Kitties!

Holiday

Ah, the familiar trip to Florida for the holiday. I just made this trip and am not looking forward to another 16 hour trip in 3 days. Oh well. I love my family and its totally worth it, but its just such a long drive for me. Stupid airline tickets being too expensive for my poor ass. My poor ass.
I thought about taking Cairo (so she could be reunited with her brother) but decided against it, since the only thing worse than a 16 hour car trip is having a live animal in the car. The mind reels and I don't hate myself that much. Plus I don't know if cats even care about their siblings.

Shelves... at last

I made them black and white because I despair at the color of my walls. That's right. Despair.

Ms. Arulpragasam

Halloween + M.I.A. =
A winning combination.

It was so nice to get out again. Especially at such a fun concert. I'm in trouble now though. I was already crushing on Ms. Arulpragasam, but now its at full-scale infatuation.

I don't know what I expected, but I was surprised that the crowd (as can be seen in the picture to the left) was overwhelmingly white. Is M.I.A. too weird to be attractive to mainstream hip-hop? Is she only appealing to white indie-rock kids? Any record that samples/references The Modern Lovers, New Order, the Pixies, and the Clash has got to have some pull on that audience. Also, I noticed that pitchfork is all about her while the only outright negative review I've seen of Kala was in VIBE, so maybe. The crowd was distinctly indie-rock, but the show was... something else. A perfect compliment to her music, as crazy as it is. Genre-bending and reverse cultural colonialism have never sounded so good - it gives me hope that globalization is not such a bad thing after all. To some people it sounds like a big mess, but she has got methods to her madnesses.

So, M.I.A.'s not exactly mainstream, but she is smart and awesome and talented*. That's why people love her and its enough.

























*And popular, the show was sold out.

World of Warcraft vs. Farmers

There are more WoW players than Farmers in the United States.

I do not know if this is a good thing.

But next time some politician starts playing up his/her "down home" style credentials, I want to see him/her at a computer discuss avatar etiquette.

Close Calls With Brick Walls

Finally started 2006 this morning with Andrew W.K.'s Close Calls With Brick Walls. I don't understand the amount of undue hate AWK received back when I Get Wet came out. Sure, on first glance it seemed like roided out jock rock about partying, but there's so much more to him. Well, maybe not that much more, but there's definitely more than that. Its his power of positive thinking mantras that keep me fascinated by the guy (his ultra catchy, bizarro music helps too, though). Its a belief system that is so counter-intuitive to my own that its like listening to an unknown language, one spoken through a shiny muscular horn.

Calls With Brick Walls expands on his speed metal cheese repertoire to include new wave, piano balladry, and death metal cheese. Can't ask for more than that.

Favorite track: "Slam John Against a Brick Wall" or maybe "I Want Your Face"

Last week was: Modern Lovers, Modern Lovers; Ween, 12 Golden Country Greats, and Subtitle, Terrain to Roam.

I think this week will be: Nico, Chelsea Girl; Of Montreal, The Bedside Drama A Petite Tragedy; and The National, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers.

Cairo

No particular reason.

Maximum Overdrive

I love my car, really I do. I'm not a huge believer in the "my car is an extension of my personality" version of thought, but my car does remind me of me. Its slow, heavy, white, and has an ugly interior. But its mine, paid for with money I made with my own two hands.

Lately though its been getting on my nerves. Tires gave out in June, though that was admittedly my fault. Then I ran over a board with a nail in it. A board with a nail in it. Jesus Christ, does Tex Avery live in my neighborhood or something? Fuck.

Then the radiator went. Then the tail lights. I got an $80 ticket for that one. Finally, I got everything fixed and all was kosher. Then, on the way home last night my instrument panel light went out. At midnight. On the interstate. This seemed like a problem so I turned on my dome light and the damn thing fell out of the roof, broken. I tried to put it back but it wasn't having it. At a point like that all you can do is laugh. Then cry.

