11.30.2009

Blue Dreams

Hopefully everyone has come back from the Thanksgiving weekend a little fatter and a little happier. Unlike me, who only came out fatter and grumpier. (Much grumpier)

Okay, so I have decided that the official start of the end of the year music list will commence on December 15th, and that it will continue up until 2010. I might be the only person excited here, but I'm excited enough for all of us (the figurative "us". We promise we don't have split personalities.)

In the meantime, I felt like it might be suitable to talk a little about the movies that also came out this year. Call this a "best of 2009", if you will. May I first mention how alien-y we are this year? We have Monsters vs. Aliens, The Fourth Kind, District 9, Transformers (let's not forget that they are robots from another planet). Oh, and the trailer for Planet 51, and though it isn't a movie, the new TV series on ABC called V. So 2009: the year of the alien...movies. But other highlights for me this year were movies like Paper Heart, (500) Days of Summer, Mary and Max, Whip It, and Paranormal Activity.





*whispered: aaaand New Moon

Just kidding.

11.24.2009

You're Not the Only

So I guess I'm kind of a lazy cheater, at least when it comes to finding new music. But really, Pitchfork makes it much too easy. Not to say that I buy every single thing that they say. But...I have to say that I am a reformed Pitchfork hater. And aside from that, I love their best new music section, especially best new tracks.


I may have jumped at Animal Collective, and overlooked Beach House's new song, "Norway". (Well who wouldn't, it's Animal fucking Collective).


Oh, and if I can expound on Animal Collective some more, the lyrics to "What Would I Want? Sky" are just too amazing.


What would I want... Sky!

Is everything alright?
You feeling lonely?
You feeling homely?
You're not the only
Is everything alright?
You feeling moany?
you feeling stoney?
You're not the only
Do you get up up up?
I stop and go above me
Too bad they can't help me
Here in the right way
Do I get up up up?
I stop and look around me
Green, where the color should be
What is the right way?
Old glasses clinking and a new board is blinking
and I -
I should be floating but I'm weighted by thinking
That I got on the river
Really can't make it change
And the sky got filled up too fast
and the taxi man's saying, "You betta
give him your money;
stop daydreaming, dude!"
When the point of horizon is hiding from you
What would you want? sky?

Are you taking it lightly?
Lost in the flurries
You start to worry
You will be buried
Taking it lightly
and so I hurry
I start to worry
Here come them flurries

Do you get up up up?
I stop and go above me
Too bad they can't help me
What is the right way?
Do I get up up up?
I stop and look around me
Green, where the color should be
What is the right way?
Old glasses clinking and a new board is blinking
and I -
I should be floating but I'm weighted by thinking
That I got on the river
Really can't make it change
And the sky got filled up too fast
and the taxi man's saying, "You betta
give him your money;
stop daydreaming, dude!"
When the point of horizon is hiding from you
What would you want? sky!
What would I want? sky!
What would I want? sky!

11.23.2009

The World is Lazy

My favorite part of today was probably walking home and shout-singing the lyrics to "When I'm With You" by Best Coast. I have a feeling the people who live in the homes that I pass by most likely hate me, because I'm either screaming, groaning "ughhhhhh", crying, or singing. They probably think I am crazy. But really, how can you resist these lyrics?

The world is lazy
But you and me, we're just crazy
So when I'm with you I have fun
Yeah when I'm with you, I have fun

Ever since I was a little girl
My mama always told me there'd be boys like you
So when I'm with you I have fun
Yeah when I'm with you, I have fun

I hate sleeping alone
I hate sleeping alone
I hate sleeping alone
I hate sleeping alone
Alone, alone, alone, alone...
Alone.

In other news, I checked out Shel Silverstein's book, Where the Sidewalk Ends from the library. Though they are kid poems, I feel like I missed out on a lot of the meaning in them at that age, and aside from that my teachers sort of emphasized the humor in his poetry rather than the poetry itself. But to top it all, it brings back memories. Memories of poems I studiously memorized, to be recited when I was scared of the dark, or my dad calling me a yipiyuk because I would grab his ankles and make him drag me across the floor.

What Would I Want? Sky

I am well aware that I am extremely biased, but the new Animal Collective track, "What Would I Want? Sky" is just too awesome.

But, if you don't trust someone who has loved Animal Collective since Feels (and also loved everything retroactively since Feels), check it out. They got a tennnnnn!

11.22.2009

You Do You

So some astute people might notice that I've decided to "monetize" my blog. I'm well aware that the "pay out" from this will be very negligible, but I figure, why not? Maybe by some freak accident this blog will actually become popular someday (highly unlikely, I know) and it might actually come in handy. Until then, it will just be a tiny little box in the corner of the screen. I'm really not expecting any money to actually come out of it, but it would be really cool to get a check in the mail.

As for the major music playlist?

