The Final Part of Prima- Dirty Three, Ocean Songs

Sorry, this blog's been asleep for a while. We're just coming to again.

The last part of my Prima adventures involves the Australian band Dirty Three and their album Ocean Songs.


As part of the Don't Look Back involvement in Prima, the band were there to play Ocean Songs [almost] in its entirety. I hadn't really heard any of the band's music prior to Prima and they were only the second act of the first day I saw. Fortunately there was a gap in our schedule to go see them and I was spurred on by Craig B of Aereogramme mentioning on his band's forum that Dirty Three are an absolute must-see live and that if we had the chance, to GO SEE THEM.

It turns out he was absolutely correct. My friend and I were basically spellbound from the moment Warren Ellis [who also plays in the Bad Seeds and numerous other Nick Cave projects] and his band took to the stage. The sounds that just a violin, abstractly arpeggioed guitar and gentle jazz drumming can make are incredible.

Ellis stalked the front of the stage, completely consumed by the sounds his band were making, chopping his arm back and forth over the violin like it was a third limb. The sound was perfect and his casual introductions belied the sheer emotional intensity of the music. I think it's the nearest hybrid I've found of classical and popular music, with the strong points of both.

Basically you should download the opening track of Ocean Songs, track down the album and go explore from there.

Dirty Three- Sirena

I'm starting my Roskilde retrospective sometime next week.

E!

Prima Pt. 2- The Fall & Beirut

PRIMAVERA SOUND FESTIVAL 2007, BARCELONA

The below post was actually published on 19th June, not 13th. Though that's when I started working on it... Oh.

Anyway, today's post concerns the best double-whammy I saw of the festival. It was a combination that never should have worked and yet it did because they were so different that any kind of imitation or similarity would be a disadvantage. I bring you-

PART TWO- The Fall and Beirut


Beirut




















Yeah, so Beirut got bummed to pieces when his/their (does the name refer to the music Zach Condon makes, or also his band? CONFUSION!) music first appeared and I suppose a good few readers will at least have read about it if not already heard the album, Gulag Orkestar.

There are two things I found remarkable about their performance at Prima-

1) Even though there's only one album so far, they have a glut of other material to play alongside it. There's other compositions and oddities but there's also a range of Balkan and non-Western music for them to draw on. His voice handles the various languages and dialects like each were his mother tongue, so it's pretty amazing to watch.

2) Zach Condon can sing and perform perfectly despite clearly being as drunk as a stoat between songs.

It was starting to darken in Barcelona as Beirut took to the stage, and the stage itself was right next to the sea. There was a large open flight of stairs leading down to the coast from the rest of the Forum site, meaning the stage could be easily seen from the top of the area. Looking back and seeing a wall of music fans was a pretty amazing sight.

And then he played stuff like this-

Beirut- Mandaccordian (live)
Beirut- Ederlezi (live)

The Fall
















The Fall are evil. Menacing. One of the few strands in common they have with Beirut is that it's not what Mark E. Smith sings, it's how. Maximo Park were due on later playing the very same stage, and an initial glance had me fearful. There was no way those genteel Geordies could follow this, but fortunately the schedule allowed time for Beirut's Eastern European party.

Like Beirut, there's been a lot written about the Fall, albeit over many more years. To truly understand this band, you need to see them live. I am kicking myself for not seeing them in Edinburgh or Glasgow a few months ago. Mark E. Smith OWNS the stage, the twin-bass attack is monstrous. The stage lighting was a willing co-conspirator, dazzling the dusk crowd as their ears fell prey to the cavalry charge of noise.

I cannot profess to know much about their recorded output, but everyone must hear Blindness. It was one of the highlights of their set. I can't pick between either Beirut or The Fall as my favourite band on the second day, two completely different acts. Equally awesome.

The Fall- Blindness

Part 3 coming soon.

Prima Pt. 1- Girl Bear

PRIMAVERA SOUND FESTIVAL 2007, BARCELONA

Sup team, I've been away/crazy busy for the past month. I did one big trip where I flew to Rome, stayed there for 10 (!) days, then flew straight to Barcelona for Primavera Sound Festival in the amazing Parc del Forum.







