It's been a pretty heavy past few weeks. The only escapes from talking about the sweltering heat and the poor economy have been the following:

-This rash of celebrity deaths. Nothing new really needs to be said about the lives and deaths of Michael Jackson, Farrah Faucett and Billy Mays. All deaths are tragic to someone somewhere and unfortunately millions of people dealt with the death of loved ones, coworkers, neighbors, etc. this week. It had to be hard to try and escape the sad realities of your own life and be confronted with nothing but idle chatter about the untimely passing of these celebrities.

-The weightiness of the all-too-similarly-named movies Revolutionary Road and Reservation Road. Just remember one is about Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet having a bad marriage and one is about Mark Ruffalo running over Joaquin Phoenix's child. Also, one is about bringing tragedy upon yourself and the other is about having it forced on you. Either way, stress makes people do strange things and often the result is unsettling.

-Then, of course, there's this. Why does this seem to happen roughly two out of every three years? It was still good to be there to witness some of the misery, though:


June 13, 2009

So 2009 is almost half over, it's really hot outside and this blog has been pretty dead lately. The remedy for all of this is a quick rundown of some of the best albums to be released so far in 2009. In case you're wondering and want to save some time, neither Animal Collective or Grizzly Bear are included. Both albums have their moments, but just don't do whatever that "thing" is that it takes to make this list. To be fair, the new Grizzly Bear album is quite good, but just sounds like another Grizzly Bear album. Maybe it'll differentiate itself by the time the second six months of the year roll past. Maybe Animal Collective will also get a second chance, but probably not. Their album and their sound as a whole just don't do it for some people. Thankfully, there are plenty other albums that do (in no particular order):

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm

This album kinda sounds like one really long song with really long J Mascis guitar solos interspersed throughout. In case you're unsure, this is a good thing. If nobody knew who Dinosaur Jr was and they heard this album, there'd be a groundswell of hype like they were Fleet Foxes with scads of distortion. As it is, they're a band almost 20 years into their career still making great albums.

White Rabbits - It's Frightening

Second album from these guys. Much more stripped-down than their debut, but still good, just for different reasons. It definitely doesn't sound like they tried to make the same album again, which is commendable. The obvious thing to say about this record is that is sounds like a Spoon record. The obvious reason for this is that it does sound like a Spoon record because Spoon's Britt Daniel produced it. So basically, if you wish White Rabbits' first album and Spoon had a baby, you'll like this.

Fanfarlo - Reservoir

Endorsed by Sigur Ros, but doesn't sound like Sigur Ros and aren't Icelandic. Get the whole album legally for $1 here. Offer good through July 4, by the way. For some reason, it kinda has a Arcade Fire/Coldplay-goes-indie folk sound. If you don't like that description, go pay a dollar, listen and comment with a better description.

The Kingsbury Manx - Ascenseur Ouvert!

This album is just really good. Just good indie rock with some gothic alt-country undertones. Ok, that's a really bad description and sounds like something from an annoying review. Maybe some Band of Horses and Wilco in this album and that is definitely a good thing, of course.

Sparklehorse/Danger Mouse - Dark Night of the Soul

Unfortunately, the music on this record will probably get lost behind the attention generated by David Lynch's involvement and the legal issues involving its release. Since there are so many different contributors on here, of course it's a little disjointed at times and doesn't necessarily flow like an album should. It's ok, though. You'll get over it.

Iron and Wine - Around the Well

This is a compilation of rarities and such, but it deserves complete attention because of the inclusion of "The Trapeze Swinger". In case you didn't rush out and buy the soundtrack to the movie In Good Company, now you can have this song on an official release. Appropriately enough, the title of this collection comes from this song, which is over nine minutes long and hides out as the very last track. Make sure you get to it, or just start with it.

Isis - Wavering Radiant

Isis doesn't make bad records. This one seems to fall into that whole "trying new things" or "exploring new sounds" kind of thing, but it doesn't fall flat doing so. Chances are if you never have liked Isis before, this album won't change much of your opinion, but there's no reason for you not to have liked Isis before, so whatever.

Mastodon - Crack the Skye

Go read this article, then ratchet back your excitement a few notches, then listen. That's about the only way the album will make any sense. If you're not interested in it making sense, then just listen. The vocals might give some people problems, but try to do that thing where you drown out the vocals by paying attention to the guitar and drum parts. If you can't do that, just turn it off.

Manchester Orchestra - Mean Everything to Nothing

This one came as a bit of a surprise, but surprises can be fun. If you liked their first full-length, this one somehow manages to be crisper, yet dirtier and darker, yet poppier. It just depends on what song you're listening to. Definitely some Sabbath-worthy guitar riffs and vocal yelps.

Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind

Kinda like Explosions In The Sky, but from Japan. That automatically makes it interesting enough to check out.

Wilco - Wilco: The Album

Ok, so this one's official release date isn't until June 30, which hasn't happened yet, but definitely falls in the first six months of 2009. While one might assume the album hasn't been heard yet (or at least legally), one would be wrong. Wilco has been so generous as to post the album streaming on their website and now NPR is doing the same. Even if you don't want to listen yet, you must concede that it is probably really good. Even though they may be drifting in some kind of adult-contemporary direction, they do it well. If you only like Wilco for Nels Cline's creative guitar parts, you might need to listen for someone else to like, but don't worry, there's enough there.

