I'm sure this is way over 100 words, but I thought I'd do a full mock-up in my blog. Hope you enjoy!!
Today's Outfit:
One Trend That's Caught My Eye This Season:
*Pointelle/Lightweight knit Tights!*
I really believe these are the most perfect fall accessory a girl can have in the bay area, aside from a favorite scarf. Living in San Francisco, you learn that the weather is COMPLETELY unpredictable, and you need to be prepared for a bit of everything: heat, chilliness, wind, fog, all dependent on which part of the city (or which side of the bay bridge) you're in. It's hard to do that AND be stylish! Which is why these tasty little leg warmers do the trick....
One look I'm DYING over right now is how the city girls are transitioning summer dresses for fall.
Throw on a pair of footless knit leggings (fairly open weave), some funky flats, the ever present SF scarf, and a cardigan, and you're ready to have a drink in the hipster-laden Mission district. How about some shopping downtown in Union Square? Switch the knit for some more sophisticated pointelle tights (or thigh-highs if you want to feel sexy ;), some slouchy boots, a long trench-length sweater and an oversized hobo. YUM!!
Great brands carrying some hot versions: Free People, Betsety Johnson, and the cream of the crop, D&G. For something a bit more affordable, Urban Outfitter also has cute knits 2 for $20! I'd just like to say, though, that you get what you pay for. My legs go through as many tights as babies do diapers. No kidding. ;)
silly terminology. every once in a while i'll hear a new music sub-category that makes me sit and wonder for a while. how do people come up with these terms? according to wiki, that is actually some people's claim to fame. coining a term. whose claim to fame was "post-rock"? wellll it would be a mr. simon reynolds. schooled!!! :) the thought of today is:
POST-ROCK.
what is it? basically, from my understanding, it's using "rock" instruments for "non-rock" purposes. why does it exist? to move beyond the "rock norm", perhaps? i'm wondering why it's not in the "noise rock" category as well, because the concepts are very similar. maybe post-rock is more structured? i don't know.....rogue wave is considered "post-rock", but comparing them to a band like explosions in the sky, i don't see the similarity at all. explosions is much more soundscape-ish, if you get my drift. more epic. but on the noise side of things, comparing rogue wave to, say, my bloody valentine, considered "noise", but of the brit-pop/shoegaze variety (pop and shoegaze being the operative words here), i still don't see a correlation. is rogue wave mis-categorized? in my opinion, the whole concept of using rock instruments in a non-classic rock way is something that pink floyd started a long time ago. textural rather than structural. does it have something to do with background influences?
oh, and what about adding in "progressive" to the mix? once again, i find myself going back to king crimson. sheesh. why don't we all accept that every kind of music has basically been made already and stop trying to sub-categorize everything until every group has it's own specific category. awesome.
so, let's say you have an interest. where to start?? i say move to montreal. apparently it's the mecca for post-rock and experimental bands.
do make say think explosions in the sky a silver mt. zion
i haven't heard much of any of those groups besides a few tracks off of last.fm. save explosions in the sky, which i really dig. in a way, i'm really happy that the more lush instrumental bands are coming to the foreground. it's a very refreshing alternative to the cut and paste pop-punk-crap rock that's been clogging our ears for too long. explosions has pieces of sigur ros (BIG pieces), and i can even hear a little modest mouse and wilco in there too. what would those be considered? americana noise?
ok, not so savvy to the idea of moving to canada (though i couldn't possibly see why....free health care for all and unlocked doors? fuck yes)? try something a little less life changing, and start your quest out right. pick up talk talk's 1991 album "the laughing stock" and check it out. it's pretty fantastic. here's a great track from that album:
here are a few more suggestions to end out this disgustingly name-dropping blog:
the album leaf tristeza mum (i don't know how to add the little accent over the "u" :(
think ambiance (the album leaf is a bit more vocal though), think going on a journey. these are definitely not bands you'd listen to if you're trying to get pumped up for say, a track race. just a thought.
4 bands and the songs that inspired me to even log into this blogspot this evening:
Modest Mouse- Make everyone happy/Mechanical Birds Built to Spill- You are The Knife- Heartbeats The Flaming Lips- Are you a hypnotist?
All very worthy additions to my Fall '07 playlist, which is actually winding it's way into winter, with tracks like Tori Amos' "A Sorta Fairytale" from Scarlet's Walk (2001), Elvis Costello's "A Good Year for the Roses" from his "Very best of.." collection, and Jeff Buckley's "New Year's Prayer" from Sketches for my sweetheart the drunk. The cool thing is iTunes picked them out and put them in order for me, so I guess it gets all the credit for being currently awesome.