The line-up was seriously unbelievable. You can see for yourself on their site. Obviously, there were clashes and it wasn't physically possible to see the 100+ acts over 3 nights/mornings (Barcelona do their festivals PROPERLY) but over the next week or two, I'll go through some of the best I saw.

PART ONE

Girl Talk


























Girl Talk is just one guy and as the pic shows, he definitely steers clear of the DJ label. He also hates the term 'mash-up', though his work doesn't so much sit on that fence as barrel through it like a Paris Hilton-helmed Porsche. [incidentally, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

This is actually his biggest strength though. In light of traditional copyright's increasingly short shelf-life, we are gradually seeing fewer inhibitions in sampling. Advances in digital technology have meant that musicians can contort (and manufacture) their samples into unrecognisable shapes, but Girl Talk brings a big shiny swagger to this type of music.

He takes a sample, throws another down, whips one away, and lays a big chunk of a summer hit that fits PERFECTLY over the top. All in 15 seconds. He chews through samples like a grizzly baby ruins toys.

He has an intrinsic sense of songcraft and this is what separates him from many goons with a laptop making noise. He also puts on a great show, leaping out from behind the DJ lectern in a full suit and tie, tearing layers off as he cranks the tempo up further and further. At Prima, he finished with a cover of Scentless Apprentice [whilst sampled for his album, the actual cover isn't on it. And I have a special cover to show you later in this post]. He leapt off the stage and into the crowd, clutching his mic like it was the last connection to rock histronics left in this century and yelled into it as the crowd swept him back and forth. In an open dance enclosure.

The album is awesome, here are two of my favourite tracks. You should DEFINITELY see him live if you get a chance.

Girl Talk- Ask About Me
Girl Talk- Bounce That

Night Ripper on Amazon Marketplace [not distributed in the UK yet]
Girl Talk Myspace

Grizzly Bear

















This is a band with a fairly conventional line-up, but they don't make conventional music. It has the usual components, but the way it's arranged raises goosepimples. To say the vocals are ghostly is something of a trite simile when it's more accurate to say that they sound as though they come from the transparent lungs of passing spirits. Something particularly astonishing to note from their live performance is the reliance upon a clean electric guitar for the main melody, with the vocals, drums, and occasional clarinet swooping in and out of the soundscape.

This sounds pretentious, but this music is not easy to explain. It's not immediate, and immeasurably better for it. This is music that gently seeps into your pores and leaves a trace. Here are two of their (relatively) well-known songs.

Grizzly Bear- Knife
Grizzly Bear- On A Neck, On A Spit

'Yellow House' UK Quicklink
Grizzly Bear Myspace
Ed Droste's blog

----

And now, the sum result of their parts. 'Knife' smashed together with a Clipse track [a good a place as any to confess my Neptunes love and shame for not having heard their helmed (ahahaha Paris) and critically-acclaimed album yet) by that scamp Girl Talk.

Grizzly Bear- Knife (Girl Talk Remix)

Enjoy, I will try to post again soon and continue the Primafest. Goddamn life getting in the way of blogging!

E!

Aereogramme (1998-2007)

It is not easy to write a post like this. Although we have yet to mention them, Aereogramme are dearly loved by all three of us at RP. However, just yesterday- 11th May 2007- a statement was released. It began-

"It is with heavy hearts that we tell you all that Aereogramme have decided to split up. Reasons are multiple and complex. It is however fair to say that the never ending financial struggle coupled with an almost superhuman ability to dodge the zeitgeist have taken their toll, ensuring that we just don't have any fight left in us.
We are immensely proud of the four albums that we made over the past seven years. We hope that they continue to grow in your hearts..."

This is not merely a band split. This is not merely the conclusion of some rock'n'roll fable. This is certainly not Take That breaking up in the mid-90s. This is the death of a dream.

Aereogramme are not an easy band to get into. They have never appeared on a hit TV show, soundtracking the lives of gurning yuppies. For many, they were a bunch of angry guys with beards, skulking onstage in venues scarcely bigger than a student flat. For them, Aereogramme are just a band.

For those who perservered, who looked past the lack of image and pretty packaging, Aereogramme became a totem. A band to dream along with when times were difficult, when they needed music that not only pleased the ear, but challenged accepted and tired forms. Music that cut through superficial bullshit and cheap sentiment to leave an indelible mark on those who truly listened.

