"Carved your name across three counties
Ground it in with bloody hides"
With that line, I bring you my favorite song of the year.
Neko Case - "This Tornado Loves You" from Middle Cyclone
Gifted with our generation's most powerful voice, Neko Case came out of nowhere this year - much like the titular act of nature - and unleashed this jewel of a track on an album that could barely keep up with it.
Working from the backbone of a surprisingly simple - albeit allegorical - concept, "This Tornado Loves You" finds our Patsy-Cline-meets-Ozzy protag chasing after a poor, unknowing schmuck with terrifying devotion. Devotion, that is, in a swirling vortex of death with Fatal Attraction issues kinda way. Children are orphaned, insides are sucked out of orifices and - while waiting with "a glacier's patience" - said vortex demolishes flora, fauna and structures as it bores into the ground for miles and miles across.
Then, there are the tender moments, as Case's hellacious warble softens to the dulcet tones we've grown to love. To go from almost comically destructive to endearingly earnest is generally not in the post-country chanteuse's bag, but Case sells it and makes it stick to the heart as she laments, "I miss how you'd sigh yourself to sleep / When I'd rake the springtime across your sheets."
Scary. Weird. Flagrantly hipster-ish (no choruses, folks). Touching. Sad. Lonely. Introspective. Words ... PSSHAW! Mere words.
Words do no justice. Words cannot make sweet, limb-numbing, back-convulsing love to the ears the way the gilded aura Case unleashes upon the listener can.
Sadly, as our decade opened with a massive tragedy, followed soon by 9/11 (take that, Dubya), it ends with a depressed sigh. As our generation tries, almost in vain, to prove that it has something worth giving to the world, we, like Miz Case, may be asking, "What will make you believe me?"
For now, as long as we continue to turn out great artists, we'll have to make do with the unanswered question.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Top 7 songs of the year; Numbers 3 and 2
White people playing club music. You may know a few of them. In fact, you may be one of them. It becomes distressing when, in a year that saw the movements of a black president - not to mention the movements against said black president - the two best club-thumping tracks came from two pigment-challenged artists ... one of them even proclaiming to be the most pigment-challenged in the current time-frame.
The Whitest Boy Alive - "Courage" from Rules
Well, it looks like the smooth, almost-yacht-rock pop wonders of The Kings of Convenience couldn't hold Erlend Øye's need to get his disco dance on. And what a great record to do it on. Rules has enough bass-and-synth beats to put Om Records to shame, but its songs all come with a flair that is distinctly Øye.
"Courage" opens with a simple guitar riff that leads to a simple synth repetition but is propelled to the shimmering shoals of club heaven by Marcin Öz's skanky, slutty, fuck-on-the-floor bass and Oye's tender emoting. The whole thing finds itself nicely wedged somewhere in your favorite coffee spot, your mom's car and your sweatiest nightclub, arousing genitalia in all.
Animal Collective - "My Girls" from Merriweather Post Pavilion
Well, isn't this just the most obvious choice? Liberal, indie-boy, college-grad douche-bag picks a track by Animal Collective to be on his top-of-the-year list? Also, dog bites man.
But, strip away the post-psych contrivances, the nu-rave glistening of the synths, the bump of the canned-drums and that fucking retarded bike-horn noise that pops up here and there. Take into account the actual lyrical content, something that figures in more and more in this age of fuck-it-all instrumentation and lavish production:
"There isn't much that I feel I need
A solid soul and the blood I bleed
But with a little girl, and by my spouse,
I only want a proper house"
The simplicity of "My Girls" turns out to be its strength. Animal Collective found the right note to hit in the year of recession, in which wanting something simple can be as hard as reaching for the stars, and getting something simple can seem like the world. Now, add on all of those instrumental facets that would usually roll the eyes of a pop music naysayer and let the song soar, stupid fucking bike-horn and all.
One of the fewer critically touted songs worth its new-found prestige.
The Whitest Boy Alive - "Courage" from Rules
Well, it looks like the smooth, almost-yacht-rock pop wonders of The Kings of Convenience couldn't hold Erlend Øye's need to get his disco dance on. And what a great record to do it on. Rules has enough bass-and-synth beats to put Om Records to shame, but its songs all come with a flair that is distinctly Øye.
