Top Ten Albums of '09.

So it's been a while since I've written (how many posts have I written this year starting off with this sentence?). Education has me constantly working and I think my lack of writing is a good sign. Right now, howeverm I'm practically the only person in Madison since most people will be coming back from Thanksgiving break tomorrow. Things will be busy for me again soon, so I figured I'd get a post in while I have time. So here's my Top 10 albums of 2009, a few honorable mentions, and some albums that were intentionally left off the list. Hit it.

1. Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear
This is probably going to be the number one on a lot of lists, and deep inside I don't want to make it #1 just for that reason, but it's too good to not (I can feel better because #2 probably won't be on many people's lists). "While You Wait for the Others" is probably the song of the year as well (the original version, not the one where Michael McDonald sings). It's hard to believe they could top Yellow House, but they certainly did. Daniel Rossen's voice is amazing, the harmonies are great, and even though Ed Droste's "Two Weeks" received considerable airplay, it never gets old. And come on, people, if Jay-z thinks they're cool...

"While You Wait for the Others" at YouTube


2. Intuit - Ramona Falls
Who? I'll tell you, calm down. Seriously, take a step back. I can smell your breath, and it's not charming. Ramona Falls is the side/solo project debut from Brent Knopf of Menomena. Yes, another Menomena band, but until they make a bad album you have no reason to complain. This is Knopf's first, and it's amazing. His angelic voice can get wicked at times. He can serenade you or rip your face off with words. He's always right, but willing to admit he's wrong sometimes (don't worry about the logistics of that sentence). There's not a single weak track on the album. It has not only held me over until the upcoming release of a new Menomena album (date still tentative...), it has furthered my confidence in each member's genius. PS the music video below is probably the coolest of the year in my book.

"I Say Fever" at YouTube.



3. Two Suns - Bat for Lashes
Natasha Khan knows she's good. She knew it before anyone else did. Pitchfork thought her first album was good, but nothing special. She likes glitter and sings about having split personalities. She's weird. It's amazing. Both everything that's good about a female vocalist and a bit of every good female vocalist is in Natasha Khan. You can hear Bjork, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, and PJ Harvey in her music. She's by no means a ripoff, she's a unique bird/flower/butterfly/anything that's beautiful (and maybe a little bit scary and unstable).

"Daniel" at Yahoo!


4. Eskimo Snow - Why?
Despite having horrible pains from pneumonia at their show and having to go to the ER before they played, the amazing-ness-ocity of Why? is undeniable. Eskimo Snow is the calmest child in the Why's discography, but it's also the most introspective. Where Alopecia talks about jerking off in an art museum bathroom, E.S. asks its mother if its failing. If you love the mallet percussion, you'll love this album.


"These Hands/ January Twentysomething" at Pitchfork


5. Never Better - P.O.S.
The rap I had in my collection before P.O.S. was limited essentially to Why? and K-Os. Why? is a Jewish guy who sounds like a cross between that dude from the Decemberists and that dude from Interpol, and K-Os raps about going to church. P.O.S. is still far from "gangster", but it was my first delving into an artist that was primarily a rapper and a little bit angry. I admit, I got this album initially just because The Velvet Teen's Judah Nagler guests on its title track. I had seen P.O.S. on tour with TVT and Minus the Bear, so I knew his stuff incorporated live band. P.O.S. is the epitome of indie rap. The music to his songs is amazing, and his rhymes are enormously clever. If you've never seen his cover of Pearl Jam's "Why Go", I feel sorry for you, and this injustice must be corrected quickly by clicking on this link.

"Never Better" at YouTube


6. No One's First and You're Next EP - Modest Mouse

I thank God everyday that He gave Isaac Brock a lisp. The band has had mainstream success, yet Brock's maintained his lunacy. They'll still put out 8 minutes songs even though the radio stations will search their music for a hit to play. This is a B side album, but it plays like a coherent thought (which might be the first time anyone's used the word "coherent" to describe anything Modest Mouse has done).

"King Rat" at Yahoo!


7. Upper Air - Bowerbirds
Like Andrew Bird? Like Bon Iver? I have a friend that described Bowerbirds as the illegitimate child of those two artists. If that doesn't sound like a beautiful kid, I don't know what is.

"Northern Lights" from Pitchfork's Cemetery Gates


8. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix
I've claimed to know a lot of bands before they made it success in the mainstream. You'll never hear me say this about Phoenix. Well, I shouldn't say that. I bought the album about two weeks before it started getting played on the radio and in commercials. But I can't say I was far ahead of the curve on this one. They're so infectious. And while their earlier albums are better, 1901 is probably the best song they've produced, and this is definitely their most mature album.

"1901" at Yahoo!


9. Wildlife - Headlights
Depressing Headlights songs? Where are the four horsemen, cuz this has to be the Apocalypse. Maturity looks good on Headlights. I've heard comparisons of this album to Broken Social Scene's work, and there are definitely a lot more moving guitar parts. If you want them to be their usually poppy selves, then you might be a bit disappointed, but I now look at Headlights less as a "cute" band and more as a creative band.

"Love Song for Buddy" at YouTube


10. Aim and Ignite - Fun.
When the Format broke up I needed a hug. It was just such happy and creative music. Luckily, Fun. is essentially a continuation of the Format, led by ex-frontman Nate Ruess. I'm going to see them in February in Minneapolis and I couldn't be more excited. Ruess has an amazingly pure and flexible voice. Freddie Mercury would approve, as some of their stuff shows shades of Queen.

"All the Pretty Girls" at YouTube


HONORABLE MENTIONS

Now We Can See - The Thermals
This album didn't make it just because no album can ever measure up to The Body, The Blood, The Machine. That album was the right way to do political, societal, and religious commentary in a rock opera (I'm looking at you Green Day...). Now We Can See is a great album, it just doesn't have the venom and message that TBTBTM had.

