Airport Through The Trees

90s and their persistence

2012-02-16T11:57:00.003-05:00

I knew this back then but it's really only the persistent feeling that dance music, on purely cultural terms, ain't what it used to be (because "nothing is more revolting that the sight of the inheritors of the earth enjoying themselves"), that caused me to lose confidence and start reading Pitchfork almost a decade ago in the vain hope that there was something good I was missing. That's when the

The Past Is Ending Even If The Future Hasn't Arrived

2012-02-12T01:32:00.001-05:00

Your Thoughts Please

2012-02-08T23:45:00.003-05:00

Is there a cheap, major city with a legitimate arts scene in the United States?This chapter might be over soon.

Homesick Again?!?!

2012-02-01T15:59:00.002-05:00

I guess it's because it's 59 degrees in NYC on February 1st that I am thinking about DC again. I can't believe it's been six years since I used to come off my shift waiting tables on a weeknight, get a little stoned, and wander around downtown on one of the numerous beautiful spring evenings that are the real gift of DC weather listening to Souvlaki. Life is easier when you aren't trying.

...blue plaque above the place where I first heard "I Spy"...

2012-01-27T10:16:00.005-05:00

So excited. Yeah I spent too much money on the ticket and ended up not getting a second one for a friend TBD but, you know, I have been waiting on this for a long time now, and I don't think anyone I know personally who currently lives in America, never mind New York, has been. In that respect, not much has changed in my life in the last 16 years or so.I still remember seeing the posters in

I am not an "adult"

2012-01-12T15:24:00.001-05:00

Pragmatism is the valuation of the body above the soul.

Past 20,000 Views...

2012-01-12T13:40:00.003-05:00

... and temporarily in neutral. Maybe this will help:Your thoughts? Feelings? Especially if you haven't left any before.It's not navel-gazing. I am looking out and seeing a void. Fill it below.Love,:-p

I Love Corporate

2012-01-10T17:49:00.002-05:00

I sometimes fixate on chain restaurants. Living in the world capital of boutique utopia, I've come to experience most places I go not as the opposite of "themed" restaurants like Planet Hollywood but rather much more finely-tuned versions of the same. The difference being that the aggressive "theme-ing" of Brooklyn restaurants is based in exclusion, whereas corporate themes are always inclusive.I

There's No Need

2012-01-06T22:48:00.001-05:00

High School Poem (ca 1996)

2012-01-01T03:52:00.002-05:00

Love like longing,laughter lost.Oasis of oblivion;obtuse obsession.Vain, valiant valentine.Voluntarily vexed.Embark elongated embarrassment - expected: elation.

one exemption

2011-12-26T01:33:00.003-05:00

that the following is buried on a secondary blog instead of the last thing posted at pitchfork before the staff commits ritual suicide is why i agree with myself about music criticism mostly being a waste.guess whoSR writes that maybe the energy expended on the politics of pop should just go back to politics and that that may be a good thing. on some level i agree but then the same bland

my 2011 in music

2011-12-25T14:05:00.003-05:00

I don't think I can write a long post. I am sick of opinions. Especially mine.Like:Jacques GreeneChelsea WolfeClams CasinoCan't Decide:GrimesHate:Hipster House (ironic distance and dance music don't go together well but people who should know better seem to become enraptured by the pomo bullshit that some people in this scene use to defend this crap - makes me wonder what a lot of people liked

Notes from the underfoot

2011-12-20T10:40:00.003-05:00

I guess I haven't been writing because things just feel pretty fucking bleak. Although I have people to commiserate with, as close as here in NYC and as far away as the UK and sometimes Australia, it's not quite comforting to know that we are all in the same boat. It's actually quite distressing. If only because I can't imagine that anything could really be accomplished if we were all in the same

Bullisht

2011-12-19T03:34:00.004-05:00

Some dude said that life without music would be a mistake but I can't help but feeling that the opposite is true. In my experience, there is no human endeavor that has drawn the distinction between what life could be and what it is better than music. Compared to the sublime feeling I have had listening to music, the drudgery of daily life has been aberrant. I spent too much time listening to

Still arguing!

