Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
8.12.2011
8.10.2011
i only have 2 minutes!
there is an infinite unbearably at large amount of possibilites to give in to but we usually settle for a multiple choice answer limited to our own interpretation of a world that is not ours to understand.
3.03.2011
this is not an instance of me being ahead of the curve.
confession: i am the last person to be listening to grizzly bear for the first time. i've heard it in cars, on iPod speaker docks, downstairs, through the walls, in the park, high, in California, Colorado, New York, where else? apparently i even saw them open for Feist in 2007.
don't yell at me! i was all mixed up with animal collective, and fleet foxes, and department of eagles, and... so grizzly bear got the cold shoulder, nudged into my lovingly growing playlist called "oops, forgot to listen to this." this playlist is distant cousin of "pile of bills" on my desk and sister to "haven't watched yet" document on computer. dynasties worry me, whether they go by clinton or sequel, which is why star wars, 007, and the matrix's (don't take college level philosophy until you watch the matrix's. your professor will reference it hundreds of times, the class will have many a-ha moments, and you will fail) still have not received my undivided attention. whatever, i have commitment issues. these are all a serious time suck!
so i watched blue valentine last month. and here comes unrelenting grizzly bear again to accompany me throughout, and break me out of my jaded indie rock is boring haze. ok-- have you guys heard Ready, Able!? of course you have! it was like, so 2009, right? whatever. jerks. the light shone down and she done listen to this song.
i thought i was going to avoid grizzly bear like i avoided beanie babies and harry potter. hysteria worries me, but hipster hysteria downright terrifies me. thus the aversion. in hindsight, avoiding harry potter was a mistake. and grizzly bear is emerging from the shadows a weird winner. in the words of bill compton, i will atone.
exhibit a: what finally got my attention.
exhibit b: what kept my attention.
here's a pretty girl wearing the ps1 mochila bag-- to help distract you from the error of my ways.
don't yell at me! i was all mixed up with animal collective, and fleet foxes, and department of eagles, and... so grizzly bear got the cold shoulder, nudged into my lovingly growing playlist called "oops, forgot to listen to this." this playlist is distant cousin of "pile of bills" on my desk and sister to "haven't watched yet" document on computer. dynasties worry me, whether they go by clinton or sequel, which is why star wars, 007, and the matrix's (don't take college level philosophy until you watch the matrix's. your professor will reference it hundreds of times, the class will have many a-ha moments, and you will fail) still have not received my undivided attention. whatever, i have commitment issues. these are all a serious time suck!
so i watched blue valentine last month. and here comes unrelenting grizzly bear again to accompany me throughout, and break me out of my jaded indie rock is boring haze. ok-- have you guys heard Ready, Able!? of course you have! it was like, so 2009, right? whatever. jerks. the light shone down and she done listen to this song.
i thought i was going to avoid grizzly bear like i avoided beanie babies and harry potter. hysteria worries me, but hipster hysteria downright terrifies me. thus the aversion. in hindsight, avoiding harry potter was a mistake. and grizzly bear is emerging from the shadows a weird winner. in the words of bill compton, i will atone.
exhibit a: what finally got my attention.
exhibit b: what kept my attention.
here's a pretty girl wearing the ps1 mochila bag-- to help distract you from the error of my ways.
8.28.2010
messier object 83
when i first heard "we own the sky" by M83 last year, i was like yeah, this is it. this how summer feels to me. i always thought pale colors towards the center of the spectrum were eerie. seeing the music video now for the first time proves that the band shares my sentiment. i rarely see a music video that captures how a song makes me feel, and conceptually the imagery that a song makes me think of. i think this is the most accurately my mind has ever preconceived of such a thing. i mean, was this actually filmed in boulder!?
6.07.2010
He stumbled into faith and thought, "God, this is all there is?"
blue lips//regina spektor
this song evokes images of me listening to ani difranco for the first time in high school, sitting on my bedroom floor with my headphones on. songs like "fuel" and "garden of simple" and "recoil," were such ferocious and such accurate lyrical representations of my american angst i could hardly stand it. it felt like she played her guitar with a shovel, digging every word out its cavity like she was going after a buried treasure. listening to this is the closest i have felt to miss d in years. i can imagine spektor madly running after these words down the path of inspiration that led her head first into this stanza:
He took a step, but then felt tired.
