Going to sleep and waking up are the hardest things in my life right now. I can't turn my brain off at night, and rolling out of bed after ten hours of sleep feels like waking up from three months of hibernation. I'm kind of in "the big wait" phase. I feel useless and powerless and everythinggoodless right now. To say I have no friends here is way fucked up to the few killer ones I do have, but I feel like I've burned too many bridges with the other ones. I'd say I can't wait for my friends to come back, but the truth is, they're not really coming back. I'll see most for Thanksgiving, but it'll be only for a few days. You can't live in anticipation for a few days. I can't wait to go back to Philly, but again, you can't live in anticipation for a few weeks. I can't wait to leave town again this summer, but again, you can't live in anticipation for a few months.
This week has been hell. I thought the time off would be good to catch up on school work, but of course I didn't. I play video games all day because its the only thing that makes me feel not miserable. But I'm not miserable. I'm just waiting I guess. Waiting to record that keyboard part. Waiting to stencil that shirt. Waiting to write those lyrics. Waiting for a girlfriend to fall from the sky.
I need routine in my life. I can't wait to start school again tomorrow so I can look at babes and eat Panda Express. I can't wait for work tomorrow so I can look at babes and eat Domino's pizza. Then once I turn in all my midterms Tuesday I can finally get around to things I've been meaning to do. Or stay up all night watching political videos on youtube. Probably that.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Mommy, what is a push poll?
" It is a way of slandering a political opponent in the guise of a poll. The so-called pollster calls thousands of people (instead of the normal 600-1000) and asks questions including things like "Did you know that Sen. John McCain has a black child? (used by the Bush campaign in South Carolina in the 2000 primaries). The implication was that McCain had an affair with a black woman. In reality, he and Mrs. McCain adopted a handicapped child from Mother Theresa's orphanage in Bangladesh. So this act of kindness was spun as a way of insinuating that he cheated on his wife, but in such a way that the Bush campaign didn't formally lie and if caught could say, "Oh, we were just curious about racial attitudes." "
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Pete and Pete, Pet Sounds, and the golden age of Google
You remember that Pete and Pete episode right? A Hard Days Pete? In case you don't have the privilege of being a Pete and Pete fan, I'll summarize it for you quickly. Pete hears what he believes is destined to be his favorite song, but he doesn't know who preforms it. Pete spends the episode trying to track down this mysterious song, his foe being the leaky bucket that is human memory.
I've been in this situation in the past. Sometime around 8th grade I heard a song on 91x that blew my mind. I heard the song, had no idea who it was, but made it my mission from that point on to camp out 91x until I heard it again. About a month went by, and eventually I heard it. Luckily the DJ announced who the band was, but unfortunately I wasn't around a pen and a paper, and had to rely on my short term memory to remember the band name. Well, as I'm sure you can guess, the band name was forgotten, and I never heard the song again.
A sad story thats frustrating for a number of reasons. First and least important, I was disappointed in myself for forgetting. More frustrating however, is the idea that there exists a gold pot of good music out there, most of which I will never even have the CHANCE to hear. In a nihilistic kind of way, you will never hear your true, favorite song. And on top of that, if by star crossed luck you do, theres a solid chance you'll never be able to find it again in the infinitely saturated world of music today.
So. I'm at work the other day, listening to the fantastic satellite radio station we perpetually have on. I'm used to being surprised and impressed by the obscure music they play, but then I heard something that really knocked me off my feet. What started as what I thought was a more standard lo-fi sample based hip hop track, I immediately realized was something so much more. The bulk of this track was made up of samples from The Beach Boy's "Wouldn't It Be Nice", beautifully capturing snippets of vocal harmonies and ethereal guitars, creating something wholly unique and extremely enjoyable. I reveled in the pure bliss of this track for its two minutes, and immediately felt the doom of the thought that I might not ever hear it again.
But then I realized what had changed since the last "one that got away": the emergence of information culture. I set aside a good hour and made it my mission to find this song. Knowing nothing about it other than the fact that it sampled Wouldn't It Be Nice, I knew it wouldn't be an easy task. I searched page upon page of failed search queries, including "Wouldn't it be nice sample", "Beach Boys mash up", and "Wouldn't it be nice sample Beach Boys mash up". I learned that you can sample Beach Boys tracks on Amazon, and that there exists a mash up of Kanye West and Pet Sounds, but still hadn't found what I was looking for. Finally after searching for "hip hop Beach Boys", on the third page I struck oil. I found Bullion's album available for free download, "Pet Sounds: In The Key of Dee".