2011-11-26T19:05:00.002-05:00

It's been over 40 years since Miles Davis added instruments that required electricity into his music, over twenty-five years since the first techno record came out, almost twenty years since the first drum and bass record, and conversations like the below are still happening. Thankfully, not only does Mtume have a talent for dope early 80s r&b but also for comedy! As Miles would say, he's a

Ones and Twos

2011-11-13T23:53:00.004-05:00

I played some records last night as part of a belated birthday celebration for myself which managed to draw all of one friend besides the two who regularly DJ that particular night and were nice enough to hand a few hours off to me. All of you who know me personally and don't actually live in New York were not expected to come, of course.I played well. I played badly. I played a lot of records I

Fucking 31!

2011-11-11T22:34:00.002-05:00

How did this happen?

Accidental Break

2011-11-08T08:52:00.004-05:00

I guess I was always a Leftist but there's nothing better to turn abstract concepts into hardened beliefs than direct experience. Reading Rousseau in bed in high school not particularly worried about food was a bit different than trying to fit reading a similar work around less free time, less energy, less mental space for contemplation, etc. I was 16 and I think I can be forgiven somewhat for

Personal Ad

2011-11-03T23:27:00.002-04:00

When I am drunk I like to play air bass to "Love Sensation" by Loleatta Hollway. The Shep Pettibone mix, of course. All I want is a basement, a TV, a joint, a collection of classic Film Noir movies and a girl to cuddle and watch them with. But it ain't that simple, and neither are you. Oh well.

Night "Life"

2011-10-16T05:11:00.003-04:00

Of the 34 hours since I left work Friday evening, I have spent 8 at home and the rest out.1. Female - any girl who asks me what I do for a living - I just assume the worst. It's amazing, when you think about it, how underdeveloped the social skills of socially-popular attractive girls can be. 2. Male - there are times when it is appropriate to display your fondness for freestyle rap - but I have

OWS Personal Prelude

2011-10-04T11:49:00.003-04:00

I haven't gone yet. I will. I had started a post (a nice long one for a change) about my concerns. But, really, can anything I write have any significance without first-hand experience? I don't believe so. I do just want to throw this one thought out though, based on my experience with this site.While there are certainly a lot of truly tragic stories, many of these people seem to be angry that

American Exceptionalism

2011-09-29T22:44:00.002-04:00

The belief that American lives are worth more than others has cost more American lives than it has saved.

I Don't Know Why

2011-09-21T09:09:00.000-04:00

Budgeting for infinite desire just got easier. I now only need $1 trillion minus $350.

2011-09-16T16:33:00.005-04:00

Two amazing LPs are being reissued on vinyl. They are prohibitively expensive used.It's fucking awesome news.For me.For another blogger.I hope for you too.See.ICanBeHappyWell ForaminuteAnd a few more when I BUYBUYBUYBUYBUY and maybelisten ;-)

Not and Nuts

2011-09-15T11:24:00.006-04:00

Of course the Skrillex track sucks. Of course. It's not the extremity or even silliness of the sounds but the way they are deployed and arranged. It's intense like a war movie not like war. But I found myself at the RA forums reading (mistake one!) and I still stand by the idea that "the opposition" is bullshit. Everyone there taking great pains to say how they either used to or never listened to

A Different Ten Year Milestone

2011-09-14T12:06:00.006-04:00

I am actually tempted to go out and buy a copy of Spin for the first time since late 2000 when I was tempted out of another hiatus from the magazine by an article in this issue regarding UK garage by, of course, Simon Reynolds (no offense to him but it does seem a bit silly that there were so few writers covering dance music with any intelligence back then and only a few more now that I have to

A Decade Ago

2011-09-11T13:28:00.002-04:00

Don't have much to say about today. Something tragic happened a decade ago. Almost immediately, something seemingly very discrete became something else. And that something else is still happening. I say seemingly because I feel I was naive before 9/11. And certainly not alone. Smart bombs. Just war. Sanctions. Surgical actions. No-fly zones. I think I might have thought that nobody really died.

