why are you staring into outer space?

Dumbfoundead - Jam Session 2.0

2010-02-14T01:40:00.000-08:00

http://dumbfoundead.com/

How cool is this? This is the results of a jam session put together made up of 8 people with 5 instruments from 4 continents speaking 3 languages all for 1 song.

There's one word I can think of for that, and that is 'Rad!'

Tangent alert:

I recently read in the book Outliers, by Malcom Gladwell, about how examples of people who are extremely successful emerge from very specific sets of circumstances that in large part weren't determined by them. We in America are in love with the self-made-man, bootstrapping, rags-to-riches stories of amazing people who succeed against all odds.

I personally really like the idea and generally believe we are the masters of our own destiny. I have a high internal locus of control. I do believe that whether or not I am correct in thinking that we can achieve whatever we really put our minds to, I think it is beneficial to believe that as it seems to be a trait of successful people.

So what led me down this train of thought is the fact that we are living in such an insane age of technological progress that every day huge opportunities are being opened for us that just couldn't have happened even 5 years ago.

Case and point: The song that you are listing to, Jam Session 2.0

When I see these genius collaborative applications for existing technologies in conjunction with the internet I get really excited. This is the embodiment of the vision for the internet. This is the future. Cliché as that sounds, I really mean it.

We currently exist at a very specific nexus in space and time where the vision for what technology could one day do for us is crossing paths with what we actually have access to. Now don't get me wrong, there have been accelerated periods in the evolution of human thought and technology in the past, but I really believe we exist during one of the most spectacular enlightenment or renaissance-type periods that the world has seen.

So what I take away from seeing a truly collaborative work of art like this (and a good one at that) is the fact that this is art that could not have been possible even 5-10 years ago. I dig other new technologies for their neatness factor, but ultimately technology is a means, not an ends.

In a nutshell, this is the intersection of theory and reality. Ultimately, this is the rubber-meets-the-road land in which I want my life, career, and art to occupy.

I am literally giddy at the idea of musicians from anywhere in the world being able to record a studio-quality track in real time from several different continents with nothing more than their instruments, some basic recording equipment, and a home internet connection.

[Aside: Did you hear that, recording industry?! Your 80 year old business model needs to f-ing evolve or else your ass is obsolete! Don't try to blame illegal downloading. The recording industry is just finally coming around to the fact that we don't consume music (or any media) in the same way as we did 20 years ago. But... that is a separate subject for a separate argument so I'll put my animosity toward the recording industry away for the moment.]

I really feel like I would be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime if I didn't take advantage of this technology as it evolves and I figure out what to do with my life. You can start/test businesses for a couple of hundred dollars. You can create new ways for people to interface with each other in meaningful ways that non-tech-heads can understand and use. You can connect musicians to play live with each other from across the world. You can distribute media without needing to own any physical infrastructure. The barriers to entry to just about any intellectual or artistic pursuit are lower than they have ever been.

Your world really is what you make it.

So this is a music blog not a tech blog right? I suppose I should get back to that...

The one thing I wonder with this is how they planned for / collaborated this jam session. When you are playing with other musicians, you often rely on visual cues from each other to know who is taking the lead and when.

I do like good hip-hop, and Dumbfoundead seems to be pretty solid as far as that goes. I do recommend you check out some of his other stuff, but I feel like this particular song is bigger than him.

Of course I did like the finger-style guitar, but all the instrumentalists were pretty darn good. They did a good job of laying back and letting others take the lead when needed. When I first read about this concept, I thought, 'Oh great, there will be no less than 3 musicians at a time noodling out their solos making the song incomprehensible,' but that really wasn't the case here.

I loved Esna's singing voice! Great sense of timing and expression. She rocks. I had never heard of her before, but after a bit more research I found a collaboration with Esna and Sam Hart! (You may remember Sam Hart from such awesome internet sensations as "Mario Kart Love Song". On a personal note, I love this song and have covered it multiple times. I love when I connect the dots between my favorite artists!)

Alrighty, it's almost 4:00am here so I'll wrap this up. I want to leave you with a couple recordings that I fell in love with while doing the research for this post.

Enjoy!

Esna Yoon - Deepest Scar:

This video really does a good job of showcasing Esna's voice. Watch it in HD if your internet connection has the cojones. (Mine doesn't; stupid AT&T!)

Sam Hart & Esna Yoon - As You:

This is the collaboration I mentioned between Sam Hart & Esna Yoon.

Sam Hart - Mario Kart Love Song:

If you haven't heard this song, it's one of the most beautiful love songs based on a Nintendo game that I have ever heard. It is also the closest thing anyone will get to a Valentine from me.

P.S. You really should check out Dumbfoundead at http://dumbfoundead.com/. He has some good stuff, and his current album is available for download for FREE. I won't get back into the recording industry rant, but distributing music for at cost or free really does benefit the up-and-coming artist and I would be happy to debate that point with anyone.

The Airborne Toxic Event

2010-01-25T01:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.theairbornetoxicevent.com/

Ok, ok... I know I'm like two years behind the 'cutting edge' curve with this group. It's embarrassing for someone who vaguely identifies as a 'music blogger.' All the other musical elitists may now take a moment to point and laugh at me for being soo 2008.

That said, pretty much the only song I ever heard from the Airborne Toxic Event was 'Sometime Around Midnight'. I kinda liked that song, but not enough to really look up the band at any point. Maybe it is because I like their acoustic stuff better. Maybe it is because it hits a little too close to home with one or two of my exes to be enjoyable for me. Maybe that speaks well of the art, that it evokes an emotion, albeit a negative emotion that I didn't want to keep experiencing.

I'll admit that 'Sometime Around Midnight' is good, but the following song ("Gasoline", acoustic styley) is Much better. I f-ing love the melody, the jazz bass, and the classical violinist. The guitars play rhythm and/or harmony and I dig it as well. That takes some pride-swallowing for a guitarist to admit that the song wouldn't be better with a wailing, distorted electric guitar solo, but I think they play a perfect axillary role in this particular song. Tip of the cap to the drummer as well. Not a particularly flourish-y drum part, but he does a good job of keeping the beat.

Just listen to the song and tell me what you think:

The Airborne Toxic Event: Gasoline (Acoustic Series Week 3)
Uploaded by airbornetoxicevent. - See the latest featured music videos.

After posting that just now I found a non-acoustic version, which I enjoy as well. Not as much as the acoustic, but I do like the distorted violin. See below:

Gasoline (Acoustic)

As disgustingly hipster as these guys are, I don't care. This is a fun song. It makes me want to dance. It's up-beat, funny, good instrumentals, interesting vocals, and even though my beloved guitars don't steal the show, it's arguably better that way (a difficult truth for an ego-driven guitarist to admit). I won't promise that I won't play this at a party one day, but I'll readily admit that with just guitar and vocals it will fall short.

What can I say? I'm hooked. I will have this song stuck in my head for days. Once you get done making fun of me for living under a rock for 2 years, you can secretly dance to this song too. I won't tell anyone ;)

I'll leave you with another song I like from these guys, that you may or may not have heard on the radio:

Papillon (Acoustic)

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down

2009-09-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

Listen To "Know Better Learn Faster"

by Thao with The Get Down Stay Down

courtesy of their record label, kill rock stars.

Visit their website here:

www.killrockstars.com

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down is a really fun / musically interesting group that I just heard for the first time that I wanted to share.

On their MySpace Page (myspace.com/thaomusic) they describe their sound as follows:

"tangles of guitar, knots of singing, threads of beat and thump make a rope fit for hauling the heavy machinery of your day"

How can that not make you want to listen to them? Well, it does for me anyways.

What I love about this group is the use of a big variety of instrumentation but yet it all seems to fit in with their style. This is especially true with all the different stringed instruments layered into Know Better Learn Faster.

The different riffs they use are generally basic, but they are woven together in an intricate way. This gives the songs some complexity, and makes me want to go back and listen to them again so I can pay attention to the parts that I missed. This sort of thing, needing to experience it twice or more, scores big points with me in any work of art.

Something about the upbeat rhythms, the eclectic mix of instruments, and the lyrics / female vocals puts me in a good mood. Know Better Learn Faster just might have to go on my 'get out of bed in the morning' mix (along with Gabriel Rios' "Broad Daylight").

You should definitely check out more songs from Thao with The Get Down Stay Down, but I will leave you with one more song of theirs for your assigned listening...

"Fear and Convenience"

from their 2008 album, We Brave Bee Stings and All.

Go to their MySpace Page (myspace.com/thaomusic);

Click "Fear and Convenience" on their playlist.

Simple but fun guitar licks (especially the variations on the finger picking), also catchy, a bit upbeat, but subtly cynical lyrics which really resonated with me.

"I have seen fear and convenience
I have never glimpsed a romance"

Enjoy!

Sublime with Rome

2009-09-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

Sublime with Rome

So I realize that this is a small departure from blogging about bands largely unknown to the mainstream, but this is too big of news to me and the music world to go uncommented on. Now that I have a small soap-box to stand on, here are my thoughts.

In case you hadn't heard, the remaining members of Sublime (namely Eric and Bud) are back together again. Unlike their previous projects since Sublime, this one is bringing back the Sublime band name. They have somehow hooked up with this kid Rome, from NorCal (respect), who is 20 years old and has some big ass shoes to fill; namely Bradley Nowell's.

This news might cause a knee-jerk groan of disapproval for you, as it did with me, but I'm not one to hate on the guy for no reason so I'm willing to give him an honest shot.

Now lets get one undisputed fact out of the way:

Rome is not Bradley Nowell.

There I said it. To save you some reading, the above sentence sums up about 50% of the internet chatter about this news.

The following is my honest assessment about whether or not Rome has the cajones to carry on as Sublime's front man.

I chose the song above because it's the best quality recording floating around the internet of Rome doing a Sublime cover. Sadly, no Bud on drums in this one.

The good news:

Rome is an excellent singer, and can play guitar well enough based on what I've heard. I honestly do like his voice. I generally like good lead singers with lower vocal ranges because the vast majority of lead singers have higher ranges so it is different and interesting. (I also like them because I have a bass range so it's easier for me to sing along.)

Rome seems to know his shit and is very polished, which is good if your about to join Sublime. There will be no garage band tours to ease him into the role. The name Sublime pretty much guarantees sold out concert venues the first tour. It's up to the guys on stage to sell out the second tour.

But...

There seems to be something lacking as of right now.

What made Bradley Bradley wasn't that he was the most technically proficient singer in the world. What made Bradley such an attractive person was the fact that he left every ounce of his soul on the stage. Bradley had a stage presence that brought so much exuberant energy that is always flirting on the edge of chaos.

Bradley's live versions weren't polished, they were raw, he would use a certain amount of vocal fry contrasted against his clean singing for accents. Bradly would screw up sometimes too, but it made it sound real. The energy he gave off was always so positive and exciting that you just want to bask in the good vibes the music puts out.

What other singer could sing the lyrics, "Baby you're a big blue whale" and make it sound romantic and endearing.

Or how about the following lyrics:

"If I had a shotgun,

you know what I'd do?

I'd point that shit straight at the sky,

and shoot heaven on down for you"

This sounds like one of those nonsensical drunken / stoned way of trying to express how much he cares about someone, but the message comes through 1000x more than saying, "I love you" because it's channeled straight from his subconscious completely uncensored or translated.

Again, it's not that Bradley was the best lyricist, singer, songwriter, or musician in the world that makes him one of my all-time favorite artists. It is the pure emotion that he puts into his songs and his performances that can't help but get me excited to live life and love everybody.

Rome on the other hand strikes me as someone who is very talented at what he does and executes it well. However, his style of singing bears much more resemblance to Jason Mraz with a lower vocal range than it does to Bradley Nowell. Rome is almost more of a pop singer than a rock/reggae singer.

In fact, after I made this comparison between Rome and Jason Mraz I found a Jason Mraz cover that he did to illustrate the point. (Bear in mind, this isn't Rome's best cover and he rushed the hell out of this song, but it makes a good comparison between singing styles.)

Check out the two side-by-side:

The Verdict on Rome:

So my argument ultimately comes back to the point that I already knew going into this, which is that Rome is not Bradley Nowell. We can only fault him so much for not being born the reincarnated spirit of Bradley.

I like his sound and I think it fits well with the band. I don't think he is 100% there with the intensity and emotion that needs to be brought to the stage, but he's not far off. With some more practice I could see him nailing it.

Am I ecstatic to hear that Sublime is getting back together? Yes.

Rome also wins points in my book for his singing ability, his timing while singing w/ the guitar, and for being a fellow NorCal native.

Alright kid, you have my blessing. Go kick ass as the newly formed Sublime with Rome. Lay it all on the stage because this is your shot.

Here is one last video of Sublime with Rome performing STP live. Enjoy!

Sublime w/Rome STP live at the Cantina Sparks NV FEB 28th 2009

¿¡New Contributing Editor?!

2009-09-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody!

You may know me from my characteristically long philosophical musings taking up much of the comments section on this blog.

Well, good news! I've been promoted from commenter to blogger. Hmm... nix that, let's call it, "Contributing Editor." That sounds more like something you could put on a resume.

So I'm the new Contributing Editor for this music blog.

The good news for you, our loyal readers, is that in theory, this should increase the frequency of postings.

Without futher adeiu, here is my first post...

Bïa Krieger - Momento de Graça
Listen on MySpace Music
(Click on the above link, then click on Momento de Graça to play.)

There are some songs that make me stop what I am doing and give the full attention of my senses to listening and experiencing the moment constructed by the artist. This is one of those songs.

The word soulful seems like a vague musical cliche that is tossed around a lot to describe prominently featured singers in an acoustic group.

Overuse aside, I can think of no better term to describe this recording done by Bïa Krieger.

Whatever she's feeling, whatever she's saying, you feel it. Longing... waiting... there's subtle tension in every note.

This song takes it's time. The sounds are deliberate and rich. It slowly fills you up with sense of mellow tension the way smoke would slowly fill a room with no ventilation.

Here are the lyrics:

Ando esperando
Esperando tanto
Por um momento de graça
Coisa que passa?
(Ou que fica
Mas só
Porque não sabe onde ir)

Andei procurando um mar de areia
Pro meu corpo pousar
Quando dei por mim, madrugada já
Quando dei por mim, madrugada já

Other reasons why I am instantly in love with Bïa and her music:

The instruments used in her arrangements as I also play and love to listen to. In particular acoustic finger-style guitar, acoustic bass, and saxophone.

The more I read about her the more I fall absolutely in love with her life. Take this excerpt from her bio on her website:

"Bia spends a few years sailing around the Atlantic and Mediterranean, learning more about nature, literature, languages, music and politics than she would in any school. In 1995, she decides she won’t be anything else but a musician, and starts going professional. She is living in France and so she sings in French as well as in her mother tongue, Portuguese, or Spanish that she had learned as a child."
Bïa Krieger's Bio

Finally, something about that picture with the guitar is just... well you get the idea.

Cheers!

-Ron

tonal.

2009-09-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

any of you who have been fans of this blog for an extended period of time likely know that i can only really describe the way that i listen to music as, "tonal." i want my music to make me feel something.
long-time fans will also be aware that i write these blogs nearly stream of consciousness...float w/me for a bit? as always, the music is down below.

as someone who studied (and indeed, wrote) poetry in school, i appreciate and am moved by lyrics. as someone who grew up a beatles fan, i know a good melody when i hear it. this should have a third example for proper crescendoing, but nothing's springing to mind. BUT, for a song to slap me across the thigh and tilt my chin up, and more importantly, to shut my eyes...it's got to feel like something.
this calls to mind 'punch drunk love'. i looked online to find an example of PTA's use of color w/Jon Brion's 600 x brilliant soundtrack (which includes 'here we go' which i just listed as my favorite song of all time on a 'get to know me' newspaper for my fifth graders) but i couldn't find one. PDL is all about tone. sure, it's about a dude who buys tons of pudding, but it's REALLY about tone. i don't care how much you didn't like it (or liked it!) as a popcorn accompaniment... watch it again and pay close attention to sound/color/tone. every color matters! every sound matters. they all cast deep shadows.
it also calls to mind an interview i read way back in the day with john mayer. apparently, the boy sees music as colors (officially, and uncooly, called synesthesia.) how amazing is that?! now, in his case, i wish it would lead to better music (he was asked what the most interesting looking music was and he said dave matthews band) but, what a cool "disease"!
understand?
listen to the song...then maybe it'll get clearer.

