playlist, nov. 24, 2008

Vampire Weekend - "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance"
Lou Reed - "Intro / Berlin" [Live]
Circles & Circles - "I Can't Park This Car"
Fight Bite - "The Accident"
The Bug - "Angry"
El Guincho - "Kalise"
Neon Neon - "Steel Your Girl"
Rainbow Arabia - "Let Them Dance"
The Streets - "On the Edge of a Cliff"
Alias - "Well Water Black"
Matthew Dear - "Pom Pom"
Frank Sinatra - "Mood Indigo"
Department of Eagles - "No One Does It Like You"
Dale Watson & The Jordanaires - "In the Jailhouse Now"
Band of Horses - "Our Swords"
Kate Nash - "Mouthwash"
Asobis Seksu - "Taiyo"
Sons & Daughters - "Chains"
Rademacher - "If U Got Some Magic"
Crystal Stilts - "Graveyard Orbit"
Mother Mother - "Wrecking Ball"
The Dodos - "Red and Purple"
Okkervil River - "Calling and Not Calling My Ex"
Band Marino - "I Have a Dream"
Mobius Band - "Subterranean Homesick Alien"
Crystal Antlers - "Arcturus"
Black Mountain - "Queens Will Play"
Modest Mouse - "Invisible"
The Walkmen - "In the New Year"
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - "Cold Son"
Antony & The Johnsons - "Another World"
Passion Pit - "I've Got Your Number"
B. Fleischmann - "A Letter from Home"
Adem - "To Cure a Weakling Child + Boy/Girl Song"
Feist - "The Park"
Portishead - "Silence"
Of Montreal - "Mingusings"
Shogu Tokumaru - "Future Umbrella"
School of Seven Bells - "Face to Face on High Places"
Kaiser Chiefs - "Spanish Metal"

playlist, nov. 17, 2008

Brett Dennen - "San Francisco"
The Beatles - "Dig a Pony"
Eels - "Jelly Dancers"
Tam - "No Cars Go"
Her Space Holiday - "The Heartbreak Moment"
Rademacher - "Arkansas"
Vampire Weekend - "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance"
Mother Mother - "Wrecking Ball"
The Decemberists - "Days of Elaine"
Thomas Tantrum - "Shake It Shake It"
Van She - "Kelly"
The Cure - "The Reasons Why"
Cut Off Your Hands - "Happy as Can Be"
Crystal Stilts - "Dazzled"
The Cool Kids - "What Up Man"
Atmosphere - "You"
BPA [feat. David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal] - "Toe Jam"
Flight of the Conchords - "Inner City Pressure"
Donna Summer - "Our Love"
**Patrick Contreras Live in the KFSR Studios**
Radiohead - "The National Anthem"
My Morning Jacket - "Touch I'm Going to Scream Pt. 1"
AK-MOMO - "Women to Control"
Blonde Redhead - "Top Ranking"
School of Seven Bells - "Iamunderdisguise"
Poplord - "Change in Time for Monday"
Rollo Treadway - "Kidnapped"
Luxury - "Green Hearts"
Lou Reed - "Vicious"
TV on the Radio - "Family Tree"
**Patrick Contreras - Two New Untitled Tracks**
pc muñoz - "Family Matters"
Drencko - "No More"
The Streets - "Everything Is Borrowed"
Chester French - "She Loves Everybody"

playlist, nov. 10, 2008

Jesus and Mary Chain - "Rollercoaster"
Vampire Weekend - "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" (Chromeo Mix)
Stereolab - "Three Women"
School of Seven Bells - "Half Asleep"
Bloc Party - "Mercury"
TV on the Radio - "Dancing Choose"
R.E.M. - "Supernatural Superserious"
The Decemberists - "I'm Sticking with You"
Women - "Upstairs"
Crystal Stilts - "Graveyard Orbit"
Deer Tick - "Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)"
Mother Mother - "Hayloft"
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - "Beat (Health, Life, Fire)"
Cut Off Your Hands - "Happy as Can Be"
Arcade Fire - "(Antichrist Television Blues)"
Thomas Tantrum - "Shake It Shake It"
* The Wheels of Fortune - Live in the KFSR Studio *
Joy Division - "Disorder"
The Tough Alliance - "Something Special"
* Succulent - Live in the KFSR Studio *
Rainbow Arabia - "Omar K"
Donna Summer - "Lucky"
Dengue Fever - "Sober Driver"
Pixies - "Where Is My Mind" [Live]
Animal Collective - "Fireworks"
Blur - "Tender"
Nina Simone - "I Loves You Porgy" [Live]
Roxy Music - "To Turn You On"
Circles & Circles - "Daughters"
Samamidon - "Little Johnny Brown"
Carla Bruni - "Ta Tienne"
Beach House - "Holy Dances"
Shugo Tokumaru - "Clocca"
The Avett Brothers - "Tear Down the House"

