"It might be impractical to seek out a new romance"

"We won't know the actual if we never take the chance"

New TVOTR video. Can't wait for this album. If only it were a week earlier, however I'm willing to accept a late birthday present as long as it's TVOTR

Olivia in the morning

I've completed my standard Radiohead frenzy on a Saturday morning and moved into the realm of Olivia Tremor Control. Embrace it.

I really wish I could explain to you what happened tonight

Work...8...18...Pagliacci...Manny...Floyd...Ninkasi...Buffalo Safari...Ninakasi...Kudo Safari...fate...whiskey...life...fate...life...whiskey...life...Joseph...home...then this:

Damn

"Did you have to abstract me so much?"

I got a clean water science test kit for Christmas. Last night we tested it out. Got some Sodo sludge and put it through the process. It's actually worked! Now it says not to drink the water, and you don't have to tell me twice. Who know's what kinds of parasites are living in there. However it did get out all the mud.

"Blood Libel"? Seriously? Last time I checked no one accused Palin of sacrificing Christians to make matzos. Or maybe that's exactly what is going on and she's the only one aware of it. It's probably that she just has no idea the historical context of the words that she's using and instead of extinguishing a potential problem for her presidential candidacy she just soaked the whole thing in gasoline. Well done Sarah. No one could do it quiet like you...

I've spent the last week listening to a Rhianna station on Pandora. It has led me to an appreciation for Lady Gaga. She's not as horrible as I once thought. Oh yeah, and I'd eat the meat after she wore it. What of it?...

It's a scene in Australia. This video is amazing and terrifying:

Top Five Albums of 2010

Sorry this is a little behind schedule, but that's just how it is. I'm not doing 10, I'm only doing 5. I'm also not going to explain myself. I've been working on this for too long and can't seem to find the words. This frustration led me to decide to just post the list and move on. I'm done with 2010. A bunch of these I've already given my two cents on as well and went through and hyper linked to the previous posts. And without further ado...

Honorable Mentions

Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
The Black Keys - Brothers
Eminem - Recovery
Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon Part II: The Legend of the Rager
Arcade Fire - Suburbs

#5 of Montreal - False Priest

#4 Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

#3 Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

#2 Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

#1 Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest


Good bye 2010. You were good. You were bad. But mostly you just were.

Kid Cudi / Kanye West Reviews

So instead of doing what everyone else seems to be doing, talking about snOMG, I'm gonna talk about music.

During the packing I got discourage and decided that some new music was needed to motivate me. So I cruised down to Sonic Boom and picked up the new Kid Cudi album "Man on the Moon Part 2: The Legend of Mr Rager." Solid album. It's much darker than his debut release, like any good second installment in a trilogy is. The beats are solid and Cudi's flows are spot on. The addition of Mary J Blige on a couple of tracks came out really well as did the track with Cee-Lo, but Kid Cudi seems to be his best when left alone. Highlights on the album include "Mr Rager", "REVOFEV" and "These Worries". I'm going to give this one an 8.7

Yesterday I got to work and started reading some reviews of Kanye West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" and all I could think was, can it really be that good? I mean Pitchfork gave it a perfect 10, the first time for a new release since Kid A. (CORRECTION: Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was the most recent to receive a 10.0) Could Kanye really put out an album to rival Radiohead? Well the answer is no, however that being said it's still a really good album. The first time I listened to it I didn't get the full picture of what was going on. It took listening to it during my snow commute last night to get the total impact. The sound that he's created is dense to say the least, but not in a bad way. Really the only down side is that some of the tracks seem to go on a minute or two too long which makes it a bit redundant at times. I was very pleased to hear some good Kanye again. He hasn't really done anything worthwhile since Late Registration and I was hopeful that he'd come out with something solid and I wasn't disappointed. Highlights on the album include "Power", "Blame Game" and "All of the Lights" (I love anything with Rihanna). Gonna have to up my original rating from 8.9 to 9.4

NPR, Hooligans and "False Priest"

I love NPR! Among so many other things they always seem to have the best music streaming before it comes out. I never used to understand why people would donate money to public media (PBS, NPR, etc). Now I've found myself doing it a few times and I'm sure will many more times in my life. I also understand why old people hate teenagers. Damn hooligans. Always out causing trouble and disrupting the peace. Like these kids on the bus today, all hooting and hollering, talking foul and making the scene generally unpleasant. I wish someone would've just shaken them until...But I digress.