"Courage" opens with a simple guitar riff that leads to a simple synth repetition but is propelled to the shimmering shoals of club heaven by Marcin Öz's skanky, slutty, fuck-on-the-floor bass and Oye's tender emoting. The whole thing finds itself nicely wedged somewhere in your favorite coffee spot, your mom's car and your sweatiest nightclub, arousing genitalia in all.
Animal Collective - "My Girls" from Merriweather Post Pavilion
Well, isn't this just the most obvious choice? Liberal, indie-boy, college-grad douche-bag picks a track by Animal Collective to be on his top-of-the-year list? Also, dog bites man.
But, strip away the post-psych contrivances, the nu-rave glistening of the synths, the bump of the canned-drums and that fucking retarded bike-horn noise that pops up here and there. Take into account the actual lyrical content, something that figures in more and more in this age of fuck-it-all instrumentation and lavish production:
"There isn't much that I feel I need
A solid soul and the blood I bleed
But with a little girl, and by my spouse,
I only want a proper house"
The simplicity of "My Girls" turns out to be its strength. Animal Collective found the right note to hit in the year of recession, in which wanting something simple can be as hard as reaching for the stars, and getting something simple can seem like the world. Now, add on all of those instrumental facets that would usually roll the eyes of a pop music naysayer and let the song soar, stupid fucking bike-horn and all.
One of the fewer critically touted songs worth its new-found prestige.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Top 7 songs of the year; Number 4
Not many words to describe this song other than the infectious beats, the techno drone and the asexual vocals zipping past you at such a pace that it's a pity when it's over ... then you skip back the track and listen again.
Royksopp - "Happy Up Here" Junior
As the net-speakers would say: :)
Royksopp - "Happy Up Here" Junior
As the net-speakers would say: :)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Top seven songs of the year; Number 5
Nobody croons anymore. Nobody risks sounding like a threat to an insecure curmudgeon's stranglehold over the gal he so tenuously has because she couldn't find anyone better. Nobody cuts through the mystique of hipster fuck-off looks and lays their cards on the table in a naked display of vocal self-evisceration.
It takes balls to croon. It takes more balls to croon than it does to be GG Allen. The results can be catastrophic and you may never sing in this town again ... ever ... forever ... till the end of time ... and maybe a little after that, too.
Which brings us to Number 5 on our list.
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - "Meet Me In the Garden" The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
Oh sure, he looks like the fucked up bastard love-child of an 80-year-old shaved James Hetfield and Elton John ... and he kind of sounds like a Samba-fan Kermit the Frog, come to think of it ... but, the irrefutable fact is that Dent May has "It." He has that "It" that the crooners of past and present have used as a weapon through the noise, high above the jealousy and beyond the grasp of the naysaying Cro-Magnons who haven't so much as won the heart of an audience - let alone a lady - with just the pureness of their voice.
The lyrics sound almost improvisational (kind of like Jens Lekman, who can also carpet a stage of gals' undergarments on command) as the Mississippi-born singer-songwriter paints a picture that comes across as pastoral-by-way-of-Crayola ("While all the birds and flowers will go in time / Tonight they're ours, Miss Caroliiiiiiine"), it is that simplicity that edges May past the cutesy irony-tinged bump of modern indie rock and morose condescension of indie folk.
While his "College Town Boy" would seem to be more politically and culturally important ("Get off your ass and do something"), we have the terseness of a million bad punk bands a shitty hip-hop acts to do that for us. Is it too much to ask for an artist that goes beyond contrivances and gives himself to an audience fully, completely and honestly?
It takes balls to croon. It takes more balls to croon than it does to be GG Allen. The results can be catastrophic and you may never sing in this town again ... ever ... forever ... till the end of time ... and maybe a little after that, too.
Which brings us to Number 5 on our list.
Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - "Meet Me In the Garden" The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
Oh sure, he looks like the fucked up bastard love-child of an 80-year-old shaved James Hetfield and Elton John ... and he kind of sounds like a Samba-fan Kermit the Frog, come to think of it ... but, the irrefutable fact is that Dent May has "It." He has that "It" that the crooners of past and present have used as a weapon through the noise, high above the jealousy and beyond the grasp of the naysaying Cro-Magnons who haven't so much as won the heart of an audience - let alone a lady - with just the pureness of their voice.
The lyrics sound almost improvisational (kind of like Jens Lekman, who can also carpet a stage of gals' undergarments on command) as the Mississippi-born singer-songwriter paints a picture that comes across as pastoral-by-way-of-Crayola ("While all the birds and flowers will go in time / Tonight they're ours, Miss Caroliiiiiiine"), it is that simplicity that edges May past the cutesy irony-tinged bump of modern indie rock and morose condescension of indie folk.
