sub-par musings

I'm back

2008-10-11T22:01:00.006-07:00

This blog has languished for... well, nearly as soon as it was established. We'll see if I have the time/inclination to revitalize it. For now I'll at least be cross-posting my cycling commute logs to it. This weekend is Riley's 2nd Birthday Bonanza! I should be sleeping.

Fri, Oct 10, 2008 - 9.81 mi [Cycling]

2008-10-11T22:01:00.005-07:00

Fri, Oct 10, 2008 - 9.81 mi [Cycling]
9.81 mi in 00:38:00 hours at 15.49 mi/h on Redline R550. [Cycling]
Posted from My Cycling Log

Fri, Oct 10, 2008 - 10.10 mi [Cycling]

2008-10-11T22:01:00.003-07:00

Fri, Oct 10, 2008 - 10.10 mi [Cycling]
10.10 mi in 00:45:00 hours at 13.47 mi/h on Redline R550. [Cycling]
Posted from My Cycling Log

Mon, Oct 6, 2008 - 10.12 mi [Cycling]

2008-10-11T22:01:00.001-07:00

Mon, Oct 6, 2008 - 10.12 mi [Cycling]
10.12 mi in 00:45:00 hours at 13.49 mi/h on Redline R550. [Cycling] Developed a migraine after arriving at work and had to be picked up and taken home. I've been worried this would happen...
Posted from My Cycling Log

Fri, Oct 3, 2008 - 10.00 mi [Cycling]

2008-10-11T22:00:00.005-07:00

Fri, Oct 3, 2008 - 10.00 mi [Cycling]
10.00 mi in 00:45:00 hours at 13.33 mi/h on Redline R550. [Cycling]
Posted from My Cycling Log

Fri, Oct 3, 2008 - 10.15 mi [Cycling]

2008-10-11T22:00:00.003-07:00

Fri, Oct 3, 2008 - 10.15 mi [Cycling]
10.15 mi in 00:45:00 hours at 13.53 mi/h on Redline R550. [Cycling]
Posted from My Cycling Log

Tue, Sep 30, 2008 - 9.40 mi [Cycling]

2008-10-11T22:00:00.001-07:00

Tue, Sep 30, 2008 - 9.40 mi [Cycling]
9.40 mi in 00:50:00 hours at 11.28 mi/h on Redline R550. [Cycling]
Posted from My Cycling Log

Tue, Sep 30, 2008 - 9.40 mi [Cycling]

2008-10-11T21:59:00.001-07:00

Tue, Sep 30, 2008 - 9.40 mi [Cycling]
9.40 mi in 00:45:00 hours at 12.53 mi/h on Redline R550. [Cycling]
Posted from My Cycling Log

Pretty ill

2007-01-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

RJD2, talking to HipHopSite circa. 2002 after the release of Dead Ringer:

HHS: Speaking of movies, "The Horror" sounds like it could be the theme music for any potential secret agent in waiting; would you ever consider scoring for motion pictures in the future?

RJD2: If it was dope, but I’ve been compared to Moby enough in the last two weeks. I would do a score for some shit that was hot and Indy, like Donnie Darko or an ill Jim Jarmusch flick.

Um, ill, right? And RJ's plans for the future at this particular juncture?

More video games, more touring, more records, more lawsuits, and I intend to hone my pimp game this year. Thanks.

Ah, the ever elusive "pimp game." Fast forward 4 years to Oh Six, and RJ's chatting with PitchforkMedia:

"Rhythmically, I feel like there's a continuous thread that would run throughout everything that I've done, and I'd like to think the new stuff still has that kind of emphasis on the rhythm section and groove. [But] there are a lot more songs in major keys. There are a lot more vocal harmonizations. I think it's a lot prettier than anything I've ever done. And it's all live. There's, like, one or two samples on there."

Prettier? Is that part of the pimp game? Later in the interview he claims to be a "folk musician." And what does Mr. D2 of ought-six see in his future now? Hopefully...

to do an integrated Nelly Furtado/Timbaland kind of thing.

ILL! DOPE! Not really, no.

