Movies of Myself

Will you wait for me there until someone comes, to carry me, carry me down.

2012-01-26T21:40:14-08:00

Mid Week Mini Music Mix

Standing en pointe all morning
until your face is flushed
like a peach.

All of our yesterdays
are dances, all of our
present days are
a quick whipping fan
of images, a blur
of hours making my
eyes water.

The flush moves down
your hair, through your pretty
fingertips.

You take a running leap over the
porch fence. I say
nothing.

Dharma burns a path across
the noontime street, calling up
all our long tomorrows.

Follow You Down To The Red Oak Tree - James Vincent McMorrow Here's another song as promised from one of my new favorite singers. His poignant falsetto is at its bittersweet best here.

Blue - First Aid Kit These Swedish sisters, they know how to make beautiful music together. If you're in the mood for wonderful folk songs, look them up. Their latest, The Lion's Roar, is available now.

Drifting In And Out - Porcelain Raft This is the solo project from Mauro Remiddi, a man of so many talents. This is a sweeping, looping, ethereal sound. Listen if you like Grouper or School of Seven Bells.

Kevin's - Sharon Van Etten A voice like this can bring you to tears through its sheer, brilliant emotion. Gorgeous. Sharon Van Etten's Tramp is out February 7th. It speaks volumes.

Year of the Dragon

2012-01-23T11:18:06-08:00

via Legohaulic on flickr

Our New Year's Eve dumplings, fish, pork belly and lettuce wraps were consumed. We've got our brand new clothes on today. Our kitchen god is up in his place by the stove. We're headed out to the Buddhist temple later. Chinese New Year is a go!

Wishing you all a Happy Year of the Dragon.

Fireworks - Animal Collective

Are You Ready For Some Football

2012-01-22T15:21:22-08:00

Patrick likes to listen to this horrible local community college radio station. They have a weekly show where they discuss whether vintage surf rock is better than modern surf rock. We once listened to a piece they did with a guest who had collected something like two thousand versions of the song "Louie, Louie" on cassette and he would've had even more except he doesn't own a computer that can download mp3s (?!). I don't this station has ever played one decent song, like not ever.

Yesterday he tuned into it during their mega avant-garde stream of consciousness "music" show and they played a song that consisted entirely of typewriters in an echo chamber. Normally I would've switched this off so fast the radio tuner knob would've left a burn mark on my fingers but instead I decided to play a silent game in my head: if I could make it through the entire typewriter song, then the 49ers would win the NFC championship game. It was horrific, but I did it. I fully expect a San Francisco victory today.

Let's go, Niners!!!!!

Could be there's nothing else in our lives so critical as this little hope.

2012-01-19T13:51:28-08:00

Mid Week Mini Music Mix

One night while we were in Yosemite we drove back into the park at night to look at the stars. We had dinner at the middling hotel restaurant and waited til it was as dark as it was going to get. It took about thirty minutes, wending our way through the pitch black curving roads, before we reached a meadow, a wide swathe of open relief from the obscuring trees.

And it was one of the most beautiful, amazing things I’ve ever seen. A bowl of stars hanging brightly, each one as singular and remarkable as the first word spoken on its own world. I’ve lived in the suburbs every day of my life, so to see even this small slice of the night sky without a wisp of smog and without a single light nearby was beyond comprehension. I truly don’t think humans have the capability in our little minds to understand the meaning of this wondrous, vast existence.

I remember spinning slowly around and around under this umbrella of memory and time, granite mountains in every direction, the twenty three degree air clear and windless, not a sound anywhere. I was thinking, what can I do to hold on to this feeling.

They say the devil is in the details but wouldn't you say,that heaven is in the details, too?

Simple Song - The Shins I can just tell that this year is going to be full of great music and there’s no better start than this. I am just bursting with love for this song and intensely excited about a new album from my long-beloved Shins.

Sidecar - Kathleen Edwards This is from a lovely album, Voyageur, by a great Canadian songwriter. Produced by Bon Iver and showcasing Kathleen Edwards’ talents in a remarkable way. I think you’ll really enjoy this.

The Moon Is Calling - Nada Surf Speaking of new albums from long-favored bands, Nada Surf, have got a new record out soon. Always dependable, always bringing that fascinating blend of sweetness and melancholy. I can’t wait to listen to this more.

Hear The Noise That Moves So Soft And Low - James Vincent McMorrow Sweet sassy molassey, are you all ready for this? This man’s voice and his incredible, timeless songs are going to sweep you right off your feet, and I just hope you’re ready for it. This is certainly not the last time I’m going to be raving about McMorrow. This album, Early in the Morning, is a true gem.

Why don’t you look around, show me what you’re made of.

2012-01-17T23:13:30-08:00

I want to tell you guys all about the adventures I had in Yosemite this past weekend, but I have to wrap my head around everything first. It was such a spectacularly lovely time. The kind of trip that grips you with saudade while you're still in the midst of it, because you know it has to end soon.

But it makes me think, if the year starts out like this, then we must have some pretty amazing things in store for us. Go outside, get the ball rolling. It's about to get loud in here.

Comeback Kid - Sleigh Bells

Do What You Feel Now

2012-01-11T23:15:32-08:00

Mid Week MIni Music Mix

Once in a while you need to do this, guys. Go into your music collection and talk to it. Look for a word, a phrase, a thought and let the songs give you their answer. Yesterday I opened up iTunes and typed "feel"* into the search box. Dozens of songs came to meet me, so many of them brash and sweet and interesting. So many of them forgotten over time and happily rediscovered. It's a great way to make little unexpected mixes that turn out unusually well and it's a good opportunity to get to know your music again.

No Feelings - Handsome Furs

Feel The Love - Cut Copy

I Feel Better - Hot Chip

Electric Feel (Justice Remix) - MGMT

*"feel" yielded wonderful results, but "dream", "love", "slow" and "water" are good ones, too

To Pin or Not To Pin

2012-01-09T23:02:03-08:00

Now I know I already recommended Pinterest to you guys last week, but I have to tell you that I am extra obsessed with it right now because of a flaw in their design which recently came to my attention. I guess Pinterest hasn't added the ability to delete or edit comments yet, so anything that you write is there forever (or until they enable comment management, same diff.)

Sometimes this is bad because if, like me, you often use your iPad or phone to look at the site, a humiliating auto-correct that you didn't catch in time will just glare at you in defiance. That's right, maybe you meant to call the picture of puppy "darling" but your clumsy fingers made you call it a "dicknut" in a public forum and now there's no turning back.

But lately what I've loved most, to the point of distraction, is when people accidentally type search terms into item comments instead of into the search box at the top of the site. It's just so absurdly random, so bizarrely hilarious that I can't get enough of it. To wit:

Buffalo chicken! Sirry! I am dying here.