I would play all this songs on a field full of alpacas

Photo from here

Suddenly very relevant song for my life (also catchy as hell) (also, watch out for the scary bit!):

John Maus - Too Much Money

Also, 20JazzFunkGreats has been REALLY good recently, most especially the two tracks in this post and the Aeroplane remix of Coyote in this post. GET EM.

Ewan Pearson This Friday Dec 7 @ Celebrities

Party alert! Ewan Pearson is DJ'ing this Friday at Celebreties. We should go ya? Not the least because I has a new job, and thus need some celebrating.

Ewan's broadly electro-house, though his sets seem fairly eclectic, with a wide range of house, techno and more pop-ish tunes. He probably won't be head-bashing commercial electro-house nor wimpy plink-plonk minimal--I'm expecting something in between there, though I'm not sure what exactly. I have his Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi. _01 mix from two years back, and it's fairly straight ahead (though excellent) electro-infused tech-house, while his recently released Fabric 35 mix, which I haven't heard, seems to have a much more varied tracklist (it even has some old post-punk on there). Whatever the fuck this all means, by all accounts he's great dj and knows how to rock the party and is not afraid to venture into more vocal poppy territory and mix things up. Hopefully the system at celebreties is up for it (I thought it was kinda flat for mathew jonson, or at least the parts I was sober enough to remember...), but I'm sure it'll be great regardless.

Alright come party! Go here for tickets, youtube clips, bio. (btw, is it wrong that i would actually go to the next THREE friday nights a celebrities? Tiefschwarz, Sharam, MSTRKRFT would all also be dope, though Pearson's definitely my pick of the litter).

Here are two pearson remixes (both from this comp), one loud and upfront, the other more moody:

Freeform Five - Perspex Sex (Ewan Pearson's Hi-NRG Mix)

Ladytron - Evil (Ewan Pearson Radio Edit)



Completely unrelated bonus for those who scrolled down! Rihanna - Don't Stop the Music (The Wideboys Radio Edit)

Other fronts in the war of terror

(img by Barnaby Furnas)

Time to take advantage of my privileged position as armchair critic to be smug and self-congratulatory in pointing out that I basically called this back in January, but now even the Times agrees with me: Somalia's in real-bad shape, thanks in good part to the invasion of the largely foreign sponsored (mainly US and Ethopia) "transitional government".

United Nations officials now concede that the country was in better shape during the brief reign of Somalia’s Islamist movement last year. “It was more peaceful, and much easier for us to work,” Mr. Laroche said. “The Islamists didn’t cause us any problems.”

Mr. Ould-Abdallah called those six months, which were essentially the only epoch of peace most Somalis have tasted for years, Somalia’s “golden era.”

Yay, the Whitehouse's blatant Islamophobia and singleminded desire to force their needs and fears onto other countries has fucked over yet another poor, desperate nation filled with easily forgettable others! Hooray for democracy and freedom!

Better and better...

Well I've gotten myself on a bit of kick on various traditional musics from some different places. After last weeks Gamelan discovery, I've been feeling strongly the desire for some different rhythms, a desire which has been temporarily sated by some great traditional music from Madagascar. Here's a couple:

v/a (Madagascar, Pays Antandroy, Cote Sud-Ouest) - Gorodo

Antsan - Jejo Lava, Chant Pour L'arc Musical

These two both come from discs of the French Ocora label (hence the titles), which seems like a real goldmine in terms of interesting different sounds from accross the globe. The first track is just a blindin, sunny-as-hell piece, paced by a quick percusive rhythm, lively guitar (or something similar), and absolutely joyous singing and yelping. Just happy, beautiful music. The second track is apparently just a man playing a single string tied to a stick and singing along. Ha ha you say, but wait untill you hear it. Simple, repetitive and--hauntingly beautiful. The man 's voice is a thing to behold, and he creates a surprisingly engaging and haunting melody with such a simple instrument. The thing that's getting me with this (and thanks to zhao from here for banging on about this, and for the tunes!) is how sonically advanced so much of this sounds (same for the Gamelan). For "traditional" music, its actually much more sonically adventurous and interesting than the vast majority of western music these days, even the more "indie" stuff that's supposed to be pushing the boundaries. Makes ya think....

Okay, and because I'm still listening to house/techno too, here's a pair that have caught my ear this week. The first is by the revived ex-Chain Reaction duo of Substance and Vainqueur, laying down some deep thundering dub techno. The second is some lovely upbeat minimal house featuring everyones favorite sound. warped house piano! Enjoy! :D

Substance & Vainqueur - Libration

Rejected - Let's Go Juno

I did not know it would be this good

Music For the Gods - The Fahnestock South Sea Expedition Indonesia



Mesmerizing, beautiful stuff. Indonesian Gamelan, which is something I've heard mentioned before but never had a chance to look into--turns out this was a fairly major mistake! This disc is a collection of recordings made by a pair of American brothers lugging recording equipment around Indonesia circia 1940, and apparently stands as one of the best documents of gamelan music as performed by the original masters. Gamelan was "forgotten" for a while before being rescued by various musical ensembles and cultural institutes. Whatever the backstory though, this is some seriously ethereal, stunning music. I've been listening to this a lot since I got it. Very peaceful trance-inducing music. I HIGHLY recommend a download (it's okay to like "world music" people, as terrible as that term is).

A Third Thrilling Thumper

I noticed my grammar kinda went south in that last post, comma splices ahoy! But these things can't be helped sometimes. Ninjas be all up in my language steez. Nevertheless, here we have Track of the Week, Part The Third:

Aeroplane - Caramellas

Fantastic piano! Swoonsome buildup around the third minute completes disco wundertrack euphoria! OH EMM GEE!! Love it, you check Aeroplane myspace and listen to other lovely tracks, k? Mulchy! Soon come Beardo Mix The Part The Two, me thinks...

A Brace of Balaeric Beauties

A Mountain Of One - Brown Piano (Remake by Studio)

Peter Visti - Dolly

Start the week off with some slow-grooving beauties. First off Studio's remake of AMO1's newest single is everything you could hope it would be, massive slow-kick bassline and shimmering neo-western guitars unfold over an epic 10-minute span of ghostly disco. Peter Vistsi gives us a re-edit of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" which mostly just steals a guitar lick and the the eponymous chorus re-sung by male vocalist, adds haunted synths, drum kick and handclaps, repeats into krautrock oblivion. Just put these two songs on repeat and drift away...

Turkey Shells Northern Iraq

Can you imagine the absolute shit storm that would happen if this was Iran shelling Iraq?? Oh double standards. But the Americans have long ignored (condoned?) the Turks campaign against the Kurdish people anyway...

This Week in Imperialism

This.