Bounce, Bounce, Bounce, Bounce, Bounce

Adult Swim is offering yet another quality free album's worth of material. It's called African Swim, and you can download it here. If you like M.I.A., Spank Rock, and Dizzee Rascal, you might like this. Start with "No More" (Track 5), which is rife with rump-shaking goodness. Be warned: the dirty word can be heard.

playlist, nov. 3, 2008

Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - "Virginia Woolf"
Shogu Tokumaru - "Parachute"
El Guincho - "Kalise"
Of Montreal - "Id Engager"
Why? - "Rubber Traits"
Conor Oberst - "Sausalito"
The Guggenheim Grotto - "Pontmarnock Beach"
Yo La Tengo - "Stay Away from Heaven"
Adem - "Invisible Man"
Antony & The Johnsons - "Shake That Devil"
Gui Boratto - "Scene 1"
The Orb - "Little Fluffy Clouds" (Cumulonimbus Mix)
Alias - "Well Water Black"
Easy Star All-Stars - "Electioneering" [feat. Morgan Heritage]
Sunset Rubdown - "They Took a Vote and Said No"
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - "This Land Is Your Land"
Samamidon - "Wild Bill Jones"
pc Muñoz - "Disappear" [feat. Ingrid Chavez]
Carla Bruni - "You Belong to Me"
James Brittain-Gore - "Sing You to Sleep"
Lampbchop - "Slipped Dissolved and Loosed"
The Cure - The Only One"
Crystal Stilts - "Graveyard Orbit"
The Dears - "Disclaimer"
Kaiser Chiefs - "Spanish Metal"
Shoes - "Like I Told You"
Neon Neon - "I Told Her on Alderaan"
M.I.A. - "Paper Planes" (DFA Remix)
Electric Six - "Danger! High Voltage"
The Faint - "The Geeks Were Right"
The B-52's - "Hot Corner"
Animal Collective - "For Reverend Green"
Mercury Rev - "Senses on Fire"

playlist, oct. 27, 2008

The Helio Sequence - '"Keep Your Eyes Ahead"
YACHT [feat. Bobby Birdman] - "Platinum"
I'm from Barcelona - "Paper Planes"
Mobius Band - "Starts Off with a Bang"
Bjork - "Pagan Poetry" [Live]
Beirut - "Cliquot"
Of Montreal - "An Eluardian Instance"
Yo La Tengo - "Little Eyes"
The Shaky Hands - "A New Parade"
The Kills - "Last Day of Magic"
Future Islands - "Follow You"
TV on the Radio - "Stork & Owl"
Blitzen Trapper - "Gold for Bread"
My Morning Jacket - "Heartbreakin Man"
Mavis Staples - "Eyes on the Prize"
Raphael Saadiq - "Big Easy"
B.B. King - "How Blue Can You Get?" [Live]
The Sleepover Disaster - "Over the Top"
The National - "Apartment Story"
Emiliana Torrini - "Me and Armini"
Takka Takka - "Everybody Say"
Juana Molina - "Rio Seco"
Deer Tick - "Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)"
Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - "Rise Up with Fists!!!"
Steinski - "Lesson 3 (History of Hip Hop)"
GZA / Genius - "0% Finance"
Belle and Sebastian - "Expectations"
Joy Division - "Transmission"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Cheated Hearts"
Horse Feathers - "Curs in the Weeds"
Department of Eagles - "No One Does It Like You"
Death Vessel - "Jitterakadie"
Patsy Cline - "Lovesick Blues"
Rocky Votolato - White Daisy Passing"
Bishop Allen - "Middle Management"
Neon Neon - "Raquel"
Modest Mouse - "Ocean Breathes Salty"
Portugal. The Man - "Lay Me Back Down"
Deerhoof - "The Tears and Music of Love"
Tobacco - "Truck Sweat"

another mixplace

Today I discovered the blog of Atlas Sound / Deerhunter / Lotus Plaza (aka Bradford Cox), and posts MANY, MANY free tracks there, so visit it. I'm currently listening to his October Micromix, which is verah naice. Check it out here.

