I was on call yesterday and am unable to pre-plan blogging like a functional person.
I'm working my way up to writing on this thing again. In the mean time, yet another youtube video. But the very least I can do is find you some enchanting Spanish melodies painted on a disturbing/whimsical dreamscape. So I'll do that.
El Rey del mambo y la Reina de Saba
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
The Witch is Dead
Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead. Which old witch? The Step 3 witch. My exam is over, and although I have little feeling for how well I did on it, the important thing is that it is done and I can stop looking over my shoulder, suspecting it to be lurking behind me.
My brain has been sufficiently fried that I don't suspect I'll write anything interesting for the next couple days. But I can at least post something interesting. I'm starting a new blog segment called
Crazy Internet Things
In CIT I'll introduce you to bizarre things that could only be made popular via the internet. This week the entry is Pogo. Pogo takes movies and remixes the movies into songs. He also uses television shows, compilations of different movies, and sometimes just footage he shoots himself. His most recent one uses The Fresh Prince.
I've included some of my favorite. He has a particular fondness for Disney movies, which I don't share. But I've included a bit of his more typical Disney ones, as well as some Mighty Boosh and LOTR to manly up the place.
My brain has been sufficiently fried that I don't suspect I'll write anything interesting for the next couple days. But I can at least post something interesting. I'm starting a new blog segment called
Crazy Internet Things
In CIT I'll introduce you to bizarre things that could only be made popular via the internet. This week the entry is Pogo. Pogo takes movies and remixes the movies into songs. He also uses television shows, compilations of different movies, and sometimes just footage he shoots himself. His most recent one uses The Fresh Prince.
I've included some of my favorite. He has a particular fondness for Disney movies, which I don't share. But I've included a bit of his more typical Disney ones, as well as some Mighty Boosh and LOTR to manly up the place.
Monday, January 02, 2012
New Year
One day back in elementary school the teacher did a poll of the class and asked everyone their favorite genre of music. I don’t know if she thought she was teaching us about music, or about statistics, or was just bored. But I answered what any 5-11 year old kid from suburbia would answer: reggae.
I was in my Beetlejuice period, and I thought Harry Belafonte was the coolest guy in the music world. I was incorrect, because that would be David Bowie. I was also incorrect in believing that Harry sang reggae. He sang/sings calypso primarily. Before I move on with my actual point, some Belafonte trivia:
He won a Tony.
He took acting classes with Sidney Poitier, Marlon Brando, Bea Arthur and Walter Mattau.
His appearance on The Muppet Show was Jim Henson’s favorite episode.
He is from New York, though spent part of his childhood in Jamaica.
He was bffs with MLK and supported King’s family financially as King didn’t make much money for his preaching/civil-rights-ing.
Anyway, I bring up Mr. Belafonte because I bought my first record this weekend, Belafonte at Carnegie Hall. I did this as part of my 2 New Year’s Resolutions.
1. Start a Vinyl Collection.
Technically I guess I have already accomplished this resolution, in that I now own a vinyl. But I will get some more, as well as a record player. This is impractical and not remotely cost effective, but I feel like doing it, so I’m going to. I’ve been a little hobby light in recent years, and this will bolster my eccentricity and elitism quotient.
2. Write more
There’s actually a good chance that this will be my last post for January as I’m looking to eliminate distractions for the next few weeks. But come February, I want to spend more time writing. This writing may make it online, and may not. I want to get back to some short stories, essays and maybe even a novel. These may pop up on my blog, but may not. But the goal is to write more, and write more creatively.
So until February, keep an eye out for some vinyl for me.
I was in my Beetlejuice period, and I thought Harry Belafonte was the coolest guy in the music world. I was incorrect, because that would be David Bowie. I was also incorrect in believing that Harry sang reggae. He sang/sings calypso primarily. Before I move on with my actual point, some Belafonte trivia:
He won a Tony.
He took acting classes with Sidney Poitier, Marlon Brando, Bea Arthur and Walter Mattau.
His appearance on The Muppet Show was Jim Henson’s favorite episode.
He is from New York, though spent part of his childhood in Jamaica.
He was bffs with MLK and supported King’s family financially as King didn’t make much money for his preaching/civil-rights-ing.
