new mix

d.a.n.c.e.





1. el guincho - fata morgana
2. dgenerate nation - skate with me
3. bullion - god only knows
4. tobacco - hairy candy
5. flying lotus - beginners falafel
6. eagles of death metal - flames go higher
7. brendan canning - love is new
8. lil' wayne - kush
9. the hood internet - get your smoke on (ol' dirty bastard vs. white williams)
10. tv on the radio - golden age
11. metric - dead disco
12. justice - d.a.n.c.e.

seeqpod is pretty great, but not as great as muxtape. the former doesn't allow user uploads; the latter does. thus, i am at the mercy of the seeqpod e-library. regardless, this mix kicks ass. as my internet access is limited to 5gb/month for the time being, i've not been able to acquire much new music beyond what's blogged about. this dance mix contains some new jams and older favorites that i have danced to many, many times. enjoy this video for "skate with me" by dgenetics:

a lot of musical things

"i love [bob] dylan's words, but even more than that, i love the fact that he loves words. /elliott smith
--
smith was also a huge t.s. eliot fan.

elliott smith on songwriting



i first watched this as a junior in high school, when i was first falling in love with playing guitar. his openness about teaching people on the other side of a camera how to write songs like him, as impossible that is (unless you're earlimart or conor oberst or emily haines), was so inspiring to me. looking at chords as shapes instead of letters and numbers, absorbing compelling music regardless of the genre, and writing what pleases yourself are all concepts i first attained from elliott smith.

smith performing alameda live



performed may 3, 1997 in arizona, a healthy six and a half years before his suicide when he was likely abusing copious quantities of hard drugs and partaking in fucked up relationships with women, bandmates, and friends. wayne coyne, in an article mourning smith's death, said he saw smith as "a guy who had lost control of himself. he was needy, he was grumpy, he was everything you wouldn't want in a person. it's not like when you think of keith richards being pleasantly blissed out in the corner."

if i were to compile a soundtrack to my life, it might only be about a dozen songs in length, and each one would speak of a notion or issue in life that i've been contemplating or battling with for years. alameda's chorus, "nobody broke your heart / you broke your own 'cause you can't finish what you start," has eeked its way into my blood and become the backdrop for a lot of relationships in my life. i'm still trying to figure out whether the sentiment applies more to me or other people, or if the distinction matters at all.

an interview with smith and janeane garofolo



one of the few times i've ever seen him laugh or smile on film.
--
mike einziger [of incubus] on songwriting



one of the earlier videos i used to teach meself guitar. this dude is an awesome guitarist and knows way more theory than is necessary to be a successful rock musician, but i suppose that's (one of many reasons) why he's excelled in life. i remember watching his spindly little fingers manhandle the strings of that old, heavily-strung instrument, and i worried moment by moment about what would happen should he get into a snowboarding accident or a surfing accident or a large dog accident and permanently injure his fingers. when a person's livelihood is manifested through his fingertips, the body becomes a precarious temple, indeed.

there's a part in this video when einziger is talking about a music class he took as a kid where he learned to recognize pitch intervals just by listening and integrating sonic frequencies into his permanent memory, essentially acquiring absolute pitch to the best of his ability. he notes that it was the most valuable thing he ever learned in a music class. why isn't music a central tenet of public school systems? why is it presumed that future generations will be benefitted only by mathematics, science, and literature? what of the personal insight into others to be gained by training the ear to listen for variances in dynamics and tonalities in speech? why aren't children taught to play instruments early on to strengthen their hand-eye coordination and reinforce their learning potential for other subjects? plenty of books have been written about this kind of thing. i hope obama has read one of them.
--
who's in charge here? is a website whose purpose is to determine a band's leader by analyzing a publicity photo. after sufficient discussion has taken place, a verdict can then be passed based on a majority vote.





learn more about acrassicauda in the superb documentary, heavy metal in baghdad:


--
brian cox used to be a musician who toured with jimmy page and europe, but now he's professing physics at manchester university and working on the large hadron collider with cern. watch him explain shit:




--
the finale of this post is animal collective's music video for "my girls," which, according to me, is the best video they've ever slapped against a song ever. their weird videos like peacebone and water curses are telling enough of their generally inaccessable style, but they've never really been very appropriate for the subject matter of the song, let alone the sheer sonic ecstacy that each one pumps through the airwaves. even the video for who could win a rabbit, though exquisitely edited and filmed by the same guy who did the my girls video, ends with the dudes sitting around in the wooded darkness eating what i can only assume is human flesh. not so much for my girls. tom whalen at no rip cord poignantly notes that "animal collective dropped most of their serious shtick when they stopped wearing masks." indeed, as one who wishes synesthesia were available to all people at all times for the express purpose of enjoying animal collective on multiple planes of existence, i am totally satisfied with this video. it's complete with swaths of color spread out over multifarious textures and heavily edited laser beams radiating from the center of pink-mouthed bodies, and watching compelling music is amazing, regardless of the medium.



