The Joy of Laundromats

Since I've moved into my new house in June, I've yet to purchase a washer and dryer. That means every two weeks I load up the truck and make an exodus to the local laundromat.

At first, it seemed to be a bit of an annoyance to have to gather everything, load it in the truck, drive to the laundromat, unload the truck and do the washing. I've come to see the beauty of the process, however--especially if I make an early Saturday morning run. At that time I nearly have the place to myself. I can run 4 or 5 loads simultaneously and have nearly endless options for dryers. What used to take all night or afternoon, now can be done in about an hour and a half.

Thank you, laundromat! I may put off buying that washer and dryer indefinitely...

Top 12 Albums of 2008 (so far)

Okay, so my previous post go me thinking about the top albums of 2008 (I'll do a top 12 because there are 12 months in the year...and because they're my rules). Here they are, with the full realization that there are still 2 months to go:

1. "Furr" by Blitzen Trapper
2. "The Stand Ins" by Okkervil River
3. "Fleet Foxes" by Fleet Foxes
4. "Accelerate" by R.E.M.
5. "We Have Cause to Be Uneasy" by Wild Sweet Orange
6. "Three Flights from Alto Nido" by Greg Laswell
7. "Gift of Screws" by Lindsey Buckingham
8. "Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground" by Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground
9. "I'll be Lightning" by Liam Finn
10. "Oracular Spectacular" by MGMT
11. "Life Like" by the Rosebuds
12. "In Rainbows" by Radiohead
(okay, Radiohead released their album digitally in 2007, but the CD came out in 2008, and I didn't count them in 2007 because of that. Sorry, but, again, my rules...)

Album of the Year (so far): "FURR"

For the past month the album "Furr" by Portland, Oregon's Blitzen Trapper has been ceaselessly playing in my home, in my truck, on my computer, and in my head. It's become my favorite album of 2008. This was only further reinforced by a chance to see them live in Fargo, North Dakota, on Oct. 28. They were awesomely excellent!

I had downloaded a free promo mp3 of the title track in early September from the SubPop website, and that song immediately floated to the top of my singles list for the year. But when I got a chance to listen to the whole album, it seemed to me like this one would be an instant classic. Each track was better than the last. I have had a hard time finding a song on it that I don't like, and that's an accomplishment.

There are traces of Dylan, Neil Young, Pavement, 70s classic rock, a flourish of synth, a few electronic burbles, some neo-folk, even a Lynyrd Skynyrd lick here and there.

Of the songs, "Furr" and "God + Suicide" are my top two, but "Gold for Bread," "Sleepytime in the Western World," "Fire + Fast Bullets," and "Saturday Nite" are worthy as well...and then there's "Not Your Lover" and "Lady on the Water" too. Like I said, of the 13 songs it's been hard to find a song I don't like... And with each listen to the entire CD, I like all of them more and discover additional touches of interest.

Buy the album! Go see them live! You won't be disappointed.
www.myspace.com/blitzentrapper

Okkervil River might change your life (or not)

Last night I had the grand opportunity to see great live music in Fargo, North Dakota. It's not often that this part of the world gets to welcome a nifty cool emerging band like Okkervil River, so when I read they were performing only an hour from home, I alerted a couple guys I know who appreciate that kind of thing. We met for grub and beverages beforehand and got to the venue, the Aquarium, downtown Fargo, in plenty of time to see June Panic's Wife (i'm not too sure if that's the wife of June Panic or if June Panic's Wife is actually the name of the band, but I digress...)

Shortly after 8 p.m. the members of Okkervil River took to the stage and played a very nice set that lasted nearly two hours. They band just released a new album, so many of the songs were new material, but they played plenty from the album "The Stage Names," which was on several discerning reviewers' best of 2007 lists (including mine). My one disappointment: they didn't play my favorite, "Plus Ones."
Otherwise, it was a wonderful, swaggering rock-and-roll-alterna-country-folk affair.

The band has a sound all its own, but you can hear influences/similarities the likes of the Shins, Dylan, R.E.M., and the BoDeans. Great show!

Favorite albums - year by year

A challenge: listing a favorite album for each year of your life. Rather than select albums for the years when I was but a wee lad, I chose instead to list a favorite album (or albums in some cases where I just couldn't decide) for the years I actually purchased LPs or CDs. So here's a list for each year from 1980 on. Keep in mind these are favorites, albums I just kept (and keep) coming back to...

