This songs been on repeat for me today. I decided that I need to make a post (or a series of posts, I haven't decided) in the future about my favorite albums of all time, and The Format's Dog Problems definitely makes the list.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Random Stuff
Strange Buildings of the WorldUCSD's Geisel Library made the list. There are some really cool buildings on there (I can only count a handful of them that I have been to. Kind of bummed that I didn't make it to the Kunst Modern in Vienna over the summer. Just made it to the original Kunsthistorisches Museum there).
The United Nations (the world organization) has found out about United Nations (the grindcore supergroup featuring members of Thursday and Glassjaw/Head Automatica) and had facebook remove their page. Favorite comment so far on AP.net: "It's about time! The actual UN has officially spent more time on this band then on the genocide in Africa."2012 Election Comic
Interesting NY Times Article on Stretching
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Quick Brag
I walked into my Charles E. Young class on Monday and was shocked to see Sidney Poitier and Walter Mirisch sitting there. They just listened to Professor Young's three-hour lecture and then took off, but not before I had the chance to talk to Sidney Poitier and shake his hand.
I love UCLA.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
2008 Election: My Thoughts As Said by the Economist
This Economist article pretty much says everything I have thought about this election. I highly recommend reading the whole article.
A few passages:
At the beginning of this election year, there were strong arguments against putting another Republican in the White House. A spell in opposition seemed apt punishment for the incompetence, cronyism and extremism of the Bush presidency. Conservative America also needs to recover its vim. Somehow Ronald Reagan’s party of western individualism and limited government has ended up not just increasing the size of the state but turning it into a tool of southern-fried moralism.
The selection of Mr McCain as the Republicans’ candidate was a powerful reason to reconsider. Mr McCain has his faults: he is an instinctive politician, quick to judge and with a sharp temper. And his age has long been a concern (how many global companies in distress would bring in a new 72-year-old boss?). Yet he has bravely taken unpopular positions—for free trade, immigration reform, the surge in Iraq, tackling climate change and campaign-finance reform. A western Republican in the Reagan mould, he has a long record of working with both Democrats and America’s allies.
...Ironically, given that he first won over so many independents by speaking his mind, the case for Mr McCain comes down to a piece of artifice: vote for him on the assumption that he does not believe a word of what he has been saying. Once he reaches the White House, runs this argument, he will put Mrs Palin back in her box, throw away his unrealistic tax plan and begin negotiations with the Democratic Congress. That is plausible; but it is a long way from the convincing case that Mr McCain could have made
Our main doubts about Mr Obama have to do with the damage a muddle-headed Democratic Congress might try to do to the economy. Despite the protectionist rhetoric that still sometimes seeps into his speeches, Mr Obama would not sponsor a China-bashing bill. But what happens if one appears out of Congress? Worryingly, he has a poor record of defying his party’s baronies, especially the unions. His advisers insist that Mr Obama is too clever to usher in a new age of over-regulation, that he will stop such nonsense getting out of Congress, that he is a political chameleon who would move to the centre in Washington. But the risk remains that on economic matters the centre that Mr Obama moves to would be that of his party, not that of the country as a whole.
I am very happy with the Obama victory (I'm currently sitting in one of my two Obama shirts as I type this). I supported him in the primaries and my support never wavered in the general election even though I used to be a big fan of McCain's. However, I can't help but be reserved about my optimism and reign in my excitement. I think our country needs to make some difficult decisions in the coming years. We can not continue to run such steep deficits. At the current tax base, we cannot afford to continue to fully-fund Social Security, and Medicare, let alone continue our high defense spending and take on the costs of universal health care.
We need to cut down on spending or raise taxes. Neither decision will be pain-free. It's time that our nation begins a serious discourse about who we are as a nation and who we want to be in the future. The label "socialism" has been thrown around cavalierly in the past couple weeks. It has been dismissed as a cheap attack and not given much thought. I believe what many Americans want in this country is the safety-net and services of a socialist nation, but do not want to pay the necessary taxes for that to be sustainable. Interesting and troubling times are ahead, but at least for the rest of the night, I'm going to sit back, finish my beer, and enjoy Obama's victory.
