Journal Archive - February, 2008

we've had some really good remixes done for 'alice' and 'disco lies'. one of my favorite
is the drum and bass remix done by noisia for 'alice'.
i'm trying to put it up on-line, but for some reason am having problems(user error, i'm sure).
i don't get to play much dnb when i dj, but when it's good(like this remix)i really love it.
moby

i was just reading an article wherein it was revealed that the white house 'lost' 1,000,000
emails over a 2 1/2 year period.
uh, how do you 'lose' 1,000,000 emails?
can you imagine the uproar if gmail lost even 1/10th as many emails?
they'd shut down in an instant.
but the white house loses 1,000,000 emails and it's business as usual?
just shrugged shoulders, a lop-sided gop grin, and 'oops'?
i have a theory as to where the emails went:
see, in a debate with john kerry gw bush referred to 'the internets'. we thought he was just
being an ignorant drunk, but maybe he was referring to multiple internets that exist in parallell
dimensions?
perhaps they've got these huge quantum computers that actually send email into OTHER DIMENSIONS?
so somewhere in a different dimension someone has been getting random emails from the white house?
1,000,000 random emails?
like, 'the vp's getting cranky and needs some cheering up, do we have any homeless people for him to shoot?'
or, 'beelzebub called, needs to reschedule his 11 a.m with gw, how's 2pm instead?'
imagine the confusion on the part of the poor guy in the other dimension whose server keeps crashing with the 1,000,000 white house emails he's been receiving.
'zorgot! it happened again! and what's a "cheney"? where does this garbage come from?'
oh, 'zorgot' being the name of the spouse of the person whose server keeps crashing.
i mean, i guess that was pretty obvious, but i thought i'd spell it out nonetheless, what with 'zorgot' being a pretty common name in our closest parallel dimension, like 'john', or 'ahmed' here.
and i wonder, have/has the white house been receiving emails, too? emails from ANOTHER DIMENSION??
and what do they say?
'VIOXXXX! ONLY $4.00! WOWW!!!! GOT NOW!! ALL GO!'
but in an alien language?
i'm guessing that erectile dysfunction is a problem in other dimensions, too, even if the inhabitants of the other dimensions have multiple penises.
see, multiple penises: multiple opportunities for the pharmaceutical companies in the other dimension, right?
one man's flaccid is another mans $$$.
also, how's work on the tunnel from massachusets to europe? i assume it's coming along well.
they should make the tunnel out of glass so we can look at the fish while we glide on magneto-trains from nantucket to normandy.
-moby

i was talking to a friend of mine in the czech republic today, and he asked
me, 'why don't you put up drawings on moby.com anymore?'
to which i responded, 'uh, i don't know'.
so i've decided to start drawing more little idiot bugs and putting them up on moby.com.
they're there under:

visuals
drawings by moby

-moby

oh, i forgot to say congratulations to everyone who worked on bourne ultimatum, which
won 3 academy awards.
and i just looked at the final list of what won and what didn't.
it's almost comical, as it seems that every award either went to europeans or new yorkers.
did anyone who actually lives or works in l.a win an academy award?
and it almost seems as if the academy actually recognized some really good movies.
huh, maybe the grammy's could learn a few things from the academy awards...
oops, did i just write that?
oops.
moby

just got back from california.
i didn't watch the oscars but i like that a french woman won best actress
and a spanish man won best actor.
see? we're not too terribly provincial, right?
well, perhaps hollywood isn't the best indicator of american provincialism.
and ralph nader has declared his candidacy for president.
he's like an annoying bug at a picnic, or a recurring sinus infection.
is he so attention starved and narcissistic and bored that he has to once again
run for president?
what's he going for this time, .01% of the vote?
what if we all said, en masse, 'yes, ralph, we remember you, now will you go away and do whatever it is you do when you're not launching pointless bids for president?'
what does he do in his free time, manage a quiznos? sell commemorative plates on ebay?
he's like dryer lint but with less merit and substance.
and what does he really hope to accomplish by running for presidency?
yes, ralph nader helped to put seatbelts in cars. but that was FORTY YEARS AGO.
could some of his friends maybe run an intervention and maybe get him to finally stop
launching utterly pointless presidential bids?
oh, i just read that 'no country for old men' won best picture.
that's good. it's a genuinely complicated movie.
as it's so odd i'm surprised:
a-that it was ever made
b-that anyone went to see it
c-that it won best picture
i liked it quite a lot, and
i'm guessing that it's the least conventional film to ever win an academy award.
the oscars this year almost seem like a european independent film awards show.
do you think that the u.s will ever join the e.u?
maybe build a subway tunnel from cape cod to calais?
with magnets the subway could go really fast.
that would be nice.
as a complete aside, here are my favorite movies of the last 10 years:

1-'inland empire' david lynch
2-'starship troopers' paul verhoeven
3-'into great silence' philip groening
4-'the south park movie' the guys who make south park
5-'dead man walking' tim robbins
6-'fireworks' takeshi kitano
7-'brown bunny' vincent gallo
8-'meet the robinsons' whoever made 'meet the robinsons'
9-'lost highway' david lynch
10-'nightwatch' the russian guy who made 'nightwatch'

yup, i'm, uh, kind of schizophrenic in my movie tastes.
i really did like 'brown bunny'. if you watch it to the very end it makes perfect
sense, it's heartbreaking, and i think it's a really courageous movie. plus vinnie used to live around
the corner from me and he was always really entertaining.
ok, goodnight.
moby

thanks for coming to el cid last night.
it ended up being a really, really fun night.
johnny fayva was flawless, laura sounded great, and rene risque was completely
fucked up and awesome.
i'm just heading out to dj at heat at uc riverside.
i'm also putting up the noisia remix of 'alice' on myspace because i love it.
i don't play a lot of d-n-b when i dj, but it's still a genre that i love, and i think that
the noisia remix of 'alice' is really great.
ok, time to go dj.
moby

oh, if you want to come to our little death beer-fueled tiny rock show on friday, here's
the info with an rsvp email.
said rsvp will, in theory, reserve a ticket for you.
thanks,
moby

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND
THE LITTLE DEATH LIVE AT

EL CID
4212 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA

-Doors open at 9pm
-The legendary Jonny Fayva performs at 9:45PM
-The Little Death hits the stage at 10:15 PM
w/ special guest RENE RISQUE

Djs start directly after The Little Death
ticket price is $15, purchased at the door

Please RSVP to littledeathrsvp@mac.com to reserve a ticket.

it's been a while.
see, i took a little vacation.
'holiday', for our non-american english speakers.
i went to big sur to see the place where aldous huxley and henry miller
and co. all decided to make their homes.
and it was nice.
it's always interesting to go to a place that is bereft of delis and billboards, and also to realize
that huge swathes of the world don't actually have anything to sell(except, wll, books about/by aldous huxley and henry miller...).
ok, there were some delis and also some billboards.
just not as many as my neighborhood in nyc.
and now i'm back in san francisco, looking at the trannie hookers and crack
dealers outside of my hotel window.
and, truth be told, i'm not sure that they're crack dealers. they could be selling meth.
although crack probably has better margins.
i'll just have to head downstairs and ask them.
'excuse me, sir, i'm writing about my time here in san francisco, and in the interest
of verisimilitude i'd like to know which narcotic you're selling?...oh, crack? ok, thanks!
and how's the crack business these days? do you have a lot of hipsters buying
it for it's retro 80's credibility?'
san francisco, as i've written about before, is such an odd place. it's beautiful
and progressive and affluent, but it also has more hookers and drug dealers
per sq km. than any city in the western world.
and i don't know how anyone in san fran can stay sober, cos almost every corner
has a windowless dive bar with fantastic names that even the best los feliz copywriter
couldn't come up with('the ha ra club', 'hole in the wall', etc). maybe it speaks
poorly of my character, but i'm way more tempted by a windowless bar populated
by bukowski doppelgangers drinking away their disability checks at 3 in the afternoon than
by a glass of insouciant shiraz on a redwood deck overlooking sailboats on a becalmed
sun dappled bay.
ok, a random aside, why does it still say, in 30 foot tall letters, 'south san francisco, the industrial city', by the airport?
i can understand how this might've been an apt selling point in the 40's, but it seems like
a misnomer and a turn-off in the silicone oughts, no?
living in an 'industrial city' just doesn't seem like it has the same appeal as it might've had
50 years ago.
ok, time to go play chess with the crack dealers.
you'd be surprised, the best chess player i ever played(and lost) against was an alcoholic
who'd just been released from rikers for dealing and assault.
never judge a book, etc.
moby

thanks for coming to degenerates last night.
oof, it was fun. chaotic but fun. i'm glad the stage didn't collapse.
oh, my fun drunken rock band, the little death nyc, will be playing a tiny rock show in l.a
on friday february 22nd at:

EL CID
4212 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.elcidla.com/
valet parking is available.

