(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.

Toys that Kill (Your Wallet)

I have looking around the Internet for cool visuals. Stuff I can post on here or use a screen savor. And in reality not a whole lot has come up. I am looking for new fresh material, so Banksy and Obey and Neckface are not as fresh as they once were just because I know what I am looking for. I have found some really cool stuff but by far my favorite stuff right now are toys that I am finding. They are mostly vinyl toys that are sold in hipster boutiques but I think they are really cool. I would buy them but they are freaking expensive. We are talking between $20-$100 a pop easy, and those aren't the rare or large ones. Oh well one day when I am twenty-five and a multimillionaire with nothing else to spend my money on and all other problems are solved, I will buy them. Until then I will just post pictures.

4 Down, 48 to Go

Book: Best American Non-Required Reading 2006
Album: Endtroducing - DJ Shadow

I picked up this book over Christmas break at the Spectrum Barnes and Noble with Shareen. It was recommended by an employee who also flagged Best American Comics which I had just recently finished. I had heard mixed reviews about this book, but I read the introduction by Matt Groening and decided to give it a shot. The introduction is very funny, which is of little surprise. Groening being the founder of the Simpsons, Futurerama and the comic My Life in Hell is a very smart and funny guy. So I ended up buying this and Skinny Bitch for Shareen.

What was surprising was how much I liked the collection of stories. The fiction in the book was not as good as the non-fiction. One story from the New Yorker further confirmed that the New Yorker needs to be shut down. However the nonfiction was both interesting and topical. From travels in North Korea, to the aftermath of Katrina on New Orleans, to Martyrdom in the middle east, to the creation of Dubai all of these stories kept my interest. The highlight of the book to me was from Kurt Vonnegut. It was from his book A Man Without a Country and was all about fiction. I highly recommend reading it. And Dallas this short piece absolutely sums up your class.

Endtroducing has quickly become one of my favorite albums. And like the book it is entirely a compilation. DJ Shadow mixed, scratched, and sampled god only knows how many albums to create an entirely new album. The album is part electronic part hip-hop and part soul. When put together it creates its own style that makes you sit down and listen. "Building Steam With a Grain of Salt" is probably my favorite track off the album.

Bonus Book: Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

OK there is a reason that this is not its own separate entry in the 52, its because I started to read this last semester and then stopped with like 40 pages to go. No idea why I stopped I mean it is not a hard read. Well I saw the book in my room and had just written the review to Non-Required and decided to finish it. And ultimately I felt that Slaughterhouse was not as good as everyone claims it to be. I liked it well enough but I felt that Cats Cradle or Sirens of Titans were better. They were funnier and smarter than Slaughterhouse. That is just my personal opinion however. I do recognize the literary merits of the story and that Vonnegut certainly pushed the envelope with the book.

Ansel Adams Always Sounded Like a Girls Name

I Like This Picture

Shot by Shareen

Kin

So I have deiced that being a folk/rockstars son is the way to go. Probably folk star just cause they seem to put out better albums. Seriously Rufus Wainwright, Teddy Thompson and now Liam Finn. Liam Finn is the son of Neil Finn from crowded house. His new album I'll be Lightening is quite good. Not Bad, Not great, but not bad. Has plenty of good songs and a good sound. Sort of a blend of Broken Social Scene with Crowded House. You can certainly hear his dads influence and that is a good thing. He joined the ranks of other rock kids who make good albums: Teddy Thompson and Rufus Wainwright. Maybe not as good as Paste claims but it is solid. It reminds me quite a bit of Teddy Thompson's album Separate Ways crossed with Kevin Drew's Spirit If. It goes from quiet and acoustic to louder and noisy, never quite rocking but not just noise either. I highly recommend it.