whalen also recognizes that "at points the singing style, the full mouthed annunciation, seems to invite this kind of alternate hearing, this accidental multi-valence," whereas mark richardson at pitchfork (who is a huge ac fan in his own right) expressed his doubt at the vocalists' abilities to purge words curiously:

Animal Collective don't tell stories, and their music rarely has characters; there's little clever wordplay and fewer money lines you'll repeat later on. Rather, the words reinforce the sense of vulnerability that cuts through the music, and wind up being an essential component on an album that oozes confidence from every pore.

i interpret that as a massive cop-out for someone who can't find for himself the stories and characters and ubiquitous clever wordsmithery throughout ac's metier as verbal and aural mashers. furthermore, it seems to me that a lack of clever wordplay and strong characters would preclude an album beaming with confidence, especially when it comes to animal collective. panda bear's "youth prayer" was filled with warbly, wobbly, flaccid yelps and nailboard scratch whimpers, but it fit as his musical response to his father's death. it is decidedly lacking confidence. but panda bear has fully grown past that, and avey tare has opened himself up by transitioning from shorter vocal segments draped in reverb and chorus and shimmering with harmony to lengthier verses that i might only describe as winding stories that weave their way through proverbial wisdom and in between extended moments of climactic bliss. i read a fan review for banshee beat that said the song "peaks like a fine orgasm," and it's a simile i could apply to numerous ac songs.

i do, however, appreciate richardson's raving review of the album, which echoes what i've heard from most ac fans in that merriweather post pavilion is really the culmination of everything geologist, avey tare, and panda bear have been striving to convey since they started making music. they've got the electronics down, their vocal styles convalesce more after each live show, and it's all been manifested in their latest album. it fucking rules.

the blood in the dark will attract the sharks who are not violent--we've all got hungry bellies.

berries in my heart bread

"if they be two, they are two so
as stiff twin compasses are two,
thy soul the fixt foot, makes no show
to move, but doth, if the other do."

/john donne, a valediction forbidding mourning
--


more vladimir kush
--
the holy moment, waking life


--
these three songs have been chasséing betwixt my ears lately:

lyrics for transatlantique and tikwid
--
nyctaper has a butt-kicking recording of animal collective's january 21st performance at the bowery ballroom in new york:

If Tuesday night was a celebration of history, Wednesday night at Bowery Ballroom, Animal Collective exhibited why they deserve the accolades. In the most intimate venue they may ever play, AC performed a ninety minute set of near perfection — an impressive balance of energy and proficiency.

what would i want sky


--
this study guide for the love song of j. alfred prufrock is very good. it's concise, moderately insightful, and has full appendices for references and contexts. if the pedagogy of every literature class in high school were along the guidelines of this document, i might have been motivated to read more often. also, what do fifteen-year-olds know about dudes like j. alfred prufrock and john donne, anyway? what kid that age can truly empathize with this kind of crap:

for god sake hold your tongue, and let me love.
-
love's mysteries in souls do grow,
but yet the body is his book.
-
who ever loves, if he do not propose
the right true end of love, he's one that goes
to sea for nothing but to make him sick.
-
dull sublunary lovers' love
—whose soul is sense—cannot admit
of absence, 'cause it doth remove
the thing which elemented it.

you can't legalize teaching the deepest meanings of john donne's poetry without unleashing some seriously novel and lascivious ideas on the students that might as well be prefaced by a forty-five minute x-tube session and an e-stroll through condomdepot.com, because that guy strings words together whose harmonies enforce such attention as to pull pairs of eyes and ears toward them, into the bedroom where they reside. it's that anthropomorphic, and anthropomorphism, like after-shave, is best used sparingly.

i think i can hear mice porking in the space between my walls.

shine and rise

there are two kinds of sufferers in this world: those who suffer from a lack of life and those who suffer from an overabundance of life. i've always found myself in the second category. /waking life
--
in amazing israel, you will get up close and personal with the classic tourist sites and some hidden gems including the Old City and Western Wall in Jerusalem, Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, archaeological digging, the Sea of Galilee and Golan Heights, Sunrise at Massada, floating in the Dead Sea, hiking in the Negev Desert, laying out on the Mediterranean beaches, and partying in Israeli nightclubs.
--
i am back on the computermachine. it was out of commission for a number of weeks, during which time i drove to and from california and flew to israel via jfk. to bypass everything interesting and cut to the chase, israel was mind-blowing on no less than six levels and i now have a strong desire to relocate to northern california.