A few passages:
At the beginning of this election year, there were strong arguments against putting another Republican in the White House. A spell in opposition seemed apt punishment for the incompetence, cronyism and extremism of the Bush presidency. Conservative America also needs to recover its vim. Somehow Ronald Reagan’s party of western individualism and limited government has ended up not just increasing the size of the state but turning it into a tool of southern-fried moralism.
The selection of Mr McCain as the Republicans’ candidate was a powerful reason to reconsider. Mr McCain has his faults: he is an instinctive politician, quick to judge and with a sharp temper. And his age has long been a concern (how many global companies in distress would bring in a new 72-year-old boss?). Yet he has bravely taken unpopular positions—for free trade, immigration reform, the surge in Iraq, tackling climate change and campaign-finance reform. A western Republican in the Reagan mould, he has a long record of working with both Democrats and America’s allies.
...Ironically, given that he first won over so many independents by speaking his mind, the case for Mr McCain comes down to a piece of artifice: vote for him on the assumption that he does not believe a word of what he has been saying. Once he reaches the White House, runs this argument, he will put Mrs Palin back in her box, throw away his unrealistic tax plan and begin negotiations with the Democratic Congress. That is plausible; but it is a long way from the convincing case that Mr McCain could have made
Our main doubts about Mr Obama have to do with the damage a muddle-headed Democratic Congress might try to do to the economy. Despite the protectionist rhetoric that still sometimes seeps into his speeches, Mr Obama would not sponsor a China-bashing bill. But what happens if one appears out of Congress? Worryingly, he has a poor record of defying his party’s baronies, especially the unions. His advisers insist that Mr Obama is too clever to usher in a new age of over-regulation, that he will stop such nonsense getting out of Congress, that he is a political chameleon who would move to the centre in Washington. But the risk remains that on economic matters the centre that Mr Obama moves to would be that of his party, not that of the country as a whole.
I am very happy with the Obama victory (I'm currently sitting in one of my two Obama shirts as I type this). I supported him in the primaries and my support never wavered in the general election even though I used to be a big fan of McCain's. However, I can't help but be reserved about my optimism and reign in my excitement. I think our country needs to make some difficult decisions in the coming years. We can not continue to run such steep deficits. At the current tax base, we cannot afford to continue to fully-fund Social Security, and Medicare, let alone continue our high defense spending and take on the costs of universal health care.
We need to cut down on spending or raise taxes. Neither decision will be pain-free. It's time that our nation begins a serious discourse about who we are as a nation and who we want to be in the future. The label "socialism" has been thrown around cavalierly in the past couple weeks. It has been dismissed as a cheap attack and not given much thought. I believe what many Americans want in this country is the safety-net and services of a socialist nation, but do not want to pay the necessary taxes for that to be sustainable. Interesting and troubling times are ahead, but at least for the rest of the night, I'm going to sit back, finish my beer, and enjoy Obama's victory.
Jack's Mannequin @ The Troubadour
Last week, I went to the Troubadour to see Jack's Mannequin again. This was the first LA date of his small club tour and it had the emotional impact on me that I thought the previous Jack's Mannequin show would have. I guess the show was special to me because I feel like I have a long history with the lead singer Andrew McMahon. Although I've never met him, I feel like I've grown up with him in a way.
My freshman year of high school, way back in 2000, Something Corporate played at my high school's Battle of the Bands. They were unsigned and unknown. I didn't go to the talent show because I wasn't a huge fan of Aliso Niguel high school and didn't know that such a talented band would be performing. The next morning my school played a clip of Something Corporate on the video announcements. I really enjoyed the clips so I went to the basic and plain SoCo web site that just had some contact info and links to download MP3s of their music for free. I downloaded the music, really enjoyed the songs "Babies of the 80s" and "Mulligan Goes to War."
Soon after, the band announced that they signed to Drive Thru Records. When it came time for them to release their first EP on Drive Thru, I e-mailed the band with questions about the CD release show. I heard back from them and sent a few volleys of e-mails back and forth. I couldn't make it to the show (no ride), but followed the band closely and picked up Audioboxer and later Leaving through the Window. I still remember quite vividly seeing SoCo play with Yellowcard and Rufio. SoCo became one of my absolute favorite bands.
