Now you can't see

Happy Submarine - Eat Skull

Shawna was sitting on the dock, staring off at the sunset. The rest of the party was doing shooters and playing beer pong, and generally being loud and obnoxious, like any good high schooler. Shawna, though...I just couldn't stop looking at her.

Her legs were just dangling off the dock, swinging lazily against the darkening lake. Where less than five minutes ago I could make out the red of her sweater, the swirls of the design, and the white of her headband, she had quickly turned into a dark silhouette against the sky. I wondered what she was thinking, sitting there alone, watching such a beautiful fall sun, holding herself to stay warm for those last fleeting, glorious minutes of sunset. Maybe she wished someone would go out and join her, to enjoy this sight with company. On the other hand, maybe she just wanted to be alone, to escape the noise and hubbub in the house for a few minutes.

She looked cold. I wanted to go out and give her my jacket, to watch that giant star dip beneath the water and submerge us in darkness. We'd sit out there and talk about space, and how small we were. We'd wonder just what happened to Pearl Jam to make them so boring now. We'd laugh at that time Tim thought the capital of Brazil was Peru. We'd stay out on that dock long past the sunset. I'd be cold, wearing nothing but my thin sweater, and she'd offer to give me back my jacket. Of course I would refuse, but we'd have that moment.

Maybe, after a particularly touching conversation about how, just once, I'd love to see Paris and really experience the history, and how those pictures of a bombed out french countryside looked so hauntingly beautiful to me, we would lean in and share such a perfect, organic kiss. Maybe we'd date and maybe we wouldn't, but that moment would remain just as perfect.

The sun took a breath and dropped underwater, finally, and the sky got darker. Shawna got up, rubbed her arms and walked back to the house. I lost my chance.

[Eat Skull's album Wild and Inside is available on Siltbreeze. Photo is from Foundphotos.]

Some bassline in your mind

Vapours - Islands

What's really the meaning of good food? Does it have to be an impeccably arranged portion of food, sitting on a blank white plate in a dark, quiet atmosphere? Is that really the only way to enjoy fine cuisine?

I don't think that's true. I think food can be just as good eaten out of a red striped cardboard trough, covered in ketchup and supported by nothing more than your other hand. Quiet background noise can give way to screams of children on rides and carnies yelling about prizes. The food doesn't have to be prepared by a world renowned chef, it can simply be coated in batter and dunked in a fryer. The point of food is enjoyment, and I had much more fun buying a 2 dollar corn dog and sharing a night with my gal than sitting in a stuffy restaurant for 2 hours and paying heavily for the privilege. Let's be honest here, as redundant as it sounds, fun is fun.

And just listen to that fucking chorus.

[Island's new album, Vapours is now available through Anti-, and is a magnificent return to the fun, poppy sound of their debut. Photo by Redskynight.]

back with some new (&old) faves

Kings of Convenience - I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Röyksopp Remix)
Sweet remix of indie pop duo KoC by Royksopp.

Prince - If I Was Your Girlfriend
off his landmark Sign ☮ The Times LP. Classic Prince song, sung by his alter-ego Camille, and like all the best Prince songs, confusing, sexy and catchy at the same time.

Animal Collective - Leaf House
Leadoff track off AnCo's breakout album. It shows they've come along way, but they've been a great band for a long time.

Obsession is my Favourite Drug

God Damned - Girls

God dammit. These drugs are turning on me, I think. I'm starting to get scared. I don't even know which one the problem is. It can't be the Vicodin, it's just numbing me. Numb isn't the problem, it's just making it all seem further away. It isn't far away, right? I'm still right there? I haven't moved? Fuck.

Maybe the amphetamines are fucking with me. Is everything going faster? Slower? I don't even know.

Shit, maybe it's that acid. That's got to be it. It's all turning on me. Things are popping at me! No, that really happened. Nothing makes sense, it's all so random and disjointed. I need to sit down...

No, wait! I'm wrong. It's everything! It's nothing! It is going faster and slower. Everything's so random, but it's all so...right? In place? I don't even know. I just know I don't want it to stop. I still feel so far away though. That still might be the Vicodin.

