Category: Music

I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Just when I was getting my music inbox under control, it’s ballooned again, mostly because I finally got around to reading an Esquire article that I’d ripped out and left on my desk a month ago. It listed a few bands — the Cold War Kids and Murder By Death — whose myspace pages intrigued me enough to download their albums; if I like them (and early indications are that I will) I’ll begin the search for way to buy their obscure albums.

There are still more myspace pages in that article too; for now here’s the current playlist (including what might be the greatest album title of all time, courtesy of Yo La Tengo):

  • johnny cash – a hundred highways
  • yndi halda – enjoy eternal bliss
  • yo la tengo – i am not afraid of you and i will beat your ass
  • mates of state – bring it back
  • ladyhawk – ladyhawk
  • murder by death – in bocca al lupo
  • cold war kids – up in rags
  • cold war kids – with our wallets full
  • cold war kids – mulberry street

.:.

Connections seem to be popping up for me all over the place on LinkedIn.com. My brother invited me…more than a year ago, I think, and I didn’t pay attention until recently, and suddenly everyone seems to be using it. My friend Joe pointed out that it’s almost as gay as Friendster. He’s right…but it’s still funny to see all the ex-Delanoids and remember some names from the past.

[tags]esquire, johnny cash, yndi halda, yo la tengo, mates of state, ladyhawk, murder by death, cold war kids, linkedin, friendster, delano technology[/tags]

rrr

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Let’s Get Out Of This Country, the new Camera Obscura album, is pretty good. I bought it last night. Downloaded it on Soulseek around 8:00, listened to it between 8:30 – 9:30 while I did work, liked it, signed on to eMusic and downloaded the real version around 9:35.

.:.

Also good (so far…I’m only a few songs in) is Or from a Japanese band called Spangle Call Lilli Line. I don’t know what it is with me and Japanese bands (or at least Japanese lyrics) lately. I heard about them on an old 75minutes podcast; I’m several months behind but doing my best to catch up.

.:.

It’s fun to meet and talk to people who’re smarter than you, but it’s a little intimidating when they’re a freaking student. I mean, I’d like to think I’m a pretty smart guy; I read Wealth Of Nations, and I think I even understood it. It was about girls, right? Just kidding. Anyway, I should just never google people before I meet them; it’s depressing how little I’ve accomplished at the age of 30, let alone 20-whatever.

[tags]camera obscura, emusic, spangle call lilli line, 75minutes, wealth of nations, paraphrasing high fidelity[/tags]

An apology in point form

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Sorry, I’ve been too busy to blog anything terribly interesting because:

  • The course I’m doing right now is killer. I was talking to a classmate today, and he concurred: the workload for this one is much, much heavier than anything else we’ve done. It’s interesting, but it’s time-consuming. I guess I was due for one of these; too many so far have been crazy easy.
  • It’s the summer. Days that aren’t hotter than the hubs of hell draw me outside.
  • Family’s been visiting, and family trumps blogging.
  • I seem to be reading (for fun, in addition to for school; I finally finished Cluetrain, Planet Simpson and No War: America’s Read Business In Iraq) again, not to mention finally putting a dent in our Zip queue.
  • Work is busy…not so much because I have impending deadlines, but because I feel a bit rejuvenated. It’s just as frustrating and bureaucratic as ever, but I seem more determined than ever to kick bureaucracy’s ass. I’ll let you know how that goes.

However, I can report some things that grabbed my eye today, but only in point-form:

Music:

  • I’m going to miss Asobi Seksu at the Horseshoe in September as I’ll be away on course. Frig.
  • There’ll be a new Trail Of Dead album in October.
  • The Mercury Prize shortlist has been announced, and I couldn’t give a toss about any of the finalists. The only one I liked at all is the Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan album, and even that wasn’t great.
  • The Weeds theme song next season will be sung by a different artist every week. Lined up so far: Death Cab For Cutie, Regina Spektor, Elvis Costello and Jenny Lewis. Cool. “Little boxes…”
  • The new Johnny Cash disc, American V…magnifique.

Movies:

Sports:

  • Bill Simmons has picked a favourite English Premiership League team. He settled on Tottenham Hotspur, because “If London was the Corleone family, Manchester United was Sonny and Arsenal was Michael, then the Spurs would be Fredo with a little more street smarts.” Brilliant.

Right, that’s it. Back to work for me.

[tags]cluetrain, planet simpson, no war, asobi seksu, trail of dead, mercury prize, isobel campbell, mark lanegan, weeds, johnny cash, clerks ii, lady in the water, arrested development movie, all your snakes are belong to us, bill simmons, tottenham hotspur[/tags]

Queasy

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Well, we’re an unhealthy bunch here at the Dickinson ranch. I felt a little wonky all day; around 3:30 I felt fully wonky and left work, came home and laid on the couch until Nellie arrived. We had a summerlicious dinner tonight with some friends and I didn’t want to miss it, but didn’t really feel up to eating. I was actually a little dizzy until we got to the restaurant (Goldfish) and I had some bread and water. Now that I’ve eaten (it was pretty good, but not great) I feel better, but still just a little off. Nellie, on the other hand, started feeling nauseous toward the end of dinner and got progressively worse. I’ll just be happy if we can make it through the day sans vomit.

.:.

A phrase I never thought I’d type: Mogwai will be on the Miami Vice soundtrack.

.:.