While his "College Town Boy" would seem to be more politically and culturally important ("Get off your ass and do something"), we have the terseness of a million bad punk bands a shitty hip-hop acts to do that for us. Is it too much to ask for an artist that goes beyond contrivances and gives himself to an audience fully, completely and honestly?
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Top seven songs of the year; Number 6
I know you all love the hell out of The Dirty Projectors' modern R & B (and Solange Knowles-covered) "Stillness Is the Move," and quite frankly, so do I. How can a self-indulgent hipster not blow all over the inner lining of their zipper when listening to band leader Dave Longstreth's Timbaland-copping bump-n-grind production or singer Amber Coffman's dolphin-fart soprano that makes mince-meat out of the last decade of Mariah-absented radio tripe?
But, while that track did a crazy number on clubbers from indie venues to Jigga-approved hangouts, The Dirty Projectors bit we have at Number 6 is a little more refined in its song-craft rather than crazy Auto-tuning skills.
The Dirty Projectors - "Two Doves" from Bitte Orca (Domino; 2009)
While he's never been all that original, Longstreth has at least had the decency to mind-fuck the zombified irony buzz-heads that usually clamor over a bad taste and indecency toward influential art (see Black Flag cover album done from memory). But, with "Two Doves," Longstreth and the silken-throat of Angel Deradoorian actually manage to make something sincerely beautiful out of a hodgepodge of an album that - while brilliant - probably won't be as influential as it seems it will be.
Opening with a chamber orchestra and a Jackson-Browne-like acoustic guitar riff, the song brims with romantic yearning from the get go, but never devolves into fluff as Deradoorian's warm vocals and tender lyrical delivery work to disarming effect in ways that Longstreth, Coffman or even Nico (whose Chelsea Girls is all over the track) didn't.
In a pitchfork.com interview, Longstreth said, "It's crazy what you can do with a human voice, or a couple of human voices. It's so basic and it's so direct."
Thankfully, by stripping all of the cutesy indie-Damon-Dash glitz and freak-folk flourishes, he let Deradoorian do the voicing for him.
But, while that track did a crazy number on clubbers from indie venues to Jigga-approved hangouts, The Dirty Projectors bit we have at Number 6 is a little more refined in its song-craft rather than crazy Auto-tuning skills.
The Dirty Projectors - "Two Doves" from Bitte Orca (Domino; 2009)
While he's never been all that original, Longstreth has at least had the decency to mind-fuck the zombified irony buzz-heads that usually clamor over a bad taste and indecency toward influential art (see Black Flag cover album done from memory). But, with "Two Doves," Longstreth and the silken-throat of Angel Deradoorian actually manage to make something sincerely beautiful out of a hodgepodge of an album that - while brilliant - probably won't be as influential as it seems it will be.
Opening with a chamber orchestra and a Jackson-Browne-like acoustic guitar riff, the song brims with romantic yearning from the get go, but never devolves into fluff as Deradoorian's warm vocals and tender lyrical delivery work to disarming effect in ways that Longstreth, Coffman or even Nico (whose Chelsea Girls is all over the track) didn't.
In a pitchfork.com interview, Longstreth said, "It's crazy what you can do with a human voice, or a couple of human voices. It's so basic and it's so direct."
Thankfully, by stripping all of the cutesy indie-Damon-Dash glitz and freak-folk flourishes, he let Deradoorian do the voicing for him.
Top seven songs of the year; Number 7
Felt like picking an obscure number.
In any case, number seven would have to be ...
Bat For Lashes - "Daniel" from Two Suns (2009; Astralwerks)
Seriously, it's a song about The Karate Kid and it's got a Peter-Gabriel-meets-Stevie-Nicks thing. It also has Natasha Khan's soaring backdraft vocals, appropriately pretty Goth atmospherics and a thumping beat that can be bumped in the club or in the living room. It took her a while, but Tash stopped trying to be a smokey-voiced Siouxsie and excelled and being her lovely self, with "Sleep Alone" and "Pearl's Dream" not far behind in the gems her Two Suns offers. "Daniel" is the foxiest hippie-Darkling treat this year, despite itself.
In any case, number seven would have to be ...