1980 - "Autoamerican" Blondie
1981 - "Time" E.L.O.
1982 - "The Golden Age of Wireless" Thomas Dolby
1983 - "Listen" A Flock of Seagulls
1984 - "Go Insane" Lindsey Buckingham
1984 - "Purple Rain" Prince
1985 - "Crush" O.M.D.
1986 - "Life's Rich Pageant" R.E.M.
1986 - "Revenge" Eurythmics
1987 - "Sign o' the Times" Prince
1988 - "Temple of Low Men" Crowded House
1988 - "Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart" Camper Van Beethoven
1989 - "March" Michael Penn
1989 - "Dolittle" the Pixies
1990 - "Flood" They Might Be Giants
1991 - "Woodface" Crowded House
1991 - "Out of Time" R.E.M.
1991 - "Fear" Toad the Wet Sprocket
1992 - "Automatic for the People" R.E.M.
1992 - "It's a Shame About Ray" the Lemonheads
1993 - "Zooropa" U2
1993 - "Star" Belly
1994 - "Martinis and Bikinis" Sam Phillips
1995 - "The Bends" Radiohead
1996 - "Fountains of Wayne" Fountains of Wayne
1996 - "Odelay" Beck
1997 - "OK Computer" Radiohead
1998 - "El Oso" Soul Coughing
1999 - "Magnolia" Soundtrack feat. Aimee Mann
1999 - "Summerteeth" Wilco
2000 - "The Man Who" Travis
2000 - "Discovery of a World Inside the Moon" Apples in Stereo
2001 - "Get Ready" New Order
2002 - "This Side" Nickel Creek
2003 - "Michigan" Sufjan Stevens
2003 - "Chutes Too Narrow" the Shins
2003 - "Long Gone Before Daylight" the Cardigans
2004 - "More Adventurous" Rilo Kiley
2005 - "Warnings/Promises" Idlewild
2006 - "The Dust of Retreat" Margo & the Nuclear So & So's
2006 - "The Trials of Van Occupanther" Midlake
2007 - "Twelve Stops and Home" the Feeling
2008 - "Fleet Foxes" Fleet Foxes
2008 - "Furr" Blitzen Trapper

Back in Minnesota

Back in Minnesota and working for the U of M, Crookston again. Feeling good about that decision, but missing a dear friend back in Colorado. That is all for now. More soon, I hope. Weird how life goes sometimes.

Good Advice...

"Live and let this whole thing go... One-hundred years from now it won't matter anyway." --Frank Orrall of Poi Dog Pondering

FOUR

So it HAS been a while since I posted. I've been busy, what can I say. To get back into this, I'm posting a short meme I got. Four things...

Four Jobs I have had in my life:

Marketing Director
Webmaster
Admissions Counselor
Farm Hand

Four Movies I could watch over and over:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Star Wars - the Empire Strikes Back
The Accidental Tourist
American Beauty

Four Places I have lived:

Lowry, Minnesota
Crookston, Minnesota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Longmont, Colorado

Four people I talk with on the phone regularly:

My Mom
My Friend Karl
My Friend Chris
My Friends Alex and Holly

Four TV Shows I watch regularly:

Lost
Battlestar Galactica
The Riches
The Office

Four Songs I'm listenting to:

"Eighties Movies" the Billionaires
"You, Me and the Bourgeoisie" the Submarines
"Supernatural Superserious" R.E.M.
"Giving Tree" the Epochs

Four Favorite Foods:

Pizza
Spaghetti
Chili
Strawberries

Four Places I have visited:

Nova Scotia
Montana
Germany
North Carolina

Top 40 Favorite Songs of 2007

For some reason a list of my 40 favorite songs is a magic number. (Although, I do have a list of 100 that fits nicely onto 5 CDs). Here are my favorite songs of 2007 in relative order...

01. Phantom Limb – the Shins
02. Sewn – the Feeling
03. Plus Ones – Okkervil River
04. Hey Momma – Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground
05. Dirt and the Body – Hello Dragon
06. You Bring Me Down – Travis
07. Kookaburra – John Vanderslice
08. Chariot – Page France
09. Boyscout’n – Menomena
10. 1234 – Feist
11. The One – Trabant
12. Red Rabbits – the Shins
13. It’s Not True – William Fitzsimmons
14. Sing Like the Sun – Rotary Downs
15. Home – Great Northern
16. Die Alone – Ingrid Michaelson
17. Colors That Lie – Meowskers
18. Heart It Races – Architecture in Helsinki
19. Ghosts – Siobahn Donaghy
20. The End of the World – Hello Dragon
21. Halloweenhead – Ryan Adams
22. Broken Arm – Winterpills
23. Fire It Up – Modest Mouse
24. Ruby – Kaiser Chiefs
25. No Cars Go – Arcade Fire
26. Challengers – the New Pornographers
27. Fool That I Am – Kula Shaker
28. Wild Mountain Nation – Blitzen Trapper
29. Typical – Mutemath
30. Good Night – La Rocca
31. How Low – Jose Gonzales
32. Dark Matter – Andrew Bird
33. Strange – the Feeling
34. Candylion – Gruff Rhys
35. Stephen Hawking – Hello Dragon
36. July – Winterpills
37. Rotten Hell – Menomena
38. X’s Are Forever – Scissors for Lefty
39. Slow Show – the National
40. Sugar – Dan Wilson with Sheryl Crow

