sailorstkwrning | Entries tagged with alex greenwald

I should maybe call this Today In: The Sphinx Speaks!

Ryan Ross sparked up last night and got really chatty with fans on Twitter and the following emerged:

- He's in a band! (name not given; "for now call it Something Else")
- With other people! (that he didn't name, but I have a feeling includes Greenwald)
- The kind of music they make is, variously, "Apocalypse Rock" "if LMFAO were bad dressers" and "the soundtrack for the end of the world".
- There will be music soon but not too soon.

He also noted that he needed a new nanny. I am assuming he meant for himself/it was just wry commentary.

In other news:

- Phantom Planet have reunited and are playing two shows in LA in June.
- Panic! has finished their UK tour and will be heading back into the studio.
- The Hush Sound have also gotten back together for at least one show
- JJAMZ is recording an album. (I thought they had done this last summer; Michael Runion mentioned sending something off to be mixed. Maybe they didn't like what they got back? IDK.)

- JWalk - still in Costa Rica! Judging by their Tumblr, he and his wife seem to be having a good time there.

- Ryan Rossy - has suddenly sparked up in a way that is startling - in addition to his usual ebb and flow of general chatter, he's started actually replying to fans. (he's also confirmed he's currently making new music. WHEEEEEE!) I feel a bit like the Sphinx has stood up on its four paws, stretched its great back, and asked me for a cup of tea.

- Other canonical data points:

* Ryan seems to have spent most of this Christmas with Greenwald, Vicky-T, and, hilariously, Zooey Deschanel, though he did also pop up in the background of pictures taken at the JJAMZ Christmas show. He shared a bunch of pictures that were of himself, alone, or himself with Greenwald.

* Z seems to be the main user of the JJAMZ twitter; the second-to-last picture she shared was of herself "vibing with a dingo," in which she also seems to have brown hair. People do have pet dingos (yes, really, and the dog is on a leash) and the hair could be a trick of the light, but I've stuck a "did shit get real? did she dye her hair and fuck off to Australia?" pin in that situation just the same. (That said I'm presuming pet dingo and/or tricks of light until it is conclusively proved otherwise.) The last pictures she linked to were Cobrasnake pictures. (Her hair is blonde in those shots.)

* This is the period which we shall remember as That Time Brendon Was A Dick On Twitter. Here is hoping that it will be over soon.

* Sarah O., Brendon's fiancee', was mistaken for Katy Perry and thus her NYE with Brendon (& friends) was reported as being KP's NYE, much to Sarah O.'s rueful entertainment. (Context: KP announced her impending divorce not long before the holidays, and so there was some pearl-clutching in the press about her going out and having fun with a mystery man, etc etc, only, KP was actually Sarah O. and the "mystery man" was Brendon. KP herself was in Hawaii for the night. WHOOPS!)

Also, will there be a pop cultural singularity if somehow Sarah O., KP and Zooey Deschanel all end up in the same room at the same time? I feel like they could have some fun with that situation. I know I would. In fact my response would be DUDES! LET'S ALL SWITCH CLOTHES AND HAIRSTYLES AND SEE WHOSE PUBLICIST CRACKS FIRST!

(This is also known as, Why It's a Good Thing I'm Not Famous.)

(Also, they if they could wrangle Brendon, Darren Criss (or Rachel Maddow!), and Blake Harnage from VersaEmerge in there with them, they could attempt a six-way fake-out!)

* In other news, Keltie got engaged shortly before Christmas. Her ring is enormous.

* This is also the period we shall know as That Time Spencer Started Tweeting All of His Favorite Hip-Hop Lyrics Whenever He Felt Like It. Also, a friend of his who is a lady (who may or may not be his ladyfriend) gave him a full set of California Raisins (as in, Heard It Through The Grapevine) for Christmas. I am MAD JEALOUS, you guys. That is an epically awesome present.

* Brendon got his tattoos touched up, so his flowers really pop now.

still not a proper update, but, some highlights noted for the record:

* There was a brief period last weekend when we thought Brendon might have gotten malaria in Indonesia, but, luckily he didn't.

* Greenwald has finished his solo record; he and Ryan Ross continue to be working on songs (per Ryan), but it isn't clear if they are his songs, or Ryan's songs, or what is going on.

* On a related note, Ryan mentioned he was looking up the word 'Rapscallion" in the context of choosing a band name. The definition is "a disreputable person; rascal or rogue" (c. the Free Dictionary).