I've seen several comments about this "non-binding" US Senate resolution to partition Iraq into semi-autonomous regions based on sectarian lines (Sunni, Shiite, Kurd), and the thing that keeps getting me is, where are the Iraqis? As far as I can tell, it seems like this plan was drawn up entirely in washington, without any consultation with the people that it would actually effect. Historically, this makes perfect sense. The current borders of Iraq were drawn up by the British back when they were running things in the early 20th C. And given the US's current imperial agenda in the middle east, it's really about time they started drawing new lines on the map. But how is there no comment on this at all? Once again, a foreign, Western nation has decided that it is its burden--no, responsibility--to tell a poor, third-world nation how its government should be run and how the country should be structured, without even consulting them. Especially the sectioning along cultural lines, it seems based on such a mean-spirited assumption about the Iraqi people, that they're simply incapable of overcoming cultural differences, and must be kept fenced off from each each other likes dogs. The assumption that the "oriental" is fundamentally irrational and unchangeable, and that we, the enlightened people of the West, in fact understand their culture better than they do, is like prime rule number one of Orientalism. I wonder if the people writing this resolution have ever even heard of the concept, let alone read the book.

(But but, you say, there's a reference to some sort of partitioning in the Iraqi constitution! And the Iraqi constitution is a clear and unambiguous statement of the will of the Iraqi people, created without any outside influence whatsoever! Really! The American's were also totally surprised to find out Iraq had oil after they attacked! They were so surprised!)

Even the phrasing of that article, all the quotes from the various politicians, are all in reference to how this well help the US. So the message is, "Here, run your country like this, because it will make our (already quite easy) life here in America that much easier." And we are surprised that so many in the third world consider the US to be arrogant and hubristic?

Doesn't this blow anyone else's mind???

Sometimes I have conversations with people who actually think that cops are okay, that they aren't pricks by necessity of their job, that they don't serve as a tool for government intimidation and oppression. for any of you still out there, watch this video of some poor college kid getting tasered for asking john kerry a tough question. yup, those cops sure are playing a vital role in society...

Jesse Rose, Sat Sept 15 @ Lotus Sound Lounge

Anyone down for this? Should be good ole dance tymes!

Jesse Rose @ Dirtybird WMC 2007


He does a more ruff-n-tuff house sound than a lot of the minimal I post round here. Much more a a UK/US house style compared to the sleeker continental german stuff. Which means MAD DOPE BASSLINES. Mind you he did do one of the recent Body Language mixes for Get Physical, home of Booka Shade, M.A.N.D.Y., etc., so there's certainly a lot of crossover with that scene as well. Anyway, this should be good times. Tix $15. And it's on a Saturday!

Here's a remix of his I just randomly downloaded, which sounds pretty good to me:
Armand Van Helden - Playmate (Jesse Rose Remix)

So yummy! So yummy!

thanks to woebot for the tip. Though ostensibly a children's program, I think there's a good chance this show was specifically designed for me. How awesome is that song??? I wish all tv was like this (well, this and nature shows).

"Carrots want to go to the party in my tummy??"

Just for the record, I'm going to be singing this song as I eat from here on in: There's a party in my tummy! So yummy! So yummy!

For whatever reason I was thinking about this snippet of conversation I overheard on wreck beach the other day:

"I was just having this same conversation last weekend when we were camping: never forget your pineapple!"

***

As an addendum to my last post, go here and download Todd Terje's re-edit of Paul Simon's "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" (scroll down to the very bottom). Talk about reclaiming resolutely middle-brow dad-rock!

tempo change

Okay it's official: Studio's new album West Coast is my favorite album of the year. It brings together a whole slew things I've been digging recently: the slow-mo disco, the balearic rivival dance-rock, the groove-locked krautrock, the dubbed-out post-punk, the long-form dance mystery. This is it. I've been listening to it several times a day since I downloaded it on saturday. If I post it here, will you promise to buy it? At least if you really like it, as much as I do? Cuz there's no way these guys are making a living off of this record, the previous 12"s were in runs of 500, you can bet your ass they have a day job to pay their bills. and yet THIS IS AWESOME. It deserves all our support. I'm ordering it, you bet I am! That's why I'm putting it up on yousendit only for a week, so it's not just a giveaway to random googlers months from now.


studio - west coast (pt 1)
studio - west coast (pt 2)


K, so a couple weeks ago I made a mix of stuff sort of along these lines, balearic dance-rock slow mo disco italo krautrock goodness (balearic is the new buzzword, watch for it--it's a reference to 80's era ibiza, where a much more eclectic dance culture ruled, kinda). I really really like this mix actually, i think its one of the best ones i've made in a while. You might be able to tell this sound has definitely got its grips on the old brain-muscle. It's enticingly free-form too, you can throw in influences from almost wherever you like; just keep the rhythm going, keep the vibe fresh and the rest will follow. Thus I present the second treat of today.


das turtles - the beard mix


01 - Findlay Brown - Losing The Will To Survive (Beyond the Wizards Sleeve Reanimation)
02 - A Mountain Of One - Innocent Line
03 - Quiet Village Project - Can't Be Beat
04 - Rune Lindbaek - Afrika
05 - Harmonia - Notre Dame
06 - A Mountain Of One - Warping of the Clock
07 - Quiet Village Project - Too High To Move
08 - B-Movie - Nowhere Girl (12-inch version)
09 - Yellow Magic Orchestra - Behind the Mask
10 - Talking Drums - Courage
11 - A Mountain Of One - Our Eyes


A couple of comments: before I heard studio, a mountain of one would have been my top nu-balearic group, and I'm still really looking forward to their forthcoming compilation of tunes. The two groups are definitely on the same page though, apparently studio will be remixing AMO1's next single, which I'm pretty hyped for. Anyway, I'm quite excited by these couple of bands (I would also throw Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve in there). I mean they're technicially indie rock (cuz they play something rock-derived and they make independant music) but somehow manages to avoid the absolutely dead sound of the currently omnipresent complacent indie rock milieu. Two points save them, I think: the focus on staying (roughly) within a "dance" sound, and their co-opting of a resolutely uncool populist, "dad rock" sound to make actually quite innovative and interesting music. It creates a very strange tension between its seeming familiarity and unplaceable new-ness. Both Studio and AMO1 invoke some forgotten rock radio classic while never being actually mistakable AS such a thing. They've packed a few too many disparate influence into their sound to fit into any one place perfectly, yet recall many simultaneously. Sure this is problematic, indie has been accused quite justifiably of regressive retro-ism and ironic pastiche, substituting quotation of once great music for creation of their own. Certainly this balearic rivival thing could easily turn in such a direction, but this music seems to be quite without irony; it appears to be a genuine appreciation of a more populist, popist sound. To me, there is genuine mystery and intrigue here, something that doesn't quite fit in my head, tickling a spot that I can't quite reach. And I want more.

