la pose

The other day I was visiting a friend's mypsace page, and I watched a few Parker Posey clips that he had embedded. I was reminded of just how incredibly sharp, funny, and biting she can be. Anyone know what she's up to lately? Here's a bit from The House of Yes (which also features Tori Spelling in her finest moment) and an outtake from Waiting for Guffman. The first clip will make you squirm in your seat. The second will have you squirming on the floor.

Back to Louisville

This morning, as I was applying a lovely shade of lemon grass to my dining room doors, I was thinking back to last night's post about the AP English Literature reading in Lousiville, and I realized that perhaps I should be offering up a few suggestions for things to do and see if ever you find yourself in that fair city. Here are some dos and don'ts for enjoying the site of "the most exciting two minutes in sports":

1) OK, I didn't see the Kentucky Derby, so I can't really speak to that one. It's probably just fine if you have plenty of mint juleps and a broad-brimmed hat.

2) Check out the Speed Art Museum on the campus of the University of Louisville. It has a fabulous collection of modern and contemporary art, as well as some good 17th- and 18th-century Dutch, Flemish, and French paintings. I saw a Warhol of police dogs attacking Civil Rights protesters that I'd never seen before.

3) Splurge on a meal at Proof on Main, a fine restaurant John took me to for a birthday meal. Even if you don't have a meal there, order the Oleana, which is kind of like a mojito with a vanilla bean. And have a gander at the weird replicas of bleating, lassoed goats hanging from the walls. You might just end up going vegetarian.

4) Wander back to the 21c Museum, which is just off the bar at Proof (see #3). There are some very cool installation and video pieces on display, and the men's urinal is pretty much just a wall of glass, down which flows sheets of water that prevent would-be looky-loos on the other side from checking out your goods.

5) And this isn't the only see-through urinal in Lousiville, oh no! If you head over to Boots--a gay leather bar within walking distance of downtown--you can stand before a glass and chain-link fence urinal, the other side of which is a bench for guys who love to watch men pee at them but just aren't into the mess. If your imagination is failing you, here's a picture of what I'm talking about:


Pretty nifty, huh?

Heads up: you gotta have some leather on to get to where the urinal is. And athletic shoes don't count. So how did I get in, you ask? The owner of the bar was kind enough to loan me his boots, which almost fit me. Oh, and, sorry ladies, but it's pretty much a guy thing at The Hole at Boots.

6. The drag show LaBoy LeFemme at The Connection (just next door to Boots, see #5). Nobody does drag like middle America does drag!

7. Karaoke at Q Starbase. Advance warning: these are some serious karaoke-ers, and they will mess you up if you mangle your rendition of "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

8. You thought I did nothing but guzzle cocktails at Louisville's gay bars? Well, think again. I also hung out at the bar at the Seelbach Hotel. This is where Daisy and Tom Buchanan of The Great Gatsby were married, but it's called something slightly different in the novel; I don't recall what. (There. I thought about it again.) I can recommend The Seelbach Cocktail. While you might not think that champagne and bourbon make for a good combination, I found it eminently drinkable.

9. Avoid 4th Street Live unless there's really something you want to see going on there or you're really in the mood for some uninspired kitsch. It's all chain restaurants, drunken brides-to-be in veils, clutching dildo bouquets, and Colonel Sanders impersonators. It's like Vegas's Fremont Street Experience, but without all the classic neon.

10. I guess you ought to order and consume a Hot Brown. I did. I was expecting a little more from what I understand to be a legendary Louisville dish, but it's essentially a turkey, cheese, and bacon casserole. Not that I have anything against that! But ultimately, it was more about being able to say I ate something with such an unappetizing name.


So there you have it! Your own guide to what to do, what to avoid, and what maybe to do while in Louisville, Kentucky! I'll probably be there again next year, so check this spot in summer 2008 for an update. At the very least, I'll make an effort to visit some different gay bars.

the case of the expiring passport

I promised you this tale of woe, so here it goes. Spoiler alert: although it is a tale with some truly hair-raising moments, it ends happily, and in a future post, you'll get to read about the fruitful uses to which I put my new U.S. passport.

All through the first half of 2007, I'd been planning and looking forward to a trip to France. The primary reason for this visit was work-related, as I was invited to participate in an academic roundtable tantalizingly titled "Queer Taxonomies," and it was an opportunity for me to get working on a piece I'm writing about sapphic-minded ladies and their maids in 1720s British literature. I won't bore you with further details on that topic. Let's just say it's turning out to involve a discussion of "Welsh flummery."

I guess planning is too strong a word to use for the way in which I was preparing for this trip, as I waited until nearly a month before the conference to arrange for my flight (mindblowingly expensive), pay my conference fees (ditto), and secure my lodging (refreshingly economical). You see, John and I were originally going to go together, spend a week in Montpellier, where the conference was being held, and another week in Paris, eating and drinking as much as possible. Well, the flights to Paris were prohibitively expensive, and because only I was getting University funding for the trip, we made the difficult decision that I would go it alone. We would look forward to a trip to Paris--sans academic commitments--sometime next year. Besides, John's passport had expired, and it was going to take him anywhere from six weeks to three months to have it renewed.

I, on the other hand, was resting on a bed of assurance, knowing that my travel dates were from early- to mid-July, and that my passport wouldn't expire until August. This was until my friend Shane alerted me to the possibility that an airline might not allow me to board unless I had at least a good six months before my passport expired. He'd heard about people being turned away at airports for this reason.

Thinking I'd better check this out, I went to the local passport information office and inquired. And, yup, turns out Shane was right. I even drove over to the American Airlines counter at Fresno Yosemite International (FYI!--or as airport-naming powers that be insist upon, Fresno Airline Terminal, or FAT) to verify this alarming bit of news. The woman at the counter confirmed it. I wanted to rant about the meaning of the word expire, and how if the expiration date was good enough for the U.S. government, it should be good enough for American Airlines. But I refrained.

Now, why this information isn't more widely known--printed on the flight itineraries that the airlines themselves generate, for example--I don't know. But in the increasingly disappointing realm of airline effectiveness, this seemingly important detail can go uncommunicated to would-be passengers who have drawn perfectly reasonable conclusions about the validity of their passports. At this point, I invite you to go check the state of your passport. I'll be here when you come back. If you now find yourself clutching your soon-to-be useless passport in one hand and locks of perfectly good hair in the other, bouncing from foot to foot and screaming to the high heavens, "now how am I going to get to Tehran???"--then take some deep breaths. What I have to tell you may be heartening.

The stern but not unyielding woman at Fresno's downtown branch of the U.S. Post Office gave me some hopeful advice, almost all of which turned out to be bogus. She gave me a 1-800 number that I should call to make an appointment to visit the closest passport agency in San Francisco. She told me to get a date--any date--and then head over to San Francisco and, in the we hours of the morning, wait in long lines in the hopes that the armed guards barring the agency entrance might relent and let those without appointments for that day enter the building and then wait in more lines.

You think you've experienced automated telephone service hell, but, trust me, unless you've grappled with this one, you have not. The first hurdle is getting beyond the "we're sorry, call volume is through the roof right now. Try calling back at, say, 4 a.m." And even if you do set your alarm and wake up at 4 a.m. and call that damn number over and over and over, you may not get to the next stages, where, until you've become familiar with the system's idiosyncrasies, you will learn that "I'm sorry. There are no more appointments available." I found that the trick is never to request an afternoon appointment. This inevitably leads to the "none available" answer, followed by a click and a dial tone and your screams of horror at the sound of such ominous noises. I found I had to stick with morning appointments--God knows why--which I did, and, finally, I was successful in securing an appointment date, time, and confirmation code.

The problem was that my appointment was for a mere few days before I was to leave the country, and I wanted to get some sleep between now and then. So, I planned a very sudden trip to San Francisco and left on a Wednesday, planning to stay until Friday, just in case I needed two full days to stand in line at the agency. I'm lucky to have even found a hotel room at all, given that SF's Gay Pride (scroll down, way down) events were coming up that weekend, and I hadn't factored these into my plans.

Well, to make a long story short (I know, too late), after a fitful night in what appeared to be a child's single bed, amid truly terrible decor involving geese in bonnets, I ended up arriving at the U.S. Passport agency in San Francisco bright and early on a Thursday morning, necessary documents in my hot little hand.

What I learned there was that you didn't really need an appointment, after all. Sure those good little citizens who had dutifully gone through 1-800-GOV-HELL to secure an appointment were admitted in first. But in the end, everyone in that line got in. Once inside, I enjoyed some pretty friendly and relatively prompt service. The only hitch was that I had arrived two weeks and one day prior to my departure date, and the folks at the agency are only supposed to help walk-ins who show up within two weeks of their departure date. Luckily, the woman behind the bullet-proof glass barrier pitied me when I began to panic and shriek, "but I drove all the way across the California desert to do this and I'm staying in a geese-filled, South-of-Market hotel room!" She nodded with understanding: "well, in that case..."

So I turned in my forms, paid my exorbitant expediting fees, and came back that afternoon to pick up my new passport. Inside were a rotten photo of me and my many chins and a few too many images of bald eagles for my taste. Still, it was a valid passport! It was going to get me where I needed to go!

Afterward, I walked into the nearest brew pub, downed some tasty IPAs, and had a lovely salad with flavorful cheeses and candied walnuts, all the while gazing at attractive, tattooed and shaven-headed men, who were watching some sports event on the TV. (Ah, San Francisco.)

If there is any wisdom to be gleaned from this story, it's this: screw the rules, and just show up! Life is too short to spend it pacing around the house on your cordless shouting "yes" and "no" at an automated voice recognition telephone system at four in the morning. And, hey! It's San Francisco, so how bad can it be?

versectitude

Well, another summer has nearly flown by, and I'm no better a blogger than I was this time last year. Sigh. Some great things have happened this summer, however, and I want to get some of them down while I can still recall them. It'll happen piecemeal.

This past June, I was in Louisville, Kentucky spending my sixth (count them--six!) year scoring AP English Literature exams. I know what you must be thinking: "how do I get in on this gig?" Well, you have to be either a high school or college English instructor, and you have to be willing to give up the first week or so of June to sit in an overly-air-conditioned conference center and grade essays for eight hours a day.

