which shouldnt be surprising. i hate most things when i first hear them,

sorry new ac/dc record.

and i appreciate the grates for trying something new, as they often do,

this time it’s more stark and punk rock, and minimalistic.

but it seems like they hurried this together because they are about to have a lil baby

which is sweet and cute but how about just dont record until you actually have songs?

patience can sing, jon is a musical genius, but talent alone wont get the job done

otherwise Yngvie Malmsteen would be more popular than the Beetles.

i will still listen to it endlessly over the next few weeks bc i love them

and i will hope i can hear things in the upcoming listens that im not hearing now

which usually happens

but on first glance, yikes

on getting married after all these years.

when sass was sent to australia she asked what she could bring back for me.
which is very sweet.
so i said two aussie wives please.
one who made money like nicole kidman
and one who made music like patience of the grates
so sass brought me back the import only “Secret Rituals” cd.

something happens to me with music.
i’ll get something and 9 times outta 10 i’ll listen to it a few times the first week
and i’ll forget about it and at best maybe play one of the songs a couple of times that year
but that 10th time out of 10 i will dust it off and i will be addicted to it
and wonder, why didnt i hear all of that beauty the first week?

that happened to me with Nevermind, Pinkerton, and Time Out of Mind
yawned the first dozen spins. put it in the trunk. many moons later popped it in
and Whoa.

dont get me wrong. im not saying this is one of the classic records of all time
because this same phenomenon happened to me for Avril’s “Girlfriend” and LMFAO’s “Sorry for Party Rocking”
every day i would listen to those albums several times a day.
but this one i listen to the entire thing over and over and over

im losing my mind and “Secret Rituals” seems to be the only cure.

which is weird because this isnt even the Grates’ best record.
but i cant stop playing it. i love every video. i love every tone.
and for someone who gets bored with EVERYTHING within minutes i am so not bored with this

more ranting and videos after the jump

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as their longtime drummer decides to become a baker

10 excerpts from The Grates’ press release blog post published yesterday:

10. With heavy hearts we announce that Alana Skyring, cutest drummer in rock, has left our band to pursue the culinary arts (or in other words, to become the cutest baker in baking). We wish her the very best of luck.

9. John & I will continue on as the Grates & have whole bunch of new songs to share with you very soon.

8. We’re in the process of recording them all now, in Brooklyn NY, and can’t wait to bring them back home.

7. Happy 2011, let’s make it great.

6. xoxo

5. The Grates have been based in Brooklyn for the last year.

4. It’s been an interesting period for the Brisbane band as they relocated to the USA, saw a change in their line up and began work in earnest on their next record.

3. “Brooklyn has a persuasive & inviting community spirit. Being surrounded by thousands of artists finding pleasure in their creations definitely re-energised our spirits in writing a new record.” says frontwoman Patience Hodgson of the move.

2. The Grates will continue as a two-piece, recruiting talented renegades along the way for recording and live performances.

1. The Grates’ highly anticipated new album is due out in June 2011.

my work was very nice to me. lots of sweets. balloons. gifts. cards.
but the best was they let me have the next day off.

which meant i was able to party heartily at the sushi and sake place avec amigos

it was great to see everyone including anti who had a killer new tattoo

and hey theres karisa with anti’s blushing bride, tanky

sarah was behind the balloons and the cupcakes so i was glad to thank her
by getting her ishfaced at the sake place.
ten bucks says she puked that night.

because i properly paced myself (vodka shots, sake, beers, bailey’s)
i was ready for THE GRATES AT THE SILVERLAKE LOUNGE OMG OMG

guitarist John was still ill with pneumonia, so Patience bought a new outfit

the sound wasnt the best, and the sightlines werent great
but the spirit of their super fun music was definately in the house

this photo with my truest proves that i can be super drunk and super happy
with a brand new the grates tshirt and i can look xactly the same as sober.

even though ive been rocking their cd for a few weeks, i was blown away by Those Darlins

they were sultry and rollickin and sassy and a tad sad

sad because the blonde babe explained how her bf had just broken up with her

just made you wanna hug her. and get her some chicken.

i was given friday off, so my truest drove me through the santa monica mountains
where she took me to my favorite beachside shrimp shack

we had a pound of jumbo shrimp, a half pint of clam chowdah, veggies, bread, and soda
then we walked across pch and took pictures of the surfers

took the long way home, which meant pch to sunset and sunset to hollywood

driving thru beverly hills the sweet girl was all omg make a uturn

it was this huge mansion with cool halloween decorations rockin

the best were these creepy scarecrows. dude had dozens of them

some of them were fine, but a few of them had the creep factor increased by a lot

it was the perfect way to close out a great day.

i want every day to be my birthday now.

everyone at work was super great. there were cupcakes and balloons and rice krispy treats

after work there was sushi and booze and tempura and more booze.

after that there was The Grates and Those Darlins who were awesome.

then there was MCDONALDS DRIVE THRU in the weeeeeeeee hours

then there was massive passing outtting happening.

now theres a hangover being cured except my neighbors are being loud cuz its a gorgeous morning

made more gorgeous since i planned to take today off of work

which means perhaps a drive up the pch to malibu

or perhaps a nice walk to the cinema

or perhaps i will just run topless around LA

CUZ I CAN!!!

thanks to everyone who expressed bday wishes in these comments, on twitter, and on facebook, oh and also to those who did it in person.

such a great birthday!!!!!!!!!!!

photo by the kogasnake

: uno

number of days i have left to enjoy being 102 years old? uno

number of world series’ the cubs need to win before i die? uno!

favorite pizza place on wilshire blvd? uno’s

favorite card game as a young child? old maid