* One of the songs they were working on apparently sounds like they're "going to face the boss." (Not The Boss, Ryan explained. More like Bowzer or Dr. Robotnik. So, no Springsteen, rather, a the dude from Sha Na Na or a cartoon mad scientist. I'm deeply intrigued already!)

* Didier Wampas, who Ryan worked with on HIS (Didier's) solo project, is putting the record out on Oct. 25. In France. But the singles are available on American iTunes, so maybe we'll get the record too. Also, he (Didier) will be touring on the record in November, again, wait for it, in France. Ryan Ross may or may not be with him. French internet, we rely on you for a full report! (And pictures!)

since 5/19:

He extended his period of radio silence for almost a full two weeks before he sparked back up to talk to Samantha Ronson; announced his favorite Thai dish is lemonade, that he had lost the keys to a song, and shared a picture of Alex Greenwald working on something in a messy room; accidentally tweeted a text that was meant for parties unknown and then noted that that was just dumb; shared a picture of himself with Greenwald's blood on his face; RT'd something about recycling from the Old Man Search twitter; noted that the "shin" had just hit the fan right as TAI . . . made their announcement that Butcher and Chizzy were leaving (though it could be he just barked his shin on an actual fan);

commented he felt like he was trying to eat soup with his fingers; shared another picture of Greenwald playing guitar; had the epic back-and-forth with Brendon about the perils of playing basketball on carpeted surfaces that eventually degenerated into innuendo; agreed with Will Noon that Knives > Ramona (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World reference); posted a picture of a sleeping Stuart Zender (bassist for Jamiroquai, Mark Ronson & The Business); decamped to Vegas; got very excited about Chiclets; asked Stuart Zender if "The Chiclets" was going to be the name of "our" group.

(Ed note: I am taking that "our" to encompass Ryan, Greenwald and Stuart Zender. Holy pop cultural mash-ups, Batman, is all I can say.)

Since 4/10:

Agreed with Will Noon that he missed The Young Veins - this is the first comment he's made since Decmeber on the subject - and then made plans to go to Coachella with Alex Greenwald and Stuart Zender (bassist for Jamiroquai (!) , also playing for Mark Ronson); first "someone" lost his car keys, then he apparently misplaced Alex and Stuart individually an collectively while at Coachella, made a joke about being in a casino, and went off in search of food; was excited about the LA Kings winning games, shared a picture of himself at a game with a commemorative towel;

was (kind of hilariously) irritated by people telling 4/20 jokes; made a puzzling comment about "ghost trash" that Google suggests might related to an suite of icons; noted that he loved movies; appreciated Alex Greenwald's creepy Easter artwork; modified some common sayings in ways that suggest he might have been having a rough day ("if life hands you lemons, eat them" and "it really is a frog eat frog world"); was grumpy about the Kings losing; RT'd Alex Greenwald saying he looked like Encino Man (movie in which Brendan Fraser was a caveman transported to modern times and had a scraggly beard and disasterous hair the whole time, c. 1992 or so);

asked why he was still wearing a hair shirt, normally a sign of penitence; noted the cops had been calling the police all night; gloated at a friend of his when his substitute hockey team had a triumphant run of several wins; shared the video with the "talking" dog (YouTube); was mildly snarky with Greta about her mother's conservative (and very good!) advice, then softened it by saying he loved the '50s; allowed he couldn't think of anything worse to do than watching Lady GaGa on tv;

mangled the Infinite Monkey Theorem; quoted and agreed with someone as saying "if your brain's in the way you can't ride bulls"; and finally shared another video, this time of a small child rapping about God.

As of this writing he's been quiet for about a week.

Changed my mind, Ryan Rossy gets his own post.