More than 200 dead in Lebanon now, including several Canadians. The Guardian seems surprised that western powers haven’t intervened, but they shouldn’t be. The US has always back Israel very heavily; they won’t move to stop any Israeli attacks (within reason), and no other western or european country will do anything unless America makes a move first. Or perhaps what seemed in the Guardian like surprise was just veiled criticism?

I just bought a copy of Munich yesterday and began watching it today. I wonder if Ehud Olmert struggled with the moral justification of his reciprocal response as much as Golda Meir struggled with hers? I’m amazed anyone runs for political office in the middle east, knowing that you could — and probably will — have to make decisions like that.
[tags]goldfish, mogwai, miami vice, lebanon, canadians, israel, ehud olmert, golda meir[/tags]

The best music of the year (so far)

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

In no particular order:

  • amy millan . honey from the tombs
  • asobi seksu . citrus
  • band of horses . everything all the time
  • neko case . fox confessor brings the flood
  • regina spektor . begin to hope

Wait…shit. That was alphabetic.

And, to a leser extent:

  • cat power . the greatest
  • jolie holland . springtime can kill you
  • mogwai . mr. beast
  • raising the fawn . the maginot line
  • the yeah yeah yeahs . show your bones

[tags]amy millan, asobi seksu, band of horses, neko case, regina spektor, cat power, jolie holland, mogwai, raising the fawn, yeah yeah yeahs[/tags]

Be afraid of the old; they'll inherit your soul

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

I’m plowing through my music “inbox” now. Here’s the latest poop:

  • Danny Michel – Valhalla: not impressed. Not bad, but it’s a little wimpy for me.
  • The Pipettes – We Are The Pipettes: ptoo. I wasted a good 15 minutes skipping through this album.
  • John Frusciante – Sphere In The Heart Of Darkness: three good songs out of seven, but one of those songs (which was highly recommended by my brother) called “Walls” is amazing. If you’re into screaming, that is.
  • Primal Scream – Riot City Blues: again, couple of good songs and the rest was unremarkable.
  • Tilly & The Wall – Bottoms Of Barrels: see above. After the first couple of songs, you think, “OK, we get it, your percussion section is a tap dancer. Tell them to go take a break or somethin’…”
  • Jose Gonzalez – Veneer: excellent. Stark & lovely, just one guy and his guitar. It’s mellow but fiery.

I also keep listening to the new Regina Spektor album Begin To Hope over and over. It’s broader than her earlier stuff; “Bettter” sounds almost radio-friendly, “That Time” sounds PJ Harvey sans bass, and “Apres Moi” sounds like Fiona Beethoven. Or Ludwig von Apple. Your pick.
[tags]danny michel, the pipettes, john frusciante, primal scream, tilly & the wall, jose gonzalez, regina spektor[/tags]

Hell all

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That subject line is a lot funnier if you worked at Delano.

.:.

Word of advice: if you should find yourself drinking a chocolate chiller from Second Cup (or any other similar frozen drinky thing), restrain yourself from sucking it all back in one or two gulps. Today I inhaled so much ice in one go that I temporarily incapacitated myself. I’d hate to see it happen to you too.

.:.

My music “inbox” is getting out of hand again: Be Your Own Pet, Danielson, Danny Michel, Jesu, John Frusciante, Jolie Holland, Primal Scream, Thom Yorke, Tilly & The Wall and a few others that wouldn’t fit on my memory key. Is there some part of my music habit that I can outsource? Perhaps my evaluation of new music can be offshored?

[tags]delano, second cup, enjoyment outsourcing[/tags]

The best albums of 2005, now that I've had some time to think about it.

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment
  1. sleater-kinney . the woods
  2. heartless bastards . stairs and elevators
  3. duke spirit, the . cuts across the land
  4. the dandy warhols . odditorium or the warlords of mars
  5. low . the great destroyer
  6. the constantines . tournament of hearts
  7. the new pornographers . twin cinema
  8. spoon . gimme fiction
  9. wolf parade . apologies to the queen mary
  10. …and you will know us by the trail of dead . worlds apart

…….aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the rest of the best. Or best of rest. Gaadshgihsoghhwhatever.

  • black mountain . black mountain
  • black rebel motorcycle club . howl
  • bright eyes . i’m wide awake it’s morning
  • death cab for cutie . plans
  • fiery furnaces, the . ep
  • ladytron . witching hour
  • lcd soundsystem . lcd soundsystem
  • living things . ahead of the lions
  • metric . live it out
  • nine inch nails . with teeth
  • pelican . the fire in our throats will beckon the thaw
  • rogue wave . descended like vultures
  • sigur ros . takk…
  • silver mt. zion . horses in the sky
  • sufjan stevens . illinoise

Again, as before, there were three great discs that I didn’t include because they’re compilations or live recordings: Hey! by The Pixies, Government Commisions: BBC Sessions 1996-2003 by Mogwai and Sunday Nights: The Songs Of Junior Kimbrough.

[tags]best music of 2005[/tags]

Canada, O Canada, I've never been your son

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

It occurred to me tonight that I bought Horses In The Sky by A Silver Mt. Zion over a year ago and have listened to it only once. I’m listening to it again right now, and I feel as if I’ve betrayed someone for letting it lie fallow for so long. “Teddy Roosevelt’s Guns” is just…an incredible song.

I feel a “best albums of 2005: revised” post coming on.

[tags]a silver mt zion[/tags]