God Called in Sick Today

Tonight while playing the Sims obsessively I have been on an AFI binge. It is strange, after AFI stop touring and take a long break I tend to not listen to them much or if at all but when the buzz about a new record starts happening I get right back into their catalog in anticipation. I have listened to most of their records tonight except for the first few because they are very different and not very good.
The reason they continue to be my favorite band, since I was in middle school, is because they embrace change and apply that to their music. Every single record is a progression, they really do not stay with the same sound very long. If you listen to the records in order you can very much see that. They started to take shape to what they are now in "Black Sails in the Sunset", still my favorite record because it was the first one I ever heard. Davey Havok is also an amazing lyricist and I love his style and often dark tone. All in all, good stuff. I would supply downloads but I am much too lazy. Enjoy some lyrics to one of their best songs...

Let's admire the pattern forming. Murderous filigree.
I'm caught in the twisting of the vine. Go ascend with ivy, climbing.
Ignore and leave for me the headstone crumbling behind.
I can't help my laughter as she cries.
My soul brings tears to angelic eyes.
Let's amend the classic story, close it so beautifully, I'll let animosity unwind.
Steal away the darkened pages, hidden so shamefully.
I'll still feel the violence of the lines.
I can't stand my laughter as they cry.
My soul brings tears to angelic eyes.
And miles away my mother cries.
Omnipotence, nurturing malevolence.

Why?

I really don't know why I don't update this thingy more. I do have a lot on my mind, and much to say but the times when I feel like typing are often not the times I am thinking so much. I can only do one at a time really.
Also my sleeplessness has made my brain a bit fuzzy. I tend to not go to sleep until there is already daylight and I only wake up an hour before I have to be at work, or when someone interrupts my sleep. It is a grueling cycle I cannot seem to break. Like today, I woke up at 7:30am because I passed out the night before due to not sleeping the night before that. You would think I would be tired now, but alas I am still awake at nearly 4am. Considering I have to work at 6am it doesn't give me much time to sleep.
Also I recently bought the Sims again because when you don't have your own exciting life you might as well live vicariously through a two dimensional computer being. My first Sim got married and then his pregnant wife died due to exhaustion. The second was a couple except their children were taken away by the social services. Dreary really. Such is life I suppose. A good essay about the Sims and its relation to actual life can be found in Chuck Klosterman's "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs", quite possibly one of my favorite books. Go buy it and read it, especially the Sims essay.
I have been kind of lazy lately, I have not read many books or listened to much new music. I really have to get back on that, I buy so many books online and then they just sit in my room, many are currently under my bed waiting to be read. I bought a collection of essays and articles from a music writer, I forget his name right now, as well as many books of varied themes, mostly nonfiction because I like the truth more. I also prefer memiors to almost anything. But even having said that Kurt Vonnegut remains to be my favorite writer ever, even if his books are crazy and fictional.
I should probably sleep.

Another day, another dollar

Yo.
Not much is new. I quit my second job because I am done with making ingrateful people's coffee and having them talk to me like I am a little kid. I do like The Limited now, it is kind of a challenge, how many people can I pursuade into opening a high interest credit card? I don't really like when people ask my opinion about how something looks on them, it is very awkward when they look like a hot mess and I have to try and be honest while being nice. Tricky.
I continue to be nocturnal. I can honestly sleep better during the day, I always fall asleep fast in the middle of the day but then I sit here for hours trying to fall asleep at night. It is 3 am right now and I am wide awake, hm.
In music related happenings I have been listening to a lot of Death from above 1979 this week. They only had one full legnth release and a handful of EPs before they disbanded so I have been getting quite familiar with You're a Woman, I'm a Machine. I would post mp3s but they are on my ipod and not my itunes. I am getting an external harddrive for christmas to store my music on so I will have many many more downloads in the future. But anyway, listen to "Blood on our hands" and "Black history month", righteous.

good stuff

http://www.rollingstone.com/blogs/smokingsection/2008/12/rapture-inevitable-as-creed-re.php#more

Oh Tuesday

Well today is the best day of the week, new music tuesday. I just bought Kanye West's latest 808s & Heartbreak I am eager to listen to it but am too tired to actually give it a fair listening right now. Everyone should buy it regardless, "Love Lockdown" is a great song, I am not sure why he randomly decided to sing but it isn't half bad, lucky for him. I suppose that is all, maybe I will post a few mp3s later.

migraines and more

Numbers are one of the few things that can instantly give me a headache. It ranks high amongst the smell of erasable ink, and looking at a computer screen in the dark. Business is interesting and surely a place in which to make money but I cannot imagine looking at a computer screen full of numbers for eight hours or more a day.
I am sitting i my business reporting class and I was honestly paying attention for the first hour and a half but now, the last fifteen minutes, is much too painful. My mind is boggled, puzzled, fuzzy.
Time for some advil.

