http://www.mugglenet.com/app/news/show/1915

That’s a snippet of my piece on Radcliffe’s appearance on Inside the Actor’s Studio, as I blogged about last time. There’s been a whirlwind of stuff that has been generated since the article’s release, some good, some bad. But no matter. I’m still damned proud of this article and don’t regret taking on the story one bit. I mean come on, HP changed my LIFE, man. And this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. To see him in the flesh, to hear him speak about Potter, his childhood, and his life. And best of all, to be the one to write about it. It was the ultimate honor, and the best time I’ve ever had as an aspiring journalist.

This coming week’s gonna be even more of a whirlwind. I’m gonna see two Broadway shows which, considering I’ve only seen two in my lifetime, is saying a lot. Tomorrow, I’m seeing Avenue Q with my friend Bonnie. A few days later, it’s A Tale of Two Cities with Em. I’m gonna be staying over at her place again, so I look forward to bonding with her and her mom because they’re awesome people. The day after that, I’m getting my senior picture taken. In between that I’ve got to fill out forms, lots and lots of forms for all sorts of things, make appointments, finish reading a book, and work on my research project. Whew, that was exhausting just to type.

So I finally cracked open my new Virgins CD and it’s AMAZING. So groovy, so retro-punk, so much attitude, so laid back, etc. etc.

Some tracks are severely different from their originals in the EP, but they’re still good. “Love Is Colder Than Death,” for instance, is slowed down– perhaps it’s the slowest ditty on the whole album. Personally, I prefer the grittier version more, but this still rocks.

Best tracks? “Rich Girls,” of course, and “Hey Hey Girl,” which really impressed me. The guitar riffs matched the lead singer’s enunciation of every other word in the chorus. “Murder” and “One Week of Danger” are also great. I already listened to the CD twice in a row now. I think I’m addicted.

The singing sounds like a drunkard’s slurring, the music itself is sloppy, but that only helps The Virgins’ effort. This music is probably what a night out at a crazy bar in New York City feels like. And who to better convey it than a group of four lads who hail from New York City?

I’m gonna attempt to write this while still a bit buzzed.

I’ve got a fevah! And the only prescription…is more Dengue! Dengue Fever that is!

Wow, that was lame.

Anyway, I was reppin’ GR at Summerstage today. Dengue Fever and two other bands performed, and ohmygollyness, it was awesome.

Went there with Tad and Alex. The former wore his distinguished Editor’s Note hat and the latter wore his Australianness. I wore my trademark scowl, as per having had the shittiest morning in C-town with my folks and because as of late, I’ve forgotten how to make my mouth smile.

Because I live in a pod, this was my first real concert. I helped sell a coupla issues before Tad egged me on to “rock it,” and deciding Why not? I ran off into the crowd. At the sight of my little Zenbumedia pass around my neck, the crowd just kinda…parted to let me get to the front. I felt like Jesus.

Best part? Meeting Dengue Fever, getting pics taken with them, getting their autographs. So fucking surreal.

Worst part? Using the portapotties, or however you spell them. Got unidentifiable orange stuff on my new Chuck Taylors, had no sink to wash my hands to quell the OCD voices in my head, etc. Ontop of that, I opened the door of a portapotty to find a man urinating in it. That was…awkward. I promptly ran back to blend in with the crowd so he wouldn’t find and beat me.

Getting back was kind of a nightmare. Tad’s directions to the station just slipped out of my Corona-addled brain and I ended up walking from 70something street to 59th and Lex, only to have the 4 train take me halfway, leaving me to take the 5 to Bowling Greenandblahblahblah. You’re getting bored, aren’t you.

Let me sum it up for you then: Today was fanfuckingtastic. Needless to say, I smiled. For the first time in ages.

Finally saw my Sa Dingding piece in magazine form today and MAN was that exciting. I still can’t believe it. I feel legit now.

Also typed up my lead review for Natalia Clavier’s Nectar and ran over the word count by 100 words. It’s kinda rough, but I’m proud of it. The tough part was finding bio info on Clavier that wasn’t in the press release. Practically every site I stumbled across had the exact same info– word for word– as the press release, which got annoying, fast. But her story of how she came to fame is pretty cut and dry, I suppose. Liked music as a kid, moved to a music hot spot, got discovered, made a record, etc. etc. Good record though. I think I conveyed that sentiment better this time around.

In other news, I fear my soul is dying.

Indeedy I am.

I am going to see Dengue Fever at Central Park Summerstage next weekend with Tad. Selling subscriptions and getting people’s emails. We’ll supposedly be sitting pretty beneath a tent right by the stage. So to all the stalkers out there, you now know where to find me.

I gave Natalia Clavier’s Nectar a listen the other day. Ain’t so bad. I mean, I really expected the thing to be mellow and girly…and it didn’t disappoint in that regard. I felt like lighting some candles and taking a bubble bath or something. Instead, I just sorta lay there on my bed and by the album’s end, my drooping eyelids closed on their own as I fell into a deep contented slumber.

No, it’s a good CD, I swear. I just gotta work on aptly conveying that.

You know what show I really like? I Survived a Japanese Game Show. Fucking genius. Culture clash at its funniest. I’m not usually into game shows, but this one’s different. It makes us Americans look like complete dolts. The things they’ll do for money…dressing up like bugs and launching themselves onto a dartboard; binging on mochi balls while on a treadmill…Genius, man.

So a few days ago I was shown the layout of my Sa Dingding Buzz piece in the next GR issue on China. And I nearly passed out; it was that magnificent. It looked so…professional. Okay, yeah, it was professionally done, but I imagine this is how someone looking into a mirror after major plastic surgery would feel. Like, Woah, that’s me?! Cool, I’ll take it! Like that. Totally made my day.

