Nothing like Thursdays

They always bring surprises!

My surprise to you? My favorite song in a long long time.
Enjoy it at your leisure!

The Blow - True Affection.

Unnhhnhhnnhhh
(that's supposed to be a drooling noise).

Late Night Politics

Alright, well, it looks like the Democrats have won back the House and look like they're headed for a tie in the Senate (well, not really with the Darth Cheney tiebreaker). Good for the Democrats, it is about time. Hopefully they can not f&%k up too bad before the 2008 Presidential Election.

So, thats enough for politics. Right now I'm not really feeling like partying because I'm kind of melancholy again. It has been a very up & down week for me, and I really don't know what the overall trend is for this whole situation. It's probably dumb of me to think what I think, but I wish I could meet someone who just wants to be with me. No complications, no hesitation, no nothing. Maybe I'm just insane for thinking this is possible. Who knows. Maybe I just don't know how to find people like that for me, but its really kind of getting me down lately. Not that I don't have someone who likes me ... I do, but there are of course, complications, and I just wish that it could all be easier. Maybe I'm impatient about it all. Jeez, what is my problem lately?

Election Day

Today is Election Day. Did you vote? You better have.

Remember, a vote for the Democrats is a vote for the Terrorists!

Let's get my head back on straight

Sometimes, well, most of the time, I wish life could be simple. OK, maybe not simple, because that would probably be pretty dull, however, it would be unbelievably fabulous if life wasn't always so, well, bizarre. I mean, sometimes it feels like its one of those guy-meets-girl-and-new-girl-gets-cold-feet-but-then-other-girl-who-guy-already-knows-makes-move-then-has-complications-involving-another-guy type stories. You know, those. Everybody has 'em, right? Are you with me people? (A hushed silence). I guess I just feel like life has got to be simpler, I mean if we're just going to appeal to Occham's Razor, but if this is what the "simplest explanation" really ends up being, thus somebody has lost of lot of blood getting ready for work in the morning.

On that note, I did enjoy a fun evening in San Francisco with a friend of mine from Seattle. Always odd to hang out with people out of context. I do, however, wish to file a complaint with the city of San Francisco for their surface streets that MAKE NO SENSE. Sure, great, you have a grid that has a massive kink in the middle that destroys it. It's like Boston without the sanity.

I will offer a link to a "musical fun band" called Brontosaurus that I recommend. They're from Boston and the song "Rut!" tends to get stuck in my head.


Enjoy a new TIG review ... it even references a lathe! Damien Jurado - And Now That I'm In Your Shadow

And here is a late iPod Top 10 ... enjoy!
10 Scream and Run Away - the Gothic Archies
9 Lost Blues - Palace
8 Heartbeats - the Knife
7 Jeane, If You're Ever in Portland - Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
6 True Affection - the Blow
5 No Rest for the Weary - Blue Scholars
4 Compliments (Shibuyaka Remix by Nick Zinner) - Bloc Party
3 My Slumbering Heart - Rilo Kiley
2 Seems To Be On My Mind - Suburban Kids with Biblical Names
1 Hope There's Someone - Antony & the Johnsons

Oh yes, and for Big Lou and Marie
(my interpretation of the results is that all the Finns relatives in Massachusetts altered me towards that North Central accent. Damn them. At least Boston is a close second, eh?)

What American accent do you have? Your Result: North Central   "North Central" is what professional linguists call the Minnesota accent. If you saw "Fargo" you probably didn't think the characters sounded very out of the ordinary. Outsiders probably mistake you for a Canadian a lot.
Boston
The West
The Midland
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Northeast
The South
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Thursdays indeed

So, my enthusiasm has quicky converted to ambivalence. I think the reaction is something like this ...

optimism + enthusiasm + 2*unrealistic expectations + hidden problems <-> ambivalent + angst + resigned failure + 2*uncomfortable situations

Not sure if it balances, but hey, its close ...

Today, it has rained. A lot. First time since I moved here in early August. I had a good run, but now its done. Ah well.
I think instead of going out tonight I want to sit at home and regroup... Yeah, thats it.

In honor of the rain, here is a picture of Andrew WK. I still think I Get Wet was a darn fine album.
I am also a big fan of his demeanor in this picture, especially today.

And on that note ...

Big Lou came up with a slogan I soooo want on a t-shirt:

Women: Huh?

If someone can make that happen, I'd be indebted to you for life.

Melancholy (in bunny form) ... and a new review!

So, if anyone read my recent review of the Math & Physics Club, you would know that I'm found of the emotion "melancholy". Thats how I feel lately, rather melancholy, which might not be an entirely bad thing, but its not the most fun. I mean, I have plenty of opportunities and such right now, but it just doesn't make any sense. I wish it did...


Anyway, nothing more fun than trying to compile the perfect melancholy CD when you're feeling melancholy. Talk about a feedback loop. So top songs so far:

"Little Light" by Jets to Brazil
"My Slumbering Heart" by Rilo Kiley
"Romeo & Juliet" by Dire Straits
"The Slow Descent into Alcoholism" by the New Pornographers
"Easy/Lucky/Free" by Bright Eyes
"Say Yes" by Elliot Smith
"A New England" by Billy Bragg
"Girlfriend" by the Modern Lovers
"Out of Gas" by Modest Mouse
"Stratford-on-Guy" by Liz Phair
"P.S. You Rock My World" by the Eels
"Johnny Mathis' Feet' by American Music Club
"April Showers" by Math & Physics Club
"Close to Me" by the Cure
"Jeane, If You're Ever in Portland" by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
"Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order
"Crown of Love" by the Arcade Fire
"Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzalez
"Blue Light (Engineers Anti-Gravity Remix)" by Bloc Party
"I Saw Her at the Anti-War Demonstration" by Jens Lekman

Any other picks from the readers ... ?

In less melancholy news, here is a new TIG review of an album I love quite a bit ...
Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - #3


(note: I did a Google image search for "melancholy" and darned if everything was way too sad ... this was the best image I could find, at least in my opinion ... )

We now return to our regularly scheduled program

OK all, sorry about the freakout over the weekend. It happens sometimes, but things seem to be back on track now. No need to avoid me anymore! Really. Honestly. Nothing that watching a few episodes of Coupling couldn't solve.

Beyond that, I really don't have anything else to update. I need to get back on track with my TIG reviews ... hopefully this evening. And gosh, its almost November? Go figure.

I might actually have some baseball stuff to post later on. Now won't that be a refreshing change. Really.

My weekend in heck

This weekend was more or less a disaster. Unmitigated. No mitigation what so ever. If any government agency had a plan for how to mitigate for this weekend, it was a terrible plan that was bollocks and got no where, lost in committee somewhere until BAM! the disaster strikes. So, here we are. I spent most of the weekend being sick, longing for things I couldn't have, watching some good DVDs (Six Feet Under and Eddie Izzard stand-up ... thanks Alisha), working in the MC lab and generally have a mid (third?) life crisis over the course of 48 hours. For those of you who got to enjoy my posting from last night surely must think I've gone off the deep-end or something, but maybe I was getting a little carried away thanks to 6FU and red wine. Maybe its a little ridiculous, but at least I'm conscious of where my life may or may not be heading. I think the key to this problem is that (a) I'm bloody impatient and (b) I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, and considering my misadventures with love are just that, misadventures, its hard to feel good and roll with the punches in that venue. So, where have I gotten? I'm not sure. I'm feeling pretty good about myself otherwise ... I'm probably in the best shape of my life (of course this cold has curtailed by gym going), I'm a doctorate and an indie rock music critic. Some lady is bound to think thats a good catch, right? Am I right here? I think so ...

Oh wait, where did this start.
For those of you looking for a soundtrack to this weekend, try Art Brut's "Bad Weekend" and Suburban Kids with Biblical Names' "Shitty Weekend". Get the pattern?

And don't you love that when you plug "bad weekend" into Google Images, you get Freddie Mercury. Poor guy...

Ah well ... I guess it is the end of October. I never could get the hang of October ...

What I should have learned...

Is never to post after drinking wine ...

Sorry, its gone now ...

