(feel my heat): The Missing Pair

Last week - The one Shareen missed:
D.A.N.C.E. (Mstrkrft Remix) - Justice
Easy Love - Mstrkrft
One More Time - Daft Punk
Unexplored Terrain - Dillinja*
Black Mags - The Cool Kids
Nike Boots - Wale
Say Yeah - Wiz Khalifa
The Great Drum+Bass Swindle (Logistics remix) - London Elektricity*
Run - Gnarls Barkley
Closer (Feat. Madvillain) - Quasimoto
The Mercury Craze - Subtle
Soul Control - Dillinja*
Romantic Rights - Death From Above 1979
3's & 7's - Queens of the Stone Age
Get Myself Into It - The Rapture
Mermaids - Muffler*
I Coul'da Been A Contender - The Gaslight Anthem
Pretty Good Year - The Loved Ones
New Wave - Against Me!
Blackout - Logistics*
Can't Hardly Wait (The Tim Version) - The Replacements
Motion Of The Ocean - Fake Problems
Steady Rollin' - Two Gallants
Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground) - Blind Willie Johnson*
16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought Six - Tom Waits
Way Down in the Hole (87) - Tom Waits
Walking Spanish - Tom Waits
I Will Be There When You Die - My Morning Jacket*
Candy's Room - Bruce Springsteen
Lucky Town - Bruce Springsteen
State Trooper - Bruce Springsteen
Rebellion (Lies) - The Arcade Fire*
Speed Trials - Elliott Smith
Down The Line - José González
To Have and to Have Not - Billy Bragg

Last Night - The one Steve missed

Miss You - The Rolling Stones
Dead Flowers - The Rolling Stones
Sin City - The Flying Burrito Brothers
Jacksonville Skyline - Whiskeytown
The Thrill Is Gone (1969 Single Version) - B.B. King*
Buffalo Soldier - Bob Marley & The Wailers
Walking On the Moon - Cas Haley
I Left My Wallet in El Segundo - A Tribe Called Quest*
If I Had Eyes - Jack Johnson
In the Colors - Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
Hard Sun (Main) - Eddie Vedder
Who Do You Love Pt. 1 - Quicksilver Messenger Service*
Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
Live In a Hiding Place - Idlewild
Forever Young - Youth Group
Get Up Stand Up - Bob Marley & The Wailers*
Greetings to the New Brunette - Billy Bragg
How Low - Jose Gonzalez
Stir It Up - Bob Marley & The Wailers*
Gideon - My Morning Jacket
Ode to lrc - Band Of Horses
Fiery Crash - Andrew Bird
To Kingdom Come - The Band*
Spring And By Summer Fall - Blonde Redhead
Neighborhood 3 - Power Out - The Arcade Fire
Province - TV On the Radio
Ry Cooder - Tortoise*
Song to the Siren - This Mortal Coil
Everyday Is Like Sunday - Morrissey
Like Dylan In The Movies - Belle & Sebastian
The Orchids - Califone*
Let It Ride - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
A Fond Farewell - Elliott Smith

* songs in the background

7 Down, 45 To Go

Book: Shortcomings - Adrian Tomine
Album: Build and Burn - The Loved Ones

Shortcomings is a very interesting book. It is a graphic novel and provides a snap shot of a realtionship and life. It is about Ben, a self hating Asian university theater manager; Miko, Ben's girlfriend an Asian enthusiast and forward moving individual; and Alice, Ben's lesbian grad-student friend. It is a snap shot of decaying relationships and both people's unwillingness to change and desire to change and expand. It takes place in Berkley, which is completely appropriate. As I think about the small amount of time I spent in the Bay area it seems perfectly placed. No, not because many of the characters are gay or Asian. I saw it on a number of best of 2007 book lists and I am very glad that I finally picked it up and checked it out. Plus it was highly recommended by Jonathan Lethem.

Once again this album has little to do with the actual book. For instance I do not really imagine any of the characters listening to this album but the ideas of Building and Burning of relationships is especially characteristic of the book. Plus I saw the loved ones the other night and I am currently loving them. It is also one of the few times where I have read a new book and album at the same time.