Heh... Urgh

2011-09-02T11:56:00.004-04:00

If I didn't work overtime, I would not even be able to afford to work at my job. OK that is a little dramatic. Better put: if I didn't work overtime, I would have virtually no discretionary income. Almost all of the income from my first forty hours of work each week goes to subsistence. Overtime is records, beers with friends, my weekly delivery of Chicken Tikka Masala (which I had to forego this

It wasn't that bad

2011-08-28T21:49:00.004-04:00

I don't want to make light of Irene as people did get hurt. But for me, it was nothing. Now I have a lot of bottled water and nothing to do with it but drink. I didn't go nuts stocking up. The aforementioned water. A bit of canned pasta. Smokes. That's it. After being one of the last neighborhoods to get plowed during the blizzard (wealthier neighborhoods had priority), it was nice to see a more

Law and Order

2011-08-24T12:37:00.002-04:00

Ironically, I have been watching the show a lot this week. The first season. Made back in 1990 when at least someone within the government (on the show) would protest when either the police or prosecutors wanted to or did break the law. As always, most people will get caught up in who is getting targeted ("Hey I am white and live in the suburbs this has nothing to do with me") and miss the

RIP Ashford

2011-08-23T19:07:00.001-04:00

My favorite today... could be any of a number of songs tomorrow...

It never will be the right time, will it?

2011-08-13T20:57:00.001-04:00

Lustily Oblivious!

2011-08-12T12:58:00.003-04:00

NYT on the Rockaways from a few months ago. Barrel: "Word of the cheap rents, easy commute and underpopulated beaches spread quickly, especially among beach-starved New Yorkers who find places like the Hamptons either too expensive or too bourgeois for their tastes. " (Bold is mine.) Fish: "a new grass-fed-burger shack" "single-gear bicycle, Zipcar and the occasional skateboard" "quinoa

Wealthy, educated "Leftists" in condescension shocker

2011-08-10T14:36:00.002-04:00

Pere Lebrun for the fucking win. I can't overemphasize how much I was waiting for that! Let's start from the middle. Virtually anyone who has used the word "trainers" in their article or blog post or whatever about the riots is disqualified from further comment*. As PL suggests, do you really think that taste, of all things, in looted goods, has any significance unless your goal is to either

MVP

2011-08-05T11:01:00.003-04:00

Another good post at a blog many of the people who link to me have, for some unknown reason, yet to link to. If you can stand me then why not someone smarter, more eloquent and more generous of thought?Interesting that a lot of the thoughts on the petty bourgeois that are quoted and summarized can apply equally to both right-wing agitation and the weakness of both the salaried, centrist liberal

Sober and Homesick

2011-08-02T16:07:00.005-04:00

Yeah so what's up. I've deleted around ten entries since last week. I'm not bleggalgazing. I'm navelgazing. I don't doubt the efficacy of the blog as much as the person writing it. My boss is smart to not pay me more. I'd save up $5K and quit. I really need six months in the woods. I've been tempted to re-read On The Road lately. I know it's a lie. There's no freedom. There's just better and

Drunk and Homesick

2011-07-25T23:54:00.001-04:00

Yeah. It's Monday. Wanna make something of it?(Not the best but all over PGC a couple of years before I left)

Principle Of The Second Man

2011-07-23T13:31:00.002-04:00

From Edmund Bacon's Design Of Cities:Any really great work has within it seminal forces capable of influencing subsequent development around it, and often in ways unconceived of by its creator. The great beauty and elegance of Brunelleschi's arcade of the Foundling Hospital... found expression elsewhere in the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, whether or not Brunelleschi intended this to be

Good Luck

2011-07-22T09:52:00.003-04:00

Seriously. I always teeter back and forth between not wanting to accept any solution besides the dismantling of the current system and more reformist options. Ultimately, I prefer the former, but I don't like the idea of being one of those Leftists who feels that the precondition for revolution is mass suffering. Maybe it is. But there's a fine line between believing that and needing the

Certainly Worthy...

2011-07-21T13:11:00.004-04:00

...Of three (online) pages! This is probably the most "objective" reporting I've read in the Times in a while. Perhaps they should reassign some of the H&G writers to cover Bradley Manning?Really, really, I am a pacifist. And I worry that, in the same way that some believe our treatment of Native Americans continues to haunt our nation, and is responsible for our aggressive yet fearful foreign

Hold Your Horses. All Of Them.

