Though the subset of tumbledry’s viewing audience able to experience this post fully may hover near (or at) 0 people, I nevertheless feel the need to outline my favorite “break-down” in trance music. We’ll begin with a backstory: trance music is a cousin to techno - to me, it is less electronica and more melodic (at least the stuff I like), and when done right it appeals to my sense of cleanliness and precision. If jazz is the old cherry table with fine classic craftsmanship and a lovely patina, then techno is the computer modelled sleek and contemporary Philippe Starck-designed table. Each has their own merits.
I’ve started one or two journal entries here, and then immediately deleted them. I am saying the same thing over and over in a side-long and vague way that leaves me with no satisfaction. When my fingers cease flitting over the keys, the ideas are still in my head, and I’m looking at a couple of paragraphs of junk. To get in the blunt state of mind, I thought I’d list out some things about myself:
A Man Using Computers to Hear Music - A great story of the very real ways advances in technology can benefit those who depend on them for their senses. I would imagine Stephen Hawking’s setup has improved by orders of magnitude over the years.
Michael Jackson. A Star Tribune review of a local opera. The musical group Barenaked Ladies. How could these topics be anything but non sequiturs in a stream-of-conscious rambling? I did not know either until about ten minutes ago. That’s when I decided to write this post instead of simply linking to the Star Tribune’s review of an opera about a man called the “Elephant Man.” He lived in the mid 1800s and had an extremely rare genetic disorder called “Proteus syndrome.” He is pictured at right. More on that picture in a second. You see, I was reading that opera review, and frankly could have cared less about the actual opera … I was fascinated about the real story of this man who was shunned from society and what disease he actually had. Towards the end, the review finally mentions this man, Joseph Merrick. It says he died simply by laying flat; the weight of his head broke his neck. It was three feet around at time of death.
Stadium Arcadium is good - It would seem from the reviews that the Pepper’s “Stadium Arcadium” is a pretty darn good album. An excerpt from this great Rolling Stone review:
” Much of the credit for the album’s depth — and the swelling, ever-morphing, headphone-candy arrangements that boost every track — goes to the band’s not-so-secret weapon, John Frusciante. It’s been clear since his return to the band on 1999’s Californication that Frusciante came away from his near-fatal heroin addiction with new musical superpowers, and they’re in full bloom on Stadium Arcadium. … after 2002’s By the Way, the band’s least funky album, the bassist finally cuts loose again here, reasserting himself as the best non-hip-hop reason to buy a subwoofer.”
Credit to Jimmy Eat World for these lyrics. On their newest (amazing) EP “Stay On My Side Tonight” (recommended by tumbledryer Nils) is a great song called “Closer.” The lyrics follow.
Every day I get a little closer dear
Will you love me darling when I get there
I’ll need sunshine
I’ll need rest
Pour us whiskey, water, kiss
Vis a vis your cover of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights,” I’d like to say that, I get it. When you strip away the (albeit magnificent) electronic(a) going on in the background of the original, your acoustic version cuts closer to the heart … it has fewer things to get in the way as it slices into one’s inner sanctum. And yes, I know you guys licensed the song to Mars, Inc. for an M&M commercial, and you know what? That’s ok. Fine by me. The song is still great, even with the goofy kaleidescopic imagery that goes along with it in the commercial (which, in and of itself is not bad; the constrast between music and video is striking). In fact, that delectable clip on the commercial is what reminded me again of your cover, which I had only given 10 seconds of playing time in the past. The track of which I speak is spinning right now: I think I understand what you were thinking when you sang this, and what Ben Gibbard of the Postal Service was thinking when he, surely in a moment of inspired poetry, penned the words.
Record label: Found - Sometimes, and quite surprisingly, it’s hard to track down information about things. So, I’ve done it for you. Here’s Feist’s record label!
I was going to write a post about how I thought the headline “orange juice futures looking promising” from the Wall Street Journal was funny … but the paper has since gone out for recycling; and when I think about it (like many posts), it really was not the greatest idea. That said, there were a couple of other things that made me laugh the past couple of days. If I could only remember one …
Ok, I need to catch up my Harry Potter franchise consumption. I do like the books, for a variety of reasons. (1) Well written. (2) Fun. (3) Provide a cultural touchstone with essentially every child on earth and 75% of college students and some crotchety old people. (4) I like fantasy novels, always will; they are the trashy romance of my book lists. I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately, and reading those books takes me back to high school summers, when I am 98% sure I did not actually have any cares in the world. Seriously. No cares. Anyhow, I think I am caught up on the books (am I? I may not have read the latest slime green one … and I say that with respect to Mary GrandPre), but I do need to see at least two of the movies.
The AV Club is impressive - great article about Sigur Ros - This website should be the premiere media review clearinghouse on the internet. Consistently astronimically high quality content. You could learn how to write from these reviews.
I have all the music required to host one effing cool dance party. Ideally, the event would incorporate the best of hip hop and euro dance music, opening the eyes (well, ears) of people on both sides of the dance music spectrum. There are some tracks by ATB, certainly one Oakenfold, some PvD, and others that I would love to share with a dance floor. I’ve got the amps and the speakers … and with a borrowed projector shooting iTunes visualizations onto a wall, things could be pretty sweet. I am missing, however, a critical part of this equation. And don’t say “people willing to attend.” I’m missing a venue. Slot this into the equation, budget a hundred bucks for miscellaneous ephemeral costs, get a group with the right dynamics together, and we’ve got ourselves a sweet sweet night ahead. Folks in the country generally do stuff like this in barns, which makes a whole pile of sense: no noise violations, a big space that is easily cleaned up, and parking galore.
WBGO - The best Jazz station around today. A wonderful “listen online” tool means you don’t have to live in New York to enjoy. I listened to this through many hours of cat dissection in anatomy and physiology.
