MORNING CAME TOO SOON

Me and Bob, December 31, 2014 edition

Bob Nastanovich and I had the great honor of ringing in the New Year this year for the fourth straight time here in Des Moines. Usually we do it at my favorite local music venue, Vaudeville Mews, but this year we did it a couple of doors up at the Lift, a bar with a rotating selection of works on the wall by local artists. Here's what my notes tell me we played, with a Spotify playlist (when the tracks were available on Spotify, that is... which was a lot less often than you might think!).

A few favorites from Bob's selection: Roberta Flack's Leonard Cohen cover "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye," current British garage-punks' shout-along "I Wanna Get Out of Here But I Can't Take You Anywhere," and Richmond, Virginia-based second-wave ska band the Good Guys' protest song aimed at the then-Secretary of the Interior, "(The Ballad of) James Watt," with its endlessly quotable line, "Stop James Watt / If you wanna keep the trees you got."

Thank you so much to Amedeo for having us, to John and Clint for getting us set up and putting up with us at their bar, to Dustin for making the Lift idea happen, and to all of our friends who made it out on a cold night that's famously terrible for being on the road. We always have a blast and hope you did, too!


A Sunny Day in Glasgow - 5:15 Train
Danny Stewart & His Aloha Boys - Fort St. Rag (Bob)
Shabazz Palaces - Palace Slide
Butthole Surfers - Lady Sniff (Bob)
D'Angelo - Devil's Pie
Minutemen - Fake Contest (Bob)
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made for Walkin' (Bob)
The Go! Team - Ladyflash
Roberta Flack - Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye (Bob)
Taken By Trees - The Sweetness of Air France
Slave - Volcano Rupture (Bob)
Curtis Mayfield - We've Only Just Begun
Kim Wilde - Kids in America (Bob)
The Crystals - Da Doo Ron Ron
Los Indios Tabajaras - The Washington Flowers (Bob)
Bully - Milkman
Kool & the Gang - Ladies Night (Bob)
Janelle Monáe (feat. Solange) - Electric Lady
Ming City Rockers - I Wanna Get Out of Here But I Can't Take You Anywhere (Bob)
The Smiths - Hand in Glove
Steve Martin - King Tut (Bob)
Twigs (now fka Twigs) - Breathe
Shirley Ellis - The Clapping Song (Bob)
Danny Brown (feat. Purity Ring) - 25 Bucks
Peggy Lee - I'm a Woman (Bob)
Free Energy - Something in Common
New Order - Temptation (Bob, pretty sure this was a shorter mix than the one I usually hear)
Mantis Pincers - Black Capes on Blondes
Greyhound - Follow the Leader (Bob)
White Lung - Down It Goes
Billy Joel - You May Be Right (Bob)
The War on Drugs - Red Eyes
Sun City Girls - Radar 1941 (Bob)
Lana Del Rey - Money Power Glory
The Good Guys - (The Ballad Of) James Watt (Bob)
The Poison Control Center - Give It a Try
REO Speedwagon - Take It on the Run (Bob)
Justin Timberlake (feat. Clipse) - Like I Love You
Groundhogs - Cherry Red (Bob)
Faron Young - Wine Me Up
Doris Day - Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera) (Bob)
The Normal - T.V.O.D. (Bob)
Caribou - Can't Do Without You
Sebadoh - Soul and Fire (Bob)
Constantines - Nighttime/Anytime (It's Alright)
Run D.M.C. - Sucker M.C.'s (Bob)
The Exploding Hearts - Sleeping Aides and Razorblades
The Whyte Boots - Nightmare (Bob)
Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em
The Endtables - Circumcision (Bob)
Booker T. and the MG's - Boot-Leg (Bob)
ESG - Moody
??? (Bob)
Magnetic Fields - Take Ecstasy With Me
??? (Bob)
David Bowie - Fame
Das Racist - Rainbow in the Dark
??? (Bob)
The G-Clefs - I Understand (Just How You Feel) - Auld Lang Syne
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
Charli XCX - Boom Clap
Madonna - Like a Prayer
CEO - Halo (Beyoncé cover)
Beyoncé - ***Flawless
De La Soul - The Magic Number 
Courtney Barnett - History Eraser
Amerie - 1 Thing
Big Tymers feat. Boo and Gotti - Oh Yeah!
Prince - Kiss
Sophie - Lemonade
Michael Jackson - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Missy Elliott - Work It
Warren G (feat. Nate Dogg) - Regulate (by request)
LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
Prince - 1999 (by request for Prince)
LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum (by specific request)
Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)(12" Remix - Radio Edit)
Röyksopp / Robyn - Do It Again
R. Kelly - Ignition (Remix)
Mariah Carey - Always Be My Baby
TLC - Waterfalls
Drake - Hold On, We're Going Home

