FPSA

FPSA is now ThoracicFaxMachine.com

2007-11-16T17:41:00.000-08:00

fpsa.blogspot.com is now ThoracicFaxMachine.com.

SO3 in Brooklyn Saturday Night!

2007-11-08T09:54:00.000-08:00

My good friend, Mike, and his good band, SO3, are travelling all the way to NYC (from San Diego) to rock out at a benefit concert for the victims of the SoCal wildfires.

SO3 has a very eclectic rock sound that ranges from Led Zeppelin to Radiohead, self-described as "guitar-driven rock, pop and blues."

The night features a solid line-up, headlined by Corn Mo. The crew set to tear the roof off of the Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn. Hit the link for audio tracks, details, and directions.

See you there.

Thoughts Meander Like A Restless Wind

2007-11-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

Across The Universe by Natalie Czech (2000)

Musak:Original Soundtrack

There's really nothing to say about the original soundtrack for the rock-musical film Across The Universe (2007). As you'd imagine, the movie is full of Beatles covers sang by the cast and various legendary artists.

Haven't seen the film yet (tops on my to-see list), but the music alone sets the bar pretty high.

MP3: Jim Sturgess - All My Loving

MP3: T.V. Carpio - I Want To Hold Your Hand

MP3: Jim Sturgess - Across The Universe

MP3: Evan Rachel Wood - Blackbird

from Various Artists - Across The Universe OST (2007)
[hi-def movie trailer / acrosstheuniverse.com / amazon.com]

All The Ways You Move

2007-11-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

took this pic of
Downtown Manhattan skyline late one evening

Musak:Rock/Alt.

I've probably posted this picture before. And I've probably posted music from Stars before. But I'll do it again because this new album, In Our Bedroom After The War, is just so dope. It was about this time of the year, 2 years ago when I first heard Set Yourself On Fire and I've been patiently waiting for their follow-up, building up expectations. Unlike the first time I unwrapped one of my coveted copies of Superman #75 (10 years later) from it's mysterious black case, the Stars album lived up to all the hype.

MP3: Stars - My Favourite Book

MP3: Stars - The Ghost of Genova Heights

MP3: Stars - Barricade
*would have made a great closing-credits song for Green Street Hooligans

from In Our Bedroom After The War (2007)
[band site / myspace / amazon.com]

Halloween 2004

2007-11-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Found some old pictures from Halloween 2004. Pics of Halloween 2007 are on their way.

Dave as Hans, myself as Andre '84, Mark as ?, and Rob as !

Me and Dave

Dimes & Pennies Twerp, Get It Hotter

2007-10-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

Naeem of Spank Rock on NPR

It almost slipped my mind, like that last dream I have before the alarm goes off. Last weekend we stepped out with The Turntable Slave and Gigante to check out B-More's best boot-bass-bump'n buddys (? couldn't think of another b-word), Spank Rock.

The night's lineup was full of surprises, as we had the pleasure of finding out after somehow showing up 3 hours before Spank Rock was to hit the stage. It's no use going into details, as I'd have a better chance explaining the color blue to a blind person - needless to say, it was a good time.

Here are some of that night's bests:

Musak:Booty-Bass/Electro/Dance

These Brooklyn girls did it right, with M.I.A. making a cameo on the stage.
MP3: Santogold feat. Spank Rock - Shove It
from I Believe In Santogold
[myspace]

The bass went up 4 clicks, the temp up 15 degrees, and the mic was passed to Spank Rock.
MP3: DJ Kentaro - Spank Rock - Free
from Free (2007)
[djkentaro.com / ninjatune.com / amazon.com]

MP3: Spank Rock & Bennie Blanco are Bangers and Cash - Loose
from Bangers and Cash (2007)
[myspace / amazon.com]

and a classic that was left off the set list... I think...
MP3: Spank Rock - Coke and Wet (Round Table Knights remix)
[myspace / amazon.com]

I Love My Ears Like They Were My Eyes

2007-10-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

Musak:Hip-Hop/Rock/Funk/Instrumental

Booyah and a side of rice. Been on a serious instrumental kick recently. I don't wanna hear no one say nothing.

This album was on heavy rotation all weekend and served us well in pre-shenanigan festivities.

MP3: Beastie Boys - B For My Name

MP3: Beastie Boys - Electric Worm

MP3: Beastie Boys - The Rat Cage

from The Mix-Up (2007)
[beastieboys.com / myspace / amazon.com]

Another Dot-Com Bubble: Boom or Burst?

2007-10-17T14:37:00.001-07:00

Just read this great NY Times article that really got me thinking. There's been a bunch of talk about these amazing price tags (or "valuations") being thrown at internet start-up companies who either 1. I've never even heard of or used their product (some don't even have a product) or 2. companies who have revenues similar to my household income (no offense, Sharon).

It's got bubble-burst written all over it... or does it?

Link: NYTimes.com - 10.17.07 - Silicon Valley Start-Ups Awash in Dollars, Again

That's All I Need

2007-10-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

Wilco - Paradiso by EMEK

Musak:Folk/Rock

MP3: Wilco - Red-Eyed and Blue

MP3: Wilco - I Got You (At The End Of The Century)

both from Being There (1996)
[wilcoworld.net / myspace / amazon.com]

Power To The Banjo

2007-10-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Iron & Wine Woman
by Mark McDevitt [MethaneStudios.com]
"The woman concept was inspired by the songs Woman King and Jezebel."

Musak:Folk/Rock

At home, I often sit at my computer and throw on my noise-canceling headphones. It takes about 2-3 songs before I realize that the power switch is still on off. When I hit the switch the a/c sitting about 2 feet to my left, the TV, the ambulance racing up 3rd Ave, mid-week bar patrons loitering outside my building - they all become silent. As that happens, the bass kicks in, the treble becomes crisp, the mids rise ~5db... basically the music gains this amazing 3rd dimension and I remember why I dished out serious loot for this noise-making headgear.

When I first heard the latest Iron & Wine album, it was like someone hit the power switch on their music (compared to previous I&W releases). It feels like with each successive album, Sam Beam incorporates more instruments and records with better equipment.

Is that for better, or for worse? Well you know how some people love to hear tunes on vinyl and others love their digital, distortion-free, uncompressed CD's?

Though their latest album, The Shepherd's Dog (2007), is towards the top of my best-of-the-year list, I can't say it's Iron & Wine's best ever - though I'd argue it 'till sunrise. Sometimes even I like to drop the needle on the wheels of steel.

MP3: Iron & Wine - Boy With A Coin

MP3: Iron & Wine - House By The Sea

MP3: Iron & Wine - Innocent Bones

from The Shepherd's Dog (2007)
[ironandwine.com / myspace / amazon.com]

A Fun Word

2007-10-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

armamentarium:
1.the aggregate of equipment, methods, and techniques available to one for carrying out one's duties
2.a fruitful source of devices or materials available or used for an undertaking

That word's definition sounds pretty aggressive, right? Like it would be used to describe a soldier, or James Bond. Where did I find this word? I was reading a paper and came across this sentence:

...it lacks the rich libraries that are a characteristic of modern code development environments such as Java or Microsoft .NET, and which today’s programmers have come to expect as a standard part of their armamentarium.

I mean really?!?

Hands Are Bloody From Killing Time

2007-10-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

Where Crows Die by Bob Dob

If you're like me, then you're probably thinking about how you're gonna spend your tax refund... and everything else in between should be pretty fun. Hoping to voluntarily see some snow this winter - whilst wearing my Mission Six boots. Seeing snow whilst wearing any other boots is almost definitely a hassle... not looking forward to that.

Why's everyone running for the shores this winter as I run for the hills?

Musak:Downtempo/Electro/Dancehall

MP3: Diplo feat. Sandra Melody, Vybz Cartel, and Pantera Os Danadinhos - Diplo Rhythm

MP3: Diplo - Into The Sun

from Florida (2004)
[formdiplo.com / myspace / amazon.com]

Throw Up Both My Hands

2007-10-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

pic of midtown taken from the Roosevelt Island Tram by Sharon

Musak:Rock/Alternative

I'm a fan of the live stuff. I've heard John do tracks like Neon 10 different ways on 10 different live recordings and each time you hear him add something new to it.

A few months ago I stumbled upon this barely-known live album from 2004 called As/Is. Added bonus: I have a print hanging in my living room of the same painting featured on the album cover - but so do millions of other people. [wikipedia.org/Hokusai]

MP3: John Mayer - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
*I imagine Marvin would give this a thumbs-up. And who expected turntables in the background?

MP3: John Mayer - Neon

MP3: John Mayer - Covered In Rain

tracks from As/Is (2004)
[johnmayer.com / myspace.com / amazon.com]

Division Day - Beartrap Island out TODAY

2007-10-02T04:56:00.000-07:00

Parallel With The Evil Empire

2007-10-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

Apple created software called Bootcamp. If you're not familiar, all new Macs come equipped with Intel processors meaning Windows XP/Vista can run natively on your Apple. Why is not important. They did it, and I use it.

However, before I started using Parallels I would have to reboot and boot directly into Windows. Now, I can switch while in MacOSX. The pièce de résistance is a feature called Coherence. It allows for Windows to run simultaneously with MacOSX. You gotta see it to believe it.

There's something very unnatural about this screenshot from my comp...
Image: MacOSX and WindowsXP via Parallel Desktop's Coherence Feature

The Turntable Slave

2007-09-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself.
Make your own and drop a link in the comments.
*Rob hooked up the site. Thanks.

Musak:Hip-Hop/Comedy

Joe hooked up deez goods.

