Dead Oceans (record label) Rules.

I ordered a bunch of crap from them (crap meaning STUFF, not crap meaning, bad stuff) mostly because I wanted the new Phosphorescent. While I was at it I grabbed a couple of other things that I've been liking in the past year... The Explorers Club "Freedom Wind" LP and Bowerbirds "Hymns for a Dark Horse" LP. They threw in a Tren Brothers 7 inch and I had never heard of the Tren Brothers before. Side A was "Gone Away" and the flip was "Kit's Choice". Let me tell you, they are a label after my own heart because this random 7 inch they threw in there sounds just like Dirty Three and as everyone well knows... Dirty Three put out perhaps the best record in history, "Ocean Songs" and that is what I love about cute, great labels like Dead Oceans, they have NONSTOP QUALITY ARTISTS:

Akron/Family
Bishop Allen
Bowerbirds
Citay
Dirty Projectors
The Donkeys
Evangelicals
The Explorers Club
John Vanderslice
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
Phosphorescent
These Are Powers
White Hinterland

to name a few.

AND the other good thing about labels like Dead Oceans is the little fun things like an extra 7 inch here and there... or a sticker. Amazon.com ain't sendin no little treats.

If you have never heard of Dirty Three, go listen to their music NOW.

Prepare for your soul to be crushed.

J Period's “QTip The [Abstract] Best, Vol. 1″ Mixtape --- free download for limited time!

an download the new “QTip The [Abstract] Best, Vol. 1″ Mixtape featuring De La Soul, Busta Rhymes, ?uestlove, Black Thought, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Consequence, Zion I, Skillz, Black Sheep, Kid Cudi, and Blu. It’s available free for a limited time only so DOWNLOAD NOW.

tracklisting below

J.Period & Q-Tip – The [Abstract] Best, Vol. 1
1. J.Period f. Prince Paul, Questlove & Randy Watson– Rhythm (Scratch Intro)
2. Cannonball Adderly / Excursions Intro
3. J.Period f. De La Soul – Excursions (Tribute Remix)
4. Aquarius Interlude #1: Welcome
5. Q-Tip f. Busta Rhymes – Getting Up (DJ Scratch Remix) (The Renaissance)
6. Behind the Scenes: Ghetto Origins [Produced by J.Period]
7. What the Fuss f. Stevie Wonder (Shook Remix)
8. Queens Represent (Interlude)
9. Mobb Deep f. Nas & Q-Tip – Give Up the Goods (J.Period Remix) [Produced by Q-Tip]
10. Apache – Gangsta Bitch [Produced by Q-Tip]
11. ATCQ – If the Papes Come (Intro)
12. ATCQ – Check the Rhime
13. Behind the Scenes: Don’t Walk Away (Interlude)
14. ATCQ –Award Tour
15. Behind the Scenes: Award Tour (Interlude)
16. Hot Butter (Interlude)
17. J.Period f. Dres - Jazz Pt. 2 (Tribute Remix)
18. Behind the Scenes: We Got the Jazz (Interlude)
19. J.Period f. Blu– Jazz (Tribute Remix)
20. Skypager: Bob Power & Big Daddy Kane (Interlude)
21. Q-Tip f. Jay Dilla – Let’s Ride
22. Behind the Scenes: Bob Power You There? (Interlude)
23. Q-Tip – Vivrant Thing (Remix)
24. Q-Tip – Move (The Renaissance)
25. Q-Tip – Breathe & Stop (J.Period Remix)
26. Respect to Phife Dawg (Interlude)
27. J.Period f. Consequence & Kid Cudi – Buggin Out (Tribute Remix)
28. ATCQ Consists Of…
29. Behind the Scenes: The Native Tongues (Interlude)
30. De La Soul f. Jungle Brothers, Q-Tip, Monie Love & Queen Latifah – Buddy (Remix)
31. Respect to Ali Shaheed Muhammed (Interlude)
32. Q-Tip f. Busta Rhymes – N.T.
33. A Message From Talib Kweli
34. J.Period f. Questlove, Talib Kweli & Randy Watson – Youthful (Tribute Remix)
35. Q-Tip f. Amanda Diva – ManWomanBoogie (The Renaissance)
36. Chris Rock: Men vs. Women (Interlude)
37. De La Soul f. Q-Tip – Saturdays
38. De La Soul f. Q-Tip & Phife – Saturdays (Remix)
39. Q-Tip – She Likes to Move (J.Period Remix)
40. Dee-Lite f. Q-Tip – Groove Is in the Heart
41. Beastie Boys f. Q-Tip – Get it Together
42. Behind the Scenes: What Is Kapelka? (Interlude)
43. J.Period f. Skillz, Questlove & Randy Watson – What? (Tribute Remix)
44. Behind the Scenes: Busta Rhymes / Scenario (Interlude)
45. Busta Rhymes – Scenario (Unreleased Demo Tape)
46. Behind the Scenes: Hood R.I.P. (Interlude)
47. Hood – Scenario (Remix)
48. Aquarius Outtro
49. Behind the Scenes (Bonus): Reinvention (Kamaal the Abstract – A Million Times)

saw this on http://www.honeysoul.com

figured i would pass it along for all the Q-tip loverS!!!

Smog 'I Break Horses'

I can't extol the virtues of Bill Callahan/Smog anymore than I already do. So here is a youtube clip that will stream for you what I believe to be the best song of all time.