Cloudy headed Friday

I thought Friday's were supposed to be filled with sunshine, lollipops and roses. Oh well. I think the Midwestern cold that has struck the department has finally caught up with me. Dammit! We'll see how I survive ...

With that being said, not much to say lucidly today ...

New TIG review Viva Voce - Get Yr Blood Sucked Out

And my current iPod Top 10
10 Meeting Paris Hilton - CSS
9 Do You Remember? - Cars Can Be Blue
8 We Share Our Mothers' Health - the Knife
7 Jeane, If You're Ever in Portland - Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
6 Seein Thangs - DJ Shadow with David Banner
5 A Pillar of Salt - the Thermals
4 No Rest for the Weary - Blue Scholars
3 Seems to be on My Mind - Suburban Kids with Biblical Names
2 Compliments (Shibuyaka Remix by Nick Zinner) - Bloc Party
1 Hope There's Someone - Antony & the Johnsons

I thought about posting a cute animal today, but instead I'll just post this picture of David Eckstein apparently vomiting into his own mouth. Yeah, he's the Ecksteiniest!

**EDIT: Hey, and guess what? He won the World Series MVP. Go figure. Everyone else can have their hitting and plate discipline, he clearly leads the league in gentlemenly conduct!**

Allergies can bite my ass

The wind here whipped up every allergen known to man and now I have a helluva a headache. Yeah. Fun stuff...

I've been meaning to write a little bit about a song that I find truly amazing. I mean, I toss around the idea that I think songs are really good, be that they be catchy or danceable or something like that. However, "Hope There's Someone" by Antony & the Johnsons transcends most everything. The song is remarkable in its emotional capacity, its melacholy and the remarkable well of hope that seems just below the surface. As lame as it might seem, every time I hear this song (and I've heard it a lot) it gives me chills and if it catches me in the right mood, I can almost get downright weepy. It is the sort of song that I feel like I can't do justice to in the written word because it causes such visceral reaction in me. If you want the full effect, throw on some headphones and turn down the lights.

Alrighty!

Here is a new TIG Review too ... all sorts of goodies today - Silversun Pickups - Carnavas

So tired this week

I think the switch from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time is draining energy from my soul. Either that or its some horrible space parasite. That sounds like less fun.

For some reason, this video fascinates me. It should fascinate you too.
The Streets - Prangin' Out

I think this lack of energy is killing my buzz about other things that make me giddy. I hate that sort of thing. At least I seem to be calmer than I usually am, which is a big plus. I can actually take a deep breath, relax and let things come as they may.

And by that, I mean this.

New Review

Here is a new review from TIG. Hewh, that was tiring ...

Skygreen Leopards - Disciples of California

And considering I have nothing else to say, enjoy this lovely illustration.

Tea!

I like tea.

Red Zinger. Its really hybiscus.

(note, this is not what it seems. Well, not yet)

Huzzah

Yes folks, it has been one year of this ever changing blog. Its my blogiversary.

Have a drink in honor (horror?) of it all!

Top 10 and some updates

The week is done ... I don't know if I can survive soccer/ultimate frisbee four times each week. We'll see.

Looking forward to the weekend (I hope).

I have an odd trio of mini-reviews up right now, for the Rapture, DJ Shadow and TV on the Radio. Enjoy!.


I was looking for a figure of "blobs of magma" on google images yesterday for a talk and found this instead. I mean, really, doesn't it get across the same message? Yeah, I thought so ...


Here are my weekly Top 10, for those of you keen on keeping tabs on my music
iPod
10 Be Gentle with Me - The Boy Least Likely To
9 Seein Thangs - DJ Shadow with David Banner
8 Seems To Be on My Mind - Suburban Kids with Biblical Names
7 Jeane, If You're Ever in Portland - Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
6 Pull Shapes - the Pipettes
5 We Share Our Mothers' Health - the Knife
4 No Rest for the Weary - Blue Scholars
3 Meeting Paris Hilton - CSS
2 A Pillar of Salt - the Thermals
1 Hope There's Someone - Antony & the Johnsons

Hmmm...

Maybe I've been co-opted by Big Lou ...

However, I do doubt the results in the sense that no one EVER dismissed me as a hippie (thankfully) ...
And I was hoping to get Stockton anyway ... or maybe Sebastopol.

You Belong in San Francisco

You crave an eclectic, urban environment. You're half California, half NYC. You're open minded, tolerant, and secretly think you're the best. People may dismiss you as a hippie, but you're also progressive, interesting, and rich!

Where Does Your Inner Californian Belong?

Erik starring in: Music Critic Mea Culpa!

For those of you who enjoy reading someone writing circles around themselves, you might enjoy the saga that is my review of The Thermals' The Body, The Blood, The Machine. Be sure to click the link in the last sentence to see the first, original review of the album from August. I was very torn about this. My opinion on the album has changed, but does this mean I should have written this semi-retraction, semi-modification of the review? How does that effect my legitimacy? Why do I think I have any legitimacy anyway? I'm not too sure.


I don't have any cute animals today ... but I did want to post an image of the Killers from Bill Simmons' Mailbag mostly because I'm entirely amused that they look like they should be on Sabado Gigante. This is my attempt to give props to both one of my bigger influences in my writing style (Simmons) and the uber-Chilean, Don Francisco.

Yo La Tengo is gooood.

Yo La Tengo with Why?
Harlowe's, Sacramento CA 10/17/2006

Opening band (Why?) - Ever wonder what a band fronted by a sweaty, shirtless, emaciated Billy from Six Feet Under might look like? Well, look no further! Why? was ok, but felt a little "flavor-of-the-month", mixing up equal parts Dismemberment Plan, Modest Mouse & TV of the Radio. They had some promise if they could get over trying to be overly eccentric, and maybe, you know, bathe.

Yo La Tengo - They were great! They mixed up their set from their entire ouevre, hitting the messed up distorted epics like "The Story of Yo La Tengo" to some of the best quiet songs they've done like "Center of Gravity" and "The Summer". They also nailed their underappreciated gem "Little Eyes". However, for me, the showstopper was "Nuclear War". I was hoping they'd play it, but was wondering what they might do without the chorus of small children, but instead they started with a new rhythm and broke it out into maybe 4 different songs (stylistically). It was stunning (as was my company for the show.)

So, in honor of the Yo La Tengo show, here is today's cute animal cursing. Enjoy!

Review, Picture and ...

I have Yo La Tengo (with a special guest) tonight in Sacramento. Exciting stuff, considering at this time last week I didn't think I was going...

Also, why not enjoy another new TIG review ... Cursive - Happy Hollow

Anyway, to continue to amuse my friend Ashley, here are more cute animals cursing:

















(Note how cleverly I made "with special guest" ambiguous. Is it a band? Is it a person? Who is this guest with, the band or the writer? Ah, the intrigue.)

And its already the middle of October?!

As Marty's brother might said "When did this happen?!"

I've been hindered lately in my research by a lack of parts for a magnetic separator that has got to be 40 years old (at least) and the company is apparently whittling the new metal chute by hand with illegal hobbit labor or something. In the meantime, I get to spend quality time with the electron microprobe (woo!) and order large flats of 2.5L bottles of HCl and HNO3 (double woo!)

However ... it has afforded me time to try to work on my teaching/research statements and my talk for next week. And, I have now officially gotten my name on a paper - albeit as the third author - on a paper from my undergraduate thesis in Maine. Yes, now the offers will come rolling in!

Otherwise, this was a great weekend (for reasons that may become clear later). I was hoping to see the Skygreen Leopards, but they cancelled. No matter! The weekend was still excellent. I did destroy my shoulder again playing ultimate. No matter! Weekend of excellence! I only got through 2.5 of the 5 TIG reviews I need to write. No matter! (I think you get the picture).

Also, was I the only one who found that from my post of Friday picture amusing? C'mon people?!

Just for that, enjoy this prancing unicorn. F&%k you, that's what the unicorn is saying.
(In an amusing sidelight, when I pulled down my google menu to re-search for "unicorns" (don't ask), I saw a search that took me a moment to remember why the hell I searched for "sexless shoulder to cry on". Ah Joss, you bastard).