Andrew Bird. See the Enemy. Lyrics.

this song kicked my ass like none has in i don't know how long. seriously, it's been years since a song took hold like this. i don't even really want to talk about it.
so pretty. i just loops and swirls. words, tucking each other in so tight and then tossing each other into the air. i just want to sway in the front row and pound my head into the power of it all. tight little balls of music and english.
god, i love andrew bird. i hope he's getting rich. songwriters, singers, musicians of all types should have shrines to this man. it's all gold. how could you not love someone who describes himself as a "chicago-based multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and whistler." if you don't know and honor him daily...fix it.
this is a sparse remix of his song 'anonanimal'.
that's it...i told you i didn't want to talk about it. it's been on repeat for the last hour and i could leave it on for 20 more.

__________________________________________________________________
Ron said...

Deric, your sporadic music blog posts are always a pleasant surprise. You do an amazing job of stripping away the layers of formality and expressing a feeling that the music inspires in you without ego. It's raw, and really adds insight to music that I might not listen to on paper. I feel it too, and one of my criteria for a characteristic of what I consider to be good art is conveying a feeling or an emotion.

Interesting point about the music-color relationship. I know I certainly associate different musical chords or tones with color. However, when I talk about the color of music, I guess I think more of the traditional definition of Color or Timbre.

A good explanation of musical Color / Timbre can be found here:

Timbre, the Color of Music.

Basically, Color / Timbre describes all of the aspects of a musical sound that do not have anything to do with the sound's pitch, loudness, or length.

My favorite things to do in music is when I've completely learned a song inside and out and I get to play around with the color of the piece, adding in crescendos of brightness and decrescendos into sweeter darker sounds. This can be done conjunction with actual crescendos to accent or in opposition to them. That's the difference between technically and mechanically playing a piece and playing with feeling. That is where the soul is captured and expressed through the music. It is rare that most people even hear the difference, let alone be moved by it, but when another person really gets it and shares in that moment in space and time, that exact sound and feeling and place that is being experienced for the first time and will never be experienced again... that's one of the best feelings in the world as an artist.

I don't remember the last time I felt that.

Sometimes I'll seriously just play one guitar lick over and over and over and over again exploring every aspect of musical color that I can.

The synesthesia thing sounds cool, it sounds like basically a strong association between sound and color (that said, John Mayer, good musician that he is, is kindof a big blow-hard so I wouldn't be surprised if he was embellishing in order to seem cool and mysterious to get chicks, which I wouldn't necessarily hold against him).

I think I refer to that as 'sound-space' or the head-space that it puts you in. I don't know if I really have a definition for that.

If I were to describe the sound-space that See the Enemy creates for me I guess it would be mellow at first but then you are thrown just a little off kilter when they switch from 4/4 time in the beginning to 7/8 as they go into the verse (someone can feel free to correct me if that's wrong). It's playful, and the bass line doesn't change that much so it leaves you antsy and thought-provoked. The off-beat rhythm and pace of the lyrics threaten to just leave the song behind, but even when it sounds like they aren't, they are still in time and come back to realign with the bass.

If something could be be chill, chaotic, and playful all at the same time, then that would be this song.

Saturday, September 12, 2009 2:17:00 PM PDT

__________________________________________________________________
Deric:

see?

and.......i'm too busy w/stupid hw to really respond at the moment. however, thank you for not only commenting, but substantially contributing w/a blog of your own. you're the best.

i will say that this particular album by Bird is a reworking of songs from another album. could there be any better subject for a discussion of timbre/color? love andrew. he really does cut to the quick of me.

check it out:

Andrew Bird. Anonanimal.

Very ordinary, like candy or tacos or semantics

2009-05-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

hey, check it out...i'm posting something. i guess this is what happens when you go from 20 semester units to searching for a summer job. inundated with spare time.
since last saturday, all of that spare time was spent sick as hell. i'm still coughing and weak now, but i'm finally feeling human again :)

there are two things that i want to share w/you all today. one is the new Dangermouse project that you MUST download, because it may never be released. the other is a beautiful little poem. the poem is really what drove me to post.

also, DMRC people. seriously, i'm not posting music. i'm posting links to places where music is hosted. seriously. quit trying to cuckold me.

DJ Dangermouse & Sparklehorse. Dark Night of the Soul.
(feat. The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys,

Jason Lytle

, Julian Casablancas, Black Francis,

Iggy Pop

, James Mercer,

Mark Linkous

, Nina Persson, David Lynch, Suzanne Vega and

Vic Chesnutt

.

Download Link #1.
Download Link #2 (if you use this one, you'll need to grab the song below, as it's missing from this set.)

DJ Dangermouse & Sparklehorse. Revenge (feat. Wayne Coyne).

geez, this one's a story. not one of my rambling ones either, but it's a whole bunch of grown-up high-school drama. if you're into music news, i recommend the following links:
NPR's story (along w/the entire album to stream.)
Wikipedia.
DNOTS website along w/some David Lynch (yes, that one) visuals.

here's the gist: Dangermouse and EMI are fighting again. David Lynch (yes, that one) designed an intricate (and i'm sure dark, and odd, and surreal...like the one above) book of visuals to go with the album which Dangermouse is saying will be released with a blank cd and the following message: “For legal reasons, enclosed CD contains no music. Use it as you will.” how great is that?! basically, Dangermouse is asking you, the public, to find the album on the internet. torrent it--download it through the link above--whatever, just so long as you hear his album.

oh, and it's good too. not all of it is something i want to listen to all the time, but there are a few fantastic songs on there.

i don't post poetry very often but i wanted to share the following. i suppose i could start including poetry more often as i have many favorites, but this one is totally spontaneous. i stumbled upon it this morning and this is maybe the second time i've stumbled upon any good poetry (apart from the classics.) it's so american and so contemporary. it's a kind of poetry that i didn't understand when i was studying poetry, but has become my favorite since then. it's a short story, w/o all the junk. simple, matter of fact, grand.

DEATH AND TACOS

Waiting in line at a taco stand for my number to be called
I started talking to a six-year-old kid kicking his little foot against
A curb and waiting for his dad to come out of the bathroom.
And he said, “Why do you cough so much?”
And I said, “Because I have cancer.”
And he said, “Bummer.”
And I said, “Yep.”
And he said, “Does it hurt?”
And I said, “Only when I breathe.”
And he said, “Why don’t you hold your breath?”
And I puffed out my cheeks like Lois Armstrong and
Let him see it and held it for as long as I could
Before exploding into a hacking eruption of
Stupid sounds and saliva.
And he laughed.
And I coughed and laughed.
And he said, “Feel better?”
And I said, “A bit.”
And I showed him how much better with my
Thumb and index finger. And pointed at a green thread
of mucous that had dribbled out onto my chin
He said, “Gross.” And wiping it off
I said, “Yep.”
And he said, “My granddaddy had cancer before he died on the hospital.”
And I said, “You mean in the hospital?”
And he said, “Yeah on the hospital.”
And I said, “Oh, yeah?”
And he said, “He used to give me candy all of the times I ever saw him.”
And I said, “Sorry kid, I don’t have any candy.”
And, deflated, he said, “Are you gonna die on the hospital?”
And I said, “You mean in the hospital?”
And he said, “Yea, are you gonna die on the hospital?”
And I said, “Probably.”
And he said, “OK.”
And, upon giving that gracious consent, the boy’s dad came out and
The boy said, “Well, bye!” And I said, “See ya.”
And he ran off.
And, for a while, between the two of us,
Dying became so very ordinary, like candy or tacos or semantics,
And death itself suddenly just this obnoxious third-wheel
A pitiful nuisance with nothing better to do with his time
Than to tag along with me and this six-year-old kid.
And I sat smiling in the sun and imagining death at the moment,
A sad sack of lonely-self slumped somewhere in the distance,
As I waited for my number to come up.

-Nathaniel Whittemore

A little show-and-tell

2009-01-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

this is kind of a throwback blog for me, from yesteryear....before i wrote anything beyond shilling for one artist or another. i want you all to listen to this man.

Ben Sollee (god i hate flash websites...musicians, please knock it off with that crap...i don't want you opening up all sorts of windows...frick). lyrics.

i've posted ben before. in fact, i've posted two of the below songs before.
[deal with it.]
it's been a long time since i've found anything that jacked me up this much.
[i love the cello.]

i'm going to let some other blogs do some of my work for me here and post a few links in addition to the direct links to songs.
i can't find his album online, and i'm unwilling to upload anything, so you'll just have to buy it. or, you can spend a little bit of time pouring over the hypem link below and piece together some of the best tracks that way. the hype machine rocks.
it was the daytrotter version of "a change is going to come" that made me want to post, so that one goes first. so good. i'm not going to steal traffic from that site, so you'll have to go there to hear it. it's worth it.
the video below is a trip...i've never heard anyone play a cello in exactly that way. his album is really clean, but a lot of his live stuff is much grimier, in the best possible way. i'm not unique, nor am i completely normal, in that i often have problems with music sounding too clean/sterile. i recommend that you take the time to listen to at least the daytrotter and the album versions of "a change is gonna come" (yes, this is a cover of a sam cooke song...lord knows i'll get an email from someone if i don't say that.)

1. daytrotter session.

2. hype machine links.

3. bonus (w/a couple vids and an f apple cover...loves me some missus apple).

Ben Sollee - A Change Is Gonna Come - Luxury Wafers Sessions from Luxury Wafers.

songs (album versions):
a change is gonna come.
how to see the sun rise.
only a song.

hey ben...come to town, wouldja?

night all.

You were supposed to grow old. Reckless, unfrightened, and old, you were supposed to grow old.

2008-12-27T14:51:00.000-08:00

today i was reminded why i like to write...or at least, why i like to write on the interwebs.
this meanders. i haven't posted in so long, that i'm just going to go with the flow here. there is a main theme, but the "structure" of this thing is going to be tangents inside of schisms of asides. it'll be tender buttons w/far less repetition...or homosexuality...and with nouns and no sex (mmmm...i could go for some alice b toklas ice cream from Marianne's)

seriously, this one goes all over the place and as always, it's easy to see where the music sits...feel free to scroll down unless you've got a few minutes and like me an inordinate amount.

i had taken to listening to my ipod on completely random.
normally, i use my playlists to filter an insane quantity of music down to something manageable. not too many months ago, i got a new computer....a beautiful, beefy laptop on which i'm writing now. in the xferring of music from old computer (still up and running...though solely for dangerous/chancy surfing) to new, i managed to lose my playlists. now, many of you know that i am an enemy of apple, and a self-loathing owner of apple products (including my new iphone, which is pure sex.) the primary reason for this hatred isn't geek posturing, but the s-load of proprietary roadblocks that apple stacks in their very shiny products. some of you may know that it is impossible to remove files from ipods and put them on your computer through apple-approved methods. this is a pile of horseshit (i love that firefox doesn't correct the spelling on horseshit!) when one pays a ton of money for an external drive that can play music, once should be able to use it like an external drive. period...end of story. eff you apple...right in your stupid a.

in order to be truly happy, i need my playlists, so i couldn't sync my ipod for the last few months (the old ones would have been deleted upon syncing...effing stupid crap...the music is MINE, regardless of the fact that i stole most of it), which gave me little reason to surf for new music. of course i could manually put the new songs on the ipod, but every time i thought about how apple was cramping my style, i just got angry.

a few weeks ago when joanna abandoned me for a day, i decided i was going to solve my problem through any illegal means necessary. super-duper-over-long story short, i finally came upon yamIpod, which appears to be the greatest freeware out there for hijacking your ipod. specifically, it is the only one i found that allows you to remove playlists themselves. awesome. these playlists that i need to be truly happy.

however, i had taken to listening to my ipod on completely random.
since i am constantly listening to music, tons of forgotten songs popped up, until i had a nice list, sufficient for a blog.

however, as you may have noticed, i don't really blog anymore.
but, apparently, i do.

a few things have led me back to blogging.
i may have mentioned, in paren, that i got a sexy new phone. if i hadn't already named my snowboard vera, then i guarantee that the iphone would get that name. well, now that i have internet at my fingertips all the damn time, i have started reading cvjm's blog again. thus, i started commenting and bouncing to other blogs as well (as a former blogger, i know how rad those comments feel.)

you may have noticed that my last post was actually a repost. (oddly, i've never received so many comments before...maybe i should just cycle through my best posts every few months?) the cause of that repost should be fairly clear from the (now censored) rant its beginning. however, despite my displeasure, i enjoyed revisiting that past post, and i LOVE that, through no further work of my own, i was able to hit a few souls who missed it on the first time around. that post is one of the few that is close to my heart, and one of the very few that strays into anything but pure frivolity. for those that didn't catch it, or don't feel like taking the step back, it was largely concerned with memory.

i used to meditate a good deal on memory, i think in large part because mine is so poor. i physically hold on to absolutely everything. every time i cleaned my room as a kid, i found new places to squirrel away junk. you should have seen it circa the end of high school....probably half of my 12x12 room was filled with random shit. because i've never had to move everything out of here, i've never done the massive filtering wherein i toss all of the childhood crap, though i've certainly pared down over the years. i still have a few big boxes--at least--of flotsam that connects me to moments/feelings from my childhood (i wonder if the exes would be flattered or creeped out by the scrap piles.). you see, i don't think everyone out there can relate to having an atrocious memory for the past: i legitimately CANNOT dredge up a lot of these memories without the trinket that sends me there.

the other day, i inherited a new desk which led me back to blogging.
now, the one i had was truly an inheritance: it belonged to my grandfather. i believe, though we've talked about my memory, that he was a salesman of office furniture when he brought his family here from holland. it was a nice desk. however, it was too big for my little room, and when my sister was tossing her little ikea number, i did the switcheroo. i knew that the (giant) top drawer of the old desk had served as a catch-all for years, but i had no idea what i was dipping into. i'd had that desk for maybe 17 years, but there were items in there from well before that time period. there was a pencil that i won in cub scouts. there were micro machines from third grade (yes, i remember specifically which year that was because we played with them every day for a while there, out in the sandbox, making marble madness style runs for them to go down.) there was a small section of my rock collection; a stone cross i wore in my devout (more like passing) days as well as a yin-yang i wore for a spell in between (not to mention a playboy pendant that i probably bought at the fair and wore far far before i ever kissed a girl); my ex gf's high school id along with a bracelet and shoelaces from my hs gf; years of gifts in the shape of pigs which my mom gives me to "celebrate" my chauvinism. there was a paper from gamestop on which i wrote up my manager for using *CENSORED* and faxed it to his gf (whom i had never met.) KOME stickers. KSJO keychain. my charcoal pencils from the period when i wanted to be an artist like my mom. years and years of STUFF, none of it junk...all of it important enough to save for one reason or another.

this kind of drawer makes me melancholy. always. these happy memories are rendered sad by their distance. i'm totally old. all this stuff that was so important. all this stuff i've forgotten. i don't relish it, or celebrate it, i mope about it...but i'm completely unwilling to chance the alternative: forgetting.

so, a few things have led me back to blogging.