Over the course of four albums, they created a vast vista of dynamics, instrumentation and emotion. Live, they brought the songs home, concentration etched on their faces as they strived to recreate the extremities of their art. Their use of sequencers was strange to me- I usually far prefer the spontaneous aspect of live performance- but Aereogramme justified it and made the technique their own.

I find it difficult to continue without sounding like a green hack, hurling hyperbole at some band in an attempt to shift units and copies of their self-interested wankrag. As the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding, and those who choose to scrape past the light soil and get stuck in will find their efforts rewarded tenfold.

They have not finished quite yet- there are touring commitments in Scotland and Germany. They are supporting long-term allies and underground (though this is quickly beginning to change) heroes Biffy Clyro on the Scottish leg of their tour to begin with. Then they are headlining (!) one festival in Germany with some other dates (full details on their Myspace). The real conclusion will be their final headline set in Britain-

16th June 2007- Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow, Scotland.

My advice to those who have read this far is to invest in a ticket and for those who have not heard any of their music to purchase Sleep And Release immediately. There are no MP3s available in this post, though many are easily (and legally) available at their fansite- Saviours of the Underground.

Aereogramme survived for nine long years, an anomaly in a quick-fix, eyes-down world. Even when they were faced with the worst situations- rooms so sparse that some gigs must have felt more like a soundcheck than a performance, hard cold nights in an old van, returning home from tour to no fixed abode and months of scrubbing dishes and digging roads- with steely aplomb, their music sang out to the downhearted, gave them hope that they too could rise above the grim mundanity of everyday life and dream a little further.

That is why I cry when I begin to wonder what life will be like once this band finally cease to create music, but it is also why I will be forever grateful to four hairy men for letting us dream to begin with.

Thank you.

-------------------------------------------

Links:
Aereogramme Myspace
Sleep and Release quicklink
Saviours Of The Underground [check the downloads and interview sections especially]
The SOTU board

Your Eyes Are the Sun

Electronica is a very vague term- some would say it's fairly self-explanatory, others wave their genre cleaver and yell things like "NO NO THAT'S IDM." OR "THAT'S JUST A POP SONG WITH SOME BLEEPS IN IT." I'm not really a fan of genres, historical context aside, and even that can be wildly open to debate. The media (including that saviour/villain of modern music, the internet) is extremely prone to slapping stupid titles on things and manufacturing scenes that don't actually exist. So I prefer to use very loose terms to describe different families of modern mainstream(ish) music- pop, rock (a ludicrously large category), soul, funk, metal, hip-hop (essentially the innovation of rapping and sampling, borne out of funk and soul) and finally electronica.

It's easy to forget how quickly computers have infiltrated music, both in the way we listen to it and the process of making it in the first place. Electronica is a category dedicated to music in which computers have been integral to its creation. Distinct from the turntable and other manual editing techniques, using a computer to deconstruct blocks of music and then reassemble them into something new is a mindboggling task, as anyone who has fannied about with Audacity can testify.

Some people have already got the hang of these new techniques and my current favourite is a guy called James Vella, known hereafter as A Lily. There's only one album around at the moment, mostly because this is really a side-project. He pays the rent- well, it probably helps a little next to some kind of day job or dreaded shift pattern, perhaps too ambitious in this post-rocknroll world (yes, the ROKNROLLDRUGSNPARTIESNGROUPIESWOOOOO reverie is just that these days. Whether it was ever anything apart from a brief glimpse at paradise for a small cluster back then is worth discussing elsewhere.) to say bills are paid by recording and touring- playing guitar in Yndi Halda.*

There are two interesting things about this album, titled Wake: Sleep. The first is the mixture of organic instrumentation like guitars, pianos and homemade percussion with the usual bleeps, swoops and gurgles that distinguish electronica from more traditional genres. The second is the concept behind it. As you'll see in the interview (linked at the bottom), he wrote the music entirely for his girlfriend. Every note, rhythm and squelch was lovingly crafted for her enjoyment. It's not explicit (no dirty samples, you sick perverts) when you hear it, as although a few pieces employ his hushed vocals, there is no stomach-turning narrative of how much they weally wuv eech ovah.