That's it. F&%king prancing unicorns for your day. Don't say I didn't ever do anything for ya.

The week's end

OK, good week. I'd give it 4.5 out of 5 stars, minus 0.5 stars for the bruise on my hand.

I've added this image I saw on ESPN soccernet because, well, its not the soccer that got my attention:


Ah yes ...

Anyway, most of this week seem to be filled with my evergrowing love and admiration for Dinosaur Comics. I think my friend Marie for buying me a $1 "My Tyrannosaurus Rex Notebook" to keep track of my T. Rex-related ramblings.

So, here is my current iPod Top 10. Not much has changed ...
10 Terror! by the Rakes
9 Jeane, If You're Ever in Portland by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
8 I Was a Love by TV on the Radio
7 Seein' Thangs by DJ Shadow featuring David Banner
6 Hope There's Someone by Antony & the Johnsons
5 We Share Our Mothers' Health by the Knife
4 Love Travels Faster by Halo Benders
3 No Rest for the Weary by the Blue Scholars
2 A Pillar of Salt by the Thermals
1 Meeting Paris Hilton by CSS

And just for kicks, considering I have a different library on my iBook, here is its top 10!
10 How We Know by the Thermals
9 Heartbeats by the Knife
8 Our Days in Kansas by Tullycraft
7 It's Not Too Beautiful by the Beta Band
6 Johnny Mathis' Feet by American Music Club
5 I Know the Pattern by the Thermals
4 Proletariat Blues by the Blue Scholars
3 We Share Our Mothers' Health by the Knife
2 Where There's a Wish There's a Whalebone by the Islands
1 No Rest for the Weary by the Blue Scholars

Enjoy!

New Review

It's been a pretty good week so far ... got to show up some young rapscallions in soccer yesterday, so I feel pretty with it. Pretty cool. Ah yes, nothing like sporting activities to give one self-worth.

Anyway, here is another TIG review ... its a little, well, odd.

Electric Six - Switzerland

Enjoy!

erik is sleepy today

OK, not much to say. Busy weekend, but at least my shoulder doesn't hurt anymore!

Here is a new TIG review, and its a gem (well, I liked it) ... it has possibly my favorite line I've ever written.
Can you guess what it is?
Math & Physics Club - Math & Physics Club

Enjoy!

The week, in review

So, its Friday.

This week started with a bang that turned into a pop that degraded to a fizzle that rebounded to a crackle. So, here we are, crackling. Not sure what exactly it was about this week that was so odd, but it feels like a transitional week ... not too sure what I'm transitioning from to get to someplace I don't know, but it felt that way. A rebuilding week, with lots of new players trying out and old players fading to the background (possibly being moved for PTBN). I've had somewhat low energy, which I blame on (a) the return of the students on campus here - I swear, the campus must have a finite amount of energy that is divided by the total amount of people on it, and the damn students are using much larger than their fair share and (b) my shoulder injury acquired by playing ultimate. Not sure how the latter might effect energy, but it is. However, as I've been reminded, self-pity is not cute, I shall stop wallowing in it and instead muster my forces to move ahead. A few key conclusions from this week (1) stop being such a muddled mess and be decisive; (b) the interweb is not a place to be social ... it's a tool, like a butcher's knife or a harpoon or...uh, a...an alligator (Thank you Homer); (c) fall just isn't the same without the Red Sox in the playoffs ... its, well, calmer. Maybe thats what's throwing me off ... ? Since 2003, I've had almost a full month of stress related to the Red Sox in the postseason, occupying most of October, but now, I can sit back and relax, jump on any bandwagon I choose (Go A's!) and its kind of disconcerting but at the same time, comforting.

There you have it. And I say we must move forward, not backward! Upward, not forward! And always twirling, twirling, TWIRLING toward freedom!

Done.

New Review

Here's another for your enjoyment

Frida Hyvonen - Until Death Comes

Your Shortcomings and Regrets, Personified.

I normally don't just link to someone else's stuff, but this comic had me laughing for many minutes all by my lonesome in my office last night, especially the last two panels. Sheer brilliance!

Thank you Dinosaur Comics





















I'll add a new Top 10 to this too
10 Insistor - Tapes 'n Tapes
9 Seein Thangs - DJ Shadow with David Banner
8 Jeane, If You're Ever in Portland - Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
7 Hope There's Someone - Antony & the Johnsons
6 I Was a Love - TV on the Radio
5 A Pillar of Salt - the Thermals
4 We Share Our Mothers' Health - the Knife
3 No Rest for the Weary - Blue Scholars
2 Love Travels Faster - Halo Benders
1 Meeting Paris Hilton - CSS

New TIG Review

Here's a new review to amuse yourself if my last entry was too much of a downer...

CSS - Cansei de Ser Sexy

Oh yeah, and I've banned myself from Myspace and deleted myself from Friendster. The revolution has begun!

Monday once again

So, I really really really need to learn to be a focused researcher. I just keep on getting distracted by, well, pretty much everything. Frisbee. Soccer. Baseball. Coffee. Ladies. Lunch. Coffee. More ladies. TV. DVDs. CDs to review. Somehow, some way, I really need to get it through my thick head that I am (a) an adult; (b) an academic and (c) need to get serious. Maybe I'm trapped in what is was called Impostor Syndrome and I'm somehow convinced that everything I've earned is just a chance and really has nothing to do with any innate talent I might have. Or, possibly, the fact that I've avoided anything resembling real life by going to grad school and working in universities for, oh, ever. Which does make me wonder/worry a bit that if I'm going to be an academic as a career choice that I might never grow up. Am I doomed to forever be trapped in this world for the rest of my life? Is this what I have to look forward to ... ? Am I just being overly pessimistic at a time where I lack certainty in my career, my romance, my general place in life? Maybe so ... what is there to do? I have no idea, so I'll just pop on some Rilo Kiley or Cursive and hope it all works out in the end.

A new review

here is a new TIG review for you...

Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and Will Beat Your Ass

enjoy!

A less crazed look and a top 10

So, maybe I should look a little less crazy ...

Hmm, or maybe I look more crazy. I think the key is that I need others taking candid pics of me. Ah well.

Anyway, here's my current iPod Top 10

10 Seein Thangs - DJ Shadow featuring David Banner
9 Pull Shapes - the Pipettes
8 Insistor - Tapes 'n Tapes
7 Hope There's Someone - Antony & the Johnsons
6 We Share Our Mothers' Health - the Knife
5 No Rest for the Weary - Blue Scholars
4 I Was a Lover - TV on the Radio
3 A Pillar of Salt - the Thermals
2 Love Travels Faster - the Halo Benders
1 Meeting Paris Hilton - CSS

Beard is on hiatus for retooling

Ah, funny what 4 days without showering will make a person do...

Field Trip and Top 10

I'm off to northern California/southern Oregon on the Geology Dept. field trip for the next 4 days. It's a good thing. I can get away from technology, the sorry end of the Red Sox season and everything else. I've been suffering from what I could term as "internet fatigue" lately that has me seriously contemplating plugging the plug on my Myspace & Friendster profiles for good. It seems somewhat of a liberating idea. I mean, can someone give me a real benefit from either of those sites? Ah well. We'll see how I feel after the weekend, but I'm getting to a weird point where I want to simplify ... maybe not getting cable when I moved here was what I needed to get that snowball rolling. Or maybe I'm just getting old, grown-up and bland. That's life, ain't it. Just been a few things in Davis that make me feel like Jarvis Cocker (from Pulp) when he sings "you are the party that makes me feel my age."

Wow. I'm a f&$king ray of sunshine today.

Here is my current iPod Top 10. Enjoy!
10 Proletariat Blues - the Blue Scholars
9 Wildcat - Ratatat
8 Hope There's Someone - Antony & the Johnsons
7 I Was a Lover - TV on the Radio
6 Pull Shapes - the Pipettes
5 Insistor - Tapes 'n Tapes
4 Love Travels Faster - Halo Benders
3 A Pillar of Salt - the Thermals
2 We Share Our Mothers' Health - the Knife
1 Meeting Paris Hilton - CSS

See you next week ...