Ted Leo. Timerous Me. Lyrics.

the song i most wanted to share is one that i used to sing along with, w/o really listening to the lyrics. i admit to doing this shamefully often...especially given my snobbery surrounding words.
today, when i finally decided that i was going to write about it, i did some digging for an online mp3 of the song so the DMCA butt-puppets wouldn't erase my post (i was warned not to post more music or my blog would be shit-canned.) while digging, i circuitously found that i had even less of a handle on the topic of the song than i thought. while searching for "timory", i came upon the story of an OK Go song called "return" about a girl named timory hyde (lyrics of return. the end of that thing is pretty sad.)
this rabbit hole goes on and on, and it's getting more daunting to write this every time i stray away to look for more. song after song is written in remembrance of this girl, but the short version is that timory hyde died while at brown university, on her bday, when a friend hugged her and the window she was leaning on gave out, sending the pair three stories down to the driveway below. she was an artist and musician herself, and appears to have been beloved by all who knew her, and even a few who only knew the twinkle in her eye, as is evidenced by this song.

of all the random things i came across about this girl's death, this post moved me the most. i don't know if roberta is a mom, or a sister...but, talk about cleaning out a desk:

Roberta wrote:

I don’t know what made me do a Timory Hyde search but I found this. Thank you, Elliot, for writing it. I’ve finally been cleaning out Timory’s room because I know what I want to do with it and I know she would like it. I’ve tried to reach you through emails but they must all be different. I haven’t written but I should. Laziness overcomes me. Maybe emotion as well. I miss hearing from you. I’m going to try to find Leo’s cd. I’m looking forward to being “frozen” and also to the nice feeling that Timory drove another to song. She’d like that….. R
Wednesday, August 13, 2003 at 5:43 pm

i rarely print lyrics in their entirety, but, it's just such a perfect end to the post, and poses all the right questions. deep and melancholy food for thought...that's what my blog is.

Timorous Me

Me and Johnny sittin' in the green grass -
I don’t remember too much from that far back in the past,
But man, oh man, was Johnathan a laugh
In those days.
Apparently he was my very best friend -
We spent warm summer days wishing they would never end -
But I only know from photographs I look at
Every now and again.

And J-J-Johnny -
Ooh, ooh, all he left us was an apple tree,
And ooh, where'd he go, and ooh, why'd he leave,
And ooh, why do I grieve?

Now I don’t ever see Johnathan no more,
But my life rolls on just like it did before,
And I only wonder what it is
That I even miss him for.

Me and Timory holdin' hands -
I was shakin' hers, ‘cause she said she was a fan,
There was an awkward pause, and something that should’ve began
Just passed us by.
But I watched her sing along with every word,
In the prettiest voice that I never heard,
And I still see her dancing, wearin' my shirt:
Right there.

And t-t-timorous me -
All Timory left me was a memory.
And ooh, I was blind, and ooh, now I find
That I can’t see.

Now me and Jodi spend a lot of our time
Just sittin' in silence, driving late at night,
And maybe even wonderin' what’s on each other’s mind
This time.
But I know she’s like me, so I let it ride -
She’s dwelling in that quiet space left behind,
Where only peace can answer why,
And you abide
The birds must fly.

um....not "the gaze of love is the gaze that isolates"

2008-10-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Monday, September 17, 2007

"the gaze of love is the gaze that isolates"

(new ed note: since people are too effing stupid to read my note on the side column about asking me to take down any copyrighted material, and instead thought it would be cool to report me to the DMCA effers, i am having to repost this w/o the links. i will HAPPILY send these lists to ANYONE who requests them. if i knew who complained in this courageless and disgusting way instead of contacting me, i would do everything possible to mess with them and their band in the future. grow a spine dickhead.)

(new new ed note: geez. i was pretty pissed. i have now replaced every "u" in effs with an asterisk in order to soften the blow. i think it does the trick. yes, i realize that in writing this note, i increased the number of effs by four and i only augmented [didn't remove] two effs to begin with, but these are much happier and less caustic effs.)

(new new new ed note: now that i'm a teacher, i've gone back and replaced all the f***s with "effs". enjoy.)

so, when i was in, like, FOUR foreign countries, i got a chance to catch up with a TON of listening i have been planning to get to.
i had this great idea that i would earmark a whole bunch of songs for the blog and that this would make it way easier to be good little blogger. however, since i have been feeling pretty anti-blog recently, i have decided to handle this a little differently. i am posting the entire list (copied out of the back page of my battered copy of "the book of laughter and forgetting" that i read for what must be the 15th time) all at once. this makes for a pretty schizophrenic playlist, but i'm listening to it right now, and it is actually quite good. since most of this playlist was assembled while i was actually traveling (meaning, in a car/bus/train/airplane) i was a in a pretty similar mood for most of the picking. public transportation always makes me introspective and a little sad.

these links will only be good for 7 days or 100 downloads, whichever comes first. this means that those loyal readers who follow the blog closely will be rewarded with a very fine assortment of songs. the rest of you will have to beg if you want them. though the order of the songs was all mixed up, some of you might notice that all of the artists have names beginning with one of the first 9 letters of the alphabet. this is not by chance. that's as far as i made it through the 900 song playlist i was working from.

"Disc" 1:
(Link Expired)

Seabear - A.R.C.
Daedalus - Just Briefly
Bishop Allen - Flight 180
Belleruche - Minor Swing
Flanger - How Long is the Wrong Way
General Miggs - Broken Hoof
Hollowpaw - Cinders
Grizzly Bear - Knife
Feist - Mushaboom
Bowerbirds - In Our Talons
Benoit Piolard - Patter
Caribou - Melody Day
Harlan T Bobo - Stop
Goyte - Heart's a Mess
Detektivbyrån - Nattöppet
Gavouna - Three
Doveman - Cities
Beirut - Postcards from Italy

"Disc" 2:
Link Expired

Bibio/Richard Roberts - Marram
The Coral - Dreaming of you
Irma Thomas - I Need Your Love So Bad
Flying - Minors
Dispatch - The General
DJ Shadow - Organ Donor
Clue to Kalo - The Just is Enough
Chris and the Other Girls - Let Go
Frankenixon - Impasse
Fischerspooner - Kick in the Teeth
Casey Dienel - Tundra
Four Tet - Spirit Fingers
Hot Springs - Gotta DJ
CocoRosie - Ohio
Deceptikon - Sometimes You Hear it Coming
Chris Thile - Laurie De'Tullins
Cloud Cult - Chemicals Collide

Skip this if you don't want to hear a pretty sizable ramble:
i love my copy of "laughter and forgetting." it's this old translation that i prefer to the newer one. anyone who has read kundera will love the following and understand the perfection of the following:
when i bought it, it had an inscription in it, signed with love. whoever received this book traded it into a used book store where i bought it and wrote an inscription in it, signed with love. when i broke up with liz, i kept the book (not only is it my favorite translation, it has an essential interview w/kundera in the back.) so here's this kundera book with two different pledges of love, at least one of which has totally been rescinded.

for those of you who aren't familiar with kundera: a) fix it. b) sorry that the irony, and the reason for my joy, are lost on you. here is an explanation:

this book has gone backpacking twice and has been in 6 countries. at some point during it's most recent trip, the cover actually fell off, erasing my note to liz. it's only a matter of time before kevin's note to bessie meets with a similar fate. so, two different boys used this book, which is largely about forgetting, as an artifact showcasing their eternal love. both of these specific pledges were likely voluntarily forgotten, but didn't vanish with this act of forgetting; there was still a record of these words and sentiments. there is a chance that these inscriptions are the ONLY record left of these words and sentiments (in my case, they aren't) and that all proof of this love will disintegrate with the book.

we all have things and periods in our lives that we would like to forget. have you ever thought about the artifacts and records that remain, or did you burn all their photographs? what about the times in your life that were beautiful and priceless: have you ever thought about the incomparable sadness of those memories slowly leaving you? as kundera says in the interview, "what terrifies us about death is not the loss of the future, but the loss of a past." it is our past that makes us us, and every thing we forget is a small kind of death. or not.

i could easily write a good paper on this subject (as opposed to an unfocused ramble, i suppose) but i'll shut up now. if any of you made it this far and would like to read what i consider to be the second greatest book i have ever read, feel free to contact me for a copy.

i hope you like the songs...there is an awful lot of good music there to be had.

sharks season tickets kick in tomorrow and soccer starts soon!!!

discussion continues below and in comments both!

1. adam. 9/17/07

I burned all the photographs. With the letters.

Good memories fade on their own; I've found I have to forcibly purge the bad ones from my memory. Songs I associate with a particular memory are played on repeat while doing something new and interesting, or otherwise noteworthy.

In the end, the memories come back no matter what you do, but this way they're shadows of their former selves. Which is one step away from oblivion.

The antithesis of love (and hate) is apathy, and apathy begets forgetfulness.

Okay, enough being bitter... Hook me up with the second-greatest book you've ever read. I'll download the music tomorrow after class.

And woot for season tickets!

2. ali.

okay, the music is safely stowed on my computer. Thank you for that.

I've kept photographs, letters, ticket stubs. To any prospective beau, I'd have to say fooey on you if you didn't respect and acknowledge the fact that those are the relationships that have made me who I am today. You can love me more today because they loved me [and maybe hurt me] before. I keep everything. I'm still not quite sure what to do about the music though. The ones that are specifically tied to memories of someone else. I've tried not to play them, but I find that just makes me sad, since the music was so wonderful at the time. For others, I've listened back on the music and realized there was nothing inherently special about it except for the memory attached to it. I've noticed that my music collections are heavily influenced by the person that I'm dating. not good. not bad. just interesting.

I don't think it's coincidence that Kundera has played such a role in each of our perspectives on love. For me, it was "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." I haven't read the one you wrote about. I haven't read a lot of good books. Maybe its because I don't have time for it. Maybe it's because I don't make time for it. The only thing was that ULB affected me to such a high degree, and left my ex-beau so un-fazed that he couldn't focus on reading past the 6th chapter. oh well. ULB sits safely on my self of favorite books. Maybe I'll read it again.

yay for hockey.

2b. response to ali.

i'm totally a packrat. i have an embarrassing amount of swag from my serious relationships. as for people getting butt-hurt about keeping this stuff: there are guys (and girls) out there who like to pretend that they are boldly going where no man has gone before, but i think most of them grow out of it...i know that all of my jealous tendencies that reared their heads when i was a youngster have long since gone the way of the buffalo.

as for the music: there isn't much that i associate with anyone anymore. since i was in a five year deal, there was a time that EVERYthing could be tied to her in one way or another, but that has long since faded. even when i listen to mixes that i made specifically for her, there is hardly any residue (those are some fantastic mixes too!) it's also worth noting that i am usually the one in any relationship who does the introductions to new music, so i think that also helps with the lack of associations.

as for kundera...one of my life goals that has not been accomplished yet is to read UBL and LAF in prague. i absolutely love UBL. the first time i read kundera was in the most brilliantly crafted course i have ever taken. i ordered it offline and it arrived the day i had a paper due. i had to read it cover to cover (there shall be no skimming of kundera, please!) and write an essay in one night. luckily, it was one of the best books i've read.
i could very easily speak or write for hours about kundera. since that shotgun reading of UBL, i have read all but two of the remainder of his library, with LAF emerging as the most shockingly brilliant (ok...i managed to mistype both shockingly and brilliant, which feels ironic.) it is a lot harder to swallow than UBL, but it is so daring and awesome and put me there, in prague, in a magical way. i also believe that it can change lives.
as for his views on love...i'm surprised to hear that he has so profoundly affected your's, but i suppose that, in all truth, i don't know you very well. he usually offers such a clinical, often bleak, view of love and i guess i always pegged you as a romantic. but, one of the wonderful things about kundera is that he writes truly philosophical novels. by this, i mean that he rarely offers answers when he can offer a question. what i think of his take on love can not be objectively correct...he doesn't allow for it. as the man himself says, "The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything. The wisdom of the novel comes from having a question for everything." he never paints tereza as stupid or truly weak, regardless of what she and tomas think...that decision is left up to the reader.

i have to go to school (before i look over what i wrote...i hope it makes sense...i usually do) but thank you for the response ali. if you send me your address, i'll send you a copy of LAF.

and yes, yay for hockey.

3. Nick.

how can I obtain a copy of these discs, the arists are awesome! once again, your blog is awesome and so insightful to music that I love, but can never find it.

3b. response to Nick.

i only have a handful of those complete albums.

i was actually working from a playlist of songs that i downloaded from other blogs, so i only have one or two songs from many of them.

amazon is always a pretty good place to start when looking for music, but for many of these artists, the record label is going to be the only place that has the discs for sale.

4. Moneer.

How exactly does one maneuver with a .rar file? I'm sitting here wondering when I'll get to peek into the sounds of each song and enjoy their momentary realism but I cannot find where the big red button should be that let's you play .rar.

If you haven't noticed by now, I'm lazy as a lifestyle choice and although I haven't lost any memories, most of them are lazily drugged, bound, and gagged and in second place right now; the reptile brain is winning- confronting memories (the good, the bag, and the ugly) just makes me feel old and crazed. "What the hell did I do that for? OMG...I can't believe that was me...it wasn't me! never mind..."

I'm in love with my artifacts though, because without them my memories take on silly personas and start acting out- without them I have no evidence of my humble origins, with them I can connect to the "then" and I can sense it "now"

900 songs !! love your playlists btw, consistently divine thanks so much

4b. Response to Moneer.

here is a list of downloads for unpacking .rar files. ignore the fact that they say "trial"...i've had mine for a couple of years now. if you are on windows, use winrar, if not: good luck and buy a real computer ;)

what on earth is a "bag" memory?

4c. reply from Moneer

hmmmmm....wish I knew.

Maybe it's like the bag that you put your garbage in or something...should be a heavy duty bag though...wouldnt want it to rip if you put a razor-sharp memory in there (like a can of worms tossed in it or so)

gotta have the heavy duty bags...

4d. and back again.

i have a couple that no bag could hold...

5. Jules.

I like to think of it as my own personal 'love metric'... from the two relationships that have meant the most to me, I have an amazing collection of memories captured in words (letters, notes, emails, book notations)... from those that passed leaving little trace... well. That about says it!

: )

6. Lo.

So funny that I haven't visited your venerable blog for many weeks and the one day that I do is the day that I'm both re-reading UBL and struggling with the increasing ambiguity of love and past and willful forgetfulness. It makes me happy to know that others (you) are reading this and getting the same heartbreaking truths out of it. God, I love Kundera. I am dying to go to Prague, in fact. I loved your story of the BLF, I think it's so apt to everything he's saying. Isn't it funny when life parallels art, perhaps because of what it is. Truth. Plain and simple. Another really strange coincidence (or maybe not) I just picked up a new copy of Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, and I thought of you.

Also, on the music side of things, are you an Alexi Murdoch fan? I'm listening right now. The song, I think, is just called "12" and it is wonderful, but there are many more where that came from on this album. Hope you're well:)

7. Ronnie.

I know this is a bit of a delayed response but this is the first time I've sat down and really read/listened to your music blog so here goes... (Comparatively sizable ramble ahead)

I am coming to terms with the fact that I am now very much in love in the new sense that the end game of our relationship is a question mark. I should explain... With every relationship I've ever been in, me being a calculating man (which is considered contemptible by the samurai code for those of you who have read Hagakure), I have always almost immediately envisioned the point where the relationship would inevitably end. With some I came to this realization with greater accuracy than others... I have even been surprised and caught off guard a couple times with timing of the end. Nevertheless, the relevant fact is that I always envisioned it ending.

I don't know if 'scared' is the right adjective to use to describe the fact that I am currently with the woman who I could maybe someday hypothetically perhaps potentially be able to commit to spending the rest of my life with but it's something close to that word. For those of you who don't know me very well, the previous sentence should be a pretty huge indicator that I have commitment issues. I do know right now she is the only one I want and I am very happy with that.

Maybe it is that I'm afraid that it will go away like so many other failed declarations of love that I have witnessed or experienced, or maybe I'm more afraid that it won't go away which is usually my easy resolution of any adverse issues that may arise. I keep being reminded of the impermanent nature of love and human beings in general. If you are into Zen philosophy, like the cherry blossom, impermanence is an integral part of love's beauty. On the other hand, Yuko Mishima would argue that true beauty, to be preserved throughout all eternity, must be struck down at its height, because time inevitably deteriorates everything.