My previous years as a reader were spent in Daytona Beach, which sounds glamorous unless you've actually been to Daytona during the first week of June. The only folks there that time of year are leathery beach bums and very pathetic frat boys who seem not to have gotten the memo as to where and when Spring Break was going to be. Daytona does have a fine beach (if you're into that sort of thing--I'm not much of a sand guy, myself), but the only other attractions include a Bubba Gump's and more souvenir shops (think alligator heads and Confederate flag-wear) than you could possibly imagine. OK, I'm sure there are other charms, and most of the people I hung out with really loved it there.

But moving the reading to Louisville was a step in the right direction, as far as I'm concerned. In Lousiville, there is a real downtown with some pretty good restaurants, museums (not just the Louisville Slugger one, but art museums, too), watering holes with many kinds of bourbon, several gay bars that stay open really late, and a view of the Colgate Factory across the river in Indiana. (It's cooler than it sounds.)

The real reason I keep returning to score essays for Educational Testing Services, however, is to see my same-time-next-year AP English Lit reading pals. For the past six years I've spent my birthday (June 5, in case you hadn't yet marked your calender) with these folks, and this year I turned the big Four-O with them. John even came out to meet them and celebrate this milestone with me. We had a party in my hotel room--a suite, in fact--and the hotel management was called up to tell us to keep it down. You know it's a party when party-pooping authority figures come a-knocking!

As far as the essays were concerned, there weren't near enough howlers this year. I was scoring the third essay or open question. Students were asked to choose a novel or play and discuss how a past decision played a pivotal role in a character's present state. In other words, choose a work with a character and a plot, and you've got it made. By the end of the reading, I felt certain I never wanted to even think about The Great Gatsby, Death of a Salesman, or Beloved. Ever. Again.

There were a couple of bright moments, however, and I'm happy to share them with you.

Here are some of the most interesting coinages I came across:

poingrent
peripety
vermit
versectitude

and--I kid you not--Se la V.

I read about the "great ball and chain of being," and discovered that The Great Gatsby was, in fact, written by Ella Scott Fitzgerald. I also encountered examples of insightful character analysis, such as, "Lady MacBeth wasn't very nice at all," and "As a young man, Gatsby was not well endowed."

But the prize for most entertaining response goes to the poor young writer whose essay was comprised entirely of this observation:

"I've only read one work on this list. A Streetcar Named Desire. I think it's a kind of Volkswagon."

Mock me and my choice of summer activities if you must, but really, folks, you can't find this stuff on the Comedy Channel. And I haven't even told you about the cafeteria food we're served thrice daily.

Stay tuned for my harrowing tale of the expiring passport.

playlist, aug. 21, 2007

Zap Mama - "Moonray"
Architecture in Helsinki - "Underwater"
The Magic Numbers - "This Is a Song"
Travis - "Selfish Jean"
The New Pornographers - "All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth"
David Dondero - "When the Heart Breaks Deep"
Bebel Gilberto - "Caçada"
Una - "Casa Del Fuego"
Ulrich Schnauss - "In Between the Years"
The Polyphonic Spree - "Running Away
Robbers on High Street - "The Fatalist"
Born Ruffians - "Piecing It Together"
The Dalloways - "Clarissa, Dear"
Pela - "Your Desert's Not a Desert At All"
Lavender Diamond - "The Garden Rose"
Elliott Smith - "Thirteen"
Julia Dawn - "Falling"
Forro in the Dark [feat. David Byrne] - "Asa Branca"
Feist - "Sealion"
Spoon - "The Ghost of You Lingers"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "10 X 10"
M.I.A. - "Paper Planes"
Common - "The People"
L.A. Symphony [feat. Posdnuos] - "Universal"
Björk - "Innocence"
St. Vincent - "Now Now"
Bats for Lashes - "I'm on Fire"
Caribou - "Sandy"
Battles - "Leyendecker"
Interpol - "The Heinrich Maneuver"
The Boggs - "Melanie in the White Coat"
Sleepover Disaster - "One More Chord"
Dinosaur Jr. - "Almost Ready"
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb"
TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me"
Mark Ronson [feat. Kasabian] - "L.S.F."
M.I.A. - "Jimmy"
The Cure - "In Between Days"
Tom Vek - "I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes"
Josh Ritter - "To the Dogs or Whoever"

playlist, aug. 20, 2007

Tegan and Sara - "I Was Married"
Interpol - "No I in Threesome"
The Real Tuesday Weld - "Bathtime in Clerkenwell"
Gypsy Kings - "Mi Manera"
The Magic Numbers - "You Never Had It"
Stevie Wonder - "Masterblaster (Jammin')"
Common [feat. Lily Allen] - "Drivin' Me Wild"
The New Pornographers - "My Rights Versus Yours"
Jonathan Coulton - "Skullcrusher Mountain"
Charlie Louvin - "Great Atomic Power"
Earlimart - "Everybody Knows Everybody"
Spoon - "The Underdog"
Uni and Her Ukelele - "I'm on My Way"
Caribou - "Melody Day"
Mark Ronson [feat. Paul Smith] - "Apply Some Pressure"
M.I.A. - "Jimmy"
New Young Pony Club - "Ice Cream"
Snowden - "Anti Anti"
Joanna Newsom - "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie"
Feist - "The Park"
Josh Ritter - "To the Dogs or Whoever"
T. Rex - "Cosmic Dancer"
Okkervil River - "John Allyn Smith"
St. Vincent - "Jesus Saves, I Spend"
David Dondero - "The Prince William Sound"
The Sea and Cake - "Middlenight"
The Clientele - "From Brighton Beach to Santa Monica"
L.A. Symphony - "Passionate"
Shape of Broadminds - "Changes"
Brother Reade - "Let's Go"
mansbestfriend - "Dedemma Speaks"
Justice - "Genesis"
Digitalism - "Pogo"
Honeycut - "Shadows"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Kiss Kiss"
M.I.A. - "Boyz"
Bonde do Role - "Solta O Frango"
Bitter Sweet - Bittersweet Faith" (Thievery Corporation Remix)
Feist - "Mushaboom" (K-OS Mix)
Battles - "Race:In"
Sonic Youth - "Within You Without You"

playlist, aug. 13, 2007

Mark Ronson [feat. Daniel Merriweather] - "Stop Me"
Serge Gainsbourg - "Requiem Pour un Con"
Belle & Sebastian - "Act of the Apostle"
The Sea and Cake - "Sound & Vision"
Architecture in Helsinki - "Heart It Races"
Cookie Jar - "The Island"
Gogol Bordello - "Wonderlust King"
Socalled - "You Are Never Alone"
K-OS - "Crabbuckit"
Bullion - "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times"
Dälek - "Bricks Crumble"
Tortoise & Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "Daniel"
Okkervil River - "John Allyn Smith Sails"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "10 X 10"
Sonic Youth - "Silver Rocket"
Pavement - "Summer Babe" (Winter Version)
Super Lucky Catz - "58 Steps"
Sufjan Stevens - "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!"
St. Vincent - "All My Stars Aligned"
Arcade Fire - "Black Mirror"
Interpol - "Pioneer to the Falls"
New Young Pony Club - "Hiding on the Staircase"
Apparat - "Limelight"
Von Südenfed - "Fledermaus Can't Get It"
Patrick Wolf - "Accident & Emergency"
T. Rex - "Bang a Gong (Get It On)"
Bonde do Rolê - "Geremia"
Common [feat. Lily Allen] - "Drivin' Me Wild"
Battles - "Race:In"
Tegan and Sara - "Relief Next to Me"
Simon & Garfunkel - "The Sound of Silence"
Spoon - "The Ghost of You Lingers"
Hot Chip - "My Piano"
Nick Lowe - "Hope for Us All"
Robbers on High Street - "The Fatalist"
Calexico - "The Guns of Brixton"
Mavis Staples - "In the Mississippi River"
Stars - "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" (Final Fantasy Remix)

playlist, aug. 6, 2007

Freelance Hellraiser, "We Don't Belong"
The Go! Team - "Huddle Formation"
Feist - "I Feel It All"
Architecture in Helsinki - "Heart It Races"
Ozomatli - "La Termperatura"
Frightened Rabbit - "The Twist"
The Knife - "Neverland"
Battles - "Ddiamondd"
The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"
Tegan and Sara - "The Con"
Son Volt - "The Picture"
Essie Jain - "Glory"
The National - "Mistaken for Strangers"
Okkervil River - "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe"
Lavender Diamond - "The Garden Rose"
Johnny Cash - "If You Could Read My Mind"
M. Ward - "Beautiful Car"
Spoon - "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"
Yo La Tengo - "Beanbag Chair"
Mark Ronson [feat. the Dap Horns] - "God Put a Smile on Your Face"
Bob Marley and the Wailers - "African Herbsman" (King Kooba Remix)
Common [feat. Lily Allen] - "Drivin' Me Wild"
Blake Jones and the Trike Shop - "Clever Things"
They Might Be Giants - "The Mesopotamians"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Young Folks"
Nouvelle Vague - "Dancing with Myself"
The Cure - "Close to Me"
Interpol - "No I in Threesome"
K-OS - "The Rain"
Teddybears [feat. Neneh Cherry] - "Yours to Keep"
!!! - "Heart of Hearts"
Honeycut - "The Day I Turned to Glass"
The Boggs - "Remember the Orphans"
Sparklejet - "We Get in a Hurry"
1990s - "You Made Me Like It"
St. Vincent - "Paris Is Burning"
John Vanderslice - "Time to Go"
Earlimart - "Answers & Questions"
Digitalism - "Digitalism"
The Chemical Brothers - "All Rights Reversed"
Beastie Boys - "Off the Grid"