"Now We Can See" at Youtube


Mean Everything to Nothing - Manchester Orchestra
I think it's definitely a progression after I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child. It's not so one-dimensional. ILVLC was just so depressing. It was a good soundtrack to my sophomore year. But MEN had a great flow and explored a wide range of feeling. You could hear the influence the bands M.O. toured with had, as shades of My Morning Jacket, Colour Revolt and Brand New come out in many of their songs.

"Shake It Out" at Yahoo!


Ordinary Riches - Company of Thieves
Gen has wicked pipes. The guitarist showed his skills on Live from Daryl's House, but he could use them in their music a lot more. I could not get enough of "Oscar Wilde".

"Oscar Wilde" at YouTube


NOTABLE OMISSIONS
Time to Die - The Dodos
Just to show you I don't always agree with Pitchfork (although that should be obvious from previous posts), I thought the new Dodos album was horrendous. Meric Long's interesting riffs died somewhere between albums.

"Fables" at YouTube


Daisy - Brand New
Literally, just nothing special. They were going in a great direction with The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me, but it just seems Jesse Lacey's gotten lazy and gotten mental help, which makes for much less interesting music. TDGRIM was just so genuine. Daisy just seems like an attempt to quiet the people who said TDGRIM was too depressing and not hard enough. I do wish I could see them with Glassjaw, though.

"Vices" at YouTube



There it is.

Pneumon-YEAH!

So, it's been a while since I've updated, but I'm going to have a bit of time on my hands for the next five days or so. Coincidentally, like my last post, this story has to do with a concert (or maybe not, since concerts are often the most exciting part of my life).

So, on Friday, I had what I thought to be a fever. I didn't have a thermometer, so I had no way of confirming. I quaranteened myself to my room until Sunday, when I had a 5K I had signed up for.

The 5K was the Run/Walk for Literacy, run by the Literacy Network. I've started my practicum at Verona Area High School, and my cooperating teacher set up a team. At the time I was feeling somewhat better. I hadn't run in a week-and-a-half, so I wasn't feeling great about how I'd finish, but I figured I'd go out there and do what i could. I ended up finishing in 25:19 with an 8:09 mile average. I got 50/276 overall, 35/106 men, and 5/13 in my age group of 20 to 29. I was pretty happy considering the circumstances, and had I known what I know now I would have been even happier. Plus, the finish line snuck up on me, otherwise I would have sprinted earlier and maybe grabbed a few more spots lower.

Anyway, back on track. I went to school Monday without a hitch. I had a cough here and there, and at night it hit me a bit harder, but generally I thought I was still getting better. Last night I coached hockey practice, then I went to the free WHY? concert at the Union. As I was meeting the band, I started to feel a pain on my left side in the rib area. I shrugged it off as either nerves or gas and headed back out into the crowd with my t-shirt. During the opening band the pain intensified and I still didn't have to drop a deuce. I was starting to worry. My first thought was a collapsed lung because that can happen without provocation and I was having trouble breathing. I tried to tough it out until WHY? I only made it halfway through the second band, AU, who were actually an amazingly entertaining duo. The drummer was fantastic and had some unique drumming methods. At that point I called my girlfriend and asked her to take me to the hospital. Katie was amazing and stayed with me throughout the long night.

When we walked in they asked me if I'd recently had flu-like symptoms. I said yes, and it was like an alarm went off in the room. Mask on, into the quarantined area. Luckily it was a slow night so I got into a room pretty quick. It turned out I had an 103 fever. It made me wonder if I'd had a fever for five days now. I went through about 4 people over the course of three hours conjecturing that I had swine flu and what I was feeling was "aches". I didn't believe them one bit. Luckily there was a promise of a chest x-ray somewhere down the road, otherwise I'd have insisted on it. Eventually, I was given some vicodin, so things started looking up. Finally I got my x-rays. The first clue that it wasn't swine flu was when the doctor walked back into the room without a mask on. I had pneumonia. Doctor seemed surprised. I wasn't.

So now vicodin and fluids are my best friend. I'm back in my hometown until at least the weekend. Couldn't have happened at a busier time in my life, but my professors and partners have all been very understanding. In the meantime, I hope to get a ton of work done and finish up Crime and Punishment. My vicodin dosage has been cut in half, so I'm not as pain-free as last night, but I'm assuming things will improve in the next couple days.

Hmm, what to give you musically. In preparation for the concert I listened to nothing but WHY? for about four days. But I have been loving Phoenix's sophomore and junior albums, 2004's Alphabetical, and 2006's It's Never Been Like That. I'll give you two songs. One that's a rare "not-upbeat" song by them called "I'm An Actor" off the earlier of the two albums, and one off the latter, which is the more Strokes-like songs we're used to from their most recent, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. In the Long-Distance Call video we get a bit of a look into their French-ness.


I'm An Actor by Phoenix at Yahoo! Music



Long-Distance Call by Phoenix at Yahoo! Music

It's Official: I've Played an Instrument On Stage with a Professional Rock Band

So, it's probably not as impressive as it sounds, but it was one of the most exciting experiences of my summer, so it's still pretty sweet to me.

It was about two weeks ago that I saw that Headlights had posted a concert date in Madison on their Myspace. I investigated and found out it was at the UW Memorial Union Terrace and it was part of the union's free "Hot Summer Nights" series. The Terrace is a sweet place to watch concerts because you can buy pitchers of beer and enjoy the beautiful lake view. Once the band you're there to see plays you'll obviously want to move up, but until then it's nice to kick back and have some nice conversation and maybe get a little alcohol in you. This is what my friend, Jenny, and I did while the opening band, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, played.