A new review and baseball

Firstly, baseball.

Sadly, the fantasy baseball season of the Golden State Daleks ended yesterday, falling in the quarterfinals. This ends my streak of third-place finishes at 2 years. Ah well. As the Red Sox go, so go the Daleks apparently.

Secondly, here is a new TIG Review: The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers

One of these days, I'll have some commentary on life in Davis, but I think that may wait until after the Geology Department field trip later this week. However, California has been nice so far.

Oddly, today, I just discovered that the Geology building is next to the law school. And that the UC-Davis law school runs on a semester system while all the rest of the university is on quarters. Funny what you find out when you work the nerve to strike up a conversation with some in the same coffee line as you.

New Review

Another fine TIG review from yours truly:

The Knife - Silent Shout

Still working on it ...

I'm trying to find a better time of the day to get in the habit of writing here to at least be more consistent.

It's been a busy week on many fronts. And next week is field trip time! Good geology fun.

Anyway, here's my current top 10

10 Terror! by the Rakes
9 Djuna! by Frida Hyvonen
8 Do You Remember? by Cars Can Be Blue
7 Proletariat Blues by the Blue Scholars
6 Wildcat by Ratatat
5 Pull Shapes by the Pipettes
4 A Pillar of Salt by the Thermals
3 Insistor by Tapes 'n Tapes
2 We Share Our Mothers' Health by the Knife
1 Meeting Paris Hilton by CSS

Who's been a total slacker?

Yes, I've been a total slacker in terms of keeping this thing updated ... In fact, it may need a new name so I don't feel so ashamed that "Shuffle of the Day" should be more accurately portrayed as "Shuffle of the Fortnight". Ah well.

I recently returned from Massachusetts to Davis and finally feel like I'm making some headway into not feeling so transistional. Slowly meeting people here in the department (including someone who's extended family has a house on freaking Wyman Pond in Westminster...weird). I've been playing soccer (just ask my ankle) and hanging with the indie rock kids, so its getting better. I've got the Geology Department Field Trip next week - a surefire way to bond with other geologists: camping, fermented beverages and rocks. Beyond that, I'm just trying to take things with a relaxed (well, for me) attitude and let things come as they may. Which, of course, for those of you who know me well, is sometimes next to impossible.

So, for now, I need to spend my time (a) catching up on TIG reviews; (b) writing my third paper (this should actually be (a) eh?) and (c) being friendly and such. Ah yes.

Oh yeah, and watching the Red Sox fade into the twilight for 2006. Ah well.

Back from Massachusetts, can't think straight, so only a Top 10

I think the title says it all. Just trying to get my head back into the PDT. Nothing like 4.5 hours on a 737-800. I had the good/bad fortune of getting X-Men: The Last Stand as the movie, which was not very good. That makes me sad considering how much I liked the other two X-Men movies. My conclusion is that Brett Ratner is what you get when you create a hybrid of all the bad things about Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay (which is most of him).

Anyway...

Current iPod Top 10
10 We are the Pipettes - the Pipettes
9 Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
8 Do You Remember? - Cars Can Be Blue
7 Meeting Paris Hilton - Cansei de Ser Sexy
6 Proletariat Blues - Blue Scholars
5 No Culture Icons - the Thermals
4 Hips Don't Lie - Shakira
3 Pull Shapes - the Pipettes
2 We Share Our Mothers' Health - the Knife
1 Insistor - Tapes 'n Tapes

------

The one vacation post

This is for Big Lou:

Howard hits 64 HR

Ah well -- Top 10 and 2 new Reviews

One of these days I'll get diligent about SOTD. Really.
Off to see the shell of the Red Sox play Oakland in the Network Assoc./Oakland-Almeda/3Com Coliseum. Yeah, nothing like seeing Kason Gabbard start for the Sox. Ugh.

At least I'm off to Boston on Tuesday so I can watch the Red Sox lose live every day for a week! Woo!
-----

My current iPod Top 10

10 Meeting Paris Hilton - Cansei de Ser Sexy
9 Proletariat Blues - Blue Scholars
8 No Culture Icons - the Thermals
7 Wildcat - Ratatat
6 We Are the Pipettes - the Pipettes
5 Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
4 Hips Don't Lie - Shakira
3 We Share Our Mothers' Health - the Knife
2 Insistor - Tapes 'n Tapes
1 Pull Shapes - the Pipettes

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Two new TIG reviews!

The Pipettes - We are the Pipettes!
Ratatat - Classics

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"She's Got a New Spell" by Billy Bragg

Shuffle of the Day for 8/23/2006
"She's Got a New Spell" by Billy Bragg from Workers' Playtime

Billy Bragg is one of the most underappreciated songwriters in rock music and Workers' Playtime is one of the most underappreciated albums of the 1980's. Unlike Bragg's reputation and the album's title, Workers' Playtime has very little politics (except for the classic "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards"), but instead the album is populated by nearly perfect love songs. Most of them are sad love songs, and "She's Got a New Spell" is one of them, a song about, well, getting dumped. The song is built off a base of gentle guitars and an infectious melody as Billy spins a yarn about discovering that his woman seems to have changed, and probably not in a good way. The song itself is almost 20 years old now, but it still maintains its timeless sound as a lot of Billy Bragg's works seem to be able to do. It is truly one of those hidden gems of a song on a hidden gem of an album.

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Another day, another Red Sox loss. *sigh*

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Red Sox and Shuffle of the Day

First things first:

The Red Sox were swept in 5 games but Yankers to put them 6.5 games out in the AL East. Talk about ending the season in a 4 day span. The games were painful to watch, read about, hear mention in passing, etc. Last night was a game that the Red Sox needed to win and should have won, but Timlin & Lopez couldn't help but put Yankers on base. Papelbon tried his best, but ran out of luck (and his ERA is now officially 1.00), but Craig Hansen couldn't make it 3 pitches in the 10th without giving up a run (and was rewarded with a demotion to AAA). However, the real goats have to be Hinske & Mirabelli who couldn't drive in a run from third base with only 1 out (well, 2 outs for Mirabelli). Painful. This is why the Sox need a better #5 hitter.

A few additional comments on the Red Sox.

- The Varitek injury was a killer - Pre-Tek Injury Winning %: .610; Post-Tek Injury Winning %: .263. I know that it could be a coincidence, but that seems like a stretch to me. It's 2001 all over again. Varitek plays such an important (yet undefinable) role on this team in terms of keeping the pitching staff working it seems like a joke to think that Dumpy Doug and Javy Lopez could have any luck keeping this team afloat.

- I wonder if Francona is long for this world. I know at least we need a new pitching coach.

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Shuffle of the Day for 8/21/2006
"Yr City's a Sucker" by LCD Soundsystem from LCD Soundsystem.

Wow. I wish I has something to say except that this seems like the perfect song for New York to sing to Boston today. Damn them.

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Top 10, Red Sox and a new review

Yesterday I went to San Francisco (specifically the Presidio), so no Shuffle for yesterday.

Instead, I'll throw my iPod top 10 here:

10 We are the Pipettes - the Pipettes
9 Country Roads - Me First & the Gimme Gimmes
8 9mm and a Three Piece Suit - Catch 22
7 Do You Remember? - Cars Can Be Blue
6 Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heart Broken - Camera Obscura
5 Proletariat Blues - the Blue Scholars
4 Capture with a Magnet - the Thermals
3 No Culture Icons - the Thermals
2 Hips Don't Lie - Shakira
1 2wice - Mission of Burma

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Ok, here is my real thought for today. We're going old school and talking Red Sox.