MP3: Flight of the Conchords - Hiphopopotamus vs the Rhymenocerous
[conchords.co.nz / myspace.com]

How Much For That Noise Coming Out Your Trumpet?

2007-09-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

"flying funk" by little warrior designs

Rant:Extrospection

Just give me something objective and unbiased, and let me form my own opinion. The city is flooded with opinions, perhaps some in places they don't belong. You don't have to walk more than 5 feet to get your hands on a free news publication - free if you're willing to see the world through filtered lenses and regurgitated opinions. Everything comes with a price. We got National Enquirer-esque daily press posing as "your neighborhood newspaper" and while we laugh at the 3-headed alien baby, no one here seems to laugh when flipping through their daily your-world-in-10-pages dose.

In my 9-5 (and in general) I try to capture information 'upstream', and interpret it when I'm ready. It seems like a majority of people in this city like their opinions spoon-fed, and their newspapers to read like a comic book.

Thank goodness for good music. Good, untainted, inspired music that lives below the radioactive sweep of the pop-radar.

Musak:Funk

MP3: The Budos Band - Chicago Falcon

MP3: The Budos Band - Adeniji

from The Budos Band II (2007)
[thebudos.com / myspace.com / amazon.com]

Musak:Electro/Downtempo

MP3: I Monster - Daydream In Blue
*if this sounds familiar, then you must be a Lupe Fiasco fan

MP3: I Monster - Untitled

from Neveroddoreven (orig. 2004 / in U.S. 2007)
[imonstermusic.com / msypace.com / amazon.com]

Share Bear: Supports Snuggly Pirates

2007-09-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

Rise up and free musak, Share

Link: DefectiveYeti.com - RIAA Files Suit Against Share Bear

C3-PO Files Suit In Bitter Battle Over Hip-Hop Handle

2007-09-22T07:58:00.000-07:00

Been in bad shape for the better part of this week. Allergies? Head-cold? Who the hell knows. Feels like my head is in a balloon... and not even a helium one so that perhaps I could get a laugh over a high-pitch voice or something.

Everyonce in a while, I load up on so many vitamins and Green Machines that my head rises out of the clouds just long enough to enjoy some hip-hop. The current choice cuts: RJD2 instrumentals.

Musak:Hip-Hop/Instrumental

Here's a lesson in the goods.

MP3: RJD2 - Unlimited

MP3: RJD2 - Saliva

MP3: RJD2 - The Takeoff
*Would make the perfect soundtrack for the next-gen version of Darius Twin. Keeping my fingers crossed.

from In Rare Form [Unreleased Instrumentals] (2005)
[rjd2site.com / myspace.com / amazon.com]

BONUS:

MP3: RJD2 - One Day
from Since We Last Spoke (2004)
[amazon.com]

Division Day set to blow't up

2007-09-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

The guys of Division Day are set to release their label-legit album Beartrap Island on Eenie Meenie Records. Here's some off-the-wax stuff, because we all know someone who knows someone.

Musak:Alt/Rock/Remix

MP3: Division Day - Ricky (Tandemoro Remix)

MP3: Division Day - Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode cover)

these tracks are unreleased
check out Beartrap Island (2007), pre-order at EenieMeenie.com

Rock'n The 'Burbs

2007-09-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

Giardini Di Miro

Musak:Post-Rock

I'm often reminded of EITS when listening to Italian post-rockers Giardini Di Miro. As with most good tunes in the genre, you find yourself getting lost in the melodies and 8+ minute compositions. There's a very consistent theme throughout the album that almost seamlessly connects each track. You know it's working when you have a hard time telling that the tracks have changed, even when the album is on shuffle.

Giardini Di Miro puts on a pretty strong argument for setting up a permanent home on my post-rock playlist. Their almost 'floating' guitar-plucks, smooth horns, and dramatic strings more than make up for the less-than-stellar vocals (which only sparsely appear on a few tracks, thankfully). Though I wouldn't consider them a substitute for bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor!, EITS, or Battles, their 2001 release Rise and Fall of Academic Drifting definitely fills the silence when you've played out The Rescue, again (resurrected roughly 8 times on my iPood over the last year).

MP3: Giardini Di Miro - Pearl Harbor

MP3: Giardini Di Miro - Penguin Serenade

MP3: Giardini Di Miro - Rise and Fall of Academic Drifting

from Rise and Fall of Academic Drifting (2001)
[giardinidimiro.com / myspace.com / amazon.com]

We Stay Connected

2007-09-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

Talib Kweli - Eardrum (2007)
[original art] by John Leigh
[www.karborn.com]

Musak:Hip-Hop

MP3: Talib Kweli - Country Cousins

MP3: Talib Kweli - Hostile Gospel

from Eardrum (2007)
[talibkweli.com / myspace.com / amazon.com]

Actual Size

2007-09-11T04:54:00.000-07:00

for fans of the late, great Mitch Hedberg...

Demetri Martin - "The Jokes with Guitar"
video by TurbolceX

Old Skewall

2007-09-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

Start the hype machine. There's something brewing with the old crew. Stay tuned.

For now, check out the new splash screen over at TheFPSA.net courtesy of Dave The Turntable Slave. [Check it]

Ain't No One Gonna Break My Stride

2007-09-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

Musak:Reggae/Roots/Rock/Remix

MP3: Matisyahu - Jerusalem (Out of Darkness Comes Light)

MP3: Matisyahu - Message In A Bottle (The Police cover)

MP3: Matisyahu - Jerusalem (Swisha House Mix)

from No Place To Be (2006)
[matismusic.com / myspace.com / amazon.com]

Vacate The Premises

2007-08-29T16:52:00.000-07:00

check out the original. classic dave.

Musak:Holiday Mix

Be back next week. Gotta leave you with some of the greatest.

MP3: Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)
from The Very Best Of Daryl Hall & John Oates (2001)
[band site / wikipedia.org / amazon.com]

MP3: Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill
from Peter Gabriel 1: Car (1977)
[petergabriel.com / wikipedia.org / amazon.com]

MP3: Tears For Fears - Head Over Heals/Broken (live)
from Songs From The Big Chair (1999 UK Bonus Tracks)
[tearsforfears.net / wikipedia.org / amazon.com]
*yes, that is live. so sick.

If I'm Ever Gonna Talk The Talk, I Gotta Walk The Walk

2007-08-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

Cab Roof by Dan Zimmer [danzim.com]

I was in this cab with D (party-hopping) and he sticks his camera out the window. The results were pretty dope.

Musak:Hip-Hop

UPDATED: The full track for Starz is up now. Something went screwy with the previous upload.
MP3: Jaylib - Starz
from Champion Sound (2003)
[stonesthrow.com/jaylib / myspace.com / amazon.com]

MP3: Jay Dee feat. Pharoahe Monch - Love
from The Shining (2006)
[stonesthrow.com/jdilla / myspace.com / amazon.com]

MP3: The Coup - Tight
from Party Music (2001)
[band site / myspace.com / amazon.com]

Ping Pong

2007-08-26T13:52:00.001-07:00

Ping Pong, originally uploaded by fpsaceo.

Uploaded a gang of photos from the Summer of 2001. Courtesy of Joey.

Uh-Oh, West Coast, Let's Go

2007-08-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

Shinoda at Projekt Revolution tonight with LP
live from myspace.com/nowwhat

Musak:Hip-Hop/Rock

Shinoda's other hat...

MP3: Fort Minor feat. Sixx John - There They Go (Green Lantern Mix)
from Fort Minor - We Major (mixtape)
[fortminor.com / myspace.com]

Sim City-Scape

2007-08-19T17:07:00.001-07:00

Site Update:
Added a new image for The Crew links. PS'd a picture that I took of the New York Life Insurance Company (NYLIC) building [image] from atop the Empire State Building. It reminds me of a close-up scene from the ol' Sim City computer game [screen shot]. Life imitating video games imitating life.

YES: Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger [2007]

2007-08-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

=

Musak:Rock/Folk

Ryan Adams on Easy Tiger:

He agrees that the tone of Easy Tiger is different — not dark, just different—and suggests in passing that it may have something to do with both sobering up and growing up (he’s 32). Then he goes on to talk about the process, which is clearly something close to his heart. “I write on a manual typewriter,” he says. “I get up, I have a cup of coffee, I sit down at the typewriter. I never spent a useless day behind a typewriter.”

'Never spent a useless day behind a typewriter.' Neither have I - behind a keyboard, I mean. Well, maybe a day or two.

MP3: Ryan Adams - Everybody Knows

MP3: Ryan Adams - Two Hearts

MP3: Ryan Adams - These Girls

from Easy Tiger (2007)
[band site / myspace.com / amazon.com]

MAMP

2007-08-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

MAMP: Mac Apache MySQL PHP

Link: DevArticles.com - Using PHP and Apache on MacOSX

It's Dirty Business Keeping These Hands Clean

2007-08-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

My iPod felt like busting out very homogeneous jams whilst in shuffle mode - does your iPod's shuffle suck also? So since my ears are tired of hearing hip-hop all day (as much as I heart it), here's a little aural variety courtesy of some eclectic S.O.B.'s. Mix'n it up through your mid-week commute.