Jens Lekman "Happy Birthday, My Dear Friend Lisa"

A friend's band (really awesome electroacoustic indie rock from Phila... http://www.myspace.com/eatyourbirthday cake ) recently covered this song at their show and it revived my love for it. Here is a live version of Jens singing it..... it's wonderful



or hit me up via the regular avenues if you want me to send it to you!!!

Phosphorescent is playing at the Church...and I am STOKED

I hate that word 'stoked' but love it at the same time. Because it's so out of character. It's so something corny enough that I would never say, yet find myself saying it all the time. It will run itself out of my vocabulary in due time.

Anyway, Phosphorescent. Info from R5productions.com:

Phosphorescent - SATURDAY NOVEMBER 22nd, 8:00 PM
Matthew Houck, the Brooklynite behind Phosphorescent, is a rootsy singer-songwriter with a gothic sensibility and a way with a tune. But he also demonstrates an interest in pure sound. Stately countrified weepers dominated his 2005 album Aw Come Aw Wry, as dry production emphasized the Will Oldhamesque cracks in his voice. But then there were tracks like "Endless Pt. 2", which added Beach Boys-style harmonies and toyed with the structural conventions of song. These latter inclinations move to the fore on his forthcoming Pride, his third full-length and first for the Dead Oceans / Secretlly Canadian label.

At The First Unitarian Church's Chapel
Small Intimate Seated Space That Only Holds 50 People !
2125 Chestnut Street (22nd and Chestnut Sts)
Philadelphia, PA
$10 advance / All Ages

Purchase Advance Tickets For This Show Right Now (click the tickets) :
Or CASH ONLY At Our New Box Office at Deep Sleep (54 N 3rd St / 3rd & Arch Streets)
Or Call 1-866-468-7619 (toll free)

Also, do not forget that M83 is playing the Starlight Ballroom. If you miss it, you are completely crazy. That hot sweaty awesome mess that was the Church Sanctuary show will be tough to top, but I know they can try!!!!!!!

Info also from r5productions.com:

M83 - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15th 8:00 PM
We hosted these guys first show ever in America and we are thrilled to have them back after their sold out, amazing Sanctuary show a few months back! Hailing from France - We've been listening to them nonstop for the past few years. Imagine the post rave swirl of the Orb, mix in the muted warmth of Boards Of Canada, the lalala Neu-worship of Stereolab, the catchy new wave of New Order, then wrap the whole thing in a thick shimmery distorted haze a la My Bloody Valentine and you'll be close. Now imagine that concoction as the soundtrack to the love scene in some super bizarre Anime. You know, the part where the girl is going into space because she can't live on earth because her tentacles keep killing cute little pandas, and her boyfriend is a giant panda, but they love each other so much her tears turn into jewels that the pandas can eat to make them invincible. It's that heartbreakingly good. This will totally hit the spot for electro geeks, shoegazers, pop kids, and everyone in between. An absolute masterpiece. Kim & Jesse is the definite best song of 2008 - BEST BAND !!!!!!
Sound Clips :
1) Kim & Jessie | 2) Teen Agnst | 3) Graveyard Girl | 4) Don't Save Us From The Flames | 5) Dark Moves Of Love

School Of Seven Bells
Named for the infamous, clandestine, possibly nonexistent South American pickpocket academy, deserter's supergroup School of Seven Bells released was fbormed by ex-Secret Machines guitarist Benjamin Curtis and former On! Air! Library! twin-set Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, as well as James Elliott (who you may or may not know as Ateleia) and sometime Rhys Chatham drummer Joe Stickney.
Sound Clips :
1) Face To Face On High Places | 2) Limb By Limb

At The Starlight Ballroom
460 North 9th Street (Just Below 9th & Spring Garden)
Philadelphia, PA
$14 / All Ages To Enter / 21+ To Drink
Purchase Advance Tickets For This Show (click the tickets) :
Or CASH ONLY At Our New Box Office at Deep Sleep (54 N 3rd St / 3rd & Arch Streets)
Or Call 1-866-468-7619 (toll free)

Vetiver "A Thing of the Past" ... an album I picked up on a whim last week

The cover looked cool, it looked new. There was a cute girl on the front looking old-fashioned and poring over an old record collection. I was like, hey, that could be me!

So I threw it on the table when I got home and it was pretty nice, ho-hum until I got to Side B. Holy Crap "Lon Chaney" and "Hurry On Sundown" are two of my favorite songs of 2008.

"Lon Chaney" is a quiet, meandering, piano-folk track, kind of plaintive and yearning and wonderful which then segues into the rollicking goodness of "Hurry On Sundown." I have put that track on repeat so much in the past week. I wish I could come up with a preview for you, unfortunately they do not have it streaming on their myspace. POOR SHOWING.

"Hook & Ladder" on Side A was one of my favorites on the album. Sway to the music, sing along, clap along, so sunny and great. You can't resist it, it's in your marrow.

Fun fact, Devendra Banhart has been known to join Vetiver from time-to-time. Pretty cool!




Vetiver's Myspace

Forest Fire "Survival" ... my very trite but honest thoughts -- A+ album! Must purchase!

There’s a part on Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young’s “4 Way Street” live double album, where I guess Graham Nash says (well I guess it might be David Crosby or Stephen Stills) “And now we’re gonna do a song that you have not heard!” and the way he says it, in his 1970s precious unassuming voice, it is this exciting secret invitation to experience something no one else has ever experienced, CSNY performing this little ditty for the first time ever. The song was “Right Between the Eyes” and when I first heard it, even though it’d probably been at least 25 years since that ‘first time’--- to me it was brand new. This ‘newness’ is exactly what I love about so many albums that I practically trip over in my musical life, Forest Fire’s “Survival” being one such gem.