So, he: shared an actually terrifying video that Vicky-T inflicted upon him; had some conversations with Brendon; also did some Halloween stuff (haunted Hayride in Griffith Park, with Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, of all people); either expressed his cluelessness about pussywillows or heard someone else doing so; washed his hair with bubblebath; was Atreyu (Neverending Story) for Halloween (Z was The Childlike Empress!); later informed the internet that his plans for the day were "I'm gonna feed you, rip off those jeans, and take you to the hospital" (?!); was possibly sarcastic being interested in the fortunes of the (I'm assuming, since he didn't specify)) San Francisco Giants (baseball); asked Greenwald if he (Greenwald) thought it was weird that he (Greenwald) sang like the guy from Spin Doctors (no he does not, Ryan); appreciated Michael Ian Black's tweets about George Lopez; hung out with the Bad Rabbits;

announced that from now on he would go by "Dingus Khan", a nickname bestowed by a friend who I think might be also known as Benjamin Font; shared a picture of a "remix" knob; RT'd Nick Murray promoting the Black Apples; told a different friend he (Ryan) wished he (the friend) would wear bell bottoms all the time; discovered he loved reality TV; rediscovered his love for hockey; told Benjamin Font to stop being emo it was making him sad (STILL HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS, YOU GUYS); clarified that by "reality tv" he meant Billy the Exterminator and Ancient Aliens; commiserated with HarMarSuperStar about daylight savings time totally eliminating sunlight from his day; apparently researched the secret photos of serial killers;

discussed malls with a friend; quoted Z comparing herself to Tupac; was surprised he was a trending topic, shared a picture of himself and a friend in hockey gear; expressed his distaste for the Facebook sound; appreciated apple juice; sneezed so hard he lost his sunglasses; was excited about the Beatles being on iTunes and "boomshakalaka" being a trending topic; appreciated Shane and Dallon's Doritos commercial; reposted the Daytrotter link; combined a reference to Saber Toothed cats and (I'm guessing) Tish Cyrus (as in, the ultimate cougar, maybe? It was around the time the news of her possible affair with Bret Michaels was in the headlines);

waffled about ordering pizza the day before Thanksgiving; was pleased the Deluxe Package postcards were getting to people; had a great many FEELINGS about soup, sandwiches and fast food (he doesn't like Subway, or McDonalds); invited a friend to join himself and Greenwald in having soup & sandwiches and watching TV in bed (I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP, Y'ALL); said something about not doing shots and compared a girl to Brendon Fraser in Encino Man; narrowly avoided spoiling his dinner with pretzels; and was kind of grumpy about other people not appreciating Change.

Also happening during this period: Keltie's book came out.

Panic! at the Disco

Spencer remains a sexy sphinx; Brendon noted his 100,000+ followers (a huge jump from where he was earlier this summer!); may possibly have had to look up "incorrigible" (he didn't quite use it properly in context); seemed to be pleased it was raining; and his best girl beat him at Wii bowling, which he attributed to her wearing bowling shoes while playing. (They are so ridiculous and adorable. ♥Brendon & Sarah♥)

The Like

Went out on their West Coast mini-tour - in addition to various show announcements, there was some wordplay with fans and also Hunter Burgan of AFI (!), a note about listening to the Beach Boys, a comment about being able to fry an egg in the van, and finally a tweet about Annie learning French and Z sleeping while the others drove/DJ'd that later got deleted. They also shared a picture of some fans; asked for shopping advice in Portland; shared three videos from their ICA (London) performance; wished both John Lennon and Alex Greenwald a happy birthday; shared a picture from a Kate Spade party they apparently went to/played at; departed on their mini-European tour; shared a blog post full of pictures from the Paris show; rode in a water taxi in Rotterdam & have video to prove it (Z's expression at the end is really funny); hung out with an elephant in Hamburg; someone's (Z's?) inner 12 yr old was ecstatic to be at at Nickleodeon with slime and later playing a show with Jamiroquai; shared a Kate Spade video; and finally noted the passing of Ari Up (The Slits) with sadness.

NB: There was also tweet with a link to blog post I think from Brussels, that was in French, which they seem to have since deleted. When I read it, the review was positive towards them but - and this is based on a somewhat fractured Google translation - did seem to have a kind of strange, gross undertone of "if you don't like them you must be gay" which may or may not be why they deleted it.

( The Young Veins )

Panic!: Brendon was very excited about football; Spencer continues his Silent Bob impression.

Related news: Per Zack's twitter, the three of them apparently had dinner with Ryan!! We were not, however, granted a reprise of The Picture (Now With Spencer). The picture we did get was of a horribly tacky novelty item involving a pun on the name of Martin Luther King Jr. I am unsure what, if any, information should be inferred from it. I'm currently leaning towards "none, also, ew."