On an unrelated note, Coldplay’s Viva la Vida is coming out in 4 days and I can’t sleep just thinking about it. They released the full-length album online and I’m currently digging the title track (which is amazing), and even though by the end of this night I would have had listened to the whole CD, I’m still buying the it on the 17th to support my favorite Brit lads. Feels like it’s been forever since X&Y.

On yet another unrelated note, I finally purchased Wonder Boys, starring Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire– a movie I’ve watched 5 years ago and totally fell in love with and never saw again because it was a library copy. Which is why I buy everything now. Which is why I’m poor.

So the new Death Cab for Cutie CD is pretty fanfuckingtastic. In fact, I dare say it’s sheer genius. I’ve been alternating between “Cath,” “I Will Possess Your Heart,” “Your New Twin-Sized Bed,” and “Grapevine Fires” nonstop. The former is especially heartbreaking.

I want to marry Ben Gibbard.

Today wasn’t the chippest of days, but while walking home, my neighbor’s orange cat came out and let me pet it, which was very nice of it because it could’ve just stayed inside and snuggled with its owners.  Maybe I’ll be a cat lady one day. They understand me when no one else does.

Today, I checked out the music of Israeli group Eatliz.  Along with Noa Babayof, Eatliz is signed under Anova, although that’s pretty much all the two have in common in terms of their music itself.

Admittedly, I was jarred when Eatliz’s music began blaring on their MySpace page. I had expected something akin to the softness and delicacy of Noa’s music; instead, I was treated to a blast of some of the most pleasantly dissonant and disorienting melodies I’ve come across in terms of world music. The melodies seem driven by a dizzying, taurine-addled machine– I couldn’t help but sway and bop my head in all the appropriate places. The band’s sound recalls a cross between Italian metalheads Lacuna Coil, The Mars Volta, and our own Paramore, making for music that not only bears commendable aesthetic attributes, but no doubt also draws in the hip rebel teen and twenty-something crowds.

Melodies aside, the lyrics are a headtrip in and of themselves. Take “Big Fish,” off their full-length debut release, Violently Delicate, for instance: “My liver is so old/ all purple & gold/ we started to dance/ I woke up in France,” it ends. The bridge adamantly declares: “ALTHOUGH I DID IT/ I’LL MAKE YOU TAKE THE BLAME/ I’ll do it again. It’s the perfect elixir for youth angst– at times mellow and complacent, at other times shrieky, it’s arguably one of the album’s standout numbers.

Eatliz consists of Guy Ben Shitrit, Or Bahir, and Amit Erez on guitar, Adam Scheflan on bass, Omri Hanegbi on drums, and vocalist Lee Triffon. They have been deemed by many to be “the best band you haven’t heard yet”– a title that is rightfully deserved. This indie alternative group has churned out some of the most head-tripping beats you’re likely to come across. Check out “Big Fish” and other tracks from their debut album here: http://www.myspace.com/eatliz– Eatliz is a band that’s well worth a listen.

So to pick up where I last left off…

Tad has asked me about my interest and knowledge of Asian music–namely, China, as our next issue will center on Chinese music, to celebrate the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

I did some research on Chinese artists, with the help of a friend who lives and breathes Asian arts and entertainment, and came up with a good list of artists to check out– some well-known, others more esoteric.

Tad was initially interested in Zhang Li Yin– a new Chinese r&b artist whose voice is amazing– but the idea of featuring her was soon scratched because it turned out she isn’t going to perform at the opening ceremony of the games.

And here comes the development: I’m going to do my first Buzz piece! If all things go smoothly, I will be interviewing Chinese-Mongolian artist Sa Ding Ding for the next issue! I’m extremely excited (and apprehensive) about this; it’s a huge deal for me and I hope I get things right.

Sa Ding Ding sings in Tibetan, Mandarin, and even her own invented language. She plays every strange instrument imaginable. And her voice is unmatched in its ethereal quality.

The interview will most likely be conducted via the phone. I know Cantonese and very limited Mandarin, so hopefully she’ll know English and we can communicate fluently. I’ve got to come up with questions to ask her now.

Wish me luck!

I experienced a little change of pace on Friday.

After doing 2 news stories and updating the tour dates page, Alex– this Austrailian guy a few cubicles away who seems pretty busy all of the time– came over and told me about GR’s upcoming Israeli issue. He asked if I could do some research on some top Israeli restaurants and venues in New York and Los Angeles, and everywhere in between. Email contacts, he said, were essential.

So I started a spreadsheet and found a plethora of restaurants which served Israeli food, as requested. I proceeded to call the numbers the restaurants’ websites provided, and that’s when all hell broke loose.

The first place had no email address, apparently. I thought that was a bit strange. The second told me they’d have the manager call me back in an hour. Considering all I wanted was an email address, I thought that strange as well. This guy from one restaurant interrupted my self-introduction with a “Thank you BYE” and hung up on me, leaving me a bit miffed, while this woman from another restaurant just kept repeating the word “NO” over and over again.

“No? No as in you don’t have an email address or no as in you don’t want to be featured in our magazine?” I asked the woman.

“NO. NONONONO. NO!” The woman said before hanging up on me.

The aforementioned manager called me back after an hour, as promised, and asked me a few questions about GR and where it was located, what it was about, etc. He said his restaurant had New York’s best falafel and was really nice about everything, so I hope his place makes it into the magazine.

I emailed the finished spreadsheet to Alex, vowing to treat telemarketers with more empathy in the future.