With The Pressure Kids

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

I’m putting myself out there with this, but I felt a need to write this, without apologies or excuses:

Today, I felt completely numb. I don’t mean to seem overly emotional, but fuck, it’s hard to find the inspiration. I got a lot of studying done, but my list of homework continues to rise, and writing this doesn’t make it go away.

I feel like everyone is in that same boat, floundering in a midst of textbooks while we check our twitter/facebook/tumblr/last.fm/blog/webvista/email/school email/text/IM constantly. And I, for one, want to break free of it, even in if just a little less. I mean, does it really matter when I get a tweet from Ed Droste of Grizzly Bear posting a picture of his cat, or when (insert friend’s name, myself included) posts an update saying the words, “OMG”, “Last Night”, “Drunk”, in some way? I’m no different, but a lot of it is meaningless. I mean, in four years (more like 9 if I want to be a doctor) will I still be checking my status updates, or what fucking Animal Collective b-side came out?

But I take a few deep breaths, and I think more universally. I think of why I’m in school, I think of what I want to do and how the hard work I am doing right now will hopefully get me closer to that goal, and I’m optimistic, yet cautious, while looking 9 steps down that path instead of putting one foot in front of the other, and I realize that some things are bigger than myself; that some things are too large to count.

I think about two years ago. I think about when I was diagnosed with a mental illness. I think about the pain I put on my family and my closest friends through. Looking back on that time, while it was the most painful thing to go through (lying in bed and just having a blank mind, not getting up for a few days because if I got up that meant that life continued and I didn’t really want that to happen). But I had to go through that because at the end of that tunnel I did see the light.

During that semester off, I was able to get my Nursing Aide license. I was able to take care of people that really needed to be taken care of. Much to my surprise most of the people I cared for were optimistic. I didn’t realize, at the time, that life had meaning when you are 93 years old, bed-ridden, and not able to control your bladder. Most people that are 21 or so don’t think there is meaning in that. But there is! There is so much! See, at that point in your life, if you are so lucky to get to be that age that is, life does not have meaning in what your degree is, or how much money you have, or how many records you own. Life has meaning because the people who come visit you: your caregivers, your friend that you’ve had for 80 years, your wife that you’ve been married to for 65 years. No, there aren’t many friendships, but the ones that are there matter more than any I, personally, have experienced.

I don’t know what God has in store for me in the future. I am not very vocal about my faith, and I think a few are disappointed about that fact, but my faith is very strong in this: I believe that there is a being (Holy Spirit, the feeling of being outside of oneself/ecstacy, glows) that binds me to the people in my life.

I don’t know what my mission is, but I do believe it is shaped everyday by the people I know, by the relationships I hold close, or even the single sentences I say to a passerby. And I realize that many of these binds will break or fade away as relationships drift into and out of my life. But I hope I’ve made my mark on you, though it seems sort of hypocritical to be talking about relationships with one another on a blog.

My point is this: It is healthy to put down the books or work for a few minutes, disconnect your virtual lives, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and hang on to those you hold dearest, because in the end, that is all you have. I’ve posted the song I put on to decompress. It’s Silver Mt. Zion’s “Hang On To Each Other” and it rings true for the point I’m making.

PS: When I wrote this, different people or feelings came to mind. One point I’d like to clarify is that just as people tend to use technology to tell each other something, they also tend to hide behind it. So please, if you have something to tell me, let me know it in person or on the phone. Be honest with me and I will be honest with you. Don’t hide it in text messages this winter or on facebook status updates last spring, because it still shows through. Apologizes to those of you who this seems really cryptic to.

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Another new demo from “Italians do it better” artist, Farah. Seriously, this year is going to be amazing for Glass Candy, Chromatics, Farah…and everyone else who was on the After Dark comp. Speaking of which, I think there’s still a few of the 180 gm gatefold vinyl pressings of After Dark. Enjoy.

» My Girls gets a trippy ipod-ish commercial.

In about eleven days, Merriweather Post Pavilion comes out on vinyl. It leaked last night, so I thought I would say something about it.

1.) I don’t know if everyone will like it. If you like the acoustic of Animal Collective and that’s the only reason you like Animal Collective, you wont like this album. I find it would be hard for people to like Animal Collective only because of Sung Tongs and like half of Feels. That being said, this isn’t an electronic album, it’s still very natural.

