February 2012
40 posts
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bmichael:
shorterexcerpts replied to your post: Sleigh Bells Is Lana Del Rey But Good
Well that, and they only played SNL after the 2nd album came out, well after they proved they could be a great live act. Which isn’t exactly a minor difference.
I saw them play the Studio at Webster Hall, for an MTV broadcast — this was before Treats or right around the time of its release — and it was easily...
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“Sure, the hunger can be rigorously closed-minded. There are afternoons where all...”
– from Nitsuh Abebe’s terrific Why We Fight column on “rockism”
To answer his question, I’m the same way.
An example: I didn’t see the Grammys, but I watched Springsteen’s opening performance online. “We Take Care of Our Own” isn’t even close to...
Rick Santorum and the Perinatal Assessment Center
rainabloom:
People who have dealt with frightening or sad reproduction-related matters should know that the following post is about pregnancy. It has a happy ending and a Rick Santorum-directed tirade, but there’s stressful stuff in the middle. Follow me behind the jump if you want to read more.
Read More
I’m biased, naturally, but this is highly recommended reading.
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College (Term Paper) Rock
oneweekoneband:
“TVA” never made it on an official Drive By Truckers studio record, and I wonder why. The song certainly would have fit well on “The Dirty South,” but maybe it would have fit too well. Maybe on a record that so consciously deals with its own mythology (“Danko/Manuel” and “Carl Perkin’s Cadillac” are both on this record), a song like “TVA” was just a bit much, a bit too “lets...
My Big, Gigantic Drum Kit: Ill-Educated Musings on... →
mach20:
2.) Sporting Group is always eh. Oh look, eighty varieties of retrievers and spaniels. Dave raises the interesting point that while Golden Retrievers are not really hunting dogs these days they are still judged as such. I am okay with this, as they were at one point, hunting dogs (as in, oh hey, let me go get that bird for you, boy that sounds like fun). Also, German shorthair...
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Ill-Educated Musings on Dog Shows
Despite not being dog owners or having a sense of how dog breeds are evaluated beyond what we’ve learned from Best in Show, Raina and I watch a bunch of televised dog shows. Chalk it up to dog envy from apartment dwellers. Here are my uninformed, possibly stupid, reactions to the first night of this year’s Westminster Kennel Club dog show.
Early on, one of the announcers mentioned...
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“Asked by Mr. Stephanopoulos, “Where are these radical feminists?” Mr. Santorum...”
– I look forward to receiving the government-funded stipend that will allow Dave and me to stay at home at least part-time with our child, Mr. Santorum. Can I provide you with my account and routing number so the money can be deposited directly at my bank? I could really use that time to rest and...
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did you know the Westminster Kennel Club 136th...
draynd:
the Westminster Kennel Club 136th Annual Dog Show has a live stream. just so you know.
Dangerous information to have. Time to decide how you’ll be spending the rest of your day, Tumblr.
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Let There Be Rock
oneweekoneband:
Greetings everyone, I hope you’re 10% as excited to spend the week with the Drive By Truckers as I am. The band has a long, fascinating history, and I should say that I’m not even going to attempt to do it justice here. I do highly recommend seeking out The Secret To A Happy Ending, Barr Weissman’s fantastic documentary about the band, or at least skimming their Wikipedia Page....
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I'm Not Okay With Chris Brown Performing at The... →
imathers:
parklakespeakers:
katherinestasaph:
mootpoint:
Taking a break from thinking about Whitney Houston for this:
And, this week, Grammy producers confirmed that Chris Brown will be performing on Sunday’s show.
“We’re glad to have him back,” said executive producer Ken Ehrlich. “I think people deserve a second chance, you know. If you’ll note, he has not been on the Grammys for...
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How Not To Write About Female Musicians: A Handy... →
maura:
A bit worried that this is going to be one in a series.
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“Something sounded familiar last week when I heard U.S. Education Secretary Arne...”
– “Who Really Benefits From Putting High-Tech Gadgets in Classrooms?” (via marathonpacks)
Reblogging mainly for Raina’s benefit. If you want to hear about superfluous tech in the classroom, get her started on the supposed efficacy of classroom clickers.
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Music Marathon Days 56-59
The conclusion!
Albums listened to in full:
Wilco’s The Whole Love. The poisoning of the critical well against Wilco has been a fascinating process to watch. As with any band of Wilco’s stature, there’s always been a vocal minority of dissenters to whom the lively alt-country and pop of their 90s work never made much of an impression, and the widespread praise for Yankee Hotel...
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artem15s replied to your post: michaelzimmer replied to your post: Music Marathon…
!!! Congratulations Raina and Dave!!! I didn’t realize when Raina “offered” to loan me an infant for my high school reunion this summer (at an hourly rate) she was referring to an actual baby in the making!! :D :D oh man, congrats!
Why the quotes?
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Reviews? Reviews.
