July 2009
33 posts
An excellent defense of “Sixteen...
People are dumb when you're a stranger
daveholmes:
Yesterday I posted a Twitter thing (I hate saying “I tweeted”) about how much I’m enjoying the new Matthew Sweet/Susanna Hoffs “Under The Covers” album. Today, I wake up to a reply from a total stranger: “NO NO NO- Matthew Sweet became irrelevant after 1999.” Oh- so apparently I’m not enjoying this album. My mistake!
Please. I’m 38 years old, and it’s the future. Does anyone care...
“Mark E pointed out as we prepped for our show last night in Warsaw (at a not so...”
– David Byrne Journal: 07.14.09: Budapest
So Bono and company are humanitarians in their excess…
“Saying that Minor Threat sired emo is like saying the Beatles sired punk…”
– America Is Just A Word: Umm… What?
The Beatles wrote this one song.
I mean, Minor Threat and Rites of Spring are obviously connected, aren’t they? Technically—it seems like you know a lot more about it than I—MT may not have sired emo, but it’s not a ridiculous, oh-my-god-where-did-that-come-from...
Also
I’ve been away from home more or less for three weeks now. Don’t get me wrong - I’ve been doing really fun things with really awesome people - but it’s nice to be home and know I’m home for more than just one night. If nothing else, it means that I can/should put away the laundry on my bed.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-7-26) →
R.E.M. (12)
Saul Williams (7)
Superchunk (5)
Conor Oberst (3)
3Ds (3)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Some Songs Considered at XX Merge →
So pumped. If you’re in Chapel Hill, let me know!
somesongsconsidered:
I’m in my hotel room in (very warm) Chapel Hill, NC ready to head over to the first night of Merge Records’ 20th anniversary celebration. I’m super excited for five days of music and music fans. I’ve been blogging about Merge Records bands all week (Conor Oberst, Neutral Milk Hotel, and the 3Ds so far this week in...
Buzz: Mets Rejected Proposal For Halladay →
hotfoot:
According to SI’s Jon Heyman on his Twitter, the Mets rejected a Blue Jays offer of Fernando Martinez, Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell, and Ruben Tejada for Roy Halladay.
Halladay has…
I’m sorry, forgive me for what’s about to happen.
WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY THINKING? WHAT THE FUCK.
Ugh. I feel better now. Kind of.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-7-19) →
Superchunk (15)
Sigur Rós (10)
Spoon (6)
Lambchop (4)
M. Ward (4)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Danger, The Kids!
tomewing:
A supplementary point about this Rollins rant that’s been doing the tumblr rounds: people whose job it is to choose music for ads - assuming they’re good at what they do - know as much or more about music than you do. Certainly they read all the same stuff you do. They probably have very similar tastes, but they have a better understanding of what music resonates with which audience....
Crazy Rumor: Amazon Wants to Buy Netflix - Amazon... →
Fact: I too want to buy Netflix (hell, Amazon too). For $10. I’ll pay cash too!
“However, there’s part of me that wonders if Thursday was this bad 6 or 7 years...”
– Synaptic Burble Baubles & Infinite Ammo
(The “this” being that screamo cover of “Such Great Heights” going around today).
I’ve had that same exact thought - not specifically about Thursday, but easily about a dozen bands from 5-10 years ago. I usually frame it as...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-7-12) →
Portastatic (11)
Wilco (10)
Sarah McLachlan (4)
The Who (3)
R.E.M. (3)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Sleater-Kinney: Turn It On
perpetua:
DOWNLOAD IT! There are a lot of reasons why you may have missed out on Sleater-Kinney, one of the greatest rock bands of the past two decades: Maybe you were too young, or too old. Perhaps you just weren’t on the same page, or the right place, or the appropriate state of mind. You were doing something else; it’s okay. Here’s your chance to catch up! All songs appear in...
“Which brings us all the way back to the charts, whose fundamental question was...”
– Pitchfork: Poptimist #23 - Chartopia
I love the way Mr. Ewing puts this - “serendipity and argument.” A very interesting column well worth reading.
The big secret to writing is taught in tenth-grade...
bmichael:
Whenever I get confused about what I’m writing about (or thinking about, for that matter) I think of Kafka and the Metamorphosis. Whereas a normal person would say, I feel like a bug; Kafka writes, I am a bug. Removing the writerly simile allows you to get right to it. There are no similes in life. There are only similes in language. Which do you want to write about?
Great point -...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-7-5) →
R.E.M. (16)
The American Analog Set (12)
Wilco (7)
Phoenix (5)
Kanye West (4)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Shelter From the Norm →
My friend Pete has joined Tumblr so check him out - right now, he’s posting songs from “Canada’s greatest band” the Tragically Hip with commentary and memories forthcoming.
“Declaring Reckoning to be R.E.M.’s “best” album sells short...”
– Pitchfork: R.E.M.: Reckoning [Deluxe Edition]
Well, I need to get this Reckoning reissue I think.
Staying Alive →
This is a wonderfully moving blog post that my friend Mike wrote on the one year anniversary of his grandmother’s death. It touches on those special bonds we have with our loved ones and the strange, sometimes roundabout ways in which we realize that we have them.
It’s well worth the five minutes it will take to read it. Also, feel free to encourage Mike to write more often.
How Do We Show Our Music That We Really Care? -... →
I’m completely the same way as Ms. Brownstein - I constantly think about music but listen to it less and less.