If I had the power...

So it's been a long time (This is becoming the standard start of my blogs). Sorry.

This is also going to be pretty random. Today, despite having an exam, all I could think about on the way to class was tours that I would put together if I had the power. Not only that, but what they would be called. I put these bands together because A) I like them or did at one time, B) Some are influenced by the others, C)I think they have styles that would compliment each other and attract many of the same fans.

Here's a few:

-WHY? / P.O.S. = The Indie R.A.P.? Tour

-The Dismemberment Plan/Local Natives/ The Velvet Teen = The Adjective Noun Tour (Although, is Dismemberment a gerund in this case? I might have to rethink it. Besides, misnomers are hip)

-The Thermals / Matt and Kim / Headlights = The Feel Good Fun Time Tour (Matt and Kim and The Thermals are in fact touring together)

-Broken Social Scene / DFA 1979/ Chad VanGaalen = It's a Tour, Eh?

-Weezer / Smashing Pumpkins = The We Promise to Play the Stuff from Before Our Lead Singer's Went Crazy Tour

-Janelle Monae / Mugison = The Don't Put Me in a Box Tour

-St. Sat B / Nick Miller and the Neighbors / The Static Sea = The Futures Tour

-Grizzly Bear /Local Natives / Bowerbirds / Colour Revolt = The Sweet Harmony Tour (Obviously it'd have to be when LN wasn't on tour withe The Adjective Noun Tour) (Additionally some would add Beirut or Yeasayer, which I would allow, but I have never really listened to their stuff. It's not that I'm against it, it's just I'm poor and have to prioritize purchases sometimes)

-Radiohead / almost any indie band formed after the millennium = The Opening Bands Grew Up Wanting to Be Us (and That's A Good Thing) Tour

-Menomena (original lineup) / Lackthereof / Ramona Falls = The Solo Projects are as Genius as the Band Tour

-DFA1979 / The Black Keys / Local H = The Dinner for Two Tour

-The Strokes / M.I.A. / Liam Finn = The Nepotism Tour (This is in jest, as all the people whose parents were famous in these bands are very talented at would have likely made it on their own)

- Nirvana / Jeff Buckley = The Live from the Next Life Tour (I wish this was possible)

- Mugison /Chad VanGaalen / Liam Finn / tUnE-yArDs = The Kali Tour (A reference to their mult-instrumental, DIY nature. Kali has many arms, and if these artists did, they could do many things. Liam Finn and Mugison especially got their start as multi-tasking solo performers. I'm not sure about CVG's live show, but I know he records all his stuff in a home studio and mostly by himself. tUnE-yArDs, Mugison, and LF all have touring bands now I believe, although again, I'm not sure about CVG)

-Of Montreal / CSS / Bat for Lashes = The Face Paint Tour

-Arctic Monkeys / The Fratellis / The Kooks = The Fight in a Pub Tour

-Phoenix /Department of Eagles /The Dodos / Bowerbirds = The Flock Together Tour

-Modest Mouse / Avi Buffalo / Minus the Bear = The Indigenous Species' of the West Tour

Ok, I think I'm out of them. At the beginning I tried to choose bands that I'd always thought would compliment each others' sounds well, but at the end I think I was just trying to think of plays on names, although I did only put bands that I thought would go well together. There were some that fit the tour name, but I didn't include them.

Some of these bands aren't necessarily the same style, but again, I think the same people would like them. M.I.A. and the Strokes may seem different on paper, but most everyone I know that likes one is a fan of the other. When I saw Dismemberment Plan in Chicago, they played with a 60's-ish soul act complete with horns. People loved it! Sometimes acts you think have nothing in common are perfect compliments.

Most of the tour names should be pretty straight-forward. If you don't get it, it's probably because it's a horrible, tacky joke.

I also acknowledge that some of the opening bands could easily pull off headlining shows. But this is MY fantasy, and if you have a problem with it, imagine them as co-headliners or at a festival or something. Bug off.

Anywho, I know I'm a nerd and I spend a lot of time dreaming about stuff that is probably not productive at all. I acknowledge that. Wow, I feel like I'm getting super-defensive here and justifying myself to a computer screen that seems to be unmoved by my words and just continues staring blankly at me. Good times.

Guest List

Hey all, I did a music guest list for the Scott Collection. Head over there to check it out.

Update: I also did an article on tUnE-yArDs. We haven't decided on whether this is going to be a regular thing or not yet. I'll keep you posted.

Janelle Monae: The Rebirth of the Cool

The title pretty much sums it up. I want to write about this girl for hours. I want to talk about how she will not be restrained to one genre (a clue could come from her collaborators on Archandroid. She works with Big Boi, Of Montreal, and another ambassador of cool, Saul Williams). I want to discuss the amazing plotline of her music and how each track flows seamlessly into the other. I want to speak of how amazing her stage presence and choreography is. I want to speak of her eloquence and articulacy in the face of critics who stereotype the R & B community as unintelligent and shallow. I want to declare her the Miles Davis of this day and age because she breathes awesomeness. But I won't do any of these things. I will post some videos, and let you become so enamored that you want to research these things and come to these conclusions yourself.