The rest of the mix fits more along the beardo-disco axis, which is certainly a related field (prins thomas and todd terje both remixed studio's "life's a beach" and they're pretty much the poster boys, along with lindstromm, for beardo/neo-cosmic disco). I've extolled my love of quiet village project before, and I could have put even more of their tracks on here, but I restrained myself. But the mix has nice slow-tempo feel, moving across what are ostensibly a lot of different genres, yet maintaining an overall cohesiveness. And that Harmonia track comes in like the voice of Zeus or something, I'm really proud of that one. Also, spot the Toto re-edit!

N E WAY, i hope you like it. I do.

Post-83 Guitars!

Because I enjoy making ridiculous sweeping generalizations, I made a claim a couple weeks ago while out drinking with folks that there hasen't been any good guitar-based music since '83, except in isolated pockets. Well here is an example of some post-'83 guitar-based music that I like; in fact, I'm currently totally obsessed with this track.

Studio - West Side

It's modern, hip guitar-y music, but it isn't crappy indie-rock nor is it even crappier fifth-generation grunge retreads, mall-punk emo or (worst of all) jack johnson. No, it's a couple of swedes making music that sounds like it should have been an extended album track on some stoned 70's prog rock band. I love it. I've made a mix with some more tunes like this on it that i'll probably post soon, but this track is even better. maybe.

Get out, stupid!

Lenin on the latest numbers from Iraq:

The monthly figures for June showed the highest daily number of attacks on US troops for four years, confirming an upward trend that has been happening for the last four years. The figures also confirm an encouraging downward trend in attacks on civilians which, at any rate, still constitute a minority of such attacks: roughly 70% of attacks are directed at coalition forces, 16% at the Iraqi security forces, and 14% on civilians.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again: the number one problem in Iraq is the presence of American troops. In fact I totally called this way back in January. The most embarrassing thing for Bush and Co. is that when they finally pull out (they will won't they? am I allowed to hope that it might actually occur, that the horror in Iraq might actually end one day?), there won't be chaos and civil war, but a bunch of parties who are sick and tired of dying, and want to live peaceful lives. I'm not saying that'll it'll be heaven on earth or anything, but I'd give good odds on an America-less Iraq being far more peaceful than Iraq in its current state. Dreams of a better future...

Highly Caffeinated Post

Go to this page, and CURSE EVERYONE OF THESE WRITERS except (surprisingly enough) the two from Q and the NME. Why? Because these IDIOTS have made me sleep on Daft Punk's Discovery for over SIX GODDAMN YEARS. What was I thinking? The comment section gets it's completely right, so bloody underrated, so wonderful! Just joyful dance music. And perfect for summer! Couldn't be happier listening to this right now.

Actually I've heard several critics who I highly respect describe Discovery as Daft Punk's "masterpiece" but it was just one of those albums I never got around to checking out, and I know at the time it was put out I definitely was swayed by the largely negative press it got. Actually, it's a bit odd, but it seems like some serious revisionism is going on here. Look at the pitchfork piece (written by no less a hack than pitchfork head Ryan Schrieber--someone should throw this terrible, rockist review into his smug indie-loving face). But anyway, if you look near the bottom of the page there's a link to their review of Daft Punk's last album, Human After All, which refers to the "exquisite, joyous Discovery." Kinda funny eh? But I mean, even the Onion got it wrong, and they're usually half-decent. It's interesting how group-think can affect critics sometimes, and then affect them in reverse again.


So yeah, I downloaded this last night (along with a bunch of Aaliyah and En Vogue...ummm a slightly odd stage in my musical tastes yes, but good fun nonetheless. I absolutely love Aaliyah. If this goes on much longer I'm going to have to post about her too), and I'll post the whole thing here, cuz what the hell why not. But yeah, what got me back on the daft punk front was actually this youtube clip of some girl dancing her ass off to "harder, better, faster, stronger" which made me realize how great that song was. That's another thing that I've been doing a lot of recently, oddly enough, is checking out various youtube clips of different sweet dances. There's tons of ones of kids dancing to baltimore club or detroit ghettotech, and the comments sections are filled with heated battles about d-town vs b'more and who has the dopest moves. Ah internet, you keep things fresh.


Daft Punk - Discovery


Fuck I was totally starting to do work this morning and then got sidetracked writing about daft punk! blast! Thesis oh so close to done. Mind clearly deteriorating into strange state of constant flux.

Beware The Bobcat!

A while back the bobcat asked me to make him some techno mixes, so I burned him a couple of random dj mixes I had plus I made him a compilation of random tracks I thought he might like. I think it turned out really well, it's all very upbeat stuff, some a bit older, some brand new, all from within the last decade. It's actually a pretty good cross section of 4/4 dance-music stuff I've been into over the last few years, with the criteria of being listenable whilst driving, since that's where the bobcat is oft to be found.

But would you believe Bobcat found this mix "a bit weird"?? Pshaw! The man doesn't know what he's missing out on. I've laid mad music-hipster cred on this mix! Of course Bobby also really likes the new album by the rapper from Linkin Park, so there you go. Just ain't no accounting for the tastes of the wild bobcat.

Download The Bobcat Mix

Tracklisting:
1. Gregor Tresher - Neon
2. I-F - Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass
3. The Knife - Like A Pen (Stephan Bodzin Mix)
4. Octave One - Blackwater (Full Strings Instrumental Mix)
5. Tracy Thorn - It's All True (Martin Buttrich Remix)
6. Kaito - Awakenings
7. Texas - What About Us (Jacques Lu Cont Main Mix)
8. Talking Drums - Courage
9. Quiet Village Project - Can't Be Beat


Commentary:

1. Gregor Tresher - Neon Some balls-out, hard hitting electro-house to get the bobcat's attention, right from the get go.

2. I-F - Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass One of the greatest electro tunes to come out this decade. Simultaneously evil and hilarious and catchy as hell. What else would space invaders be doing?? (aside from invading)

3. The Knife - Like A Pen (Stephan Bodzin Mix) I'm getting a bit confused by this now, as there's a Thomas Schumacher dub of this track listed on Discogs with additional production from Stephan Bodzin, but it's about 2 minutes shorter than this track. But I haven't heard that version yet. So I'm not really sure what this track is, but I do know I like it, as I've said before elsewheres.

4. Octave One - Blackwater (Full Strings Instrumental Mix) Some classic, string-led, Detroit bizzness. The vocal mix of this is dire, though.

5. Tracy Thorn - It's All True (Martin Buttrich Remix) Found from that Dixon podcast I posted a while back. So deep. Real shivers-up-the spine stuff. (Also, hohohoh, buttrich).

6. Kaito - Awakenings One of my all time fave Kaito tracks, from way back in '02. The bassline on this track is just huge, and coupled with those synth arpeggios, it's just bloody cloud trance heaven.