Insomnia 2.0

So a music update.
I have been listening to a lot of metal and hardcore lately for really no reason. I guess sometimes listening to screaming voices and guitars is just right. I have listened to the new Escape the Fate record and really don't have much of an opinion. Their first record was better but different, the new vocalist does not fit their sound but the record wasn't terribly painful. I am sure someone with a better understanding of their music could go deeper than that.
A song I have been feeling lately is Paramore's "Decode". I have never been a Paramore fan but I do have to admit their most recent record was pretty good and this single off the Twilight soundtrack is actually very good. If their next record goes in a similar direction I am eager to hear it.
Also in music news AFI has completed writing their 8th record and will now begin recording. This is good news but does not necessarily give us a time frame as to when it will be released, Decemberunderground took 3 years to create. My best guess is that it will be out by summer, I can't imagine it will take an entire year to record. I am always eager to hear anything from AFI or course, I think they are one of the most dynamic bands music has seen in a long time, their sound changes drastically between records.

Below are links to download some songs I enjoy lately
Paramore- "Decode"

Morrissey- "The youngest was the most loved"

Needle in the hay

Today 5 years ago Elliott Smith tragically died. Listen to his music today and remember the man for his contribution as one of the best songwriters of his generation. I look at the "xo" tattoo on my arm everyday and think about how much his music has meant to me and all of his fans around the world. Miss you Elliott.

Hm.
Insomnia is not really fun, sometimes when you lie awake there is a lot of self realization going on. Not sure I like that too much.

Annoying

I will break the usual format of this blog to vent about something.
Usually half.com is a great place to buy and sell crap, I have bought tons of stuff and sold hundreds of things. Recently however I have purchased 2 books and neither of them have arrived, even after over a month since I ordered them! So aggravating. Even more so is that the sellers will not respond to any of my messages forcing me to file a claim on the site which takes forever to review. Luckily both items were like 10 bucks but still, I would like to have the books or the money. By all means half.com rules, but just check the seller's feedback before because one of them had a bunch of complaints and if I had seen that I would have never placed the order.

standing in a hurricane

I don't have much of anything to share today. I was attempting to make a playlist that you would be able to download but the program to get music from my ipod is operating much too slow. I made a short list of songs about sleep because I am never asleep at normal times and such. A nice theme list if you will. But instead I will just share with you one song I am digging right now, great record, great artist of course.

Beck -"Gamma Ray"

chicken

Well.
I have no excuses not to write in here, really. I think of all sorts of things I want to investigate and write about while at work but I usually forget relatively soon after. What is up with me lately? Nothing that interesting. School is good. I love my Business Journalism class because I love economics strangely, my drawing class is good but I am terrible, my "Media and the Holocaust" class is interesting in a morbid way, and Beat Reporting is not interesting nor fun because spending time writing stories about things I do not care about and not getting them published in any form is a huge waste of time. Fun stuff. Also my job is going well, it is very VERY boring though, Dunkin Donuts prepped me to be used to ridiculously early hours, long shifts, and trying to move as fast as possible. I think I may get a second job because The Limited really only gives out 5 hour shifts and thats like 20 hours a week and that just isn't enough, I would ask for more but it is so painfully boring I don't think my mind could tolerate that. I thought I wanted a job that came with a little more respect, customers at Dunkin treat you like you are scum but now I find I really don't care so much about that, I need a job that will keep me busy and pay more.
Oh and the new Kings of Leon record comes out Tuesday so you can be sure to see something written by me about it on here in the coming week.
Ta-ta for now.