-Doors open at 9pm
-Show starts at 10pm
-Jonny Fayva and Rene Risque perform from 10-10:30.
-The Little Death performs from 10:45-11:45.

Djs start at midnight.

$15 to get in, i think.

i'm also dj'ing saturday night at the heat festival at uc riverside near l.a.

hopefully see you there/then,
moby

happy valentines day!
and nothing says 'happy valentines day' like the 'disco lies' video, involving pimp chickens, cowboy bodyguards, strippers, and the head of an international chicken franchise being chased through
the streets of mexico city.
hopefully see you later tonight at hiro.
-moby

oops, here's the info for the peace in iraq and justice at home concert:

http://www.stannswarehouse.org/current_season.php?show_id=22

confirmed artists:
Laurie Anderson, Antony, Blonde Redhead, David Byrne, Norah Jones, Moby, Lou Reed, Damien Rice, The Scissor Sisters

it should be a really good night.
thanks
moby

a-this thursday is degenerates at hiro with mixhell and drop the lime and me. from 10:30 pm- 4:30 a.m.

b-the music therapy fundraiser that i'm hosting with the beastie boys has sold out...
it actually sold out in around 5 minutes, which is great for the imnf, but i apologize
if you weren't able to get tickets.

c-i'll be dj'ing at uc riverside with mos def and a bunch of other people
on saturday february 23rd. once again, i'll be dj'ing, not performing live.

d- on March 18 at 8pm i'll be playing at an anti-war concert/fundraiser
with lou reed and antony and the johnsons and laurie anderson(and possibly david
byrne, i'm not sure).
the location is:

St Ann's Warehouse
38 water street, dumbo, brooklyn

(and, just for the record, an anti-war concert is also a concert in support of
the troops, for the best way to support the troops is to bring them home and
not subject them to harm in another countries civil war.)

that's it for now, thanks.
moby

oh, on march 4th i'm hosting a fundraiser for the institute for music and neurologic function in nyc.
the beastie boys will be performing.
here's the press release.
i hope you can come.
moby

buy tickets from ticketmaster

visit Music and Neurologic Function

info:
BEASTIE BOYS TO HEADLINE SPECIAL BENEFIT CONCERT FOR THE INSTITUTE FOR MUSIC AND NEUROLOGIC FUNCTION MARCH 4, 2008 AT TERMINAL 5 IN NEW YORK CITY

(New York, NY)- The Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF), a leader in innovative music therapy treatments and research, is pleased to announce a special Music Has Power™ Benefit Concert on March 4, 2008 at New York City’s Terminal 5. Beastie Boys will headline the event with special guests to be announced shortly. The evening will be hosted by Moby, a long time friend and board member of the IMNF.

The Bronx-based Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, a member of the Beth Abraham Family of Health Services, is a nonprofit, 501 (c) (3) agency founded on the idea that music has unique powers to heal, rehabilitate, and inspire -- and that we can use music therapy to restore and improve our physical, emotional, and neurological health. The Institute is dedicated to advancing scientific inquiry on music and the brain and to developing clinical treatments to benefit people of all ages and was founded with the help of renowned neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks. Past Music Has Power events have featured appearances and performances by Chris Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Dustin Hoffman, Moby, Rob Thomas, the B-52's, Kris Kristofferson, Rufus Wainright, Bruce Hornsby, Vanessa Carlton and many others.

Tickets will go on sale on Friday, February 8th at 10 am via Ticketmaster. General Admission tickets will be $75 and there is a 4 ticket limit per customer. Terminal 5 is located at 610 West 56th Street, NYC 10019.