Right now NPR is streaming the new of Montreal album "False Priest". I've long been a fan of their work. You may remember I wasn't a huge fan of their last one at first, that is not the case here. I'm loving everything about this right now and I've only listened to the first ten minute. I'm seriously about to start a one man dance party. As NPR said, "The latest release from of Montreal can be summed up in a word: Bonkers." And that's an understatement. Listen to it. Seriously.

False Priest Cover Art

I might have to live blog this one.

Skeet Skeet Skeet

Oh Apple. So it isn't that your new phone is a piece of shit, its more that you've been lying to your customers for all there years by falsifying signal strength. That's just great. A word to the wise: Buy Android. I've been VERY satisfied with my phone. Yeah there aren't as many apps (yet) but their catching up. Here's a graph, notice the falling the purple falling and the green rising? Yeah. It's also nice to be able to choose from a wide variety of phones. I'm also a huge fan of the fact that if I ever lose my phone I won't lose all my contacts because it's tied directly to my google account, the very same account I use to operate this blog. If you haven't noticed, I might be the biggest Google booster there is...

WORLD CUP!!! YAAAAAY!!!! I've got to throw my support behind Ghana if for no other reason that we can say we were beaten by the best. However I think there is a very real possibility that by the end of the weekend we'll be left with only South American teams. That being said I'm going to pick Ghana, Brazil, Spain and Argentina. We'll see if I'm right...

I love the cover for the new Kanye West single. Makes me wonder what the new album is going to be like....



I miss football season. Thank the maker it's only a couple months away...

Apparently not getting laid is just a Seattle thing. I need to find me one of these girls that digs the outdoors. I'm uber down with that...

Major shout out to everyone working on I-1068. It's a huge bummer that it won't make it to the ballot, but don't give up. There's always next year...

It's 56 degrees right now. Kinda lame. However, right on cue, things are supposed to be getting better starting Monday. We'll have to wait and see...

This is pretty awesome...

This quote ran across my Twitter feed from @loudersofter. I dig it. "Don't HATE the media....BECOME the media."...

"Now who's the king of these rude ludicrous lucrative lyrics"

I've been digging this track recently. I really need to go out and buy the Blueprint. Jay-z's rhymes are solid, but Eminem dominates this track. The chorus is a little cheesy but the verses content more than makes up for it.

Blur - 13 (Live Blog)

After a conversation with the NESF a few weeks ago I've decided to live blog the Blur album 13. For those of you that don't already know it is my favorite Blur album, if not my favorite album period. I'm not going to go too much more into it since you're going to be getting a play-by-play. I've also included Youtube clips so that you can listen along if you'd like. Youtube clips suck. You'll have to have the album. You should have it anyways. This is a bit of experiment so I'd love to hear your thoughts. If all goes well it might turn into a regular feature.


Track 1 - Tender

0:20 Alright Blur, if you want to start off slow let's do it.
1:22 Break out the choir!!!
1:50 Yes it is. Yes it is! I feel like I should be in a church pew.
2:15 This guitar rift is hypnotic.
2:57 I really hope they hired an actual baptist choir for this track.
3:50 If I ever meet the girl that did this to Damon I'm not sure if I'd thank her for inspiring such great music or if I'd punch her in the jaw.
4:55 Gotta turn this up.
5:50 This choir is getting more intense by the second.
6:20 We're all waiting
6:40 The harmony is perfect.
7:12 I don't want this to ever end.

