vertigo

realized today

1. the line between childhood and adulthood isn't as clear as I had expected it would be

2. there is way more external (i.e. friendships, location, etc) continuity between childhood and adulthood than I thought there would be, and way less internal (i.e. definition of self) continuity between childhood and adulthood than I thought there would be.

people 6; saccade

september album notes and recommendations

broken social scene presents kevin drew "spirit if": so, the thing about solo album spin-offs is that you always want them to surprise you with a new sound or new trick - they ought to somehow depart from the band's last album (otherwise, why go solo or have collaborated in the first place?). a good example of nice solo departure is sam prekop's solo albums departing from the sea and cake albums. here, the solo album is kind of falls short - it's basically just another BSS album, which, well who knows, might be what everyone wants anyway.

devendra banhart "smokey rolls down thunder canyon": as usual, distinctly unique from the music that's out there. but, I think this album is one of db's weaker ones.

* emma pollock "watch the fireworks": former singers/songwriter of the Delgados', first solo album. totally great songs, fun to listen to, etc. actually, they are the kind of songs where when you first hear them, you feel like you've heard them before. might be my favorite album of the month. all songs appropriate for singing in the shower.

the good life "help wanted nights": well, it's good and I like it, but I wish tim kasher would go in a different direction or do something different from his other albums. this album is just like - in quality and sound - his other albums, when one expects and hopes a musician's sound to mature over time.

jose gonzalez "in our nature": acoustic guitar, folk-ish singing. pretty good album. very similar in sound and feel to his last album. rainy day music.

iron & wine "the shepherd's dog": pretty good, but I still maintain that I&W really benefits from the type of collaboration heard on "in the reins" (with calexico) - necessary to interrupt the slight sense of monotony on all iron and wine albums. (monotony of melody, that is...this album has fuller more complicated and varied composition, but the melodies remain distinctly pretty, but not extremely interesting, as is typical of non-collaborated I&W albums)

les savy fav "let's stay friends": I generally don't like LSF, but they start to approach, on this album, something I might almost like - that is, they're sort of toning down the harsh post-punk sound. only, why is emily haines on this album too? can someone explain to me why she is everywhere these days?

library tapes, "hostluft": quiet, swarming sounds and scraps of piano melodies. I kind of love the name of the band too. eluvium and stars of the lid and phillip glass type of minimalism.

manu chao "la radiolina": first time I ever heard manu chao, years ago (thanks bk) I had no idea what to make of it, and certainly never expected it to end up on the overly-concerned-with-hipster-hipsterness-pitchfork. anyway, listening to this album is kind of a "fun," "multicultural" experience. (?)

shocking pinks, self-titled: same disjointed, more rhythmic-than-melodic feel as broken social scene. intentionally interrupted and incomplete.

shout out louds "our ill wills": I almost turned the album off after the second song, but good thing I didn't - it gets better. don't expect the same upbeat songs like their last album - this album is about heartbreak.

just to clear up any confusion:

autumn is by far the best season. this is true even if you refer to it as "fall"

people 5; twitch

carhenge

I wonder if I'll be disappointed when I see the real thing

july/august album notes and recommendations

art brut "it's a bit complicated" - ok, this is up here mostly because of the british accent, but there's also a certain charm to the very simplistic lyrics accompanying the art-rock music: "people in love, lie around and get fat. I didn't want us to end up like that. this isn't the first time you've fallen apart, now you're indulging, and just playing a part" or "I know I shouldn't - is it so wrong? to break from your kiss, to turn up a pop song?"

au, self-titled: pastoral minimalist music. the first track has a really impressive build-up, which I like even if it is a cheap trick. the rest of the album is like one big sigh.

augie march, "moo you bloody choir": another great album from one of my favorite aussie ballad-singing bands. although very good, it doesn't top their last album, "strange bird" - mostly because it's missing a banjo song. (yay banjos!)

caribou, "andorra": creative texture, diversity of sounds. maybe a bit vague and unremarkable in retrospect, but was enjoyable to listen to.

earlimart, "mentor tormentor": polished autumnal music for cold days indoors. all in all, a very "nice" album, but I wish they'd kick it up a little more.

emily haines & the soft skeleton "what is free to a good home?": it's a little slow, so it takes a few listens before it sinks in. it's good ,but I think emily haines really needs collaboration to make a completely appealing album. her voice is great, but her music is a bit too delicate without influences of others. but, I think it's still a good solo project.