Deejays

A photo posted by Jessica Rae Miller (@iowawildflower) on Dec 12, 2014 at 8:42pm PST

#vscocam bob and marc doin their thang

A photo posted by Max Jury (@maxwelljury) on Dec 12, 2014 at 8:55pm PST

IT JUST MAY BE A LUNATIC YOU'RE LOOKING FOR

They walked through Bedford Stuy alone / Photo by bgh

Thank you so, so, so much to everybody who came out to the Vaudeville Mews on Tuesday night. For the third straight year, the Vaudeville Mews gave me a chance to spend my New Year's Eve playing records I like with Bob Nastanovich and whoever else cared to listen and/or dance. The Mews' lease only goes through the end of 2014, so it's possible this was the last time Bob and I will get to do an "NYE throwdown," at least at my favorite venue's current location. But let's not worry about that yet.

Thanks to Joe and TJ at the bar, Bob at the door, and Derek for running sound. Thanks to my neighbors for making their first-ever visit to the Vaude. Thanks to the young women who asked me to play Beyoncé three times and posed for pictures with me and my B'Day record cover. Thanks to the dude who asked me to play Matt Valentine and Erika Elder from his phone. Thanks also to the couple of people who requested R. Kelly — I'm sorry I was too lame to put "Ignition (Remix)" in my crate this year, but with all the strangers in the room, I just didn't think it was right to risk bringing up painful associations for anyone. (There's nothing wrong with "Bump and Grind," but at least this once I figured we could leave that to the Bumps McGhee song.) Thanks to Ladd for booking us, and thanks as always to Amedeo for running the place.

The new year is about new beginnings, and flubbed song transitions (all by me, sorry), and wondering how in the world you're going to follow the Special AKA's "Nelson Mandela." Oh, and by the way: Thanks also to all my friends who made it out. You really shouldn't have bought me those shots.

Here's what we played, plus the closest Spotify approximation:



The Reverend Gary Davis - You Got to Move
Echo & the Bunnymen - The Original Cutter [Bob]
Scott & Charlene's Wedding - Two Weeks
The Gun Club - Sex Beat [Bob]
Courtney Barnett - History Eraser
Barry White - Barry's Theme [Bob]
Digable Planets - 9th Wonder (Blackitolism)
The Special AKA - Nelson Mandela [Bob]
Bahumutsi Drama Group - To the Comrades
Baby Mammoth - Tasty Maloney [Bob]
Joanna Gruesome - Do You Really Wanna Know Why You're Still in Love With Me?
Hot Chocolate - You Sexy Thing [Bob]
Kingdom feat. Kelela - Bank Head
The Cure - Grinding Halt [Bob]
Lydia Loveless - Steve Earle
Musical Youth - Pass the Dutchie [Bob]
Deerhunter - Pensacola
Donna Summer - Hot Stuff [Bob]
Jonathan Richman - This Kind of Music
The Velvet Underground - We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together [Bob]
The Field - A Paw in My Face
Pierre Henry - Jericho Jerk [Bob]
Sky Ferreira - I Blame Myself
The Beastie Boys - So What'cha Want [Bob]
Arthur Russell - A Little Lost
Blancmange - Don't Tell Me [Bob]
Blood Orange feat. Samantha Urbani - You're Not Good Enough
The Feelies - The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness [Bob]
Frank Ocean - Lost
Bumps McGhee & His Twisters - Bumps and Grinds [Bob]
ESG - Moody [attempted, totally played wrong track]
The B-52's - Rock Lobster [Bob]
Disclosure feat. AlunaGeorge - White Noise
Booker T & the M.G.'s - Born Under a Bad Sign [Bob]
Quiet Village - Circus of Horror
Nancy Sinatra - Sugar Town [Bob]
Camera Obscura - New Year's Resolution
Chic - Le Freak [Bob]
TNGHT - Bugg'n
Blondie - One Way or Another [Bob]
Run-DMC - King of Rock [Bob]
Doris Day - Everybody Loves a Lover [Bob]
Wilson Pickett - In the Midnight Hour
Les Rita Mitsouko - Andy [Bob]
Liars - Let's Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack
Jack Hylton Orchestra - Gold Diggers of 1933: We're in the Money! [Bob]
LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge
Nightmares on Wax feat. De La Soul - Keep On [Bob]
G-Clefs: "I Understand (Just How You Feel) - Auld Lang Syne"
Peggy Lee - Mack the Knife [Bob]
Jessie Ware - If You're Never Gonna Move
Dinosaur Jr. - Freak Scene [Bob]
Beyonce - Get Me Bodied
Kool and the Gang - Ladies Night [Bob]
Beyonce - Freakum Dress
Beastie Boys - Something's Got to Give [Bob]
M.I.A. - Come Walk With Me
Soft Cell - Tainted Love [Bob]
Robyn - Konichiwa Bitches
ABBA - Dancing Queen [Bob]
Beyonce - Ring the Alarm (I think? I may also have played "Freakum Dress" again!)
Hot Chocolate - Beautiful Lady [Bob]
Curtis Vodka - Hey Girl
Heart - Crazy on You [Bob]
Justin Timberlake - SexyBack
Run-DMC - It's Like That [Bob]
Toro Y Moi - Say That
R.E.M. - The One I Love [Bob]
Madonna - Into the Groove
Cozy Cole - Topsy Part 1 [Bob]
Drake feat. Rihanna - Take Care
Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls [Bob]
Jackie Wilson - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher
MC Shy-D - Shake It [Bob]
Big Tymers feat. Boo and Gotti - Oh Yeah!
Billy Joel - You May Be Right [Bob]
Prince - Kiss
The Ray Mirijanian Oud and Clarinet - Bint El Shalabiyeh [Bob]
Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) (12" Remix - Radio Edit)