The first time I heard the opening track “I Make Windows,” I loved the fresh, stumbling through-an-open-field-soft-yet-plunging-to-the-depths-of-you-style that makes me love it! The guitars are sunny, there’s a nostalgia for ‘I don’t know what’ in the sound. I love how an album can ‘REMIND’ me of a past event yet be released in 2008. The album is quick and enveloping. I sunk so easily into its breezy simple melodies and quickly lodged the words into my brain and was unable to resist singing along with its pleasant harmonies.

“Sunshine City” made my summer and I can’t even fathom exactly why. “Iiiiiii haaaavveee sunnnnshiiinnneeeeee… in my life,” is repeated so many times, broken up only to say “I don’t care if what you say is true…” There’s such a strong statement in its sneaking quiet, crawling guitar sounds, blazing dissonant atmospheric angel voices ‘ooohing’ in the background. In “Sunshine City,” I am so resolute in my happiness despite the completely NOT SUNSHINE CITY that is the world. There’s so much good here, WHO CARES about the bad???

Call me naive, but that’s the cool part about songs like this one… for three minutes I believe something that is entirely untrue. Rock n’ roll can save the world?!!? I sound like a DICK!

It’s odd how the whole album kind of gives the same vibe, yet none of the songs really sound alike. There’s a texture on each one that is completely palpable. I can actually hear the sun warming me on a summer afternoon as the sky turns orange on “Echoes Coming” with its slow procession of vocals and building buzzing guitars. And by the time I get to “Steer Me,” Forest Fire is singing “I don’t like what I’ve become” and it is reality, but it’s still so freshfaced and great. The whole album kind of rings of a slower, drudging, more blissed-out Sparklehorse.

The title track “Survival” is one of the best on the album, but doesn’t phone it in until Track 8. “What do you know about survival?” the song is needling me to answer this question and how the hell am I supposed to answer when you’re playing these sycophantic flutes and country road guitars?

The last track is entitled “Slow Motion” which is an accurate description of the entire album. It is slow motion slices of life, like how you feel when you’re really tired and the sun’s coming up and you’re staring at that big orange ball contemplating being the only person alive.

Oh wait, I’m not! Thanks Forest Fire, for reminding me other people are out there! What’s up!?!?!?!!?

Anyway, actually grabbed the LP at www.betamonline.com if you can believe it! Or! If you like mp3s, they are offering the whole album in 320 here: Forest Fire - Survival = Available to stream or download

"Craft of the Lost Art" by Shape of Broad Minds

With an ever-shifting roster of main players, guest stars, and dual personalities, Shape of Broad Minds is a difficult collective to pin down. Their debut full-length "Craft of the Lost Art" touts Jneiro Jarel, Panama Black, Jawwaad, Rocque Wun and the mysterious Dr. Who Dat? as its main contributors while featuring the likes of MF DOOM, Count Bass D, Stacy Epps, and Lil Sci aka John Robinson.

Jneiro Jarel says this is "real, it come from the depths" on what could be the album's shiny little gem, "Buddafly Away," and it seems to be the feeling that pervades the album. Mixing up atmospheric vibes and space-age-y rhythms with a traditional hip-hop flow to the lyrics, "Craft of the Lost Art" is a journey to the outer limits of hip-hop and back. The futuristic, off-the-beaten path vibe on a lot of the songs is reminiscent of Dr. Who Dat?'s 2006 album "Beat Journey" and fans of that album will probably welcome the addition of more lyrics to these ultramodern sounds.

"OPR8R" brings an Outkast-like harmony to the table and "Buddafly Away" presents a gritty tribute to the true artists across the hip-hop spectrum. "Let's Go" featuring MF Doom is hyped as the dance-floor track of the record but comes off more cacophonous than anything but in an incredibly pleasing way. The rich textures of the songs on Shape of Broad Minds "Craft of the Lost Art" seem appropriate for 2007, 2107 and beyond. If you happen to be time-traveling in the near future, chances are you'll hear this album on planets across the galaxy.

PSSST-- HEY! I'm going to start writing again...

... STAY TUNED
... AND STAY VELVET, PEOPLE!!

As promised, my thoughts on the latest Arcade Fire, about a month too late!!!

You know a lot of fine wines taste better a bit aged. So do record reviews.

The Arcade Fire were going to have a difficult time impressing me with their latest effort. I have enjoyed every second of "Funeral" a thousand times over. There is something different at work here on "Neon Bible." It is not as aggressive in its flawlessness as "Funeral" was back in 2004. The sonic territory explored here is the part that grabs me.

The overall atmosphere that the songs are giving is of a moment never to be captured again. I had heard, through my many contacts (i.e. Google) that this album was recorded in a church somewhere. Well, how's that for being different and innovative? Record it in a church! Enjoy the unique acoustics that this place could lend. Take yourself above and beyond the masses by employing age-old methods of song-recording. Record in a place that gives your song an untouchable sound quality. Untouchable as in unable to recreate.

