tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73484182846817531332024-03-06T01:39:06.200-05:00Smoked Meat BlogSmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-21940915698385849552009-01-27T19:47:00.004-05:002009-01-27T23:42:35.955-05:00A prompt, idea, and hopeI haven't posted in a long time. I was going to write something about the genius of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">OutKast</span> because their jams were basically the anthems of my January, but Dave decided to be a dick and do it first. That being said, Hip-Hop as a genre is still fair game. And I'm still going to reference <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">OutKast</span> a few times.<br /><br />Andre 3000 proclaimed, "I'm out here knowing Hip-Hop is dead, the average nigger on my corner yelling what the fuck you mean?" in 2001 and his bold statement and foresight have yet to be disproved. Hip-Hop is dead, or, hopefully, it's comatose. It's as shameful and pathetic as our moribund economy.<br />Sorry, I've been a little bit morose when it comes to the genre I love so dearly since 2009 rolled in, thereby officially ending a second straight year of laughable Hip-Hop output.<br />The other day I was walking around Boston with my sister and was, for the trillionth time, trying to figure out exactly why Hip-Hop today just isn't what it used to be; and I, with her help, was able to come up with something that will at least satiate me and keep me optimistic for another year or two. What we came up with, as obvious as it may seem, was that Hip-Hop is no longer music for subversives, but rather is the Pop music of today.<br />This is to say that it's no longer <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">N'Sync</span> and Backstreet Boys (much love, y'all) gracing the speakers of middle school socials nationwide, but rather <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Kanye</span> West (respectable), <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">UNK</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">omfgod</span>), Lil' Wayne (he is a musical <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">punner</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> a rapper), and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Soulja</span> Boy (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">djnfdsfo</span>) bumping while kids are grinding for the time and popping three centimeter boners. The music that once was saturated with and was wholly comprised of feeling-- a music that was about the lyrics --is now (d)evolving into a genre where lyrics are often indecipherable from their obnoxious beats.<br /><br />Now, the existence of this form of music is not what annoys me; there is always a pretty disagreeable form of pop dominating media. What bothers me is that this barely recognizable form of Hip-Hop has not really emerged as a sub or splinter genre, but has pretty much taken the place of its forefather altogether.<br />It can be argued that pure Hip-Hop has not been around for a while, but at least there was a strong underground scene that cradled the embers of the genre and kept them just alive enough to keep fans hopeful. But Def Jux, DOOM, Grimm, and other legendary non-mainstreamers are agin, and a fresh new crop of insightfuls has yet to present itself.<br /><br />Let's put our hands together and pray that Hip-Hop follows the route of a comatose Soap stud and awakens with a newfound vim and vigor after hindsight bites him in the ass and reminds him of what he had and where he came from.<br />-ThursdaySmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-4183924621077801192009-01-15T00:26:00.006-05:002009-01-15T01:09:28.979-05:00THIS IS A POST ABOUT WILL OLDHAMWhile I would never pretend to be a Will Oldham stan, I can say with certitude that he is one of the most revelatory and brilliant singer-songwriters (what a disgusting tag that is) working today. To listen to a Will Oldham production is to give yourself up to his mastery of songcraft and dense lyrical allusion and depth. His most recent album, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lie Down in the Light</span> was an interesting turn, a considerably lighter affair than his last proper record, <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Letting Go</span>. But get ready dudes, he's unleashing the beard on this next one.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vG4oGTEZvY9Oa_AiA0i3XnKaqnntxNyJlrvj0je39zjPzZfTt0d3SxI4ykdYbJqswBEvUhl7bP5AKnxr4X6Ex5gdtYekLc2ctFQYAYUsFKI5ZtusF0vMcDfIa9yTUIB3U0I-HiwmFvE/s1600-h/Will_Oldham.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vG4oGTEZvY9Oa_AiA0i3XnKaqnntxNyJlrvj0je39zjPzZfTt0d3SxI4ykdYbJqswBEvUhl7bP5AKnxr4X6Ex5gdtYekLc2ctFQYAYUsFKI5ZtusF0vMcDfIa9yTUIB3U0I-HiwmFvE/s200/Will_Oldham.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291390630014458434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"Oh no, the bracelet doesn't come off. Now- the lotion. Give it to me."<br /><br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><img src="file:///Users/davidburnham/Desktop/Will_Oldham.JPG" alt="" />In his recent profile in The New Yorker, and after that on p4k and assorted other intranets tastemakers, Oldham has referred to the fact that his upcoming venture <span style="font-weight: bold;">Beware</span> is the "big record" to match <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lie Down in the Light</span>, a "little record". This apparently is indicative of a increased publicity push, and judging from the first song released from the record, on WYNC's <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2009/01/12/segments/120230">Soundcheck</a>, a slightly more traditional Oldham seriousness. In addition to this, the cover is completely business oriented-- somehow even more frightening than<span style="font-weight: bold;"> I See a Darkness</span> (which featured a fuckin' skull).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHBkeH4q0K_GoSFr6I-56rpk_T_sLLG2eIzstLiOqBs1DP1sito4hCb1E0AkZTgYN-2PnjRpmunvprQTM61LwGNXJVF2yUxG8SqfaK9k11lnLKO_Hx67YRyWZp70x9ys7LpDtctnEKKxQ/s1600-h/148435.bpbcover525.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHBkeH4q0K_GoSFr6I-56rpk_T_sLLG2eIzstLiOqBs1DP1sito4hCb1E0AkZTgYN-2PnjRpmunvprQTM61LwGNXJVF2yUxG8SqfaK9k11lnLKO_Hx67YRyWZp70x9ys7LpDtctnEKKxQ/s200/148435.bpbcover525.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291394346768255074" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Please...Help...Moustache consuming...everything.<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div></div>And if there are any Neil Young fans out there, you may have noticed something.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrjymQyThvBOm3AJ1wBxtvcyYD0woUM6Eth3RO9cqJ75EiW7tUFIvwYU6IYnS07VH2CQjkXjipJ1R53_IekG3wR2WesBaO4Isy97A4stdv6UKG_3GaR2ko3HMZTYqYz7P610N1-NmEXg/s1600-h/neil.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUrjymQyThvBOm3AJ1wBxtvcyYD0woUM6Eth3RO9cqJ75EiW7tUFIvwYU6IYnS07VH2CQjkXjipJ1R53_IekG3wR2WesBaO4Isy97A4stdv6UKG_3GaR2ko3HMZTYqYz7P610N1-NmEXg/s200/neil.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291395364201744514" border="0" /></a><br />Not too dissimilar, yeah? One can only hope than Oldham is pulling a Lil' Wayne, and using the cover as an indicator that this is his game changer, an album to redefine his career and put him forever in the pantheon of greats (Unfortunately, Wayne didn't pull it off, which people will realize as soon as they wake up and pull their heads out of their asses). Alternatively, our boy is about to drop an album of stunning bleakness and mind-boggling grief (which is logical, considering that in the realm of Will Oldham material, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lie down in the Light <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span>is as similar as he's ever going to get to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Harvest</span> [okay stans, back off. Although <span style="font-weight: bold;">On the Beach</span> is the actual precedent to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tonight's the Night</span>, it was recorded after, which makes <span style="font-weight: bold;">Harvest</span> the precedent in terms of artistic growth and progression. Bite me]). Whatever the case, the song on Soundcheck makes a strong case for this to be Oldham's best record in quite some time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Beware</span> comes out on March 17th on Drag City.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-44518471615444660152009-01-12T13:30:00.002-05:002009-01-12T13:41:07.283-05:00Some things about Can't Stop Won't Stop<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.giantpeachnews.com/news/db/archives/jeff_chang.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 190px;" src="http://www.giantpeachnews.com/news/db/archives/jeff_chang.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>I finished<span style="font-style: italic;"> Can’t Stop Won’t Stop</span> a couple weeks ago, and I’ve been thinking about it little by little for a while now. I was expecting it to be something different—to name each band, sub-genre and trend in hip-hop and have Jeff Chang tell me everything I needed to know about it. I was expecting him to passionately examine the Run DMC/Aerosmith video and devote 2 to 3 chapters to the Biggie/Tupac conflict. I was pleasantly surprised though—“Walk This Way” was mentioned only in passing, and I don’t think he ever talked about Biggie, and Tupac was only mentioned as the son of Black Panther Afeni Shakur.<br /><br /> Instead the book was a 500-page dive into Black American history in the late 20th century. Beginning with chaos in the Bronx, i<blockquote></blockquote>nto the Black Belt in Long Island to gang wars in LA, he discusses hip-hop’s intimate relationship with conflicts in Black America. It’s awesome because Chang is really smart, basically, and isn’t afraid to forge a connection (that I find a lot of people are really reluctant to forge, for really fucking obvious reasons) between hip-hop and activism. The last chapter led me to believe this, at least. He also includes a portion of the (I think) historic interview with Ice Cube and Angela Davis. If you have access to JSTOR, I would sincerely recommend that you read that shit (search “Nappy Happy”).<br /><br /> Except this book doesn’t really discuss contemporary acts—I guess why waste ink on T.I.?—but I sort of want an update. What does Jeff Chang think when he turns on MTV today? Is he OK with it? Should G-Unit have a Minister of Information? I want him to tell me if it’s even appropriate to consider these primarily moneymaking endeavors on the same level with Public Enemy. I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that he would say NO, but I guess I’d want him to elaborate.<br />Also, why does he think that neo-soul is a feminist answer to the uber-masculine mainstream hip-hop? Oy vey (lolz).SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-40131684654890145862009-01-07T21:32:00.002-05:002009-01-07T22:35:37.987-05:00TOP TEN OUTKAST SONGSI've been listening to OutKast an outrageous amount recently, and I continue to be surprised by their breathtaking intelligence and skill. From <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span class="mw-headline">Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline"> to their most recent song with Raekwon, they have a stunning amount of truly transcendent material, and even at their worst are better than most of the shit coming out of the South or any other area today. So in honor of my newly heightened amount of respect for the group, I'm throwing up a list of their ten best songs, as far as I'm concerned.<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline">1. <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/538313678d1b044c/">ATLiens</a> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">ATLiens</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />The best song from their first great album<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>, with Big Boi backing up his boasts of greatness with his most skilled verses yet, and 'Dre lays out what will be his M.O. for the rest of his career in one of my all time favorite verses.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" >Softly as if I played piano in the dark</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > Found a way to channel my anger not to embark</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > The world's a stage and everybody's got to play their part</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > God works in mysterious ways so when he starts</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > the job of speakin through us we be so sincere with this here</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > No drugs or alcohol so I can get the signal clear as day</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > Put my glock away I got a stronger weapon</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" > that never runs out of ammunition so I'm ready for war okay"</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>-Andre 3000<br /><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>2. <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/538316190f0c78ad/">Return of the "G"</a> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Aquemini</span></span></span><br /><br />A scathing critique of gangster culture from rap's most astute critics, matched with a skulky, brooding beat held down by a thumping drum loop and a surreal, hazy chorus. Also, attached to one of their funniest skits.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"Return of the gangsta thanks ta'</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> them niggas who got them kids</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> who got enough to buy an ounce</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> but not enough to bounce them kids to the zoo</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> or to the park so they grow up in the dark never</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> seein' light so they end up being like yo' sorry ass</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> robbin' niggas in broad ass daylight get down"</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">-Andre 3000<br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline">3. <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53831856303012e4/">Rosa Parks</a> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Aquemini<br /><br /></span>One of their catchiest songs ever, this was the song I could put on at parties in high school that was guaranteed to provoke a positive reaction amongst all my friends, which is not to say it's not up to lyrical par--Big Boi's verse is one of his best. Also, it has the best use of a harmonica solo I've ever heard (Sorry Blues Traveler). (Note: To people who download this song, the skit at the end is really the intro to Skew it on the Bar-B, featuring Raekown)<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >"Many a day has passed, the night has gone by</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > But still I find the time to put that bump off in your eye</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > Total chaos, for these playas, thought we was absent</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > We takin another route to represent the Dungeon Family</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > Like Great Day, me and my nigga decide to take the back way</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > We stabbing every city then we headed to that bat cave</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > A-T-L, Georgia, what we do for ya</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > Bull doggin hoes like them Georgetown Hoyas</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > Boy you sounding silly, thank my Brougham aint sittin pretty</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > Doing doughnuts round you suckas like then circles around titties</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > Damn we the committee gone burn it down</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" > But us gone bust you in the mouth with the chorus now</span><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;">-Big Boi<br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline">4. <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53831980d4eebf02/">Humble Mumble</a> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stankonia</span></span></span><br /><br />All that really need to be said here is that I still get chills. Every single time the song hits 1:35, the new drum loop kicks in and Three Stacks drops an absolutely jaw-dropping verse that I can't even begin to do credit in describing it. This would be far and away my number one if the last two minutes weren't some girl screaming. Stupid hip-hop divas.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"Too Democratic, Republic fuck it<br />We chicken nugget, we dip in the sauce like mop and bucket<br />Blue-collar scholars, who'll take your dollar and wipe my ass wit it<br />You livin for the lotto never hit it<br />I met a critic, I made her shit her drawers<br />She said she thought hip-hop was only guns and alcohol<br />I said "Oh hell naw!" But yet it's that too<br />You can't discrimi-hate cause you done read a book or two<br />What if I looked at you in a microscope, saw all the dirty organisms<br />living in your closet would I stop and would I pause it? Whoo!<br />To put that bitch in slower motion, got the potion and the antidote<br />And a quote for collision the decision.. is,<br />do you want to live or wanna exist?<br />The game changes everyday so obsolete is the fist and marches<br />Speeches only reaches those who already know about it<br />This is how we go about it"<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">-Andre 3000<br /><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline">5. <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53832354a1bb068b/">Gasoline Dreams</a> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stankonia</span></span></span><br /><br />Oh man, to have been a hip-hop fan when this song first hit the world. An furious, guitar driven, banger that comes out of the starting gate with an ass-kicking agenda and the most brutal chorus OutKast has ever unleashed.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">"Don't everybody like the smell of gasoline?<br />Well burn motherfucka burn American Dreams<br />Don't everybody like the taste of apple pie?<br />We'll snap for your slice of life I'm tellin' ya why<br />I hear that mother nature's now on birth control<br />The coldest pimp be looking for somebody to hold<br />The highway up to Heaven got a crook on the toll<br />Youth full of fire ain't got nowhere to go nowhere to go"<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Chorus)<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline">6. <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53832039fb3883b6/">Player's Ball</a> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik</span></span></span></div></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline">7. <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53832539df6dc476/">Wheelz of Steel</a> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">ATLiens</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline">8. <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5383261584ae3aaa/">B.O.B.