playlist, oct. 20, 2008

The Panics - "Get Us Home"
Department of Eagles - "No One Does It Like You"
Joan as Police Woman - "To Be Loved"
Flying Lotus - "Orbit Brazil"
Dead Can Dance - "Ullyses"
Stereolab - "Silver Sands"
Matthew Dear - "Don and Sherri"
Stars - "Set Yourself on Fire" (Final Fantasy Remix)
Vivian Girls - "Where Do You Run To"
Throw Me the Statue - "Young Sensualists"
Jenny Lewis - "Jack Killed Mom"
Samamidon - "Wedding Dress"
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - "Geography"
Raine Maida - "Yellow Brick Road"
Elastica - "I Want You"
My Teenage Stride - "Theme from Teenage Suicide"
Future Islands - "Pretty Riffy"
The Kills - "Last Day of Magic"
Women - "Shaking Hand"
TV on the Radio - "Dancing Choose"
Common Market [feat. Funklove] - "Nina Sing"
Roots Manuva - "Kick Up Ya Foot"
Subtle - "The No"
Amp Fiddler / Sly & Robbie - "Crazy Day"
Augustus Pablo - "Keep on Dubbing"
Thievery Corporation - "33º"
Tobacco - "Street Trash"
Deastro - "Michael, the Lone Archer of the Shore"
Starfucker - "Florida"
Prints - "Easy Magic"
Hot Lava - "Apple + Option + Fire"
Stevie Wonder - "Higher Ground"
Caribou - "Melody Day"
The Knife - "Marble House"
Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?" [Live]
Marnie Stern - "Prime"
Crystal Antlers - "Vexation"
Battles - "Atlas"

playlist, oct. 13, 2008

Black Keys - "All You Ever Wanted"
Jaguar Love - "Highways of Gold"
Jaguar Love - "Jaguar Pirates"
Sparklejet - "Emilio"
Portishead - "Silence"
Bjork - "The Dull Flame of Desire"
Samamidon - "Wedding Dress"
Marvin Gaye - "Inner City Blues" [Live]
Santogold - "L.E.S. Artistes"
Adem - "To Cure a Weakling Child / Boy/Girl Song"
Antony and the Johnsons - "Another World"
Elton John - "Daniel"
pc muñoz - "Family Matters"
Steinski - "Lesson 2 (James Brown Mix)
Feist - "So Sorry"
Department of Eagles - "In Ear Park"
Beck - "Chemtrails"
TV on the Radio - "Dancing Choose"
The Who - "5:15"
Elastica - "2:1"
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - "Snapshots"
Brian Kenney Fresno - "Bobby Salazar"
The Neptunes - "Full Color Mojo"
Rademacher - "MAGIC MTN PKWY"
Okkervil River - "Lost Coastlines"
Why? - "A Sky for Shoeing"
Vivian Girls - All the Time"
Blondie - "Dreaming"
Future Islands - "Changing Your Life"
The Tough Alliance - "Miami"
Doveman - "Footloose"
Hercules and Love Affair- "Theme from Hercules"
Van She - "Kelly"
Sparks - "I Thought I Told You to Wait in the Car"
The High Decibels - "Miss Cindy"
M.I.A. - "Bucky Done Gun"
Stereolab - "One Finger Symphony"
Portugal. The Man - "And I"

playlist, oct. 6, 2008

Okkervil River - "Lost Coastlines"
Rocky Votolato - "White Daisy Passing"
Jenny Lewis - "Bad Man's World"
Final Fantasy - "This Is the Dream of Win and Regine"
Noah and the Whale - "Atoms in a Molecule"
The Aluminum Group - "Chocolates"
Mercury Rev - "Senses on Fire"
Stereolab - Lo Boob Oscillator [BBC Session]
Belle & Sebastian - "Expectations"
TV on the Radio - "Dancing Choose"
Beck - "Gamma Ray"
M83 - "You, Disappearing"
Common Market - "40 Furrows"
The High Decibels - "Duke Gonna Get Em"
My Teenage Stride - "Theme from Teenage Suicide"
Vampire Weekend - "Campus"
Asobi Seksu - "I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me"
Jonquil - "Putting Names to Faces"
Deerhoof - "Offend Maggie"
The Orb - "The Truth Is..."
Neon Neon - "Dream Cars"
Alias - "I Heart Drum Machines"
Does It Offend You, Yeah? - "Dawn of the Dead"
40 Watt Hype - "Controversy"
Rademacher - "Today Is Different"
Bright Eyes - "First Day of My Life" [Live at KCRW]
Big Star - "Give Me Another Chance"
Mia Doi Todd - "Sleepless Nights"
Lambchop - "OH (Ohio)"
Joan as Police Woman - "To Be Loved"
Dungen - "Sätt Att Se"
Crystal Antlers - "Vexation"
Women - "Black Rice"
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - "Elmo Delmo"
The Walkmen - "In the New Year"
Kings of Leon - "Closer"
Ra Ra Riot - "Each Year"