Anyway, I bring up Mr. Belafonte because I bought my first record this weekend, Belafonte at Carnegie Hall. I did this as part of my 2 New Year’s Resolutions.
1. Start a Vinyl Collection.
Technically I guess I have already accomplished this resolution, in that I now own a vinyl. But I will get some more, as well as a record player. This is impractical and not remotely cost effective, but I feel like doing it, so I’m going to. I’ve been a little hobby light in recent years, and this will bolster my eccentricity and elitism quotient.
2. Write more
There’s actually a good chance that this will be my last post for January as I’m looking to eliminate distractions for the next few weeks. But come February, I want to spend more time writing. This writing may make it online, and may not. I want to get back to some short stories, essays and maybe even a novel. These may pop up on my blog, but may not. But the goal is to write more, and write more creatively.
So until February, keep an eye out for some vinyl for me.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
ChrisMix: Dark
ChrisMix 2011: Dark
Madder, Sadder, Friskier.
1. T.O.R.N.A.D.O. – The Go! Team
If I ever become a boxer, or have to run a marathon, or really do anything in which I need to be pumped up, this is the song I’ll pick.
2. One Foot Before The Other – Frank Turner
I dig the way Frank says capillaries. Also, I dig how he takes a simple human desire, wanting attention, and then manages to extrapolate it onto all of the human race.
3. Colours – Grouplove
I thought this was a pleasant enough song at first, then really listened to the lyrics. Which isn’t to say the lyrics are negative. They’re not clear to me, but there is definitely frustration, confusion, resentment and a bit of suicide in there. But at the same time there is acceptance.
4. Get Some – Lykke Li
This song sounds grungy and grimy before Lykke starts singing about prostitutes and shotguns. A lot of these tracks depict people in nonideal situations, but surviving. The darkness allows them to show their strength and determination in a way the light never could.
5. Virgin – Manchester Orchestra
I really like the video for Simple Math, but I don’t love the song. I love this song. It’s one of the ones that I’m sure many others won’t enjoy, but it’s my mix not theirs. The plodding beats and children’s choir paint a haunted house filled with the unsavory and macabre. Perfect Christmas music.
6. Buy My Love – Wynter Gordon
As with her track on Bright, this is a pretty fluffy piece. I can’t tell whether she is being ironic about materialism and exploitation, or reveling in it. But in either case she’s fully aware of it, and enjoying the power that comes from this knowledge.
7. Hold It In – Jukebox the Ghost
Is the quality of a band's name enough to get them into the ChrisMix?
Not quite. But it certainly helps. They also have a good pedigree,
having toured with Moldy Peaches, Barenaked Ladies, Jack's Mannequin
etc. Also the song is great.
8. When the Night Kills the Day – Lauren Pritchard
The asyncopation of the chorus is a powerful engine propelling this song forward, and that momentum it builds make the conclusions seem inevitable. It’s a great album all around and Painkillers or It’s Not the Drinking could also have made it. They also seem to indicate Lauren has some substance abuse issues.
9 L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. – Noah and the Whale
Here we are, back in the gutter. Just as Grouplove told us that we call this life because we can’t call it hell, here Noah paint various depressing pictures of failure, but comes to the same conclusion, spelled out no less. Life goes on. It’s dark, but somehow still motivating.
10 How Can I Say I Love You – Girls
As a perennial single person, I love the songs of unrequited love. Less common are the songs of lingering love, the affection that has outstayed its welcome. You want what you don’t want what you want. It’s painful for both parties but one usually gets the brunt. The boys from Girls know this well.
11 Sun of a Gun – Oh Land
I have a hard time imaging Oh Land ever getting too angry. What could a beautiful Nordic songstress get too mad about, other that the inevitable Gaga and Bjork comparisons? But she does her best to give a brush-off here to some Viking lover.
12 My Fault Your Mistake – Lex Land
Oh’s little sister Lex knows a thing or two about regret. She’s not actually related to Oh (to the best of my knowledge) and in fact her style is quite the opposite: simple melodies, little accompaniment, wailing rather than chirping. But beautiful is beautiful.
13 Poison & Wine – The Civil Wars
I'd say this dark ChrisMix has more straight forward lyrics than most
mixes. A lot of the tracks are almost too repetitious for my taste. But in tracks like this one, you really need the repeated refrains to help strengthen the message. The words seem like a series of paradoxes (paradice?) but by the end of the umpteenth you know what “I don’t love you but I always will” means.