Musak:Mix-Tape

Electro/Funk/Dance/Instrumental
You like the LCD Soundsystem? Then you'll like the Fujiya & Miyagi. Fight hard to keep your toes from tapping while bumping this track. Use every muscle in your brain to stop the groove-muscle in your foot. Try it. Fail. Try again. Fail again.
MP3: Fujiya & Miyagi - Cassettesingle
from Transparent Things (2007)
[band site / myspace.com / amazon.com]

Hip-Hop/Instrumental
I just spoke with The Turntable Slave and he got me thinking back to episode 4 of The FPSA Show when he and my lil' bro battled over MIDI renditions of classic hip-hop beats. So I'm gonna give the kids what they wanted all along: here's a fairly dope instrumental for you to study, practice, and up your skills for the next battle... whenever that may be.
MP3: Bonobo - The Sicilian
from One Offs... Remixes & B Sides (2002)
[band site / myspace.com / amazon.com]

Funk/Word'm Up
I'd bet that if this track was the first and last song that you listened to, then that day would be a great. To prove this, I'll volunteer myself tomorrow. Now that's standing by my word. Stay tuned.
MP3: PlantLife - Luv 4 The World (Why They Gotta Hate?)
from The Return of Jack Splash (2004)
[band site / amazon.com]

NCAA Football 2007 Schedule

2007-08-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

Here's the 2007 NCAA Football Schedule using teams'
helmets, broken down by conference. Looks pretty dope as a desktop picture.
There are 2 ways to download it:
[MS Excel - full schedule, recommended]
[link to mstatesportsblog.com for PDF, by conference]

Your Face In The Back Of My Eyes

2007-08-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

=

Musak:Rock

Incubus has evolved to hold many forms of rock over the years. I remember on their 1997 release S.C.I.E.N.C.E. they threw in experimental tracks like 'Calgone' and event straight-up funk/rock tracks like 'Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)' - still one of my favorite Incubus tracks.

Their 1999 release Make Yourself was arguably one of the best MTV-friendly rock albums of that year (and perhaps one of the best since). Almost every track found its way to the radio and Incubus became a household name.

In 2002, the boys shacked up at the beach and recorded Morning View, a noticeably softer album in comparison to previous years. The album's cover, an early morning marine-layer-covered shot of the rocky California coastline, probably best foreshadows the albums smooth So-Cal feel.

Fast-foreward a few years, and a few albums, later and you find an Incubus album the likes of which we haven't heard in almost seven years. Light Grenades (2006) is lined wall-to-wall with great pure rock tracks, with moments of acoustic chillax to break-up the album's energy. There are still a few radio-friendly tracks, like 'Dig', but for the most part I found myself having to adjust to those more intense rock years from high school... at least during my first few listens. It didn't take long for Incubus to come back full-circle to their roots - at least the roots that catapulted them to fame back in 1999.

MP3: Incubus - Anna Molly

MP3: Incubus - Paper Shoes

from Light Grenades (2006)
[band site / myspace.com / amazon.com]

In Cartoon Color

2007-08-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

Me in the present, as a Simpsons character
[make your own at simpsonsmovie.com]
*got the idea from Rob. check him out.
if you make one, send me the link!

YES: Voxtrot - Voxtrot (2007)

2007-08-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

=

Musak:Indie/Rock

MP3: Voxtrot - Ghost

MP3: Voxtrot - Real Life Version

from Voxtrot (2007)
[band site / myspace.com / amazon.com]

Dan Zimmer's Art Opening Tonight!

2007-08-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

Photos by Daniel Zimmer [danzim.com]

7pm, Tuesday August 7th

at Jadis

42 Rivington street, New York, NY 10002 US [View Map]

YES: Robbers On High Street - Grand Animals (2007)

2007-08-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

Musak:Rock/Remix

MP3: Robbers On High Street - Crown Victoria

MP3: Robbers On High Street - Married Young (The Glass Remix)

from Grand Animals (2007)
[band site / myspace.com/ amazon.com]

NO: The Chemical Brothers - We Are The Night (2007)

2007-08-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

Musak:Electro

MP3: The Chemical Brothers - The Salmon Dance (feat. Fat Lip)
from We Are The Night (2007)
[amazon.com]

Ladies And Gentlemen, The C-O-Double-M-O-N

2007-08-01T18:49:00.000-07:00

Common - Finding Forever (2007)
[stream full album via Rhapsody Online]

Summer 2000 - Rediscovered Pics

2007-08-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! Photos is closing down. They own Flickr so they give you the option of migrating over your pictures. Considering I forgot all about my Yahoo photos account, I consider this quite a find.

Here are some pics from the summer of 2000. I went to summer school at the University of Hawaii, located in the town on Manoa just above Honolulu, Oahu:

en route to snorkel

Musak:Acoustic

MP3: G Love - Rhyme For The Summertime
from Oh Yeah (1992)
[philadelphonic.com / myspace.com / buy it here]

Rise And Tune Your Pianos

2007-07-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

Video: Augie March - Cold Acre

Augie March tonight at Mercury Lounge

Musak:Rock

MP3: Augie March - Mother Greer
from Moo, You Bloody Choir (out in U.S. August 7th)
[band site / myspace.com / buy at amazon.com]

Like The Days Have No Numbers

2007-07-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

someone had to walk home from the LES

Musak:Folk/Acoustic

If my ears had a thirst that only a good guitar melody and inspired lyrics could quench, then Fionn Regan sounds like a tall glass of water after eating a half-pound of sunflower seeds during a day game in the bleachers at Yankees Stadium. In fact, all those things happened last weekend: Yankees won 18-3 and I got Fionn's The End of History (2006). Eventually, I got a tall glass of water.

Day-to-day, my taste in music can be as volatile as market prices of ahi tuna (very). Only one thing is certain when I wake up each morning: a bowl of Fiber One Honey Clusters with vanilla rice milk. Today I woke up needing some advice on life, so I turned to my good friend, folk music.

Fionn Regan is a soft-spoken Irishman who, at 26 y/o, sings words that remind me of veterans like Woody Guthrie and especially contemporaries like Tom Brosseau.

From Fionn's biography:

Regan’s siren song, while often melancholy, isn’t universally downbeat. As he proves in several of The End of History’s standout tracks, he’s every bit as capable of tickling listeners with bits of wry humor -- as he does in “Put a Penny in the Slot,” perhaps a kleptomaniac’s paean, or warming them with the burnished nostalgic tones of “The Underwood Typewriter.” Even the album title itself, which, might seem dark on the surface, has an element of uplift in it, in Regan’s eyes.

MP3: Fionn Regan - Underwood Typewriter

MP3: Fionn Regan - Put A Penny In The Slot

both tracks from The End Of History (2006)
[myspace.com / artist site / buy at amazon.com]

VIDEO: Fionn Regan - Be Good Or Be Gone

Play On, Musak Player

2007-07-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

SITE UPDATE: the flash music player at top of the page now runs playlists continuously (doesn't stop after each song).

The City, She Don't Love You

2007-07-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you stand on a rooftop and it all makes sense. Other times, you're down on the streets scratching your head.

Every once in a while I fall out of sync with things. My fingers snap but can't find that beat. On days like this, you gotta look a little harder.

Musak:Rock

MP3: Mystery Jets - Soluble In Air
from Zootime (2007)
[myspace.com / band site / buy at amazon.com]

Miro

2007-07-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

video. youtube. HD. torrents. so sick.

As The Wind Blows, My Heart Knows

2007-07-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

I had this great idea for a blog post. So good that I wanted to talk to someone about it and refine the thesis - I think it was some kind of theory or something. Anyways, I forgot it.

Perhaps I'll update later if it comes to me.

Also, the block that I work on (midtown office) is covered in mud and crap. Glad I got out of the office on time today because boy do I hate steam, mud, and crap. Does this mean that I'll have to take the bus to work tomorrow?.... can't wait to find out.

To the beats!...

Musak:Jazz/Hip-hop

MP3: Madlib - Stepping Into Tomorrow
from Shades of Blue (2003)
[stonesthrow.com/madlib / stream the album / buy via amazon.com]

Musak:Downtempo/Groovin'-Movin'

MP3: Soulstice - Wind (Fila Brazilia Mix)
from Hotel Costes vol.08 by Stephane Pompougnac (2002)
[buy it via amazon.com]

When FPSA Attacks

2007-07-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

I had to work today (Saturday). Taught a class. Was so tired when I came home that I took a nap. It was one of those amazing siestas, and I woke up with an image in my mind. It was from a dream I had where a robot was running through my neighborhood. Details of the dream are fuzzy, but I did my best to materialize it. Check out "the crew" links on the right sidebar (they're mouse-overs) ->

I combined the cover from Incubus' When Incubus Attacks and a dope picture that my buddy Dan Zimmer took. Check out the originals:

When Incubus Attacks album cover [amazon.com]

Dan Zimmer's untitled picture [danzim.com / myspace.com]

Also, I gave Dan some linkage in the sidebar:

Mario and Phil: Rock'n In The USA

2007-07-11T05:11:00.000-07:00

someone had to walk home from the Brooklyn Brewery

History: 1985

1985 memorable events:

-I land in the United States for the first time. LAX via Ankara, Turkey.
-Nintendo releases Super Mario Brothers in September. It becomes the best selling video game of THE YEAR in just 3 months with 10 million copies (over 100 million copies sold to date).

-Nintendo also does a limited test release of Nintendo (NES) console and the Robotic Operating Buddy (ROB) in the US.
-In January, Reagen is sworn in, again.

-Microsoft released Windows 1.0

-Steve Jobs is fired/quits from Apple's Machintosh division - sells all but 1 of his stock in Apple.

-Back To The Future is released.
-Phil Collins releases No Jacket Required (yes, it belongs on this list)

Wikipedia articles: 1985 and 1985 In Video Gaming

Musak:80's Pop-Synth

MP3: Phil Collins - Don't Lose My Number

MP3: Phil Collins - Take Me Home

other notable album tracks: Sussudio, One More Night, Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore

tracks from No Jacket Required (1985)
[buy it at amazon.com]

Me And My Apples

2007-07-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

each image links to wikipedia

I took a trip down memory lane, and it was filled with Apple blossoms... cheesy. My first home computer was a PC that Dad brought home in 1988, I believe it was built by Sun Microsystems. It came with a thick Intro To MS-DOS book, which was some exciting reading for my 2nd grade mind.