41 Days of Music

Phew! Listened to Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground and Read Music / Speak Spanish this morning. Now, I like Conor Oberst as much as the next pansy, but I wouldn't choose to listen to that much of the guy's music back to back.

Thank God* I'm now in 2002 and listening to one of my most favorite band's debut record, Camera Obscura's Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi. While it brings up the rear in my list of favorite CO records, BBHF reminded me why I love them so much. Listening to their music is like wrapping my soul in sweetness** (of the distinctly bitter variety). A lot of that comes from Tracyanne Campbell. I'm so smitten with her. I'd marry her in heartbeat. Though judging from her lyrics she's kind of a flake. But then aren't we all.

* Its weird thanking a god I don't believe in, but "Thank God" has practically lost all practical meaning. Zounds!
**If you got that reference I'll marry you.

41 Days of Music - Day 49

I'm on day 49 of my 41 days of music thing-a-majig. Resolving a logical paradox like that will take some real skill. My personal theory is that it is from some combination of laziness, traveling, Deathly Hallows, and a growing music library. Being the person who is myself, this sounds like a good theory.

So I'm late and lazy. My editor is going to kill me. I'm smack dab in the middle of 2002 with The Books' Thought for Food - a great record worth every penny. The 1999-2003 run has been particularly weird and tough since most of those records I got while in college and they bring up those twin feelings of bittersweet regret and bitter regret.

I had a horrible time getting through PJ Harvey's Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. And not because it is a bad record, although I know at least one die hard PJ Harvey fan who may claim otherwise. Its just that, well, it manages to dredge up all the bitterest feelings laying at the bottom of my mind. Not that the time in which I bought it was unhappy. It was, I think, the happiest I've ever been; it just brings to mind all that I've lost. Which is a lot. Like I said, bitter regret. Also in that category are Oh, Inverted World and It's a Wonderful Life. Damn you association!

But its not all sad trips down memory lane. Ween's White Pepper - in all its British Invasion meets A.M. Gold glory - is still one of my favorite records. Things We Lost in the Fire is a lot better than I remember it, and I think now, my favorite Low record. Kid A and Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Live Forever still have the power to bring me back to the headspace of my 20-year old, art school attending self, and thats not an unpleasant thing. And I still love Andrew W.K.

Anyway, this whole enterprise was one way to fill my empty days. And it has. I guess that's my entertainment now, rearranging my acquired content in a way that is of passable interest to myself and no interest to anyone else. To that end I've decided to listen to 3 specific records each week on my train ride to and from work. This week its The Talking Heads More Songs About Buildings and Food, St. Vincent's Marry Me, and Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth.

"Heeeyy"

Heeeyy (click to play)

Work Me - Me Work

Working on the weekend.

Pros:
- No headphones needed
- pajamas
- no calls/e-mails

Cons:
-Working on the weekend

Suck It Dinosaur

What do you make for a friend who is leaving town like an idiot?

A wobbly-legged "Suck It Dinosaur" vegan carrot cake. That's what.

Suck it dinosaur. Suck it forever.

p.s. Its a lot harder than it looks drawing with frosting. Actually, looking at the cake now, it looks pretty goddamn difficult. Fucking bullshit leg. And is that a baguette or an arm. Fuck.

I Humanized the Vacuum

I love this fucking record.

It didn't grab me it at first listen, and I was mildly disappointed. Closer inspection has revealed the finest set of songs Mssrs. Daniel and Eno have committed to tape.

Underestimate at your peril.

Cat Net

She tore it down so its only fair.

Circus Art / Marnie Stern

Circus Art show at MJQ. James was the circus retard, Amanda was a a lion tamer, Ryan was a clown. I got back in town too late and went costume-less.

Lame.

Stayed up late to go to the Marnie Stern show at the Drunken Unicorn... by myself. I don't think that I've ever been to a show by myself, but I'm sort of in love with In Advance of the Broken Arm and I just had to see her live - if for no other reason than to see some truly inspired guitar shredding.