The demographic was clearly mostly there to drink. Much of it was middle-aged and unaware of who Headlights was. Even many of the college students there were just there to get drunk and dance to free music that they'd never heard before. Now, I have to mention Kansas-basketball-jersey-mullet-man. Now, the picture to the right was snapped by a young woman named Kayla Clarke, who also captured the video that will be embedded later. KBJMM as I will refer to him later was the sweetest dude ever. Drunk as a skunk and ready to party, he had a beer in one hand and his other hand in the air all night in various hippy symbols. The band loved him. The people loved him. God loved him.

Now on to my story. By the time Headlights played, I had a bit of liquid encouragement in me. It was my third time seeing them, and I had a short conversation with Erin last time they were in Madison at Forward Music Festival, so naturally in my state, I was determined to impress them. So what did I do? After every song I yelled out what album the song was from. I was standing in front of Erin, and I think she laughed a couple times due to it. After a new song, I yelled out "Wildlife, due October 6th!" Erin went, "Woah, who said that?" I raised my hand, and she said, "Come up and say that into the mic". I went up and repeated myself, and the band and a couple people in the crowd laughed. Feeding off that, I grabbed the mic back and said "AND! If you pre-order now for $20, you get a free T-shirt!" The band found this funny, and Tristan said, "That guy is now on the payroll".

Now, even if this had been the only happening of the night, it probably would have been the best story I'd have to tell from a concert, and I've been to a lot of concerts. But two songs later, it was time for the encore. Now's where the video comes in:



Basically, this is the gist of that video:
Headlights called up some people from SYGC to play percussion. Tristan said "Not to discriminate, because I don't know which of you guys (meaning the crowd) has rythym. I know Scotland Yard Gospel Choir has rythym". However, then Erin decided to ask me if I wanted to play tambourine and I replied "YES!". So I jumped up there. Then for some reason, I felt the need to say something, so I go, "It's in 4-4?" as in the time signature. And replied in the affirmative and clapped on the beat as Tristan played the intro. Then I recognized it as "TV", proceeding to say something stupid, which was "Oh, you know this". This was in response to Tristan earlier saying "Trust me, we don't know how to play it any better than you guys do", but Erin probably had no idea what I was talking about and was thinking Uh, yeah, I recorded the song, but she's really nice and would never say that. Interestingly enough, on their last tour I don't think Headlights played TV, probably because they were sick of it because that was there first "hit".

Anyway, what followed was three minutes of me smashing the crap out of my hand with a tambourine. At the end, I try to high five the lead singer of SYGC, which he meets with a drumstick. Then for some reason I keep my hands raised like a dork. Again, liquid encouragement. After the concert we went over to the merch stand and Jenny bought a shirt. I actually had all the merch they had, so I was unable to purchase anything. I thanked Erin for inviting me up and she and Nick both thanked me for the plug of their album. Afterwards I called my girlfriend, who probably couldn't keep up with my drunken school-girl-esque rambling.

So song of the day = TV by Headlights. I'll include the version without the drunk tambourine so you can decide wihether it sounds better with or without me in it.

TV by Headlights at YouTube

Inter-Web Gems

I've found a plethora of awesome/hilarious web vids/sites I've discovered lately. Thought I'd share them.

1. First one comes from Myspace. I use my Myspace primarily to keep up to date with music. It's a fake Bill Cosby Myspace I made in high school where I put Bill Cosby's head the body of someone doing a Jello shot and made him say dirty things. Anyway, I saw this on the home page and had to see it. I want to learn more about face pulling and how you train/make your face do such things. Is surgery legal? (Update: Apparently you can at least have your teeth removed)

World Face-Pulling Championship


2. If this doesn't blow (no pun intended) your mind I don't know what will.

See more funny videos and Technology Videos at Today's Big Thing.

3. I'm assuming one of the performers arranged this. The stage direction is hilarious. I've never been a huge video game fan, but that's probably because I never had a chance to be. My first system was an Xbox (if you don't count a Gameboy) in the second half of high school, and that is what I still use to this day, more for DVDs than video games. My parents never let me get games with violence in them, so I was limited to sports games essentially. I was okay for that, because really the only games I played on the computer were EA Sports games. The half-ice flip on NHL 99 anyone (You'd just tap the space bar at center ice and it'd go over the goalie's head and in the net. Worked about 80 percent of the time)? Anyway, I still appreciate the hilarity of this video.

See more funny videos and Music Videos at Today's Big Thing.

4. This is why I want to go to a big festival like Lollapalooza. We have hippies in Madison that are pretty sweet, but these aren't even hippies. I don't even know what to make of these guys. Rasta-ish dancing with Kiss shirts on? I dunno, maybe I've missed the new wave of hippies. In any case, I'd probably be speechless.

See more funny videos and Music Videos at Today's Big Thing.

5. The "WTF" tag on Amazon provides for hours of entertainment. Luckily, I haven't been sucked into buying any of these useless/expensive/enraging products, but I can't say I haven't considered. With that in mind, enter at own risk.

http://www.amazon.com/tag/wtf/products/ref=tag_gam_ptcn_istp

6. Who hasn't gotten a passive-aggressive note, or at least encountered them? An angry roommate who's mad because you forgot to flush the toilet, a parent who's angry you forgot to call your grandma on her birthday, someone whose dog you ran over... (RIP Mr. Waggles) I love this site, the notes are hilarious. Just the creative ways people say "F you".