playlist, aug. 1, 2007

The Black Keys - "Just a Little Heat"
Billy Bragg - "Sexuality"
My Morning Jacket - "Anytime" [Live]
Spoon - "Underdog"
Feist - "My Moon My Man"
A Tribe Called Quest - "Can I Kick It?"
Mark Ronson [feat. Robbie Williams] - "The Only One I Know"
Arcade Fire - "Wake Up"
Blonde Redhead - "The Dress"
Caesers - "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"
Julia Dawn - "Beautiful"
Feist - "I Feel It All"
Zap Mama - "1000 Ways"
Billie Holiday - "Pennies from Heaven" (Count de Money Remix)
Lily Allen - "Littlest Things"
Cibo Matto - "Beef Jerky"
Thee More Shallows - "Freshman Thesis"
Stevie Wonder - "Masterblaster (Jammin')"
Bob Marley - "Soul Shakedown Party" (Afrodisiac Sound System Remix)
B-Side Players - "Unplug This Armageddon"
Gorillaz - "White Light"
40 Watt Hype - "Controversy"
They Might Be Giants - "Take Out the Trash"
The Zutons - "Valerie"
The Cure - "The Caterpillar"
Björk - "Innocence"
The Chemical Brothers - "A Modern Midnight Conversation"
LCD Soundsystem - "Someone Great"
The Avett Brothers - "Die Die Die"
The National - "Apartment Story"
Nina Simone - "Sinnerman"
Tom Waits - "Rains on Me"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Let's Call It Off" ( Girl Talk Remix)
Royal City - "Is This It?"
Mika - "Billy Brown"
Patrick Wolf - "The Magic Position"
Jarvis Cocker - "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time"

playlist, july 30, 2007

Stars - "Ageless Beauty" (The Most Serene Republic Remix)
Lily Allen - "Smile"
Nouvelle Vague "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
José Gonzålez - "Heartbeats"
Lavender Diamond - "Like an Arrow"
Spoon - "Don't Make Me a Target"
The National - "Fake Empire"
Los Super Elegantes - "Solar Day"
Apparat - "Holdon"
Battles - "Leyendecker"
Misha - "Weatherbees"
My Robot Friend - "One More Try"
Miranda! - "Don"
Bonde do Rolê - "Solta O Frango"
Gogol Bordello - "Ultimate"
Patrick Wolf - "Accident & Emergency"
Mark Ronson [feat. Amy Winehouse] - "Valerie"
Billie Holliday - "Spreadin' Rhythm Around" (Lady Bug vs lady Day RR Remix)
Karen Marguth - "Lullaby of Birdland"
Elliott Smith - "Miss Misery" (Early Version)
Wilco - "Sky Blue Sky"
Nick Drake - "Northern Sky"
St. Vincent - "Your Lips Are Red"
Julia Dawn - "Seven"
Feist - "The Park"
Hot Chip - "And I Was a Boy from School"
Bark Bark Bark - "Brand New Shoes"
Lismore - "1979"
Blonde Redhead - "Dr. Strangluv"
Interpol - "The Scale"
Ryan Adams - "Two"
Mavis Staples - "Eyes on the Prize"
Digitalism - "Pogo"
LCD Soundsystem - "Time to Get Away"
Justice - "DVNO"
Poplord - "Quigley Park"
Mark Ronson [feat. Paul Smith] - "Apply Some Pressure"
Editors - "French Disko"
Smashing Pumpkins - "That's the Way (My Love Is)"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Rockers to Swallow"
Bat for Lashes - "Trophy"

playlist, july 23, 2007

My Morning Jacket - "Anytime" [Live]
Spoon - "The Ghost of You Lingers"
Apparat - "Limelight"
Battles - "Atlas"
Mavis Staples - "99 1/2"
Jefferson Airplane - "Somebody to Love" [Live]
T. Rex - "Planet Queen" (Acoustic Version)
Pela - "Your Desert's Not a Desert At All"
Stars - "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" (Final Fantasy Remix)
Feist - "Sealion"
Joanna Newsom - "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie"
Lavender Diamond - "Here Comes One"
Metric - "On the Sly"
Of Montreal - "She's a Rejecter"
The Same Shape - "Obvious Solutions"
Subtle - "Middleclass Kill"
The Roots - "Don't Say Nuthin'" (Remix)
Busdriver - "Secret Skin"
The Streets - "When You Wasn't Famous"
Bonde do Rolê - "Geremia"
Interpol - "Heinrich Maneuver"
Snowden - "Like Bullets"
The National - "Fake Empire"
DeVotchka- "Venus in Furs"
The Knife - "We Share Our Mother's Health"
New Order - "Age of Consent"
LCD Soundsystem - "Time to Get Away"
The Blow - "Parentheses" (Rory Philips Remix)
Junior Bloomsday - "Your Perfect Gene" [feat. Cadence Weapon]
Mark Ronson - "Valerie" [feat. Amy Winehouse]
The Polyphonic Spree - "Running Away"
DJ Axel - "Stand Up Fever" (Peggy Lee vs Ludacris)
Bob Marley and the Wailers - "Rainbow Country" (DJ Spooky's Subliminal Funk Remix)
Dan Deacon - "The Crystal Cat"
Justice - "Waters of Nazareth"
Sonic Youth - "Within You Without You"
Calexico / Iron & Wine - "Sixteen, Maybe Less"

playlist, july 2, 2007

Sonic Youth - "Total Trash"
Ryan Adams - "Two"
Nick Drake - "Black Mountain Blues"
Mavis Staples - "This Little Light of Mine"
Youssou N'Dour - "Jealous Guy"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Let's Call It Off" (Girl Talk Remix)
The Polyphonic Spree - "Running Away"
Tom Vek - "I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes"
Feist - "Past in Present"
Bebel GIlberto - "Os Novos Yorkinos"
Easy Star All-Stars - "Let Down" [feat. Toots & the Maytals]
Stars - "Ageless Beauty" (The Most Serene Republic Remix)
The White Stripes - "Conquest"
The Damned - "Neat Neat Neat" (Peel Session)
Patrick Wolf - "Accident & Emergency"
Sparklejet - "Emilio"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Cheated Hearts"
Metric - "Hardwire"
Yung Mars - "Tha Bay"
Beastie Boys - "B for My Name"
Bonde do Rolê - "Geremia"
Macromantics - "Scorch" [feat. Ground Components]
DJ Axel - "Without Billie Jean" (Michael Jackson vs. Eminem)
Battles - "Atlas"
Afghan Wigs - "Debonair"
The Sleepover Disaster - "Victoria"
My Morning Jacket - "Anytime" [Live]
Snowden -"Like Bullets"
Asobi Seksu - "New Years"
!!! - "All My Heroes Are Weirdos"
LCD Soundsystem - "Someone Great"
Apparat - "Holdon"
Spoon - "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"
Charlie Louvin - "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face"
Joanna Newsom - "Clam, Crab, Cowrie"
CocoRosie - "Rainbowarriors"
The Knife - "Silent Shout"
Stars - "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" (Final Fantasy Mix)

playlist, june 18, 2007

Elliott Smith - "Georgia, Georgia"
Julia Dawn - "Beautiful Lie"
Wilco - "Walken"
Feist - "Sealion"
Colourbox - "Hot Doggie"
Apparat - "Holdon"
Bonde do Rolê - "Geremia"
M.I.A. - "Sunshowers"
pc muñoz and the amen corner - "California"
T. Rex - "Mambo Sun"
TV on the Radio - "Provence"
Celebration - "China"
Blonde Redhead - "My Impure Hair"
Imitation Electric Piano - "I Mean Wow"
Belle and Sebastian - "The Blues Are Still Blues"
Loney, Dear - "Saturday Waits"
Lavender Diamond - "Like an Arrow"
The Clientele - "From Brighton Beach to Santa Monica"
Andrew Bird - "Heretics"
Battles - "Race:In"
Dungen - "Familij"
Sparklejet - "We Get in a Hurry"
Modest Mouse - "March into the Sea"
Arctic Monkeys - "D Is for Dangerous"
Field Mob - Georgia [feat. Ludacris]
Sage Francis - "Civil Obedience"
Ozomatli - "La Temperatura"
Grace Jones - "The Apple Stretching"
Lily Allen - "LDN"
CocoRosie - "Rainbowarriors"
Poplord - "Quigley Park"
K. McCarty - "Like a Monkey in a Zoo"
M. Ward - "To Go Home"
LCD Soundsystem - "All My Friends"
The National - "Fake Empire"
Arcade Fire - "Keep the Car Running"
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "A Bottle of Buckie"
Kings of Leon - "Knocked Up"
The Blow - "Parentheses"

playlist, june 11, 2007

The National - "Mistaken for Strangers"
Lavender Diamond - "Open Your Heart"
Menomena - "Weird"
Battles - "Atlas"
Viva Voce - "From the Devil Himself"
The Twilight Sad - "Cold Days from the Birdhouse"
Blonde Redhead - "SIlently"
Apparat - "Holdon"
Matthew Dear - "Neighborhoods"
Céu - "Malemolência"
Bob Marley - "Concrete Jungle"
Nino Moschella - "Didn't You See Her"
Björk - "Hope"
Robbers on High Street - "The Fatalist"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Let's Call It Off" (Single Mix)
Dntel - "Roll On"
The Teddy Bears - "To Know Him Is to Love Him"
Amy Winehouse - "Love Is a Losing Game"
Snowden - "Anti Anti"
Dungen - "Gör Det Nu"
Beirut - "Elephant Gun"
Essie Jain - "Glory"
Everything All the Time - "The People vs. Lux"
Sleater-Kinney - "Wilderness"
Talking Heads - "The Girls Want to Be with the Girls" [Live]
Patrick Wolf - "Accident & Emergency"
Mavis Staples - "99 1/2"
The Rapture - "Pieces of the People We Love"
Dan Deacon - "The Crystal Cat"
Datarock - "Princess"
Bonde Do Role - "Solta O Frango"
The Kingston Trio - "Greenback Dollar"
Rufus Wainwright - "Oh What a World"
My Morning Jacket - "One Big Holiday"
Malcolm McLaren - "Love Will..."
Dump - "Pop Life"
Pela - "Your Desert's Not a Desert at All"
Gavin Bryars - "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet" (Single) [feat. Tom Waits]
Nouvelle Vague - "Dance with Me"

gunshow

Get over to Tim Fite's webpage and watch the two episodes of gunshow he's posted, one of which involves making and unmaking a beard out of electrical tape (i think).

