What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

Pythagasaurus

A Very Zombie Holiday!

Sexy, Sexy: Iron & Wine - The Sea & The Rhythm

Tonight, we're the sea and the salty breeze
The milk from your breast is on my lips
and lovelier words from your mouth to me
when salty my sweat and fingertips

Our hands they seek the end of afternoon
My hands believe and move over you

Tonight, we're the sea and the rhythm there
The waves and the wind and night is black
Tonight we're the scent of your long black hair
spread out like your breath across my back

Your hands they move like waves over me
beneath the moon, tonight, we're the sea

Rosa

ROSA from Jesús Orellana on Vimeo.

This is awesome. Apparently, he made this on the super cheap as well.

New Faith No More?

Nope, just an older, never-recorded track.

Carina Round - Backseat

Puscifer - Conditions Of My Parole

Hey Cleaner! (Beastie Boys + Kyuss mashup)

Updating my best-of-the-year list

Gosh, I have to pare down my ongoing list, as well as add stuff that's come out since.

Still sticking with me:

Esmerine - La Lechuza
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Glorie - Glorie
Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
Lamb - 5
Saul Williams - Volcanic Sunlight
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light

New additions:

Arabrot - Solar Anus
Atlas Moth - An Ache For The Distance
Barn Owl - Lost In The Glare
East Of The Wall - The Apologist
Glorior Belli - The Great Southern Darkness
Junius - Reports From The Threshold Of Death
Mastodon - The Hunter
Mother Falcon - Alhambra
Puscifer - Conditions Of My Parole
Russian Circles - Empros
Thrice - Major/Minor
Tom Waits - Bad As Me

Not that things on the other list couldn't still make it, and not that I'm still not reviewing other things that aren't on either list, but as of right now, these are the ones in which I'm interested. Metal is a bit under-represented this year, no?

Lou Reed and Metallica - Lulu: The highest-profile outsider music ever?

From wikipedia: "Outsider music, a term coined by Irwin Chusid in the mid-1990s, are songs and compositions by musicians who are not part of the commercial music industry who write songs that ignore standard musical or lyrical conventions, either because they have no formal training or because they disagree with formal rules. This type of music, which often lacks typical structure and is emotionally stark, has few outlets; performers or recordings are often promoted by word of mouth or through fan chat sites, usually among communities of music collectors and music connoisseurs. Outsider musicians usually have much "greater individual control over the final creative" product either because of a low budget or because of their "inability or unwillingness to cooperate" with modifications by a record label or producer."

This is not the strangest thing on this album. By far.



I'd argue that at this point, both Lou Reed (who has kind of made a career out of this strange style) and Metallica fit every part of this definition except about being a part of the commercial music industry. And they have enough career and pull that they can pretty much do whatever they want.

Combine that with the state of the celebrity's status in pop culture, and I don't see much difference between the mentally-ill street people that have been a part of the outsider music culture and the far-removed-from-reality celebrities that dominate popular media.

This collaboration is absolutely fascinating. Do not read that as an opinion that I think it is good. It's not. In fact, it's pretty terrible.

The lyrics are messed up. The music switches between the usual kind of metal riffs you would expect from Metallica to ambient guitar swells more suited to a movie score. Many of the changes are abrupt and jarring. Ironically, the production is better than the past two Metallica releases. Rarely does the music fit with the vocals. And the vocals. . .

I've never been able to get into much Lou Reed, maybe a few songs from the Velvet Underground, so I'm not real familiar with his work, but the vocals are so bad that they become interesting. Like maybe there's a point to the delivery that I just don't understand. They are at least delivered with sincerity. When James Hetfield joins in though, it becomes even stranger. To hear him shouting some of those lyrics is just bizarre. And most of the time, really off key. And I like some pretty weird stuff, including some vocalists that can tend towards the sketchy pitch (Greg Dulli, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and Tom Waits). And I kind of feel like David Bowie did this concept better with Outside, back in 1994.

So, what's fascinating about this is how wrong it all seems combined with such commercial artists. Is it some sort of hoax? Is Lou Reed mentally ill? Is the misogyny and racism present here a character concept, or the rantings of a disturbed, out of touch man? Did Metallica really think this was awesome, or did they just really want to work with Reed? One thing you can't say about Metallica, is that they aren't trying something new here. It might even be that the nature of the collaboration itself, and the internet nerd-rage that is already being generated on the net after the album streamed is enough to garner them more media attention and thus, more record sales during a time in the music industry where selling less than 50K copies in the first week of release can actually get you in the Billboard Top 100 (keep in mind, Metallica recently pulled a "KISS" and released a Metallica-version of Monopoly--they are a brand, and by this point they know how to market).

So, is this to be the highest profile outsider music ever to be put into people's ears? The answer to that does not depend on whether Reed and Metallica are serious or not. Either way, the end result may be really awful music, but it is at least fascinating to think about how this must have happened, and I do think it has artistic merit. Even if I never want to listen to it again.

Here's some well known outsider music performers for comparison, if you ever sit down with Reed and Metallica's Lulu.







And finally:

Glorior Belli - They Call Me Black Devil

Damn fine coffee! And hot!

Got a bag of David Lynch's coffee not too long ago, and I'm sorry to say that it's not very good. Perhaps I had expectations too high based on how much he seems to love coffee in his works. Or maybe I'm just spoiled from my local roaster, Biff's in Jacksonville. Oh well.

Update: I'm learning to appreciate the lighter roast and the breakfast blend. A friend of mine built a roaster, and we've been ordering green beans from a website to roast our own coffee. This is the way to go--far better than anything we've purchased so far.

Don't Be Dead Before You Die

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”--Steve Jobs

Kvelertak - Blodtorst

Awesome. The riff that starts at 1:05 and again at 3:09 makes me want to rock the F out!

Stand By Me

Speaking of Tom Waits. . .

Another reason to love St. Vincent.

Best. Video. Ever.

One of my favorite Waits' songs turning Sesame Street subversive. I think he'd approve.

JGL - Lithium

Is it just me, or is his singing voice a bit like Thom Yorke's? Also, I think I can hear my wife swooning from all the way over here.

