00t!"

More to come, probably. I'm grumpy today, dudes. SRY.

Words And Phrases That Make Me Cringe

FUNKY (ie, I told my hairdresser...just give me something fun and funky!!!)

SHAG/SNOG/SHITE/CHEERS (or any other anglophile speak used by non-Brits)

NOM (or any other lolcat speak)

"VEGAN TREATS"

"GET MY ___ ON"

"I LOVE ME SOME _____"

"THAT'S HOT"

Calling New Orleans NOLA

YUMMY

FABULOUS

CHAMPERS


So, like...in summation: UGH.

That is all.

Nu House Is The Wave Of The Future

Last night all of us at 651 Kansas had a little housecooling party, since in two weeks we're all moving on to greener pastures. I'm relocating to a super cute studio on 17th and Mission, Patty and Baldur are getting their own place since they're getting married, Jimmy is moving in with some bros in the Panhandle, and Hellyn is leaving us for New York. After a few glasses of wine, Hellyn and I decided it was time to finally make the phat house track that we've been talking about doing the entire time she's lived with us. With Jimmy's help mixxing, we produced the following LIVE HOUSE TRACK on the fly. That's me on diva vocals, singing a bunch of shit I made up on the spot about our awful landlord, apple bongs, PLUR, getting higher than the sun. Listen for Lauren Spiro's cameo somewhere around the 3 minute mark. I guess I should also mention that parts of this are a little nsfw...not sure where the um part about Lauren's sheets came from but uh I had a few glasses of wine last night.

My buddy Jason says that with his lyrical help, TWEET HOUSE (the name of our musical project) can make MILLION$.

Jason
you guys should come up with something tho
like seriously
like, crystal castles like
low fi
play up the sexiness
and have some concept
and make the lyrics really specific to SF.

Melanie Berlin
i mean, i would actually love to do some fucking diva house
i know that sounds funny
but like, its fun to sing
the lyrics would be about the love parade
and tranny prostitues

Jason
yeah...something like...you can poke me in a polk street bathromm.

Melanie Berlin
hahaha
i could write a song about the piss trough at the eagle

Jason
call one song teenage runaway
turning trick in the green poop processing maching, out there in front of safeway, i didnt go in the safeway, barbacking that ass up like a juvenile...
get it
so many layers
backing that ass up like a juvenile
get it
haha
teenage runaway
juvenile the singer
back that ass up the song
i should ghostwrite

Melanie Berlin
seriously you should just be my lyricist

Jason
you send me the tracks..
ill ghostwrite them
you can blow up
we'll make millions

Melanie Berlin
good thinking
we'll play our debut show at la mezcalera (a bar in tijuana that jason frequents)

Jason
yeah
go international before local
send me some tracks
the first sing will be called line up
about doing lines of a dick
imma start brain storming
freestyling

..........

Here's our epic 10-minute house jam, and the video I made to go with it. Sorry I suck so bad at iMovie, but that's the breaks dudes. Also um, the song is what you might call a little "reverb-heavy."

Rainy Dayze

Ugh, I fucking hate this weather. Look what the rain and wind did to my shitty $6 Walgreens umbrella!



Look what it did to my hair!



Not to mention that my coat now smells like wet dog and my shoes are all soggy and cold. Walking around in a hailstorm when the wind is blowing sideways is no fun at all.

Yet still there's the Goth/Folkie/SHUGAZR(Hi Ansh!) side of me that kinda likes the wet, gray weather. It's perfect for staring out the window all wistfully, perfect for hot cocoa and for sleeping, and perfect for staying in and watching movies and snuggling. Plus I have to say, San Francisco on a gray day is actually really pretty. The black storm clouds look kinda rad hovering ominously over the mountains.



With the right soundtrack (and galoshes), it can be kinda awesome to walk around in. Here are some of my favorite songs that make me feel all dreamy and romantic on rainy days, instead of wet and irritated.

Vashti Bunyan - I'd Like To Walk Around In Your Mind



Black Tambourine - For Ex-Lovers Only



The Go-Betweens - Unkind And Unwise



Biff Bang Pow! - She Never Understood



My Bloody Valentine - Cigarette In Your Bed



Felt - Cathedral (from Crumbling The Antiseptic Beauty, my fave rainy day album evs)



The Durutti Column - Tomorrow



Echo And The Bunnymen - Seven Seas



Cocteau Twins - Love's Easy Tears



Joy Division - Atmoshpere



REM - Time After Time



Big Star - Thirteen



Espers - Black Is The Color



Jorge Ben - Oba, La Vem Ela



Novos Baianos - Preta Pretinha



Alton And Hortense Ellis - I'm Still In Love WIth You



Love - Andmoreagain



The Left Banke - Shadows Breaking Over My Head



The Zombies - I Love You



Hopkirk And Lee - Free Arthur Lee!



Red House Painters - Grace Cathedral Park



Papercuts - Future Primative



Cass McCombs - What Isn't Nature



SORRY THIS POST IS SO LONG GUYZ! Yikes.