Stuff like this makes my day for some reason. Funny how the RJD2 of 2002, hot DJ complete with obligatory ill shit rapper speak, manages to sound less disingenuous (and certainly less self-important) than the multi-instrumentalist musician of '06. He's changed up an irritating way of speaking for irritating speech. Don't misunderstand, I hope that his new record is wonderful. I hope he's not just another overreaching artist believing his own hype. I hope he has much success with the new direction.

I'm just not going to bet on it.

First Meanderings

2007-01-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Of Music, Technology and Random Meanderings I've certainly covered Music to death. Time for a little meandering.

This afternoon, thanks to reddit, I came across the Psychology Today article Friendship: The Laws of Attraction. I run about 50/50 on the PT articles I've come across. As a child my parents subscribed to the dead-tree version of the mag, and as far as I'm concerned there's just as much evidence to prove that the existence of it in our household hurt my upbringing as much as helped it.
Regardless I found this article particularly resonant. I keep a close circle of true friends... so close I can count them all on one hand with fingers to spare. I'm extremely particular when it comes to who I spend my meager free time with and prior experience has taught me that it pays to be forthright about this. Occasionally I ruffle feathers in the process. As such, this particular passage, wherein the author outlines the evolution of a relationship with a onetime coworker moved on, hit home:

In lieu of complaining about our bosses, I told her about my concerns that I wasn't ready to move in with my boyfriend. She listened politely, but she never divulged anything personal about her own life. Eventually our lunches petered out to once a month, before she drifted out of my life for good. I was eager to tell her my problems, but she wasn't eager to tell me hers. The necessary reciprocity was missing, so our acquaintanceship never tipped over into friendship.

That necessary reciprocity she's referring to is effectively outlined earlier in the article here:

...Self-disclosure characterizes the moment when a pair leaves the realm of buddyhood for the rarefied zone of true friendship. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" may well be the very words you say to someone who is about to become a friend.

Indeed. There is the rare occasion (less and less so as I age) where I find myself opening up to someone who hasn't positioned themselves appropriately. More often I find that people are all too willing to open up and share intimate personal information with me. While this article didn't explain why this tends to occur it did shed a bit of light on why I subconsciously react the way I do. It's a short, worthwhile read.

New Years Tunes

2007-01-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years. Next up MLK and Valentines in Febuugly. Enjoy.

The Shins - Wincing the Night Away - Advance

I couldn't get enough of Oh, Inverted World and Chutes too Narrow from the Shins. Then I downloaded a copy of vocalist/guitarist James Mercer performing solo and acoustic on some radio station in Portland. Afterwards, because of his rougher, more traditional delivery of the songs, the aforementioned records seem to pale in comparison. Certainly it isn't that Inverted and Chutes aren't good records; nay, they're great pop albums. It's simply that there was something more honest, less fluffy, more forthright about Mercer's solo reinterpretations.
I was excited upon reading about Wincing the Night Away. Early reviews claimed it to be "heavier," and its first single, Phantom Limb, seemed to bear this out. Now that I have my hands on what appears to be a full advance, of all the things Wincing is heavier is not one of them. If you're the sort who thought that the Shins previous albums suffered from delusions of pop grandeur Wincing will undoubtedly stand as pure edification, as it's far and away the most produced album of their limited catalog.
It will be interesting to see how this album is received. I can't imagine that the school of XTC pop (which has until now embraced the Shins) will appreciate this release given its relative dearth of guitar. My vote is still out on where Wincing stands with the bands other releases. On thing that's particularly unsettling is that some of the songs where the band is obviously "stretching" invariably invoke whispers of The Fixx in my mind. Don't misunderstand; I've been a closet devotee of The Fixx for decades now (listen to Reach the Beach, Shuttered Room or Phantoms and tell me that they weren't an early "indie" band that just happened to be good enough to hit mainstream radio), but I never thought I'd align them with the Shins... or any other band circa 2007, for that matter.
Wincing the Night Away will require revisiting.
Read more about the Shins on Wikipedia.
http://www.theshins.com/

Goodbye James

2006-12-25T17:03:00.000-08:00

Sure, from the famous Eddie Murphy skit forward James Brown has, in many circles, been more a punchline than a icon. I defy you to listen to the box set Star Time without being totally and completely amazed.