IAmOmni - All Over

IamOMNI - All Over from Kube on Vimeo.

Do you have Soul? It depends.

I think I'm slowly turning into Ian Raymond. Been exploring lots of Eastern religion and philosophy, started yoga, cook lots of vegetable dishes and Indian food, and have been listening to lots of World music.

All I need now is a ponytail and lots of rings, and I'm set.

Faith No More - Stripsearch

Lamb - Bonfire

Have you ever wondered why those days exist
When life just seems to be the conspiracy against you
I don`t know where the answers lie
But I try not to get hung up on the questions

I burn like a good bonfire
In whatever I do
I burn like a good bonfire
And I know I`ll come through

The time is long overdue for us
As cleaving all of our souls
We all get so complicated in our lives
When walking just walk, when sitting just sit when being just be
Above all don`t stray from your chosen path

Burn like a good bonfire
In whatever you do
Burn like a good bonfire
And I know you`ll come through

Burn like a good bonfire
In whatever you do
Burn like a good bonfire
And may peace come to you

The time is long overdue for us cleaving all of our souls
We all get so complicated in our lives

Burn like a good bonfire
In whatever you do
Just burn like a good bonfire
And I know you`ll come through

Burn like a good bonfire
In whatever you do
Burn like a good bonfire
And may strength flow through you

Incubus - The Warmth

I'd like to close my eyes, go numb
but there's a cold wind coming from
the top of the highest high-rise today.
It's not a breeze 'cause it blows hard.
Yes and it wants me to discard the humanity I know,
watch the warmth blow away.

So don't let the world bring you down.
Not everyone here is that fucked up and cold.
Remember why you came and while you're alive
experience the warmth before you grow old.

So do you think I should adhere to that pressing new frontier?
And leave in my wake a trail of fear?
Or should I hold my head up high
and throw a wrench in spokes by
leaving the air behind me clear?

So don't let the world bring you down.
Not everyone here is that fucked up and cold.
Remember why you came and while you're alive
experience the warmth before you go.

So don't let the world bring you down.
Not everyone here is that fucked up and cold.
Remember why you came and while you're alive
experience the warmth before you grow old.

Before you grow old.
Where did it go?

Florence and the Machine - The Drumming Song & Howl

This chorus gives me chills every time I hear it.



There's a drumming noise inside my head
That starts when you're around
I swear that you could hear it
It makes such an all mighty sound

There's a drumming noise inside my head
That throws me to the ground
I swear that you should hear it
It makes such an all mighty sound

Louder than sirens
Louder than bells
Sweeter than heaven
And hotter than hell

I ran to a tower where the church bells chime
I hoped that they would clear my mind
They left a ringing in my ear
But that drum's still beating loud and clear

Louder than sirens
Louder than bells
Sweeter than heaven
And hotter than hell

Louder than sirens
Louder than bells
Sweeter than heaven
And hotter than hell

Louder than sirens
Louder than bells
Sweeter than heaven
And hotter than hell

As I move my feet towards your body
I can hear this beat it fills my head up
And gets louder and louder
It fills my head up and gets louder and louder

I run to the river and dive straight in
I pray that the water will drown out the din
But as the water fills my mouth
It couldn't wash the echoes out
But as the water fills my mouth
It couldn't wash the echoes out

I swallow the sound and it swallows me whole
Till there's nothing left inside my soul
As empty as that beating drum
But the sound has just begun

As I move my feet towards your body
I can hear this beat it fills my head up
And gets louder and louder
It fills my head up and gets louder and louder

There's a drumming noise inside my head
That starts when you're around
I swear that you could hear it
It makes such an all mighty sound

There's a drumming noise inside my head
That starts when you're around
I swear that you could hear it
It makes such an all mighty sound

Louder than sirens
Louder than bells
Sweeter than heaven
And hotter than hell

Louder than sirens
Louder than bells
Sweeter than heaven
And hotter than hell

As I move my feet towards your body
I can hear this beat it fills my head up
And gets louder and louder
It fills my head up and gets louder and louder




If you could only see the beast you've made of me
I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free
Screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart
drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart

My fingers claw your skin, try to tear my way in
You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to howl
My fingers claw your skin, try to tear my way in
You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to

Howl, howl
Howl, howl

Now there's no holding back, I'm making to attack
My blood is singing with your voice, I want to pour it out
The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound
I hunt for you with bloody feet across the hallow'd ground

like some child possessed, the beast howls in my veins
I want to find you tear out all your tenderness

And howl, howl
Howl, howl

Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers
Starts so soft and sweet and turns them to hunters
Hunters, hunters, hunters
Hunters, hunters, hunters

The fabric of your flesh, pure as a wedding dress
Until I wrap myself inside your arms I cannot rest
The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound
I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallow'd ground

And howl

Be careful of the curse that falls on young lovers
Starts so soft and sweet and turns them to hunters
A man who's pure of heart and says his prayers by night
May still become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright

If you could only see the beast you've made of me
I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free
The saints can't help me now, the ropes have been unbound
I hunt for you with bloody feet across the hallow'd ground

Small lessons on letting go

1. I have a billion CDs. It comes from my love affair with music, and the fact that I ran a music store for five years before the industry tanked. My attachment to these objects is one that has been unwavering for years. I was slow (compared to most) to move to digital music. Once I did, a few years ago, I painstakingly took months to convert everything I had on disc to digital format for our portable players. We then bought a house not long after, and since we moved in, all those CDs have mostly been in boxes in our laundry room. Rarely have any of them been used since. So finally, I opened up those boxes and called over friends to ransack it all. Take anything and everything. I have a big part of me that was very ready for this. The other part had a hard time giving them up. Although it is hard to part with them (and know that I am not really sentimental about objects, in general), three pretty wonderful things also happened:

A. This brought a lot of joy to my friends. I think they had fun rummaging, remembering lost gems and finding new curiosities since price was not a limiting factor. And I had fun seeing their joy.

