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"