I've been in a huge King Crimson phase. I blame it on Battles and a sudden penchant for proggy goodness. Do many people actually like King Crimson anymore??? And if so, where the fuck are they?! Be my friend. Just don't also be an art snob. With your silly sweaters and scarves and red wine teeth stains. Feh.
Would it make me a liar if I said I am listening to my ex-husband's music and am actually enjoying it completely detached, as an outside listener/music appreciator? I'm not lying. It's really good. I don't know what this "really means" for all you psychoanalysts out there, but it izzz what it izzzz....
Did you listen to it? I wasn't kidding. This is the hidden track at the end of his second album, "All Night Souls", which he put out in early 2005, I think. Check out his myspace page right here. I won't type his name though...for some reason.
ANYWAYS. *shifts uncomfortably for a few seconds*
I've finally figured out how to put some sort of music players on my blog, obviously. And thanks to last.fm and all it's indie goodness, I've been able to put together a little playlist of some awesome stuff I found while surfing it and also some of my mainstream/indie faves from iTunes.
Hope you like it. I'm glad I can finally have you listen to what I'm listening to, as opposed to just reading pretentious writing about it instead.
Alright, alright. Right now! Top 5 All-Time BEST female singer-songwriters, let 'em rapid-fire LETS GO:
1. Carole King 2. Joni Mitchell 3. Tori Amos 4. PJ Harvey 5. Fiona Apple
..........and, trailing in at a close 6th...no....more like 5 1/4, Regina Spektor. Not to mention Lucinda Williams. And Chan Marshall. And Imogen Heap. And Bjork. And Stevie Nicks. Dammit! Too many to list...
Been feeling pretty scummy the last week and a half. I won't go into much detail, but let's just say that I'm all tapped out. Running on fumes and whatnot. Usually, what I do is listen to some good 'ol wallow in my own misery music. Maybe gaze out the BART window on the way to work with a deep sigh, while "Sullen Girl" plays on the iPod.
How about this- Top 5 songs to mope to:
1. "Obscured/Window Paine"-Smashing Pumpkins (depends on if I'm just depressed or slightly energetically depressed) 2. "Pretty Penny"- STP 3. "Orion"- Metallica 4. ANYTHING from Tidal by Fiona Apple 5. "Mystify Me"-Son Volt
*siiigh* ANYHOW.....this time around, in the midst of all my moping, I found this:
Actually, this isn't the video that I fell in love with, but embedding is disabled for it, so here's a link. This version is a bit mellower, and waaaaaay cuter. A field full of cute Reginas running around doing cute stuff!
This video inspired me to do two things. 1) Buy Regina's latest album "Begin to Hope". Now, I do like to say that I looove Regina Spektor. I have almost all the albums she's put out, save the two she put out after Soviet Kitsch. This album has been out for over a year and a half, and the only single I'd heard off of it until recently was "Fidelity". Apparently, it was named after "High Fidelity". Further proof that she and I should TOTALLY be friends. I'd pick a flower for her to wear in her cute hair every freaking day! But I digress once again. The other thing that video inspired me to do: Feel uplifted! I haven't felt uplifted by a song in a very long time. Truly uplifted. Like when I would listen to one song on repeat in my room when I was 15. In the last few days, I'm pretty sure I've listened to/watched "Better" upwards of 30 times. Getting dressed in the morning for work, I'm freaking Molly Ringwald in "The Breakfast Club". It may sound kind of stupid, but that song has helped me begin recharging. It's helped me put more care into myself, which in turn helps me care for others around me easier.
~If I kiss you where it's sore, will you feel better, will you feel anything at all? ~If you never say your name out loud to anyone, they can never ever call you by it.