If you're looking for pop hits with obnoxious noises blasted in at inappropriate moments, you'll be disappointed, though I'd question whether you'll find much of interest in this blog in the first place. It works best as a complete piece of music- even the extremely testing 30+ minute final track, The Shipwreck. I've included two tracks from the nine that Wake: Sleep offers in order to give you an idea of what to expect. As Simon sagely noted in the previous post, it's absolutely vital that people understand how music is funded- writing, recording and especially touring require time off work and a spider's web of payment. The proverbial fly is you, the listener/audience member. Everything worthwhile in music begins when somebody gets enthusiatic about a song, band or gig.

Sadly, as I'm increasingly finding while trying to delve further into less obvious music, it's very difficult to get hold of this album in Britain. In fact, Amazon (never mind the High Street) don't stock it- not even in the Marketplace! Finally, the third track is a cheeky treat discovered in a secluded corner of Myspace.

Enjoy!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MP3s:

A Lily- I Am To You [Track 1 of Wake: Sleep]

A Lily- Aeriels Quiet And Death-Defying [Track 5 of Wake: Sleep]

A Lily- A Song For Ron Mental And Sidney Bishop [unreleased]

Links:

A Lily Myspace

More obscure A Lily stuff, definitely worth hearing!

A Lily on Last.FM

A Lily interview, on the site of his US distributor

Wake:Sleep from Dotshop, the best value for UK folk (in Swedish Kroner, currency fans)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* It's my party and I'll write ridiculously convoluted multi-claused sentences if I want to do so.

E!

Unexpected Cover Versions Of Our Time - Episode 2

I see your Michael Jackson and raise you a Jennifer Paige.

You know who Jennifer Paige is? Here she is, on a swing-


















[Jennifer Paige- about to crush some stupid-haired guy]

EVERYONE knows this song, but you might not have it to hand- I didn't until a friend chanced upon it while scouring the net for cheesy pop classics- so here it is for everyone's enjoyment.

Jennifer Paige- Crush


This time it's The Dismemberment Plan dishing it up. Yeah, they were the band I covered in my FIRST EVER RP post-

















[The Dismemberment Plan- about to be crushed]

The D-Plan substitute their polyrhythmic anthemic approach for something more sedate. MUCH more sedate. The previously chirpy tempo is racked over three hundred and seventy-four seconds, mostly just Travis Morrison's vocal accompanied by a bone-dry electric guitar.

I've noticed a lot of covers- let's leave aside the desperate eye-gouging-inducing pub-rock strumathons- either rock up a quiet song or hush down a loud song.

I'm trying to pick covers that do much more than that, where the performer(s) digest(s) the original song and spits it back up rearranged and with something new and different and most of all EXCITING.

It's the creepy as hell synth noises that make this track for me.

Dismemberment Plan- Crush

Enjoy!

Official D-Plan site
Previous D-Plan blog (+ tunes) on RP
Official Jennifer Paige site

The Blue Nile.

"Do I love you?"
















"YES, I LOVE YOU!" the crowd roar back as one from the seats of the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, on the 26th day of November in 2006. This moment remains forever fresh in my memory as Paul Buchanan performs 'Tinseltown In The Rain' on this world-famous stage. It's a Blue Nile concert in all but name, complications arising from a member who does not want to tour.

They don't tour very often, nor do they pump out albums on a frequent basis. There are merely four released so far in the twenty-SEVEN years since they began making music. This is no ordinary band though. The Blue Nile are very special, the kind of band that forge new sounds and ideas for generations to come. It is pop music, but with endless layers. Not a single note or beat is wasted, efficient yet incredibly moving.

Back in my seat, it is apparent that Paul Buchanan was born to sing in this concert hall. The sound coming out of his mouth diverts in two directions; out of the large PA speakers either side of the stage to sweep across the auditorium, and scaling up the roof of the hall- itself built specifically to magnify natural sound from the stage- to drench the patrons sitting in the upper and grand circles in a warm sonic mist.

I have in my possession a mere thirty-three songs from their studio albums (no official live releases have been forthcoming, nor sadly a full audio document of that night) yet trying to choose a selection of songs was horrendous. After all, I can only use so many words to convince you of their worth and impact on Scottish music until I implore you to just listen.