Five years later (1993), Apple was hitting the home computing market in a big way and I was more than enthusiastic about their graphical user interface. At the time, Microsoft was pushing Windows 3.11 and Apple was just getting System 7 off the ground. After a bit of research, we decided to make the move to a Mac and picked up an Apple Macintosh LC III. It sported an entry-level Motorola 68030 processor and clocked-in at a blazing 25 MHz - that's right, 25 MHz. My model had 8 Mb of RAM, and a roomy 80 Mb hard drive. Check out some more of the fab specs here.

The LC III was worth it's weight in gold, but couldn't keep up with the growing demands that the home computer was expected to carry. The internet was booming, as were CD-ROM-based games that required more RAM and processor power than the LC III could dish out. In 1994, Apple released the PowerMac line of Macs. I didn't make the jump to Apple's PowerPC processor until it's second generation (I like to wait for the first-gen kinks to get worked out). The Power Macintosh 7200/90 (btw, the 90 stands for 90 MHz) landed on my desk in the fall of 1995. Check out the specs here.

That would be my last Apple product for over a decade.

Junior year of high school, I wanted to make the jump to a high-power computer but I didn't want to buy a pre-fabricated, over-priced Apple. In the late 90's, Apple was taking a nose-dive in quality and popularity. They were selling 3rd party computers (believe it or not) made by companies like Motorola and Sun Microsystems. Could you imagine buying a Motorola Mac these days? Very few companies made Mac components, meaning that you had to purchase almost everything through Apple, and consequently at a heavy premium. I was sick of getting raped by Apple so in the summer of 1998 I built my own PC-compatible, purchasing premium parts and assembling it myself (of course with the help of Rob, Joey, and Raynus) - based on my own custom specs. In fact, the computer I built was not only top-of-the-line, but cost me less than an entry-level Mac of the moment. It would do me right for the next 8 years. I cursed Apple and headed off to college where I only wandered into the realm of Mac for video/graphic editing.

Then something magical happened around 2001. Apple released Mac OSX. All of a sudden, I found my self once again fascinated by Apple's ground-breaking graphical user interface. Editing video, navigating between programs, even managing files in directories were all fluid and simplified with OSX's intuitive built-in utilities and customizable view options. I was a broke college student and Apples were still the Mercedes of personal computing, so I'd have to wait until my checking account climbed above it's constant <$20 range before I could once again get a Mac of my own.

I studied Apple products, waited for a few generations to pass, and a few paychecks to build up, and in the spring of 2007 I decided to move to NYC. It was clear that my old clunker PC wasn't worth the shipping costs. When I resigned from my job in San Diego, I had accrued roughly 240 hours of unused vacation time... in other words, I left with an extra 1 1/2 paychecks. So I walked over to UCSD's bookstore and walked out with a Macbook Pro [specs] and iPod Nano.

Now just to do a comparison of my Macs:

Processor Speed:
1993: Mac LC III, 25 MHz
1995: PowerMac 7200/90, 90 MHZ
2007: Macbook Pro, dual 2 GHz (or ~2,000+ MHZ)

Memory:
LC III: 8 Mb of RAM
PowerMac: 16 Mb of RAM
Macbook Pro: 1 Gb of RAM (or ~1,000 Mb)

Original Retail Price:
LC III: $1350
PowerMac 7200/90: $1900
MacBook Pro: $1800 (student discount - booyah)

I've seen Apple revolutionize home computing, then fall to shit and into oblivion, then rebuild and do it all again. Hopefully they can keep it together this time. From their current position, it would be a LONG fall to the bottom.

UPDATE via Jesus! Check this out:

Robots In Disguise

2007-07-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

MP-5 Masterpiece Megatron courtesy of Jesus

Seeing the new Transformers movie tonight in DLP.

That's technology-speak for Booyah!

Oh, That Song Is Sing'n

2007-07-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

perusing through antique stores in BK

A couple of fun things in the realm of all those internets. First, my long time XML playlist website of choice got bought out by those beeyotch Yahoo! scrubs who are shutting it down and using the previously free resource to push their constrictive music player. Consequently, I gave myself a crash course in XML [which isn't that hard] and decided to write my own playlists. I also found my own flash media player, courtesy of JW Media (Jeroen Wijering, not Jehovah's Witness).
If you're keeping track, I got my own domain [theFPSA.net], my own file hosting [via godaddy.com], and now my own flash XML player. All of the essentials are now stored "in-house" and free from the bull that comes along with sell-outs like webjay.org (R.I.P.). In other words, my music player (and overall site) is mucho more stable.

But I still keep around a few non-essentials courtesy of The Man. I've added a second media player over on the right sidebar ->
It's a flash player via last.fm that streams music based on a playlist that my iTunes sends to their database on a realtime basis. Most of those lists on my sidebar are from last.fm, an easy to use online database that plugs right into my iTunes (works in the backgroung) and provides some interesting stats.

To the tunes...

Musak:Downtempo/Electro/Acoustic/Chillax

Someone went and iced the heat that used to run through every track that UK's The Cinematic Orchestra had produced prior to their latest release, Ma Fleur (2007). It's their first major release since 2002's Every Day, and I've been rock'n their music since 1999's Motion... I credit that ground-braking album with changing the physical shape of my inner ear.

I read a review on amazon.com that probably said it best: "There have been plenty of professional reviews of this album that have either loved the new direction that TCO has taken or lamented the passing of a torch-bearer of new jazz. I have to say that I feel both ways."

They moved away from Ninja Tune's "Solid Steel" edge, and have moved towards Bonobo's never ending sunset. That's not a bad thing. In fact, I love listening to Bonobo, and I can't stop listening to Ma Fleur... it's just a 180 from that TCO sound I grew up with. If that makes sense to you, then hit play and chillax to an instant classic.

MP3: The Cinematic Orchestra - Music Box (feat. Patrick Watson & Lou Rhodes)

MP3: The Cinematic Orchestra - Child Song
*the breakdown at 2:10 in this song is amazing. If you've ever seen one of my documentaries, then you'll recognize that organ.

MP3: The Cinematic Orchestra - Breathe (feat. Fontella Bass)

from Ma Fleur (2007)
[band site / myspace.com / amazon.com]

It Came From... The Arctic

2007-06-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, it's good to shoot first and ask questions later. Those were my thoughts as I lay on my back in the middle of Bryant Park, staring up at midtown's sky-scraping towers. I was glad not to be spending another Monday night on the couch watching the usual round of DV-R'd craps.

The girls got back from their 30 minute quest to find a pisser, just in time to miss Dan and mine's serious conversation about the future directions of both Entourage and Lost. The HBO crew cued the projector housed in the RV that sat at the back of the park and after Daffy Duck and Marvin The Martian destroyed Planet X (during the Looney Tunes short), we kicked back and prepared for The Thing From Another World (1951). There was more laughing from the crowd than screaming, but no one on that lawn expected different. We gotta do that again.

Link: HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival

Musak:Electro/Remixes/Hip-Hop

MP3: Ratatat - Kanye West - Diamonds Are Forever remix
from Remixes vol. 2

MP3: Ratatat - Method Man - PLO Style remix
from Remixes vol. 1

E Pluribus Venom

2007-06-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

E PLURIBUS VENOM. NEW WORKS BY SHEPARD FAIREY
JONATHAN LEVINE GALLERY
Opening Reception Saturday, June 23rd from 6-9 pm
Exhibition is on view from June 23rd to July 23rd 2007

Musak:80's Synth

MP3: Depeche Mode - Precious

MP3: Depeche Mode - It's No Good

from The Best Of Volume 1 (2005)
[buy it here at amazon.com]

The Color of My Mind

2007-06-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

Understanding one's own aesthetic likes and dislikes is a learned, and valuable, skill. Even our taste buds follow this rule regarding the flavor of certain foods; at one point I ate ceasers dressing so often that I could taste every ingredient in ceasers dressing and distinguish Kraft brand from the homemade stuff served at an upscale bistro. As hard as we sometimes work to sharpen it, this self-understanding can become dull and weak without regular stimulation and exercise. But when do we realize this has happened? When is it clear that we're dull?

Think of a wall in your house that is completely empty; nothing but paint. Someone hands you a pocketful of money and says, "go ahead, put whatever you want on that wall." I stared at that wall, then down at the money, back at the wall...and then realized that I don't know what I'd put up on the wall. I've lost touch with my style.

After some introspection, I came up with two reasons for this. The first one is really just me passing the blame to society, but it involves how congested my daily life has become with input. Here's a good analogy: at times I've seen staircases in the subways so packed with people walking up, that I can't even walk down them. Similarly, I'd estimate that 75%, if not more, of my day is spent taking information in. Whether through my job, media/news - even my iPod is a one-way road.
The second reason puts the blame on myself. It takes dedication and effort to hit that gym every day. Similarly, building a style and taste is hard work - you even have to work just to keep the muscles you already got. Basically, I got lazy. I've slowly let my creativity turn into a "back in the day" story. It still sneaks out from time to time, but the bursts of inspiration are few and far between - at least not as often as I'd like, or once liked.

So in conclusion, this is another chance to add some color to what goes on behind these eyes... like a New Year's resolution. I'm going to get back to building a better empire, one brick at a time.