the two aren't entirely related. as my mom so deftly pointed out on the phone after many old city ramblings and perusals of my itinerary, "isreal really changed" me. i want to be physically and intellectually active during every waking moment. i've increasingly been viewing the world in general as a foreign territory where every person is to be approached as a potentially kind person, given the benefit of the doubt by lil ol' me. this morning i had a lengthy conversation with the guy at bongo video about 30 rock, of which i've very recently become a fan, and then found myself discussing vegetable fritters with a silly-hatted fellow at the whole foods prepared numnums section. social life is nothing short of what it would or wouldn't be if i were living anywhere else, but i'm finding it difficult to be as lively as i'd like in wisconsin. yesterday i took a walk for an hour and a half to nowhere in particular, and i only turned around to come home because the sun and cold were both settling in for the night. these issues do not necessarily arise in northern california, as the sun literally never sets there, and weather is nonexistent; science has taken care of both and now cannabis reigns supreme over all. it is unfortunate only for a small minority.

eureka, arcata, humbolt, and other norcal coasteries are on my immediate list...basically, anywhere on the coast of california north of san francisco and south of crescent city. as it stands right now, i have no fewer than two friends who are with me on this, and rent is certainly cheaper when more people are chipping in. maybe i could even find a couple couchsurfers to join in the norcallery fun.

a predominant reason i want to move out west is the ease with which i'll be able to live locally, in a very broad sense of the word. i patronize the farmer's markets out here in madison every saturday when the weather's nice, and i've been to the winter farmer's market a few times. to eat local foods, potentially even my own garden edibles, and support the local economy wherever i am, is very important. i think fast food chains have no legit place in this world and in terms of the satisfaction garnered from the things on which i spend money, i'd much rather and sooner give money to a family business right down the road than drive to a burger king and get cheaper food-ish food faster. there is little mass commercialization on willy street, where i live, but there's also limited commercialization in general. i can only eat at so many places, shop for so many necessities, and walk so far before i get to a freeway or some other obstacle like snow-covered sidewalks. and as great as it is and will be to contribute to everything local and keep small businesses thriving when and where they deserve to, a change of pace is as big a reason for wanting to move as any other.

i plan to look for work in dispensaries and kitchens, starting out as a newbie in either. i have extensive experience with both cannabis and cooking, but i've never worked in a structured, paid environment where either was the omphalos of the workday. it will be interesting to parlay personal hobbies and passions into money-making ventures, even though i won't look at them as such. life becomes much easier to manage and be excited about when one realizes that being paid to excel in a chosen field of work is essentially its own reward. "i really want to do just what my body needs to," explains panda bear. as soon as there is no disparity between what i want and what i need, i will be totally fulfilled in my life. going to israel helped me realize that, and going to california will help me achieve a level of awesome so lofty i'll need to brush up on my toga making skills because i'll be partying with zeus up in the clouds.

israel:


ein gev, the kibbutz we stayed at for the first couple nights in israel


the golan heights winery


so many olives at mediterranean souqs that they present them in massive tubs and bottle the oil in gargantuan plastic jugs.


if only my everyday goings on consisted of witnessing an exchange of sheqels between a fruit, nut, and spice vendor and a buyer.


bins, bags, buckets, and boxes of nuts, spices, herbs, and fruit. respectively.


tuna, japanese pumpkin, and sweet potatoes; spicy salmon and avocado. osaka sushi was bumpin' that night.


nyogod all the baklavah.


engrish is actually all over the world wherever english is not the native language.


delicious chocolate. the one on the right says creme brulee, more or less.


oftentimes i agree with the logic of fast food ads while simultaneously disagreeing with the reasoning behind the message. i really think lowest and highest should have been reversed for metaphorical reasons.


mount hertzl


i've no idea what the writing says. perhaps "nothing but kitchen sinks" or "only kitchen sinks" or "look no further, sinks here, pay around the corner" or "more sinks to the left, and even more if you call this number." it's hard to say without an israeli guidebook handy.


jaffa has been serving man's needs as a natural port since 7500 bc. it is literally one of the oldest cities in the world.


old jaffan alleyway


st. peter's church


the pigeonophile made of rugged suede on the shore of the mediterranean sea


two upstanding gentlemen


romping alongside tel aviv


the best dressed american in israel on the left there


this is photo number two in a two-photo series of aerial shots of my feet on foreign ground (the first was taken in amsterdam). i will start taking these shots more often whenever i'm anywhere outside madison.


the multifabricked astrologist on the beach. he made some legitimately astute observations about, and recommendations for, my life, and did it while wearing a leopard print jacket, tiger print pants, a cheetah print hat, and a old school camo t-shirt. for like eight sheqels. that is a quality deal and money i do not regret spending.


general nosuchery


gil wouldn't point the gun directly at us for the shot because he didn't want to overshadow his chucks.


good morning tel aviv


this dude can pack a nap like a cat


free wine and beer with about 10% of the flight remaining


the tail end of eli's headstand at gate d9 in tel aviv


ohhhhhhballs. david had the best seat in the house.

as i walked out one evening

As I walked out one evening,
  Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
  Were fields of harvest wheat.