So maybe I'm afraid of the loss of love, or worse, the slow deterioration of love. I agree with Kundera when he says that it is the loss of our past, not our future, which terrifies us about death. I am terrified of losing what I have right now. I have an amazing group of close friends, an amazing relationship with an amazing girl who wants nothing more than to be with me and live our lives together, an awesome home, ultimate potential to pursue anything I want, and go anywhere I want.

I'm not necessarily in agreement with Mr. Mishima about the best course of action; however he does pose an interesting philosophy. I hope that Mishima is not correct in his assertion that I should end this before it becomes something less than perfect. I prefer to think of love as evolving and growing, sometimes dying, but ever continuing.

Anyways, I've been doing a great deal of thinking about the philosophy behind and nature of love lately and I happened to read this particular blog at this particular moment and it really spoke to me. I desperately want to read Kundera now, however I cannot promise to do so before I graduate in December because so much of my efforts are concentrated on school right now.

Deric, I don't know if I've told you this but I love and appreciate your style of writing. Write a book already! Furthermore you have awesome taste in music, a complement that I rarely give. It seems most people are either lyrics people, or instrumental people, but you are both. I have not had the time to keep up with new music in a while but I have subscribed to your blog and will shamelessly promote it. If there was a man who I'd go gay for, which there isn't, it would be you.

P.S. To those of you reading this who are my close friends, seriously you guys are awesome. I've hung out with other people's groups of friends, and they suck by comparison.

4b. Response to Ronnie.

there is certainly a certain amount of wonderful fear involved in that sort of love for us analytical folks. it is easily the best and worst thing in the world. i recommend that you just hold out your arms and float in it, enjoying the simultaneous lightness and heaviness of it all (gotta keep the kundera thread alive)...like when you are drunk and you close your eyes and the wold starts spinning and you have the choice to fight it or hang on for the ride.

as for zen philosophy, i am woefully ignorant. i can't remember what movie it is in (and i can't even find it using google, which i can't understand, unless i'm actually thinking about a dream of mine, in which case it would make sense that it's not on google...if it turns out to be a dream, then i am even smarter than i thought...especially since i may actually be paraphrasing MYSELF!!! how smart [or narcissistic] do you have to be to start paraphrasing yourself?) when they quote some philosopher's view that the perfect love affair would involve being madly in love with a girl in the peak of her beauty and having her die so that all of the piss and shit and lies never have a chance to appear (it sounds existential...perhaps sartre?) i take it that this is pretty similar to what mishima is saying. for my money though, there are so many different sorts of love, each of them triggered by such disparate situations and i'd like to believe that i will one day get to wade through many of them with someone amazing. like you, i manage to be some weird sort of jaded romantic.

send me your address and i will mail you a copy of BLF.

also, i've always dug your writing too. i've thought many times how lucky it was that chas managed to land such great roommates and how i have completely reaped the benefits as well. i'm for it. i would absolutely list you and mike among my best friends. being as i don't even refer to most of my acquaintances as 'friends', the term 'best friends' carries an awful lot of weight from me...here's to ssu!

also, the mesh on my golf bag looks scarily like olmec and i can't stop staring at it.

4c. Ronnie

Extra kudos for the Spanish guitar music. Especially Stairway. That is the first and only cover of Stairway that I've ever heard that I will endorse.

4d. Me

same here.

rodrigo y gabriella are awesome. i tried to show them to you at your house one time, but you were too drunk to focus.

4e. Ronnie 1 year, two months later.

It is ironic that my post to this blog has become a sort-of sad tribute the last blissful shred of my ignorance, at least with regards to that situation. Particularly given the topic of saving old pics, ticket stubs, mementos, etc. It also seems to tie in with Kundera, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. Maybe it's time I revisit Kundera, or read some of his other books.

It would be easy to look at myself at the time of the above post and call myself stupid. However, I don't think that was necessarily the case. I was apparently aware of the risks, and the outright probability that things wouldn't work out. I suppose the fact that the risks of living are great and that life can be scary should not deter one from experiencing everything that life has to offer. The good and the bad.

"True beauty, to be preserved throughout all eternity, must be struck down at its height, because time inevitably deteriorates everything.

So maybe I'm afraid of the loss of love, or worse, the slow deterioration of love."

The slow deterioration of love was definitely the most painful part now that I think about it. Perhaps my desire not to be serious about anyone but myself for the next decade really stems from my fear of being hurt again. I know that it's going to be years before I can trust anyone that much, at least among those who haven't already earned it.

A wise music blog proprietor recently said, "How sad would it be to get to the end of your life and not have any scars to show for it?"

Now that is probably paraphrasing, and I know it is taken out of context. However, sometimes those little random bits of wisdom stick out and resonate with you even if that's not how they were originally intended.

I'll end with the following quotation that also has resonated very well with me lately.

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
-Teddy Roosevelt

Yes, it would be a terrible shame to reach the end of your life and not have any scars.

Do not count me among those who have never / will never taste victory or defeat. I strive to achieve victory, I will accept and overcome defeat, but I will not settle for leading a mediocre life.

the cure for the uncommon warmth?

2008-06-21T20:29:00.001-07:00

april!? it's been since april?

wow.

well, there is no doubt that i'm terrible about updating, but if it helps, i feel like i just posted that last one (though, i suppose the sharks would still have had to be in the playoffs, huh?)

the story is this. i've been playing a game online which has nearly 100% taken the place of searching for music. however, i've started to drift back. i thought i'd share some of the newest and an older one.

i would feel bad if i didn't give credit where credit is due and admit that the first couple come from Aurgasm, one of my three favorite music sites on the interwebs.

Enur feat. Natasha. Calabria.

i am really hard to please w/dance music. i know it pisses people off too...they are all stoked and swaying and i am such a damn killjoy, but you all know that i don't lie. for some more honesty, i suppose this is how i feel about most music (prince and MJ come to mind as dancy artists that people seem to appreciate who i can't stand...don't even come at me w/gwen and say that her albums are useful for anything but sticking below a table's leg to stop it from tipping)
however, when people manage to make dance music that i like, i listen to it for years, as anyone who has ever taken a road trip with me can attest.
this is the latest dance song that i totally dig. it's even more repetitive than most that grab me, but i'll tell you what, it conjures something for me. it conjures oppressive heat on a street w/squat buildings and condensation on a glass of water.
did i mention that it's terribly hot in the real world right now? if this song doesn't make you enjoy the heat for a few seconds, move to the pacific northwest already.

Ben Sollee. A Change is Gonna Come.
Ben Sollee. How To See the Sun Rise.

well...the fine gentleman from Aurgasm tried to classify this as "cello-pop/acoustic folk" which is sorta fair, i suppose. it certainly points you down the road toward what Ben is doing. however, i can't escape the jazz/soul/70's rock vibe that is not just included, but central in my eyes. he may be classically trained, but his upbringing in the south takes the fore.
this is more warm-weather music....but cool warm weather music.
seriously, you'll like it...what a debut.

Rogue Wave. Eyes.

i forget how much i like rogue wave. this happens to me a lot. i do have quite a lot of music, and i really only listen to a few playlists based on what mood i'm in, and for some reason, none of these playlists contain rogue wave.
thankfully, commercials come along and jog my memory sometimes.
i've heard this lovely song in at least two commercials and a few shows too.
if you dig DCFC and the shins, you'll love it.
it is such a pretty song...remember when your parents read fantastical stories to you to you when you were a child? that's what it sounds like.

nothing fancy tonight. just songs.
oh...songs and the information that i'm not on fire and neither is my house. watsonville is on fire. there is something very creepy about driving past a place that you have driven by thousands of times before...only this time it's on fire. so strange. houses. trees. there were hundreds of firemen doing their thing and a few choppers dropping water about 50 ft from our car. if you know a fireman, say thank you for me.

She's all states, and all princes I

2008-04-28T23:22:00.000-07:00

i'm actually going to do a rare thing and start w/words, not music. however, it's pretty easy to figure out where my lucid dreaming stops and where the music begins.

with the exception of one or two other posts, i never go into them with any plan or purpose. i never have any idea where they will go and i don't usually edit. i put on whatever music i want to share and write as i listen to it. "why are you staring into outer space" has always been the finnegan's wake of music blogs (one of the most brilliant people i've ever met said that the only way to read ulysses was in a hot bath with a minimum of one bottle of red wine...i'd appreciate the same criteria for my blog.) as though this paragraph could lead to anywhere else, this one is slightly different. i'm going to try to take my time while i sip my wine.

a few days ago i filled out an online survey on which i answered the question, "where is your favorite place in the world?"

in the whole wide world...hhhmmmmmmmmm...

since the survey was sent to me by a sj sharks buddy, who had answered, "the shark tank," i followed in her footsteps. however, the stupid little question nagged at me in a way that a silly little myspace repost survey answer never should.
i thought and thought and came up with a handful of moments where i felt perfect and complete and just right. they were pretty diverse moments. watching my sister play santa on xmas, and handing a present to mom that she totally didn't see coming. i've been to a couple of concerts that were nearly transcendent...joanna newsom comes to mind. there are those moments with my favorite boys, when the love in the room makes strangers uncomfortable (the segovia's field...slave ship...bubblegum on a bbq?) seeing one of my defenders score her first varsity goal in the playoffs, in the last game of her high school career. watching chas read his vows and grin like an idiot through his first dance.

and then there are those moments with girls. one or two of those stand out. ..but no one wants to hear about all of that.

and on and on and on...i hope everyone has an insanely long list like this.

but see, all these memories that came to mind were moments...not really places. so, back to the drawing board.

(now, i'm a good enough writer to understand that i could turn any of those into places...but that doesn't really seem to be in the spirit of the question...now does it?)

so...places. my answer of the shark tank is a good one and would make any list...there is no feeling like screaming in pure ecstasy with 18,000 other people, i literally almost made myself pass out twice this season from screaming so hard...seriously, i almost pitched forward both times. the top story of MOMA in ny. pt lobos and mavis lake. dog beach when it's packed.

but--to be perfectly frank--none of these really did it for me. however, the survey didn't matter at all, and i was tired of hammering the thing half to death (though trying to recall one's happiest moments isn't the saddest way to spend ten minutes) so i left my original answer of "the shark tank."

but, later that day, i was listening to my ipod on random...and the answer was given to me. the simple and simplistic answer:

The Decemberists. Of Angels and Angles.
There are angels in your angles
There's a low moon caught in your tangles
There's a ticking at the sill
There's a purr of a pigeon to break the still of day

As on we go drowning
Down we go away
And darling, we go a-drowning
Down we go away
Away

There's a tough word on your crossword
There's a bed bug nipping a finger
There's a swallow, there's a calm
Here's a hand to lay on your open palm today

As on we go drowning
Down we go away
And darling, we go a-drowning
Down we go away
Away

There are angels in your angles
There's a low moon caught in your tangles

i'm very aware that my interpretation of this song's meaning may have very little connection to colin's intentions....and i can see the darkness in it if i wish. but, for me, this is a song about the calm perfection of laying in bed in love. this isn't a message to a coy mistress, quite the opposite! it's a celebration of the blissful isolation of love beneath sheets, that place where the outside world has no dominion. a place without modestly or shame. a place where only two exist and even their imperfections are completely perfect. a place where the outside world not only has no dominion, but where it can be completely and truly forgotten because....maybe....just maybe...the world extends out in all directions from that bed.

and so, that is my answer. that is my favorite place.

it is a place where i haven't been in so many years. i've been close though...

ps...
y'all should hope that i don't fall in love again...otherwise you may never see me here again ;)
(ed note: HA! how true that was...3/23/11)

omg! a totally awesome and fun and seaworthy bonus song for those of you who made it to the bottom. see, the blog hasn't gone completely emo on you:

The Decemberists. The Mariner's Revenge Song. Lyrics.

With so many lovers singing soft...

2008-04-05T00:21:00.000-07:00

as nearly always, music up front, personal stuff at the end.

i'm not going to apologize for how long i've been away. you can just deal w/it. stuff happens. we all go through periods where we'd rather play nerdy online games w/no moving pictures than write public messages to no one in particular. you shouldn't think that i don't appreciate you...or that i want you to stop reading. i just fell out of the pack a day music habit i had for roughly two years there. i went a little cold-turkey and frankly, i'm probably still not back on it...but i'll do my best to do right by you.

Farryl Purkiss. Times Like These.

this first one is a dedication to a friend of mine from down southways who has a penchant for mopey acoustic music (and yet only had dashboard's new, terrible, albums.) i have a couple of songs by this good looking gentleman, and in both of them, it's the pretty dual guitar parts that grab me. his lyrics are fine (though they are kinda hum-drum) but i would listen to this song as an instrumental. i loves me some acoustic guitaaar. so, hope you enjoy it.

Teitur. Catherine the Waitress.
Teitur. We Still Drink the Same Water.

I thought i'd also include someone who's been on my blog before as half a duet, but never by himself. Teitur (tie'tor) surprised me with the following tracks as i only knew him from his duets (some of which are with some pretty big names.) who knew there was a little pop star in him (probably everyone who actually knew anything about him...unlike me)? those of you who are long time readers are sure to know that i love songs that could be described as ditties. "Catherine the Waitress" is a ditty. the second song is something of a bonus and is much closer to what i figured his new album would contain. it's playful yet a little melancholy, and something like sparsely orchestral. deal with that.

Little Dragon. Twice.

now...this is the heart of the post. this is the one song that has managed to pierce my musical apathy over the last few months. this is totally my favorite song right now. i was talking w/a friend just last night about how this song can be put on repeat for ever! i appreciate this of unobtrusive songs. songs that can easily be thirty minutes long if you so desire. truth be told, i find just once through to be disappointing with this precious gem of a song.
i'm not completely in love with the album, though i find it fascinating. i hear albums described as unclassifiable pretty often...though i almost never agree with this assessment. however, Little Dragon borrows and improves and kicks ass with pieces of this and that, living in none of them. i hope you love this one more than most.

i had plans to party in a hangar tonight, but i decided to pass them up in favor of a good night's sleep. of course, anyone who knows me, knows that a good night's sleep is never a sure thing with or without military mixers.

the pitiful truth of the matter is that i could have used the distraction tonight. the last short period of time, i've felt a little bit like that poor baby Gibson and Walk tortured all those years ago (eff you psych 1a!...you didn't think i'd remember anything, did you?!?!), poised to crawl out into the unknown a little bit, except i'm going for it. new things starting, meeting old things not restarting, meeting a handful of old stuff going away. in fact, my current wish is to change almost everything about my life, minus you wonderful folks. wish me some luck please.

if anyone is left in sonoma, i'll be there this weekend. call if you want a visit as i have literally nothing in my life to rush back for.

muah!

so pick your risk and take it...

2008-01-10T02:06:00.000-08:00

i know that i'm a terrible blogger. i really do.

this is actually the second or third time i've tried to write for you...so i haven't forgotten you completely...i have high hopes for this one actually emerging completed since i've got two songs to share (if i had even one drink in me, i'm pretty sure this would be the spot for a tangent about what happens to a blog deferred...alas: soberness.)

Katie Dill. The Body's Only Rental.

Oh God. i love little girls w/ukeleles more than anything...even cinnamon rolls...and i will continue to feel that way until the song ends.
it's karmic and lovely and wiser than it lets on.
two of the last four weddings i have attended have been luau themed. i think the IZ version of somewhere over the rainbow has played at three of the four. as a result, hawaiin music sounds like love to me at this point.
how could this song possibly come from newark?
more importantly, how are you going to use your gentle today?