Bat For Lashes - "Daniel" from Two Suns (2009; Astralwerks)
Seriously, it's a song about The Karate Kid and it's got a Peter-Gabriel-meets-Stevie-Nicks thing. It also has Natasha Khan's soaring backdraft vocals, appropriately pretty Goth atmospherics and a thumping beat that can be bumped in the club or in the living room. It took her a while, but Tash stopped trying to be a smokey-voiced Siouxsie and excelled and being her lovely self, with "Sleep Alone" and "Pearl's Dream" not far behind in the gems her Two Suns offers. "Daniel" is the foxiest hippie-Darkling treat this year, despite itself.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Letter to the editor
Letter to the editor ...
by Casey Ishitani (originally appeared in Ka Lamakua at kalamakua.org)
The following letter is a response to the multiple articles that ran in yesterday’s paper.
To whom it may concern:
I am writing this letter to express my greatest dismay toward your printed institution. I find this newspaper to be a heartless and crude example of your nation’s downfall. This retort is a warning that the proposed quest you are on is one fraught with but little glory and even less chivalry.
I have read many newspaper articles centered around American politics, even forgoing food and sleep so that I may retain their glory in one fell swoop. But, while stumbling across my niece’s mail while she prepared what she called “a necessary bonfire,” I found your editorial section. Of all the things I have read, I find it to be a most disturbing chink in your people’s armor.
Logic, which a great number of your writers use, is the enemy of glory. It is hard to be logical and lead a life as a derring-do cavalier at the same time, and we all know that Americans love to be cavalier. Being logical and sensible toward politics takes all of the adventure out of living as a citizen in your great nation.
As you plead for logical solutions to American problems such as poverty and poor health, you don’t realize how much you are killing the chivalric nature with which your leaders have molded America. What better way to show one’s love for a nation than dying for it valiantly-- without the aid of government-funded medicine or welfare?
Besides, gallant individuals like Americans don’t need medicine or social welfare to protect them. They have an elite squad of Templar knights, which the government calls Blackwater. These valiant warriors defend the peasants and women of this country with their swords and steeds (M-16s and H2s) and ward off the heathens of Persia. Were it not for police officers and Minutemen, I would plead with them to roam all of America, dispensing justice and spreading the word of Christ.
Another article I take exception to is one pertaining to the serfs of your land. Were it not for serfs, your country would not have been built. Egypt and Russia were built by serfs much in the same way. Yet, your editorial page finds it necessary to speak of their unfortunate caste situation as if they should be treated as something other than serfs. By blaming the growing number of street urchins on the so-called “destruction of the middle-class,” you are evading the issue that the serfs are being given a golden opportunity to become knights. Why, by invading Persia, it will soon be a glorious time in which all Americans can become knights – fighting honorably for God and country, receiving estates and being greeted as liberators.
Which leads me to mention the most horrendous example of your attack on chivalry: your complete and utter lack of commitment to your king, George W. Bush. Even your writers who usually fawn over his beliefs and doctrines seem to be evading their god-given duty to serve their leader with the utmost and unconditional loyalty. And yet, your king is bringing you back to the great days of the Crusades, when noble warriors clashed, the Hebrews had no say and courtly love was in bloom (between men and women, that is). By spreading the harmful message that your leader is fallible, you destroy his glory and force people to vote for a king that acts less like a king and more like an Athenian. For shame! Fie upon thee!
Your newspaper is an example of all that is wrong in modern journalism. While others regale their readers with tales of wonder and whimsy, you report things that inspire feelings of unrest and motivation. While others ask the masses to have faith, you force them to form opinions. You’ve made a plea for the death of the days of the Saxons.
Also, a science article of yours, written about what you call “wind turbines,” appalls me. How dare you advocate the birth of giants? I shall have no choice but to engage them in battle.
Sincerely,
Alonso Quixano
La Mancha, Spain
by Casey Ishitani (originally appeared in Ka Lamakua at kalamakua.org)
The following letter is a response to the multiple articles that ran in yesterday’s paper.
To whom it may concern:
I am writing this letter to express my greatest dismay toward your printed institution. I find this newspaper to be a heartless and crude example of your nation’s downfall. This retort is a warning that the proposed quest you are on is one fraught with but little glory and even less chivalry.
I have read many newspaper articles centered around American politics, even forgoing food and sleep so that I may retain their glory in one fell swoop. But, while stumbling across my niece’s mail while she prepared what she called “a necessary bonfire,” I found your editorial section. Of all the things I have read, I find it to be a most disturbing chink in your people’s armor.