7. Texas - What About Us (Jacques Lu Cont Main Mix) Continuing on the trancey vein, this is possible the tranciest Lu Cont mix I've yet heard, which really is saying something.

8. Talking Drums - Courage Then I tagged on some stuff from the beardo/cosmic disco front, cuz I've been digging that too. This is some early 80's disco/new-wave gem: plenty of synthesizers plus lyrics encouraging you to fight the revolution? I'm there! I think I should make this my theme song.

9. Quiet Village Project - Can't Be Beat And a slow closer. I love love love Quiet Village Project, I think they're doing something really interesting with this whole slowed-down, stoner disco thing. A very trippy, head nodding track (cuz we all know the bobcat loves the catnip). I was really suprised to find out Matt Edwards, who also records as Radio Slave, is half of QVP. That guy is on fire on a whole bunch of different fronts.


So the mix goes from electro-house to minimal to detroit to neo deep house to neo trance to space disco. Quite the journey! Hope you like it.

"Because flesh is weak, the forms break down, and cannot last forever"

Because I love you all, here are two amazing tracks. Shackleton's "Blood On My Hands," pretty much the most gut-wrenchingly mournful dubstep track ever made. And Ricardo Villalobos' epic 18 minute remix, stretching it out into a near infinite plateau of whispering echoes and haunted warmth. And for once the lyrics in a dubstep/techno/whatever song don't disappoint. For god's sake it's actually about 9/11 (at least, one would think) and approaches it with more sophistication and subtlety than the vast majority of facile media commentary that we are supposed to interpret as "compassionate"...

Shackleton - Blood On My Hands

Shackleton - Blood On My Hands (Ricardo Villalobos' Apocalypso Now Mix)

I was upping this carl craig remix for dano, and then I started upping a couple other tracks just for fun, and then I decided I might as well post 'em here. So:

Theo Parish - Falling Up (Carl Craig remix)

Pom Pom - Pom Pom 29 A

Misstress Barbara - Barcelona (Original Mix)

Pantha Du Prince - Florac

That CC remix is a total anthem, definitely his biggest remix from last year. The other tunes all generally fall under the "minimal" tag, though they all actually tend towards a bit more upbeat, light and melodic sound. I actually really like them all. Download!

Music lovers friday

It's been a while since I posted a bunch of tunes. So here what I've been feeling for a minute:


Krautrock!!!

Massive influx of krautrock: here's a couple gems

Faust - It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl [bluesy piano and drum lock-groove + plus interlacing guitars, organs, vocals = genius!]

Harmonia - Notre Dame [the opening minute and of this is just jaw-dropping]



Favorite tune off the new Avril Lavigne. Starts a bit generic pop-punk, but man, that is a high-powered chorus!

Avril Lavigne - Runaway



"Bombastic" electro tune ripped from last years CBS (Cybernetic Broadcasting System, natch) top 100

Fockewulf 190 - Gitano



Go here and download Gregor Tresher - A Thousand Nights for some serious slow-build euphoric techno.


Go here and download the Sebo K resident advisor podcast for what one commentator described as "pretty much the bible for neo deep house/minimal"



Oh ya! And what's turning out to be my favorite album of '07 so far, Stars Of The Lid and their refinement of the decline, just a stunningly beautiful album, so warm and enveloping. The sound of warm slow summer evenings, still and peaceful (or at least, that's when I've been listening to it). This has been my "recharge" music for the last couple of weeks, when things were getting just a bit too crazy and stressful. I could pick almost any tune from it, but I'll choose this one:

Stars Of The Lid - A Meaningful Moment Through A Meaning(less) Process



It's summer, it's warm, and June 2007 is looking like a motherfucking COLOSUSS. I wish you all the best.

yeah that's right you heard me

Short first impressions...

...on 3 recently downloaded (and only partially listened to) albums:

Battles - Mirrored: Finally some indie-ish rock I might like! Sigh...too complex rhythmically to be hypnotic, not riff-y enough to be catchy. I support it in theory though.

Hilary Duff - Dignity: Terrible title, disapointing production. A couple good'uns though.

Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing: Well named! Summertime joy :)


Avril wins hands down.

MUST GO.

Why the hell didn't I see this before??? Booka Shade are maybe top 3 on my all-time list of people I want to see in concert but haven't. Here's a link to their essential mix from last year, the first hour of which is them playing live. Also, here's a mashup of "mandarine girl" with a brandy's "what about us" that's pretty much one of the greatest pieces of music ever. I AM SO FUCKING HYPED FOR THIS.

This song is also making me very happy right now. Might I make a request? Do you know anything about funk, soul and/or r&b? Particularly stuff from the 60's & 70's. If you do, please recommend me some, I want to listen to way more of this stuff. I've seriously listened to this song 5 times in a row now. I got it off some random collection of chicago soul. WANT MORE!


peace.

(ps. boo data analysis. yay internet!)

I am happy because the preliminary data analysis from my experiment last week looks like it's going to be significant. Yippee!

I'm also happy because this Lindstrom & Prins Thomas essential mix is pretty damn great so far. S P A C E D I S C O .

(check out the rest of that site too: essential mix goldmine!)

3 Things

I went to Berlin and didn't go to Berghain/Panoramabar and I've been kicking myself for it ever since

This really makes me want to watch Half Nelson again, because it was a pretty good movie the first time around.

I don't know if this really is going to be an anthem, but it's excellent anyway and you should download it.


Having just moved, and now shifting into heavy get-the-mutherfucking-thesis-done mode I may not be posting too much 'round here for the next couple of months. but i'll be alive somewhere, doing something.

On Virginia Tech...

read this; a very insightful take on the motivation behind such murders. I think this question (posed to the author that is being interviewed) really hits it:

You demonstrate that there is absolutely zero accuracy in the psychological profiles that "experts" have assembled to predict what kind of young student might start another Columbine, and you instead advocate profiling schools that could prompt a deadly massacre.

Maybe I'll expand on some things I've been thinking about this later, but I want to get some stuff down quickly while that article still has me fired up.

Tess, my roommate, said yesterday "I don't understand how anyone could do that." But I disagree, we all can understand far too easily, I think that's what makes these events so horrifying. As the author says in the above article, in a lot of ways it's all too easy to understand and sympathize; you just pick up the gun and shoot. We've seen it a million times on tv and in movies, done it hundred times from video games to water guns...hell, shooting people is fun! The only thing is the switch, what makes them decide to do it. To loose connection to the reality that these are people, who have clearly not done enough to you to deserve such cruelty.