Musak:Remixed Post-Rock

MP3: Explosions In The Sky - The Birth and Death of the Day (Jesu Remix)

MP3: Explosions In The Sky - Catastrophe and the Cure (Four Tet Remix)

tracks from All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone [Disc 2: Remixes] (2007)
[band site / myspace.com / buy it at boomkat.com]

Some Of Us Like To Be Loose-Footed

2007-06-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

1-800-2-DONATE by Dan Zimmer [danzim.com]

The Hungry Eye by Dan Zimmer [danzim.com]

Speaking of Dan, this song reminds me of him. Check out his gallery for a glimpse into his travels.

Musak:Downtempo/Electro

MP3: Lemon Jelly - Ramblin' Man
from Lost Horizons (2002)
[bandsite / myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com]

Makes You Feel Better

2007-06-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

Musak:Indie-Rock

So we get to Bowery Ballroom a little early and hit the bar. The line-up is one that I don't want to miss out on so we head up to the ballroom and position ourselves on the balcony. When the night ends, it's clear that Dirty On Purpose rocked as per usual and Earl Greyhound tore the wallpaper off the place... but the biggest surprise was definitely Great Northern.

I've been listening to their latest album, Trading Twilight For Daylight, and I'm more than familiar with their talent. The vocals of Solon Bixler (guitar, vocals) and Rachel Stolte (piano, vocals) compliment each other well throughout this album - one picking up the vibe and driving the rock, the other soothing a chillax melody... then switching roles just when you've got it figured out. The dynamic vocals, driving rock, and serene landscapes that fill Trading Twilight For Daylight make it a start-to-end album that provides a nice break from the norm.

MP3: Great Northern - Our Bleeding Hearts

MP3: Great Northern - A Sun A Sound

tracks from Trading Twilight For Daylight (2007)
[band site / myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com]

Gonna Have To Wait For It

2007-06-12T16:25:00.000-07:00

Great Northern w/ Dirty On Purpose and Earl Greyhound
Thursday 6/14 @ Bowery Ballroom

Musak:Indie/Rock

MP3: Dirty On Purpose - Girls and Sunshine
Live from SXSW 2006
[myspace.com / band site]

MP3: Great Northern - Home
from Trading Twilight for Daylight (2007)
[myspace.com / band site / buy it at amazon.com]

Groovin', Movin'

2007-06-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

JC Leyendecker's Study - 002

Musak:Post-Rock/Rock/Instrumental/Indie

MP3: Battles - Leyendecker
from Mirrored (2007)
[band site / myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Don Caballero - Railroad Cancellation
from World Class Listening Problem (2006)
[myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com]

Your Story's A Small One

2007-06-07T05:06:00.000-07:00

Musak:Rock/Folk

A perfect contrast to the day's jagged grind, Augie March's Moo, You Bloody Choir holds nothing back. Each track becomes a soundtrack as this city plays out it's daily dramas and comedies. More importantly, this album delivers even when the city lets you down.

I'm really impressed with the lyrics that singer/songwriter Glenn Richard delivers. On his songwriting style:

“My conception of the singer/songwriter is very much a 70’s conception,” he explains about his lyrical aspirations, “which was generally somebody who wrote strong words, with the words no less a part of the song than the melody and the music. They’re all intertwined. That’s what I’ve always tried to do. For me that means having words that will read on their own quite strongly, not necessarily making a terrible amount of sense, but certainly something that every time I sing a line there’s substance to that line. It’s the only way I can sing so many words.

MP3: Augie March - Bottle Baby

MP3: Augie March - The Cold Acre

MP3: Augie March - One Crowded Hour

all tracks from Moo, You Bloody Choir (2006)
[band site / myspace.com / buy at amazon.com]

Don't Have To take A Trip To Outter Space

2007-06-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

Padres win, the crew is happy

Getting back to the day-to-day after a week of ramblin' and travelin'. Went surfing twice, caught 2 padres games (both wins), took The Sauce to dog beach, saw the crew and the fam, dropped a late night podcast, even played beer pong on the bay. All in all, I brought back a shredded liver, a tan, and many good stories.

Sunday afternoon chillax'n never felt so needed.

Musak:Chillax'n Sunday Mix

MP3: Mugison - Little Trip To Heaven
from Little Trip (2006)
[band site / buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Kaiser Cheifs - Love Is Not A Competition (But I'm Winning)
from Yours Truly, Angry Mob (2007)
[band site / buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Laura Veirs - Nightingale
from Saltbreakers (2007)
[band site / buy it at amazon.com]

There's nothing there, it's like eating air

2007-05-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

Video/Audio Stream: Augie March - One Crowded Hour

Caught these cats at Mercury Lounge last week. I haven't enjoyed a show so much in a long time. I'll have some MP3's to share soon. For now, enjoy their video and some streaming tracks.

REAL: Augie March - One Crowded Hour

WM: Augie March - One Crowded Hour

[augiemarch.com]

innerkids.org

Musak:Post-Rock

For fans of Explosions In The Sky, here's the crew that pioneered that genre: Do Make Say Think. Picked this up right before my flight to San Diego. These tracks are made for listening while floating above clouds.

Here's a great description:

"A jumble of genres, from Four Tet-ish folktronica to crescendo-building post-rock to melodic indie rock (there are vocals on this one), this record has a beautiful flow to it and never sounds cluttered."

MP3: Do Make Say Think - Bound To Be That Way
*give this one a second to get going... though I enjoy the whole thing.

MP3: Do Make Say Think - You, You're Awesome
*you, you really are

tracks from Do Make Say Think - You, You're A History In Rust (2007)
[band site / buy it at amazon.com ]

Goin' Back To Cali

2007-05-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

softball at Mission Beach - Summer '06

Florida was super good fun. Just making a quick pit-stop back in NYC before the main event: Cali-bound this week. It'll be exactly 1 year since I left, and I haven't been back since.

It'l be the last weekend of dog beach at Del Mar's North Beach. You know me and The Sauce will be there.

Musak: SoCal Mix

MP3: Bargain Music - Get Out
from Look at All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime (2006)
[myspace.com / band info / buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Diego Roots - Watching The Tide
from Good Times (2005)
[myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Slightly Stoopid - Killin' Me Deep Inside
from Everything You Need (2003)
[myspace.com / band site / buy it at amazon.com]

The Interlude

2007-05-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

"Boombox Rocker" by Jacob Tilgner

Florida-bound this weekend. But that's just a segue to my big trip back to San Diego next week. So in honor of this weekend, I'm drop'n a tribute to hip-hop's favorite segue... the interlude.

Musak:Hip-Hop/Interlude

MP3: People Under The Stairs - 4 Dollar Afro
from Stepfather (2006)
[buy it at amazon.com]
*btw, this is my cell phone ringtone. don't bite. you will. biter.

MP3: Jurassic 5 - React
from Power In Numbers (2002)
[buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Jazz Liberatorz - Straight Up
from Force Be With You [vinyl] (2005)
[myspace.com / buy at vitalvinyl.com]

MP3: DJ Shadow - Why Hip-Hop Sucks in '96
from Endtroducing... (1996)
[buy it at amazon.com ]

Making A Mess As I Progress

2007-05-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

better moves through synchronized calisthenics

There are so many great lines in GCH's latest, As Cruel As School Children... here are a few.

Musak:Hip-Hop/Rock

"you knocked me out with the brass knuckle tatts on your hips"
"it said that you weren't impressed by lame dudes with no game, they're all the same trying to get your Instant Messenger name"
"you caught me at the most pivotal moment, now I'm e-mailing my love with a dozen digital roses"
"on a scale of one to awesome, I'm the shit"
"all my money's on the latter, this is not an LOL matter"
MP3: Gym Class Heroes - 3rd Period: New Friend Request

"got me flashing keys and I don't even own a car"
"the way you stole my attention was flat out burglary"
"I feel like a Speak-And-Spell the way I got you learning my lines"
"my leg's going numb from keeping my phone on vibrate, to hide the fact the your girlfriend keeps texting me"
MP3: Gym Class Heroes - 4th Period: Clothes Off!

This is one of those "drug personification" tracks...
MP3: Gym Class Heroes - 6th Period: Viva La White Girl

Let's bring back the positivity with this last one...
MP3: Gym Class Heroes - 13th Period: On My Own Time (Write On!)

all tracks from As Cruel As School Children (2006)
[band site / myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com ]

The Quiet Finale

2007-05-06T17:11:00.000-07:00

evening covers the park

Musak:Sunday Mix

MP3: Feist - One Evening
from Let It Die (2004)
[myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com ]

MP3: John Butler Trio - Across The Universe
from What You Want [EP] (2004)
[myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com ]

MP3: Mos Def - Lifetime
from Tru3 Magic (2006)
[myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com ]

Everything Has Its Plan

2007-05-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

I took a 4 hour bus ride back from DC and with that kind of time in solitude, one can't help but reflect on life, love, and the future - some real hippy-esque introspection. Many things ran through my mind, mainly sparked by this article that I read via Blackberry. It's a look at the assessment of a brand's (or company's) soul in order to develop a brand identity (for marketing) that is not only creative, but also connects with consumers in a way that goes past a product's function.

I began to think about what I do on a daily basis in terms of my job, dissecting what it does for me and what I do for it. Then I thought about other analogous cycles, concepts, and even professions.

Ever hear me break down a benign concept in terms of an overly organic metaphor? Well this article is kind of like that: it compares brand identity research and development to Buddhism. I know, I know. But after reading this article, I'm sold on the analogy.

LINK: BrandChannel.com - The Search For Soul by Bernard Leibov

Music:Indie/Folk-Rock

A few weekends ago, melted deep into my couch, I saw a documentary about Wilco's production of their 2002 release, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. It's a great story (the good guys win) and it re-sparked my interest in the band that opened my ears to Folk-Rock so many years ago.