</a> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stankonia</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline">9. <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/538326026453705a/">Art of Storytelling (pt. 4)</a> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gangsta Grillz: The Album</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline">10. <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5383262305d51a88/">So Fresh, So Clean</a> - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stankonia</span></span></span><br /><br />It's been a long time since we had some new material from these dudes to pore over, and I personally can't wait till their rumored solo albums drop. Big Boi's supposedly comes out in February, and no news on 'Dres. It's also rumored that once their two solo discs drop, they'll head back into the studio as a team. Finally! Let's hope it's true.<br /><br />--D<br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span class="mw-headline"></span></span></div>SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-22619398529698433232009-01-05T23:31:00.004-05:002009-01-07T14:26:21.509-05:00Hey Guys. Big Gulps, huh?(Hey Y'all. I'm very, very late. I'm exhausted from doing nothing on break apparently, and for that I apologize.)<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonjSUpDnwxG0eulQxUQzMZUNdetuBwceKqVIDVA7w7tDBr2tyaQzJgUA2eAK1g4UWwVuv9jns4S6c8xJ5Z_CdByvL9p6H-0xEbhLf4HN_aJShONpBHXTtQCduwKkoh1fgWS-0121EKXE/s1600-h/mpp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhonjSUpDnwxG0eulQxUQzMZUNdetuBwceKqVIDVA7w7tDBr2tyaQzJgUA2eAK1g4UWwVuv9jns4S6c8xJ5Z_CdByvL9p6H-0xEbhLf4HN_aJShONpBHXTtQCduwKkoh1fgWS-0121EKXE/s200/mpp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288034470541998322" border="0" /></a><br /><br />THERE IS NO ONE <a href="http://www.fluxblog.org/2009/01/saccharine-sheen">LIKE</a> <a href="http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/148230-animal-collective-merriweather-post-pavilion">ANIMAL</a> <a href="http://www.spin.com/reviews/animal-collective-merriweather-post-pavilion-domino">COLLECTIVE</a>.<br /><br />So the most / second most anticipated album of the year (as far as me and pretty much everybody is concerned) is out. Reports are in that it's pretty great (see above), and I wholeheartedly agree. "Summertime Clothes", "My Girls", and "Brothersport" seem to be the hits thus far. I'll throw my weight behind "Summertime Clothes" as my favorite, and probably in my top 5 favorite songs of the year. It's skewed pop genius is even more addictive than it initially appears, building through a pulsing, creeping, head-nodding verse to a joyous exultation of a chorus that kills every time through it. Animal Collective still have a few tricks up their sleeve, throwing in more than a few sound effects to spice everything up, but the song's formality in structure has only been seen a few times before in their catalog. Fortunately, it works even more beautifully than their more expansive, meandering work. The rest of the album is also fantastic. Get the leak if you have the means, and then <a href="http://www.dominorecordco.us/usa/albums/12-12-08/merriweather-post-pavillion/">BUY THE ALBUM</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Animal Collective -- <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5381226925a277da/">Summertime Clothes</a><br /></div><br />Other recent thoughts:<br /><br />Of all the bands I've discovered in the past two weeks, Gang Gang Dance stuck around the most. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Saint Dymphna</span> is great, I'm very excited to dig into their back catalog.<br /><br />I'm not sure any criticism gave me more to think about than <a href="http://m-matos.blogspot.com/2008/12/year-end-thoughts-if-you-think-fleet.html">this</a>. Very difficult for me to understand.<br /><br />Decent music journalism recently, in the NYT magazine (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/magazine/04bird-t.html?ref=music">Andrew Bird</a>) and New Yorker (<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/01/05/090105fa_fact_sanneh?currentPage=all">Will Oldham</a>). What a baller Will Oldham is. The piece also got me into Viva Last Blues, which is fantastic.<br /><br />Not sure why it took me so long to start reading <a href="http://www.dustedmagazine.com/">Dusted</a>, but it's excellent.<br /><br />I am so excited for the next Grizzly Bear album, I don't know what to tell you. Department of Eagles, and the prospect of seeing them live on the 18th (Boston. Anyone want to come?), is the only thing keeping me going.<br /><br />I'll be back in full soon, I promise.<br /><br />XSmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-63065926382407329622008-12-31T02:40:00.004-05:002008-12-31T02:58:40.700-05:00"They'll all laugh at you."I'm writing this while watching "The Exorcist" alone in my basement, with all the lights on. I have to do this because honestly, I'm just too scared to give my full attention to the movie. Here's the thing: I love horror films. Apparently. Who knew? Until recently, I'd always thought I hated them. But really, I've just always been <span style="font-style: italic;">bad</span> at them. I get way too scared way too easily. I can't sleep, sometimes for days; my neck gets tired of whipping around to look behind me every five minutes; I can't look in a mirror without my heart racing. It's just never been worth it. But now, suddenly, I've decided that it is.<br /><br />A month ago I watched "Silence of the Lambs", and that was the movie that started all this. All my anxieties and overwhelming fears were still there - I still was scared to turn the lights off afterward, and I still checked to make sure all the windows were locked before I went to bed - but I realized for the first time<br /><br />Okay, wait, sorry, I have to interrupt myself for a minute. I stopped in the middle of that sentence when I realized that I really wasn't paying any attention at all to the movie and I probably should. So I just shut my computer and watched for a while. And now, twenty minutes later, I'm back up in my room, <span style="font-style: italic;">shaking</span>. I just looked and saw that the lights in the room next to where I was sitting were flickering a little bit. I completely freaked out, shut off the TV, grabbed my knitting and laptop and ran upstairs to my room. This was just a perfect example of how I cannot handle scary movies in the very least. Seriously, I couldn't even finish the fucking movie, and now I'm convinced Reagan is hiding under my bed with Mischa Barton or something. My heart is still racing. But -<br /><br />but I realized for the first time that I love that feeling of my heart racing. I really do. I don't know why, obviously it just means that I'm terrified out of my mind, but there is also that tinge of exhilaration that comes along with it. And what I'm discovering right now is that sometimes, that tinge alone is worth it. Sometimes that's what you need to get out of your safe zone. Sometimes it's good to pause every time you hear a random creak in your house; it's good that your heart starts thumping harder when the wind blows a door open. Sometimes it's good to run into the bathroom and brush your teeth as quickly as you can without ever looking into the mirror before sprinting back to your room and leaping into bed so you don't come within a foot of what could be underneath.<br />Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.<br /><br />Of course, there are different kinds of horror movies. Bloody ones, zombie ones, mindfuck ones, etc etc. The big thing here is suspense vs. surprise. There's that whole Hitchcock bomb-under-a-dinner-table thing that I can't seem to find the exact quotation of online, but I'm pretty sure my film professor didn't make it up - surprise is when you see two people talking at a dinner table and all of a sudden it explodes; suspense is when you first see someone put a bomb under the table, and then you have to watch the (unknowing) people talking while you wait for it to explode. Or something like that. Both of these elements are necessary for a successful horror film. Surprise and suspense have to work with each other and complement each other to make sure that the viewer is alternating between sitting on the edge of their seat and jumping out of it. We have to have that feeling of anticipation while we're waiting, knowing that something is going to happen...and we still have to not be ready when it does.<br />Admittedly mainly for the purposes of putting off sleep for a while longer, I'm going to use three examples to demonstrate the different ideas/effects of suspense vs. surprise.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. SURPRISE</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/020129/112937__carrie_l.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 270px;" src="http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/020129/112937__carrie_l.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Carrie"</span><br />Holy shit. I just saw this for the first time two nights ago. "Carrie" isn't very suspenseful at all, really - you know something bad is happening pretty much constantly throughout the movie. The bucket of blood is obviously a prop designed to further suspense, since we know about it while Carrie doesn't, but unfortunately the aging of this film has in a way ruined that. The story is a big enough part of pop culture that everyone knows what will happen with the bucket of blood, and we know that Carrie's going to freak out about it. What we don't know is exactly when it's going to happen and exactly what she's going to do about it and jesus christ she's telekinetic, how are you supposed to predict what she'll do? And the mirror and the knives and the hand and oh god oh god oh god the hand. Talk about surprise. That's certainly a way to end a movie.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. SUSPENSE</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/rosemary_s_baby/mia_farrow/rosemary1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 252px;" src="http://l.yimg.com/img.movies.yahoo.com/ymv/us/img/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/rosemary_s_baby/mia_farrow/rosemary1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Rosemary's Baby"</span><br />To be honest, I haven't seen this one as recently as I've seen the others. But from what I remember, this film exemplifies "suspense" for me. The music, and the colors, and the tension...I spend the entire film gnawing on my nails and jiggling my feet, preemptively grabbing the cushions because I'm sure that SOMETHING is going to happen. But it never does, at least not until the very end. As a whole, the movie is exceptionally uneventful. But in the best way possible. As boring as it maybe should be, the imagined suspense keeps me waiting and engaged and pretty fucking scared for no real reason at all. I convince myself that something's going to happen, and I spend the entire movie waiting for it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. BOTH</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.dreamagic.com/roger/exorcist.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 227px;" src="http://www.dreamagic.com/roger/exorcist.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"The Exorcist"</span><br />Okay, so, like I said, I haven't exactly finished this one yet. It's paused downstairs in my DVD player in the room next to the room with the flickering lights. So, granted, this is only from what I've seen of the movie - but to be fair, I made it through most of it. Anyway, "The Exorcist" uses both suspense and surprise together to make sure that you are as terrified as you can possibly be. We are easily lulled into the illusion that we know what's coming. Since Reagan is confined to her room for the entirety of the movie, we know that the scary parts can really only happen there, with her - so we are able to be on our guard when we enter the bedroom, and relax when we leave the house. But the film still manages to throw enough surprises at us. The nature of Reagan's demon is that we never know what's coming, and each violent act is more horrifying and shocking than the last, continually surprising us even though we've been waiting for something to happen.<br /><br />Dudes, I took a sleeping pill before I started writing this because I knew I'd have trouble getting to bed tonight (yes, I AM that pathetic), and I feel it starting to kick in. Things are starting to get blurry, and that means it's time to stop blogging for the night. Oh. Hm. I just now realized that spending the hour before I go to sleep writing about really scary stuff might not have been the best use of my time...<br /><br />xoxo,<br />ttttttuesSmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-66384551383905262192008-12-30T10:38:00.005-05:002008-12-30T12:52:06.304-05:00INDIE ROCK BANDS AND THEIR FOOD ANALOGSThis morning I woke up from a dream in which bands not only produced music, but also food, and you had to consume that food while listening to the music. In my dream I was listening/eating to Why? (oysters) and Deerhunter (steak), but here are some more...<br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;">INDIE ROCK BANDS AND THEIR FOOD ANALOGS</span></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >1) Yo La Tengo = Mac and Cheese</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cache.idolator.com/assets/resources/2008/06/yolatengooo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 159px; height: 151px;" src="http://cache.idolator.com/assets/resources/2008/06/yolatengooo.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://arkansassongbird.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/mac_cheese_110206_300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 151px;" src="http://arkansassongbird.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/mac_cheese_110206_300.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br />It's all about comfort (HELLO "Little Eyes"!), and also that I have always thought of Ira Kaplan's guitar distortion as the creamy, cheesy sauce all over the wholesome rawk of YLT.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >2) the Magnetic Fields = Bagel with Lox</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.pitch.com/wayward/stephin%20merritt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 195px; height: 159px;" src="http://blogs.pitch.com/wayward/stephin%20merritt.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/imager/lox_stocked_and_bagels/b/story/4374/bb59/cuisine_feature-4611.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 157px;" src="http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/imager/lox_stocked_and_bagels/b/story/4374/bb59/cuisine_feature-4611.jpeg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />As far as I know, Stephin Merritt isn't any kind of Jew, but again, distortion = some kind of creamy cheese, and I think everything bagels are the equivalent to the infinite depths of Merritt's voice, while the nice lox topping is sort of like Claudia Gonson's airy soprano.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >3) Built to Spill = Hot Dogs on the grill</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/Built-to-Spill-leanback-thumb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 120px;" src="http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/Built-to-Spill-leanback-thumb.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://readingeagle.com/REnetImages/2008/06/12/725153/500x500_723913.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 116px;" src="http://readingeagle.com/REnetImages/2008/06/12/725153/500x500_723913.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The delicious all-American fave, but there's just that unalienable <span style="font-style: italic;">predictability</span> about them.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >4) the Mountain Goats = Granola with Yogurt</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.athensexchange.com/img/articles/23/mountainGoats.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 143px;" src="http://www.athensexchange.com/img/articles/23/mountainGoats.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bakingbites.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/granola-n-yogurt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 156px; height: 142px;" src="http://bakingbites.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/granola-n-yogurt.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The crunchy guitars, the hard to swallow lyrics, all coated in that sweet, protein-rich 'gurt that makes it go down so nice. Also, hippies love 'em.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >5) the Fiery Furnaces = Green Tea ice cream</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.escapeest.com/images/austinist/071026_289000537_l.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 176px;" src="http://www.escapeest.com/images/austinist/071026_289000537_l.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.oneworldveggie.com/images/desserts/Divine_Green_Tea_Ice_Cream.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 115px; height: 173px;" src="http://www.oneworldveggie.com/images/desserts/Divine_Green_Tea_Ice_Cream.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />At first you don't know what the fuck is going on, but after a couple refreshing swallows, you sort of get lost in it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >6) Fleet Foxes = Blueberries</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.subpop.com/assets/images/4145.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 163px; height: 164px;" src="http://www.subpop.com/assets/images/4145.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.jerseyasparagus.com/images/hanging%20blueberries.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 113px; height: 164px;" src="http://www.jerseyasparagus.com/images/hanging%20blueberries.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So they have lyrics about strawberries in summertime, but Fleet Foxes are really blueberries, I think because their harmonies have a skin, but are also really juicy, and I have always thought that antioxidants would sound like jangly acoustic guitars.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >7) Television = Black Coffee</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.punk77.co.uk/graphics/television/band1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 125px;" src="http://www.punk77.co.uk/graphics/television/band1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://jonmarkmusic.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/coffee_pencil.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 152px; height: 123px;" src="http://jonmarkmusic.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/coffee_pencil.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Not only does it wake you the fuck up, but it's pretty edgy, and I find that both Television and black coffee really impede my fine motor skills.<br /><br /><br /><br />- a (who is posting on Tuesday instead of Monday, because on Monday she was at her grandparents condo in Florida, where apparently DIAL-UP is the only way to access the internet)SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-56376704622680646512008-12-24T22:31:00.010-05:002008-12-25T02:59:51.287-05:00DAVE'S TOP 15I've been approaching this post with a fair amount of trepidation. For the past month or so, the prospect of choosing the fifteen albums of the year that I liked the most seemed almost impossible. I've always been at the consuming end of this whole list-making bacchanal, and entering the fray really freaked me out.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Peter_Paul_Rubens_011.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 519px; height: 415px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Peter_Paul_Rubens_011.