More than worth it. Not only did she display some very prodigious skills, the songs sounded leaner and more lethal than they do on her album. More lethal? Jesus Christ am I really that bereft of interesting descriptions? Suffice to say that she was amazing, worth getting only 3 hours of sleep. Plus she was super sweet and I gave her mom directions to the venue.

41 Days of Music (U2 / Pop)

I'm a U2 fan.

And not in a "I'll sing along to Sunday Bloody Sunday at MetalSome" kind of way. Its not ironic. I like their music.

But fuck Pop. I remember when it came out there was a lot of hemming and hawing over the fact that U2 had incorporated electronic elements into their music. No shit. They did it 5 years earlier with Actung Baby and Zooropa. At the time I was a Pop apologist. Not anymore. U2 deserved all the shit they got for that record, and not because of the production. The production was fine, what was missing was the songs. There is not a memorable one on the entire record.

Its is the first record that I've decided to remove from my iTunes. And I've listened to four Low albums. Its put me in a bad mood, but now Ween's The Mollusk is on. All is well.

Group Think

I was going to write something up on the new Spoon record, but fuck it, I have to vent my spleen over the hive-mind, group think that is everywhere now.

The internet was supposed to democratize the flow of information, and it has in large measure, but it has also contributed to formation of new conventional wisdom: group think. Why? Well, everyone is a critic, and the internet has provided an avenue for everyone who has an opinion to publish it. Kinda like this blog. But if there is anything easier than being a critic, its regurgitating others views and criticism. It takes less time, imagination, and creativity - perfect for someone who wants to seem smart and well informed but doesn't want to put in the effort. So now the internet is an echo chamber that reflects good old CW while purporting to be independent analysis. In the context that I'm talking about (entertainment criticism) this is a relatively innocuous phenomenon. But it can have devastating real world consequences.

Of course, group think existed before the internet. But if there's one thing the internet does real good its distribute information - too bad if it turns out to be incorrect or biased. So, now we have people espousing opinions they have co-opted from others - again nothing new - and it spreads like a virus. The only way to innoculate yourself against it is to form your own opinions. What a novel thought.

Self

A month and a half in and I'm at 1996. While going through the mid 90s I listened to Self's Subliminal Plastic Motives for the first time in forever.

I miss Self.

They were poised for big things, or at least they seemed to be at the time. In the post-grunge mid-90s they produced two minor hits ("Canon" and "So Low"), but they were never able to follow them up with mainstream success or critical adulation. Partly due to their utter lack of angst (that wave wouldn't crest until after the end of the century), and partly due to the fact that they never had a record that truly captured their sound - Self was always on the cusp of success, but couldn't break through. Main man Matt Mahaffey had a Prince fetish and a background in hip-hop production that was obscured by the need for their records to sound "grunge", which led some of their songs to be viewed as cynical cash-ins.

But on the mail-order only Half-Baked Serenade the songs were stripped down and allowed some room to breathe. Self sounded more comfortable in their own skin and the proved the pop on Subliminal Plastic Motives was no mistake - it set up their upcoming major label release Breakfast with Girls perfectly. Big things seemed imminent.

But it never happened. Partly due to mis-management from their label - it was Dreamworks after all - the record flopped on its release. While its tempting to play the "corporate clusterfuck of a good record" card, the album doesn't justify such a defense. Betraying his past as a producer, Mahaffey made Breakfast as bloated and endlessly overdubbed as any Pink Floyd record. All that studio trickery might have been worth it, but sadly, the songs are just not that strong. The best songs ("Uno Song" "Suzie Q Sailaway"), are not coincidentally, the simplest. With the odds against them Self needed a solid record on their side, but Breakfast With Girls was not that record.

Oddly, a novelty idea (making an album with only toy instruments) gave Self an opportunity to make their best record, Gizmodgery. The limited range of the instruments focused the band into sparsity - though with Mahaffey at the dials the album is still heavily produced and processed. But the limited palette works to his favor as the simple structure and production suit Mahaffey and his sugar-rush brand of pop. Plus, this was the first record where he broke down and broke out his falsetto and indulged all the Prince affectations so long harbored in secret. And it works, except for the dumb, attention getting "Trunk Fulla Amps". Come on guys, Self was always dangerously close to being written off as a novelty band, and you pick the novelty-est song on the record as the lead single? Also, "Chameleon" is no good. But the rest of the record is a damn near perfect confection.