Anamanaguchi - Black Out City
Andrew Bird - Simple X
Animal Collective - Bluish
Bat for Lashes - What's a Girl To Do
Bear in Heaven - You Do You
Bibio - Sugarette
Camera Obscura - French Navy
Cat Power - Naked If I Want To
Chromeo - Needy Girl
Delorean - Seasun
Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move
Discovery - Can You Tell?
El Perro Del Mar - Jubilee
Elliott Smith - Twilight
Empire in the Sun - Walking on a Dream
Fleet Foxes - Mykonos


Myyyy internet totally crashed so here concludes the playlist!





11.21.2009

Reprise

Sadly I am still not able to make a huge playlist tonight, since I have chosen to go on my sister's laptop.

So I have this terrible urge to be baking and cooking. Thus far I've made some chocolate chip cookies and tonight I made tortillas from scratch. To be honest? The tortillas were both simpler and harder than I thought it would be. And unfortunately they didn't taste as great as I had hoped. Buuuuut...they were still delicious.

And, just in case anyone else wants to make tortillas:

Just mix 3 cups of flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt. Then, mix in 4-6 tablespoons of butter (though I think it would be better to use less) and 1 and 1/4 cups of warm water (mix the water in little by little). Then pull pieces off and roll into around 12-16 balls of dough and let them sit for about ten minutes, and warm a pan on medium heat. Then roll the balls into flat circular pieces and cook in the pan. They should be cooked fairly quickly. And you're finished!

Yaaaaay...

11.20.2009

Freaking Internettt

Unfortunately today my internet has been a total bitch this entire day. Frustrating, really. I had hoped to do a very long music playlist today, but due to the late hour I will probably not do it.

So I actually have to figure out some movies to get for Thanksgiving weekend. It's been a tradition for us to sit together and eat pretty much all day and watch movies (typically westerns). I don't know what kind of movies we'll find from the library this year, so the responsibility of finding good movies to watch falls on me. In the quest to find a lot of movies to watch, I happened upon Mary and Max, which is an amazing animated film. It is definitely one of my top favorite films of this year.

I have a feeling that this entire blog post is not very well written. I feel that the best thing would be for me to stop here. And also I'd like to publish this while it's still today and not tomorrow.

11.19.2009

Timid Little Teether



TV on the Radio - "Love Dog"

It's amazingly poetic. One of my favorite lyrics, "Patience is a virtue until its silence burns you".

11.18.2009

Hoping to Have a Hoot

I'm relieved that we're slowly transitioning from early fall with its crisp morning air and flurries of tree debris to the dark depression of late November. You can already feel the holiday grumbles in the air.

I really want to go to Seattle soon and go antiquing. Sadly it's something I really enjoy. At the very least I'm sure that Pioneer Square is impressive this time of year, with the autumn leaves (though I strongly suspect that at this point they are only skeletons now).

Right now I am questing for a truly good jacket that I really connect with, and also a way to keep the Shel Silverstein poem Where the Sidewalk Ends in my pocket. I kind of want to learn how to stitch letterings so that I can sew it into my pockets. I would go so far as to keep it close to my skin, though I have a feeling that that would just be exceedingly corny (I feel as though I rarely have the lucidity of mind to think things through and realize how stupid I really am). But really, sometimes when things are so beautiful you don't want to let them go, I wish that it were possible to just keep it close to my skin.

Not exactly going along with the general depressing theme of this post, I recently started listening to Wild Beast's latest album, Two Dancers. I feel fairly unfortunate for getting their album so late in the game, but no matter what it's definitely better having it in my ipod now. Their opening track, "The Fun Powder Plot", with its booty calls (my boot, my boot, my boot!) and its Freudian slips is definitely one of my favorite songs at the moment. And not to mention "Hooting and Hollering", with its memorable music video. The album as a whole is really strong, with each song capable of standing alone, and working together as a whole to make one of this year's most enjoyable albums. Other favorites from the album include "All the King's Men" and "This is our Lot".

11.17.2009

Shel Silverstein - Where the Sidewalk Ends

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

11.15.2009

700...

It's our seven hundredth post, and there really isn't much to show for it. I was planning on doing a 100-post rewind just for fun, but somehow I feel like that would just be embarrassing for everyone involved.

Suffice it to say that I'm glad we all survived this week.

I got the Monsters of Folk album a while ago, but wasn't able to put anything up until now. Probably because of the label of "super group" I might have had too high expectations, and also because I usually don't like anything I listen to right away (which is usually cured through repetition or time), Monsters of Folk didn't really excite me. There are plenty of pleasant tracks, but they're really just pleasant, and not really exciting. After the first couple of listens, I feel pretty safe to condense the album to just the opening track, "Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)".

11.05.2009

Tragic Little Teacup

Okay, one midterm and a three hour nap later and I think the Midterm Zombie has been successfully vanquished. Back to the living!

