My Summer 2009 MicroMix...

(in order of appearance)

Phoenix - "1901 (Dave Miller Nu Wave Remix)"
Ment at Work - "It's a Mistake"
Pearl Harbour - "Lost at Sea"
Echo & The Bunnymen - "The Cutter"
Animal Collective - "Taste"
T'Pau - "Heart and Soul"
Thieves Likes Us - "Your Heart Feels"
Hall & Oates - "Adult Education"
Peter Bjorn and John - "Lay It Down (Golden Filter Remix)"
Fleetwood Mac - "Little Lies"
Deerhunter - "Vox Celeste"
A Flock of Seagulls - "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)"
Lotus Plaza - "Sunday Night"
Papercuts - "Once We Walked in the Sunlight"
Pink Floyd - "Fat Old Sun"

Download/Listen:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/620092527b89aa0c/

Download only:

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?jgdzhtmg4nu

"This used to be my playground..."

I stumbled across these photos of my elementary school playground. The school has been vacant for several years now (obviously). Strange the way life begins to remind you that you have been around a lot longer than you realize.

Top 5 Songs That I am Currently Listening To...

1. Pearl Harbour - "Lost at Sea"
2. Animal Collective - "Daily Routine (Phaseone Remix)"
3. Neil Young - "I've Loved Her So Long"
4. Telepathe - "Chrome's On It"
5. Animal Collective - "In the Flowers"

R.I.P. Michael Jackson...

you had a pretty good run dude...up until all the plastic surgery and touching little boy parts.

2009 NBA Draft: My First 5 Picks...

If I were picking for the first 5 teams tonite...

1. Los Angeles Clippers



The Clippers have no reason to pick anyone other than Blake Griffin...unless they think of one.

2. Memphis Grizzlies



This would become one of the best young squads in the league. Mike Conley and OJ Mayo in the backcourt with Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay and Hasheem Thabeet. I think Thabeet has the potential to be the next Dikembe Mutombo given his size and blocking ability.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder



The Thunder need athletic size down low and DeMar DeRozan is a sleeper at the 3rd pick.

4. Sacramento Kings



Either Rubio is the next Darko Milicic or the next Steve Nash. Either way, the Kings have nothing to lose by selecting Rubio at the 4th pick. They have to rebuild around someone, might as well be a Spanish point guard.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves (via trade with Washington)



Tyreke Evans makes the most sense in the great white north. A 6'6" guard that is either going to be a complete and total bust OR will become one of the top 10 guards in the league over the next 5 seasons. The T'Wolves have their eye on someone or else they would not have made the trade to get the 5th and 6th picks.

My Top 10 Favorite Films...

I have no idea how I went this long without posting this list...

(in order)

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey



2. Dances with Wolves



3. Boogie Nights



4. Magnolia



5. Vanilla Sky



6. Donnie Darko



7. The Royal Tenenbaums



8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind



9. The Outsiders



10. Forrest Gump

The Finest of the Breed...

there’s nothing
to discuss

there’s nothing
to remember

there’s nothing
to forget

it’s sad
and
it’s not
sad

seems the
most sensible
thing
a person can
do
is
sit
with a drink in
hand
as the walls
wave
their goodbye
smiles

one comes through
it
all
with a certain
amount of
efficiency and
bravery
then
leaves

some accept
the possibility of
God
to help them
get
through

others
take it
staight on

and to these

I drink
tonight.

- Charles Bukowski

10 Years Ago Today: The Flaming Lips release "The Soft Bulletin"...

Pitchforkmedia review:

10.0 out of 10.0

Perhaps the decade's most aptly titled album, 'The Soft Bulletin' is just that: a state-of-the- universe report treating everything from immunology to astrophysics in the barest, almost childlike terms, and ultimately a sweeping meditation on love, death and humanity set to lush lysergic symphonics. Like 'Magical Mystery Tour' a generation before it, 'The Soft Bulletin' confronts horror and absurdity with bright orchestral pop and pristine psychedelia. A century of science and war is resolved in a deep blue wave of guitar reverb.

- Brent S. Sirota

Suggested listening:

Top 5 Songs I am Currently Listening To...

