Nervous Music

Two hailstorms in two weeks

sean@nervousmusic.net — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:27:19 PDT

I'd like to think it's an auspicious sign of things to come, but I can't help but think that two hailstorms in two weeks is not a good thing. I witnessed a hailstorm while in central India in early May. And then just last weekend an even bigger hailstorm in central Massachusetts. What gives?

Water buffalo buffalo buffalo

sean@nervousmusic.net — Fri, 15 May 2009 08:32:52 PDT

I just returned from a two week visit to India. It was my 6th time visiting the country, but my first time exploring anywhere outside of Chennai. This trip took me to Chennai, Delhi, Agra (the site of the Taj Mahal) and Bangalore. Quite a crazy trip, but very productive work-wise and it was very eye-opening to experience other parts of an amazing country.

I've posted lots of photos from the weekend side-trip to Delhi and Agra. I also took a bunch of (shaky) videos with a Flip camera including this one -- we were surrounded by water buffalo as we took a tour around Agra.

Fun with Words

sean@nervousmusic.net — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 07:20:26 PST

Using a new service called Wordle, you can create a tag cloud of your website. Neat!

What is a mote?

sean@nervousmusic.net — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:09:58 PST

Apparently a mote is a small particle or speck, usually in reference to dust, but can also refer to an atom. I learned this word through a new Windows game called Osmos.

In Osmos, you're a mote. And your objective is to absorb other motes to become the biggest mote on the block. I was drawn to this game for the same reasons that I was drawn to Electroplankton: simple yet mesmerizing gameplay along with its outstanding soundtrack and musical qualities.

Three artists provide the musical backdrop to Osmos: Gas (from em:t fame), Julien Neto and Loscil. All tracks fit quite well into the ambient, dreamlike nature of the game. I learned about Osmos from reading the blog of Mat Jarvis (Gas/High Skies) where I also purchased the remastered version of his em:t 0095 release.

Nice music from nice people. If you enjoy these tracks I advise you to also buy the albums. I've been exchanging emails with Paul from Microscopics who has been very friendly and informed me that although there are no plans to release the mysterious em:t 2298 album (love the cover art), some of the tracks will be released under the High Skies moniker.

Excerpts from Osmos soundtrack (zip), including:

Gas "Discovery" from em:t 0095
Julien Neto "Farewell" from Le Fumeur De Ciel
Loscil "Sickbay" from First Narrows

Happy mote-ing!

Dusty's Theme Song

sean@nervousmusic.net — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:19:23 PST

I have an addendum to my top picks for 2008. I can't believe I forgot about this one. Lindstrøm's Where You Go I Go Too was a fantastic little EP of 3 songs all clocking in at over 10 minutes each, with the title track almost pushing a half-hour. So maybe it's considered a full-length?

Regardless, it's a great piece of work that I've heard referred to as a collection of epic ambient disco revisionism. Listen for yourself as the ball drops. Happy New Year!

Lindstrøm "Where You Go I Go Too" (mp3)

It's the most musical time of the year

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:15:00 PST

A few years have passed since I compiled a formal list of my year's favorites. My "Tracks of the Week" are long gone and my podcasts also died quietly. A year ago I didn't reflect back on 2007 to pick my favorites because I didn't feel like I discovered much new music then.

This year is different. Particularly over the last six months, I found myself enjoying quite a few new releases. The majority of this list is electronic music, or at least influenced by electronic music. But I'd like to think that there's still variety to be found.

You can sample some of the albums yourself with a zipped collection I compiled.

Top Picks of 2008 Pack (~200 MB)

In order of enjoyment:

Move D & Benjamin Brunn - Songs From The Beehive - This one sailed into the #1 spot after I spent much of the summer listening to Move D's releases from the last couple years. This is quality electronic music that seems to bend a few different genres to be labeled with its own style Arthropod-house. Whatever that means.

M83 - Saturdays=Youth - French musician Anthony Gonzalez has quite a few releases that mix shoegaze aesthetics with lush ambient pop. This album is his heaviest nod to pop so far, and it's gorgeous. The beautiful sonic textures complement its nostalgic sounds of the '80s and is the most fun album on this list.