2.) The production on this album is not the norm, even for Animal Collective. Every song feels drenched in spring reverbs and HEAVY bass.

3.) “My Girls”, which I’ve written about a lot on here, is not the best song on the album for me, though maybe because I’ve listened to it so much earlier.

4.) Best lyrics they’ve ever had. Every song except maybe Brothersport (which is about Panda Bear’s brother) could be called a love song or a song about having kids. It’s very heartwarming actually.

5.) I could go line by line through each song, but I want you to experience it on your own. I don’t want to spoil it for you. It definitely lived up to the hype for me. If you didn’t like their live show or if you didn’t like Strawberry Jam, there’s still a good chance that you will like this album. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s hard for me to think of a release that lived up to the hype that this one did. I will refrain from any more superlatives, just to say that this is a very enjoyable album.

If you want the album, send me an email.

Best of 2008 Releases

“Best of 2008 music lists are the hipster version of Fantasy Football”

-Alex Perron

I’m giving in because I’ve enjoyed your lists thus far, and I keep on changing mine, so without further ado:

Honorable Mention:

Hot Chip - Made In The Dark (I actually got into this more a year ago with the leak that came out, and while most of the dance singles lost their appeal to me, the slow songs like the title track and “Whistle for Will” is where this album shines).

Animal Collective - Water Curses (A great EP from my favorite band. “Street Flash” is just about as good as anything they’ve written, taking a step back and looking at the world around you.)

Girl Talk - Feed The Animals (I fell in love with Girl Talk with Night Ripper and this album is ten times better. That said, I disagree with Gregg Gillis and just hear the original songs, and not the album in full, sorry)

Cool Kids - Bake Sale (Hip hop at its freshest. I always think of Jimmy Johns and Kevin Garnett when I listen to this…it’s a long story)

British Sea Power - Do You Like Rock Music (epic)

Silver Mt. Zion - 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons (Another great release from one of my favorite bands. I regret not seeing them at Varsity this summer. Blindblindblind is one of their best songs. Few bands make music this passionate)

Abe Vigoda - Skeleton (What rock music should sound more like)

Spiritualized - Songs in A&E (Only band I saw live twice this year, and both performances were better than 90% of the other shows I went to this year)

Santogold/Diplo - Top Ranking Mixtape (best mixtape of the year. Santogold shines here better than she does in her self titled i think).

Quiet Village - Silent Movie (Pop music for my dreams whisking me off to foreign islands).

Grouper - Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill (The opposite of Quiet Village, music to listen to in the dead of winter but still dreamy. The female vocals sound like Haley Bonar so much, and it makes me miss Duluth. I was recommended this album by Mary of High Places. It doesn’t disappoint)

Hercules and Love Affair - s/t (Disco came back in 2008, and this album has a lot to do with that fact. Tim Goldsworthy is an amazing person. See #2)

Crystal Castles - s/t (I bought this record on vinyl, which seems odd because it is so digital. Alice Glass holds a special place in alt-bros around the world. This album is what I wished DFA1979 would have turned into. Sorry MSTRKRFT)

Department of Eagles - In Ear Park (Better than Grizzly Bear?)

Lykke Li - Youth Novels (The sexiest album made by the sexiest swede)

Land of Talk - Some Are Lakes (Finally, Saddle Creek put something out that is good in the past two years)

Air France - No Way Down (Collapsing At Your Doorstep is by far the most listen to song of 2008 for me)

King Khan and the Shrines - The Supreme Genius of… (Award for best stage presence of a belly in my face)

TV On The Radio - Dear Science (I’ve debated about this one. The second half is amazing, the first half is dull. Overall though, it still is a great album, and put out at a great time in our nation’s history)

TOP TEN:

10. Atlas Sound - “Let the Blind Lead Those Who See but Cannot Feel”

I wish I could make music as great as this. The reverberated distortion that surrounds this album is definitely attributed to Bradford Cox’s love of My Bloody Valentine, but it comes off new sounding with the added ableton-produced beats. It’s the kind of music that is best played right before bed to send you outside of yourself into a blurry, sunny winter.