These are the kinds of simple, straight-to-the-point lyrics that really get to me. Makes you start coaching yourself. -Can anyone else really help you feel better when you're hurting? Why do we think that we can't help ourselves? -Don't be afraid of putting yourself out there, even if it isn't easy sometimes. Granted, as a huge Tori fan, I also have a deep appreciation for obscurity and ethereal vagueness. Speaking of which, I went on a Tori YouTube rager last night (I have a current obsession with cute live music videos) fueled by my excitement that in almost a month exactly, TORI AMOS WILL BE PERFORMING 6-7 BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE FOR 3 DAYS IN A ROW!!!!! And you know what? Judging from fan videos from recent performances in the UK, she's a fucking firecracker!!! (I have yet to get her new album...but I have a lot of reservations about it, being SO disappointed with her last album "The Beekeeper".) There is something baffling to me about disgustingly famous musicians. They play the same songs for years and years and years. I'm sure I'd get tired of playing the same songs for 20+ years. Shit, I don't play songs that I wrote 4 years ago. I can barely remember them, even. And when I do, I don't get more than halfway through before I start getting a bad taste in my mouth. Anyway, I was watching a video of Tori doing "Sugar" as Santa, one of her pretentious "alternate personalities" or something. The footage is awful, totally out of focus the whole time, so I won't subject you to it. But her band was TIGHT and her vocals were spot on. After all these years, I do think that "Sugar" live is one of the hardest songs for her to perform. The outro she worked up is amazing...her vocals soar. They really do. Of all the versions I've searched for and listened to, I think that there will NEVER be a better version of that song than the one off of "To Venus and Back" (1998), which, mind you, she recorded AT SOUND CHECK!!!
.....!!!!
Yeah. Fucking sound check, man. I woke up this morning (an hour and a half earlier due to the end of Daylight Savings and the lack of knowing that by my beautiful daughter) feeling better than I have in almost 2 weeks. I have the power to make it through every day the best person I can be. Yeah, I fucked up more times in one week than I would have liked recently, but there's nothing I can do about it now but accept it, accept the consequences that came along with them, and move forward as the best person I can be. And as long as I can remind myself that, whether it be through appreciating the color of the sky at dusk, or listening to some of my musical heroes, or whatever else the musical doctor ordered, then I think for now I do belong here. Right here where I stand. And you should do the same.
Moby Dick. It came on the iPod while commuting to work this morning, and as always, blew me away. Talk about all around AWESOME fucking musicians. I swear. Tell me.......how many other tracks with a full-out DRUM SOLO *studio versions* can you think of? Seriously. Think about it for a while.
I'll wait...
MM-hm. School me.
So I still don't think I've fully digested Radiohead's new album. What I have noticed (and fellow friends/Radiohead enthusiasts agree) is that though beautiful, something is definitely lacking. Kind of like Thom Yorke's solo album. I've found myself needing a "chaser", if you will, of something more substantial. Kid A or The Bends have been likely suspects. Even the more sparse, ethereal tracks from Kid A quenched the thirst better than even the most lush sounding tracks off of In Rainbows. *sigh* Sometimes I wonder if I'm just not giving it enough of a chance. But then again, what does it really matter anyway. People like what they like, and I admit that once upon a time I stayed up nights arguing with and indie-ex of mine about which album was more monumental, Ok Computer or Kid A. I vote for Ok Computer. Is it the more commonly chosen album? Probably. But for all around density, track for track, I say Ok Computer takes the cake. The Bends following in a VERY close second.
Moving on, a friend of mine turned me onto this band, BATTLES a couple weeks ago. Granted, it's their newest album (Mirrored), and from what he said, it's different from their earlier works. They're mainly instrumental, with an awesome electronic edge, and VERY experimental. The type of music I've always heard in my head, and never knew actually existed, let alone having a label pretty much solely dedicated to. Warp Records. I believe they're based in the UK. Once I checked out the label, it made more sense. Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, Aphex Twin...Darren (my friend) is into a shitload of bands I've never even heard of. Makes me feel like a mainstream sheep. I hate that, don't you? Anyway, I've had their droning craziness dancing through my head for days now. Reminds me a bit of King Crimson, without Adrian Belew. Of the Talking Heads without as much structure.
So I've added a few more tracks to my fall '07 playlist. I originally had 6 additions, but upon listening to the mix a few times, I cut the last two out because they were too depressing and isolating. They were Ben Harper's "Welcome to the Cruel World" and Songs: Ohia's "Two Blue Lights". Not that this mix is supposed to be a total pick-me-up, but sheesh. Brought me out of the colorful fall leaves right into the cold hard ground of winter. Not quite ready for that yet.
Here are a few more: 6. Tangerine- Led Zeppelin, Zep III, 1970. 7. Oh Comely- Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, 1998. 8. Let Down- Radiohead, Ok Computer, 1997. 9. American Flag- Cat Power, Moon Pix, 1998.
I think it's coming along quite nicely.
That's all for now. The muse has left me. Take care.
There may be a hold on the addition to my fall playlist for the time being, kids. New musical obsession has been replaced.
