The best music of 2006 (so far)

In alphabetical order only.

  • asobi seksu . citrus
  • band of horses . everything all the time
  • neko case . fox confessor brings the flood
  • the heartless bastards . all this time
  • jolie holland . springtime can kill you
  • amy millan . honey from the tombs
  • mogwai . mr. beast
  • rainer maria . catastrophe keeps us together
  • regina spektor . begin to hope
  • the yeah yeah yeahs . show your bones 

Interesting…I just noticed that all the singers there are female, except Band Of Horses (who’s singer is high-pitched enough to mistake for female sometimes) and Mogwai, who barely sing at all.
[tags]best music of 2006[/tags]

Sleaziness = ratings

The wall-to-wall JonBenet Ramsey coverage is as baffling as it is disgusting. Yes, it’s tragic that a little girl was killed; it always is. But would the news networks consider it as tragic if she weren’t a tiny white [shudder] “beauty queen”? Or if they hadn’t harangued the parents with insinuations of guilt?

Is this story more important than the cease-fire in Lebanon? Than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? Than the looming problems of Iran or North Korea? On CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and CTV (all linked above) these stories were buried underneath such breaking news as a chocolate virgin mary and Justin Timberlake dissing the latest American Idol chum*.

I guess I’m not surprised; the networks are just giving the idiots what they want. I’m just disappointed that they all sink to the bottom of the cesspool, hand in hand with smiles on their faces.

* don’t even get me started on the irony.

.:.

Wired has some details about the Microsoft MP3 player (aka, the Zune). If that thing has 80+ GB of storage, I might be getting me one.

[tags]jonbenet ramsey, network coverage, chocolate virgin mary, justin timberlake vs. taylor hicks, zune[/tags]

(It's A) Departure

Man, the new Long Winters disc Putting The Days To Bed is a disappointment. When I Pretend To Fall just straddled that line between mainstream and interesting so well…but this new one just sounds so boring. Vanilla. Plain. Easy. It’s too bad.

Also too bad: I think the first song on the new Matthew Friedberger disc just gave me a seizure.

[tags]long winters, matthew friedberger[/tags]

Snapping out of it

I am not in a good mood. I’m trying to rectify that situation with music. Specifically, this music:

  • “Quito” by the Mountain Goats
  • “Letter From An Occupant” by the New Pornographers
  • “I Want Another Enema” by the Hidden Cameras (note: I meant to select “Mississauga Goddam”, but missed, and can’t be bothered to fix my mistake. Still, this is a reasonably upbeat song, if not exactly the message I’m looking for…)
  • “Soon Enough” by the Constantines.

Those usually do the trick.

UPDATE: nope, those didn’t do it. Added these:

  • “Neighbourhood #1” by the Arcade Fire
  • “Red Sea” by Asobi Seksu
  • “Mystery and Misery” by Rainer Maria
  • “Dry The Rain” by the Beta Band 

Did I mention that I’m listening to them on high volume? Like, really high.
[tags]bad mood, mountain goats, new pornographers, hidden cameras, constantines[/tags]

4.48 Psychosis

Damn. It’s already gone by, and I was too busy anyway, but I’d liked to’ve seen this Summerworks play: 4.48 Psychosis. I was attracted to it partly because it got a great review in Now Magazine, but also because a very cool Tindersticks song was based on the original play itself and even the song is haunting. It sounds horribly dark and disturbing; I regret not trying to see it.

[tags]4.48 psyychosis, tindersticks, summerworks[/tags]

Apparently I listen to a lot of music on Fridays

July:

  • be your own pet . “thresher’s flail”
  • be your own pet . “we will vacation, you can be my parasol”
  • belafea . “tara”
  • cold war kids . “hang me out to dry”
  • cold war kids . “hospital beds”
  • cold war kids . “saint john”
  • dears . “ticket to immortality”
  • jesu . “dead eyes”
  • jesu . “silver”
  • john frusciante . “communique”
  • john frusciante . “sphere”
  • john frusciante . “walls”
  • ladyhawk . “the dugout”
  • mischa . “cubicle”
  • mission of burma . “2wice”
  • my latest novel . “sister sneaker sister soul”
  • primal scream . “country girl”
  • primal scream . “dolls”
  • primal scream . “the 99th floor”
  • spangle call lilli line . “b”
  • spangle call lilli line . “piano”
  • spoon . “idiot driver”
  • spoon . “mountain to sound”
  • sunset rubdown . “stadiums and shrines ii”

[tags]loose music[/tags]

…aaaaaaaaaaaaaand June

  • blowoff . “hormone love”
  • bruce springsteen . “john henry”
  • curve . “chinese burn”
  • faders . “no sleep tonight”
  • fiona apple . “not about love”
  • justine electra . “defiant & proud”
  • kristin hersh . “echo”
  • liars . “the other side of mt. heart attack”
  • ll cool j . “mama said knock you out”
  • matt pond pa . “holiday road”
  • mercers . “sexy youth”
  • mercers . “use for abuse”
  • smoosh . “find a way”
  • thom yorke . “and it rained all night”
  • thom yorke . “the clock”
  • tilly & the wall . “bad education”
  • tilly & the wall . “rainbow in the dark”

[tags]loose music[/tags]