1. Animal Collective - "Daily Routine (Phaseone Remix)"
2. Robert Plant - "Big Log"
3. No Age - "Things I Did When I Was Dead"
4. Best Coast - "Sun Was High (So Was I)"
5. Shocking Pinks - "Emily"

12 Years Ago Today: Radiohead releases "OK Computer"...

OK Computer is the third album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on June 16th, 1997. Radiohead recorded the album in rural Oxfordshire and Bath, during 1996 and early 1997, with producer Nigel Godrich. Although most of the music is dominated by guitar, OK Computer's expansive sound and wide range of influences set it apart from many of the Britpop and alternative rock bands popular at the time, and it laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work. Radiohead do not consider OK Computer a concept album; however, its lyrics and visual artwork emphasise common themes such as consumerism, social disconnection, political stagnation, and modern malaise.

OK Computer reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and marked Radiohead's highest entry into the American market at the time, debuting at number 21 on the Billboard 200. The album expanded the band's worldwide popularity, and has been certified triple platinum in the UK, double platinum in the US. OK Computer received considerable acclaim at the time of its release, and has been listed by music critics and listener polls as one of the greatest albums ever recorded.

Background:

After the success of Radiohead's second album, The Bends (1995), the band decided to produce their third album themselves, although a number of producers, including Scott Litt, were offered a position to work on the album. They were encouraged by recording sessions with engineer Nigel Godrich, who had assisted John Leckie in producing The Bends and had produced several Radiohead B-sides. Bassist Colin Greenwood said "the only concept that we had for this album was that we wanted to record it away from the city and that we wanted to record it ourselves." The band prepared for the recording sessions by buying their own recording equipment, though they consulted Godrich for advice on what to acquire. Godrich eventually outgrew this role and became co-producer on the album.

After the stressful tour in support of The Bends, the band took a break in January 1996 and expressed a desire to change their musical and lyrical style from that of their previous album. Drummer Phil Selway said that "The Bends was an introspective album… There was an awful lot of soul searching. To do that again on another album would be excruciatingly boring." Singer Thom Yorke said "The big thing for me is that we could really fall back on just doing another miserable, morbid and negative record lyrically, but I don't really want to, at all."

Suggested viewing:

Radiohead - Karma Police


Radiohead No Surprises



Suggested listening:

30 Years Ago Today: Joy Division releases "Unknown Pleasures"...

Unknown Pleasures is English post-punk band Joy Division's debut album, released in 1979 through Factory Records. Martin Hannett produced the record at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England. The album sold poorly upon release, but due to the subsequent success of Joy Division with the 1980 single "Love Will Tear Us Apart", Unknown Pleasures is now much more well-known. Factory boss Tony Wilson had so much faith in the band that he contributed his £8,500 life savings toward the cost of producing the initial run of 10,000 copies of the album.

The highest position Unknown Pleasures reached in the UK Album Chart was number seventy-one in August 1980, soon after the release of their second album, Closer. It fared better, however, in the UK Indie Chart, placing at number 2 in the first indie chart to be published in January 1980, and going on to top the chart when redistributed in July 1980, spending 136 weeks in the chart in total.

In 2000, Q magazine placed Unknown Pleasures at number nineteen in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. Pitchfork Media placed it ninth out of the its 100 Greatest Albums of the 1970s while the 2007 re-release received the rare accolade of 10.0/10. In his 1995 book, "The Alternative Music Almanac", Alan Cross placed the album in the eighth spot on the list of '10 Classic Alternative Albums'. Ned Raggett of Allmusic guide describes it as "all visceral, all emotional, all theatrical, all perfect...one of the best albums ever."

The Cover:

The front cover image comes from an edition of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy, and was originally drawn with black lines on a white background. It presents exactly 100 successive pulses from the first pulsar discovered, PSR B1919+21—often referred to in the context of this album by its older name, CP 1919. The image was suggested by Bernard Sumner and the cover design is credited to Joy Division, Peter Saville and Chris Mathan. The back cover of the album contains no track listings, leaving a blank table where one would expect the listings to be. The original release came in a textured sleeve.

The original LP release contained no track information on the labels, nor the traditional "side one" and "side two" designations. The ostensible "side one" was labeled Outside and displayed a reproduction of the image on the album cover, while the other side was labeled Inside and displayed the same image with the colors reversed (black-on-white). Track information and album credits appeared on the inner sleeve only.