Burial - Untrue - I'm at #3 and I've already broken the rules. This album was released in November 2007, but close enough considering I've listened to this one the most of all releases on this list. The genre of dubstep hit its stride earlier this year and this sophomore effort from the mysterious London-based Burial is a standout. It even caught the attention of NPR's Song of the Day feature last spring.

Flying Lotus - Los Angeles - This album got some recent press too in a New Yorker article by Sasha Frere-Jones. For a while, I seriously considered placing this one at the top of the list this year. Although taking some cues from artists like Prefuse 73 and DJ Shadow, I found this to be the most inventive album of the year. It's a mess of sounds and rhythms, but after repeated listens it just gets better and better.

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend - New York City's Vampire Weekend self-titled album was on heavy rotation all summer long. I mentioned that the M83 was the most fun release of the year, but I might take that back and choose this one instead. This one isn't electronic music, it's pure indie rock with shades of Paul Simon's Graceland throughout. Considering its their debut, this is a really well-executed, charming effort that might be my album for summer 2009 too.

Bvdub - several releases - For recent dub techno, Bvdub is my favorite. I tracked down four of his mini-releases throughout 2008. Very relaxing, sublime music. I particularly enjoyed Dreams Of Red Chambers and Where To Now. A track from each is in the zipped pack.

Windy & Carl - Songs For The Broken Hearted - I already own eight albums from this Michigan duo, but I'll always pick up their latest because their output is consistently great. Call it space-rock, atmospheric ambience, or drone, they've never disappointed since they began recording in 1992. This gets the "easiest to fall asleep to" prize this year.

Newworldaquarium - Dead Bears - And this gets the "huh? not quite sure what this is" award of the year. It's clearly electronic music. The man behind Newworldaquarium is Jochem Peteri and he describes his music to be stuck halfway between hip hop and house. I agree and his production skills are fantastic. More quality electronic music from 2008!

HEALTH - //DISCO - This is an example of one of those rare occurrences where the remix album is better than the original. HEALTH's self-titled release is terrific and a loud mess of rock and electronics, but this remix album is slightly better with more dimensions. The video for "Crimewave" features a bloody zombie wandering around Toronto.

Various Artists - Round Black Ghosts - I'm rounding out the list this year with a dubstep compilation from the ~scape label run by Pole's Stefan Betke. Considering Betke's quality output in the past, it's odd that his contribution to this collection is probably the weakest track. But it still blends nicely with the rest of the dubstep artists here. The track from 2562 is a highlight as well as his full-length from this year entitled Aerial which didn't quite make the cut.

Happy listening and happy holidays!

Dub and Dubber

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:32:14 PDT

Lately my listening habits have been focused solely on a genre of music called dub techno. I tend to get sucked into a certain style of music until I've run out of air. This happened about 5 years ago with a quirky brand of electronic music called tech-house or micro-house. And more recently I leapt back to the early 20th century to explore western swing.

Unlike earlier instances where I can't pinpoint how I was suddenly swept up by a particular genre, this time I can say I know exactly when dub techno got ahold of me. It was Thursday July 31st at 7:09pm. I was commuting home and listening to Boston College radio when I heard a track called "Distance" by Rhythm & Sound (mp3). I already had some Rhythm & Sound in my collection, but not their self-titled debut album. Looking back, the track isn't particularly mind-blowing. But for some reason it caught my ear and pushed me to dive into my dub techno CDs when I got home that night. Ah the wonderful Basic Channel metal tins from the mid '90s. Clever design, but the CD is left extremely vulnerable to scratches. Beautiful vinyl too.

Part of the enjoyment is the thrill of the hunt for these rarities. Because, after all, how much of this stuff do you really need to own? But over the last few months, through various sources like Beatport, eMusic, iTunes and some independent sellers like Polybonk and Juno, I've tracked down a mammoth amount of releases.