Again, as the article discusses, who does these things? White people, middle class people, males, "normal" people, who "rationally" set about murdering as many people as possible (edit: well yeah the Virginia Tech shooter was of Korean descent, but the rest still applies). I think it's a) the disconnect from reality that comes from living a sheltered life where the only danger you ever see in life is simulated on some screen and b) the helplessness and powerlessness often felt by people in such a situation, the feeling that nothing you can do (not voting, not protesting, nothing) can really make a difference on all the wrongs we see in the world.

Lastly, I think if you read this article by Jean Baudrillard who discusses the motivations behind terrorism as the response of people who have been given so much, but are unable to give anything in return (not, as we tend to think, the response of a people who have had everything taken from them), I think you can draw a clear parallel to the possible motivations behind such attacks the as Virginia Tech shootings. The actions of a person humiliated by all that is given to him, unable to respond to an impersonal system, they make a category mistake and decide that is the people themselves that are the enemy, rather than the system in which they exist.


****

Hmm, all this could be probably be taken a whole bunch of ways that I don't intend, and much of it is still only half thought out...hope no one takes offence...just trying to say something a little more subtle than "guns are bad"

Oh house music

Stunning, soulful house mix here from Dixon. So lush and warm. Lovit.

Tracklist:
01. Amp Fiddler - Faith (Jazzanova Remix)
02. Alice Smith - Love Endeavor (Maurice Fulton Remix)
03. Kelis - 80s Joint
04. Owusu & Hannibal - Lonnies Secret
05. Kathy Diamond - Album Track 13
06. Paul Randolph - Believer (Jazzanova Remix)
07. Demba - Louder (Henrik Schwarz Main Mix)
08. Martin Landsky - Let Me Dance (Sebo K Remix)
09. Telepopmusic - Love Can Damage Your Health (Ferrer Remix)
10. Tracey Horn - It's All True (Martin Butrich Remix)
11. Mattew Herbert - Moving Like A Train (Smith n Hack Remix)


[I think I need to do more short posts, otherwise I'll never update this damn thing. So here it goes.]

Ultimate procrastination

This site is the single greatest collection of stupid photos of cats ever. I have wasted SO MUCH TIME looking at them. Why are picutres of cats with poorly-spelt caps-locked captions so damn hilarious? You tell me, internet, you tell me.

Anyway, here are some of my faves, just from this latest round of browsing through them (I've been meaning to post this site for a while). Please feel free to waste a good portion of your life looking through them all. LOLZ

"laser hotness"

So I have criminally been missing out on 20 Jazz Funk Greats an excellent mp3 blog that I had seen mentioned in a few places but had never checked out because of the alignment of venus in the fourth quadrant or something. Their focus seems to be more on the beardo-disco (aka the kosmiche/space/italo/kraut/prog/disco/edits scene) which, despite me giving it a rather ridiculous name right there, I don't know a heck of a lot about, except that involves finding lots of old, pseudo-disco tracks and playing it alongside some new-school shit like quiet village project or prins thomas remixes. Y'know!

Okay, so ignore that crazy talk: download this. The mix at the bottom of the post is mostly italodisco and I've pumping it the last few days because it is catchyX1000+8!! Italodisco is just more euro and a bit odder (cuz of them italians) version of disco, with some of the best use of synthesizers ever (aka, the above mentioned "laser hotness"). Do you dislike laser hotness? What are you, some inert lump of ore deposits that needs LASERING?!!?!?

Tearjerker techno is not an oxymoron!!

Firstly let me say I'm thrilled janssen has decided to come out of the woodworks and pick a few fights in the comment sections. As you may or may not have figured out, I'm desperate for some intelligent conversation 'round here! Debate me! Or do you all just think I'm totally right about everything?

Second: nicole yesterday told me that the phrase "tearjerker techno" is an oxymoron, to which I point to this thread and even more importantly to this song, which I see has already been added to the list on above thread:

pantha du prince - saturn strobe

absolutely heartrending. I don't know why I still have to try and convince people that techno can be warm or emotional, but if this doesn't convince you, than I question whether you actually have any emotions at all, and aren't some sort of heartless robot killing machine sent here from the future to destroy the human race. No destroying the human race! Anyway, this track is just stunning. I'm absolutely obsessed with it right now.


Lastly: here's a reason why the "whishlist" feature on soulseek is excellent. In my first real post on this blog, way back in july of last year, i posted a youtube video of this weirdo italopop video from the late 70s, which I thought was damn catchy. Anyway, I entered the track into my wishlist on soulseek and promptly forgot about that for a good long while. But then the other day as I was downloading some tunes, the wishlist thing pops up with a returned search result for this very song, and I, not really even remembering what the hell it was, but trusting the judgement of my past self, downloaded it, and lo and behold, it is indeed a great track. So here it is for all y'alls enjoyment:

franco battiato - l'era del cinghiale bianco

68%

(click for full view)


I really should be working right now, but I just want to point this out real quick before I forget.

68%. That's the percentage of the total attacks in Iraq directed against coalition forces, according to the latest US Gov't report on Iraq, covering the last quarter of 2006 (see also lenin's commentary). Just remember that number the next time you hear about civil war in Iraq, and how they need MORE troops, else Iraq descend into chaos.

You remove the troops, you remove 68% of the attacks. Simple as that. The US occupying force is still, by far, the most damaging problem in Iraq right now. Plain and simple.

Post of Questionable Legality

...but undoubtable awesomeness.

I like to listen to music in my spare time. Here are some things I love



This post has the following sections, visit those you please:

great techno (yousendit only! get it while it's HOT)
albums (electronic version)
albums (folk rock version)
albums (krautrock version)

great techno

First off, we've got both sides of a release from what is apparently the new "it" label, Liebe Detail. Sherburne's been bigging it up in his techno column for pitchfork, and it's getting name dropped all over the place, and what do ya know? Turns out it kicks ass! The matthias meyer track is absolute gigantic techno monster, the ndru track slinky schaffel mood music. Keep tabs on this
matthias meyer - reichenbach
ndru - a pony named clipklop

Best track from that gustavo lamas 12" i blogged about below. Absolutely blissful techno, teeming with warmth. perfect first-thing-in the morning track
gustavo lamas - jovenes

I went on a bit of a binge downloading all sorts of remixes from Hot Chip's last album. Here are a few of my favorites.
hot chip - (just like we) breakdown (booka shade vocal mix)
hot chip - colours (jeff samuel rmx) [love the descending bassline on this one!]
hot chip - boy from school (cosmic sandwich remix) [deep. house.]