playlist, sept. 29, 2008

The Who - "Dancing in the Street"
Morrissey - "The Loop"
Luxury - "Green Hearts"
Future Islands - "Follow You"
Daedelus - "Get Off Your Hi-Hats"
DJ Bitman - "La Raza" [feat. Juan Sativo]
Terry Lynn - "Kingstonlogic"
Daft Punk - "Around the World / Harder Better Faster Stronger" [Live]
Sonic Youth - "Superstar"
The Cave Singers - "Seeds of the Night"
Fleet Foxes - "Blue Ridge Mountains"
Jenny Lewis - "Acid Tongue"
American Football - "Honestly?"
TV on the Radio - "Golden Age"
Prints - "Easy Magic"
The Tough Alliance - "Miami"
Ra Ra Riot - "Ghost Under Rocks"
The Faint - "The Geeks Were Right"
B.B. King - "How Blue Can You Get?" [Live]
Raphael Saadiq - "Sure Hope You Mean It"
pc muñoz - "Family Matters"
Cadence Weapon - "Unsuccessful Club Nights"
High Decibels - "Crash with No Cushion"
Bappi Lahiri, Usha Uthup - "Auva Auva Koi Yahan"
Of Montreal - "Jimmy"
Starfucker - "Florida"
Fujiya & Miyagi - "Uh"
Lali Puna - "Nin-Com-Pop"
Lambchop - "Ohio"
Rademacher - "Not My Home"
Tiger Lillies - "Roll Up"
Hot Chip - "Hold On"
Rafter - "Noise"
Why? - "Song of the Sad Assassin"
The Orb - "A Beautiful Day"

playlist, sept. 22, 2008

Noah and the Whale - "Shape of My Heart"
Human Highway - "The Sound"
Rufus Wainwright - "Across the Universe"
Common Market - "Back Home (The Return)"
Céu - "Malemolência"
The Good, The Bad & The Queen - "Northern Whale"
Daedelus - "My Beau" (feat. Paperboy & Erika Rose)
The Monitors - "Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)"
Ra Ra Riot - "Ghost Under Rocks"
The Walkmen - "The New Year"
Future Islands - "Changing Your Life"
The Smiths - "Rusholme Ruffians"
Vampire Weekend - "Oxford Comma"
The High Decibels - "Miss Cindy"
King Khan and the Shrines - "Torture"
Terry Lynn - "Kingstonlogic"
Chemical Brothers - "Block Rockin' Beats"
Moby - "Alice"
The London Suede - "New Generation"
The Dalloways - "Dirty Money and Filthy Love"
Lackthereof - "Choir Practice"
Parenthetical Girls - "Four Words"
Shugo Tokumaru - "Clocca"
Final Fantasy - "The Arctic Circle"
Stereolab - "Self Portrait with 'eclectric brain'"
Portugal. The Man - "Colors"
Conor Oberst - "Souled Out!!!"
The DIrty Projectors - "Hyperballad"
Beck - "Walls"
The Rumble Strips - "No Soul"
El Guincho - "Palmitos Park"
pc muñoz - "Chatter & Buzz" (feat. Micropixie)
Alias - "Well Water Black" (feat. Why?)
The Notwist - "Where in This World"
Sinead O'Connor - "Jerusalem"
Hot Chip - "Wrestlers"
Starfucker - "German Love"
Crystal Castles - "Courtship Dating"
Styrofoam - "No Happy Endings" (feat. Erica Driscoll)