I don't really know what happened to Self after that. They've released a few internet-only b-sides comps since Gizmodgery, and have an unreleased Dreamworks album, but I'm still waiting for that great pop album that I know they have in them.

I just looked up their music online at www.selftunes.com, and the album art that is listed for the on-line only Feels Like Breakin' Shit is something that I did in high school. No idea how that ended up there, but cool.

Deerhunter @ Drunken Unicorn

Deerhunter must be getting a lot bigger than they were just a few months ago, since I heard nary a word about Bradford Cox's appearance at the show last night. I know a lot of people hate them live (their myspace page had more than a few scathing reviews on it), but I love them. Less sturm und drang than previous shows, so the innate poppiness of their songs was allowed to come out - or would have if the mix had been good. The whole show seemed sort of hurried, but it was a good time and I was really happy to hear some songs from Fluorescent Grey live. Can't wait to see them open up for the Fiery Furnaces on the 7th.

41 Days of Music V

This is where is gets interesting. My favorite thing about listening to my records chronologically is hearing what records were released in the same year. Come to think of it... that's the only thing. Anyway. My records from the late 70's and early 80's are more diverse so I've heard a few interesting combinations.

Buzzcocks Singles Going Steady / Brian Eno Music for Airports
Magazine Real Life / The Police Outlandos d'Amour
Tom Waits Blue Valentine / Wire Chairs Missing
Gang of Four Entertainment! / Gary Numan Pleasure Principle
Joy Division Unknown Pleasures / Pink Floyd The Wall
Birthday Party Hee-Haw / Blondie Autoamerican
Aztec Camera High Land, Hard Rain / New Order P, C, & L

and my personal favorite...

Squeeze Sweets From a Stranger / Christian Death Only Theater of Pain

Metalsome

Can you have more fun than watching a stranger karaoke their way through Ratt's "Round and Round" backed by a full band?
Probably, but that doesn't stop Metalsome from being the best thing about my yesterday. The balding guy did a very credible Geddy Lee on "Limelight". And all was right in the world.

Act Your Age

I am still afraid of needles. It is the one thing I think I will always fear. I had to have blood taken today and I almost didn't make it. Luckily my care-giver, Shawna, was there to hold my hand as I cried my way through it. Just kidding, of course.

She didn't hold my hand.

41 Days of Music IV

Moving inexorably towards the 80s. Should get there by the weekend. I most enjoyed Joy Division's 1977 demo for RCA, consisting of "The Drawback", "Interzone", and "Shadowplay". These songs - as is - could have come from just about any of the myriad of bands that formed in the wake of the Sex Pistols and The Ramones. Looking back you know that Peter Hook, Ian Curtis, Martin Hannett and the rest had bigger things in mind, but as is the demo is a bit limp. "Shadowplay" in particular sounds like it has had the air taken out of it's tires. It has neither the propulsive force of their live versions or the recorded in a black hole atmosphere of the later album version.

Also, listening to Radio City and Third/Sister Lovers in the same day was quite interesting. You can practically hear Alex Chilton come undone as the songs get looser, more destructive, and infinitely depressing. On Radio City, particularly "September Gurls", he's wistfully romantic - but halfway through Third/Sister Lovers he's singing, "you're a holocaust". Yikes.

• Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets
• Brian Eno - Another Green World
  
• Big Star - Radio City
• Big Star - Third/Sister Lovers
• King Crimson - Starless & Bible Black
• Roxy Music - Country Life
• David Bowie - Low
• Iggy Pop - Lust For Life
• The Jam - This is the Modern World
• Suicide - First Album
  

41 Days of Music III

The Wicker Man, Dark Side of the Moon, For Your Pleasure, Raw Power and Closing Time all came out in 1973. Personally, I think that "Corn Rigs" is more menacing than anything Iggy Pop could ever dream up, but what do I know. Poor old thing.