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">The Music-Related Internets in December<br /></span></div><br /><br /><br />So many questions to consider: How could I ensure I was being truly objective, and not just trying to shape a list that would make me look cool? How could I account for albums I played a lot, but don't like as much as albums I played much less? What kind of hip-hop fan was I when there were only two hip-hop albums I liked so far? How was I going to account for bands I was just getting into? These things plagued me so much that I put making the list off for weeks-until I finally just sat down, on Christmas Eve no less, and made it in about five minutes. Once I started doing it, I remembered a few things. The most important of these was that no one gives a fuck about what I think. That was pretty important to keep in mind. Also, if I'm being honest with myself, all the albums up for consideration were on my itunes, which made the whole thing possible from the comfort of my bed.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:180%;">15.) Wale - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Mixtape About Nothing</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2ggQhO5nq9u8BsfEtS0grN4SZ69QutD_6XmmLjdt-cJEKNbJQzJwxCgf-7bNQa8PitiKDdBCKxjLs-hf_viCdb57OJZuUHMQByqroWhYhXL7rkcpKz7TkA5YO0smxWuJl0L6pymaTUU/s1600-h/wale-the-mixtape-about-nothing-mf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2ggQhO5nq9u8BsfEtS0grN4SZ69QutD_6XmmLjdt-cJEKNbJQzJwxCgf-7bNQa8PitiKDdBCKxjLs-hf_viCdb57OJZuUHMQByqroWhYhXL7rkcpKz7TkA5YO0smxWuJl0L6pymaTUU/s200/wale-the-mixtape-about-nothing-mf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283577280290622994" border="0" /></a>Shamefully, the one hip-hop album that made the list. But in a year where I'm more dissatisfied with the genre than ever, the fact that Wale's mixtape slipped in at all is a strong assertion of its quality. A mixtape that's almost an album, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Mixtape About Nothing</span> has my favorite new rapper taking on the issue of race with as much dillagence, intelligence, and fervor as he takes on his competition.<br /><br />Wale - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53239109d8b9fd1f/">The Kramer</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">14.) Portishead - <span style="font-style: italic;">Third</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGjNBSGuxMkwipLB7P_JGWS2k3oePTYKhm9RzCrRQOtfoVZn6wIrAZUyhU3t9ufm34-QTvhxCJvyxVVxmLrBsRvR7J81_QMwCaCyL2oKpricDXBjWW3Ae-OicEO9rmFbXmyAUv7Q7jqls/s1600-h/90_1020-Portishead-third-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGjNBSGuxMkwipLB7P_JGWS2k3oePTYKhm9RzCrRQOtfoVZn6wIrAZUyhU3t9ufm34-QTvhxCJvyxVVxmLrBsRvR7J81_QMwCaCyL2oKpricDXBjWW3Ae-OicEO9rmFbXmyAUv7Q7jqls/s200/90_1020-Portishead-third-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583261101018434" border="0" /></a>Who the fuck saw this coming? I like <span style="font-style: italic;">Dummy</span> as much as the next paranoiac, but damn. With some of the iciest production this side of El-P wrapping Beth Gibbons' ethereal pipes in enough wire and gauze to convince me I'm about to die, this is the record I put on when I <span style="font-style: italic;">want</span> to be scared. Take your time with the next one dudes-we'll wait.<br /><br />Portishead - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53239080661e0adc/">The Rip</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">13.) Air France - <span style="font-style: italic;">No Way Down</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZNCCnIZR8joJPHtYJmv3zl3FY9N9SNtIkKJVyI6unFcxZvk6jLY_3sc3WP-qxTRGJLhdzV90_ciIQPDqNfN_7T5Q90oRTd3mJz_bL-VR8_45HWhzIgQ4QvX6AYx4vYknCZxBOa8vBMQ/s1600-h/airfrance.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZNCCnIZR8joJPHtYJmv3zl3FY9N9SNtIkKJVyI6unFcxZvk6jLY_3sc3WP-qxTRGJLhdzV90_ciIQPDqNfN_7T5Q90oRTd3mJz_bL-VR8_45HWhzIgQ4QvX6AYx4vYknCZxBOa8vBMQ/s200/airfrance.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583262278920834" border="0" /></a>This past September I drove to Ohio for my second year of college, and by the time I reached the western edge of Pennsylvania, I was having an minor panic attack. Way more scared than I had been for my first year. Frantically scrambling for something that would calm my nerves, I remembered I had just gotten an album described as "sunny" and decided that would have to do.<br />By the time I got to "Collapsing at your Doorstep", I was grinning from ear-to-ear, flying my hand out the window and watching the evening sun putter down over farms and strip malls. I would return to this little gem more than a few times in the following months, when I needed something to bob my head to as the days got shorter.<br /><br />Air France - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53239108d8b9fd1f/">Collapsing at your Doorstep</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">12.) Little Joy - <span style="font-style: italic;">Little Joy</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipd5wFBagQP2a8l1dAJQPnProvBN7TSmrq1vsFT9F0SOvgTvmJ8sU75O5Bxrhq515Tw6qywNKf_CaLcpc0ufSMdTwOs4p-ALLhobt5k58J8NY_EmFPWXmt-cHPTYJMH7R5FLqxkgC1B8Q/s1600-h/Little_Joy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipd5wFBagQP2a8l1dAJQPnProvBN7TSmrq1vsFT9F0SOvgTvmJ8sU75O5Bxrhq515Tw6qywNKf_CaLcpc0ufSMdTwOs4p-ALLhobt5k58J8NY_EmFPWXmt-cHPTYJMH7R5FLqxkgC1B8Q/s200/Little_Joy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583493859999602" border="0" /></a>I'll be honest. It was the cover art that got me at first. When I saw the album on whatever blog I first saw it on, it would have just been one of the many I see and instantly forget, except for the exceptionally beautiful cover art, conveying perfectly the emotion the band has named itself after. The music is great too, by the way, if you like the Strokes, but are SO over 2k1. The drummer from the Strokes + Some Brazilian guy + some girl named binki= straightforward and woozily charming tunes.<br /><br />Little Joy - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5323966603f3d2c6/">Brand New Start</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">11.) Deerhunter - <span style="font-style: italic;">Microcastle</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCxuUny8R29zpOzjM4A-YGG0AFg9w7Xs9tJHnKdgS5QkWd1akvCf48pbL_UfdU7mYG2nnPHDhB16vY9dR1v33VJZ21SljjxXSd47YC5dua0Iy1C4igGXRnSBqwcqYqER0uQj_jhJ8qli4/s1600-h/Deerhunter-Microcastle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCxuUny8R29zpOzjM4A-YGG0AFg9w7Xs9tJHnKdgS5QkWd1akvCf48pbL_UfdU7mYG2nnPHDhB16vY9dR1v33VJZ21SljjxXSd47YC5dua0Iy1C4igGXRnSBqwcqYqER0uQj_jhJ8qli4/s200/Deerhunter-Microcastle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583484687629458" border="0" /></a>I have way, way too many problems with this album to properly enumerate here, but to sum up: I don't like this album as much as the amount of times I've listened to it would indicate. Every time I put it on, I found myself enjoying it, but would space out and do something else while it played in the background. I tried to find myself loving it, given all the hype it has received, and the number of times I was chastised for thinking their previous album was really boring ("C'mon dude, you just gotta get into it, man, just give it a chance."), but it never really clicked with me. Having said all that, I've probably listened to it more than half the albums on this list, and it does have a few very good songs, when they put a few guitar pedals away and bring it.<br /><br />Deerhunter - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53239710e601146b/">Nothing Ever Happened</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">10.) Beach House - <span style="font-style: italic;">Devotion</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-QENMNVMeDAmMZWk5LOdQkhg5jn-gcFoBzD7G_Z4ph9CRB6WD9EhRZ5sH30nktvz7cV5NmL6hMLCBWOVfkY20MeuwSxO_87X7W6WxsMNUOmekTLkit_CeHC1Mk6Ut2sF5EpLfXqIdSI/s1600-h/beachhouse_devotion.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-QENMNVMeDAmMZWk5LOdQkhg5jn-gcFoBzD7G_Z4ph9CRB6WD9EhRZ5sH30nktvz7cV5NmL6hMLCBWOVfkY20MeuwSxO_87X7W6WxsMNUOmekTLkit_CeHC1Mk6Ut2sF5EpLfXqIdSI/s200/beachhouse_devotion.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583259411322994" border="0" /></a>I don't know if there's any "scene" that's going on right now that I'm less interested in than the Dan-Deacon-and-hiz-budz thing that's going on in Baltimore, and even though Beach House is only tangentially involved in that whole thing, I resisted being charmed by their sophmore disc. Eventually, I let my guard down, and this hazy dream of an album crept up into my consciousness, until I couldn't resist throwing on "Gila" or "Wedding Bell" every night for a month.<br /><br />Beach House - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5323970627001a82/">Gila</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">9.) The Tallest Man on Earth - <span style="font-style: italic;">Shallow Grave</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZZfLYLVTdKCoB83t9wqw-eEnF_UfAMhcTWZ6B-2bva0Nl6S038kSGCPNB8GqX5WGOhPhTUz1vkE65oa9Xp-RPDJ5v2UPCCUAVwq2uk__r7CefFCgbkA3umNzuwb8frggQXFDVOeEn4M/s1600-h/shallow-graves.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZZfLYLVTdKCoB83t9wqw-eEnF_UfAMhcTWZ6B-2bva0Nl6S038kSGCPNB8GqX5WGOhPhTUz1vkE65oa9Xp-RPDJ5v2UPCCUAVwq2uk__r7CefFCgbkA3umNzuwb8frggQXFDVOeEn4M/s200/shallow-graves.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583669362318834" border="0" /></a>I spent a good portion of this year really getting into the concept of "Americana", leading me to all sorts of random corners of the musical landscape--<span style="font-style: italic;">The Anthology of American Folk Music</span>, the music of Washington Phillips, and a true appreciation for old-school country (Ernest Tubb, Jim Reeves, Slim Whitman, Hank Williams, etc.). So it's only fitting that one of my favorite albums of the year is a Americana singer-songwriter record, featuring banjo, guitar, and some distinctively (some might say suspiciously) nasal and pleading vocals. The catch, of course, is that this dude's Swedish. First it's Volvos, now it's stunning updates of roots music, what's next, pseudo-socialist democracy? Let's do better next year, America.<br /><br />The Tallest Man on Earth - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53240719d9f0131d/">Shallow Grave</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">8.) TV on the Radio - <span style="font-style: italic;">Dear Science,</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkYX8SgCahXQ5v4_YSnbAg5ErgVhUWn5PclT81QOPvAswSefNGLm2TtGRvuJcqNzyGpDlfkCQw2CAbwflTW9uch7vM4LskRc3bbmGwS1n98M-2ohzKI0-bLgBr0ik_0oWlmGF_dKc65M/s1600-h/tv_on_the_radio-dear_science-cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkYX8SgCahXQ5v4_YSnbAg5ErgVhUWn5PclT81QOPvAswSefNGLm2TtGRvuJcqNzyGpDlfkCQw2CAbwflTW9uch7vM4LskRc3bbmGwS1n98M-2ohzKI0-bLgBr0ik_0oWlmGF_dKc65M/s200/tv_on_the_radio-dear_science-cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583672691074610" border="0" /></a>The most acclaimed record of the year, hands down, Dear Science racked up Album-of-the-Years like some sort of perfect storm of critical acclaim. A paranoid, harsh record you can dance to, a funk record with a serious agenda, an art record you can actually listen to (ZING!), this album seemingly has everything. What can I even really say that hasn't been said by a million fans or detractors? One thing that I haven't heard yet is a bitter speculation that occurred to me as I was writing this blurb-- if this album is the pinnacle of their career, its all downhill from here.<br /><br />TV on the Radio - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/532407286fd949cd/">DLZ</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">7.) Hercules and Love Affair - <span style="font-style: italic;">Hercules and Love Affair</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP_0QYtKvNcIbrSe7sy1OY-bHPCMq8IzVOM4Dgh2Zdbkli8V6y_sxL6meMdQS5SfMDBoDICzjDmTgg3IaQrLD_rvwybxcBRPAWezWBDw9rfm0R7vtghpEJlLdv7ezvZIdRu6VARtNtOk/s1600-h/Hercules+%26+Love+Affair+-+Hercules+%26+Love+Affair.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP_0QYtKvNcIbrSe7sy1OY-bHPCMq8IzVOM4Dgh2Zdbkli8V6y_sxL6meMdQS5SfMDBoDICzjDmTgg3IaQrLD_rvwybxcBRPAWezWBDw9rfm0R7vtghpEJlLdv7ezvZIdRu6VARtNtOk/s200/Hercules+%26+Love+Affair+-+Hercules+%26+Love+Affair.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583487186932514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Fuckin' DFA. Just when I think I can write you off for a while (no new LCD Soundsystem? See you next year.) you make a goddamn disco record with a vocalist I despise, and I <span style="font-weight: bold;">still</span> can't get enough of it! Seriously, if you can make me like Antony, you have magic powers. See you next year, when you sign Barbara <span class="fn">Streisand</span> and she makes a hardcore record. Actually, that sounds really awesome already.</span><br /><br />Hercules and Love Affair - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53240809555598f1/">Blind</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">6.) Wolf Parade - <span style="font-style: italic;">At Mount Zoomer</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3o1-RY-ZEIcdXadL5qOeA77lqRcs5u70Z93ZqXOsAbl9LmGtCBy2neXFy2ZyLk-yWkCack8h5xYnRTJkQfNdWN1StknkaK9oLD5P9dOd1YU7xIB9xfyK4rHxQ4g7SGSt8waaP1jjv3dI/s1600-h/at_mount_zoomer_300x300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3o1-RY-ZEIcdXadL5qOeA77lqRcs5u70Z93ZqXOsAbl9LmGtCBy2neXFy2ZyLk-yWkCack8h5xYnRTJkQfNdWN1StknkaK9oLD5P9dOd1YU7xIB9xfyK4rHxQ4g7SGSt8waaP1jjv3dI/s200/at_mount_zoomer_300x300.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583261718946338" border="0" /></a>It's telling of my status as a total Spencer Krug fanboy that this was my biggest disappointment of the year, and it's still sitting pretty at 6th place. After delving very seriously into Sunset Rubdown and <span style="font-style: italic;">Apologies for the Queen Mary</span> I was expecting <span style="font-style: italic;">At Mount Zoomer </span>to be the best album of all time. Surprisingly, this was not the case, and I spent about a month listening to it in frustration. Then I took some time away to heal my wounds, bought tickets to see them live, and in the month before the show, returned to it. To my embarrasment, it was much better than I remembered, and a serious step forward for the band. In the month leading up to the show (which, by the way, was amazing), the record steadily grew in stature in my head, eventually equalling <span style="font-style: italic;">Apologies</span> in my love for it. Still, I'll never forget that first month, when I was convinced I had made a huge mistake.<br /><br />Wolf Parade - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/532421543e9ee812/">California Dreame</a><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/532421543e9ee812/">r</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">5.) Crystal Castles - <span style="font-style: italic;">Crystal Castles</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnbAgSXdZ-PpqYX1PyrtB7WmO210sGKVNv8Me7WkFRybqk7YoAOgMQI9ufqqFerduif5j6SZC-LkNEV7GLHUb0ZeVzWifACrMfn16IvzwZUGe4FYh0l3yRenzInJTUR_2dvcHhGKYuF0/s1600-h/Crystal_Castles-Crystal_Castles_480.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnbAgSXdZ-PpqYX1PyrtB7WmO210sGKVNv8Me7WkFRybqk7YoAOgMQI9ufqqFerduif5j6SZC-LkNEV7GLHUb0ZeVzWifACrMfn16IvzwZUGe4FYh0l3yRenzInJTUR_2dvcHhGKYuF0/s200/Crystal_Castles-Crystal_Castles_480.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583264700725330" border="0" /></a>Yes, really.<br /><br />To be honest, I really want to hate this album, but it's hard when it's so goddamn good. There are more throwaway tracks on this album than any other disc on this list, and it will probably be stale in less than six months, but Jesus Lord, when they hit it, they hit it. Nothing better to match schlepping across some frozen and barren Ohio. Does this mean I like electro now?<br /><br />Crystal Castles - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/532421687d54c299/">Vanished</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">4.) The War on Drugs - <span style="font-style: italic;">Wagonwheel Blues</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbuxB0urJnKzVNDf3FYOEURIy6oOoJC9_hcNSryL6CO2GuFuaE4rItT0GHKh12ezyODwCxTo4PEFJ2N3xvLDcIYh7d18UFZNOGjrtr-sVYc79Wh6g8DNipWDvjMoOwpT5RcOI9TgX2Ygw/s1600-h/wagonwheel+blues.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbuxB0urJnKzVNDf3FYOEURIy6oOoJC9_hcNSryL6CO2GuFuaE4rItT0GHKh12ezyODwCxTo4PEFJ2N3xvLDcIYh7d18UFZNOGjrtr-sVYc79Wh6g8DNipWDvjMoOwpT5RcOI9TgX2Ygw/s200/wagonwheel+blues.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583671680716834" border="0" /></a>Where did this even come from? I have no idea where I found this album, one day I just had it on my computer. Lucky me. In a year where I delved into Americana, this was a valuable find. A vaguely trippy road record that rips hungrily into the past thirty years of rock music, emerging dripping with bits of CCR, Dylan, and shoegaze while still a beast entirely its own. Undefinable and epic, this is the most slept-on record of the year. Of any band on this list, The War on Drugs is the one that I'm the most excited to see develop.<br /><br />The War on Drugs - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53242248abcab669/">Taking the Farm</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">3.) Women - <span style="font-style: italic;">Women</span></span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGvgZxKGLsJoKe03Md2ARA_Olp6TV2ayuWYjXOKFKo2NJT_fiHQomgpeHFYWJAFIhFCmMtaunThs8WHoswqaw3hex1Wd7CcY7wTvo69s9b7IIesnI28BAt8yA7i3h01q9cx3gsR52amE/s1600-h/Women.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMGvgZxKGLsJoKe03Md2ARA_Olp6TV2ayuWYjXOKFKo2NJT_fiHQomgpeHFYWJAFIhFCmMtaunThs8WHoswqaw3hex1Wd7CcY7wTvo69s9b7IIesnI28BAt8yA7i3h01q9cx3gsR52amE/s200/Women.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583674122230050" border="0" /></a>See <a href="http://thesmokedmeatblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/dont-treat-women-like-objects-or-cant.html">here</a> for my more fleshed out thoughts on Women's extraordinary debut. All I'd really add to that is that the album has only grown in stature for me -- the more I listen to it, the more I'm convinced of it's worth. Women use distortion, drone, and effects pedals in ways that accentuate their best moments, instead of using them to hide their flaws (I see you, Vivian Girls).<br /><br />Women - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5324343440c796c1/">Black Rice</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">2.) Fleet Foxes - <span style="font-style: italic;">Fleet Foxes/ Sun Giant EP</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXDeWhvN1Y8VHjf-D-gSJdY-8PEP3oKqOnJbCzquzW2fND2XV2KRxGuwevooR3CvFtBT7pPlw0Pl-rANWMaRetaJaAsf3cPAIzlQx5xcAYtwiD0au0BkBj0UoOkQF9bpO2QbLghGnTaw/s1600-h/Fleet+Foxes+-+Fleet+Foxes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXDeWhvN1Y8VHjf-D-gSJdY-8PEP3oKqOnJbCzquzW2fND2XV2KRxGuwevooR3CvFtBT7pPlw0Pl-rANWMaRetaJaAsf3cPAIzlQx5xcAYtwiD0au0BkBj0UoOkQF9bpO2QbLghGnTaw/s200/Fleet+Foxes+-+Fleet+Foxes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583487424225442" border="0" /></a>Oh Man. Fleet Foxes. If you're reading this, you know the deal by now: Huge harmonies, lyrics about the woods, beards. And you've probably already decided that it's actually great like everyone says or that it's all a bunch of hippies with their drugs and their hair. But on the off chance that you've never heard this album or any songs from it, you owe it to yourself to check it out. I'm more sure of you at least not hating this album than anything on this list. Never has something so aggresively accessible topped so many internet best-of's. This album/EP combo alone justifies the sense of superiority everyone I've met from Seattle has about their hometown. If you can produce music like this, shit, maybe you're right that everything is better in the Emerald City.