January 2010
3 tags
James Ferraro- Do You Believe in Hawaii? (New Age Tapes, 2009)
Already wrote about this here.
And that’s all folks, DONE. Twenty ten. I’ll be 30 in 2016 and I hope the same fucked up shit that happened this decade happens in a less fucked up way and/or I’m MORE READY to deal with it all.
2 tags
The Sea and Cake- Car Alarm (Thrill Jockey, 2008)
Going full circle with this one. I really really love this CD and I listen to it a lot. It’s kind of like jazzy indie rock…very Illinois…friends with Jim O’Rourke? There is a certain tone to the songs and the lyrics blend into the music to become almost background noise…which is very post-indie rock about it....
2 tags
The Field - From Here We Go Sublime (Kompakt, 2007)
Axel Wilner is a game changer. I love this CD…I still listen to it often. I like to call it setting your brain to “auto-intellectualize” …when it’s on, it puts me on my thinking couch…but I’m not completely sure why.
It’s just beautiful, digital house cleaning for your neurons.
Arthur Russell - Springfield (Audika, 2006)
Springfield is the most beautiful song I heard this decade. The fancy releases of his music have been sort of annoying throughout the latter part of the decade. DFA remix? I really need that? I dont think so…annoying. I’m obsessed with how agriculture may or may not have influenced his music making. When I see the organization of plants...
5 tags
Fennesz- Venice (Touch, 2004)
The first album I ever “got high to”…speakers around a certain person’s parents’ backyard pool, at night. I can remember every minute of this…I hallucinated that the sound was blue spray paint coming out of a can. Yup.
Tim Hecker- Mirages (Alien 8, 2004)
Most will argue that other Hecker albums are better…but I think...
4 tags
I am a Robot and Proud- Grace Days (Darla Records, 2003)
Squarepusher- Ultravisor (Warp, 2004)
Xiu Xiu- Fabulous Muscles (5 Rue Christine, 2004) / Knife Play (2002)
Electronic music before snobbery (or before getting high?). Still good though. Xiu Xiu is the odd man out here but I think still deserves some credit. I always thought his gay-man persona was interesting and his influences...
3 tags
Daughters- Canada Songs (Robotic Empire, 2003)
Not sure about it.
5 tags
The Dismemberment Plan- Emergency and I (DeSoto, 1999) / Change (DeSoto, 2001)
Q and Not U- No Kill No Beep Beep (Dischord, 2000)
Black Eyes- s/t (Dischord, 2003)
Three bands I seriously followed around as hailed from and toured the mid-Atlantic. They all put on a great show. I can still get into all three of these still upon re-listen. The most awful thing about these bands is how...
December 2009
4 tags
Against Me!- Reinventing Axl Rose (No Idea, 2002)
So, early 2004, a friend bought another one of my friends Anti-Flag tickets for his birthday and wouldn’t go with him. (I love you K!) So, this friend was shopping the tickets and a free ride with his mom to people, me being one of them. I was like “whoa, ghey” until I heard Against Me! was opening. I was over them by this...
3 tags
Braid - Frame and Canvas (Polyvinyl, 1998)
The first time I ever used ebay (2001) was also the only time I was ripped off on ebay. I was buying or trying to buy a Braid Movie Music vinyl box set…
PAUSE: so, there’s this phenomenon that happened in this decade called “emo”. I’m still not totally sure what it is or what it means. I know that it originated in DC...
3 tags
Thursday- Full Collapse (Victory, 2001)
I remember the week Full Collapse came out, standing the in-mall FYE with a couple of friends talking about how good it was. I’m saying it holds up for what it is. I can still listen to this and be into it. It’s basically the same thing as U2 to me…there are million and one reasons to dislike them but they sneekily included this cheesy...
3 tags
Saves the Day- Can’t Slow Down (Equal Vision, 1998)/ Through Being Cool (Equal Vision, 1999)
Summer after 9th grade, I “dated” (interchangeable with “talked to seriously”) this “hardcore kid” for about 2 weeks till I was ON TO THE NEXT ONE. He was six foot eight and drove a 79 Caprice Classic. I was 15 and he was 19. One of the things we bonded over...
4 tags
2 tags
2009: 10 phalanges down
How I felt all year.
Z-Best:
1. DJ CLASS- IM THE SHIT
This song is just powerful. Call me biased but I can’t think of one more song with the intensity of this one…and the staying power, woowee. MCBU3? Is it time for that yet?
2. DIAMOND DISTRICT - IN THE RUFF
I like that this is “inspirational” without trying to be. Definitely a headphones...
4 tags
The Sartorialist and the Digestive System
I wouldn’t call myself a connoisseur of fashion blogs but it kind of makes me uncomfortable that the biggest fashion blog- The Sartorialist, a streetwear blog, is so boring. This is something I’ve thought for awhile and after listening to Scott Schuman’s Sound of Young America podcast, my feelings are reaffirmed.
The problem with the blog is the same problem with most fashion...
Download the Future
When I was downloading all that modern psych shit awhile ago, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti was among the mess. At first I was thinking it was complete bullshit, until I kept reading about it and found that it pre-dated and inspired a lot of 2009’s Lo-Fi, indie madness. I can’t decide whether the purposeful obscurity of Ariel Pink, James Ferraro, or even that of Richard D....
4 tags
Monique's Rapp Mix for Femmes Who Sorta Like Rap
Me and my cousin have this weird relationship. We are really lucky if we see eachother once a year (especially, now that I live in NC and she goes to Penn State)…but for some reason we get kind of caught up in rap related conversations on the Facebox; I recognize something she’s quoting or she’s sending me messages talking or asking some shit. So, on a whim, I decided I was...
4 tags
Dean McPhee's Brown Bear
In (continued) serious avoidance of my pending presentation due date, I decided to download some modern psych-shit I knew I’d at least sort of hate which lead to randomly browsing myspaces. Through all this, I found the unrelated, Yorkshire-based guitarist, Dean McPhee.
DL: “Brown Bear”
Guitar, in general, is dead to me except for when something like this pops up. With a...
4 tags
Singing Songs of Separation, Together
I have a tendency to think certain movies, like many pieces of art or any sort of information sharing, are intended for people who are conditioned to understand. People walk away from some movies not liking them or not caring or never wanting to watch it again while others feel like they have gained validation or a new understanding. Movies have the ability to illicit a very selfish response in...