Though the album was recorded in a Church, it is odd the immediate 'radio' sound that comes from the songs. 'Black Mirror' sounds like it was ripped from the airwaves. There's something off about it. Like it could have been so much crisper and cleaner and been a better song. HOWEVER, the organic outpouring of song that it became still lets me enjoy it, if it does have this effusive radio-ness, well then, let me imagine this is what radio might be like if radio were good at all. The syncopated French shouts are so enjoyable.

'Keep the Car Running' starts with that Fantasia, orchestra warming up sound, and who knew it could turn into such a dance-y number? This song is the essence of Arcade Fire, the reason I love their work so much, the reason most people don't understand them. I have NO IDEA how to interpret what Win Butler is singing about, but my foot-tapping and head-nodding translates into: a whispered plea in a crowded place, the impending doom with which we are all faced and the laughs we share in its wake, a touch from a person with whom you're in love that communicates 1000 things and fills you with so many different feelings that you can't figure out which ones to go after. 'Keep the Car Running' to me is my innate need to always have an exit point, an escape route. Whatever I'm going to get myself into, keep the car running, I'll be ready to hop in and speed away.

'Neon Bible' is a throwaway song to me, a nice little number to break up the majesty. 'Intervention' is incredible. There are so many different instruments and sounds, I'm amazed. The lyrics almost sound very political, and if they are, I don't take them as so. I take them as falling directly in line with the human war we all wage against each other: our feelings, falling in and out of love, inflicting damage to other's souls without regret or remorse, our souls damaged ourselves -- a uniquely human plight. Who cares about guns and presidents and the threat of nuclear war. All that matters is here, now, and the chance that your lover won't always be there. Standing next to your lover and the person he's cheated on you with--the comfort in their words and stares to each other, unintentional but so painful. If they dropped an atomic bomb on you at that point, why should you care, your world is gone anyway. 'Every spark of friendship and love will die without a home’ -- a desperate and pessimistic statement, but true, and also the quintessence of life. The mind-boggling desire of humans to make connections with one another is at work in this song, even if Arcade Fire didn't mean it that way.

And then there’s “No Cars Go” and its impassioned plea to everyone to “Let’s go! We don’t know where we’re going!” But Let’s go! Any person that feels the way Win Butler does when he cries out to the women and children, ‘let’s go!’, or feels the way those bells in “Keep the Car Running” do—always breaking my heart by going against the beat.

As time goes on, I am just getting bored of typing and my thoughts are becoming incoherent and are sort of superfluous. The general mood of “Neon Bible” is that its essence comes out in every song. Just as the songs on funeral told me the same thing—to all those who feel this undying desire to feel but not feel the pain that persists in their hearts, the weight that always weighs so heavy on their thoracic body cavities, their shoulders, their heads, even the strain that the sun puts on your eyes just opening them, don’t fear, the Arcade Fire is here, feeling that same way, making music in that semi-religious fashion that binds you and me to them.

“I’m standing on a stage, of fear and self-doubt, it’s a hollow play, but they’ll laugh anyway.”

Whatever. All this stuff about Rock and Roll can save the world—I sound like a dick.

Before I post my thoughts on Arcade Fire's latest work, I'll post my archaic thoughts on 'Funeral'

I wrote this for that great work of newspapering 'The Lion's Roar' back in March or April of 2005...... (Also, I did not pick the headline, I'm bad at that stuff, I wrote something very tongue-in-cheek and I believe my editor thought it a little 'overreaching')

The Arcade Fire release most essential album in a decade!

By Lauren Hysek

These days most albums seem to have expiration dates. They fill up radio time for a few months and are then relegated to the trash heap indefinitely. They should just affix stickers to the shrink-wrap: "Best If Heard Before Above Date."

However, every once in a while an album creeps up and showcases itself in so much timeless splendor that it makes all that drab radio music seem worthwhile. Kind of like the Eagles losing three in a row made the 4th attempt and subsequent win so much sweeter, so the kind of innovation and sonically glorious music on the Arcade Fire’s “Funeral” is appreciated all the more when placed among the uninspired nonsense the big record companies churn out.

Dispensing with the "radio music is the worst" manifesto, the music of the Arcade Fire is worth a word or two. Difficult it was trying to think of an album as veritably alive as “Funeral” in recent memory. The irony of the title “Funeral” is brilliant, for never was there an album more full of hope, happiness and vigor. Death does not even seem to make a cameo appearance on the album; the lyrics seem to revel in the reality of unhappy feelings. Death, endings and sadness are more than just a part of life; they are facilitators, rendering persons who encounter such things more red-cheeked and warm than they were before.

The sound that the Arcade Fire pumps out is rich, layered and complex and influences can be heard all over the album. There is a lot of musical tipping of the hat to 80s classics such as David Bowie, the Pixies, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Joy Division. Win Butler, the male lead vocalist almost sounds like David Byrne of the Talking Heads, but don't hold him to it, because the tone, speed and volume of the voice is always changing. Regine Chassagne, the female vocalist, is just as undecided about her vocal style. Sometimes she could sound a little Bjork-esque, on other tracks she sounds whispery and sweetly melts her voice caramel-like into the music.

At times, the lyrics are enigmatic, but the crawling rhythms and bombastic crescendos will either make you forget about the confusing words or beg you to think about them in greater detail. "Neighborhood # 1 (Tunnels)," the opening track on the album, begins with a muted drum beat and stealthily implemented vocals, “…and if the snow buries my, my neighborhood,” you get the impression you’ve just walked into a continuing story. Jump right in, there are things happening, and more things will come later. The excitement builds up to the fourth track which is the third "Neighborhood" and is subtitled "Power Out," where the glockenspiel-embroidered, drum-beating, piano-fueled wonder song takes the listener to uncharted sonic territory.