( the young veins )

The Like: Played the Inverted World and the the Old Queen's Head, and then Z concluded the tour by falling down some stairs and cutting her chin open, needing seven (!) stitches. She shared pictures of the stitching process AND the final closed cut which, YIKES, and also wryly noted her eye make-up had survived the escapade intact. Someone heard "Walk of Shame" in TopShop; they shared a before-fall picture of Z with a stylized cartoon of, I think, Twiggy, and Z rt'd a fan drawing of a stylized "baby" Z with a big bow on her head, noting that it was awesome but the artist had forgotten to include her injured chin.

Brendon: Thanked Polish fans for their video "thank you" to the band for playing at Coke Fest and rt'd Dallon sharing a link to an Inception-themed cat video. I haven't seen the movie so I have no idea what any of it is supposed to mean. But there's a comically wide-eyed cat and dramatic music, so it's not a painful two minutes, or whatever.

Spencer: Completed two full months of radio silence.

( the young veins )

The Like: Assorted promotional and show related chatter, including a reminder that the Birmingham show was cancelled; shared links to their Reading/Leeds interview and live conversation on BBC 6Music (today). The biggest news was probably that the opener for their Brighton show was Johnny Borrell of Razorlight's new band. They didn't give a name, and the one show report I read said 1) the name isn't known, 2) the new band sounds like "Americana with Beck influences" and finally 3) the band members who were not Johnny Borrell came out in vests and cowboy hats. All I can wonder is if "He's Not a Boy" is actually about Borrell and if so, if it was at all awkward playing it with him right there.

Well. TYV had a bit of a rough week. Here's hoping things get better going forward!

Ryan: Kicked off with The Picture, then slowed with exchanges with Greenwald about dominos [pizza] is not bullshit (yes it is, Ryan; I mean I'll eat it if there isn't anything else, but surely you can do better in Los Angeles?), Vincent Perini (formerly of Soft (band), also Greenwald's housemate) about dressing like a cowboy as a child and, if I'm reading right, a difference of opinion about Stevie Ray Vaughn (Vincent: likes him; Ryan: may not), and also an Orgeon-trail flavored exchange with Nick Murray, followed by an observation that life is just a pizza party. And then (cue dramatic music) their trailer and all of their equipment got stolen from outside Ryan's house. I'm interpreting the tweets that follow to mean he and Greenwald went driving around looking for it and found it at the gas station. The next day was his birthday; he appreciated the happy birthday tweets and then had to go talk to the police. He had also tweeted the link to the FB post with the list of gear, but it's gone now. Also, his last comment was, in total: "It's the end of an error."

Jon: Has completed 2nd week of radio silence.

Nick Murray: Puzzling exchange with Ryan about "put a bonnet on it" which I suspect is some Oregon Trail-influenced injoke related to "put a ring on it"; shared a link to a Black Apples show; was pleased with his cheap but delicious Indian food veggie dinner; rec'd some bands to a fan (see his Tumblr for details); agreed to make a special ring tone for Will Noon (himself going "heh heh heh"); fed horses at 2AM and got bitten by barbed wire for his trouble; tweeted the FB link to the post about their stolen gear, but later deleted it after Ryan tweeted it; shared a picture of a pretty sunset and a link to making yourself into a vinyl record after you die; was unhappy with LA public transportation; was grumpy about LA smog (also later deleted); wished a fan a happy birthday and thanked another one for a record store rec; was distressed that California didn't okay the plastic bag ban; and posted a link to a John Lennon/Van Halen Imagine/Jump! mash-up that is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

Andy: Only one update, and that not of significance.

Ryan: Has been quiet these last few weeks but wow, he was chatty on tour. I've put in some line breaks in ( what would otherwise be a LOL WALL OF TEXT: )

Jon: As previously noted, but also as of right now: Has totally unfollowed everyone, and following the tweet of a burning painting, it's been a week of radio silence. I saw a comment that he had been deleting tweets, as well, but I don't know which ones he removed. The following is an accounting of ( what remains )

Ok. I'll catch up with Andy and Nick later this week.

. . . yeah, that nickel is long gone. I don't even know where I'd put it now, calendar-wise. Maybe a back-to-school thing? "What We Did on our (Endless) Summer Vacation"?

Or not.