[Girls' new album Album is out, and can be purchased through Matador. I would've blogged about Hellhole Ratrace, but Said the Gramophone already did it right, so I went with another one I liked from Album. Photo by rjrphoto.]

Wake Up

Up Up and Away (The Wake and Bake Song) - KiD CuDi

I once had a friend who told me he "didn't like rap". Now, I can appreciate this, people have different tastes. I asked him why, though, and he told me he didn't like how dark and serious it was. "It's all about beefs and hos and money, it's just not fun". So I showed him CuDi.

"Listen to that guitar strumming," I said. "Listen to it bounce."

"He still sounds serious, though. I want something fun," he retorted.

"But the song's about getting high when you wake up, how is that serious?" I asked.

"It just is. It doesn't have that melody."

But then the chorus hit, and his head started moving, he started bopping along with it. The carefree free-form, the full kit beat hopping with the song.

And that synth. Oh lord, that synth. That fun little melody waltzing along, buried in the chorus. That sound of a summer day, of a day spent skateboarding, or surfing, or doing something fun outside. The sound of waking and baking, I suppose. A smile creaked across his face, he couldn't help it.

"Okay, this is fun, I'll give you that" he finally conceded.

"But I still don't like rap.

That's fine.

[Photo by Marla (I need to find more photographers to use). The song is from KiD CuDi's debut full length, Man on the Moon: The End of the Day. You can buy it pretty much anywhere.]

This is the golden age

No Cigarettes - Withered Hand

Somewhere far away, many light years away in fact, there is a rock, and it is spinning away, dancing around a giant ball of fire. On this rock, there may be trees, there may be animals, there may be water. However, it is just as likely that this rock is barren, dry, and dusty. Whatever happens to be residing here, that rock will continue dancing. It will spin and spin and move around this star. It will do this whether I am here on earth or not. If governments fall, a nuclear winter erupts because of war here, this other planet will continue to exist. It will be unaffected, and it will dance.

This knowledge makes me feel small and insignificant. However, this does not make me feel sad. Whether I love, I become famous, I die in a gutter, the planet will spin, life will continue. This realization means that, while nothing I do will affect the universe in a meaningful way, nothing I do will adversely affect the universe either. So live, love, lose, none of it matters to anything but myself, in the grand scheme of things. This insignificance makes me able to really try, to fail, to do whatever I want.

And that far away planet will keep dancing, regardless of the tune I play.

[Photo from the Hubble Gallery, Withered Hand albums can be purchased through their website.]

They Can Never Understand

He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot - Grandaddy

Dress Rehearsal:

It's a little rough. We're trying, and there's a spark there, but everything's not quite coming together. Not yet. Lines are dropped, pauses go on a little bit too long, there's background noise from the builders. I can see where it's going, and with a few more months it could be brilliant. But we don't have a few months, we have the rest of today before it starts. Well, I guess we're going to have to see what happens and do our best. Are you ready?

Opening Night:

It all came together! The extras are hitting their cues, the actors are getting the right emotional response. I can feel myself speaking along with the actors, saying the lines. Nothing is out of place, all the lighting and sound is spot on. This is the show we wanted, the show we've been working towards. I don't know where it came from, or how it happened, but we did it.

Afterparty:

It's a low key event. Someone's playing a slow dirge on the piano, and the mood is professional, but there's happiness here. Lines from the production are repeated, we express the regret that the show is over. We're all going our separate ways now. As the drinks flow, more and more people are joining in. Tears are shed, but it's okay. We've all taken part in something wonderful, we shared a moment. It's a bittersweet farewell.

[Photo from Found Photos, you can buy Grandaddy's music on iTunes or in a brick and mortar shop (yes they still exist)]

Under the sun, Under the moon

I Wish That I Could See You Soon - Herman Dune

The beauty in this song lies not in the angelic female backing vocals, nor does in lie in the playful strumming. It doesn't reside in the solitary tambourine, dancing on the beat like a leaky faucet, falling in regular time while appearing to be random. It's not in the harmonies, dancing around each other. It's not the horns, coming in at just the right time, then falling out to make way for the voices (tambourine still dripping away). The beauty isn't in the lead guitar line, adding character without being overwhelming. All of these things are beautiful, but they are not the beauty.