When I started at UCLA, I saw on the Troubadour web site that "Jack's Mannequin (Andrew from Something Corporate)" was playing. I hadn't heard anything about JM (no one really had, I bought tickets before they played their first show) but I got tickets and got excited. The show at the Troubadour was among their first ever shows and it was their first sold-out show. At the concert last week, Andrew even mentioned that first show at the Troubadour and it really brought me back to where I was just a few years ago and how things have changed. When Everything in Transit came out months after that show, the themes really resonated with me. In addition to being about his break-up, Andrew said it was about "coming home, and having home be way different than I had remembered it [...], abandoning a lot of people, and things, that I had normally been so attached to [...], exploring and being okay with myself, and not having to make excuses for who I am, and accepting who I am."
Andrew grew up not too far from me in Orange County but decided to get away and move temporarily to Los Angeles. He went through a bad break-up and had to find himself. I knew how he felt. When I found out that he was diagnosed with Leukemia the day he finished recording his album, I was devastated. I found out the day before it was publicly announced during an interview. It took a lot of self-restraint not to tear up during the interview.
To end my rambling, I feel a close connection with Andrew and at the show I really had a chance to reflect on how things have changed for me in the past 8 years. It was great going with Aaron J. (as usual when it comes to concerts) and then seeing Aaron Israel, Danielle, Isidro, J.D. and Tracey all there. In addition to really enjoying opener Eric Hutchinson (I got him to sign a CD for me after the show), I just loved every second of Jack's Mannequins performance. There was a good mix of old and new songs and a great crowd (including Andrew's parents). This is a show I really needed and I'm just sad that I don't have any concerts coming up that I plan on going to. It's time for Manchester Orchestra, Brand New, Moneen, Anathallo, or any number of bands to roll through LA.
Here's a video from the show of quite possibly my favorite song from the new record:
"Hammers and Strings" at the Troubadour
These hammers and strings
Been following me around
From a box-filled garage
To the dark punk rock clubs
Of one thousand American towns
And my friend calls me up
She says, "How have you been?"
I say, "Dear I've been well
Yeah the money's come in
But I miss you like hell
I still hear you in this old piano"
She says, "Andy, I know That we don't talk as much
But I still hear your ghost
In these old punk rock clubs
Come on, write me a song
Give me something to trust
Just promise you won't let it be
Just the keys that you touch"
"Give me something to believe in
A breath from the breathing
So write it down
I don't think that I'll close my eyes
'Cause lately I'm not dreaming
So what's the point in sleeping?
It's just that at night,
I've got nowhere to hide"
So I write you a lullaby
These hammers and strings
Been following me around
Behind passenger vans
Through the snow, dirt, and sands
Of one thousand American towns
And my friend calls me up
With her heart heavy still
She says, "Andy, the doctors Prescribed me the pills.
But I know I'm not crazy
I just lost my will.
So why am I, why am I
Taking them still?"
To the sleepless, this is my reply:
I will write you a lullaby
Also in the crowd was industry insider turned blogger Bob Lefsetz.
Excerpt from Bob Lefsetz Review:
From an empty room on the first floor
As the cars pass by the liquor store
I deconstruct my thoughts at this piano
That’s what Andrew did. He sat at the lip of the Troubadour’s tiny stage and banged the keys like he truly meant it. He even stood atop the piano, not in a fuck you Billy Joel way, but in an expression of sheer exuberance. He’d written songs in his basement at sixteen, he was now thankful to be able to play rock music for a living. HE SAID SO!
From the corner by the studio
The gold-soaked afternoon comes slow
I deconstruct my thoughts and I am walking by
On Third Street, the freak show thrives
Santa Monica’s alive, but
Something’s not so right inside
Living with the news
These are not lyrics written by committee. So bland they can work in countries where English is not just the second language, but oftentimes the third or fourth, or completely unknown. This is directly from Andrew’s heart to you, you feel like he’s speaking to you. Yes, he’s cut all his records in that studio in Santa Monica, by the Third Street Promenade. It’s where he goes to be inspired, it’s where he concocts these numbers that mean so much to you.