I like to steal

Life Sucks Let's Party!
Cheers

Suburban Noise

Suburban Noise: Theoretical Heat

Down The Line 3:11 José González
Jigsaw Falling Into Place 4:09 Radiohead
Mistaken For Strangers 3:31 The National
I Don't Blame You 3:05 Cat Power
1 2 3 4 3:04 Feist
Rag & Bone 3:48 The White Stripes
Snow Tip Cap Mountain 2:15 The Octopus Project
The Past Is A Grotesque Animal 11:53 Of Montreal
California Girls 3:00 The Magnetic Fields
Backed Out On The... 4:16 Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew
23 5:19 Blonde Redhead
Tonto 7:43 Battles

Lets see if this mix and if my ass won't get sued

DivShare File - Suburban Noise 1.m4a

Visual Arts

So in case you all did not notice I added some links to other blogs that I read regularly. I will be reposting content from them. Mostly reposting visuals since I like graffiti/street art quite a bit and there isn't any here in Oxford really. And I can make my own comments on the music side fo stuff. Anyway I think these are some of the best and highly recommend you check them out if you are in the mood.

Personal fave at the moment: Mumbleville
Dude this is the coolest thing ever. Its like a Toy Machine comic. I freaking love this style. Anyway I like comics way too much, but I guess it is healthier than crack.

Anyway thought this would be cool stuff. Visuals just for fun. If you own these visuals and want them taken down please contact me. That is all have a good day.

Oh Ya Oh No

Ok so some news that was released today...

First this Sunday I am going to see Band of Horses I am excited. I like that band a lot obvious since they were in 2007's top ten for both songs and albums.

Second on April 5th Andrew Bird and Grizzly Bear are playing Cincinnati I am excited not sure if the rest of you care but whateves

Then there is this:



Ya it is pretty massive and good. It lacks some of the superstars of other years but I am a fan. So here is a breakdown on who I plan to see:

Friday - Raconteurs, The National, Aesop Rock, Animal Collective, Spank Rock, Battles, Black Lips, Vampire Weekend, Dan Deacon, Architecture in Helsinki, Professor Murder

Mum and Fatboy Slim would be interesting to see. I have no interest in the verve, madness or Tegan and Sara. Jack Johnson is an odd choice for a headliner.

Saturday - Portishead, Kraftwerk, Death Cab, MIA, Hot Chip, Cold War Kids, DeVotchKa, Mark Ronson, the Teenagers, Bonde Do Role, Akron/Family, MGMT, New Young Pony Club, 120 Days

Probably the weakest day. Certainly the day that I love the fewest bands. Friday I will be forced to choose between bands that I would die to see, today I will roam around looking for my new favorite band. Stephen Malkmus would be good to see since I like pavement a lot but I don't know his new music.

Sunday - My Morning Jacket, Justice, The Field, The Streets, Cool Kids, Booka Shade, Simian Mobile Disco, Autolux, Black Kids, holy fuck, Shout Out Louds

The day that I spent in the dance tent. Seriously Jusice, the Field, Booka Shade and Simian Mobile Disco all great dance music. Kinda wish that Oakenfold, Van Dyke or Teisto were also there just to get my trance on but this will suffice. I would be excited for Dark Side of the Moon if it were Pink Floyd, not Roger Waters solo.

A Return of Sorts

Ok so I have been blogging about the 52 and a couple other things here and there but I have not given you guys what you want most...a playlist. (Feel My Heat) hasn't return yet, it will almost certainly be back next week. So since I am not spinning records tonight I figure the least I can do is give you a playlist. A list of what I am playing and what I bought recently and playing heavily. So here we go:

(feel my theoretical heat):
Jose Gonzalez - Down the Line
Radiohead - Jigsaw Falling into Place
The National - Mistaken for Strangers
Cat Power - I Don't Blame You
Feist - 1234
White Stripes - Rag and Bone
Octopus Project - Snow Tip Cap Mountain
Of Montreal - Past is a Grotesque Animal
Magnetic Fields - California Girls
Kevin Drew - Backed Out On the...
Blonde Redhead - 23
Battles - Tonto

In other news, the best new music committee is up and running and I am still amazed at the number of sucky cd's there are. Seriously half of the albums I got this time sucked and I am upset about this. So from now on only artists I like can make albums.