Other tracks shine in their differentiation. "Haiti" is sung by the woman in the group, transporting you from the suburban goings-on of the "Neighborhood" to a paradise where steel drums accompany French and English lyrics about the turmoil that pervades a beautiful Caribbean nation. Later, "In the Backseat" also sung by the woman, Regine Chassagne, is a shocking display of pure heart-wrenching musical bliss. As ironic as that sounds, it is the perfect conclusion to the album, in that the piece is a part of a whole, and the both of them are at once heartbreaking and triumphant. The song that starts out so quietly reaches fever-pitch when you can almost see Chassagne pumping her fist in the air, singing, “I can watch the countryside!” as heartbeat drums and quivering strings (yes! Strings!) accompany her plea to remain in the backseat of life, because driving sometimes gets too scary, “I’ve been learning to drive my whole life.”

Not only does that line end the album in glorious fashion, it simultaneously drives home the theme of the album which is the prevailing truth about life in our post-modern world: Life is a constant struggle, you are learning all the time, but without the trials, it is difficult to feel very alive. The Arcade Fire have arrived to remind us that life is vibrant and it’s time to get up and live it.

Favorite Albums of 2006

A lot of these year-end lists lay claim that these are the 'best' albums of 2006. I am just going to list my favorites, since everyone hates what I listen to most of the time anyway, especially my parents. (post-rock is the new rock n roll or rap! As in, parents just don't understand!) (Listening to A silver Mt. Zion... "it just sounds like noise! how could you listen to this?!"-my mom)

I am trying to keep my comments to my gut reactions to the albums. And the general reasons I made these my favorites is because they were in the rotation the most or they are just solid albums innovators or I have a tough time skipping tracks.

These are probably not in a good order. But I'll start with Number 10!

10. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Andddd they're back! With what I think is their best work. The first time I heard that dissonant beginning of "I Was a Lover," I knew that album was gong to be a great one. The layers of sound, the combinations of unlikely sonic forays, the amorphous vocals=the record doesn't so much touch me in the way that great albums should do. It just entertains me, like American Beauty. It's not gut-wrenching and epic--it just exists, it just is, it's life, it's living, it's an organism that wants to make me happy like a good, obedient dog and I love it for that.

9. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
The album kicks off with this wonderful piano in an old western movie sound and then proceeds to politely dance around with banjos and quiet drum and then when the lyrics kick in I'm transported to Magical Mystery Tour or All Things Must Pass when George was having his way with atmospheric melodies from the heart. My favorite song on this album is "Plans." It sums up what I like about the whole thing. It's plodding and almost a little bit scary. And that whistling! You can't get it out of your head! The sound is organic and flowing and grandiose and simple in one bite. Sometimes, you can't really understand anything at all of what I'm saying unless you are currently listening to these songs. In fact, I would say, most times you will have no idea what I'm talking about unless you've heard the album.

8. Todosantos - Aeropuerto
Okay, so it may have been released in 2005 in Venezuela. And it may not ever be released in the US. But purchased my copy in June 2006 so it's going to be lumped on the 2006 list. How can I sum up my gut reactions to Todosantos? With one word: FUN! And schizophrenic in a really good way. "1999" screams 1999 to me, "Epica" sounds like my brain talking, "Ian Curtis" says more about Ian Curtis than any simple written word could say, "Atrapado en los 80" is hilarious and AWESOME. It is so cheesy and thus, SO EIGHTIES. Every time he says 'en los ochenta!!!!' in that terribly cheesy voice, I die. I wonder if this album is more exciting to me because I can understand it (it's in Spanish)., or if it truly is good. There's a certain amount of anything that's in a foreign language that's lost in translation, but I feel like I absorb the general attitude of the album and it's exciting mostly because I feel like this band has so much potential.

7. Cansei De Ser Sexy - Cansei De Ser Sexy
I don't care WHAT YOU SAY! This album is so awesome it's unstoppable. I am really glad that they included 'CSS Suxx' on the US version of the album because at the show, that was one of the most fun songs. This album stands alone. You could try to lump it in with indie pop. You could try to lump it in with girlie pop crap. You could also try to say it's terribly mediocre pop-rock from Brazil. The truth is that it's all of the above. But where is it written that it could not be equal parts FUN and NOTHING SPECIAL!?? In my opinion, "Alala" is one of the year's most perfect songs. It's a sonic assault from the start, sounding like someone dropped the mike and then picked it up and put it too close to the amp. Then the danceable little rhythm starts and there goes that catchy little chorus, it's tight, every sound is perfect and could never have been left out down to those ridiculous sounds in between verses. I can't tell you how any times I would just say out loud 'AM NOT STUPID!' even though I'm not sure whether she says "I'm not stupid 'or 'am not stupid.' But I would really like it better if she said 'am.' And thi s is before I can even mention what a perfect little gem 'Let's Make Love Listen to Death from Above' is. The only song that truly annoys me is 'Alcohol' because I think it's trying to capture a certain 'American-ness' surrounding booze and bar music and partying, but it just doesn't do it well enough, doesn't capture it, comes off sounding cheesy.