<br /><br />Fleet Foxes - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/532434542626b6b7/">English House</a>"<br />Fleet Foxes - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5324368316704bb7/">Blue Ridge Mountains</a>"<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">1.) Department of Eagles - <span style="font-style: italic;">In Ear Park</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4DDl0BFlp20fc3br7YPM3uzQJ5tOVYvoe9gcWV7EkPosSJ2zeSlT3MUlXGvBX3gAvMEEy_blaWgaLMq3lZEvk3sRdMT0u8-oCYwcDmgoFmt20ZDJ_qQb7HRiyx5bFSOBOLk-MYlcoH9Q/s1600-h/department-of-eagles.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4DDl0BFlp20fc3br7YPM3uzQJ5tOVYvoe9gcWV7EkPosSJ2zeSlT3MUlXGvBX3gAvMEEy_blaWgaLMq3lZEvk3sRdMT0u8-oCYwcDmgoFmt20ZDJ_qQb7HRiyx5bFSOBOLk-MYlcoH9Q/s200/department-of-eagles.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283583489856330770" border="0" /></a>Truly, I'll never know how this happened. How did an album so unassuming become my favorite album of the year? Is it because I'm convinced Grizzly Bear is the best band in music right now, and that their next album is going to be the greatest thing since bread? Possibly. But maybe it's the fact that no other collection of songs unfolded quite so fully, and so unendingly, as these have. With every trip through this album of lushly arranged and slightly askew pop-songs, something felt new, unopened. Whether it's the head bobbing sunshine of "No One Does It Like You", or the unpredictable and askew "Classical Records", these songs have more to them than they reveal initially, demanding and rewarding repeated listening. The simple fact is that I've listened to this album more than anything else this year, and it doesn't look like I'm going to stop anytime soon.<br /><br />Department of Eagles - "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/53243466a0488ed5/">No One Does It Like You</a>"<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br />So that's it. I'll be back next week to ramble about other things that happened this year.<br />--Dave<br /></div></div>SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-58745286549694848922008-12-23T22:12:00.002-05:002008-12-23T22:16:25.929-05:00"I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel."To me, the idea of television implies a sort of spontaneity. That probably comes from the fact that in the past two years, I've rarely watched television in any sort of regular fashion. All of the shows that I follow I watch online; I only watch TV when I have nothing else to do, and when I have nothing specific in mind. I just have to turn it on, flip through the channels, and hope for the best. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't, but that's part of the beauty of it. All the crap on TV that I skip over just makes it that much more satisfying when I find something worthwhile. ("Worthwhile", of course, being a relative term.)<br /><br />The above is probably part of the reason why I've always been so against watching movies on TV. I don't mean on a physical television screen, obviously; I mean movies aired on TV channels. A movie is something to be watched in its entirety and appreciated (or unappreciated) for it's whole. And unless you've planned ahead - which for me barely counts as watching it "on TV" because of the previously stated spontaneity hypothesis - you always start somewhere in the middle. Even if you do happen to turn on the television on the hour, the movies that are just starting are never ones you have any desire to watch, and all the interesting ones are halfway finished. I remember when I lived at home and I'd be watching something on TV and my father would come in and change the channel. He always found some random movie, and I was always so upset at him because I just don't understand how people can start movies in the middle, no matter how good it was or how many times they've seen it before. <br /><br />But I've changed my mind.<br /><br />I don't know when or how it happened. I don't know why. But all of a sudden, when I come home for breaks, there is nothing I look forward to more than watching bits of movies on television. Finding something I haven't seen in years, or of something that I just watched the night before. Watching the last half hour of a movie, and immediately finding the last half hour of another movie, after which I find the last half hour of a movie I saw starting when I watched that first half last hour...aren't I majoring in Cinema Studies at a prestigious liberal arts college? Shouldn't my appreciation for film be growing, rather than dwindling to the point that my favorite movie-watching experiences involve flipping between channels for hours on end? Am I sacrificing my integrity for the sole purpose of animalistic entertainment? Is that really such a problem?<br /><br />I still know how to watch a movie. I haven't lost that much of my attention span yet, and I'm not too worried about that happening anytime in the near future. But I'm also teaching myself how to appreciate movies in segments. I'm learning how to appreciate it for each little thing that makes up the film, rather than simply what it conveys as a whole. And sometimes all you need are those little details, those little reminders of what's happening, what you're doing, and the fact that you really shouldn't take anything in this world too seriously.<br /><br />xoxo,<br />t<br /><br />P.S. Seriously, I have an eight page paper on Gossip Girl that's supposed to be due today and I haven't even started it. There is something wrong with me. <br /><br />P.P.S. I still think this blog needs a new name. IDEAS. GO.<br /><br />P.P.P.S. Five points to anyone who gets where the title's from! Hint: It was on TV Saturday night. And I watched the first forty minutes, and then the last half hour when it showed again later. It was epic.SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-17373134823165306432008-12-22T17:10:00.005-05:002008-12-22T19:18:32.709-05:00I Hate Beatles Covers Pt. 2So this blog totally died in the face of finals week, in which the four of us here probably wrote a composite 200 pages and then took some finals. In other words, I'm sorry for neglecting last week's post, but I had other things to write.<br /><br />Two nights ago, I had a revelation. I was at my aunt's Christmas party, and my cousin, jokester that he is, decided that it would be a good idea to play Aretha Franklin's cover of "Eleanor Rigby." And then guess what. I DIDN'T HATE IT. It was hardly the same song as that second track on Revolver, but I can't actually say I liked it that much either. It's pretty obvious to me that Aretha wasn't trying to pay tribute to the Beatles in any way--she made it into an Areatha Franklin song. Which isn't to say that it's as good as "Think" or "Respect" either. It's just sort of a song that I would turn up the volume for if it come on the radio.<br /><br />I'm not really sure what there is to say about that, though. That in the hands of masters, Beatles songs can just become regular songs, and not abominations? I guess it's silly to think that I'd hate Aretha Franklin's Beatles covers in the same way that I hate Fiona Apple's (I maintain, in the face of many of my close friends' fury, that Fiona Apple is pretty wack). But I also think that if Aretha can't make me like a Beatles cover, no one can.<br /><br />In the past two weeks, though, I can't say I've figured anything about the whole performance thing, although I've thought about it a lot. Maybe you can.<br /><br />Oh, so I guess that everyone else in the world is saying something about their Top Whatever tracks/albums of the year, so I'd just like to say that Alopecia by Why? is pretty great. I'm pissed that it didn't even make Teh 'Fork's top 50, although "Fatalist Palmistry" was their 94th pick for best song. At least it made it big on the reader's poll. Democracy Rules!SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-46092053163907370952008-12-16T23:16:00.002-05:002008-12-16T23:19:25.835-05:00nope.Here's what I have written for this week's post:<br /><br />I'm going to talk about Blair Waldorf, and you're going to like it.<br /><br />And then I stopped writing.<br /><br />And now it's finals week and I have two on Thursday and, to be honest, guys, I'm kind of having a nervous breakdown over here so there's no fucking way you're getting any sort of legitimate blog post tonight. Sorry.<br /><br />Stay tuned for next week, where hopefully I'll be done the 8 pg paper that I'm planning to write about Gossip Girl, and hopefully I'll just turn that shit into a post. Because Gossip Girl rules and there isn't a new episode until next year and I'm already in withdrawal. <br /><br />xoxo,<br />tSmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-73547862621355736942008-12-14T18:59:00.002-05:002008-12-14T19:11:25.970-05:00I Hate Lil' WayneThis is not just a space filler for an all-too-delayed post. I thought this should get it's own post because that's how strongly I feel about it. I just lied.<br /><br />Big ups to Dave for stating it infinitely more eloquently than I have just done.<br /><br />-Thursday<br /><br />P.S. Kanye West needs to sit down and shut up. This may be a little dated, but I can't believe he compared himself to Elvis, and said that he's gunning for Beatles and Hendrix status. You're a producer, and a terrible rapper. Chase Timbaland, DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Dilla, and DOOM, and realize the glass ceiling you're under in hip-hop.SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-79757693682362969692008-12-11T21:18:00.004-05:002008-12-12T02:13:42.766-05:00Some Disorganized Thoughts on Hip-Hop in 2K8When I first started thinking about this post (a little late, sorry) I decided I was going to do a Top Ten overrated albums of the year list. It seemed like something that needed to happen when everybody is pulling out their best of the year lists, with albums I thought were mediocre to bad, but it occurs to me that there's no reason to take down albums that are probably just not for me (No Age) or have already been hated on thoroughly (Vampire Weekend, MGMT). I could reiterate how MGMT is nothing but face paint and goofy synths or how I'd rather listen to Ezra Koenig tell me the best place to buy boat shoes than his insipid lyrics about slamming a Benneton-clad hottie while listening to Peter Gabriel, but it accomplishes nothing (and is way too easy by now).<br /><br />But what this train of thought led to was me thinking about hip-hop's status in 2008. My relationship to the past few years of hip-hop has been confused and hard to articulate, but what it boils down to is this: I really don't like most of it. This is much harder for me to admit than I'd like, considering the amount of time I spend reading Nah Right and downloading single after single of the supposed New Thing. But at the end of the day, the only hip-hop albums from this year that I've even liked are from Wale and Elzhi (though I anticipate the Q-Tip album joining them when I finally cop it), and I don't think either The Mixtape About Nothing or EuroPass are very good albums, they're just well executed joints by talented rappers. I didn't hear the Emc album or the Black Milk album--even Rising Down only got a few spins from me. When I think about this I cringe at myself, but it just comes down to a lack of interest after not getting excited about what I was hearing. I just couldn't muster the energy to turn off whatever else I was listening to, and slog through another mediocre mixtape in an attempt to find something I wanted to play again.<br /><br />At the same time though, I've spent a lot of this year blasting through all my nineties classics while preparing for my radio show with Thursday, and I found a whole new level of love for albums like ATLiens, Liquid Swords, Internal Affairs, etc. So it's not like I lost interest in Hip-Hop as a genre, this was actually a year where I found myself loving it more than ever. But I still can't get into any of this new shit. It's just nowhere near as good. More than that though, there hasn't even been more than a few placeholder albums this year, albums that I can bring out as good examples of decent new hip-hop. Last year we had very good new albums by Jay-Z, Ghostface, Wu-Tang, El-P, Aesop Rock, and Kanye. What do have this year? What would you say fills these places in 2008? I guess Q-Tip and (maybe) GZA are fair bets, but other than that, what would usually go here have been disappointments across the board: Nas? Bun B?<br /><br />Obviously, up until this point I have been omitting the biggest hip-hop album of the year, and the album that got me thinking about this whole post in the first place. So let's talk about Tha Carter III. In my opinion, this is the single most critically overrated album of the year, and possibly the past few. This is Wayne's best album, and while it certainly doesn't suck, I still get tongue-tied whenever I try to say the words "Lil' Wayne" and "good" in the same sentence. Because despite all the hype, and all the claims of Best Rapper Alive, Tha Carter III is still massively, massively flawed. Somehow critics have their mind erased every time a clever line pops up (there are a bunch), forgetting that the bulk of the album is made up of verses like this: "I told my girl when you fuck me, better fuck me good/'cause if another girl could she gon' fuck me good/No sitting at the table if bringing nothing to it/and I get straight to it like it's nothing to it." Seriously. Read that to yourself out loud and then tell me that Wayne is right when he says he belongs in the same league as Biggie.<br /><br />And that's what kills me every time I bitch about Hip-Hop in 2008 and someone brings up Wayne. He's just not as good as he/Pitchfork/Spin etc. thinks he is--he's just apparently the best we can get these days as far as albums with budgets and producers with equipment (No offense to Best Kept Secret).<br /><br />So that's my rant. I'm still looking forward to scouring the "top 25 hip-hop songs of 2008" lists that will surely pop up before long, and I'm sure I'll find some jams in there. I very well could be overlooking some amazing discs, and maybe I'm just too scared to commit to albums that don't have the endless acclaim that the Classics do, but I don't think so. I think that 2008 was just a drought. And that hopefully it won't last.<br /><br />Proof of Hope: (There was going to be a song here, but Oh Word has pretty much got me covered <a href="http://www.ohword.com/blog/991/young-rap-mixtape-wale-kid-kudi-mickey-factz-more">here</a>. Not saying I fuck with all of these guys, but that's mostly a taste thing-- it's all pretty solid).SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-8037965943830159542008-12-08T21:41:00.004-05:002008-12-08T21:48:18.617-05:00I Hate Beatles Covers Pt. 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thebeatlesfilms.com/The%20Beatles%20Films/ahard%20days%20nght.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 657px; height: 397px;" src="http://www.thebeatlesfilms.com/The%20Beatles%20Films/ahard%20days%20nght.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Last week, I was blessed enough to see two of my professors debate various aspects of Joni Mitchell’s song “Blue” (off of the album of the same name, obviously) as modern poetry (or something). The talk (or “smackdown,” as it was advertised) was about Joni Mitchell for about four seconds before they started positing their own little theories about modern poetry that sort of related to the song.<br /><br />Anyway, one of the professors talked about pop music as being very different form reading poetry, because the performance of the songs—that unfixed, elastic factor—is completely separate from fixed factors of lyrics and chord progressions.<br /><br />One thing to know about me is that I hate Beatles covers. Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows this about me. I feel a suicide bomber-esque desire to protect the world from these abominations, and I feel an anti-abortionist-style need to express my hate of Beatles covers in any context that it might be even a little bit relevant (hence this post). I hate them so much. I don’t know how else to say it.<br /><br />For a while, I didn’t know exactly why I hated all Beatles covers with such ferocity (even Daniel Johnston’s minimalist versions seem to fill me with strange, twisted disgust). Over the summer, when I had ample amounts of time to think about things that don’t matter) I realized that it was because I consider everything the Beatles touched (well, not literally) sacred. I guess you’d have to understand that I grew up with actually no religion in my household. When I was six, my mother sat down on my bed and asked, “Do you want to know why you have green eyes?” and before I could reply, she quickly drew a Punnett Square on a piece of paper nearby and explained the way that her alleles combined with my father’s made my eyes green. Apparently, it’s just as likely that I could have had brown eyes. Or something. Anyway, six years later, my mother sat down on the exact same spot on my bed and, with her (brown) eyes full of tears, told me that George Harrison was dead. What I’m trying to say is, in my house, we had biology, and where that failed, we had pop music. I didn’t step into a church until I was thirteen (I think).<br /><br />So maybe it wouldn’t be so surprising now that I considered the Beatles catalog one of the few pure, sacred things in the world. Those songs are the Word of God, and their covers are blasphemy. Fiona Apple doing “Across the Universe” is sort of like Fiona Apple gazing across all of creation and saying, “Well, I like this a whole lot, and I think I can do it too.”<br /><br />It sucks when people try to play God, and it also sucks when people can’t let a good thing rest. I understand that by covering these songs, artists want to pay tribute to what is probably the most influential band of all time. OK. I, too, have felt the pull to get up at an open mic and perform my version of “Norwegian Wood.” Except that this is ridiculous. It’s not as if I would be exposing a significant portion of the audience to new music—the majority of people in an open mic setting will have heard, if not imbibed this song already, years ago. It’s also not as if I could do the song justice. But it’s not just me—who do you think could make “Norwegian Wood” sound better than John Lennon?<br /><br />But I digress. I guess those aren’t the only reasons someone would want to cover a song, and maybe the point is that the reasons aren’t what’s wrong with Beatles covers. From this talk about “Blue,” though, I realized that it has more to do with the performance of the song than with the actual song writing. As anyone who has ever listened to the radio for more than five minutes knows, the Beatles got started covering their favorite American R&B songs. One of my favorite songs recorded ever, actually, is “You Really Got a Hold On Me” done by the Beatles (originally by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles). Smokey Robinson is obviously a baller, but for some reason, I just like the Beatles version better. Also, have you heard their version of “Please Mr. Postman” (originally by the Marvelettes)? It sounds fucking timeless. It sounds credible, and while the original version is REALLY awesome, it sounds dated, it sounds kitschy.