Thanks to flamigirlant for this.

That you can still "get away from the snakes" for free from Fite's site is pretty terrific, so you should do it. And you should get some of his other songs, too.

would you like some ranch with that?

I generally don't do these quizzes, but you have to admit--the thought of throwing radishes at people? How cool is that?

Mmmmm. Radishes.

What random vegetable should you throw at someone?

Radish You want a vegetable that will say that you are a very exciting kind of person. If you throw a radish everyone will say that you are the life of the party. Just look at that gorgeous red color that it has. It just screams excitement!

How do you compare? Take this test! | Tests from Testriffic

Thanks to Katie-did for this.

pc's revenge

Ever since I ditched my Dell and switched to Mac, I've been a very happy camper. I love my MacBook, and I now kick myself for not becoming a convert to the Church of Apple any sooner.

But I'll have to admit that these Mac versus PC parody ads are pretty funny. Stoner Mac is my favorite.

playlist, may 28, 2007

Balkan Beat Box - "Habibi min zaman"
Freelance Hellraiser - "We Don't Belong"
Yoko Ono feat. Le Tigre - "Sisters O Sisters"
TTC - "Ebisu Rendez-Vous"
Elliott Smith - "High Times"
Feist - "So Sorry"
Joanna Newsom - "Sawdust & Diamonds"
40 Watt Hype - "On and On"
Sage Francis - "Civil Obedience"
Cibo Matto - "Spoon"
Björk - "Innocence"
The Knife - "Neverland"
Neil Young - "After the Garden"
Charlie Louvin - "The Christian Life"
Lavender Diamond - "You Broke My Heart"
Royal City - "Is This It"
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - "Melt Your Heart"
Julia Dawn - "Falling"
Grinderman - "Grinderman"
The Gossip - "Are U That Somebody?"
Mavis Staples - "Eyes on the Prize"
Kings of Leon - "Knocked Up"
Snowden - "Like Bullets"
Jonathan Coulton - "Sibling Rivalry"
Donnie Iris - "Ah! Leah!"
Planningtorock - "I Wanna Bite Ya"
Miranda - "Don"
LCD Soundsystem - "All My Friends"
Arc Minute - "Polyethelene"
Go Home Productions - "Flaming Mary Can (Out) Run Prince"
Subtle - "Middleclass Kill"
Amon Tobin - "Verbal"
Johnny Boy - "Fifteen Minutes"
Arcade Fire- "(Antichrist Intervention Blues)"
The Hold Steady - "The Chillout Tent"
Editors - "French Disko"
Clinic - "Gideon"
Viva Voce - "From the Devil Himself"

rub my legs! rub my thighs!

Yesterday I went to a Rogue Festival Barbecue Party, and I amused myself by taking over the barbecue and grilling up some meats. Earlier in the day, I created two dry marinades, and, since I rarely make any meat dishes at home, I had a great time making the rubs and seeing how the final products turned out. I think that at least some of the roguers enjoyed these, but by the time I got around to grilling the chicken that I brought, nearly everyone had either already eaten (nothing I could ever make could compare to airplaynejayne's Basque-marinated Omaha steaks) or were pretty trashed or both. In any case, I thought it was pretty tasty.

Here's what I made:

Chicken Legs with All-Purpose Spice Rub

1/3 cup coarse salt
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (optional, but I used it)

This makes about 1 1/4 cups or spice rub, which is enough to season anywhere from 5 to 10 pounds of meat. I used this to season about 24 chicken legs. You can also store this in a jar and it will keep for about six months.

Chicken Thighs with Curry Rub

8 teaspoons curry powder
3 teaspoons ground coriander
3 teaspoons coarse salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon sugar

I used this to season about a dozen chicken thighs.

For both the legs and the thighs, I thoroughly rubbed the mixture all over the meats and shook off the excess. I put those puppies on the grill, skin side down, and kept vigil.

Both these recipes come from my favorite cooking magazine, Everyday Food.

playlist, may, 21, 2007

The Sea and Cake - "Up on Crutches"
Andrew Bird - "Fiery Crash"
Julia Dawn - "Beautiful"
Karen Marguth - "Marie Laveaux"
Feist - "So Sorry"
Au Revoir Simone - "A Violent Yet Flammable World"
Goldfrapp - "Ooh La La"
Patrick Wolf - "Accident & Emergency"
dntel - "Dumb Luck"
Vicarious Bliss Pop Experience - "Together in Electric Dreams"
Arc Minute - "Snails & Haloes"
The Submarines - "Brighter Discontent" (Styrofoam Remix)
Thom Yorke - "Harrowdown Hill"
Björk - "Hope"
Elliott Smith - "Looking Over My Shoulder"
Bebel Gilberto - "Night and Day"
Coco Freeman feat. Franz Ferdinand - "The Dark of the Matinee" (Spanish Version)
Gnarls Barkley - "Smiley Faces"
Maps - "Lost My Soul"
The Arcade Fire - "Black Mirror"
Blonde Redhead - "Spring and by Summer Fall"
The Noisettes - "Scratch Your Name"
Snowden - "Anti-Anti"
Mew - "Snow Brigade"
Pela - "Cavalry"
Born Ruffians - "Piecing It Together"
The Clientele - "Here Comes the Phantom"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Cheated Hearts"
Björk - "The Dull Flame of Desire"
LCD Soundsystem - "Us v Them"
Teddybears feat. Neneh Cherry - "Yours to Keep"
Wilco - "Either Way"
Mavis Staples - "99 and 1/2"
pc muñoz and the amen corner - "California"
Dan Deacon - "Woody Woodpecker"
The Whitest Boy Alive - "Burning"
The Flaming Lips - "Free Radicals"
Junior Boys - "In the Morning"
Yacht feat. Bobby Birdman - "Platnum"
!!! - "Myth Takes"

chk it

Did you catch the interview with !!! on NPR this evening? It's not too long, so give it a listen. I loved the bit about the drum corps. Click here for the interview and for more on !!!.

playlist, may 14, 2007

Peter Bjorn and John - "Amsterdam"
Kaiser Chiefs - "Highroyds"
Bebel Gilberto - "Os Novos Yorkinos"
Feist - "1234"
The Sea and the Cake - "Up on Crutches"
Elliott Smith - "Georgia, Georgia"
Common - "The Corner"
Sage Francis - "Underground for Dummies"
Busdriver - "The Troglodyte Wins"
Marcia Griffiths - "Feel Like Jumping"
Grandaddy - "Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland"
Beirut - "Fountains and Tramways"
The Smiths - "How Soon Is Now?"
Grizzly Bear - "The Knife"
The Clientele - "I Hope I Know You"
Blonde Redhead - "Dr. Strangeluv"
LCD Soundsystem - "North American Scum"
Hot Chip - "Arrest Yourself"
Björk - "Innocence"
Patrick Wolf - "Accident & Emergency"
Paul Anka - "Eyes without a Face"
The Doors - "Strange Days" (Thievery Corporation Remix)
OHN - "Dear Prudence"
Nouvelle Vague - Love Will Tear Us Apart"
Calexico - "AloneAgainOr"
Blake Jones and the Trike Shop - "Virginia Woolf"
Wilco - "Sky Blue Sky"
Mavis Staples - "In the Mississippi River"
Sufjan Stevens - "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us"
Joanna Newsom - "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie"
Kings of Leon - "Knocked Up"
Of Montreal - "We Were Born the Mutants Again with Leafling"

little chicken

The sky fell.

techno goes sublime

The album I'm currently enamored with is The Field's From Here We Go Sublime. It's been touted by pitchfork as some of the best music of 2007, and it's been at the top of metacritic's best of 2007 list just about since its release on Kompakt in early April. When I try to describe it to friends, all I can come up with is some version of the following: "ambient-techno-minimal-glitch-drone-house," which I'm sure doesn't make anyone want to listen to it. I haven't always been so impressed with recent neo-techno offerings, perhaps because I remember going to raves when techno was really new and seemingly groundbreaking music; back when we broke into abandonded buildings and took lots of acid and x; back when a few Lite Brite sets served for light shows. Anyway, techno has always signified a bygone era for me, and while I remember that era fondly, I'm happy to leave my all-night-rave days in the past.

But The Field (aka Axel Willner) revives techno in interesting ways. Willner tempers cold techno precision with warm, resonant bass, and humanizes the thumps and beeps with swelling, sway-inducing crescendos and strangely moving vocal samples of just single syllables: "ee," "ü," "ah," "ai." As the title of the track "Sun & Ice" suggests, Willner is interested in creating sounds that are at once sunny and chilly.

Check out "Over the Ice" the first track on Sublime" on The Field's myspace page. You can also stream it here.

You can download "Sun & Ice" from The Field's website, by right-clicking here.

fried anything

Today John and I hitched a ride with Donald and Shane as they drove the Wildflower Trail, which wends its way from Clovis up to Shaver Lake and back (basically western Fresno county for you foreigners). We stopped off at the Hungry Hut in Shaver to have a snack. Shane ordered the mac 'n' cheese bites, which are, essentially, triangular wedges of macaroni and cheese that are dipped in batter and deep fried. Shane decided they were inedible, so I ate them. Up. Having ordered a corn dog and fried zucchini sticks, I'm now feeling rather unvirtuous.