I forgot what a weird warbler Brian Ferry was, even if he looks like Terry Wogan in my mind. As goofy as he may be, he's got nothing on King Crimson's "Cat Food". Seriously, the old creative well must have run completely dry if they were writing about cat food.

I can't hear "Lola" anymore without thinking about "L-E-E-L-A". I don't know if that is a good thing. I just know that I like Billy West in my head more than Ray Davies. Ironically, I can hear "Satellite of Love" without thinking of MST3K, but that's probably because Mike never sang any Lou Reed. An album of Mistie songs would be excellent. It goes without saying that they'd have to include the classic, "Hear the Engines Roll, Now" song.

Hearing The Wicker Man Soundtrack (my all-time favorite soundtrack by a wide margin) immediately before The Stooges' Raw Power has re-affirmed by belief that the subtext of that film is very conservative and reactionary. By 1973 the hippie daydream was dead leaving anger and cynicism to become entrenched throughout the culture. In the film its the earth first flower children that murder the police officer based on a philosophy that itself is based on a lie. If it was made in the 60s, the surrogate hippies would have been the heroes, or at least their belief system would not be fundamentally flawed.

Sgt. Howie may be as deluded as well (and he certainly is a prig), but he is not depicted as the murderous drones that the people of Summerisle are. I don't know why Raw Power cemented this for me. Its the first 70's record that I've listened to while doing this that doesn't feel like it still has a toe in the 60s (except for possibly Transformer). Even Funhouse, which came out in 1970, still felt tied to the previous decade. Raw Power is a record of the 70s, which a mindset changed and shaped by the events of the end of the last decade, and an nihilistic eye towards the future. Kind of like The Wicker Man.

41 Days of Music II

Ah, working on Saturday afternoon. Does it get any better? Of course it does, but what am I going to do about it?

I made it midway through 1970 today. At Folsom Prison, Abbey Road, Beggar's Banquet, Band of Gypsys, In the Court of the Crimson King. Good stuff all, but the album I enjoyed most was Pink Floyd's A Saucerful of Secrets. These guys have been so overplayed on Classic Rock radio that its hard to listen to their "commercially viable" records (Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, The Wall) and not be bored by over-familiarity.

I extended that feeling of overkill to their entire catalog and therefor haven't listened to any Pink Floyd in years. But listening to A Saucerful of Secrets helped me re-align my perception of them, removed from all the tired t-shirts and black light posters. It is really an incredible record; artistic and atmospheric without the pretentious overindulgence that would come to characterize their music in the 70s. It was the first record without Syd Barrett (though one of his songs, "Jugband Blues", is included in all its incongruous glory) and it marks their transition from his cracked-pop psychedelia to ethereal space-rock of their later records. I can't wait to re-listen to the rest of their early stuff.

Speaking of space-rock, I never doubted the greatness of King Crimson's early material, but it was nice to listen to In the Court of the Crimson King straight through again. I wish they had retained the same personnel from album to album, because the constantly changing line-up makes their back catalog a bit dicey. I love Islands and Starless & Bible Black, but am kind of ambivalent to the rest of their older material. Damn you Robert Fripp!

Got the Stooges' Fun House coming up, should be just the thing after all this prog-rock. Time to go home. Cheers.

41 Days of Music

So, I’m listening to all of the songs in my iTunes at work straight through chronologically. No point really, just bored. Right now I’m nine hours in (1967) and listening to Velvet Underground and Nico.* My library is 329 hours long. If I listen 8 hours a day I’ll be through in just over 41 days.

A few little notes. I like the Beatles more than Elvis. I like Elvis more than the Rolling Stones. I like the Rolling Stones more than I thought. “My Obsession” is an awesome song. Their first few records are really good, especially Between the Buttons. I forgot how much of their early material (and the Beatles) consisted of covers. I can’t imagine a young band today doing that and being taken seriously. Though most bands’ first records are kind of like covers anyway: a collection of influences played out, rather than built upon. But still, imagine if some indie band came along and their first record was almost all covers of songs from the past few years.

