Thursday, December 29, 2011

Pencil Panel Page

I wrote a guest post for the new comics blog Pencil, Panel, Page that was started by my prof Roy Cook and a couple other interesting folks. I raise the question of whether Jimmy Olsen could be Superman. Direct link here.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Hobbit Teaser



TORn breaks the trailer down frame-by-frame, here. Next December seems a long ways away.







Monday, December 19, 2011

rabbits wrapped in plastic


...for in every one of us a mad rabbit thrashes
and a wolf pack howls, so that we are afraid it will be heard by others....
—Czeslaw Milosz

Thursday, December 15, 2011

terrible news


"Child Actor Ben Savage passed away recently. He is survived by his wife Topanga, parents Amy and Alan, brother Eric, sister Morgan, and his best friend Shawn."
-- odonnell87 (youtube user)

gardens in the rain


Saturday, December 10, 2011

Pablo Casals on Bach

I've been listening to Pablo Casals's Cello Suites all night tonight. I heard on NPR that the definitive recording of these cello suites was done in London (coincidentally) the very same day that Robert Johnson did his definitive recordings.

The Year in Haiku

I barely ever get into brand new music other than through you two guys these days. And this year, I think most of the music that I newly got into was old music (especially a bunch of ambient stuff). So I'll make up for the shortness of my list by putting it in haiku form.


Shorty said I look like
Fuji-san, or did she
say Pierre Garcon?
-Das Racist

I need a new girl
who I can have fun with, one
I can do drugs with.
-Charles

That shadow cast, I
never loved a wall so much-
even in moonlight.
-The Books

Poor in love, I write
poetry for myself--king
of the everglades.
-Destroyer

The weatherman said
another full moon tonight-
why's he always right?
-Heidecker & Wood

Friday, December 9, 2011

2011: a year stuffed with music

hey, i got a list too. you'll notice some repeats from young day's faves but that's just cuz the guy has such fine taste in music. so, without any ado, here are my favorite 10 releases of 2011 in no discernible order...

Dirty Beaches - Badlands


Tape - Revelationes


John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves


Planningtorock - W


Destroyer - Kaputt


Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges


Balam Acab - Wander/Wonder


Holy Other - With U


Roedelius/Schneider - Stunden


Jürgen Müller - Science of the Sea



these are good too:

Heidecker & Wood - Starting From Nowhere


Hauschka - Salon Des Amateurs


Connan Mockasin - Forever Dolphin Love


Two Bicycles - The Ocean

music favorites for 2011














2011 was a pretty good year for music. It's also the first year in at least a decade that I actively followed new releases, read music blogs and sites, and purchased more than just a handful of albums. Here are some of my favorites for the year.



Favorite Labels of the Year
1) Tri-angle Records A couple of my favorite records of the year came from Tri-angle and will appear below, but I'd have to say that I love everything they put out
2) Warminal Records This little net label puts out super quality, chillish electro. I love the releases from Σ-Fly, Fedbymachines, and Essáy especially, but they're all worth a listen.


Favorite Band name of the Year
Adderall Canyonly. Their record, Asuuna is available as a free download and is another favorite of mine this year.


Favorite Cassette Release of the Year
I guess boutique cassette releases have been around for a few years, but I heard so much good music in this format this year -- well actually, digital downloads of cassette releases -- whatever. Moss of Aura's Still Parade was my favorite. Makes we want to put on a white blazer and boat shoes and drive my yellow 'Vette down to the beach.


Favorite Artists that were New To Me this Year that are Otherwise not Included on These Lists that Made me Love to Listen to Music
1) Mount Kimbie
2) Tycho
3) Das Racist
4) oOoOO
5) Nils Frahm
6) Rafael Anton Irisarri
7) Ólafur Arnalds



Favorite Songs of the Year

1) First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar. This song could have been on my soundtrack from 2003.
2) Neon Indian - Polish Girl. I still love a catchy song with a killer hook; this song has the killingest hooks.
3) Harold Budd - Haru Spring. Minimal. Serene. Beautiful.


Favorite Albums of the Year
1) The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World. There is a well-worn description of The Caretaker's music that it is the score for a haunted ballroom. This description is what initially set its hooks into me, but the themes of memory and Alzheimer's that run through this album are scarier than any dancing ghost.
2A) Destroyer - Kaputt. I've seen a critical backlash against this album by critics longing for the days of Streethawk, but for my money, Kaputt is second only to Your Blues.
2B) Panda Bear - Tomboy. Sometimes I hear a kind of music in my head that I just can't hear elsewhere. (or seem to make myself) Tomboy comes as close as anything to that unobtainable sound.
3) Holy Other - With U (EP). Just Creepy-Fresh and Awesome. The first of two Tri-Angle artists in my list.
4) Tape - Revelationes. Tape's Luminarium is one of my favorite records of all time, so Revelationes had a lot to live up to in my mind. It did. It's good.
5) Balam Acab - Wander/Wonder. The album cover draws you right into this odd little sonic world that I love to visit. The second Tri-Angle artist represents.
6) Downliners Sekt - Meet the Decline (EP). A fun-house mirror of an abstracted and fragmented bite-sized electro beam of light. And it's free.


Surprise of the Year
In the set-the-bar-always-lower realm of radio pop, I always thought Adele was one of the best. Her Tiny Desk Concert performance made me a fan.