Dub techno is a blend of electronic music and dub which has its roots in reggae. One of its originators, owners of the Basic Channel label were interviewed in 1996 by The Wire magazine which offers a pretty good description of the music. In general, dub techno is downbeat, slow and warmer than traditional techno. Occasionally you'll have some singers involved, but primarily it's instrumental music. I find it a great match for driving, reading, or working on the computer. It's repetitive and discreet enough to work just fine as background music; but I find it rewarding when listening carefully too. So it's feeding my music obsession quite well.

It's been a long time since I've created a podcast and this could be a good topic for a new one. But I'm taking the lazy route and offering up some samples in a zipped bundle. If you follow the link, here's what you'll get:

Dub and Dubber Pack (~300 MB)

DeepChord Presents Echospace "First Point Of Aries" (The Coldest Season)
Mikkel Metal "Dromos" (Brone And Wait)
Convextion "Equanimity" (Convextion)
Deadbeat "Lost Luggage" (Journeyman's Annual)
Echologist "Midnight Dub" (Explorations Vol. 1)
Model 500 "Starlight (M 69 Original Mix)" (Starlight)
Octal Industries "Arrival" (Arrival/Departure)
Paul St. Hilaire & René Löwe "Faith (Vox Mix)" (Faith)
Rhythm & Sound with Willi Williams "See Mi Yah" (See Mi Yah)
Rod Modell "AbA" (Plays Michael Mantra)
Spectral Network "Part 4" (Defragment: Part 4-6)
Porter Ricks "Nautical Dub" (Biokinetics)
Bvdub "Always On The Outside" (Return To Tonglu)
Fluxion "Hiatus" (Vibrant Forms)
Ovatow "X - Dub II" (X - Dub)
Paperclip People "The Climax (Basic Reshape)" (Basic Reshape)
Substance & Vainqueur "Resonance" (Libration/Resonance)
Octex "Emergon" (Idei Lahesna)
Anders Ilar "Make Believe" (Everdom)
Monolake "Static" (Gravity)
Quantec "Infinite" (Thousands Of Thoughts)
Yagya "SnowFlake 6" (Rhythm Of Snow)
Atheus "Unendlich" (Unendlich/Drone 37 Hz)

If you're up for it, drop a note in the comments and let me know about your favorites.

Soup! (again)

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 10:53:35 PDT

Has it really been over two months since I was last here? I guess things have been very busy for me lately. I just returned from a 10-day overseas work trip that took me to Luzern, Switzerland and Berlin. I arrived back in Boston to be greeted by the crisp, cool air that can only mean that autumn is upon us.

I'm trying to shake my second cold of the season. This second one was probably mostly my fault from being out way past my bedtime last weekend at Maria am Ostbanhof. A fantastic night of live music, but I don't have the endurance for the late night shows like I once had.

Now that I'm back, I think a good hearty soup is what I need to get back on track. So I think the menu tonight will include a new recipe. We'll see how it goes.

Chickpea Tagine with Cinnamon, Cumin, and Carrots

North African cooking often features cinnamon in both savory dishes and desserts. Carrots and raisins make this a slightly sweet stew that's best served with a dollop of sour Greek-style yogurt to complement the flavors.

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
2 14.5-oz cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
¼ cup dried currants
1 tsp. ground tumeric
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. honey
½ cup plain Greek-style yogurt
3 Tbs. finely chopped parsley

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes, or until onion slices are soft.
2. Stir in chickpeas, carrots, currants, spices, honey, and 2 cups water. Cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide tagine among 4 bowls. Garnish each serving with dollop of yogurt, and sprinkle with parsley.

Beats and breakfast foods

sean@nervousmusic.net — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:06:17 PDT

I always thought EMusic would be a killer. But it turns out that Beatport will be the death of me.

In unrelated news, I was driving through the center of my town today and noticed a sidewalk sign outside of the local greasy spoon. It was advertising "Cape Cod Pancaks." What do you suppose those are all about? What's a pancak? Does it come with lobster?

If you could live anywhere, at any time . . .

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sat, 31 May 2008 08:09:01 PDT

Ever play that game? Trying to decide what era and what location you'd want to live in if you had your choice? Lately, I think New York in 1977 would be pretty incredible. Sure, a lot of people consider that to be one of New York's most dangerous and chaotic times. But you can't beat the music. I recommend catching NY77 when it's on TV. It inspired me to toss together this mixtape: WhenNewYorkWasNewYork.

Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, and Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling

sean@nervousmusic.net — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:04:40 PDT

I've been searching for the best book for my upcoming vacation. I have a lot of unread books to choose from. They've been sitting dormant on my bookshelves for months (some of them have been hanging around for years).

But a new book popped into my possession today that will trump all others: Ballad of the Whiskey Robber written by Julian Rubinstein. Chris recommended it to me as we perused the Borders bargain bin, and he treated me to the book - thanks Chris!

I'm not sure how to prepare myself for a book with a back cover synopsis that starts with "Attila Ambrus was a gentleman thief, a sort of Cary Grant—if only Grant came from Transylvania, was a terrible professional hockey goalkeeper, and preferred women in leopard-skin hot pants."

What?!?

Like I said, thanks Chris.

Tempeh tacos taste terrific

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 07:28:40 PDT

Last weekend was a blast. The weather was perfect and reminded me of the first days of warm weather in college, and short term! From the right field rooftop seats, we watched the Red Sox come from behind to beat the Rangers on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time I scored an entire game since I was a Cub Scout watching the Paw Sox.

Plus we enjoyed a great new recipe: Jamaican Curried Tempeh Tacos

The yellow curry filling, mustard greens (although we used baby spinach), and red pepper strips lend these spicy tacos the colors of the tropics.

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 small sweet onion, such as Vidalia or Walla Walla, diced (1 cup)
1 8-oz. pkg. tempeh, cut into ½-inch cubes
½ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro
2½ tsp. curry powder
1½ tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 Tbs. lime juice
1 tsp. grated lime zest
4 6-inch corn or flour tortillas, warmed
¼ cup chopped red bell pepper
½ cup curly mustard greens, finely chopped
2 Tbs. chopped peanuts, optional

1. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until onion is softened.
2. Stir in tempeh, pineapple juice, cilantro, curry powder, and ginger. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook 5 minutes, or until pineapple juice evaporates and tempeh starts to brown, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat, stir in lime juice and zest, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Fill tortillas with tempeh mixture. Add red bell pepper and mustard greens. Top with peanuts, if desired.

Bubble and squeak

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 09:07:22 PDT

A fun new web app just emerged that lets you create your own mp3 mixtapes. Muxtape is genius in its simplicity. Although I wonder how long this little service will be able to stick around.

My mix is a showcase of my favorite dubstep ditties: nervousmusic.muxtape.com. It's heavy on the Burial tracks, but he's my favorite. Be sure to crank your bass for these gems.

So long Joe-Joes

sean@nervousmusic.net — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:37:43 PDT

Out of pure coincidence while cleaning out the kitchen cabinet tonight, I discovered that my final box of Candy Cane Joe-Joes expires today. Well, I guess I have some serious eating to do in the next three hours.

What I've been diggin': Five things, the music edition

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:51:52 PST

A year has flown by since I last dropped a "five things" list here. So it's time for another list. And considering I've been consistently uncovering new music each month with my eMusic subscription, it seems fit to dedicate this go-round to music exclusively. These albums have been part of my soundtrack this winter.

All tracks are available at eMusic, except for the first one which you'd need to grab from iTunes Plus which is their DRM-free wing of their music store. Enjoy!

The Field "A Paw In My Face" - from the album From Here We Go To Sublime

Belong "October Language" - from the album October Language

Ellen Allien & Apparat "Jet" - from the album Orchestra of Bubbles

Japancakes "Blown A Wish" - from the album Loveless

Studio "Out There" - from the album West Coast

Soup!

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 15:54:25 PST

This recipe might not be the right choice for Super Bowl Sunday, so that's why we're making it tonight. This is our second time making Moroccan Harira and it's a fun alternative to the usual minestrones and stews that you might usually make.

This traditional soup is thickened with a tadouira—a mixture of flour, tomato paste, and cilantro—and served with lemon wedges. Because of the vermicelli, the soup may thicken when cooled—simply add a little more water or broth when reheating.