<br /><br />So why are the Beatles performances just so much better than anyone else’s could possibly be? Who fucking knows. One of the professors discussing “Blue” was talking about the way that we don’t have the vocabulary to describe exactly what a song is doing to someone’s emotions; he talked about how he felt like he wants to hold an oscilloscope up to speakers playing a song and be able to point to marks on a paper and say “Look! Look there! That’s what’s going on in this song!” I know exactly what he means. There’s nothing I can say about why the Beatles performances are the ones that are sacred, and the others are not. Maybe someday I’ll figure it out, but I sort of hope that I don’t.SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-4082158796731328522008-12-05T01:06:00.004-05:002008-12-05T01:12:46.251-05:00Slim as hell in the mirrorThursday's technically over, but here:<br /><br />Disclaimer: I am not a nerd.<br /><br />Vampires have decided to don their reflective light suits and saunter into the media limelight. This notion of a nocturnal necksucker has been prelevant and kinda scary since the Romanians and Greeks dropped mythical knowledge, and was brought unto us westerners in 1819 with John Polidori's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Vampyre</span>. But it wasn't until 1897, when Bram Stoker decided to exaggerate the horrible Vlad the Impaler's image in <span style="font-style: italic;">Dracula</span>, that the vampire we know today came into being. F.W. Murnau's <span style="font-style: italic;">Nosferatu</span> brought that perception to the cinema, and Gramps Vamp planted a seed that spread its roots surreptitiously (per Buffy, who slayed mad vamps of all shapes and sizes during the years of otherwise clandestine vampire activity) and survived off pimply adolescents, introverted fanboys, and creepy basement dwellers, but has, in the past few years (and, in the world of cinema and TV, in the past few months) exploded onto the scene (it has even enticed a wizard: the late Cedric Diggory).<br /><br />There tend to be obscure flavors of the week for movies (like how volcanoes became cool in 1997 with the cleverly named <span style="font-style: italic;">Volcano</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Dante's Peak</span> premiering a mere 2 months from each other. And then again when somebody said "Yo, I got it: Magicians." in 2006 with <span style="font-style: italic;">The Prestige</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Illusionist</span>), but this Undead phenomenon has authors and television execs alike trading Teen Wolf's basketball skill and crazy hops for pubescent sex appeal (which, in the case of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Twilight</span> trilogy, is augmented by The Jonas Brothers Effect*) and making bank because of it.<br /><br />Initially, when I first heard the plot of <span style="font-style: italic;">Twilight</span>, I thought it pretty ludicrous that vampires were being portrayed as sexy; but after further consideration, I realized that vampires have always been pretty sadistically seductive with the neck sucking, the nightly prowls, and the china white skin. So, I guess, these different representations of Dracula today are just modern interpretations of an age old tale, but what's with their integration into society, y'all? And what's with them all having different weaknesses? I want one Dracula, and I want him the same as he was: a garlic hating, wood stake fearing, reflectionless, nocturnal creature; after that's set, you can get Barbie on his wardrobe and looks: clad him in denim and make him a sex symbol, turn him purple, make him a dwarf, make him fucking Chris Farley, but do not grant him immunity from his natural weaknesses!<br /><br />Also, peep Let The Right One In. It's a Swedish vampire movie about 12 year old Oskar: a pasty, emaciated, and pathetic white blonde boy (who looks like a girl). He gets picked on by kids at school and dreams of fighting them but never can muster up the strength or courage to do so. Enter Eli: a cute girl who moves in next door to Oskar and stands on swingsets 'n shit to watch him take knives to trees. I'm not going to give it away, but, she's a vampire, and hilarity, awkwardness, and bloodshed ensue.<br /><br /><br />*My theory, Copyright pending, that publicized celibacy or the notion of being unattainable to all serves to further heighten the original desire.SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-44474478721748592782008-12-05T00:22:00.003-05:002008-12-05T00:25:42.822-05:00Top Ten Old, But New-To-Me-In-2008, Albums<div style="text-align: center;">So, most of these albums are ridiculously famous. Odds are, if you're reading this, you've heard at least half of them. If you haven't, you should. They've all been analyzed to death by people more qualified than I, so I wont bother to get deep on y'all. Here goes, bros.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3f/1965_-_The_Kink_Kontroversy_-_front.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 299px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3f/1965_-_The_Kink_Kontroversy_-_front.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy</span></span><br />Although I love <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Arthur </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Village Green</span></span>... as much as the next guy, I've never really been a massive Kinks fan. I bought this album based solely on its cover, which Sleater-Kinney blatantly ripped-off on <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dig Me Out</span></span>, and I've never won so hard on a snap judgment (Thanks, Carrie Brownstein!). Going from early Kinks bluesy jams ("Milk Cow Blues"), to some of Ray Davies' strongest songwriting ("When I See That Girl of Mine", "Where Have All The Good Times Gone"), this album seems to be a hidden gem in the Katalog. Pick it up.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.notes.co.il/david/user/marquee%20moon.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.notes.co.il/david/user/marquee%20moon.bmp" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Television - Marquee Moon<br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Whoa. This came out of nowhere for me. I had heard it twice before, but for whatever reason it didn't catch. I got it on a whim a few months ago, and for the first two weeks couldn't get past the first three songs. I would get to the middle of the epic title track, get scared, and return immediately to "See No Evil". Eventually I braved it, and found even more gems on the other side ("Guiding Light", "Prove It"). Apparently in intial reviews they were compared to Quicksilver Messenger Service and nicknamed "The Grateful Dead of Punk", (Don't believe me, believe <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_%28band%29">Wikipedia</a>) and though that comparison makes sense, Television has a much better handle on songcraft than either band.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Proof</span>: "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5223311395e0cb0d/">Venus</a>"<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://geordierussell.instone.net/Jukebox/Img/V/Van%20Morrison%20-%20Astral%20Weeks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 300px;" src="http://geordierussell.instone.net/Jukebox/Img/V/Van%20Morrison%20-%20Astral%20Weeks.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Van Morrison - Astral Weeks</span></span></span><br />There's absolutely nothing about this album I can say that isn't expressed a million times better by Lester Bangs in his famous "Desert Island Disc" <a href="http://personal.cis.strath.ac.uk/%7Emurray/astral.html">essay</a> on Van Morrison's second solo jaunt. All I'll say to add to that is that I have found no album that rewards close listening as much as this one. Seriously, if you're not going to take the time to sit down and just <span style="font-style: italic;">listen</span> to this, you will miss most of it.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdn.stereogum.com/img/osmutantes_osmutantes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://cdn.stereogum.com/img/osmutantes_osmutantes.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes</span></span></span><br />Ahhhhhh! Real Brazilians!!!<br /><br />Trippy Tropicalia<br />Proto-everything band.<br />Pretty nice cape, dude.<br /><br />Check it: "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/52233503ad14c3b4/">Panis et Circensis</a>"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wT3PmL4rL.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wT3PmL4rL.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Alone in San Francisco</span></span><br />I'm a sucker for solo piano, and this album will forever serve as the jazz equivalent to the disc I have of Chopin's Nocturnes-- A spare, direct statement by an unrivaled artist of the instrument. On this album, apparently recorded live, the sounds of the crowd permeate the background--clinking glasses, bits of dialogue, and most compellingly-- someone (Monk?) tapping their foot along with the music. This was my first introduction to Monk's music, and for a while whenever I heard the fully realized versions of these songs, with all the other instruments, I got really uncomfortable, and resisted them. There was something primal and bare about these dense but addictive compositions that I could only handle in their barest form. You need this album. Trust me dudes.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000000Y59.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000000Y59.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Bill Evans Trio - Portrait In Jazz</span></span><br />A more recent addition, I picked this up from my uncle over the summer, and it served as the perfect transition from my obsession with Monk into a more full-blown Jazz fetish. Although still focused on piano, handled by Bill "Baller" Evans, he's got some serious bass and drums backing him up. A mix of standards and Evans' own compositions, this is a historic monument in jazz, one that I can't fully explain or understand, but rocks my tiny, arhythmic little world.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.missionofburma.com/images/resized%20signals.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 310px;" src="http://www.missionofburma.com/images/resized%20signals.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls, and Marches</span></span><br />The copy of this album that I have is different than the real one. I bought the Matador reissue this year after the internet flipped out about how great it was, and it's got about four extra tracks on it that do nothing but boost my love for the whole. But at the end of the day, the six tracks that were on the original are far and away the best-- take them away and this album would still be on this list, take away "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and "Academy Fight Song" and it wouldn't have been the most addicting thing I heard this year. I will always have fond memories of mowing estate-sized lawns with this album drowning out engine noise and giving me some ill-deserved righteous anger.<br /><br />Jam: "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/52228232cd2a4a62/">That's When I Reach For My Revolver</a>"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000005YZM.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 297px; height: 300px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000005YZM.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle</span></span></span><br />Another overlooked 60's gem along with the Os Mutantes album, the Zombies third (and essentially final) disc dropped in 1968, and goes way beyond hit single "Time of the Season". It's stocked with super-orchestrated early British psych, and although it veers towards the schmaltz (update: schmaltz is actually rendered pig, chicken, or goose fat. Oh, Yiddish), the songwriting backbone is solid as a rock. Additionally, the breathy and suprisingly dextrous voice of Colin Blunstone carries you right through the weaker tracks, and explodes the strongest songs: "Care of Cell 44" (which has been covered to death) "Beechwood Park" and "I Want Her She Wants Me".<br /><br />You Need These: "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/522741706129a636/">Care of Cell 44"</a> --Eliot Smith Live Cover & "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5227428871d2d653/">I Want Her She Wants Me</a>"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000005JAB.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 297px;" src="http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000005JAB.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >John Cale - Paris 1919</span><br />I'm not going to bullshit you and tell you that I know anything about the career of John Cale, beyond his work in the Velvet Underground (Heard of 'em? Pretty f'in underground.) but his third solo album was the best choice I made on the internet this year. Flexing his Pop chops after years expanding the consciousness of critics everywhere, Cale proves he knows how well his tongue fits in his cheek and that he knows how to put a band to work (the backing band for this album mostly consists of members of goofy southern rock outfit Little Feat.)<br />Go For It: "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/522744614b9c939e/">Paris 1919</a>"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415YZM37FVL.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 300px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415YZM37FVL.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Paul Simon - Paul Simon<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Simon's self titled solo jaunt after his time with good ol' Art Garfunkel was released in 1972 and contains some of his finest songwriting. My relationship with Simon's stuff has always been a confusing one, I still can't decide if I acutally </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >like</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Graceland</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, everytime I listen to it I come away with a different decision. This album on the otherhand is nothing but well constructed pop with lyrics whose delivery belies their delicacy and intelligence. This is not an album that I turn to for intellectual...anything, but one that I can throw on at anytime for a few solid chunes. Also, what a fuckin' coat.<br /><br />If You Haven't Heard This Song I don't Know Who You Are!: "<a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/52273507111abb82/">Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard</a>"<br /></span><br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;">So that's it. See you all next week, were I'll hopefully have the top 1o-15 albums of 2008.<br /><br />--Dave</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"></span></span></div><br /></div>SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-78998841326118230982008-12-03T01:37:00.002-05:002008-12-03T01:46:10.864-05:00She's Freaky But I Like It.On Sunday night I melted a lamp. After I panicked and immediately fled from my room, worried that the dorm fire alarm was going to go off and I would soon have a hundred people hating me, I listened to some pop music.<br /><br />Which brings us to the question: In music, is personal expression really all that much more valuable than pure and simple consumerism?<br /><br />Honestly, this wasn't something that had occurred to me before. But as I sat in my friend's room, simultaneously watching Britney Spears videos on YouTube and imagining the hordes of angry college students and Safety & Security officers that I was sure were roaming the campus with pitchforks and torches looking for me, we had the following discussion.<br />Most of the music that I, at least, listen to regularly is presumably created by the artist as a way to express him/her(/zir)self. That's why they make music - as a form of personal expression; because they feel like they have something to say, whether or not the listener agrees. Obviously they want people to listen to and enjoy their music, but they wouldn't necessarily alter their own personal sound to fit what the audience wants to hear.<br />But, come on, let's just say it: Pop artists, on the other hand, are pretty much just in it for the money.<br />Okay, maybe that's not totally fair. Granted, I don't really know what I'm talking about, as someone whose only knowledge of the music industry comes from listening to music. I'm sure that they all started out because of a love for performing or singing or...whatever. But when it comes down to it, how many popular pop artists actually write their own songs? Their personal expression is all about the brand. Yes, it's about the sound of their music - a sound that they inspire and choose, even if they don't create it - but it's also about the merchandising. It's about selling out corporate arenas around the world. It's about whether to wear hot pants or a leotard for the show that night. These artists - these songs - are constructed to sell.<br />This means that the people who write these songs have one task and one task only: to write the best fucking song ever. More independent artists write because it's what they feel, man, and the best way for them to express themselves is through the freedom of music. Or something. But pop songwriters just have to make a song that is better than every other song ever.<br />Obviously, commercial success does NOT equal quality. Obviously there are plenty of songs that are both wildly popular and absolute crap. See: Soulja Boy. But every once in a while, this intense competition within the pop music industry comes out with something so refined, so utterly advanced, so beyond just 'personal expression' and possibly even into the realm of near-genius. Because this is what they have to do. This is why the pop genre, which inarguably supplies the world with a lot of terrible music, is so worthwhile. While all those lameass singer/songwriters are warbling on about how they feel and something pretty they saw or whatever, there is a whole other world solely devoted to creating the perfect song. Perfect structure, perfect vocals, perfect instrumentation/sampling/whathaveyou, perfect production. And just so. Fucking. Good.<br /><br />Seriously, I listen to all of these songs on a pretty much daily basis. You won't find me saying I have any "guilty pleasures" - I'm not ashamed in the least.<br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/521819496044ed46/"><br />Crazy in Love - Beyonce (feat. Jay-Z)</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/5218199125d8e664/">Lovestoned/I Think She Knows - Justin Timberlake</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5218201281285213/">Toxic - Britney Spears</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/521820191fb0de0d/">Umbrella - Rihanna (feat. Jay-Z</a><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/521820252e067245/">Like a Prayer - Madonna</a><br /> NB: Okay, so this one's a little bit different. Madonna did write it - helped a bit, at least (and to be fair, so did Beyonce and JT on their respective tracks) - and it's not nearly as commercial and consumerist as the others (especially considering the controversy surrounding the music video etc). But this is hands down what I consider to be the best pop song ever written, and is probably one of my top three favorite songs ever. There was no way I wasn't going to include it in my post on pop music.<br /><br />xoxo,<br />tues.SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-65768204088634396482008-12-01T17:42:00.003-05:002008-12-01T18:18:31.284-05:00You might not know about the Teenage Spaceship.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjk7ENX7qsYK3isXtrzIhgogSUmP2c5V_IIMMgQDMqxIr0erk7wCnOhuUabt99b_sgGopBU5D8tdfuFDwu6eD4NJZ3be8TGvB2pWA10f5NG0xqd4NnF9k0EqwIUmdagxuJK7Em2stBeFo/s1600-h/callahan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjk7ENX7qsYK3isXtrzIhgogSUmP2c5V_IIMMgQDMqxIr0erk7wCnOhuUabt99b_sgGopBU5D8tdfuFDwu6eD4NJZ3be8TGvB2pWA10f5NG0xqd4NnF9k0EqwIUmdagxuJK7Em2stBeFo/s320/callahan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274964942237468242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So remember those 3 papers I was writing last week? Well now I have 2 more. SO.