Logic, which a great number of your writers use, is the enemy of glory. It is hard to be logical and lead a life as a derring-do cavalier at the same time, and we all know that Americans love to be cavalier. Being logical and sensible toward politics takes all of the adventure out of living as a citizen in your great nation.
As you plead for logical solutions to American problems such as poverty and poor health, you don’t realize how much you are killing the chivalric nature with which your leaders have molded America. What better way to show one’s love for a nation than dying for it valiantly-- without the aid of government-funded medicine or welfare?
Besides, gallant individuals like Americans don’t need medicine or social welfare to protect them. They have an elite squad of Templar knights, which the government calls Blackwater. These valiant warriors defend the peasants and women of this country with their swords and steeds (M-16s and H2s) and ward off the heathens of Persia. Were it not for police officers and Minutemen, I would plead with them to roam all of America, dispensing justice and spreading the word of Christ.
Another article I take exception to is one pertaining to the serfs of your land. Were it not for serfs, your country would not have been built. Egypt and Russia were built by serfs much in the same way. Yet, your editorial page finds it necessary to speak of their unfortunate caste situation as if they should be treated as something other than serfs. By blaming the growing number of street urchins on the so-called “destruction of the middle-class,” you are evading the issue that the serfs are being given a golden opportunity to become knights. Why, by invading Persia, it will soon be a glorious time in which all Americans can become knights – fighting honorably for God and country, receiving estates and being greeted as liberators.
Which leads me to mention the most horrendous example of your attack on chivalry: your complete and utter lack of commitment to your king, George W. Bush. Even your writers who usually fawn over his beliefs and doctrines seem to be evading their god-given duty to serve their leader with the utmost and unconditional loyalty. And yet, your king is bringing you back to the great days of the Crusades, when noble warriors clashed, the Hebrews had no say and courtly love was in bloom (between men and women, that is). By spreading the harmful message that your leader is fallible, you destroy his glory and force people to vote for a king that acts less like a king and more like an Athenian. For shame! Fie upon thee!
Your newspaper is an example of all that is wrong in modern journalism. While others regale their readers with tales of wonder and whimsy, you report things that inspire feelings of unrest and motivation. While others ask the masses to have faith, you force them to form opinions. You’ve made a plea for the death of the days of the Saxons.
Also, a science article of yours, written about what you call “wind turbines,” appalls me. How dare you advocate the birth of giants? I shall have no choice but to engage them in battle.
Sincerely,
Alonso Quixano
La Mancha, Spain
Monday, June 22, 2009
Cartoons away
I will be posting some of these little doodles from time to time. Rejected strips for an online newsletter-type zine. Clearing of the throat, artistically speaking.
PS. Image is copyrighted. Wanna use it? Ask me. Don't care if it's a hit-job on my career, as long as you ask nicely.
"Aloha" by Casey Ishitani
PS. Image is copyrighted. Wanna use it? Ask me. Don't care if it's a hit-job on my career, as long as you ask nicely.
"Aloha" by Casey Ishitani
Saturday, June 13, 2009
We've got love when hate is the only way ...
An elderly Neo-Nazi extremist (“extremist,” as if there really any other kind of fucking Neo-Nazi) went out the other day and opened fire at the DC Holocaust Museum. A security guard was killed in the shooting. The museum recently reopened, so that visitors could reflect on the violence perpetrated in the past, hopefully preparing for violence that may happen in the future.
In Arizona (land of tolerance and love, sarcasm sarcasm sarcasm), Shawna Forde, Jason Eugene Bush and Albert Robert Gaxiola shot to death 29 year old Raul Flores and his 9 year old daughter, while leaving Flores’ wife to die. Forde has been under the radar of a few civil liberties groups for her flagrant anti-immigrant stances. All suspects have ties to The Minutemen American Defense group.
Pundits who accused legal – as in passing the acid test of societal mores - abortion provider Dr. George Tiller of being quote “Tiller the Baby Killer” have gone on the defense over statements they’ve made about him possibly being the cause and/or stimulus to his being targeted by extremist assassins. This after they’ve accused various liberals and Democrats of influencing extremists in Iraq (remember that whole “they watch the elections results over there, too” thing in 2004 and 2006?).
North Korea wants to arm itself with long-range nuclear missiles when it can’t even feed its own people, making it one of the poorest nations in the world.
Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with everyone? Nobody knows how to just share the world with other people anymore?