2011-07-18T08:35:00.004-04:00

Well. My computer at home has been broken for a few weeks and it is going to stay that way for a few more. I have a few entries that I have written but have not published because they have all been redundant, boring even. You really want to see me bitch about Krugman again? He has nothing new to add (ie he still assumes that Obama is trying to do right by the majority of the citizens of this

So Dope

2011-07-01T12:17:00.004-04:00

Dude! Really!I love this one. It's one thing to be constantly told to "support our troops" when I thought we were just stealing the oil for ourselves. But now! Man! Does this mean in our twisted world that we can now call George W. Bush a Communist? Perhaps the greatest American Communist ever? Who else has given so much to the Chinese state, the largest Communist nation on Earth?I really wish I

Office work is fucking tedious

2011-06-30T15:38:00.003-04:00

Good Songs Ruined By Good Movies

2011-06-28T21:40:00.003-04:00

1. Born Slippy/NUXX - I don't think I would actually play this out even without the movie connection - it's just not "my" Underworld track and never has been.2. Goodbye Horses - Jonathan Demme owes me an apology (not really - I heard this first in the damn movie too). Nice, dark, track that still sounds a lot more like what I always wanted Goth to sound like than Goth ever did. I wonder if it

Nostalgia is Internet

2011-06-28T21:28:00.003-04:00

So, as some/all of you know, The Rapture has released a new single from their upcoming album. I like it. It does feel weird, though. They have released music for thirteen years now. And listening to this, I honestly feel a bit of nostalgia for the early 2000s. Yes, the period can now be seen as the beginning of the "retromania" era, but, perhaps because the Internet was not quite as overused now,

Thoughtless

2011-06-28T14:58:00.001-04:00

Bravo!

2011-06-17T09:11:00.009-04:00

Clear as a bell.I don't understand that old argument "you didn't vote so you don't get to have an opinion!" I don't vote because I have an opinion.I think people think of voting too much like buying. It would be pretty bad form to walk into someone else's house and say it was ugly, or to get into someone's car and say it smells. Perhaps people think of "their" politician in the same

RIP

2011-06-10T23:29:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite voices.

Small Hola

2011-06-02T10:24:00.006-04:00

Belatedly, I am here to say something nice.Disaster Notes has kicked ass ever since its inception and I think the slightly broader themes engaged with there versus the author's old blog has improved the consistency of the writing.At some point I may take a stab at writing something more substantive regarding this post, but, for now, just read it and take it as an invitation to examine your own

Small World

2011-05-31T16:51:00.006-04:00

Good read over at Pere Lebrun.The world he describes reminds me of something small yet somehow pertinent that I deal with every day. At work, I read email constantly. It is the preferred method of communication even amongst people who sit next to each other physically. With this much email, a "house style" has developed, and the most infuriating aspect of it is that, in an otherwise fully-typed

The Other Kind of B & B

2011-05-26T16:45:00.012-04:00

I guess I have some readers and I am guessing some of you are here in New York so I am just going to throw this out there.In general, I'm not looking to whine. I just want the world to be a better place.And what would make my world a better place (dis-including the death of capitalism, the end of complacent bourgeois culture and having an apartment large enough for a cat to be happy in) is simple

Tolstoy on 21st century music...

2011-05-25T22:28:00.005-04:00

... and its "critics".......from Anna Karenin:He had a talent for understanding art and probably, with his gift for copying, he imagined he possessed the creative powers essential for an artist. After hesitating for some time which style of painting to take up - religious, historical, genre, or realistic - he set to work. He appreciated all the different styles and could find inspiration in any

Mor(e)on Malaise

2011-05-23T13:24:00.001-04:00

Since 1999? Uh-oH!

Hydrogen Hitz

2011-05-23T09:12:00.004-04:00

Here's Simon on an article by Stefan Goldmann on Little White Earbuds.What's most curious to me is the way these problems continue to feed on themselves. All the people reacting to the "fakery" of Beatport-b(r)(l)and-techno who have just bought themselves a few old synths towards doing something more "authentic" have already created their own overpopulated genre of Theo/Moodymann/Ron

I always feel like

2011-05-21T11:33:00.003-04:00

Depeche Mode are really one of the most underrated bands of the 80s aren't they (and the 90s to a certain extent)? At least, I always feel that way when I go through an intense phase of listening to them nonstop, which happens more than a few times a year, and is happening now.It's not like they weren't popular. It's not like they still aren't. But, perhaps like a heavy metal act (and, from what

Now that I am empty of thought...

2011-05-20T23:12:00.002-04:00

... I have created an email address for this damn blauwg.I think it a damn fine one, too.Check it out over yonder ->

Screen of Silence

2011-05-20T11:08:00.003-04:00

Well yeah I don't know what to say. Said better!1.2.I keep thinking I need a vacation and then I realize it wouldn't work because I would have to bring me along.