Rest in peace, James.

Howlin' Rain, Spanky Wilson and Quantic

2006-12-13T14:38:00.000-08:00

Back from the wilds of Tampa with today's cubicle soundtrack.

Howlin' Rain - Howlin' Rain

Featuring the talent from such bands as Comets on Fire and Sun Burned Hand of the Man, Howlin' Rain is refreshing in its familiarity. With most songs clocking in past the 6 minute mark (and two eclipsing 9) and the inclusion of such disparate instruments as banjos and alto-sax it's altogether likely that Howlin' Rain may be lumped into the jam-band genre, and perhaps that's not an unfair assessment. This album has a lot more to do with such forefathers of the neverending-noodle song movement as the Allman Brothers than it does with Phish or Dave Matthews. Nine minutes some tunes may be, but Ethan Miller and company never seem to lose sight of what's really important; the song. Ultimately this is old school rock and roll fun; equal parts Allman Bros and Blue Cheer mixed with just a tad of the Comets overdriven crackle. It smells and rides like an old van with a roach-clip on the rear view and monkey fur on the dash, yet seems just modern enough to avoid cliche. Drive to it.
http://www.howlinrain.com/

Spanky Wilson & the Quantic Soul Orchestra - I'm Thankful

Spanky Wilson's a soul, funk and jazz vocalist who has been performing and recording since the 60's. Quantic is Will Holland, a talented UK multi-instrumentalist/DJ/producer steeped in heavy soul. In other words, a perfect match. Though on par with some of the greatest soul albums of old (see Etta, Ella or even Aretha), I can't help but ponder how albums like this get greenlighted these days, even on indie and vanity labels. Aside from the slim possibility of college radio play there seems to be no market. Most purists regard soul of this caliber as latin; a dead language (see "Blues" for another crop of fans insistent on fawning over a corpse of their own making). They buy (and rebuy, as remasters and technologies like SACD proliferate) and covet the old stuff while considering anything new to be inferior based simply on its, well, newness. Alternately purveyors of what's now considered in the mainstream to be "soul" can't be bothered to wrap their heads around something with this amount of depth.
It's a shame. In an alternate universe Spanky Wilson would be dominating black radio. Somehow, however, it seems fitting that perhaps this music is being dug, purchased, supported and best understood, by the crate diggers who were once considered mere thieves.
Read more about Spanky Wilson on Wikipedia. Read more about Will Holland on Wikipedia.
http://www.quantic.org/

Randomness...
I've ditched the RIYL tags for now. I find them to be alternately too obvious or too tenuous. Besides, it isn't like a person doesn't have an overflowing cup of websites with audio clips to peruse if they're interested in hearing more.

Swan Lake

2006-11-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

Post-Thanksgiving cubicle dwellers blues.

Swan Lake - Beast Moans
RIYL Destroyer, Sunset Rubdown, Wolf Parade, Ethereal Dream-Pop

I shouldn't like this album. By rights it's too dreamy, too dramatic, too over the top for my tastes. Yet somehow it's just right. I suppose this could be attributed to the fact that Swan Lake is a goobery indie "supergroup" comprised of members of The New Pornographers, Destroyer, Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown and Frog Eyes, and therefore possesses a lineup to create music that's simply irrefutably good.
Were I the type to eat turkey then the wonderfully aptly named Beast Moans would be the perfect tryptophan come-down. Its insane layering, its blissed out production, its staccato'ed out pseudo western overtones... you couldn't ask for a better soundtrack for the post-glutton malaise. Read more about Swan Lake on Wikipedia.
http://jagjaguwar.com/swanlakeband/

The Hold Steady Killed Me... Again

2006-11-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

The soundtrack to Thanksgiving-eve at work, catching up on this and that.