6. Joan as Police Woman - Real Life
If Antony and the Johnsons were to just become a woman group and be better than Antony and the Johnsons--it would be Joan as Police Woman. With good reason, considering the two are affiliated. Antony even shows up on one of the songs. The unlikely piano melodies, that meander in directions you couldn't predict and the lofty, beautiful vocals make this album completely velvet. I see this one being in my top rotation for many many years. It's like Cat Power, only---- it's actually good! Chan Marshall eat your freakin' heart out.

5. Lindstrom - It's a Feedelity Affair
I could try to put Lindstrom in the same category as Caribou/Manitoba, but he really just isn't. I say that because it's touching instrumentalist music, but on a different level. Plus, Caribou/Manitoba was using 987654 more sonic landscapes. But the picture Lindstrom paints here on this album is one of 'dance party on the moon' but not in a cheesy cliche way. It's more of a 'this is the future, get into it, or maybe not, if you like to eat your steak with potatoes this one is perhaps more for the ice cream for breakfast type crowd.' This album is unlike anything I've ever heard before and it is going to theme my outerspace party that i will throw in 2023. (When I'm 40?)

4. Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block
Dear Everybody,
Just try to not love this album.
Love, Lauren
From the lyrics, to the wall of guitars, to the U2 meets the Velvet Teen (RIP LOGAN WHITEHURST) military drums, to the Pulp meets Human League vocals!!!!!!!!! So unbelievably stellar. I can't even put it into words how much I love this album. Obviously. Hence my sentence fragments. Eff it who needs proper sentences anyway!These words are comin' straight from that fist-sized organ buried somewhere in my thoracic body cavity.

3. Cold War Kids - Robbers and Cowards
So they're from Los Angeles, which is fishy, because who's from Los Angeles? And their music is remarkably simple. But it's punchy, and the man has an unbearably catchy traditionally awesome singing voice. Try not to get hooked on it when he belts out 'now hang me up to dry! You wrang me out TOO TOO TOO many times." Their live show hammered this home with me. They have a remarkably spare stage setup, but manage to churn out a sound that just punches you in the face. "Red Wine Success" is another highlight on the album. Among others.

2. Sunset Rubdown - Shutup I am Dreaming
My favorite if only for the last song and it's 78 different genres that it samples throughout it's seven minutes and 28 seconds. So, throw in the rest of the great album and we've got a winner!

1. Matthew Friedberger - Winter Women & Holy Ghost Language School
Obviously, my comments are getting more and more lazy as the numbers go lower, the greatness gets more difficult to describe, and I get bored of writing this list. But. There is too much going on in Matthew Friedberger's head for this not to be the year's best.
Pennsylvania rock oil company! I love the way he says that.

Honorable Mentionns!
The Blow - Paper Television
Shearwater - Palo Santo
Anna Ternheim - Seperation Road
Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Sparklehorse - For Light Years In the Belly of a Mountain
Rick Ross - Port of Miami (only because it's so summery and cheesy)(same goes for:)
T.I. - King
Pete Rock Underground Classics (old songs, but the compilation released this year...... it's so solid, I don't know how anyone can not love it.)
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
Cut Chemist - The Audience's Listening
The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
Ray LaMontagne - Til the Sun Turns Black ("Within You" breaks my little stupid heart...ahh Josephine.)
Monster Movie - All Lost
Sway - This is My Demo (I really loathe this album and love it at the same time)
Joanna Newsom - YS (Bill Callahan and her are like ... going to have genius musical babies, I think. Why doesn't she do more on Smog's next album??? I think she's only ever played the cello or something like that on one of Bill's songs on like Red Apple Falls, I think. I could be making that up)
Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds
Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast
Mogwai - Mr. Beast
Damien Rice - 9
The Knife - Silent Shout
J Dilla - The Shining (rip jay dee)
Lily Allen - Alright Still (I don't care what anyone says, these songs are awesome! She is a little bit of a scumbag, though, you gotta hand it to her.)

I'm sure I'm missing some. This year started out so uneventful, and now it's looking like there were 100 great albums. Although, I really wasn't blow away by too much this year. I feel like next year will be the year. Next year I'm going to be floored by something in the way I haven't been floored since Sigur Ros - Ageits Bryjun (I just butchered that spelling) or Gy!be's 'yanqui uxo" so. We Shall see.

And this concludes our broadcast day.
Stay Velvet, my readership, aka Tom and future Lauren.

Some dumb writing. I think it's fiction but maybe not?

When he walks out of the room, his bones make sounds. Little cracks and creaks, not like an old person but like someone strapping and young. Sinewy muscles and bones and ligaments adhering together so efficiently that they need to make small adjustments while in motion. These sounds remind me that he is the realest thing I know.

Looking at his hands and arms, I can see the starkness of his existence. He is a picture on a sunny spring day, every detail is rich and visible, somehow more formidable. Every crease and wrinkle of his ever-moving hands is another story he has to tell. How many bodies have those hands touched? How many souls have those arms held? Why is he so sad yet always smiling? His mouth says differently but his eyes tell me the truth. He is tired. Always tired. His eyes are big blue beautiful and despairing. They're glazed over. He's seen too much or not enough or not the right things and never true happiness or love.

Perhaps that is his failing--love. He did not choose to love the right person or didn't know how to love the right person. Practicality and his heart were saying two different things.

Everything he does is puncuated by exclamation points. He pulls out a cigarette and snaps the box shut and slaps it back on the awaiting surface--be it the bar, the coffee table or the bureau. He gets back in bed and shifts around quickly until he's comfortable. If he needs to get up for something--to ash his cigarette, find the remote--he pops up and does the action in one fluid motion. And then he flips right back down and throws his arm wildly behind his head.