Loved Ones and Gaslight Anthem

On Friday night I went to Cincinnati to see the Loved Ones with Gaslight Anthem, totally worth it. It was a very fun show. Gaslight Anthem were great openers, I did not know the songs that well but I was still dancing and doing my best to sing along. Loved Ones were a lot of fun. They clearly looked like they were having a blast and wanted to be no where else in the world. I went with my friend Tim and he and I now have a fairly solid streak, we saw Against Me! as well. We both agreed that if we could see these guys another 5 times in a row we would totally do it. The Against Me! show was a lot of fun but they did not seem like they were having fun, while these bands had a great time.

The bar we saw them in, The Poison Room, was very cool. The showed movies on the wall, the best of which was the cheesy as hell Batman movie with Adam West. I still have X's on my hand which seem to refuse to wash away. I hope to go to Smoke or Fire with Fake Problems next week at the same place.

I desperately want to see Against Me! again but in a small venue like I did last time. I don't want to see them at the Hollywood Bowl with Foo Fighters. I want to see them at Chain Reaction with Matt and Kim or some other smaller band. Speaking of which the Loved Ones are playing Chain Reaction March 30, I will unfortunately be back at school by that point but I would kill to go to that show. I highly recommend it.

Friday Run Down

Ok so I haven't posted on here this week due to midterms, apathy and other reasons. Anyway happy belated valentines day to all. Shareen got me a lovely pound of See's candy which is perfect. I got her the same along with High Fidelity. She has only seen the movie and I think she should read the book because it is better. I have begun to like refereeing, it is fun and I have become more confident in it. I read my book for this week quickly and will post that on Sunday. Tonight I do not have work because the library is closed so I get to go to the Loved Ones/Gaslight Anthem concert which I am excited about. Otherwise I will talk to you later.

Here is the playlist to last Sunday's (feel my heat) by far the worst one ever, you picked a good one to miss dad:

When We Escape - Minus The Bear
Knights Of Cydonia - Muse
Stormy High - Black Mountain
The Comeback (Madlib) - Madlib
Wolf Like Me - TV On the Radio
Everything In Its Right Place - Radiohead
Jacking The Ball - The Sea And Cake
Indian Hump - Madlib
Don't You Evah - Spoon
Wet and Rusting - Menomena
Well Thought Out Twinkles - Silversun Pickups
Movie Finale - Madlib
Baby, I'm An Anarchist - Against Me! Reinventing
Six Months In a Leaky Boat - Ted Leo/Pharmacists
Could We - Cat Power
Let's Get Out of This Country - Camera Obscura
The Payback (Gotta) - Madlib
Baby Britain - Elliott Smith
Forever Young - Youth Group
Perfect Fit - Tilly and the Wall
Two Can Win - J Dilla
Everlong - Foo Fighters
I Only Want You - Eagles Of Death Metal
Make It Wit Chu - Queens of the Stone Age
Nothing Like This - J Dilla
Welfare Bread - King Khan & The Shrines
Dirty Hands - Black Lips
Bye - J Dilla
He keeps me alive - Sally Shapiro
Littleblood - Division Day
Two Left Feet - The Holloways
Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
Gente Ordinaria (Bonus Track) - Aloe Blacc

6 Down, 46 to go

Book: Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - Tom Robbins
Album: GA GA GA GA GA - Spoon

The first book read entirely at school this year. And I finished it just in time to post here. I greatly enjoyed this book. It is funny and intruiging, and more than a little outrageous. There are parts that dragged on and I didn't love the Clockworks/Chink aspect of the book but at least they were well written. I did not see the ending of the Rubber Rose coming and everything that happened after it was secondary.

GA GA GA GA GA is the latest by Spoon. It is not quite the audio companion to the book that other weeks have had. Yet it is the album that I have listened to most often while reading Cowgirls. Others have complained that the album is not their best and I am not sure if it is or not. I only have bits and pieces of the other albums. I think it is a great record and one of the best of 2007. A great mix of rock n roll and Motown. If you haven't heard it yet do yourself a favor and pick it up.