Besides being extremely proud of myself, I was eternally happy for finding this hidden treasure. I relived the magic of Wouldn't It Be Nice, and enjoyed 12 other fantastic tracks on this collection. It also relieved me that it IS possible to navigate the seemingly endless plethora of music, and truly find your favorite song if you so desire.
And if you're curious, visit and download 8-)
http://www.myspace.com/bullionness
I've been in this situation in the past. Sometime around 8th grade I heard a song on 91x that blew my mind. I heard the song, had no idea who it was, but made it my mission from that point on to camp out 91x until I heard it again. About a month went by, and eventually I heard it. Luckily the DJ announced who the band was, but unfortunately I wasn't around a pen and a paper, and had to rely on my short term memory to remember the band name. Well, as I'm sure you can guess, the band name was forgotten, and I never heard the song again.
A sad story thats frustrating for a number of reasons. First and least important, I was disappointed in myself for forgetting. More frustrating however, is the idea that there exists a gold pot of good music out there, most of which I will never even have the CHANCE to hear. In a nihilistic kind of way, you will never hear your true, favorite song. And on top of that, if by star crossed luck you do, theres a solid chance you'll never be able to find it again in the infinitely saturated world of music today.
So. I'm at work the other day, listening to the fantastic satellite radio station we perpetually have on. I'm used to being surprised and impressed by the obscure music they play, but then I heard something that really knocked me off my feet. What started as what I thought was a more standard lo-fi sample based hip hop track, I immediately realized was something so much more. The bulk of this track was made up of samples from The Beach Boy's "Wouldn't It Be Nice", beautifully capturing snippets of vocal harmonies and ethereal guitars, creating something wholly unique and extremely enjoyable. I reveled in the pure bliss of this track for its two minutes, and immediately felt the doom of the thought that I might not ever hear it again.
But then I realized what had changed since the last "one that got away": the emergence of information culture. I set aside a good hour and made it my mission to find this song. Knowing nothing about it other than the fact that it sampled Wouldn't It Be Nice, I knew it wouldn't be an easy task. I searched page upon page of failed search queries, including "Wouldn't it be nice sample", "Beach Boys mash up", and "Wouldn't it be nice sample Beach Boys mash up". I learned that you can sample Beach Boys tracks on Amazon, and that there exists a mash up of Kanye West and Pet Sounds, but still hadn't found what I was looking for. Finally after searching for "hip hop Beach Boys", on the third page I struck oil. I found Bullion's album available for free download, "Pet Sounds: In The Key of Dee".
Besides being extremely proud of myself, I was eternally happy for finding this hidden treasure. I relived the magic of Wouldn't It Be Nice, and enjoyed 12 other fantastic tracks on this collection. It also relieved me that it IS possible to navigate the seemingly endless plethora of music, and truly find your favorite song if you so desire.
And if you're curious, visit and download 8-)
http://www.myspace.com/bullionness
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The Darjeeling Limited
Gorgeous movie, lived up to my high expectations and more. Comments for those who have and have not seen it.
Have nots
Don't expect any radical gear shifts in Wes's delivery. His knack for style and visuals are there in full force. Where it differs from his other films is in theme. Bottle Rocket focuses on dreams, Life Aquatic focuses on eternal youth, Darjeeling has its own unique set of themes. The worst thing you can do going into this movie is expect how the plot will play out. I value movies that have a sense of "realness", a low "that would never happen in real life" quality. Good movies should feel like the crew is just documenting whats going on, not that the cast are puppets of the writer's demands. Darjeeling nails that.
Haves (SPOILERS!)
Here are some of my favorite lines and themes:
Hilariousness:
Peter laughs at Jack's short story
Jack: Oh what part are you on?
Peter: Oh nothing it just reminded me of something totally unrelated
Jack: I think those kids are laughing at us
Francis: I really love this country, the people are all so beautiful!
Jack: Wouldn't it be great to hear a train rolling by in the distance right now?
Pete: Not really
Francis: Yea that would probably just be annoying...
Francis: Look at these assholes
It was also great each time Francis came up with a new role, so well acted.
Touchingness:
When Peter is reading Jack's story and starts to tear up, speaks volumes about Jack's writing (non-fictional characters) and Peter's attachment to their dad.