We’re in an economic depression. Now is not the time to lose your shit. Now is not the time to step on someone else’s toes to get ahead of the line. Now is not the time to spend money on stupid shit you don’t need. Now is not the time for hate.
Stay tuned for more updates. Feel like I need to actually do those in times like these.
In Arizona (land of tolerance and love, sarcasm sarcasm sarcasm), Shawna Forde, Jason Eugene Bush and Albert Robert Gaxiola shot to death 29 year old Raul Flores and his 9 year old daughter, while leaving Flores’ wife to die. Forde has been under the radar of a few civil liberties groups for her flagrant anti-immigrant stances. All suspects have ties to The Minutemen American Defense group.
Pundits who accused legal – as in passing the acid test of societal mores - abortion provider Dr. George Tiller of being quote “Tiller the Baby Killer” have gone on the defense over statements they’ve made about him possibly being the cause and/or stimulus to his being targeted by extremist assassins. This after they’ve accused various liberals and Democrats of influencing extremists in Iraq (remember that whole “they watch the elections results over there, too” thing in 2004 and 2006?).
North Korea wants to arm itself with long-range nuclear missiles when it can’t even feed its own people, making it one of the poorest nations in the world.
Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with everyone? Nobody knows how to just share the world with other people anymore?
We’re in an economic depression. Now is not the time to lose your shit. Now is not the time to step on someone else’s toes to get ahead of the line. Now is not the time to spend money on stupid shit you don’t need. Now is not the time for hate.
Stay tuned for more updates. Feel like I need to actually do those in times like these.
Friday, April 17, 2009
DJ Casey (Jet Boy) Mixtape #1
The night says that it will take you around the world and I tried to do that with the first mix.
Jacques Dutronc - Le Responsable
Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle
The United States of America - Coming Down
Holly Golightly - There's An End
Bat For Lashes - A Forest (Cure cover)
Seu Jorge - Mania de Peitao (Jamais Plus Jamais Mix)
David Holmes - Kill Her With Kindness
Dungen - Svart Ar Himlen
Ratatat - Mirando
The Low Frequency In Stereo - Jimmy Legs
The Velvet Underground - Satellite of Love (demo version)
Caribou - Eli
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Stood on Gold
Francoise Hardy - Suzanne
The Damned - Jet Boy, Jet Girl
Anybody like post-rock-y, The Jesus and Mary Chain-type stuff should check out that David Holmes album, The Holy Pictures. It's a pretty chill album for the most part, Beta Band-like, but there's a good portion of over-modulation for post-rock junkies (of which I have joined the ranks of). Keep posted.
Jacques Dutronc - Le Responsable
Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle
The United States of America - Coming Down
Holly Golightly - There's An End
Bat For Lashes - A Forest (Cure cover)
Seu Jorge - Mania de Peitao (Jamais Plus Jamais Mix)
David Holmes - Kill Her With Kindness
Dungen - Svart Ar Himlen
Ratatat - Mirando
The Low Frequency In Stereo - Jimmy Legs
The Velvet Underground - Satellite of Love (demo version)
Caribou - Eli
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Stood on Gold
Francoise Hardy - Suzanne
The Damned - Jet Boy, Jet Girl
Anybody like post-rock-y, The Jesus and Mary Chain-type stuff should check out that David Holmes album, The Holy Pictures. It's a pretty chill album for the most part, Beta Band-like, but there's a good portion of over-modulation for post-rock junkies (of which I have joined the ranks of). Keep posted.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The arts of war
Have quite a few of these. Will post them as I find them.
The art of war has many divergent paths and the means to reach the end goal - peace, as it is hoped for - vary in even greater number. In the modern age, a form of battle has risen to show a war won by the strategy of either one of two men. Here is a transcript of the latest Globe of Death bout featuring color commentary by two established philosophers.
The art of war has many divergent paths and the means to reach the end goal - peace, as it is hoped for - vary in even greater number. In the modern age, a form of battle has risen to show a war won by the strategy of either one of two men. Here is a transcript of the latest Globe of Death bout featuring color commentary by two established philosophers.
BILL WILLIAMS: Well, we’ve just had a hell of a match-up here at The Globe of Death. Striking machine Riley “The Cannon” Kendall just submitted to a rear-naked choke from Patrick “The Python” Corona. The crowd just can’t believe this David and Goliath tale. Hold on a second. It seems that there is some controversy in the arena. The crowd is saying it wasn’t a tap-out. They’re questioning the ref’s decision. Let’s have a listen to what he has to say about this.