playlist, sept. 15, 2008

Okkervil River - "Singer Songwriter"
Fleet Foxes - "Oliver James"
Damien Jurado - "Caskets"
Glen Mansard & Markéta Irglová - "Lies"
She & Him - "You Really Got a Hold on Me"
Joan as Police Woman - "To America"
Subtle - "Hollow Hollered"
Deastro - "Michael, the Lone Archer of the Shore"
The Presets - "Kicking & Screaming"
The Faint - "The Geeks Were Right"
Black Kids - "I Wanna Be Your Limousine"
Patsy Cline - "She's Got You"
Gretchen Phillips - "Hello, Darling"
Jonquil - "Whistle Low"
Beck - "Gamma Ray"
Stereolab- "Chemical Chords"
Luciano Bahia - "Queda"
King Khan & The Shrines - "Took My Lady to Dinner"
Pink Floyd - "Pow R. Toc H."
Takka Takka - "Monkey Forest Road"
Spoon - "The Ghost of You Lingers"
The Helio Sequence - "Keep Your Eyes Ahead"
Hercules and Love Affair - "Time Will"
White Williams - "New Violence"
The Roots (feat. Jill Scott and Eve) - "You Got Me"
pc muñoz (feat. Micropixie) - "Chatter & Buzz"
Aesop Rock - "Gun for the Whole Family"
Lykke Li - "Melodies & Desires"
High Places - "The Modern Things"
Radiohead - "Everything in Its Right Place"
Fujiya & Miyagi - "Uh"
Passion Pit - "Sleepyhead"
The Chemical Brothers - "The Golden Path"
Dr. Dog - "Hang On"
Delta Spirit - "People C'mon"
Starfucker - "Florida"
The Walkmen - "In the New Year"

I ♥ fresno

"Burglar victims wake to spice rub, sausage attack"

By Louis Galvan / The Fresno Bee

A burglar who broke into a home just east of Fresno rubbed spices over the body of one of two men as they slept in their rooms and then used an 8-inch sausage to whack the other man on the face and head before running out of the house, Fresno County sheriff's deputies said Saturday.

Lt. Ian Burrimond, describing the crime as one of the strangest he's ever heard of, said a suspect was found hiding in a nearby field a few minutes later and taken into custody on suspicion of residential robbery.

Deputies, he said, had no problem linking the suspect to the crime.

"It seems the guy ran out of the house wearing only a T-shirt, boxer shorts and socks, leaving behind his wallet with his ID," Burrimond said.

Arrested was Antonio Vasquez, 22, of Fresno.

Burrimond said deputies headed to the victims' home in the 300 block of South Thompson Avenue near Kings Canyon Road shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday regarding a burglary in progress.

The victims, both farmworkers, told deputies they were awakened by a stranger applying spices to one of them and striking the other with a sausage.

Both the spices and the sausage, Burrimond said, reportedly were obtained from the victims' kitchen.

After the man fled, the victims discovered the home had been ransacked and that some money was taken, Burrimond said.

Burrimond said the money was recovered, but that the piece of sausage used in the attack was discarded by the suspect and eaten by a dog.

"That's right, the dog ate the weapon," Burrimond said.

"I tell you, this was one weird case."

playlist, sept. 1, 2008

Marching Band - "Gorgeous Behavior"
The Dutchess and the Duke - "Reservoir Park"
Delta Spirit - "Strange Vine"
Fujiya & Miyagi - "Knickerbocker"
Lykke Li - "Breaking It Up"
Matthew Dear - "Neighborhoods"
Neon Neon - "I Told Her on Alderaan"
The Tough Alliance - "Something Special"
Stereolab - "Three Women"
Luna - "Lovedust"
Jonquil - "Whistle Low"
Sunny Day Set Fire
Alias - "Well Water Black" [feat. Why?]
Modeselektor - "Let Your Love Grow"
Neneh Cherry - "I've Got U Under My Skin"
pc muñoz - "Disappear" [feat. Ingrid Chavez]
Bitter:Sweet - "Come Along with Me"
The Watson Twins - "How Am I to Be"
Amy Ray - "Bus Bus"
Holly Golightly - "I Hear You"
Dolly Parton - "Drives Me Crazy"
Laura Cantrell - "Trains and Boats and Planes"
Carla Bruni - "Ta Tienne"
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - "Clever Things"
Rademacher - "What Yr Used to Back at Home"
Poplord - "What's Beneath"
James Brittain-Gore - "Rustle in the Leaves"
TV on the Radio - "Dancing Choose"
Sons & Daughters - "Chains"
The Dandy Warhols - "Wasp in the Lotus"
Takka Takka - "Silence"
Wolf Parade - "Soldier's Grin"
Hercules and Love Affair - "Athene"
King Khan & The Shrines - "Torture"
The Faint - "The Geeks Were Right"
Architecture in Helsinki - "Like It or Not" (El Guincho Remix)
Beck - "Gamma Ray"
M.I.A. - "Hombre"
Rafter - "Magic"
Ladytron - "Kletva"

cherry tomato salad

I subscribe to Cook's Illustrated magazine, and even though there aren't many vegetarian repices featured in their publications, what few they include are usually very good. Last night I made the Greek Cherry Tomato Salad that was featured in the July/August 2008 issue. It turned out well, so I thought I'd share the goodness:

Greek Cherry Tomato Salad

2 pints ripe cherry tomatoes, quartered (about 4 cups)
Table salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 medium shallot, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1. Toss tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and sugar in medium bowl; let stand for 30 minutes. Transfer tomatoes to salad spinner and spin until seeds and excess liquid have been removed, 45 to 60 seconds, stirring to redistribute tomatoes several times during spinning. Return tomatoes to bowl and set aside. Strain tomato liquid through fine-mesh strainer into liquid measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
2. Bring 1/2 cup tomato liquid (discard any extra), garlic, oregano, shallot, and vinegar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until reduced to 3 tablespoons, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer mixture to small bowl and cool to room temperature, about 5 minutes. Whisk in oil and pepper to taste until combined. Taste and season with up to 1/8 teaspoon table salt.
3. Add cucumber, olives, feta, dressing, and parsley to bowl with tomatoes; toss gently and serve.

You can find the recipe with illustrations and a video here, although you may need to be a subscriber to the Cook's Illustrated site to access these.

The trick here is to salt and spin the tomatoes so as to get rid of the excess liquid, but then to use the strained liquid for the tomato vinaigrette. It may sound like extra work, but it's not really, and it's worth the effort to keep the salad from getting waterlogged.

The tomatoes I used were a mixture of green, red, and yellow heirlooms, which were both tasty and attractive.

here's another one

I made another 8tracks mix yesterday. This one is comprised mainly of abstract/left-field/kinda hip-hop.

PR, episode 7

1.) Keith is out. I can't say I'm wholly surprised, but I am a little sad to see him go, especially because he was so obviously sad to go. (His uncontrolled weeping at the end of the episode was, in my opinion, sincere and touching.) I liked Keith for a couple of reasons. One, he was obviously very easy on the eyes. But also, as a gay ex-Mormon who lived in Salt Lake City, I identified with Keith, and I wanted to see him succeed. I also don't think he was as nasty as the show made him out to be. There were moments when he was not only polite to his fellow contestants, but truly helpful. He even broke down when Daniel was aufed.
2.) All that said, Keith was just not making it as a PR contestant. His ego and his defensiveness got in the way of his ability to absorb criticism and improve his work, and at this stage in his career, he is simply was not as good a designer as he thinks he is. This last episode demonstrated his central problem: he hasn't demonstrated that he could step outside his world of fashion-as-conceptual-art and create a chic, well-tailored, wearable garment (although he went some way to doing this in the Brooke Shields challenge). He has been hiding behind all those strips and swatches and poofs, and when he finally decided to throw them to the wind, it became clear that he has a long way to go before he can claim to be a truly accomplished, versatile designer.
3.) The car parts challenge was good, and, for the most part, the contestants stepped right up to it. I did find it surprising that nearly everyone pulled what appeared to be bright yellow airbags from the cars, and yet there wasn't a sign of these on any of the outfits. What are airbags made of that they seem to be such limiting choices of material? Maybe it was the color.
4.) I'm glad Leanne won. I think she is turning out to be the dark horse of the season. Now that the other mousy girls have gone, it's easier to distinguish who she is, appreciate her personality, and zero in on her aesthetic. Her dress was interesting, clearly well made, and she was one of the few to manage some softness (the seat belt fringe) out of the largely unforgiving and rigid fabrics. I loved the seams, loved the shape, and it just looked flawlessly executed.
5.) Korto's was also good, but there were so many seat-belt dresses, and I quickly got tired of that color and that sheen. Still, she worked the seat-belts in an original manner, and she made a beautiful, well-made, and intriguing garment.
6.) Jerrell's was good, too, and I'm glad he finally got some love. He'd been making these ridiculous get-ups for too long, and this one was sophisticated, interesting, and innovative. If he can keep moving in this direction (and away from his Olympics monstrosity), he might have a chance.
7.) Blayne's car wash dress was a mess. Even though Keith's was ugly, poorly made, and falling to pieces, I kinda wanted Blayne to get the boot, because his designs are consistently bad, and he persists at being an annoying idiot. And Blayne's was only better than Keith's by a stitch.
8.) Kenley's meltdown over having to use a different model was ridiculous. I mean, look at those models--they're all basically the same height, and they pretty much all wear the same size. They're essentially interchangeable--that's why they're fashion models! Kenley was just trying to get the cameras on her, and it worked. Her dress was OK. It helps when she isn't allowed to choose ugly prints. (But notice how she was still determined to make one with her sharpie.) She should have dyed that frill or something.
9.) Suede made the same ballerina/cheerleader dress he's been making all along. It seems to me that he's making up for his lack of ideas by getting overklempt and weeping over his dead forebears (last week grandpa, this week dad). I find it pretty silly. Both "wackadoodle" Suede and "miss you so much, papa!" Suede are equally annoying. He's a bad designer, he looks terrible, and he makes bad clothes. He's pathetic. He needs to go.
10.) Mercifully, we saw little of Joe in action this time. Was that a brand name on his model's chest? He's such a brown-noser...
11.) I have to say that I'm warming up to Stella, but her outfit this time was pretty much garbage. At least from the waist down. She fell into the same trap Keith did: she tried too hard to give the judges what she felt they wanted. At least unlike Keith, she only did this from the waist down. Her top was OK, but it was dull. It looked a lot like Kenley's.
12.) Everybody better watch for Terri, and I don't mean because she's so great. She's good, but this last outfit was just fine, nothing more. No, they need to watch out for her claws. Still, she's entertaining. I liked watching her roll around giggling on the floor. She's talented, and it's just a matter of time before the judges finally acknowledge her. If I had to predict who's going to fashion week, I'd say Terri, Korto, and Leanne.