Track 2 - Bugman
0:01 I don't know if I should turn it down a bit or crank it up.
0:10 Okay I've got to blast this, we're kickin' it up into overdrive.
0:31 We've traded the choir for rockin' distorted guitars.
1:06 Catchy "na na na"s.
1:24 Who or what is Bugman?!?!
1:54 This is turning into a jam track. Lots of drive but no definitive path.
2:40 Oh, I will.
3:23 Great fade out return.
3:50 Toning back the distortion. Great guitar work.
4:11 Hold up! How'd we end up in outer space?
4:25 You know what, I don't care, I'm just glad I'm here.

Track 3 - Coffee and TV
0:14 This is the closest thing to the Brit Pop roots so far.
1:12 Not blowing me away like the first two tracks, but still very solid. Anyways I need a break.
1:47 Definitely radio friendly single material
2:16 I could use some coffee myself.
2:50 Great line: "agree to marry me so we can start over again".
3:47 Very light hearted music for such depressing vocals. Works well.
4:52 I guess blur gave up on 3 minutes tracks. It's for the best.
5:23 Organ outro FTW

Track 4 - Swamp Song
0:06 Is that water or aliens?
0:11 Definitely aliens.
0:20 Okay, this is going to get real good real quick.
0:40 Bringing it out of the background.
0:46 Space brain?
1:10 Faint back vocals are creepy, in a good way.
1:35 Perfect song for prefunkin' on a Saturday night!
2:32 Distortion is back. Did it ever leave? I can't remember.
2:57 Desperate pleas to the world.
3:21 "Stick it in my veins!" If I could, I would.
3:43 "La la" screaming. This isn't your fathers pop music.
3:53 Maniacal laughter. Fits perfectly but I have to question whether someone is being tortured.
4:21 Classic trail off.

Track 5 - 1992
0:13 Time to chill out again.
0:36 I'd punch her.
0:59 Very haunting.
1:07 Now even more so.
1:40 Very minimal sound but extremely effective.
2:10 Good use of the "wah".
2:36 Love the whistle.
3:05 It's like being dragged into a black hole full of bees.
3:20 Pulling the vocals back and the wah forward - clutch.
4:30 Crashing and spiraling.
4:45 It's starting to break apart.
5:17 This track should really be listened to alone. Just let it absorb you before it seeps into your pores.

Track 6 - B.L.U.R.E.M.I
0:04 Do do do do do...
0:19 YAY!
0:32 Great beat.
0:46 Duck voice!
1:01 Reminiscent of "Chinese Bombs" or "Bank Holiday".
1:18 Are we on Sesame Street?
1:40 Doesn't matter, it's all in good fun.
1:55 !!!
2:06 Why E M I?
2:15 Dropped back into another killer outro. Nice let down.

Track 7 - Battle
0:10 I think we've left Sesame Street and are back in outer space.
0:40 Imagine being lost in nothingness with only a space suit.
1:35 If you've even been in a relationship that all you do is fight you'll understand - this is the moment you gave up.
2:20 Nice add of grunge.
3:06 Everything is going wrong in space. I can see the metallic debris.
3:24 BATTLE! Love the accent.
3:58 Mellowed out, but no sign of stopping.
4:22 Did we just lose our deflector shields?
5:18 We most certainly did. Nothings protecting us for the echo.
5:52 Can't tell if I'm floating away or if I just spontaneously combusted.
6:09 Screeching bliss, another side effect of the missing shields.
6:35 Cue the organ for the wrap up.
6:42 This must be the rescue anthem.
7:30 Genius. Pure genius.

Track 8 - Mellow Song
0:22 Living up to the title. Seems more orthodox than the last few tracks.
0:41 Guitar and vocals, that's it. Maybe the band didn't make it?
1:08 Add in some kind of flute? Perhaps it was found in the Battle. Perhaps not.
2:00 There's the rest of the band. Glad they were left behind.
2:05 Complete with space flute!
2:27 Is that a xylophone? Sure, why not.
2:33 Zoning out a bit, still very mellow.
3:12 I want one of those flutes.