Elliott Smith. Place Pigalle. Lyrics.

i straight up ripped off this idea for a post from one of the most successful indie music blogs on the net, and one of my favorites: I Guess I'm Floating. go there and read what he has to say about everything. i played the song and decided that you all needed it in your lives.

elliott likely needs no introduction. he shouldn't.

he is famous for tragedy and for beauty...unfortunately not in equal parts.

if john lennon had died ten years earlier, i would have insisted that he and smith shared a soul, and that we should watch for another genius coming our way in 13 or so years. alas, a tired comparison is all we get.

for those of you who are already smith fans, this song was intended for figure 8. in fact, the album was originally to be called "Place Pigalle" [for further trivia...it should be noted that the title track, "Figure 8", a school-house rock song, didn't make the album either, but was included on a single instead.] at least we can eternally be thankful that elliott never seemed to have gone a day w/o recording a wonderful b-side for us to find years later. it must be disheartening to some that smith might be the best act out there, posthumously. this must be how rappers feel about tupac.

if anyone is interested in more of his b-sides, let me know...i'd be happy to post links.

thanks for stopping by folks. i'll try to update more often, but no promises.

no clever titles

2007-12-14T00:44:00.000-08:00

Maia Hirasawa. Crackers. Lyrics.

this is it. this is why you wade through spontaneous lines of drivel. this is why you join the ranks of random folks whose visits do nothing to cure me of my solipsism. why you suck it up and deal with the lack of uppercase letters. this is a good song. pop music isn't dead.....................at least not in scandinavia.

hopefully i'll see all you sonoma folks on friday!

lighten up...

2007-11-05T23:17:00.000-08:00

new blog.

yep.

i'm feeling melancholy, so here you go.

Marla Hansen. Shuffle Your Feet.
Marla Hansen. Wedding Day.

why isn't every song just always played on a cello? if you're only going to get one, i recommend 'shuffle.' wedding day is pretty and all, but shuffle is the standout song here.

marla has some pretty impressive friends, many of whom appear on her EP, Wedding Day. it's not bad for publicity when you can give the following list of bands as a resume/cast: "My Brightest Diamond, Sufjan Stevens, The National, Inlets, Clare and the Reasons, Oneida, Duncan Sheik and even Jay-Z and Kanye West." as we all know, the national are my favorite rock band of this decade. in addition, i happen to know that she toured w/casey dienel, who is loved by me. well done lady.

with the right songs, i sure do love repeat. i like this song a lot.

it may seem kind of silly to some, but i get all the way caught up in coaching. pretty much, my mood the next four months will be determined by how each day of soccer goes. i will appear to be bipolar.today went just fine except i'm really not used to leading 20+ girls and i'm afraid it is going to be a tall order. i am very good at herding and capturing the attention of smaller groups, but the huge crowd is tough. with those manageable groups, i know how to use my energy to inspire and motivate with great success. i'm feeling inadequate after today, which is pretty uncommon for me.

say lah vee...tomorrow will probably be better.

free music. free music. free music. that's it.

2007-10-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

yeah...so...i don't really feel much like blogging tonight, but i thought i would finally re-upload EVERYTHING since people have been asking for a way to get all the old music w/dead links. so here it is. enjoy.
there is truly a shit-ton of amazing music here. as amish pointed out, much of it isn't easy to come across, so think good thoughts about me while you are enjoying it.
these are alphabetical, not chronological.

Why are you staring into outerspace 1.
Why are you staring into outerspace 2.
Why are you staring into outerspace 3.
Why are you staring into outerspace 4.
Why are you staring into outerspace 5.
Why are you staring into outerspace 6.
Why are you staring into outerspace 7.
Why are you staring into outerspace 8.
Why are you staring into outerspace Wake Up.
Why are you staring into outerspace Traveling Mix 1.
Why are you staring into outerspace Traveling Mix 2.

for a mini update:
1) soccer = good....both playing and coaching.
2) that's it.

Thank you kids for reading.

top 10 in 60 seconds challenge

2007-08-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

so, gauntlets are being thrown down everywhere. my challenge came via ipickmynose, a san fransisco music blog, but the challenge came to him via jon wilde at the guardian.
the challenge: name your top ten songs of all time.
the catch: you have 60 seconds to do it.

many of these songs have been on this blog before, but since i took the time to upload the songs, i thought i'd throw it up here. i'm also just going to cut and paste, instead of rewriting it.

here are all ten in one file: top ten in 60 seconds (about 50 meg.) get it quick, i don't know how long it will be up.

top ten in 60 seconds (though i think it probably took two minutes.)

beatles. for no one.
i had a copied version of revolver and i wore the tape out. i don't mean that it got a little distorted…it stopped playing completely.

pinback. penelope.
desert island top five album.

badly drawn boy. the shining.
i know that i'm a sucker for the french horn, but that doesn't change the absolute brilliance of this song.

herman dune. you could be a model goodbye (live bbc session).
the funny thing is how mediocre the album version is.

aesop rock. daylight.
this is the converter song…used to shut up those who claim that the hip-hop landscape is devoid of artistic talent. every element is damn near perfect.

the national. city middle.
still my favorite album of 2005. still on heavy rotation (i still prefer it to boxer.) i've probably given more copies of aligator away than any other album.

built to spill. car.
so good.

decemberists. red right ankle.
easily one of my favorite love songs. so unique and fantastically written.

metric. calculation theory.
this remains the ONLY metric song that i care much for…but i REALLY like it.

foo fighters. everlong (acoustic).
this song is the king of je ne sais quoi. i just can't pin down what it is about it that speaks to nearly every person of my generation. whatever it is, it works on me.

OK, now it's your turn. 60 seconds. 10 songs......go!

i leave for scotland and amsterdam in six days.

do something summer. (today! 8-10-07)

2007-08-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

on the tv the other day, i actually heard someone say that they hated summer. wow, right?

Maritime. The Guns of Navarone.

This is shameless. Throw whatever labels you want at it (personally, i hear a symbiotic meeting of sub-pop and first generation drive-thru records, sort of "photo album" era deathcab over for a playdate with the benjamins) this is a fun song. i thought i knew exactly where it was going, always, and instead it just made me smile.
this a song for everyone who remembers when emo had nothing to do with bleeding wrists and, most importantly, with being depressed.
it's a head bobber. a happy little ditty. have a bar b q, throw a frisbee, roll down the windows and smile...it's still summer!

and if this song made you smile, please pass it on. think of someone that you know needs a pick-me-up, and give them a call, or send them a note. there is so much unhappiness out there, so much that it can be daunting. go fix some of it, would you?

i saw this yesterday and wanted to share it. i'm never guilty for what i have, but i'm often guilty of forgetting just how little others have.

These two asleep . . . (8-7-07)

2007-08-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

27,000 Miles by Albert Goldbarth

These two asleep . . . so indrawn and compact,

like lavish origami animals returned


to slips of paper once again; and then

the paper once again become a string


of pith, a secret that the plant hums to itself . . . .

You see? — so often we envy the grandiose, the way


those small toy things of Leonardo's want to be

the great, air-conquering and miles-eating


living wings

they're modeled on.  And the bird flight is


amazing: simultaneously strength,

escape, caprice: the Artic tern completes


its trip of nearly 27,000 miles every year;

a swan will frighten bears away


by angry aerial display of flapping wingspan.

But it isn't all flight; they also


fold; and at night on the water or in the eaves

they package their bodies


into their bodies, smaller, and deeply

smaller yet: migrating a similar distance

 in the opposite direction.

there is no theme here...i just read that poem and wanted to share it. i saw the first five lines quoted by themselves and i like it that way, perhaps more than in its entirety.

the internet does precious little to stave off loneliness these days. i'm pretty sure that this is my fault. i'd probably also be better off turning to real, live, people for this service.

my grandma is full of great memories about my family's history. the ones that interest me most are the cute little things that we all did when we were kids and have long since forgotten. she told me an awesome one yesterday about my mom's cousin herkey. when he was quite young, he gave his mother a box of chocolates for no apparent reason. when she opened the box, all of the chocolates had been eaten and little herkey proudly proclaimed, "i surprised you with none chocolates!" i love it sooo much!
i have a terrible, really really bad memory...it is a little depressing to think how many of these things will die with grammie when she goes. i hope someone in my generation is able to call up these sorts of tidbits when i am old. who will be the scribe, mental or not, of our generation?

i got a new phone and it kicks all the ass. i had my amazing 6230 for two years and it was still a better phone than any i had seen in stores. finally, one came along that topped it. i am totally in phone heaven.

i know that you're here for the music, so here is a list i cribbed directly from Vertigo's (of Peanut's Playground) top 25 albums of all time (though doing the tables took enough time that you should all be thankful.) i left the 12 that i most wanted to share, and what is left is a pretty good haul for anyone willing to do the downloading.
they should work, though many of them require more than one step.

Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)	Joanna Newsom – Ys (2006)	Radiohead - Ok Computer (1997)
Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (2005)	Death Cab For Cutie –Transatlanticism (2003)	Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea(1998)
The Postal Service - Give Up (2003)	The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (2003)	Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds(1966)	The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)	Jeff Buckley – Grace (1994)

thanks for stopping by. if you are bored, send me a text message...i love getting them now that i have unlimited texts and an awesome phone.

There’s big stars falling down, down, and twinkling as they fall. (7-22-07)

2007-08-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

posted out of guilt for the long hiatus.

bullet points:
* i was laid off from juvie
* i have filed for unemployment
* i go to the gym nearly every day
* i am leaving for backpacking in five days
* i am leaving for europe in just over three weeks
* i stopped blogging because i stopped receiving feedback
* but, i kept getting more and more guilty because i kept getting hits.
* my shins/knees couldn't take all my running and i've been bitterly sidelined

how 'bout a song?

Jolie Holland. Do You? Lyrics.

slow, slow, slow, but oh so pretty.
this picture doesn't go w/the song, but i thought it was too cute to pass up.
if you saw the last lines coming, you are a strange little person.

why do i always get antsy during the summer even though it is my favorite? i would that i were elsewhere. i suppose i will be soon enough, huh?

"It's just that a lot of songs that are popular right now, they don't have any meaning." (6-21-07)

2007-08-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

i'm sleepy, but i wanted to share this link before it dies.

Elliott Smith. XO.

Sweet Adaline
Tomorrow Tomorrow
Waltz #2 (XO)
Baby Britain
Pitseleh
Independence Day
Bled White
Waltz #1
Amity
Oh Well, Okay
Bottle up and Explode!
A Question Mark
Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands
I Didn't Understand

At the very least get Waltz #2 (XO), Pitseleh, and I Didn't Understand. for your own sake, do it.

this is my favorite album from one of my favorite artists. why do i need to say more?
how 'bout a tiny bit more: a gifted melodist, an unreal lyricist, and musician proficient in many instruments, elliott smith was one of the saddest people on the western seaboard. the tid-bit that many people know about him is that he committed suicide by stabbing himself in the heart. another popular bit of knowledge is that he owes some of his commercial fame to multiple soundtracks, including "good will hunting" for which he was nominated for an academy award.

in my eyes, he is the next best thing to john lennon. in fact, he often covered beatles songs. i believe i included one such cover, that of 'beacause', in an earlier post.

luckily, he was prolific during his too short life, and left us piles of beautiful, gut-wrenching rock. seriously, if you are easily depressed, steer clear of smith. he does sad and lonely like nobody's business.

as for me, i'm playing soccer, exercising (i can actually run w/o stopping for quite some time!!) and hating the unemployment i was so looking forward to. video games and single friends make days off fly by...without either, they crawl.
i took the cbest, meaning i am one step closer to teaching. i am far from worried, but i don't get to see my results until the ninth of next month, which is a crazy-long time.
i have been listening to almost 100% rap and hip-hop. i'll try to post some of that for you. when i'm this bored, you should really get more posts out of me.
if you write me more, i promise to post more. it is just hard to get stoked about myspace when i only really get messages from a couple people anymore. yes, i'm aware that messages are a reciprocal thing.

rock me like a hurricane? (6-5-07)

2007-08-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

quickest blog ever.

i need to be at work in a short time.
i couldn't sleep at all. i've been trying for hours. fuck adhd.
i took a 5htp and drank a lovely drink w/tons of vodka.
who visited my blog seven times today when i haven't been posting in for ever? whoever you are...you rock.

raw like sashimi.

how's this for cheesy and yet awesome? one of my favorite full album blogs has just posted links to about a hundred full albums. there are many gems hidden amongst the ridiculous pop drivel that this man likes so much. i can't really even promise that the links will work anymore, since it's been a few days since he posted them...but if they do, this is a wealth of albums. first and foremost, there is a ton of fiona apple, whom i adore completely. there is some comedy. some post-grunge (sorry, i heard brand new described as that once and i enjoyed it.) there is amy winehouse for those who like their soul singers to use meth and have no teeth (but...dude...she IS white.) some LIT, some bloc party, some damien rice (who every-freaking-one but me likes.) some coldplay (get parachutes if you don't have it) and some emiliana torrini (fisherman's woman is worth it.) metric and monty python.
please. just please. don't download gwen stefani's, love music angel baby. there are precious few albums that i can not, CAN NOT even listen to at all...not even for one song...not even for money...not even to save the life of a kitten...and this is one. in fact, it might be the only one. it might be the worst album ever made. ever. i am including the eighties and lindsey lohan (also available for download here.)

for those who like me...i will include a tiny update.
it is as follows:

i have joined a soccer team full of people who are waaaay better than me. however, this is a dream of mine that i have managed to make come true...so, if i can hang with these guys, in this league, then i win. my knee is killing me though...please...if you believe in god, put in a word for my knee, my left knee.

i will have used up all one thousand hours i am alloted, per year, at work. i just found out today that i can file for unemployment. neat. i have been paying taxes for years. now it finally pays off.

i need to be asleep two hours ago.

wow...is there anything worse than watching minutes vanish when you know that each one means one degree worse you will feel the next day?

g'night.

drunken drive home (5-16-07)

2007-08-10T15:10:00.000-07:00

i'm realy becoming a fan of these players from projectplaylist.com. they should allow you to listen to my blog like a radio station...a really really good radio station. also, the player has an option to get the URL of any track you dig. you can also open the tracklist in a new window or in your media player. the one at the top of the page has 75 songs on it and is set to random...it should last you a while. i won't always do this instead of my normal posting method, but i will try to keep a couple of these players updated in case you fell like letting them run wild.

last night, i went out to the bar for what must be the third or fourth time in the last six months. good ol' bar...i missed those smoky yelling matches.

since rachel has decided that she no longer gets drunk (a fact unbeknownst to me at the outset of our journey), i inadvertently gained a dd by offering her a ride. this meant that i would be drunken djing at some point. this is, roughly, what was played between SC and aromas. if you want to recreate the feel of the trip, get hammered and the instant any song starts to get stale, move on to the next one. also, scream along.

of all these tracks, the one i most want to talk about is:

Badly Drawn Boy. The Shining. Lyrics.

as i wrote last night at 4 (uneditied, of course)(is it kosher to put [sic] after your own mistakes if they were made while you were drunk?):

the truth of the matter is this...i was planing on posting this track yesterday, but i didn't really feel about writing about it at the time. now that i can't close my eyes w/o the world spinning, it feels like the perfect moment. i chose this song for the home stretch because it was the prettiest song i could find. it probably makes my top ten list for beautiful songs. i have always been a sucker for french horn.
badly drawn boy have made a name for themselves as a soundrack band...and rightly so. they create some of the simultaneously moody, interesting, and beautiful music around.

yeah! basically, if you don't like this song, you are either soulless or earless.

it should be added that there were some major spoilsports in the back seat, whining about saves the day, but they were drowned out by megan, rocky, and my singing. ha.

if you are in the sonoma area, feel free to call me this weekend as i will be nigh.

his face was carved and ripped with wrinkles (5-4-07)

2007-08-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

i was all keyed up for what i wanted to post and what i wanted it to look like, but i was screwed over by having a pirated cd for which there are no lyrics online yet. poor me...but mostly poor y'all.

instead, you'll have to settle for half the post. of course, it includes five complete decemberists albums...so, cry me a freaking river.

The Decemberists. Index of five full albums.

well...this solves the mystery of what jd salinger has been doing with himself in recent years. only he could divide a woman so cleanly into three "random" servings and make me feel like she and i are old friends...and like i would take a bullet for her.

hmm...i just checked wiki, and it doesn't mention salinger anywhere. not surprising, really...what kind of hermit would he be?

this is one of the best love songs i have ever heard. end of story.