MAKE YOU WANNA HOLLER HI-DE-HO

Professional and everything.

So last night Bob and I spun records at Vaudeville Mews.Thanks to Ladd, Bradie, Patrick, Dustin and everybody who came out to ring in 2013 with us. Here's what we played:

IN LOVE WITH THE ELECTRIC SOUND

Do you love her? / Do you wonder / Why the starship shines above?

As I was passing one of the guitar players from Free Energy on the way out last night at Vaudeville Mews, I thanked him for a good show, and he thanked Des Moines for everybody freaking out so much. I said something about how that's how I knew going in that it couldn't possibly be a bad night: They're a fun band, and a pretty significant chunk of the people I know in town were gonna be there going wild and dancing and jumping up and down and shouting and hyping up the guys on stage. I guess from their record I expected them to be glamorous like the Strokes. It turns out they're lovable schlubs like Pavement. Give or take a little creative facial hair and exactly one (1) bandana in the style of the E Street Band's Little Steven. The rockstar thing, the larger-than-life talk, it's all part of living out this semi-obsolete fantasy, of a guitar band being absolutely huge, and trying to make the fantasy into reality.

BEFORE THE HATERS GET TO THEM

Health care has been in the news for well over a year now, most recently with President Obama's visit to Iowa City after finally signing a bill last week. Most of the bands I tend to write about in this space probably don't have health insurance, however. Meanwhile, in Scandinavian countries and Canada, musicians not only don't need to worry about health coverage (their taxes pay for it), they also can apply for significant amounts of grant money. Pitchfork was kind enough to publish my 4,000-plus-word piece of reporting on these two related subjects today: "What's the Matter With Sweden?".

The effect of the health care legislation for musicians, as best as I can tell, will be modest-- they'll be required to buy health insurance, but it will hopefully be cheaper than it is now, and some musicians will be able to stay on their parents' coverage until age 26, while those with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage. Still, this isn't an issue limited to places like Brooklyn or Austin. A few Central Iowa connections:

•  Pavement's Bob Nastanovich, who lives in Des Moines when he's not touring the world as part of his iconic indie-rock band's reunion tour, has type two diabetes (the Iowa State Fair will do that to you), but he doesn't have health insurance. Here's Bob in my story; one detail to note is that when he said, "I need to take care of myself," it was in response to the question, "Anything else to add?" Bob is not a me-first kind of guy.
• The Poison Control Center's Patrick Tape Fleming, who is going on a U.S. tour this summer upon the release of new album Sad Sour Future, does have health insurance-- in Iowa. Fleming and his wife Ashley pay $81 a month, and if they need to go to the doctor they can see medical students at the University of Iowa. "Knock on wood, I have never had to go," Patrick says. "But if I was on tour, and I broke my collarbone jumping on [bandmate] Devin [Frank]'s face I might be kind of screwed. 'Cause my Iowa Care would not cover it... Unless I could get to Iowa City."
• Christopher the Conquered's Chris Ford-- who has brought an increased theatricality and tighter stage presence back from his band's recent U.S. tour with Leslie & the LYs, based on Friday night's impressive set at the all-local GDP music festival-- does have health insurance. But not through his position at a small engineering firm, though Ford is one of the lucky few touring artists able to figure out a way to maintain a full-time job. He opts to buy his own. "Given that I don't smoke, have basically no negative medical history, and am young and healthy, this is notably affordable compared to what I know some people can pay," he says. "Granted, I don't have amazing insurance and it is far from a so-called 'cadillac' plan, but I pay about $90/month for what I consider to be reasonable plan."