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

7. I may have been living in a hole lately, because apparently everyone knew about this one except me. Myxer is a site where you can make a free ringtone out of any mp3 you own. Can't find one of Joe Namath saying "I wanna kiss you... YEAH!!!!" on the internet? No worries! Just record it off of YouTube using your microphone (which my webcam has), and then select the mp3 on Myxer.

http://www.myxer.com/make/

8. Amazing Super Powers. A webcomic I found that's very Perry Bible Fellowship-esque.

http://www.amazingsuperpowers.com/

9. Who doesn't have that really annoying Facebook friend who posts way too personal things? Heck, it may even be you. In either case, you're going to want to check Lamebook, because it highlights all of the lamest decisions people have made on Facebook. And if you find yourself as one of the culprits, don't worry, you can send them a message and they'll take it down.

http://www.lamebook.com/




I've gotten a lot of music lately, but I've been obsessing over three bands/performers as of late, so I'll give you three songs of the day.

The first is from Bat for Lashes. I've been enjoying her sophomore album, Two Suns, immensely lately. In fact, I even listened to it while I ran the other day despite much of it being slow and beautiful/eerie. I think it'd be really funny if someone was in their car going, "I wonder what he's listening to. Probably something that pumps you up like Nirvana or Pearl Jam, or some heavy metal or something." No, it was a female vocalist who's a step away from singing opera.

"Sleep Alone" - Bat for Lashes


Next is Chad VanGaalen. Chad's known for his high, wavering falsetto. Crazy enough there is no YouTube video - not even a fan video - of my favorite song by the Canadian Sub Pop artist, Dead Ends. So I'll choose another song from the same album, Skelliconnection. Note that Chad animates his own videos.

"Hot Red Drops" - Chad VanGaalen


The final video is also from an artist who used to be connected to Sub Pop. I've been listening to Modest Mouse for many years, and despite their mainstream success, they are showing no signs of becoming less weird. Thank God. If Isaac Brock tried his hand at singing like a normal human being, I might cry. Here's a song off their newest EP, No One's First, and You're Next. The video was directed by Heath Ledger shortly before his death, and let me tell you, the guys from Whale Wars would love this video, because it highlights the cruelty of whale killing by making the whales the hunters and people the prey. It's slightly graphic, but it's a cartoon, so I guess just use your discretion.

"King Rat" - Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse - King Rat

When I Die...

I want to be deep-fried and have an open casket funeral.

Fiona Apple, Planes, and Daydreams

This one's mostly going to be a stream-of-consciousness post because, well, I'm bored, so I'll talk about everything and anything that's on my mind.

Basically, I've spent an hour or so watching Fiona Apple videos. And this isn't the first time. She just fascinates me for some reason. Well, I know for what reason. Basically, she's known for being a little off her block, but in a sense, I believe she's one of the most sane people in show business. She knows the whole thing is a farce, she knows it's all fake.

Part of the reason she's "crazy" is for her 1997 MTV awards speech. There were a few outlandish comments like "This world is bulls**t", but essentially what she said is for everybody to not pay attention to what stars are telling you is cool and to make your own path. Psycho, right?

One of the most intriguing interviews with her is on the Howard Stern Show in 1997. First off, Stern is a pig, constantly pointing out how "messed up" and "troubled" she is, even asking her what it was like to be raped at 11, but she totally takes it in stride. It's impossible not to be impressed by how mature the 19-year old is. Sometimes people mistake a lack of child-like naivety for being troubled. Apple displays an ability to see the hypocrisies and injustices in everything, and how much of life itself is theatrical. I feel like she and Dostoevsky would be friends. "Everybody's messed up" she says (Part 1, 1:14), and it's true. The problem is that when people are honest about their insecurities and how they see the world, it tends to come off as crazy. Most of Hollywood tries to keep that part private, and understandably so as there's media ready to pounce at any mistake or flaw. But what will strike you about Apple is how she doesn't feign excitement or perkiness in any interview she does. There's nothing fake about her, she's genuine in everything she says.

I won't declare Apple a victim of Hollywood however, but rather her reputation is the victim. She's pointed out herself in an interview with Craig Ferguson in 2006 that the ugliness of the people that are negative towards her gets processed through her and comes out as something beautiful. How strong is that? And how lucky are we to receive the benefits from that?

Unsurprisingly, this ends with me buying her music.

In other news, I went to the EAA Airventure yesterday. First of all, it was great to get a day-off from my soul-sucking job. It seemed like we missed a couple opportunities because we were a step behind, but it was still an awesome time. The biggest attraction was the A380, the largest passenger plane in the world. Unfortunately, we got in line to view the inside just as they closed it, but it was still a sight to see from the outside. Now, the A380 is an Airbus, which is the competitor for Boeing, who employs my uncle. Basically, Airbus has a far worse disaster record than Boeing, as many of their parts are cheaper and made of less strong material (read: plastic). However, this plane is pretty awesome. The pilot was a regular Evil Knievel. During its demonstration, he had the plane climbing and turning at angles that seemed like they should make the plane stall out or flip (Actual video of what I saw). Basically, it looked like it was doing things passenger planes should not do. He also pulled the plane back to low speed, even putting down it's landing gear, and it almost looked like a Harrier, just floating in the air.

The underbelly
Originally uploaded by ntdlosangeles

The other pretty cool attraction was the WhiteKnightTwo. It's a crazy plane, with two cabins, designed to launch Virgin's SpaceShipTwo into space. The SST will take customers into space for the low low price of 100,000 to 200,000 dollars. Anyway, the fly-by was mostly just interesting because you thought to youself, "How does that not snap in half?". You also could barely hear it. But another cool thing to note about the plane was the paint job on the bottom, which showed the evolution of flight on the bottom of the cabins. It showed what I believed were, in order, Icarus, The Wright Flyer, the Spirit of Saint Louis, Chuck Yeager's X-1, the Boeing 747, the Apollo Eagle landing craft, and the SST.