Suggested listening:

A List of Songs I've Been Listening To Lately...

Grizzly Bear - "Foreground"
Modest Mouse - "Guilty Cocker Spaniels"
Animal Collective - "In the Flowers"
Cass McCombs - "You Saved My Life"
Outkast - "13th Floor/Growing Old"
St. Vincent - "The Party"
Animal Collective - "Daily Routine (Phaseone Remix)"
Black Kids - "Power in the Blood"
Foreign Born - "It Grew On You"
Atlas Sound - "Eros"
Animal Collective - "No More Runnin"
Fugazi - "I'm So Tired"
Cass McCombs - "City of Brotherly Love"
Hall & Oates - "Adult Education"
Animal Collective - "What Would I Want Sky (BBC Version)"
Fleetwood Mac - "Wish You Were Here"
St. Vincent - "Just the Same But Brand New"
Plastilina Mosh - "Pervert Pop Song"
Animal Collective - "Chocolate Girl (BBC Version)"
Dionne Warwick - "Heartbreaker"
Jesus & The Mary Chain - "Darklands"
Animal Collective - "My Girls"
The Grateful Dead - "Fire on the Mountain"
Eminem - "Beautiful"
Motley Crue - "Time for Change"
Phish - "Farmhouse"
Jesus & The Mary Chain - "Just Like Honey"
Red Rider - "Lunatic Fringe"
The Flying Burrito Brothers - "Dark End of the Street"
Listening Party - "Song and Sea"
Animal Collective - "Bleed"
Steve Winwood - "The Finer Things"
Thursday - "Running From the Rain"

Up Next on the Stage: Animal Collective...

Last November I listed Animal Collective at #4 on my "Top 10 artists I must see live" blog. Well... tonite I shall cross them off of that list. Animal Collective are playing at the State Theater here in St. Petersburgh, Florida. I first got into Animal Collective back in 2007 with the release of "Strawberry Jam" and now consider myself to be completely in love (read: infatuated) with the band. I cannot remember the last time I was this excited to see a band perform live, needless to say...Animal Collective is not just some band I am going to see on a monday nite.

Background:

Animal Collective is a musical collective originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Deakin, or Deacon as spelled on Strawberry Jam (Josh Dibb), and Geologist (Brian Weitz). Records released under the name Animal Collective may include contributions from any or all of these members; the lineup is not uniform. The band members met in school and started recording together in various forms of collaboration from a young age. Although the band is often classified as freak folk or noise-pop, it is hard to define the Animal Collective sound as they often experiment with diverse styles and ideas from album to album.

The songs I most want to see performed later:

In the Flowers
Unsolved Mysteries
What Would I Want Sky
Chocolate Girl
Daily Routine
Guy's Eyes
Fireworks
No More Runnin'
Winter's Love (Redux Version)
Street Flash
Also Frightened
My Girls
Summertime Clothes
#1
Bluish
Loch Raven

Suggested listening:

"Here Comes The Indian" (2003)



"Sung Tongs" (2004)



"Feels" (2005)



"Strawberry Jam" (2007)



"Water Curses EP" (2008)



"Merriweather Post Pavilion" (2009)

"Even as I left Florida..."

Later today I will begin packing for a short vacation in Florida. To some people this may signify the beginning of "end times" considering that for several years now I have vowed never to return. I left the state of Florida in 1989 (yes, that is me pictured above) after a family vacation and somewhere around the age of 21 began my self-imposed exile. As best as I can tell, I have avoided the sunshine state for the following reasons:

• numerous snakes (both poisonous and non-poisonous)
• the 2000 election recount
• way too humid
• way too many old people
• way too many young people (who I would not like to spend my time with)
• spring break crowds
• sharks
• hurricanes
• alligators
• swamps
• NASCAR
• Janet Reno
• being 90 miles from Cuba (not really sure why this bothers me)
• the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII

and most of all...

the general consensus in the midwest that Florida is somehow "paradise"

As I pack my things and head south to see one of the greatest bands on the planet (see: Animal Collective) on monday nite, I am actually greatly looking forward to a return trip to Florida. I have a lot of good memories from my first and only trip to Florida:

• Disneyworld
• begging for (and getting) an all white skateboard from Ron Jon Surf Shop
• watching Mike Tyson TKO a guy on the hotel tv
• getting on the highway to go see Medieval Times as Lita Ford "Kiss Me Deadly" was rocking
• Sea World
• swimming in an ocean for the first time

So, when I walk onto that plane bound for Florida...I guess I change for the better by giving in and doing what I always said I never would do again: return to Florida. Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse released a song a few years ago titled "Florida". I knew through various interviews that we shared a mutual hatred for Florida, so when I first saw the song title on the tracklist for the album 'We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank' I knew I would be pleased with whatever he had to say regarding the state. The surprising thing was that I suddenly found a man that was in an odd way, forgiving what it was that bothered him so much about himself by making peace with the state he had accumulated so much hatred for. Where did my hatred for Florida come from? Has it always just been me not looking at the real issue? I suppose that by returning and facing it, I will hopefully better understand myself and my reasons for staying away all these years.

"Florida"

Although we often wondered
It was no thing of wonder
The shit that flew from our minds
While wearing stains of fresh fruit
And riding on shoes of horse glue
On this ridiculous climb
With great tunnel vision
We built ourselves a mission
To ride our motives design
Oh, what a vague description
Of what we have been missing
So why would anyone try?

It was always worth it
That's the part I seem to hide
And the busy ant empire
Put up the closing sign

I wasn't always cargo
I was once kind of my own
I guess I'll pack up my mind
It took so much effort
Not to make an effort
Oh, what a flawless design

It was always worth it
That's the part I seem to hide
And the busy ant empire
Put up the closing sign

Even as I left Florida

It was always worth it
That's the part I seem to hide
And the busy ant empire
Was always a beehive
It was always worth it
That's the part I seem to hide

Even as I left Florida
Far enough, far enough
Wasn't far enough
Couldn't quite seem to escape myself
Far enough, far enough
Far from Florida
We were all drowsing in cruise control
Far enough, far enough
Wasn't far enough

I stood on my heart's porch thinking
"Oh my God, I'll probably have to carry this whole load"
I couldn't remember if I tried
I couldn't remember if I took my brain out
Threw it so directly at the goal
I couldn't remember if I
I could have my mind erased
And still not know exactly what I don't already know

Even as I left Florida...

My Most Anticipated Album Releases of 2nd Half of 2009...

Dirty Projectors - "Bitte Orca" (June 9th)
Major Lazer - "Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do" (June 16th)
Sunset Rubdown - "Dragonslayer" (June 23rd)
The Mars Volta - "Octahedron" (June 23rd)
Wilco - "Wilco (The Album)" (June 30th)
Moby - "Wait For Me" (June 30th)
Let's Wrestle - "In The Court of The Wrestling Lets" (June 30th)
Big Boi - "Sir Lucious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty (July)
Discovery - "LP" (July 7th)
Magnolia Electric Co. - "Josephine" (July 21st)
Lil' Wayne - "Rebirth" (July 21st)
Fiery Furnaces - "I'm Going Away" (July 21st)
Modest Mouse - "No One's First and You're Next EP" (Aug. 4th)
Julian Plenti - "Julian Plenti is... Skyscraper" (Aug. 4th)
Mr. Hudson - "Straight No Chaser" (Aug. 4th)
Simian Mobile Disco - "Temporary Pleasure" (Aug.18th)
Destroyer - "Bay of Pigs EP" (Aug. 18th)
Sally Shapiro - "My Guilty Pleasure" (August)
HEALTH - "Get Color" (Sept. 8th)
Jay-Z - "The Blueprint 3" (September)
Beastie Boys - "Hot Sauce Committee" (September)
The Dodos - TBA (September)
Vampire Weekend - TBA (September)
Lil' Wayne - "Tha Carter IV" (December)
The Radio Dept. - "Clinging to a Scheme" (December)