*joan as police woman, "real life" - debut album! beautiful voice, great melodies. simple, but nice piano lines. voice sounds like cat power. indie soul music (?)

Linda Thompson, "Versatile Heart" - folk-rock, the song "versatile heart" is really great, but it gets a bit boring after that.

mekons, "natural": I haven't really been following this band (this is their 26th album!), but I like this avante-guarde-post-folk-whatever music on this album. it's very calming..plus, jon langford is a pretty cool guy. I think I met him once. either that or I saw him once. one of the two. he has a big head.

laurie anderson, "big science": a very the books-like combination of noises and voices, and voices used as noises, and noises used as voices. I enjoyed listening to it, but I'm not sure if I'll ever really feel inclined to pick it out of all my music to listen to again. I might want to give that old laurie anderson cd my dad bought me years ago (but which I, at the time, disregarded as "weird") another try

metric, "grow up and blow away": some combination of blonde redhead and electrelane. it's a god damn pity some of these songs have been licensed for polaroid commercials. also, emily haines is kind of everywhere (broken social scene, her own solo project - which isn't as good as this), so that makes me want to resist liking them.

nina nastasia & jim white, "you follow me": there's actually a remarkable balance between vocals and music in this album..its nice to hear an album where the vocals are actually almost used as another instrument, rather than being backed up by instruments. good composition.

*okkervil river, "the stage names": THIS ALBUM IS GREAT. go buy it. (my enthusiasm is probably partially due to having seen them live the other night. maybe even entirely due to that).

prinzhorn dance school, self-titled: sounds like the fall. interrupted, abstract, repeated art-punk..?

spoon "ga ga ga ga ga": expectedly great, but I still like "girls can tell" better.

you'll be missed, nate.

April 13, 1914 - September 16, 2007



a wonderful person who devoted his life to his family, taught me words like "mashugina," and encouraged a good sense of humor - especially when it came to making fun of jeff (in good fun, of course). he had a pretty good go at it...and will be missed by everyone who knew him.

At the Joslyn Art Museum the other day, this 20-something year old girl actually walked up to one of the Monet paintings (snow at giverny), reached out, placed her finger on the painting, and slowly ran her finger down the length of the painting. When told not to touch the artwork, her boyfriend (presumably) turned and said "see?" at which point she giggled and unapologetically apologized to the protection officer.

what is wrong with some people!??

tempered

introductions

kid 1: so, you know how most people have a best friend that they hang out with all the time?
kid 2: yeah...
kid 1: do you want to be my best friend?
kid 2: sure.

why isn't adult-life this simple?

goodbye madison (retrospect)

goodbye chicago (retrospect)

well hello, Nebraska

Hi Everyone. After lugging my stuff across several states, accidentally destroying my car (long story), and likely losing many of my belongings along the way, I have left Chicago and Madison and am now a resident of Omaha, NE. To celebrate/mourn leaving town, I spent a good deal of my summer trying to really appreciate Chicago, which entailed looking up at the buildings, driving around aimlessly, and going to museums (basically, being a tourist). I took tons of pictures and had planned on a "goodbye chicago" post with select photos, but critical parts to my desktop computer, where those photos are currently stored, are M.I.A. so, instead, I'm leaving you with these pictures (not of chicago. clearly.):

P.S. July album reviews are not ready. I'll probably collapse July and August together. I just bought the new augie march album, though, which I'm pretty excited about.

people, 4

curious about monkeys

I'm sort of confused and curious as to why there was a monkey at the beach the other day. with a leash on. wearing a diaper. (I'm not making this up). I guess the diaper part makes sense...