Lovely new one on Kompakt--pretty damn big-room and trancey, which is, what? TEH GREBT
Aril Brikha - Winter

This one's kinda old, but i realized i never posted it, and i LOVE it. Absolutely evil. Released on Richie Hawtin's M_nus imprint, and is very reminiscent of plastikman at his best.
heartthrob - baby kate

the following two from the excellent blog House is a Feeling
Faze Action - In the trees (carl craig mix)
H.O.S.H - suestoff

albums (electronic version)

Well, Sherburne listed this as his favorite album of '06, so I had to check it out. Turns out it's one of those back-and-forth, record then remix then record some more deals, going back and forth between burnt friedman and a jazz group called flanger. A nice change of pace for me this one, pretty mellow, but with a good beat to it--not crappy easy-listening jazz but nice jazz (me once again wishing I new more about jazz). I think it gets stronger as the album progresses. Moody, organic...but then you notice, wtf, every track is exactly 5:00 long??? Awesome
root 70 - heaps dub



Before Hot Chip's breakout '06 release, there was the '04 first album. A little more lo-fi, a bit more low-key, and a lot weirder lyrically (those "fey white-boy copping hardcore hip-hop lingo" lyrics are far more in effect), it's still just as charming and fun to listen to. I've decided I really rate Hot Chip highly right now, I think they're one of the best things going these days. (plus i threw in one bonus track, "ABC," that was on the US release, das is also gute)
hot chip - coming on strong

albums (folk rock version)

If you liked that track "Tam Lin" I posted a while back, you'll like this. 1969 combination of psychedelic rock, english folk and american blues produces solid, catchy, epic, beautiful LP. And Sandy Denny! Apparently Denny left fairport convention not too long after this album, and I don't seem myself investigating that period of the band any time soon. Sandy Denny is the bees knees.
fairport convention - unhalfbricking

albums (krautrock version)

I really like both Tago Mago and Ege Bayami, so I don't know what took me so long to get to Future Days, but it turns out I like it too. Mark me down as predictable I guess. Though I don't think it hits the highlights of say "Paperhouse" (which i just posted below), it may actually be the most consistently enjoyable Can album. Sometimes all the weirdo-acid-freakout stuff can get a bit tiring, and thankfully they seem to keep it on a tighter leash for this album, concentrating more on the groove. the groove!
can - future days




I like kraftwerk, but was curiously always a bit underwhelmed by them, considering all the praise heaped on them as "the godfathers of techno" and all that. Wasn't really all that caught up by their live double-cd they put out a while back, even though everyone else seem to love it. But this! This i like a whole lot. Lock in the motorik beat, cold teutonic vocals, occasional synthesized string, and I'm in! Connection to krautrock a lot clearer too, I would say. Seems the old Kraftwerk is where it's at, both of these albums are just great. [NOTE: my roommates (well, matt and russ) just told me to shut my door cuz they couldn't handle the kraftwerk I was pumping. philistines! go listen to some 10th generation watered-down mall-punk]
kraftwerk - trans europe express
kraftwerk - autobahn (yousendit link only!)



I actually downloaded this album by accident when i was trying to get the soundtrack to Aguirre, but it turned out to be a great find. I was kind of right anyway, given that half the album is comprised of tracks from the Aguirre soundtrack, but the other half has two other long moody tracks on it from somewhere else in the popol vuh back catalogue. Basically just 3 long (~20min) tracks plus the title track from Aguirre (only six minutes, psssh!), I think this is, again, the most consistently enjoyable Vuh album I've heard (lots of "consitently enjoyable" albums these days it seems. hence the full-album posting). The other track from the Aguirre soundtrack is a long, quiet piano piece, really quite beautiful, while the other two tracks are a bit more freeform, otherworldly ambience, but done with enough awareness of melody and rhythm to really create engrossing and hypnotic atmospheres. Quite varied, and highly enjoyable, this one.
popol vuh - gardens of the pharao / aguirre

Well, after a little poking around, looks like really, it's a combined release of these two albums (great covers!)






Lastly! Have you people heard avril lavigne's new single, "Girlfriend"? She's gone all girly dance-rock! Outstanding! Check it out, she's even doing choreographed dance moves...the video's kinda mean though isn't it? Oh well...

Paperhouse? Oh yeah!

Feeling the urge to post a whole bunch of music...i've been all over the place recently, lot's of good things. But for now here is the question: "paperhouse" or "oh yeah"? 1st and 3rd track's off of Can's classic Tago Mago. Similar length, somewhat similar structure, alternating between more melodic periods and more up-beat sections driven by that drum beat (oh god I love the drumming in Can. It is all about the drumming in Can. Same with Neu! actually, i really need to post tracks by them too, they're awesome), and all with damo suzuki madly singing god-knows-what over top.

So which is the winner? I think paperhouse is a little more melodic, oh yeah a bit more drum-driven. But I can't decide, they are both awesome. Really feeling the krautrock these days. Why is all the music I listen to so german?? (don't answer that)

Can - Paperhouse

Can - Oh Yeah


(ps. sorry the tracks are .ogg files, i just ripped them to my hardrive here at school and linux does that by defualt (stupid, worthless linux!), but winamp has no prob playing them. don't know about itunes/ipod though).

Time for class

Okay, after all this blog silliness, we'll get to the serious post for the day. And before you ask, yes I have too much time on my hands, and am a massive nerd. I'm surprised you had to ask, really.

Alright this story starts with this article, entitled "Army of Altruists" by David Graeber, originally published in Harper's, though thankfully some kind blogger has decided to transcribe the thing for us lazy Interneteers. The first half of the article is kinda crap, as the author attempts quite unconvincingly to argue that altruism only appears as a flip side to egoism, and both of these only as a consequent of "the market." I'm not going to bother critiquing it, cuz it's pretty self-evidently crap, and it's not really what I want to talk about.

The interesting part of this article comes towards the end, where he begins to discuss the options available to people in the US if they feel the need to selflessly expend their efforts on altruistic causes. The crux of Graeber's argument is that more and more, volunteering is an exclusively middle-class activity, and that for the poorer working-class their options are restricted to either joining a church, or joining the military. He argues that this is, in part, an explanation for the Republican's strength in the working class, and how a party that represents, in truth, the richest of the rich, can have such a strong appeal amongst those most strongly affected by the inequities of wealth the Republican's are working so hard to extend. So:

Why do working-class Bush voters tend to resent intellectuals more than they do the rich? It seems to me that the answer is simple. They can imagine a scenario in which they might become rich but cannot possibly imagine one in which they, or any of their children, would become members of the intelligentsia. If you think about it, this is not an unreasonable assessment. A mechanic from Nebraska knows it is highly unlikely that his son or daughter will ever become an Enron executive. But it is possible. There is virtually no chance, however, that his child, no matter how talented, will ever become an international human-rights lawyer or a drama critic for the New York Times. Here we need to remember not just the changes in higher education but also the role of unpaid, or effectively unpaid, internships. It has become a fact of life in the United States that if one chooses a career for any reason other than the salary, for the first year or two one will not be paid. This is certainly true if one wishes to be involved in altruistic pursuits: say, to join the world of charities, or NGOs, or to become a political activist. But it is equally true if one wants to pursue values like Beauty or Truth: to become part of the world of books, or the art world, or an investigative reporter. The custom effectively seals off such a career for any poor student who actually does attain a liberal arts education. Such structures of exclusion had always existed, of course, especially at the top, but in recent decades fences have become fortresses.

