my favorite part is the recorder…

1. the avalanches - since i met you
2. burning airlines - mission:control!
3. crain - speed
4. the crystal method - vegas
5. desaparecidos - read music. speak spanish.
6. fiona apple - when the pawn…
7. fugazi - end hits
8. jimmy eat world - bleed american
9. jimmy eat world - static prevails
10. les savy fav - go forth
11. liz phair - exile in guyville
12. minus the bear - highly refined pirates
13. pixies - doolittle
14. the promise ring - nothing feels good
15. rainer maria - long knives drawn
16. refused - the shape of punk to come
17. the reputation - to force a fate
18. the roots - things fall apart
19. the shipping news - flies the fields
20. weezer - pinkerton

your turn. don’t feel constrained either way about twenty– I just couldn’t narrow it down further.

on the Interwebs…

Back in the day, people didn’t have the Internet, they had to read zines, they had to go out to record stores to hear music, and they had to look around to find shows or music. With the Internet, people can find things easier, and as a result, they might not be into it, because they’re not putting any effort into it, and it has very little meaning to them. Kids today can go on the Internet and find everything and be into a scene without actually investing themselves into it. Regardless of the whole who-is-and-who-isn’t “punk” argument, that’s just a dishonest way to live.

– Eric Urbach of Static Thought in Punk Planet #78

on the use of digital technology in music

I always like recorded music to take me somewhere different. I don’t want to listen to some shiny new record and think, “I know what keyboard he used. I know he used a state-of-the-art studio. I know what outfit he was wearing.” . . . I want to be transported to a different place and time and to have a mood imposed on me that just stumulates my imagination or my heart or stirs my emotion. So when I hear a shiny bullshit record with 808’s pulverizing me like I’m stupid, as if I can’t make up my own mind, and I need to be physically assaulted with bass.”

–Edan in Punk Planet #78

on technology = progress

The reason the analog stuff is cool to embrace is because humanity has a tendency to place blind emphasis on evolution and forward progress, or at least the illusion of it. Progress is more of a humane, soulful, spiritual thing. Progress is not owning a car that can parallel park for you. That doesn’t progress *you*, that progresses the technology.

–Edan again

sometimes when I consider the complete tragicomedy of a person michael jackson has become, I forget that he was once actually a very talented and brilliant musician (and apparently beatboxer):

but what i didn’t realize until I saw this video was that he used his own beatboxing as a basis for many of his beats:

that said, he still doesn’t have anything on Scratch or this guy:

Because this dude is fucking awesome..

so, you’ve all seen the OK GO video for here we go again. now check out these badass kids mimicking it to a tee:

in other badass news, check out this video of KJ Sawka playing drum and bass live:

So, I have this bad habit…

I tend to strike up a conversation with any stranger who I think may be punk rock. I just want to find out where other punk rock kids hang out, where the kids see shows, where they live, and what local bands they listen to. However, it usually makes the people I am with uncomfortable when I start talking to strangers…

Today, I was on the subway, and I noticed a punk rock kid sitting across from me. As I was about to start a conversation with him, he picked up an empty McDonald’s cup off the ground, and he pulled the McDonald’s Monopoly play pieces off of the cup (I guess he goes to McDonald’s enough to care about the pieces). All of a sudden, I hear my voice say, “Hey man, that’s not punk!”

Weird Al Yankovich on his recent first-ever top-10 hit:

“As much as people are griping about the Internet taking sales away from artists, it’s been a huge promotional tool for me.”

oh. my. god. for all you metal heads out there– wait for the breakdown:

1) Mr. Rogers. At a time when public broadcasting was under attack (much like today), Mr. Rogers, then in his thirties, went in front of the applicable appropriation committee and turned its scrooge chairman’s heart from stone. Absolutely stirring in delivery:

2) Marx Brothers. I’m not sure which one of the ‘brothers’ this is, but the artistry and creativity shown here blows my mind:

Now, I know all of you guys are so fucking cool that you totally knew about this like back in college before the internet was even invented. You had the pandora.com limited edition picture disc 7″ that was printed in Germany and only distributed via the underground railroad.

– corporate-casual on Pandora

Looking around my apartment I see rumpled clothes in random piles on the floor, empty boxes stacked in the corner, and chaos everywhere. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Nearly everyone I know is already aware of this, but I have accepted a job in Dallas that I am very excited about. The job involves doing development of lighting control systems with a company called Production Resource Group.

Question: What exactly is a lighting-control system?

Answer: A system that is used to big scale lighting systems that have many lights running at a time. The last time you went to a concert, did you ever take a look at the lights and wonder how they moved in sync with the music? I will soon find out.

Long story short, I am very excited about the new position. I will be developing software in cocoa using xcode on a mac to make things blink and move in time to music. Much more importantly, the new job places me within 8 miles of where B works. I am excited because it combines many things I am passionate about, Computers, Electronics, Music/Movies/Theater, Macintosh, and B.

And that is why my apartment is a total mess. I am beginning to pack and readying my mind and soul for the new journey ahead. In the past, people have told me that I’m lucky. In most cases I deny it, but right now I feel like they are right. Through some luck, a little work (though not too much), and a lot of love and support from the people close to me, I’ve arrived at a place where I am able to get interesting jobs where I want, (more or less) when I want. It’s a good feeling.

r: holy crap this “we are apple” video on tuaw is sooooo bad
k: haven’t watched it — sounds wack
r: mother of god, its unbelievable
r: it reminds me of why i hated the 80s SO very much
r: you really have to watch it — with audio
k: about to

(more…)

perhaps now the winds are shifting. popular culture will soon reflect that which many of us already knew– that large components of the current administration has been marked by total and complete malfeasance. first, we have the new dixie chicks record, a somewhat subtle rebuke to the right for its demonizing. their first single can be heard here. (and no, I can’t believe I just linked them either). second, comes news that Neil Young has prepared a new record, summed up by the track title “Let’s Impeach the President.” While I am still undecided on that particular tactic, I am pleased to see some people step up. And to that end, from a source I honestly can say that I did not expect, comes one of the strongest and truest sounding calls in the entertainment industry:

• Stretch Armstrong - Free At Last - 2005
• Postal Service - Give Up - 2003
• Boy Sets Fire - The Misery Index : Notes From The Plague Years - 2006
• Appleseed Cast - Peregrine - 2006
• Buena Vista Social Club - 1997 - R.I.P.