all mixed up

I was kinda bummed to hear that muxtape got the axe from the rotten RIAA, but there's a new kid in town, and he's called 8tracks. The folks at 8tracks claim to be legal, and from what I've read, it sounds like they are. I hope they make it. You can create any number of mixes by uploading tracks, organizing your mix (it must include at least eight tracks), and sharing it with other 8tracksters. Here's my first. Tell me what you think:



Now go make your own mix.

playlist, aug. 25, 2008

Horse Feathers - "Curs in the Weeds"
My Morning Jacket - "Evil Urges"
Jonquil - "Whistle Low"
Nimat Davis - "Number Two"
pc muñoz - "Disappear" (feat. Ingrid Chavez)
Duffy - "Mercy"
The Cool Kids - "Mikey Rocks"
Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot - "Bonnie and Clyde"
Stereolab - "Valley Hi!"
The B-52's - "Hot Corner"
Marching Band - "Make No Plans"
Big Star - "September Gurls"
Beck - "Walls"
Baskervilles - "John Riley and the Housewives Who Love Him"
Astronautalis - "Something for the Kids"
Why? - "Fatalist Palmistry"
Nimat Davis - "Number Two"
Theresa Andersson - "Birds Fly Away"
Herbaliser - "On Your Knees" (feat. Jessica Darling)
Daedelus - "My Beau" (feat. Paperboy & Erika Rose)
Poplord - "Change in Time for Monday"
Pixies - "Wave of Mutilation" (UK Surf) [Live] (Indianapolis, IN - 6/7/2005)
Radiohead - "Just"
Dwight Yoakum - "I Want You to Want Me"
Frightened Rabbit - "The Twist"
The Ruby Suns - "Tane Mahuta"
El Guincho - "Palmitos Park"
Isaac Hayes - "Never Can Say Goodbye"
Basia Bulat - "Before I Knew"
Takka Takka - Monkey Forest Road"
Cat Power - "New York / Ramblin' Woman"
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - "Nobody's Baby"
Johnny Cash - "Legend in My Time"
The Mountain Goats - "Sax Rohmer, Pt. 1"
Bon Iver - "Creature Fear"
Johnny Cash - "If You Could Read My Mind"
Yo La Tengo - "I Feel Like Going Home"
This Mortal Coil - "You and Your Sister"
The Faint - "The Geeks Were Right"
Cornelius - "Gum"
Hercules and Love Affair - "Hercules Theme"
Santogold - "Creator"