Disgusting

2011-05-17T12:17:00.003-04:00

I feel bad for the guy who has to read all my emails. It's so horrible that anyone would have to. I really feel sorry for the NSA and find it disgusting that they have had to take on such a heavy burden since 9/11. They need at least double the personel.There is no last straw, is there? It's just a bit disingenuous to bitch, isn't it? At this point, I'm just entertained. What's next? Please elect

Spending a pretty day inside with medication and Kleenex

2011-05-07T10:52:00.001-04:00

Now THAT'S what I call a re-election campaign!

2011-05-02T08:32:00.005-04:00

It's good to be incumbent, isn't it?As for me, you can already guess at my reaction.I long ago gave up any expectation that the judicial system would be involved in this process in any way, shape, or form, so that whole "it's not justice unless he is tried in criminal court" attitude belongs somewhere in a past that ended when Bush II won his second term.I guess I could look down my nose and call

Track List

2011-05-01T04:03:00.005-04:00

I played some records last night. That was the first time I have DJed publicly in five years, and the first time I have played out in New York City. I had, well, a decent time. I've played music, either as a DJ or as a drummer, off and on for probably about fifteen years now, and little has changed in terms of how I feel afterwards: empty. From the first time I played drums in a band in front of

Litany Unending

2011-04-28T09:42:00.003-04:00

Sometime last summer I finally got around to buying Legacy of Ashes, a fairly exhaustive, though not neutral, history of the CIA. I purchased the book from a bookstore in Grand Central Station before taking a train to some random town upstate so that I could spend the day sitting in a park staring at the Hudson and reading. I never finished the book. Although well written, the book was too

Alternate Universe

2011-04-26T22:12:00.000-04:00

What a mess by mmr421

Home Computer Working

2011-04-23T13:26:00.002-04:00

Vacation to reality is now over. Oh well. I got stuff to do. Music:

To all the lonely German ladies out there...

2011-04-19T12:10:00.002-04:00

... wanna get married?If, according to this article, minimum wage in Europe is $19, then I want to work at a McDonalds in Berlin and get a raise.I was found shivering in the corner of a construction site in Gowanus. I have had all my shots and am house-trained. I am good with kids and other animals and I like to lay my head in laps and purr. Please rescue me.I am witty and possess a

Couldn't have said it better myself...

2011-04-18T11:22:00.003-04:00

... and angry it even has to be said. The way things are going, the Republicans are going to have to be really creative to continue to find ever-more ludicrous schemes to scare Democrats into voting for people to do the things they would have done themselves.I would say that this should be the final nail in a very, very expansive coffin for anyone still thinking Obama might be "their man". But

Party Tonight

2011-04-16T17:38:00.001-04:00

... you know where if you know...

Democracy

2011-04-15T10:49:00.007-04:00

Democracy rethunkedThe difference between despotism and democracy is whether the leader kills his or her own innocent citizens or innocent citizens somewhere else.Or at least that is what it feels like living in the United States.

Tigers of Convenience

2011-04-14T11:25:00.004-04:00

I had a moment, maybe lasting as long as the time it takes to get from 4th Street to Canal on the A train, of thinking that maybe, just maybe, I should edit yesterday's post slightly towards the positive to take into account Obama's sudden desire to raise taxes on the wealthy to ensure the (not-really-threatened) fiscal solvency of the United States government. But that moment passed and my next

Your loyalty is the fertile soil...

2011-04-13T12:31:00.004-04:00

... from which the weeds sprout.Greenwald sets it straight (does Krugman read?)I guess that essay has already been written in various forms throughout the last few years, or even longer, really, but it continues to bear repeating. The "peace" Obama seems to be aiming for is the kind where everyone is equally unhappy.Given just how unprincipled Obama has been, (which, really, seems a lot more

$1.75 for wash, $1.00 for dry

2011-04-12T17:19:00.003-04:00

I've written a bunch of unpublished posts but don't know what to say anymore.You might be interested to know that there is actually something that makes me more cynical than the machinations of the power elite: Dancing With The Stars.I don't own a television. And I don't mean that in some boring Adbusters-bullshit sense, either. Given how cynical I am about my own future and the future of this