The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
RIYL Classic Rock, Bar Band Rock, Springsteen, Americana

The Hold Steady return from Separation Sunday, a critically acclaimed release that apparently sold little, with Boys and Girls in America, an album that builds upon that release. Finn's singing more on this one, for the most part foregoing the singsong beat-speak of previous releases. His storyteller lyrics are still wonderful, though perhaps a bit more accessible than they have been before. The music is pure Hold Steady; unabashed rock and roll circa Born to Run. It's strange that in 2006 a band like THS even exists... after all, there isn't much of a market for good old American Barroom Rock™, save for that recorded 30 years ago, these days. Were there any justice in the world songs like Hot Soft Light and Party Pit would be in heavy rotation on your local "classic" rock station, sandwiched firmly between Thunder Road and The Kinks Destroyer. Boys and Girls in America is a nearly perfect American Rock record. Read more about The Hold Steady on Wikipedia.
http://www.theholdsteady.com/

Watt and Clarkson

2006-11-21T06:57:00.000-08:00

I ain't gonna lie; this freaks me out a little: Mike Watt guests on Kelly Clarkson record [pitchformedia.com].
"Old punk guy" indeed. Leave it to Kahne (producer of the best Fishbone records, new one aside because I haven't heard it yet, among a myriad of other 80's/90's staples) to pull such disparate figures together. I appreciate that it sounds like Watt had no idea who the hell Clarkson was prior to these sessions.

What's Spinning

2006-11-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

I spend all day at work listening to music. It's one of the few perks of being a systems administrator. What follows is the very first "What's Spinning," a catchy phrase stolen from a band discussion list I ran once.

William Elliott Whitmore - Song of The Blackbird
RIYL Mississippi Hill Country Blues, Deep Blues, Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, alt.Country

WEW is stunning. Gravel voices, storytelling lyrics, old school intrumentation and down to earth production mark this, as well as his previous, release. I can't recommend this cat enough. Honestly while it's usually hard to go wrong with a Southern Records release, this one is a real gem. Read more about William Elliott Whitmore on Wikipedia.
http://www.williamelliottwhitmore.com/

Bonnie Prince Billy - The Letting Go
RIYL The Silver Jews, alt Country, Sufjan Stevens and his ilk

Will Oldham has been doing that unnecessarily-lumped-into-the-genre "alt country" thing for a long, long time... much longer than Sufjan and his kind. And, taking nothing away from those folks, he's much better at it. The Letting Go represents a step forward for Oldham, if that's possible. For the first time he has, under the Bonnie Prince moniker, managed to craft music every bit as embracing as his lyrics (in my opinion, of course). So often I find the new mainstays of the alt country genre to ultimately be, well, boring. The Letting Go, though understated, is anything but. This is a confident record well worth seeking out. Read more about Will Oldham on Wikipedia.
http://www.bonnieprincebilly.com/

Jamie Lidell - Multiply
RIYL Super_Collider, Prince, Otis Redding, Parliament, Motown

Multiply is a pretty amazing album. Lidell comes thundering out of Super_Collider, his collab with fellow electro-laptop producer Cristian Vogel, to produce a soul album that represents a stake in the heart of the perpetually disappointing "neo-soul" genre. Lidell's a total package; producing, songwriting, arranging, performing charisma, and a 3 octave set of pipes that almost seems ridiculous coming out of a skinny white boy from Cambridge, England. His live shows typically include extended improvisations, with Lidell wrangling equipment to sample, cut, chop and transform his voice and beatboxing stills into new and different tunes.
On record the man proves schizophrenically funky, easily sliding from Otis Redding stylings to Parliament-Funkadelic freakiness with a healthy portion of everyone from Sly to Earth, Wind and Fire in between. Add to all this just a touch of tastefully applied laptop weirdness (some barely dicernable without headphones... which this record is a treat to listen to via, by the way) and you've got Multiply. Somehow, despite the myriad of touchstones, the album manages to retain a cohesive feel due to how natural and genuine Lidell manages to sound throughout. I'm wearing this record, along with it's remix companion Multiply Additions, out. Read more about Jamie Lidell on Wikipedia.
http://www.jamielidell.com/