The entire flashback sequence as perfect, probably my favorite part of the film. Obviously cool to see Jack without the mustache, and Francis without headgear. Lots of good subtleties, he never read Jack's book, Francis's frustration about their mom, and Peter's irrational insistence on getting the car. Peter really starts to stand out as the most interesting character, obviously with the most baggage over his father. The shot back to the Indian funeral with them in the same positions was brilliant, gear shift for the rest of the movie.
The "I drove my motorcycle off a ditch on purpose" line sums up everything I love about Wes Anderson. The line in itself carries more character development than most movies have in an entire hour and a half. Along with the "I think he might be my friend" line, you learn that Francis is a lonely, miserable soul. You also learn by induction that at the start of the film he felt uncomfortable and untrustworthy around the brothers, and now he feels at ease. Makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time.
The train montage seemed odd at first, and I'm still a bit confused by it. I'm guessing that each brother was sending their thoughts and troubles to their mom, Jack with Natalie Portman, Peter with his wife, Francis with Brenden, and lastly the mom with the man-eating tiger. That wouldn't account for Bill Murray and the snake dude though. I'll have to see it again.
The whole symbolic baggage thing was also great. It took me a while after the movie to figure that out (durrr), but I'll have to watch it again to see if its too "smacking you over the head".
Have nots
Don't expect any radical gear shifts in Wes's delivery. His knack for style and visuals are there in full force. Where it differs from his other films is in theme. Bottle Rocket focuses on dreams, Life Aquatic focuses on eternal youth, Darjeeling has its own unique set of themes. The worst thing you can do going into this movie is expect how the plot will play out. I value movies that have a sense of "realness", a low "that would never happen in real life" quality. Good movies should feel like the crew is just documenting whats going on, not that the cast are puppets of the writer's demands. Darjeeling nails that.
Haves (SPOILERS!)
Here are some of my favorite lines and themes:
Hilariousness:
Peter laughs at Jack's short story
Jack: Oh what part are you on?
Peter: Oh nothing it just reminded me of something totally unrelated
Jack: I think those kids are laughing at us
Francis: I really love this country, the people are all so beautiful!
Jack: Wouldn't it be great to hear a train rolling by in the distance right now?
Pete: Not really
Francis: Yea that would probably just be annoying...
Francis: Look at these assholes
It was also great each time Francis came up with a new role, so well acted.
Touchingness:
When Peter is reading Jack's story and starts to tear up, speaks volumes about Jack's writing (non-fictional characters) and Peter's attachment to their dad.
The entire flashback sequence as perfect, probably my favorite part of the film. Obviously cool to see Jack without the mustache, and Francis without headgear. Lots of good subtleties, he never read Jack's book, Francis's frustration about their mom, and Peter's irrational insistence on getting the car. Peter really starts to stand out as the most interesting character, obviously with the most baggage over his father. The shot back to the Indian funeral with them in the same positions was brilliant, gear shift for the rest of the movie.
The "I drove my motorcycle off a ditch on purpose" line sums up everything I love about Wes Anderson. The line in itself carries more character development than most movies have in an entire hour and a half. Along with the "I think he might be my friend" line, you learn that Francis is a lonely, miserable soul. You also learn by induction that at the start of the film he felt uncomfortable and untrustworthy around the brothers, and now he feels at ease. Makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time.
The train montage seemed odd at first, and I'm still a bit confused by it. I'm guessing that each brother was sending their thoughts and troubles to their mom, Jack with Natalie Portman, Peter with his wife, Francis with Brenden, and lastly the mom with the man-eating tiger. That wouldn't account for Bill Murray and the snake dude though. I'll have to see it again.
The whole symbolic baggage thing was also great. It took me a while after the movie to figure that out (durrr), but I'll have to watch it again to see if its too "smacking you over the head".
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Infatuation, determinism, existentialism, and the Fiery Furnaces
Let me start this blog entry with a statement. Matthew Friedberger's solo work, Winter Woman in particular, is nothing short of genius. Rewind three days ago. I'm in the middle of an extended surfing period (also known as, my life), when I come across an exciting fact. "Tomorrow the new Fiery Furnaces album Widow City is coming out" is the thought that followed the reading of this fact. In whatever desire I have to understand my favorite band's progression in some sort of chronological order, I figured before I give Widow City it's first listen, I should dig up those Friedberger solo albums and give them a second shot. You know, those albums that have a "1" play count. Or I mean, the first 6 songs have a "1" play count, at which point during the middle of the 7th song on 3/2/2007 (last played) I decided that it was too awful to continue, and switched back over to Blueberry Boat. THOSE albums!