A few days later, I spoke with some people who know some people who know the secret handshake and got my hands on an advance release of their latest, Sky Blue Sky. Wilco is about to release an album that made the fastest climb to the top spot in my rotation ever. During my first listen, I got no farther than track 3 before I plugged in the iPod and made sure that I could always have Sky Blue Sky within arm's reach.

It's a great album. Simple as that.

MP3: Wilco - Either Way

MP3: Wilco - Hate It Here

MP3: Wilco - Walken

all tracks from Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (due out May 15, 2007)
[band site / myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com]

All I Need

2007-04-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Just some mix-tape goodness for the people

Musak:Spring Mix

MP3: Marva Whitney (duet with James Brown) - Sunny
from It's My Thing (1969) [amazon.com ]

MP3: Stars - My Radio (AM Mix)
from A Lot Of Little Lies For The Sake Of One Big Truth EP (2001) [amazon.com ]

MP3: Robyn Hitchcock - Full Moon In My Soul
from Spooked (2004) [amazon.com ]

MP3: Three More Shallows - He Hate Me
from A History of Sport Fishing (2002) [amazon.com ]

I Dig The Apple

2007-04-19T16:55:00.000-07:00

The City, or The State?

Article:Brand Name City/State

I NY: Stately?

March 14 at 3:00 pm marked the close of the Empire State Development Corporation's request for proposals (RFP) that "restore the I LOVE NEW YORK campaign to primacy among state tourism campaigns." In all likelihood, this deadline was Eastern Time...

... Today the I NY logo is everywhere: recognizable and re-mixed. It so naturally represents its constituency—in both design and attitude—that one could assume the slogan had been carved into a tree ten minutes after the Dutch exchanged those beads. But the world's most well-known geo-logo, despite its seemingly punk, grass-roots credentials, is really the very contrived product of one Milton Glaser, who at the time was a designer for the Wells Rich Greene agency.

read the full article here at brandchannel.com

Musak:Turntablism/Hip-Hop/Instrumental

Like an awkward first sexual encounter, this album will go down in history as the one that popped many young cherries... of turntablism, that is. Love for the modern DJ began somewhere in between the record needle and DJ Shadow's vinyls.

MP3: DJ Shadow - Building Steam with a Grain of Salt

MP3: DJ Shadow - Number Song

both tracks from Endtroducing... (1996)
[buy it at amazon.com ]

Bonus:Remix

MP3: DJ Shadow - Midnight In A Perfect World (Late Night Groove Mix)

Oh, Where To Begin

2007-04-16T17:32:00.000-07:00

my question: why is the dreamcast's underground
revival so underrepresented by this chart?

Article:Gaming

Hardware makers are losing hundreds of dollars on every console sold, and games publishers face an "increasingly difficult environment, as rising development costs and small user bases [mean] that return on investment in next generation games development is unlikely to be achieved before 2008," according to media analysts Screen Digest.
More importantly, though, the video games publishers are facing a revolution of their business model.
full article here at BBC News>Business>Games Industry Enters A New Level

Musak:Disco-Rock/Electro/Downtempo

These New Yorker know their disco-rock. Especially these two guys who dropped some beep-boop and beeew-beeew over some boom-tick-boom-tick-tick [aka: Electro and disco over rock]. Check out LCD Soundsystem. Boom-chicka-boom-boom-tick.

MP3: LCD Soundsystem - North American Scum

MP3: LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great

MP3: LCD Soundsystem - New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down

all tracks from Sound Of Silver (2007)
[band page / myspace.com / amazon.com]

Daily Diggs, Disses, and Dats

2007-04-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

ILLUSTRATION BY RAFFI ANDERIAN/TORONTO STAR
Re-birth of our cartoon "wonder years"

I'm staring at my 4-inch plastic toy figure of The Gorillaz's fictional hip-hop drummer, Russel. Why is it that I have this angry itch to see his 3 bandmates (2D, Noodle, and Murdoc) standing by his side, frozen in pure rock and roll?

This article, We're All 80's Kids Now, was published recently in The Toronto Star following a smash-hit He-Man/She-Ra art show. Read on:

Some experts believe there's a 20-year cultural cycle and we're right in the middle of it.
"It's a very odd occurrence, it has this kind of relationship to the way that people think about their youth and that moment when they crave re-connection to it," says Gage Averill, who has written about barbershop quartets and other retro music genres. "You've got what used to be called a 20-year nostalgia cycle that's built into pop culture in the 20th century, in which cultural products get recycled 20 years down the line for secondary consumption.
"That's driven in part by the relationship between people consuming something that means a lot to them typically in teenage years, where impressions are really vivid," he says. "Then 20 years later, you find that people consume it again as part of the life cycle of contemporary western pop culture."
read the full article at TheStar.com

Music:Downtempo/Lounge/Electro

If I said I loved this album, I'd be putting it mildly. If you say you don't love this album, then you should be put mildly... to sleep.

MP3: Sebastien Tellier - La Ballade Du Gorges

MP3: Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Mr. Dan's Mix)

MP3: Sebastien Tellier - La Long De La Riviere Tendre

all tracks from Universe (2006)
[buy it at amazon.com]

As Clear As A Desert Highway When I'm Going My Way

2007-04-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 4/10 @ Mercury Lounge

Sunday afternoons aren't quite complete without Let's Go Sailing singer Shana Levy's voice echoing around in my living room.

I'll be enjoying her tunes en vivo Tuesday night at Mercury Lounge when they join Youth Group for a very good, chill show.

To get an idea of the feel of Let's Go Sailing's latest album, The Chaos In Order, you need only to look at Shana's resume, having played with Rilo Kiley and dios (malos).

Link: Let's Go Sailing Tour Dates

Music:Indie-Pop

MP3: Let's Go Sailing - All I Want From You Is Love

MP3: Let's Go Sailing - Heart Condition

MP3: Let's Go Sailing - Come Home Safely

from The Chaos In Order (2006)
[band site / myspace.com / buy the album]

Robis E. Nobis AKA: Boogie Shoes

2007-04-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

Happy 26th B-day Rob. Man, we're old.

Last year, I surprised Rob on his B-day and made it out to Garden Grove. Yes, we took a trip to Garden Grove, smelled like Misty Dog inside my Jeep.

I hope you're not expecting a surprise cameo this year. The only way you'll get me to travel 2,800 miles for your b-day is if you do this again:

Video:Rob's 25th B-day (2006) in Newport Beach

Sounds For The In-Between Times

2007-04-04T05:02:00.000-07:00

LINK: Check out Peter Kofler's collection of Commodore 64 screen shots here.

Musak:Electro/Hip-Hop/Remix/Soul

MP3: Cujo - Ol' Bunkhouse
from Adventures in Foam (1997)
[buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Z-Ro, Devine The Dude, Juvenile - The Mule (Ratatat Remix)
from Ratatat Remixes vol. 2
[buy it at insound.com]

MP3: Jamie Lidell - A Little Bit More (Luke Vibert mix)
from Multiply Additions (2006)
[buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Benny Sings - Twist You Around
from Champagne People (2005)
[buy it at amazon.com]

You Can Cut Your Spit Ends, You Can't Cut Your Roots

2007-03-29T19:33:00.000-07:00

Seems like months have passed since I last saw some snow on the streets. In fact, it was more like just last week. But still, I finally strapped on the sneaks and ran around the reservoir in the bright, warm sun. It's actually the closest thing I can do to rolling around in the grass and celebrating spring like a little kid.

Now if we could just get some salt in the winds, I just might be able to close my eyes and pretend that I'm standing on my old block in La Jolla.

And to top it all off, tomorrow's Friday. I say it every Friday morning, "One more time?"

Musak:Electro/Downtempo/Funk

chillax with Groove Armada

MP3: Groove Armada - Hands of Time

MP3: Groove Armada - Think Twice

MP3: Groove Armada - Groove Is On

all tracks from Love Box (2002)
[buy it at amazon.com]

10 Years In The Making

2007-03-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

speech and the crew, 10 years later - finally

“I really feel like hip hop is lacking balance right now, we’ve got a lot of gangster stuff that is being exposed, a lot of materialistic music that is being exposed and that’s alright, we’ve always had that in hip hop since the beginning, but the problem about it is that that’s all that’s being exposed and so people have a false experience of what hip hop is right now,” Speech explains.

“A lot of generations of children don’t really understand how broad a music it is, and how colourful it is, so we’ve just been focused on letting the listeners know there’s other stuff out there that’s really exciting, and not to just think of hip hop as what you hear on the radio stations.”

Whether the listeners are keen to hear their new music, or simply feel nostalgic of their older music, Speech believes their live show will be something to behold. “Really, we just try to give our all, we’re the type of group that really loves hip hop music, we love what we do,” he says. “We’re here to really celebrate and give the music a good representation.”

-Speech of A.D. via x-press online

Music:Hip-Hop

MP3: Arrested Development - Since The Last Time

MP3: Arrested Development - This Time

MP3: Arrested Development - Caught Me

all tracks from Since The Last Time (2006)
[speechmusic.com / arresteddevelopmentmusic.com / buy at amazon.com]

Smiling In Your Sleep

2007-03-22T17:19:00.000-07:00

[image link]

"What I like so much about Jennings’s music is its complex simplicity; like a zen poet, or a winemaker, he distills enormous ideas into beautiful, potent songs that stick without getting stuck. The fact that he isn’t afraid to experiment with his formula only makes him better; Jennings will be one that we’re still talking about 30 years from now, I promise. Nearly perfect."