But the fried mac 'n' cheese things weren't that bad. I'm determined to try those fried oreos and fried twinkies that I hear so much about. Only a few months until State Fair season, so watch out arteries!

playlist, may 7, 2007

Cibo Matto - "Spoon"
Blonde Redhead - "Dr. Strangeluv"
Yacht [feat. Bobby Birdman] - "Platinum"
Feist - "So Sorry"
Forro in the Dark [feat. David Byrne] - "Asa Branca"
Brad "the Dudeboy" Rogers - "Broken People"
Charlie Louvin - "Great Atomic Power"
Essie Jain - "Glory"
Dump - "Pop Life"
The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"
The Noisettes - "Sister Rosetta (Capture the Spirit)"
Busdriver - "Casting Agents and Cowgirls"
Subtle - "The Mercury Craze"
The Go! Team - "The Power Is On"
Mavis Staples - "In the Mississippi River"
Amy Winehouse - "You Know I'm No Good"
Julie Dawn - "Beautiful Lie"
OHN - "Dea Prudence"
Cocteau Twins - "Cherry-Coloured Funk"
Patrick Wolf - "The Magic Position"
Björk - "Earth Intruders"
LCD Soundsystem - "Watch the Tapes"
Nine Inch Nails - "My Violent Heart"
!!! - "Myth Takes"
Elliott Smith - "Thirteen"
Wilco - "Either Way"
Blake Jones and the Trike Shop - "Hold Your Breath"
Poplord - "Celia Somewhere"
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "A Bottle of Buckie"
Arcade Fire - "No Cars Go"
Grinderman - "Electric Alice"
Dinosaur Jr - "Been There All the Time"
Modest Mouse - "We've Got Everything"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Sealings"
Arctic Monkeys - "Brianstorm"
The Clientele - "Bookshop Cassanova"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Amsterdam"
Pela - "Lost to the Lonesome"
The New Pornographers - "Falling Through Your Clothes"
Marnie Stern - "Vibrational Match"
Cansei de Ser Sexy - "Let's Make Love to Death from Above"
M.I.A. - "Galang"

pearl!

thanks to alan for this. enjoy.

playlist, apr. 23, 2007

Mavis Staples - "Eyes on the Prize"
Willy Mason - "Save Myself"
Kings of Leon - "Charmer"
dnetl - "To a Fault"
Dan Deacon - "Crystal Cat"
Nine Inch Nails - "The Beginning of the End"
Patti Smith - "Gimme Shelter"
Modest Mouse - "Fly Trapped in a Jar"
Joakim - "I Wish You Were Gone"
Arcade Fire - "No Cars Go"
Elf Power - "An Old Familiar Scene"
Blonde Redhead - "23"
Sparklejet - "We Get in a Hurry"
Mutemath - "Typical"
Cloud Cult - "Chemicals Collide"
Easy Star All-Stars [feat. Horace Andy] - "Airbag"
Lifesavas - "Double Up"
J Dilla - "Nothing Like This"
Sage Francis - "Got Up This Morning"
Submarines - "Brighter Discontent" (Console of the Notwist Remix)
The Mountain Goats - "Woke Up New"
Cocorosie - "Rainbowwarriors"
Patrick Wolf - "Accident & Emergency"
David Bowie - "1984 / Dodo"
Jarvis Cocker - "Black Magic"
The Rosebuds - "I Better Run"
OHN - "Dear Prudence"
The Knife - "One Hit"
LCD Soundsystem - "Someone Great"
Rademacher - "They Are Always Into That"
Patrick Wolf - "The Magic Position"
Xiu Xiu - "Hello from Eau Claire"
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - "New Years Kiss"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard"
Of Montreal - "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider"
Björk - "Earth Intruders"
Radiohead - "Pyramid Song"

playlist, apr. 16, 2007

Miho Hatori - "Barracuda"
Beirut - "Scenic World" (Version)
Arcade Fire - "Intervention"
Blondie - "One Way or Another"
Modest Mouse - "March into the Sea"
The Good, the Bad, and the Queen - "History Song"
Jim Noir - "Computer Song"
Let's Go Bowling - "Cumbia del Sol"
Alien Fashion Show - "Slim and Sally"
Elvis Costello & Alain Tousaint - "The River in Reverse"
Lily Allen - "LDN"
Argyle Pimps - "Handsome"
DJ Shadow - "The Number Song" [Live]
Sea Puss and Bammie - "Little Audrey"
The Hold Steady - "Chips Ahoy"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Cheated Hearts"
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "Bottle of Buckie"
pc muñoz and the amen corner - "California"
Sprites - "George Romero"
Blake Jones and the Trike Shop - "Snapshots"
The Kinks - "Animal Farm"
Nouvelle Vague - "Dancing with Myself"
Poplord - "Poptimistic Pete"
The Blow - "Parentheses"
Andrew Bird - "Heretics"
K. McCarty - "Walking the Cow"
Camera Obscura - "Let's Get Out of This Country"
Belle and Sebastian - "Song for Sunshine"
Björk - "Earth Intruders"
Of Montreal - "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger"

playlist, mar. 26, 2007

Air - "Space Maker"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Objects of My Affection"
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - "The Sons of Cain"
Amy Winehouse - "You Know I'm No Good"
Dusty Springfield - "Breakfast in Bed"
M. Ward - "To Go Home"
Brazzaville - "Londres"
The Good, The Bad, & The Queen - "History Song"
Nouvelle Vague - "Killing Moon"
Pacha Massive - "Don't Let Go"
Damian Marley - Welcome to Jamrock"
LCD Soundsystem - "Someone Great"
!!! - "Must Be the Moon"
Hot Chip - "Arrest Yourself"
Goldfrapp - "Number 1"
El Olio Wolof - "A Tale of Herbert the Giant"
Panda Bear - "Take Pills"
Laura Cantrell - "14th Street"
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - "Love Is All Around"
Sonic Youth - "The Neutral"
The Futureheads - "Yes / No"
Asobi Seksu - "Thursday"
The Clash - "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" [Live]
Arcade Fire - "(Antichrist Television Blues)"
Snowden - "Dreams" (Stutter Fleetwood Mac Remake)
Brazzaville - "Ocean" [feat. Joe Frank]
pc muñoz and the amen corner - "Skin City"
K. McCarty - "Walking the Cow"
Of Montreal - "We Were Born the Mutants Again with Leafling"
The Same Shape - "Obvious Solutions"
Andrew Bird - "Heretics"
Apostle of Hustle - "National Anthem of Nowhere"
The Shins - "Sleeping Lessons"
Subtle - "The Mercury Craze"
Dälek - "Bricks"

playlist, mar. 19, 2007

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "Army Bound"
Elvis Perkins - "May Day I"
Camera Obscura - "Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken"
Adem - "Launch Yourself"
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Brazzaville [w/ Joe Frank] - "Ocean"
Alton Ellis - "You Made Me Happy"
Feist - "My Moon My Man"
My Brightest Diamond - "Freak Out" (Gold Chains Panique Mix)
Erasure - "Victim of Love" [Live]
Snowden - "Dreams" (Stutter Fleetwood Mac Remake)
Of Montreal - "Faberge Falls for Shuggie"
The Fiery Furnaces - "Oh Sweet Woods"
Andrew Bird - "Imitosis"
Hot Chip - "Sexual Healing"
The Same Shape - "Obvious Solutions"
The Gossip - "Jealous Control Girls"
Blondie - "Heart of Glass"
!!! - "All My Heroes Are Weirdos"
The Apostle of Hustle - "My Sword Hand's Anger"
Brazzaville - "Old Folks"
Astronautalis - "Seawood Sheets"
Arcade Fire - "(Antichrist Television Blues)"
The Freelance Hellraiser - "We Don't Belong"
M.I.A. - "Bucky Done Gone"
Subtle - "Middleclass Kill"
Subtle - "Midas Gutz"
I'm from Barcelona - "We're from Barcelona"
The Blow - "Parentheses"
The Shins - "Australia"
Bloc Party - "I Still Remember"
Sunparlour Players - "Talk It to Death"
El Olio Wolof - "A Tale of Herbert of Giant"
Brazzaville - "Lazy, Flawed & Hopeless"
Cat Stevens - "The Wind"
Air - "Space Maker"
Thom Yorke - "The Clock"
LCD Soundsystem - "Watch the Tapes"
Kalxons - "Atlantis to Interzone"

playlist, mar. 12, 2007

Here's tonight's playlist. Love to all my eMu buddies who requested such great, great tunes!

Richard Swift - "Dressed Up for the Letdown"
Arcade Fire - "Keep the Car Running"
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "The Sons of Cain"
Of Montreal - "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger"
I'm from Barcelona - "Barcelona Loves You"
Jim Noir - "Computer Song"
Elvis Perkins - "Ash Wednesday"
The Velvet Underground - "Sunday Morning"
The Good, the Bad, & the Queen - "Herculean"
Mew - "Behind the Drapes"
Brazzaville [feat. Joe Frank] - "Ocean"
pc muñoz and the amen corner - "California"
The Roots - "Don't Say Nuthin'"
Platnum Pied Pipers [feat. Tiombe Lockhart] - "I Got You"
The Same Shape - "Run"
Dungen - "Panda"
Calla - "Bronson"
Bloc Party - "Hunting for Witches"
Andrew Bird - "Heretics"
Wolf & Cub - "This Mess"
Brazzaville - "Rainy Night"
SIlversun Pickups - "Creation Lake"
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - "Lay & Love"
Beirut - "Scenic World" (Version)
Morrissey - "How Soon Is Now?" [Live]
Ms. John Soda - "No. One"
Arcade Fire - "Intervention"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Young Folks"
Teddybears [feat. Neneh Cherry] - "Yours to Keep"
Born Ruffians - "Hedonistic Me"
M.I.A. - "Hombre"
!!! - "All My Heroes Are Weirdos"
LCD Soundsystem - "Watch the Tapes"
Subtle - "Nomanisisland"
Busdriver - "Kill Your Employer (Recreational Paranoia Is the Sport of Now)"
Macromantics - "Scorch"
Brazzaville - "Peach Tree"
El Olio Wolof - "Earthworms Can't Dig This"

playlist, mar. 5, 2007

I played a number of Rogue Festival performers during this show, including Blake Jones and the Trike Shop, Karen Marguth, Kien Lim, Brad "The Dudeboy" Rogers, and 40 Watt Hype, which will be playing during the Big Rogue Party on Saturday evening at The Starline. Be sure you catch these acts live. Go to the Rogue Festival website for dates, times and venues.