The Flaming Lips - "Embryonic" (TBA)
Built to Spill - "There Is No Enemy" (TBA)
The Cool Kids - "When Fish Ride Bicycles" (TBA)
Devendra Bandhart - "Nila, Nila/Why the Kids..." (TBA)
Atlas Sound - "Logos" (TBA)
Kid Cudi - "Man on the Moon: The Guardians" (TBA)
Birdman - "Priceless" (TBA)
Sally Shapiro - "Miracle" (TBA)
Wale - "Attention Deficit" (TBA)
Midlake - "The Courage of Others" (TBA)
Dr. Dre - "Detox" (TBA)
Eminem - "Relapse 2" (TBA)
GLC - "Love, Life, Loyalty" (TBA)
Ludacris - "Theater of the Mind 2" (TBA)
No Age - EP (TBA)
Radiohead - TBA
Arcade Fire - TBA
Broken Social Scene - TBA
Kanye West - TBA
Burial - TBA
Andre 3000 - TBA
Outkast - TBA
LCD Soundsystem - TBA
Panda Bear - TBA
Animal Collective - TBA
MGMT - TBA
The Strokes - TBA
Coldplay - TBA
Rilo Kiley - TBA
Native Korean Rock & The Fishnets - TBA
The Killers - (Covers Album) - TBA

10 Years Ago Today: Napster debuts...

Napster was an online music file sharing service created by Shawn Fanning while he was attending Northeastern University in Boston and operating between June 1999 and July 2001. Its technology allowed people to easily copy and distribute MP3 files among each other, bypassing the established market for such songs and thus leading to the music industry's accusations of massive copyright violations. Although the original service was shut down by court order, it paved the way for decentralized peer-to-peer file-distribution programs, which have been much harder to control. The service was named Napster after Fanning's hairstyle-based nickname.

Background:

Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker first released the original Napster in June of 1999. Fanning wanted an easier method of finding music than by searching IRC or Lycos. John Fanning of Hull, Massachusetts, Shawn's uncle, ran all aspects of the company's operations for a period from their office on Nantasket Beach. The final agreement gave Shawn 30% control of the company, with the rest going to his uncle. It was the first of the massively popular peer-to-peer file distribution systems, although it was not fully peer-to-peer since it used central servers to maintain lists of connected systems and the files they provided, while actual transactions were conducted directly between machines. Although there were already networks that facilitated the distribution of files across the Internet, such as IRC, Hotline, and USENET, Napster specialized exclusively in music in the form of MP3 files and presented a friendly user interface. The result was a system whose popularity generated an enormous selection of music to download.

Although the recording industry denounced music "sharing" as equivalent to theft, many Napster users felt justified in using the service for a number of reasons. Many believed that the quality of new albums had decreased by the late 1990s, with the typical bestselling album containing only one or two good songs bundled with many low-quality "filler" songs. At the same time, the cost of the CD format had decreased immensely, but the price of CD albums had stayed constant. People praised Napster because it enabled them to freely obtain hit songs without having to buy an entire album. Napster also made it relatively easy for music enthusiasts to download copies of songs that were otherwise difficult to obtain, like older songs, unreleased recordings, and songs from concert bootleg recordings. Some users felt justified in downloading digital copies of recordings they had already purchased in other formats, like LP and cassette tape, before the compact disc emerged as the dominant format for music recordings.

Irrespective of these justifications, many other users simply enjoyed trading and downloading music for free. With the files obtained through Napster, people frequently made their own compilation albums on recordable CDs, without paying any royalties to the artist/composer or the estate of the artist/composer. High-speed networks in college dormitories became overloaded, with as much as 80% of external network traffic consisting of MP3 file transfers. Many colleges blocked its use for this reason, even before concerns about liability for facilitating copyright violations on campus.

The service and software program were initially Windows-only, but in 2000 Black Hole Media wrote a Macintosh client called Macster. Macster was later bought by Napster and designated the official Mac Napster client, at which point the Macster name was discontinued. Even before the acquisition of Macster, the Macintosh community had a variety of independently developed 3rd party Napster clients. Most notably was the open source client called MacStar, released by Squirrel Software in early 2000. The release of MacStar's source code paved the way for 3rd party Napster clients across all computing platforms, of which gave users advertisement-free music sharing options.

Top 5 Songs I am Currently Listening To...

1. Animal Collective - "Chocolate Girl (BBC Session)"
2. Animal Collective - "No More Runnin"
3. Fleetwood Mac - "Wish You Were Here"
4. Dionne Warwick - "Heartbreaker"
5. The Streets - "Dry Your Eyes"