Red Right Ankle. Lyrics.

This is the story of your red right ankle
And how it came to meet your leg
And how the muscle, bone, and sinews tangled
And how the skin was softly shed
And how it whispered, "Oh, adhere to me
For we are bound by symmetry
And whatever differences our lives have been
We together make a limb"
This is the story of your red right ankle

This is the story of your gypsy uncle
You never knew cause he was dead
And how his face was carved and ripped with wrinkles
In the picture in your head
And remember how you found the key
To his hideout in the Pyrenees
But you wanted to keep his secret safe
So you threw the key away
This is the story of your gypsy uncle

This is the story of the boys who loved you
Who love you now and loved you then
And some were sweet and some were cold and snuffed you
And some just layed around in bed
And some, they crumbled you straight to your knees
Did it cruel, did it tenderly
Some they crawled their way into your heart
To rend your ventricles apart
This is the story of the boys who loved you

This is the story of your red right ankle

yes i understand fear (4-22-07)

2007-04-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

two posts in two days? wow. i just heard this and needed to share it.

Viking Moses. Sandstorms. Lyrics.

this. is. so. freaking. pretty.

unless you hate lo-fi, don't leave before the piano kicks in.

i'm seeing brian regan tonight, ergo, my life is better than yours.

Total absence of grace. (4-21-07)

2007-04-30T16:19:00.000-07:00

a pretty quickie.

Ane Brun. Rubber and Soul (feat. Taitur). Lyrics.

so, this song is a perfect example of why ane brun is suddenly gaining in popularity.
she's always had an above average voice, coupled with pretty ho-hum musicianship that has made for many casual fans but few die-hards. however, her recently released "duets" seems to have corrected what was missing.
in the case of 'rubber and soul' the addition of a male voice ends up being far more than just an aesthetic one...turning the song from a pity party (though i love the line "total absence of grace") into a genuinely sad, unspoken, conversation. the lyrics remain the same, but the meaning is so different. below are the lyrics, with the bold being Teitur's portion and the underlined portion being sung together.

Rubber and Soul

In my mind I`m crawling on your floor
Vomiting and defeated
Total absence of grace
Your reluctant voice
saying; you decide your own fate

But I wear rubberbands round my soul
They keep me from crawling
And these rubberbands round my soul
they keep me from falling

In my repeated dreams
You stare at me with an empty gaze
You turn your back on me
And you search for more intriguing days

Loathing this
Controlling this
Let me get a hold of this

So I wear rubberbands round my soul
They keep me from crawling
And these rubberbands round my soul
they keep me from falling

And then when you are not in my dreams
and not in my mind
but we are at the same place
at the same time
rubber no longer holds
the borders of my soul

sad.

Fumble outta bed and stumble to the kitchen, Pour myself a cup of ambition. (4-15-07)

2007-04-30T16:18:00.000-07:00

i may have discovered a reliable hosting site...wouldn't that be something?

it's that time of year where i go nuts and all priorities take a back seat to my sharks. if anyone wants to get together to watch the game tomorrow, let me know...i'm thinking of going to 99 and watching it there.

Oren Lavie.   Her Morning Elegance.

somewhere between the piercing beauty and clarity of badly drawn boy and the sleepy smokiness of the sea and the cake. figure that out...i dare you.

you also have my permission to just close your eyes, smile a tiny smile and bob your head...perhaps so softly that it never actually moves.

Evilnine (feat. Aesop Rock.)   Crooked.

for those of you who feel like nodding your heads for real, i give you probably my favorite rapper. i have been listening to a ton of aesop recently. this is far from his best work, but i completely dig it right now. if you like words, i think you'll love aesop.

bonus 1: here are two more impressive, though less head bobby, songs of A Rizzle's    Daylight.   No Regrets.

bonus 2: if you use m4a. files (iTunes format) here is aesop rock's best album in it's entirety: Labor Days.

bye.

You are my sweetest downfall (4-7-07)

2007-04-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

a quickie:

i should really save this until i'm in the mood to write a big and pretty post, but i'm not going to. instead:

Regina Spektor. Samson. Lyrics.

i can't really talk with any authority on spektor. however, i will say this.
she made an album called soviet kitsch and it was the name of this album that attracted me to her. that and a really nice picture of her.
here's the irony though: it is the kitschy nature of her music that has never allowed it to really set in with me as a favorite. i enjoy her, but not quite enough.
today i happened upon this song and became even sadder about the over-production of her newer albums. this is the original version of a song that is also on her newest album, but here there is nothing but her and her piano. this song really worked on me.

ok...i don't know if everyone gets the same adds on their homepages or if it is personalized based on google searches (in which case myspace apparently thinks i'm desperate) but can i just say that the new True.com add girl, kissyface27 (apparently there were 26 other kissyfaces) is ugly. why would i frequent a dating site which appears to specialize in ugly women?

also worthy of note is the fact that firefox doesn't think that "kissyface27" is misspelled, but it does correct "firefox."

OH!!! and i'm watching the sharks game. the last three games have been so freaking amazing. sharks were down 2. caught up. down one, tied it up with 30 seconds left. three fights. tons tons tons of amazing hits. on a day like this, if you don't watch hockey...YOU ARE FUCKING RETARDED and i pity you.

I prefer to think that God is not dead, just drunk. (3-27-07)

2007-04-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

it's about time to write more.

i'll be honest...i didn't really want to post tonight. i get almost no feedback anymore (except from your moneeeeer) and i really decided to do this after two things happened: 1) i thought i was done setting up my euro 2008 fantasy team for the matches tomorrow (it turns out that i'm not really done...ok, now i am) and was bored once the sharks game ended. 2) i was able to find an album that i really love very very much to put before you.

Sam Prekop. Your New Professor (full album).

this is my all time favorite morning after the night before, wish i were dead ,album. you would think that i would slowly start to hate this album with this sense memory association, but i could never do such a thing (no matter how intimately i associate it with squinting to attempt to see whatever lays behind layer after layer of pain-red clouds and nausea.)

prekop used to be the mind behind the often subtly jazzy sea and the cake, but has since moved on to a far more overtly jazzy solo career. he's always good.

a few months ago, this was playing when i walked into bookshop santa cruz. i support it. if it's like a hug when i'm at my worst, it's like an hour of great cuddling when i'm wandering around a bookstore.

it is entirely possible that i will have the rest of the week off. invite me to your area...i'll see what i can do. seriously, if i end up bored this week...it's your fault. i want to go wine tasting. yup...that's what i want.

just for making it down here: if over the top filthy and awesome countrified rap is more your thing: spankrock. yoyoyoyo

Reason is the pupil of itself alone. (3-19-07)

2007-04-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

so...here is the story. i was scheduled to work at 6 am tomorrow. this means that i took all precautions to get to sleep at a decent hour (anyone who knows me well knows that this is quite a task...it takes beer and the miracle supplement 5http (or something like that).) literally 20 seconds after i took the precautions, my work called to switch me to a graveyard tomorrow. this a far more desirable shift, but now i am headed for annoyance and a sleepy night. i will be trying to stay awake as late as possible tonight, so feel free to write or call me.

Modest Mouse. We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (full album). (alternate link).

DOWNLOAD THIS FAST! IT IS LIKELY TO BE GONE VERY VERY QUICKLY!

let me say, i have not listened to this enough to write about it, but i wanted to post it before it disappeared. i HAVE been enjoying it for the last couple days and it is in no way premature to call it one of the albums of the year, as few are likely to top it. spencer was angry at me for having this album before its street date...but only because he didn't have it too. now he can.

we all know how much i enjoy MM...though they are unlikely to ever top The Moon and Antarctica (and it's ep sister Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks.)

the guy who hosted this file also had bloc party (silent alarm is still great), okgo, and wilco here.

lets have a moment of quiet reflection for my favorite holiday, St. Patty's. i'm not irish, i'm not catholic (nor am i a protestant sporting orange) but i do enjoy booze. i enjoy the only holiday that encourages folks to drink dark beer and whiskey. i also enjoy a holiday that encourages touching those without spirit (these are usually women.)
also, it's entirely possible that the last two St. Patty's Days ("days" plural, of course) have been the two best days ("days" plural, of course) of my last 368. i miss it already.

please write...i'm bored.

also, if anyone has the new National album, let me know. i need it.

The future descending like a bright chandelier (3-4-07)

2007-04-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

i had a ton of moments yesterday to do some blog searching. here are some of the treasures of the bunch.

as always, if you comment that you like one of these artists, i can almost always provide more from them. seriously.

Casey Dienel.   Doctor Monroe.   Lyrics.

if i had discovered this song earlier, it would have made my best of last year. i love songs that grin mischievously. i managed to find a few more songs by this lady and they are all good and varied...she's no one-trick pony.

she is an adorable writer. anyone who knows me very well knows that this is really the most direct route to my heart. that and being totally hot.

Colin Hay.

Overkill.   Lyrics.

Beautiful World. Lyrics.

this is for my zach braff buddies. you may remember this episode. you may also remember his song on garden state (i just don't think i'll ever get over you.)

yes it is the same guy who sang the cheers theme song.

James Yorkston.   Woozy With Cider.   Lyrics.

this isn't a very good example of this man's music. he doesn't normally do the spoken word thing...usually he's a pretty interesting folk artist. however, this song works on me. majorly. holy crap...is majorly not a word? my spell checker hates it. frick. that is slang? fuck that...it is now just a normal word.

i will continue to bring you the best scottish artists i am able, though only when i stumble upon them. this man lives in edinburgh (my favorite city in the world.) lucky bastard.

if you dig folk, and don't know this fellow...fix it.

Josh Ritter.   This Blue Flame.   Lyrics.

wow. you want epic? this is it. seriously. wow. do you have nine minutes?

even if you don't have time to listen right now...read the lyrics. lovely.

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names.   Rent a Wreck.

it's the toyota commercial that you don't like...however, how can you not love them if only for their name? fricking sweeds.

The National.   City Middle.   Lyrics.

ok...i know that this is cheating...but, if i hadn't told you, how many of you would have known that this is one of my favorite bands and that i didn't really come across this while surfing blogs? not only is this one of my favorite albums by one of my favorite bands, but this is one of my favorite songs. ever.

this album lost out to wolf parade for my 2005 album of the year, but i still listen to it constantly, and i almost never listen to WP. this album is a hit w/everyone i've shared it with. i keep having to re-burn it for myself 'cause i keep giving it away.

this is posted in honor of how i can't keep from listening to them and because they have a new album coming out SOON!

how sweet is that picture? i like how one of their members looks so much like a lion.

i can send you a link to the full album. inquire within.

since most of you know that i only really post when i am drinking, we can easily blame my lack of posts on new, healthier habits. let's do that.
i now work out a minimum of 5 days a week. my knees are killing me but i feel great otherwise. stupid knees.

how is it appropriate that you can put "high" for your mood?

for those of you who i have hung out with in the past and who live in the state...i know i have been awol for months. the soccer season is done now though, so call me...chances are i miss you. yes...you!

Children frequently sing meaningful phrases to themselves over and over again... (2-11-07)

2007-04-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

i came across a song i had never heard by luke temple today. this led me to his website, which led me to semi-permanent links to a few of his songs.

"someone, somewhere" is seriously one of my favorite songs ever...it is such an awesome mix of serious and joyous...frivilous and major. enjoy. i couldn't find "make right with you" which is his biggest hit (i believe it was on grey's).

Luke Temple.

Someone, Somewhere.
Mr. Disgrace.
Private Shipwreck.
Serious.
Saturday People.

the end of my soccer coaching season is easily among the most depressing things to ever happen to me. *tear* yes...i know that i've led a pretty easy life if this even makes it onto the radar of depressing moments in my life. in all fairness...i have had some pretty fucked up things happen....i just find this more sadderer.

i am happy to see that, on the 3000th sportscenter, "do you believe in miracles" won the fan voting for the most memorable sports moment of the last 30 years. it should always win.

when did ty penington, formerly of trading spaces, start doing regular commercials? i don't care what he has to say about medication. period.

the claymation on "starveillance" is so awful...none of the celebs look anything like themselves. right now, brad pitt looks like bruce willis. that is not right.

ok...i'm out of music for the night and now i'm out of random questions.

please write me. w/o my team...i am pretty lonely once again. also, i'm trying to kick a soccer ball every day. if you want exercise, let me know...kicking is more fun when not alone.

g'night.

lord, put my heart in this song... (1-17-07)

2007-04-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

yeah...i'm feeling like i owe you another post. technically, i should be adding to the best of list, since i forgot a couple that i wanted to put on there, but i wont. instead, i'll make a uncharactaristically short post. here are four songs from an ep that i am currently enjoying. an ep that isn't released yet. an ep that maybe i shouldn't really be sharing yet. hm. oh well.

Lost in the Trees.

Tall Trees.
If You're Afraid of the Dark.
Time Taunts Me.

please start with "tall trees". all the songs are good, but that one feels kinda like being snuggled under a comforter during a windstorm.
boy, am i a sucker for a standup bass. i always have been. cello too. he has assembled a good chunk of a mini-orchestra. nice stuff to just veg to.

i'm not going to spell check this. deal with it.

i love coaching soccer.

image credit: all ME baby!

I recognize happiness by the sound it makes when it leaves (1-3-07)

2007-04-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

I owe you a blog. So, here I lay, offering this to you this like a child with an upturned brow and a leaf in his left hand…waiting.

A very short story (autobiographical?):

Rusted brandy in a diamond glass
Everything is made from dreams
Time is made from honey slow and sweet

I'll let you run away
But your heart will not oblige you
You'll remember me like a melody

Lost in fog and love and faithless fear
And I've had kisses that make Judas seem sincere

Dianna Krall. Temptation. Lyrics.

Fiona Apple. Slow Like Honey. Lyrics.

The Hold Steady. Citrus. Lyrics.

I'm here to say that I have let too many temptations go racing by for one reason or another. My life has suffered for it.

Our lives aren't checklists…are they? Please tell me there is some other way to win.

I've passed up vibrant minutes for others, for morality, out of laziness, and superiority. For myself too…for fear of failure and pain and embarrassment. Right this instant, I'm tired of being a hobo on the train of life.

These are visceral comments/wishes. If you want to align them with the calendar, so be it, but there aren't really any resolutions here.

This post has strayed from its intended tack. It was supposed to be a story about the undeniable lack of soul in those new year's kisses (not that I had an actual new year's kiss this year—I was sleeping—but it hasn't been long since my last empty kiss.) How those kisses with random strangers do such a good job at highlighting the good and bad of bachelorhood, and how the good is just starting to matter so little. Too bad…it sounds like it would have been a good story.

sorry this isn't edited...it is already 2...don't take it as a lack of love.

--> -->

This is one of my favorite poems...Patten slays me…please love it.

A Blade of Grass

You ask for a poem.

I offer you a blade of grass.

You say it is not good enough.

You ask for a poem.

I say this blade of grass will do.

It has dressed itself in frost,

It is more immediate

Than any image of my making.

You say it is not a poem,

It is a blade of grass and grass

Is not quite good enough.

I offer you a blade of grass.

You are indignant.

You say it is too easy to offer grass.

It is absurd.

Anyone can offer a blade of grass.

You ask for a poem.

And so I write you a tragedy about

How a blade of grass

Becomes more and more difficult to offer,

And about how as you grow older

A blade of grass

Becomes more difficult to accept.