As a side note: buy the song Thumbelina by Nightmare of You when reading Cowgirls.

(feel my heat): Gifted

I meant to podcast this but I didn't sorry. Maybe I will throw some of these tracks up on the blog for you guys.

Mistaken For Strangers - The National
Down The Line - José González
I Don't Blame You - Cat Power
Insomniac Olympics - Blockhead*
Does This Mean You're Moving On? - The Airborne Toxic Event
Down In the Valley - The Broken West
Into Your Dream - Foreign Born
Punctual As Usual - The Parson Red Heads
Forest Crunk - Aesop Rock*
A-Punk - Vampire Weekend
Brunettes Against Bubblegum Youth - The Brunettes
C Is the Heavenly Option - Los Campesinos!
Snow Tip Cap Mountain - The Octopus Project*
23 - Blonde Redhead
Backed Out On The... - Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew
15 Steps - Radiohead
Tonto - Battles*
And It Rained All Night (Burial Remix) - Thom Yorke
Lake Somerset - Deerhunter
Sometimes - My Bloody Valentine
Body Language / Interpretation - Booka Shade*
California Girls - The Magnetic Fields
Rag & Bone - The White Stripes
1 2 3 4 - Feist
Tin Cans & Twine - Tortoise*
Over the Rainbow - Rufus Wainwright
The Future - Teddy Thompson
Lead Balloon - Liam Finn
An Ending (Ascent) - Brian Eno*
Your Red Dress (Wedding Song At Cemetery) - Alaska In Winter
Rock Bottom Riser - Smog
My Name is Trouble - Nightmare of You

*Background music

5 Down, 47 to Go

So I have run out of books. I now don't have any in reserve so I need to finish either Acid House or Cowgirls to have material for next week.

Book: Graffiti World: Street Art from Five Continents
Album: J Dilla - Donuts

This is a sort of cheating. Graffiti World is almost entirely composed of pictures but man oh man what amazing pictures. Clearly they highlighted the best artists at large today. Showcasing crews and styles that I had never seen before. I did not see some of the big names that I would expect for instance Sasquatch, Neckface, and Obey, but they are more than made up for by the plethora of talent I have learned about. Admitatedly I have also only flipped through the book, never sitting down and reading or looking page by page. I greatly enjoyed that the book was broken down by contitents. It made it easy to see how different styles changed and influenced each other.

The audiable companion to this book is Donuts or Beat Konducta or really anything off the Stones Throw label. Personally I like Donuts the best. It was produced on J Dilla's death bed in the hospital. Each song is only a minute or minute and half long. They are merely sketches of beats. Much like graffiti is only a sketch of great art work. If a great graf artist were to sit down and truly paint or design one piece it could surely go in a prestigous museum. Just as if J Dilla sat down and fleshed out many of these beats and sold them off, there would have been a lot of hits. But when you have this much talent why waste time perfecting the already amazing and not share the wealth with everyone.

Book: Death By Black Hole - Neil deGrasse Tyson

This is an admission of defeat. I did not finish this book. I read about 125 pages of it or so and stopped. Which means I got about half way through and stopped. The book while interesting was nothing but a collection of articles Tyson had written for various Science and Academic magazines. And while I liked it, it was a little to technical, too science-y. Once I put it down I frequently did not really desire to pick it back up. I was hoping it would be more about planets and stars and what is out there and less about how it happened and theory. While the theroy is important, it does not always make for a great read.

Welcome to the Working Weak

So this week I started both of my jobs. I am now a referee for intramural basketball and work the graveyard shift at the library. I was nervous about both jobs and now have realized they are not so bad. I don't love either. Refereeing is maddening because you are in control of the game and I feel like that is a lot of pressure. Working the graveyard shift in the library I have to imagine won't be hard so much as it will be boring. I have been working for almost two hours and I can't see it changing drastically. On the plus side it seems as if I can just sit around and use my computer and headphones and no one will care.

This week I also considered dropping a class. I wasn't sure if I wanted to stick out my history class it is hard and confusing but ultimately I think I will stay with it. Its not perfect but might as well do something challenging since my other classes do not seem to be particularly hard.