And down by the brimming river
  I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
  'Love has no ending.

'I'll love you, dear, I'll love you
  Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
  And the salmon sing in the street,

'I'll love you till the ocean
  Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
  Like geese about the sky.

'The years shall run like rabbits,
  For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
  And the first love of the world.'

But all the clocks in the city
  Began to whirr and chime:
'O let not Time deceive you,
  You cannot conquer Time.

'In the burrows of the Nightmare
  Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
  And coughs when you would kiss.

'In headaches and in worry
  Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
  To-morrow or to-day.

'Into many a green valley
  Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
  And the diver's brilliant bow.

'O plunge your hands in water,
  Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
  And wonder what you've missed.

'The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
  The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
  A lane to the land of the dead.

'Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
  And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
  And Jill goes down on her back.

'O look, look in the mirror,
  O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
  Although you cannot bless.

'O stand, stand at the window
  As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
  With your crooked heart.'

It was late, late in the evening,
  The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
  And the deep river ran on.

/w.h. auden

myanimalhome.net

it's what i hoped foooooooooooooorrr

hooray for animal collective

if i could just leave my body for the night:
then we could be dancing
no more missing you while i'm gone
there we could be dancing
and you'd smile and say, "i like this song"
and when our eyes will meet there
we will recognize nothing's wrong
and i wouldn't feel so selfish
i won't be this way very long
/in the flowers
-
i don't mean
to seem like i care about material things
like our social stats
i just want
four walls and adobe slabs
for my girls
/my girls
-
if they're awake till the dawn, well we won't
fret that they don't have our eye
the ghosts came crowding around and then
i woke, you slept there on your side
from our window, two lanterns draw signs on the night
and light our two shadows i watch with delight
will i want them to be who they will be
or to be more like their dad?

will it be just like they're dreaming?
will it be just like i'm dreaming?
/also frightened
-
it doesn't really matter, i'll go where you feel
hunt for the breeze, get a midnight meal
i point in the windows, you point out the parks
rip off your sleeves and i'll ditch my socks
dance to the songs from the cars as they pass
weave through the cardboard, smell that trash
walking around in our summertime clothes,
nowhere to go while our bodies glow
and we'll greet the dawn in its morning blues
with purple yawns you'll be sleeping soon
and i want to walk around with you
/summertime clothes
-
just a sec more in my bed
hope the machine's working right
when it's just precisely tuned
that's how it comes out so nice

make sure my kid's got a dress
keys and coat and shoes and hat
strap a stroller to my back
bouncing along every crack
/daily routine
-
i'm getting lost in your curls
i'm drawing pictures on your skin, so soft it twirls
i like your looks when you get mean
i know i shouldn't say so but when you
claw me like a cat, i'm beaming
i like the way you squeeze my hand
pulling me into another dream,
a lucid dream.
/bluish
-
i really want to do just what my body needs to
the fact is that my thoughts about you had me just keeping far from you
i keep it locked in my eyes
i really want to show to my girl that i want her
the fact is that i thought you said you wanted to keep me here with you
/guys eyes
-
am i really all the things that are outside of me?
would i complete myself without the things i like around?
does the music that i make play on my awkward face?
do you appreciate the subtleties of taste buds?
/taste
-
lion in a coma, lion in a coma
who wants to smell the fine aroma,
lion in a coma, lion in a coma
who wants to run again at home
a lion in a coma, lion in a coma
who wants to use his aching bones
a lion in a coma, lion in a coma.
don't keep lying in a coma.
/lion in a coma
-
no more runnin
i've got to breathe
on back porches with the torch of a
firefly-lit tree

it's what i'd hoped for
no more runnin

well, lock my bones and trip my feet
tell them, find a place to be
stick like candy in your teeth
will you lose your faith in me?
/no more runnin
-
you got to weigh what you say
to help you shape the way you play
you gotta get rid of the mourning
sort out the habits of your mind

you're halfway 'til you're fully grown
you've got a real good shot
won't help to hold inside
give a real, give a real
shout out
/brother sport

lyrical collective posted the lyrics of merriweather post pavilion.
--

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE "BROTHER SPORT" 25.10.07 Grrrnd Zero Lyon
by GrrrndZero

--
jen stark is a very good artist.