Anyway. I'm going to sit down later this weekend and gather up the highlights, but basically the only big notes for right now are that Jon has unfollowed everyone (again), is/will be moving, and was apparenty attacked outside his house; and Ryan spent at least two weeks at Greenwald's house (with Greenwald's housemate) while Greenwald was away. (For those of you as care: Greenwald: still in London; has a chest cough; was at one time the voice of a recycling dinosaur which was evidently something of a touchstone of a CA childhood but that I had never heard of, and also, wow, when his voice broke it broke, goodness.) Also Nick Murray locked his Twitter down for a couple of days towards the end of July/early August, but has since unlocked it again, so maybe that was a mis-click.

Tangentially, there's some interesting The Like canon filtering up via non-Twitter sources, i.e. press interviews with the band. For example: He's Not A Boy is about Johnny Borrell, the lead singer of Razorlight?? And also: Narcissus in a Red Dress is NOT about Charlotte? In fact she was in the band when it was written?? THE PLOT, IT THICKENS!

inspired by Ryan's commitment to "putting [his] face on" and, vaguely, Atlantic City, by Bruce Springsteen. Contains: kissing and groping, Ryan in a skirt, Alex Greenwald.

( Alex wakes up slowly and wanders out to the kitchen, rubbing his eyes and scratching his belly. )

Ryan: A fairly musical week, between promoting shows for friends (Michael Runion, The Like, Gold Motel/Greta, The Black Apples), song mentions (Jumper, Third Eye Blind; two Metallica songs; and then at the end of the week he conflated CS&N's "Our House" with Madness' "Our House"), sharing Jon's joke about Ricky Martin, and concluding with something about a Dylan/Beatles show that I concluded had an implied "and then I woke up" at the end. There was also some discussion with Greenwald about some mysterious missing tapes that may hold TYV back from a record deal. He also noticed the Olympics were on, in the sense that he congratulated Team USA on beating Canada at hockey and made a crack about The Office being more interesting than ice dancing.

Other highlights: went to Universal Studios (I think? I don't know where else a replica of Whoville would be); threatened to cut his hair; shared an outtake from the first TYV photoshoot (I seriously am not sure if that was Andy or Jon in the picture) and also posted a picture of the tour poster. The tour poster featured a drawing of the lead singer of Foxy Shazam striking a "King Kong" pose on the top of the Empire State Building and catching a plane in his hand.

Jon: Another image heavy week, featuring a pictures of Ryan bowling and someone (probably Ryan) playing the guitar, one of a bonfire, one of a rain LA afternoon, and one of a dog. He also shared a picture of the tour poster, as described above; mentioned that Craig Ferguson is a genius; shared a link to a Jimi Hendrix song on YouTube; and quoted Ryan's end of their conversation about what various '90s pop stars are doing now.

Nick: Mentioned being excited to record new songs to Ryan (MORE new music??); went to a dinner party with some soul music; got stuck in traffic; shared a picture of a stuffed bear (as in taxidermy) wearing a Smokey The Bear hat, with a cigar in its mouth; referenced the CS&N "Our House", promoted the Gold Motel/Black Apples show; shared a link to a news story about a chimp who had to go to rehab; and noticed there are always a lot of expensive cars in the Taco Bell drive-in.

Andy: No substantive updates; tweeted once, to ask "you put that on twitski?" with no further context. I decided he was referring to the (possibly) lost tapes.

Ryan Hung out with Alex Greenwald and pointedly did not watch the SuperBowl; exchanged Winnebago Man quotes with a friend and wished that the Winnebago Man had a Twitter; shared a link to some photographs of a friend of his [NB: Many of the pictures are NSFW] and also a truly hilarious blog of puppies dressed as hipsters; picked out colors for tour clothes; finally announced tour dates [nb: all references to SXSW have vanished from their MySpace, and they aren't on the SXSW page of band schedules either, the last I looked]; joined Greta in renaming Valentine's Day "Partner-in-Crime" Day; grumbled a little about his iPhone Old English-ifying his texts; and took some teasing about looking like Johnny Weir with good humor.

(Interesting that Michael Ian Black made a general sort of crack about it, not specifying which member of PaTD Weir looked like, and nearly every last one of Ryan's friends (that I'm subscribed to, anyway) took it to mean him. Wear that diva tiara with pride, bb!)

Also told Jason Boesel that his "JB" heraldry looked like the Jonas Brother crest (I'm honestly not sure if the bit about the Jonai being a favorite of his was sarcasm or not); moved out of his house and into a new one, along with his band, and shared a picture of his 8 bajillion guitars and also a lizard, in the process; and closed with a statement of a need for jackets. (Tour jackets? It isn't clear.)