For the last couple years my father and grandfather had tried to get me to go on a 1929 Ford Tri-Motor flight, which you can do for just over $50 at the Airventure. I used to refuse because the thing looks like it's made of cardboard, but over the years I've become less afraid of death. So yesterday I finally accepted the challenge. However, we got to the stand as they were booking the last flight, and I was #11 in line for a flight of nine people. All in all the Airventure was tons of fun, though.

Finally, to totally switch subjects, I've been daydreaming a lot, and here are some of a few of the daydreams I've had lately. First, I imagined myself winning the lottery and starting a record label. I was thinking about the bands I would sign. Three came to mind. Obviously, I'm a huge The Velvet Teen fan. Their record label, Slowdance, recently folded in the middle of them recording a new album. I don't know what they have in the works, but I'm hoping they'll still be able to release their album soon. Secondly, I would sign St. Sat B, who is a band from New Jersey that I communicate with often. It's surprising that somebody hasn't knocked on their door yet, considering how talented of a songwriter Jimmy Francis is and how great their sound is. Finally, I'd sign my friend Nick Miller, who is a talented solo artist with the voice of an angel. Check out all three of them.

My other daydream was of becoming a author. I'm going to school to become a history teacher, but I'd love to work on a work of fiction on the side. I used to do a lot of creative writing when I was a kid, just for fun. Back then my influence was Matt Christopher, and I wrote stories about hockey. I had a 20-ish page story called "Skating from the Law" published in my middle school's collection of works that followed a promising juniors player whose unknowingly drugged at Prom, resulting in a car crash that leads to his arrest. Anywho, I haven't written creatively since the sequel to that story, and I'd like to try my hand at writing a novel. I've often thought that if I ever become homeless and have nothing left to lose, that would be my backup plan.

Okay, this post is long enough. On to music. Basically, this song has helped to make me happy because you can't listen to it without singing along and wanting to dance. I've been in a nostalgic phase lately, and this song screams nostalgia. Plus some of the lyrics are so witty you don't know what to do with yourself. "If you're bored, then you're boring".

Harvey Danger "Flagpole Sitta"

Flagpole Sitta @ Yahoo! Video

Dostoevsky was the Baddest Existentialest in Russia.

Dostoevsky
Originally uploaded by holoubek

My girlfriend's got me reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky right now, and I'm loving it. My favorite book is another Dostoevsky classic, Notes from Underground, which I'm currently having her read. It's a really short read, so I'd recommend it to light and heavy readers alike. If you like a good rant, both of these books are for you. Notes from Underground is entirely written as stream-of-consciousness (and I use the term "consciousness" lightly here) from an unnamed protagonist commonly referred to by Dostoevsky's readers as "the Underground Man".

The interesting thing about my love for Dostoevsky is how conservative he is. Dostoevsky wrote most of his famous works while Russia was under the rule of Alexander II (r. 1855-1881). Alexander was as reformist a czar as Russia had ever seen to that point, most famous for abolishing serfdom. Alexander's story is fascinating, especially that of his assassination. Alexander was probably one of the rulers that was the most interested in pleasing as many people in his country as he could, but he was also one of the most targeted for assassination. His case supports the theory that if you give the people an inch in an autocratic government, the flood gates open. I wrote a research paper on Alexander II and by the end sympathized with him immensely. But I digress. How does this relate to Dostoevsky?

Dostoevsky interestingly was very liberal previous to being sent into exile to Siberia for four years by the regime of Alexander I, who was notorious for his paranoia of uprising. Although exile often does more to enrage than pacify, Dostoevsky's views seemed to shift to that of a Slavophile, or someone who rejected Western ideals and wanted to return to ideals from Russia's early history. This change of view, however, also came at a time when Russia was moving in a liberal and "progressive" direction under Alexander II. Dostoevsky's writings show a man disillusioned by the fanaticism for change that seemed to be sweeping over the Russian intelligentsia. He does much to point out the flaws in the logic as well as the hypocrisies of these people. He speaks out against trying too hard to explain everything, and how a reliance on science dissolves individualism and often leads to faulty conclusions and pseudo-sciences. Dostoevsky almost pleads for people to see that they are convincing themselves that they are advancing as a society when really many people are worse off and more miserable than ever. The abolition of serfdom essentially put the burden of compensation for the owners of serfs on the serfs themselves, making it impossible for them to pay off their debts and create a meaningful existence.

This all sounds so depressing, but Dostoevsky's books are full of amazing quotes and very humorous moments. Though his main characters are always extremely smart, they are also seemingly mad, which is an amazingly entertaining combination. The opening lines of Notes from Underground are: "I am a sick man... I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I believe my liver is diseased." How can you not be hooked?! My favorite quote from the book is: "Suppose... that man is not stupid. (Really, it is quite impossible to say he is, for the sole reason that if he is stupid, who then is intelligent?) But even if he isn't stupid, all the same he's monstrously ungrateful!... I even think the best definition of man is: a being that goes on two legs and is ungrateful." What a rant, and what truth to the words! It also makes you want to write entirely in exclamation points if you can't tell...

Anyway, the parents and I are going out to Madison to pick up my things to prepare for moving into my new house, where I will go from living by myself to sharing a place with five other males. It's going to be a shock to the system, but it also has the potential to be super fun. The car ride will be spent with good ole Fyodor and some tunes.

