2.15.2004
eight things on the brain
eight is my favorite number...
8. tv on the radio's young liars e.p. is worth the hype. they sound nothing like the dancey brooklyn-ite art punk they're always asscociated with (liars, yeah yeah yeahs-- both of which guest on the e.p. apparently). in fact, they sound pretty distinct, especially on the first two tracks (my faves). i could tell you that the singer sounds a bit like peter gabriel, but that means almost nothing. pop structures, inventive approaches to instrumentation (the flutes at the end of the first song are particularly nice), very vocal heavy. i'm so glad indie rock artsy types are finally getting over their sing-a-phobia... with each passing day, the world is littered with less and less affected, humorless steven malkmus impersonators. thank fucking god.
7. trite as it is to say it, i feel pretty good about the world in the wake of the outkast grammy. i know how hard it is to hear even more outkast hype as "hey ya" is garnishing commercials for adam sandler movies, but fuck it-- it's the boldest move that tame-ass event has made since giving jethro tull the heavy metal award back in the late eighties. say what you will about the mindlessness of pop culture at the moment, but if you're playful with your experiments-- and you make sure people can still dance to what you come up with-- you can still slip some interesting shit under the radar. look at the neptunes...
6. chris marker's MASSIVE film a grin without a cat, which chronicles "the left" from 1967 to 1977. it moves at top speed through vietnam, bolivia, france, czechoslovakia and chile (among others), leaving an endless array of thoughts and observations in its wake. it sustains much of the lyricism which animated marker's sans soleil, one of my all time faves. i won't attempt to describe it, nor will i contend that i even understand half of it, but i'm certainly glad i saw it.
5. meg ryan on jay leno. did anyone see that??? it appears that she's got some kind of crazy lip injection job. but rather than the old kim bassinger boost (a la barbara hershey in beaches), she seems to have it on the two ends of her upper lip, giving her this bizarre bee sting smile even when she's not smiling (like nicholson in batman). it took me like five minutes to realize that it wasn't some strange ornament for an upcoming movie. i kept waiting for jay to discuss it. nope. it's just really gross plastic surgery.
4. "writing to st. peter," track four from mojave 3's new album spoon and rafter. the ideal song for headphones out in the cold. perfectly captures the familiarity of overlapping happys and sads.
3. i must confess i'm growing increasingly preoccupied with the mel gibson jesus movie. i think i'm actually gonna go and see it. the more i read about it the weirder it gets. this will eventually merit a longer review. suffice to say it strikes me as emblematic of the polarizing sentiments of my country, as well as the limits of tolerance to conservatives and liberals alike.
2. tompaine.com. a user friendly progressive politics site that keeps it real.
1. none of these entries should be read hierarchically except this one-- my friends phil and ellen got married today (valentine's day) in the cayman islands. i'm in stupid cold-ass philly due to lack of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$... but i'm very happy for them.
8. tv on the radio's young liars e.p. is worth the hype. they sound nothing like the dancey brooklyn-ite art punk they're always asscociated with (liars, yeah yeah yeahs-- both of which guest on the e.p. apparently). in fact, they sound pretty distinct, especially on the first two tracks (my faves). i could tell you that the singer sounds a bit like peter gabriel, but that means almost nothing. pop structures, inventive approaches to instrumentation (the flutes at the end of the first song are particularly nice), very vocal heavy. i'm so glad indie rock artsy types are finally getting over their sing-a-phobia... with each passing day, the world is littered with less and less affected, humorless steven malkmus impersonators. thank fucking god.
7. trite as it is to say it, i feel pretty good about the world in the wake of the outkast grammy. i know how hard it is to hear even more outkast hype as "hey ya" is garnishing commercials for adam sandler movies, but fuck it-- it's the boldest move that tame-ass event has made since giving jethro tull the heavy metal award back in the late eighties. say what you will about the mindlessness of pop culture at the moment, but if you're playful with your experiments-- and you make sure people can still dance to what you come up with-- you can still slip some interesting shit under the radar. look at the neptunes...
6. chris marker's MASSIVE film a grin without a cat, which chronicles "the left" from 1967 to 1977. it moves at top speed through vietnam, bolivia, france, czechoslovakia and chile (among others), leaving an endless array of thoughts and observations in its wake. it sustains much of the lyricism which animated marker's sans soleil, one of my all time faves. i won't attempt to describe it, nor will i contend that i even understand half of it, but i'm certainly glad i saw it.
5. meg ryan on jay leno. did anyone see that??? it appears that she's got some kind of crazy lip injection job. but rather than the old kim bassinger boost (a la barbara hershey in beaches), she seems to have it on the two ends of her upper lip, giving her this bizarre bee sting smile even when she's not smiling (like nicholson in batman). it took me like five minutes to realize that it wasn't some strange ornament for an upcoming movie. i kept waiting for jay to discuss it. nope. it's just really gross plastic surgery.
4. "writing to st. peter," track four from mojave 3's new album spoon and rafter. the ideal song for headphones out in the cold. perfectly captures the familiarity of overlapping happys and sads.
3. i must confess i'm growing increasingly preoccupied with the mel gibson jesus movie. i think i'm actually gonna go and see it. the more i read about it the weirder it gets. this will eventually merit a longer review. suffice to say it strikes me as emblematic of the polarizing sentiments of my country, as well as the limits of tolerance to conservatives and liberals alike.
2. tompaine.com. a user friendly progressive politics site that keeps it real.
1. none of these entries should be read hierarchically except this one-- my friends phil and ellen got married today (valentine's day) in the cayman islands. i'm in stupid cold-ass philly due to lack of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$... but i'm very happy for them.