My Brightest Diamond - "Golden Star" (Alias Remix)
Blake Jones and the Trike Shop - "Our Pile of Bones"
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Andrew Bird - "Heretics"
The One AM Radio - "The Harvest"
Arcade Fire - "Black Mirror"
Snowden - "Dreams" (Stutter Fleetwood Mac Remake)
Mia - "Heroes"
Lismore - "1979"
Goldfrapp - "Number 1"
Kien Lim - "Black Noon Sun"
The Shins - "Sea Legs"
Astronautalis - "Oceanwalk"
The Shins - "Red Rabbits"
pc muñoz and the amen corner - "Skin City"
The Same Shape - "Obvious Solutions"
El Olio Wolof - "A Tale of Herbert the Giant"
Brazzaville - "East L.A. Breeze"
Regina Spektor - "Fidelity"
Karen Marguth - "Baryshnikov"
Nine Inch Nails - "Survivalism" (Edit)
!!! - "Heart of Hearts"
Black Devil Disco Club - "The Devil in Me"
Goldfrapp - "Satin Chic" (Through the Mystic Mix, Dimension 11 The Flaming Lips)
LCD Soundsystem - "North American Scum" (Radio Edit)
Fiery Furnaces - "Oh Sweet Woods"
Xiu Xiu - "Boy Soprano"
Final Fantasy - "The Arctic Circle"
Deerhoof - "Choco Fight"
Marnie Stern - "Grapefruit"
Brad "the Dudeboy" Rogers - "Grandma's Radio"
M. Ward - "To Go Home"
The Sea & Cake - "Sound & Vision"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Let's Call It Off" (Radio Edit)
Teddybears [feat. Neneh Cherry] - "Yours to Keep"
Viva Voce - "From the Devil Himself"
40 Watt Hype - "Controversy"

playlist, feb. 26, 2007

My show tonight:

Richard Swift - "The Songs of National Freedom"
Andrew Bird - "Imitosis"
Lavender Diamond - "Rise in Springtime"
Apples in Stereo - "Can You Feel It?"
Of Montreal - "She's a Rejecter"
Ozomatli - "When I Close My Eyes"
Malajube - "Montréal-40ºC"
Stereolab - "Vodiak"
Blake Jones & the Trike Shop - "Virginia Woolf"
Kristin Hersh - "Shock"
José González - "Stay in the Shade"
Josh Ritter - "Girl in the War"
Neko Case - "John Saw That Number"
Calexico - "Corona"

Interview with Kien Lim, live in the KFSR studio:

Kien Lim - "The La La Song"
Kien Lim - "No Question of a Sin" [Live]
Kien Lim - "The Bitter Song" [Live]
Kien Lim - "Savior of the Skies" [Live]
Kien Lim - "Silverstar"

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - "Happy"
Karen Marguth - "Dress Me Up, Dress Me Down"
Nouvelle Vague - "A Forest"
Beck - "Broken Drum"

Interview with Vince Thomas, live in the KFSR studio:

Vince Thomas - [Live in the Studio]

The Shins - "Sleeping Lessons"
Calla - "Sanctify"
Marnie Stern - "Vibrational Match"
Bloc Party - "Song for Clay (Disappear Here)"
LCD Soundsystem - "North American Scum" (Radio Edit)
Macromantics - "Moments in Movement"
Busdriver - "Casting Agents and Cowgirls"

blossom deerie

more blossoms

More blossoms. These are in Concord, CA, where I'm scoring essays today.

the view from my backyard

what if your blood weren't you

Check this out--this is gonna be my next Halloween costume.

playlist, feb. 19, 2007

Here's what I played tonight; thanks for listening:

M. Ward - "Cosmopolitan Pap"
Bob Dylan - "Rollin' and Tumblin'"
Nic Armstrong & the Thieves - "Broken Mouth Blues"
Miho Hatori - "Today Is Like That"
Panóptica - "Güero Canela" (Nortec Mix)
Pigeon John - "Do the Pigeon"
Kashmere Stage Band - "Zero Point, Pt. 1 & 2"
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Paris 2004"
Lismore - "1979"
The Hold Steady - "Chillout Tent"
TV on the Radio - "I Am Walking the Cow"
Daniel Johnston - "Like a Monkey in a Zoo"
Beck and Thom Yorke - "I'm Set Free" [Live]
Calexico / Iron & Wine - "Sixteen, Maybe Less"
Our Lady of the Bells - "Oh My Oh My"
Macromantics - "Scorch"
Kudu - "Playing House"
Subtle - "A Tale of Apes I"
Subtle - "A Tale of Apes II"
Beck - "Think I'm in Love"
Lily Allen - "Smile"
Yo La Tengo - "I Should Have Known Better"
The Sleepover Disaster - "Over the Top"
Weezer - "Why Bother"
Kristin Hersh - "In Shock"
Editors - "French Disko"
Elbow - "Picky Bugger"
Casey Dienel - "Doctor Monroe"
Beirut - "Scenic World" (Version)
Of Montreal - "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger"
Bloc Party - "The Prayer"
David Bowie - "Soul Love"
The Sparks - "(Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country"
The Submarines - "Brighter Discontent" (Styrofoam Remix)
Barbara Morgenstern - "The Grass Is Always Greener"

stubbs the camellia

Here is the first full blossom on the camellia that John and I planted in our yard this past October. Our fantastic cat, Stubbs--a beautiful manx who adopted us when we were living in our apartment--had just suddently and inexplicably died, and we felt that beneath this camellia plant would be a fitting burial spot for her. The camellia has sported bulging buds for the past several weeks, and I worried that the freeze would kill them off, but not only has the camellia survived, the buds are now opening, and these gorgeous white blooms are appearing.

I used my cell phone camera (I still don't have a digital camera) to take this picture, and I used blogger's mobile phone blogging feature to send it along to my blog. So I'm feeling particularly shrewd today. Apart from that, I've excavated my desk, and for the first time in months, I'm able to sit on a chair and type at my computer like someone concerned about his posture.

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable President's Day holiday. To cap it off, join me this evening for my stint on the Evening Eclectic (90.7 FM for Fresno area folks or www.kfsr.org to stream it live).

turns out i was a vampire myself

Last night John and I watched the excellent documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. The film is about the music, art, and oh-so-troubled life of Johnston, who was a sensation in the Austin, Texas music scene in the mid-80s before his manic depression went into overdrive, and he found himself in and out of jail, wandering the streets with no home, and committed to various mental health institutions.

D and DJ is a moving and mesmerizing account of an all-American boy from West Virginia who wants to become famous--either for his comic book style artwork or for his plenitude of songs, seemingly composed on the fly and recorded through primitive cassette tape recorders. When he finally makes his way to Austin and begins performing at various clubs, he gains an almost cult-like fan base, who hoard his tapes and collect his drawings. But when the film shows Johnston singing--both in early, as well as in more recent footage--I'm struck at how his expression is at once pained and elated. Behind a microphone, he seems both terrified and completely at home.

The film provides its viewers (or at least this viewer) with one of those haunting "there but for the grace of God" moments of self-reflection. Johnston's childhood and adolescence seem so very typical, and yet, he is clearly seriously stricken with a condition that makes him behave as though he were possessed by the demons he feels are infiltrating and controlling the world. You want to feel more horrified that he causes an elderly woman, fearing for her life as he makes his way into her apartment and charges at her, to leap from her second-story window and break both her ankles. But you also recognize that forces beyond his control--guilt and compulsive behavior from an over-zealous, fundamentalist Christian upbringing and a particularly acute inability to comprehend the world in which he so manically moves--function as strings on a confused and forlorn marionette of a man. Watching Johnston sort through explanations for his behavior, you can't help but wonder about the nature of the gulf (at least one hopes it's a gulf) that separates the viewer and Johnston.

I discovered Johnston's music last year through my friend, Charlie. (I'd actually known and loved Yo La Tengo's version of "Speeding Motorcycle" long before, but I hadn't known it was a cover of a Johnston song.) The songs will inevitably irritate a general listenership, largely for Johnston's high-pitched vocals that make Neil Young's voice seem mellifluous. But I've come to find a number of them truly moving and beautiful. Many critics have suggested that Johnston's favorable reception has more to do with either a fascination with or sense of pity for the artist's battle with depression, and I'm this accounts for at least some of the buzz about his music. But the lyrics--for all their naivete and childishness--often entail astute observations about love and loneliness, good and evil, and the difficulties we all face in merely getting through the day (we all walk our cows). I find many of his melodies beautiful and intricately construed, and his instrumentation, which often sounds like someone carelessly pounding away at his piano or sawing through the nylon strings of his guitar, complements the melodies rather well.

The film came out nearly a year ago, and clearly I'm a little late in joining the Johnston discussion, but if you haven't yet seen the film, check it out. You don't have to love the tunes to appreciate the movie. Make sure you also spend some time with the extras, where you see a touching mini-film of Johnston in a gorilla costume, on a ladder, and holding a barbie doll, while his father circles around him with a toy airplane.

Here is a link to a blog that has posted various versions of Johnston singing "Speeding Motorcycle." I don't know how long the links will be up. Head over to iTunes or eMusic and get your hands on "Walking the Cow" and "Devil Town," as well.

Here's where you'll find his official website replete with many examples of his artwork.

rogue festival video

Roguefest07tv
Uploaded by dathang

this year's love mix

For the past few years this time of year, I've made John a Valentine's Day mix CD . Here's the line-up for this year's mix.

Animal Collective - "Grass"
Jens Lekman - "Run Away with Me"
Camera Obscura - "Let's Get Out of This Country"
Jim Noir - "I Me You I'm Your"
The Blow - "Parentheses"
Bloc Party - "I Still Remember"
März - "The River"
Adem - "X is for Kisses"
Hot Chip - "So Glad to See You"
Feist - "Mushaboom" (Postal Service Mix)
Calexico / Iron & Wine - "Sixteen, Maybe Less"
The Sad Snowman - "My Wandering Days Are Over"
Jonathan Coulton - "Drinking with You"
The Decemberists - "Bridges & Balloons"
Elliott Smith - "Thirteen"
Antony & the Johnsons - "You Are My Sister" [feat. Boy George]
Tom Waits - "Sea of Love"
Arthur Russell - "Hiding Your Present from You"
Herbert - "We're in Love"
Petra Haden - "God Only Knows"
Christianne Neves - "Miniatura 3: Outra madrugada"

love will

Last night Shane, Elena, and I spent an evening chowing on suprisingly edible card casino fare (try the Frech Dip); playing pool and darts at our favorite downtown dive, where John joined us; and misbehaving in various ways at the Den. I only just now, at noon, managed to drag my ass out of bed. Clearly I'm too old for this. I just thank my lucky stars I don't teach on Wednesdays.