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why Are There Mountains?

These guys do that whole NYC indie hipster thing but they do it well. The band name is strange and so is the album name, so all the key ingredients are there. Thankfully the music is there too and it doesn't suck.

Phosphorescent - To Willie

Phosphorescent is great, even when playing old Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard songs. It's one of those records you can just put on and listen to a few times in a row. Not bad for driving music either. There's probably a lot of things you could do while listening to these songs in their original form or as covers. Try it out.

Quick update:

Jimmy Fallon's show got much better last night, but he'll have to do something quite amazing to keep the momentum going. Actually, the worst part about the following clip from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is Jimmy Fallon. Oops.

Here's a pretty good little piece from New York Magazine about David Letterman and Conan O'Brien being peers now that Conan has taken over The Tonight Show. It's interesting and definitely redeeming for someone that has been pro-Letterman since childhood and pro-Conan since he came on the air.

It's just another indicator of how much life has been lived to think about staying up late in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL to watch David Letterman on Late Night on NBC. Having a mother that never enforced a bedtime was a blessing in that regard*. It was equally rewarding when E! Entertainment Television (as it was more-often referred to as before "The E! Network" would show reruns of NBC-era Letterman, even after he had made the move to CBS' Late Show. Even better were the days (usually holidays) when E! would run marathons of old Letterman episodes. Pure gold.

Echoing the sentiment of so many, there was never anything wrong with Jay Leno. He's a funny guy and, more importantly, seems to be a good person. As the article relates, he was very steady and smooth (in the non-edgy way), which worked as a counterpart to Letterman's edge or whatever you want to call it. Leno's "Headlines" and "Jay-Walking" are still pretty hilarious.

Conan is the prodigy. He manages to be extremely funny and sickeningly creative while not offending anyone or scaring off viewers. Anyone that doesn't like Conan's stuff could always just write it off as "Well, it is on at Midnight on a Tuesday". That's not the case anymore. The new Tonight Show has been pretty good so far. Granted, most viewing so far has taken place at work the following day via Hulu (since, you know, people that watched Letterman on NBC are so old they go to bed early or simply can't remember to turn the TV on at 10:30pm). There is definitely a sense of homogenization taking place with Conan, but it's not terrible. Terrible is Jimmy Fallon's effort to replace Conan on Late Night.



* The (assumed) purpose of this was to allow the freedom staying up (very) late and watch whatever happened to be on TV, but being held accountable for the consequences. This included being tired at school the next day and repeating the actions/language of the TV shows. Good job, mom.

The song of summer 2009 has arrived. Maybe it had already arrived, but it just made itself known around here.

Go ahead and try to resist:



For the original version, Myspace it. For a remix, Pitchfork it. Yes, they are called Das Racist.

Watching/listening to a Los Angeles Dodgers game called by Vin Scully is quite a treat. There is no washed-up mediocre player interjecting their two cents and no lame jokes. It's just baseball and talk about baseball. NON. STOP.

If you've never had the pleasure, here's a sampling of what kind of information you get:

-Jamie Moyer is not only the second oldest MLB pitcher to make his All Star Game debut, but he is also one of only two pitchers to be at least 23 games under .500 in his career and then become at least 23 games over .500 in the same career (duh). He is currently 60 games over .500 and has 250 career wins.

-Ryan Howard is from St. Louis and has an open stance that almost appears like he is sitting in a chair, but not quite.

-The Dodgers lead the league in innings of 3 or more runs. The Phillies are second in the same category.

-Raul Ibanez turned 37 last Tuesday and was born in New York City. His mom was pregnant with him when she, his dad and 2 brothers emigrated from Cuba.

-Shane Victorino was once in the Dodger organization, but has a bad hip, so Eric Bruntlett is starting in his place tonight.

-Chris Coste was just the third major leaguer to hit his first career homerun past the age of thirty. By the way he lives in Fargo, North Dakota (Vin says: "Did you see that movie?") and spells his name C-O-S-T-E.

-Eric Milton's dad was a professor at Penn State and he studied kiniesiology.

By the way, there is one out in the top of the 2nd inning. This game is about 15% complete and Vin has already dug deeper than most play-by-play announcer/color commentator duos could in an entire game. And he's 81 years old and in his 60th year of broadcasting Dodgers games. Awesome.

People who, upon reading about things like this, comment "Oh wow! That's great!" are pretty much useless in modern society.

-Wasabi mayonnaise is in strong contention for THE condiment of 2009

-The Honda Ridgeline has to be the most hideous vehicle ever seen on roads. Furthermore, it's a Honda. Has this been covered before?

-Denver is a place worth getting excited about.

-The Cleveland Indians seriously need to get better. Last place is no good.

-Work pretty much sucks.

-Spring lasted approximately 11 days.

-People don't talk about politics any more. It's easier to not talk about it than removing pesky bumper stickers.

-The Food Network in HD is completely addictive. Just like eating.

-Comcast really sucks.

-Buying a new pair of sunglasses is strangely uplifting.

-Buying a house sounds great. Except the process of finding a house, then paying for it.