The other classic track from "Everything In Transit" is "The Mixed Tape".
Where are you now?
As I’m swimming through the stereo
I’m writing you a symphony of sound
Where are you now?
As I rearrange the songs again
This mix could burn a hole in anyone
But it was you I was thinking of
It was you I was thinking of
It was you I was thinking of
Heartbreak isn’t about buying a new pair of shoes and sleeping with someone else. It’s about waking up with them still on your mind, just like when you went to bed. It’s wanting to close the curtain, shutting out the light.
Where do they go after you’ve broken up?
They should be dead, they can’t be continuing their lives. They can’t be talking to anybody else, they can’t be laughing, they can’t be going forward. Because you’re stuck. And the only thing that says exactly how you feel is music. The lyrics jump out of the stereo, from your earbuds, the singer knows you, exactly how you feel. If only you could send her this song, maybe she’d understand, maybe she’d come back, maybe everything would be all right.
And this is my mixed tape for her
It’s like I wrote every note
With my own fingers
That’s the power of music. And last night at the Troubadour the music was quite powerful, enough to sustain a life, keep a person going. It wasn’t for you, but for those in attendance, it was…everything.
My freshman year of high school, way back in 2000, Something Corporate played at my high school's Battle of the Bands. They were unsigned and unknown. I didn't go to the talent show because I wasn't a huge fan of Aliso Niguel high school and didn't know that such a talented band would be performing. The next morning my school played a clip of Something Corporate on the video announcements. I really enjoyed the clips so I went to the basic and plain SoCo web site that just had some contact info and links to download MP3s of their music for free. I downloaded the music, really enjoyed the songs "Babies of the 80s" and "Mulligan Goes to War."
Soon after, the band announced that they signed to Drive Thru Records. When it came time for them to release their first EP on Drive Thru, I e-mailed the band with questions about the CD release show. I heard back from them and sent a few volleys of e-mails back and forth. I couldn't make it to the show (no ride), but followed the band closely and picked up Audioboxer and later Leaving through the Window. I still remember quite vividly seeing SoCo play with Yellowcard and Rufio. SoCo became one of my absolute favorite bands.
When I started at UCLA, I saw on the Troubadour web site that "Jack's Mannequin (Andrew from Something Corporate)" was playing. I hadn't heard anything about JM (no one really had, I bought tickets before they played their first show) but I got tickets and got excited. The show at the Troubadour was among their first ever shows and it was their first sold-out show. At the concert last week, Andrew even mentioned that first show at the Troubadour and it really brought me back to where I was just a few years ago and how things have changed. When Everything in Transit came out months after that show, the themes really resonated with me. In addition to being about his break-up, Andrew said it was about "coming home, and having home be way different than I had remembered it [...], abandoning a lot of people, and things, that I had normally been so attached to [...], exploring and being okay with myself, and not having to make excuses for who I am, and accepting who I am."
Andrew grew up not too far from me in Orange County but decided to get away and move temporarily to Los Angeles. He went through a bad break-up and had to find himself. I knew how he felt. When I found out that he was diagnosed with Leukemia the day he finished recording his album, I was devastated. I found out the day before it was publicly announced during an interview. It took a lot of self-restraint not to tear up during the interview.
To end my rambling, I feel a close connection with Andrew and at the show I really had a chance to reflect on how things have changed for me in the past 8 years. It was great going with Aaron J. (as usual when it comes to concerts) and then seeing Aaron Israel, Danielle, Isidro, J.D. and Tracey all there. In addition to really enjoying opener Eric Hutchinson (I got him to sign a CD for me after the show), I just loved every second of Jack's Mannequins performance. There was a good mix of old and new songs and a great crowd (including Andrew's parents). This is a show I really needed and I'm just sad that I don't have any concerts coming up that I plan on going to. It's time for Manchester Orchestra, Brand New, Moneen, Anathallo, or any number of bands to roll through LA.