So I was on my morning stroll through the music blogosphere and saw that Matthew Perpetua over at Fluxblog had written that J. Edward Keyes, who is a staff writer for eMusic, had "found the holy grail of mash-ups: Malcolm McLaren's mix of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' and 'Love Will Keep Us Together.'" I'm a sucker for a well-conceived mash-up, so I immediately bounced over to Keyes's blog and downloaded it.

It's a strange, haunting, halting mix of the Captain and Tenille's huge hit you know and love to hate (or hate to love) and Joy Division's legendary ur-text of goth angst. I'll let Keyes's describe it for you, but be sure you also read about the evening he first discovered it after attending a disappointing New Order show.

Happy Valentine's Day.

peanut butter love

Over at Stones Throw Records, Peanut Butter Wolf has created a Valentine's Day Mix that you can download for free--but only through Feb. 14.

Click here for a description, a playlist, and a link to download it as an .mp3 file.

While you're there, check out the very cool roster of artists recording for Stones Throw: Madvillain, J Dilla, Aloe Blacc, Quasimoto, and Georgia Anne Muldrow, among others.

And the Chrome Children, Vol. 2 compilation is still entirely free, so nab that, too.

free music for the children

Head here for Loose Cuts 3--six free tracks from Loose Cuts Records. Townes Van Zandt, The Mendoza Line--you can thank me later.

playlist, Feb. 12, 2007

What I done did tonight:

Lonely, Dear - "Saturday Waits"
Camera Obscura - "Let's Get Out of This Country"
Cibo Matto - "Spoon"
Scissors for Lefty - "Lay Down Your Weapons"
Amy Winehouse - "You Know I'm No Good"
Chicks on Speed - "Song for a Future Generation"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Sitar Folks"
Asobi Seksu - "Thursday"
Argyle Pimps - "Cat That Works"
Lily Allen - "Smile"
Blondie - "Rapture Riders" (The Doors vs Blondie)
Subtle - "Middleclass Stomp"
The Streets - "When You Wasn't Famous"
Sparklejet - "Emilio"
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Goodbye to Mother and the Cove"
Mew - "Snow Brigade"
Birdmonster - "Balcony"
The Gossip - "Jealous Control Girls"
Ramblin' Jack Elliott [feat. Lucinda Williams] - "Carless Darlin'"
Lavender Diamond - "You Broke My Heart"
Gomez - "Cripple Creek"
Black Lodge Singers - "Mighty Mouse"
Calexico / Iron & Wine - "He Lays in the Reins"
Joanna Newsom - "The Sprout and the Bean"
Minus the Bear - "Drilling" (P.O.S. Redo)
Macromantics - "Miss Macro"
The Good, the Bad & the Queen - "History Song"
James Brown - "Lost Someone"
Aloe Blacc - "Long Time Coming"
Cocteau Twins - "Heaven or Las Vegas"
Thom Yorke - "Harrowdown Hill"
Bloc Party - "I Still Remember"
Maps of Norway - "Matches"
Rademacher - "They Are Always into That"
Xiu Xiu - "Boy Soprano"
Deerhoof - "Believe E.S.P."
Of Montreal - "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider"
Teddybears [feat. Neneh Cherry] - "Yours to Keep"
Busdriver - "Secret Skin"

It's Easy Being Green!

Well, if you are at all familiar with my blog, you may have noticed a new look. I'm going green for a while, as I was getting bored with the spots. I've also been playing with the new user-friendly features that blogger.com has provided, so take a gander off to the right and see what I've added. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you can listen to Captain Whiffle's radio station--courtesy last.fm.

Last.fm is one of my favorite music sites. Check out my last.fm page here, and you can see what this service offers. After downloading the last.fm software, you can create charts that track your top-played artists and songs. You can also listen to other last.fm users' radio stations and join groups of people who share your musical manias.

And speaking of music, as DJ Prof, I'll be hosting my segment of the Evening Eclectic again this evening from 6 to 9 p.m., so feel free to tune in (90.7 FM) or stream the show live (at kfsr.org); I'm always up for a call, so don't hesitate to ring me up at 559-278-2240 during the show. I'm trying to make sure I post my playlists here on my blog for anyone who cares to check out what I've played on a given night. The station's website also gives you access to other DJs' playlists, so check that out, too.

Roguericious!

Here is the great new image that will grace Rogue Festival posters and t-shirts:




You'll be seeing this around Fresno during the next month and through the festival, which runs from March 1-10, 2007 in a variety of venues in the Tower District and elsewhere. I'm the t-shirt guy this year, so be sure you set aside a mere twenty bucks to get and don your own shirt and become the envy of all who gaze upon your majesty.

Check out the Rogue Festival's webiste for more information about this and previous years' festivals.

See you at the Rogue!

playlist, February 5, 2007

Norah Jones - "Thinking about You"
Laura Cantrell - "California Rose"
Lady & Bird - "Stephanie Says"
Teddybears [feat. Iggy Pop] - "Punkrocker"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Young Folks"
The Decemberists - "O Valencia!"
Sloan - "Who Taught You to Live Like That?"
The Raconteurs - "Intimate Secretary"
Miho Hatori - "Sweet Samsara Part II"
Coco Freeman feat. Franz Ferdinand - "The Dark of the Matinee"
Tom Waits - "Sea of Love"
Forro in the Dark - "Forrowest"
Karen Marguth - "Marie Laveaux"
Kien Lim - "For Always"
Blake Jones and the Trike Shop - "Snapshots"
40 Watt Hype - "Muevete"
Andrew W.K. - "Don't Call Me Andy"
Bloc Party - "Hunting for Witches"
Hot Chip - "Arrest Yourself"
The Mello-Tones - "Flying Saucers"
Jolie Holland - "Springtime Can Kill You"
Astronautalis - ""Wait Till You See My Kids"
Subtle - "Middleclass Kill"
Busdriver - "Casting Agents and Cowgirls"
Macromantics - "Scorch"
Presets - "Are You the One?"
Beirut - "Scenic World" (Version)
The Replacements - "Left of the Dial"
Massive Attack - "Teardrop"
Ben Gibbard, Ben Barrett - "Joga"
Badly Drawn Boy - "Born in the U.K."
Badly Drawn Boy - "Degrees of Separation"
Of Montreal - "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger"
The Books - "Be Good to Them Always"
Deerhoof - "Perfect Me"
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Yankee Go Home"
Yo La Tengo - "Beanbag Chair"
Arab Strap - "Turbulence" (BIS Remix)
The Good, The Bad, and The Queen - "Kingdom of Doom"
The Shins - "Australia"

playlist, January 29, 2007

artist of the week: subtle. check these guys out; you won't be sorry you did.

here's what i played yesterday evening:

Busdriver - "Calling Agents and Cowgirls"
The Good, The Bad & The Queen - "Herculean"
The Fiery Furnaces - "Oh Sweet Woods"
Deerhoof - "+81"
The Blow - "Babay (Eat a Critter, Feel Its Wrath)"
Beirut - "Elephant Gun"
Love - "Aloneagainor" (Alternate Mix)
The Breeders - "Wicked Little Town" (Hedwig Version)
Smog - "I Feel Like the Mother of the World"
Elbow - "The Everthere"
Tom Waits - "Bend Down the Branches"
The Mountain Goats - "Woke Up New"
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - "Rabbit Fur Coat"
Belle & Sebastian - "To Be Myself Completely"
Of Montreal - "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger"
The Shins - "Australia"
Spoon - "My Mathematical Mind"
The Dalloways - "Cotty's House"
Franz Ferdinand - "This Fire"
Ladytron - "Sugar"
The Black Keys - "You're the One"
Heartless Bastards - "All This Time"
Micah P. Hinson - "The Leading Guy"
Califone - "A Chinese Actor"
Julie Sokolow - "Seasons"
Calexico / Iron & Wine - "Sixteen, Maybe Less"
The Presets - "Are You the One?"
Black Devil Disco Club - "The Devil in Us"
Herbert - "The Movers and the Shakers"
Mew - "The Zookeeper's Boy"
Tiefschwarz - Warning Sign"
Pigeon John - "Welcome to the Show"
Ozomatli - "La Temperatura"
Subtle - "The Mercury Craze"
Planningtorock - "Have It All"
Why? - "Rubber Traits"
The Whitest Boy Alive - "Burning"
Peter Bjorn & John - "Young Folks"
Xiu Xiu - "Hello from Eau Claire"

playlist, January 22, 2007

Subtle - "A Tale of Apes I & II"
Subtle - "Middleclass Stomp"
Ozomatli - "City of Angels"
Basement Jaxx - "Hey U"
Blondie - "Dreaming"
Asobi Seksu - "New Years"
Shawn Lee - "Bully Main Theme"
Viva Voce - From the Devil Himself"
TV on the Radio - "Province"
Mew - "The Zookeeper's Boy"
Ms. John Soda - "No. One"
The Fiery Furnaces - "Oh Sweet Words"
Beirut - "Scenic World" (version)
The Good, The Bad & The Queen - "History Song"
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Some Loud Thunder"
Of Montreal - "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse"
Rademacher - "They Are Always Into That"
The Delta 5 - "Mind Your Own Business"
Neko Case - "Star Witness"
Caitlin Cary & Thad Cockrell - "Two Different Things"
Damien Jurado - "White Center"
Jonathan Coulton - "A Womb with a View"
Blake Jones and the Trike Shop - Looking for a Tune"
Supersuckers - "Hey Ya!"
Professor Murder - "Mountain"
+ / - - "Thrown into the Fire"
Grandaddy - "Geez Louise"
Lismore - "1979"
Hot Chip - "No Fit State"
The Shins - "Sleeping Lessons"
Clinic - "Animal/Human"
Deerhoof - "The Perfect Me"
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - "When You Were Mine"
Grizzly Bear - "The Knife"
The Books - "An Animated Description of Mr. Maps"
Bjork - "Army of Me"
The Knife - "Like a Pen"
Adem - "Launch Yourself" (Thomas Eriksen Remix)
The Streets - "When You Wasn't Famous"

playlist, January 8, 2007

Tonight I played songs from my top 35 albums of 2006. (The first was a New Year's track--not from a top album.)