flying back from france.
as 'last night' is coming out at the end of march(or so i believe)i'm currently
engaged in what i affectionately refer to as the 'i'm a big fat media-whore' phase
of releasing a record.
this is the period wherein i travel around and sit in hotel rooms and talk to journalists.
sometimes it's onerous, sometimes it's pleasant, sometimes it's loathsome, and sometimes
it's really enjoyable.
sometimes you sit down in a hotel room for 30 minutes with a journalist and you have
a great conversation.
and sometimes you sit down in a hotel room for 30 minutes with a journalist and it's
like pulling teeth without anesthetic.
sometimes the questions are challenging and interesting.
sometimes the questions are remarkable in their awfulness(best worst question of
this particular promo tour was when a journalist asked me 'what is the name
of your new record?').
but now i'm headed back to nyc for a few days before i had back out on the media-whore
chuckwagon.
or junket.
or brisquet.
or sobriquet.
i'm rambling. media trips are neither brisquets nor sobriquets, although words that end
in 'quet' instantly sound cosmopolitan. well, except tourniquet.
some random thoughts:
1-'chicken little' was a great movie. i just watched it. i'm 42 years old and my favorite
form of entertainment is/are cartoons. this doesn't speak too highly of me, i know.
2-i read a great book recently by john twelve hawks. i think that john twelve hawks
is f. paul wilson. i doubt that this will make much sense to anyone except the few hardcore
nerds who look at moby.com.
3-i'm looking at the air france skymap. in addition to showing cities and geographic features
they also show the sites where oceanliners sank(we just passed by 'titanic-1912'). i'm not sure
that displaying the sites of travel related disasters is such a smart thing for an airline to do, especially when we're at 40,000 feet in turbulence. ah well, if you're reading this i guess you can assume
that we didn't crash.
4-i got nothing else.

oh, sometimes journalists read my updates.
if you're a journalist and you're reading this: hi, nice to meet you.
if you're a journalist and you're going to be interviewing me please note the following:
a-at present i have no plans to go into space.
b-i like tea but i'm not a teetotaller(why is it 'teetotaller', is it a golf related? for the record, my first ever job was as a caddy but i know nothing about golf).
just trying to be helpful and save you some time.
also, if you're a journalist and you're thinking of either giving 'last night' a bad review
or writing something nasty about me i'd be more than happy to send cash/drugs/hookers
to you in the interest of receiving good press.
i'm all for freedom of the press, but i'm not averse to some good old-fashioned
4th estate payola(to spell it out: bad review=no cash/drugs/hookers. good review=cash/drugs/hookers).
i know that some members of the press find me distasteful. i understand, i'm opinionated and annoying. but don't you think you could shelve the bad review in the interest of free money or drugs?
come on, everyone's doing it. just pretend you're a member of the house of representatives.

now i'm thinking that i shouldn't post this because someone might misunderstand that i'm
being facetious. no hookers or drugs from me, cos that would be illegal(notice that sweet beautiful
cash wasn't included in the 'illegal' list. and the hookers and drugs are negotiable depending upon the country wherein you'll be writing/publishing the good review).

speaking of f. paul wilson, i'm going to go read one of his earlier books, 'an enemy of the state' before we land.
again, only the hardcore nerds will understand.
and if it turns out that f. paul wilson is john twelve hawks you can give me the credit for figuring
it out.
in other pseudonymous news i have no idea who 'burial' is, but his/her/its record is really good.
i really wish that air france didn't show the sites of tragic oceanliner disasters on their in-flight skymap.
it's disconcerting.

thanks,
moby

i just watched the democratic debate, and last night i watched the republican debate.
the differences couldn't be more striking.
the republicans were cranky, and all except for ron paul seemed to stumble
over their answers, with said answers rarely actually being germaine responses
to the questions.
clinton and obama, on the other hand, were both remarkable. and i'm not speaking as a democrat, i'm speaking as someone who just watched both debates.
clinton and obama both seemed coherent and bright and civil and funny and presidential.
they were respectful of one another and they actually answered the questions that were
presented to them.
the republicans just seemed, for lack of a better word, unprofessional. and unprepared.
and irascible. mike huckabee seemed kind of whiny and petulant. mitt romney never
actually gave a straight answer to any of the questions. john mccain stumbled through
most of his answers. ron paul actually seemed like the only one who believed what
he was saying, as his answers were straight(if a bit odd).
watching clinton and obama was, if you'll forgive the lack of cynicism, inspiring.
either one would clearly be a fantastic nominee for the democratic party.
it was interesting that the audience gave the biggest and most sustained cheer of the
night when the question was posed to the candidates 'how would you feel about a clinton-obama, or
obama-clinton presidential ticket?'
it's amazing to actually be truly enthusiastic about both of the democratic presidential
contenders.
maybe you watched the debates and felt otherwise. if so, great. but personally i was left
with the feeling that clinton and obama both did a remarkable job, especially when compared to
and contrasted with the shambles that was the republican debate.
moby