-Brian Patten

call me.

image- dominique*

dude...seriously, this isn't better than watching scrubs in the hot tub

2006-12-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

i have yet to decide what music to post, so that will come after the following rant:

caption: "I'm sorry!"

worst movie i have seen in i don't know how long. five minutes of complete boredom followed by some random piece of violence followed by ten minutes of boredom...rinse, repeat. it was like being jabbed in the eye with a dull spear...dulled from stabbing so many eyes accross the nation.

only the second time in my life that i tried to fall asleep during a movie.

top ten things that apocalypto taught me (besides the 'fern gully' moral):

1) human sacrifices are gross.
2) jungles are dangerous (in the most deus ex machina ways imaginable.)
3) mayans can run fast...all of them...except the women who only give birth and cry.
4) scalping is gross.
5) mayan balls are gross.
6) impotence is funny in all cultures.
7) mel gibson likes gore.
8) throat slitting is gross.
9) jaguar mauling is gross.
10) mel needs police officers in front of him to say anything of interest.

music you say? how about something from the isles?

fionn regan. put a penny in the slot.

i know what you're thinking (maybe)...an irishman with a guitar, time for sadness. not so! in addition to having my favorite name in the world, he posseses a sort of folky, wag your head side-to-side, joy--mixed with a bit of sadness.

i don't often quote other talented music writers, because they make me look like a public school kid (wait...), but this write-up on fionn is fantastic:

"Just a boy with an acoustic guitar. Not a man: a boy. A lad. A kid. And it's a very subtle thing that makes a given boy-with-guitar a something-special. Something I can't quite put my finger on: something about character and wit and voice and lightness of touch. Something about, it seems to me, corduroy and jeans, bright apples, brick, pussywillows and the colour green. What separated Elliott Smith from ten thousand imitators? Dylan from ten million? It's hard to say.

But I kind of, like, genuinely think Fionn Regan might have it. It's not the guitar-playing - though he's truly capable. It's not the voice - though it's got a bluebottle ring that recalls The Weakerthans' John K Samson. It's not just the lyrics - though these make me think of John Updike. It's all these things, and none of them. It's the way he is meditative without being slow; wry without being clever; sad and glad. I can almost, actually, imagine Elliott Smith doing a music like this - had he not been so deep in his own sorrows, had he been a little more indebted to "Eleanor Rigby" than "Dear Prudence"."

-Sean from Said the Gramophone

Alasdair Roberts. River Rhine.

I don't really feel like writing this one. this is who i really really wanted to see with joanna newsom, but he left the tour three shows before i saw her. lame. even those of you who liked 'smog' (only one person in the whole world, i'm thinking) would rather have seen alisdair.
i suppose i could just crib Sean at StG again, since that's where i heard this track. hmmmm....i really recommend that you check out Said the Gramophone...it is one of the most consistent mp3 blogs out there.

"There are madrigals, rounds, quatrains, sonnets, all sorts of names for songs and poems. And I want to add another name to this list: "a kindness". I'm not sure I can put into words what a "kindness" is, but for examples please look at the work that Alasdair Roberts has been recording for years. The Glaswegian sings traditional folk songs in a coaxing, asking, gentle voice - and he plays his guitar in colours gold and copper. This song is taken from his upcoming album The Amber Gatherers, which is very good, and one of the most special things therein is the use of drums. Brushes, claps, hits, hushes - a splash-and-slap undertone to the softness of the other sounds. "River Rhine" is no exception: the only thing better than the drums is the rest. It's one of the sweetest love-songs i can remember, hewn in rhymes and finger-picked guitar. When Alasdair says "...she sees The Clyde in mine," another guitar coming to life, my heart rolls over in my chest to stare wistfully up at clouds."

-Sean again

wow...that was probably the easiest blog ever. i should always just make fun of movies and plagarize the music stuff.

i'm pretty bored a lot.

tomorrow is my bd. hm.

i sized you up the moment we met

2006-12-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

best. bond. movie. ever.

ok...i need to rail on two subjects...likely briefly, but i don't know which to start with. i tell you what...i'll flip my tazo cap--creepy psuedo-eastern rendering of thier product name and i start with the new bond girl...wannabe buddhist, and compact, version of their product name and i start with the rice krispies commercial. krispies it is. you know what...screw kismet...this works better if i start w/bond.

everyone has seen the new bond, right? holy crap! right?! not only was it my favorite bond movie, it featured my favorite bond girl. easily. by a million miles. like, no contest. at al.

drop dead gorgeous. dangerous brilliant (maybe even smarter than me?!) sarcastic right up to the point of being caustic, but soft just in time. delicate but strong. willing to attack someone and aid in their death, but human enough to be freaked out by it. also, drop dead gorgeous. right down to those awesome freckles.

she was the only bond girl ever who i would believe could conquer bond. she conquered me, and i have yet to meet her. i, too, have no armor left.

ok...commercial making is an art. you have 30-45 seconds to win over an audience who doesn't want to be your audience. commercials get better all the time. there are a few companies that have been making wonderful little movies for some time now (i.e. delta), some have been making good comedy (largely the beer companies) but it seems to me that most of them are just now catching on. companies, especially auto makers, have started pulling from the best of modern folk and indie rock (there have been more than a few songs from this blog that have shown up in car adds.) [see royskopp for geico...ratatat for hummer to name a couple.] the first time i remember this happening (though i know that it happened plenty of times before it) was when the postal service showed up on an(i think) ipod add, back when ipods were brand new. this was when i was the only person i know of who knew of TPS. some indie folks get pretty bent out of shape over this "commercialization" of their preferred art form. personally, i like it that the bands can put food on their tables, without which, they might abandon the band and stop making great art.

...rambling...FOCUS!

i love kids. i want kids. i don't need a lecture about rushing in to these things (if anyone knows that you can spend years w/someone before realizing that you are completely incompatible, it's me.) well, the first time in my life that i have ever felt legitimately bummed that i'm not a dad yet happened like two hours ago. stupid rice krispies. the best i can do to show you the commercial is to send you to ricekrispies.com, which plays the add, but not in as good quality as i would like. (this is another one from the same series, with the same song, but it isn't nearly as bad.) below is the song, which i will talk about in a second.

i'm running out of steam on this, but suffice it to say, those girls are so cute and i can't wait to have kids of my own. i've never felt my spinsterism so acutely as now. being lonely doesn't do it nearly as much as the sadness over the possibility of never having kids of my own does.

stupid rice krispies.

side note: the cereal is marketed on the basis of the noises it produces when milk is added to the bowl. the onomatopoeic noises differ by language:

English: "Snap! Crackle! Pop!"
Finnish: "Riks! Raks! Poks!"
French: "Cric! Crac! Croc!"
German: "Knisper! Knasper! Knusper!"
Swedish: "Piff! Paff! Puff!"
Spanish: "Pim! Pum! Pam!"
Romanian: "Kim! Kan! Kum!"

so, here is where the two combine. i'm looking for a vesper lynd to have children with. is it so hard to find a girl who is model beautiful with a genius level brain. what is so unreasonable and difficult about that? if she is independently wealthy and wants to take me on trips around the world, all the better. why don't more of these women exist, and why haven't i impregnated any of them? or are all the smart, beautiful ones cheaters (i've never met one who hasn't cheated)? and, if so, what does that say about monogamy?

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World.

from dismal talk to beautiful and full of love.

i have heard this song at three of the last four weddings i have been to. one couple walked to it. it is that pretty. seriously.

those of you who use itunes are shit out of luck as the file is .wma.

i'll be in sonoma tonight, spreading some love northward.

in a mud-cloud, mica-spangled, like the sky'd been breathing on a mirror

2006-12-06T07:48:00.001-08:00

well...this is simultaneously annoying, unfortunate, and fortuitous (a word i would have preferred to let stand alone...but i don't know anyone who uses it correctly--fuck you linguists...it has a real meaning, so don't even start.) i have been putting off writing this blog for a number of reasons, but happening upon exactly the links that i need has accelerated the time table.

so...here:

joanna newsom. y's (full album). alternate link. lyrics.

the primary reason that i didn't yet want to write this is my own ignorance. i haven't fully absorbed this album yet...and it deserves better. i have yet to sit down with the lyrics sheet to every epic song and read along (though i've done it with most)...and of all the albums i have brought you, this one may deserve it the most. i have been planning this write-up for days (not something i ever do) and yet i am still so under prepared.

why has this particular album been so important to me as to invade my 30 second breaks between cuffing and coaching children? see below for a clue:

youTube of bridges and baloons.
youTube of only skin (first ten minutes).
youTube of sadie. (the same track i posted last week from her.)

marjan and i were roughly to the left of the recorder of sadie (next to lovely miss carolann...randomly.) this was, officially, one of the best shows i have seen (those of you who know me understand the magnitude of this statement.) she is so moving and so gifted and so intricate and so lovely (in a groundling sort of way.) every minute of joanna was like a hug. a soft grandma hug. full of the truly unconditional love that only grandmas can bring to the table.

her performances of emily and sawdust & diamonds (youTube link from another show) were so moving. it was utterly impossible to watch with your mouth closed, until you remembered how happy it was making you, and how happy everyone around you was, and then a peaceful grin was pretty common place (but only temporary...mouths invariably dropped open once again.) at over twenty minutes when combined, it was only an amazing alchemy that kept you from breathing for the duration...for all i know, we all died.

this blog has probably featured more individual write-ups about joanna than any other artist. every time, i warn about her harsh voice. every time, i tell you that getting past the voice might be the most important musical decision you make in your life. i mean it. if you can't take the voice, do yourself a favor and just read her lyrics. pretend that she never wrote songs to go along with them. anyone who had studied writing will tell you exactly what is right about them, but everyone should find something to scribble on the inside of a binder, or the edge of a mirror.

when you fall for her and her art, i recommend this interview and this review with it...though, be warned, you will only love her more after reading. she is so articulate...which is totally hot. please check out the review; pitchfork is pretty hit or miss, but he writes about her far better than i.

you know what? for those of you who made it down here. this is her first album: milk eyed mender. love ya'!

so, now that this post is pretty much done, i suppose i can sleep. though, allow me thirty seconds to say that the opening band was soooooo bad. smog. marjan and i we actually laughing out loud at the absurdity of the man. here's the thing...he was a decent enough guitarist. he had a good enough voice for the dylan/hold steady talking/singing. apparently, he has been around for ever and has earned the admiration of some. however, he was just absurd. he would play a beautiful intro, and would launch into a decent verse. he would sometimes even make it all the way through a full verse. then, out of nowhere (though i was less surprised each time) he would say something completely indigestible. there was one song in particular that started like a raymond carver story, only to toss it all away with clashing imagery. lame. apparently, he explains this away by calling himself 'experimental'. another word would be 'bad'.

we have a game tomorrow, wish us luck!

if i keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come

2006-11-30T20:46:00.001-08:00

things that are on my mind.

in no particular order.

with no segues.

an abnormal blog for me (though there is still music to be had.)

there is a thread here though...a theme...i think.

ignore our sunshine and her ethnicity and gender, and this was me today:

• in what manner do you aspire to live your life? half glass full or half stolen? i'm not asking you how you actually live...but how you think you should live. hmm. on second thought, go ahead and compare the two. how does your (maybe) theoretical outlook compare to the actual lenses you wear?
you see someone running down the street...they aren't in proper running attire. do you assume that they are clutching a stolen credit card, or do you see a lover tortured by every minute he is apart from his flame, braving a pulled hamstring just to spend five more minutes with her?
when i was a kid, it was easy to be an optimist...the pessimism was much tougher, and i put in the work. i thought that it was so much more logical and realistic. nietzsche and camus resonated with, and came as a relief to, that privileged, arrogant, and green kid. fraternity was a lie. innocent until proven guilty was a waste of time.
that was before i ever experienced heartbreak. more importantly, it was roughly 70,000 smaller disappointments ago.
now, some days, i have to put in back-breaking work just to believe in anything or anyone. and yet, i keep doing it. i keep trying to attack the world like a puppy. i keep trying to look at everything as though it might just be the best thing ever. i keep trying to run up to things too fast, even if i wipe-out as a result. you know why puppies can keep up the, "i love this, i love this, i love THAT!" lifestyle? it's got to be because of how quickly they forget how much of a let-down everything is. i find it hard to forget, and it keeps getting harder to muster the joyous head-down charges. i mean, how many times does a horse walk into an electric fence before he gets the picture and stays away from the wires?
for the longest time, i had no trouble heeding the past and treading carefully around anything that might leave me vulnerable to anything at all. but...i've been charging headlong and head up into wires for the last few weeks, all of them so promising . i understood the russian roulette aspect of every choice...i think i just underestimated the number of bullets in the gun. i'm pretty well tired of getting electrocuted and shot in the temple.

wreckless eric. whole wide world.

go see stranger than fiction. best movie of the year (the only movie that comes close is little miss sunshine.) so smart and fantastic. also, i left the theater 100% in love w/maggie gyllenhaal...she always does good movies, but i've never loved her before.

• tired. i haven't really been sleeping more than 4-5 hours a night. only once in the last two weeks have i had a real night's sleep. i was planning to be asleep a couple of hours ago...this blog took longer than i expected. it doesn't help that i have five tabs open and that i can't even focus on this.

joanna newsom. sadie. lyrics. youtube.

And all that I want, and all that I need
and all that I've got is scattered like seed.
And all that I knew is moving away from me.
(and all that I know is blowing
like tumbleweed)

i, admittedly, let another music blog do the legwork on this, but i wanted to share it. besides, i'm a better writer than he is.

i've written about joanna before. lots. i've tried to warn that her voice is odd. i've tried to explain how her childish sounding lyrics are deeper than they seem. well, the best proof of this comes directly from her own mouth. check out this portion of an interview she did w/tiny mix tapes:

"TMT: One of my favorite and one of the most heart rending songs on your new record is "Sadie," is there a story behind it?
JN: There are actually three stories; as with almost all of my songs, there's this recurring triumvirate structure that imposes itself without my even realizing it at first. The three subjects are always connected, but often in merely intuitive or symbolic ways. In this particular song, the most straightforward subject is my then-dog, Sadie, who passed on recently. She was a lovely white Labrador who liked nothing more in the whole world than to play fetch. And I've always been impatient about that; I'd look at the soggy pinecone dropped at my feet while I was trying to get into my car, and I'd say, "I'll play with you later."

The second subject of the song is a friend, my age, who was diagnosed with cancer. I remember marveling at the reaction of people around me, the way they sprung to action, finally articulated to her their love and appreciation, finally made those lunch dates they'd always talked about...and I sheepishly include myself in this phenomenon. It wasn't disingenuous; it was just that our collective illusion, that we have forever to let someone know how loved she is, had been shattered.

The third subject is one of my most beloved friends, whom I've grown apart from. We had this sort of running argument, or a running series of disagreements founded on the same fundamental points of divergence, and if we had been close at that point, talking every day or whatnot, then those disagreements would have seemed like nothing. But because our correspondence had fallen behind, and we'd developed insecurities and bitterness, these disagreements became all-consuming; we fixated on them, let resentments build around them, let a silence build between us. And I remember just having my breath taken from me in one sickening moment when I paused one day to imagine what I'd do if this friend fell ill with cancer, like my other friend. I knew that I would fly to be with her, stay by her side forever if I had to, and revel in her extraordinary rarity, intelligence, kindness, forget all the shitty stupid petty small points of contention between us, because they were so insignificant in light of our own inevitable mortality.

So. Those are the basic subjects of the song. It's about all sorts of things, but I guess the main story is about death, love, putting things off..."

beautiful.

drinking: full sail wassail
listening: joanna newsom. y's. followed by george winston's december. followed by fiona apple's when the pawn....
just returned from watching: stranger than fiction.
reading: still murakami. i'm soooo slow.
playing: nothing...xbox broken.
art: lisa alisa

listen to this poem / with your hips...