I just got the new Radiohead album "In Rainbows" this morning!!! Thanks to NYLON magazine's constant bulletin postage on myspace, I found out about it the day after Johnny Greenwood officially announced the unofficial "leak". Now, of course, it's all over the place. The concept of this release is very forward thinking, very indie, and goddammit, it's fucking RADIOHEAD.
Now, I've only really listened through the album a couple times, but enough to develop a pretty strong attachment to the 3rd song from the tracklist, "Nude" right off the bat. This album in a whole at this point, is very mellow. Good driving music, but then again, I've only really listened to it while driving around today........ It's definitely not as frantic sounding as "Hail to the Thief". But then again, that album was a WHOLE hell of a lot more reactionary. Sounds like they took their time with this one. Thom's voice is as always, haunting to the point of slight suicidal tendencies while listening. The guitar work struck me as EXTREMELY eloquent as well. Can guitar work BE eloquent?? Anyway.
So I have this tendency to deconstruct music. Meaning pulling it apart into sections, and speculate as to where they got their inspiration. To try and liken them to other musicians, proving the fact that things like music, and words, are all connected. And I like trying to be the one to find those silvery strands. There are a few tracks I'll be touching with my deconstructivenessicity this evening.
NUDE (track 3): First of all, It's fucking beautiful. It's soft and sweet like......it makes me think of vanilla ice cream with caramel and chocolate swirls. It's got a mellow laid back swinging beat. The bass is round and blurry around the edges. The guitar truely floats right on top of the mix, clean and glistening. Listening to it right now, Thom's voice makes me feel so many different things I don't even know where to start. AH!! It's just perfect. Desperate and wise and frail....reverb and dryness at the right moments. There isn't a spot on this gem. Not that I can see or hear. Amazingly enough, I can't liken this to anything I've heard before. At least not yet. Maybe I'm too taken by it right now to bear the fragments.
Radiohead has this knack for making the best fucking chord changes. Sometimes you can predict exactly where they're going to go, and it makes you feel like you know them. They have some sort of archaic formula. And if you listen to enough of them, obssess over them enough, knowing that they're going to go somewhere and actually have it happen without pre-meditation brings some warm fuzzy sense of intimacy. It's like they gave you a hug or something! But sometimes they throw out a curve. They might hint at something when Thom will do a little wavering between half steps for a bar or two, then BAM! They go up a half step. Unexpected modulation. They're reminding us that we only know what they let us know....and they're always changing. Maybe it's about introducing the idea of a change at the perfect moment. Or maybe so subtly that we really only hear it on some subconscious level, and the reaction when the change actually happens is slightly surprising, but comforting at the same time. Oh, how I love my little Radiohead bubble.
ALL I NEED (track 5): Now, I automatically worry that I'm going to sound like a complete asshole with what I'm going to say next. But I'm going to say it anyway. This song reminds me of Boards of Canada. Specifically, the song "Roygbiv" off of the album "Music Has the Right to Children", released in 1998. Not TOO many similarities, but the ones that struck me from the beginning of the song is the overall feel of the song, the simple kind of heavy but bouncy groove, and the synth bass. The synth is a VERY prominent part of both of the songs. Perhaps a sign that even bands like Radiohead pull influences from contemporary musical innovators! Music will never die!!!!
Here is a video I found on YouTube, just to give you a taste of "Roygbiv":
If you listen to Boards of Canada, then maybe you know what I'm talking about? Or hey, even if you are interested in them, or you desire to prove I'm full of shit, check them out. Seriously. Do it.
FAUST ARP (track 6): Ok. So at first, I was trying to build up some great argument as to why this song was so very much Led Zeppelin. With the Jimmy Page-esque perfection of the finger picking, to the synthy strings, and even the way Thom sings the chorus. Very sad heartbroken Rober Plant. I listened a few times, then I smacked myself in the head and realized that the guitar is at the same time veryPink Floyd. "A Pillow of Winds"-ish, perhaps? A more common drawing in similarities, I know. I kind of disappointed myself with that one, actually. Oh well.
And so, in searching for a Zeppelin song or two that I can make that satistfying connection I adore making, I stumbled upon the blue flower that is Zep III. I've lost my train of thought. They've pulled me out of the present into the past, and I feel comfortable here for now. So I bid you adue. Apologies "to all my faithful readers" (hahahahahahaha) for not even touching on one thing I mentioned I would. A lesson learned. Don't predict what will move me to write.
Hope it was enjoyable all the same. Till next time.....