Lazy

So its nearly 5 a.m. and I am still awake, figures. I slept til 3pm today so it makes sense I guess. Today I started a new job at The Limited which is kind of boring but acceptable. I have kind of neglected updating this little piece of cyberspace but don't frett (and why would you) I will update more frequently. As far as music goes I recently bought the new Underoath cd and it is excellent as expected. I would not recommend buying if you dislike hardcore or don't have an open mind. They are really one of the only hardcore bands I can tolerate because unlike most hardcore bands they can actually write real music. Many bands in the genre just play as fast as possible and scream as loud as possible thinking that sounding as "hard" as possible can make up for the fact that they can only play a handful of chords or that their "singer" has a terrible voice. Underoath is quite different their music has dimension, and their lyrics actually have discernable meaning. They are a christian band which is not appealing at all to me but it is easy to see past it. Anyway, I do suppose I will at least try and sleep before my alarm goes off in 2 hours for work.

Music you should be listening to

Crystal Castles

Crystal Castles is a Canadian duo, Ethan Kath and Alice Glass, that create music one would expect to find in the alternate universe of a video game. Their first single "Alice Practice" (of which the vocals were recorded without Glass knowing during practice) brought attention from record labels which lead to them signing with Last Gang Records. They have one self-titled full legnth record released in March 2008 in North America and a month later overseas. Their sound is definitely not fully developed but it is definitely fun and interesting to listen to, and dance to. They dapple with typical techno beats layered with what could very well be modified sounds from your favorite video games. Alice Glass's vocals are just the opposite of fellow female electronica vocalist Alison Goldfrapp of Goldfrapp. Her vocals delivered in a sing/speak method and then completely distorted. Their sound borders between frantic sounds of rave and the moody, churning industrial songs. In short, its dark and creepy but you can still dance to it.
Obviously electronica is not my strongest genre, however you should check them out.
you can see a video for "Crimewave" here

Like a Prayer

Today the Kings of Leon released the video for their first single off Only By the Night, "Sex on Fire". The video is the exact opposite of what I would expect them to do but not in a bad way. I think it was directed by Sophie Muller and it features the band in some sort of warehouse filled with religious allusions and even an excorcism. Strange considering they usually do performance videos. Even with all the weirdness its still manages to be an incredibly hot video. Go figure. Anyway, check it out below, and buy the new record when it comes out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHhhcKxflMY

Coming Soon

Starting Friday I will begin a weekly music review. Every Tuesday I will buy a new release and post a review of it on Fridays here. Keep in mind I will pick records that suit my taste and that I want because I am not about to pay for a record I am not interested in initially.
Stay tuned.

Time moves so fast

I came across something I bookmarked long ago today that I figured I would share.
In October it will have been 5 years since Elliott Smith comitted suicude. I can't really remember that day to tell the truth however in the months following I became such a fan of his I then felt the pain. I think the most beautiful reflection of his passing and life is a blog entry from Margaret Cho on the day he passed. Read it all, even if you are not familiar with him it still is beautiful.
Read it and then listen to "Coming Up Roses".

goodbye

List-ism

hmmmm. Top 6 "indie" albums (defined by style and by record label)

1. Interpol- Turn on the Bright Lights
2. Neutral Milk Hotel- In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
3. The New Pornographers- Twin Cinema
4. Bright Eyes- Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
5. Modest Mouse- The Moon and Antartica
6. The Shins- Chutes Too Narrow

This list probably changes daily, there have been so many great records.

List-ism

Top 8 Beatles songs...

1. "A Day in the Life"
2. "Across the Universe"
3. "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds"
4. "I'm Only Sleeping"
5. "In My Life"
6. "Here Comes the Sun"
7. "Eleanor Rigby"
8. "Octopus's Garden"


...now, argue with me.

Beyond the borders

Today I did what I tend to do when I am extremely bored, I tried to get myself lost. Like actually lost, drive down random streets, try to find something I never knew existed. Usually I just end up running into the highway or a familiar route and head home but not after some thought.
Today I was really thinking about national identity and nationalism. You see many cars drive by with some sort of American representation whether it be a bumper sticker or flag flying from the antenna. While it is great being proud of where you are from and having that pride be obvious it is another thing to be ignorant of other countries, other cultures, other peoples. Nationalism is certainly not uniquely American but it is a sort of disease. I think spending time in Europe has made this more clear to me. Europeans have a vast knowledge of American culture as well as the culture of the countries surrounding them. Europeans also commonly speak more than one language, many of our instructors and special instructors spoke up to seven different languages! People who worked at McDonalds even spoke more than one language. Schools in Holland teach their students English starting in elementary school; many on the border also speak German! Bi-lingual Americans are much more difficult to find and some people scoff at others speaking their native languages in America saying "You are in America, speak English!".
Now this isn't meant to be hateful I just think that people should want to know more about the rest of the world. People should want to meet and interact with people of different cultures. People should seek this information out on their own, or better yet schools should teach about the modern cultures of the world. It just frustrates me when people say negative things about Mexicans, or Brazilians coming to this country when they don't even bother to find out why they left, what their life is like there. Our minds should not be restricted by borders.