Derek Svennungsen at Independent.com

Music:Folk/Rock/Acoustic

Each of these songs put a smile on my face. I'll be walking down the street and hear that first note in Ballad For My one True Love and recognize it instantly - makes the busy city slow down and I'm no longer in a hurry to get anywhere for the next 4 minutes and 32 seconds...

One of my favorite albums right now... only took me 6 years to find it. But sometimes you gotta find an artist you currently like and then go back and see what they did a few years ago.

MP3: Mason Jennings - Ballad For My One True Love

MP3: Mason Jennings - Confidant

MP3: Mason Jennings - Train Leaving Gray

all tracks from Birds Flying Away (2000)
[buy it at amazon.com / myspace.com / masonjennings.com]

We Could Catch The Afternoon

2007-03-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

Radio City Music Hall

Music:Rock/Pop/Brits

MP3: Bloc Party - Hunting for Witches

MP3: Bloc Party - Waiting for the 7:18

MP3: Bloc Party - Sunday

all tracks from A Weekend In The City (2006)
[buy it at amazon.com]

Words Can't Express What It Means

2007-03-12T16:54:00.000-07:00

Movie Trailer: Across The Universe

Music:Pop/Rock/Indie

It all makes sense considering their eccentric invention and top-drawer songwriting that covers everything from joyous anthems to haunting heartbreakers.

Yet on paper, they seem like a risk for the music industry. Their defiantly creative use of styles and sounds makes it near-impossible to contain them in any pigeonhole.
Are they pop? Great tunes, but too weird. Are they jazz? There is lots of experimentation - but too poppy. Are they rock? There are guitars, but they have a minority stake in the songs.
So are they arty auteurs that only musos will love? Sort of, but their songwriting is strong enough to reach a wide audience.
In short, they are catchy but quirky, just original enough yet also just familiar enough.
By Ian Youngs
BBC News entertainment reporter

In my humble opinion, Guillemots' sound falls somewhere between Coldplay and The Flaming Lips.

MP3: Guillemots - Made Up Love Song #43

MP3: Guillemots - Trains To Brazil

MP3: Guillemots - Through The Window Pane

You wouldn't believe how hard it was to select only 3 tracks from this album... but I did, and...
all tracks are from Through The Window Pane (2006)
[guillemots.com / myspace.com / buy it at amazon.com]

Dream Wasn't Surreal, It Was Only A Song

2007-03-10T09:07:00.000-08:00

jazz piano by yves budin

Music:Hip-Hop/Jazz/Instrumental

A few years back I caught the jazz/hip-hop bug, collecting everything I could in sounds ranging from Madlib to The Cinematic Orchestra. A French trio by the name of Jazz Liberatorz first landed on my radar around 2004 with their Music Makes The World Go Round release. It was really hard to get access to their tunes (as they release in vinyl), but thanks to some clever connections in France, their tracks were digitized and in my collection.

It's rare that an album hits your collection and, looking back, you can say that it had a huge impact on the direction that your musical taste was heading at the time - Music Makes The World Go Round was siiiik, but wasn't quite one of those albums for me; however, Jazz Liberator's 2005 release Force Be With You definitely was - and it sent my musical taste on a downtempo bender that I'm still recovering from. It's smooth jazz & hip-hop beats get fingers snapping and heads nodding. Fans of Soulive, Crown City Rockers, Aloe Blacc, Jay-Dee, Madlib, and Yesterday's New Quintet will relate.

MP3: Jazz Liberatorz - Force Be With You (feat. T Love)

MP3: Jazz Liberatorz - Loop Prisoner

MP3: Jazz Liberatorz - It Was Only A Song

all tracks from Force Be With You [vinyl] (2005)
[myspace.com / buy at vitalvinyl.com]

BONUS

MP3: Jazz Liberatorz - What's Next
from Music Makes The World Go Round [vinyl] (2004)
[buy it at vitalvinyl.com]

Just An Ordinary Man

2007-03-08T18:48:00.000-08:00

the new crew

I got a package in the mail from Dave and among other things from Kid Robot, he sent me the little guy in the bottom left of this picture. He's got stars and clouds all over him... and a wand... and a pail of stardust, for goodness sake...

I'll be swinging by Kid Robot this weekend to donate that toy to some random little girl... kidding Dave. Actually, these guys live on my nightstand.

Of course, my collection is in it's infancy. Here are some notable toy collections:

Dave's Kid Robot collection [image]

Jesus' Transformers: More Than Fits On Your Screen [flickr]

anyone else?

Music:Indie-Pop/Rock

Already an accomplished guitarist with The Strokes, Albert Hammond, Jr. has decided to step into solo territory with his first album, Yours To Keep, out in the US March 6th. Featuring his signature guitar work with great indie-pop melodies, Yours To Keep, duly showcases his superb songwriting skills and natural frontman persona. Hammond will be taking his show on the road this Spring with the Mooney Suzuki before taking the highly sought-after opening slot for Bloc Party
on the East Coast.

Filter Magazine is giving away a guitar signed my Mr. Hammond. [LINK]

MP3: Albert Hammond, Jr. - Call An Ambulance

MP3: Albert Hammond, Jr. - Scared

MP3: Albert Hammond, Jr. - Hard To Live In The City

all tracks from Yours To Keep (2007)
[buy it at amazon.com / myspace.com]

FPSA Symphony

2007-03-05T15:55:00.000-08:00

I sat this weekend out. Didn't barely touch the booze nor the parties. Instead, I cracked open Apple's GarageBand software on my comp and threw down some tracks. Check out specs on the software here.

I spent about 8 hours Saturday night and Sunday morning laying down these four tracks. They won't be available for download. They're an FPSA site exclusive for all my peoples. Also, they're meant to be played back to back as one long track - except for the last one which is like from outer space. Let me know what you think.

MP3: FPSA Symphony - 01 - Southern Breaker In The Middle East

MP3: FPSA Symphony - 02 - Sargent Pepper Guest Stars On Miami Vice
*inspired by Lemon Jelly

MP3: FPSA Symphony - 03 - The Air In My Bongo

This last track was an experiment in beat-counting. I wanted to drop a beat to an Explosions In The Sky-esque melody. It actually worked. Then I went crazy with the organ.

MP3: FPSA Symphony - BONUS - Bought An Organ

From 19 Stories High

2007-03-03T16:34:00.000-08:00

dave and friends

One little site update to report.
Take a look at the right-sidebar ---->>>>
Right below The Crew, you'll see a "quilt" called My Top Albums. It's a display of the albums that have been played on my iTunes over that last few months. Pretty dope, eh?

As usual, just below My Top Albums is the list of the 10 most recent tracks played on my iTunes.

Music:Rock

MP3: Little Barrie - Yeah We Know You
from Stand Your Ground (2006)
[buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Little Barrie - Burned Out
from We Are Little Barrie (2005)
[buy it at amazon.com]

Just A Little Bit of Danger

2007-03-01T16:41:00.000-08:00

NASA: "Space travel is simple"

Musak:Mixed-Chill

MP3: Kings of Convenience - Know How
from Riot On An Empty Street (2004)
[buy it at amazon.com]

Take a little folk music. It helps me slide into Fridays.
MP3: Richard Buckner - Ariel Ramirez
from Since (1998)
[buy it amazon.com]

MP3: Sun Kil Moon - Trucker's Atlas
from Tiny Cities (2005)
[buy it at amazon.com]

Time To Repay Back Those Odds

2007-02-26T16:33:00.000-08:00

woke up to the smell of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting...
better than my usual Saturday morning omelette du fromage

Music:Pop/Rock/Funk/Soul

I could have probably listed 3 or 4 more genres to describe this Jamie Lidell album. Lidell's Multiply easily lands on my top-5 list of albums this decade. Of course, we're only 60% through this decade but I'd ride a pocket full of heavy Bellagio chips on Multiply holding steady over the next 4 years. You gotta use your imagination when reading an article about Jamie Lidell, because I don't know if words can take the place of simply hitting play on his album.

Lidell rides funky tracks like Prince in his hay-day, tickles soulful piano riffs like Stevie, and belts out deep tones that would putt goose-pimples on Bill Withers' neck. A while back I wrote about Lidell's complimentary remix/unreleased album called Multiply Additions. You put Additions together with Multiply and you'd find yourself listening to one of my favorite collections of all time. So it goes without saying that such a monumental statement can only be made while snack'n on a slice of Sharon's carrot cake with a glass of vanilla soy milk during the breakdown on This Time - because there really aren't many sweeter moments in life... at least not yet.

MP3: Jamie Lidell - Multiply

MP3: Jamie Lidell - Music Will Not Last

MP3: Jamie Lidell - This Time

all tracks from Jamie Lidell - Multiply (2005)
[buy it at amazon.com]

Nope Not Even A Little Bit

2007-02-24T07:14:00.000-08:00

Musak:Mixed-Tape

MP3: Pinback - Concrete Seconds
from Blue Screen Life (2001)
[buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Nostalgic Progression - Il Dante - Stepping Stone
check Phonograph Timepod (2004)
[buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: The Court & Spark - Rooster Mountain
from Bless You (2001)
[buy it at amazon.com]

On Holiday in My Backyard

2007-02-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

Michelle, Rainn Wilson, and Me at midtown Banana Republic
(photo by Sharon)

This was probably the most adventurous weekend I've had since I moved to NYC, in large part due to Michelle visiting from San Diego. To cap off the weekend, we ran into Rainn Wilson (AKA Dwight Shrute from The Office) whilst browsing through the midtown Manhattan Banana Republic. He introduced himself and I said that we're huge fans of the show. He said, "oh yeah? you like the show... wanna buy me a sweater?" We had a few laughs, and took the obligatory "oh my goodness we met a celebrity" picture. He's in NYC this week to host Saturday Night Live. You know it's gonna be a good one.