Jon: Communicated almost entirely in pictures, many of which were of animals (he met a cat and a dog), though Ryan, Nick's bloody fingers, the inside of Ryan's now-empty house, and some other interiors did also appear. He also shared a link to the tour dates and a very short blog update, and apparently watched both Titanic and the short film Brendon et al did for Butch Walker, who does in fact look like a serial killer for real; finally, his comment on Valentine's Day was "love everyday."

Nick Ah-hah, "record club" is an actual event every week at El Prado, put on by Origami Vinyl! In other news: only one song this week (Werewolf, by the Frantics), but he did also urge LA people to go and see Sherman Alexie's documentary The Exiles, shared the link for tour dates and thanked us for being patient [nb: a fan sent him a link to the

young_veins DIY tour date list post, so he, at least, is theoretically aware that community exists], shared a link to the hipster puppies blog, learned how to play guitar, shared a picture from a smoggy hike, and mentioned recording new songs.

Andy: Shared a couple of pictures in which he looks really quite startlingly like Jon Walker plus one of a combination guitar-coat rack, referenced The Notebook (in disgust, on Valentine's Day) and a Blind Melon song, and went for a walk.

SPECIAL NOTE: There will be no list posts next weekend as your humble scribe will be sailing in distant seas.

Ryan: This week seemed to be in-joke week. Or perhaps "razz Alex Greenwald about being unwashed and/or ridiculous" week. (Side note: Flamin' Hot Cheetos & pizza sandwich should be nicknamed "indigestion on a plate". My tastebuds are recoiling in fear just thinking about it. Also, I saw a Smart Car on the street here and damn those things are TINY. Greenwald probably didn't drive it because he doesn't enjoy navigating with his knees literally up his nose.) Aside from that, Ryan had a fleetingly good hair day, encouraged us to follow another friend of his on Twitter, and, I'm inferring, went to the "secret" The Like show.

Jon: Posted a picture of some trees, participated in "razz Alex Greenwald" week, informed us that his favorite actor is John Goodman, referenced a Frank Sinatra song, and told us that he and ~~Silent Bob~~ Andy will be "setting sail" for California soon, to meet up with Ryan, Nick and "keyboard man". (I'm guessing that keyboard man is NOT Erick, since probably would have just said Erick, if that was who he meant.) Also: this confirms my suspicion that Andy is based out of Chicago.

Nick: Was busy recording drums for nine hours (!) and later admiring a golden moon, then apparently de-cluttered his life in preparation for couch-surfing; answered Michael Runion's trivia question; mentioned a bunch of music (Yes, Montell Jordan, Black Apples, Abe Vigoda (band), High Places); reassured some fans that tour dates are coming soon and also there will be multiple tours; mulled the wisdom of letting Levi's pay him a relatively tiny amount of money to use a picture of him dancing in their store window; and finally played a show with The Black Apples.

Andy: Had quite a chatty week, in which he went to the sushi market; discussed being Very Serious About His Waffles; told a fan the tour would go at least near Little Rock, AR; apparently ran into difficulties at the passport agency (is this a sign that they may be going to Canada, too?) and made a comment to Jon Walker re: the usefulness of maps.

Ryan: Following some prodding from a friend, resumed more or less regular service. And then proceeded to tweet about food (Little Caesers, Thai) and suspicious apple soda (Manzanita Sol is delicius Mexican soda, Ryan, just drink it!), promote a Michael Runion/Jason Boesel/Z Berg show in LA next week, and, this is the best part, he (Ryan) is going to be a guest on the pilot of Runion's talk show. Which is taping next week and will allegedly someday be available on the internets for everyone to see. I, personally, cannot wait. Also he retweeted Z Berg's picture of himself and Greenwald, which she captioned "Lovers reunited". Though it must be said he did grumble a little bit about the caption. Finally, he told us he (or rather, "Boy Orbison" which LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL okay, Ryan Rossy) wasn't feeling well and asked if we had ever wished we had sharper teeth.