He said, "I'll rest a little while."
But when he tried to walk again,
He wasn't a child.
And all the people hurried fast,
Real fast,
And no one ever smiled.
i feel so validated reading this, because i don't know when i turned 23. i remember i woke up one day, and there were messages wishing me a happy birthday. i hadn't been very involved in my life for awhile. i have a tendency to put distance between myself and...myself. and everything...else. yeah, that's on my list of "opportunities" at work. so anyways i decided about a year ago to get up and start walking again, with alacrity....and as sure as i am still feeling a bit brittle from my infirmity, i am having a bit of trouble locating my youthful resilience.
either i was fast forwarded, or everything around me is being fast forwarded. "stop the world, i want to get on!" has finally come to replace my interpretation of life as "stop the world, i want to get off!" and it would aid me now to rekindle the vitality with which i hopped onto a moving walkway for the first time as a child.
this song evokes images of me listening to ani difranco for the first time in high school, sitting on my bedroom floor with my headphones on. songs like "fuel" and "garden of simple" and "recoil," were such ferocious and such accurate lyrical representations of my american angst i could hardly stand it. it felt like she played her guitar with a shovel, digging every word out its cavity like she was going after a buried treasure. listening to this is the closest i have felt to miss d in years. i can imagine spektor madly running after these words down the path of inspiration that led her head first into this stanza:
He took a step, but then felt tired.
He said, "I'll rest a little while."
But when he tried to walk again,
He wasn't a child.
And all the people hurried fast,
Real fast,
And no one ever smiled.
i feel so validated reading this, because i don't know when i turned 23. i remember i woke up one day, and there were messages wishing me a happy birthday. i hadn't been very involved in my life for awhile. i have a tendency to put distance between myself and...myself. and everything...else. yeah, that's on my list of "opportunities" at work. so anyways i decided about a year ago to get up and start walking again, with alacrity....and as sure as i am still feeling a bit brittle from my infirmity, i am having a bit of trouble locating my youthful resilience.
either i was fast forwarded, or everything around me is being fast forwarded. "stop the world, i want to get on!" has finally come to replace my interpretation of life as "stop the world, i want to get off!" and it would aid me now to rekindle the vitality with which i hopped onto a moving walkway for the first time as a child.
4.17.2010
HYPERACTIVITY
FINGERS TEEMING WITH ENERGY.
seriously cannot type fast enough right now,
to get all my ideas down.
saturday in denver
feeling like sunday in seattle.
HYPERLOVE.
HYPERHAPPY.
seriously cannot type fast enough right now,
to get all my ideas down.
saturday in denver
feeling like sunday in seattle.
HYPERLOVE.
HYPERHAPPY.
3.09.2010
Communikey is Good
Music festivals are so abundant these days: Sasquatch in Washington, Bumbershoot in Seattle, Outside Lands in San Francisco, Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee, Rothbury in Michigan, Austin City Limits in Texas, and of course, the daddy of them all, Coachella in Indio. (I say that as a native Californian.)
Choosing which one(s) you attend represents who you are. My friends take a lot of pride in the festivals they go to, and they are usually pretty defensive about why one is better than the other, or last year's line up was so much better than this year's bill. My friends take on this curatorial perspective, taking responsibility for the selectivity of the event, using personal anecdotes and hyperbole to endorse their opinions.
Did you know that Boulder, CO has its own music festival? A very eclectic, personal, and progressive one at that? It's called Communikey: not-for-profit, locally organized to showcase global talent, sustainable--and what sets it apart, in my opinion, is that it has a mission statement, and its vision is clearly stated on the first page of its website.
If you search the Bonnaroo website, for instance, the most you can find out about the festival is what it is, but not necessarily what it is about:
"The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a four-day, multi-stage camping festival held on a beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee every June. Bonnaroo brings together some of the best performers in rock and roll, along with dozens of artists in complementary styles such as jazz, Americana, hip-hop, electronica, and just about any contemporary music you can think of. In addition to dozens of epic performances, the festival's 100-acre entertainment village buzzes around the clock with attractions and activities including a classic arcade, on-site cinema, silent disco, comedy club, theater performers, a beer festival, and a music technology village."