Anyway, before diving in, I of course pull up the Pitchfork review, because I'm a tasteless zombie who can't think for myself. Quick scan, I see a blurb along the lines of "Winter Woman is the popppp album". I see some other shit about blah blah, Blueberry Boat is better, and at this point am ready to agree. I throw on Winter Woman and start up Warcraft 3, my favorite game to play while grudgingly listening to music.
A flutter of discombobulated drums kicks in, the sound of someone balancing a basket full of drum machines on his head, and slipping on a banana peel. The harmonic minor scale kicks in and I realize I'm in for a rough ride. Then, around the third song something happens. Friedberger hooks me right through the cheek with a gorgeous harmonica line: I'm infatuated. My mindset is now completely different. There is something I enjoy between this unnecessary garbage.
Now comes the interesting part. How do I justify this to myself? When chatting about this album am I supposed to say, "Yea, its pretty terrible, besides that harmonica line on Up The River"? Am I the kind of person who latches to music based on aesthetic pleasure, giving no merit to complete or conceptual vision? No way. I do something just as illogical: I force myself to like the rest.
Question time. How much control do we have over ourselves as humans? Who is more true to themselves? The ear candy simpleton who bases their taste around pleasurable aesthetics (I just like what I like man!)? Or the calculated chameleon who adheres strongly to certain "values" in music? I can't answer these questions. But what I can tell you about myself is that bit by bit, for the past three days, Winter Woman has consumed my life.
In this mindset, the seemingly tasteless gear-shifts now reek of artistic genius. I find myself tapping to these beats when thinking about them, in rhythms I don't understand or imagine even existed. Suddenly I'm a fan of something I thought I hated, prog-rock (or this album even for christ's sake!?)!!! Was this my stubborn doing or the inevitable fate of my tastes and values? A little from A and B I believe. Power to the self-determinists!
Anyway, before diving in, I of course pull up the Pitchfork review, because I'm a tasteless zombie who can't think for myself. Quick scan, I see a blurb along the lines of "Winter Woman is the popppp album". I see some other shit about blah blah, Blueberry Boat is better, and at this point am ready to agree. I throw on Winter Woman and start up Warcraft 3, my favorite game to play while grudgingly listening to music.
A flutter of discombobulated drums kicks in, the sound of someone balancing a basket full of drum machines on his head, and slipping on a banana peel. The harmonic minor scale kicks in and I realize I'm in for a rough ride. Then, around the third song something happens. Friedberger hooks me right through the cheek with a gorgeous harmonica line: I'm infatuated. My mindset is now completely different. There is something I enjoy between this unnecessary garbage.
Now comes the interesting part. How do I justify this to myself? When chatting about this album am I supposed to say, "Yea, its pretty terrible, besides that harmonica line on Up The River"? Am I the kind of person who latches to music based on aesthetic pleasure, giving no merit to complete or conceptual vision? No way. I do something just as illogical: I force myself to like the rest.
Question time. How much control do we have over ourselves as humans? Who is more true to themselves? The ear candy simpleton who bases their taste around pleasurable aesthetics (I just like what I like man!)? Or the calculated chameleon who adheres strongly to certain "values" in music? I can't answer these questions. But what I can tell you about myself is that bit by bit, for the past three days, Winter Woman has consumed my life.
In this mindset, the seemingly tasteless gear-shifts now reek of artistic genius. I find myself tapping to these beats when thinking about them, in rhythms I don't understand or imagine even existed. Suddenly I'm a fan of something I thought I hated, prog-rock (or this album even for christ's sake!?)!!! Was this my stubborn doing or the inevitable fate of my tastes and values? A little from A and B I believe. Power to the self-determinists!
Friday, October 5, 2007
Tour Wrap-up
Last night I finally got around to finishing my tour log, whipping out the previously unfinished last two weeks. You can check out the log by clicking the link below. I basically documented what we did EVERY DAY while on the road. Theres some thoughts on each show, and an entire entry devoted to ranking the shows. Check it!
http://powmia-neverforget.blogspot.com/
http://powmia-neverforget.blogspot.com/
Thursday, October 4, 2007
New T-Shirt Design
I crack myself up sometimes. Except to see this in stores soon.
Click to see fullsize.
Click to see fullsize.
Introduction
Yay! The blog is real! I'm going to publish varies things here, including but not limited to writings, rants, lists, pictures, songs, etc. Come back, and shit.
-Ryan
-Ryan
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