Take it or leave it

For the past few days I have been going through my ipod, organizing, deleting etc. I have come across some bands I love but haven't heard much from recently. Case in point, The Strokes. The Strokes first two records Is This It and Room on Fire were each excellent and refreshingly organic. They sound almost exactly the same live, no fancy production, no enhanced vocals, nothing. Is This It was a very significant record culturally as well as musically. The record was released in 2001 and opened up the musical landscape for many other New York hipster garage rock acts. 2001 was also deep into the teen pop craze so they certainly had a big hand at reviving rock. Spin Magazine began a love affair with the band around that time and rightly so. Their debut was so acclaimed it was almost impossible for them to top it, and Room on Fire may not have topped it but it was a logical progression in their sound. A few years later they released First Impressions of Earth (2006 I think? Not entirely sure though, I know I reviewed it when I was a senior in high school). First Impressions of Earth in my opinion is their weakest record. My problem is that the lyrical direction is no longer appealing, there is no sense of longing or the "don't give a fuck" attitude Julian Casablancas always sang with. Also the music itself just didn't strike the right chord with me. The record surely isn't bad in any sense it just didn't make sense coming after Room on Fire. "You Only Live Once" is an excellent song, as is "Heart In A Cage". The band took a break for the last year or so and will be coming together early next year to write and record their 4th record. Singer Julian Casablancas is the primary songwriter but as the band progresses other members have contributed more to the sound which may be the reason First Impressions of Earth was so disjointed and sonically confusing. Hopefully they will be able to come together and find a cohesive sound, and also find some sort of lyrical inspiration.
To get an idea of what I write listen to some of these...

"The Modern Age" -Is This It
"Someday"-Is This It
"Hard to Explain"-Is This It

"What Ever Happened?"-Room on Fire
"12:51"-Room on Fire
"Under Control"-Room on Fire

"You Only Live Once"-First Impressions of Earth
"Heart in a Cage"-First Impressions of Earth
"Electricityscape"-First Impressions of Earth

King of the Rodeo

When I log in I see that I have not written in this for almost a week, not necessarily a bad thing considering my week was full of working and napping.
I was just thinking about records I am look forward to coming out in the next few months/years.
Obvioulsy I am looking forward to whatever comes from AFI next. An EP will be out soon, the tracklisting has been released but nothing more, no title nor release date. I look forward to a new album more because with every one of their records their sound and subject matter seems to greatly change and thats something incredible for a band who is recording their 8th record to be able to do. The album will most likely come out next year, I am guessing summer/fall, they take forever to write and record so I am guessing it will be released just over 3 years from Decemberunderground.
Also the new Kings of Leon record looks to be amazing. Only by the Night will be released on September 23. The differences between AFI and the Kings of Leon are astounding and blantant but each band is equally as good in their distinct sounscapes. The Kings release records much more rapidly, Beacuse of the Times, which I love ("Knocked Up" is seriously up there on my list of best songs, it is written so perfectly it plays in your mind like a movie), came out in 2007 and it took them only a year to write and record a follow up. Insane. The Kings are the only band to make me want to visit the south, normally I despise that part of the country but they make it seem so dynamic.

Reality?

I will not lie, I love shallow pointless reality tv shows. Basically everything on Bravo is gold, I also love E!, and shows on VH1. Despite that love I cannot stand the show Sunset Tan. I do not understand the appeal. What is so unique about a tanning salon? There are probably thousands in this country, its just like any other job, nothing glamourous, nothing interesting. It frustrates me that someone even thinks that is good tv. Why don't you just film a hair place, or a coffee shop? Annoying is what it is. Even more so is the people on it, all of whom probably didn't even finish high school, ditzy hollywood blondes and overly manicured men. I don't understand why you would want to watch a show about something any idiot could do.