2006-11-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

i've been wanting to post this for a while now, but this is pretty much the first time that i have come up for air.

typical cats. what you thought hops. lyrics.

i've talked before about my love of rap/hip-hop that is less about the music and more about the poetry. here, we have a rapper who admits a few lines in that, "rockin's kinda new to me cause my true love is poetry." if the man has any talent, you know i'll love it. he does.

they're all from chicago. they all have solo projects (though i refuse to believe that any of them are nearly as good as typical cats.) when someone else writes a perfect, succinct summary for me, it's hard to pass up the plagiarism. this is from omnimix.com: "…far from typical. Qwel is the punchline-happy battle rapper, Qwazaar is the savage, "you're gonna get punched in the eye with the mic" type of rapper, and denizen kane is the poetic, often deep rhymer." as i'm sure you can guess from just that little tidbit, the above song is primarily denizen kane.

everyone who has ridden anywhere with me in my car in the last couple weeks has heard this track. if you get bored by looped samples and nothing but the sound of cavalcade after cavalcade of perfectly spaced syllables, steer clear of this song. if, however, you enjoy words...enjoy this.

i will post more poetry soon!

spencer and people who like words, check this out and tell me you didn't laugh, despite your best efforts.

in personal news:

i am now the soccer coach for the varsity girls at my mini alma mater, anzar high. this has provided me with the course that my life has been missing for so long. i'm getting in better shape again (and you know how that excites me!) i'm doing what i want to be doing...now i just need to get back into school! talk about the perfect resume enhancer for someone that wants to teach kids and coach sports for the school. i also now have my foot in the door in this school district...which just might be where i want to teach.

also, and this is really exciting, i'm dealing w/good kids!don't get me wrong, i like most of the kids in juvie, but the place gets more than a little depressing. we all laugh about seeing the same faces time after time, but i hate it.

my soccer team has given me the absolute perfect first week. i couldn't ask for anything more. they have been being put through the proverbial ringer this week and have come out the other side with grins on their faces. i guarantee that almost all of them could barely walk upon rising each morning, but they came back out and did it again every day! so exciting! if any of you girls have managed to find your way to my blog...thank you!!

first game (preseason) is on wednesday...please wish us luck!!!!

the only downside to this new job is that i haven't really had time to sleep in weeks. ahhhhh sleep....

life is looking better than it has in a long long time.

!

oh yeah...also, comment or i'll kill you (you know...since i just passed another thousand hits, it is incredibly easy to calculate the percentage of people who comment when they visit...it's 3%. pitiful. seriously guys...i often post full albums...albums cost like $15 [don't they? i haven't bought one in years...]...that isn't worth the 30 seconds it takes to register an opinion about the music? or about me...we all know that you have opinions about me: those of you who are intelligent and nice will have good things while those of you who are always wrong about absolutely everything will likely have negative comments. like a whipped cur, just hungry for the attention, i'll take either.)

image: linda poole. (and yes, i realize that it has nothing to do w/the post...i just love minmalist paintings of crowded streets. even her gauguinian stuff looks good...and i am not a fan of his.)

wake up!

2006-11-30T20:44:00.000-08:00

ok...i felt bad for having such a lame playlist up for you. i thought i'd make it a little better. that one was short mostly because i had just worked 51 hrs in four days.
i still managed to forget one of the songs i wanted, but this is decent. not that the songs in the last one weren't good...in fact, they are on this list too. really, i could just delete the last one.
this is a wakeup mix. if you have 40 minutes to spend waking up...do it to this. just hit play and it should rattle off the whole thing. if you wish to download any of the tracks, do so on the right.

1- burnt friedman and jaki liebezeit (feat david sylvian). the librarian.
2- jose gonzales. heartbeats (the knife cover).
3- 13&God. afterclap.
4- mansfield.tya. pour oublier je dors.
5- the eels. living life (daniel johnston cover).
6- rodrigo y gabriella. diablo rojo.
7- birds and bees. boyfriend.
8- gabriel rios. broad daylight.
9- bitter:sweet. dirty laundry.

this is a much better and more complete (though still way short) mix. however, they are some of my favorite songs right now. most of them have been acquired over the last month. i normally don't post this many songs and i normally spend some time talking about them...but...deal with it.

if you have a short attention span, start with the last few....the mix starts very slow (but very very good.) if you only have time for one, and are feeling add, listen to broad daylight...that is such a fantastic track.

tomorrow night, i'm seeing borat. come along.

here are some bonus indexes w/some really great albums:

velvet teen - cum laude + others.
postal service - give up + others.
royskopp - the understanding + others.

post graveyard

2006-11-30T20:42:00.000-08:00

i thought the title fit well with the season.

of course, i am actually referring to where and what i am right now. i just got home from work. i am currently typing with my eyes closed...it is almost time for sleep.

these songs were in my head tonight. my brain provides the sweetest soundtracks ever...my whole life feels like an art film.

so, hit play and continue with your important web browsing in another window. think of it as a fantastic radio station (or, for those fans of askaninja.com...think of it as apple pie for whales.)

also, this was supposed to be longer, but i just don't have it in me right now. enjoy your tiny, three song, playlist. brevity is the soul of wit...so get off my back.

burnt friedman and jaki liebezeit (feat david sylvian). the librarian.
gabriel rios. broad daylight.
rodrigo y gabriella. diablo rojo.

the universe is shaped exactly like the earth...

2006-11-30T20:41:00.000-08:00

as matt pointed out, getting excited about being able to walk isn't something that everyone can understand. without evil, there is no good; without dark, no light; without injuries, simply putting one foot in front of the other just isn't cause for celebration.

in a related note, what is the deal w/some people not owning icepacks? how boring is your life that you never need an icepack? i would put my life in the boring column, but i need an icepack almost every day of my life.

i know that this is a music blog, but i don't feel much like writing about music. how about this...i will post one song that is blowing up the music world right now, followed by a link to one of the best albums ever made ever. that seems pretty fair don't you think?

rodrigo y gabriela. tamacun. (alternate link)

i chose the above picture both because i am a sucker for b&w, and because it is difficult to see that these are two of the least attractive people to ever hit #1 on any chart anywhere. now, i am well aware of my own predilections, and this certainly does affect my conclusion, but his is the only moustache in music worse than jack white's pedophile special.

ahem! music. fuck it...just listen to the song. if you have the ability to convert vibrations into something pretty, you'll love it. two people. two guitars. no frills (unless you count monumental and seismic skill as a frill.) if it can be done on a guitar, they can do it. i accidentally listened to this song for about a half hour the other night on repeat.

they are coming to kuumbwa soon. anyone interested in seeing them live, let me know. adam and i have plans to go.

bonus: rodrigo y gabriela. stairway to heaven.

modest mouse. the moon and antarctica (full album).

this picture was picked out because maya would love it.

no hyperbole. in the last ten years, i can only think of two albums that i would give a perfect ten. this is one. don't make me write about it...please.

modest mouse is driving music. or sleeping music. or sexytime music (not proven...you may want to clear it first before putting on something so dissonant.) or lazy day. or pissed off. sing along. shout along.

their earlier albums showed a unique promise and an exciting disregard for the pop we all know and love. there was a crashing yelpiness that was difficult to swallow at first but that repaid repeated listens. songs like 'dramamine' on this is a long drive for someone w/nothing to think about, showed the direction that brock and co. were headed.

but the jump from interesting to priceless happened on this disc. there is a world view here. an ethos. there is loneliness and anger. i don't even know what to say...i've always hated those assignments that required in-depth ass kissing. suffice it to say...album good, album best.

the universe is shaped exactly like the earth,
if you go straight long enough, you'll end up where you were.

truer words were never sung in any pitch. modest mouse may be famous to 12 year olds everywhere for 'float on', which is a terrific song on a terrific album, but if all you know of mm is good news, come back and listen to them at their best.

sharks season starts in 3, no 2 now, 2 days! booya-ka-sha! where my sharks fans at? (how do you spell holler like a black person w/o coming off even whiter than writing holler?)

for real

2006-11-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

okkervil river. for real.

Some nights I thirst for real blood
For real knives
For real cries
And then the flash of steel from real guns
In real life
Really fills my mind

And I really miss what really did exist
When I held your throat so tight
And I miss the bus as it swerved from us
Almost came crashing to its side

Sometimes the blood from real cuts
Feels real nice
When it's really mine
And if you want it to be real
Come over for one night
And we can really, really climb

And those blue bridge lights might really burn most bright
As we watch that dark lake rise
And if you really want to see what really matters most to me
Just take a real short drive

It's just a drive into the dark stretch
Long stretch of night
Will really stretch this shaking mind
And this room, unlit, unheated
And the ceiling striped
And the dark black blinds

I want to know this time if you're really finally mine
I need to know that you're not lying so I want to see you tried
And I don't want to hear you say it shouldn't really be this way
'Cause I like this way just fine

'Cause there's nothing quite like the blinding light
That curtains cast aside
And no attempt is made to explain away
The things that really, really, really, really, really are behind

You can't hide
You can't hide
You can't hide

You can't hide
You can't hide
You can't hide

the first cold shower; even the monkey seems to want a little coat of straw...

2006-11-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

for those of you that actually read my blogs, i have a huge apology to make. i don't even want to check the last time i posted...it has been for ever. i mostly stopped myspacing (so you should feel pretty good if i have written you at all during my break from blogging.) in addition, i all but stopped reading music blogs.

i hate that i often come off all mopey in my blogs like some kid w/a white belt and his sister's pants, but i pretty much only sit down to write when i am unhappy with the way the rest of my life is going. as a method of combating this, i am watching conan (o'brien, not the barbarian) while writing. that should help the mood...right? and lord, do i need a boost.

if there is anyone out there who reads this but doesn't know me, i have been injured. frustratingly injured (i didn't even know you could bruise a nerve.) now, it takes a little greater knowledge of me to know that when i am confined to a bed, i become depressed very quickly. not bummed, but depressed. usually, this leads straight to booze. thank you to the two (count 'em, 2) friends who have come to see me in the roughly two weeks.

The Mountain Goats. Get Lonely (full album).

just kidding.

ok...music. as though it were something new, and thereby worthy of mention, i have been lonely. this is, perhaps, the best lonely album ever. i am totally in love with the mountain goats, this is why i post them more than almost any other band. i do not feel that this album is a good representation of the majority of this band's music, nor is it my favorite from the MGs, but it is so soothing and sad and pretty and cathartic. beautiful story telling combined with beautiful music = nearly absent musical aesthetic in a post simon and garfunkle musical world.

those goats in the pic above are freaking awesome. i will say that it looks like a caption contest though.

instead of taking the time to post more tonight, allow me to supply links to two of my favorite music blogs...both of which i visited for the first time in a long time yesterday. they are alike in that they both post music of all genres, and that they both feature fantastic writing by folks who know a good deal more about music than i do. i do love my indie-rock and alt-country, but every now and then, a good norweigan glitch pop tune really hits the spot. both blogs are completely famous in the blog world, and for good reason. i hope you find something that you enjoy...lord knows i did.

Aurgasm.
Said the Grammaphone.

it is possible that i might start blogging again, now that i am collecting music again.

see, that wasn't too mopey.

The bright light's meant to burn your eyes

2006-11-30T20:38:00.000-08:00

super short:

i was looking through some drawers, searching for the study guide (which prefers to be abbreviated as follows: stdygd.) with hopes of typing it up.

instead, i found a pile of old crap that left me feeling like this:

and this:

Beck. Lonesome Tears.

it is unfathomable, the power that old handwriting and doodles can have. i wonder: do those doors we worked so hard to open ever close completely? every now and then, i feel the tiniest draft.

the beck track is off of "Sea Change", which is perhaps the greatest breakup album of all time. i tried to find a link to the whole album, but was unsuccessful. it is a love it or hate it album, and is completely different from the beck that you heard on MTV. personally, i think it is terrific. if you have some wallowing to do, and if you are very interested in getting the whole thing, let me know...i'll send it to you.

these are some good things happening to me!

+ i found my hiking socks!! this will save me mega-$ when i go to REI to pick up my new boots (i recommend the 360* view...it is spectacular.)

+ i am going to be playing soccer again!!! my team starts games on the 26th. too cool.

oh the push and pull of everything

2006-07-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

let's see if i can hit at least one post a week. the thing is, i see so much music that i would like for you all to have, but i always feel like it needs to be special if i'm going to blog it.

well, here are a couple of links that fill that requirement:

Tilly and the Wall. Willd Like Children (full album).

oh the push and pull of everything
oh this nightmare of electricity
we are the living dead, yeah the living dead
that's the way it is
that's the way it's always been
that snake slithered past my house today
oh i heard he caught you on a dark highway
and no the clouds didn't pour
they just grew into a storm
i can still hear the sound of the rolling thunder

god put down your gun
can't you see we're dead?
god put down your hand
i'm not listening
god put down your gun
can't you see we're dead?
i said god put down your hand
we're not listening
oh we never were

i wanna fuck it up...

and i feel so alive...

this album bottles the awkwardness of youth perhaps better than any other i have ever heard (but only dimitri martin captures the awkwardness of the double hawk!) unlike some artists who attempt to recapture their gawky years, and come up ringing untrue (think later dashboard) tilly and the wall are the kids table.

now, if you look them up, the thing that will always pop to the surface will be the fact that they have eschewed classic percussion in favor of a tap-dancing girl. this sounds like a gimmick, and maybe maybe it was at some point, but it works so damn well. she dances on wooden boxes and street signs to get the tones she wants out of her feet. i would that i were a better writer so i could capture what this odd aesthetic move accomplishes...but, alas, i'm not. for me, it moves many of the songs into a sepia tone.

tilly and the wall are the flagship of connor obherst's label, team love (which gets an awful lot of flack for its saccharine name.) two of the members of tilly were in a highschool band w/obherst before he became the emo-god bright eyes.

i read somewhere that each song on this album could be described as "indie band X with a tap dancer," and that this wasn't a bad thing. well, that sounds like an insult to me, but it is kind of true. if you like lo-fi indie rock, especially from the midwest, this will sound familiar and wonderful to you. they blend a bit of alt-country and a little bit of 60's pop into their indie rock cocktail.

so many kids who listen to "indie rock" just love all of these midwest emo bands. i am not one of these kids.so, i was surprised by how much i liked tilly. give it a listen. why not? it's free.

Sufjan Stevens. Index of Complete Albums.

i know that i really should write something epic for this man, given the epic scope of his projects and talent. however, i've written about him at least twice before, and i am getting hungry, and i don't have to dammit.

if you don't know sufjan yet, you are failing. if you truly don't know him, go get michigan and illinois right away! both albums can be found at the index above. you are only cheating yourself if you let these pass you by. unless, of course, you absolutely hate creative and (dare i use it again?) epic folk music. sufjan is symphonic and fascinating. these two albums are the first in his project to make an album for each of the 50 states. how's that for epic?

epic.

for once i want to be the car crash and not just another traffic jam...

2006-07-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

this is going to be uncharacteristically short for me as i have to leave for Brianna's bd, but i wanted to share the brightest moment of my day with you.

i enjoyed nacho libre. many folks didn't, but i did. i am one of the only people i know of who didn't really like napoleon dynamite...it was funny, but i found it all a little too sad to be amazing. i left having laughed quite a lot, but a little sick to my stomach. nacho didn't do this to me at all. i cracked up during most of the film.

now, i do believe that one thing, more than anything else helped my appreciation of the movie's humor: the music absolutely slayed me (lord knows it didn't hurt that i was sitting between two completely adorable girls who were in enough of a giggly mood as to be funny themselves.) by the end of the credits, i was already in hysterical laughter. this primed me for the rest of the movie. there was a whole to-do about the movie's music (which you can read about at wikipedia if you are curious) but all that mattered to me was that it was hilarious and impossible to find w/o file sharing (which i don't use.)

tonight, at the end of a day where i felt older than i have ever felt before (more on that later) i finally found the song i had been looking for! what a fantastic song. so, here:

Mr. Loco. Religious Man.

(art courtesy of matt. and i didn't ask to use it. sue me.)

greetings!

2006-07-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

this blog has grown out of my myspace blog of the same name. it is primarily a music blog where i share links to mp3s and full albums, though i hope to start sharing some of my photographs here as well.

currently, i am still doing my posting on the old site, and i hope to maintain both. below is a link to the 40 or so posts on myspace (which i may even xfer over if i get surprisingly motivated):

why are you staring into outerspace?

enjoy!