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"