Harira
½ cup green lentils
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (2 cups)
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ tsp. ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1 15-oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ cup vermicelli
Lemon wedges, for garnish

Tadouira
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. tomato paste

1. To make Harira: Cook lentils in pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, parsley, cilantro, ginger, and cinnamon; sauté 5 minutes, or until onion is soft. Stir in tomatoes, and sauté 5 minutes more.
3. Stir in broth, chickpeas, lentils, reserved tomato liquid, and 3 cups water. Season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 45 minutes, or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.
4. To make Tadouira: Whisk flour with 1 cup water in bowl. Whisk in cilantro, lemon juice, and tomato paste. Stir Tadouira and vermicelli into Harira, and cook 3 minutes, or until noodles are soft. Serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy while watching Casablanca.

Checkmate, you carnivore!

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:28:30 PST

Well, that was a month-long hiatus. I haven't had much to report here lately. Made it through the holidays with a nice vacation. Dove back into work including a trip to India, where I've returned with a massive head cold that's just starting to clear up.

One noteworthy item is that my New Year's resolution was to officially slide over to vegetarian status. So I've done that (with the exception of eating a few prawns in India, but who can resist them?) It wasn't much of a change for me. We've been eating mostly vegetarian food at home for a long time, plus I haven't had any red meat in close to two years, I'd say.

Oh, and I also picked up this lovely hand-carved white sandalwood and rosewood chess set while in Chennai. So I'll be polishing my skills over the next few months. Watch out Viswanathan Anand!

What was your craziest onstage moment?

sean@nervousmusic.net — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 11:27:16 PST

Last month I summarized Yo La Tengo's answer to my freewheeling question. Now thanks to the great Boston music blog, Bradley's Almanac, you can hear it for yourself at about 2 minutes in to "freewheeling banter 11" not to mention the entire early show from November 15th. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Daft podcasting

sean@nervousmusic.net — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:00:29 PST

I have to get the podcast engine going again soon. It's been a nine-month gap which is inexcusable and the last one included my favorites from the beginning of the year. Here we are in the final stride of 2007 and I suppose my next podcast should round out the year with my other favorites.

All I know is that Daft Punk's Alive 2007 will top the list. Have you heard this thing? I stopped paying attention to Daft Punk five years ago, but wow, this live album from a June show in Paris is stellar. Check the video clip. What are your favorites from the year?

A mix of Snow (and rain)

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:33:21 PST

For those in New England, we have snow in our near future. The coastline will probably be a messy mix of snow and rain. But here in central Mass we could be getting anywhere between 3-6 inches, maybe more if the storm dips south a bit.

This won't be the first snowfall of the season, but it's close enough that it's time to pull out Coil's "The Snow." I've talked about this in the past and posted the track here before. So this time, let's go with a couple remixes both courtesy of Meat Beat Manifesto.

~~Coil "The Snow (Answers Come In Dreams I)"~~ (mp3)
~~Coil "The Snow (Answers Come In Dreams II)"~~ (mp3)

Holiday construction

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 10:40:10 PST

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Excellent food and some relaxing time with both sides of my family. On Thanksgiving afternoon, we took advantage of the unusually mild weather to wander the driftway in Scituate. The air was clean and it was perfectly quiet except for the rustle of marsh grass as we looked out onto Fourth Cliff and parts of the shoreline.

We drove around town and I was reminded of some areas I hadn't seen in a long time, including Veteran's Park where my name is engraved in a wooden walkway for donating and helping with its construction. We also saw the new shingles on my parents' house. The construction was done by one man and he did an outstanding job.

After a visit to my hometown, we drove to central Mass where we shared a lot of laughs over the construction of our gingerbread houses. I was inspired to put a keg of mini-pretzels to good use and make my own maze. At first I considered an all-Peep tree maze a la The Shining, but quickly decided against it with only one package of Peep trees. A few more photos after the jump.

Gobbling up music

sean@nervousmusic.net — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:13:16 PST

Man alive. This has been a big music month for me.