B. Watching my friend Rick, with completely fresh ears, take stacks of CDs to try out on our neglected and lonely CD player. No real bias, no preconceived notions, just child-like curiosity. For a "music expert" such as myself, it made me ask myself, "When was the last time you listened to music like that?" With no real knowledge or pre-judgement on what is being heard. It was refreshing to see that his only criteria was listening, and based on whether he liked what he heard determined whether they made it into his keeper pile.

C. Simply rediscovering pieces of my older collection. Remembering why I had some of that stuff in the first place. Since I'm always on the hunt for something new, often I forget to go back to older works, mainly because there's limited time and drivespace. Lately, I've been using my party shuffle function when driving, and this has been fun--to see how things mix, to sometimes be surprised by a forgotten song, and to have some variety. Music is art, and art has a way of speaking to you differently during different times in your life. I kind of need to put the party shuffle on my older collection to see what might speak to me now.

2. Christin's mom is going all-in; she sold her house, is moving to D.C. and getting rid of a ton of stuff that are daily reminders of her childhood and adolescence. The generation before us, I think, generally has a greater attachment and sentimentality towards objects. Their parents might have had it harder, and their grandparents certainly did. People had to get by on what they had. They had to make their own things. They had to work and fight for what they had because there wasn't much to go around. She's tried for years to get us and the rest of her children to take things, but for the most part, we haven't been interested. For her, these things are memories, but to us, it's just stuff. It's been hard for her to understand that, and probably harder to finally let go of a lot of these objects. But she is. She's exhausted this week, but I think she will find it freeing once she's done with the task. And I'm impressed with her ability to jump head first into a new life and let go of the objects of her past despite how hard it's been for her this week.

3. Work is getting to me. We have a huge project going on to move our agency into the digital age, and pretty much from the beginning, it has not gone as we expected it would or think that it should. It is very hard for me to let go of this. It's causing many of us a lot of extra work, we're constantly behind (which makes me feel like I'm failing every day), and we're tired. Normally, when faced with situations like this, I just put my head down and plow through it. But this is a project that involves tons of interdependency. I'm not super great at relying on others to help me. Especially when we feel like we're not really getting the help we are asking for. I haven't been able to find a place for this yet. Usually Christin and I ride this supportive see-saw. One of us will be anxious/angry/frustrated/etc about it, while the other is more collected and unaffected. Then another day, we switch roles. It's exhausting. But I can't help but feel like some aspect of how I'm dealing with this is eluding me. And thus, causing more suffering than there needs to be. I'm aware, and I'm observing myself and searching for triggers, so hopefully I can continue to distance myself from the chaos of it. And. Just. Let. It. Go.

4. Christin and I discussed downsizing some of our expenses, so that we can continue to live comfortably when she begins her internship this fall and goes part-time at work. Two obvious eliminations: U-verse and smart phones. Again, there's a part of me that would feel freed by not having the option of TV and internet on my phone, while another part feels uncomfortable. Besides, it's not like we wouldn't have the internet and still be able to stream Netflix. It's not like I don't have 3 gaming systems in the house (four if you count the PC) if I wanted to play games. And most importantly, it's not like I don't have 100 other things competing for my interest (music, reading, home projects, RPGing, becoming more physically active, etc.).

Bjork - Hyperballad

we live on a mountain
right at the top
there's a beautiful view
from the top of the mountain
every morning i walk towards the edge
and throw little things off
like:
car-parts, bottles and cutlery
or whatever i find lying around

it's become a habit
a way
to start the day

i go through this
before you wake up
so i can feel happier
to be safe up here with you

it's real early morning
no-one is awake
i'm back at my cliff
still throwing things off
i listen to the sounds they make
on their way down
i follow with my eyes 'til they crash
imagine what my body would sound like
slamming against those rocks

and when it lands
will my eyes
be closed or open?

i'll go through all this
before you wake up
so i can feel happier
to be safe up here with you

Elbow - Open Arms

You're a law unto yourself
And we don't suffer dreamers
But neither should you walk the earth alone

So with finger rolls and folding chairs
And a volley of streamers
We can be there for tweaks and repairs
Should you come back home

We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again

Tables are for pounding here
And when we've got you surrounded
The man you are will know the boy you were

And you're not the man who fell to earth
You're the man of La Mancha
And we've love enough to light the street
'Cause everybody's here

We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again
We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again

Everyone's here
Everyone's here
The moon is out looking for trouble
And everyone's here

Everyone's here
Everyone's here
The moon wants a scrap or a cuddle
And everyone's here

We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again
We got open arms for broken hearts
Like yours my boy, come home again

Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Come home again

The moon is out looking for trouble
The moon wants a scrap or a cuddle
The moon is face down in a puddle
And everyone's here

The Mire - Shadows

Great Expectations

I've been thinking lately that when I feel disappointed, angry or upset about something, that it's really because something didn't meet my expectations. And while there may be good reason sometimes for me to actually have those expectations, it is the clinging to them that causes the suffering.

This works with the aesthetics of my hobbies (being disappointed in a particular artist's album); watching the media, pundits and politicians debate with sophistry and casuistry (which I try to avoid these days); or having disagreements and conflicts with friends, family and co-workers (somebody does something I don't agree with, whether it is merely an inconvenience or some sort of perceived moral failing).

Is it helpful to establish blame and wield anger and resentment as sword and shield? Or should we accept that sometimes things do not live up to our expectations of them and simply work towards a solution and/or move on?

Pip got his heart broken, Estella was cruel and unhappy, and Miss Havisham went up in flames in her mouldering wedding dress. Maybe sometimes expectations shouldn't be great.

Been meaning to post about this guy for awhile: Diego Stocco - Makes music in unexpected ways.