Capt. Beefheart’s Safe as Milk is really good, but is a once-in-a-while record for me, kind of like Rehearsing My Choir. I’d take Johnny Cash’s early, propulsive material over the Rick Rubin-produced funeral dirges any day. “Sunday Morning Coming Down” is still my favorite Cash song. Love that Kris Kristofferson.

I still remain mystified by Pet Sounds. I get it, its immaculately written and produced. It just doesn’t grab me, all the songs sound too similar. A recent article took Sgt. Pepper’s to task for being too removed, too aloof, while praising Pet Sounds for being deeply felt. What emo-style revisionist history bullshit. Sgt. Pepper's isn’t supposed to be about the Beatles themselves. Why else sing from both perspectives in “She’s Leaving Home”? There’s nothing in criticism I hate more than attacking something for what its not, rather than what it is, or wants to be.

I love Dusty Springfield. I could listen to "All I See is You" all day. I love Donovan too, but while he was writing “Mellow Yellow” Bob Dylan was writing “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”. Check and mate.

*Why does Nico get co-billing on an album that she didn't help write and sang only 3 songs on?

Way of the Sword

Ambrose and James are taking a Kendo class and put on a display last weekend on the deck. It somehow devolved into a chorus-line routine but whatever.

The purpose of Kendo is:
To mold the mind and body. To cultivate a vigorous spirit, And through correct and rigid training, To strive for improvement in the art of Kendo. To hold in esteem human courtesy and honor. To associate with others with sincerity. And to forever pursue the cultivation of oneself. This will make one be able: To love his/her country and society. To contribute to the development of culture And to promote peace and prosperity among all peoples.

That what it looks like to me.

Krokodil

Went down the Hillsborough River towards Dead River Park. Lots of gators down there. On the shore. In the water. They seemed rather bored with us.

Krokodil is the German word for alligator. I always found this rather odd since crocodiles and alligators are different species. Alligators have U-shaped heads, while crocodiles are V-shaped heads. An alligators upper teeth are visible when an it's mouth is closed, while a crocodile's mouth will reveal both upper and lower teeth. Crocodiles also tend to have green eyes, while alligators have brown ones. Lousy Germans.

Cairo

Cairo made the long trip here last night. She came all that way just to hide under the bed. But she loves the broom. As we all should.

Cairo is the capital of Egypt. It means either "The Vanquisher" or "The Triumphant" in Arabic. Seems a fitting name for a cat that hides under the bed. Maybe she'll be inspired and start vanquishing things. Hopefully not the rug.

Video Hippos

I didn't pay these guys much mind since they played through their set so quickly, but now I wish I had done more listening and less drinking. I would have been able to buy their record at the show.

I checked them out today at www.videohippos.com
You should too. That is if you enjoy The Unicorns, Elf Power, Dan Deacon or any other variety of similarly inclined music. Plus, they like Harry Potter AND Robocop. Can't argue with that.

They have some demos on the site at the moment, but their album Unbeast the Leash comes out 7/19/2007. Reason to get excited.

Dan Deacon @ The Drunken Unicorn

Just got back from the Dan Deacon show at the Drunken Unicorn. And to all those that missed out, let me just say that you, uh, missed out. It was an amazing show, more like being at a giant party than a concert. We were encouraged to pretend as if our parents had just got divorced and dad had a sweet new place and he was letting us use the basement for a party. In a weird way, it kinda felt like that.

From A to Z opened with a short set that was long on 'sass'. They did a pretty good version of "Killing in the Name". Fuck you I won't do what you tell me indeed. Video Hippos played fast and loose, and while I liked what I heard it all went by in so fast that it didn't have time to sink in. Deacon himself got to a shaky start with an off key, audience assisted take on the Star Spangled Banner. He told a story that somehow incorporated a car wreck, a cop pissing a swastika in the snow, and an entire universe made of hair. They ride around on combs there. Apparently he had never been to Atlanta before and was nervous that only 2 people would show up. Luckily he had plenty of napkins on hand. Also more than 2 people showed up. Song by song he built up steam and audience good will until he climaxed with a 10 minute rendition of 'Wham City" from his album Spiderman of the Rings (the highlight of the evening as well as the album). Passing out cloaks and lyric sheets is one way to get the audience involved and, hell, it worked.