Track 9 - Trailerpark
0:24 Down tempo dance thing, I could get to this.
0:30 Always love a good freestyle.
0:47 Bob your head.
0:56 Sorry bro, that sucks.
1:09 Drop the beat.
1:32 Pick it up.
1:57 You want to know where the Gorillaz came from? Listen to this.
2:42 I could listen to this for hours.
3:20 Drop it again.
3:51 Bring it back car chase style! YAY!!!

Track 10 - Caramel
0:16 We're lost in space - again.
0:47 Disoriented
1:51 Great back chanting.
2:20 RIP Brit Pop
2:34 Right here.
3:00 Simple and eerie.
3:09 Get in there cymbals.
3:52 Picking up.
4:02 Quickly.
4:22 Time no longer hold sway here.
5:10 Okay I wouldn't hit her.
5:36 Beautiful.
6:22 WOW!
6:40 Strolling through the wreckage.
7:04 Actual cars! Red line that shit!

Track 11 - Trimm Trabb
0:08 Is that her address?
0:30 I'm going there.
0:42 You got more style that you know what to do with.
1:15 I don't know what Trimm Trabb is but right now I feel like I have it too.
1:30 We all do from time to time. Some more than others.
1:55 This beat is addictive.
2:03 Flash boys? Who are they?
2:11 I don't want to go back.
2:31 Okay so I'll hit her, but only once.
2:54 Turn it up a notch.
3:26 Perfect vocal effects.
3:30 Back to a sort of normalcy.
4:10 Best track so far.
4:35 It's clambering onto itself.
4:52 The sounds are attacking each other.
5:10 So massive it's collapsed upon itself much like a black hole. Apparently we haven't made it back into the atmosphere yet.
5:20 Nice mumbles.

Track 12 - No Distance Left to Run
0:07 Good. I needed something a bit more mellow.
0:39 I feel like I just broke up with someone.
1:06 Slight snare and cymbal. It's all we need with this guitar.
1:31 The chorus is dragging me into an abyss.
2:20 Beautiful lyrics. Painful eloquence.
2:49 Perfect vocal pitch. The agony.
3:15 Speechless.

Track 13 - Optigan 1
0:05 We're back in space again, but it seems like we're about to land.
0:43 Very soothing instrumental. Like coming down from the best day of your life. If heroin was like this everyone would be a junky.
1:48 The sounds ebb and flow like a calm cerulean sea.
2:20 And with that it's over. Master piece.

Like I said, hit me up in the comments and let me know what you think of the format. I actually enjoyed the project so I'm definitely going to do it again. Mostly I'd like to know what you liked and didn't like so I can fine tune the process. Next up: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

"I wonder how it came to be my friend"

Actually I don't wonder, it's one of the strange things from a long time ago that I remember quite well. It was back in middle school. I'd hear it on the radio all the time. Then for a long time I never thought of it. Until one day I was riding in the car with a friend of mine. Well he was more of an acquaintance than a friend. It was near the end of high school. He grabbed a disc of mp3s and before he started playing it he said, "I heard this song recently and had to download it immediately. I would bet money that you'll do the same." He was almost right. I went out and bought the whole album. Now this video isn't the best, just the album cover, but it does the job. I really wanted to find the full version but alas I couldn't. Sometimes that's just how it goes. Anyways. Enjoy.

Obsessions, irritations and new found love

I'm watching the X-files in chronological order. I was never really into it in the past, but I figured it's about time I give it another chance. Damn. It's so good. I'm almost through the first season and have yet to come across an episode I didn't like. So far my favorite episode has been "Beyond the Sea". The guy they got to play the Boggs was creepy as all hell. I also was into the role reversal they had going on. I'll probably finish the first season tonight. At this rate I'll watch them all in the next couple months. By then it will be time to re-watch Lost or maybe the Outer Limits or Alias. I don't know...