Thru Jerusalem

Found this on Wired.com here

Low - Especially Me

Cry me a river
So I can float over to you
The bearer to deliver the news
I'm over the moon
And underfoot
All these elixirs would be moot

'Cause if we knew where we belong
There'd be no doubt where we're from
But as it stands, we don't have a clue
Especially me and probably you

You've fallen in a slumber
Just wake one more time
To miss or put asunder
Would be a crime
Some songs feel like butter
Some songs sound like cake
This little number is for your sake

'Cause if we knew where we belong
There'd be no doubt where we're from
But as it stands, we don't have a clue
Especially me and probably you

'Cause if we knew where we belong
There'd be no doubt where we're from
But as it stands, we all need the truth
Especially me and probably you
Definitely you

Iron & Wine - Walking Far From Home

I was walking far from home
Where the names were not burned along the wall
Saw a building high as heaven
But the door was so small, door was so small

I saw rain clouds, little babies
And a bridge that had tumbled to the ground
I saw sinners making music
And I dreamt of that sound, dreamt of that sound

I was walking far from home
But I carried your letters all the while
I saw lovers in a window
Whisper "want me like time, want me like time"

I saw sickness bloom in fruit trees
I saw blood and a bit of it was mine
I saw children in a river
But their lips were still dry, lips were still dry

I was walking far from home
And I found your face mingled in the crowd
Saw a boat full of believers
Sail off talking too loud, talking too loud

I saw sunlight on the water
Saw a bird fall like a hammer from the sky
An old woman on the speed train
She was closing her eyes, closing her eyes

I saw flowers on a hillside
And a millionaire pissing on the lawn
Saw a prisoner take a pistol
And say "join me in song, join me song"

Saw a car crash in the country
Where the prayers run like weeds along the road
I saw strangers stealing kisses
Leaving only their clothes, only their clothes

Saw a white dog chase its tail
And a pair of hearts carved into a stone
I saw kindness and an angel
Crying take me back home, take me back home

Saw a highway, saw an ocean
I saw widows in the temple to the Lord
Naked dancers in the city
How they spoke for us all, spoke for us all

I saw loaded linen tables
And a motherless colt then it was gone
I saw hungry brothers waiting
With the radio on, radio on

I was walking far from home
Where the names were not burned along the wall
Saw a wet road form a circle
And it came like a call, came like a call from the Lord

Round That Sun

As I spin round that sun,
All the while, thinking I’m at the center—
As the circle comes undone,
And in my eyes, planks replace the splinter—

The Gemini becomes the Taurus,
And who the moon and stars tell me I am
In the paradox of harmonic chorus
Versus the static, stubborn man.

The poet and the scientist
Walk hand in hand along the crashing tide,
Looking for another whom somehow missed
That they were simply following his stride.

They push and pull like arguing brothers,
As if they could mimic circadian rhythms.
One voice of Self, one voice of the Other—
Both voices drowning out all hymns.

Sometimes, a song breaks through their din,
And sometimes, they may pause
To listen to the siren-calls of whales.
Overhead, the sun bakes brown their skins,
Burns through their hounding cause,
And my sins drop off my soul like scales.

For you see, I am those brothers,
As well as for whom they search.
I am not broken upon the island rocks.
I am the sun, the self, the others,
Each tiny grain of sand, the church.
I am the watchmaker and his discarded clock.

And despite the solitude he craves,
They still say, “No man’s an island.”
But we are islands, each and every one,
And if you baptize your eyes below the waves,
You’ll see those brothers, hand in hand,
Joined together, spinning round that sun.

Jonsi - Go Do

Jónsi - Go Do from Jónsi on Vimeo.

Go sing, too loud
Make your voice break- Sing it out
Go scream, do shout
Make an earthquake...

You wish fire would die and turn colder
You wish your love could see you grow older
We should always know that we can do anything

Go drum, do proud
Make your hands ache - Play it out
Go march through crowd
Make your day break...

You wish silence released massive tremors
You wish, I know it, surrender to summers
We should always know that we can do anything

Go do, you'll learn to
Just let yourself, fall into landslide

Go do, you'll learn to
Just let yourself, give into low tide

Go do!

Tie strings to clouds
Make your own lake - Let it flow
Throw seeds to sprout
Make your own break - Let them grow

Let them grow (Endless summers)
Let them grow (Endless summers)

(Go do endless summers)

You wish surprise, will never stop wonders
You wish sunrise, will never fall under

You wish surprise, will never stop wonders
You wish sunrise, will never fall under
We should always know that we can do anything

Go do!

2CELLOS

More Saul Williams. . .

Vegan Black Metal Chef

Everybody needs some Careless Whispers from time to time. . .

2011 contenders, or, the story so far. . .

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Tao Of The Dead
A Storm Of Light - As The Valley Of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade
A Storm of Light - Untitled (Latitudes)
Across Tundras - Sage
John Luther Adams - Four Thousand Holes
Álfheimr - What Allows Us To Endure
Batillus - Furnace
Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Beileid
Book Of Black Earth - The Cold Testament
Cave In - White Silence
Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys!
Enslaved - The Sleeping Gods
Esmerine - La Lechuza
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
From Exile - Just Like You Imagined
Glorie - Glorie
Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
Ben Harper - Give Till It's Gone
The Human Abstract - Digital Veil
Idol and the Whip - Heavy Sleeper
Incubus - If Not Now, When?
Indian - Guiltless
Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
Johann Johannsson - The Miners' Hymns
Julia Kent - Green and Grey
The Killamanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - From the Stairwell
Lamb - 5
Lo-Pan - Salvador
Low - C'mon
The Matador - Descent Into The Maelstrom
Meek is Murder - Algorithms
Men Eater - Gold
Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Bo Molasses - You've Put Your Voodoo On Me
M. Ostermeier - The Rules of Another Small World
Red Fang - Murder the Mountains
Red Snapper - Key
Saul Williams - Volcanic Sunlight
Septicflesh - The Great Mass
Shining - VII Fodd Forlorare
Thomas Giles - Pulse
Trap Them - Darker Handcraft
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
The Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps

Jury's still out:
Arms & Sleepers - The Organ Hearts
Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues
British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall
Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Colloseum - Chapter III: Parasomnia
The Dear Hunter - The Color Spectrum
The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
The Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction / Ghost
Dredg - Chuckles And Mr. Squeezy
Ryan Francis - Works For Piano
Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
Glassjaw - Coloring Book / Our Color Green
Grayceon - All We Destroy
The Kills - Blood Pressures
Lazarus AD - Black Rivers Flow
Light Bearer - Lapsus
Man Man - Life Fantastic
Scott Matthew - Gallantry's Favorite Son
The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation - Anthropomorphic
New Keepers Of The Water Towers - The Calydonian Hunt
Obscura - Omnivium
O'Death - Outside
Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
Owen Hart - Earth Control
Primate - Draw Back A Stump
Radiohead - The King of Limbs
Rotten Sound - Cursed
Six Organs Of Admittance - Asleep on the Floodplain / Maria Kapel
Spiders - Spiders
Tephra - Tempel
Tombs - Path of Totality
TV Ghost - Mass Dreams
U.S. Christmas - The Valley Path
VYGR - Hypersleep
Xerath - II
Young Widows - In and Out of Youth and Lightness

Red Snapper - Loveboat

The Ocean - Roots & Locusts

It is not for us to resolve things that are not of this world
A world with God would be even more disturbing than a universe without him
For if He tolerates atrocities
If he condones such cruelty
Who would want to worship such a maker anyway?
They locked her up for 30 days
In a dark room under the roof
They broke her will with the cane
She'll remember everything
You are trying to save me, but perhaps I am not lost
It is not God that I do not accept
It's this world of God's, created by God, that I cannot agree to accept
I dragged myself out to the Ocean
And stared all night into the sky
The only lights I saw were far below me: Black waters full of life
I too lived on roots and locusts
I too have been in the wilderness
I too was striving to stand among the elect
Among the strong and the powerful
You are trying to save me, but perhaps I am not lost
It is not God that I do not accept
It's this world of God's, created by God, that I cannot agree to accept
I dragged myself out to the Ocean
And stared all night into the sky
The only lights I saw were far below me: Black waters full of life
I too lived on roots and locusts
I too lived on roots and locusts
I too lived on roots and locusts
I too prized the freedom with which Thou hast blessed us
But I woke up and would not serve madness
The kiss glows deep in his heart
But the old man adheres to his idea
But the old man adheres to his idea
But the old man adheres to his idea
But the old man adheres to his idea
But the old man adheres to his idea
But the old man adheres to his idea
It is not for us to resolve things that are not of this world
I too lived on roots and locusts
I too lived on roots and locusts
I too lived on roots and locusts
I too lived on roots and locusts
I too

The Ocean - She Was The Universe

"Man is weaker and baser by nature than Thou hast believed him!
By showing him so much respect, Thou didst, as it were, cease to feel for him, for Thou didst ask too much from him - Thou who hast loved him more than Thyself?
Respecting him less, Thou wouldst have asked less of him.
That would have been more like love, for his burden would have been lighter."
--[The Grand Inquisitor to Jesus, in Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov"]

I had a dream which was not all a dream
The sun was extinguished
And the stars wandered darkling in space
Rayless, and pathless
And the icy Earth swung blind and blackened in the moonless air
And men forgot their passions in the dread
Of this their desolation; And all hearts were chilled into a selfish prayer for light: They did live by watchfires
And the thrones of crowned kings
Habitations of all things which dwell
Were burnt for beacons
Oh Lord, I lack the strength
To turn and leave you
There's no confidence
In my hesitation
Happy were those who dwelt in the eye of the volcanoes
Their mountain-torch: A fearful hope was all the world contained
Forests were set on fire
But hour by hour they fell and faded
The crackling trunks extinguished with a crash - And all was black
The brows of men by the despairing light wore an unearthly aspect
The flashes fell upon them; Some lay down and hid their eyes
And some did rest
Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smiled
Oh Lord, I lack the strength
To turn and leave you
There's no confidence
In my hesitation
And vipers crawled
And twined themselves among the multitude
Hissing, but stingless
They were slain for food
A meal was bought with blood
And each sated heart
Gorging himself in gloom: No love was left
Oh Lord, I lack the strength
To turn and leave you
There's no confidence
In my hesitation

From Exile - A Warm Place

Extremely competent EP of Nine Inch Nails' covers here:

http://fromexile.com/nin/

Non-violence In The New Century

Turning Swords Into Plowshares

And Albert Rosenfeld shall lead us. . .

Unexamined

Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Here's how I'd say it:

If you don't examine your beliefs, they're not beliefs. And they're not yours.

Birds on our porch

So for the past week, we've been watching a pair or sparrows or finches (I don't really know what they are, but they're smallish) build a nest in one of our hanging plants on the front porch. The plants require watering every two or three days, or they become kind of wilted, so I've been trying to be careful. Yesterday, I noticed that I hadn't seen the pair, and so when I watered the plant, I pulled it down from the hook to see if there was anything inside. There is a tiny nest that could fit in the palm of your hand, and inside the nest is a small, speckled egg. I carefully rehung the basket, noting on which side the nest was, so I didn't cover it in water.

Then I noticed the concrete below the plant. There were the remains of a different, light blue, non-speckled egg, shattered around its dried yolk. Some other bird threw out the original pair's egg and stole the nest from them. I haven't seen the original pair again, and I also haven't seen the nest-stealing culprit. The egg remains.

There is an overwhelming part of me that tells me this is awful and wrong. But that's me applying my human morality to nature. The original pair worked hard for days to build that nest. They gathered weed stems and tender twigs. They plucked their own down feathers to line the inside. They gently placed the product of their love (see, there's some more anthropomorphism) inside that nest. And some other species that has learned to survive by conserving it's own energy and taking advantage of others destroyed that potential offspring and stole their spring home. Are these birds seething in rage? Are they plotting revenge? Should I lie in wait to find the intruder to enact justice? Or have they simply moved on?

The original birds are without our attachments, and they will trudge on. If there is time in the season, they probably have already started a new nest and new egg somewhere else. And the intruder will trudge on as well. They do what they do. I still feel sadness at the way in which the world sometimes works, but there is a lesson that little bird family can teach me.

Black Mountain - Old Fangs

Is it safe for the cowards to do what they've already done?
When the sun is electric and sparkles its way through your heart
Is it foolish to know what you want before you've begun?

When they're milking you dry and bemoaning the magical farce
You explain to the law that you're slaving over simple regard

A vow, I'm straight laced forever
A bow, I'm straight laced forever

When the glory arrives and takes shape over what you've become
and your world closes in and the power is all that you love
Is it foolish to know what you want before you've begun?

