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I get to be as self-indulgent as I want without wasting anyone's time. Guilt-free solipsism -- excellent!
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Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Right, in no particular order, except for the Top 3: Rilo Kiley -- The Execution Of All Things [MP3s: 1 2 3] The Shins -- Chutes Too Narrow [mp3] Radiohead -- Hail To The Thief These were the only three records that honestly excited me this year. The Rilo Kiley album is a joy -- it doesn't do anything groundbreaking, but it pisses all over your standard-issue indie pop with its uncommonly inventive hooks, uncommonly powerful (at least to me) lyrics, and uncommonly thoughtful arranging and production. Jenny Lewis's voice charms (and she's cute too -- c.f the video for The Frug), and the album as whole is endlessly listenable. These were the songs that were stuck in my head all year. The Shins record is also not groundbreaking -- it's similar to RK in that it's an intelligent record that has all kinds of nooks and crannies to explore and appreciate. The Radiohead consolidates on their albums of the last few years, but is still operating on a level of invention far above their peers. There, There never fails to get the juices flowing. White Stripes -- Elephant New Pornographers -- Electric Version The Decemberists -- Castaways And Cutouts [mp3] ("July, July" is a long-lost Robyn Hitchcock song) The Strokes -- Room On Fire The Libertines -- Up The Bracket Minus Five -- Down With Wilco Evan Dando -- Baby, I'm Bored Honorable Mentions: Pernice Brothers -- Yours, Mine And Ours Gotan Project -- La Revancha del Tango Goldfrapp -- Black Cherry Belle & Sebastian -- Dear Catastrophe Waitress Didn't hear the whole album, but should've and will: Robyn Hitchcock - Luxor Sloan -- Action Pact Beyonce -- Dangerously In Love Outkast -- Speakerboxx/The Love Below (I know, I know) Twilight Singers -- Blackberry Belle The Wrens -- Meadowlands My Morning Jacket -- It Still Moves SFA -- Phantom Power Josh Rouse -- 1972 Explosions In The Sky -- The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place Ted Leo/Pharmacists -- Hearts Of Oak Disappointments: Rufus Wainwright -- Want One Blur -- Think Tank (a couple of beautiful songs and some drek) Fountains of Wayne -- Welcome Interstate Managers (good for what it is, but they *really* need to do something different on their 4th album...also known as "The Sexsmith Syndrome) Slight Disappointment: Elvis Costello -- North (an album touted as in the vein of Wee Small Hours should swing, even if very gently) I Don't Get It: Broken Social Scene The Darkness Death Cab For Cutie/Postal Service | Monday, December 29, 2003
When I saw that Dean was blaming the mad cow schtuff on Bush, I was a little dubious -- I think it looks a bit petty, as if he's blaming W for everything that goes wrong each day in the US (there's enough stuff that's his fault, without needing to blame him for things that aren't). But after reading How the GOP gave us Mad Cow on DailyKos, I can see he had a point. Republicans repeatedly blocked expanded testing of imported meat, presumably on the grounds that it's onerous for businesses. But how damaging has the discovery of BSE been for profits in the meatpacking industry? How badly is it going to affect profits at McDonalds? How many fast food jobs will be lost? What's better for business, workers, and consumers in this case -- more regulation, or less? At the very least, it's an object lesson in what can happen when real world issues are evaluated with ideological blinders on. Of course, that applies equally to those who feel that any government regulation is good regulation. | Saturday, December 27, 2003
This one's for Bekkah: On The Media interviews Sarah Bunting, of TelevisionWithoutPity (and of Tomato Nation). Sars has a sexy voice. [requires RealAudio] | Tuesday, December 23, 2003
As I lurch towards 30, I can't be arsed with manifestos of any stripe. That said, The Geezaesthetic Manifesto more or less gets it right. It's a vital approach to criticism of art and culture, clearly informed by our experiences with the Innurnet. Some of my favorite bits: 2. We are all about dialogue. We hold that the pub conversation is as high a form of human discourse as any, and superior to most. 7. We place a high value on criticism that makes us think in new ways or about new things. We place an equally high value on criticism that makes us laugh, especially if it makes us laugh at the things we love....We place the highest possible value on criticism that makes us talk more, anything to enhance our conversation. 15. We respect academic learning but don't see it has much to do with Geezaesthetics, except as a source of stuff for us to talk about and perhaps misunderstand, hopefully in stimulating ways. 17. We like feeling strong feelings from our culture, but we don't pretend they always arise from the avant garde. We like novelty but we like comfort too. We believe that a strong feeling generated by the familiar is as stimulating as a strong feeling provoked by the shocking. [via clap clap] | The new Coen Brothers movie is a remake of the classic Ealing comedy The Ladykillers, with Tom Hanks in the Alec Guinness role. It looks like they've set it in the American South, to boot. Yahoo has the trailer. [via low culture] | Monday, December 22, 2003
Fundraising Letters that Work: "I happened to see a Bush '04 fundraising e-mail today, from Ken Mehlman, with the heading 'Foreign liberal cash used to defeat President Bush!' ...But there is also one priceless line in the e-mail: Wesley Clark, who was in Europe when Saddam Hussein was captured, criticized the President this week... Wow, what was Mr. Clark doing in Europe, when he's supposed to be an American? Probably judging a Gruyere-tasting contest, or studying up on Swedish land-use planning... You wouldn't really know that he was helping bring another evil dictator to justice, would you?" | Friday, December 19, 2003
Greatest time-waste ever: Norbert's Online Nintendo Emulator. One website. Dozens of games. Three years of my life. | Thursday, December 18, 2003
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Friday, December 12, 2003