I'm going to make the song of the day another Department of Eagles song, only to display how crazy of a transformation they made between their two albums. Half of their songs are trip-hop tracks on their first record, The Cold Nose, and the other half sound very Radiohead-esque. Daniel Rossen's voice is almost unrecognizable to those who know him only from Grizzly Bear and the second DoE album, In Ear Park. My friend Scott really likes the humorous track, Forty Dollar Rug, which is a good example of how this album really doesn't take itself too seriously. I'll leave you with the only music video of the album, Romo Goth.

Romo Goth - Department of Eagles

I love... lamp.

My friend Tim has a hat that says "I love being black". For some reason he refuses to let me wear it... Anyway, I told him that it probably wouldn't go over so well if I wore a hat that says "I love being white". But it's funny how I could probably get away with a hat that says "I love being German". Better yet, if it said, "I (beer mug) being German". It's funny how that works. Anyway, I was thinking about that at work today because Allison and I were talking about Festa Italiana(which we decided against going to because it's $12). I'm not complaining about it, I just think it's funny that being more specific about one's ethnicity is more politically correct. To analyse such things would require going deep into the nature of society, which is something that being a history major often requires, but is not something I wish to explore right now.

Why? has a new album, Eskimo Snow, coming out in September. Pitchfork Media recently drew my attention to a song from that album via Stereogum. Yoni had said that this was the "least hip-hop" album he's been a part of, and I'd have to say that "This Blackest Purse" is a good indication of that. However, it still seems to promise good things. The single got me excited and persuaded me to obtain the songs from the EPs that I still didn't have. The song of the day is a song off of the "Rubber Traits" EP, "Dumb Hummer". And yes, it is the official video.

Why? - "Dumb Hummer"

Alaska you a question... was that really the best decision?

Forgive the corny pun, and forgive the late discussion on this issue. Up until now I've kept politics out of the blog in the sense that I've rarely discussed specific players. But I have to question the strategy of Sarah Palin in stepping down as Alaskan governor. She's obviously getting ready to campaign for President. I think even Jessica Simpson could figure that one out. Now, I would think I'm posing the obvious question that's on everyone's mind, but maybe not since Mrs. Palin failed to consider it: If the biggest concern from the American public in the last election was her lack of experience in governments and a lack of knowledge of its workings and strategy, wouldn't it be detrimental to, oh I don't know, drop out of the government altogether?

I'll leave it at that.

Music of the day: I talked about a song I wanted to throw at you guys last time. The time is here and now, people. Lackthereof is the solo project of Menomena drummer Danny Seim. As in the case of Dan Rossen and Department of Eagles, it's not fair to call it a "side project" because, though less popular, he's been recording albums longer than Menomena's existed. Anyway, his newest album, Your Anchor, is genius, and Menomena fans will enjoy it immensely because it doesn't stray far from the band's signature sound. This video is my favorite song on the album (convenient, right?). Here's Lackthereof with "Ask Permission".


Lackthereof - "Ask Permission"

The Downloading Culture

So I'm lazy and I'm just going to re-post exactly what I wrote in a Facebook note. Please forgive me.



It's funny. I feel like Ed Droste of the band Grizzly Bear stole these words from me in an interview with Pitchfork. People ask me why I buy all my music legally. I tell them that when you don't buy an album chances are that you are going into it with a detached attitude. If you don't enjoy it from the get-go you dismiss it and dispose of it because you have nothing ride of it. But because of that, the music isn't given a chance. Some of my favorite albums and bands I despised at the start. But because I bought the albums I didn't want to give up on them. After multiple listens, I'd notice new things, pick the music apart a bit, hear genius in the lyrics and/or their delivery, etc. I've listened to certain albums and songs hundreds of times and no two experiences have been alike.

I'm not saying it's wrong to download or obtain music from friends. I get music from friends all the time. If you have never gotten music from friends you either don't like music that much or you are a much, much better and stronger person than me. Getting music from friends, however, one tends to also give the music a chance because they want to be able to relate to the person they obtained it from.

This is also not to say, however, that I force myself to like music just because I've purchased it and want to make my money worthwhile, or because someone's given it to me. I have obtained my fair share of stinkers. I'm just saying we tend to give music a closer look when we aren't able to dispose of it without anything lost. It's kind of like anything in life. If we've invested a lot in something, we'll take a closer look at it. That doesn't necessarily mean we'll like it, but we'll learn from it.

Honestly, if I wasn't so unlucky and convinced that I would get caught, I would probably download albums. But in a way I'm glad I don't have every album at my fingertips because it makes my music experiences that much more enjoyable. The first listen to an album that I've bought is exciting because it's almost like being a general manager of a sports team: You obtain the music based on your general knowledge of the band, but you never know if you're going to get a result that you think is worth your money. There are going to be disappointments and there are going to be albums you wouldn't give up for almost anything. There's a huge satisfaction in finding a gem of an album in a used CD store that I cannot even explain (Although, to the many of you that I've taken to CD Max, especially Jenny, I'm sure some of you can relate). New music just makes my day amazing, and I think it's something I'd begin to take for granted if I could just click and get any album any time I wanted.

I guess I don't know what the point of writing this note was. I tagged mostly people that I know are really into music, and I guess I wondered how you felt on the subject. I think for most people the need for money outweighs their desire to have a truly satisfying music experience, so I'm probably in the minority here, but maybe you still treasure the music you buy more or give it more of a chance. I read this article and was like, "Yeah! Everyone should read this!" This is only like, 10% of the article, but the other 90% is only really relevant to Grizzly Bear fans. If you want to read the rest, here's a link: http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/7670-grizzly-bear/



ED: Remember that feeling of buying an album? And you didn't have a lot of money so you bought one album and you had that album for like, two months or something until you bought another album? This really cool thing that would happen where you would be forced to only have that album because you couldn't just download a million more, and you may not have liked every song on it, but then as you started listening to it more and more you'd be like, "Oh wait, I do like track nine." You lived with an album, and that doesn't happen as much anymore. I'm sure some people do have that experience still, but it's a little bit harder to get to that place because you can easily just switch gears and go off to something else if it's not tickling your fancy at that moment.