Bloody visions of a world so torn
I'll play with what can burn

Slowly the empire smashed the din
We'll wait for the open tea
And hold it together man
Until it's time

Bloody visions of a world so torn
I'll play those death wish chords

Slowly the empire smashed the din
We'll wait for the circle storm
Treat this like forever

Is it safe for the cowards to do what they've already done?
When the sun is electric and sparkles its way through your heart

A vow, I'm straight laced forever
A bow, I'm straight laced forever

Alain Johannes - Endless Eyes

Oh my heart
That you stole so long ago
Has returned to me this day
So full and empty

Oh this dream
That we shared through all extremes
In a hunt for what it means
To heal by fire

Endless eyes
The immovable did bend
In the presence of your strength
In the gifted joy of your intent

It's killing me that I must go on living
Just to fill this cup of promise
With meaning
It's tearing me apart we're so connected
It's the you in me
Each day I'm resurrected

Truth and lies
Melt away when something's real
To be blinded by your eyes
That is so twisted

Never swayed
Look at all the seeds you layed
Shamelessly so unafraid
To face the devil

Endless eyes
The immovable did bend
In the presence of your strength
In the gifted joy of your intent

It's killing me that I must go on living
Just to fill this cup of promise
With meaning
It's tearing me apart we're so connected
It's the you in me
Each day I'm resurrected

Graveyard - Hisingen Blues

Julie Christmas - Bow

Queens Of The Stone Age - Make It Wit Chu

You wanna know if I know why?
I can't say that I do
Don't understand the evil eye
Or how one becomes two
I just can't recall what started it all
Or how to begin in the end
I ain't here to break it
Just see how far it will bend
Again and again, again and again

I wanna make it
I wanna make it wit chu
(Anytime, anywhere)

I wanna make it
I wanna make it witchu
(again and again and again)

Sometimes the same is different
But mostly it's the same
These mysteries of life
That just ain't my thing
If I told you that I knew about the sun and the moon
I'd be untrue
The only thing I know for sure
Is what I won't do
Anytime, anywhere and I say

I wanna make it
I wanna make it wit chu
(Anytime, Anywhere)

I wanna make it
(Again and again, yeah yeah)
I wanna make it wit chu

I wanna make it
I wanna make it wit chu
(Again and again)

I wanna make it
I wanna make it wit chu
(You)

I wanna make it
(Again and again, yeah yeah)
I wanna make it wit chu
(Anytime, anywhere)

I wanna make it
I wanna make it wit chu
Again and again and again and again and again)

I wanna make it

TV On The Radio - Will Do

It might be impractical
To seek out a new romance
We won't know the actual
If we never take the chance
I'd love to collapse with you
And ease you against this song
I think we're compatible
I see that you think I'm wrong

But anytime will do
My love
Anytime will do
No choice of words will break me from this rule
Anytime will do
My love
Anytime will do
What choice of words will take me back to you

Your love makes a fool of you
You can't seem to understand
Our heart doesn't play by rules
And love has it's own demands
But I'll be there to take care of you
If ever you should decide
But you don't want to waste your life
In the middle of a lovesick lullaby

Anytime will do
My love
Anytime will do
No choice of words will break me from this rule
Anytime will do
My love
Anytime will do
What choice of words will take me back to you

Oh my reddest rose, caldera, set it off
How your fire grows hermosa caldera glistening
Through your fussed blows careen your caldera set it off
As your body flows the second hand flashes passes
Over your skin like time

Anytime will do
My love
Anytime will do
My love
Anytime will do
My love
Anytime will do
My love
Anytime will do
No choice of words will break me from this rule
Anytime will do
No choice of words will break me from this rule
Anytime will do
No choice of words will break me from this rule
Anytime will do
No choice of words will break me from this rule
Anytime will do
What choice of words will take me back to you

Saul Williams - Explain My Heart

Saul Williams - Dance

Dalai Lama's panel discussion in Fayetteville

Currently waiting to watch the Dalai Lama's panel discussion on nonviolence, Turning Swords Into Plowshares: The Many Paths of Nonviolence, at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville. I'm sure there will be much to blog about later. Will update.

UPDATE (again): Well, something happened on Blogger, and my update I posted yesterday was deleted, so I'll try to recreate it.

The panel discussion also featured Dr. Vincent Harding, a civil rights activist and professor that wrote the speech that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered about the US involvement in Vietnam in 1967, and Sister Helen Prejean, a nun that has worked in the prison system and wrote "Dead Man Walking".

These were the points I took away from the panel:

1. Our actions have motivations for them to become actions. We need to have our motivation be compassion, instead of fear, anger or hatred, like is so common in our culture right now. Compassion must come from within and be genuine. It is not pity. It is a general understanding and wish that all beings find peace and happiness. Nonviolence can be achieved by having compassion be our motivation for our actions. It does not entail that we "roll over" for our enemies either. We must still sometimes prevent wrongdoing, but we should still hold compassion for our enemies, or the cycle of violence will continue.

2. Our enemies are our teachers. In order to practice compassion and forgiveness, we must engage in productive ways with our enemies. It is easy to be compassionate and forgiving to our friends, family, etc., but it is hard to do this with your enemies. We must understand one another, and that all of us want basically the same things. In finding the commonalities, in finding that our enemies are not "demons", but humans with motivations and emotions and makeup similar to our own, it will be easier to find compassion and forgiveness. But this cannot happen if we do not bother to engage in a meaningful way with our enemies.

3. Holding on to fear, anger, hatred, etc. takes time and energy. This energy is better spent on simply trying to do good things; helping people (even if it's just one person); making things better. If you instead try to do good, you simply will not have time for hatred.

I can't help but feel like what I wrote yesterday was better, but the basics were the same. As soon as I can find some video and/or transcripts of the talks, I will post that as well.

Some brief thoughts on celebrating death

So after about a decade and a half of being on the Most Wanted list, Osama Bin Laden has been killed. Without really finding a delicate way to say what I'd like to say about such a passionate subject, I'll just pose some questions and brief thoughts.