Jon: Finally had his wisdom teeth out, and was anxious before and unsurprisingly sore afterwards. Nonetheless he was soon quoting Singing in the Rain and also Home Alone; a John Lennon quote and a Beatles song (I'm So Tired) also made appearances this week. (I feel like should add "and finally all is right with the world" to that sentence.) And there was a nod to the ongoing Leno/Conan kerfluffle and something about underestimating a pear. Finally, how could I forget, he also retweeted the "Lovers reunited" photograph, and has apparently re-subscribed to Brendon and Spencer, though not Zack, and his icon still looks like Prince Valiant.

Nick Received a surprise visit from a turtle (tortoise?); mentioned a whole bunch of music/music-related items, including a Kate Bush/Peter Gabriel song, some African blues, Huey "Piano" Smith, retweeting a link to a blog dedicated to garage rock originating from Spanish-speaking countries (http://www.garagelatino.blogspot.com/), and mentioning that someone had put "Danger Zone" and "We Will Rock You" on the Friday playlist where he works. He also gently reassured us that tour info is coming soon, really and truly, wished The Smell (?!) a happy birthday, and had some car-related adventures (broken windsheild wipers, overheating).

Andy Evidently watched a lot of movies; he doesn't mention which ones, so . . . no substantive update for him this week.

Andy

Special note: Nick and Andy are now listed on TYV MySpace page as official members of the group.

ETA because I forgot: I think Ringo the cat, who showed up in one of Ryan's pictures this summer, is Z Berg's cat, or she has/knows one that looks a lot like him.

Ryan: A video-heavy week, starting with one about 3-D glasses, followed by a reference to a recording of an all-girl Juggalo mosh pit originally mentioned by Michael Runion, before wrapping up with mentions of the frozen iguanas falling out of trees on CNN, James Lipton's ant-sexting PSAs, and an echo of the sport fishing bloopers. He also pocket-tweeted then apologized for it; shared something he overheard in a bar; told us he was "depraved" as a child (I'm pretty sure he meant deprived); and joked with Greenwald about playing harmonica in Greenwald's new "band", Spooky Freckle.

Jon: As previously noted, changed his icon twice, from the distorted fun-house face picture to Megaman to a non-distorted picture of his face. He also noted that words are weird; shared a picture of his cat; mentioned he watches Roseanne and that he tried to shave but "his face said it was too cold"; quoted an episode of the Office; puzzlingly apologized for "mistweeting" someone, called "BS" on something unknown, and wished us all a Merry Christmas, though the latter one was on Epiphany, which is, in fact, Christmas in the Armenian church and is therefore possibly not all that puzzling. Anyway. He finished up with a comment about being anxious for a busy 2010.

Andy: No updates this week.

Nick: Earned himself a permanent place in my heart by quoting one of my favorite Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers songs (The Waiting); also mentioned another song by The Horrors (Scarlet Fields) and Fleetwood Mac's Tusk; mentioned a "record club" which might be a place, or, given his further conversation with someone else, might be related to Beck's music re-recording/sharing project of the same name, or some combination of those things; had some stolen 45s returned to him; and told a fan he was going to soon find out when Take a Vacation will be released. Between that and Jon Walker's "busy 2010," I'm hoping this means more music soon.

Ryan: Had a sudden burst of chatter with Alex Greenwald on a variety of topics, including the delusions of grandeur of Bono and Chris Martin; had a fire in his fireplace; shared a link to some truly hilarious professional fishing bloopers; watched Home Alone 2, at least one episode of Jersey Shore, a SNL skit, and Avatar; as previously mentioned, was horrified by a baby in Ed Hardy gear; discovered that only strip clubs and liquor stores are open in LA at Christmas; interrupted Greenwald's most tiresome Twitter stunt yet (a retweet war with another friend) to tell him to STFU; went to a dinner party, possibly a Michael Runion show and possibly also an actual Phoenix afterparty; and referenced music by Adam Sandler, Scott Walker and Will Smith; expressed a desire for two vaguely terrifying parody items by Tim & Eric; and finally, some dude at a Fatburger told him he looked like the guy from Freecreditreport.com.

Jon: Changed his icon twice (once to a 4 portrait collage colorwashed Andy Warhol-style, once to a distorted fun-house image of his face); unfollowed Zack, Brendon and Spencer; went to Medieval Times; shared several pictures of his pets in his bed and in the snow; watched a truly epic (and exhausting, for the listkeeper) number of Christmas movies and/or specials, including the White House one; played some Scrabble; shared and/or referenced some Silverchair, Sam Cooke, Fleetwood Mac and Bill Evans (jazz piano); had mimosas and cookies for breakfast then went to a cookie party; watched some silly YouTube videos; thought Jim Carrey's tweets were weird; and wished a fan a happy birthday. (Seriously, JWalk + Christmas specials = Out. Of. Control. That is WAY too much Christmas in a small space. Or else my heart, like the Grinch's, is three sizes too small.)