If that mechanic’s daughter wishes to pursue something higher, more noble, for a career, what options does she really have? Likely just two: She can seek employment at her local church, which is hard to get. Or she can join the army.

So essentially the Republicans represent the few remaining avenues for altruism in the working-class: the church, the military, and capitalist success. Whereas the Democrats, with a university system saturated with their own scions, proffer their virtue as the proper aim of any truly beneficent citizen while ignoring the unbalanced conditions that make their altruism possible.

There are flaws in this argument. For one, universities are filled with many Republicans, conservatives, and avowed capitalists. Second, it seemingly ignores the rich history of working-class based social movements that succeeded quite well without a large university involvement (for example, much of the black civil-rights movement, though there was a strong church involvement).

But what I do like about this argument is that it does make a claim for all of us having the urge to do good with our lives, to attain purpose and meaning through devotion to a cause we feel is bigger than ourselves. It is only the opportunities open to us that cause differences in our behaviour, and it is the failure to recognize this that has led to the left's alienation of the working-class, making us appear sanctimonious, rather than compassionate.

On the other hand, isn't this the same as the Republican/Capitalist assertion that the reason the poor/blacks/mexicans/etc aren't making more money and moving up the social ladder is because they simply aren't working hard enough? This claims misses the same structural forces that mean that just "working hard" will never be enough: the institutional racism & sexism, the lack of access to education, the continued entrenchment of the laws and values that made the rich rich in the first place. Why exactly is it that the working-class can still imagine miraculously getting rich, and not moving into the middle-class intelligentsia? Is this just the continued power of the "American Dream?" Or are we just putting words in to the working-classes mouth again, patronizing as always. In fact, dealing with "the working-class" like they were one monolithic entity is pretty damn bullshit and patronizing in the first place. But hell, I've been doing that for the middle-class as well, and sometimes it just useful/interesting/fun to make broad generalizations, isn't it? :)

Alright, well I've swung back and forth on this enough times, and have successfully blown a whole afternoon writing bullshit for the old blog, so I'd better quit before I go nuts.

Thus ends our saturday afternoon blogstravaganza! Hope y'all enjoyed it. Oh yeah, and would it kill you people to post a commment every now and then??? (dano excepted, of course...)

OMG trip down memory lane like a motherfucker!!!

DuckTales



The motherfucking Gummi Bears!!!



TaleSpin


Darkwing Duck


Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers



HAHAHAHA oh man seriously you guys, you have to listen to all of these, because they are awesome, and I know you watched all these shows as a kid. Now the burning question is, who had the best opening theme? I'm finding myself quite partial to the Darkwing duck theme, though that was really when my interest in these disney cartoons started to wane. Also special mention goes to the gummi bears because i fucking loved that show, and "ch-ch-chip and dale, rescue rangers!" cuz i totally have that stuck in my head now.

Please respond with your votes!!

junior boys - in the morning + goddard??

Okay, I really love this. Who wants to learn this dance with me? (thanks to IT for the link)



(ps. i think that girl's look is HOT. actually everyone in that film is very well dressed ;) more please! )

Rainy Saturday afternoon Blogstravaganza!

I just bought this record for 5 bucks and it is 100% awesome. Retro Kompakt excellence. I will try to search out the mp3s for it, or you could always just buy them from here. Yay record shopping!



I also bought this, which I was surprised I had heard nothing about, given it's two artists, and the quality of both sides.





Lastly, I picked up, for the hell of it, a deluxe, 180 gram vinyl edition of this



which is good, but not quite as good (in terms of early Tangerine Dream-ness) as this



which i picked up a while ago

RRRRRRRRALF!!!

Omylord! Our old pal Ralf from the Long Beach Surf Shop has a blog! That is just great.

Big up all the Tofino surfing crew.

DRUNK POST

R U DOUBLE DOUBLE F
AIN'T NO OTHER CREW THAT CAN TEST
S Q W A D
RUFF SQWAD, RAPID WE'RE SO AGGY

this is why god made music. fuck i love ruff sqwad.

ruff sqwad - r u double f

The Wrath of the Jungle

Popol Vuh - Aguirre I

Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (The Wrath of God), took a couple viewings before its quality truly became clear. It's director, Werner Herzog, comes from a different type of film making, with a different set of priorities and values. I don't really know enough about cinema to say that it is a particularly avant-garde piece of film, but I think it's safe to say that it definitely more of an "art house" movie. This is not to say that it's just a bunch of actors sitting around drinking coffee and discussing their love lives, or whatever stereotype of an art house film you happen to have in your heads. No, when watching these actors careening down some river in the middle of the Amazon rain forest on crudely built raft of logs, what you actually get is a sense of physical location and danger of place like no other movie I have seen. Perhaps it has something to do with knowing the back story, knowing the movie was filmed with a core crew of only eight, plus actors, in 1971, in the Peruvian jungle, but the palpable sense of isolation is pervasive throughout the film. Purporting to tell the tale of band of Spanish explorers in the 1500s searching for the mythical golden city of El Dorado, Aguirre creates the feeling of being far, far away from civilization, surrounded by an immense and impenetrable jungle--a feeling one imagines actual Spanish explorers must have felt quite strongly during their own adventures.

Interestingly, I just caught part of Apocalypse Now on TV and was struck by how much less present the jungle felt in that movie, even though both films were shot on location, in Peru and the Philippines respectively, and both films deal with similar themes of the descent of humanity as it's faced with nature's implacable disregard. Somehow, in Aguirre, the jungle is just there as a force, throughout the film, making Klaus Kinski's deterioration in to madness as the titular Don Lope de Aguirre seem both appropriate and terrifying.



But why did this movie not sit well with me right away? Well as I said, this is not a Hollywood movie, it's techniques and goals are distinctly different, and even though I could see these things clearly, I think it took me a while to settle in to them and feel comfortable. A convenient analogy is with the soundtrack itself, by Popol Vuh, a much respected Krautrock band from the time, sitting somewhere between Tangerine Dream, Can, and Ash Ra Temple (see above track for an example). It's really interesting to me that a guy like Herzog would find himself associated with the krautrock scene (apparently he actually played soccer with Vuh's Florian Fricke!), as both seem to be working within a strange seam in between pop and the avant-garde. Krautrock takes some of the melodic flourishes of pop music, specifically the North American and British rock of the 60's that preceded it, but adds in to them a willingness to experiment, to deal with expanded palates of sound. Herzog similarly expands upon traditional narative techniques, spending long periods studying the jungle and the river with his camera, adding depth and atmospher to the work, while at the same time requiring a slightly different way of watching a movie, as compared to a more standard hollywood production.

