naomiland

hi from san diego...

hey all...just wanted to check in and say hi since i won't be at a computer for a few days...heading into texas tomorrow...driving 12 hours and then 10 the following day to get to san antonio for the first of the texas shows. i will certainly have stories for you sometime very soon, and you know i'll give you every detail...every LAST detail...whether you want it or not!

a beautiful way to start the day

got this from my brother's blog:

HOW TO START EACH DAY WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE
1.  Open a new file on your computer.
2.  Name it "George Bush."
3.  Send it to the trash.
4.  Empty the trash.
5.  Your computer will ask you, "do you really want to get rid of George Bush?"
6.  Answer calmly, "yes," and press the mouse button firmly.

now GO OUT AND VOTE, ALL YOU PEOPLE!!! unless of course you're voting for bush. then i think you should consider NOT voting. because your vote is STUPID.

she's sort of a mix between michelle branch, avril lavigne and milli vanilli...

ashlee simpson "live" on SNL

all that is wrong with the music business...perfectly stated.

what i learned last night

i learned that i HATE frank zappa.

i just think that music sucks. really. truly. i went with a friend to see a band formed by zappa's old musicians...it was awful! songs with lyrics like "i ate a hot dog" and some song about a gorilla with one line that includes a fart noise. the gorilla's fart, i suppose. i mean, REALLY. i hated it. and the audience - WOW!!! san francisco is full of FREAKS!!! and i think that a concert of frank zappa music really brings them out of hiding. jeez...the music made me feel sick. seriously.

why do i live in la?

question just needed to be asked...

i'm up in oakland right now...playing in san francisco tonight...it's so beautiful up here...cold and rainy and i love it. the leaves are changing and it feels like fall. i love fall. forgot all about it over the past two years in the land of sunshine. walked around and got a coffee...one of my favorite bay area activities. walking is just no fun in la. where would i walk to? go for a stroll down sunset? the beautiful cahuenga blvd.? no thanks. not that battling the hoardes of tourists who jam up the sidewalks on hollywood blvd doesn't appeal to me...

anyway - i love san francisco. the change in seasons reminds me of my hometown. walking around i almost feel as if i'm back...i guess growing up in oakland would have been kinda similar...if you took my hometown and substituted "interesting and fun" for "boring and culturally void."

heading out...

so if you guys don't hear from me for a while just assume i've been kidnapped by aliens or something...no - i'll be on this planet - somewhere - driving around...losing all sense of time and reality...

and i really need a break from these f*cking dogs, let me tell you...the big one is whining non-stop as i type, the little one is rolling all over my bed, getting his nasty scent on my newly washed linens...and i wanted them because...??? and now they're mine, because i could never get rid of them...jeez...and don't i sound like a real ungrateful bitch. ya, that's what $1000 in dog-sitting costs will do to ya. and that's just THIS time...think about all the other times and do the math. and the whining....there is nothing too much more annoying that a dog can do - that sound...oh god...it's maddening...really...

anyway - i'm gonna get the hell outta here very soon. and for a long time. so hopefully that nice little break will help restore my love for my dogs. we'll see.

in the meantime - i look forward to meeting many of you in the coming weeks. say hi to me at my show. and then buy ALL the stuff i have for sale. there's a lot. t-shirts, new cds, old cds, glossy photos, buttons, stickers - pure capitalism at its very best.

update: cali (the big dog) just came in soaking wet after playing in the sprinklers and shook off all over my room! yay! i love dogs!!!

i'm hugging ya but i'm hitting ya...

remember that joke? i don't know who used it - some comedian - talking about guys who hug each other but also hit each other pretty hard on the back while hugging, so as to avoid looking like they're enjoying that hug too much...

anyway -

so i'm at my gig tonight and a couple starts to compliment me...i think...talking about how much they enjoyed the show, talking about the industry, what a shame it is that artists have to compromise their integrity in order to mke a living, talking about crappy popstars who can't even sing yet have record deals as "singers", talking about my voice and i'm feeling good when suddenly:

man: "i mean, as much as we enjoyed the past 20 minutes of your performance, there are probably 1000 people just like you out there who will never be heard."

t. naomi: "well, i don't think so!"

and i think it kind of shocked him that i would challenge his estimate of 1000 terra naomi clones. i just don't think it's true. it's very easy to talk about what a shame it is that there are SO MANY incredibly talented people who will never be heard simply because they are "not commercial enough." (and i know i'm gonna get shit for this, but oh well) the truth is, there are many artists who are not commercial yet will still be heard (bjork, chris whitley, regina spektor) - it's because they're really f*cking talented. and there are many artists who are not commercial and will never be heard. some of them are good and truly are the victims of a ridiculous industry - perhaps they don't "look the part" or whatever - but the majority are just not that good and are hiding under the umbrella of "artistic integrity" in order to avoid the obvious fact - they can't write a song that speaks to people universally. it's that simple.

disclaimer: of course i also think that there are WAY TOO MANY shitty "artists" on the radio - the bad ones definitely outnumber the good - but most of them do have something - even if it's just a look that is marketable...yes, that is unfortunate...and that is the industry.

how does this pertain to me?

below please find a fictional email exchange between the artist terra naomi and one of my adoring fans:

the set up:
terra has just sent out an email highlighting the dates of her upcoming tour...

the fan:
a woman somewhere in arizona

fan email: "please remove me from your mailing list. i live in arizona. how does this pertain to me?"

terra's fictional reply: 'well, asshole, YOU'RE the one who signed up to receive MY email updates, so actually, it doesn't pertain to YOU at all. it's about ME. that's why it's called the "terra naomi mailing list" and not the "asshole in arizona mailing list." '

terra's actual reply: "thank you for your email. i will remove your name immediately. =) "

new holiday

i have a new holiday...it's called "eat yourself to death in front of your computer screen" and it occurs every few days. it's both a celebration and mockery of your feeble attempts to diet...no need to worry about taking off work or school for this holiday - it almost always comes late in the evening.

blue christmas =(

ya, it just dawned on me that i will not celebrate christmas for the first time in three years...one of the unfortunate consequences of the dissolution of a relationship. one amonst many, i might add...

but christmas - i can't tell you all how much it meant to this jewess. heading to the home of my boyfriend's family, who were really like my own family, eating and drinking and celebrating in a jewish/hindu kinda way (none of us were actually christians, but that's unimportant). wrapping presents...jesus...i'm making myself very sad right now. i think it's time to stop. but waking up and then sitting together and opening gifts, one person at a time, and watching people open the presents i picked out...hearing my boyfriend's father lament the evils of capitalism...throwing the colored paper into the fire, releasing its toxic fumes...i think i'm gonna bury myself in a hole this christmas. and stay in there til new years. from here on out i hate chrsitmas. bah humbug.