They're done for 2006. Sorry, but it had to be said. I'm not being a pessimist, I'm not trying to be a kneejerk fan, but they're done. When you play your closest rival and you let them score 36 runs in the first 23 innings [edit: make that 39 runs in 27 innings] of the series, you're done. Now, unlike a lot of Red Sox fans who are ready to throw Theo Epstein under a bus, I stand firmly behind Theo. He has a plan that goes well beyond 2006 and he's sticking to it in the face of all the wailing and gnashing of teeth of the Boston press, the Sons of Sam Horn, and all the various Boston sports idiots. Sure, it stings to see the Yankers hoard more players and run away with an AL East that looked like it was for the taking by the Sox. However, things just didn't pan out: injuries beset the Sox, especially the devasting loss of Varitek; young pitchers hit their rookie wall (Delcarmen, Hansen, Lester and Papelbon to a lesser degree) and the offense was a different type of offense that might not be able to bounce back as quickly as previous editions.

What are the key problems for the Red Sox right now.

1. Terry Francona needs to learn to manage a pitching staff - I can't even count how many times he's sent a starter (especially Beckett) back out there to pitch when they've been (a) shaky throughout the game and (b) at or near 100 pitches. Why? To instill confidence but letting them get shelled? Sure, the bullpen is thin, but destroying your starters will not help the bullpen. Francona needs to not keep trotting the starter out there when its obvious that, probablisitically, this inning will be a tipping point as they hit 100 pitches. He also needs to have pitchers ready to get starters out of jams when he feels he needs to trot the starter out there again. Today's game was a microcosm of this pattern, where Francona brought Beckett out for the 6th inning after Beckett had already given up 5 runs to the Yankers and was at 97 pitches. What happens? Beckett loads the bases and walks in the go-ahead run (and ends up throwing 121 pitches). Finally, Francona brings in Delcarmen with the bases loaded and the rookie pitcher walks in a run, then gives up a 3 run triple to Jorge Posada. A 5-5 game becomes a 10-5 deficit. Would this have happened if Francona brought Delcarmen in to start the inning? Who knows, but I would like to hope it might not have gotten so out of had.

2. The front office needs more bench depth - The bench has been weak this year: Cora, Kapler, Mirabelli are the main off the bench hitters. Mirabelli was a panic move after Josh Bard couldn't catch Wakefield. Cora has played above his projections, but Kapler seems to be a sentimental favorite rather than a practical one. Other players to grace the bench were Willie Harris, who lost 1 if not 2 games on the bases and Adam Stern, who couldn't get his WBC magic back.

3. The Boston Press/fans need to learn that the Sox will not win it all every year - Funny how the win in 2004 has made many Sox fans and most of the press even more insufferable. They expect that the 2004 magic should happen all the time and that the "WIN NOW" mentality should exist every year. 2004 was a unique season for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the free agency of Pedro Martinez and Nomar Garciaparra. Without these events, I don't think the Sox front office would have pushed so hard to win that year. Sox fans need to get used to the idea that the Henry ownership and Epstein management will not be playing the same games as the Yankers to win at any cost. Deal.

4. As vaunted as the Manny-Papi duo is, they need backup - The Sox relied too much on the two-headed monsters of Manny and Big Papi. What they need is a good, consistent #5 hitter to follow Ortiz, someone like the 2006 version of Raul Ibanez or a Jermaine Dye or someone who can be more consistent than Varitek or Nixon. Maybe Eric Hinske can fill that role in 2007, but the Sox should look for some other power bat to fill in behind Manny & Papi.


Players who will not return in 2007: Nixon, Loretta, Alex Gonzalez (maybe), Timlin, Seanez, Clement, Wells, Wakefield (?), Mirabelli, Kapler, Lowell (?)

Those are my key thoughts right now. The Red Sox of 2006 aren't a bad team. Really. But they're also not as good as people made them out to be. They're young and unexperienced in many important parts of the team. The 2007 Sox may be better, but they have a lot of holes to fill. Sure, it might be early for a post-mortem like this, but I at least wanted to get it out before the real slashing begins.

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New TIG review: Mission of Burma - The Obliterati

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"A Credit to His Gender" by Good Riddance

Shuffle of the Day for 8/16/2006
"A Credit to His Gender" by Good Riddance from A Comprehensive Guide to Moderne Rebellion

Back in the day (read late 1990's) I was really into hardcore, especially the more political/straight-edge/anti-frat boy as it could get. It was part and parcel with the general ultra-leftist feelings I had in college (that has since been tempered with real world pragmatism, a.k.a., resigned bitterness and resentment). However, at the time, I thought these bands might be able to change the world, or at least parts of it. Good Riddance seems especially well suited for this pursuit, just look at the title of the album that "A Credit to His Gender" is derived. The song itself is a downright indictment of the frat-boy culture, although Good Riddances lyrical chops might go over their heads. It seems pretty clear with lines like Call her a whore/just the same as you/but she could never be that shallow. When you put lines such as that to a punk/hardcore song, well, its perfect for playing at 1:20AM on a college radio station and hoping you can at least comfort yourself that someone might be listening thinking "yeah, screw that frat-boy types" (I suppose it was less prevalent at my college considering frats and sororities had been banned since the 60's - but the culture was still present). I don't know how I feel anymore about the changing power of music. It seems like most music has been co-opted in this country just like almost everything else by (1) big business; (2) the christian "right" and (3) downright evil. I suppose I just have to hope that it can work like it did with me: one person at a time so we don't totally lose sight of the way life should work rather than the way we're told it has to be.

"Michael" by Franz Ferdinand

Shuffle of the Day for 8/15/2006
"Michael" by Franz Ferdinand from Franz Ferdinand

I find it relatively amusing that a band that can have a song featured in Madden 2006 can also have a song about picking up guys at a dance club. Do you suppose that this could cause some confusion amongst the frat boys? "Michael" is part of the long string of perfect rock songs that exist in the confines of Franz Ferdinand. It is one of those albums that is a dance party in itself and if you don't like it, you're dead or lacking in, you know, a fun gene.

"Jesus Built My Hotrod" by Ministry

Shuffle of the Day for 8/14/2006
"Jesus Built My Hotrod" by Ministry from Psalm 69

Every once in a while, I get a spine-tingling sensation when the song comes up, and yes, my friends, today was one of those days. "Jesus Built my Hotrod" has to be in my all-time, top 10 favorite songs. Its hard to explain just why it is, but every time I hear it, I must turn up the volume. I would sing along if I had any idea what guest vocalist Gibby Haynes was singing. The video for it entirely too bizarre for words, but I do love Al (?) sliding off the end of his slide guitar. This song might be the pinnacle of early 90's industrial music, before it was drifted back towards synth-pop by Trent Reznor (that is, until he took his cue from Al and recorded Broken, one of the best 6 industrial songs recorded). Ministry went on to record a lot of bogged down, trivial music after this song, but at least we still have it to remind us that, at one point, Ministry knew how to make music.
A certain times in my life, "Jesus Built My Hotrod" seems like a very fitting song for me, moodwise. Its frantic, panicked and generally evokes a mood of total lack of control. Not that I'm in that sort of situation, per se, but instead whenever I'm frustrated or mad or something akin to that kind of mood, its a great way to work out a lot of anxiety. Its the perfect situational song that never seems to get old to me.

"9mm and a Three Piece Suit" by Catch 22

Shuffle of the Day for 8/11/06
"9mm and a Three Piece Suit" by Catch 22 from Keasbey Nights

OK, so, did anyone expect the third (fourth?) wave of ska to last for more than, oh, 6 months? Well, if you did, you were wrong. And as many of those Reel Big Fish, Bim Skala Bim and No Doubt (were they really ska anyway) make their way to the used bin, there are actually a few ska discs I still really enjoy. Beyond the Teflon Mighty Mighty Bosstones (well, if you're from Boston), I still get a kick out of the debut from Catch 22. All their songs songs were really fast and frantic, with a pretty amusing horn section (and thats the key) without being cheesy and gimicky. They sound like their having fun (and I think they were like 16 when they recorded this). Maybe its just nostalgia for those late nights on WCFM, but Catch 22 seem to be slightly impervious to the other trendy bands of the late 90s that just sound, well, silly these days.