Newly posted this week:
The DVD companion to PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake (the contents of which, as mentioned in the review, are all available online and best watched singly, anyway)
and
A capsule for Honheehonhee’s Shouts, which… eh.
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michaelzimmer replied to your post: Music Marathon Days 50-55
If we’re on day 50+, and 30+ days into 2012, I think the moniker “Music Marathon 2011” is misplaced. Just sayin’.
2011 releases. Heck, Music Marathon 2010 started in early December 2010 and wrapped up in March or April 2011, I think.
With parenthood looming in a few months*, I think this might be the last Music Marathon I do...
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Music Marathon Days 50-55
Albums listened to in full (this one got absurdly long, so page jump inserted; for artists covered, see tags):
Tom Waits’s Bad As Me. Over the last decade or so, I’ve detected a shift within Tom Waits fandom. When I first started listening to his music in the early 90s, there was this strong sense of new Tom Waits vs. old Tom Waits, with Swordfishtrombones (1983) the key pivot point....
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“We wanted to play our music, but we were told that we couldn’t play. We had to...”
– Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on why his band is not performing at the Grammys. (via pitchfork)
Jesus fucking Christ, Justin Vernon. “My music is precious and special, like meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.”
(via barthel)
WAHHH, I ONLY GOT IN THE POSTER, WAHHHHHHHH
(via maura)
I won’t chalk it up to...
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Downton Abbey Stars On-Screen Vs. Off-Screen →
liquidchroma:
ratsoff:
In which I develop new-found feelings for Thomas.
(papermag / h/t videogum.)
I’m so glamorous in red high heels.
Damn, take the period makeup off, and Ellie is just a knockout.
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Look at the Harlekitties!
bugalu:
Despurr
Litter in the Dark
Pnin but as a Cat
Blend Sinister (it’s about a cat food the cat doesn’t like)
Pale Fur
King, Queen, Kat
Someone cleverer than me but just as infantile think of better ones
Ada, or Dander: a Feline Chronicle
Speak, Meowmory
Invitation to a De-clawing
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hangingfire:
lizlet:
ladysisyphus:
...
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January 2012
32 posts
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By Mistake Or Design?
katherinestasaph:
I would have fucking loved Lana Del Rey when I was 15, and I half-love her today, but her album hates my guts. There, it’s out. Fuck you, fuck me, fuck her, fuck them, fuck everything.
(Underneath a cut for those sick of reading about her and/or who don’t want to read about my grappling with musical objections. I wasn’t planning on writing about this, but somehow, a few points...
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“Workers at the Regency Ceramics factory in India raided the home of their boss,...”
– “India Factory Workers Revolt, Kill Company President.” (via marathonpacks)
I’ll admit this is far more intuitive leap than specific, supportable connection, but I couldn’t help but interpret the Regency Ceramics incident in light of a conversation I recently had about this article on...
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jonathanbogart replied to your post: Music Marathon Days 47-49
I believe the line is “best, finest surgeon/come cut me open.” It’s a quotation from Marilyn Monroe’s journal: npr.org/2011/09…
Here’s what’s weird—I read that interview and remembered the Monroe quote as “best friend, surgeon” for some reason. When I couldn’t pick that up phonetically from the...
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Music Marathon Days 47-49
Albums listened to in full:
St. Vincent’s Strange Mercy. Sometimes an artist will just knock you on your ass with an astounding debut, a mid-career left turn, or an unexpected commercial breakthrough. But you’ve got to hand it to the musicians who do the aural equivalent of showing their work. It’s easy to chart the development from St. Vincent’s earliest releases to the...
Three Parks & Rec-inspired rap songs you didn't... →
It seems like just a few days ago that Raina and I were getting public thanks from Adam Warrock. Now, of course, he’s spectacularly famous, with Jean-Ralphio himself plugging his new Parks and Rec EP to the AV Club. I can only conclude that we are somehow responsible. Obviously.
“‘Make good stuff and make it easy for people to buy it’ is so simplistic as to...”
– mikkipedia
Let the market decide. Vote with your dollars. Poor people shouldn’t be overweight. If minorities just worked harder. You can be sexist against men too. Just go to college. Just pay for college. Work harder. Just write. Just make stuff. Minorities can be racist too. Your accusation of...
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Music Marathon Days 41-46
Albums listened to in full (again, only counting 2011 albums from my ‘Marathon’ playlist):
Real Estate’s Days. It’s arguably lousy criticism to fixate on the general discourse surrounding an album (in agreement or disagreement) over the album, itself. But given the after-the-fact nature of the marathon and my position that this isn’t exactly criticism, I’m not...
Adam WarRock "Jane"
suitwithsneakers:
I made a song about Jane Austen, over the beat to “Moves Like Jagger.”
No, really…
My wife and I are both implicated here (for the record, her voice isn’t naturally that high, but she has, in fact, been to clubs—just not often*). Hope Eugene keeps this series of retooled pop hits coming.
* Dance clubs, that is. We’ve spent plenty of time at shows.