<br /><br />Teenage Spaceship is the 5th track off of Smog's excellent 7th album, Knock Knock. People say that there are better Smog albums than this one, but I don't believe them. It's not quite the lo-fi, Jandek-esque mess we saw on his super-early albums, but it's not as shiny as the new albums (<a href="http://math.scu.edu/%7Edostrov/fab4seinfeld.jpg">not that there's anything wrong with that...</a>).<br /><br />Callahan's voice has hardly ever been more earnest here, and the melody has hardly ever been better crafted. He's doing the clunky piano trope, and the self-referencial lyrics ("I was a teenage Smog/Sewen to the sky").<br /><br />But just in case you forgot how it felt to be seventeen, Smog is here to remind you. In the best way possible. Becuase no matter how much you wish you could forget about it, it's probably best if you didn't.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5212618384d4484e/">Teenage Spaceship--Smog </a>SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-43332595385062658432008-11-25T22:07:00.002-05:002008-11-25T22:13:49.725-05:00Life Is Demanding Without UnderstandingOh, yes. It's time for Tuesday's Mountain Goats list. I know you've all (ha!) been anxiously awaiting this since last week, and here we go. God, this was hard. I had some pretty serious culling to do. These songs are just the ten that I couldn't even fathom taking off the list. There are so many more that should be on here for so many reasons, but these ten are the top ten Mountain Goats songs that I just haven't been able to stop listening to since I first got into the band. I go through so many specific-song phases where I just listen to one over and over, but these are the ten that stick around and I keep coming back to.<br /><br />Well, okay, nine. The last one is just epic.<br /><br />They're numbered in, um...what do they call it in High Fidelity? Autobiographical order, I think? Not necessarily the order in which I first got the albums or even listened to the songs, but the order in which I became completely obsessed with each particular song, one by one. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/5185867093d45ce0/">1. No Children (Tallahassee)</a><br />Okay, so maybe this is one of their more "mainstream" songs or whatever. It's the first Mountain Goats song I ever heard - on a mix CD from a friend in ninth grade - and I feel like I owe a pretty big part of my musical tastes and interests to it. The question haunts me every day: What if I had never heard the Mountain Goats? This is the perfect introductory Mountain Goats song. Crisp and clear, upbeat tempo, and cripplingly depressing lyrics. When I saw the Mountain Goats at the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago a few years ago, they played this on the outdoor stage in the middle of the sweltering July afternoon. Johnny D introduced it as a sing-a-long. And somehow, at that moment, being in the midst of hundreds of people all screaming in unison, "I hope you die! I hope we all die!"* was the best feeling imaginable.<br />*The crowd switched up the lyrics a bit to fit the situation better.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/51858672fea91122/">2. Going to Georgia (Zopilote Machine)</a><br />I don't even want to say anything about this one; just go fucking listen to it. "The most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it's you, and you're standing in the doorway." It's being in love. That's all this song is. It's dusk, and doorways, and being in love. With a little bit of apprehension (and, okay, a gun) thrown in - but really, what's love without that?<br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/5185867881b58772/"><br />3. Cotton (We Shall All Be Healed)</a><br />Honestly, I just think this one is pretty. The lyrics are great, obviously, but not anywhere near some of Darnielle's best; same goes for the music itself. But it's simple, and sweet, and reassuring. The guitar strums always give me a slightly gooey feeling inside.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/51858682d8ac9a95/">4. Jenny (All Hail West Texas)</a><br />The thing with most Mountain Goats songs is that once you know them fairly well, they're pretty much all great to sing along with. "Goddamn, the pirate's life for me!" This song feels like fantasy to me, a dream song. The eager guitar strumming breaks through the vocals from time to time. Darnielle is excited, he's enthralled, he's engaged as he sings. He's letting himself get just a little carried away - but not too much. This, like so many other Mountain Goats songs, is all imagination.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/51858685c24c5764/">5. Collapsing Stars (Come, Come to the Sunset Tree)</a><br />This is the version from the demos album released while tMG were touring to support The Sunset Tree, but this song was also released on the Dilaudid EP. That version is also really interesting and definitely worth listening to - it's almost orchestrated, with violins and pianos filling out the structure of the song - but the original demo hits closer to home for me. The bareness of the single guitar complements the eerie honesty of the lyrics. This album is about (along with many other things) being a teenager, and this song perfectly captures the feelings of determination and gritted teeth that I think has a lot to do with being that age, and being invincible. I almost believe him when he sings, "You can look, but you won't find another love like ours." I want this kid to win. I want it all to work out for him. But you can't help but get the feeling from this song that it just never does.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/51858689ee0f23e3/">6. Orange Ball of Hate (Zopilote Machine)</a><br />All of the songs in the 'Orange Ball' series are wonderful, but this song always stands out to me. I have the same image of the doorway from "Going to Georgia" in my head, but a little later in the year, a little earlier in the day, and with a lot more smirking. This song destroys the fantasy we see in "Jenny". We learn about hopelessness in the face of love; we see everything that's wrong with him, with her, with their relationship, but all we hear is "I sure do love you". The "rocks in her head", the not wanting "to live in new england anymore", that "stupid children's song" she's singing - it's all worth it. This is what it's really about, these dumb little things, and how they're overcome by love.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/518586947abb9253/">7. Fault Lines (All Hail West Texas)</a><br />It's really difficult to write these little blurbs sometimes because all you really have to do it just listen to the lyrics, because that's what so many of these songs are really about. Like in "No Children", the contrast between the fairly upbeat melody and the absolute desperation contained within the lyrics is striking, and makes it just that much more profound as the song spirals downward and abruptly ends with just a simple "La la la la, hey hey!"<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5185869854a21334/">8. Southwood Plantation Road (Tallahassee)</a><br />I only started listening to this song a lot after the aforementioned show in Chicago, where they played this and had a dance contest to see who could pogo the longest. This song grabs you. It's trying to keep a hold on something; you can feel Darnielle's vocals trying to grasp something in the air. The instruments power forward, reaching and stretching to fill up any empty space there might be. And, of course, the first three lines of this song are some of my favorite lyrics ever. I grimace every time I hear "Our conversations are like minefields; no one's found a safe way through one yet". Everybody has someone like that. It never gets any easier. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/518586952144b2d2/">9. Color In Your Cheeks (All Hail West Texas)</a><br />I've been sitting here thinking for a few minutes now, and I don't think I can explain why this is one of my favorite Mountain Goats songs. The lyrics are pretty, sweet, harmless, calming - but, admittedly, Darnielle's done better. The guitar is all of the above, just steadily and simply marching forward to progress the song. But something about this song just gives me a good feeling when I sing along. It gets stuck in my head, and I just smile. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/51858700d01a10ad/">10. The Sign</a><br />In case anyone ever had any doubts - John Darnielle is fucking adorable.<br /><br />See you next week, fools. Love you all.<br /><br />xoxo,<br />Tuesday<br />(who is pretty pissed, while we're on the subject, that there wasn't a new episode of Gossip Girl this week...)SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-68940902873077204692008-11-24T21:17:00.007-05:002008-11-24T21:27:15.925-05:00Copyright Dorthy Grambrell 2008<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnahmBK3pysYZD_rIg-yibXS07iRglau-oanfood1cM4wq28RNoq8QkL6MmwX1AiS3ht9WpGn6Az-C2gF4PBTYoaJKcfaHKcKMX7lHDKnLaWFI43KJpt0lQBVbIccmrYiGuROiVPnXdIE/s1600-h/2008-11-14-cg0677mainstream.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnahmBK3pysYZD_rIg-yibXS07iRglau-oanfood1cM4wq28RNoq8QkL6MmwX1AiS3ht9WpGn6Az-C2gF4PBTYoaJKcfaHKcKMX7lHDKnLaWFI43KJpt0lQBVbIccmrYiGuROiVPnXdIE/s320/2008-11-14-cg0677mainstream.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272414713023162674" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Hey y'all, so I have three papers to write so I'm just going to leave you today with a Cat and Girl comic from a few weeks ago (please tell me that you read this comic. If not, GO HERE RIGHT NOW OR PERISH: <a href="http://www.catandgirl.com/">www.catandgirl.com</a>. Everybody else already did three years ago.)<br /><br />Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow,<br />--MondaeSmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-68475214219493260872008-11-21T02:50:00.005-05:002008-12-06T12:52:33.774-05:00Childhood?There have been many questions that have proved unceasingly irksome and labyrinthine for me recently, but one has remained especially pungent in my mind: Have kids' television shows/channels (especially Nickelodeon) gotten that much worse in the past few years, or have we just gotten older? Instead of trying to argue that shows like <span style="font-style: italic;">iCarly</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">True Jackson, VP,</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Naked Brothers Band</span> would not have appealed to me circa 1996 (or thereabout), I am just going to play the role of Thursday Guy the Raconteur, and remind you of what great programs were at our viewing disposal in the days of decrusted PB & Js and recess.<br />Now, I'm still just a pup in the grand scheme of things, and, to assure that everybody is on the same page, I'm going to chronologically name the shows that defined my childhood:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Hey Dude </span>and I were born in the same year, 1989. Sadly, it died when I was two years old, in 1991, and, because of this, I didn't experience <span style="font-style: italic;">Hey Dude</span> in all it's novel glory until it came back, rerun style, in the mid-nineties. The synopsis goes a little something like this:<br />Mr. Ernst, formerly of New York City, decides that the fast and hectic lifestyle isn't for him, and moves out to Arizona with his son, Buddy, on a whim, and founds "Bar None Dude Ranch". Buddy isn't too into arid Tucson, obviously, because he can't skateboard on the ranch. Five interns, all from completely different ethnic and socioeconomic groups (Nickelodeon was big into being as blatantly PC as possible during this time. I mean, there was a snazzy dresser from Gross Pointe, MI, and an oddball Native American both, for whatever reason, working on a newly founded ranch in AZ), come to work for the well-intentioned but pretty incompetent Mr. Ernst and teenage-geared hilarity ensues!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Rugrats</span>. What can I say about it? Evaluating it would be like reconsidering my upbringing; cogitating why I am like I am. Originally aired in 1991, <span style="font-style: italic;">Rugrats</span> technically ran until 2004, when they were "All Growed Up" and sucked.<br />I kind of wish <span style="font-style: italic;">Rugrats</span> died out in, let's say, 1994; thereby allowing it to gain that <span style="font-style: italic;">Arrested Development</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Freaks and Geeks</span> aura and that Jimi Hendrix/Clifford Brown/Sylvia Plath "what if?" mysticism. Hendrix in that it was, by far, the best at what it did; Brown because it would have been so short lived and would have had infinite potential; Plath because even the worse episodes (some of her poetry) would still have been extolled and glorified, even if they didn't deserve the praise. I guess doing that, though, would be equivalent to my being born without my right arm or left leg: I would go through life knowing that I was missing something integral, but would compensate, atone, and adjust, and continue living incompletely.<br />The idea, for you ignoramuses, or <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0124298/">Brendan Fraser bomb shelter kids</a>, was that four friends, Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, and Phil and Lil DeVille, go adventuring, and, unbeknownst to their parents, communicate in adorable malapropisms via some sort of baby speak. Their endeavors usually take place at Tommy's house, and often are antagonized by Tommy's elder cousin Angelica, who is bilingual in English and Toddler. The beginnings always started off with ultra-extreme close-ups of some everyday object and I always tried my hardest to guess what it was before it came completely into focus. Dealing with issues like the struggles of being a lefty and pre-k crushes, <span style="font-style: italic;">Rugrats</span> was perfect.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Doug</span> was the <span style="font-style: italic;">Rugrats</span> for those closing in on the double-digit age mark, and originally ran from 1991-1994. It was an eponymous masterpiece whose reputation was tarnished by the fact that it made a horrendous comeback on One Saturday Morning (and it had so much potential to evoke that aforementioned aura!) near the turn of the millennium.<br /><a href="http://www.nick.com/all_nick/tv_supersites/images/img_dou_dou.gif">Douglas Yancey Funnie</a>: average in every way. His turtle-green v-neck sweater vest, baggy white undershirt, cargo shorts, ankle-high socks, and red and white sneakers screamed mediocrity louder than an Adelina Patti aria. He was never quite able to pull in the reins on Patty Mayonnaise (Nickelodeon and Political Correctness? Patty's dad was in a wheelchair), got picked on by Roger Klotz (man was he m-e-a-n!), had a partially anthropomorphic dog Porkchop, and had his one (allegorically Afro-American?) best friend Skeeter Valentine. It seems like a pretty typical teen movie setup, yes, but it had the animation and problem simplification to gear it toward, and make it appeal to, a prepubescent crowd. Doug could never break through the proverbial (social) glass ceiling, but we loved to see the futile attempts of his rubber hammer to do so.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">All That</span>, and I'm not talking that Amanda Bynes led shit. I'm talking about Lori Beth Denberg, Josh Server, Kel Mitchell, Danny Tamberelli, and Kenan Thompson. I'm talking about awesome preteen sketch comedy that I watched my two sisters on SNICK (which was subsequently and shittily replaced by TEENick) when my parents were out to dinner on Saturday nights. Remember Good Burger? It was made into a movie (take that, SNL). What about Dullmont Jr. High, where eccentric teaches did zany things and spoke in non sequiturs, and sometimes not in English at all (beat you to it, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Faculty</span>). Coach Kreeton, with Kel Mitchell at his finest, acting as an elderly Phys. Ed. teacher who is always accidentally inflicting pain on himself (sorry, Seann William Scott). The Spice Boys (pf, you wish, 2Gether).<br />Okay, not to beat you over the head with it, but the seminal <span style="font-style: italic;">All That</span> was, potentially, a pretty influential show.<br /><br />I don't know, I could just be searching for gold in a coal mine, for meaning or coincidence in nothing, but I want to reminisce with ideas of grander implications; I want to think that the endless hours I spent sprawled across my brown leather couch were not completely spent in vain; that these shows weren't the <span style="font-style: italic;">Zoey 101s</span> or the <span style="font-style: italic;">Drake & Joshes<span style="font-style: italic;">. </span></span>I want to think that these shows mattered, that they left a footprint, that they did <span style="font-style: italic;">something.</span><br /><br />-ThursdaySmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-73924456851141318102008-11-21T01:43:00.002-05:002008-11-21T01:54:38.618-05:00Seven Songs I'm into at the Moment.Hey guys, so I obviously fucked up yesterday, my apologies. And I wish that I could say that I'm going to have a really thought out, in depth post, but I'm really, really tired. So you're going to get a list of seven songs I'm loving a lot right now. It's a really mixed bag, not in terms of quality, but genre.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/51633249dff2d996/">The Flatlanders -- Tonight I'm Gonna Go Downtown</a><br /><br />Featuring Smokey from The Big Lebowski, proto-alt-country (two modifiers ftw!) group The Flatlanders had little success initially, but after all three became prominent solo musicians, interest in their original band was rekindled. For all intents and purposes, their debut album More A Legend Than a Band was released in 1991 (their real debut was released only on a small run of 8-tracks after their single was a failure), and it is pure gold. This song features a dobro solo that makes me melt, gorgeous country vocals and a singing saw that gives it an otherworldly shimmer.<br /><br />Ernest Tubb -- Thanks a Lot<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh6Te4RW4A4">Youtube</a><br /><br />More Country. You can thank my roommate for both of these. I just heard this song for the first time an hour ago, but jesus christ, it's a gem. Straight up gold from the "Texas Troubadour" this song is remarkably simple (although it features incredible pedal steel and guitar interplay by Tubb's astounding backing band), but it's one that sticks with you for quite a bit. I have to confess, though, that I'm really a sucker for this old country shit. Makes me wanna pull up stakes and wander through the American Heartland, searching for meaning, finding real americans and educating them about the importance of gender neutral pronouns and the immorality of cheese.<br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/5163337145100925/"><br />Lynguistics -- Cunninlynguists</a><br /><br />When I saw Cunninlynguists a month or two ago, it was absurdly under-attended, but this song got everyone in the half full house slamming their head and trying to learn the lyrics to this jam from the southern powerhouse's debut, Will Rap For Food. Kno Flips a Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto into one of my favorite beats ever, and Deacon rip the track apart with perfectly cadenced and entertaining battle raps about their greatness. Which is really his job, I could care less about what he's actually saying when Kno is behind the boards.