REFEREE CREON: Is Thebes about to tell me how to rule?
WILLIAMS: Well … even though we’re in LA, it seems that he’s made his decision. Corona wins this fight. Providing commentary with me I have the legendary shi military consultant Sun Tzu; and realist political writer and one of Sun Tzu’s many interpreters, Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli.
SUN TZU: Ni Hao.
MACHIAVELLI: Buona sera.
WILLIAMS: May I say that it is an honor to have the both of you here to analyze the fight?
SUN TZU: I believe that all soldiers fight to honor something.
MACHIAVELLI: I’m getting paid for this, right?
WILLIAMS: Okay, first thing I wanted to ask: how did Kendall, a noted striker with lightning-quick timing, somehow misjudge Corona along the way? It seems really odd that a guy with a straight punch as fast as The Cannon would find himself trying to wriggle out of submission holds all night.
SUN TZU: Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness; travel by unexpected routes and strike him where he has taken no precautions.
MACHIAVELLI: One must be a fox to recognize traps and a lion to frighten wolves.
WILLIAMS: It got really hairy there for a while, when Corona got him in that flying triangle but found out that Kendall wasn’t having any of that. I counted upwards of five liver shots. Surprised that The Python didn’t just curl up and slither away.
SUN TZU: Master Corona exhibited cool and resolve and soon found his window. One’s enemy must believe that he has the advantage in order to build up his complacence and spoil his defense. Feign disorder and crush him.
MACHIAVELLI: He should have punched the guy in the balls.
WILLIAMS: I had talked to both fighters before the competition and was surprised to learn that they teach self-defense classes with essentially the same philosophy: that despite what they do in The Globe of Death, the techniques that they teach are not to be used unless absolutely necessary. They both said that the fights they engage in on television are to be used as an example of what works and what doesn’t work in a real-world fight. How do you feel about this?
SUN TZU: A leader leads by example, not by force.
MACHIAVELLI: They should tech their students that all men are bad and that they will use their malignity of mind every time they have the opportunity. Also, kicking people when they’re on the ground … in the balls.
WILLIAMS: Well, back to the fight. We’ve seen a brawl turn into a grappling match and -- Oh, wait a second. We have another commentator joining us via satellite. Achilles, what do you think of this fight?
ACHILLES: It took too long.
WILLIAMS: Well, for The Swift-Footed, anyone would appear slow. What do our commentators think of the time it took Corona to defeat Kendall?
SUN TZU: It took as long as it should have taken. The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.
MACHIAVELLI: There's always a temptation, in the middle of a long struggle, to seek the quiet life, to escape the duties and problems of the world, and to hope the enemy grows weary of fanaticism and tired of murder. This would be a pleasant world, but it's not the world we live in. The enemy is never tired, never sated, never content with yesterday's brutality. This enemy considers every retreat of the civilized world as an invitation to greater violence.
WILLIAMS: Fair enough. Many different views of this fight from many different people. If you’re just tuning in, Riley “The Cannon” Kendall defeated in an upset submission hold by Patrick “The Python” Corona. The crowd is restless here at The Globe of Death. There seem to be a few fights going on in the stands. It is utter chaos. The referee is not backing down from his decision.
REFEREE CREON: My heart misgives me, 'tis best to keep the established laws, even to life's end.
WILLIAMS: It should be noted that while the world is going insane, within the ring the two fighters are shaking hands and comparing techniques. True sportsmen who don’t let their divergent styles dictate their interactions with each other. What do our commentators think of these two lion-hearted warriors?
SUN TZU: Master Corona did the honorable thing and built a golden bridge for his opponent to retreat over.
MACHIAVELLI: He should have killed him and took his girlfriend.
- by Casey Ishitani
Sunday, March 22, 2009
First Post
Welcome to the first post. Have nothing interesting to report ...
Fuck it, that's a lie.
Big business ruining the fabric of society, jobless rates soaring and media being put under the sword.
That being said, better and quite possibly funner things on the horizon such as playlists from Jet Boy, Jet Girl shows at Mercury Bar and updates from things around the indie community and beyond.
Fuck it, that's a lie.
Big business ruining the fabric of society, jobless rates soaring and media being put under the sword.
That being said, better and quite possibly funner things on the horizon such as playlists from Jet Boy, Jet Girl shows at Mercury Bar and updates from things around the indie community and beyond.
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