"Sincerely, Jane" Live (Original track from Metopolis)- Janelle Monae


"Wondaland" off Archandroid - Janelle Monae


"Make the Bus" ft. Of Montreal off Archandroid- Janelle Monae


"Cold War" music video (Original track on Archandroid)- Janelle Monae

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.

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

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"

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.

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.

King James

I don't like the NBA. Of the four major sports, I think it's the biggest joke. College basketball's great, because everyone's got something to prove, but in the NBA it's all about flash and no defense.

I was watching Sportscenter today and saw Lebron James' tattoo of a crown, and remembered his nickname was "King James". I realized that it's a hilarious nickname, one that isn't exactly flattering. If people took the time to do research on the kings named James, they'd realize that they're not someone you'd want to be associated with.

The Stuarts may have been the worst kings in history, possibly with the exception of Charles II. James I (1603-25) popularized the theory of Divine Right, the thought that kings were chosen by God to rule and should basically have absolute power because of it. Thus, he found ways of taxing without using Parliament, who basically derives all its power through taxation. This led to countless disputes with Parliament, which resulted in James constantly dissolving of them once they tried to assert their rights. He personally racked up a large amount of debt because of his extravagence, attempting to resolve it by selling royal lands. He tried to match his son, Charles I, with a Spanish princess, which greatly steamed the nobles as Spain was one of their two rivals at the time. The failure of the match would lead to disastrous war waged by Charles I upon James' death, and the pompous precedents James passed down to Charles would lead the the English Civil War, where Charles was deposed and beheaded, and the country would be subject to eleven years of military rule by the insolent Oliver Cromwell from 1649 to 1660.

James II (1685-1688) was probably worse than James I, if not the worst king in English history. Charles II had done everything in his power to re-legitimize the throne. However, James II threw it all away, very much his father's son (Charles I). James was a devout Catholic, and tried to push the Anglican Church in a very Catholic direction when Anti-Popery was at its highest. He essentially replaced people in every major position of power with Catholics, suspending laws that limited Catholic rights. The man did not know how to be subtle, ordering Anglican priests to read his pro-Catholic acts in church. After he produced a legitimate male heir, the nobles and priests worried about a pro-Catholic dynasty and requested that William of Orange (who was married to James' daughter, Mary) come to England and overthrow James II. He arrived with 15,000 men, the largest invasion force to ever arrive in England. James did not have the manpower to compete with him, especially when a bunch of nobles and clergy pledged to fight on the side of William. James saw that his number was up, and he fled to France, but not before he made some stupid and cowardly decisions on his way out. He destroyed the writs for calling a new Parliament, ordered his supporting army to be disbanded without pay, and in the biggest act of disrespect towards England by a king ever, threw the seal of England into the ocean. He was captured before he ever made it to France by fishermen. Oh, and he was dressed like a woman. In just three years in office, he had managed to infuriate the country enough to dethrone him in the Glorious Revolution.

So go ahead Lebron, go by King James, but don't be surprised if you lose public support somewhere down the road.

Song of the day: The new song by Manchester Orchestra is genius. They are putting out their new album on April 21 entitled "Mean Everything to Nothing". For more information on M.O., see this post.

FM to C Turns 1.

The dangerous first year has ended, 63 posts later. I've enjoyed writing the blog, whether anyone's reading or not. It's a fun way to look back, and it can be therapeutic at times. In case you've missed it, here's what the first 63 posts have covered:

1. Introduction
2. A praise and analysis of (Song of the day) Menomena's "Evil Bee"
3. The ways California has ruined my life. Song of the day: Eddie's Gun by the Kooks.
4. Coverage and complaints from the great blizzard of '08.
5. Thoughts on my insomnia (which I definitely no longer suffer from). Song of the day: Fear of Sleep by the Strokes.
6. Confusion on the behavior of shoes.
7. Thoughts on sizes of clothes and people.
8. My top 5 bands with more than one lead singer (which would be different now I'm sure).
9. Jebus loves sluts girl.
10. What happened to people name-dropping Jesus on their shirts?
11. I'm 5'6". Do you expect me to have basketball skills? Song of the day: "Macho" by Tin Circus.
12. Music television is as musical as Taco Bell is Mexican. Song of the day: "TV" by Headlights.
13. How I lost $1.25, and you can too! Song of the day: "Wolves at Night" by Manchester Orchestra.
14. Valentine's Day rebellion.
15. Honoring my own procrastination skills. Song of the day: "Running out of Time" by Hot Hot Heat.
16. Basking in Wisconsin's recognition for the primaries, and (correctly) predicting that the next time we get that much attention would be when Brett Favre retired. Song of the day: Menomena - Weird (Dekoder Remix)
17. Fat guy in flannel = not funny.
18. My magic musical powers. Song of the day: "Just" by Radiohead
19. The most absurd statement in the world.
20. A post about how much I wished the Toadies would reunite (Little did I know they would months later and I would see them twice in the next year). Song(s) of the day: "Possum Kingdom", "Tyler", and "Mister Love" by the Toadies.
21. A celebration of a holiday that only happens every four years (although looking back, I'm pretty sure "quad-annually beans four times a year... I can't be sure, though.)
22. Swing and a miss, Will Ferrell.
23. A great streak ends. Appropriately, the song of the day is "Ice of Boston" by the Dismemberment Plan.
24. A sad day for Packer fans, which would end up being sadder in the following months. Song of the day: "Last Goodbye" by Jeff Buckley
25. A picture update on post #9.
26. The case against St. Patrick's Day. SotD: "Charmer" by the Kings of Leon
27. The night I discovered Liam Finn, who my ears have had a beautiful relationship with ever since. SotD: "Second Chance" by Liam Finn
28. My attempt at being deep?
29. Warm weather bands (I'm hoping for the chance to listen to them soon...)
30. A post about (surprise) the music I'd been listening to lately. SotD: "Need Your Needs" by (now defunct) Georgie James
31. Tips for being green (More exciting than it sounds!) SotD: "Better to Be" by Liam Finn
32. Gushing about the (playoff-bound) Brewers. Update: Grant and I are 11-0 now when in attendance at a Brewers game. Album of the day: Plunder, Beg, and Curse by Colour Revolt.
33. I decide not to identify myself as "straightedge" anymore, and the blog becomes "Feeding Milk to Chickens" from "The Only Straightedge in Madison".
34. Bjork has balls.
35. Dilemma for Christian pot-smokers?
36. Review of the Minus the Bear concert. SotD: "Knights" by Minus the Bear.
37. A rant about how basically anyone can make a crappy college newspaper comic strip. SotD: "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead.
38. Commercial directors need love, too.
39. What college examinations really mean to college students. S(s)otD: "Juneau", "Streetcar", "Great Wide Open" by Funeral for a Friend.
40. Are the Foo Fighters to blame for the death of grunge?
41. What you probably don't know about World War II.
42. Chris Osgood gets shafted (after a performance he hasn't even come close to matching this year). SotD: "Hospital Beds" by Cold War Kids.
43. Why did I bother writing a post about Hillary Duff's sister? Who knows? But there was an awesome song of the day. "Fools" by the Dodos.
44. A story that probably deserves a movie.
45. Live from Hawaii. I'm thinking about going out there and living on the beach with no money, living off of humuhumunukunukuapua'a. SotD: "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" by Jack Johnson.
46. A justification of how I can just forget about Brett Favre like we didn't have a lifelong relationship. SotD: "Backslider" by the Toadies.
47. 5 complaints. SotD: "We Looked Like Giants" by Death Cab for Cutie.
48. Most unintentionally funny commercial ever. SotD: "List of Demands" by Saul Williams
49. What you're missing. SotD: "Hey Hey Hockeytown"
50. Introduction to my new blog about dreams, which has since received 70 dreams. SotD: "Future Foe Scenarios" by Silversun Pickups.
51. How your actions in an elevator tell people who you are. SotD: "Pull Out" by Death from Above 1979.
52. Don't vote... unless. SotD: Murr Murr by Mugison.
53. The checklist for the Brewers that they clearly didn't consult... S(s)otD: "The Great Unrest" "I Want You" "To the Bone" by Mugison.
54. LHC is to nukes as alien doctrine is to Bush Doctrine? SotD: "Subterranean Homesick Alien" by Radiohead.
55. Nostalgia.
56. The musical stylings of Mark Ronson. SotD: "Stop Me" by Mark Ronson ft. Daniel Merriweather.
57. Will Obama taking over lead to higher gas prices? (Signs point to yes, but it's not his fault.) S(s)otD: "Sore", "Carry Around", "Confessor" by Annuals.
58. Why TA's and the IRS are ruining my life. SotD: "Cooking by the Book" by Lazytown ft. Lil Jon.
59. Songs you should listen to to make her think you're sensitive.
60. Just remember, when Demetri Martin gets big, I knew of him before you.
61. Probably the greatest piece of architecture ever.
62. Thoughts I have while I do my wash. SotD: Song of the "Sad Assassin" by Why?
63. Happy anniversary! Song of the day: "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above" by CSS.

Guess what today's song of the day is! How'd you know? CSS is the Brazilian group, who's (gorgeous) lead is Lovefoxxx. I don't normally like dance music, but it's so care-free that I can't hate it. I've known of them for years but never really got around to getting their albums. Now, it's what I listen to when I go to bed every night. Behold the greatness that is Lovefoxxx.



P.S. I've enabled the "followers" tool. I'd love to see who reads this blog, so be a champ and become a follower.