<br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/516334237750d5da/"><br />Venus -- Television</a><br /><br />Really not a ton to say about this that hasn't been said a million times by people a lot smarter than me. I just recently got into Television's debut Marquee Moon, and it's full of great tracks, this one being my current favorite. I don't know if it's the perfectly interlaced guitar work or the call and response chorus, but this song can not be beat for me right now. That's really all I got. If you haven't heard this album, cop it immediately.<br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/51633483e672bc6e/"><br />Gettin' Up -- Q-Tip</a><br /><br />A Tribe Called Quest is my favorite rap group of all time, and responsible for two albums that would fit into my top 20 any day of the week, so it's no surprise that I can't get enough of the single from Q-Tip's latest, The Renaissance. It's exactly what people should be expecting from Q-Tip at this point, a deliciously jazzy beat, deceptively complex and extremely well constructed, with Tip's patented butter voice dripping all over everything. He's the boss, and that's all there is to it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/51633565c768cc1d/">Dinosaur on the Ark -- Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit</a><br /><br />This song is shamelessly and patently ridiculous. The lyrics are absurd, and the production is hyperbolic and insane. But it keeps reminding me of what Xgau said about Paul Simon's debut solo album "I've been saying nasty things about Simon since 1967, but this is the only thing to make make me positively happy in the first two weeks of February 1972". This song for me is joy incarnate, even despite it's melancholy lyrics, it's the most uplifting thing I've heard maybe all year. The project between Esau and Radioclit takes existing songs and makes them into jams for Esau to vocally shred all over, and it's called The Very Best. It's definitely worth checking out when you get some time to feel really, really good about yourself.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/51633616792bee7a/">Van Dyke Parks -- All Golden</a><br /><br />Van Dyke Parks is a fucking genius. Before Joanna and Ys, and before his cameo on Twin Peaks (Leo Johnson's lawyer, for those buffs out there), he was a Brian Wilson collaborator and commercially unsuccessful solo artist. Which is a shame, because his debut (incidentally one of the most expensive albums ever made), is an absolutely stunning accomplishment. Seamlessly mixing together every part of americana he can get his hands on, Parks creates a sound world of uncompromising vision. But it's still pop music, don't worry, he stuffs this album more full of hooks than I will be next weeks, when I apparently have two thanksgivings in two days (ah, the upsides of divorced parents). <br /><br />Until next time, when hopefully I'll be on time.<br /><br />---DaveSmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-22770319056239492102008-11-19T01:56:00.004-05:002008-11-19T02:03:25.910-05:00I Am Healthy, I Am Whole, But I Have Poor Impulse ControlFirst of all, Monday: Don't think you're stopping me from doing a Mountain Goats post of my own. Oh, no. You're not getting away with this. Stay tuned for next week: Tuesday's EVEN BETTER top ten Mountain Goats songs. Yeah, I said it. (No but really, all the ones she posted are fantastic and everyone should listen to her and listen to them. She's great, JD's great, everyone's great. We're all friends here.)<br />Except for the fact that the title IS "September 19th Triple X Love! Love". Seriously. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_%28album%29">Wikipedia never lies. </a> Monday, it's time to change your iTunes info.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So.</span><br /><br />Like I said, the theme of this post is winter. Snow, specifically. Because it's winter. And it's snowing. Already. Before Thanksgiving. And my Uggs and long puffy down coat are beginning to push themselves toward the front of my closet, becoming more and more enticing every day. The gloves are out, the hats are out, the dozens of hand-knit scarves are out. Every time I go to class, I have to peel off four layers of outerwear before I can even sit down. It's officially wintertime. And these are the songs I want to listen to in the snow.<br /><a href="http://www.zshare.net/download/51529583fd9d6203/"><br />Zipped.</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Aphex Twin - "Girl/Boy Song"</span><br />The elegance in this song astounds me. I am really not a huge fan of Aphex Twin in general, but that's the first word that comes to mind when I hear this. Elegance. It just feels somehow like the beginnings of a snowstorm; the movement in the song mirrors the swirling of the flakes, and you just start to see patterns everywhere. Elegance, pure and simple.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. The Flaming Lips - "Suddenly Everything Has Changed"</span><br />This song just feels so slow, in the best way possible. I love how it deals with sparsity, and yet every moment in the song, even when it's essentially silent, seems so completely full and loaded. This is a sitting-inside-and-looking-out song (as opposed to the Aphex Twin, which is most definitely a tromping-around-in-the-snow song). <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. John Cale - "Paris 1919"</span><br />Just listen to how dense and wintry those intro strings are! Brr. Don't you just want to walk around in the snow chanting "You're a ghost, la la la la la la la la la!"?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Grizzly Bear - "Plans"</span><br />I love how the first line of this song just completely engulfs you. It's pressuring you, slowly, steadily. It's pushing up from under your feet until it encases you, keeping your pocketed hands pinned to your sides. The swinging, slogging rhythm covers you with sloth, with immobility, until all you can do is stand still and listen. In the snow, preferably.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Sun Kil Moon - "Carry Me Ohio"</span><br />Yeah, I mean, I had to. I live there. That's what this post is about, really. I can't speak for the rest of you, but this is Ohio for the next few months.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. Air - "Highschool Lover"</span><br />The instrumental-only version of "Playground Love" from the "Virgin Suicides" soundtrack. This song is sort of old for me; the original was a big favorite of mine in high school. The ethereal-ness (ethereality?) works so well for the wintertime; the simplicity of the basic piano melody and the pulsing backdrop provide a clear setting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">7. Belle & Sebastian - "We Rule the School"</span><br />There were a few choices from "Tigermilk", B&S's debut album, that I was considering for this, but "Fox in the Snow" seemed too obvious and, ironically, "I Don't Love Anyone" just wasn't quite depressing enough. The gorgeousness of "We Rule the School" is in its simplicity: just a few instruments and very spare, understated vocals. This isn't a tromping-in-the-snow song or a sitting-inside song, this is a standing-in-the-middle-of-a-snowdrift-and-looking-at-everything-around-you song. Just make sure your boots are warm enough.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8. Indian Jewelry - "Swans"</span><br />I actually just found this band a couple hours ago, sifting through CDs in my school's radio station. The song isn't quite old and isn't quite new; the album, "Free Gold!", came out this past May. This song especially has a very static-y, My Bloody Valentine-esque feel to it. You just have to sit and bob your head while the sound fills the space around you.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">9. The Walkmen - "The Rat"</span><br />Another high school oldie. But this song will never lose its flavor. I will never stop frantically air-drumming to this song whenever I hear it. This song probably has more power and energy than all the other songs on this list combined, which I think is a nice break from all those other, slow, "pretty" wintery songs. This song is nothing if not frantic. It's chilly. It's cold. Everyone needs a nice song to yell along to every once in a while.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">10. David Bowie - "Life on Mars?"</span><br />Let's be honest, this song would probably be on any mix I'd make. Partially because yes, okay, I adore it, but also just because it's so fucking versatile. It works for almost anything. It's a good happy song, it's a good sad song, it's a good angry song, it's a good pump-up song. I can't think of anything I enjoy more in this world than driving around singing along to this song at the top of my lungs. Except, maybe, singing along to it at the top of my lungs while walking by myself. And that enjoyment could only be increased if it was snowing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">11. The Mountain Goats - "Riches and Wonders"</span><br />This was a hard choice. Like Miss Monday said yesterday, there's just SO MUCH to choose from. And I feel like lo-fi in general just goes along pretty well with winter - all that fuzziness, you know? - so virtually any of their older work would be nearly perfect. Especially the albums as a whole - for winter I'd especially recommend "Come, Come to the Sunset Tree" and "Zopilote Machine" - but I just think this is a really pretty song, in the simplest way possible. It warms my heart, which is something everyone needs on a cold day.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">12. Little Joy - "Brand New Start"</span><br />Here's a new one. Bright and uplifting, a nice contrast to most of the other songs on here. You can't get through the entire season only listening to this depressing shit, even if it does reflect somewhat the world around you. Make yourself listen to something that'll make you feel good. Listen to this and take a walk - no, skip! - through the snow.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">13. Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton - "The Maid Needs a Maid"</span><br />Back to the depressing shit. We've got a somewhat higher-than-normal level of piano this winter, don't we? The melancholy in this song just works so beautifully well; it drags you right along with it. And even though I feel like I'm getting my heart broken every time I hear this, I can't keep myself from falling in love with something this utterly, inarguably beautiful.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">14. Animal Collective - "Winter's Love"</span><br />Okay, okay, obvious, I know. But it's great (even if a little long for my taste). This song is all about catching snowflakes on your tongue.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">15. Yo La Tengo - "Damage"</span><br />I first listened to this song last winter and I don't think I've stopped since. God, talk about getting your heart broken every time you hear a song. But I can still never tear myself away. I need to listen to it over and over, as masochistic as that may be. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">16. The Innocence Mission - "What A Wonderful World"</span><br />Just a really cute, pretty, clean, clear cover. Not much else to it, and there doesn't need to be.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">17. LCD Soundsystem - "New York I Love You"</span><br />This song works for me along the same lines as "Life on Mars?". But this song is just flat-out cold. Since it's started getting colder outside, I listen to this every night on my way back from the library at two in the morning. It lasts almost exactly as long as the walk does, and by the time I get back to my dorm I feel like my entire body is swelling, bursting at the seams, ready to explode into the frigid air.<br /><br />That's all, folks. 'Til next week...the Uggs will be back by then, believe me. Brr.<br /><br />xoxo,<br />TuesdaySmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-2264551494902964712008-11-18T00:29:00.003-05:002008-11-18T00:37:34.491-05:00"John Darnielle Would Never Say, 'Whatev.'"HYPER-EMOTIONAL MUSIC MONDAYS!<br /><br />Hey guys, guess what? I really love the Mountain Goats! If you know me, you’re probably rolling your eyes right now, and Ms. Tuesday might be pissed that I got to this entry before she did.<br /><br />So making this list was pretty hard, since JD has penned over 500 songs in his fifteen-year recording career. I pride myself in having heard a lot of them, maybe almost all of them. There are only a few that I don’t actually like. Also, it’s bullshit that I don’t have anything from All Hail West Texas on here, since that is one of my favorite MGs albums, but it was actually impossible to pick only one or even two songs off of that album that I liked more than all the others.<br /><br />(10) Raid on Entebbe—Jack and Faye<br />This is the first Mountain Goats song I ever heard, for some reason. I thought he was insane for doing the thing where he lists everything he can see, everything he feels, and everything anyone does so that the scene is in perfect visceral detail. I think one of the reasons that I love the Mountain Goats so much (and my best friend and philosopher-queen, D. Young, has posited this before) is that nothing in his songs is abstract. Nothing is open to interpretation—he brings you right there with him, sometimes almost sickeningly so. He’s not singing this because there are these abstract feelings that he is expressing about some abstract second person that may or may not be in the audience. He’s singing this because he HAS to tell YOU this story. He HAS to tell you every little thing about it. As someone from Tiny Mix Tapes said before me, “John Darnielle would never say ‘whatev.’” Everything is important. Every feeling, every utterance, every detail. “Raid on Entebbe” is a textbook example of JD’s anti-whatev philosophy, which is why I love it so much.<br /><br />(9) The Recognition Scene—Sweden<br />You can feel this song in your bloodstream, as if JD stuck an IV in there and dripped this syrup in it--pure, distilled, saccharine melancholy. I think this song is often overlooked, being the first track on Sweden and all, but every time I hear it I am electrified and placated at the same time. My body stiffens and relaxes into mush, simultaneously. It’s almost like being in love with someone you hate.<br /><br />(8) Game Shows Touch Our Lives—Tallahassee<br />Speaking of being in love with someone you hate… “People say friends don’t destroy one another/what do they know about friends?” One of the all time Darnilleist Darnielle lyrics, and even though I’ve never been in an emotionally abusive relationship, I know EXACTLY what he means. “Our house sinking into disrepair/Ah, but look at this showroom/filled with fabulous prizes”—not only does he touch on the excellent House Metaphor that he loves so much (see: The Fall of the House of Usher), but he’s also talking about the eggs that Woody Allen (the other dysfunctional relationship expert) talks about at the end of Annie Hall. It’s a sudden, completely visible moment of clarity, and everything is finally foucused.<br /><br />(7) Jaipur—the Coroner’s Gambit<br />It’s all about the crunchy guitar and the particular way the 8-track picks up the almost unbearably nasal quality of his voice here. It makes everything so much direr, more volatile. JD’s infamous biblical/mythological references are in top form here, blending them with the Otis Redding-style narrative of moving up and down the eastern seaboard. I can’t think of a time when he’s more desperate than he is here, roaming, waiting for a car with chrome tail pipes, the jewel-encrusted chariot.<br /><br />(6) Maize Stalk Drinking Blood—Full Force Galesburg<br />“This is an empty country/and I am the king/and I should not be allowed to touch anything.” That is all. Also, the image in the title used to freak me out a lot and made me not want to listen to the song, but then I learned about the meso-American myth that it’s referencing, and now I think it’s awesome.<br /><br />(5) Commandante—Devil in the Shortwave<br />My friends are all pretty pissed at me for singing this song incessantly while I’m tryina get my drink on. It’s a kickass drinking song at its core, with enough Mao references to keep any pinko happy. “We’re gonna sail though the night sky/like a pair of bottle rockets” is one of JD’s more adorable images, but this song is on here because it’s just so much fun to yell at the top of your lungs when your drunk with all of your other MGs lovin’ friends.<br /><br />(4) September 16th Triple X Love! Love!—Sweden<br />The Tuesday girl is going to insist that this song is titled “September 19th Triple X Love! Love!” but actually, I have no idea where the title comes from, and it bugs me. It’s classic passive/aggressive JD, and I think it has some of the most beautiful imagery of all of the Mountain Goats’ beautiful imagery. If I die before I see someone outside my window chopping wood and setting it on fire in the snow, my life will have been so much the worse.<br /><br />(3) Going to Queens—Sweden<br />You just can’t have one without the other. And just before you think that Sweden is being overrepresented on this list, just take a listen to this track. It’s so nice to hear Rachel, bassist with tMGs until 1995, singing this nursery rhyme, with JD doing the growly harmonies underneath. Once, JD played this song for me around a campfire between sips of whiskey. It was two years ago, and I still know that I will die happy.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyZfZcpE3RxVANNYMQdXzYGE4ln0blcFstJqkKjT6dLXBytmBDBTOiN_tkNJQP33cIxn8mKNv4eOwXv9zIkztO_VO4IyzMlznvM9p1eMbkZAb-BbYU2qn_4I3LFvaKV6PJC3B6vtMN-k/s1600-h/JD+MATT.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyZfZcpE3RxVANNYMQdXzYGE4ln0blcFstJqkKjT6dLXBytmBDBTOiN_tkNJQP33cIxn8mKNv4eOwXv9zIkztO_VO4IyzMlznvM9p1eMbkZAb-BbYU2qn_4I3LFvaKV6PJC3B6vtMN-k/s320/JD+MATT.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269866444334664306" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Look! There he is, teaching my best friend’s ex-boyfriend how to play something! (Polaroid credit: D. Young, 2007).<br /><br />(2) Minnesota—Full Force Galesburg<br />I don’t think JD has ever written a better slow jam. His voice is so small here, and I feel like his guitar is deeper than the 8-track allows for. It’s a song you can live inside of.<br />“We may throw the windows open later/but we are not as far west as you suppose we are.”<br /><br />(1) Going to Bridlington—unreleased<br />So how alt am I, telling all of y’all that my favorite tMGs song is unreleased. But you know how when you know someone really well, it’s really hard to describe what they’re like? Or you know how when you take a personality test, you have to answer yes or no questions and you just sort of sit there for a while like, scratching your head, “Am I usually early or late for my appointments?” Trying to tell you why I like this song so goddamn much is sort of like that. It’s pretty unfathomable.<br /><br /><br />I'll get you the links to this shit tomorrow. Right now it's not even technically Monday anymore, and my history paper is callin' my name.SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7348418284681753133.post-52150886848122938782008-11-14T00:46:00.035-05:002008-11-14T21:23:55.958-05:00The second installmentHey y'all, Thursday here.<br />Sorry for the delay, I have been swamped with work. Numbers 6-10 proved a lot more difficult than I had assumed, and the list is still tentative because of my ambivalence. 1-5 have always been somewhat unofficially solidified in my mind, but I could probably squeeze 20 albums into these last 5 spots.