Greetings from Colorado

Well, if you didn’t already know, I’ve moved to Colorado. I got a chance to take a job at the University of Colorado at Boulder and decided to jump at that opportunity. I have always wanted to live in the Centennial State.

Backing up a bit, September and October 2007 were months of sweeping change for me.

In a matter of a couple of weeks I:

1)…moved to Colorado – I packed up all my stuff Sept. 20-27, loaded it up into a moving van and drove to Colorado from Sioux Falls.

2)…gained a roommate – Joe is my roommate. He owns a home about 15 miles outside of Boulder, and I rent from him. He’s a great guy and a good friend and has been working on renovating the house, so he gave me a good deal on rent. It hasn’t been too hard readjusting to sharing living space, but after living alone for so long, there was a little adjusting to be done…like remembering to turn off lights, etc.

3)…fractured my elbow – As I was loading stuff into a storage unit here in Longmont, I lost my balance and fell, with most of my weight on my right arm. After a 3 hour wait in the emergency room, it was confirmed that I had fractured my elbow. I wore a sling for about 6 weeks and am now finally getting back to close to the range of movement I had before the accident.

4)…started a new job serving as the assistant to the director of an NSF funded project – it’s been a good change.

5)…gained a four-legged roommate – in October, Joe brought home Noodle, who was an 8-week-old Jack Russell Terrier. She quickly took over the house and we now exist only to serve her. She’s actually a very smart and fun little pup—too smart for here own good, but a good little companion, nonetheless.

6)…started riding the bus rather than driving to work. The rush hour drive to Boulder from Longmont can take 40 minutes on your own, so I’ve made use of the free bus pass given to all University of Colorado employees and ride to and from work. It takes a little longer, but I haven’t bought a tank of gasoline since mid-October!

So, there you have it. I’m enjoying Colorado and the new job. I look forward to spring when I can explore the mountains and go panning for gold and other things.

More (almost) apocalyptic lyrics...

In this song the world really doesn't come to an end, but the author thinks about what it might be like in his situation and almost yearns for it.

The Temptation of Adam
by Josh Ritter
from the album The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter

If this was the Cold War we could keep each other warm
I said on the first occasion that I met Marie
We were crawling through the hatch that was the missile silo door
And I don't think that she really thought that much of me

I never had to learn to love her like I learned to love the Bomb
She just came along and started to ignore me
But as we waited for the Big One
I started singing her my songs
And I think she started feeling something for me

We passed the time with crosswords that she thought to bring inside
What five letters spell "apocalypse" she asked me
I won her over singing "W.W.I.I.I."
She smiled and we both knew that she'd misjudged me

Oh Marie it was so easy to fall in love with you
It felt almost like a home of sorts or something
And you would keep the warhead missile silo good as new
And I'd watch you with my thumb above the button

Then one night you found me in my army issue cot
And you told me of your flash of inspiration
You said fusion was the broken heart that's lonely's only thought
And all night long you drove me wild with your equations

Oh Marie do you remember all the time we used to take
We'd make our love and then ransack the rations
I think about you leaving now and the avalanche cascades
And my eyes get washed away in chain reactions

Oh Marie if you would stay then we could stick pins in the map
Of all the places where you thought that love would be found
But I would only need one pin to show where my heart's at
In a top secret location three hundred feet under the ground

We could hold each other close and stay up every night
Looking up into the dark like it's the night sky
And pretend this giant missile is an old oak tree instead
And carve our name in hearts into the warhead

Oh Marie there's something tells me things just won't work out above
That our love would live a half-life on the surface
So at night while you are sleeping
I hold you closer just because
As our time grows short I get a little nervous

I think about the Big One, W.W.I.I.I.
Would we ever really care the world had ended
You could hold me here forever like you're holding me tonight
I look at that great big red button and I'm tempted

Lyrics of the moment...almost like the end of the world

The song "Kookaburra" by John Vanderslice is amazing, if not more than a bit apocalyptic. Picked up his new CD this past week and played this particular song about 30 times.