While we were in New York over Thanksgiving, Elvis Costello was scheduled to sit in on a couple shows with Lee Konitz at Iridium. We thought about going but didn't, mainly for cash flow reasons. Anyway, it turns out Elvis didn't play the shows, because Konitz's bass player -- the legendary Gary Peacock -- decided to throw a strop at the soundcheck and refused to play with him. Things got worse when Iridium volunteered to fire Peacock if EC agreed to play; and when Elvis refused this arrangement, failed to notify the punters lining up that he wasn't going to play. Ooh, it's handbags in the free-jazz/adult-pop-crossover community! | Thursday, December 11, 2003
From Political Wire: Quote of the Day 'There's nothing I am worse at than long-term planning.' -- National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, in the upcoming Reader's Digest, according to the New York Daily News. Josh Marshall has been on fire this week, analyzing the Iraqi debt fiasco, the appointment of James Baker as "Iraqi debt czar", and what that all implies about the disarray in the Bush administration. | I'm pleased to announce that I have landed a job -- one that it is not at an ad agency (huzzah!), and which will allow me to feel like I'm doing something positive for the world. Don't want to use any company names on the Innernet, but it's a good position at what looks like a good company. I anticipate a little dropoff in the blogging for a bit...my first day is Monday. We'll just have to see.... | Those of you in NYC need to go and see Li'l G'N'R at CB's Gallery this weekend. Five year olds playing Guns n' Roses material? Look at little Slash! A must see, surely. [via clap clap] | Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Love, Actually. Rubbish, actually. The worst film I've seen in ages. The Mrs and I spent hours last night going over every last ridiculous plot device and insultingly sloppy piece of writing. I estimate at least 1/3 of the screenplay consists of the following: Character: Right. [bemused pause] Right. [leaves the room flustered, having inexplicably failed once again to ask someone who clearly fancies them to go out on a date]. Besides most of the film isn't even about love -- it's about initial attraction, which is not the same thing. The jarring implausibilities pile up until it becomes impossible to do anything but laugh -- there is no emotional resonance at all. Plus the score is woeful and a bunch of brilliant actors are left with nothing to do. It's as if the cheesy finales of every romantic comedy ever made were strung together into one 120-minute long orgy of sappiness. | I have recently begun eating granola for breakfast. Fear not, I continue to bathe regularly, have not attempted to occupy any college campuses, and continue to shave my legs (note to potential employers who are Googling me: that last bit was a joke. I do not shave my legs, as that would be weird for a man. And I am not weird. The joke pivoted on the fact that while the popular caricature of granola-eaters is that they don't shave their legs, that caricature applies only to female granola-eaters. This distinction is crucial if one is to find the joke funny. The humor comes from the confounding of the reader's expectations, as most of them know that I am a male.) Anyway, as I was saying, I eat granola for breakfast these days. It started a few weeks ago when the Mrs and I went to Las Manitas for breakfast. Having consumed an ungodly amount of Mexican food in the prior couple of days (look, I like it, but I can't eat it for every meal), I instead made the radical decision to have granola and fruit (it was also very cheap...lots of parentheticals today, aren't there?). I was pleasantly surprised by the feeling of hearty, healthy crunchiness it imparted, a dense, compact source of nourishment after the lardy, floury repast of the previous 48 hours -- some slightly dissonant Duke Ellington after too much saccharine Glenn Miller. One thing led to another, and a few days ago you could find me in the cereal aisle at HEB...not hovering over the Cocoa Pebbles and Marshmallow Treasures as per usual, but instead puzzling over the differences between a number of avowedly healthy granola products, trying to decide which one was most likely to approximate the deliciousness of my Las Manitas discovery. I opted to buy two different kinds, just to see which I'd prefer, and we're now living happily ever after. | Wednesday, December 03, 2003
The Dean campaign just asked its supporters to contribute to the campaign of Iowa congressman Leonard Boswell, who has been targeted by Karl Rove and the RNC. As of midnight last night, Dean supporters had raised $30,000 for him. I find all of this fascinating -- a presidential campaign raising money for a congressional candidate. Obviously, raising money for a major Iowa Democrat can only help Dean solidify party support in that crucial first primary state, particularly when he and Gephardt are neck and neck. But this also seems to me like an exercise in muscle-flexing aimed at the Democratic Party/DLC elders who oppose Dean's ascent. It's saying -- look at the influence Dean has over these people. It's saying -- we're willing to play ball and use this influence to help the Party as a whole. And it's saying -- we are a serious challenge to the way you guys have been running the Democratic Party. There has been talk lately of the Democratic Party splitting into factions -- the Clintonistas who now run the party from the top down and the insurgent Deaniacs who are excited by the grass-roots progressivism we've seen lately (via MoveOn, Meetup, etc.). Kos sees the New Democrat Network aligning with the Dean wing, while the DLC is clearly horrified by Gov. Dean. The NDN's analysis is spot on -- Republicans have been the party of innovation when it comes to organization and communication and the Democrats have been struggling to catch up. However, the Internet is the king of all disruptive technologies, and these new Democrats are seizing the opportunity to leapfrog the GOP. Exciting times. | Tuesday, December 02, 2003
This time increment's MP3 Of The Time Increment is a preview of the upcoming Johnny Cash box set: JC and the late Joe Strummer duetting on a cover of Bob Marley's Redemption Song. Brings a lump to the throat. | |
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