Nick: Added his blog URL to his profile (http://nickmurray.tumblr.com/) and removed previous band affiliations; had a bunch of exchanges with fans (evidently he's joining the ranks of chatty drummers); mentioned 14 songs, including works by Beach House, George Harrison, Elvis Presley, The Who, Roy Tyson, The Horrors, Grizzly Bear, and Crooked Cowboy and the Freshwater Indians; noted the occurance of the Winter Solstice and the passing of Brittany Murphy; attended shows by Black Apples and Foreign Born; watched a meteor shower and encountered a grilled cheese truck (not at the same time); shared a video comprised solely of blue skies over Illinois; watched The Cove, quoted Woody Allen, and also mentioned he (Nick) was the music supervisor on an award-winning film. There were also some neat pictures of the LA skyline; there's more located in (on?) his blog. He seems to like to take pictures of skylines, treelines, and his feet. There are some other pictures that may or may not be his, I really can't tell.

Andy: Wasn't very talkative; sparked up to link a fan to the Republic of Lights website, agree that Silverchair is excellent, link to a violin cover of "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley (it is AMAZING) and also link a recording of David Lee Roth doing "Runnin' with the Devil" acapella.

Final note: I am, as of right now, taking Ryan and Jon's Twitter announcement about Nick and Andy as a formal announcement of new band members. They haven't updated the band's MySpace since early-mid November (!) and Twitter seems to be their main form of "official" communication. Also Nick (and possibly Andy) is referring to his other bands as "old" bands, which I am taking to mean he is not with them anymore.

Ryan: Saw New Moon, but no commentary on what he thought about it (I read "funny" as being about the situation, though I suppose it could be about the movie), retweeted a Happy Gilmore quote from Jon, complained about Thanksgiving traffic, listed things he was thankful for ("my grumpy hat, wearing it backwards, waffles, carpool lanes, dogs, foxes, and you" and also Halloween), discussed Thanksgiving foods with Z Berg, told Alex Greenwald that he (Ryan) also needed a haircut (ED: NOOOOOO, NOT THE CURLS!!), asked whatever happened to Joaquin Phoenix being a crazypants rapper, and had some discussion with a friend who was apparently shopping for office supplies in France. As you do.

Brendon Kicked off the week on a somewhat down note (and with whisky sours) but seemed to be restored to good spirits by an ELO record, Grand Theft Auto 4, 24 Hour Party People and the prospect of epic amounts of food. Referenced "So Cold In the D" for the third time, continued the overall Adam Sandler theme for the week with a mention of the Thanksgiving song, quoted Land of the Lost then, in conversation with Ian, jumped to a bunch of songs of or related to the cartoon Doug. Finally he mentioned he was reading a David Sedaris book (though not which one) and quoted Keith Buckley, lead singer of Every Time I Die. Icon note: His "Grin" icon has vanished (Twitter bug or his intent, I'm not sure) and been replaced by a generic Twitter bird.

Spencer Suddenly chatty after weeks of silence/near-silence, he referenced the "So Cold in the 'Bu" parody, shared two songs (one Lou Reed, one Say Anything), discussed some Things To Do With Google When You're Bored, mentioned searching Ebay for some piece of equipment that will help them fake Eddie Vedder's voice for some mysterious and/or nefarious purpose, and also noted he was about to watch Kazaam. There was also a conversation with a friend about something (videos?) to do with famous musicians, but I couldn't find the start of the thread (it may have been deleted), so I have no idea what that's about.

Jon Went to another show, but didn't say which band; quoted Happy Gilmore once and one episode of Family Guy twice; his list of things he is thankful for included Rock Band: The Beatles, and specifically, the drums; shared an 11:11 moment with us; made a bro-date (or perhaps a double regular date?) with Tom Conrad to possibly watch The Last Waltz; and possibly made a Spinal Tap related quote. The possible ST quote I couldn't find it anywhere so I can't be sure, and thus is it not included on his list. Finally, he always recycles. Icon note: He's changed to a black and white image of Young Frankenstein.