9. Mount Eerie Featuring Julie Doiron and Fred Squire - “Lost Wisdom”

I finally started to listen to Mount Eerie/Microphones this summer upon recommendation of Genevieve. There’s a lot of imperfection in this album, and usually those imperfections tend to be my favorite parts of this album: Songs done in one take and songs that deal with humanity. I started listening to this about a month ago when winter came upon this cold town, and I found myself somewhat in a sad place because of that. This album lifted me up with the last song, “Voice In My Headphones”, which takes lyrics from one of my favorite Bjork songs, “Undo”: “It’s not meant to be a strife, it’s not meant to be a struggle uphill”. I really connected to that, and therefore, it is on my top 10.

8. Fuck Buttons - Street Horrrsing

One of the best parts of the year for me were the great instudios I saw at Radio K. This was my first, and they blew me away. I grew up with a lot of metal/noise friends, and I feel this album embraces my past and the present interest in repetitive dance music, sounding new and inspired together. Despite common belief of a stranger I had a conversation with this year, you don’t have to get high to make this album sound good, you just have to take it in pieces and find the beauty with multiple listens, though the members asked me to get a fake ID so I could go to their show with Caribou (I got to see both later at Pitchfork, thank God).

7. Ruby Suns - Sea Lion

This seemed to come out at the same time as Vampire Weekend, No Age, and El Guincho. Pitchfork didn’t seem to be in love with it as much (though they did play at Pitchfork this year), and therefore got overlooked. I personally think this album is better than the previously mentioned, though this album will probably get passed on many peoples’ lists. Kenya Dig It? and Remember are inspiring tracks that I have yet to get sick of.

6. High Places - High Places

It’s been said before that they are this decades Beat Happening with more electronic beats and I love that comparison. From Stardust to Sentience is my favorite song of this year, and I’m pleased that they have gotten attention, because they deserve it. They are two of the nicest people I have met, musician or non. Look for my interview with them to be uploaded over break when I have time on my hands.

5. M83 - Saturdays = Youth

I’ll start off by saying that I am happy this album got M83 into the mainstream. Even though there wasn’t a time this year that I went into Urban Outfitters without hearing either “Graveyard Girl” or “Kim & Jessie”, I’m happy. After putting out his third great album of this decade at only the age of 27, he deserves to sell out venues and open for the Killers. On that note, this was one of the best shows I went to this year, where the new M83 was blended with my previous love of songs like “Teen Angst” and “Run Into Flowers”.

4. Beach House - Devotion

Beach House’s Devotion is an album that Cat Power/Bats For Lashes would wish they could make, and I love both of those artists. There wasn’t a better album for love songs this year, but these are no regular love songs. They’re songs about being home in the mid of winter wrapped together despite the dreariness of the outer world. Most love songs are summer-y, with hopes of young blood and idealistic goals. But that isn’t real. Real love is “learning to love again” in “Heart of Chambers” or “waiting for you there silently” in “Turtle Island”.

3. Why? - Alopecia

I hated this album at first listen. With whiny vocals about white kids looking at latino porn, I wasn’t a fan at first listen. But dig deeper, you will see that these imperfections of reality (seems to be a general theme of 2008) are what makes Yoni Wolf and company’s album stand up above the rest. I’ve heard this album termed “anthem music for a Sunday hangover”, and indeed, I’ve put this album on in those situations. But there’s beauty over those lyrics with ones like the sample of the guy laughing and going crazy saying, “God, I’m sorry,” or the line in These Few Presidents, “Your’s is a funeral I’d fly to from anywhere.”

2. Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours

I’m going out on a limb on this but here goes: I watched Justice’s A Cross The Universe this weekend, and my first impression was, “God, these guys are assholes”. Now, those french boys probably are just fine, but their album and their ethic, which changed the playing field of dance music last year, was all about themselves in an almost worship-y way. So why am I ranting about Justice? Because Cut Copy’s In Ghost Colours is a good comparison I think. Of course, there’s the easy answer: † was the best dance album of last year, In Ghost Colours is the best of this year. But it goes some deeper than that. Songs like “Hearts on Fire” and “Lights and Music” are all about you, the dancer; you, the crowd. “Reach out for you and our hearts collide”. Maybe it is because Dan Whitford took four years off between albums and basically DJed those years, but for some reason, this album is much more communal and much more enjoyable to me. It may not bang as hard as the bands of last year, but the breakdowns hit me in a way that can only be matched by Daft Punk’s Discovery.