"Kookaburra"
by John Vanderslice

Lightning shot from the sky
It breathed life into every, every living thing
It made you, it made me
It gave us the kookaburra
It gave us frangipane tree

From dusk to dawn and dawn to dusk
The sky will fill
with vaporized dust, raining
White on white, like streamers of dirty confetti
White on white, the Chrysler Tower had disappeared
White on white, the capitol dome was invisible
White on white, the hoisted flag had disappeared

It can't be stopped
Thunder clouds are tightening
In the sky tonight
We can't be saved
Electricity will scribble out
Your name

Lightning shot from the sky
It gives, it takes away from
Every living thing
It made you, it made me
It gave us the terrabyte
It gave us 117V

From dusk to dawn and dawn to dusk
The sky will fill
with vaporized dust, raining
White on white, like streamers of dirty confetti
White on white, the looming spire had disappeared
White on white, and the Bundestag was invisible
White on white, the hoisted flag had disappeared

White phosphor rain
And blackout bombs
Are falling out the sky tonight
We can't be saved
Electricity is crossing out
Your family name

It made you, it made me
It gave us the kookaburra
It gave us frangipane tree

Bands of the moment: A to Z

I'm feeling alphabetical, so here are my favorite bands/artists of the moment A to Z along with the album/music I'm currently listening to...with apologies to O, U, & X. (there are more B's, C's, M's, and S's, but only one per letter)

Adams, Ryan - "Easy Tiger"
Bad Plus, the - "Prog"
Crowded House - "Time on Earth"
Donaghy, Siobhan - "Ghosts" (single)
Eagle*Seagull - new stuff on MySpace
Fitzsimmons, William - "It's Not True" (single)
Guster - "Satellite" (EP)
Hello Dragon - new stuff on MySpace
Iron & Wine - "Boy with a Coin" (EP)
Junior Boys - "So This Is Goodbye"
Kaiser Chiefs - "Yours Truly, Angry Mob"
Lowery, David - new stuff on MySpace
Menomena - "Friend and Foe"
New Young Pony Club - "Ice Cream" (single)
O
Procession, the - "Musique Magnifique"
Queens of the Stone Age - "Era Vulgaris"
Rosebuds - "Night of the Furies"
Scissors for Lefty - "Underhanded Romance"
Travis - "The Boy with No Name"
U
Veirs, Larua - "Saltbreakers"
White Stripes, the - "Icky Thump"
X
Young Knives, the - "Voices of Animals and Men"
Zutons, the - "Tired of Hanging Around"

Fourth of July 2007 - We should all be so proud...

Happy Independence Day 2007! It's a day we celebrate in memory of throwing off the non-representational rule of a monarchy. Hmmm. Here we are in the year 2007 celebrating, and here's why we should all be so proud of our country and our current presidential administration (note sarcastic tone):

• Where once the U.S. was a nation of laws that applied, more or less, equally to all, we now have a nation where the cronies of G.W. Bush (read Scooter Libby) have their criminal sentences commuted or dismissed - it's great that we have a double standard that applies to G.W. and his ilk!
• Where once the U.S. was respected by most countries around the world because it upheld the Geneva Conventions and worked as a true partner, we now face scorn from even our closest allies because of our unilateral disregard for the Kyoto Protocals, our incursion into Iraq, and our waterboarding and other "not really torture" methods at Guantonamo Bay and Abu Grabe. Thank you, W. and company!
• Where once (read at the end of President Clinton's term) the U.S. was on its way to balancing a budget and having an actual surplus, we now face a national debt of several TRILLIONS of dollars.
• Where once there was a fairly distinct line separating church and state that allowed most people freedom of and from religion based on their individual beliefs, we now have a system of faith-based initiatives and further church-state erosions that give a distinct impression that evangelical Christianity is unofficially the official religion of the U.S. - people of many diverse faiths or none at all are now forced through taxation to underwrite evangelical Christians' religious activities.
• Where once the scientific acumen of the U.S. was second to none, we now face funding cuts and assaults on true science from advocates of the belief (not theory) of Intelligent Design.
• Where once we had three branches of government with an elaborate check and balance system, we now have a Decider-in-Chief who apparently has no regard for either the Legislatve Branch nor the Judicial Branch, as well as an extremely secretive vice president who claims accountability to none becaues he's not officially part of the Executive Branch.
• Where once we had the protection of habeus corpus to ensure fair treatment, we now have the potential to have that suspended if someone in the government even thinks you might have some vague tie to some "enemy combatant".
• Where once the U.S. was moving on a track to become an environmentally responsible world citizen, we now have taken a backward step, perhaps 40 years, via repealed or more lax environmental policies, partly because the administration still doesn't believe the more than 95% of real scientists who say global warming is reality and is not a good thing.
• Where once we had a media corps that actually questioned the veracity and motives of the government and corporate sectors, we now have a "fair and balanced" corporate media arm that pushes the agenda of its owner Rupert Murdoch and engages in what can only be called smear tactics of candidates not marching to its far-right conservative bent.