Another highlight was the spirited dance off led by none other than Hawk Stevens (see below). Dan led the crowd in a countdown of ten 'Hawks' until zero when he said, "the hawk flies at midnight". Classic.

I wish he would have played a few more songs from Spiderman of the Rings, like "Woody Woodpecker" or "Pink Batman", but as he said after the first (and only) encore: "No more of this Bruce Springsteen encore shit". Take that Boss.

pop conventional wisdom

Some pop culture artifacts that have such unanimous approval that they become unimpeachable. Once ensconced in critical and social praise they become mummified by it and take on the air of holy relic: valuable, important, untouchable. One dare not question their legitimacy for fear of being labeled too dense to understand such a transcendent work of art.

Now I'm not a contrarian on principle. Its not like I write for slate.com. But there are some of these cultural artifacts that I just don't understand the praise for. The most recent being Pan's Labyrinth. Good movie. But not the masterpiece that I kept hearing it was. I even kept my expectations low since I knew the movie was getting so much hype. But now the dye has been cast and the movie will be revered as a classic for generations to come. Hot Topic will sell posters to each new generation of college freshman to hang on their wall so they can get some insta-cred for liking such a critically acclaimed foreign film. And the people who don't subscribe to the conventional wisdom will bite their tongues to not offend or else speak out and be labeled a dullard for not liking such a valuable and important film.

Others on my list:
I don't mean to say that I don't understand the social or historic importance of the following, I just don't understand why they are loved. Jar-Jar Binks, as the first all-CGI main character in a film, was an important innovation in film history, but I can't think of anyone who would say they love or revere him. Or maybe I just don't want to.

• The Godfather Trilogy
• Pet Sounds
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
  
• Scarface
• E.T.
• Ernest Hemingway
  
• The Sopranos
• Six Feet Under
• Arrested Development
• South Park
• The Catholic Church
• The Blues Brothers
• Led Zeppelin
  
• Missy Elliot
  
• Superman I & II
• Moby Dick
• Chocolate Cake
  

Battles / Mirrored

I signed up for a blogger account to take a survey. A LOST survey, to be precise. Ah, to live in the modern world and have time to waste on the geeky things in life. Anyway, I had to sign up to take this survey and I figured what the hell, I may as well make some use of it. So, until I lose interest I think I will use this as a clearing house for all my inane ramblings that anyone in my personal life would be rightly uninterested in hearing. You know, a blog.


So, my first post is devoted to an album recently purchased and put on heavy rotation, Mirrored by Battles. I can't say why I am so drawn to this record, other than it is damn good. And I'm kind of in the mood for precise, unemotional music. But hell, the other record on heavy rotation right now is The National's Alligator, so maybe its just a healthy contrast.

Tracks range from lengthly math rock exercises to adrenaline rush pseudo punk to glam rock to ambient that almost all feature early Ween-style vocal manipulation and precise, computer enhanced instrumentation. Despite the seeming incompatibility of styles it all adheres quite nicely. At times I think they sound like TV on the Radio if they were weaned on Kraftwerk instead of David Bowie - and if they didn't care if they sound socially or emotionally relevant. Or even coherent, for that matter. I couldn't tell you what any of the songs are about, because I don't think that is the point. These songs don't seem to exist as anything except pure expression, and on that level, they succeed.

I've read that Battles make "cyborg-rock", a lazy term meant to describe their blending of human instrumentation with technology. But that is not the sum total of their work. Inside each song, no matter how digitally enhanced, beats the heart of the songwriters. That makes their work infinitely less cyborg than, say, Linkin Park.