Is the world really better off without this man? I have no doubt that he was at least, misguided, and at worst, despicably evil. I understand the emotions surrounding his death at U.S. hands. While I know no one personally, directly affected by what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, that event did hurt us all. We all felt it in a rare moment of national (perhaps international) emotional gestalt. I understand the human need to place blame and seek vengeance. I'm pretty sure I would kill to protect people I love without pausing to feel conflicted about it. These are natural, human reactions, and we're all human. And I understand that.

But what happens later? Why must we always think and react with the reptilian part of our brains? While I could no doubt kill someone intending my loved ones harm, I can't as certainly proclaim that it wouldn't haunt me later. This is what you should be thinking about when you get patriotic about our servicemen. That they kept you from having to make those decisions that may haunt you for the rest of your life.

While I believe it was probably an unavoidable blow that had to be given, I hope it has the meaning that we wanted it to have. I hope that it becomes a goal that was worth all the time, money and lives spent in achieving it. I am not a nationalistic chest beater, but I see the importance (and maybe even the necessity of this event). But what saddens me is seeing how people react to it. Whenever I would see some third world country's streets full of revelers over the death of some overthrown or assassinated leader, beating effigies or burning flags, I always thought, "How primitive." And now I see that we have shown the world our primitive side too. It's no wonder that we can't get along better when we run through the streets in exuberant celebration of someone's death.

I understand it, and I empathize, but I'm not sure it's the right response. I don't want to deny anyone healing that needs it, but taking pleasure in the death of someone (no matter how despicable), and in some cases going even further to wish your particular brand of eternal damnation on a being, seems like a dark blemish on the soul, not a healing salve. When dealing with loss, do we assemble totems that will bring the object of our loss back to us, or do we instead find a way to accept and move on. To live our lives well, as the saying goes.

Please ask yourselves some of these things as you think about current events, and if you feel like dancing in the streets, maybe try this celebration in it's place: Here's to living our lives well. Here's to being better. And here's to hope that we can all heal our wounds without inflicting new wounds on others.

Be good to one another.

Kellermensch - Moribund Town

Love, love, love this band. I really like how the instrument tones and production are like a rock band, but the alternate vocals are metal. Really great album, BTW. They also cover Tom Waits and Neil Young.

Fiona + Elvis - I Want You

Oh my baby baby I love you more than I can tell
I don't think I can live without you
And I know that I never will
Oh my baby baby I want you so it scares me to death
I can't say anymore than "I love you"
Everything else is a waste of breath
I want you
You've had your fun you don't get well no more
I want you
Your fingernails go dragging down the wall
Be careful darling you might fall
I want you
I woke up and one of us was crying
I want you
You said "Young man I do believe you're dying"
I want you
If you need a second opinion as you seem to do these days
I want you
You can look in my eyes and you can count the ways
I want you
Did you mean to tell me but seem to forget
I want you
Since when were you so generous and inarticulate
I want you
It's the stupid details that my heart is breaking for
It's the way your shoulders shake and what they're shaking for
it's knowing that he knows you now after only guessing
I want you
It's the thought of him undressing you or you undressing
I want you
He tossed some tattered compliment your way
I want you
And you were fool enough to love it when he said
"I want you"
I want you
The truth can't hurt you it's just like the dark
It scares you witless
But in time you see things clear and stark
I want you
Go on and hurt me then we'll let it drop
I want you
I'm afraid I won't know where to stop
I want you
I'm not ashamed to say I cried for you
I want you
I want to know the things you did that we do too
I want you
I want to hear he pleases you more than I do
I want you
I might as well be useless for all it means to you
I want you
Did you call his name out as he held you down
I want you
Oh no my darling not with that clown
I want you
You've had your fun you don't get well no more
I want you
No-one who wants you could want you more
I want you
Every night when I go off to bed and when I wake up
I want you
I want you
I'm going to say it again 'til I instill it
I know I'm going to feel this way until you kill it
I want you
I want you

Miksha

This Must Be The Place

Lotion

Oldie but a goodie

Indie Rock + 80's Hair Metal? Yes, please.

The Chariot - David de la Hoz

What's so cool about this is that the group, The Chariot, got their friends, family and other like-minded musicians together to help them shoot this one take video.

You bet we fight, until pressed against six feet of distance and earth.
Yeah, we make mistakes that our fathers have made and my troubles come up from the earth.
My teeth. grit, fierce, and I bed to you, understand. "Grace" is my name. Tongues run amok and fangs will breed on fangs.
So keep your secrets into the mattress and prey they don't escape.
Its the impossible act of building our bridges much faster then they burn.
Stay, Because I cant afford the distance shadowing my heart and what good is a sinner if we haven't got grace.
Save the son. My troubles boulevard across the land. They keep their secrets in the mattress.
Discard. Im trying to keep it in the right hands. Medic, I have given up all my weapons and i have headed home.


(Dan Smith of Listener)
Well I can see the words inside your silence,
but I can't speak about your pain for you
how long can you burn for anyways
turning over and back again with tongues ablaze.

like lions without teeth...hungry...
staring at the forest with flames in our eyes talking with the trees

if we can drift long enough, we'll be home.
sails blown by the fire within pushing me to you
and you can live inside of me, sewn together
breaking and healing, growing and breaking again and again

you are a part of me, you are my home and I'm your home,
but I'm no place you'll want to be
so I'm out here again sparks hid behind my teeth

but won't say a word for fear of failure spreading
it takes some of us longer to get to our dead ends
we have old blood stained with loose living
ran through charcoal hearts to make it red

and we can be on fire again you and I
do you want this? well say what you want....SAY WHAT YOU MEAN!

we can talk lung to closed ear, head inside of hand
turning over again together
cut up for the cheap heat running through our veins

and we can lay brick by broken brick
our ashes pushed in between
and build this road back home to where we want to be
we are not our own, we are the same"


Let fangs give birth to fangs but i cant walk away.
Let them breed
Fangs give birth to fangs but i cant walk away.
Let them breed

Backwater Gospel

The Lost Thing

Eye of the Storm

Arkansas finally comes to it's senses.

http://arkansasnews.com/2011/04/07/state-supreme-court-strikes-down-adoption-ban/

State Supreme Court strikes down adoption ban
Posted on 07 April 2011

By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — A state law banning unmarried, cohabiting couples from adopting children or becoming foster parents is unconstitutional, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled unanimously today.