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New Review!
Comets on Fire - Avatar

New Review

I've been trying to catch up on the backlog of reviews for TIG, and here's the first of this wave

Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of the Country

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"Monkey Wrench" by the Foo Fighters

Shuffle of the Day for 8/10/06
"Monkey Wrench" by the Foo Fighters from The Colour and the Shape

Somehow, Dave Grohl has ended up with the longest post-Nirvana career. I mean, I guess Kurt took himself out of that loop. To my knowledge, Krist Novaselic busies himself in local Washington politics and flying his private plan around. Dave Grohl, no, he's still a rock star, whether it be with his Foo Fighters, drumming for Queens of the Stone Age, tooling around with Trent Reznor or anything a former grudge star would tend to do. "Monkey Wrench" was the first single from the Foo Fighters second album, a surprisingly well constructed disc that had two of the best songs Dave has done, the aforementioned "Monkey Wrench" and the truly great "Everlong". I'm also amused that "Monkey Wrench" has a very obvious swear in it that I never hear get edited out when its on the radio ("and all the shit/that somehow came along with it" from Grohl's shouted bridge). Most of the more recent Foo Fighters material has sounded, well, uninspired, but heck, Dave already has his place in the rock and roll Hall of Fame waiting, so he's going for the full McCartney career.

"A Peak in Time" by Cut Chemist

Shuffle of the Day for 8/9/06
"A Peak in Time" by Cut Chemist from The Audience's Listening

I sort of feel bad for Cut Chemist. He made his name producing for the Jurassic 5 when they were cool and indie. Now, they dump him so they can collaborate with who? Dave freaking Matthews. Talk about a total sellout move, you'd think Big Charlie Tuna would know better, but alas, such is not the case apparently. So, on the same day that the J5 released their latest, Cut Chemist-less album (to yawning reviews - 54 score on Metacritic), Cut Chemist released his own record to much better reviews (75). So who gets the last laugh here?
Anyway, this track from Cut Chemist new album is a RJD2 style dance/rock sort of hybrid that is a lot of fun and exhibits a lot more energy than the stuff I've heard from the new J5. It has a little bit of a dated feel, but these days it seems hard for any DJ type artists to not sound dated (unless you got certifiably mad like DJ Shadow). Its a great summer party track, which is good enough for me.

Shuffle of the Day, the return

For 8/8/2006
"Meaningless" by Magnetic Fields from 69 Love Songs
For the mood I'm in today, this song seems fitting. I've been struggling with trying to meet people in a new town. And by that, I put the emphasis on trying because its not something that comes very natural to me. So, although I know I should be going out and trying to get to know the town, I have this fear thats its all meaningless and its not something I can try to make happen. There's really nothing like Stephin Merritt for making you feel okay about, well, pretty much anything, so hey, it might be a fools errand but whatever. He makes "meaningless" sound like fun.

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Go figure

I forgot my iPod at home today. That's odd, isn't it?

So much for my schedule.
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Top 10, a new review and some catcher comments

Here is my current iPod top 10. Its a little, well, odd.
My iPod needs some serious restructuring...


10 Bad Education - Tilly & the Wall
9 Strasbourg - the Rakes
8 Blue Light (Engineers Anti-Gravity Remix) - Bloc Party
7 Grown So Ugly - the Black Keys
6 No Culture Icons - the Thermals
5 How We Know - the Thermals
4 Insistor - Tapes 'n Tapes
3 Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me - the Pipettes
2 Pull Shapes - the Pipettes
1 We are the Pipettes - the Pipettes

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New TIG review

Junior Private Detective - Erase

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Now that Jason Varitek is out, Javy Lopez is in, and Doug Mirabelli is injured, the Red Sox have officially run out of catchers. Ken Huckaby, with his impressive .205 average at AAA was DFA'd, and Corky Miller is the ONLY catcher at AAA Pawtucket. Here's my vote for Jason LaRue or heck, me.
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A little sunnier theme

Well, with the move to California, I've decided that the all-black theme of the previous blog just seemed kind of, well, down.

So, we've more to a more sunny theme and change the name to a little less geeky tone, but nothing much else as changed.
Except I'm going to be much better with updating now. Either that, or I'll fine have to admit that I'm just not that interesting.

Anyway, enjoy!

on sabbatical

the blog is on sabbatical until 8/5/2006.

moving will do that.

Slight update

I'm a little busy with moving and all, but I thought I'd post a iPod Top 10 ...

10 Hips Don't Lie - Shakira
9 Open Book - the Rakes
8 Pull Shapes - the Pipettes
7 Cocaine Blues (Live) - Johnny Cash
6 What Do I Get? - the Buzzcocks
5 Blue Light (Engineers' Anti-Gravity Mix) - Bloc Party
4 Bad Education - Tilly & the Wall
3 No Culture Icons - the Thermals
2 Insistor - Tapes n' Tapes
1 We are the Pipettes - the Pipettes

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Two reviews

Ok, I thought I'd post my new two reviews --

The Rakes - Capture/Release
Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways

Italy. Woo.

So Italy won the world cup. Woo.

However, what is interesting is the similarity between the World Cup trophy and the posters for Spielberg's War of the Worlds.

World Cup Trophy:


War of the Worlds:




I blame the Illuminati.

Oh yeah, California is hot.

Top 10 Update

It's getting increasingly odd. Sorry.

10 San Quentin (Live) by Johnny Cash
9 Dirt Off Your Shoulder by Jay-Z
8 Someday You Will Be Loved by Death Cab for Cutie
7 What Do I Get? by the Buzzcocks
6 Hips Don't Lie (Bamboo FIFA World Cup 2006 Remix) by Shakira
5 All Too Human by the Rakes
4 Open Book by the Rakes
3 Pull Shapes by the Pipettes
2 Cocaine Blues (Live) by Johnny Cash
1 Bad Education by Tilly & the Wall

Oye.

In California

I'm in Davis right now, looking for a place to live. I HATE looking for housing. I need my big payout so I can buy a place ... Ah, someday.

Anyway, my internet is sporadic (at a coffee house called Mishka's ... and how can I not think of Firefly at this point). We'll see what happens.

Have I mentioned how good Johnny Cash's version of "Cocaine Blues" from Live at Folsom Prison is? Honestly, when people complain that modern hip-hop is too violent, just have them listen to this gem: early one morning while making the rounds/I took a shot of cocaine and shot my woman down/I went right home and I went to bed/I stuck that lovin' '44 beneath my head.

Ah, Mr. Cash.

Look! A blurry pic of Mt. Shasta in the evening. Nothing like driving and shooting. Mr. Cash would be proud.

Back from the East Coast

Things I Like about New England:
- Dunkin Donuts, Dunkin Donuts, Dunkin Donuts everywhere
- Red Sox on TV

Things I Don't Like about New England:
- Humidity
- Humidity

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This should entertain a lot of you...my current iPod top 10

10 Rainbows in the Dark - Tilly & the Wall
9 All Too Human - the Rakes
8 As Far As the Eye Can See - Radio 4
7 San Quentin (Live) - Johnny Cash
6 Dirt Off Your Shoulder - Jay-Z
5 Someday You Will Be Loved - Death Cab for Cutie
4 What Do I Get? - the Buzzcocks
3 Hips Don't Lie (Bamboo/World Cup 2006 Remix) - Shakira
2 Pull Shapes - the Pipettes
1 Bad Education - Tilly & the Wall

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Two new TIG reviews
Calexico - Garden Ruin
Talkdemonic - Beat Romantic
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Off to Massachusetts and the fun begins

Well, I think we can safely say SOTD is on an extended hiatus. Sorry, it happens sometimes, and that sometime is right now. Little too busy/panicked/running screaming through the halls to feel like I'm producing anything but meaningless root marm.

Anyway, I'm in Boston for a week, then back to Seattle, then off to Davis, then back to Seattle, then back to Davis (for good). La la la!

Entertain yourself with...

A new review: Radio 4 - Enemies Like This (Hey, it's even a not so good review)

And...

This gem I found going through some old packs of 1990 Upper Deck Baseball cards. Ah yes, proof yet again of the unending torment that is being a Red Sox fan (or possible just being the goat of the '86 World Series).

Catch you all later!

Another new review

Jeez, I need to get some inspiration these days...