I went to the basketball game today. Miami was playing SUNY Buffalo which makes me laugh since the two schools are far away and the conference is 90% Ohio schools seemingly. Anyway the thing that shocked me most is that I believe either Mater Dei or Santa Margarita could have beat both teams, or at least been competitive with them. It was a kind of boring game but it was fun to go out and do something.

3 Down, 49 To Go

Book: Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
Album: In Our Nature - Jose Gonzalez

Into the Wild is a tough book. Not tough in any of the traditional senses though. It is not conceptually difficult nor is it difficult to read. It evokes an emotion thought that is difficult to place and haunts like a spector over you. Clearly the author relates to McCandless and attempts to convey the feeling that McCandless would have experienced during the story. The author did an admirable job of portraying the story without being heavy handed nor cold and unfeeling.

The book makes me both never want to leave the developed world and completely disappear. The boy's story is at once compelling and frustrating. Demonstrating the stuborness that people have inside them and how some absolutely refuse to back down from their principles. However there is something inspirational about how McCandless refused to give up on his principles and how he wanted to return to nature. He was able to survive for much longer than I expected and was able to succeed in conditions I doubt I could.

In Our Nature is the back to basics approach that McCandless certainly agreed with. An album composed of just a guy and his guitar. The songs are largely about peoples own selfishness and greed, anti-war and anti-suffering style songs. Yet the songs do not come off as preachy. Maybe it is the fact Gonzalez is more subtle and less blatant than most other singer songwriters. Either way this albums feeling and sound leaves an impression similar to the book.

2 Down, 50 To Go

Book: Best American Comics 2007
Album: Hello, Avalanche - The Octopus Project

Since I can remember my Dad has read the Best American Essays and Short Stories compilations. So when I saw that they put out a Best American Comics I had to get on it. I liked it pretty well. It was not amazing but it certainly had some really good comics and things that I want to check out. It gave me a good half dozen books to buy and look for. Most of the stories in the book were not about super heroes or extraordinary feats, but rather everyday life and situations. I also want to read this years Best American Short Stories because I have been told that Stephen Kings complains that the form of short story is dying.

Hello, Avalanche completely compliments the idea of comic book. It is music that is nothing but vibrant colors and fun sounds. Very much like Black Moth Super Rainbow's Dandelion Gum except happier and less deep beats. Also there are no vocals which make you focus on the sound complimenting comic books seeming lack of words and emphasis on art. It is little surprise that this band is currently popular on the blogs and was selected last year to open Coachella. I suggest both very much.

Winter Break: Summary

Winter Break is sadly over and it is time to go back to school unfortunately. I want to stay with Shareen and the Fam but I know I have to go back. So I feel it is appropriate to list the important events that happened over the break, or if not important at least memorable. Anyway here are a couple:

• Shareen picking me up from the airport
• Going to the Beach at night
• Finding out I actually went to the entire semester on my last paycheck from work
• The San Diego excursion
• Shareen: Santa's Little Helper
• Colin's Basketball
  
• Criticizing my Brothers basketball games with my dad
  
• Playing Guitar Hero with Ethan
• Through the Fire and Flames
• My Grandfather's visit
• The Christmas Tree
• My losing streak with the microwave/murdering of frozen food
• New Year's Rock Band
• Talking about, but never going to, LA and the Desert
• Finding out my grades
• Social Distortion
• Jack Haley
• Coming up with the idea of 52
• "Buying This They Don't Need, For People They Don't Like, and Can Not Really Afford" - The Family Xmas Moto
• South Coast
• Seeing Every Movie Released
• The House Renovation Talk
• Going to Costco with my Mom, a lot
• Talking about, but not actually doing it, driving my car to school
  

Anyway that is a partial list there is more but that is what stands out in my mind.