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - "New Years Kiss"
M. Ward - "Magic Trick"
Goldfrapp - "Ride on a White Horse"
Sparks - "(Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country"
The Hold Steady - "The Chillout Tent"
Howe Gelb - "Paradise Here"
Casey Dienel - "Everything"
Saint Etienne - "Milk Bottle Symphony"
Grizzly Bear - "The Knife"
Planningtorock - "I Wanna Bite Ya"
Califone - "A Chinese Actor"
The Gossip - "Listen Up!"
Herbert - "The Movers and the Shakers"
Fischerspooner - "Emerge" (DFA Remix)
Beirut - "Postcards from Italy"
Jim Noir - "I Me You I'm Your"
Thom Yorke - "Harrowdown Hill"
Hot Chip - "Arrest Yourself"
Belle & Sebastian - "The Blues Are Still Blue"
Neko Case - "Margaret vs. Pauline"
The Decemberists - "Summersong"
P.O.S. - "De La Souls" [feat. Greg Attonito]
Yo La Tengo - "Beanbag Chair"
Basement Jaxx - "Hey U" [feat. Robyn]
Xiu Xiu - "Hello from Eau Claire"
Asobi Seksu - "Lions and Tigers"
The Beatles - "Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows"
Cat Power - "Where Is My Love?"
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - "Melt Your Heart"
Circlesquare - "97 and 02"
Joanna Newsom - "Sawdust and Diamonds"
Girl Talk - "Friday Night"
TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me"
The Knife - "We Share Our Mother's Health"
Spank Rock - "What It Look Like"
Final Fantasy - "The Arctic Circle"

Best Albums of 2006

Tonight I'll be playing songs from my favorite albums of 2006. Here is my best-of list, which I post with reservations, as I could change my mind about these at any time.

40. Lil Wayne - Dedication 2
39. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out of This Country
38. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
37. Boris - Pink
36. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
35. M. Ward - Post-War
34. Goldfrapp - Supernature
33. Sparks - Hello Young Lovers
32. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
31. Howe Gelb - 'Sno Angel Like You
30. Casey Deinel - Wind-Up Canary
29. Saint Etienne - Tales from Turnpike House
28. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
27. Planningtorock - Have It All
26. Califone - Roots & Crowns
25. The Gossip - Standing in the Way of Control
24. Herbert - Scale
23. The DFA Remixes, Chapter One and LCD Soundsystem - 45:33
22. Beirut - The Gulag Orkestar
21. Jim Noir - Tower of Love
20. Thom Yorke - The Eraser
19. Hot Chip - The Warning
18. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
17. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
16. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
15. P.O.S. - Audition
14. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
13. Basement Jaxx - Crazy Itch Radio
12. Xiu Xiu - The Air Force
11.Asobi Seksu - Citrus
10. The Beatles -Love
9. Cat Power - The Greatest
8. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
7. Circlesquare - Fight Sounds
6. Joanna Newsom - Ys
5. Girl Talk - Night Ripper
4. TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
3. The Knife - Silent Shout
2. Spank Rock - YoYoYoYoYoYo
1. Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds

Edit--Overlooked albums that I should work in somehwere:

The Fiery Furnaces - Bitter Tea
Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of the Beast
Arthur Russell - Springfield
Subtle - For Hero: For Fool

playlist, December 18, 2006

Camera Obscura - "Come Back Margaret"
Coco Freeman [feat. U2] - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
Forro in the Dark - "Indios del Norte"
Mixel Pixel - "Coming Up X's"
Los Super Elegantes - "OK"
Mr. 60 - "Sleep the Clock Around"
The Jackson 5 - "Frosty the Snowman"
Sarah Vaughan - "Just One of Those Things"
Pyeng Threadgill - "Close to Me"
Morrissey - "How Soon Is Now?" [Live]
Air - "Surfing on a Rocket"
The Beatles - "Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows"
Beck - "Cellphone's Dead"
40 Watt Hype - "Controversy"
Herbert - "The Movers and the Shakers"
Honeycut - "The Day I Turned to Glass"
Andrew W.K. - "Don't Call Me Andy"
The Zutons - "How Does It Feel?"
The Walkmen - "Many Rivers to Cross"
Sufjan Stevens - "Get Behind Me Santa"
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Darlene Love - "Marshmallow World"
Teddybears [feat. Neneh Cherry] - "Yours to Keep"
XTC - "Making Plans for Nigel"
The Spinto Band - "Oh Mandy"
Vic Damone - "Winter Wonderland" (Future Loop Foundation Remix)
The Mars Volta - "Intertiac ESP"
Asobi Seksu - "New Years"
Depeche Mode - "Strangelove"
The Knife - "Neverland"
Rademacher - "Robot Show"
The Dalloways - "Clarissa, Dear"
Panty Lions - "Herndon & 99"
Mews - "The Zookeeper's Boy"
My Morning Jacket - "Anytime"
Band of Horses - "Funeral"
The Volebeats - "Knowing Me Knowing You"
Sufjan Stevens - "Sister Winter"
Joni Mitchell - "River"
James Brown - "Go Power at Christmas Time"
John Lennon - "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)"

playlista!

Here's the playlist for my second evening installment (Dec. 11, 2006):

Coco Freeman [feat. Franz Ferdinand] - "The Dark of the Matinee"
Teddybears [feat. Neneh Cherry] - "Yours to Keep"
Antimc - "Bellies Full of Rain"
Kid Beyond - "Wandering Star"
Jim Noir - "Eenie Meanie" (Fatboy Slim Remix)
The Roots - "Don't Say Nuthin'" (Remix)
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - "Love Is All Around" (Theme from The Mary Tyler Moore Show)
Jarvis Cocker - "Black Magic"
Rademacher - "They Are Always into That"
Asobi Seksu - "Lions and Tigers"
Boris - "Farewell"
Radiohead - "Idioteque"
Gene Serene - "The Hours"
Frida Hyvonen - "Drive My Friend"
Casey Dienel - "Doctor Monroe"
Final Fantasy - "This Lamb Sells Condos"
Peter Gabriel [feat. Laurie Anderson] - "This Is the Picture (Excellent Birds)"
Brazilian Girls - "All About Us"
The Postal Service - "Nothing Better"
Junior Bloomsday [feat. Cadence Weapon] - "Your Perfect Gene"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Young Folks"
Junior Boys - "In the Morning"
Working for a Nuclear Free City - "Troubled Son"
Simian - "L.A. Breeze"
The Ark - "This Piece of Poetry Is Meant to Do Harm"
Tom Waits - "Lie to Me"
Johnny Cash - "God's Gonna Cut You Down"
The Dustups - "Talil to Taji"
The Zutons - "It's the Little Things We Do"
Editors - "French Disko"
The Roman Numerals - "The Rule of V"
Goldfrapp - "Ride a White Horse"
Saint Etienne - "Like a Motorway"
M.I.A. - "Hombre"
Cansei de Ser Sexy - "Let's Make Love to Death from Above"
The Gossip - "Standing in the Way of Control"
Billy Squier - "The Big Beat"
Kat Jones - "Huntington"
Sufjan Stevens - "Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!"
The Decemberists - "O Valencia!"

evening eclectic -- the launch!

It's been a spell since I posted anything here. Why is blogging as difficult for me to do as any other form of writing?

Anyhoo, KFSR launched the Evening Eclectic last night, and I got to inaugurate the new show, as I have the first evening slot of the week (Mondays from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.).

Here's my playlist from last night's show. Thanks for all of you who were listening and for the props on my myspace page.

DJ Prof's Playlist -- Dec. 4, 2006:

The Same Shape - "Obvious Solutions"
Sparklejet - "Lebanon, In"
40 Watt Hype - "Drunk & in Love"
Blake Jones & the Trike Shop - "Virginia Woolf"
The Dalloways - "Lot's Daughter"
Rademacher - "The Robot Show"
Editors - "French Disko"
Sparks - "(Baby, Baby) Can I Invade Your Country" [Alt. Lyrics]
Architecture in Helsinki - "Do the Whirlwind" (Hot Chip Remix)
Teddybears - Yours to Keep" [feat. Neneh Cherry]
Thomas Dolby - "Europa and the Pirate Twins"
My Robot Friend - "One More Try"
Roman Numerals - "My Life After Death Pts. I & II"
Lismore - "1979"
Elastica - "I Want You"
TV on the Radio -"Wolf Like Me"
Sonic Youth - "Incinerate"
Sonic Youth- "Do You Believe"
Ozomatli - "Believe"
Rachid Taha - "Rock el Casbah"
The Roots - "Don't Say Nuthin'" (Remix)
Amy Winehouse - "Rehab"
Super Lucky Catz - "Look Over My Shoulder"
Petra Haden - "God Only Knows"
El Perro del Mar - "God Knows (You Got to Give to Get)"
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - "Happy"
Neko Case - "Margaret vs Pauline"
Pat Benetar - "Love Is a Battlefield"
Roman Numerals - "Can We Trust Your Architect?"
Asobi Seksu - "Lions and Tigers"
Sleepover Diaster - "Victoria"
Cold War Kids - "Hospital Beds"
Yo La Tengo - "Sometimes I Don't Get You"
Adem - "Launch Yourself" (Thomas Eriksen Remix)
David Byrne - "Posion"
The Knife - "Forest Families"
Thom Yorke - "Harrowdown Hill"
Ozomatli - "April 29th, 1992"
Madvillain - "Money Folder" (Four Tet Remix)
Professor Murder - "Mountain"