Compared to my taste in music, my taste in movies is quite catholic, though I've been trying to work against this recently. For as much as the Beatles and Francis Ford Coppola are responsible for great works of art, it seems the margins are often the most fruitful sources of interesting works. So my hopes are that my slow appreciation of Aguirre is just the beginning of my expansion beyond "pop" film. Because hey, I don't already spend enough time on weird obscure music...


Also, last reason to love Aguirre: monkeys!

“We love to torture terrorists—it’s good for you!”

The above quote is from Joel Surnow, co-creator and executive produce of 24. Read this article in the New Yorker about 24 and the politics behind it and then never watch the show ever, ever again.

The End of Beaches

(Click on pic for full-sized image)

I've been trying to write a post about An Inconvenient Truth, which I saw a couple of weeks ago, ever since I saw the damn thing, but it keeps veering off into a whole bunch of other issues like our ability to act and create change and the whole thing turns into some big long ranting mess. But I was reading this article about global warming in the New York Times today, and this one statement caught me, regarding "the basic finding that a warming world will be one in which shrinking coastlines are the new normal for centuries to come." That's when it came home to me, even though I had kind of already realized it, that the first things to go if the ocean levels start to rise will be the beaches. And I thought of the beaches along the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula, a place I've been going to since a small child, possibly one of the most beautiful places in the world, if you ask me, and I swear I actually started to tear up thinking about those beaches disappearing forever. I'm a fucking mess, apparently. But the thought of no Wreck Beach, no Spanish Banks, Jericho, Kits, English Bay, no Tofino, no Olympic Coast... I don't want to live in a world with no beaches.

So to let all your horror scenarios play out in full, check out this hack on google maps that allows you to see what the projected rising water levels would do the coastlines around the world.

BTW, the pic above is from my bro, who took it at 2nd beach near LaPush, on the Olympic Peninsula, and that's me and the fam in the far corner, with the beach all to ourselves in all its glory. One of the many reasons I love the place.

[ALRIGHT, DEPRESSING STUFF DONE...for now]

Track of the day

Go here and download the ripperton remix of bjork's "pagan poetry". Really nice, low-key and moody electro take on things. And of course feel free to download anything else you want from ohmygosh, the man's got excellent taste in techno.

My blog seems to be returning a bit to what I had originally envisioned for it, which is just a place for me to point out the tracks i've been really feeling recently. which is fine by me!

ALL RATS SHALL DIE

Hearyee hearyee! Let it be known that today I clubbed a rat to death with a 2x4. I AM THE RAT KILLER. I AM RATSBANE, BRINGER OF DEATH TO ALL RODENTS. ALL RATS SHALL TREMBLE TO HEAR MY FOOTSTEPS, FOR THEY SHALL KNOW THIER DOOM IS UPON THEM!!!!!

String tied to a finger is useless.

This is to remind me to post a couple of mixes i've made recently: a folk-rock mix i did for my moms (like i said i would!); a party-ready mix of electro-house & electro-pop; and a mix of my fave '07 pop tunes. And i still need to make a bunch of minimal mixes...

Anyway, this is from Fairport Convention's '69 LP Liege & Lief. Epic, psyched-out british folk rock of the finest order. You really can't beat Sandy Denny's voice. It's not on my mix cuz i tried to keep all the tracks pretty short, but right now it's one of those songs I keep coming back to and playing at least once a day, so I though I should post it.

Fairport Convention - Tam Lin

Act now!

Woebot.tv!

He's made the step from the written word to the video-word, and it's pretty damn entertaining. He's currently got an episode up for his end of year list, complete with dancing. But you gotta watch it now, as apparently he's only going to be putting one up at a time, so once it's gone, it's gone. Woebot step's up the blogging game once more. If only muchmusic played shows like this...

1. Cut a hole in a box

Also, if you haven't seen this yet, you will, cuz it's hilarious and making the internet rounds real quick-like right now. I keep singing it to myself, which could be trouble if I'm ever overheard...still, it's a great present idea.

Ah, higher education...

Political things I've been following recently:


Ethiopia invades Somalia with implicit US backing, easily conquers Islamists who are of course supporters of terrorism by definition (it's right in their name!) but also are the first people to bring peace and order to Mogadishu and surrounding area in a decade, US backed "transitional" government, who until now only governed a very small portion of Somalia which didn't even include the capital, is now failing to keep peace and order in Mogadishu as old clan rivalries, which the Islamists had largely dealt with, are resurgent and Ethiopian forces want out because the poor country does not have enough money to support a continued occupation which is deeply unpopular with the Somali's who have a history of conflict with Ethiopia. A.K.A. MORE BAD NEWS. I've been trying to pay attention to Somalia ever since I saw a map of the world with all the countries colour-coded to show what type of government they had, and Somalia was the only one labelled "Anarchy".


A nice and actually somewhat encouraging article from Chomsky about the movement of leftist governments in South America to cooperate in coordinating their economic and political goals as an organized block.


Bush's big "solution" for Iraq, and the first real test for the newly-powerful Democrats: the proposed troop "surge" in Iraq of at least 20,000 new troops plus a billion dollars worth of aid to create new jobs for Iraqis. While the second part of the plan seems fairly reasonable, the troop surge seems to be a downright terrible idea, given that US troops are still the number one target of attacks in Iraq. More troop == more attacks. The American occupation of Iraq is hugely unpopular with Iraqis and, at least given the distribution of where attacks are being aimed, causes far higher passions amongst Iraqi's then any of the perceived sectarian conflicts. But, y'know, we can't let these poor Arabs try to govern themselves, we have teach them what freedom and democracy is first, otherwise they'll never figure it out on their own. Odds of Dem's more-or-less rolling over on their backs and giving this one to Bush (they'll tout their "modifications" to the proposal, but whatevs), I'd say about 3 in 4.


PS. Actually, it seems like prime blogging-time is when I'm at school and have things I should do but aren't really super urgent. A little bit of school work apparently INCREASES blogging. I might have to redraw my graph :)

Virtual? Hmm....

Have I not yet posted this track? I keep meaning too, and maybe I have, but I can't find it, so here goes.

It's sort of an odd track, because for about 4 out of its 5 minutes it's a pretty standard, if enjoyable, early British techno piece from The Black Dog circa '92. But for one minute, from about 2:20 to 3:20, the heavens open up and it bursts into this sublime moment of joyful, life-affirming techno genius. Okay, so it's a bunch of bleeps and a beat, but it makes me so happy I'm pretty sure I could jump through a brick wall Kool-Aid guy style, yelling "OH YEAH!" I have definitely played that one part 4-5 times in a row, on multiple occaisons.

DIG IT!

The Black Dog - Virtual Hmmm...