I've discovered new music and posted a few things here. I'm adding albums to my eMusic "Save For Later" list like a champ. I saw Yo La Tengo last week and will possibly hear some renditions of Steve Reich next week. And now I'm all set up with my new 160GB iPod Classic. The day has come -- and it didn't take too long -- where I can fit my collection (or at least the parts I care about) in my pocket...with room to spare.

Freewheelin' and fabulous

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 09:30:20 PST

On Thursday night, Chris and I saw an amazing Yo La Tengo show at the Museum of Fine Arts. It was my fourth (fifth?) time seeing them live and definitely the best. It was an almost-acoustic set they called The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo Tour. The premise is quite simple: Play an intimate sold-out show to a bunch of drooling indie kids and between every song bring up the house lights halfway to chew the fat.

Yo La Tengo accepted song requests (and did a nice job of fulfilling most) and answered questions that were shouted out. Chris was egging me on to yell: "Why wasn't your fourth album double live?!?" Although an obscure reference from their "Sugarcube" video, it would've been pretty funny to ask.

I almost gathered the chutzpah to do it, but instead I shouted "What was your craziest onstage moment?"...thinking that would garner a longer response and a funny story (rather than a deep sigh and a shake of the head - sorry Chris). The lead singer Ira answered with a long, meandering story about how a friend of the band thought it would be a good idea to join them onstage for a song...naked.

Singing naked wasn't a dare; it was more like just something to do. The band gave in and let him. But once he was up there, shyness set in and he turned his back to the audience only to be staring at Georgia, the female drummer. Maybe not the most insane thing to happen to a band on stage, but a pretty humorous story. Maybe they'll have another crazy story after tonight's live performance on Saturday Night Live.

They then floated right into this...

~~Yo La Tengo: "Pablo and Andrea"~~ (mp3)

Oh yeah, and I should also mention they played a gorgeous rendition of one of my favorites:

~~Yo La Tengo: "Deeper into Movies"~~ (mp3)

My cameraphone photo is terrible. See better photos from closer fans with better cameras on Flickr.

The dubstep blues revivial

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 09:29:57 PST

The Red Sox are champs once again. We've set the clocks back. We've even had a snow flurry. It's only been a couple weeks since my last post but between then and now it seems like we've really started to slip into the colder season. I guess this means the holidays are right around the corner. I'll likely be staying put through the next couple months without any work travel in sight.

A couple big projects are behind me. They launched during October. Work is no less busy, but there's the tiniest bit of a calm right now until the next big roll-outs in January. As a result, I've started to do more things at home and in my personal life. Hey, I've even been able to discover some new music.

A friend at work turned me on to Elizabeth Cotten, a roots music guitarist with some unbelievable finger-picking skills. Her album Shake Sugaree is a wonderful listen.

In direct contrast, I stumbled upon a UK producer that goes by the name Burial. He has released two albums in the last two years to high critical acclaim. No one knows much about him. He's given one interview but doesn't make any public appearances let alone perform any live shows. Over the last week, the album Untrue has seeped into my brain with its mysterious and unsettling beats and vocals. He's breathed new life into the somewhat stale genre of dubstep, or 2step, or whatever you want to call it. Anyway, enjoy. It's like a soothing narcotic.

~~Elizabeth Cotten "When The Train Comes Along"~~ (mp3)
~~Burial "Archangel"~~ (mp3)

To sleep or not to sleep

sean@nervousmusic.net — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:39:36 PDT

I just returned from a friend's house in Luzern where we watched the replay of Game 3 on NASN, the North American Sports Network. I was able to get through Sunday morning without hearing about last night's score. Not that the Swiss-Germans are running through the streets shouting Game 3's results.

Tonight is going to be tough. I'll be hanging out with people watching the Patriots on NASN. But can I stay up basically all night to catch Game 4 and the potential sweep?

Well, first of all, I'm all thrown off. I'm still a bit jet-lagged plus Europe set its clocks back last night, one week earlier than the U.S. So really I'm just 5 hours ahead at the moment which means the Pats game will start at 9:15pm. However the Sox won't start until 1:30am. UGH. What's a displaced Sox fan to do? Did I mention this is killing me?