I haven't had that kind of experience with an album for awhile, either. And I sort of miss it-- that feeling of not necessarily settling for an album but just of having an album and having your initial favorites, then listening to it and listening to it and discovering new things and being like, "Whoa, I really like this part now." Just the feeling of "This is what I have for the next six weeks or so until I can buy another album."

Pitchfork: There was time to develop that relationship. Now I feel like it's so hard to develop a relationship with anything because music moves so fast.

ED: There are so many more releases that people have access to. I don't know, maybe there were this many releases when I was growing up and I just didn't know where to look for them. That's probably very much the case. But it just feels like there are a billion [new records] every year. A lot of people are curious and excited about stuff, and one of the great things about the Internet is that people are excited about music and wanna hear a random album from a band somewhere in Romania or something, and to listen to all sorts of stuff from around the world. They have access to new stuff that they would have never had access to [before]. But sometimes I feel like it's a total overload. Where you're like, "I can't even focus anymore." You know?

Pitchfork: Sure. Everything feels disposable.

ED: It is definitely much easier to feel that an album is disposable-- to dismiss an album or delete the tracks you don't like or to just throw it into shuffle or whatever. But that being said, it's a case-by-case situation and that's the way it is and there's nothing we can do about it. People digest and process music differently, and I'm sure that was the case even when I was a kid. I'm not critiquing the general public, I'm speaking from my own experience of being guilty of deleting a track that I didn't like. Then I'm like, "Wait a second, that's not fair. Why am I doing that?"



I initially read this article because I've been obsessing over a Grizzly Bear song, which I'll make the song of the day. It's called "Two Weeks" and the video is insanely creepy but amazing as well. I don't even want to describe it, you just need to watch it.



You know what? Screw it. Two songs of the day. Yeah, I'm doing it. I haven't written in over a month anyway. It's somewhat related to Grizzly Bear anyway. Not even somewhat, it is. Daniel Rossen is one of the four members of Grizzly Bear, and he has another band, Department of Eagles. It's not even fair to call it his side project because it existed before Grizzly Bear. He's having success with both bands at the moment. I can't stop singing this song either. All four members of Grizzly Bear have amazing voices, and their music just gives off an air of superiority that I can only compare to (tourmates) Radiohead. Anyway, the song is No One Does it Like You, and it also has an eerie, amazing video.



Man, I want to do one more song, but I don't want to make your mind explode with amazing music. So I'll save it. Until next time.

Why don't I like spaghetti?

It's bland.

College Sure Has a Lot of Stupid People

Make sure, make sure, make sure...

...that if you respond to an e-mail that a Professor sends out to a whole class...

...you don't hit the "reply all" button...

...and e-mail the entire list-serve the most stupid e-mail ever.




Hello Professor L_____,


I am emailing in regards to the final exam. I have a bit of a conflict with the exam time and am wondering if it is possible to take the exam at a different time.


I am the pitcher on a slow pitch softball team, and our first game of the summer is the night of the exam at 6:00. I realize that this reason is not as justified as perhaps a job or an appointment but I felt I needed to ask. I am the only guy on our team that knows how to pitch and if I can't make it, it will really be detrimental for my team. However, regardless of the position I play, I know this still isn't something that you may see worthy of an alternate exam time, and I respect that. I just thought it couldn't hurt to ask.


Thank you very much Professor. Hope you enjoyed the great weather today!


B_____ D______





UPDATE 4/28/09 The professor has informed me that the request has been denied. My request to move mine, however, as I have three exams in 24 hours (which by school policy allows me to move one of them) was granted. Sucker.

I Don't Swear, to Tell You the Truth.

Anybody that knows me even remotely well knows that I have never sworn or cursed or said certain words. Well, some people claim to have, but that's mostly because for some reason people have a hard time believing I haven't. But I haven't.

But people do have a case in pointing out that there are some contradictions in my method. I have a shirt that says "F*** 'Em Bucky". I say some words that people find offensive like "douche bag". Sometimes I do type "WTF". Some of my favorite music and movies have a filthy word every two or three seconds.

So maybe I should explain myself. I have to a lot, but when put on the spot I tend to not explain it the way I'd like. My reasons for not swearing have changed over the years. As a kid growing up, I was taught that swearing was wrong. When I started playing hockey, I was somewhat uncomfortable because I played with 8-year olds that had the mouths of sailors. I gradually became immune to it but knew it wouldn't be allowed in my house, so I worried about getting to much into the habit if i partook at practice, opening myself up to a slip at home. So I restrained myself.

It almost became a game over the years. It went hand in hand with drinking with me. While I wasn't morally-opposed to swearing, nor people swearing around me, it became something that I wanted to prove to myself that I could go through life without doing. I had come all this way without it, to give up now would be a sign of weakness.

When I hit 21 I drank for the first time. But I haven't sworn. You might ask, well why not? You are exercising a right by drinking at 21, why don't you exercise a Constitutional right in freedom of speech? Good question, hypothetical person. The truth is that in the home I was raised, the only time I heard swearing was in anger. I in no way grew up in a bad home, and I'm sure this is an experience many people have. My parents didn't swear in their jokes. They swore when they were really mad. That's when you knew a situation had escalated to serious proportions.

So part of the reason I've never sworn is because I don't want to say things I won't regret. Swearing is all fun and games when it's part of a joke or for shock value or whatever. But using them as names can serve as daggers in an argument. Some of the most hurtful things you can say are eliminated by not swearing.