Three Thoughts

2011-04-05T12:13:00.002-04:00

1. Faith has something to do with believing in contradiction..."I still have a gut belief that Obama shares our values..."Why? Seriously!And what is it with this country and our fucking guts and our fucking hearts? What about our fucking brains? Maybe it's a Christian lineage thing? Like learning to love a god that is pretty ruthless but who ultimately is only doing it for "our own good"? I dunno

Addendum

2011-03-31T14:50:00.004-04:00

Ok so maybe this post was more a summary of trends over the last few decades. Seemingly, the right-wing rank and file might get some of what they want, and during a Democratic presidency, instead of during the time when Republicans controlled the executive and legislative branches. Ironic? Nope. Not even if you've barely been paying attention.And not ironic for two reasons:1. The obvious issue of

C'mon Now

2011-03-31T09:05:00.002-04:00

Libya a humanitarian intervention? Silber says "please" ie "bullshit". Also, give the man some money if you can. I plan on doing so in April; I hope you will too.

Friends of D

2011-03-30T11:15:00.002-04:00

Nice post regarding "what is to be done" by Leftists in regards to the Democratic party (comments good so far too). I just wanted to note that, in some ways, Republicans aren't really getting what they want either. At least not "our" counterparts.It would be better to talk of four groups (at minimum):1. Socially liberal financial/political elite (gay marriage OK as long as we can keep outsourcing

Segregation in Cities

2011-03-29T12:46:00.002-04:00

Article here.I'm surprised that DC did not make this list. And I didn't even feel surprised until I reached the end. I shudder to think of what it is like in the cities that did make the list. I live in one of them, yes, but, as the article mentions, New York is a little different due to density. And Brooklyn even more so. Except for Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights. Fuck those places.But DC... I

Still Sad

2011-03-28T11:18:00.003-04:00

Well. IOZ rightfully points out that what Herbert imagines as contradiction is actually quite consistent. But I am still sorry to see Mr. Herbert go (see bottom of page). Yeah, he is not quite the model of a rigorous Leftist intellectual, and still seems to believe in a concept of America that had and has nothing to do with oligarchy, imperialism and crony capitalism, one that may have always

Oh shit :-(

2011-03-25T11:15:00.001-04:00

Honestly, I kept hoping she would have her well-deserved revival in popular culture and make a bit of money and live happily ever after for a bit longer but...Loleatta Holloway RIPHer voice was truly inspirational to millions and it will be missed dearly.

Time Is Running Out

2011-03-25T10:57:00.002-04:00

I promise if you vote in my poll I won't bomb innocent civilians, no matter who or what wins!

Eighties Sixties Revival

2011-03-24T13:35:00.006-04:00

Simon asks whether "revivalisms from the past no longer seem so culpable"?It's a good question. I got invited out to see a band this weekend whose sole reason for being is supposedly to recreate pre-Rollins Black Flag. The person who invited me, someone who actually listened to and participated in the American hardcore scene back in the 80s, feels a little uneasy about going to see this band. I'm

Don't Vote For This Person

2011-03-24T11:54:00.002-04:00

Seriously.It's almost getting entertaining at this point. Like it's one thing to fuck this country continuously in uncomfortable places, another to break out so many different moves that the Kama Sutra is shamed. That deserves a perverse kind of respect. Only, I fear for what orgasm constitutes in this analogy.

Park and Fifth!

2011-03-24T09:39:00.003-04:00

I guess I have been wondering lately. Who the hell are the people at the very, very, very top of our elite? I mean, the kind of people who judge each other on exactly what street on the Upper East Side. Exactly what town in the Hamptons. Exactly when in Martha's Vineyard. Exactly who in DC. The higher up you go, the more subtle and significant the gradations. Better to have a townhouse mansion or

Toddler or 85?

2011-03-23T15:21:00.006-04:00

I find myself increasingly cranky, overly-sensitive (I swear, if the phone rings while I am typing this my blood pressure will rise significantly), and I need a nap. The process of becoming poorer is interesting because the ambitions that one cannot quite achieve also become less costly. The vacation I used to not be able to afford was a trip to Europe or South America. Now, I would love the

I don't know why...