And he grins so sheepishly when he's bad. He says something inappropriate but precious and his little smile says everything: "You know I'm bad but you love it don't you?" Of course I do, who wouldn't? And that scares me. He doesn't have a million suitors and it boggles the mind. Am I the only one who loves the way he throws his head back and laughs? Can I possibly be the only one who truly enjoys the way he talks and the way his eyes dance when he's happy and in the throes of telling a story? And when he sings how the words come out of nowhere? They sound rich and full of fire but he is not them. They sound happy and lively but he is not that.

His hands. His hands. His hands. They are. There. Like the sun. Just overpowering and alive. Though his eyes say different, his hands know. His hands are thinking breathing organisms. They know what to do when he doesn't. His one hand only physically reaches a few inches of my leg but in my mind I am huddled up inside his hand. I am stretched across his fingers. My face is pressed up against the inside of his thumb. My arms are wrapped around his pinky. His ring finger is cradling my entire back. The palm of his hand adheres to my legs like glue. I am swallowed up whole by his one hand.

And he doesn't know.

He thinks I am just oblivious. He thinks his hand on my leg rings inconspicuous in my head. If only he knew that I am clutching to his arm as if it's a lonely tree in a field in the middle of a blizzard. All around me the world swirls and I am holding fast to this tree so that I don't get swept up and taken away by a terrible evil calculating gust of wind that is time years and months and weeks days and hours of life that are rushing on plundering on like dinosaurs through mud in their last days.

His arm to me is magnetic. His chest is made of extremely strong adhesives. My skin and his are made of compounds that if left together too long will chemically react and mold together, impossible to seperate.

I crawl out of bed. I think he's sleeping. But I turn around anyway to watch him lie there. His eyes are open. He is watching me walk out of the room. I grin, he doesn't, only looks at me imploringly.

Maybe he does know.
Maybe.

Musical discourse of Mid December. Plus Damien Rice show review!

The new Menomena album is GREAT. Really great. Highly recommended. Every song is sonically pleasing because it's a little off-kilter, they are using a lot of unorthodox sounds on the songs, it's really lovely. Lot of faraway piano, good vocals. This review is extremely stream-of-consciousness so hopefully you will forgive me for the sentence fragments.

Lately, I have been listening to a lot of Otis Redding and Al Green due to the fact that at Lou's it's hard to find good current music in the jukebox, so I have to go to the classics and so I am revisiting a lot of old favorites. I've developed some new favorite songs. I always kind of liked Otis Redding more than Al Green but now that I have been listening to both of those guys a lot lately, I have realized they are not even really comparable, they have different ways of singing, and Al definitely has more of a focus on instrumentation and the melody than Otis. Otis is kind of ALLLLL voice. And holy lord is that voice VELVET or what??? I never really liked Al Green's 'Tired of Being Alone' and 'Belle' until recently. Now, if someone asked me what my favorite Al Green songs were I would spit out those two right off the bat.

My friend, Moe, and I have been discussing recently what songs we will play at our weddings. He claims that he is going to have Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are." Personally, I think this is a terrible choice. There are so many songs in the world, and you're going to pick BILLY JOEL? He's out of his mind. This is the part in my internal dialogue about music with myself and nonexistent sentient beings on the interweb where I discuss the notion of Billy Joel being absolutely HORRIBLE. Why do people go to his concerts? Hasn't he sold out like one million shows in the US or something like that? What is his talent? I don't even think he writes good cheesy pop songs? Why don't I like Billy Joel at all? Is there something wrong with me? It proves difficult for me to wrap my head around Billy Joel's raging popularity. When we wanna talk about Piano-men who write good pop songs, aren't you going to mention Elton John before Billy Joel? Elton John=talented, Billy Joel=a hack. Maybe it's just me being snotty about tunes again, but Elton John is almost as popular but I don't hate him, so it must be something about Billy Joel. I still remember going to some religious retreat in high school and this one girl, Carissa, she was on her high horse because no one knew the words to "Piano Man," as if loving Billy Joel and knowing the words to one of the most popular songs of all time put her in some sort of higher class as far as being hip goes. If you're going to be in high school and get uppity about your musical tastes, don't put all your money on Billy Joel. He is terrible. At least try to claim you love the Beatles even if you have never even heard the white Album in its entirety. The point is, Moe is crazy. Billy Joel is a bad choice for wedding songs, especially because 1000 other scumbags before you have probably picked Billy Joel to play at their weddings. At this current date, I think my wedding song could very well be 'Belle' by Al Green. It's so nice to dance to and the lyrics aren't even really........ They don't even really apply to .... your beloved, but it doesn't matter, the mood of the song says I love you and you're the best and I'm glad I met you. Even if the words aren't saying exactly that. The way you hold your lady when you're dancing to it is enough to communicate that. There's just something about the way you have to sway to the beat and the melody, it's just sexy.

So anyway.

I like some pretty traditionally terrible music, sometimes. And I feel like it's okay because I like so much other traditionally GOOD music that it cancels out all my bad choices. I like some old Beasties Boys but it's okay cause I like Lords of the Underground and Cypress Hill. I have just been doing a lot of different things musically lately and I listen to Bargain Music and Sublime and don't have to always feel like a white-ass college idiot.