<br /><br />Without further ado, numbers 6-10 of MY top 10 hip-hop albums of all time:<br /><br />10. <span style="font-style: italic;">Operation: Doomsday</span> (1999) - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MF</span> DOOM<br />Many DOOM fans will tell you that his collaboration work is far superior to his solo work. This is probably true (it's hard to make forgettable music when working with the likes Danger Mouse,<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Ghostface</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Nas</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Madlib</span>, and J <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Dilla</span>); I would go as far as to agree with these people. We could stay friends.<br />If that same said fan told me that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">MF</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">DOOM's</span> solo work was sub par, I would immediately begin to imagine a world where I had the ability to dislodge a tracheal ring, deliver a swift roundhouse kick to the cranium, or telepathically summon a flaming Peregrine Falcon; my Eden where everybody has select superpowers, <a href="http://thesportshernia.typepad.com/blog/images/2007/05/09/ostertag_playgirl_coverboy.jpg">Greg <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Ostertag</span></a> is President (and world issues are resolved by international games of 1-on-1 or HORSE. Unfortunately, we almost always lose), familial theme songs are hereditary, and everybody appreciates the musical prowess of DOOM. In reality, I would probably just change the subject to avoid conflict.<br />I personally have always had a penchant for DOOM the rapper and DOOM the producer, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Operation: Doomsday</span> is an ideal combination of the two. His flow on the album is more mature and less excited than it was circa <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">KMD</span> days, but it's not quite as ransom note-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">esque</span> as it is on <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Madvillainy</span> </span>or <span style="font-style: italic;">MM..Food?</span> The combination of the beats and delivery hint that a few drops of the old school influence were added to the <span style="font-style: italic;">Doomsday</span> recipe.<br />This was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">DOOM's</span> prime; his now signature, and kind of played-out, production style sounded fresh, he chose some pretty great songs to sample (The Beatles' "Glass Onion", Steely Dan's "Black Cow",<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Yusef</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Lateef's</span> "Eastern Market", and various <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Scooby</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Doo</span> sounds, among others), and his rhymes were, as always, complex, bizarre, fraught with pop icons, great, and true.<br />Be it by fate or sheer windfall (I suggest the latter, thereby solidifying the fact that I was chosen to write for this blog), I stumbled upon <span style="font-style: italic;">Operation: Doomsday</span> while looking under <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">MF</span> Grimm's name for <span style="font-style: italic;">The Downfall of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Ibliys</span>: A Ghetto Opera</span> (which didn't make this list) in the dilapidated Hip-Hop section of a nearby record store, and was about to put it back until an emaciated <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">RickMoranis</span> looking employee said in a prepubescent falsetto, "Oh, DOOM? He rules!" and then skittered around the corner, back to the depths of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Mordor</span> (thank G-O-D for record store disorganization and Dungeons and Dragons). Had it not been for a careless employee, a near-illiterate customer, or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Nerdly</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">McFanboy</span> (you be the judge), this list would probably be short two <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">MF</span> DOOM albums. Cue the sighs of relief.<br /><br />Recommended Track(s): Doomsday, Rhymes Like Dimes, ?, I Hear Voices, Part 1 (This track was replaced by Hero Vs. Villain (Epilogue) on any albums made after 2001).<br /><br />9. <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Fishscale</span></span> (2006) - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Ghostface</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Killah</span><br />I can't say that I've ever fully understood a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Ghostface</span> song. He is arguably the second-best storyteller after Biggie, yet his songs have absolutely no coherence. His metaphors and similes make zero sense ninety-five percent of the time, but I love them. I used to hate Ghost. Used to think he was an idiot that would just rhyme one word with another regardless of their definitions. I was wrong. Listening to him during the Wu boom (<span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Ironman</span></span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Supreme Clientele</span>, mostly), it's pretty tough to decipher one phrase from the next, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">let alone</span> understand each lyric. Now though, the diabetic Ghost has slowed his flow a few iotas and toned it down a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">nano</span>-decibel, just enough so that we can begin to surmise that he is, in fact, following a parabolic storyline (intro, climax, resolution/death).<br />The production by, among others, J <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Dilla</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">MF</span> DOOM, Pete Rock, and Just Blaze, basically makes the album, and this mishmash of styles yields surprisingly non-cacophonous results. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Ghostface's</span> predilection for soul samples (Marvin Gaye, Sly & the Family Stone) and cocaine (album title, the track <span style="font-style: italic;">Big Girl</span>) stay unchanged, and the Wu alum proves that he can sure as hell still flow. Never has nonsense been so good.<br />No great story here, I downloaded <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Fishscale</span></span>.<br /><br />Recommended Track(s): The Champ, Big Girl, 9 Milli Bros.<br /><br />8. <span style="font-style: italic;">Hell Hath No Fury </span>(2006) - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Clipse</span><br />Malice and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Pusha</span> T scare me <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">shitless</span>. Their days as coke and crack dealers (which their Grandma apparently got them into, according to "Intro" on their major label debut <span style="font-style: italic;">Lord <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Willin</span>'</span>, which is also definitely worth copping) have left them perpetually sore and livid beyond their years. Over <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Neptunes</span>-backed beats, brothers Gene (Malice) and Terrence (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Pusha</span> T) Thornton spit harsh rhymes reminiscing about their less fortunate days in Virginia Beach and their subsequent rise in the rap game.<br />People hate on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Clipse</span> because:<br />1. Their material is repetitive, "they only rhyme about coke and money". So did Jay-Z (flash back to the glorious <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">pre</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">Beyonce</span> days)*<span style="font-style: italic;"></span> when he was the CEO of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">ROC</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">hoooo</span>). I even think that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">Clipse's</span> cocaine allusions are more clever than HOV in his prime ("What's under the couch probably free up Santa", "The news call is crack, I call it diet coke", "I'm on top with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">ki's</span> (keys), move over Alicia", "Break down keys into dimes and sell 'em like gobstoppers").<br />2. "Their anger is predictable." So what? Their Mr. Wilson demeanor is something they're not going to change: it's how they flow. We love <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">Ghostface's</span> harangues even though he keeps his intensity at 11 on every album. We, for some reason, eat up <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">Kanye's</span> terrible same word rhymes (he also rhymed <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">Gnarles</span> Barkley with Charles Barkley). We extol Snoop <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">Dogg</span> and he will forever be on the rap pedestal because of <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">Doggystyle</span></span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Last Meal</span> (neither of which made this list), and he made up half of the words on those albums. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_52">Clipse</span> can rhyme damn well, so just make sure you have nothing to feel guilty about before listening to any of their albums.<br />3. "The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_53">Neptunes</span> beats are weak". Yeah, I pretty much agree with you. Their beats are really good for one song, but an album saturated with electronic House-sounding tom hits and corny <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_54">synth</span> crescendos and decrescendos don't tickle my fancy. I've taught myself to take each track as its own entity, which certainly helps. As contradictory as it sounds: one song at a time, this album is perfect.<br />4. "Spanish Lee is fucking annoying." Yes.<br />I first listened to this album in the summer of 2006 on my sister's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_55">iPod</span>. We were in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_56">Bumblesfuck</span>, New Hampshire and she told me to check out the album; I did, and still am. Thanks, sis!<br /><br />Recommended Track(s): We Got it For Cheap, Keys Open Doors, Trill.<br /><br />7. <span style="font-style: italic;">Reasonable Doubt </span>(1996) - Jay-Z<br />I admit that I like(d) <span style="font-style: italic;">The Blueprint</span> better than <span style="font-style: italic;">Reasonable Doubt</span>. Like with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_57">Nas</span>, I experienced <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_58">Hova</span> anachronistically and suffered for it. I have a particular aversion to R&B heavy tracks, which <span style="font-style: italic;">Reasonable Doubt</span> is pretty big into, so I never really gave this album a chance. It's pretty incredible. Young Jay-Z is one of the most creative and amusing rhymesters ever and he is beyond versatile in his delivery, which is how he has stayed relevant after myriad albums when so many who were with him in the beginning have since slowed down. He is arguably at his sharpest here, with his I-just-kick-it-from-my-head attitude, telling his standing on street corners to riding in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_59">Maybachs</span> story.<br />I know this list is supposed to not touch upon how each rapper changed the game with an album, but I'm just gonna talk for a second about how Jay-Z changed the game with this album. As an insolent preteen, I kind of threw Jay-Z in with everybody else rapping about "selling drugs just to get by" for better (Biggie) or for worse (Master P) (just like I, for whatever reason, used to liken <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_60">Aerosmith</span> to The Rolling Stones when I was in elementary school. Please don't stop reading here), until I, a budding genius, realized that Jay-Z basically started that image. True, he was one of the bigger dealers in Trenton prior to dropping <span style="font-style: italic;">Reasonable Doubt</span>, and people embraced him for it. All I'm saying is that I'd like to see how many of his spawn have actually dealt drugs in their lives (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_61">Jadakiss</span>, anyone?). Also, who else has rapped about frugality so proudly ("Partner please, I'm still spending money from '88"), in the midst of an album about raking in dough?<br />I got <span style="font-style: italic;">Reasonable Doubt</span> at a small record store in the town next to me when I was in early middle school. My Dad liked going there because the owner, a complete Thurston Moore wannabe, engaged him in long conversations and was obviously fascinated by his endless knowledge of music. There wasn't too much of a Hip-Hop section (the owner looked like Thurston Moore), so I leafed through it and was intrigued by Jay-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_62">Z's</span> fedora. That sold me. I bought it, and then shelved it for five years after hearing Mary J. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_63">Blige</span> wailing on "Can't Knock the Hustle", the album's first track. I forced myself to listen to it twice without stopping about four years back, and that's when I realized that I can't get enough.<br /><br />Recommended Track(s): Can't Knock The Hustle (cover your ears during the chorus), Brooklyn's Finest (one of the best rap songs ever. With Biggie), Friend or Foe, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_64">D'Evils</span>, Dead Presidents II.<br /><br />6. <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_65">Aquemini</span></span> (1998) - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_66">OutKast</span><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_67">ATLiens</span></span> occupied this spot until the last minute (see what I mean about my inability to make decisions and stick to them?) but I think, ultimately, Andre 3000's utter quirkiness being in full form straight from the get-go (his introductory monologue on "Return of the "G"" is still my second favorite, between Q-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_68">Tip's</span> dropping of some serious knowledge on "Excursions", and Andre again on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_69">UGK's</span> "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_70">Int'l</span> Player's Anthem (I Choose You)) is what helped <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_71">Aquemini</span> </span>eke it out. Listening to the album now, it's kind of weird to hear Andre 3000 actually rapping instead of love <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_72">ballading</span>. Also, he and Big <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_73">Boi</span> sound pretty similar (what really sets them apart is Andre's ridiculous intonation). </div><div> I like to think of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_74">Aquemini</span></span> as the album that bridged the gap between Big <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_75">Boi</span> and Andre 3000's obvious different beat and material preferences. I usually see the duo's debut, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_76">Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik</span></span>, as more of a brainchild of Big <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_77">Boi</span>, with most of the songs flaunting cruising in low-riders, southern pimping, and slowly sipping on gross Southern fortified liqueurs (for proof, watch Big <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_78">Boi</span> on <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Cribs</span> and peep his cars and "Boom-Boom Room"). It's really a great album in its own respect, especially considering that they had just finished high school. The only downside to it is that it, along with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_79">Geto</span> Boys and Scarface, laid the foundation for Southern Hip-Hop, thus allowing "rappers" like Paul Wall, Mike Jones (Who?!), and, oh god, Lil' John to take over (and subsequently destroy, defame, and discredit) the sub-genre. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_80">ATL</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_81">iens</span></span>, though, is straight Andre all the way. The far out beats and absurd rhyme content could only come from the mind that reminded us that spaceships don't come equipped with rear-view mirrors (this idea has not yet fully been tarnished). </div><div> The fact that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_82">OutKast</span> could combine <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_83">über</span>-different themes one one coherent album speaks volumes about the rappers themselves. Big <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_84">Boi</span> was incredible: intelligent, thoughtful, opinionated, and Andre was insane, but <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">man</span> can they rap. The combination of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_85">BB's</span> relentless and unceasing flow with Andre's unique verse arrangement, which draws a lot from poetry-- it seems to be written almost in stanzas and is pretty heavy on enjambment-- makes each song incredibly diverse and exciting. Most of all, though, we can say this album is great because it is timeless. The way that <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Marquee Moon</span> sounds like it could have been written two weeks ago, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_86">Aquemini</span> </span>will always seem eerily contemporary.</div><div><br /></div><div>Recommended Track(s): Return of the "G", Rosa Parks, Skew it on the Bar-B, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_87">Aquemini</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_88">Da</span> Art Of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_89">Storytellin</span>' (both parts).<br /></div><div><br /><br />*I have a theory that there is a direct correlation between life stabilization, or the discovery of a constant, and the plummet of an artist's credibility within his or her genre: Jeff Tweedy kicked nagging a sleeping pill addiction and alcoholism, then he tricked <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_90">Wilco</span> into recording <span style="font-style: italic;">A Ghost is Born</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Sky Blue Sky</span> (hopefully just a foray into Dad Rock), Biggie found Faith, then came <span style="font-style: italic;">Life After Death</span> (and death), Carrot top found Dr. 90210, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_91">rhinoplasty</span>, steroids, and a personal trainer, and suddenly we no longer dream of beating him to a (carrot) pulp for <span style="font-style: italic;">Chairman of the Board </span>or any of the other movies that he poisoned cinema with, but rather see him sprinting down the street, wielding a photon rifle in one hand and a syringe in the other. But that's neither here nor there.<br /><br />Check out MY top 5 Hip-Hop albums here:<br />http://thesmokedmeatblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/hold-your-nose-here-comes-cold-water.html<br /></div>SmokedMeathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13334378744251353491noreply@blogger.com0