14 Skinny Love – Birdy
Bon Iver didn’t qualify for ChrisMix since he’s been on my radar for a few years, so I’ll sneak some in using this cover. Honestly I prefer Birdy’s version, which I know is blasphemy to the Iver faithful. And while it’s true that I doubt her 15 year old mind can comprehend the song as well as Iver (especially considering he wrote it) but her young voice makes it all the more poignant.
15 Poor in Love – Destroyer
This song makes the list just for it’s opening line. “I was poor in love, I was poor in wealth, I was ok in everything else.” Certainly a sentiment people in their 20s may relate to well.
16 Blue Jeans – Lana Del Ray
People went crazy over Lana’s song Video Games, but I just wasn’t feeling it. But this song I feel. Also Diet Mt. Dew and the previously mentioned Kinda Outta Luck, but mostly this one. I don’t know if Lana is going to explode in 2012 like people predict she will, but if it gives us more of these tracks, I’ll be ok with it.
17 Manners – Icona Pop
I love everything about this song. I love the beats, the chorus, the lyrics, the bitter tone in her voice, the video, everything. I don’t want to tell you what to do, but you should too.
18 Someboy That I Used to Know – Gotye
I loved the whole of the Gotye album, partially because the songs showed some nice range. But this was definitely the standout. It starts so mellow, but then crashes down into the anger of a failed relationship. He’s not ranting and raving, just in pain and angry about that pain. And rather than have it be a one-sided argument, then Kimbra comes in with her brief verse. But she too conveys the pain, and you see it’s just a bad situation for everybody.
19 Suicide Policeman – Yuck
Generally I try to include songs where I like the whole album. So if you like a track, you can go out and get the whole thing and have yourself a new favorite artist. But I really tried to like this Yuck album, because lots of other music savvy people did, and I wasn’t able to. But you might. I like this particular song a lot though.
20 Breakfast – EMA
I don’t have much to say about this one. I like it. I’m not sure what it means, but it manages to be both soothing and vibrant simultaneously. See what you think.
21 Hurt – 2cellos
I’d say it’s a toss-up as to who is more famous for this song: Nine Inch Nails or Johnny Cash. I know, you probably don’t think of them together too often. But Cash covered this NIN tune, and did so magnificently. This cello version brings Cash’s version to my mind more than the original, though all 3 bring the melancholy pretty effectively.
That’s it for this year. Hope your year had more Bright days than Dark. And if not, there’s always next year.
Madder, Sadder, Friskier.
1. T.O.R.N.A.D.O. – The Go! Team
If I ever become a boxer, or have to run a marathon, or really do anything in which I need to be pumped up, this is the song I’ll pick.
2. One Foot Before The Other – Frank Turner
I dig the way Frank says capillaries. Also, I dig how he takes a simple human desire, wanting attention, and then manages to extrapolate it onto all of the human race.
3. Colours – Grouplove
I thought this was a pleasant enough song at first, then really listened to the lyrics. Which isn’t to say the lyrics are negative. They’re not clear to me, but there is definitely frustration, confusion, resentment and a bit of suicide in there. But at the same time there is acceptance.
4. Get Some – Lykke Li
This song sounds grungy and grimy before Lykke starts singing about prostitutes and shotguns. A lot of these tracks depict people in nonideal situations, but surviving. The darkness allows them to show their strength and determination in a way the light never could.
5. Virgin – Manchester Orchestra
I really like the video for Simple Math, but I don’t love the song. I love this song. It’s one of the ones that I’m sure many others won’t enjoy, but it’s my mix not theirs. The plodding beats and children’s choir paint a haunted house filled with the unsavory and macabre. Perfect Christmas music.
6. Buy My Love – Wynter Gordon
As with her track on Bright, this is a pretty fluffy piece. I can’t tell whether she is being ironic about materialism and exploitation, or reveling in it. But in either case she’s fully aware of it, and enjoying the power that comes from this knowledge.
7. Hold It In – Jukebox the Ghost
Is the quality of a band's name enough to get them into the ChrisMix?
Not quite. But it certainly helps. They also have a good pedigree,
having toured with Moldy Peaches, Barenaked Ladies, Jack's Mannequin
etc. Also the song is great.