2011-03-22T10:01:00.005-04:00

...but today seems like the most depressing news day in a long time. As an equal-opportunity cynic, it doesn't seem wrong for me to both feel anger towards the launching of another military adventure on behalf of "freedom" and also towards the predictable array of people, myself included, saying the same thing as myself and the same thing that they usually say and the same thing over and over

Not quite cold turkey

2011-03-21T09:27:00.004-04:00

My computer at home is not working anymore. I am not going to fix it for a while in order to ensure that my time away from work is spent more efficiently. I am still going to waste my time at work, of course!I guess I really haven't commented on current affairs in a while. Suffice it to say:Japan - It's a tragedy. I'm glad to see that the people I don't know but whose blogs I read are doing well

Foul Mood

2011-03-17T15:46:00.002-04:00

I guess there are a few different reactions to feeling trapped. I can think of three right now but I'm sure there are more. The first is to simply make the best of a bad situation, the second is to lament that situation, and the third is to try and break down the walls.Mostly, and for various reasons, I have oscillated between the first and second, but now I am trying the third and I am

Last Solo

2011-03-14T20:04:00.001-04:00

I dunno. I just haven't had anything to say about anything for a while. So here is some good music. Guitar solo. Yes. Enjoy.

Too Bad

2011-03-11T12:04:00.004-05:00

I guess it may not happen. Sarah Palin might not be our next president (according to here via here). And just last weekend I came up with the perfect campaign slogan*:Because the tension is unbearable... Apocalypse Now!*perfect, at least, for disillusioned Leftists! Actually, dear President Obama, I will vote for you. All I ask for is two NM first-press copies of every Talk Talk album on vinyl,

Introducing Sociology

2011-03-08T11:58:00.002-05:00

Following on from the themes brought up at BLCKDGRD today, especially that of the moral corruption of our elite, I thought it might be nice to give credit to Stanley Kubrick's underrated film Eyes Wide Shut, which seems to track the contours of our particular decline very well, even if decline and moral corruption are far from unprecedented events. Whether you feel tempted to (re)watch the film

LOL (GTR P3 of ?)

2011-03-05T14:37:00.005-05:00

HaHaAnyways, I was thinking about the following song all day yesterday, thinking about strategy, about when I might break this particular one out. All under the assumption... well, whatever. But, coincidentally, I heard this song at a bar last night, even subtly drummed along on the bar, and became rapt, beatific at around 2:52, and then, of course, uncontrollably overjoyed at 3:21. Perhaps

Guitar Solos Pt. 2 of ?

2011-03-04T22:48:00.003-05:00

I'll add some more links tomorrow but tonight you get this, one of my favorites, and though I have no citation, I vaguely remember reading an interview with Ian MacKaye where he stated that this is one of his favorites as well. What I love most about this is the way the articulated notes are constantly threatening disintegration.

Weekend is here

2011-03-04T17:31:00.003-05:00

I don't care how "irresponsible" I look leaving at exactly 5:30. And neither does Bez.

...though

2011-03-04T13:43:00.003-05:00

... fine so more anger and/or self-abasement in music again, yes? But remember, twee was a reaction to the violence of hardcore scene, and a necessary one. Is it really necessary to have to face flying beer bottles, mosh pits, etc., just to have good music/shows again? Premonitions of misogyny...Oh that's why I like dance music, heh! Intensity, yes and being punched, no.EDIT: Ok misogyny maybe a

Denial

2011-03-04T13:10:00.003-05:00

OneTwoAt the risk of being even more "me too", as I always feel like I am whenever S or C have something mean to say about music, yeah I hate this shit.This stuff has been around for a while now - I think some of it at least ties into the whole "Pet Sounds is the greatest album ever" feeling that seemed really prominent a decade/decade-and-a-half ago. I feel this stuff more akin to that than Beat

Food Court

2011-03-03T23:51:00.003-05:00

Yeah.The internet is just an excuse. I think most bands have had good record collections since the beginning of records. It would be pretty foolish to be, say, a rock guitarist and not listen to Django Reinhardt, or Grant Green, or Sonny Sharrock, and I bet a lot of the great guitarists who don't sound like any of the aforementioned artists only don't sound like them because they were able to

Guitar Solos Pt. 1 of ?

2011-03-03T22:46:00.003-05:00

Well Simon has invited Carl, and anyone, to post some of their favorite guitar solos. I'll make a few contributions, though I think most of mine will be pretty typical. Thread so far (let me know if you posted about this and I missed it):1234 - it's worth noting, and is noted in the comments, that, according to Our Band Could Be Your Life, the caller is a pathological liar who called the show

Job Summary

2011-03-02T11:18:00.002-05:00