The high court upheld a Pulaski County circuit judge’s ruling that the law unconstitutionally burdens fundamental privacy rights.

Rita Sklar, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said the ruling is a relief to more than 1,600 children in the state who are in need of a permanent family.

“This ban wouldn’t even allow a relative — gay or straight — to foster or adopt a child with whom they had a close relationship, so long as that relative was unmarried and living with a partner,” Sklar said. “The court clearly saw that this ban violated the constitutional rights of our clients and thousands of other Arkansans.”

Jerry Cox, president of the Christian conservative Family Council, said the decision “is the worst ever handed down by the Arkansas Supreme Court.”

“This is a classic example of judicial tyranny,” Cox said. “Unfortunately (Thursday’s) ruling puts the rights of adults ahead of the rights of children and their welfare.”

Cox said his group is considering asking voters to adopt the measure as a constitutional amendment.

The law, known as Act 1, was proposed to voters as a ballot initiative by the Family Council in November 2008 and passed with 57 percent of the vote. The Family Council proposed the initiative after Arkansas’ highest court ruled that a state policy against allowing same-sex couples to adopt or foster children was unconstitutional.

In December 2008, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit challenging the law on behalf of a group of Arkansas residents. The group included unmarried adults who wanted to adopt or foster children, parents who wanted to choose who would adopt their children in the event of their incapacitation or death, and the children of those parents.

The Family Council later intervened as an additional party in the suit.

In an April 2010 ruling, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza said the law significantly burdens a fundamental privacy right, and therefore to pass constitutional muster it must be narrowly tailored to accomplish a compelling state interest and must do so by the least restrictive method available. The law does not meet that standard and instead cast “an unreasonably broad net,” he ruled.

The state and the Family Council argued on appeal that adopting or fostering children is a privilege bestowed by state law and not a fundamental right.

The Supreme Court said the problem with the argument is that the right to engage in private, consensual sexual activity, free from investigation by the state, is a fundamental right, and under Act 1 that right is conditioned on foregoing the privilege of adopting or fostering children.

Cohabiting sexual partners “must choose either to lead a life of private, sexual intimacy with a partner without the opportunity to adopt or foster children, or forego sexual cohabitation and, thereby, attain eligibility to adopt or foster,” Justice Robert Brown wrote in the opinion.

The state and the Family Council also argued that Act 1 is no more an invasion of privacy rights than the non-cohabitation agreements that sometimes are included in court orders in child custody cases.

The Supreme Court said non-cohabitation orders are different because they are based on a case-by-case analysis in which the courts and state agencies look at many different factors and make a determination of what is best for the child.

“Act 1’s blanket ban provides for no such individualized consideration or case-by-case analysis … and makes the assumption that in all cases where adoption or foster care is the issue it is always against the best interest of the child to be placed in a home where an individual is cohabiting with a sexual partner outside of marriage,” the court said in the opinion.

The high court also agreed with Piazza that the law is not narrowly tailored to accomplish a compelling state interest and does not do so by the least restrictive method available.

“We conclude that the individualized assessments by DHS and our trial courts are effective in addressing issues such as relationship instability, abuse, lack of social support and other factors that could potentially create a risk to the child or otherwise render the applicant unsuitable to be a foster or adoptive parent,” the court said in the opinion.

“By imposing a categorical ban on all persons who cohabit with a sexual partner, Act 1 removes the ability of the state and our courts to conduct these individualized assessments on the individuals, many of whom could qualify and be entirely suitable foster or adoptive parents.”

Gov. Mike Beebe, who opposed Act 1 when it was on the ballot, said Thursday that DHS would continue to carefully consider each foster care and adoption application with the best interest of the child its foremost concern.

“By expanding the pool of potential applicants, (Thursday’s) Supreme Court decision will create more opportunities to match children with loving and supportive homes,” the governor said.

Aaron Sadler, a spokesman for Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, said, “We defended the act, and the court has spoken. Now it will be up to DHS to promulgate rules in accordance with the decision.”

Writing new rules may take a few months, but during the process DHS can go ahead and place children in homes that would not have been able to take children under Act 1, agency spokeswoman Julie Munsell said.

Munsell said she is aware of just one case before DHS that has been affected by Act 1. She said that following Piazza’s ruling, the couple involved in that case was allowed to proceed with the application process with the understanding that, even if the application was approved, no placement could happen until the lawsuit was resolved.

Wendy Rickman, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit who previously adopted a special-needs foster child with her partner of 11 years, Stephanie Huffman, said in a statement, “We look forward to the opportunity to go through the adoption process once more and to welcome another child into our family.”

——-
Reporter Rob Moritz contributed to this report

Somehow I missed that GY!BE had reunited!?!?!?!

As always, Gaiman gets it

RiverLethe's Faves of 2010

Alain Johannes - Spark
The Black Keys - Brothers
Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart
Crippled Black Phoenix - I Vigilante
Daughters - Daughters
Deathspell Omega - Paracletus
Deftones - Diamond Eyes
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis
Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini
Fields of Locust - Subtopia
The Flight of Sleipnir - Lore
Florence and the Machine - Between Two Lungs
Grinderman - Grinderman II
Ihsahn - After
Jonsi - Go
Julie Christmas - The Bad Wife
Kowloon Walled City / Ladder Devils / Fight Amp - Lose Lose Lose
Kruger - For Death Glory and the End of the World
Kvelertak - Kvelertak
M. Ostermeier - Chance Reconstruction
Man's Gin - Smiling Dogs
Massive Attack - Heligoland
The Mire - Volume II
Mogwai - Special Moves
Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
Murder by Death - Good Morning Magpie
My Education - Sunrise
The Ocean - Anthropocentric / Heliocentric
Rosetta - A Determinism of Morality
Souvenir's Young America -  The Name of the Snake
Toundra - II