1. Deerhunter - “Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.”

remember when bradford cox flipped out bc he doesnt know how mediafire works? that was hilarious. - Curt Baker

Bradford Cox gets a lot of love…and yes some hate, but hey, if I had a pretty intense medical condition, I probably would too. Anyways, it’s hard for me to describe why I like this album so much, but here goes:

I never got into Cryptograms, and I still am just warming up to that album, despite how much Pitchfork loved it. But this album is different for me. You could write this off as just another indie rock album, but there’s so much more to it. For one, it sounds amazing. If Atlas Sound had this type of production, it may have this top spot. The melodic, distorted guitars on “Never stops” fits perfectly on radio, but still hits home in a very real, personal way with lyrics like, “I had dreams that frightened me for days”. It’s not that Bradford is morbid or disturbed at all, it’s more of trying to become something outside of yourself or outside of what people look at you like. I can relate to that I guess.

Last note: The next Atlas Sound album to come out hopefully in February will be even better than the two mentioned here. Oh yeah, and there’s this Animal Collective band…

My

I have my “best releases of the year” done, but I’d rather not post it, and post my favorite song of the year. It only comes in a single form, on pitchfork.tv, and will probably never be played again: A jam session between !!! and The Field. In essence, this is what I love about dance music. Ecstacy at the drum breakdown. I love the repetition of the Field, I love the rhythm guitar of !!!, and I love both mustaches. I grew up listening to !!! and learning to dance from their fronman (playing bass in the vid), Nic Offer. This summer, I was able to actually dance with him and it blew my mind. The Field’s “From Here We Go To Sublime” on repeat during finals because it is the only music I can listen to that’s uptempo while still ambient and won’t break my concentration.

I hope to be playing this jam at Honeymoon on Friday if I can record it in time.

So I wasted 2008 on a video of two bands who didn’t release anything this year. Oh well, better start writing about Animal Collective and Deerhunter again.

http://deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com/2008/05/micromix-16-bus-ambience.html

Probably my favorite of all the micromixes that Bradford Cox has up on his blog. Now Merriweather Post Pavillon tracks on it…though does start with an old Animal Collective song redone for their last tour. Also, the J Dilla, Phil Collins, and Thin Lizzy tracks are all dope. Especially the Thin Lizzy. Also, Curt Baker, I need to give you Logos, the demo tracks to the new atlas sound album…I think I can make you a fan of Bradford yet!

Pretty much the most dope avatar ever.

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

After three days, it’s starting, only starting, to hit me that this is our next president. Barack Obama, a man of never before seen successes, has what it takes to lead this country in a new direction. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be likely that we will get out of this debt or these wars by the time he leaves office. But this is Barack Obama. This is someone that has been called “unlikely” since the day he was born. There are a lot of firsts to his name, and he deserves credit for every one of them. But just as Mr. President Obama is an unlikely President, this is a new time in American life.

Of all the pictures I have seen in the campaign, this is one of my favorites. It reminds me of Tuesday night; of strangers hugging in the streets in the West Bank, and in the streets around the world. I’m happy to be a part of that moment. I’m happy that I could be involved in that moment. It is something I will tell my grandchildren about if God gives me that gift. I mean that with all of my heart.

As I said before, the road ahead won’t be easy at all. There’s still a recession, there’s still the deficit, there’s still an unnecessary war going on. If we want these things to be solved, you can forget about it by just standing by. This past year wasn’t the end of getting involved in public service for myself, it was the beginning. I want to give back to my country like previous generations have given to theirs, and have actually thought about joining either the Navy or Army Reserve after college. The more I think about it though, and the more I look at the qualities I have been given in life, the more I think that the Peace Corps could be for me. I could build communities that need it the most this way, and hopefully put my nursing aide skills to use. It’s something I had been thinking about for a long time, but always had felt that I didn’t have the time. Well, I do have the time; medical school can wait. If I miss this opportunity, I may never have it again.

So I don’t know a proper way to release my excitement for the new Animal Collective album. It will not see the light of day for three more months, unless you are lucky enough to be invited to a listening party next week in New York, but trust me when I say it will be my favorite release of next year. They’ve been playing much of the album live for the past two years, including debuting Lion in a Coma at Pitchfork Festival.I really felt let down by Strawberry Jam, but Merriweather will not disappoint. Definitely more electronic than say Sung Tongs or Feels, and even more so than Person Pitch. That’s all I know or can say for now. Here’s some of the jams played live:

In The Flowers

My Girls

Summertime Clothes

Lion In A Coma

Brother Sport

To be continued……