Now don't get me wrong; I have always really wanted to go to Bonnaroo. It seems like a blast. It's very complete, boasting everything from general stores, to art installations, to a.m. clean and sober groups. Very cool. But what is it's reason for being? What are the participants reasons for being there, other than "having a blast?" What is the goal of the event?
Over the years, Bonnaroo has proven its commitment to community by making over $3,000,000 in charitable contributions to local arts organizations, "health and social services, educational programs, and a variety of community projects."
Hmmm. Ok, most corporations also have a webpage to highlight their charitable efforts. Target does, and so does Goldman Sachs, for example. But is community investment the goal of Bonnaroo, or Target, or Goldman Sachs? It is certainly laudable that they make the effort, but outreach by large organizations has more to do with public relations than it has to do with core values.
Communikey is an intelligent music festival. It is strategic. It hopes to have a long-term, positive impact on its participants. Communikey seizes the space between genres--the bill isn't pigeonholed--making the music and the ideas behind it accessible to anyone who is interested in understanding it. And Communikey is so much more than one weekend; it has events year round. It brings together lovers of the music it promotes in venues all the time, in many places. Communikey doesn't just promote community, it is community. There are events throughout festival weekend designed to help people see the entire process behind creating thoughtful music. It uses partnerships instead of sponsorships for funding, which allows for more flexibility and growth. Coachella is sponsored by Heineken, Odwalla (a division of Coca-Cola), Microsoft, and H&M, to name a few-- I can't see how these companies relate to the music and culture they promote. Communikey, on the other hand, partners with the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Trust for Mutual Understanding, Mutek, Ableton, the Alliance for Technology, Learning, and Society, which is based at the University of Colorado, located in Boulder, and more. These groups are all determined to see through the progression of sound in modern culture, and all have clearly identifiable mission statements, unlike Coachella's sponsors, for instance.
So this is my choice. These are a few of the reasons I am honored to participate, support, and be involved with Boulder's Communikey. It's intentional; it's genuine; it's innovative. Those characteristics are important to me; I share Communikey's core values, and therefore my life has been profoundly affected by the artists and musicians who host it. Not to mention, I have a lot of fun!
Communikey takes place April 15-18, 2010 in Boulder, CO.
Choosing which one(s) you attend represents who you are. My friends take a lot of pride in the festivals they go to, and they are usually pretty defensive about why one is better than the other, or last year's line up was so much better than this year's bill. My friends take on this curatorial perspective, taking responsibility for the selectivity of the event, using personal anecdotes and hyperbole to endorse their opinions.
Did you know that Boulder, CO has its own music festival? A very eclectic, personal, and progressive one at that? It's called Communikey: not-for-profit, locally organized to showcase global talent, sustainable--and what sets it apart, in my opinion, is that it has a mission statement, and its vision is clearly stated on the first page of its website.
If you search the Bonnaroo website, for instance, the most you can find out about the festival is what it is, but not necessarily what it is about:
"The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is a four-day, multi-stage camping festival held on a beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee every June. Bonnaroo brings together some of the best performers in rock and roll, along with dozens of artists in complementary styles such as jazz, Americana, hip-hop, electronica, and just about any contemporary music you can think of. In addition to dozens of epic performances, the festival's 100-acre entertainment village buzzes around the clock with attractions and activities including a classic arcade, on-site cinema, silent disco, comedy club, theater performers, a beer festival, and a music technology village."
Now don't get me wrong; I have always really wanted to go to Bonnaroo. It seems like a blast. It's very complete, boasting everything from general stores, to art installations, to a.m. clean and sober groups. Very cool. But what is it's reason for being? What are the participants reasons for being there, other than "having a blast?" What is the goal of the event?
Over the years, Bonnaroo has proven its commitment to community by making over $3,000,000 in charitable contributions to local arts organizations, "health and social services, educational programs, and a variety of community projects."
Hmmm. Ok, most corporations also have a webpage to highlight their charitable efforts. Target does, and so does Goldman Sachs, for example. But is community investment the goal of Bonnaroo, or Target, or Goldman Sachs? It is certainly laudable that they make the effort, but outreach by large organizations has more to do with public relations than it has to do with core values.