Anyway, another new TIG review

Rainer Maria - Catastrophe Keeps Us Together

I'm a liar

Ok, so I lied ... I haven't been able to get on the SOTD track, mostly because I can't concentrate with too many other things to get done. Sorry!

Two review to bide the time:

Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock N' Roll
Turn-Ons - Parallels

Enjoy!

Ah yes, the lack of content

Well, some of you are probably wondering what happened to all the content. Sorry about that. Between things coming up here in the lab and Blogger being down/acting weird, things got a little sidetracked. So, I will start with new shuffles next week. I did have some good songs this week: "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC, "Tender Comrade" by Billy Bragg and "Only Love Will Break Your Heart" by Neil Young. Ah well. Next week will be better, I promise.

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My current iPod top 10

10 Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone by the Islands
9 Hip Hop (Live) by Dead Prez
8 Formed a Band by Art Brut
7 The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living by the Streets
6 Parade by Pretty Girls Make Graves
5 Four Freaks (Remix) by DJ Shadow
4 Black & Blue by Tilly & the Wall
3 Pull Shapes by the Pipettes
2 Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
1 Hope There's Someone by Antony & the Johnsons

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New review! Pretty Girls Make Graves - Elan Vital

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World Cup! Woo!
My prediction: US over Sweden in the finals; Brazil over Germany in the third place game!

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Shuffle of the Day 18 - "Disco 2000" by Pulp

It was refreshing this morning to get a song that I really, really love. I mean really love. I got handed a pre-release copy of Pulp's Different Class by Jorge Just when I was working as the WCFM whipping boy/internal music director (read "glorified librarian for CDs") and fell in love with it. It was like nothing I had heard before that point - most Britrock I was familiar with was either Manchester-scene dance such as Jesus Jones, Happy Mondays, Ned's Atomic Dustbin or the fruity post-Beatles mimicking of Blur (before they got real good) and Oasis. Here was an album that was dark, sinister, seductive, and fundamentally listenable and it blew me away. Jarvis Cocker's vocals were dripping with a raw magnetism that those other bands just lacked, and his class mentality made Pulp seem like a less nerdy Billy Bragg, the sort of European post-punk that needed to exist. "Disco 2000" is one of the classic pop songs on Different Class where Jarvis laments the fact that his one true love is married and has a kid but he still wants to meet up with her just to see how she's doing (see the 2006 version of this song, "Emily Kane" by Art Brut). There is something both innocent and, well, dirty to the whole song ... it's a brilliant piece of 20-somethings wishing for the simpler time of their youth. (Oh yes, and if you can find it, Nick Cave does a great over of "Disco 2000" as a B-side to Pulp's "Bad Cover Version" single.)

Shuffle of the Day 17 - "To Hell with Poverty" by Gang of Four

There are only so many reviews you can read that say Band X sounds like Gang of Four before you actually go out and want to hear Gang of Four. So, that's exactly what I did, and yes, many many many bands do sound like Gang of Four (Bloc Party, the Rapture, Radio 4 to name a few). A lot of the songs on their "best of" compilation are kind of hit or miss, but "To Hell with Poverty" seems to predict the arrival of dance rock (and even the sort of song titles we would expect from Mclusky). It is too bad these days that most music listeners really don't care to delve back in an artist's back catalog, let alone in their musical roots, but hey, sometimes it pays off like with Gang of Four. And yes, they indeed do sound like Gang of Four.

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My current iPod top 10. Dominated by Art Brut with a surprise late entry at #1.

10 Good Weekend by Art Brut
9 The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living by the Streets
8 Lucifer by Jay Z
7 Formed a Band by Art Brut
6 Emily Kane by Art Brut
5 Parade by Pretty Girls Make Graves
4 Black & Blue by Tilly & the Wall
3 Pull Shapes by the Pipettes
2 Crazy by Gnarls Barkley
1 Hope There's Someone by Antony & the Johnsons

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Shuffle of the Day 16 - "Using the Apostate Tyrant as His Tool" by the Kronos Quartet

If there is one achilles heel I have in music, its classical music. Honestly, I know so little about it that its not funny. My classical collection consists of this: (1) Holst's The Planets because John Williams stole so many of his scores from this work, it sounds like a movie score; (2) Mozart's Brandenburg Concertos because Douglas Adams ranted and raved about them in The Salmon of Doubt; (3) Longines Symphonette on 6 disc LP because its mentioned in They Might Be Giants' "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and; (4) the Kronos Quartet. I have a few by the Quartet, and I quite like them. I first found them thanks to my friend Jeff Bolas who played "Sing, Sing J. Edgar Hoover" on my old college radio station WCFM and through the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack done with Clint Mansell (formerly of Pop Will Eat Itself). I chanced upon their album of medieval/early music Lachrimae Antiquae at the local public library and quite enjoyed all the odd string arrangements they performed. And that's it. That's my knowledge of classical. It's sad, but what can I say? I grew up with rock and roll, and I someone once said (it was either about classical or opera) something to the effect of "if you weren't born loving classical music, you can't really ever learn to do more than appreciate it". So that's where I am.

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No shuffle today

No shuffle of the day today as I'm busy with a giant chiller.

Shuffle of the Day 15 - "O2" by Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney might be the archetype for college radio bands. Well, I feel that way because I discovered them in college when I was working at WCFM (Guerrilla Rock for the 90's, motherf*&ker). I found myself in love with my copy of Dig Me Out, thinking this was the future of the future, loving every moment of the frantic vocals, charged guitars and driving rhythms. Here was an album with passion that wanted to go somewhere and wasn't going to take no for an answer. Kind of like me, Sleater-Kinney has slowed down a little with age, and this track from One Beat, the album that marks the transistion of the band from youth band to adult band, is much more my pace these days. Most people in the U.S. have never heard of or will never hear any Sleater-Kinney, but hey, I feel like I've grown up with them since college.

Shuffle of the Day 14 - "Morning New Disease" by Jets to Brazil

Today might be one of those days where I have nothing to say about my shuffle. Good song from an underappreciated band. I've always loved the name "Jets to Brazil" and Orange Rhyming Dictionary still grows on me each time I listen to it.










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Current iPod Top 10
*The iPod is going to get some major restructuring over the weekend, so the playcount will be totally reset. Might be the last time you see some of these for awhile.

10 No Culture Icons by the Thermals
9 Once, A Glimpse by Maximo Park
8 The World Loves Us and Is Our Bitch by Mclusky
7 Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone by the Islands
6 The Ballad of the Sin Eater by Ted Leo/Pharmacists
5 Jogging Gorgeous Summer by the Islands
4 Our Days in Kansas by Tullycraft
3 The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living by the Streets
2 Pull Shapes by the Pipettes
1 Y.M.M.W.D.S.B. by Mon Frere

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New TIG Review: Panda & Angel - Panda & Angel

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Shuffle of the Day 13 - "Blue Sky Mine" by Midnight Oil

Let's pretend. Let's pretend we all live in Australia. Ok, maybe some of you actually live in Australia. I don't. I need to stand on my head to get the idea of living down there, which is fine. Australia seems to have a lot of nifty features, not the least of which is that Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil was elected to their House of Representatives (Aussie Labour Party) since 2004. Sure, he looks like a toned down, smaller version of Sloth from Goonies. Sure, he's the lead singer one of the biggest Australian musical exports this side of INXS, Kylie and Men Without Hats. And now he's a politician. Brilliant! Imagine that here in the states? Dennis Hastert and the Wild Boyz! Barak Obombers! Barney Frankalicious! Heck, John Kerry was supposedly in a garage band in his youth, but since Sonny Bono met an untimely demise, we've been short of the musicians in Congress. Ah well. "Blue Sky Mine" is one of my favorite Midnight Oil tracks, possibly more than "Beds are Burning" but they're very similar political protest songs that bring to light the problems with Aussie relations with the aboriginal people of the continent. It's catchy, it's original and went nowhere in the U.S. Which is too bad. Now I guess I'll sit back and wait for Conor Oberst in 2016!