So I'm supposed to be doing this gigantic end of year music playlist, of basically every album released this year and every album I've listened to this year. I have yet to set the exact date for when this playlist will appear, but I have a hunch it will be sometime at the end of this year...har har. Oh, and there is only three blog posts remaining until we reach the 700th! I'm still not sure exactly how I plan on celebrating that. I'm thinking I'll rewind every one hundred posts and quote them again, just for the fun of it.

And I am currently listening to Bishop Allen's newest album, Grrr..., which, despite being less than amazing, is an easy album to bob your head to. Simple pop songs with simple lyrics and lots of jangly sounds. (Really. That's about all you can say about this album. Not the best, but jangly and head-bobbing)

Bishop Allen - Don't Hideaway


11.04.2009

Ughhhh

Beware of the Midterm Zombie!

Midterm zombie: two midterms + halloween + lack of sleep

11.03.2009

Sugarette

Okay, it's official -- there WILL be a end-of-year music list with LOTS of things to download.

11.02.2009

My Punishment for Fighting

Maybe this is because I failed to believe that money makes the world go 'round, as a child.

Growing up, I used to be extremely superstitious, basically after I discovered "bad luck" I lost the entire idea of responsibility for mistakes or the shame of failure. My dad liked to take my sister and I to the library, which, though usually considered a great place of knowledge, is actually equal parts nonsense and fact (I personally believe the scales are tipped towards nonsense, considering the immense collection of fictions, children's books, and not to mention biased books; if you need further proof, consider the fact that any book that has even a modicum of fact is most likely in the reference section and therefore not allowed to be checked out). That library is actually when I first came upon a big book of superstition, mainly folksy little rhymes that meant nothing but something I mistook for overlooked fact. Which is where I came upon a little tidbit of superstition that has unfortunately stuck with me for the rest of my life:
One crow unlucky, two crows lucky
Three crows healthy, four crows wealthy
Five crows sickness, Six crows death
This is mainly from memory, since I was probably six when I read it. Unfortunately I recited it in my mind religiously and when my parents drove me to my afterschool math class (they wanted me to be smart) I'd scan the skies for two crows so I'd know I'd pass my daily quiz.

This, as I've said, has stuck with me my entire life. I even shared it with my great grandmother, which caused my dad to think that I might be mentally ill (okay, I am a fan of the hyperbole, but he honestly thought there was something wrong with me). This morning I kept spotting single crows as I went to my bus stop and all the bus ride to the school. Of course I involuntarily remembered the little rhyme, but since I turned fourteen I stopped putting much stock in it.

But unfortunately today really was shitty. Studying did not go as planned, and many excruciating hours later, I ended up on the bus home. And it only took me half an hour to realize I had completely forgot my expensive architecture book at the bus stop, and already had to plan the lie to cover that up. The entire walk home was pretty much the only highlight of the entire day, in which I put my scarf over half of my face, turned up Dirty Projector's "Stillness is the Move" and screamed "UGHHHH" all the way home.

Getting home, and my mom sits me down and informs me that I am $110 over on my phone bill and that I have to pay the difference, which basically constitutes half of all the money I've saved up this year.

To top this all off, through a series of mistakes I've made the past year, my academic records are on hold and I am on academic probation. My financial aid was completely lost and I still have no idea the first step in changing this around. I currently owe over $7000 to the University of Washington, which I know I can find a way to fix, if only the weight of it all wasn't crushing me.

And the only thing that made sense at that point was to just walk outside and cry. Originally planning on walking to Robinswood park, I turned into the cul-de-sack by my house, which used to be my favorite place to bicycle. I walked the whole way, looking at how much things have changed since I was a child. My favorite trees, my favorite neighbors, my favorite blackberry bush, everything was different, dark and unhappy, and blurred by tears.

Here is the awful truth: the majority of my life I have spent believing that fairytales come true. I believed in soulmates, hearts tied together like anchors. I believed in families, in the sanctity of marriage, that money doesn't actually make the world go around. It wasn't until I was 18 that I actually gave up on that classic Disney storyline that something amazing was supposed to happen. I mean, there are the major moments early in life, like your sweet 16, turning 18, turning 21. And all I see is an incomprehensible mass of life moving through time and space. That we're all just faceless beings on an impersonal world. Yes, it's true we're all worm food in the end, but even that can't unite us.

It doesn't matter what I do for the rest of my life. That childish innocence that LIFE is ACTUALLY GOOD is gone forever.

11.01.2009

So Bored

I have no idea why I'm up so early either. I woke up at 6:30 and instead of letting myself go back to sleep I just woke up and am now here, doing nothing. Oh wait, I'm not doing nothing. I am being slowly frozen to death.

I think that it is about time this moved away from boring web blog and transitioned to boring web blog that talks about music.

So I've had this cover of Wavves' "So Bored" by Anamanaguchi. I just learned that Anamanaguchi uses "thick, electronic tones of a hacked Nintendo Entertainment system". Haha whaaat? It's actually not as tacky as it sounds. (Or it is as awesome as it sounds, if that was your initial reaction)

Anamanaguchi - So Bored