Other weekend highlights:

late night at the 86 speakeasy

got a bite at the diner from Seinfeld

Chinese New Years aftermath

Ellis Island immigration station

Mucho more pics in my flickr.

Music:Rock

MP3: Wolfmother - Dimension

MP3: Wolfmother - Colossal

MP3: Wolfmother - Love Train

all tracks from Wolfmother - S/T (2006)
[buy it at amazon.com]

Thanks to Michelle for hook'n me up with some tunes... for once ;-)

Jamming To The Rhythm of Life

2007-02-17T09:15:00.000-08:00

Music:Reggae/Dub

MP3: Half Pint - Loving

MP3: Half Pint - Too Late

MP3: Half Pint - Legal We Legal

all tracks from Half Pint - Recollection (2000)
[buy it at amazon.com]

As Sure As Tomorrow Will Come

2007-02-14T05:20:00.000-08:00

Somedays her shape in the doorway will speak to me
while birds wait on the window,
sometimes I'll hear when she's sleeping
her fever dream,
a language on her face
...
somedays like rain on the doorstep
she'll cover me with grace and all she offers,
sometimes I'd like just to ask her what
honest words she can't afford to say

like
I want your flowers
like babies want god's love
or maybe
as sure as tomorrow will come

MP3: Iron & Wine - Fever Dream

from Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)
[buy it at amazon.com]

She Got The Special Sauce, That's Why She's My Baby

2007-02-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

Your baby ain't sweet like mine...
MP3: G Love - Sauce

from G Love - Oh Yeah (1998)

[buy it at iTunes Music Store]

Worth More Than Gold

2007-02-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

For all those pounding the pavement to get me that perfect gift, here's some help: My B-Day wish list.

iRobot, dismantle me a beer from the fridge

"Scan, Stop, Attack"

Forget those calf implants that I always wanted...

New Rubik's Cube moonlights as a disco ball

And most of all, I'd like hip-hop. I don't know how (or what it would entail), but if someone can give me hip-hop then that'd be just super.

Music:Hip-Hop

MP3: DJ Format - The Place (feat. Chali 2Na and Akil)
from If You Can't Join'Em... Beat'Em (2005)
[buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Sole - Plutonium
from Selling Live Water (2003)
[buy it at amazon.com]

MP3: Aloe Blacc - Caged Bird
from Shine Through (2006)
[buy it at amazon.com]

And When The Wombat Comes, He'll Find Me Gone

2007-02-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

Found a folder on my old portable hard drive that had a project folder for a home video that I made for friends back in freshman year of college. It was a compilation of videos that my buddy Tomas took on his camcorder, remixed to music and cut up in episodes. I won't get into details, but it was/is some serious blackmail material.

the opening screen:

Title screen (I didn't take this picture):

Back in college, we stole a couch from another residence hall's lobby for a Super Bowl party in my dorm room, and caught it on tape. Things were going fine until the janitor came into our room to fix an electrical problem, saw the couch, reported it, the police came... my poor roommate who had nothing to do with it was questioned by the cops. He was smart enough to call downstairs to my other friend's room (where we were all hiding), and put his phone on conference call right as the cops walked in. So we all sat downstairs and heard him get interrogated. His alibi: "I woke up and the couch was in here, I have no idea how it got in here." We laughed our butts off and he went down in the books as a true gangsta - never turning in his friends. Good stuff Ivan. This post is dedicated to you, from The Police.

and my favorite scene in the video:

... that one is a long story.

Music:Rock/Reggae

Disc 2 of The Police - Message In A Box (Box Set)

Reminds me of a few "first calls", when you have that number and it's been a few days... but oyu just couldn't make your digits dial those seven simple numbers to save your life:
MP3: The Police - Does Everyone Stare

A rough day:
MP3: The Police - On Any Other Day

MP3: The Police - Driven To Tears

And since it's almost my b-day, here the song that always reminds me that I'm gonna fight "settling-down" by always keeping my suitcase packed, so to speak:
MP3: The Police - The Man In A Suitcase

All tracks from disc 2 of:
Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings of The Police (1993)
[buy it at amazon.com]

Other notables from disc 2: Walking On The Moon, The Bed's Too Big Without You, Don't Stand So Close To Me, Canary In A Coalmine, and De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da

Wack MCs, Fresh MCs

2007-02-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

IGottaMP3 Collection

I found this nice Filemaker Pro database that imports iTunes playlists. It even has a bunch of predefined scripts (macros), one of which exports as an html table. I ran my Recently Added playlist from iTunes through the program and produced this table:

List: Recently Added MP3's - 2.4.07 [HTML table]

Check out the database for Filemaker Pro 7+ (I loaded it on FMP 8 with no bugs). It's free here: iGottaMP3 Collection 2.3 [LINK]

Music:Hip-Hop/Remix

MP3: Descry - Crown City Rockers - I Love Being A B-Boy (Remix)
from Descry - Cinematics
[mypsace.com/descry]

Sweets Like A Candy Shop

2007-02-03T18:10:00.000-08:00

Good Evening, New York

live desktop satellite map via OSX Planet

MP3: Mos Def and MF Doom - Summertime + Sorcerers = Summer Magic
from Def vs. Doom (bootleg mash-up album)

Every Hour On The Hour

2007-02-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

Never been one to appreciate soundtracks. But Original Sountracks, now that's an entirely different deal. Very few hit my mark - with the exception of Seu Jorge's Life Aquatic OST, but really who doesn't love that one - and Explosion In The Sky's Friday Night Lights OST. At right about the same time, I found the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Original Soundtrack and Jon Brion's golden touch. Immediately I found his production on Fiona Apple's When The Pawn... and another scoring credit for I Heart Huckabees OST. I couldn't get my hands on enough. Then I forgot for a while.

I read an article a while back where Kanye West was talking about how Jon Brion would co-produce his Late Registration album. And now I found Brion's 2001 release Meaningless. A solid gold album. I imagine this is what The Beatles would sound like today.

Music:Rock/Pop

MP3: Jon Brion - Her Ghost

MP3: Jon Brion - I Believe She's Lying

MP3: Jon Brion - Walk Through Walls

MP3: Jon Brion - Trouble

all tracks from Jon Brion - Meaningless (2001)
[buy the album here / jonbrion.com]

I spent 2 weeks narrowing it down to those 4 tracks for this post. Everyday I listened to the album trying to find these selections.

You Had It In For Me So Long Ago

2007-01-30T05:05:00.000-08:00

The Shins got this new year off to a good start last week when they released their latest album, Wincing The Night Away. Finally, right?

Music:Indie/Rock

MP3: The Shins - Turn On Me

MP3: The Shins - Sealegs

MP3: The Shins - Red Rabbits

all tracks from The Shins - Wincing The Night Away (2007)
[theshins.com / buy it here at amazon.com]

Lasse Gjertsen

2007-01-28T07:52:00.000-08:00

Rob just put up an amazing video from Lasse Gjertsen (this first one). I checked out his YouTube.com profile here and saw just how deep the rabbit hole went. After watching these, check out his self-portrait.

Way Beyond All The Palm Tree Powerlines

2007-01-25T18:10:00.000-08:00

The press release for The Western States Motel says it best:

The Western States Motel is the brainchild of Los Angeles' Carl Jordan. His self-titled debut album is a perfect soundtrack to a long solo drive up the west coast – evoking balmy Summer nights, moments and memories recorded in a spare bedroom littered with various beat-up guitars, keyboards and percussion instruments.

I often daydream about California. When I heard the single Powerlines from their self-titled 2006 release, I stopped what I was doing was doing for about three minutes and stared out into space - seriously. And for that time, I relived a great road trip to Rosarito Beach, Mexico:

And the best part about their album, it has the Banana Slug seal of approval:

The recording process, as with many artists who record at home, was a slow one. With no deadlines or label expectations at that point, the recordings evolved gradually over time, built piece by piece, layer by layer. Though he had been a film major in college, the recording classes Carl had taken while at UC Santa Cruz proved especially useful.

Music:Indie/Rock/Acoustic

MP3: The Western States Motel - Powerlines

from Self-Titled (2006)
[myspace.com / buy it here]

It's Been Long But A Change Is Gone' Come

2007-01-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

Much like today's featured artist, this post will be heavy on content and light on filler. To the point:

I was fortunate enough to find this stack of promotional music from some time ago. Immediately, one name stuck out: Aloe Blacc. So I hit play and haven't hit pause for almost 2 weeks now. These tracks take you on a ride through so many sounds that you feel like you've found a mixed-tape that John Legend made for Prince Paul. If that makes sense to you, then this album belongs in your collection.

Music:Indie-Hip-Hop/Soul

Aloe Blacc, main rapper to SoCal indie-hip hop mainstays Emanon offers the soulful side of his multi-tasking recording personality with his Stones Throw Records debut. Indeed, Aloe’s self-produced release is a different kind of record for Stones Throw. Though it draws from the hip hop, soul, jazz and funk that the label is known for, this is a step (albeit a progressive one) towards the contemporary Urban scene.
-GiantStep.net

Watch this for the sound:

Video: Aloe Blacc - Whole World

MP3: Aloe Blacc - Whole World

MP3: Aloe Blacc - Bailar... Scene 1

MP3: Aloe Blacc - Dance For Life

Video: Aloe Black - Busking

MP3: Aloe Blacc - Busking

MP3: Aloe Blacc - Shine Through

all tracks from Aloe Blacc - Shine Through (2006)
[myspace.com/aloeblaccmusic / buy it at amazon.com]