Communikey is an intelligent music festival. It is strategic. It hopes to have a long-term, positive impact on its participants. Communikey seizes the space between genres--the bill isn't pigeonholed--making the music and the ideas behind it accessible to anyone who is interested in understanding it. And Communikey is so much more than one weekend; it has events year round. It brings together lovers of the music it promotes in venues all the time, in many places. Communikey doesn't just promote community, it is community. There are events throughout festival weekend designed to help people see the entire process behind creating thoughtful music. It uses partnerships instead of sponsorships for funding, which allows for more flexibility and growth. Coachella is sponsored by Heineken, Odwalla (a division of Coca-Cola), Microsoft, and H&M, to name a few-- I can't see how these companies relate to the music and culture they promote. Communikey, on the other hand, partners with the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Trust for Mutual Understanding, Mutek, Ableton, the Alliance for Technology, Learning, and Society, which is based at the University of Colorado, located in Boulder, and more. These groups are all determined to see through the progression of sound in modern culture, and all have clearly identifiable mission statements, unlike Coachella's sponsors, for instance.
So this is my choice. These are a few of the reasons I am honored to participate, support, and be involved with Boulder's Communikey. It's intentional; it's genuine; it's innovative. Those characteristics are important to me; I share Communikey's core values, and therefore my life has been profoundly affected by the artists and musicians who host it. Not to mention, I have a lot of fun!
Communikey takes place April 15-18, 2010 in Boulder, CO.
1.15.2010
funambulism
florence welch’s voice is a tight-wire upon which her band performs acrobatic miracles and she sings with such vocal control you can feel the tension between each note she croons. together they are masterfully heart wrenching, especially on ‘cosmic love’ which is arranged with almost exactly the same frantic motivation as ‘dog days are over.’
both come with heavy, dramatic pauses that weigh down the center of the songs long enough to make you believe your heart is flatlining, only to take your breath away when both erupt into welch splattering her lyrical, red guts all over a wall with razor-like precision.
the band plays on in desperate concentration, eyes shut like tightly clenched fists, gaining momentum to avoid losing its balance–1-2-3-4, 2-2-3-4–, listening to the voice which vibrates beneath it for guidance. and by the end, the rythym is so securely fastened to the ground, they all dance across the finish line.
1.06.2010
check plus
considering this haircut
opposition?
can't stop listening to:
nick cave & warren ellis: white lunar
++ new portishead "chase the tear" for amnesty int'l
and zomg i want!
more background info on my friend christine's blog
also, got an iPhone? Get this:
1.02.2010
ghostlycast #29
i recommend...you listen to...a thoughtful mix.
http://soundcloud.com/ghostly/ghostlycast29-clark-warner-the-warm-up
by clark warner
http://soundcloud.com/ghostly/ghostlycast29-clark-warner-the-warm-up
by clark warner
12.06.2009
mew/vies
"In a Dream"
going to watch this sometime this week! can't wait. a documentary about Isaiah Zagar.
"Some Days Are Better Than Others" hoping to see a screening of this...when it's released....(beautiful orig score by eluvium). debut feature length film from Matt McCormick.
going to watch this sometime this week! can't wait. a documentary about Isaiah Zagar.
"Some Days Are Better Than Others" hoping to see a screening of this...when it's released....(beautiful orig score by eluvium). debut feature length film from Matt McCormick.
and, well, this just looks fucking weird. "Babies" from Focus.
12.03.2009
11.30.2009
11.27.2009
things i like right now
coloring in this!
admiring her style: the sartorialist
listening to him, not just because he is super hot
but because his music is too.
reading this. jaw-droppingly beautiful writer. like, did he really just say that!?
wanting this:proenza schouler:jak&jil blog
11.13.2009
10.11.2009
10.01.2009
decibel festival 2009
++++
arrived @ decibel music festival 2009. seattle, wa.
"what are you here for?" was the question i repeated to myself in order to stay grounded while exploring seattle, and the prolific depths of astonishingly provocative music and live video art. dB was a metaphysical experiment in transcending the division of sight and sound.
"anything describing sound is fairly complicated."
my question was answered not by me, but by the abundance of energy i felt coursing through my body while i did nothing but listen and watch, cocooned in complete stillness.
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