Part of what spurred my analysis is the fact that I've been enamored with a certain song this week, and the chorus is so infectious that I want to sing the very harmless, not-even-curse-usage of a word. That song is "Oscar Wilde" by Company of Thieves. Company of Thieves is an up-and-coming band, although I'm going to find it very interesting to see where they go in the coming months. Their style is perplexing to me. I have no idea how to characterize them, except for as good. I mean, I could pick apart their influences, but I don't know who they fit with. Pitchfork probably won't be doing a review on them anytime soon (I'll let you know if I'm wrong) because it's not weird enough to be "indie" (which believe me, isn't an insult to indie, as most of my music falls under the category). However, I also don't see their music receiving much airplay. It's not "alternative" in the punk/emo sense, and it's definitely not poppy. Genevieve has a ridiculously beautiful voice, with shades of Bjork when Bjork's not screeching, Feist, Regina Spektor, and more. Basically, the "problem" (if it is one) lies in the fact that their music is not the same throughout the album. "Oscar Wilde" would give you the impression that the music's going to be very solemn, analytical throughout. But then you hear "In Passing", which is jazzy and soulful. It's all very confusing, but also very easy to enjoy.

While I was researching the band, I found out they had been on Live From Daryl's House. Any Hall and Oates fans? Daryl Hall and his band play songs with a guest artist each show. The dynamic between Gen and Daryl's voice is beautiful. She really displays her pipes in these songs. So, I'm going to post both "Oscar Wilde" and the "Past the Sleep" vid (one of CoT's songs) from Live From Daryl's House that I've been watching over and over for the last week.

Notes to Myself

These are notes I have written / kept mentally logged in my head today.


1. Visit the Palace of Versailles when I take my dream trip to Europe.

...which will probably never happen. Also, count how many references to the sun I can find in the palace. For any of you that don't know, the Palace of Versailles was built by Louis XIV. He had an ego that makes Lindsay Lohan look like Mother Teresa. He called himself the Sun King (the link is a glorious painting of him as the sun in a ballet as a teenager), a reference to the idea that France should revolve around him. You know Divine Right? God chooses the king, king's the closest thing to God on earth, yadda yadda yadda? Yeah, that's your guy. You can imagine then, that a palace that guy built would be extravagant. You can also believe that the guy basically bankrupted the nation and taxed the peasants to an extreme.


2. Read a book on Peter the Great this summer.

The guy knew how to party. He basically trashed the houses of people he stayed with during his "Grand Embassy" tour, in which he went to Europe to observe the practices of Western culture. He was supposedly incognito, but he was 6'8" and had 250 servants and aides with him, which tends to be a little inconspicuous. He also had this thing called the "All-joking, all-drunken assembly", which was literally where he and a bunch of nobles got together and pretended to be Eastern Orthodox clergy, basically worshipping alcohol instead of God. However, Peter was also insanely cruel. He suspected his son of trying to overthrow him, an accusation that likely lacked legitimacy, having him tortured in prison until he died. Also, during the Grand Embassy, when he wanted to see how the English did executions, he encouraged them to use his own servants when they didn't have anyone on the chopping block that day.

Doesn't dude sound interesting?


3. Get Nutter Butters for the weekend.

I haven't had them in about 5 years. Plus, I gave up chocolate for Lent, so I haven't really had a cookie in about a month.


4. Never sit next to the fat kid again.

I don't mean to be mean. But first off, the guy didn't even give me a chance to get up before he climbed over me to get to his seat. Then, he totally took up about half of my space. Finally, he wheezed and made weird groans all period.


5. Twilight is the female's Star Wars.

By this I mean a couple things. First off, I have a feeling that 20 years from now women are going to remember where they were when they saw Twilight for the first time, and they're going to remember the exact number of times they saw it in theaters. Secondly, it's pretty dorky. Third, there's a ridiculous amount of Twilight memorabilia out there. I'm sure Twilight conventions are right around the corner. No surprise here either: There's a sequel in the works. So now we have the spots filled up for most demographics. Star Wars for men, Twilight for women, and Harry Potter for kids. We're just waiting on the senior citizen cult classic...


I can't believe I haven't made a song by these guys song of the day yet in the past, but yesterday a guitar solo by the Whigs turned my day around, so I kind of owe it to them. Here's the Whigs with "Like a Vibration"

People Like This Make it Hard to Write Off Humanity

Basically, I often get to points where I'm convinced that there's no one in the world that wants to make it better for everyone before they make it better for themselves. Until I come across someone like this . Her name is Katie Sokoler and she's an amazing photographer. Her work is everything that's cute and innocent in the world. Here are some of the highlights.

She took a picture of 100 (101?) strangers. In three hours no less. Genius! How awesome would that be? How much would it brighten your day to have someone come up to you and ask if they could take a picture of you smiling in front of a colorful backdrop. Some people would find it creepy or a waste of time, but those aren't the people you'd want to meet. Thus, it would seem you would find 100 genial people. This picture is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen just because of what it represents.

She put pushpin ladybugs outdoors purely because she believes that seeing a ladybug brightens people's day. Along the same line, she wrote messages like "You are loved" and spread them around an airport so people who were stressed would have their day brightened. And this was after she missed her own flight! Most people would sulk. I would sulk.

She spent an entire summer recording street performers because they represented something beautiful and familiar. Watch this video and try not to feel warm and fuzzy inside.

I was talking with my friend Katie about how beautiful the world would be if it were made up of people like this woman. Everyone would hug every stranger they passed, dance parties would break out spontaneously, teddy bears would be free. How awesome would that be?

Here's Lisa Hannigan with "I Don't Know" as the song of the day to give a warm and fuzzy soundtrack to this warm and fuzzy site.