Craig B of Aereogramme (my favourite band that are still active, no question) has mentioned them as an influence and if you search, you can find screeds of effusive journalistic praise. You can read further into their history, though the members themselves will provide scant information for the trendy photoshoots, fact-sheets and various paraphernalia afforded to bands far less magical.

Yet nothing can really prepare you for what you are about to hear, so just listen and enjoy. If you have a spare fiver- or equivalent currency of your choice- invest in Hats (discussed further below). You won't regret it. You MUST see Paul Buchanan/The Blue Nile tour if they are near you. Alas, their most recent US tourdates were suddenly pulled, leaving fans bemused but not shocked considering their previous regard for essentials of the 'business'.

They just want to make beautiful music, and in an age where image is everything and the depth of a personality can be scoured open with a mascara brush, I salute them with a tear in my eye. Just like I did when they left the stage of the Usher Hall that fateful night.

--------------------------------------------

The MP3s:

Paul Buchanan- Tinseltown In The Rain (live)

Paul Buchanan- A Walk Across The Rooftops (live)

The Blue Nile- Stay Close

The Blue Nile- Happiness


Two songs from their debut- A Walk Across The Rooftops- performed live in Coventry (or Warwick, I can't recall?). One each from their third and fourth albums- Peace At Last and High respectively. I've swapped the third and fourth album choices because I can. But nothing from their second album?!

I'll leave you to discover the magic of Hats for yourself for two reasons-
1) I'm not in that haunted mood that lets repeated plays of it envelope me like a shroud. This is music that asks a lot of questions amongst its blissful resolutions, and it can leave me utterly drained.
2) It's probably in my top five albums ever, as a suite of songs it's basically perfect.

And now I shall leave the others to post.

Slackers. ;)

From here:
The Blue Nile on Wikipedia
The Blue Nile on Youtube
The Blue Nile on Facebook
Quick UK link to Hats (it's £5 in a few notable chain stores, email me to ask)

10 Reasons To Love 1 Song- Ep A

The 'Ten Reasons To Love One Song' Series.

Episode A- 'The Butcher' by Matt Pond PA

1) The rumbling sweep at the beginning to let you know something is going down.
2) The introduction before the vocals, each furious jab of the cello paradoxically drawing the listener closer.
3) The way the strings stalk the start of each verse to sketch out the melody.
4) The duh-dunk of the bass, the bassline itself providing absolutely no more than required amongst the melody lines.
5) The foilage that the drums hide behind for the opening forty seconds, only to spring out as the strings retreat to drive the rest of the song with a metronomically passionate 1-2-1-1-2 beat on the bass drum, snare and a smidgeon of cymbals.
6) That steady, dead basic guitar chord progression strummed up and down, up and down, up and down throughout the whole song. Some things constantly change, some things stay the same.
7) The completely unflashy yet melodically essential guitar bits in the middle and near the end.
8) The fact that the song doesn't even have definable verse, chorus and middle parts, just repeated sections. I mean, there's no repeated vocal hook in the second section (what you would think is the chorus), just the musical equivalent of a Moebius strip.
9) The delicate urgency in the singer's voice, tugging the string of words along the spine of the instruments. It succeeds even without knowledge of the English language, his phrasing leaving you breathless at the end of almost every line.
10) The oblique story contained within these words, something about a butcher and a lover and intrigue that I cannot fathom even after at least a hundred listens. Can you?

Episode A [the full 4:15 version, the first upload I put up cuts off after a minute!]
Official Site
Myspizzle
Quick UK link to buy the excellent album where this song resides.

This Dance Is Difficult

Sorry for the static, I forgot how to sleep and spent the last week staring comatosely at the screen.

We've had a bit of a sausage fest so far. Time for-




















MIRAH


I first heard Mirah on a homemade mix CD and I haven't heard anything like it. It's music full of contradictions- sparse but with lots of subtle touches, melodically simple yet concealing looping riffs that stay with you and- most of all- more sensual than a skipful of sodden FHMs.

I think my favourite album of hers is
You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This so I'm putting three songs here for your consumption.

Much, MUCH longer (and frequent) posts coming soon.

MP3s!

Mirah- Sweepstakes Prize (best introduction, probably)
Mirah- La Familia (Guy Sigsworth Remix- the other half of Frou Frou) FIXED LINK DO ME A FAVORE
Mirah- Murphy Bed (if the seat you are sitting in is not moist after listening to this, see a doctor)

Mirah on K Records (best place to get her CDs in Britain is probably Amazon Marketplace)

Bye!