Thank you, come again

I have officially stopped downloading music for free.
This isn't because I feel like its wrong, I really don't care, but because downloading via itunes and other pay sites is a great way to not destroy my computer. I have downloaded viruses along with music probably a half dozen times in the past 2 years. It is truly gross. Today I (and when I say I I mean my dad) had to reformat my whole computer again because a virus ran amock. Limewire is a great tool to use if you are really careful and rarely download, but if you download as much music as I do your chances of downloading a corrupt file is more likely.
As much as I love not paying for things itunes is probably the way to go.

May I see some ID?

Today I became one of the many victims of credit card fraud. Go me. Someone has been having a good time using my credit/debit card despite the fact I still have the physical card. Thankfully I figured it out relatively soon and the bank froze my account. Technology is so crazy, there are so many ways to financially devastate someone these days.
I always thought carrying cash, or at least too much, was the worst thing to do. Someone could steal your wallet or purse and you would be instantly broke. Now I see that could also be true paying with debit or credit frequently. One swipe through a hacked credit card terminal could give someone anywhere in the country all the info they need to have a shopping spree. Luckily I didn't have more than $300 in my account, I have only got one pay check since I have been back from Europe so my account was sparse. I can understand the frustration it could cause someone who needed the money for bills and everyday necessities.
Ultimately the problem will be solved, I guess maybe technology is also useful at correcting problems it has a hand at making.

The Past and Pending

For the past few weeks I have been really feeling the sound of bands like The Shins, The New Pornographers, Pavement, and Grizzly Bear. There is something soothing about a finely crafted 'indie' song. Many promising records have been released recently and I have not heard many of them because I haven't got a paycheck in several weeks however Friday I will change that.
I am looking forward to Sigur Ros's Med sud I eyrum vid spilum endalaust, according to reviews the sound is more varied on this record and has some English vocals which is interesting. I prefer hearing Icelandic because it feels more personal to listen to something that is in the artists native tounge.
Also on my list is My Morning Jacket's Evil Urges, Fleet Foxes' Fleet Foxes, Girl Talk's Feed The Animals, and so on. Even though I am not a huge Coldplay fan I would like to hear their new record, it has recieved good reviews as always but the songs are all so similar and Chris Martin's voice isn't so dynamic and impressive after a few songs. I think it is just me. Also I need Lil' Wayne's Tha Carter III because I love him, definitely the best MC right now.

I will leave this post with a short playlist that I really enjoy and that I would highly recommend.

-The Shins, "Saint Simon"
-Grizzly Bear, "Lullabye"
-Band of Horses, "Weed Party"
-Camera Obscura, "Suspended from Class"
-Explosions in the Sky, "Snow and Lights"
-The Lemonheads, "Style"
-Modest Mouse, "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes"
-The New Pornographers, "The Bleeding Heart Show"
-Rogue Wave, "Eyes"
-Sigur Ros, "Agaetis Byrjun"

Making the world a better place

If there is one contribution to your daily life I could make it would be this. The greatest game ever. Ignore the fact that its on a lame website that was somewhat popular like 8ish years ago. It is Destruct O' Match, it is wonderful and addicting. So please, enjoy what I bring you...

blocks have never been so theraputic

A Youth in Apparel that Glittered

I created this blog today in all honesty because I forget what email and password I used to create one that already exists that I hardly use.
The names I used for this blog are probably significant to what I will be writing in here. "She's Lost Control" is a song by Joy Division. Ian Curtis's mind was without doubt a crazy place, but I think his instability is what made his music, and more so the yearning in his voice so incredible.
The url thing is 'medieval fashion' because its from a Stephen Crane poem, my favorite poet. He lived through war, saw death, and often wrote about existential topics in a completely concise way; he was a journalist though so that can explain his "to the point" nature. His poems are always short, maybe only a few lines, but carry so much weight. His poems sort of punch you in the face with frankness, or at least make you understand what he is getting at.
This first entry may seem sort of serious and such but I plan on peppering this thing with news and opinion mostly relating to music and the written word because that is what I care most about.

Anyway here is the poem by Stephen Crane,

A youth in apparel that glittered
Went to walk in a grim forest.
There he met an assassin
Attired all in garb of old days;
He, scowling through the thickets,
And dagger poised quivering,
Rushed upon the youth.
"Sir," said this latter,
"I am enchanted, believe me,
To die, thus, In this medieval fashion,
According to the best legends;
Ah, what joy!"
Then took he the wound, smiling,
And died, content.