Thing is, most Pitchfork-level touring bands (probably except for groups as big as Wilco or the Flaming Lips) don't have health insurance, suspects Fleming. "As somebody who is going to be on tour a lot in 2010/2011 I'm glad I have at least Iowa Care, but I would also rather have peace of mind, where I could just pay monthly and go to a doctor if I needed," he says. "Like Canada, or whatever. I'm not the type of person who goes to the doctor when I get a little sore throat or something. I try to take care of myself. But in the indie-rock touring world, there is no really good answer."

It's a good thing Ford does have insurance, though, because he was careening through the audience even more than usual during Christopher the Conquered's set Friday night. The energetic renditions of songs from this year's You're Gonna Glow in the Dark took on the air of a revival meeting. In fact, Ford ended the set in an ecclesiastical-looking black robe, running down from the stage and climbing on top of people before running back up to the microphone and letting his robe blow in the air. It was an off-kilter touch of glam that really nicely suited the band's off-kilter, piano-based sing-alongs about the apocalypse hitting Polk County, and other eccentric topics-- the songs work even better in this theatrical mode, I think. Unfortunately, I wasn't well-positioned to take pictures. We also caught another fine set from Canby, this time debuting new material with a full band, but unfortunately missed Hanwell, Why Make Clocks, and several others either because they were onstage at the same time as another band or because we were grabbing a belated dinner.

Red Pony Clock know their Rugburns lyrics.

Also! Also! We caught a solid early-show lineup at the Vaudeville Mews on Sunday night. Red Pony Clock, whose mustachioed singer Gabe Saucedo I met when he was here last fall with Still Flyin' (to paraphrase Saucedo: Not many people were there, but everyone who was there bought the band shots!), played a winsome set of vibraphone- (not marimba or glockenspiel!) and accordion-assisted twee-pop. A standout was "Take a Side", off of 2007's God Made Dirt, on the Happy Happy Birthday to Me label; you've heard the boom (pause) boom-boom "Be My Baby" beat a zillion times by now, but probably not in a mariachi-tinged tune about relationship strife. "If you're not game, that's super lame, 'cause it's totally all up to you," Red Pony Clock sing. If twee ain't your thing, then-- at least per Saucedo-- Red Pony Clock's new unofficial name is Lazer Boner. Smells as sweet, doesn't it?

Zoos of Berlin did it their "Electrical Way."

Anyway, a fine time, preceded by an excellent set of suave, sophisticated, jazzy art-pop by Detroit's Zoos of Berlin (previous Des Noise faves) and some promisingly skronky post-punk by Wham City-aligned cityfolk/tourmates Child Bite. A lot of mustaches at the Mews last night.

Child Bite get psyched to take a bite outta Fong's Pizza.

(Plus: Des Moines' own the Seed of Something, whose drummer now sings a couple of tunes, staring intensely (and awesomely) toward the ceiling, and Marshalltown's Land of Blood and Sunshine.)


UPCOMING:

- Pocahaunted at Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City March 29
- Electric Six at Vaudeville Mews March 31
- Booker T of the MGs at Mission Creek Festival March 31
- Xiu Xiu and tUnE-yArDs at Mission Creek Festival March 31
- David Bazan, Headlights, and the Poison Control Center at Mission Creek Festival April 1
- Chuck D, Bomb Squad, Harry Allen: A Discussion on the Making of Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet at Mission Creek Festival April 1
- Acid Mothers Temple at Mission Creek Festival April 1
- Bomb Squad with the Hood Internet at Mission Creek Festival April 1
- Christopher the Conquered at Mission Creek Festival April2
- Tim Hecker at Mission Creek Festival April 2
- Little Dragon at Mission Creek Festival April 2
- Meat Puppets with Joe Jack Talcum of Dead Milkmen at Mission Creek Festival April 2
- Camera Obscura with Princeton at Mission Creek Festival April 3
- Grant Hart of Husker Du at Mission Creek Festival April 3
- Love Is All at Vaudeville Mews April 8
- the Morning Benders at Vaudeville Mews April 9
- Dum Dum Girls at Vaudeville Mews April 12
- Cowboy Mouth at Vaudeville Mews April 14
- A Weather at Vaudeville Mews April 15
- Julian Casablancas at People's April 23
- Manchester Orchestra and Thrice at People's April 25
- Poison Control Center's Record Release Party at Vaudeville Mews April 30
- Brother Ali at Vaudeville Mews May 2
- MONO and the Twilight Sad at Vaudeville Mews May 18
- Mark Mallman at Vaudeville Mews May 19
- Damien Jurado at Vaudeville Mews June 6
- Keith Urban at Iowa State Fair Aug. 13
- Pat Benatar and REO Speedwagon at Iowa State Fair Aug. 17
- Darius Rucker at Iowa State Fair Aug. 19
- Sugarland at Iowa State Fair Aug. 21
- Sheryl Crow at Iowa State Fair Aug. 22

THE WORLDS COLLIDE

If you didn't know, you wouldn't have known.

Hessen Haus, the German beer hall located on 4th St. near Court Ave. in downtown Des Moines, usually picks up around 9 p.m. on Sundays. That's when, for the past four-plus months, Bob Nastanovich has hosted a weekly trivia night.

Last night's trivia session was more crowded than usual.

It could've been the promise of a $100 food and drink tab for the winners-- twice the usual $50 purse. Sure enough, the former Jeopardy contestant's team was back in the Haus, after having gone missing the previous week.

Or it could've been the occasion for the double-size prize. Nastanovich, who works most of the year at the Prairie Meadows race track in nearby Altoona, was headed for Chicago, where he works the other four months or so at the Hawthorne Racecourse. This was to be Bob's last trivia night of a season that began May 17.

At least one person I talked to suspected all the people lining the long tables and bar were here for a different reason. "Oh, I think they know," said the woman, whom I'm only not naming because I didn't tell her she might be quoted for a blog post.

Local media have yet to pick up the story, and Des Moines locals can be forgiven for not knowing. But, right now, Bob is-- how did Kanye West and the Clipse put it?-- kind of like a big deal.

The buzz started last week. On Sept. 16, a friend from Brooklyn e-mailed me: "Any truth to this Pavement rumor? I know you hang out with one of them once a week."

"Hang out with" was an exaggeration. Bob's the host, and Mrs. Des Noise and I are just consistently underachieving contestants. The rumor, though? Totally true.

In the 1990s, Nastanovich was a founding member of the cult-adored indie rock group Pavement. He was sort of a utility man, starting as a second drummer but adding various instruments and vocals.

The band released five critically hailed albums, scoring a modest MTV hit with Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain's "Cut Your Hair" in 1994, before breaking up 10 years ago. Their final album, 1999's somewhat disappointing Terror Twilight, boasted production from Nigel Godrich, the guy manning the boards for all those classic Radiohead songs.

Lead singer Stephen Malkmus went his own way, backed by the Jicks, and came to town this summer for the 80/35 Festival. Guitarist Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg did his thing, too, starting a group called Preston School of Industry.

Bob, meanwhile, has been right here in Des Moines, occasionally helping out a band like Massachusetts' New Radiant Storm King with a guest vocal or between-set DJing at the Vaudeville Mews. You can see him join Ames' own the Poison Control Center for a boozy rendition of "Two States", originally from Pavement's 1992 debut LP, Slanted and Enchanted, right at the top of this page.

Pavement, as many of you will have read, is reuniting. As of last night, they had already sold out two shows-- or was it three?-- at New York's Central Park. Shows that won't take place until next September. Yes, Bob is kind of like a big deal.

If you didn't know, you wouldn't have known. Bob didn't mention it.

The Jeopardy team won, as usual. When the "Jäger train" rumbled by, signaling $3 Jägermeister shots, Bob's wife Whitney Nastanovich was the first to alert us all, as usual. (Somehow, she can do this while hula hooping.)

Only if you listened really carefully, a few minutes after the winners were announced, would you have heard Whitney grab the mic to share a bashful Bob's great news: "Pavement's getting back together!!!"

The Nastanoviches are returning to Hessen Haus for a trivia-night cameo Oct. 11, so if you didn't know, you'll have another chance to wish Bob well.

And you'll still have time to try the bar's great selection of Oktoberfest brews. I recommend the Ayinger.