Speaking white-ass college idiots, I was surrounded by them at the Damien Rice show the other night at the Tower Theatre. That's okay, I don't make assumptions. People are generally really nice, especially white-asses, they tend to be very non-committal and glancingly friendly. But The Music! Damien Rice was really really good. I really don't like some of the songs when he just turns on the rock and distorts his voice with that effect pedal attached to his microphone. He is much better at the quieter stuff, I'm sure he knows that. And sometimes, the loud endings to songs are effective. Like on 'Elephant' and 'Eskimo.' Those two songs crescendo into some affecting sounds. And live they really tore out the audience's collective heart. That woman has one of the most beautiful voices on the planet. Moe had never heard of Damien Rice before I asked him to go to the show with me. (Personal sidebar: I bought the tickets a really long time ago, I had expected to go with my ex-boyfriend, he was a huge huge fan, we both were, I had thought it would be a nice Xmas present for him..... so I had to take a non-Damien Rice fan because you normally don't meet many people who are in-the-know about that sort of stuff. Anyway, Moe is the type of person who will check out anything musically. His tastes are far-ranging but being from an older crowd, I guess he normally doesn't collect the 'newmusic' tips that often come along to the younger, more internet-savvy generation. But the point was, even though he never heard Damien Rice before that night, he immediately picked up on the notion that I started mentioning to him after the show that yes, the woman has a very nice voice but she is used appropriately. Fans love those parts in the songs when she sings because she sings so beautifully, and you always have to wonder to yourself 'Why doesn't she do solo work, she has a glorious voice?' and then you sort of realize that she is used with restraint because you almost want to think that if she was all over everything and doing solo work, it wouldn't have the same sort of effect. The conflict of Damien's voice and hers is what really makes the songs special. 'The Blower's Daughter' is a perfect example of that as well as '9 Crimes.' So, in conclusion, I think the fact that Moe realized that same thing that I did proves that it's not just a theory, the use of the girl is appropriate and perfect in Damien's songs and anything more would be overkill) 'The Animals Were Gone' was another big highlight, Damien has a fabulous voice, obviously it's the thing that really makes you want to write home about him.

The coolest part was something unique to the Philadelphia show because at one point, Damien introduced a guy that worked at the Tower Theatre, Derek! He was apparently listening in on the soundcheck earlier that day while the cellist was rehearsing, and Derek thought it would be cool if he beatboxed in conjunction with her cello-playing. They threw a little number together that involved Derek beatboxing while she played the cello and did a little rap. It was amazing in it's organic formation. The magic of an non-professional from Philly completely falling in line with a professional cellist of a totally different creed was amazing. Derek was nervous and wasn't sure exactly how to work with the microphone and things like that, they were all sort of wondering how it was gonna work out, and it worked out beautifully. The rap was funny and sounded so cute coming from this little Irish girl and the beatbox sounded great over the cello. It wasn't the best beatboxing in the world but the circumstances in how it all came together so quickly is what made it so entertaining. It was my favorite part of the show by far.

Anyway, end result: it was a good show. Damien Rice is a talented dude, I was not thrilled with the new album at first and I still am not, I think parts of it are really weak and I think the first part is amazing and the second part really dies off. I sometimes think that about 'O' too. Some of the songs are genius while others are barely a blip on the radar. I find it amazing that I always regard 'O' as a "classic" album yet there are songs on there that I skip always! I really don't like Volcano, I really don't like Cannonball. And I sometimes don't like 'Amie' ... but I think that's because it's so direct at one person. I normally don't like 'name' songs like that because they cancel out 99% of the population because you're not named Amie.

The farther I go with this analysis, the less sense I make, and the more my grammar fails, so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead and tell ya'll to stay velvet and pick up the new Menomena album. It probably isn't out yet. But you all know of ways to hear this stuff before it drops. Pigs Pigs Pigs! Seeking of Souls! You know it.

Comment here if you are feeling the new Damien Rice album or if you were at the concert or if you heard the Menomena or any general comments like how awesome today's Eagles game was!
:)

Some new developments

I have upgraded my piece of crap computer. I installed a new cd burner, and one whole gigabyte of memory!!! You would not even believe the difference. My computer actually functions when there's all my regular programs open. (Azureus, Windows Media Player, Nero Express, AIM, Mozilla, 2 folders [my external hard drive and the my music file]) My computer is like God now. And I have that Lightscribe technology on my drive so that's kind of interesting. Hopefully it doesn't prematurely end my drive's life. I bought a ton of CDS while I was out getting the RAM today. I did a lot of perusing since there is a limited selection at such stores........ (Best Buy and Circuit City) but I managed to find some gems!!!!!!!

Pete Rock - Underground Classics
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother
Cypress Hill - Black Sunday
Digable Planets - Reachin' (a new refutation of time and space)
Cypress Hill - Self Titled
Lords of the Underground - Here Come the Lords
Dr Who Dat? - Beat Journey

Altogether, a productive day! I really hope I get paid soon to cover these extravagant purchases. I am vowing to not purchase another thing until December 15th. I have been spending money like I grow it like pot plants in my basement.

Also. I saw Last Emperor last night at Liquid Charm. He is so much fun to watch. His voice is so smooth, I'm amazed he's not more ridic than he is. I guess his subject matter is a little....... far out for a lot of people to get down with.

This blog entry sucks. I am just waiting for my Lightscribe thing to be done printing up a label for this Thievery Corporation CD that I'm burning for my boy Moses. Also, work is awesome!

Stay velvet, kiddies. Feel free to comment on this new technology I've acquired.