Shuffle of the Day 12 - "Powder Blue" by Elbow

Elbow is one of many children of Radiohead in the British music scene. Not that they are directly descended from Radiohead, but that dour, drifting sound that Radiohead pioneered on The Bends and OK Computer permeates this track off of Elbow's debut. The thing that sets this song apart is, well, horns. Specifically, saxophones. Saxophone solos. At the very end of the song, suddenly this very INXS "Never Tear Us Apart"-esque saxophone solo comes in for maybe 20 seconds and on one hand it seems entirely out of place, but on the other hand it does actually add a lot to the song. Does this mean I want more saxophones in my British alternative rock? Well, no. However, you have to hand it to Elbow for at least trying something a little different in what might otherwise seem like a Radioclone.

Shuffle of the Day 11 - "Malo" by Bebe

I'm sometimes troubled by my choice of music. I first heard this song (as a music video) in a hotel room in Pucon, Chile on one of the various Latin MTV-type stations. It was black & white and was pretty much a single shot of this woman with a buzzed haircut singing the song with a guitar. Very stripped down, very intense for MTV like fodder. I liked the song, it seemed kind of indie in a Latin-pop sort of way. However, it troubles me to think what I might have thought if this song was in english and I had seen the video on the American MTV or VH1 (well, if they still showed videos). Would I think it was just another Alanis/Avril/Ani style angry women rocker song? Am I totally biased by its Latin origins that I ignore what I might normally find bland and offensive to my musical sensibilities? At this point, I have no idea. I like the darn song and maybe I should spend less time worrying about whether music fits into my preceived musical heirachy of quality and instead just decide if I like it.

Shuffle of the Day 10 - "There is No-One That Will Take Care of You" by Palace Brothers

There is really nothing like bleak bleak Will Oldham for a bleak bleak Seattle morning. Here we are, almost into June, and we still have to put up with grey, cold, wet mornings. Maybe that's part of the reason I'm pretty excited to leave Seattle (although I am very fond of the city). I have to admit, amongst the Palace Music/Brothers ouevre, this is one of the lesser known songs to me, and its not as totally bleak and stripped down as "(End of) Travelling" or "I Am a Cinematographer", but there is something captivating and haunting about Oldham's ever-crackling vocals. It sounds like, no matter what he's singing, he's pouring his heart and soul out to you, the listerner. Heck, he could probably sing "Yummy Yummy Yummy I've Got Love in My Tummy" and still sound like someone had recently broken his heart, kicked his dog and slashed his tires. He's just got one of those voices, a voice perfect for a dreary morning when you just didn't get enough sleep the night before to justify being up so early.

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New Review on TIG: The Rogers Sisters - The Invisible Deck

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Shuffle of the Day 9 - "The Dirty Song" by Cars Can Be Blue

Cars Can Be Blue have a special place in my heart for a number of important reasons
(a) They are named after a skit from the shortlived but undervalued MTV skit show The State. In this skit, contestants on a game show win orphans. Of course, both players play to lose and the final question is "Name a form of transportation". One contestant answers "blue" and the judges decide "Cars can be blue!" and every wins!
(b) The lead singer is cute. There, I said it. When I saw CCBB at the Croc in Seattle, I saw her wandering around the bar and thought "she looks like a cute indie girl with glasses" and I was right. What I didn't realize was the filth that would come from what appeared to be a demure lady.
(c) They saved me after a breakup. Yay!
Now, one thing you need to realize about CCBB is that they are very, very dirty. I mean filthy dirty. I mean, the drummer was in the crowd in his tighty whiteys grinding with random audience members dirty. And "The Dirty Song" is exactly what it seems. It starts sounding like a cute little indie rock song only to become a song that might make Chingy blush. For example, we find the lead singer singing lines like you can sodomize me/get behind and ride me/stuff your c*^k inside me/proceed to f$#k me blindly. Yes, indeed. Its all topped by the slow and tender bridge of we don't have to anything/if you don't want/we could just look into each others eyes/...and masterbate. Oh yes. I just get all red-faced thinking about. How I love you Cars Can Be Blue.

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This week's iPod Top 10

10 Emily Kane - Art Brut
9 Our Days in Kansas - Tullycraft
8 The Ballad of the Sin Eater - Ted Leo/Pharmacists
7 Jogging Gorgeous Summer - the Islands
6 Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby - the Islands
5 The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living - the Streets
4 Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me - the Pipettes
3 Like U Crazy - Mates of State
2 Can't Con an Honest John - the Streets
1 Y.M.M.W.D.S.B. - Mon Frere

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I was horribly excited this week to discover I am currently 12th place in the Baseball Prospectus Hacking Mass competition out of 1427 entries. HM allows you to pick a lineup of the worst players in baseball and see who ends up with the worst of the worst. Its tricky, they must be bad but not bad enough to not play. I've lucked out with gems like Rodrigo Lopez of the Orioles and Jose Molina of the Angels, but Tony Womack and Joe Mays are both currently jobless, which is bad for me. Ah well.

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Shuffle of the Day 8 - "Fearless" by the Bravery

Alright folks, this is what I've been afraid of all when I started this. This is when I wish I could call a "do-over". Not when the song is embarassing. Not when its a repeat. No, instead it's when a song like this comes up: Uninteresting, filler, trite music that ended up on my iPod as something to maybe give a chance. I suppose its my own doing by putting anything on my iPod by the Bravery that isn't "Honest Mistake" or "Unconditional" (and they aren't that great anyway). "Fearless" is just well, bad. It's like you took a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of Franz Ferdinand. It's exactly like what Pitchfork said in their review (and I normally don't agree with them): the Bravery are dance-rock's Stone Temple Pilots. Of course, the Bravery didn't end up being nearly as popular STP, which is fine with me. I'm still baffled about the popularity of Scott Weiland and the boys, but that was the alterna-crazy 1990s for you. "Fearless" just seems so lifeless especially when the next song to come up on my iPod is "Why Can't I Touch It?" by the Buzzcocks. So close, yet so far away. Sigh.

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Here is my review of the Streets' Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living. In rereading it, maybe I was a little harsh on a lot of it because I really enjoy it. Ah well.

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Shuffle of the Day 7 - "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers

This is the first potentially "embarassing" song to come up for SOTD, and well, its not even that bad. This song has been a favorite of mine for a long time, sadly, ever since I got a hold of a dirty, scuffed 45 RPM copy of "The Gambler" at a flea market for 10 cents when I was a kid. Most of my early memories of the song revolve around an odd Muppet Show skit centered around the song. Odd when you consider muppets (a) gambling, (b) drinking whiskey and (c) hanging out with Kenny Rogers. The images of the old muppet on the train telling Kenny about the secret to surviving stuck with me and when I could sit back and listen to the crackling and popping of the old 7", it was like comfort food in audio form. Even today when my copy of "The Gambler" comes in perfect digital version (althought sometimes I wish I could listen to a digital version of the 45). Kenny himself is a bit of a icon of a bygone era. His bread, his flowing pile of greying hair. He'd never be a star today. He's sort of the lighter, safer, softer version of Willie Nelson, especially when you start considering his even-more-embarassing hits like "Lady". "The Gambler," however, has the same charm as something like "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and more charm than dreck like "American Pie". It's cheesy, Disney-style Americana.

Shuffle of the Day 6 - "Excuse You" by MC Paul Barman

To say that MC Paul Barman is a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a really crass white guy might be an understatement. To many, he represents all that is evil in the world: overpriviledged white rapper with questionable skills and the uncanny ability to rap mostly about how much he likes naked women and personal gas emissions. Yet somehow he finds himself working with MF Doom, Dan the Automator and the like. "Excuse You" is one of the more, well, artistic songs from his Paullelujah! Sometimes his rhymes work great (e.g., the way I communicate could make a freaking enuch mate or Jesus H. Christ, where H. stands for "holy crap!"), sometimes they make no sense (e.g., I have a very goth towel/terry-cloth cowl/and when I wear it I'm a hairy moth owl and sometimes ... well ... I'm advancing the artform/depantsing a fart storm? And yet, somehow, I still like hearing his nonsensical/offensive songs every time they come up. It's as if Paul is a nerd rock equivalent to Eminem, but without the (wholly serious in Eminem's case) mysogyny and homophobia.

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