8. When the Night Kills the Day – Lauren Pritchard
The asyncopation of the chorus is a powerful engine propelling this song forward, and that momentum it builds make the conclusions seem inevitable. It’s a great album all around and Painkillers or It’s Not the Drinking could also have made it. They also seem to indicate Lauren has some substance abuse issues.
9 L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. – Noah and the Whale
Here we are, back in the gutter. Just as Grouplove told us that we call this life because we can’t call it hell, here Noah paint various depressing pictures of failure, but comes to the same conclusion, spelled out no less. Life goes on. It’s dark, but somehow still motivating.
10 How Can I Say I Love You – Girls
As a perennial single person, I love the songs of unrequited love. Less common are the songs of lingering love, the affection that has outstayed its welcome. You want what you don’t want what you want. It’s painful for both parties but one usually gets the brunt. The boys from Girls know this well.
11 Sun of a Gun – Oh Land
I have a hard time imaging Oh Land ever getting too angry. What could a beautiful Nordic songstress get too mad about, other that the inevitable Gaga and Bjork comparisons? But she does her best to give a brush-off here to some Viking lover.
12 My Fault Your Mistake – Lex Land
Oh’s little sister Lex knows a thing or two about regret. She’s not actually related to Oh (to the best of my knowledge) and in fact her style is quite the opposite: simple melodies, little accompaniment, wailing rather than chirping. But beautiful is beautiful.
13 Poison & Wine – The Civil Wars
I'd say this dark ChrisMix has more straight forward lyrics than most
mixes. A lot of the tracks are almost too repetitious for my taste. But in tracks like this one, you really need the repeated refrains to help strengthen the message. The words seem like a series of paradoxes (paradice?) but by the end of the umpteenth you know what “I don’t love you but I always will” means.
14 Skinny Love – Birdy
Bon Iver didn’t qualify for ChrisMix since he’s been on my radar for a few years, so I’ll sneak some in using this cover. Honestly I prefer Birdy’s version, which I know is blasphemy to the Iver faithful. And while it’s true that I doubt her 15 year old mind can comprehend the song as well as Iver (especially considering he wrote it) but her young voice makes it all the more poignant.
15 Poor in Love – Destroyer
This song makes the list just for it’s opening line. “I was poor in love, I was poor in wealth, I was ok in everything else.” Certainly a sentiment people in their 20s may relate to well.
16 Blue Jeans – Lana Del Ray
People went crazy over Lana’s song Video Games, but I just wasn’t feeling it. But this song I feel. Also Diet Mt. Dew and the previously mentioned Kinda Outta Luck, but mostly this one. I don’t know if Lana is going to explode in 2012 like people predict she will, but if it gives us more of these tracks, I’ll be ok with it.
17 Manners – Icona Pop
I love everything about this song. I love the beats, the chorus, the lyrics, the bitter tone in her voice, the video, everything. I don’t want to tell you what to do, but you should too.
18 Someboy That I Used to Know – Gotye
I loved the whole of the Gotye album, partially because the songs showed some nice range. But this was definitely the standout. It starts so mellow, but then crashes down into the anger of a failed relationship. He’s not ranting and raving, just in pain and angry about that pain. And rather than have it be a one-sided argument, then Kimbra comes in with her brief verse. But she too conveys the pain, and you see it’s just a bad situation for everybody.
19 Suicide Policeman – Yuck
Generally I try to include songs where I like the whole album. So if you like a track, you can go out and get the whole thing and have yourself a new favorite artist. But I really tried to like this Yuck album, because lots of other music savvy people did, and I wasn’t able to. But you might. I like this particular song a lot though.
20 Breakfast – EMA
I don’t have much to say about this one. I like it. I’m not sure what it means, but it manages to be both soothing and vibrant simultaneously. See what you think.
21 Hurt – 2cellos
I’d say it’s a toss-up as to who is more famous for this song: Nine Inch Nails or Johnny Cash. I know, you probably don’t think of them together too often. But Cash covered this NIN tune, and did so magnificently. This cello version brings Cash’s version to my mind more than the original, though all 3 bring the melancholy pretty effectively.
That’s it for this year. Hope your year had more Bright days than Dark. And if not, there’s always next year.
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