Here's a video from the show of quite possibly my favorite song from the new record:
"Hammers and Strings" at the Troubadour
These hammers and strings
Been following me around
From a box-filled garage
To the dark punk rock clubs
Of one thousand American towns
And my friend calls me up
She says, "How have you been?"
I say, "Dear I've been well
Yeah the money's come in
But I miss you like hell
I still hear you in this old piano"
She says, "Andy, I know That we don't talk as much
But I still hear your ghost
In these old punk rock clubs
Come on, write me a song
Give me something to trust
Just promise you won't let it be
Just the keys that you touch"
"Give me something to believe in
A breath from the breathing
So write it down
I don't think that I'll close my eyes
'Cause lately I'm not dreaming
So what's the point in sleeping?
It's just that at night,
I've got nowhere to hide"
So I write you a lullaby
These hammers and strings
Been following me around
Behind passenger vans
Through the snow, dirt, and sands
Of one thousand American towns
And my friend calls me up
With her heart heavy still
She says, "Andy, the doctors Prescribed me the pills.
But I know I'm not crazy
I just lost my will.
So why am I, why am I
Taking them still?"
To the sleepless, this is my reply:
I will write you a lullaby
Also in the crowd was industry insider turned blogger Bob Lefsetz.
Excerpt from Bob Lefsetz Review:
From an empty room on the first floor
As the cars pass by the liquor store
I deconstruct my thoughts at this piano
That’s what Andrew did. He sat at the lip of the Troubadour’s tiny stage and banged the keys like he truly meant it. He even stood atop the piano, not in a fuck you Billy Joel way, but in an expression of sheer exuberance. He’d written songs in his basement at sixteen, he was now thankful to be able to play rock music for a living. HE SAID SO!
From the corner by the studio
The gold-soaked afternoon comes slow
I deconstruct my thoughts and I am walking by
On Third Street, the freak show thrives
Santa Monica’s alive, but
Something’s not so right inside
Living with the news
These are not lyrics written by committee. So bland they can work in countries where English is not just the second language, but oftentimes the third or fourth, or completely unknown. This is directly from Andrew’s heart to you, you feel like he’s speaking to you. Yes, he’s cut all his records in that studio in Santa Monica, by the Third Street Promenade. It’s where he goes to be inspired, it’s where he concocts these numbers that mean so much to you.
The other classic track from "Everything In Transit" is "The Mixed Tape".
Where are you now?
As I’m swimming through the stereo
I’m writing you a symphony of sound
Where are you now?
As I rearrange the songs again
This mix could burn a hole in anyone
But it was you I was thinking of
It was you I was thinking of
It was you I was thinking of
Heartbreak isn’t about buying a new pair of shoes and sleeping with someone else. It’s about waking up with them still on your mind, just like when you went to bed. It’s wanting to close the curtain, shutting out the light.
Where do they go after you’ve broken up?
They should be dead, they can’t be continuing their lives. They can’t be talking to anybody else, they can’t be laughing, they can’t be going forward. Because you’re stuck. And the only thing that says exactly how you feel is music. The lyrics jump out of the stereo, from your earbuds, the singer knows you, exactly how you feel. If only you could send her this song, maybe she’d understand, maybe she’d come back, maybe everything would be all right.
And this is my mixed tape for her
It’s like I wrote every note
With my own fingers
That’s the power of music. And last night at the Troubadour the music was quite powerful, enough to sustain a life, keep a person going. It wasn’t for you, but for those in attendance, it was…everything.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Razia's Shadow: A Musical
I just ordered Forgive Durden's new album Razia's Shadow: A Musical. Forgive Durden released their first full-length two years ago. I heard decent things about it, but not enough to really give it a listen. I heard it was very derivative of Gatsby's American Dream (RIP) and just sort of ignored it.