Since my iPod failed a few months ago I've started listening to a lot of Pandora on my phone. I've actually been very pleased with it. I like that I'm able to hear things that I haven't already without having to deal with the bullshit on the radio. It's led to me realizing that I'm a big fan of somethings that I wouldn't have expected. I went through that 80s phase for a while, but that's faded (probably for the best). I guess the two best finds I've come across so far would be Interpol and Eminem. Interpol fills my need for new wave without being over synthesized like most of the 80s stuff I'd been listening to. As for Eminem, I know, "are you serious?" I am very serious. I used to listen to his stuff back in high school. The first two albums have always been a guilty pleasure of mine. However I'm finding that I'm a fan of his newer stuff as well. Not all of it, but enough that I have to give the man credit. Makes me wonder what I'll find next...

Youtube pisses me off. They really need to find a way to regulate the volume. When I decide to listen to a playlist of music I don't want one track to be so quiet I can't hear it and then the next blaring so that they can hear it down in the warehouse. Maybe I'll write an angry letter to Google - haven't done that in a while...

The new obsession is quickly becoming Fishing. I need to go out and get a pole and some tackle. There isn't a day that's gone by in the last month that I haven't thought about how I'd rather be fishing. I finally understand all those shirts/bumper stickers. If anyone else is down let me know. I want to go at least once a week but hopefully it turns out to be more like 3-4 times a week...

Nudedragons

Well I woke up this morning with the intentions of dragging my feet through work and then going home for an exciting evening of laundry and cleaning my apartment. Sounds amazing right? Then I saw an update from a friend on Facebook "Soundgarden's back". I was intrigued. Turns out they're playing a show tonight at the Showbox. Couldn't believe it. I looked all over the internet trying to find a play to buy tickets. Nothing. Then I checked Twitter. Information abounds! Found that it's under the name Nudedragons (anagram). Got the secret password sent to the fan mail. Minutes later had tickets. So instead of doing that pile of dishes in my kitchen I'll be watching Soundgarden perform for the first time in over 12 years. I'm really stoked. I actually got to see them the last time they played Seattle, in 97 I think it was, at Mercer Arena. It was an amazing show that went on until the cops showed up on the side of the stage and threatened to shut the whole thing down for violating sound ordinances. I'm hoping for the same kind of scene. I'll try to take plenty of pics to post.

Don't hate

Sorry about the lack of blogs this week. Actually. I'm not sorry. That's just how its been. Deal with it. I've been busy with other things. Not really. That's a lie and we all know it. I just haven't had much to say...

I hope that they pass HCR this weekend. The fact that it's taken 16 months is absurd and if it fails this weekend we'll be doomed to the fate described in the upcoming movie "Repomen"...

I've taken to listening to a lot of 80s pop music. There was some great stuff back then. Here's a video. I guess the performance is recent, but the song is classic...




Ah hell, one more...

Listen to Plastic Beach NOW!!!!

NPR is streaming the new Gorillaz album in it's entirety. I've just started listening to it, so I can't give you a review yet. But I thought I should share it ASAP.

Please continue to hold to maintain your priority sequence

I can't decide if I should re-pot my plant here at work. Part of me thinks that it would thrive even more if it had some more space. But it's continuing to grow new leaves, so I don't think that its terribly bound yet. Maybe soon. When I do re-pot it I'm going to plant it in a much larger pot. Right now it's in a 10" pot, when I move it I might use the 30" pot under my desk. It'd look a bit foolish at first, but if I'm going to encourage to grow as tall as I am it's going to need a lot more soil...

According to the groundhog we've got another six weeks of winter. I guess if that means six more weeks of weather like we've had for the last month I'm okay with that...

CP just made the comment: "pretty sure that Richard arrived on the island via the black rock. I'm guessing he was the captain". I think that he might be right. Can't wait for the premier tonight...

I've been taking a stroll down my memory lane of music today. Came across this little gem:

Brothers and Sisters please put down your umbrellas, you won't be needing those today

An old friend posted a link to an Arrested Development video yesterday. Since I watched it I've listened to nothing else. They're amazing...