The true beauty in this song comes from the throw away lines. When David-Ivar Herman Dune says "you know,", or when he precedes a chorus with a little "And I'm like, well...", or when he directs the backup vocals with "Angels, ". They're little toss-offs, seemingly expendable, but wholly instrumental to the song. It's like when you're a child, eating soup from a restaurant. You don't want it, because it's got vegetables, but your parents tell you "you can't even taste them". You wonder why they even bother putting vegetables in the soup at all.

Maybe it's true, maybe they aren't the overpowering taste, but eventually you learn that they serve a purpose. It just wouldn't be the same without them. The song would still be a nice pop song, but it wouldn't have the charm. It wouldn't have the beauty.

[Picture from Found Photos. You can buy the I Wish That I Could See You Soon single, along with other full length, from Herman Dune's website.]

I'm a million miles away

Not Your Lover - Blitzen Trapper

I miss it beside you. I know you're with him now, and things can never go back to the way they were before. There's too much...space, you know? Well, yes, clearly there's space, in the literal sense. A couple continents worth. But I mean there's an emotional distance. I'm sad that it's there. I am really sorry, for what it's worth. Just thought you should know. We had some good times, though, didn't we? Remember that picnic we had at Turtle River? I packed sandwiches at the site, but we took a walk and by the time we got back they were gone? It didn't matter though, we still had a good time. Plus, those hot dogs from the gas station weren't so bad. Anyway, I saw The Louvre the other day. It was nice, but it mostly made me think of what I lost. You don't have to call me back. I know you won't. Just...know that I'm thinking of you. Bye, I guess.

[Once again, picture by Marla. Song off Blitzen Trapper's Furr. Go out and buy it.]

I Love to sing All Yr Songs

these are songs i like

Diamond Rings - All Yr Songs
Sometimes a song comes along and you can't help but put it on everytime you think of it. Also, you know all the words and sing along to it. All Yr Songs is a perfect example of those types of tunes. The electronic drum in the background holding the song together, as Diamond Rings aka strums an acoustic guitar and crafts a melody perfect for summer. Expect good things from him in the future.

Naomi Punk - N/A
A song from a seattle band i don't know too much about, but the Rwandan choir singing sounds beautiful and dusty. definitely check this song out.

Atlas Sound - Shelia
The side project of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox has been around for a bit and released a lot of great songs through his blog and EP's and such. But his newest album Logos is a great cohesive experience and worth checking if you havent all ready.


Uilab - St. Elmo's Fire
And the last song i leave you with is a cover of Brian Eno. It's a collaboration between Ui and Stereolab from a few years ago. It is very good

well thats it for now, i'll be back with more good stuff soon

We live half at night

VCR - The xx

I hear longing in your voice. You put on that front, make yourself appear strong, but I know about you. You're the person in high school who would talk about everyone like you were better than them, but cry to yourself when nobody was around. You may have been popular, but now you know that meant nothing. You quickly learned that life won't just fall in your lap, that you'd have to work for it, but you didn't entirely know how to start.

Yeah? Well you're no better. You thought you had everything figured out when you were in high school. You weren't popular, but you were liked, and that made you feel good about yourself. You've drifted through life with this knowing aloofness, without really forming true connections. You never really got hurt, but you almost wish you had. Well, guess what, I know how to hurt you.

Hurt me.

[Photo by the wonderful and talented Marla M, song from The xx's album xx, which you can buy from Rough Trade.]

I will never be the same man

Seasun - Delorean

This is the sound of not doing anything productive, and not feeling bad about it. It's the sound of going to the beach instead of cleaning the house, of strolling in the park instead of getting groceries. It's to the tune of bird watching, the beat is comparable to a nice frolic. The background vocals sound like lying on the grass and watching the clouds go by. The keyboards plink and pop like neighbourhood children in the sandbox. The bass is going to the beach on a whim and playing frisbee. The lead vocals are telling you to go out and enjoy yourself, without explicitly saying this. Sure, we may have important stuff to do today, but the weather is nice and summer is running out. Sometimes procrastination isn't so bad.

[Photo courtesy of foundphotos.net, go buy Delorean's brilliant EP Ayrton Senna]