Then I started hearing a lot of buzz about the new Forgive Durden album. It became impossible to ignore this time around because it is not only a musical (I'm a sucker for musicals), but also features guest vocals from a lot of singers that I love:
Max Bemis (Say Anything)
Shawn Harris (The Matches)
Chris Conley (Saves the Day)
Casey Crescenzo (The Dear Hunter)
Nic Newsham (Gatsbys American Dream)
John Baldwin Gourley (Portugal. The Man)
As well as other singers I don't listen to as much:
Aaron Weiss (mewithoutYou)
Danny Stevens (The Audition)
Brendon Urie (Panic at the Disco)
Daniel Young (This Providence)
Greta Salpeter (The Hush Sound)
Lizzie Huffman (Man in the Blue Van)
Kris Anaya (An Angle)
Short description of the album: "The album tells the story of a world divided in two by the selfish actions of a powerful and egotistical, yet insecure angel. After generations of darkness, the world is eventually brought back together by the love and sacrifice of a couple brave enough to fulfill their destinies."
I ordered the album because it comes with a script of the musical. I'm pretty excited to give this a proper listen with the script. In the meantime, I am streaming it while I write my boring paper for Charles E Young. If you give it a listen, let me know what you think. I have a feeling it is going to take quite a few listens before I understand it properly and can adequately evaluate how much I like it.
Stream it here and check out all the characters in the musical here
Then I started hearing a lot of buzz about the new Forgive Durden album. It became impossible to ignore this time around because it is not only a musical (I'm a sucker for musicals), but also features guest vocals from a lot of singers that I love:
Max Bemis (Say Anything)
Shawn Harris (The Matches)
Chris Conley (Saves the Day)
Casey Crescenzo (The Dear Hunter)
Nic Newsham (Gatsbys American Dream)
John Baldwin Gourley (Portugal. The Man)
As well as other singers I don't listen to as much:
Aaron Weiss (mewithoutYou)
Danny Stevens (The Audition)
Brendon Urie (Panic at the Disco)
Daniel Young (This Providence)
Greta Salpeter (The Hush Sound)
Lizzie Huffman (Man in the Blue Van)
Kris Anaya (An Angle)
Short description of the album: "The album tells the story of a world divided in two by the selfish actions of a powerful and egotistical, yet insecure angel. After generations of darkness, the world is eventually brought back together by the love and sacrifice of a couple brave enough to fulfill their destinies."
I ordered the album because it comes with a script of the musical. I'm pretty excited to give this a proper listen with the script. In the meantime, I am streaming it while I write my boring paper for Charles E Young. If you give it a listen, let me know what you think. I have a feeling it is going to take quite a few listens before I understand it properly and can adequately evaluate how much I like it.
Stream it here and check out all the characters in the musical here
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Jack's Mannequin
After an incredibly long week that feels like it was a month ago but actually only ended two days ago, I went to a secret Jack's Mannequin show. It was a warm-up for his upcoming tour where he plays the entire new album all the way through. It was at the very intimate Viper Room and half of those in attendance were friends and family of JM.
Having my good friend Aaron J. pick me up after I attended the vigil for my resident that was killed earlier that week and taking me to an amazing show was just what the doctor ordered. Luckily concerts are a relatively cheap way for me to take a mental health holiday.
Not only did Jack's Mannequin play all of the incredible new album The Glass Passenger, he played an old song from his former band (Something Corporate's "Cavanaugh Park') and a cover of a MGMT song (I've been spinning MGMT a lot this week). I can't wait to see JM again at the end of the month at the Troubadour.
Jack's Mannequin Covers MGMT's "Kids"
Jack's Mannequin plays SoCo's "Cavanaugh Park"
Having my good friend Aaron J. pick me up after I attended the vigil for my resident that was killed earlier that week and taking me to an amazing show was just what the doctor ordered. Luckily concerts are a relatively cheap way for me to take a mental health holiday.
Not only did Jack's Mannequin play all of the incredible new album The Glass Passenger, he played an old song from his former band (Something Corporate's "Cavanaugh Park') and a cover of a MGMT song (I've been spinning MGMT a lot this week). I can't wait to see JM again at the end of the month at the Troubadour.
Jack's Mannequin Covers MGMT's "Kids"
Jack's Mannequin plays SoCo's "Cavanaugh Park"
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