Okay, it's not all doom and gloom; we have made strides in equity for various minorities based on race, gender, and sexual orientation. And don't forget that we have the iPhone! But we DO have our work cut out for us. Let's get going, America. Happy Independence Day!

Remix Culture

I've been reading Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture - The Nature and Future of Creativity. It deals with the concepts surrounding copyright protections and free culture. He makes a strong argument that less control over what we can and cannot do with the things around us--our culture--nurtures a more "permissive" environment (not to be confused with "permission based" which requires that people get permission and/or pay to use those same things around us - i.e. copyright). A permissive, free or remix culture, subsequently, fosters a more creative spirit that allows its members to improve upon, change, integrate, or otherwise remix the intellectual property and works of copyright holders. It reminds me of collage work...taking bits and pieces of other things to create something new and innovative...or open-source programming...or mash-ups an remixes of music...

Learn more at www.free-culture.cc.

"Live through this and you won't look back..."

Lyrics and strangely beautiful video of the moment...

Your Ex-Lover is Dead
by Stars

God that was strange to see you again
Introduced by a friend of a friend
Smiled and said 'yes I think we've met before'
In that instant it started to pour,
Captured a taxi despite all the rain
We drove in silence across point champlain
And all of the time you thought I was sad
I was trying to remember your name…

This scar is a fleck on my porcelain skin
Tried to reach deep but you couldn't get in
Now you're outside me
You see all the beauty
Repent all your sin

It's nothing but time and a face that you lose
I chose to feel it and you couldn't choose
I'll write you a postcard
I'll send you the news
From a house down the road from real love…

Live through this, and you won't look back…
Live through this, and you won't look back…
Live through this, and you won't look back…

There's one thing I want to say, so I'll be brave
You were what I wanted
I gave what I gave
I'm not sorry I met you
I'm not sorry it's over
I'm not sorry there's nothing to say
I'm not sorry there's nothing to say...

Lyrics of the moment...

New favorite song of the moment... By a group called Hello Dragon

Dirt and the Body
by Hello Dragon

I’m taking it back
All of my gifts and pestilence
I’ll stay in my bed
Until I’m sure

This is all we get
The dirt and the body
We forgot the rest
And I have no idea where my comfort went

Up in the hills
The drums sound bigger than the moon
They buffet the rocks
Until they’re sure

This is all we get
The dirt and the body
We forgot the rest
And I have no idea where my comfort went

And the days go by
And we all stay high

This is all we get
The dirt and the body
We forgot the rest
And I have no idea where my comfort went

Why bother?

“Why bother?” Kurt Vonnegut, acclaimed writer who passed away this week had a great response:

“Here’s my answer: Many people need desperately to receive this message: ‘I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people don’t care about them. You are not alone.’”

There are a few people out there who make me feel like I'm not alone. Thank you, you know who you are.

What humanity does best...

I came across a quote in an article in the most recent edition of Paste Magazine. It struck me as quite an insightful observation... Humans are story tellers by nature, but this comment succinctly explains a lot of things like popular music, comedy, novels, visual art, movies, tv, videoclips, the Internet...

"...what humanity does best -- wasting each others' time in increasingly imaginative and enjoyable ways." --John Oliver, of The Daily Show

Four new bands you should know...

In my enduring quest to discover cool new music, I've come across four new bands that I really like. They are complex, yet tuneful! Check 'em out. I've included a link to the pages on MySpace, where you can stream a few of their songs.

Menomena - might be my favorite of these four... the CD cover/package for their latest release "Friend and Foe" gets bonus creativity points.

The Procession - are poppy and fun, vaguley reminiscent of the Beatles. Very tuneful and catchy -- and that's NOT a bad thing!

Future Clouds and Radar - have one of the coolest, strangest names for a band I've heard in a while. Their sound is very indie rock with interesting sonic flourishes.

Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground - another interesting name, another interesting band. I love the strings!