I Know It's Not Quite The Custom In This Country...

This week, ladies and gentleman, I give you-

FRIGHTENED RABBIT


Frightened Rabbit are a bassless trio [Soon, I'm going to show you a band with TWO bassists (!!), so I'll fulfill the bottom end in time] with the best debut album I've heard in years. Their main trade is creating wonderful pop songs with a surprising amount of instrumental depth and some stunning lyrics to chew over.

It's really difficult to pick out an album highlight, because it's consistently amazing and the flow 'is like woah' [(c) me], including awesome wee interludes. So I've picked two from it, one to highlight the uptempo triumphant indie-rock and one to reflect their folkier side.

I had never even heard the name when I stumbled into about the only regular gig venue in Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire, for one of their free gigs last year. I had intended to see Beerjacket, but he was literally packing up as I made my way down! He said 'Stick around for the next band'. I did, and my jaw hit the fucking floor. I hope these MP3s do the same. You can stream the album on their site and there's goodies on their Myspace too.

P.S. I put in a sexy bonus new song because I'm nice like that.

E!

Frightened Rabbit- Music Now!
Frightened Rabbit- Behave!
Frightened Rabbit- The Twist
FR's Myspace (touring the US now, playing a Glasgow date in mid-April)
FR's own site (bands, make sure you do this! Myspace is buggy as fuck.)

P.P.S. The title of this post is a lyric from their utterly phenomenal Go-Go Girls. It's also on the album.

The Dismemberment Plan Play Again!

Hi, I'm Ed, the magical third contributor of Radio Protector. The first guy who posted was Johnny. We are going to subject our tastes on the blog nation and make it easier for people who use a machine of hype [WINK WINK] to find good songs.



My first post is dedicated to one of my favourite, favourite bands. The Dismemberment Plan are reuniting for a fundraising gig (now two) for Calum Robbins, son of amazing producer J. Robbins. He is suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy and the medical bills are understandably obscene. I'm pretty excited this could lead to further dates and I'm going to demonstrate here why anyone who hasn't heard of them should be too.



Though their output was fairly small- four studio albums in all- the last two would be permanent fixtures on my Top Albums Ever list. I first got into The Dismemberment Plan through browsing Epitonic looking for Death Cab For Cutie songs. I downloaded The City first, it didn't strike me immediately. Then I downloaded You Are Invited and everything changed. It's basically a perfect pop song, with a second chorus so awesome I literally fell out of my seat when I heard it.I purchased Emergency & I (the album that spawned both ditties) pretty much immediately.

The sound they perfected on this album is quite difficult to describe. I have settled on saying it's as if the rhythm section of a funk band joined up with the guitars and vocals from an indie-rock band and threw some skronky synths on top. The thing that keeps everything together is their innate pop sensibility; a catchy riff, a clever lyric or an absolutely triumphant singalong section.

Their final album- Change- delved into more introspective and experimental territory, producing some moments of sheer beauty. It's not as immediate as E&I but once it gets some listening time, it hangs together to produce a thoroughly cohesive experience. Two songs from it are at the bottom of this post.

The D-Plan went their separate ways shortly after touring Change, and their live show is a pretty major factor in why I want to see them reform properly. They never toured Britain (to the best of my knowledge), mostly because no-one in Britain had ever heard of them at the time. I was pretty delighted when I found a whole bunch of legal free live recordings, the stage banter is awesome! There's a few clips on Youtube too.

I think the rest of the world are gradually catching up on this amazing band. I can hear (the now sadly split) Clor, the Dudley Corporation and Dartz! as some of the first British bands filtering it through their music. Jump on now before every trendy fucker namedrops them.

MP3s!

The Dismemberment Plan- The City [Right-click]
The Dismemberment Plan- You Are Invited [A+++++++ RECOMMENDATION]
The Dismemberment Plan- The Face Of The Earth [right-click]
The Dismemberment Plan- Pay For The Piano [pretty topical, I think!]

D-Plan obsessives, please email radioprotectorblog[AT]googlemail[DOT]com and I'll sob about not being able to buy plane tickets to D.C.

E!