It's only two days till Christmas. Everyone seems frantic. The bus ride home took 20 minutes longer than usual because the coach was packed with people. I don't know where they all came from. I assume it's from people sticking around and shopping then catching "the later bus", which is the one I always take. I can't hate too much because I'm not done shopping yet. This is a problem. I have two people left to shop for. My sister is going to be a super star and see if she can snag one of the gifts for me after work (she's way closer to the store than I am) and while she's doing that I'm going to try to find something good for her. Everything that I really want to get her isn't economically viable. We'll see how I do...

I've been watching more movies at work. It takes about twice as much time because I have to constantly pause it and help customers, but it's not so bad. I watched the Zeitgeist movie yesterday. I can't say that I believe it all but it was interesting none the less. I wasn't such a big fan of the 911 part. I'm sure that there was foul play involved, but it just makes me really sick to my stomach. But it resulted in my watching a bunch more conspiracy nonsense about other things. Mostly 2012 stuff. So then when I got home last night I watched this great documentary on PBS about the early church and how it was formed in the early years of Christianity. Good stuff...

You might have noticed that I post fewer links to news stories. I don't read the news as much anymore. It's unbelievably depressing, especially local news. I was on my way to the crossword at seattletimes.com and the front headline caught my eye. Two more police officers had been shot. Now correct me if I'm wrong but that now 5 dead and 3 injured that I can remember in the last 2 months!!! Then I go a little further and catch up on the health care issue (which I've been following more closely) to find that Republicans are now doing everything they can to waste time and delay a vote. Now I'm all for it if you have a better idea for the problems, however wasting time isn't a solution. It just goes to solidify my opinion that the GOP wants nothing more than to perpetuate the status quo of abusing the lower and middle class so that they can retain their wealth and hence their control. If Santa brings me one thing this year I hope its rain...

Doin' it in Texas

In my reckless search for great music of the nineties I came across this little gem...

Drowning in the atmosphere

This weekend was a bit out of control...

Friday night was Grizzly Bear with MNom and NESF. Great time. We went to Contour for happy hour. Good times had by all. Then the rain. Oh the rain! It was torrential. We weren't going far but in order to avoid getting completely drenched we took two buses and still had to make a mad dash from awning to awning in order to avoid being drowned by the atmosphere. The show was amazing though. I was pleased that everyone remained seated for the majority of the show. As NESF put it, "What are people going to do if they stand? Sway?" I got manhandled by the chick that was sitting behind us ("CHEERLEADER!!!!") at the show but I had a few too many drinks to play the scene in my favor and she was gone before the show ended. I also caused a little bit of scene on the bus ride home. Luckily I decided NOT to go to another bar and just call it a night. The last thing that I needed was another drink...



Saturday I got a bunch of stuff done. Had breakfast with PMRob and then went to Goodwill, liquor store and Fred Meyers. Did some prep work for the housewarming gathering. All in all the event went well. Definitely gave me an idea of what to expect if I have another gathering at the new place. More than anything else I was lacking chairs. Thanks to everyone for coming!...

Sunday was disappointing. I woke up to find the Hawks down 14 points and the game had hardly started. It was ridiculous. They couldn't get anything going for them and Lofa went out with a season ending injury. I guess I'm going to have to be a Broncos fan this year...

Many of you have already got your ballots in the mail so I think now is the time to give you my "quick" two-cents about some key issues this year:

If you follow this regularly you know that the most important vote that you can place this year is to APPROVE REF 71. Previous rant here.

I-1033 deserves to be rejected. If for no other reason than it's Tim Eyman. However there are many other reasons. It would lead to funding cuts in K-12, higher education, elderly services and much much more.

King County Executive should be Dow Constantine. His record speaks for itself that he is the man who supports KC values.

I'm not sure if I've said it here before but McGinn for Mayor here in Seattle. I know that I've said it here which also includes a list of places that you can drop off your ballots.

Don't wait till November 3rd to mail your ballot. DO IT NOW!!! I still haven't received mine though, I might have to go to the elections office and cause a scene, but I'll give them a couple more days.